Leaves as large as houses, twigs as thick as a giant’s fingers; it was a sight one could only hear in legends. Vines crawled everywhere, and flowers bloomed more than what one could see during spring. The sun augmented its beauty, making it sparkle endlessly. However, amidst this dreamlike ambience, Eros frowned upon seeing a familiar sight.

“The door of Sin.” Eros said as he stared at a distance, where the door floated seemingly entangled by countless vines.

“So there is a Door of Sin even at such a place.” He stared at it for a long time and realized that it is somehow different from the one at the Stint’s Covert and Desert of Rawn. The one in front of him exuded an aura that beguiles him into entering; this thus made him conclude that it is not an exit, but an entrance!

Countless of whispers wafted on his ears, continuously enticing him to touch the door. To avoid being enthralled, he shifted his gaze downward, but what he saw made his heart pound.

His breathing became rugged, and subconsciously he murmured. “Elemental Spirit…. With a true body.”

Directly meeting his sight, a figure of a woman sat on a chair of vines. Its body seemingly made of crystals including its hair and eyes. If one was an ordinary individual, he could mistake it as simply an effigy of a very alluring maiden or even a goddess that descended from the heavens.

Numerous thin vines attached itself to the woman, while each of it pulsates with life, as if attempting to bring it to life.

“A corpse of an elemental spirit?” Eros said with doubt in his words. Then as he pondered, he walked towards the body. And when he touched it, he felt as if something in his head exploded - information extremely shocking came to his head. Then quickly he pulled out a fruit. It was the fruit he stole from Oakensoul at the Ruins of Kivel.

He held the fruit in his hand tightly and stared at the crystal body. And after some time, he began laughing, eyes gleaming with crazed excitement.

“A failed experiment. So that’s what it is!” Eros said, his laughter making the gigantic leaves shake.

“Attempting to create a Tree of Life is not their real objective. What they wanted to create was an elemental spirit! They have succeeded in creating a body. Probably a result of the powers of the False Tree of Life, but failed in giving it life even after using hundreds of thousands of elemental soul beasts as catalysts to give birth to a soul.”

Eros then shifted his gaze on the fruit on his hands, “On the contrary, the long lost Kingdom of Kivel focused on creating an elemental soul, brimming with life. If these two were combined, it could have pushed them further in their experiment. They might have still failed, but they will be one step closer to the truth they seek.

“The kingdom of Kivel was probably also ruled by elves like the Kingdom of Sheles. Both of them attempted to create an elemental spirit in an attempt to understand their origin, and to gain deeper understanding. But my path is different.”

After those words, his eyes became cleared as if he just experienced epiphany. “It is time to truly start my path on elements.”

He then slowly pushed the fruit towards the crystal body. Amazingly, as he put more force, it slowly sunk in. However, as more portions of the fruit sank, an expulsive force greatly stopped his hands.

“So the elements and nature won’t allow it?” Eros smiled deviously and continued, “But can they stop me?”

With a roar, he pushed further. A massive wind attempted to blast him away. His clothes fluttered, and his vision swam. An unknown force seemingly tried to stop his advance.

However, Eros did not stop. His body acted on instinct and pushed further; in his eyes, there were no trace of indecisiveness.

“Argg..” Eros continued to fight and attempt to merge the two. His eyes began to bleed, then his lips, up to the point that blood slowly dripped from all of his orifices.

His body also trembled as if his life was being sucked away, but even this did not stop him in any way. And after all the torment he endured, the fruit slipped into the crystal body!

Everything stopped. Even the winds vanished as if Eros was now in a different world. A tinge of light appeared in the eyes of the crystal body, and emotion surfaced in its face filled with beauty. However, it didn’t last long for the light to fade, and the emotion to be lost without trace, replaced by a dull crystal pupils. He stared at the crystal body for a long time and said, “It failed.”

“It seems like even the knowledge of the long lost Kingdom of Kivel, combined with hundreds of years of study of the Kingdom of Sheles, could still not create an elemental spirit.”

