After a while;
The mayor stepped onto the stage as the last of the murmurs faded. The evening light turned the black stone tile at the center into a mirror of shadows and gold. His voice rose across the square, steady and full, carrying the weight of tradition.
"Today is an auspicious day. Today, their children form a bond that will follow them for life."
A quiet ripple moved through the gathered crowd.
Two hundred of them waited, arranged by rank from last to first. Families stood behind the fence lines. Monsters perched on shoulders, curled under seats, or watched from laps, each one unaware of how their lives would soon change.
The first student—a girl carrying a Gem Cat—walked to the stage with careful, nervous steps. She placed her feet on the Enlightenment Stone opposite her partner. The Gem Cat's whiskers trembled.
A soft glow rose from the stone.
In moments, the girl's face twisted in a brief flash of pain.
A drop of blood rose from her wrist, as though called by an unseen hand. A matching drop rose from her Gem Cat. The two floated, touched, and blended into a single shimmering orb before splitting apart again.
Half drifted into the girl's temple. The other sank into the Gem Cat's chest.
The cat dissolved into a cloud of light and vanished into the girl's body.
Gasps filled the air—every time, even though the process had been repeated for generations, it never lost its wonder.
The girl staggered once before steadying herself. Her parents cried softly as she received a small glass box from the mayor.
Inside lay a fingernail-sized black crystal dotted with tiny white lights.
A Refinement Mold.
Without it, no one could build the Refinement Engine that allowed humans to refine mana in their organs. Without mana, humans were little more than frail shells standing beside their monsters.
Students whispered around them. Xenos leaned forward and asked Serestia, "Did the Crystal Knights send your Refinement Engine already?"
She shook her head. "I refused the preconstructed one and asked for a blueprint instead. I'll build it myself."
Xenos blinked. "Seriously?"
Almost every student chosen by an organization accepted a preconstructed Engine. They were created by lieutenant-rank powerhouses and cost more than his family could gather, even if they sold everything they owned. The Engines came sealed inside a marble-sized crystal, humming with the maker's energy.
But they carried a flaw.
When trying to advance to lieutenant rank, the user had to remove the creator's energy from the Engine—something that could take years or even become impossible.
Serestia glanced at Stella on her shoulder, her jaw firm. "I know that my spider's talent is mediocre. They gave her to me because I'm from a small town. But low talent doesn't matter if my foundation is strong. I'll make up for it with hard work."
Xenos had never admired her more.
She spoke about the League of Heroes often, but now her eyes shone with the same fire she described it with. The competition would return in five years. Only those below thirty could enter.
Ambitious dreams for a girl from a Class 3 town.
But Xenos understood. Xenos had been eleven the last time the League was held. Our whole town watched the battles on the massive holographic screen the mayor installed. Lightning. Fire. Monsters roaring. Trainers unleashing totems and ancient arts. It had felt like watching gods.
That night, Xenos knew he wanted to stand there someday, too.
Hours passed as student after student stepped up. The sun dipped low, pouring orange light over the roofs. Only a few of them remained.
His pulse climbed with each name called.
Soon, his turn.
Xenos lifted Kyra into his lap and stroked her soft silver feathers. "Ready?"
She chirped softly, "Chuuu… choo," and nudged his palm.
Her calm made them feel steadier than anything else.
Finally, the mayor's voice called his name. "Xenos."
Xenos rose, heart pounding, and stepped onto the stage. Kyra flew to her spot opposite them.
The Enlightenment Stone hummed beneath their feet.
A sharp sting bloomed on his wrist, followed by a strange pulling inside his chest—as though something small and precious was being lifted from them. A drop of blood floated upward, glowing faintly.
Kyra's blood rose, too.
The drops circled each other, then merged into one. The single drop split again and glowed brighter. One half flew to his temple, sinking into them like warm water. The other returned to Kyra.
His vision wavered.
Kyra's form blurred, then burst into a silver-white sphere of energy that shot straight into his chest.
Heat swept through them. His senses sharpened, rising and falling in waves until everything settled again.
The bond was complete.
Kyra would remain inside them for a full day as their bodies and souls adjusted. Strength would increase. Senses sharpen. And soon, Xenos would gain her Silver Fire.
When Xenos stepped off the stage, the mayor handed them a Refinement Mold. Xenos held the tiny black crystal in both hands, feeling the weight of everything it meant.
Xenos returned to his seat just in time to hear Serestia's name.
She walked gracefully, Stella scuttling beside her. The ritual went smoothly, and when she turned back to the crowd, she looked somehow brighter.
