Halin didn't wait for us to knock.
The training hall doors opened the moment we stepped into the corridor—as if she'd been standing there, waiting, sensing the moment we were approaching.
Seris muttered under her breath, "Of course she was."
I couldn't disagree.
Halin watched us walk in—not suspiciously, not even stern. More like a healer trying to read symptoms without a stethoscope.
"You slept," she said.
Seris scoffed. "Define slept."
Halin ignored her. "You dreamed."
The bond stiffened instinctively. Lira's hand brushed mine, grounding me before the fear could slip in.
I nodded once. "Yes."
"And it did not harm you."
It wasn't a question.
"No," I said softly. "It… watched."
Halin froze.
Completely.
Then she approached slowly, lifting her hands—not touching me, but gesturing toward my chest.
"May I?"
Seris shifted immediately. "If you're about to poke him with magic—"
"I'm about to observe," Halin corrected calmly. "Not interfere."
Seris didn't relax. Lira moved closer to me, subtle but present.
Halin closed her eyes—not performing magic, but feeling magic.
Her brow furrowed.
Then—sharply—
her eyes opened wide.
"…this is different."
I tensed. "Different how?"
She stepped back.
Like something startled her.
"Your resonance is no longer singular."
My chest tightened. "Explain."
"It doesn't read like your energy alone," Halin said carefully. "It reads like three signatures forming a single weave."
Lira inhaled sharply. Seris narrowed her eyes. "Meaning?"
Halin looked between us. "Meaning the bond is no longer emotional or symbolic. It is literal."
My heart skipped. "…literal?"
"Yes."
Halin gestured to the resonance circle—one we'd trained in so many times before.
"Sit," she said quietly. "All of you."
We obeyed.
The moment we placed our hands within the circle—
the runes didn't glow.
They bloomed.
Soft, warm light pulsed outward—not harsh blue resonance, but soft gold with streaks of rose and scarlet.
Lira gasped softly. "That's not the academy's magic."
Seris stared down like she'd never seen her own hands before. "Halin. What is this?"
Halin's voice came out steady—but faintly shaken.
"The bond has stopped compensating."
Lira whispered, "Compensating for what?"
"For the fracture," Halin answered. "It isn't trying to contain it anymore."
My stomach dropped. "Then what is it doing?"
Halin swallowed.
"It's integrating it."
Silence hit like a blow.
Seris leaned close to me, voice sharp. "Integrating?"
Lira squeezed my hand, terrified. "With the bond?"
Halin closed her eyes. Then she said it:
"With all three of you."
Halin didn't move.
None of us did.
Even the air felt still—like the training hall itself needed a moment to understand what she'd just said.
Seris was the first to find her voice. "You're saying it's becoming part of us."
Halin shook her head slightly. "No. I'm saying you are all becoming part of it."
Lira's breath caught. "But it's inside Arin—"
"Yes," Halin interrupted softly. "That is how it began. Not how it ends."
My pulse hammered. "Ends?"
Halin knelt in front of me—carefully, slowly, as if approaching something sacred. She placed her hand near my chest again—not touching—just sensing.
"The fracture's resonance is no longer one voice."
I stared at her. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Halin whispered, "it is learning harmony."
Lira's eyes widened. "Like… blending with us?"
Halin nodded. "It responds to you. Each of you."
Seris leaned forward, voice low. "So if Arin feels something—"
"It feels it," Halin finished.
Lira whispered, "If we love him…"
"It learns love."
My throat closed suddenly.
Halin turned to me specifically then—her voice steady, gentle.
"Arin, what did you feel last night?"
I swallowed hard. "Warmth. Comfort. Like it was… relieved."
Halin's eyes softened with something like sorrow.
"That was not you."
Silence hit us.
Seris stared. "Then… what was it?"
Halin met her eyes without hesitation.
"A damaged presence being comforted for the first time in its existence."
My heart twisted painfully.
Lira covered her mouth, tears rising. "All this time… it was suffering."
Halin nodded slowly. "Its existence was pain. Until now."
Seris's voice shook. "And now?"
Halin hesitated.
"Now it has you."
My breath nearly stopped.
Halin stood slowly, stepping back like she needed distance from the intensity of what she'd just said.
"The academy has no text for this," she admitted. "No record. No path."
Lira and Seris instinctively reached for my hands at the same time.
Halin watched us.
Watched the way we held onto each other.
And for the first time…
Halin looked afraid.
Not of the fracture.
Of what we were becoming.
Halin stepped back another inch—barely noticeable, but for a mage trained to face nightmares without blinking, even one inch of retreat was a confession.
Seris noticed instantly. "You're scared."
Halin didn't deny it.
"I am cautious."
Lira squeezed my arm. "Of us?"
"No," Halin said quietly. "For you."
My breath stilled.
Lira blinked. "For us?"
Halin's eyes softened—but something dark flickered beneath.
"When a magical presence integrates with a person… that person stops being one thing."
Seris frowned. "What are you saying?"
Halin's voice lowered.
"I am saying Arin may not remain a single self."
Something inside me went cold.
Lira grabbed my hand, fierce and protective. "Arin is Arin. That isn't changing."
Halin shook her head slowly. "Change is inevitable. But the direction of it is what scares me."
Seris stepped forward, eyes sharp. "He's still himself. We would know."
"Yes," Halin agreed gently. "You would. Which is why you must stay close."
I looked up sharply. "You mean—protect yourselves?"
"No," Halin said, meeting my eyes. "Protect him."
My chest tightened painfully. "From what?"
Halin hesitated—then spoke the truth.
"From himself."
Silence swallowed us.
Seris reacted first, grabbing my wrist. "No. Absolutely not. He's not dangerous."
Halin looked at her with heartbreaking patience. "He is becoming more than Arin. That is not always danger. But it is always change."
Lira whispered, pale. "Change into what?"
Halin didn't answer immediately.
She looked at me again—long and searching.
"Arin— when it feels love… do you feel it too?"
The question hit deep enough to steal my breath.
I hesitated—because the truth was too big, too new.
"Yes," I whispered.
Lira trembled. Seris's grip tightened.
Halin exhaled.
"Then it is not inside you anymore."
I stared at her.
Halin finished quietly:
"It is becoming you."