And then he looked around. This time, he smiled. “But it seems like I successfully broke the rules of nature.”As he raised his hands, he saw threads in his body. “So these threads connect me to the nature and elements. I am said to be loved by the nature because of my extraordinary ability to control elements and natural energy.” His voice affectionate, but quickly, it turned cold as he uttered. “However, to forcefully step into the wizard realm, and conquer the elements, I need to severe these threads!”

He then roared. Quickly sending energy to the threads to forcefully severe them! One by one, the threads snapped and disappeared. Nothing stopped him from doing so. It was as if he was pushed out of the real world for breaking the laws. But this did not stop him from severing more of his connection with the nature.

As more threads were severed, his energy rose explosively. Even the second curse in him activated madly. For some unknown reason, the path he was pursuing and the curse in him have similar properties. The magic in the second curse felt to be disconnected from the land’s natural energy.

After all the threads were severed, he was breathing ruggedly; exhausted and fatigued. There was also no natural energy around him. And even though he was still standing at the False Tree of Life, natural energy seemed to ignore his existence. It was as if it could not even detect his presence, as if he was an entity from a different world.

However, even with all the changes, Eros still smiled. “So this is what it feels like to be severed from nature.” With a wave of his hands, natural energy accumulated on his palms. “Even though they won’t come to me naturally, I am still able to forcefully control natural energy with a thought even without the consent of the nature. Even elements would act the same. However, I would force each one of them to capitulate!”

After a while, he closely inspected his own body, and again smiled with glee.”I guess I successfully stepped into the wizard realm!”

Feeling excited, he slowly thought of a thing he long desired to experience. “Flight! I can now fly!”

After the words came out of his mouth, he quickly leaped, causing his body to slowly float up. Filled with excitement, he circled around like a moth. But only in a few breaths, his face became sullen and his vim faded after remembering something.

Before the catastrophic event in his life, he was just a boy with simple desire. From time to time he would hop into trees, dreaming to fly, eventually giving Correy a very hard time. However, only after a few years he has achieved it. And now it became but just a step to his goal to gain immense strength to avenge his parents.

Eros then sighed, and he looked around. This time he was back to reality trying to figure out that odd sense of familiarity. But he could not find it no matter how much he tries. In the end, the Door of Sin caught his attention, and then he thought, “Maybe it’s the Door of Sin?”

Upon Further rumination, he gave up. Actually, since he already stepped up and became a wizard. The familiar feeling he was getting was now less important. Even though he was still ambivalent, he decided to drop it and leave it aside.

Floating in the air, he glanced once more at the lush idyll created by the heroes of Ronsorth, the Door of Sin and the crystal elemental true body. He stared for a long time as if he was committing it to memory. Then only after an hour did he gently closed his eyes and turned to leave.

…

Roars of elemental soul beats filled the air; thunderous and laced with anger. Each one enraged when Eros leapt out of the tree while descended slowly. Unfortunately none of them could attack him. They could only glare at their new found nemesis, whose carrying a mocking grin on his face.

When his feet reached the ground, the rumpus became shockingly loud. Even as he left, they did not stop until the grand wizards sequestered the space to investigate the cause of their unrest.

The occurrence still became the topic of many. Eris felt worried as she did several inquiries. However, at her way back in her room, her downcast expression quickly turned jubilant when the silhouette of Eros came into sight.

“Eros!” She yelled, then hurried towards him with a smile so pure and eyes so clear. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

Eros felt touched, but he did not express it in words, but instead stared at her with adoring gaze. “I’m fine. Luckily I was able to reach my aim.”

“Ah!” Eris covered her mouth from shock, seeing Eros barely touching the ground. “You’ve successfully became a Khalkos wizard!”

Eros nodded, pleased with himself. Then in turn, focused on Eris with a discerning gaze, “You’re not too far from being a wizard yourself. That’s unexpectedly fast.”

…

“Have you found the cause of all these?” Almon asked, jocund as he ever was.

“No Sir Almon. We also just arrived and still on the process of checking some elemental soul beasts.” Ruven replied.

