The moment Halin activated the runes, the training hall felt different.
Not dangerous.
Not hostile.
Just… heavier.
Like the air itself had weight.
Today was supposed to be simple:
Practice weaving the fractured signature into the triad structure without letting it destabilize the flow.
It should've been manageable.
It wasn't.
"Begin when ready," Halin instructed, stepping back with her staff planted in the floor.
Lira stood to my right, steady breath, fingers trembling only slightly.
Seris stood to my left, jaw tight, grip firm on her resonance conduit.
I inhaled.
Opened the bond.
The first wave of resonance flowed smoothly.
Lira's calm washed through me.
Seris's fire sharpened my focus.
My own center stabilized.
Then I reached for the fractured signature.
At first, it shimmered like a soft pulse under my skin—
small, weak, manageable.
So I reached deeper.
Too deep.
Something cracked.
Not in the room—
inside me.
A spike of resonance shot outward like a splintering thread, jagged and uncontrolled.
"Arin—stop!" Lira cried.
But it was too late.
The fracture ignited.
Raw energy burst through the bond, slamming into both Lira and Seris. They stumbled backward. The runes around us flared aggressively, trying to contain the surge.
I grabbed my head, choking on a breath I couldn't pull in.
It felt like being yanked in two directions—
past and present,
memory and void,
self and stranger.
Lira rushed toward me first.
"Arin, look at me—look at me—breathe—!"
Seris pulled closer too, but her reaction was sharper, more defensive.
"That fracture is pulling him apart—Halin, shut it down!"
Halin raised her staff. "I can't—he's synchronizing too deeply—pull him back!"
The fractured resonance surged again.
My knees buckled.
Lira caught me under the shoulders, hands trembling violently.
Seris seized my wrist, anchoring me with her warmth.
But the bond wasn't stable.
It wasn't responding to their touch.
It was unraveling.
"Arin—stay with us," Lira whispered, voice cracking.
"Don't you dare drop!" Seris barked, fear sharpening her tone.
The fracture pulsed.
The room spun.
And then—
everything snapped.
A blast of resonance exploded outward, knocking Lira and Seris back again.
They hit opposite sides of the rune circle, sliding across the ground with choked gasps.
"No—no—NO—" I groaned, trying to reach them, but my limbs felt distant, unreal, like I was moving underwater.
The bond flickered—
alive,
straining,
dying.
Lira pushed herself up, eyes wide with terror.
"Seris—help me—he's slipping—!"
Seris bared her teeth, fury and fear mixing violently. "I know, Lira! I'm trying!"
They moved toward me at the same time—
but something in the bond twisted.
My fractured resonance reacted differently to each of them—
pulling toward Lira,
pushing against Seris.
"Why is it rejecting me?" Seris shouted, voice cracking.
Lira's hands shook as she grabbed my arm. "It's not rejecting you—it's unstable—it's reacting to his fear—"
"Then FIX IT!" Seris snapped, stepping forward.
"I'm trying!" Lira shot back, breath frantic. "If you stop yelling—!"
"Yelling?! He's collapsing!"
"I KNOW—!"
Their voices clashed—
fear turning into panic,
panic turning into anger,
anger turning into desperation.
The argument hit me harder than the resonance spike.
It hurt.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Hearing them fight—
because of me—
because they didn't know how to save me—
because they were terrified—
It ripped through me worse than the fracture.
"Stop—" I choked out.
They didn't hear me.
Seris grabbed my shoulders. "Arin! Stay awake!"
Lira gripped my hands. "Arin, breathe with me—please—please—"
"STOP—FIGHTING—" I forced out, voice breaking.
The bond convulsed.
They froze instantly.
Both pairs of eyes widened—
not at me,
but at the ripple of pain that echoed through all three of us.
Seris stepped back, breathing hard. "Lira, I—"
Lira shook her head weakly. "No, I shouldn't have— I was just scared—"
"So was I," Seris whispered, voice cracking for the first time. "I thought— I thought he was going to—"
Her voice died.
Lira reached for her trembling hand instinctively.
Seris didn't pull away.
The bond warmed—
just enough to stabilize the fracture.
Enough to let me breathe again.
I collapsed forward, gasping, and they both caught me—
one hand at my back,
one hand at my chest,
holding me together.
"Arin," Lira whispered, forehead touching mine. "I'm here."
"We're here," Seris murmured, her voice soft despite everything. "All of us. No more fighting."
My shaking eased.
Slowly, painfully, the fractured resonance settled.
The runes dimmed.
The hall quieted.
Halin exhaled deeply. "The bond stabilized itself at the last second. Had it fractured further…"
She didn't finish.
She didn't need to.
Lira wrapped her arms around me—gentle, grounding.
Seris held my shoulder, her grip tender now instead of panicked.
Neither spoke for a long time.
Then Seris whispered:
"We can't fight each other. Not ever. Not over him."
Lira nodded. "No. We protect him together. Or not at all."
Their hands intertwined over my chest—
a silent pact,
a promise forged in the middle of fear.
My chest loosened.
The bond pulsed—
warm,
steady,
whole.
For now.
When the runes finally dimmed to silence, the hall felt impossibly large around us. I sagged against them both, breathing in ragged pulls, and only then did I realize how tightly they were holding me—as if letting go for even a second might make me slip back into the fracture. Lira's forehead rested against my temple, her breath trembling with relief.
Seris's hands stayed firm on my shoulders, fingers gripping just enough to remind me she was still there. Their warmth spread through me slowly, melting the lingering panic I hadn't admitted I still felt.
Halin watched us for a long moment, her usual stoic expression softening just slightly. "The bond stabilized because all three of you chose each other," she said quietly. "Fear almost broke it, but resolve rebuilt it." Her eyes shifted to me.
"The fractured resonance doesn't respond to power or discipline alone, Arin. It responds to trust." She stepped back, giving us space. "And today, you proved that even in chaos, this triad will hold."
Lira swallowed hard and lifted her head, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry I panicked. I just… when I saw him slipping, I—" Her voice broke, and she pressed a hand over her heart as if trying to keep it from spilling open.
Seris reached for her without hesitation, gripping her wrist gently. "Don't apologize. I was just as terrified. I just… show it by yelling."
She huffed a shaky laugh. "It's not my best trait." The small smile Lira gave her in return made something inside me unclench.
I reached up, placing a hand over theirs, letting our fingers overlap in a quiet knot of warmth and trembling resolve. "You didn't fail me," I whispered. "Either of you."
Their breaths hitched, and for a moment, the bond pulsed so warmly it felt like a second heartbeat against my skin.
Whatever had happened today—whatever fear had clawed at the edges of our connection—was already stitching itself into something stronger. Not perfect. Not flawless. But real. And real was enough.