The Brothers of Nexus

There they sat on their last night in the woods, huddled around the crackling fire. The three of them bounced theories off each other, sharing their experiences with magical control and build-up. Jera couldn't help but feel a bit proud - she'd gotten the hang of it pretty quickly. Not only could she gather and control her power, but she'd even figured out how to make her hands ice-cold at will. Nothing too flashy, but hey, not bad for someone who'd just awakened a few days ago. "I just... I don't trust it," Draven confessed, his voice shaky when talking about the flame within him. "Every time I reach for it, it's like it wants to fight back. I'm scared it'll burn me." Jera let out a light chuckle. "Come on, weren't you paying attention to what my dad said? Your own magic can't hurt you - it's literally part of who you are!" Something in Draven snapped. "Yeah, I heard him! But this... this is different!" His words came out sharp before he caught himself. "You don't get it. You haven't been through what we have - waking up to the same power that... that took our parents from us!" "Draven, stop," Kael cut in, his voice gentle but firm. "What happened to Mom and Dad wasn't your fault." "How can you be so sure?" Draven's voice cracked, tears starting to spill. "How do you know I didn't cause it?" Finally, the weight he'd been carrying came pouring out as he described the nightmare that had been haunting him. Kael's own eyes welled up as he listened. Without a word, he got up and wrapped his arms around his little brother. "Even if the fire was because of you - which it wasn't - I'd never blame you, you hear me? You're all I've got left, and we stick together. Always." Draven completely broke down in his brother's embrace. Gideon, reading the room, quietly led Jera away to the pond, giving the brothers their moment. Once they'd both calmed down, Kael gripped Draven's shoulders, looking straight at him. "We've got to master this magic stuff, Draven. It's our ticket out of here." Wiping his face, Draven nodded. "Yeah... yeah, you're right." Right then and there, they made a pact - no more secrets between them. They'd become the most powerful magicians Nexus had ever seen.

Kael and Draven spent the whole day training side by side. Draven really threw himself into practicing his accumulation, dead set on getting a grip after that scary moment earlier. He was getting the hang of pulling in energy now - way faster than before at gathering what he'd lost. The power flowing through him felt steadier than yesterday, which was a huge relief. Feeling pretty good about his progress, he started working on the tricky stuff - figuring out how to fine-tune his flame. Everything just clicked better today, like someone had lifted a huge weight off his shoulders. Knowing Kael didn't hold the fire incident against him helped chase away those nightmare jitters and let him think straight about what came next. Across from him, Kael sat there deep in meditation, eyes shut tight. He was totally focused on those star-like things inside him. Ever since last night's power-up session under the stars, those two little balls of cosmic energy he'd split were glowing way brighter. But even though he had better control now, he was completely stumped about his space powers. Fire was a no-brainer - he could think of endless ways to use it. But space? That was just... weird. How was he supposed to work with something like that? Gideon popped by to check on them after spending forever helping Jera out. Seeing Kael lost in thought, he plopped down next to him and asked how it was going. Draven perked right up, eager to show off his flame tricks - solo this time. Gideon walked him through it again, sharing some personal fire-wielding tips. After a few duds, Draven managed to get some tiny sparks going around his fingers. They weren't much, but they stayed put. He didn't push his luck, still spooked about causing another wildfire. Instead, he just played around making the sparks jump between his fingers. Small win, but man, did it feel good. Having Kael and Gideon there made everything feel safer somehow. For once, his magic didn't seem so scary - he actually wanted to figure it out. Kael, still frustrated, turned to Gideon and asked point-blank about the space stuff. Gideon just sighed and shook his head. "Look, I don't know much about space powers, but I did meet this one person who had them - wild stuff. It was during my brush with the Tower of Nexus..." He went on to tell them about this mysterious place where magic-users go to explore other dimensions and cook up new kinds of magic. The story got better when he explained about the entrance exams scattered around the world, open to anyone thirteen to twenty-one. He'd taken his in some city called Asher, about three hundred miles from their current spot. That's where he'd met this space-user - some nameless instructor in a black uniform with red trim, wearing this glowing star badge. Seven test-takers, one silent instructor, and boom - she opens this massive portal that whisked them from broad daylight straight into pitch darkness somewhere completely different. That was my only brush with space affinity. Pretty scarce back then, and nowadays? Might as well be finding a unicorn." Kael hung on every word, his mind racing. A portal, just like that? The way Gideon told it, she'd basically snapped her fingers and poof - gone in a flash. Something clicked in Kael's mind, just a tiny spark, but it was there. With the sun sinking and only a few precious hours of daylight left, he knew he couldn't waste a second. He plopped down, took a deep breath, and turned his focus inward to those two stars burning inside him. He traced his journey like following footprints in the sand, from day one until now. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. The stars weren't meant to be split - they were his power bank. All this time, he'd been expanding his container. His mind drifted to the night sky, with its endless dance of stars. That's when it clicked. He spun his inner stars faster, watching them shine brighter and brighter. Then he pulled at their energy, like drawing water from a well. As soon as the thought formed, it happened - energy rushed down his arms and into his hands. A stunning cosmic light wrapped around his palms. Across the fire, Draven's jaw dropped. "Kael... that's just... wow." Gideon's eyes narrowed - he'd seen that glow before, at the Nexus Exam. Kael stared at his glowing hands, a grin spreading across his face. He finally got it. This was just the beginning.