CHAPTER 39: THE TIDES OF CHALLENGE

After they had rested for a while in the dormitory, they set out to the library.

Kelvin, Lyra, and Darius had spent the night studying over scrolls and tomes with their beasts resting nearby—Xerion’s obsidian scales was gleaming faintly outside.

Salaris perched on a high shelf with her moonlight feathers tucked neatly, and Rhoam sprawled across the threshold with his armored plates clinking softly with each breath.

Lyra had decided to adhere to the school dormitory rules which had kept their study session to be in the library but they have a shared resolve which forged through battles and the Sanctum’s unyielding demands.

Kelvin woke up rubbing his eyes, the ache of sleeplessness disturbed him but it was outweighed by the fire in his chest.

His gauntlet, etched with Xerion’s sigil which pulsed warmly as he closed a big book on advanced soulstream harmonics. "We are getting close," he said with his voice low but firm. "Yesterday’s drills showed it all, that our synergy is becoming tightened."

Lyra slightly disheveled her hair as she looked up from a scroll on beast empathy, her amulet was casting a soft glow.

"We are close, but not there yet. Sylva’s lecture on understanding our beasts’ emotions... is the key to perfecting our Convergences together."

Darius, relaxed into a chair tossed a soulstone with a half-hearted grin and asked Kelvin. But seriously, Kelvin, do you think the Inner Sanctum is gonna throw another trial at us soon?"

Kelvin’s gaze drifted to the relics. "They don’t wait. We need to be ready in both mind, body, and bond."

Before Lyra could respond, a sharp gust rattled the library’s windows. A courier beast swooped in, dropping a scroll onto the table.

The seal pulsed with an unfamiliar energy, heavy and urgent, making Salaris chirp and Rhoam’s plates clink as he rose. Kelvin broke the seal, his pulse was quickened as he read aloud:

Kelvin, Lyra and Darius. The Inner Sanctum summons you to the Tides of Challenge at midday to face a gauntlet of trials within the Sanctum’s Tidal Arena, where your bonds will be tested against the elements and each other.

Success will mark you as true contenders but failure will humble you. Prepare for it.

Lyra’s eyes were widened while her hand was tightened on her amulet. "The Tidal Arena? It’s not just a training ground—it is where the Sanctum’s elemental forces converge. Water, wind, earth, fire... it is unpredictable."

Darius leaned forward as he said. "This sounds like a blast. Rhoam is ready to smash some waves or whatever."

Kelvin’s jaw tightened as Xerion’s growl was echoing in his mind. "This isn’t just about smashing. It is about having control. We will go in as a team and we will come out as one."

Salaris glided down with her talons clicking, and Lyra nodded. "Let’s use the morning to prepare. Library first, then a quick drill to synchronizing our Convergences."

Xerion’s voice rumbled through Kelvin’s soul: "The Tides will test us but we will rise."

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The morning was a full time mapped for preparation. In the library, the trio dove into texts on elemental resonance, seeking insights into the Tidal Arena’s challenges.

Kelvin found a big book that detailed on a fire-based Convergences, linking it to Xerion’s flames and his gauntlet’s amplification.

Lyra’s scroll on shadow-enhanced water runes offered strategies for Salaris’s agility, while Darius, surprisingly became focused, he studied earth-based soulstone techniques and his bond with Rhoam grounding his efforts. The relics on the table pulsed as if it was sensing the coming trial.

By late in the morning, they moved to a secluded corner of the Obsidian Yard for a quick drill.

The air was crisp as they practiced synchronizing their Convergences, using their new soulstones.

Kelvin and Xerion wove a spiral of flame and soullight, Lyra and Salaris countered with shadow runes that danced like liquid, and Darius and Rhoam unleashed a soulstone explosion bolstered by Rhoam’s armored charge.

Their synergy was rough but promising, their bonds were intertwining with a spark of potential.

As midday approached they went for their lunch, after which they gathered at the Tidal Arena, a vast, circular structure that is carved into the Sanctum’s western cliffs.

Its floor was a mosaic of shifting elements—water rippled in pools with earth rising in jagged spikes, wind swirling in gusts, and fire flaring in braziers. Students crowded the stands, their murmurs was a tide of anticipation.

Masters Kaelus, Veyne, and Torren stood at the arena’s edge with their beasts—void panther, serpentine companion, and obsidian tortoise, they were all silent.

Kaelus’s voice echoed, cutting through the wind. "The Tides of Challenge will test your mastery over the elements and your unity as a team. Three trials await you all: Flow, Force, and Fusion. Conquer them, and the Inner Sanctum will open its doors."

