UNITY

Chase could feel the cold breeze slam against his face as he sprinted through the snow-covered forest.

His eyes darted nervously around the forest, the shadows of the towering trees seeming to stretch toward him like waiting predators.

Up ahead was a large frozen river. All he needed to do was reach the tall, snowy hill that sat on the other side of the ice.

He quickly slid onto the ice to dodge underneath one of many large roots.

Damn these stupid dogs!

He nearly tripped on the ice as he swiftly returned to running across it. The boy wobbled, attempting to regain his balance.

Chase cursed as the galloping behind him echoed like thunder, growing louder with each heartbeat.

The ice cracked under his handcrafted fur shoes. He started to take larger strides as he ran, praying to the gods that there was an end to this damn forest.

He ran and ran until he finally reached the heavy blanket of snow. He rushed up the small hill into a tiny opening in the maze of trees.

Chase had lost track of how long he had been in the Dark Forest. However, he had already surpassed his expectations of how long it would take him to get his head ripped off by a giant python—or maybe even suffer a worse fate than that.

Suddenly, a bright light shone through a small opening in the roofed jungle.

He had survived another night...

A small grin appeared on Chase's face as he quickly turned and hid behind one of the massive trees.

The loud galloping turned to distant trotting... and then the quiet trotting vanished after about an hour of waiting.

He sighed as he let himself fall to the snow-covered ground. His heartbeat sounded like loud drums violently battered inside his chest.

Chase had found out during the first month or so of winter that the leaves of the Dark Forest could not die. In fact, the leaves were just as fire-resistant as the wood of the trees.

However, while the leaves of the forest had little to no weakness, the sun was much brighter during this time of year inside the Dark Forest, causing the forest to lighten up significantly during the winter.

He rested his back against the tree as he lifted one of his fingers. He held it out in front of himself, pointing at the sky.

Focus, you almost had it last time.

Chase squeezed his eyes shut as he imagined drawing energy from the core inside his chest.

After a couple of minutes of useless strain, he slammed his fist into the snow. Snow flung into the air like the sparks of a cold, white flame.

Chase sat silently as he watched the bright rays of light shining through the roof of the forest.

I don't have time for this.

Chase frustratingly thought as he pulled on the handcrafted fur coat that sat around his shoulders.

He had been using the few remaining books that his teacher had given him to attempt to teach himself how to unlock his elemental energy. However, it had been of no use these past few months.

He let out a deep breath as he lifted his hand one last time before he had to start walking again.

Chase took a deep breath and focused his eyes on the tip of his finger. He felt a small burst of painful energy burn the center of his chest.

However, he did not buckle to the pain. He had been inside the Dark Forest for so long that it was considered unusual for him to not experience some sort of unbearable pain daily.

Chase gritted his teeth as he ignored the searing burn inside his ribs.

As the wind howled through the forest, it almost felt like the trees themselves were watching him, waiting for him to fail.

Suddenly, a small wave of calmness rushed through the boy's body.

He smiled as the tip of his finger suddenly erupted with a beautiful orange flame.

He had done it...

The biting cold gnawed at his skin, but the heat from his flame offered a fleeting sense of comfort, a small victory against the endless wilderness.

Chase had achieved the use of elemental energy at the age of thirteen. Granted, there were plenty of children who were able to use elemental energy at such young ages. However, those were the children of nobles and royalty.

Those royals and nobles had raised their children since birth to become mighty warriors, but true prodigies in the capital had been able to learn Mental Energy.

So, he was in no way a prodigy.

That being said, he had just pulled off self-taught elemental energy, alone in a cursed forest.

He quickly lit a small strip of raw meat with a tiny flame that danced on the tip of his finger.

After cooking the meat to the best of his abilities, he buried his finger in the snow, causing steam to dissipate from the snow.

The downside to this wonderful power was that, unlike normal flames, these ones were extremely harmful to the tattered and ragged boy.

Chase's chest tightened with frustration, the energy he summoned flickering like a dying ember, reminding him of how far he still had to go.

As the steam from the snow curled into the frigid air, Chase stared at the flame's faint afterglow on his fingertips. It wasn't much, but it was a start.