After the Obsidian Flame Trial. Whispers of Kelvin's performance moved through the halls Sanctum school, carried by students who had watched in awe as he and Xerion shattered the elemental echo with a single, blazing strike.
The air felt charged, as if the ancient stones themselves were murmuring about the boy who did caught the Headmaster's eye. For Kelvin, though, the weight of the scroll's words pressed heavier than any crowd's gaze.
He stood alone in the dorm's training yard. The End-Tyrant's eyes, was sharp as twin blades which followed Kelvin's every move.
"You are brooding," Xerion rumbled, his voice was a low growl that vibrated through the stone. "The scroll has you rattled."
Kelvin tossed a pebble into the air, catching it without looking. "Not rattled but was thinking. The Inner Sanctum is not just a step up—it's a different game. You don't get invited there unless they see something… more."
"More?" Xerion's tail flicked, cracking the edge of the slab. "We burned through their trial like dry grass. What more do they want?"
Kelvin smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "That's what I'm going to find out."
Footsteps crunched behind him. Lyra approached, her silver hair catching the light, her beast—a lithe, shadow-cloaked panther named Veyra—padding silently at her side. "You're up early," she said, her tone light but her eyes searching. "Couldn't sleep after that scroll arrived?"
Kelvin shrugged, tossing the pebble again. "Sleep is overrated. You are here to train or to babysit?"
She arched a brow. "Both, maybe. You have got the whole school talking about you, Kelvin. The Inner Sanctum? That's not just rare—it's mythic. Even students don't get called there unless…" She trailed off, glancing at Veyra, who let out a soft, rumbling purr.
"Unless what?" Kelvin pressed, catching the pebble and closing his fist around it.
"Unless they think you are a threat," Darius's voice cut in. He strode into the yard, his thunder-wolf, Arctos, loping beside him. The beast's fur crackled with faint static, and Darius's grin was as wide as ever. "Or a prodigy. Honestly, with you, it could be either."
Kelvin snorted, but the weight in his chest didn't lift. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Darius clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, man. You're Kelvin. You and Xerion tore through the Flame Trial like it was a warm-up. Whatever the Inner Sanctum throws at you, you'll handle it."
Lyra's expression softened. "He is right, you know. But… be careful. The Inner Sanctum is not just about strength. It's about control. Discipline. They'll test every part of you—mind, body, and bond."
Kelvin met her gaze, then nodded. "I know. That's why I'm not waiting around to guess what's coming."
He turned to Xerion, who rose to his full height, wings stretching wide enough to cast a shadow over the yard. "Let's train. Whatever this evaluation is, we're going in ready."
The Inner Sanctum's summons came at midday which was delivered by another courier beast—this time, a sleek raven with eyes like molten gold.
The scroll instructed Kelvin to report to the Hall of Veils, a place whispered about in the Obsidian Division but rarely seen. It was said to be a chamber deep within the Sanctum's heart, where the boundaries between tamer, beast, and the ancient magic of the school blurred.
Kelvin stood before the hall's entrance before a towering archway carved with runes that pulsed faintly with blue light. Xerion's presence burned steady in his soul, a reassuring heat that kept his nerves at bay. He adjusted the leather bracer on his wrist, the one etched with Xerion's sigil, and stepped forward.
The air shifted as he crossed the threshold, heavy with the scent of ancient stone and something sharper—ozone, like the air before a storm. The hall was vast, its ceiling lost in shadow, its walls lined with mirrors that didn't reflect Kelvin's image but instead showed fleeting glimpses of beasts, battles, and forgotten places.
At the center stood Headmaster Kaelus, his wyvern-silk robes shimmering faintly.
Beside him was Master Caelum, his stern face unreadable, and a third figure—a woman Kelvin didn't recognize. Her hair was streaked with silver, and her eyes glowed with an unsettling intensity. A small, serpentine beast coiled around her arm, its scales shifting colors like oil on water.
"Kelvin," Kaelus said, his voice carrying the weight of centuries. "You stand here because your bond with Xerion is… exceptional. But exceptional is not enough. The Inner Sanctum demands more than skill. It demands truth."
Kelvin squared his shoulders, meeting the Headmaster's gaze. "I'm ready to prove it."
The woman stepped forward, her beast hissing softly. "I am Master Veyne, Keeper of the Veils. Your trial begins now. Step into the Mirror of Shards."
A circular platform rose from the floor, its surface a mosaic of jagged, reflective fragments. Kelvin glanced at Xerion, who growled low, his claws scraping the stone. "Whatever this is," the End-Tyrant said, "we face it together."
Kelvin nodded and stepped onto the platform. The mirrors along the walls flared, and the world dissolved into light.
When his vision cleared, Kelvin stood in a vast, desolate plain. The sky above churned with storm clouds, and the ground was cracked, as if scorched by some ancient cataclysm. Xerion materialized beside him, his wings flaring wide. "This is no illusion," the beast rumbled. "This place… it's real."
Kelvin's hand went to his bracer, his fingers tracing the sigil. "Real or not, we've got company."
Shapes emerged from the horizon—beasts, but not like any Kelvin had faced before. They were massive, their forms shifting between solid and spectral, as if woven from the storm itself. One resembled a lion with a mane of lightning, another a serpent with eyes of fire. A third loomed like a bear, its hide rippling with starlight.
"Echoes of the First Beasts," Xerion said, his voice tinged with something Kelvin rarely heard: awe. "The Sanctum's lore speaks of them. They were the progenitors, the roots of all beastkind."
Kelvin's heart pounded, but he forced a grin. "Guess we are about to make history."