The fog had thinned, but the morning air over the Blade estate still held the heavy scent of dew-soaked stone and mana burn. Germaine remained kneeling in the courtyard long after the Watcher recon units retreated, her palms pressed against the cold ground as she focused on steadying her breath. Solaryn perched lightly on her right shoulder — a feathered weight of warm, steadying gold — and Lumira remained just above her left, hovering with a soft rhythmic pulse that soothed the residual tremors in her lattice.
Their connection — the dual soulbound threads — remained bright in her vision. Even without consciously looking inward, she could feel both SoulPets intimately: Solaryn's fierce, shield-like determination, and Lumira's quiet analytical hum. Each pulse from them felt like reassurance and expectation at once, a reminder of the bond that strengthened her even at this fledgling stage of her Adept Intermediate rank.
Elric did not speak at first. He simply watched her, his staff grounding the ambient mana that swirled still from the disrupted constructs. When he finally stepped forward, the white mana orbiting him dimmed, settling to a soft glow.
"Stand," he said.
Germaine nodded but didn't rise immediately. Her legs were trembling — not out of fear, but from the intense lattice synchronization she had just pushed her body through. The Shard pulsed once beneath her ribs, a faint reminder that it, too, was recovering from the extended integration.
Solaryn fluttered closer, wings brushing her cheek in encouragement.
Lumira emitted a soft silver-gold pulse that cooled the overworked threads of her lattice.
She pushed herself upright.
Elric observed her posture, eyes narrowing slightly as if assessing the invisible threads of her internal structure.
"You held longer than most Adepts could manage," he finally said. "But the Watcher is testing more aggressively now. It senses the Shard's presence each time you expand your lattice."
Germaine swallowed, feeling the faint sting of truth in his words. "Then won't it keep coming? Every time I train?"
"It will." Elric turned toward the forest line. "And that is why we shift our training—starting now."
Germaine stiffened. "Shift it… how?"
Elric pointed his staff toward the segmented barriers that surrounded the courtyard. They dissolved instantly, the constructs flickering out of existence like dying stars.
"We train your lattice for overextension," he said. "Not simply prediction, not simply adaptation—but full-spectrum expansion. You've proven you can handle multi-target environments. Now you must learn to expand your lattice beyond your immediate sphere."
Germaine blinked. "Beyond the courtyard?"
"No," Elric replied. "Beyond yourself."
The words landed like a weight in her chest.
Solaryn chirped softly, his golden arcs flaring in agreement with Elric's declaration.
Lumira's pulse tightened into a quick, focused rhythm, mapping out the implications of Elric's instruction. Germaine could almost taste Lumira's silent conclusion: This would be difficult. Very difficult.
Elric gestured for her to follow.
They moved to the upper grounds — a wide terrace overlooking the layered cliffs of Arcclair. Morning light had finally broken over the horizon, casting muted gold through the drifting mist. The wind carried hints of ozone, as though the estate itself was still recovering from the early disturbance.
"Your lattice exists in layers," Elric said as they stopped at the terrace's edge. "Your core, your SoulPets, your physique, and your Shard influence all create separate but interwoven threads. You've strengthened the integration between yourself and your two SoulPets, but your lattice is still… compact."
"Because I'm only Adept?" Germaine asked.
"Because you're inexperienced," Elric corrected. "Rank does not determine mastery. Rank expands your potential. But mastery is earned through practice, strain, and pressure."
Germaine nodded slowly.
Elric lifted his staff.
A thin sigil activated beneath their feet — a smooth, circular array that lit up in lines of silver and white.
"This training array will force your lattice outward. You will hold its expansion with your own energy. Solaryn and Lumira will stabilize you."
Germaine inhaled sharply. "Just me? No targets? No constructs?"
"Not today," Elric said. "Today, the pressure comes from within."
The Shard inside her core pulsed sharply, as if recognizing the danger of the exercise before she did.
Germaine stepped into the center of the array.
Solaryn settled behind her shoulder, wings spread. Lumira floated above her chest, pulses gentle but ready.
Elric raised his staff.
"Begin."
The array ignited.
A sudden surge of mana rose from the ground, wrapping around Germaine like a tidal wave. Her lattice flared instinctively, trying to contain the pressure. But the array forced it outward — stretching her internal threads to their limit.
She hissed sharply through her teeth.
"Hold your lattice!" Elric shouted over the rising hum of mana. "Do not let it collapse inward. Solaryn — stabilize!"
Solaryn's golden wings shimmered.
A warm reinforcement flowed through the right side of her lattice — a firm, shield-like presence.
"Lumira — modulation, now!"
Lumira pulsed rapidly, feeding analytic stabilizers directly into the fluctuating lattice lines. Her silver-gold influence tightened the threads that strained unevenly.
The pressure increased.
Germaine's vision flickered at the edges, the Shard's pulse beating in uneven rhythms in her ribs. Her core reacted instinctively, pushing mana along the lattice threads to keep them from snapping under the force.
"Elric—" she gasped, feeling her knees tremble. "It's— too much—"
"Hold it!"
The array brightened.
The pressure doubled.
Germaine felt the lattice stretch dangerously — thin threads vibrating like overstressed wires. She forced mana toward the weakest threads, trying desperately to keep everything intact. Solaryn's defensive arcs surged through her core, offering stability. Lumira's pulses rang sharp and precise, correcting fluctuations before they turned into fractures.
