Sunrise spilled across the village like warm water seeping into old cracks.
Aurelianth didn't feel the warmth first.
He felt Solance light and trembling colliding into him with a desperation that nearly knocked him backward.
He wrapped his arms around Solance's waist
and pulled it tight against his chest as if trying to anchor the very sky.
Solance clutched his back fingers glowing so intensely Aurelianth's skin pulsed with heat.
Lioren crashed into both of them at once arms locking around Aurelianth's ribs,face buried in his shoulder breath shaking unevenly.
No one spoke for a long moment.
They only held,and held,and held.
The first words came from Solance.
"…Your warmth is too much."
Aurelianth pulled back slightly, alarmed.
"Too much?"
Solance shook its head quickly.
"No...not bad...just...overwhelming."
Lioren lifted her head slowly.
"Aurelianth...you're glowing."
He blinked.
"What?"
She pressed her palm to his chest right over the rune.
A soft golden radiance spilled through her fingers.
Solance gasped.
"…Your light is touching mine."
And Aurelianth felt it:
Solance's glow mingling with his pulse through Lioren's hand.
A strange tri-light shimmered where their bodies met gold from Aurelianth,silver from Solance,amber from Lioren.
Lioren's voice cracked.
"Are we...blending?"
Solance leaned closer,face inches from Aurelianth's chest.
"….He and I already shared a thread….but now….you're in it too."
Aurelianth's heart jolted.
"Lioren?"
She swallowed hard.
"I think….the Arbiter's trial forced something awake."
Solance placed a glowing palm over her hand.
The tri-light brightened.
"…We are linking.
All three of us."
Aurelianth's pulse quickened.
"Is that dangerous?"
Solance shook its head slowly.
"…Not dangerous.
But intense."
Lioren whispered:
"I feel both of you."
Aurelianth froze.
Solance's glow flickered wildly.
"…You can feel us?"
"Yes," Lioren said.
"I can feel the weight of Solance's light.
I can feel the heat of Aurelianth's heartbeat.
I can feel..."
She gasped.
"...and you both feel me."
Solance's voice drifted soft and awed:
"…Your emotions….brush against me like warm fabric."
Aurelianth swallowed.
"I feel….your breath."
"And your fear," Lioren whispered.
"And your hope."
Aurelianth's heart shook.
"And your love."
The tri-light pulsed once and surged higher.
All three stumbled backward as a ripple of warm energy shot outward like a silent wave.
The villagers looked up in shock.
The Prevention leader stepped forward:
"What was THAT?"
Aurelianth instinctively pulled Solance and Lioren behind him.
"Nothing harmful."
But his chest still glowed.
Solance's body shimmered.
Lioren's palms burned with amber light.
The stone-keeper stepped forward slowly,a mixture of awe and caution in her voice.
"You three are….bonding."
Lioren nodded shakily.
"We didn't do it on purpose."
Solance whispered:
"…But we didn't resist, either."
Aurelianth felt the truth settle through him with frightening clarity:
Their bond was now active not metaphor,not emotion,but law and identity intertwined.
Lioren looked between the two of them.
"What does it….do?"
Before Aurelianth could answer,
Solance stepped back,placing its glowing hands on its chest.
"….I feel….stable."
Aurelianth blinked.
"What?"
Solance's glow brightened in relief.
"...I feel anchored.
Not by touch...but by connection."
Lioren gasped.
"The link is stabilizing you?"
Solance nodded.
"...And...Aurelianth...your rune is not spasming."
Aurelianth touched his chest.
The rune was calm,soft,steady,warm.
"I feel...balanced."
Lioren slowly raised her glowing hands.
"Then what happens if I…"
She touched Aurelianth's face.
He inhaled sharply not from pain,but from a sudden rush of warmth.
Solance gasped loudly.
"…I felt that touch."
Aurelianth turned slowly.
"You felt Lioren touch me?"
Solance nodded, glowing wildly.
"…Yes.
On my own cheek."
Lioren stepped away in shock.
"Oh stars we're cross-feeling touch."
Aurelianth looked down at his hands.
"Then what about this..."
He reached out toward Solance slowly, intentionally And touched its shoulder.
Solance inhaled sharply....
But Lioren yelped softlyfrom several feet away,hand flying to her own shoulder.
Aurelianth froze.
"You felt that too?"
Lioren nodded, breath shaking.
"Yes.
Exactly where you touched Solance."
Solance whispered:
"….We are three bodies….sharing one thread."
The stone-keeper stepped closer.
"This is...unprecedented."
Solance nodded.
"…We should tell the Arbiter..."
Aurelianth growled:
"No.
Not until we understand it."
Lioren nodded fiercely.
"The Arbiter will see it as instability."
Solance whispered:
"…But it feels like...strength."
Aurelianth smiled faintly.
"It feels like us."
The Link Deepens — The Pulse Trial
By midday,the trio sat together in the training yard to test their new connection.
Solance suggested the first test.
"Let us sit close...but not touching."
Aurelianth sat to its left.
Lioren to its right.
They breathed slowly.
Their lights pulsed.
And then...
The pulses synced.
Gold.
Silver.
Amber.
Three lights.
One rhythm.
Lioren gasped softly.
"I can feel your breath again."
Aurelianth nodded.
"And your heartbeat."
Solance whispered:
"…I feel everything."
They stayed that way for a long time breathing in unison,hearts syncing,light blending in the small space between them until it looked like dawn lived inside their circle.
Aurelianth felt something change.
"Solance."
"…Yes…?"
"You're reacting differently to pressure now."
Solance blinked.
"How?"
"Your light...isn't collapsing inward.It's expanding."
Lioren nodded quickly.
"It's true.
