CHAPTER 70: SHADOW FEN MARSHES 2

He paused with his hands at a still and for a moment, his gaze grew distant. Kelvin recognized that look, Darius was remembering something, a shadow from his past.

"Have you ever wonder what will happen if we mess this up?" Darius asked quietly, his voice stripped of its usual bluster.

Kelvin hesitated, then nodded. "All the time. But we won’t and not in this one that we are together." Darius exhaled sharply, a ghost of a smile returned to his face as he said. "Yeah. Together."

The beasts mirrored their tamers’ tension. Xerion paced near Kelvin and his flames flared brighter with every step, his golden eyes were darted to his tamer as if he was seeking reassurance.

Salaris flickered in and out of shadow with her feathers ruffled, while Rhoam’s low growls vibrated through the floor and his iron paws left faint scratches on the stone.

Lyra returned, breathless with a leather-bound tome. "Elara says the cores are real and they are crystals that are embedded in the strongest zombies.

Shatter them, and the magic unravels. But they are guarded, and the backlash could be... messy." Her eyes gleamed with a mix of excitement and dread.

"Then we hit hard and fast," Kelvin said, with his voice firm with resolve. "Get in, take out the cores and get out."

Their planning was interrupted by the creak of the door. Master Veyne entered with a rune-covered device in his hands, its surface pulsed with his soft blue light.

"The Sanctum’s monitoring system," he explained, setting it on the table. With a flick of his wrist, it hummed to life and projected a holographic display, three silhouettes, each paired with their beast’s outline.

"We will track your vitals, your position. If you are in too deep, we will know. But extraction is not guaranteed because this is your fight."

Kelvin studied the display, unease prickling his spine. "So they will see everything? Every mistake?" The idea of being watched, judged, made his skin crawl. Veyne’s gaze was steady. "It’s for your safety. Test it now and make sure it synchronizes."

Darius hefted a soulstone and grinned. "What, afraid they will catch you tripping over Xerion’s tail?" He tossed the stone to Kelvin, who caught it reflexively, the warmth of it grounded him.

They ran a quick test, the holograms flickered as their movements were registered. It worked too well, maybe it was one more tool in their arsenal.

As evening fell, the trio moved to the courtyard for a training session. The air had grown colder, a damp wind whistled through the Sanctum’s spires. They needed to practice their coordination, to ensure their beasts could fight as a unit.

Kelvin took the lead, Xerion’s flames roared as he unleashed a controlled burst toward a row of straw dummies. The fire crackled, filling the air with the scent of charred hay.

Lyra followed, Salaris vanished into shadow before reappearing to slash at a dummy’s flank, her talons glinted.

Darius anchored them while Rhoam stomped the ground to raise a wall of earth and shielded the others from an imaginary counterattack. It was seamless, not until it wasn’t again.

Salaris misjudged a leap and clipped Rhoam’s flank, the panther snarled and stumbled. Darius lunged to steady him, but his foot caught on a loose stone, sending him sprawling with a grunt.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his knee as he stood. "Guess we are not invincible yet." Lyra winced and brushed dirt from her hands. "We will get it right. We have to."

Kelvin helped Darius up with his heart sinking. A minor stumble now could mean disaster in the marshes. But he forced a smile. "Practice makes perfect. Let’s go again."

They ran the drill twice more, each attempt were smoother, their movements synchronized like a heartbeat. By the end, sweat glistened on their brows, and the beasts panted but there was a quiet pride in their eyes. They could do this.

As they caught their breath, Kelvin noticed a figure in the shadows, a tall silhouette cloaked in dark robes was watching from the edge of the courtyard. The stranger’s face was hidden, but the air around them felt... wrong, heavy with an unspoken intent.

Before Kelvin could point it out, the figure slipped away, leaving only questions in their wake. A spy? A threat? He shook it off, but the unease lingered.

That night, the Sanctum held its farewell ritual, a tradition for tamers facing perilous missions. The trio gathered in the Hall of Runes, its vaulted ceiling that glows with soulstream light.

Elders lined the walls with their beasts at their sides, and Headmaster Torin stepped forward with a small wooden box in his hands.

"For courage," he said, handing Kelvin a pendant that is carved with a flame rune. To Lyra, a feather etched with shadow glyphs. To Darius, a stone etched with an earth sigil. "Return with honor."

An elder woman with a snow-white owl on her shoulder approached them, her voice was a soft rasp, she said.

"The marshes test the soul as much as the body. Trust your beasts and they will carry you home." Her words were a balm, but they could not erase the dread coiling in Kelvin’s chest.

The trio left the hall in silence, the weight of the gifts grounded them. At the dormitory, Lyra paused, turning to her roommate, a quiet girl named Mara. "If I don’t come back," she whispered, "tell my sister I tried." Mara hugged her fiercely, and Kelvin looked away with his throat tight.

Darius lingered in the common room, cracking jokes with a group of younger tamers. "Don’t worry, kids, Uncle Darius will be back with zombie trophies!"

They laughed, but as they dispersed, he sank onto a bench with his grin faded. "Have to keep them smiling," he murmured to himself and stared at his hands. "Even if I am not."

Kelvin retreated to his room, Xerion curled up beside him. He ran a hand through the End-Tyrant scale, the warmth seeped into his bones.

"We are in this together, huh?" he said softly. Xerion’s golden eyes met his, steady and fierce, and for a moment, the fear receded.

The next morning the wind carried the faint stench of the marshes. The trio geared up and the armor clinked and their packs were slung over their shoulders as they made their way to the Sanctum gates.

The journey was short but heavy, each step was echoed with purpose. The gates loomed, iron and rune-carved, a threshold between safety and the unknown.

Kelvin paused and glanced back at the school. Its spires pierced the clouds, a beacon of home. Lyra’s hand brushed his arm with a silent anchor and she said, we will soon be back.

Darius adjusted his pack and this time his grin was fierce and unresolved. " It is time to roast some zombies," he said, and this time, it felt real.

Xerion growled and flames filled the air. Salaris flickered into shadow. Rhoam’s paws thudded against the stone.

The Tide’s Crest stepped through the gates and the marshes stretched dark and endless before them. The runes behind glowed faintly, a lifeline they might never see again.