The morning light, thin and watery, did little to dispel the familiar chill that clung to Elias Vance.
He trudged down the worn sidewalk, backpack slung low, the drone of early risers already filling the air of his quiet neighborhood.
He knew the drill. Another day at the Academy, another day of navigating a world that sang with elemental power, a song he could only ever hum along to.
Beside him, Lena bounced, her movements animated even at this hour.
"Ugh, first period is history again, isn't it? Mr. Thorne's going to bore us to death with another lecture on the Great Sundering and the 'heroic mana-casters who saved us all '"
She mimed a dramatic sigh, a faint red glow flickering playfully around her fingertips – her inherent Fire mana, a constant, effortless hum that was as natural to her as breathing.
Elias offered a weak smile.
"It's important, Lena. You know, to remember how lucky we are."
He'd been taught the same lessons since kindergarten. The Void, the demon armies, the near-extinction of humanity. And then, the glorious emergence of mana, the power that pushed back the darkness, allowing cities to be built, society to thrive. Everyone had it. Everyone but him.
"Sure, it's important," she conceded,
"but do we need to hear about the 'strategic importance of mana-wards' every other week? It's like they want us to appreciate it more by reminding us how helpless we'd be without it."
She cast a quick glance at him, a flicker of concern dimming the usual spark in her eyes. Lena was the only one who truly understood, or at least tried to.
She never pointed out his lack, never treated him like an anomaly, but the unspoken knowledge hung between them like a persistent ghost.
As they approached the Academy gates, the mana signatures of other students became palpable – vibrant hues of green, blue, yellow, and shifting grays, each person a faint, living beacon of elemental energy. Elias felt nothing.
Just the silence. A cold, empty space echoed inside him, a constant reminder of the void left by his parents' sudden, brutal departure. The car crash.
The final, deafening silence after the screams. He sometimes wondered if that feeling of emptiness, of being disconnected, was why he also felt so disconnected from the world's pervasive mana.
Inside, the Academy hummed with a different kind of energy, a blend of adolescent chatter and the subtle thrum of channeled power.
They slid into their desks just as the bell shrieked, signaling the start of class. Mr. Thorne, precise as ever, cleared his throat.
"Good morning, class. Today, we continue our exploration into the aftermath of the Great Sundering. As you recall from yesterday's discussion, the appearance of the Void-born monsters and demon armies threatened to extinguish humanity. It was through the collective discovery and cultivation of mana that our ancestors were able to forge a defense. This energy, capable of shaping the elements, became our salvation."
Elias stared at the intricate diagram on the projector screen, depicting ancient mana-casters channeling colossal spells, driving back grotesque creatures.
He knew the history. He just couldn't feel it. Not in the way everyone else did.
He pressed his hands against the cool surface of his desk, wishing, as he always did, for some spark, some warmth, some sign that he was part of this world.
But there was only that familiar quiet. And perhaps… something else. A very subtle shift in the air, a colder current that brushed his skin, unlike the warmth he sometimes felt.
It was an odd feeling, like being in the presence of something unseen, something lingering just at the edge of perception.
He frowned, dismissing it. Just the old school building, settling. Or perhaps just him, Elias, once again imagining what he couldn't have.