He saw only the light, because you cannot 'see' the darkness.

Luke was finally chosen by the light.

It was hardly surprising. He was a child as bright as the sun, always helping others and making his surroundings cheerful.

In fact, even Leo, his twin brother, never doubted it for a second.

He wasn't jealous. Or rather, he was honestly relieved to discover it wasn't him. There was no one more worthy of the power of light than Luke, definitely not the reticent Leo. The responsibilities were too much for him and he knew it.

Everyone present were abuzz. They got to witness a historical moment of the birth of the new Light, so it's a natural reaction. Despite it being during an important lesson covering material that will show on the upcoming final exams, even the teacher with zero tolerance for interruption stopped in the middle of a sentence and simply watched.

Leo admitted for himself it was quite the spectacle. Golden particles of light lit the classroom and a white coat of energy enveloped Luke, somehow accentuating his already handsome face even more.

Although their faces were nearly identical, Luke's face stood out more due to the difference in eye color and hair color. Luke blond hair appeared golden with the white energy, and the eyes of sky blue seemed to contain the stars. Meanwhile, Leo had a darker shade of blond closer to browm and a more faded shade of blue. He would never look as good in white energy as his brother.

That's why Leo was confident his brother will be chosen: they were born fundamentally different.

It might have been less noticable to others, but Leo was merely Luke's moon. He could only ever reflect a fraction of the true source of light.

“You did it. Well, no one doubted it.” Leo whispered while smiling slightly.

As the light faded, Luke, who seemed to have fallen into a trance, opened his eyes as he remembered to breath again.

Then, everyone clapped.

Everyone cheered and whistled, rushing to speak up and give their congratulations. Leo might have fainted were it to be him, but it wasn't.

Considering the situation, resuming the school day is impossible. After all, the professors were affected just the same as the students. Maybe more as they were adults who understood the importance of the awakening. The teacher went to tell the principal and call Luke and Leo's parents, and probably anyone else who could listen.

The chaos that unfolded that day was truly something else. In a matter of minutes, every student in the entire school tried to get a glimpse of Luke, and the teachers weren't successful in stopping them.

It made Leo very flustered. He was bad with big crowds and couldn't talk to his brother under these circumstances. So instead, he waited for 'her' to arrive and defuse the situation.

“Okay, back off you all. Don't make such a fuss,” following the words, a barrier of wind enveloped Luke and pushed the kids away.

It was professor Katherine Zephyr. She was not only a professor but also the Elemental Master of Wind of the previous generation, recently passing that power onto her daughter. Still, there were hardly any spirit artists better than her in the entire Holy Land.

“Now then, shall we get you to your parents? They must have noticed by now.”

“Right...” Luke was still dazed, which was unlike him. “Just let me get my stuff.”

Leo watched from the sidelines before feeling a gentle breeze tapping his shoulders. Cocking his head at Katherine, he saw her urging eyes. It seems he needed to come as well.

Forcing the way through overly enthusiastic students, Katherine didn't hesitate to knock everyone with strong gusts while also cushioning the floor to avoid injuries.

“She is really good. I'm not sure we could do that.”

“Even Father regards her highly. I can see why.”

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The twins whispered to each other. It wasn't every day they witnessed Katherine uses her skills, and their trained eyes noticed the advanced mastery their professor possessed.

Their reaction amused Katherine. She ushered them into the carriage prepared for them and ruffled the twins' heads.

“Today is a very important day for the Allard House. Now that the new Light has been decided, you will be very busy, both of you.”

Nodding, Luke and Leo understood that everything is going to change. Luke will begin his training to master the power of light, and Leo will support his brother while taking his own career path.

“Leo, you are smart and observant. I hope you continue to assist your brother in years to come.”

“I will be there even in the darkest night.” Leo answered with conviction.

He was always socially awkward, but he would never deny the trust and care he shared with Luke. Being able to express one's true feeling is a virtue, their mother always said.

As the carriage made way through the streets of Luminaire, more and more spirit artists were seen doing several works such as rowing boats, constructing and reshaping roads, crafting tools of various kinds, or playing numerous musical instruments.

