Behind him, another figure stepped into the shadows. A woman robed in silver and green. Her voice carried both beauty and dread.
"And yet... you send children to meet the tide."
"They are not children," Caelum replied. "Not anymore."
The morning broke with a hush that blanketed the Sanctum, as if the very stones of the ancient school were holding their breath. The events of the Rift Simulation still echoed through the minds of Kelvin, Lyra, and Darius. But rest was a luxury the Obsidian Division rarely afforded.
Kelvin stood at the balcony of their dorm tower, the wind brushing his hair as he stared across the spires of the Sanctum. Beneath his skin, he could feel Xerion—the End-Tyrant, coiled in a resting state within their soul bond with a slow-burning ember of power.
"The others see us differently now," Lyra said from behind, her voice was soft measured. "Words of our simulation run is spreading."
Kelvin turned. "Let them talk because we didn't survive that to fade back into the crowd."
Darius barged in, still half-dressed and chewing on a grilled rootfruit. "You two are always so serious? Because the announcement board just uot updated."
Kelvin raised his head to see Darius. "What kind of update?" He asked.
"Special elective update that is only for Obsidian-tier students which is optional but with a clause: those who participate are directly evaluated by the Headmaster himself."
That pulled Kelvin's attention instantly. He stepped inside, moving past Darius to view the glowing announcement crystal which was mounted on the wall.
****Obsidian Flame Trial****
In honor of the Sanctum's founding cycle, a rare Trial has been reawakened. Participants will face challenges that are drawn from the ancient lore of beastkind, bonded trials that forge the essence of power and control. This is not mandatory but only the bold ones need to step forward.
Kelvin's eyes narrowed.
"I am in," he said.
The Trial of the Obsidian Flame began at dusk the following day. Students gathered around the Spiral Arena, a vast amphitheater carved into the cliffside of the Sanctum's southern ridge. Flames danced in iron braziers while enchantments shimmered above the sand-paved floor.
Master Caelum presided, but another figure stood at his side. Headmaster Kaelus—a living legend in beast taming circles, draped in robes that are stitched from wyvern silk and void panther hide. His presence alone silenced the crowd.
"This Trial," Kaelus began, "will test not just your strength, but the harmony between a tamer and his or her beast. Those who dare to enter the Flame will confront an echo of the ancient world, where beastkind ruled and only the strongest could carve fate."
Twelve students had entered. All were from the Obsidian Division. Kelvin, Lyra, and Darius stood among them.
The first stage was simple in appearance but savage in design: the Arena of Convergence.
"You will be separated from your beasts," Caelum explained. "You must reunite through instinct and bond alone."
A gust of wind surged as the students were pulled into individual portals of light. Kelvin landed on a stone platform surrounded by black fog. Xerion was nowhere to be seen.
Kelvin closed his eyes, kneeling. He focused not on the landscape but inward, to the space where his soul met Xerion's.
Within the soulstream, Xerion stirred. "You seek me without sight that is good."
"Come to me," Kelvin whispered aloud.
A distant roar cut the silence. Then, from the fog, a silhouette charged—not Xerion, but a corrupted beast formed from rage and illusion. A dire stag with molten antlers.
Kelvin leapt aside as it struck. He ducked, rolled, then slammed his palm to the ground, channeling Convergence without his beast.
Soullight burst from his chest.
Now, Xerion!
From the mist above, wings beat down. Xerion descended in a spiral of flame, annihilating the false beast in a single strike.
"You called, and I answered," Xerion growled. "As it should be."
One by one, students emerged back into the Spiral Arena. Some were bruised. Some didn't return at all.
Kelvin stood firm, hand resting on Xerion's shoulder. Lyra and Darius soon followed, each successful in their own reunions.
The second stage followed without pause.
"You now face elemental echoes," Caelum said. "Creatures of raw nature that are shaped by your inner fears."
Kelvin faced a creature of flame and ash—a beast that is shaped like a dragon but without soul. It mirrored his fear of becoming hollow, powerful but devoid of heart.
Lyra faced an endless swarm—a test of overwhelming detail and control.
Darius fought a giant forged from thunderclouds, the manifestation of living up to a legacy not his own.
The crowd roared as each student fought. Each strike, each spell, drew admiration.
Kelvin timed his fusion with Xerion to the heartbeat.
"Soul Convergence!"
He and Xerion became one, a glowing silhouette of tamer and beast overlaid. He moved as though weightless, striking at the core of the echo with a convergence blade burning white-hot.
Clan..... clang.....Crack.
The echo shattered, and silence followed.
Kelvin stood alone in the center of a destroyed field, his body was steaming from overuse. But the light in his eyes remained.
That night, back in the Sanctum's upper spire, the trio gathered again. "We keep breaking ceilings," Lyra said.
"And the ceiling keeps getting higher," Darius added.
Kelvin smiled, though fatigue weighed on him. "That's good. I don't want to stop climbing."
Just then, a scroll arrived through a courier beast—a silver owl stitched with runes. Kelvin took the scroll, broke the seal, and read aloud:
Kelvin. You are hereby invited to the Inner Sanctum Disciplinary Evaluation. You have been observed and selected. Further instruction awaits.
The others fell quiet.
Lyra touched his arm. "That is the division only a handful ever reach."
Darius grinned wide. "I knew that you were crazy but I did not know you were destined."
Kelvin did not reply immediately. He looked toward the tower's open window. The moon cast silver light over the Sanctum.
"It is not just about destiny," he said. "It is a choice and I choose to rise." Beneath that light, the fire within him glowed once more.