As the two were conversing, a shout from another grand wizard resounded. “Look!”

“What is it?” Everyone rushed questioning his fluttered act.

“It’s Eros.. He…”

Most frowned upon hearing Eros’ name, but when they came closer to the stone tablet, it was replaced with shock and some with great excitement.

“He was able to reach the top of the False Tree of Life!”

Many more gasps could be heard, while Almon sang in praise. “Hahaha! The boy did another miracle!”

Those who doubted Eros was now speechless. Reaching the top of both the False Tree of Life and Hall of Knowledge is unprecedented. But now a single person did it.

Azar had a complex expression on his face. No one could tell if what’s behind it is rage or praise. Conall remained calm, but his eyes showed great approval.

….

In a day the news quickly spread, amplifying Eros’ greatness. With it, his status was undeniably aggrandized more than that of a simple genius.

His name embellished with exaggerated and fanciful heroic achievements. And many idolized his feats. However, some still envied and hated him. Most of them the geniuses he passed and stepped on as if some nonexistent foe.

While the hubbub was still growing, Eros sat on his room seemingly unfazed by everything. “Did they find out that I already left the False Tree of Life?” Eros thought to himself.

Bam!

A sudden thud caught his attention, along with his door swinging in an abnormally rapid fashion. It almost broke even with its protective spell formation.

“Eros! Hahaha!” Almon came in laughing; ignoring the door he almost broke to pieces. “Why did you not inform us of your feat? I congratulate you for reaching the top of the Hall of Knowledge.”

Before he could continue his words of praise, he could not help but notice something different. “Eh.. You’re already a wizard?”

Then he began laughing again, and said, “That’s more reason for us to give you special treatment then. Hahaha. Such talent.”

Eros felt pleased from how Almon treated him. Even though he purposely showed unimaginable potential and talent, it still went smoothly more than expected. Gaining the favor of someone like Almon was something that could help him achieve his goal.

Time went on, and news of him becoming a wizard became something known. Mixed expressions and reactions colored the crowd. Many were blasé, but most were still awed by such a young wizard.

However, after several weeks when everything came to calm, mages started to climb again the False Tree of Life, most of them roused by Eros’ success.

Unfortunately, the elemental soul beasts were still abnormally feral and many failed to ascend as usual. However, something big was discovered. Many elves suddenly suffered severe injuries after using Eros’ Orb of Concealment.

“The beasts started to become much more wild when the aura in the orb covered my body.” The boy said, as he struggled to get up.

“Lie down.” Another said, “I knew it, those Orbs are scam.”

“I think Eros sold them in an attempt to stop us all from climbing the tree. I also think he is the culprit which caused the beasts to become wild.” Another elf added.

The discussion became more heated, pushing the blame more to Eros. Until such time that it came to the notice of the grand wizards.

The students protested. They pushed for Eros to take responsibility and pay the buyers back. However, the grand wizards did nothing. Only Azar somehow listened and considered the matter. But in the end, he was forced to silence since no grand wizard wished to discuss it further.

This caused more students to hate Eros. They hate the favored boy who could do whatever and not suffer repercussions.

Eros could only sigh, feeling slight guilt, but what made him feel more depressed is that he lost his business. He pulled out a pocket filled with magic stone, then caressed it trying to console himself from the loss. “Hai.. At least I still have this much. Maybe I should’ve sold more before climbing the False Tree of Life”

During this period of commotion, Keya would visit often, bringing with her countless questions obviously an attempt to become closer to Eros.

This caused Eris to act strangely which Eros did not even notice. In the end she decided to ignore Eros and focus on becoming a wizard herself. And occasionally, she would discuss magic with Lensa.

Days went by without much occurring. However, all the quiet days ended when the dispatched wizards on a mission were all called back. No one knew the reason, but it still caused quite the commotion. Most of those wizards are well known student of Ronsorth. They were geniuses from a generation prior to Eros’.

….

“Sir Alre you’re back!” A boy said bowing his head in deep respect, occasionally stealing a glance at a young man around twenty, handsome and beyond ordinary.

