CHAPTER 32: THE ROGUE TAMER

The return to the Sanctum was triumphant. The portal spat them out at the outer gate, where Master Caelum waited, his stern face was softening as he saw their haul.

"You have done well," he said, inspecting the relics. "These will be studied, but your bonds have proven their worth."

That night, the trio gathered in the dorm, their beasts lounging nearby. The relics sat on a table, their glow casting shadows on the walls. Kelvin traced the sigil on his gauntlet, feeling Xerion’s pride through their bond.

"We survived the Rift," he said, his voice was steady. "But the Inner Sanctum is watching. They will call us again."

Darius raised a mock toast with a rootfruit. "To more battles, more loot, and more legends."

Lyra laughed with her hand on Avian Salaris’s back. "To us."

Kelvin smiled, the fire in his chest was burning brighter. The Crimson Rift had been a crucible, forging their bonds tighter, their resolve stronger. Whatever the Inner Sanctum held next, he and Xerion would face it with claws bared and souls ablaze.

Kelvin, Lyra, and Darius had returned as heroes of the Obsidian Division, their names were whispered in awe by students who had heard of their triumph over the Riftborn Behemoth and the relics they had claimed.

The gauntlet on Kelvin’s wrist, etched with Xerion’s sigil which pulsed faintly with a warmth that grounded him, a constant reminder of their bond’s strength.

Kelvin stood in the training yard the next day. Xerion, the End-Tyrant, lounged nearby, his obsidian scales shining as he sharpened his claws against a large mass of stone.

The gauntlet amplified their Convergence, making every movement feel sharper, every pulse of their bond more vivid. Kelvin tossed a soulstone into the air, catching it as he felt Xerion’s anticipation ripple through their soulstream.

"Another scroll is coming," Xerion rumbled with his voice very low. "The Sanctum is not done with us."

Kelvin nodded with his eyes scanning the path way. "Good. I am ready for more."

Lyra approached with her silver hair catching the light and her beast—Avian Salaris, perched on her shoulder. Salaris’s eyes was sharp and unyielding, mirrored Lyra is quiet intensity. "You are up early," she said, her tone soft but probing.

Kelvin smiled, tossing the soulstone again and responded to Lyra. "Something like that, you feel it too, don’t you? The Sanctum is watching."

Before Lyra could reply, Darius moved into the yard with his thick-armored panther, Rhoam padding beside him. The beast’s hide was a like piece of iron plates with each one attached with faint runes that shines when he moved.

Darius greeted with a smile as he said. "Yo, Kelvin, you are planning to take all the glory again? Rhoam is itching for a fight after the Rift."

Rhoam growled with his tail lashing, and Kelvin laughed. "Plenty of glory to go around. But you will have to keep up."

A shadow passed overhead them, and a courier beast—a sleek, obsidian crow with eyes like molten gold—swooped down, dropping a scroll at Kelvin’s feet. Its runes pulsed with a deep, violet light, and the air around it moved with a latent power.

Kelvin broke the seal with his heart quickening as he read aloud:

*****Kelvin, Lyra, Darius. The Inner Sanctum summons you to the Shattered Veil, a rift beyond the Sanctum’s northern border. A rogue tamer has awakened an ancient beast horde, threatening the balance. Neutralize the threat, secure the Veil’s core, and return with proof of your victory. The mission begins at dusk.*****

**********

Lyra’s eyes narrowed. "The Shattered Veil? That, is not an ordinary rift. It is a fracture in the soulstream itself, where beasts are born from raw essence. A rogue tamer is stirring that up... it is bad."

Darius cracked his knuckles, Rhoam’s plates was clanking softly. "Bad means fun. Let’s go smash some beasts and grab some loot."

Kelvin’s grip tightened on the scroll. "This is not just about beasts. A rogue tamer means betrayal. We need to be ready for anything."

Xerion’s wings flared, his growl shaking the ground. "Let them come. We will burn them to ashes."

-----------------

At dusk, the trio stood before a portal at the Sanctum’s northern gate, its edges radiating with violet light.

Master Veyne awaited for them with her serpentine beast coiled around her arm, its scales were shifting colors.

"The Shattered Veil is unstable," she warned. "Your bonds will be tested beyond physical limits. The rogue tamer, Varn, was once an Inner Sanctum initiate. His beast, a Voidstalker named Krynn, is as cunning as it is deadly. Do not underestimate them."

Kelvin nodded with his gauntlet glowing faintly. "We won’t."