There could only be one Elemental Master at a time.

During the process of succession, the power of an element splits between the predecessor and the successor until the latter fully matures.

However, after thousands of years, humans had studied under the various Elemental Masters and learned how to form a connection with the elements.

Although a true Elemental Master is incomparably more powerful with numerous distinctive abilities, the spirit artists provided the manpower that developed the Holy Land to the prosperity it had today.

Observing Luminaire is like watching the ocean; constantly changing back and forth in a flowing motion. Leo thought that as the ground itself was shifted and the weather regulated, the city was 'lively' in a way no other city could ever compare to.

When they reached the Allard mansion, Katherine bid the two farewell with a warm embrace. “Take good care of each other, and my daughter, too. You all grew so fast.”

Since they were of school and prying eyes, Katherine allowed herself to act more of an act than a teacher. She had known the twins from a young age and was very fond of them, even though she never played favorites as her students.

“Ah, and take these.” She handed each a pile of paper sheets. “Considering you canceled my lecture, you should be given a little bit of extra work, don't you think?”

Or more accurately, her favorites always ended up doing more work than everyone else.

Considering the twins will now face the busiest period of their lives, a normal teacher should show leniency, not overwork them to death.

...

“You just had to awaken during school, huh?” Leo, who was unjustly dragged into the abyss of professor Katherine's assignment, jokingly blamed Luke.

Rather than refuting, Luke shared his twin's sentiment and also blamed himself. “But please! Please, would you do this for me?”

“Sure,” Leo didn't hesitate to take Luke's pile and add it to his own. “Three allowances.”

They were used to negotiate such matters, but Leo put a bold price. The highest he had ever taken in the form of money was one monthly allowance. However, things were different now that Luke will be soon named the next head of Allard. Both knew it, and the deal was quickly sealed.

As soon as they entered the mansion, their father, Victor Allard, seized Luke and swung him high in the air, as if he was a little child again.

“You made it, my son!” Victor exclaimed with a teary expression.

Sensing the impending danger, Leo quickly evacuated just as the hands went to target him. He left Luke alone, and Victor didn't chase him. Obviously, they had something to talk among themselves. Leo merely cut the small-talk.

It was fine. He was okay with things being like that.

“I wanted this.” He reminded himself of that.

By the time he entered his room, Leo had recovered his mood. There was much to do and not much time.

Luke was one to enjoy physical and social activities. He met with friends, played sports and practiced spirit arts.

And at the flip of this coin you get Leo. The times he was found outside was when Luke dragged him. No, Leo was a man of science.

The floor couldn't be seen from the piles of books and crystals and lumps of metal scattered throughout.

Currently, Leo was in the process of finding away to harness the energy stored in a crystal to power various tools. It wasn't just some random experiment but a thesis that he had been trying to realize for years.

The population of the Holy Land is composed entirely of spirit artists. As a result, most of the advances in technology made in the past thousands of year were either ridiculously negligible or soley a spirit art.

Leo's end goal was clear, but he had been stuck for the past months without making a breakthrough.

“The main problem is the energy director.”

It wastes too much power through heat, and the overheating damages the parts.

He's been racking his brain to overcome this problem, but there's been no solutions so far.

“Ah, that's a dead one.”

The crystal he was holding was completely dark, unlike the usual glow they all contained. It meant the crystal ran out of power.

Leo put it aside with a puzzled expression. It was a part of a brand new batch of crystals special ordered from a processor.

“Did a bad one get mixed in?” He took a proper look at the box of crystals.

The sight in front of his eyes shocked Leo: the entire box that gleamed just this morning, all dead.

As if on cue, Leo suddenly felt something stirring inside him. It was silent, but hungry. Waiting to come forth and devour everything.

Unlike with the power of light, or any other element for that matter, there were no visuals. It was a silent phenomenon, something you wouldn't notice. But undoubtedly, it was the awakening of an element.

The brighter the light, the stronger the shadow.

Unbeknownst to all, even himself, Leo was a fragmented soul of the Malevolent One.

And he had become the Elemental Master of Darkness.