Darkness filtered through the thick canopy of the Familiar Forest, casting long shadows across the dew kissed underbrush. Birds of mana infused feathers called from unseen branches, their songs laced with subtle magic. The air shimmered with wild energy, untamed.
The clearing around the Phenex camp buzzed with anticipation.
Riser stood at the edge of a crackling fire pit, the orange glow dancing in his golden eyes. Clad in his travel cloak of flame trimmed obsidian, he surveyed his gathered peerage like a general preparing his elite for a sacred trial.
"You've all continue to grow stronger," he said, his voice low and commanding. "You've bled, trained, and triumphed. But this next step it's not about conquest."
Kaijin cracked his neck. "Then what is it about, Boss?"
Riser's gaze sharpened. "It's about connection. Familiars aren't pets or soldiers. They're mirrors. Reflections of your strength and your flaws."
Merlin let out a short laugh and tossed her hair back, her staff crackling with static. "Darling, if some star beast doesn't want me, I'll assume it's the universe that's flawed."
Kaijin snorted, arms folded over his broad chest. "You better hope your ego doesn't scare it off, witch."
"Please," Merlin replied with a wink. "It'll fall in love at first spell."
Daryun said nothing, merely tightened the grip on his Halberd. The wind tousled his long dark hair, and he gave a nod of understanding.
Riser raised his hand, and the flames from the pit surged skyward briefly.
"Go," he said, voice like flint. "Return with your other half only then would you be complete."
Kaijin walked west into the wilds, the trees giving way to cracked cliffs and jagged ridges. His dwarven instincts stirred. The land here sang of old earth magic raw, dense, unmoving.
"Feels like home," he muttered, adjusting his bracers. "Rocks don't lie."
The terrain opened into a wide crater like clearing. Boulders the size of carriages lay shattered, and the scent of scorched stone clung to the air. In the center stood a monstrous golem, a giant formed from obsidian plates and embedded rune stones glowing faint blue.
It turned, and a low groan echoed from its chest.
Kaijin blinked. "You've been waiting I see."
The golem slammed a fist into the ground, sending a tremor through the crater.
Kaijin laughed. "Good. I needed a real workout."
He charged, his gauntlets igniting with blazing flame. The golem met him head on, fists like siege engines. The duel was brutal stone versus flame, bulk versus precision. Kaijin ducked under a blow and drove his fist into the golem's knee, sending cracks spiraling across its leg.
"You're tough," he panted, narrowly dodging another crushing strike. "But I have seen the toughest giants fall."
The fight dragged on for minutes. Kaijin relied on his brute strength, targeting joints, wearing it down. With one final explosive punch, he drove both fists into the creature's chest trying not to fully shatterer the glowing core only enough to prove his point.
The golem collapsed to one knee, steaming and silent.
Then it bowed.
The half broken core reformed into a small orb, pulsing like a heart. Kaijin stepped forward, shaking its hand which completely covered his laughing.
"I'll call you Gravelheart," he said, smiling softly. "Let's build something that'll last longer than the mountains."
Later on with Merlin who moved like mist through the shadowed boughs, floating almost like a light breath in the wind. The further she traveled, the quieter the world became. Even the birdsong faded.
"Something is around here," she murmured, eyes flickering with arcane light. "Time bends here"
She passed through a veil of silence into a twilight grove, space seeming to warp and shimmer around her. There, floating in still air, was a creature of impossible beauty a Void Owl, its plumage a canvas of galaxies, starlight dancing along each feather.
Its eyes, black holes spinning with unknowable truths, locked onto hers.
"Oh" she breathed. "You are a majestic creature."
Reality fractured.
Merlin found herself suspended in a dark void. Time stretched and bent. Visions assailed her, her failures, her death, her power unraveling, Riser falling in battle
"No," she growled, clutching her staff. "I see through you."
Magic surged around her, anchoring her soul. She focused, her voice echoing in defiance
"I am Merlin. Time's apprentice. The arcane's heir. I bend not to fear, but reform it into will."
The visions shattered like glass.
She was back in the grove.
The owl hovered silently, then let out a hoot that resonated through her bones. It landed on her shoulder, wings folding with grace.
Merlin exhaled, brushing the void owl cheek in a loving maner. "Xylo," she said softly. "Your name is Xylo."
With Daryun deeper into the forest, where the air grew thin and the trees gave way to wind carved stone, Daryun trekked through icy mists. Each breath crystallized on his armor, each step silent.
He found the cave just as instinct told him he would. A palace of ice and light.
Inside, draped across a throne of crystal, lay a creature of silent majesty an Ice Panther, white as death, eyes as blue as the frozen sea.
It growled once, a sound like cracking glaciers.
Daryun bowed deeply.
"I do not seek to tame," he said. "Only to fight alongside those who understand honor."
The panther lunged. Claws meeting steel, not in fury, but challenge. They moved like duelists testing reflexes, willpower, patience. Daryun never attacked first, only responded. He earned trust with restraint.
Finally, the panther stopped, breathing slow and calm. It padded forward and lowered its head.
Daryun raised a hand and let it rest on the beast's neck.
"You are Yukianesa," he whispered. "And I'll be your blade."
Returning to the Camp
Seeming to be past midnight when the trio returned.
The campfire burned bright. Thalia was laughing, feeding bits of smoked meat to her hawk, who let sparks dance around his mane. Milim slept in a curled up ball, Oblivion purring like a thundercloud on her chest. Artoria sat watch beside Kion, who flared with solar warmth.
Kaijin returned first, Gravelheart's heavy footsteps causing the ground to thrum.
Merlin appeared next, Xylo resting on her shoulder, eyes gleaming with eerie wisdom.
Daryun came last, silent as snowfall, Yukianesa following like a ghost.
Riser stood as they gathered, firelight casting golden shadows across his features. He looked at each of them, his family.
"You've returned," he said. "Whole. Stronger. Changed."
Kaijin grinned. "You should've seen it, boss. That golem? Tough as hell. But he's one of us now."
Merlin twirled a lock of hair. "Xylo showed me the edge of time. I nearly lost myself but I remembered who my king was."
Daryun nodded once. "She respects me now. As I do her."
Riser let out a long breath and smiled, warm and proud.
"You're more than warriors now," he said. "You've bonded with living extensions of your soul. Familiars. Weapons. Partners. We are no longer just a force but a ever growing family."
Kaijin raised a mug of ale, foam spilling over the edge.
"To Riser! And to what we're building!"
The campfire roared with cheers.
"To family!"
"To the future!"
"To war and victory!"
Riser's gaze drifted to the sky above, where stars blinked softly.
Looks like it's my turn to find my other half.