The estate had never been this silent.
Not even during the Deep-Winter meditations, not even when the snowstorms blotted out the sun and smothered the forest in white muffling sheets. Silence now was different. It carried weight, like the whole Arcclair territory was holding its breath, waiting for the next tremor, the next ripple, the next impossible distortion.
Germaine felt that weight pressing into her bones as she walked through the moonlit eastern corridor the following morning.
After last night's training, Elric had forced her to rest—though "rest" was a generous word. She hadn't slept. Not truly.
Her body had settled.
Her heartbeat had steadied.
But her mind…
Her mind was wide awake.
Her core hummed in a low, steady rhythm beneath her sternum, warm as a heartbeat against her ribs. Solaryn pulsed faintly within, tracing soft circuits of light around her pathways, reinforcing each thread as though stitching them tighter for the battles ahead.
Germaine didn't need to see it to feel it.
Solaryn was awake.
Not restless.
Not panicked.
Just… alert.
Its awareness pressed gently against hers like a creature curled at her center, head lifted, ears pricked at every shift in the air.
'You sense it too' Germaine thought privately as she walked.
Solaryn pulsed softly in response.
A yes.
A warning.
A steady presence.
She exhaled slowly. "Good. Stay close."
The soulbound warmed at her voice.
Not intellectually responding—soulbounds were instinctive creatures—but there was familiarity now, a recognition that had deepened since the breakthrough. Naming it had strengthened the bond in ways she didn't yet understand.
She stepped outside.
Cold morning air brushed against her skin, carrying sharp scents of dew, pine, and distant mana residue from the shattered southern barrier. The grounds were wide and flat, encircled by stone pillars carved with runes that rotated faintly in a slow protective cycle.
Elric was already there.
Of course he was.
He stood with his back to her, hands clasped behind him, white robes stirring lightly in the breeze. His mana flared in a dim white halo, restrained but impossibly dense.
Germaine approached quietly.
"You're early," Elric said without turning.
"So are you," she replied.
He finally glanced over his shoulder at her. "I don't sleep much."
Germaine opened her mouth—then closed it. She had no right to question him about that. Not with everything happening at the barrier.
Solaryn pulsed in her core again, almost impatient.
Elric's eyes flickered to her chest.
"Solaryn is active."
Germaine nodded. "He hasn't gone dormant since last night."
"Hm. That confirms it."
"Confirms what?"
Elric turned fully toward her.
"The resonance wave from the distortion didn't target your Shard—at least, not only the Shard. It responded to your soulbound's awakening."
Germaine's breath hitched. "But Solaryn wasn't fully awake then."
"That doesn't matter," Elric said. "A soulbound's essence is detectable even before it manifests form. Something on the other side of the barrier recognized that essence."
Her stomach tightened.
Solaryn pulsed softly, curling closer to her core.
Germaine lowered her voice. "Elric… what exactly is Solaryn?"
He didn't answer immediately.
He stared past her, toward the distant southern forest, where cracks in the barrier still shimmered faintly like scars.
"I don't know," he said quietly. "But I intend to find out."
He stepped closer.
"But until then, we train."
Germaine nodded.
Her pulse steadied.
"Good," Elric said. "Because today, we begin the next stage."
Elric raised a rune-engraved staff and tapped it lightly against the ground.
A rectangular formation flared to life beneath their feet — deep blue, stabilizing, humming with ancient steadiness.
Germaine recognized it instantly.
"Foundation Basin," she murmured. "But this is for Adepts or as I like to call it, Novices."
"You are a novice," Elric reminded calmly.
She winced. "Right."
"I'm not using it for entry-level training," he said. "I'm using it to measure the density of your core after last night's breakthrough."
Germaine nodded, stepping into the center of the glowing rectangle.
Her aura flared immediately, gold rippling across the blue runes. Solaryn's presence shivered with interest, brushing faintly against her consciousness.
"Breathe," Elric instructed.
She did.
Once.
Twice.
Slow.
Elric flicked his hand.
The runes brightened.
A thin stream of mana rose from the ground, wrapping around her ankles, then her waist, then chest—measuring, testing, comparing.
Germaine felt Solaryn shift inside her core. Not panicked. Not threatened.
Just… focused.
Supporting her.
Elric observed carefully. After a long moment, he spoke.
"Your core density is at the upper threshold of the peak. You're stabilizing fast."
Germaine blinked. "Already?"
"Yes." He began circling her slowly. "The Shard is speeding up refinement, and Solaryn is reinforcing your pathways. The combination is… unusual."
Germaine frowned. "Unusual as in dangerous?"
"No," Elric said. "Unusual as in powerful."
Germaine inhaled sharply.
Solaryn pulsed once — warm, steady, confident.
