Chapter 3: A Ripple in the System
The rain had stopped hours ago, but the ground was still wet beneath Kai's boots. He stood near the edge of the city ruins, staring out over a collapsed street now half-swallowed by a muddy sinkhole. In the center of it stood his Water Goblin summon, arms outstretched, channeling a stream of water to clear the debris.
He hadn't given a command. The summon simply knew.
"It listens to my intent," Kai murmured. "Not my words."
It was starting to make sense now. The Elemental Soul Link didn't just give him a summon—it gave him a bond. A connection between Kai, the elements, and the soul of a monster. But more than that, it explained how he gained the Water element in the first place.
When he killed the goblin during the chaos, something unique happened. He didn't just defeat it—he resonated with it. And deep within that goblin's soul, the Water element had already made its home. It had chosen that goblin as its temporary vessel.
Because Kai possessed the Elemental Soul Link, the moment he struck down the goblin, the Water element sensed a true host—a worthy bearer. Instead of dispersing, the elemental energy transferred itself from the goblin's fading soul into Kai's system.
The goblin's body was simply the container. The Water element was the power.
And now, it was his.
* The Goblin could manipulate water around them, purify it, even solidify it into sharp, ice-like edges.
* Kai could "borrow" its control in short bursts through their Soul Link—no spells, no chants. Just will.
* The bow in his hands wasn't conjured—it was shaped from the Water element itself, manifested through the soul bond.
He could even feel the Water Goblin's emotions—subtle, distant, but real.
Hunger. Obedience. Loyalty. Even... calm.
They weren't just master and summon. They were linked.
He sat on a cracked bench by what used to be a park fountain. The Water Goblin stood nearby, keeping watch. Kai opened the system panel in his mind for the hundredth time.
\[Soul Link Status: Active]
\[Elemental Bond: Water – Stable]
\[Current Elemental Sync: 14%]
\[Weapon Form: Bow of the Tides – Level 1]
\[Next Threshold: 25% Sync – Unlock Water Burst Skill]
"So the stronger our bond," Kai muttered, "the more power I get."
But it wasn't about leveling up or slaying monsters. This wasn't a game mechanic. This was something deeper—older. The element didn't obey force. It obeyed connection.
And now he understood something even more vital:
The elements were not just powers floating in the world. They had will.
They chose.
Water had awakened first within him because it was the first element to resonate with a monster he defeated. The goblin carried the Water affinity. When it died, the element sought a new vessel. Because Kai possessed the Soul Link—and because his heart was clear, his intent pure—the element bound itself to him.
Other elements may still exist, hidden in monsters. Fire. Wind. Lightning. But unless the element awakens and chooses a new host, it remains dormant.
And only someone with the Elemental Soul Link could inherit that power.
---
Far from the ruins, in a heavily secured command shelter under Sector 4, a meeting was in session.
A woman in a black coat tapped her finger on a cracked tablet. A paused video flickered on the screen—grainy footage of Kai summoning his Water Goblin.
"We've confirmed the anomaly. No visible casting. No class beacon. And that summon—it's not from any registered spell or skill book."
The man across from her leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "You think he's outside the system?"
She nodded. "Or worse—rewriting it."
He scowled. "Then we'll have to find him. Before someone else does."
---
Back in the ruins, Kai crouched near a broken water pipe, guiding the Goblin's power to form a clean stream. He drank from his cupped hands and sighed.
He now understood why others couldn't replicate what he did. Even if they killed a monster with elemental affinity, the element wouldn't go to them. They lacked the Soul Link. The element would either vanish or stay behind in the corpse, unclaimed.
Only he could carry the will of the elements forward.
And each time he bonded with one, it wouldn't be through conquest—it would be through understanding.
"One step at a time," Kai whispered. "Until I figure out what I really am."
The Goblin looked at him and bowed, the water swirling gently around its feet, loyal to the end.
Somewhere deep inside, the Water element stirred.
Watching.
Waiting.