The forest is quiet now. Too quiet.

I've stopped running, but I don't know why. The trees are still a tangled mess of limbs, the air thick with the scent of dirt and decay. My heart is still pounding, still racing in my chest like a drum. I feel like I've been running for days, but it's only been hours.

Xander is close by, his eyes darting around, scanning for movement. He's still on edge. So am I.

But I can't escape the feeling that something's about to happen. Something big.

And I can feel it in my blood—this storm of energy inside me, pushing at my skin, thrumming like a pulse I can't ignore. The air feels charged, heavy with something I can't name.

I close my eyes, trying to steady my breathing, trying to shut out the chaos inside me. I've been fighting this for so long—this power that doesn't make sense, this magic that's wild and untamed.

But maybe… maybe it's time to stop fighting.

"Emerald…" Xander's voice is low, full of caution. "What are you doing?"

I don't answer. My fingers curl into fists, and I stand still, breathing deep, feeling the energy around me. The storm in my veins.

It's not just wind, is it?

I focus harder, pushing deeper. The air hums with a strange vibration, a deep thrum in my chest. I can feel it—feel the elements, like threads in the fabric of the world. Each one is alive, waiting to be called. Waiting to be controlled.

I let go.

For a heartbeat, I think I've failed. But then, a spark ignites at my fingertips—first a flicker, then a flame. A bright, fierce ember burning with the heat of a thousand suns. I gasp, stepping back, but the fire doesn't burn me. It's not just fire. It's mine.

I stare at it, mesmerized. The fire dances on my hand, swirling around my fingers, curling in the air like a living thing. My heart pounds in my chest as I try to control it, make it stop.

But the flame responds to me. It doesn't burn out of control. It answers me.

I close my eyes, reaching deeper, trying to focus. And then—water.

It appears in front of me in a rush—cool, smooth, shimmering liquid, swirling in midair like it's been summoned from the earth itself. I don't even have to touch it. The water bends to my will, twisting into a vortex, then a sphere, floating above my open palm.

I can feel it, the way it pulses, the way it moves like a second heartbeat, like the fire.

It's like this world, this place, is mine to command.

I open my eyes, my heart racing in my chest. The fire and water flicker and swirl together—competing, pulling at each other like forces of nature.

But I'm not done yet.

I tilt my head back toward the sky, and I feel it again—the electric hum. It charges the air, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I reach out, not sure what I'm doing, but knowing somehow, I can do this.

And then—lightning.

It crackles from the sky, a brilliant flash of white-hot energy arcing through the trees. I watch in awe as a bolt strikes the ground a few feet from me, the energy sizzling through the air, lighting up the darkened forest in blinding brilliance. I feel the shock of it deep in my bones, but it doesn't hurt. It feels right. Like the lightning has been waiting for me to call it.

I gasp for breath as the lightning flickers and dies, the air crackling with static. But the storm doesn't stop there.

I reach further, deeper, my mind stretching beyond the boundaries of the earth, beyond the wind and fire and water.

And then, darkness.

It comes like a shadow—slow, creeping, curling around the edges of my vision. The light fades as the darkness gathers, thick and heavy, pooling at my feet. It's not a lack of light; it's presence. A deep, suffocating weight that presses on my chest, wrapping around my heart like a hand made of shadows.

I can feel the darkness, and it feels me. I don't have to fight it. I don't have to control it. It moves with me, like an extension of myself.

I can feel it all.

"Emerald!" Xander's voice is panicked now. "Stop! You're—"

I turn toward him, and the fire, water, lightning, and darkness all swirl around me, moving at my command, pulsing with raw energy. The elements aren't just forces anymore. They're part of me.

I hold out my hand, reaching toward him, but the power inside me is too much. The wind picks up, spinning in a cyclone around me, and for a moment, I feel like I'm drowning in it.

I try to stop, to regain control. But it's like the storm is alive, feeding off me, growing stronger with every passing second.

"Emerald, please—stop!" Xander shouts, his voice breaking through the chaos.

His words pull me back, snapping me out of the trance I've fallen into. I look at him, and I see the fear in his eyes. Not just fear of the storm, but fear of me. Fear of what I've become.

I try to focus, to let go of the magic, but it doesn't want to leave. It's tangled in me, like a rope wound too tightly around my ribs.

And then, something inside me shifts. I feel the magic falter, just for a second. And in that moment, the storm subsides. The fire, the water, the lightning, and the darkness—all of it fades back into the ether, leaving me standing in the quiet aftermath, gasping for breath.

The air around us is heavy, charged, but still. The world is still, for the first time in what feels like an eternity. My skin tingles with the memory of the magic I've just unleashed.

"I…" I can't even find words. I feel lost, like I've just opened a door I can't close.

Xander steps toward me, his eyes wary, but there's something else there too—relief, maybe. "Emerald, you… You can control all of them?"

I nod slowly, still panting, still trying to get my bearings. "I didn't know. I didn't even know I had control. But now…" My voice trails off as I look around at the devastation—the trees bent and broken, the ground scorched where the lightning hit.

I've learned something tonight. Something terrifying.

I have more power than I ever realized.

And if I'm not careful, it could consume me.