Karl didn't go back to his dorm right away.
He left the arena in silence, though the students behind him couldn't stop buzzing.
Raiven's appearance had stirred more than attention.
It had awakened suspicion.
Whispers followed him through the halls like clinging smoke.
"Did you see the runes? They shifted—twice."
"That wasn't just a high-tier shadow beast. That was something else."
"Two glyph circles. One beast doesn't cast two."
Even Kael and Nyra walked quieter than usual beside him. Kael finally spoke after several long moments.
"You okay?"
Karl gave a slow nod.
But truthfully… he didn't know.
As they stepped into one of the quiet, ivy-lined walkways near the east wing, Karl felt the pulse before it happened.
Raiven's presence didn't just flicker.
It formed.
And this time, it came with a voice.
"You held too long."
Karl froze.
The voice echoed within, like wind in a forgotten cave. Deep. Controlled. Not human — but not animal either.
It was Raiven.
Karl's mark glowed faintly. His shadow stretched longer, then curved behind him—forming Raiven's silhouette against the stone.
"You can talk," Karl murmured under his breath.
"I could always talk. You simply weren't ready to hear it."
Karl blinked.
Kael looked over. "You say something?"
Karl shook his head. "Nothing important."
But it was.
It was everything.
Later that evening, back in their dorm suite, Nyra was the first to break the silence again.
"So… your wolf buddy shows up mid-class like a myth-beast, the runes scream, and the instructor nearly faints. Want to talk about it?"
Karl leaned against the window frame, staring at the lights of Veyhelm below.
"It wasn't just Raiven."
Kael leaned forward.
"So it's real then. Two Soulbinds."
"I think so," Karl said.
"Raiven isn't alone. There's… something else. Bigger. Older. It reacts to magic, to presence… to threat."
Nyra stared.
"That thing under the wolf. The bigger circle."
Karl nodded.
Raiven's voice returned, quiet, just to him.
"The other sleeps, but it does not forget. It will rise when your body and soul stop resisting."
"It is fire. And you, Karl, were born from ashes."
Karl swallowed.
"He's talking to me."
Kael blinked. "Wait, what?"
"Raiven. He's talking. Like… actual speech."
Nyra whistled. "Damn. I want mine to do that. Lucky."
As if summoned by sarcasm, a blue mist spiraled near the edge of the room — Nyra's dagger pulsed once, and a shape shimmered into view beside her.
Her Soulbind: a shadow-fanged fox spirit, half-formed and laced with streaks of blue lightning.
And then—
It spoke.
"Luck has nothing to do with it, girl. You never shut up long enough to listen."
Nyra screamed and nearly fell off the couch.
**"WHAT—YOU CAN—YOU—"
The spirit sniffed.
"Yes. I talk. I've always talked. You talk so much I didn't bother introducing myself."
Karl snorted. Kael burst out laughing.
"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me," Kael said, wiping tears.
Nyra glared.
"You're all fired."
When the laughter died down, Karl felt it again.
That strange second beat under his chest.
Raiven's shadow flickered against the far wall.
"It will emerge soon."
"You feel it too, don't you?" Karl asked.
"Yes. But not just me. The other Soulbinds are sensing it as well. The stronger ones. They're aware."
"Is that a problem?"
"Not for us. But for the Academy?" Raiven paused.
"They've already started digging."
That night, across campus, Instructor Renia sat in a sealed chamber beneath the rune archive tower. Before her hovered a projected image of the glyphs Karl had triggered during his summoning.
Two circles. Two distinct mana signatures.
"This can't be natural," she murmured.
From behind her, Headmaster Elaris appeared, arms folded.
"It's not."
Renia turned, startled. "You've been watching him."
"Since the day the mark appeared on his record."
"And you believe the rumors?"
Elaris walked toward the glowing glyphs.
"I don't believe anything yet. But if what's inside him wakes without guidance…"
She placed a hand against the image.
"…then this entire Academy may not be ready."