Music for chapter: Norma Jean - Deathbed Atheist
The fading sun cast long shadows across the academy grounds as Aullie slipped through the side gate. The letter still rested in his coat pocket, its ink faintly warm even now. "Shrine. Dusk. Come alone." No name, no seal. Just a vertical eye, black and faintly glowing.
He'd asked around, subtly. Most students didn't even know there was a shrine on campus. But Sora had mentioned it once in passing: an old, forgotten place tucked near the wooded cliffs behind the east tower. Overgrown and untended. Haunted, some said.
He followed the narrow trail into the trees, Shinku padding at his heels in silence. The cat had said nothing since they'd left the dorm. He hadn't needed to. The air was thick with tension, a kind of gravity that deepened as the trees closed around them.
Eventually, the path opened into a clearing. The shrine stood crooked and forgotten, half-swallowed by roots and vines. Stone lanterns sat shattered at odd angles, and moss crept over the old offering table. Despite the decay, the place pulsed faintly with Aether; a dormant energy, ancient and waiting.
Aullie stepped forward.
And then he saw him.
A figure stood in front of the shrine, motionless.
Clad in black robes that pooled like liquid shadow at his feet, the man, if it was a man since it looked corporeal, wore a hood that obscured everything but the lower half of his face. What Aullie saw made his stomach knot.
It's skin was pale, almost translucent. The mouth was sewn shut with black thread, thick and crude. A strip of cloth wrapped around his head, covering his eyes completely. No part of his body was visible beyond the robes.
Yet Aullie heard the voice clearly.
"You came."
It wasn't a whisper, or speech. It was telepathic, a vibration inside Aullie's skull.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice low and steady.
The figure said nothing for a long moment. The silence seemed to stretch.
Then:
"You are a storm walking in human skin. The seal stirs. The chained one feels your breath."
Aullie stepped closer but Shinku growled softly behind him.
"The chained one. You mean what I saw in the vision? The thing in the dark."
"Not seen. Remembered. Not summoned. Carried."
Aullie's mouth was dry. "It's part of me."
"Not yet," the figure said. "But near. Beneath this place. Beneath you. Beneath all."
Aullie felt a chill run through him. The shrine, the academy, all of it sat on top of something he couldn't fathom.
"What do you want from me?"
The blindfolded head tilted.
"You will be tested. When the seal breaks, and the chained one calls, will you kneel or rise?"
He didn't know how to answer. The words didn't make sense.
Then the figure raised one pale hand and held out a scroll. Black paper, sealed in wax with no emblem.
"When the creature in chains awakens, and you forget your name, this will remind you."
Aullie stepped forward and took the scroll. The moment it touched his skin, the figure vanished. No sound. No shimmer.
Gone.
Shinku padded up beside him.
"That wasn't a person."
"No," Aullie agreed. "It was something else."
He looked down at the scroll. It was cold to the touch.
The next morning, all first-year students were summoned to the central courtyard. Murmurs buzzed through the crowd.
Headmaster Inoue stepped onto the speaking platform, flanked by elite instructors and regional commanders. He raised one gloved hand, and the crowd fell silent.
"Students," he began, voice sharp and commanding, "in three days, your class will journey to the Shinkyo Wilds. There, you will encounter your first true test as Aether Mages: the bonding of your first beast."
Gasps and anxious murmurs rippled through the courtyard.
"You will be paired with instructors for safety. The region is limited to beasts levels one through four. Do not stray. Do not assume you are ready for more. You will be provided tracking beacons, but if you go missing, there are no guarantees."
He let that sink in before continuing.
"The wilds are unforgiving. You will live off the land, using what you have been taught. Cooperation is essential. You may not return with a bond, not all do. That is acceptable. But reckless behavior will not be tolerated."
He motioned toward the instructors behind him.
"Each group will be assigned a veteran guide. Your goal is not conquest. It is connection. Aether bonds are mutual. Forced contracts often fail, or worse, turn violent. Let the bond form naturally. Let the beast choose you as much as you choose it."
Students whispered around Aullie.
"This is it... real fieldwork."
"I heard someone bonded with a Level 4 last year."
"I'm not ready."
Inoue finished with, "Prepare yourselves. Physically, mentally, spiritually. The wilds will test you. Not just your strength, but your character. Dismissed."
Afterward, Aullie regrouped with his friends.
Haru looked pale. "Three days? That's it? I thought we'd have a month."
"We did," Aki said, cracking her knuckles. "It's just that no one told us."
Aullie arched a brow. "You nervous?"
"Of course I'm nervous," Haru snapped. "I don't want to get mauled by a grumpy bear monster."
"Don't worry," Aki grinned. "I'll save you. I will absolutely laugh first, but at some point I'll save you."
Haru just rolled his eyes at her flippant comment.
Sora stood beside Aullie, silent. Her hand brushed his briefly. He didn't pull away. Her violet eyes flicked to his, steady.
"You ready?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Define ready."
"You're deflecting," she said, amused.
"I learned from the best."
Off to the side, Ryota leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, watching them. He made a motion with two fingers, a mock salute.
Aullie held his gaze for a moment. The fire-and-ice wielder smirked.
