I’m An Elysian

The sound of a sword striking a tree echoed through the dense forest. Vael, covered in sweat and with his shirt off, could be seen relentlessly practicing his sword strikes. "9,998… 9,999… 10,000," he counted. Suddenly, he dropped to one knee. "Finally, I'm finished," he said, exhausted. Vael had been rigorously practicing his sword strikes every morning, ensuring to complete 10,000 perfect strikes each day as instructed by Master Kenji.

Out of nowhere, Vael heard a sound coming from behind him, near the river. Suddenly, something began to rise from the river. The creature had the upper body of a man but the lower body of a fish. "Why have you come to my forest?" the merman said to Vael.

Vael stood up and responded, "I'm just here crossing through with my friends. We aren't looking for trouble."

The merman began moving towards the land. As soon as he reached the shore, his lower body shifted from fins to two legs, and he began to walk towards Vael.

As the merman, approached, a liquid sword began to form in his hand. "We are tired of you Void Clan members disturbing and killing the creatures of this forest," "I, Falcon, the prince of the merfolk, will end your entire cult." He rushed towards Vael.

"But I'm not a member of—" Vael's words were cut short as Falcon's liquid sword turned to ice and he thrust it at Vael. Vael quickly drew his sword and blocked the attack, but Falcon relentlessly continued his assault. Vael struggled to keep up with Falcon's barrage of attacks.

Desperate for separation, Vael kicked off the ground. "I'm not a part of the Void Clan!" Vael screamed.

"Lies," Falcon retorted. He shot water from his hand, creating a path toward Vael. Then, using his other hand, he froze the water and slid along it, reaching Vael in the blink of an eye.

In another part of the forest, Lyria and Elrik were hunting for creatures when suddenly a liquid spear came flying towards Lyria's face. The spear's speed was so fast Lyria didn't have time to dodge, but Elrik quickly grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her away.

Suddenly, two mermen emerged from behind some trees, clapping their hands. One of them began to speak. "You voidlings are more quick-witted than I thought," he said, "but today will be the day you die."

Elrik and Lyria were confused by what the mermen called them. "Voidlings?" Elrik questioned. "You guys got it all wrong; we are Elysians from Duskmire," he stated.

"You think you can fool us again?" the merman said as he summoned another water spear. "You all will die for what you did." He hurled the spear at Elrik, but instead of dodging, Elrik held out his hand and absorbed it.

"Thank you," Elrik said. "I've never tried water element before."

Elrik began to conjure the water in his hands, playing with it. "Elrik, be serious," Lyria said. He turned his focus back to the mermen. The one who had spoken earlier began again, "I've never seen a member of the Void be able to absorb elements. You guys must be high-ranking members."

Lyria slapped her forehead. "We aren't a part of this Void clan you keep speaking about." Suddenly, the forest began to darken as pitch-black clouds quickly formed in the sky. Both mermen looked at each other and shouted, "Black rain!"

One of the mermen pulled out a horn from his bag and began to blow into it, producing a loud, deep noise. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard from all directions in the forest. "Brother, we must go now," one of the mermen said.

"But what about these guys?"

"Just let them stay here," the other insisted.

"But if they really aren't voidlings, we'd be leaving them to die," the smaller merman argued.

"Damn it," the bigger merman conceded. "You two, follow us. We will take you to a nearby cave. If you don't find shelter now, the black rain will kill you," he said.

Lyria and Elrik wasted no time and followed the two mermen. As they ran, Lyria looked at Elrik, "What about Vael?"

"Vael will be fine. I'm sure of it," Elrik reassured her.

Back where Vael and Falcon were fighting, Falcon closed the gap on Vael and, instead of using a sword again, he conjured water from his hand and shot it at Vael. Vael held out his hand to absorb the water, but only being able to absorb a little bit, suddenly he couldn't absorb anymore and was struck by the water, he was pushed back, and slammed into a tree. "This guy is strong," Vael thought.

Just then, Falcon blitzed towards Vael again, his hands completely encased in blocks of ice. But just before he reached Vael, he heard the sound of a loud horn. "Black rain!" Falcon realized, momentarily distracted.

Seizing the moment, Vael unleashed a water cannon at Falcon, sending him flying. The water hit him squarely in the chest, and although Falcon's body slipped on the ground, he managed to keep his footing. Looking at Vael, he asked, "How did you use the water element?"

Vael, wiping off his clothes, replied, "Because I'm not a Void Clan member; I'm an Elysian."