As the golden slime-girl reformed herself against Caelum's chest, she pulsed with a new, sentient rhythm. Through their shared Aether, a bridge of consciousness formed. She didn't have words in the human sense, but Caelum felt her gratitude—a cool, liquid ripples of thought that settled into a single concept: *Devotion.*
"You are a unique solvent," Caelum whispered, stroking her translucent cheek. "From now on, you are **Mina**."
Mina chirped, her liquid body suddenly thinning and flowing down his arm. She wrapped around his right hand and forearm, hardening into a sleek, flexible gauntlet of amber-gold material. It felt like a second skin, vibrating with a low-level resonance that enhanced his magical conductivity.
Lyra and Xavia stirred, the damp morning air and the scent of the forest bringing them back to consciousness. They sat up, rubbing their eyes, their skin still flushed from the previous night's "Eclipse."
They found Caelum standing by the edge of the clearing, fully dressed and looking more powerful than ever. The golden glove on his hand hummed with a strange, liquid energy.
"You're awake," Caelum said, his voice calm. "Clean yourselves up. The 'hunt' is about to get more interesting."
Xavia looked at the glove, her eyes narrowing with professional curiosity. "A spirit-contract? You tamed a high-density elemental while we were asleep?"
Lyra, however, just pouted, her teal Aether puffing out like a ruffled bird. "Another one, Caelum? Honestly, I leave you alone for four hours and you've already got a new 'assistant' literally clinging to your hand."
Before she could continue her protest, a deafening, metallic **ROAR** shattered the peace of the forest. The ground beneath their feet shuddered, and a flock of black-feathered birds erupted from the canopy.
"That came from the North Ravine," Caelum commanded, Mina's gauntlet glowing in response. "Move."
They sprinted through the undergrowth, Lyra's wind helping them glide over the uneven roots. As they broke through a line of thick briars, the scene in the ravine was a portrait of chaos.
A **Void-Colossus**—a massive, centipede-like beast made of black, jagged chitin and glowing purple eyes—was cornering a three-person cell against a sheer rock wall.
**Isolde** was at the center, her face pale and streaked with dirt. She was holding up a massive, cracking dome of silver ice, her teeth gritted as the beast slammed its barbed limbs against her defenses. Behind her, **Seraphina** was kneeling, her magenta Aether channeled into a heavy gravity field meant to slow the beast, but her nose was bleeding from the overexertion.
The third student was **Elena**, a nimble girl with a Fire affinity, but her flames were flickering out as the beast's void-haze suffocated the oxygen in the air.
"The ice is failing!" Elena screamed, her voice cracking. "Isolde, the shield!"
A massive limb, sharp as a guillotine, crashed down. The silver dome shattered like glass. Isolde fell back, her eyes wide with the sudden realization of her own mortality. The beast reared back, its maw opening to reveal a swirling vortex of nothingness.
"Now," Caelum said.
He stepped into the clearing, Mina glowing a fierce, liquid gold on his hand.