Chapter 104: Flame and Form
The underground training chamber echoed with the rumble of ancient magic as Volundr activated a sealed summoning circle etched into the obsidian floor. With a low growl and a flare of runes, the ritual completed—and a monstrous chimera burst into the arena.
A lion's muscular body, a snake for a tail, and jagged draconic wings stitched with crimson veins loomed over Caelum.
"This one's tempered to push you to your limits," Volundr called down from the ledge, his arms crossed. "Don't hold back."
Caelum's breath caught for a moment. The beast was larger than anything he'd faced so far, and his control over Aether Frame was still shaky. But he stepped forward, raising his hands as the translucent gauntlets of his Sacred Gear flared to life.
Golden light gathered in his palm, forming a short sword of solidified aether and light. A buckler followed on his offhand.
His constructs shimmered unsteadily, the air around them flickering with raw energy.
The chimera didn't wait.
It charged, faster than expected. Caelum barely blocked the lion-head's paw swipe, tumbling backward. He dug his heels into the stone, sliding to a stop.
Too fast. Too strong. I need more reach...
The moment that thought crystallized in his mind, his blade shifted—elongating mid-swing, the edges crackling with arcs of holy lightning. Volundr's eyes widened slightly from above.
"It's adapting—he's evolving it on instinct."
Caelum surged forward, blade trailing sparks across the ground. He slashed upward, catching the chimera's flank. Holy light exploded from the impact, but the beast retaliated, its serpent-tail coiling around his leg and hurling him across the chamber.
Pain flared in his side. The constructs flickered, nearly dissolving under the stress of unstable light energy leaking from his body.
Not now… not again!
He slammed his palm to the ground, channeling his breath. Volundr's voice rang out, calm but firm:
"Anchor yourself. Feel the flow. The Gear is part of you—shape it, don't fear it."
Something in Caelum clicked.
The spatial threads he'd been sensing in prior training pulsed faintly—an unseen lattice around him. He reached for them subconsciously, grounding his unstable energy through the grid of space. Aether Frame stabilized. His sword flared brighter, cleaner.
He moved, faster than before.
Blade and light danced together, weaving around the chimera's frenzied strikes. He used spatial awareness to sidestep its tail and cleave into its hind leg. The creature roared, wings flailing. Caelum dodged under a swipe, slid close, and unleashed a final slash across the beast's chest—pure holy lightning igniting on contact.
The chimera collapsed, stunned and bound by sealing glyphs that activated upon defeat.
Caelum dropped to one knee, chest heaving. Steam curled off his arms as the constructs faded. He looked up at Volundr, who was smiling faintly.
"That... was real combat. You didn't just react—you adapted. You grew."
Caelum smiled weakly, the triumph and exhaustion hitting him all at once.
"And I didn't lose control."
"You didn't," Volundr said, leaping down to help him up. "You're not just containing your light anymore. You're beginning to wield it."