Nearly six months had passed since the dry season began, so naturally, everyone expected it to come to an end pretty soon. What they did not expect, however, was a turbulent storm that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The storm cloud wasn’t too large, stretching only a few kilometers past the Academy walls. But what it lacked in size, it made up for in violence and chaos.
Yue had been leading another set of tourists around the sector just like she usually did to get lodgers for the Phoenix’s nest when the anomaly had occurred, but this time around she was leading a newly married couple from sector nine to sightsee around the Academy.
She hadn’t even noticed the gathering clouds until the husband, a mundane class water awakened, had pointed it out. At first, Yue had considered it a natural anomaly, a simple gathering of clouds. However, that idea died on her lips at the first boom of thunder.
“That’s most definitely not natural.” She murmured, staring at the gathering clouds in confusion. The city of everlasting daylight, as the 5th sector was popularly nicknamed, was one that had never known night, and ever since the dry season began, the sky had been consistently blue. The gathering of dark clouds wasn’t just an oddity; it was a bizarre phenomenon that drew the attention of many.
Yue and her clients drew closer to the academy, watching as the dark clouds roiled and merged together, slowly expanding into a colossal cloud that blocked out the sun and cast the entire area in darkness. Thunder rumbled continuously as the storm cloud grew, but rather than panic, people paused to watch the obvious show. Those with snappers raised them to the sky and began clicking away to capture the moment, and Yue cursed herself for gambling away all her savings. Perhaps she too might have been able to capture this had she not joined her best friend, Uly, in his sketchy game of cards.
The booms of thunder grew louder as the storm clouds slowly expanded, but it wasn’t until it erupted with a web of crackling electricity that the crowd let out a cheer. Red, black, and green lightning flashed and arced around the cloud, growing steadily, and before long, it engulfed the entire cloud like a web of rippling snakes.
Thunder boomed again, and this time people jumped in shock and excitement, watching the growing storm in awe. Yue felt a shiver race down her spine, but this wasn’t the first time an academy student had shown off their abilities to the public, so she wasn’t too worried.
Letting go of her fear, she returned her attention to the colossal cloud even as people began to speculate which academy student was responsible for the show this time. They didn’t need to speculate for long, as a thunderous sound suddenly pierced through the sky, ascertaining the identity of the student to anyone who might still be confused.
Varéc the storm fury was a popular sight around the academy, especially at night, and as far as Yue knew, there was only one Storm awakened with a familiar currently within the 5th academy. An awakened whose path had crossed with hers only a few months ago when she had shown him and his brother around the sector on their very first arrival. Had she known what she knew of him now, she would have made sure to charge him more for the tour. Alas, she couldn’t turn back time.
People cheered as the storm grew even more beautiful and terrifying, but their cheers died when the storm suddenly broke and began pouring down rain. That was when security officials began shouting, trying to stop people from rushing towards the rain, but it was a futile endeavor.
Yue was still too far from the academy to get any rain, but she would be damned if she didn’t at least try to get the rain from the skill of an Inheritor. Perhaps, she could sell it for a decent price if she marketed it well enough.
Fortunately, her clients were just as eager as she was, so she didn’t have to leave them behind as she raced towards the Academy, her sleeper legs carrying her as fast as they could, which wasn’t very fast considering the fact that her clients were awakened individuals, albeit unevolved awakeneds.
More challenges arose when it became obvious that she wasn’t the only one with the grand idea to gain money from this opportunity, and in the end, Yue had to drop her pride as a tour guide and let her clients carry her.
“Faster!” she shouted as they dodged security officers and raced past several people, most of whom were carrying buckets, while others simply fingered their rosaries, muttering fanatical nonsense about being baptized by the skill of an inheritor, a child of fate.
Yue didn’t care about any of that religious stuff; all she cared about was making enough money to get through the week on something other than stale bread and broth. Her clients must have noticed her disappointment at their speed because they picked up the pace, giggling excitedly as they dodged and pushed past exasperated security officers. However, when they eventually reached the academy, Yue found an entire mob of people encircled around the academy along with more reporters than she’d ever seen in one place before, all struggling with their pails and snappers to get a taste or picture of the inheritor’s rain.
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Unsurprisingly, nearly all of the gathered civilians were sleepers, with only a few mundane and evolved awakeneds scattered among them. Yue, however, didn’t care if she was making a fool of herself. She pushed herself off of her client, grabbed a pail from a struggling woman, and raced towards the mob.
Ignoring the shouts of the poor woman, Yue ducked and raced into the mob, pushing and shoving to force her way towards the rain. Water pooled beneath her feet, but she barely spared it a glance as it was already tainted and brown. Selling this rainwater would be hard enough as it was; she didn’t need the extra headache that was explaining why her supposed ‘miracle’ water was muddy brown.