As valedictorian, she took her place at the podium. "I want to participate in the League of Heroes five years from now," she said, voice ringing clear. "Even if the odds are against me. Even if it seems impossible. I want all of us to chase something—even if it scares us."
The applause rolled like thunder.
Everyone stood. For a moment, even the most ordinary among them felt extraordinary.
When the ceremony ended, people gathered their things and drifted toward the exits. Xenos found Bran and Serestia near the stairs.
"Good luck on your journey," Xenos told them.
"You too, Xenos," they said together, pulling them into quick, warm hugs.
Then they walked away, each heading toward a different future.
Xenos followed his parents home, feeling the quiet glow of Kyra resting inside them—like a tiny silver heart beating in rhythm with his own.
*
They walked home from the town square with the slow, glowing tiredness that follows too much excitement. His parents talked quietly beside them, still sharing small comments about the ceremony, while Kyra rested on his shoulder like a tiny warm ember.
His mind kept returning to Kevin's Three-Eyed Devil Monkey. Even after everything it had done, the image of it perched proudly on his head clung to them. A Gold Tier monster, guaranteed evolution to Lord grade (rank-40). And in the hands of Kevin, of all people. The world really had a strange sense of humor.
When they reached home, Xenos stretched and said, "Mom, I'm sleeping."
She only nodded. Everyone rested after the ceremony. It helped the integration settle smoothly.
And honestly, Xenos barely made it to his bed before sleep claimed them.
Xenos didn't dream.
Instead, something brushed the inside of his mind—light, soft, almost like a tap of emotion rather than sound.
Chu… wake up…
His eyes snapped open. The room was dim. For a moment, Xenos was confused, because the call had come from inside them, not from the air.
"Kyra?" Xenos asked silently.
She answered not in words, but in a ripple of feeling—hunger, impatience, a little affection buried under her usual pride. She slipped out of his body with a flash of silver light and appeared on his chest, feathers ruffling as if it was annoyed.
"You woke them up for this?" Xenos whispered, smiling.
She chirped and rubbed her head against his chin. Hungry. And wanting to be petted.
So Xenos stroked her feathers until she chirped again, softer this time.
When Xenos sat up, he underestimated his new strength.
"Thud—!"
Xenos slammed into the floor. "Ow! Damn…"
His strength had doubled overnight thanks to the integration. Xenos rubbed his shoulder, then closed his eyes and focused inward, toward the strange space now formed inside his chest. A misty red cloud hung there—Kyra's mana. His heart sped up.
"I can feel it…" Xenos whispered.
Excitement bubbled up. Xenos raised his hand and tried summoning her Silver Fire.
Sparks flickered first, tiny glints of light like metal shavings. Then they grew. A faint flame appeared. Then a larger one. Within moments, a fist-sized globe of silver fire drifted above his palm.
A laugh burst out of them—raw, unbelieving joy. "Kyra, look! I really got your silver fire!"
Kyra glanced at the flame for precisely one second… then looked away with practiced indifference.
Xenos laughed even harder. "You're still the same."
Xenos let the fire fade. Somehow, instinct guided them. The knowledge had come with the bond, as if the ability had always belonged to them.
Once his head stopped spinning from his own strength, Xenos washed up and walked to the kitchen with Kyra on his shoulder. Both of them were starving after nearly twenty-four hours of sleep.
No one else was home, so Xenos arranged simple meals for them. Kyra pecked at her Grade 2 plant-based food, feathers drooping in disappointment. She clearly hadn't forgotten the delicious monster meat she had been denied yesterday.
"You'll survive," Xenos whispered, pushing the bowl toward her.
By the time they were finishing up, his parents returned.
"Xen, how do you feel?" Father asked.
"Very good," Xenos said honestly. "I have a lot of energy."
Mother placed her bag on the counter. "You'll start constructing the Refinement Engine tonight, right?"
"Yeah. Within the week is best."
Xenos had been preparing for months—ever since Xenos realized Kyra would be his partner.
Father clapped his shoulder. "They've set everything up for you."
Their preparations were simple but important: the IV with a special solution that would keep them from fainting, keep them energized, and keep their focus sharp while constructing the Engine inside their hearts.
Some people finished in a single day. Others needed three. It depended entirely on the complexity of the blueprint.
Night fell, and it was time.
Father secured the IV to his arm. Xenos sat on his bed in a lotus position. Mother kissed his temple.
"Good luck," she whispered.