I'mKelvin stood amidst the fading echoes panting. Xerion landed beside him with his scales scorched but his eyes were fierce. "Is that all?" the beast growled.
Kelvin wiped sweat from his forehead. "Don't brag it."
As if on cue, the ground trembled. A new shape rose from the path way, this time is not a beast, but a figure, like a human or close to it, it moved in shadow. Its presence was felt… Kelvin's gut twisted. "Xerion, do you feel that?"
The End-Tyrant's wings flared. "It is not a beast. It's… something else."
The figure raised a hand, and the plain shifted. The storm clouds parted, revealing a blood-red sky. From the ground, chains of black iron erupted, lashing toward Kelvin and Xerion. Kelvin dove, but one chain caught his arm, burning like ice. He cried out, dropping to one knee.
"Kelvin!" Xerion roared, tearing through the chains with his claws. But more rose, faster and thicker, binding the beast's wings. The figure's voice echoed, cold and sharp. "You think your bond is strong? Prove it."
Kelvin's vision was blurred with pain, but he forced himself to focus. The chains weren't just physical—they were attacking his soul, trying to sever his connection to Xerion. He could feel the End-Tyrant's rage, his fear, his defiance, all pulsing through their bond. "I'm not losing you," Kelvin growled, clenching his fists.
He closed his eyes, diving into the soulstream. There, in the space where their essences met, he saw the chains—dark tendrils wrapping around the glowing thread that bound him to Xerion. He reached for it, pouring every might of his will into their bond. "Together," he whispered. "Always."
Light exploded from his chest, shattering the chains. In the physical world, the iron bonds crumbled, and Xerion roared, his flames were burning brighter than ever.
Kelvin stood, his body was trembling but his resolve was unbroken. He faced the shadowed figure, his voice was steady. "You want truth? Here it is."
He and Xerion charged as one, their Convergence was bflaring like a supernova. The figure raised a hand, summoning a wall of shadow, but Kelvin didn't falter.
He leaped, Xerion's wings carrying them both, and drove a blade of soullight through the barrier. The figure staggered, its form disappearing, then dissolved into mist.
The plain faded, and Kelvin found himself back in the Hall of Veils. The mirrors were dark now, their images were gone.
Headmaster Kaelus, Master Caelum, and Master Veyne stood before him, their expressions were unreadable.
"You faced the Echoes of the First Beasts," Kaelus said. "And something more—a shadow of doubt, materialized from your own fears. Yet you stood firm."
Master Veyne's serpentine beast hissed softly. "Your bond with Xerion is raw, unpolished, but… remarkable. Few could have broken those chains."
Kelvin, still catching his breath, managed a nod and asked. "What's next?"
Caelum's lips twitched, almost a smile. "The Inner Sanctum is not a single test. It is a path. You have taken the first step. The next will come when you are ready."
Kaelus stepped forward, placing a hand on Kelvin's shoulder. "Return to your division, train, grow. The Sanctum watches you now."
Back in the Obsidian Division, the news of Kelvin's trial spread like wildfire. Students parted as he walked through the halls, their whispers was a mix of awe and envy. Lyra and Darius were waiting in the dorm, their beasts lounging nearby.
"You are alive," Darius said, grinning. "I owe Lyra a silver coin."
Lyra rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her relief. "What was it like?"
Kelvin sank onto a bench, Xerion curling up behind him. "Like fighting the world and myself at the same time. But… we did it."
Lyra's gaze softened. "You always do it."
Darius leaned forward, his grin fading. "So, what is the Inner Sanctum like? Spill."
Kelvin shook his head. "It is not a place you describe. It is… something you feel. Like the Sanctum itself is alive, testing you."
That night, as the Sanctum settled into silence, Kelvin stood at the balcony again, staring at the moonlit spires. Xerion's warmth radiated through their bond, steady and unyielding.
The Inner Sanctum's call had changed something in him—not just confidence, but a hunger. A need to push further, to climb higher, to carve his name into the Sanctum's ancient stones.
"We are not done," he murmured.
Xerion's voice rumbled in his mind. "We have only begun."
The days that followed were an intensed training, study, and whispers. The Obsidian Division buzzed with anticipation, as if the entire school sensed a shift.
Kelvin threw himself into his drills, pushing his bond with Xerion to new limits. He sparred with Lyra and Darius, their beasts weaving through the training yard in a storm of claws, fangs, and soullight.
Each session left him stronger, sharper, his Convergence with Xerion was growing more seamless.
But the Inner Sanctum's shadow loomed. One evening, as Kelvin practiced a new technique, a spinning strike that blended Xerion's flames with his own soullight, a new courier beast arrived. This one was a hawk, its feathers etched with runes that glowed faintly green. The scroll it carried was sealed with a sigil Kelvin didn't recognize.
He broke the seal and read:
Kelvin, your next trial awaits in the Hollow Crag, a place where the Sanctum's deepest secrets are guarded. Prepare yourself and Xerion. The path grows steeper.
Kelvin's pulse quickened. The Hollow Crag was a name from legend, a place where tamers had once faced the raw essence of beastkind. He looked at Xerion, whose eyes burned with the same fire he felt in his chest.
"Ready?" Kelvin asked.
Xerion's wings flared. "Always."
The next morning, Kelvin, Lyra, and Darius set out for the Hollow Crag, guided by the hawk. The journey took them beyond the Sanctum's walls, into a jagged valley where the air hummed with ancient magic. The Crag itself was a towering spire of black stone, its surface riddled with caves that glowed with an eerie light.
As they approached, a figure emerged from the shadows—a tamer, older than Kelvin, with a scar running down his cheek. His beast, a massive eagle with wings of molten gold, perched on a nearby ledge.
"You're the one they're talking about," the tamer said, his voice was rough. "Kelvin, right? I'm Toren, Inner Sanctum initiate. You have trial's with me."
Kelvin was tensed, sensing the challenge in Toren's tone. "What's the test?"
Toren grinned, but it was sharp, predatory. "A duel. You and your beast against me and mine. No rules, no mercy. The Crag decides the victor."
Lyra stepped forward, her hand on Veyra's back. "This isn't fair. He just came from the Hall of Veils."
Toren's eyes flicked to her, then back to Kelvin. "Fair? The Inner Sanctum doesn't care about fair. It cares about strength. Step up or step aside."