Even greeted with deepest respect, Alre simply passed by the boy accustomed of the deference he was receiving as he calmly asked, “Where is that cousin of mine.”

“Sir.. uhh” The boy almost stuttered as he tried to answer. “Sir Avel failed the exam to enter Ronsorth.”

Alre glanced at the boy who was still holding his head down, and said with a slight change in tone. “How can someone from the Virrel family fail in such a simple test? Propesterous!”

“But.. He did, Sir.” The boy swallowed a mouthful before continuing, “He played a ruse against another student and end up failing himself.”

This time Alre was obviously annoyed from hearing such news. “That damned disgrace. Who made him fail?”

“It’s a boy named Eros, sir.”

“Eros.. I never heard of such name. I can’t believe that idiot failed because of some unknown boy.” Thinking about it made him more enraged so he decided to leave it for now and ask for some better news. “How about my Fiancée where is she?”

“Sir.. Lady Keya is with..” The boy paused, scared to utter the next word. Only when Alre glared at him did he say, “She’s with Eros, sir.”

BAM!

Alre slammed his palm on the table. Debris flew everywhere. And the table became nothing but pieces of wood of the floor. “Tell me more about that boy.”

…

Meanwhile Eros is strolling on the school, while Keya is beside her hugging his arm and eyes radiating with adore.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Eros said, “I also heard from lady Lensa that you already have a Fiancée, so what you are doing is inappropriate.”

Keya pouted, embraced Eros’ arm more, and then retorted, “I have no Fiancée. My family agreed on that ludicrous proposal without my consent. As long as I don’t agree, my family and even that Virrel family can’t do anything about it.”

Eros sighed feeling helpless. However, what he did not notice, someone was watching from a balcony afar. “So that’s Eros.” Alre said holding a goblet with expensive liquor, swirling it to maintain his composure. “A human trash trying to fit in with the elves.”

With the way he acts, he was obviously more mature and wise than Avel. He kept his anger at bay and decided to observe more before flipping into rage. Especially when he heard Eros’ status, he felt the need to orchestrate a better ruse.

As he was watching Eros move into the crowd, a voice rang in his mind. “Greetings to the eight great families, and two prestigious school’s of the Kingdom of Sheles! I herby relay the orders of our ruler. A month from now, all the families and the prestigious schools are enjoined to gather to the castle, bringing with them two of the youngest talent in the wizard realm. Only those younger than twenty can represent the school and the family in Genna! This event is for younger generations to show their potentials and inspire many to the path of greatness!”

When the voice faded, a sinister smile could be seen on Alre’s face. “Seems like a good place to put the trash in place.”

Many also heard the voice; even Eros somehow was included in the announcement. Keya beside her obviously got the information causing her grip on Eros to loosen.

“What’s wrong?” Eros inquired. “And what is Genna?”

Keya hesitated for a moment, but she truthfully replied. “Genna is an event or most commonly known as a name of an ancient artificial space just like where the False Tree of Life is located. It is controlled by the ruler and no one can enter it without his permission. In it, extreme form of elements can be found, and dangerous elemental spirits. However, amidst all of the danger, many still dream to enter the space. That is because elemental treasures naturally form inside the space and even the ruler have no complete control over it.”

And after the long and detailed explanation she added in a tone lower than before, “The Kingdom does not open Genna on a whim. There is also the case of the wizards being recalled from their missions… I think this has something to do with the threat of war in the kingdom.”

“So you’re saying they are using this event to do something? Maybe to discuss their next move for the war?”

“Maybe.” Keya said and shook her head. “Or I am just over thinking this gathering.”

“Genna.” Eros thought to himself. “Maybe they are also doing this to ease the distress of the citizens from the rumors of war.” Then he sighed, “Whatever the reason, I guess I can’t avoid this one.”

The next day, as expected, Ruven approached Eros. On his hand a dilapidated scroll with many ancient symbols. Without a word, he handed it to Eros; expression still placid. “With that scroll on hand you are formally assigned as one of the representatives of Ronsorth to enter Genna. You are without a doubt one of the most outstanding young wizard who can personify the greatness of Ronsorth.”

