Riven didn't sleep.
Every time his eyes closed, the bond pulsed, feeding him fragments of awareness that weren't his own. The slow circulation of mana through an enormous body. The tension in armored muscles as the forest shifted around them. The constant, watchful patience of a predator that had never needed rest the way humans did.
Eventually, he gave up and sat against a thick root, watching pale light filter through the canopy.
The beast remained standing a short distance away, motionless except for the faint rise and fall of its chest. It was not guarding him in the way soldiers guarded their commanders. It was simply… present.
Riven exhaled. "So this is what being bonded means."
The bond answered with a steady warmth.
The interface appeared without prompting, clearer than before, its edges no longer flickering.
[Prime Bond – Active]
Synchronization determines shared growth, perception, and endurance between bonded entities.
Current Synchronization: 6%
Synchronization Thresholds: Locked
Riven narrowed his eyes. "Locked?"
He focused, and a smaller line of text resolved beneath it.
Condition not met: Bond stability insufficient.
"So I can't force it," he murmured. "Figures."
He looked toward the spot where the Riftspawn had dissolved. The crystal shard still lay there, faintly glowing. Whatever energy it contained hadn't dissipated overnight.
Riven approached it slowly, kneeling beside the shard. The beast watched him, head tilting slightly.
When Riven reached for the shard, the interface reacted.
[Rift Residue Detected]
Usage unavailable.
Condition: No compatible consumer selected.
Riven froze. "So it's not just free power."
He glanced up at the beast. "You?"
The bond pulsed, but there was no pull toward the shard. No instinctive hunger.
"So neither of us can use it yet," Riven said quietly. "Meaning it's part of the system, but we haven't unlocked the function."
That… made sense.
Back in Arxen, awakenings came with clear paths. Skills unlocked at fixed levels. Enhancements required resources, training, and approval. This system was different, but it wasn't chaotic. It was restrictive—deliberately so.
Riven stood, brushing dirt from his hands. "Alright. Then step one is surviving long enough to understand it."
As if in response, the forest shifted again.
Not violently this time. Subtle, like a breath drawn and released. The drifting motes brightened, flowing in slow currents between the trees.
The beast's attention sharpened.
Something was nearby.
Riven didn't feel the same spike of alarm as before. Instead, there was a dull pressure, filtered through the bond—awareness without urgency.
"Not hostile?" he asked.
The beast took a slow step forward.
Riven followed, keeping his distance. They moved deeper into the forest, roots giving way to smoother ground layered with glowing moss. The air grew warmer, heavier with mana.
Ahead, something stirred.
A cluster of small creatures emerged from behind a fallen trunk. They were no taller than Riven's knee, their bodies semi-translucent, like living glass filled with softly glowing fluid.
They noticed the beast and froze.
[Entity Detected]
[Classification: Mana-Adapted Fauna]
[Threat Level: Minimal]
Riven relaxed slightly. "So not everything here wants to kill us."
The creatures chirred softly, skittering closer before stopping short. They circled the beast cautiously, fascinated rather than afraid.
The bond pulsed again, but differently this time. Not tension. Not combat readiness.
Curiosity.
Riven felt it too.
One of the creatures edged closer to him, its glassy body refracting light across his hands. When it brushed against his boot, he felt a faint tug—like static.
The interface flickered.
[Interaction Logged]
No further action available.
Riven snorted. "You're really strict, aren't you?"
The system did not respond.
The creatures eventually lost interest and drifted away, melting back into the forest. The moment passed without incident, but Riven felt something shift inside him—not power, but understanding.
"This world has rules," he said slowly. "Different ones. But still rules."
The beast's tail moved once in agreement.
They continued on until the forest thinned, opening into a shallow basin carved into the earth. At its center lay a pool of dark, still water. Mana condensed thickly above its surface, forming faint spirals that rose and dissolved.
Riven stopped at the edge.
The interface responded immediately.
[Environmental Node Detected]
Analysis unavailable.
Condition: Synchronization below required threshold.
Riven grimaced. "So even the environment is locked."
He crouched, studying the water without touching it. The beast remained behind him, watching the treeline instead of the pool.
"You're guarding," Riven realized. "Not the water. Me."
The bond warmed.
Riven sat back on his heels, letting the realization settle. "So synchronization isn't just about fighting."
Time passed quietly. No attacks came. No new prompts appeared.
Eventually, fatigue crept back in. Riven leaned against a stone outcrop, eyes heavy.
"I'm going to rest," he said, more to himself than the beast. "If something happens—"
The bond tightened slightly.
Awareness shared.
Riven closed his eyes.
When he woke, the forest felt different.
Not quieter. Sharper.
The interface appeared instantly.
[Synchronization Increased]
Current Synchronization: 7%
Riven blinked, sitting up. "I didn't fight anything."
The bond answered with a steady pulse.
Shared endurance.
Sustained proximity.
Time.
Riven let out a slow breath, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"So staying alive together counts."
That was dangerous knowledge—and comforting.
He stood, feeling marginally steadier than before. The change was subtle but real. His head was clearer. His body responded more smoothly.
Not stronger.
More aligned.
The beast turned toward him, molten cracks along its body glowing faintly brighter than before.
They weren't growing fast.
They were growing correctly.
Far away, deep within Arxen's central archive, a sealed record trembled and cracked. Systems flagged an anomaly they could not classify.
Synchronization without structure.
Growth without authorization.
And somewhere beyond their reach, a bond continued to stabilize—quietly, patiently—waiting for the moment it would cross its first true threshold.