The portal swallowed them.

The Shattered Veil was a large expanse of a floating island filled with void. Beasts roamed the islands in spectral forms that is born of the Veil’s chaos.

The trio landed on a central island where its surface was cracked and glowing with runes. In the distance, a towering spire loomed—the Veil’s core.

"Stay tight," Kelvin said, his hand was on Xerion’s scales. "We move as a unit."

Lyra’s raptor, Salaris, took off to the air with her wings cutting through the mist. "I will scout it out, Something is already watching us."

Darius gripped a runic dagger and said. "Let it watch, we will give it a show."

The first attack came without warning. A pack of Veilborn Wraiths—ethereal wolves with eyes of pure light, burst from the mist with their howls splitting the air.

Kelvin reacted instantly, diving into his Convergence with Xerion. Their forms blurred, and he leaped with his gauntlet flaring as he struck a wraith with a soullight blade. The creature dissolved and its essence scattered like a dust.

Lyra and Salaris wove through the pack, the raptor’s talons was tearing through it’s wraiths with precision. Lyra’s hands danced, weaving the runes that summoned shadow chains, binding the wolves long enough for Salaris to finish them.

Darius and Rhoam charged head-on, the panther’s armored hide shrugging off bites as Darius hurled a soulstone and its explosion scattered the remaining wraiths.

But the ground trembled, and a new threat emerged, a massive Etherdrake, its scales shimmering like liquid starlight and its wings churning the mist into a storm. Its roar shook the island and smaller beasts—Shadowfang Spiders—scuttled from the cracks and their venomous mandibles were clicking.

"Split!" Kelvin shouted. "Lyra, spiders! Darius, flank the drake! Xerion, we take the head!"

Lyra and Salaris darted left, the raptor’s wings slicing through spiders as Lyra’s runes formed a barrier of shadow, crushing the creatures in a vice of darkness.

One spider leaped with its fangs grazing her arm, but she gritted her teeth while channeling her Convergence to heal the wound as Salaris tore the beast apart.

Darius and Rhoam circled the Etherdrake, the panther’s plates was glowing as he absorbed with its lightning breath. Darius threw another soulstone, its blast cracking the drake’s scales.

Rhoam pounced, his claws was digging into the beast’s side, but the drake’s tail whipped out, sending him slidding.

Kelvin and Xerion faced the drake’s stomach with its eyes blazing with primal fury. Kelvin’s gauntlet burned, amplifying their Convergence as he leaped onto Xerion’s back. They soared, dodging a blast of starlight, and Kelvin drove a soullight blade into the drake’s eye.

The beast roared, thrashing, but Xerion’s flames engulfed its head, and Kelvin struck again, shattering its core. The drake collapsed and its body dissolved into motes of light.

The island became silent, but the spire’s glow intensified. From its base emerged Varn, the rogue tamer with his Voidstalker Krynn at his side—a sleek, panther-like beast with eyes like black holes. Varn’s scarred face twisted into a sneer. "You are the Sanctum’s new pets? That’s pathetic."

Kelvin stepped forward with Xerion’s growl vibrating through him. "You woke this horde. End it, or we will."

Varn laughed, raising a hand. The mist coalesced, summoning a horde of Veilborn Beasts—wraiths, spiders, and a massive Chaos Wyrm with scales of shifting void. "Let’s see if your bonds can survive."

The battle erupted. Lyra and Salaris faced the wraiths, their Convergence was a dance of shadow and silver, chains and talons were tearing through ethereal forms.

Darius and Rhoam tackled the spiders, the panther’s armor was deflecting the venom as Darius’s daggers flashed, each strike was powered by their bond. Kelvin and Xerion charged the wyrm, its void-scales absorbing their flames. Varn and Krynn darted through the chaos, the Voidstalker’s claws grazing Kelvin’s side and drawing blood.

Pain sharpened Kelvin’s focus. He dove into the soulstream, feeling Xerion’s fire surge. "Now!" he roared, and their Convergence blazed, a spiral of flame and soullight that shattered the wyrm’s scales. Kelvin leaped, his gauntlet glowing, and drove a blade into its core, felling it.

Varn snarled, Krynn lunging. But Lyra and Salaris intercepted, shadow chains binding the Voidstalker as Darius and Rhoam struck from behind, their combined force pined the beast. Kelvin faced Varn alone as their eyes were locked to each other.

"You are nothing," Varn spat, drawing a runic blade.