But then — something shifted.
A new pulse.
Not from Solaryn.
Not from Lumira.
From the Shard.
It aligned itself with her lattice—subtle but decisive—reinforcing the stretched threads.
Her vision steadied.
Her breath leveled.
The lattice stopped trembling.
Solaryn chirped in surprise.
Lumira's pulses steadied, syncing with the new rhythm.
Elric lowered his staff slightly, eyes widening.
"Interesting," he murmured. "The Shard… responded to pressure. It reinforced you. Not by brute force, but by alignment."
Germaine felt the Shard contract and settle, as though satisfied with its contribution.
"Elric… it wasn't just supporting me," she said, voice uneven. "It was… guiding the lattice. As if it knew where the pressure would hit."
"It did," Elric replied. "Because the Shard experienced forms of lattice pressure long before it ever reached you."
Germaine's brows knitted. "You mean… in its original owner?"
Elric did not answer.
He simply tapped the staff again.
The array dimmed.
Germaine exhaled—her entire body sagging with relief. Solaryn fluttered in concern, brushing her cheek with warm feathers. Lumira pulsed slowly, easing her internal tension.
Germaine dropped to sit on the stone terrace, chest heaving.
"Elric," she said finally, "how far can my lattice go? If this is just Adept…"
"The true limit of a lattice lies not in rank," Elric said, lowering himself to sit opposite her, "but in the strength of its foundation. And your foundation is… unusual. Dual SoulPets, Shard infusion, accelerated lattice adaptation… You will reach capacities even Awakened cannot touch—if you survive the expansion process."
Germaine swallowed hard.
"And if I don't?"
Elric held her gaze. "Then your lattice collapses inward. Everything connected to it—your core, your physique, your SoulPets—would be destabilized."
Solaryn pressed closer to her neck, wings trembling faintly.
Lumira's pulse tightened protectively.
Germaine placed a hand on each SoulPet, grounding them. "Then we won't let that happen. Any of us."
Elric nodded once, firmly. "Good. Because this was only phase one."
Germaine stiffened. "Phase one?"
"The array expands your lattice," Elric explained. "But now, you must learn to use its expanded state. No training array. No constructs. No environment manipulation."
He tapped the terrace floor.
"Only you."
Germaine's pulse quickened.
Solaryn's wings folded tightly against him.
Lumira's pulses dimmed, as if bracing.
Elric spoke.
"Sit. Cross your legs. Close your eyes."
Germaine followed the instruction, though sweat still clung to her brow.
"Now," Elric said softly, "expand your lattice. Without the array."
Her breath caught.
"Elric… I don't know how to—"
"You do. Your body remembers the expansion. Your lattice remembers the tension. The Shard remembers the alignment."
He pointed at her chest.
"And your SoulPets remember your rhythm. Use them. Connect fully."
Germaine inhaled slowly.
Solaryn slid down to rest against her right shoulder.
Lumira hovered close to her forehead, silver pulses brushing against her skin.
Germaine closed her eyes.
She reached inward — toward her core.
Toward her lattice.
Toward the Shard.
Toward the soulbound threads.
She visualized the expansion.
At first, nothing happened.
Then —
A flicker.
A pulse.
Her lattice expanded gently — only a few inches beyond her skin. But it was stable.
Solaryn pressed mana into the right side, helping maintain shape.
Lumira modulated micro-fluctuations, smoothing irregularities.
The Shard pulsed once. And her lattice widened further — a shoulder span. Two. Three.
Elric watched silently.
Germaine pushed again —
A snap.
Her lattice recoiled violently.
She gasped, clutching her chest.
Lumira rushed forward, pulses frantic.
Solaryn wrapped her in golden arcs, trying to stop the backlash.
Elric struck the terrace with his staff.
White mana surged like a shockwave, stabilizing the snapping lattice threads.
Germaine collapsed forward, palms slapping the cold ground.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
Elric exhaled — a long, controlled breath.
"That," he said, "is why we train slowly. Expansion is not simply widening. It must be held. Stabilized. Reinforced."
Germaine coughed, her voice hoarse. "I… thought I had it."
"You did," Elric said gently. "For the first attempt, it was exceptional."
Germaine pushed herself upright, wiping sweat from her brow.
Solaryn leaned against her cheek, his warmth steady.
Lumira pulsed softly, still monitoring her internal balance.
Germaine reached for both, brushing her fingers over Solaryn's feathers and Lumira's smooth, glowing form.
"You two…" she whispered, "I wouldn't have lasted a second without you."
Solaryn chirped in proud agreement.
Lumira emitted a tiny, shimmering pulse — almost like a nod.
Elric stood.
"That's enough for today. The lattice must rest. Your SoulPets must recover. And the Shard… must settle."
Germaine nodded.
"Tomorrow," Elric said, turning toward the estate halls, "we begin phase two."
Germaine blinked. "What's phase two?"
Elric did not look back.
"You learn to expand your lattice," he said, "while in combat."
Solaryn stiffened.
Lumira dimmed.
Germaine swallowed hard.
The training was accelerating.
And the Watcher was watching.
And somewhere deep within her core, the Shard whispered again—
Soon.