THE CENTURY OLD STORY

"A century ago, a phenomenon occurred that turned out to be the start of a new age for the human race. The phenomenon people go on to describe as mana, a spiritual magical energy that broke out and got exposed to the world, revamping every object and subject that had absorbed this phenomenon energy.

"Humans would go on to acquire abilities to control the different elements of nature, Air, Water, Earth and Fire, some had gained a higher control of their mana had even upped their control of this various elements gaining them control to a more advanced form of this elements, such as Ice, Metal and other similar solid natural ores, Lightening, Plants and Blood amongst a few more others. Although not much had gained that level of control of the Mana.

The objects and animals that absorbed this mana had also gained various different magical abilities although unlike humans whose whole population almost got immersed in the Mana energy only a few of these objects and animals had absorbed the surrounding mana to a point of gaining magical abilities and buffs."

"But unfortunately 'with great power comes great situations' and this was exactly the case with the human race after discovering their new found powers. Various Figures would who believed themselves strong would rise together with their disciples to impose their various notions on the greater mass and this would go on to cause a war for supremacy, that till date will be known as the most devastating war mankind has ever experienced. Legends rose and fell during the duration of this war, parents turned on their children and vice versa, nation's divided on itself and many would lose their loved ones, their most precious items, trust, freedom and peace of mind.

"... Eventually four regions of power would rise despite the long raging war, each a powerhouse in its own way, and each bearing their own distinct beliefs of life but all with one purpose, to be known as the supreme order of power. These four powerhouses were The Adria Faction, a faction respected for its outstanding battle prowess and great military capacity.

Mellontilogist Faction, a faction known for their technological advancement and intense pride.

The Sect of Light Faction, a faction obsessed with the worship of a supernatural being known as the Stygian Deity and indulgence in magic and magic related activities.

The last remnant powerhouse, The Verdant Faction, also known for their supposed obsession of nature and natural objects, trees and plants to be precise, they have even been believed to possess the ability to use these plants to their advantage in battles and their day to day activities.

"Eventually the war raged on with none of the factions willing to give way for the other even when humanity was already on the brink of extinction. Fortunately when all hope seemed to be lost and humanity was fading away quickly, one of the top generals of the Aidre Faction and former dual element manipulator Adonis Eros had somehow managed to gain a boost to his mana control making it possible for him to control three elements at once, he had become the first and currently only human who had successfully reached the level of controlling up to three elements at once, a triad element manipulator, making his the strongest element manipulator alive. He could control the elements Fire, Water and Air giving him a high level of destructive force.

".... Fortunately with his boost he had done the unexpected that would go on to save the human race from its apparent doom. With his new found ability he had managed to gather a necessary amount of soldiers with which he used to overthrow the then leader of his faction at that time, making him the new leader of the faction and due to his impressive triad element manipulation, not many had opposed this new leadership.

News of this new powerful element manipulator and leader of the Aidre Faction had already spread far and near causing the other faction leaders to grow weary of this new faction leader due to the stories of his unruly strength."

"Considering a dual element manipulator, a person capable of controlling two different elements at same time, was already powerful on its own and a very rare precious occurrence that every faction upholded with much importance when one was discovered, the appearance of a triad element manipulator had put great fear in the hearts of the various faction leaders as they considered the feat impossible."

"Eventually the leader of the Aidre Faction would go on to call for a cease fire, threatening to completely destroy any faction that opposed this cease fire…considering his already tremendous strength and the speed at which he had conquered his former leader and faction, none of the other factions had taken his threat lightly not even the Mellontilogist Faction. They all decided to agree to a cease fire, but still retained the regions under their control."

"...That will be how the raging war that ate up humanity for over a hundred years would finally come to an end." A lady who seemed to be middle aged concluded with a sigh before closing up a big looking book and staring at a crowd of kids who looked between the ages six to ten and had been listening to her all while the story was told with curiosity and excitement but now all beared a satisfied expression probably due to how the story had concluded itself.