Eros had an expressionless face, his eyes on the scroll as if hinting something to Ruven. Noticing something off, Ruven glanced at the scroll and back at Eros. Only after a short moment, he reckoned what Eros wanted to hear, then he said, “Of course besides from the prestige as one of the two to represent Ronsorth and the glory if one wins the event, the reward for the winning will all go to the representative. Ronsorth would not dare claim a share on it.”

Eros’ gave a light smile and cleared his throat before saying, “So how do I accept, Sir Ruven?”

Ruven couldn’t help but muse on Eros greed. “Open the scroll and that’s it.”

Intrigued, Eros opened the scroll, expecting something grand out of it. As he unfurled the scroll, light emanated from the barely opened surface. A symbol slowly materialized – the ancient emblem of Ronsorth - and after fully forming, it shot towards his forehead etching the emblem to his skin, causing searing pain. But afterwards it seemed to burn and turned to smoke, completely disappearing.

Then a voice resounded in his mind, ancient and domineering. “Eros Libera! From this day forth you are now named as the One hundred fiftieth Erel!“

When the voice faded, Eros quickly said extremely puzzled. “Erel?”

“Indeed, you are now an Erel.” Ruven explained, “The very first Erel was Ronsorth’s first student. From then onwards, those who showed exceedingly exceptional potential are given this title. It is said that Ronsorth had a divination where he said these words, ‘Light and dark, the lands and beyond, even the threads of fate does not hold his fall and rise. Unimaginable amount of blood will be by his hands, either spilled or the birth of life. Your teaching could one day reach his sight, guide his decisions and save the lands.’”

“So he started calling his talented student’s Erel since one of them could possibly be the one spoken in the prophecy?” Eros asked.

“It is as you said. Ronsorth believes that the symbol he etched in their soul and the name he gave to them could remind the one spoken in the prophecy never to stray in the path of evil.”

As response, Eros simply nodded and said, “So it seems like only an Erel could rightfully represent Rosorth in Genna since I was named as one.”

Ruven also nodded, and he held Eros on his shoulders. “You might already know this, but entering Genna is extremely dangerous. Many die and many lose their future. The goal of the competition is always to find a certain treasure. Whoever finds it first by any means wins and can keep it for themselves. I believe that you are capable of winning this.” After he said those words, he inhaled deeply and added, “May Ronsorth’s guidance lead you to success.”

And after that Ruven turned and left.

On the days that came, Eros busied himself into research of Genna. Through his unparalleled access to the Hall of Knowledge, he easily gained much more information that gave him an edge.

He was also informed of the other one who will represent Ronsorth. He was an elf of ordinary background. Only nineteen and he already reached the wizard realm. Like Eros he is also an Erel. His magic is extremely mysterious and he also never accepted any master.

“Selt.” Eros murmured. “I hope he would join hands with me in Genna. From the looks of it, he seemed to be a terrifying guy.”

Day’s passed and Eros continued to scrutinize the details of Genna written in many scrolls. As he gained more details, his greed intensified.

“The last time Genna was opened was ten years ago. An elf from the Virrel family won the competition and a treasure worth millions of magic stones. He easily crushed all the Khalkos wizards and had a grand exchange from another Arguros wizard from the Oriro family. In the end he won with several injuries, but he proved that the Virrel family could give rise to the best in his generation.”

Eros then pondered for a while and said, “All these records show that the highest level someone from Sheles has reached at the age of twenty is the Arguros wizard realm. No wizard at the Khrusos stage has ever joined the event.” Then he breathed a sigh of relief, “This means my chance of survival is higher. Fighting someone a stage higher than me is probably possible.”

After completely absorbing all the written records about Genna from the Hall of Knowledge, Eros decided to also study the Eight Great Families and the Three Prestigious Schools. In his study, he learned that these families are the first ones to occupy Sheles, lead by the four heroes and the ruler. However, fifty years ago, there were Ten Great Families. One of which was exterminated by the ruler after rebelling and aiming for the throne. The other one was the Lular clan, who mysteriously left the kingdom after the uprising. They were not part of the revolt but they never gave an explanation on their decisions to leave.

