CHAPTER 36: GREAT TRIAL

After the days stress and gisting the trio retired to sleep, after a while when everyone had slept off Kelvin sat on the floor with his legs crossed.

Lyra and Darius sprawled nearby with their notes and soul stones scattered across the table and the remnants of the day’s relentless study and training.

The Sanctum’s grind had left them drained, but the fire in Kelvin’s chest burned brighter than ever, fueled by the Inner Sanctum’s looming presence.

"Still awake?" Lyra’s asked with her voice very low, her eyes was half-closed as she leaned against Salaris, the raptor’s head tucked under her wing. "You are going to burn out if you keep staring at that shard."

Kelvin’s fingers tightened around the relic as its warmth pulsed in synchronization with his bond with Xerion. "I can not help it. The Sanctum is pushing us harder every day. I feel it that something is coming our."

Darius snorted, tossing a soulstone into the air and catching it without looking. "Yeah, probably another brutal quiz from Sylva or one of Torren’s ’that will break your bones as you engage in the drills. Relax, man. We are going to killing it."

Rhoam growled low, nudging Darius, and Kelvin managed a half-smile. "Killing it or not, we can not afford to slip. The Inner Sanctum does not care about yesterday’s wins but that you won now."

Before Lyra could reply, a sharp wind rattled through the window. A courier beast, a sleek, silver hawk with runes glowing along its wings, it flowed into the dorm, dropping a scroll onto the table. Its seal pulsed with a deep crimson light, and the air grew heavy, as if the room itself held its breath.

Kelvin grabbed the scroll, breaking the seal, and read aloud with his voice steady despite the quickening of his pulse:

Kelvin, Lyra and Darius. The Inner Sanctum summons you to the Proving Grounds at dawn. Face the Trials of Ascendancy, a gauntlet of challenges designed to test your mastery of bond, mind, and skill.

Success will elevate you and failure will cast you back. Prepare your beasts and your souls.

Lyra sat up with her amulet glowing faintly. "The Proving Grounds? That’s... it is the final step before the Inner Sanctum fully claims you. Only a handful of Obsidian students ever face it."

Darius’s grin faded with his hand shaking. "This sounds intense. What is the catch?"

Kelvin’s eyes narrowed while Xerion’s growl was echoing in his mind. "The catch is that we don’t get to choose. We are in, whether we like it or not."

Salaris chirp and Lyra nodded her head. "Then we have to prepare tonight. No sleep until we are ready."

Xerion’s wings flared, casting a shadow across the room. "The Grounds will test us but we will not break."

-------

The hours before dawn were a blur of preparation. The trio pored over their notes, refining their understanding of soulstream harmonics and predatory instincts.

Kelvin reviewed his Convergence techniques, mentally rehearsing the flow of soullight through his gauntlet. Lyra practiced shadow runes while her amulet was amplifying her precision as Salaris watched with her eyes sharp.

Darius, despite his usual bravado, focused on his soulstones, testing their explosive potential while Rhoam’s steady presence kept him grounded.

As the sky was bright, they gathered in the Obsidian Yard with their beasts at their sides.

Students lined up and their murmurs was a tide of anticipation, while Masters Kaelus, Veyne, and Torren stood at the arena’s heart, their beasts was void panther, serpentine companion, and obsidian tortoise—silent sentinels.

Kaelus’s voice went across the valley, it was deep and commanding. "The Trials of Ascendancy are the Sanctum’s ultimate measure.

You will face three challenges: Instinct, Will, and Dominion. Each will push your bonds to their breaking point and it begins now."

A portal of crimson light opened, and the trio stepped through the light, their beasts at their sides, the world was dissolving into a storm of energy.

---

****Trial of Instinct***

The portal opened and brought them into a plain, Kaelus’s voice resonated from the soulstream: "Your instincts must guide you. Hunt the Apex Stalker and claim its fang."

Kelvin felt Xerion’s predatory drive surge and their bond was a blazing thread. "Stay sharp," he said while his gauntlet was glowing. "This place is alive with threats."

Lyra nodded, Salaris took a flight with her wings cutting through the wind as she scouted. Darius gripped a soulstone while Rhoam’s plates was clinking as he prowled with his senses alert.

The first threat emerged—a pack of Ironclaw Hyenas that has their hides glinting like steel, their jaws snapping.

Kelvin and Xerion charged with their Convergence like a whirlwind of flame and soullight. Kelvin’s gauntlet flared, forming a blade that sliced through a hyena’s flank, while Xerion’s claws tore another apart.

The pack scattered, but not before one grazed Kelvin’s leg, its claws drew blood from Kelvin. He gritted his teeth, their was bond dulling the pain.

Lyra and Salaris faced a second wave, the raptor’s talons stroke with lethal precision as Lyra’s shadow runes bound the hyenas, slowing their charge.