Almost proud.
Elric lifted one hand.
"Now we move to circulation speed."
He sent a ring of mana toward her.
Germaine braced.
The ring entered her aura and spun.
Fast.
Her core heated, pathways stretching to adapt to the flow. Solaryn reacted instantly — wrapping around the circulation like a smooth shield, slowing the friction, boosting her tolerance.
Germaine tightened her stance and rotated the mana.
Clockwise.
Counterclockwise.
Pull.
Release.
Contract.
Expand.
Each rotation steadied.
Each pulse synchronized.
Elric blinked, surprised. "You're already at late-peak circulation."
"I can feel it," Germaine whispered.
Her core felt larger now, filling her chest with warm pressure. Solaryn's presence radiated outward, expanding with each rotation.
She felt… grounded. Stronger. Aware.
"Good," Elric murmured. "Again."
She rotated the mana faster.
Her aura tightened. The runes flared. The air hummed loudly enough that dust lifted from the stone floor.
Germaine pushed.
Harder.
The air cracked once—
And then—
A second pulse flared inside her core.
Her breath caught.
Solaryn reacted instantly — no hesitation — its essence curling tightly around the unstable spark, forcing everything into a controlled spiral.
Elric's eyes widened. "That— Germaine! Stop—!"
But she didn't need to.
The second pulse faded.
Stabilized.
Her core hummed evenly again, the surge dissolving like water into sand.
Elric stared.
"You almost jumped a half rank."
Germaine wiped sweat from her brow. "It didn't feel dangerous."
Elric gave her a sharp look. "It was."
Solaryn pulsed firmly once, disagreeing.
Elric noticed.
"And Solaryn disagrees with me," he muttered. "Of course."
Germaine hid a smile.
Elric stepped back.
"One more test."
Germaine stiffened. "Another?"
"Yes." He pointed toward the edge of the formation. "This time, we test your soulbound directly."
Solaryn stirred immediately — curious.
Not fearful.
Germaine swallowed. "What do I need to do?"
"Invite Solaryn to the boundary."
Her pulse skipped.
"I've never done that."
"You don't need to summon it," Elric said. "It's too early for a full manifestation. But you can project a partial signature."
Germaine inhaled slowly.
Solaryn warmed softly, responding to her intent.
She placed her hand over her sternum.
"I'll try."
She reached inward—not forcing—simply opening.
Letting Solaryn move forward if it chose to.
At first, nothing happened.
Then—
A faint glow spread across her skin.
Golden at first.
Then silver.
Then a soft iridescent shimmer curved outward from her core, forming a small halo around her chest.
Elric's breath hitched. "Incredible…"
Germaine exhaled shakily.
Solaryn was projecting its essence.
Not a form.
Not a shape.
But a signature.
A presence beyond her own aura.
The halo expanded.
Gentle.
Curious.
Listening.
The runes around her reacted instantly, shifting colors from blue to white as they recognized the presence of a bound entity.
Germaine steadied her breathing.
Solaryn drifted forward, brushing against the runes like a creature sniffing a new environment.
Elric's eyes sharpened.
"Germaine," he said, voice tight, "pull it back."
She blinked. "Why? It's stable—"
"Pull it back. Now."
Something in his tone froze her.
Germaine withdrew slightly—
Solaryn followed easily, retreating into her core with a warm flicker.
The halo faded.
Elric exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair.
Germaine frowned. "Elric… what was that about?"
He turned to her slowly.
"As soon as Solaryn projected itself—"
He pointed toward the southern forest.
"—the barrier rippled."
Germaine's breath vanished.
Solaryn pulsed in her core, uneasy.
"Elric… do you mean—"
"Yes." His gaze hardened. "Something on the other side felt it."
A cold wind swept through the training grounds.
Germaine's heartbeat thundered.
Solaryn curled tight around her core, protective.
Elric lowered his voice to a flat, controlled whisper.
"We are running out of time."
Germaine followed his gaze toward the distant treeline.
The southern barrier shimmered faintly.
Too faintly.
The cracks glowed once—just once—like a dying ember flickering back to life.
Her breath chilled.
Solaryn pressed hard against her consciousness — not afraid, but ready, fierce, guarding.
Elric lifted his staff slowly, eyes narrowing.
"They're watching," he said quietly. "Even now."
Germaine swallowed.
"Then what do we do?"
Elric turned to her.
"Now?" His voice sharpened. "We accelerate your training. And we prepare your second soul slot."
Germaine steadied herself.
Solaryn pulsed in fierce agreement.
Elric nodded.
"Good," he said softly. "Because whatever is coming… I fear it won't wait much longer."
Germaine exhaled.
"Then neither will we."
Solaryn pulsed once.
Strong.
Certain.
Ready.