Thunder boomed again, and the person in front of her stumbled. Yue ducked forward, using that opportunity to edge past them and take their place. The storm cloud was still a distance away, but Yue didn’t see it as a hindrance. She saw it as a challenge.
***
Principal Zatya stood by her office window glaring at the colossal cloud in annoyance. She had told Aodhán not to do anything to draw attention to himself after the whole inheritor business last week, but the boy was just too rebellious. If it weren’t for his extraordinary potential and original status as a transmigrant, she would have discarded him long ago in favor of a new pet.
Alas, Aodhán was too perfect to throw away. Aside from the immense well of willpower he had at his disposal and his extraordinary advancement potential, the boy was a link to another world. A world yet unclaimed and unintegrated into the collective. No, she couldn’t discard him. She simply had to put up with his excesses and try to mold him into the weapon she wanted as best as she could.
Pushing the infuriating thought to the back of her mind, Zatya cranked up her perception to the peak of the advanced class and glared at the mob of people standing around the academy. More than half of them were sleepers who were just excited to see magic being done on such a large scale; the rest were either low-tiered awakeneds, limited individuals, or the group she disliked the most, reporters.
They pushed through the crowd, using their superior advancement tiers to make their way to the front or clear out strategic areas to take the best pictures.
“Do you think he will make it rain?” Agent Kaelith, who was standing behind her, asked, and Zatya sighed.
“No, we can’t have that. The Awakened Council would freak out.”
“Pfft.” Kaelith hissed and shook his head. “There are speculations that his rain might have special properties, a rumor no doubt linked to recent pictures of his parents and how much younger they look despite being in their forties.”
Zatya had heard of those rumors but had deemed them baseless, especially after she found out that the youthful look of his parents was a result of his class scaling skill, {Elemental Lightning}. She was still a little curious, though, as she had no idea what skills or buffs Aodhán had gained after his seal imprint.
Making a mental note to get a report of Aodhán’s experiments from Gwendolyn Blackwood, Zatya muttered. “I should get him down from there. He’s feeding the press, and we all know how good they are at spinning stories.”
Kaelith observed the gathering cloud for a moment before responding. “Do you want me to bring him down?”
Zatya knew she should have said yes, yet she hesitated, her curiosity growing each second even as her imaginations began growing wild. Aodhán was still, for the most part, untested; he hadn’t had the chance to really use or explore his abilities to the fullest, and would a little rain even hurt? Sure, it was against the law, but the council needed him anyway, and if no one got hurt, then would it really be bad to let him explore this part of his abilities this one time?
It would also let her gather more data regarding his overall strength and control as well as prove the veracity of the rain rumors and test it for any special properties. She observed the gathering clouds for a while before making her decision.
“Leave him alone. Let him explore his abilities. As long as he doesn’t hurt anyone, his fine will be manageable.”
Kaelith chuckled and shook his head in amusement. “I don’t think that’s the kind of decision the Awakened Council wants you to make, principal.”
“Too bad they can’t simply fire me then.” Principal Zatya snorted smugly and turned her attention back to the growing crowd below, whose numbers seemed to have doubled in the last few minutes.
Kaelith shook his head and said, “I can’t believe people are really buying into this miracle water propaganda.”
“I wish he had just listened to me.” Zatya cursed and began pacing. “This is bad timing. The whole kingdom is watching, and with his status as an Inheritor getting out, he’s not safe. We have to do something.” She glanced at her table, thinking furiously until she got an idea. Snapping her fingers, she grabbed a blank paper and handed it to Kaelith, saying, “We have to get ahead of this somehow and release a press statement before the reporters get a chance to print their own stories.”
Without wasting time, Kaelith began drafting a statement. Aside from delivering news to distraught parents, this was his job, and it was the part he loved most.
He had barely written more than a few lines when the storm suddenly broke, unleashing a torrent of rain on the earth below. Kaelith glanced at Principal Zatya, but she shook her head, saying, “Let it fall. Aleran should be here any moment with a sample.”
Just as she finished speaking, a knock sounded on the door, and Professor Aleran walked in, holding a beaker of crystal-clear liquid. It was a sample of the rain falling outside, and Kaelith had to admit that it definitely looked unnatural.
Principal Zatya raised an eyebrow and asked. “So, is it as miraculous as they say?”
Professor Aleran shook his head. "No, it is not. It has no healing nor rejuvenating abilities. In fact, aside from its amazing purity, the rain is quite, eh, ordinary."
"So there's no need to worry then?" Principal Zatya asked, relaxing a little, but Professor Aleran's next words chased that idea from her mind.
"I wouldn't say that." He raised the water samples to the light and said. "The rain might not be magical, but it is certainly very weird."
"In what way?"
Professor Aleran looked at her, a hint of worry on his face and said. "The rain has a conductivity value that puts that of seawater to shame. It is not just a magical conductor, it's a carrier."