CHAPTER 53: PARAGONS OF INNER SANCTUM 1

After the battle, Kelvin was rushed to the school infirmary. The Sanctum School’s infirmary was a quiet contrast to the battlefield where Kelvin had left behind, its stone walls were lined with glowing herbs and runic wards that pulsed with healing energy.

Kelvin lay on a cot with his shoulder bandaged, his ribs were aching him although it was bound, the ravager’s core was resting on a table nearby and its glow was a faint reminder of his victory in Eryndor.

Xerion curled outside the infirmary, his obsidian scales were seen catching the moonlight through the window and his fire was a steady pulse in Kelvin’s soul.

Lyra and Darius sat nearby with their beasts, Salaris perched on a shelf, Rhoam sprawled by the door while keeping a silent vigil.

The relics from the Crucible of Legacy and the ravager’s core glowed softly, symbols of their journey, but the Sanctum’s rhythm pressed on, urging Kelvin to rise despite his wounds.

His new rank-Adept, Rank 3, burned in his chest, a hard-won milestone that eased the ache of his Novice days. His bond with Xerion had grown stronger, his synchronizing ratio is now at 58%, his stability near flawless.

Yet the Inner Sanctum’s gaze was unrelenting, and Kelvin felt the weight of his new title, a call to prove himself anew.

The mission in Eryndor had been a crucible, not just for his rank but for his heart, facing the ravager’s chaos, protecting the villagers, and returning wounded but victorious had changed him which etched a deeper resolve into his soul.

Lyra with her silver hair catching the infirmary’s soft light, looked up from a scroll on soulstream recovery that she was reading with her amulet glowing faintly.

"You pushed yourself too hard, Kelvin," she said, with a soft but firm voice. "But you saved Eryndor and your bond with Xerion is stronger than ever."

Darius, slouched in a chair and grinned as he tossed a soulstone lightly. "Yeah, man, you took on a Level 7 beast and walked away... well, limped away. That is badass. Rhoam is impressed, and he doesn’t get impressed easily." Rhoam growled softly with his plates clinking, which made Darius to chuckle.

Kelvin managed a weak smile, although his shoulder was paining him but his spirit was alive. "It was not just about the beast but about those villagers... they needed us..... Thy needed me and I couldn’t fail them."

Before Lyra could reply, a sharp noise rattled the infirmary’s window, and a courier beast that is a sleek raven with runes glowing crimson came in and dropped a scroll onto the table. The seal pulsed with a deep sapphire light, and the air grew heavy, making Salaris to chirp and Rhoam’s plates shifted.

Kelvin reached out for the scroll, wincing as his ribs protested, he broke the seal and read aloud with a steady voice despite his pain:

Kelvin, Lyra and Darius. The Inner Sanctum summons you to the Echoes of Triumph at dawn in three days. Face a gauntlet of trials within the Sanctum’s Crystal Nexus, where your bonds will be tested against the forces of glory and perseverance. Success will crown you as paragons of the Inner Sanctum while failure will forge your resilience. Heal and prepare.

Lyra’s hand tightened on her amulet with her eyes narrow. "The Crystal Nexus? It’s a radiant arena, where the soulstream amplifies every emotion, glory, pain and everything you can think of. These trials will push us to our limits."

Darius leaned forward, his grin tempered by caution as he asked. "Glory and perseverance? This sounds like a party, but with Kelvin all banged up, we gotta prepare hard. Rhoam is ready, though."

Kelvin’s jaw tightened as Xerion’s growl was vibrating in his soul. "I will be ready. Three days is enough to heal. This is our chance to show the Sanctum what we are made of." Kelvin said.

Salaris glided down with her talons clicking, and Lyra nodded as she said this with her voice firm. "We will use the time wisely, light training, texts on glory resonance, and healing runes. There won’t be room for error."

Xerion’s voice rumbled in Kelvin’s mind: "The Nexus will test our fire but we will shine."

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The next three days were the period of recovery and preparation, each moment was a step toward the Crystal Nexus.

In the infirmary, Kelvin worked with Lyra to accelerate his healing, her amulet weaving runes that soothed his wounds. The pain in his shoulder reduced and his ribs were knitted together and by the second day, he could stand without wincing, Xerion’s fire bolstered his spirit.

Master Veyne visited with her serpentine beast hissing softly, and offered a lecture on glory resonance, teaching Kelvin to channel his victory’s pride into his Convergence. "Glory is a fire. Let it fuel you, but don’t let it consume you." she said.

Kelvin took detailed notes and linked Veyne’s words to his triumph in Eryndor as his gauntlet thrummed with potential. Lyra’s diagrams mapped their resonance patterns, her amulet glowed while Darius scribbled notes, Rhoam’s presence grounded him.

The lecture ended with a practical that channeled a glory pulse to stabilize a mock soulstream rift. Kelvin’s gauntlet amplified his pulse, synchronizing with Xerion’s fire, and he felt his bond strengthened and his synchronizing ratio ticked upward.

By the third day, Kelvin was mobile, his wounds are scabbed but manageable, and the trio moved to the library to study. Kelvin dove into a tome on perseverance and its pages were detailed on how to channel a beast’s endurance into unyielding Convergences.

His gauntlet pulsed as he linked the concepts to Xerion’s fiery resilience. Lyra’s scroll explored glory runes, her amulet glowed as she sketched patterns for Salaris’s precision.

Darius studied soulstone amplifiers with his relics thrumming as he connected their explosive potential to Rhoam’s steadfastness. The relics hummed and is attuned to the trial ahead.

As it was evening time, they slipped into the Obsidian Yard for a light drill, the air was cool under the starlit sky. Master Torren oversaw, his obsidian lion’s mane flaring. "Convergence under restraint! Face constructs with minimal force to test your control!"

The constructs had a Level 4 stone wolves materialized, their movements were sharp. Kelvin, Lyra, and Darius fought as one, their synergy runes amplified their Convergences.

Kelvin’s gauntlet formed a soullight blade that sliced a wolf with precision as Xerion’s flames weakened its core. Lyra’s shadow runes bound another, Salaris’s talons strikes were true.