Veyne raised a hand and said while her serpent hissed. "Begin."

A portal of swirling blue light opened, pulling the trio and their beasts into its depths.

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****Trial of Flow****

The portal spat them into a churning seascape, a vast ocean under a stormy sky, its waves crashed against the floating platforms of coral and stone.

The air was thick with salt and soulstream energy, and the water pulsed as if it was alive. Kaelus’s voice echoed: "Master the flow of water. Navigate the Surge and claim its pearl."

Kelvin felt Xerion’s fire flare, their bond was like a steady anchor. "Stay together," he said with his gauntlet glowing. "The water is alive—watch for beasts."

Lyra nodded while Salaris toke a flight with her wings cutting through the mist. Darius gripped a soulstone, Rhoam’s plates was clinking as he braced against the waves.

A wave appeared which revealed a pack of Tidal Serpents—sleek, eel-like beasts with scales that shinned like a liquid silver.

Their jaws were wide open as their tails whipped, sending water blades that sliced through the air. Kelvin and Xerion charged with their Convergence a blaze of flame and soullight.

Kelvin’s gauntlet formed a blade that cut through a serpent’s flank, while Xerion’s flames vaporized the water blades. A serpent’s tail grazed Kelvin’s shoulder, stinging like ice, but their bond dulled the pain.

Lyra and Salaris wove through the serpents, the raptor’s talons striking eyes as Lyra’s shadow runes formed a net, binding the beasts. A serpent lunged, its fangs grazing Salaris’s wing, but Lyra’s amulet pulsed and healed her, and they struck back, dispersing the creature.

Darius and Rhoam barreled through, the panther’s armor deflected the water blades as Darius hurled a soulstone, its explosion scattered the serpents. Rhoam’s claws tore through a beast’s core, and the pack retreated.

The Surge appeared—a massive whirlpool crowned by a glowing pearl. A Tidal Leviathan guarded it, its serpentine body was coiling through the water, its eyes was blazing.

The trio attacked as one. Xerion’s flames countered the leviathan’s waves, Salaris’s talons struck its eyes, and Rhoam’s charge cracked its scales.

Kelvin leaped with his soullight blade piercing the leviathan’s heart, and Lyra claimed the pearl, its light was warm in her hand.

The seascape faded, and they stood in the arena, the crowd stood in awe. Kaelus nodded. "Flow is mastered by you three now prepare for Force."

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****Trial of Force****

The portal opened into a jagged canyon, its walls are of earth and stone trembling under a sky of howling winds.

The air was heavy with dust, and the ground shook with latent power. Kaelus’s voice resonated: "Harness the force of earth and wind. Defeat the Storm that forged Titan and claim its heartstone."

The titan emerged—a colossus of stone and storm, its body crackled with lightning with its fists like boulders. Smaller Windwraiths— a spectral birds with razor-sharp wings swarmed around it.

Kelvin and Xerion faced the titan with their Convergence a shield against its lightning.

Kelvin’s gauntlet flared, forming a soullight blade that chipped the titan’s hide while Xerion’s flames countered its storm.

A wraith’s wing grazed Kelvin’s arm, drawing blood, but their bond kept him steady.

Lyra and Salaris tackled the wraiths, the raptor’s agility outmatched their speed as Lyra’s shadow runes bound their wings. A wraith’s claw scratched Salaris, but Lyra’s amulet healed her, and they dispersed the flock.

Darius and Rhoam charged the titan’s legs as the panther’s armor absorbed its blows when Darius’s soulstone explosion cracked its knee.

Rhoam’s claws dug into the stone, but a gust knocked Darius back, his breath ragged, beating fast. He pushed on as their bond was unyielding.

The titan’s heartstone is exposed as it glowed. Kelvin signaled, and they struck together. Xerion’s flames weakened its core, Salaris’s talons struck from above, and Rhoam’s charge shattered its base.

Kelvin’s blade pierced the heartstone, and Darius caught it as the titan crumbled.

The canyon dissolved, the arena returned them with cheers. Veyne’s serpent hissed as she said . "Force conquered but fusion remains."

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****Trial of Fusion****

The final portal plunged them into a void of swirling elements—fire, water, earth, wind, they are merged in a chaotic storm.

Floating platforms drifted, connected by bridges of soulstream energy. Kaelus’s voice boomed: "Fuse your bonds with the elements. Defeat the Elemental Sovereign and claim its core."

The beast appeared which is of shifting forms: a dragon of fire, a serpent of water, a titan of earth, and a hawk of wind. Its presence shook the the earth and the platforms quaked.