Chapter 7 – The Unstable Power
1217 Words
The sky above Aetherion had returned to calm.
Too calm.
After the chaos of the attack, the floating city seemed almost untouched—its glowing bridges restored, its towers shining once more. But beneath that illusion of peace, something had shifted.
Everyone could feel it.
And no one felt it more than Aryan.
“You need to focus.”
“I am focusing,” Aryan snapped.
A burst of light shot from his hand—
—and slammed into the far wall of the training chamber.
Too hard.
Too fast.
Way off target.
Kiran ducked instinctively. “Okay, yeah… you’re definitely focusing on something. Just not what we want.”
Meera crossed her arms, watching closely. “Again.”
Aryan exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair.
The training chamber was massive—an enclosed arena made of smooth stone that shimmered faintly with protective magic. Symbols lined the walls, glowing softly to absorb the impact of spells.
Which was a good thing.
Because Aryan had already hit them… a lot.
He stepped forward again, raising his hand.
“Just… steady,” Meera said. “Don’t force it.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Aryan muttered. “You don’t have—”
He stopped.
Didn’t have what?
A second self?
A living source of unstable magic inside him?
He shook his head.
“Just do it,” Kiran said.
Aryan nodded.
He closed his eyes.
Tried to focus.
He reached for the feeling he had experienced in the Arcane Realm—the flow of magic, the connection, the control.
At first…
Nothing.
Then—
A spark.
Warm. Familiar.
The pendant glowed faintly.
“Yes…” Aryan whispered. “I’ve got it…”
Energy gathered in his palm, forming a small, steady light.
Meera leaned forward slightly. “Good. Hold it there.”
Aryan smiled faintly.
“I’m doing it.”
And then—
The light flickered.
His expression changed instantly.
“No… wait—”
The energy surged.
Too fast.
Too strong.
“Aryan, stop!” Kiran shouted.
“I’m trying!”
The light exploded outward.
A shockwave blasted across the chamber, knocking all three of them off their feet. The walls absorbed most of the impact, but the force still sent dust and debris flying.
Silence followed.
Then—
Kiran groaned. “Okay… that’s new.”
Meera pushed herself up, coughing slightly. “You almost blew up the entire room.”
Aryan sat there, staring at his hands.
“I didn’t mean to…”
“I know,” Meera said.
“That’s the problem,” Kiran added.
Aryan clenched his fists.
“It was fine,” he said. “I had it under control.”
“No,” Meera said firmly. “You thought you did.”
Aryan looked up, frustration building.
“Then what am I supposed to do?” he demanded. “Every time I try, it either doesn’t work—or it goes completely out of control!”
“Because you’re not balancing it,” Meera replied.
“Balancing what?”
“Yourself.”
The words hit harder than expected.
Aryan looked away.
“That’s not exactly easy right now.”
Kiran stepped closer.
“Is it him?” he asked quietly.
Aryan didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Later that evening…
Aryan sat alone on one of Aetherion’s outer platforms.
Below him stretched an endless sky, glowing softly with the colors of sunset. Floating islands drifted lazily in the distance, connected by strands of shimmering light.
It should’ve felt peaceful.
But it didn’t.
Aryan stared at the horizon, the pendant resting in his hand.
“You’re still there, aren’t you?” he murmured.
For a moment—
Nothing.
Then—
A faint pulse.
And the voice.
“Of course.”
Aryan tensed.
“I didn’t call you.”
“You didn’t have to.”
The air around him grew slightly colder.
“You’re part of me now,” the voice continued. “Whether you like it or not.”
Aryan’s jaw tightened.
“You’re the reason I can’t control my power.”
A pause.
Then—
“No.”
The answer surprised him.
“It’s not?” Aryan asked.
“You’re the one holding back.”
Aryan frowned. “Holding back from what?”
“From yourself.”
The words echoed.
“You keep saying that,” Aryan said. “But all I see is what happens when I don’t hold back. People get hurt.”
“Only because you don’t understand it yet.”
“Or maybe because it’s dangerous,” Aryan shot back.
A soft, almost amused tone followed.
“Everything powerful is dangerous.”
Aryan looked down at the pendant.
“Then maybe I shouldn’t be using it at all.”
Silence.
Then—
“You don’t believe that.”
Aryan hesitated.
Because deep down…
He didn’t.
He wanted to control it.
To understand it.
To use it.
And that scared him.
“I don’t want to become you,” he said quietly.
For the first time—
The voice didn’t respond immediately.
When it did, it was different.
Softer.
“You won’t.”
Aryan blinked. “You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
Another pause.
Then—
“Because I already became what you fear.”
The honesty in that statement caught Aryan off guard.
“What does that mean?” he asked.
But the presence faded slightly.
“You’re asking the wrong questions.”
“Then what should I be asking?”
A faint pulse of the pendant.
“Why they were afraid of us.”
Aryan’s expression hardened.
“The Council?”
“Yes.”
“They said they were trying to save the world.”
A quiet response followed.
“That’s what they told themselves.”
Before Aryan could reply—
A voice called out behind him.
“Aryan!”
He turned.
Meera and Kiran were running toward him, both looking serious.
“What happened?” Aryan asked, standing up.
Meera didn’t slow down.
“You need to come with us. Now.”
“Why?”
Kiran glanced back over his shoulder.
“Because something’s wrong.”
Aryan’s chest tightened. “Wrong how?”
Meera stopped in front of him.
“The barrier around Aetherion…” she said.
“It’s failing.”
Aryan’s heart dropped.
“What?”
“It shouldn’t be possible,” Kiran added. “Not after what happened earlier.”
“But it’s happening,” Meera said.
“And whatever’s causing it…” Kiran continued, looking directly at Aryan—
“It’s connected to you.”
Silence.
The pendant in Aryan’s hand began to glow again.
Slowly.
Uneasily.
Aryan looked down at it.
Then back up.
“…Then we don’t have much time.”
Far beyond the edges of Aetherion…
In a place where light barely reached…
The cloaked Aryan stood at the center of a swirling storm of shadows.
His eyes glowed faintly.
“He’s getting stronger,” he said quietly.
A distorted voice echoed around him.
“And unstable.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“Good,” he said.
“Because soon…”
He looked toward the distant glow of Aetherion.
“…he won’t be able to hold it back anymore.”
End of Episode 7
- Writer
