The morning air hung heavy with the scent of damp earth and faint ozone.
Germaine stepped into the private training courtyard, Solaryn perched lightly on her shoulder, wings flickering with anticipation. The golden light radiating from her soulbound pulsed in rhythm with her own heartbeat. Adept- Novice. Another rank solidified yesterday had opened a second soul slot in her core pathways — a space unclaimed, shimmering faintly like a dormant star.
Her chest tightened at the awareness of it. Another bond waiting. Another opportunity.
Elric appeared silently behind her, staff in hand, his white mana flaring faintly around his palms. He didn't speak at first — just observed, eyes narrowing, measuring.
"Begin," he said at last. His voice was quiet but firm, carrying the weight of command and expectation.
Germaine inhaled, centering herself. Solaryn stirred, brushing her cheek with a delicate wingbeat. "We are ready."
Her mana core thrummed in response, warm and responsive. She extended a hand outward, letting her energy flow through Solaryn. The golden light around her soulbound intensified, spreading like ripples across a pond. The first real test of soulbond synergy.
"Good," Elric murmured, stepping closer. "Now focus on independent channels. Let Solaryn act as a secondary anchor. Your second slot isn't occupied yet, but the pathways are open. Learn to split your attention without losing control."
Germaine nodded. She exhaled slowly, allowing her mind to separate — not in halves, but in threads.
One thread remained anchored to her core, humming softly. The second thread — the new slot — flickered faintly, a potential for a future soulbond waiting to resonate.
Solaryn pulsed in approval, wings brushing against the golden thread, guiding it. Germaine's senses sharpened. She could feel her soulbound's awareness stretching subtly into the unclaimed slot, as if testing it, familiarizing the pathway for future resonance.
A gust of wind drifted across the courtyard, faint and almost imperceptible.
Her pulse quickened.
She recognized it immediately — the Watcher was probing again. Not a direct strike like the southern barrier, but subtle, invasive. A presence curling along the edges of her awareness, stretching into the environment like dark silk threads.
"Elric," she whispered, voice tense. "It's here again. But… softer. Just testing."
He didn't flinch. Instead, he tilted his head, reading the energy. "Correct. It's observing. Learning. Waiting. That's how the Watcher operates. It measures before it acts. Your core, your Shard, and now Solaryn — it wants all three."
Her hands curled into fists. She could feel the golden pulse in her chest intensifying. Solaryn flared brightly, a concentrated shield around her shoulders.
"Let it touch you," Elric said quietly, almost like a command to herself. "Not physically. Spiritually. Observe. Don't resist. Control your pulse, and it can't learn too much about you."
Germaine's stomach twisted at the thought. The Shard. The Watcher. My soulbond. My second slot… all of it connected.
She exhaled slowly. Her chest rose and fell in rhythm with Solaryn's subtle beats. The golden light flared and retreated as she tested the boundaries, allowing the Watcher to probe but never penetrate. Her core steadied, and with it, the new slot shimmered faintly, vibrating with possibility.
"Elric," she murmured, heart racing. "I think… I think I can extend Solaryn's awareness into the second slot. Not a bond… just a channel."
He nodded sharply. "Do it. But lightly. Focus. This is not awakening a new SoulPet yet — it's training your core to accept more without destabilizing."
Germaine clenched her fists. A second of hesitation. Then — she sent a pulse outward. Not her full mana. Not the Shard. Just a controlled spark, flowing into the empty slot, reaching toward Solaryn.
The soulbound responded immediately. A small pulse of golden light streaked along the new pathway, touching the dormant thread and retreating. Then another, longer, braver.
Her chest ached — the sensation was foreign, but exhilarating. Adept - Novice wasn't enough to fully command the split channels, yet the Shard allowed the adjustment. A dormant core within a core, a pulse of resonance she had never felt before.
"Elric… I—" Her words caught in her throat. The second slot shimmered faintly, alive. Potential waiting. Possibility.
He nodded slowly. "Good. You're integrating. Each rank increase gives you more capacity. More strength. More bonds. And this is just the beginning. Every new SoulPet, every new connection, will anchor here."
Solaryn brushed her cheek lightly again, a small, confident heartbeat of reassurance.
The Watcher's subtle probing persisted, a faint twist in the wind, a pull in the air around them. But Germaine didn't panic. She let it move along the edges of her awareness. She let Solaryn mirror her control. She felt the second slot respond, shimmering, learning, adapting.
Elric spoke softly. "The Watcher doesn't need to know everything. It only learns what you allow. Today, it learns patience. Next time… it might learn caution. And if it touches your new bond… it will find you ready."
Her chest pulsed. The first true understanding of her path hit her — cultivation wasn't just increasing her rank or refining her mana. It was expanding capacity. Expanding connection. Expanding control over everything that could touch her core, her soul, and her soulbound.
The wind shifted again. The Watcher withdrew. For now.
Solaryn fluttered onto her shoulder, a tiny, shining heartbeat of light. Germaine pressed a hand to its small back, feeling the pulse of their bond synchronize perfectly.
The second soul slot shimmered faintly, waiting. Not yet a pet. Not yet occupied. But the space for power, connection, and protection now existed — and she could feel the dormant potential reaching toward her, a promise of what was to come.
"Elric…" she whispered. "I feel… more. The slot… it's alive."
He nodded, eyes sharp. "That's your path. Not just Awakening. Not just SoulPet. Expansion. Control. Bonding. And eventually… power that even the Watcher will have to respect."
Germaine inhaled. She felt her core thrum, the Shard quiet but aware. Solaryn pulsed, a heartbeat of gold along her shoulder. The second slot glimmered faintly, a new horizon opening.
Her journey had grown larger, more complex, more dangerous.
But for the first time, Germaine smiled, not with relief — but with resolve.
Whatever the Watcher tested. Whatever the world tried to take. Whatever shards and anomalies awaited.
She would grow stronger.
She would bond again.
And she would never be caught unprepared.
Solaryn nuzzled her cheek lightly, glowing softly.
This is only the beginning.