The forest was quieter than before, as if the beast's retreat had lulled the woods into a cautious breath. Deeper in the forest, past a tangle of thorns and fallen limbs, Selene’s eyes widened as she caught sight of her father—crumpled beside a moss-covered tree, his form barely visible in the dappled light. With a cry, she rushed to him and dropped beside his still form. Her hands trembled as she reached for his pulse, breath hitching in her chest. Kael stood nearby, scanning the dark brush for any signs of movement. When a weak groan slipped from the man's lips, relief surged through Selene. Only then did Kael step forward, lifting her wounded father with care. The village gathered at the edge of the square as the trio returned. Relief washed over faces, but beneath it, unease lingered.

Selene’s father was alive, though heavily wounded. The healers rushed forward as the two arrived at the square, Kael still carrying Selene’s wounded father. Selene dropped to her knees beside him, clutching his hand while Kael stood protectively nearby, scanning the uneasy crowd. After the healers took her father into their care, Kael and Selene walked home in silence. The path was lit by torchlight, and the hush that fell over the village was not peace, but the kind of quiet that follows unanswered questions.

That night, Kael sat in silence in his room at home, Lumen beside him. In his palm, the strange pulsing shard they had taken from the beast flickered softly—neither cold nor warm, but alive. It responded to his mana, to his thoughts.

The next morning, Kael wandered alone back into the cave where the mana flow once surged around him. The place still hummed faintly with residual magic—his earlier encounter had left a mark on the stone itself. The stone here, unlike ordinary rock, had absorbed the energy and responded to his magic. He began to wonder: could fragments of this cave stone be used to anchor future enchantments—perhaps even woven into the design of his bracelet? This place, once a silent chamber of ancient energy, was slowly becoming his laboratory. Every ridge in the stone, every pulse of ambient mana, offered something to study. And Kael, driven by curiosity and need, would make this cave the cradle of his discoveries.

Kael began to dwell on what had happened that night—his fusion with Lumen. Determined to understand it, he sat cross-legged in the center of the mana flow and concentrated. He guided his mana toward the idea of infusion, trying to recreate the moment, willing the connection to return. But nothing happened.

Frustrated yet persistent, he tried to resonate with Lumen directly, reaching out with focused intent. For a heartbeat, there was a flicker—an echo of that bond. Then suddenly, a surge of unstable energy burst between them. The force knocked Kael backward and sent Lumen tumbling across the stone floor, both of them sprawled and dazed.

Kael lay still for a moment, staring up at the ceiling of the cave, chest rising with heavy breaths. Whatever had happened that night in the forest—it wasn’t something he could force. Not yet.

Exhausted from the failed attempt, Kael slumped onto a flat stone and took the beast shard into his hand. It pulsed faintly with a rhythm that matched no natural heartbeat. Curious, Kael focused his mana, attempting to break the shard apart—not with brute force, but by unraveling it down to its smallest magical essence. Slowly, it disintegrated, dissolving into shimmering motes of raw mana.

The particles flowed into his body without resistance, merging with his own magic. Kael felt it immediately—an unfamiliar yet powerful energy awakening inside him. He steadied his breath and let his mana wrap around it, contain it. In his hand, the particles began to swirl, then condense.

From that swirl emerged a tiny version of the beast. Not an illusion, not a memory—an echo born from the shard’s essence and Kael’s will. It hovered in his palm, flickering like flame.

Later, Kael wandered through the forest, his thoughts lost in the mystery of what he'd just created. It wasn’t long before danger found him again. A sleek magical wolf lunged from the shadows, eyes glowing with hostility. Kael instinctively threw up a wall of mana, deflecting the beast’s charge. Before he could react further, the tiny beast beside him surged forward, attacking the wolf with surprising agility.

They fought together—Kael and his echo-beast. His attacks grew sharper, more focused. As the wolf finally fell, Kael felt a shift within. A surge pulsed through him. His Astra Quotient had risen.

The echo-beast shimmered again—and grew.

And in that moment, Kael understood: as his magic grew, so too would the creature born from his will.