Shinku muttered in his mind, "That one feels two faced. Watch him."
"I am," Aullie replied.
That evening, the campus dojo rang with training exercises and preparation drills. Students learned basic survival formations, discussed beast classifications, and studied the Aether Crest system: a universal mark identifying a creature's power level.
The system was taught early, considered essential. A single glowing yellow circle on the chest marked a Level 1 beast. Two nested yellow circles meant Level 2. Three? Level 3. Once a beast reached Level 4, the color shifted to red—same nesting system, but far more dangerous. Black was for Levels 7 through 9, and if you ever saw a violet hexagon...
Run.
Aullie absorbed it all quickly. He had an instinct for it, an intuition. When one of the instructors showed diagrams of a Level 3 Beast's behavior, Aullie raised his hand.
"Going in from the side won't work. Those beasts react too quickly and will likely counterattack if you try flanking them. It's safer to provoke a lunge and pivot, this leaves their spine is exposed for a brief moment mid-pounce."
The instructor paused, adjusted the diagram, and gave him a quiet, thoughtful nod. Then scribbled something in a notebook.
Not everyone was impressed.
A tall student from a lesser Royal house scoffed loudly. His robe bore a faded crest, gray flame over twin fangs.
"Void boy thinks he's a beast whisperer now? Should be careful. Don't want him slipping and voiding himself out of existence."
A few students chuckled, but most cringed due to how bad that one liner was. Aullie just ignored him.
Then the lights dimmed slightly.
A deep rumble echoed through the dojo as Shinku padded from the shadows, full panther form, fur sleek, stripes glowing faintly.
The Royal student turned, saw Shinkus blood red eyes and froze.
Shinku bared his fangs. Silent. Watchful.
The student paled in fright.
"Put it away," the instructor barked.
Aullie blinked innocently. "He walked over on his own."
"Then control him. Or dismiss him."
Aullie said nothing, merely nodded. Shinku stepped back, fur flattening.
Inside his head, the cat purred.
"Could've taken a finger."
Aullie suppressed a grin. He hadn't told anyone yet that he could hear Shinku.
He wasn't sure when or if he ever would.
That night, the group sat beneath the stars, gathered around a small fire on the edge of the courtyard. The next few days would be hard, dangerous, uncertain.
Haru leaned back on his elbows. "What if I can't bond with anything? What if nothing wants me?"
Aki threw a twig at him. "Then you punch it until it respects you. Maybe bite it too, if that's your thing."
"That's a terrible strategy," Sora said, shaking her head. "The goal is bonding, not a deathmatch."
"It worked for my last relationship," Aki replied, deadpan.
Haru flinched at Aki's words. This didn't go unnoticed by Aullie.
Chuckling, Aullie looked at Haru. "You'll be fine. You listen better than most and you're empathetic. Animals notice that. They want to be understood, not controlled."
Haru sighed. "You make it sound so simple, you know we aren't all animal whisperers."
Sora stared into the fire. "What if the bond changes us? What if we're not the same after?"
"It will," Aullie said, his voice quiet. "But maybe not in the ways we expect."
Aki leaned forward, poking the fire with a stick. "I just hope mine doesn't snore. Or shed too much."
Haru raised an eyebrow. "Is it weird that I kind of want a big, slow one? Like, something chill. A turtle, maybe."
"You would," Aki teased. "I bet it ends up being some angry rhino-lizard amalgamation instead."
Aullie smiled faintly, watching the flames flicker. He reached down as Shinku leapt softly into his lap, curling up without ceremony.
"You know," Aullie murmured, stroking his fur, "for a death omen, you're pretty soft."
Shinku flicked his tail. "Careful. I bite."
"Only when I try to scratch your belly, huh?"
Shinku didn't respond, but his purring intensified.
Sora watched them with a small smile. "I still think it's wild how close you two are."
Aullie winked. "Sometimes things just... fit."
Sora eyes widened for split second before she looked away, and blushed to her roots.
Haru punched Aullies shoulder giving him a knowing look, Aullie just smirked and tilted his head to Aki, this made Haru cringed and go into a coughing fit.
They sat silent for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, while the fire whispered and popped beside them. The moon was bright, framed by the high stone walls of Kirin Academy. Students drifted off to their dorms, but the four of them lingered, not ready to let go of the moment.
Haru stretched with a dramatic yawn. "We should crash. Big day tomorrow, unless you plan on fighting monsters half-asleep."
"True," Aki said, grinning. "Better rest up. You'll definitely need it when your future bond mistakes your bedroll for a toilet."
"Wow," Haru deadpanned. "I can't believe I share a campfire with someone this rude."
Sora stood and brushed the dirt from her skirt. "See you all in the morning. And Aullie, don't oversleep. I want front-row seats to see who bonds first."
"No promises," Aullie muttered, though honestly, he doubted he'd sleep a wink.
The others walked off one by one until only Shinku and Aullie remained.
The cat opened one eye. "Something's coming. I can feel it."
Aullie looked up at the moon. His fingers brushed the scroll tucked inside his coat. The message from the shrine echoed in his thoughts, cryptic and sharp.
With any luck, this trip would go smoothly, but given how things had been going lately, Aullie wasn't holding his breath.