"Well I guess that's enough story telling for one day, how about we all go out to play." The lady said in an elated tone causing the faces of the kids to brim up the more with joy before they all casually formed a line with which they all exited the room leaving just the middle aged lady who stood at the end of the line and a teenage looking boy holding a bunch of books in his hand, his young looking face complimented his slim and tall physique and his blue pupils seemed to sparkle periodically which gave him the look of a teenager between the age seventeen to nineteen while his gray colored hair seemed to totally betray his former features, giving him some sort of mature look.

With a smile he stood at the door, casually high fiving and lightly joking with the children as they left the room, till there was no one left but the middle aged looking lady.

"Oh…didn't see you standing there Kairos." The lady said in a startled tone bearing a welcoming smile.

"Yeah Miss Eleanor I've been standing here for a while…didn't want to interrupt the story time, besides it was my very favorite when I was younger, and it's been a while I heard someone tell it this way." The boy, Kairos responded also bearing a smile while he playfully rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah…only I wish it was as fanciful and dreamy in the real world as it was in the books." Miss Eleanor slowly replied to him, as she used her hands to briefly cover her eyes, her tone now sounding somewhat tired and her expression fraught and agitated.

Immediately the expression of Kairos tightened up too, as his crystal clear pupils seemed to lose their glow for a second.

"The intermediary with which the peace treaty between the factions was signed was actually not a reliable one but a temporary solution…and to be honest it's only a matter of time before the faction leaders find a way round this intermediary."

"...For a while they had managed to suppress their hostility towards each other but the same can't be said now the intermediary isn't as strong as before. The hostility is rising and so is the possibility of a war. I can't even imagine what would happen to these children if the latter was to happen.

The lady then paused, bearing a tired smile as she stared at the boy who just remained in the same position, still bearing a serious expression, her eyes now red and watery as she visibly tried to hold in her tears.

"You know up till this age, I still remember the truama I faced in the last war even clearer as I age more and more, till date the nightmares of the things I saw still haunts me in my sleep." Using her fingers to wipe her eyes, her tone already cracked as though she was about to cry, she forced up a smile:

"What's the need of predicting negatively Eleanor?…life itself is a very unpredictable journey, that's why it's life after all." She said with a smile.

Staring at the grave and contemplating expression that seemed to be forming on the boy's face, the lady...miss Eleanor flashed an apologetic smile as she said:

"I am sorry for bringing up such matters...I had forgotten you had also payed an exorbitant price as a result of the war, well everyone on this Island did but yours might be considered most sorrowful."

"...Plus I am glad about the island's detachment from the other regions; at least it protects the children from experiencing the rising hostility of these different factions…even if it's a temporarily delectated delusion and they probably would experience it in the future, at least temporarily is better than nothing right?" The lady said with a smile, her eyes still watery.

"Yeah Miss Eleanor…we can't really know if the hostility turns to a war, considering every faction had suffered the after math of the last war for many years, plus if one was to break out the island wouldn't be forced to involve in any considering it's not actually controlled by any of the four big factions." Kairos finally broke his, forcing a smile as his expression slowly returned to its previous playful manner.

Miss Eleanor simply nodded in agreement as she stared at the boy standing few steps away from her for a while, before speaking in a seeming proud tone:

"You've grown so much I must say, I still remember when you would cry almost always." She said with a smile.

"C'mon Miss Eleanor, I don't cry that much anymore I am too grown for that." Kairos immediately replied with an embarrassed smile, as he periodically looked sideways to see if anyone else had heard Miss Eleanor; this caused Miss Eleanor to burst into laughter.

"...Glad you're finally tensed out Miss Eleanor…you can't really be worried about things as unpredictable as another great war…besides what do you think those who you give hope would think when they see their hope giver looking hopeless." Kairos continued, still bearing his smile.

"Ump..just remembered Miss Eleanor, still got to receive the sword my dad had asked mister Lucas the blacksmith to make for him…plus I've got to meet up with the old gang and settle out some other stuffs, here are the books you asked for, wish I could stay longer but if you need any other thing just let me know." Kairos immediately said a little alarmed, as he quickly handed over the books to the lady before rushing out the room hastily.

"Oh…thanks a lot, and remember not to over stress yourself too." Miss Eleanor shouted back towards the already exiting back of Kairos.

"I won't Miss Eleanor." Kairos quickly replied causing Miss Eleanor to shake her head slightly as she stared at his exiting back with a smile till it was completely out of sight.