“So Elas’ clan left the kingdom, and after living in silence for forty years, his whole clan was massacred ten years ago.” Eros said, with a pained tone laced with melancholy. “I wonder where he is right now.”

….

Quickly, a month already passed, and the day for opening Genna came. Eros stood at an open field in Ronsorth waiting for Ruven and some other grand wizards.

Oddly, instead of Ruven another elf came walking towards him. He wore a plain tunic and trousers. On his waists were several pockets. His features were also very ordinary, not like many elves who exuded elegance and beauty. Compared to Eros he was actually a fist smaller even though he seemed somehow older. And his hair was slightly ruffled which he tried to fix but failed to do so. In the end, he quietly sat crossed legged on the stone floor.

Eros stared at him without saying anything. After a while of silence, Eros decided to come to the boy and introduce himself. But before he could come close, Almon’s voice resounded from a distance. “Oh Selt and Eros it’s good that both of you are already here.”

“Ehh.” Eros reacted. “He’s Selt?”

Selt somehow looked at his direction and said while shyly scratching his head. “Yes. So you’re Eros?”

Eros was momentarily stupefied. The image of Selt he had in his mind was someone extremely domineering and arrogant. However, what faced him was an elf not even confident enough to shake hands.

“Yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Selt of the Pernan family.” He said after he regained composure.

“It seems like you’re already getting along well.” Almon said laughing. “You can know each other more as we fly towards the castle of the ruler. Let’s hurry or those other two schools would be there before us.”

Along with some other grand wizards, they flew towards the castle. Selt and Eros exchanged some words, “Do you think there will be an Arguros Wizard joining this time?” Selt worriedly asked.

“I think there would be some. I heard that Alre from the family of Virrel who also studies in Ronsorth is only twenty, so he would possibly represent his family.”

Again Selt scratched his head and said, “Maybe I would quickly lose.”

Eros could not help but sigh. Selt’s meekness makes him feel that they would lose in the event. As he flounder in his odd pair, some mage’s could be seen below him, and wizards flying not far away, most of them from Ronsorth obviously on their way to the castle.

Each of them would steal a glance at Eros and Selt as they flew along towards the event. Their gaze would often carry abhor, but also some with approval.

Afar, he also got a glance of Eris riding a winged creature with Lensa. They were happily chatting, not even noticing Eros at a distance.

“I think many students don’t have confidence in us.” Selt said, “When the representative of Ronsorth was announced, many were extremely unsatisfied. Some even proposed to open up a tournament instead of partially picking the two of us.”

Eros’ didn’t know any of this happened since he holed himself in the Hall of Knowledge. Curious, he asked in a low tone, “So how did the grand wizards respond?”

“They didn’t even respond. They were firm to show that Ronsorth will choose the youngest and most talented wizard they have. Since the two of us are the youngest to reach the wizard realm below twenty, they chose us.”

Selt then added, “Sadly, the existence of us Erel aren’t known to most of the students. So they did not know that only Erels are chosen to participate.”

“Ehh?” Eros felt confused. “Not many knows about the Erels?”

Almon overheard their conversation and said. “Of course, it’s not something that we announce on public.” And with a smile he added, “Erel’s are chosen who we think could someday create a great impact on Eunos itself, either bringing chaos or prosperity. If this becomes known, many might just demand to exterminate all Erels in order to avoid calamity. Worst they could just demand to close Ronsorth.”

Eros could not help but breathe heavily after hearing Almon’s words. The very same judgment caused his family to suffer. And now being labeled as an Erel, he understood that he is again under watch.

As worry enveloped him, the sight of the castle quickly filled their vision. Many were now gathered, more than half were elves. Nearest the castle, in the forecourt, the men and women below seemed to be divided into ten groups. Upon seeing this, Eros murmured. “So that’s the Eight Great Families and The other Two Prestigious Schools.”