You look more...stable."
Solance touched its chest.
"…I feel heavier."
Aurelianth raised a brow.
"Heavier?"
Solance nodded.
"…Like I have presence.
Weight.
Shape."
Lioren smiled warmly.
"That's what people feel when they're grounded."
Solance whispered:
"…Grounded.
I like that."
Emotional Transfer — Aurelianth's Pain, Solance's Light
As the afternoon wore on,Aurelianth stood up
to retrieve water for them.
His chest tightened suddenly....
A rune-flare.
He gripped the edge of a wooden railing.
"Ah..."
But before he could collapse...
A flash of light burst behind him.
Solance stood there,light pulsing wildly.
"…Your pain...
I felt it...it echoed in me..."
Aurelianth stared in shock.
"You felt my pain?"
Solance nodded.
"…It pulled me to you."
Lioren hurried over.
"So the link transmits pain too..."
Aurelianth steadied himself.
"It didn't...make you collapse?"
Solance shook its head.
"…No.
It helped me find you."
Aurelianth's heart ached.
"Solance…"
Solance touched his face gently.
"…You are not alone anymore.
Not in pain."
Lioren's voice softened.
"None of us are."
Lioren's Fear — Aurelianth's Voice, Solance's Calm
Later that evening,a strong gust of wind blew a torch out near the cliff.
The sudden flame of darkness startled Lioren.
Her breath quickened.
Her hands trembled.
Old memories of the Watcher's gaze rose in her mind like icy water.
Aurelianth felt her fear before she spoke felt it like his own lungs tightening.
"Lioren...hey...
I'm here."
Solance glowed brightly.
"…Your fear is sharp.
Let me soften it."
Lioren shuddered.
"I-I'm trying…"
Aurelianth moved to stand beside her,close enough to feel warmth,but not touching.
"You're safe."
Lioren bit her lip.
"I know.
But the Watcher its face or lack of it...
I keep seeing..."
Solance reached out slowly.
Not touching.
Just offering proximity.
"…If you allow it…
I can carry a small piece of your fear."
Lioren blinked.
"You can...what?"
Solance's glow dimmed gently.
"The link can share emotion.
Pain.
Warmth.
Fear."
Aurelianth swallowed.
"Solance...you don't have to..."
"…I want to."
Lioren hesitated.
Then nodded.
"I trust you."
A faint silver shimmer drifted from her chest
to Solance's.
Lioren gasped softly.
"It's...lighter."
Solance exhaled in relief.
"…It is heavy...but not overwhelming."
Aurelianth put a hand over his heart.
"And I feel both of you calming."
Lioren wiped her tears.
"You two are...incredible."
Solance whispered:
"…We are becoming us."
Nightfall — The First Joining of Light
When darkness settled fully and the villagers retreated indoors to avoid the Watchers' unseen eyes,the trio sat outside their home
in the warm hush of twilight.
Aurelianth spoke first.
"We need to understand what happened today."
Lioren nodded.
"This link...It's not just emotional."
Solance added softly:
"…It is identity-level."
Aurelianth considered the feeling deep in his chest where the rune now pulsed gently.
"What if this is how we survive the Arbiter?"
Lioren looked up.
"What do you mean?"
Aurelianth touched the center of his chest.
"If our connection makes us stable, makes me withstand rune changes, makes Solance resist collapsing, makes you anchor emotions..."
He looked between them.
"...then maybe the Arbiter can't remove one of us without destabilizing the others."
Solance's eyes widened.
"...A triangle cannot stand if one corner is broken."
Lioren gasped.
"And the Arbiter tests stability…"
Aurelianth nodded.
"And our stability increases when we're bonded."
Solance whispered:
"…Then the link is protection."
"Yes."
Lioren smiled faintly.
"But also...intimate."
Solance tilted its head.
"…Intimate?"
Aurelianth flushed lightly.
"It means...close.
Deeply close."
Solance looked between them.
"…Then let us be closer."
Aurelianth blinked.
"Solance...?"
Solance moved to sit between them on the soft grass.
"…We are safest when we feel each other clearly."
Lioren nodded and sat on Solance's right.
Aurelianth sat on its left.
Solance held out both hands.
One to Aurelianth.
One to Lioren.
Aurelianth took it.
So did Lioren.
The link surged awake.
Warmth radiated through their arms.
Light pooled between their palms.
A tri-colored glow spiraled upward like a rising lantern.
Aurelianth gasped softly.
Solance inhaled sharply.
Lioren cried out in awe.
Three breaths syncing.
Three hearts syncing.
Three identities syncing.
Gold.
Silver.
Amber.
The light rose higher circling them like a slow-burning halo.
Solance whispered:
"…This is joining."
Aurelianth stared.
"Joining?"
"…Three becoming one."
Lioren swallowed.
"And what does that mean?"
Solance leaned its forehead against both of theirs.
Just barely.
Aurelianth felt Lioren's heartbeat inside his own chest.
Lioren felt Solance's glow in her ribs.
Solance felt Aurelianth's warmth behind its sternum.
They exhaled and the link pulsed.
Aurelianth whispered:
"It means we're no longer separate."
Lioren:
"It means we're stronger."
Solance:
"…It means we are real."
The joining lasted until their light dimmed and their hearts steadied into one gentle rhythm.
And then...
Aurelianth whispered:
"We're ready for whatever comes next."
Solance nodded.
"…Yes.
Because we are one triangle."
Lioren smiled softly.
"And we survive together."
The night embraced them,their lights intertwined like threads of a story that refused to unravel.
The bond was real.
Alive.
Growing.
And somewhere high above hidden behind clouds a faint, distant sigil rotated….
Watching.
Measuring.
Waiting.