A hyena lunged, its jaws snapping at Salaris, but Lyra’s amulet pulsed, summoning a shadow barrier that crushed the beast.

Darius and Rhoam moved through, the panther’s armored hide deflecting bites as Darius hurled a soulstone, its explosion scattered the pack. Rhoam’s claws finished the stragglers, his roar was shaking the plain.

The Apex Stalker appeared and it is a massive, lion-like beast with a mane of shimmering crystal, its eyes was glowing with primal hunger.

It moved like a shadow with its claws raking the ground. Kelvin signaled, and the trio attacked as one. Xerion’s flames countered the stalker’s crystal shards, Salaris’s aerial strikes targeted its eyes, and Rhoam’s charge cracked its hide.

Kelvin leaped with his soullight blade piercing the stalker’s heart. The beast roared, collapsing, and Lyra deftly extracted its fang, its surface was pulsing with energy.

The plain faded, and they stood in the Proving Grounds, the crowd was roaring. Kaelus nodded his head. "Instinct honed. Prepare now for Will."

---

****Trial of Will****

The portal opened into a space of radiating crystal, its walls reflected a fractured light that tested their resolve. Kaelus’s voice echoed: "Your will must endure. Face the Mirror of Doubt and shatter its illusions."

The cavern shifted, and mirrors rose, each showing a distorted reflection of the trio. Kelvin saw himself with his eyes hollow, his bond with Xerion frayed.

Lyra faced a version of herself consumed by fear, Salaris’s wings were broken. Darius saw a reckless shadow of Rhoam’s loyalty faltering.

Kelvin dove into his soulstream, feeling Xerion’s fire. "This isn’t us," he growled, charging the mirror. His gauntlet blazed, and he struck with their Convergence shattering the illusion in a burst of soullight. Xerion’s flames burned away the doubt, and the mirror dissolved.

Lyra wove shadow runes with her amulet glowing as she faced her reflection. Salaris’s talons struck, and Lyra’s will held their bond as it dispersed the illusion.

Darius with his jaw tight, hurled a soulstone and its explosion cracked his mirror as Rhoam’s roar anchored him, their bond was unbroken.

A final mirror rose, larger than the previous one and it was reflecting all the three as failures, their beasts was fading away. The trio stood together with their bonds intertwining. Kelvin’s gauntlet, Lyra’s amulet, and Darius’s soulstones flared, their combined soullight shattered the mirror in a blinding flash.

The mirror faded, and the arena returned them to the crowd’s cheers that was deafening. Veyne’s serpent hissed. "Will is now proven and dominion awaits."

---

**** Trial of Dominion***

The final portal plunged them into a storm of light and shadow, a void where platforms floated and was connected by bridges of soulstream energy.

The air crackled, and their bonds felt exposed, as if the void could unravel them. Kaelus’s voice boomed: "Release your dominion and defeat the Sovereign of Chaos and claim its core."

The Sovereign , a colossal beast with three forms appeared: a dragon of flame, a serpent of shadow, and a titan of light. Its presence shook the void, and the platforms quaked. Kelvin signaled, and the trio split with their beasts ready.

Kelvin and Xerion faced the dragon, its flames clashed with Xerion’s flames. Kelvin’s gauntlet amplified their Convergence, forming a soullight blade that sliced the dragon’s wing. The beast roared, but Xerion’s claws struck its heart causing it to disappear.

Lyra and Salaris tackled the serpent, the raptor’s talons countered its coils as Lyra’s shadow runes bound its movements. The serpent’s fangs grazed Salaris, but Lyra’s amulet healed her, and their strike shattered its core.

Darius and Rhoam faced the titan with its light blinding together. Rhoam’s armor absorbed its blows, and Darius’s soulstone explosion cracked its hide. Rhoam’s claws finished it, the titan dissolved immediately.

The Sovereign’s true form emerged was a fusion of all the three, its core was pulsing. The trio united and their bonds was a symphony of fire, shadow, and strength.

Kelvin’s blade, Lyra’s runes, and Darius’s soulstones struck as one, with their Convergences merging in a blinding blast that shattered the core. Its essence flowed into a runic orb, claimed by Kelvin.

The void faded, and they stood in the arena, the crowd was silent at a time then a shout erupted. Kaelus raised a hand. "You have conquered the Proving Grounds. The Inner Sanctum welcomes you."

---

In the dorm, Kelvin touched his gauntlet, feeling Xerion’s pride.

"We’re in," he said, his voice very steady. "The Inner Sanctum is ours."

Darius grinned while tossing a soulstone. "I told you that we had crush it."

Lyra smiled, stroking Salaris’s feathers. "Together we are unstoppable and we can’t be stopped."