The New Elemental God

His vision blurred, and his knees began to shake. He pulled a chair closer, sat down, and rested his face in his hands.

The whole table erupted into a debate over the theory, but he couldn't hear any of it. It was his fault. Once again, he was the one hurting his family—and for what? He still didn't know why he had been chosen to inherit this power.

"Attention!" Hikari clapped her hands, and silence fell over the room. "We can debate all day, but it's not going to get us anywhere."

Exhausted and regretting not sleeping last night, Adam lifted his head to listen to the Fire Goddess.

"Professors, start looking for places that could hold a great amount of energy. Search in both worlds."

The sheep-like scholars nodded in unison like soldiers and headed out to the library.

"And we are going to the arena."

Not one of the deities moved. They looked just as tired as Adam.

"One way or another, we're going to have to fight, so we'd better be ready for it."

With his head so low it was practically between his knees, the Earth God muttered,

"How am I supposed to train with you guys? I can't even swing a sword."

"I'll be your first teacher." Shu floated beside him, gently bumping his shoulder to get him to lift his head. "Then Hikari will teach you martial arts and sword fighting—since you already have a sword."

With every word, Adam's head lifted slightly.

"And lastly, Calder will help you with elemental combat."

Puzzled, Adam looked at Shu, waiting for an explanation.

"You'll understand when you see it. Now, let's go."

Shu's voice was so gentle that it was impossible to argue. No one shouts at such a kind creature.

Reluctantly, Adam got up from the chair. Every conversation just reminded him how complicated everything was, and it made him want to quit—but he couldn't. Even though he felt low, he wouldn't give up. His mother always believed in his potential. Now, more than ever, he owed it to her.

The journey to the arena was unconventional. Instead of heading outside, they went underground. The castle was full of tunnels and secret passages, and once again, they used one of them. This time, a dark tunnel illuminated only by the small flame in Hikari's palm.

Adam wasn't convinced that testing his powers under a mountain—especially with people living on top of it—was the best idea. But as the youngest among them, he decided to keep quiet. He wasn't in the mood for an argument.

After descending for what felt like hours, the tunnel finally opened into a vast chamber. Though shrouded in darkness, Adam could tell it was enormous.

Hikari split her flame into smaller parts and sent them outward. A few moments later, thousands of torches flared to life, revealing the arena. It was the size of a football field.

The walls were blackened with melted rock, forming a round structure. The floor, in contrast, was relatively flat but covered in fissures and cracks.

Adam never hid his amazement when discovering new places. It was easy to read him.

"This used to be a magma chamber," Hikari explained as they descended together. "I use it for practice, so it's safe for you to test your abilities."

"Are you sure? I've had enough of earthquakes," Adam muttered as their feet touched solid ground.

"The people up there live their entire lives in a volcano. They know how to handle themselves."

The Goddess wasted no time reassuring him. As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and walked away. Calder, would be her training buddy for the time, shrugged and followed the woman.

"It's just us now."

Shu hovered beside Adam, crossing their legs in the air at the same height as the standing Earth God. Adam swung his arms anxiously, trying not to think about accidentally killing anyone.

"First, I'd like to apologize for what happened at the Red Canyon."

Shu spoke softly, drifting in a slow, soothing rhythm.

Adam froze. His hands stopped moving as he was caught in Shu's sincere silver eyes. He remembered all the anger he had felt back then and suddenly felt ashamed of himself.

"We made the wrong choice in teaching methods, and we hurt you. It won't happen again."

Adam wasn't brave enough to say it, but he knew he was the one who should be apologizing for trying to hurt them. Without any words to match Shu's empathy, the Playboy simply nodded.

They paused for a moment. Sensing Adam's discomfort, Shu quickly smiled and clapped their hands, shifting gears to start the training.

"So, first question." The deity changed their posture, pretending to be serious, which made Adam smirk. "Have you ever colored a coloring book?"

Raising an eyebrow, Adam hesitated, unsure what that had to do with divine powers.

"Uh… when I was a kid, I guess."

"So you know how you had to paint only inside the lines?"

Adam nodded, still curious.

"It's the same with your Elements. The paint represents your power, the lines are your self-control, and the background is the world. If you paint outside the lines, you'll affect the environment—both in the Material and Spiritual world."

Shu's calm and clear explanation made it easy for Adam to visualize.

"I'm an expert at crossing the line." He smirked, but deep down, he felt the phantom tremors beneath his feet as memories of past mistakes resurfaced.

"Don't worry, that's totally normal." Shu stepped back and created a small tornado in their palm. "The Elements are alive. They have their own will, following their nature."

Adam narrowed his eyes, struggling to grasp the concept. Shu, as a wise teacher, noticed him slipping away and recapped.

"When we talk about our powers, we're talking about the Elements, right?"

Adam nodded like a soldier.

"Think of them as people. They have things they like to do and things they don't. For example, a flame doesn't want to be inside water, just like a rock doesn't want to fly. When we talk about 'mastering the Elements,' we're really talking about making them do things they don't want to do—or, as we say, going against their nature."

"Well, Earth doesn't seem to like me very much, then. She's always fighting me."

Randomly, Shu chuckled at Adam.