New World - A New Beginning

I'm not sure I was ready for that one. I'm no longer human? That means that this link had to physically alter my DNA, did people even know what kind of power that was? To alter the code that defined the identity of a person, was the same as completely erasing the previous entity. This power could wipe out civilizations, wipe out entire species by altering their genetic code.

"So what am I?" I asked. There was nothing I could do about the change to my genetic code, so I decided to learn as much as I could about it.

"A half-breed. A mixture of humans and dragons," answered Asthia, overcome with guilt.

So maybe my ability to manipulate bind was because of the change of my DNA? It was definitely a possibility. I looked at the girl in front of me, clearly regretting that she had done this without asking me.

"Asthia, I'm not mad," I said, clearing up any possibility for misunderstandings. Miscomprehension was a direct path to disaster, and I didn't plan on letting anything get to that point.

She merely nodded her head, understanding my feelings.

I wondered about the Empress, did she know about this? She was definitely able to sense everything about me bind-wise, but what about my DNA? I doubted it.

This meant that the only people who knew about my nature were Asthia and me.

I suddenly heard the slightest of footsteps running towards the temple, my head instinctively tracking the source of the noise.

No, it wasn't just me and Asthia, there was one other person!

"Jay!" gasped Asthia.

My legs instinctively took off after the eavesdropper, my mind racing as I located a cloaked individual. Judging by his speed, he was definitely a binder, and there was no way my still small body would keep up.

The figure definitely wasn't an adult, but he was probably a young teen of some sort. Why would he be eavesdropping on me and Asthia?

Fuck. Asthia would definitely receive harsh punishment if her parents found out from an external source other than her, and this brat was attempting to do exactly that.

Or maybe she wasn't his intended target, the more I thought about it, there was a much higher probability that he was attacking me indirectly, trying to remove the outsider from Asthia's entourage.

This could have something to do with jealousy, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions, first I had to catch them.

Should I try using that? I thought. I had been practicing with a certain manipulation ever since I had unlocked fire, but did I have enough control over it that I would be able to effectively use it to catch up to an opponent?

I thought about the possible consequences on my body after using this element versus the consequences of the royals finding out that I had become Asthia's knight from someone other than Asthia herself.

I'm using it.

I concentrated bind all around me, willing it to cover my entire body as it seeped into my veins, closing in on my core. Sweat dripped from my forehead as I simultaneously leaped from tree to tree, chasing the unknown person while also manipulating an unknown element.

An electrostatic charge, separate the positive from the negative, create an electric field all around me, I thought, using real-world physics to simulate what I had to do. The bind cackled with energy as it turned into a bright yellow, moving through my body at the speed of light. My eyes lit up with power as I unleashed the power.

BOOM

Lightning sparked around me as my speed increased tenfold, the world around me seemingly moving in slow-motion. The cloak of my adversary grew closer and closer every millisecond, my body barely being visible to the naked eye. I closed my fist, centering the power towards it as I brought it down on my enemy.

A massive shockwave of electric energy pulsed outwards from the point of impact, instantly rendering the escapee unconscious. I looked down at the body covered by the cloak, my vision becoming blurry.

"Damn, I'm an electric binder," I muttered as my eyes closed, my body crashing down as the fatigue and overwhelming power took over my exhausted conscience before I could even identify the individual.

SELENA DARCK'S POV:

I looked at the five-year-old boy, unconscious in his bed as my daughter sat there, her hand clutching his. I wasn't sure about what had transpired, but I could sense a new power inside this boy's body. An extremely rare type of binding that was considered the most powerful of the four advanced binds if used correctly: Lightning.

Asthia had told me that she had made him her knight, I'm just glad she told me before the ceremony, or that would've been awkward. At first, I was skeptical about her choice.

There was no doubt that Jay was a pupil unlike any I had ever seen, but the fact remained that he was a small boy. Would he really be ready to shoulder the life of an individual for the rest of his life?

He also told me that he planned to return to his family once his training was complete, something both he and I had decided to keep from Asthia for the time being. He was surprisingly mature about pretty much everything, so much so that his age sometimes eluded me.

I was certain that with a few months, maybe even weeks of training, Jay would surpass a normal guard's power, but he still had work to do. As long as he was determined to stick with me until I was satisfied with his abilities to defend my daughter, then I approved of him being Asthia's knight.

I studied him with my eyes and smiled at the fact that had just come to my mind. This meant that he was no longer fully human. Jay Cadmium was now a half-dragon, and this meant he could create a bond with a wyvern.

I think that can wait until later though, I thought as I chuckled ever so slightly and left the room, leaving Asthia to look after her best friend.