The bread was warm.

  The butter was salty.

  The tea was strong.

  I couldn’t remember the last morning when my legs didn’t feel like stone.

  Ren and Nael were talking about something.

  I wasn’t really listening.

  The tea was hot, and I was focused on not burning my tongue.

  A morning with no one running, no one chasing,

  no screaming, no blood—

  that alone was already enough.

  Selem appeared, as he always did.

  Without sound.

  Without presence.

  As if he had been there from the very beginning.

  He didn’t say 「Good morning」.

  He didn’t ask if we had slept well.

  He only looked at the three empty bowls and said one word.

  「Let’s go.」

  We exchanged glances.

  Ren shrugged.

  Nael stuffed more bread into his mouth.

  I took a small breath and stood up.

  —

  The light in the courtyard was soft, golden.

  But the air was slightly cold.

  There was no wind.

  Only a stillness, like something waiting.

  Selem stopped in front of us.

  「Up to now, you have learned movement, breath, and harmony.」

  His voice sounded distant.

  As if he were remembering something far older than himself.

  「Today—you will learn something else.」

  Ren crossed his arms.

  I stayed silent and listened.

  「A bond is not a tool.

  Nor is it power.

  It is a root that connects the flow of magic in Elyndor.」

  Selem’s voice was quiet.

  As if he were speaking to someone who wasn’t here.

  「Before spells, contracts, and wars—

  the bond connected living beings.」

  He looked at us.

  「There are many kinds of bonds.

  Blood.

  Time spent together.

  Pain.

  Duty.

  Wishes.

  Choices freely made.」

  I nodded slowly.

  「The bond of this temple is an ancient form.

  The temple itself becomes the conduit,

  and we monks connect to it as catalysts.

  Not to control the flow—

  but to allow it to pass.」

  Nael tilted his head.

  「So… that means it was lost?」

  Selem lowered his gaze.

  Not sadness—more like resignation that didn’t ask for answers.

  「After the War of Sundering,

  humans distorted the bond.

  They created temporary systems to fill what they themselves had broken.」

  He didn’t continue right away.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  But his tone hardened slightly.

  「They created rules.

  Foolish ones.」

  「They tried to control what they could not understand.」

  「And in the worst lands—

  they created bonds of submission.」

  After a pause, he went on.

  「Not all chose the same path.

  Thiseia chose duty.

  Kaelysar chose duels—a world ruled by the strong.」

  「Harthia is… more distorted still.」

  He stopped there.

  He said no more.

  He didn’t need to.

  「In the end, only stray bonds came to this temple.」

  「Those who could not fit into the world.

  Those who were rejected.

  Those who chose to refuse it.」

  「We simply remained—

  flowing quietly, at the edges.」

  Silence.

  Ren broke it.

  「So—what about today?」

  Selem looked straight at him.

  「Today—you will awaken it.」

  The stone floor was cold, but I didn’t mind anymore.

  We had warmed up. Matched our breathing. Set our rhythm.

  All that remained—

  was the real thing.

  Selem stood before us.

  Behind him, morning sunlight began to spill over the wall.

  「Activating a bond itself is not difficult.」

  「But doing it correctly—means everything.」

  He looked at us and spoke slowly.

  「One will be the conduit .

  The other will be the catalyst.」

  No one answered.

  「Choose.」

  Ren looked at me.

  I nodded.

  「I will be the conduit.」

  Selem simply nodded, as if he had expected it.

  「To push magic is not just to feel it.

  You must support it, guide it, and sometimes apply force.

  Can you do that?」

  I swallowed.

  「…Yes. I’ll try.」

  Ren stepped a little closer.

  Our fingertips brushed, just slightly.

  「Close your eyes,」 Selem said.

  「No words are needed. Feel it.」

  「When you are ready—push.」

  「Ren, you will receive it.」

  I closed my eyes.

  I imagined magic as a river.

  And I pushed.

  It felt like it reached something.

  …but then it collapsed.

  The flow crushed in on itself, grinding painfully.

  Ren grimaced and stepped back.

  「Stop.」

  Selem’s voice cut through the air.

  I opened my eyes. My breathing was ragged.

  My palms burned and ached.

  Ren was breathing hard too, his gaze lowered.

  Failure.

  Not mine alone.

  Selem turned to Ren.

  「A catalyst does not merely receive.

  It accepts.」

  After a brief silence, Selem knelt on the stone and traced a line with his finger.

  「What you felt as ‘flow’—

  that is called heiryū .」

  Nael blinked slightly.

  「When one sends magic and the other receives it,

  a natural current forms between them.

  When a bond activates, that current accelerates.」

  Selem pointed to the ground at Ren’s feet.

  「But heiryū is not always stable.

  If one side’s emotions or will wavers, the flow distorts.」

  Then he stood and placed his finger between us.

  「That is why attō is necessary.」

  I caught my breath without meaning to.

  「Attō is the technique of maintaining will within the heiryū

  and correcting disturbances.

  Not by force—

  but by will.」

  Selem looked at me.

  「The role of the catalyst is not simply to receive.

  It is to pass will through attō.

  Do not resist the flow.

  But do not sink into it.」

  Then he said quietly,

  「Do not try to control everything yourself.

  Trust the other person.」

  After a brief pause, he added,

  「…Bonds can also carry emotion.

  But that is still too early for you.」

  「First, learn to pass will.

  Otherwise, you will only be swept away.」

  Ren lifted his head.

  He said nothing.

  「If you cannot trust, you cannot resonate.」

  Silence.

  Ren stepped closer again.

  This time, he held out his hand first.

  I took it.

  There were no words.

  But I felt it.

  Not a river—

  —him.

  I remembered the forest at night.

  His breathing.

  His arms.

  Magic rose from deep within me.

  Hot. Straight. Strong.

  I pushed it—not outward, but toward him.

  And he did not reject it.

  Something trembled.

  Arms. Chest. Neck.

  It wasn’t sound.

  It was a pulse.

  Suddenly, everything became light.

  My breathing aligned with his.

  My heartbeat stretched along his rhythm.

  His body became an extension of mine.

  It didn’t hurt.

  It wasn’t painful.

  It was—

  perfect.

  As if we had been made this way from the beginning.

  For an instant, I saw from his perspective.

  Just an instant.

  But it was enough.

  When I opened my eyes,

  I was still holding his hand.

  At that moment, a pale light surfaced from our wrists.

  Patterns appeared on our arms.

  On Ren’s arm—thin cracks like spreading roots.

  On mine—soft lines like gentle ripples.

  Faint.

  Shifting.

  But undeniably alive.

  It didn’t hurt.

  It wasn’t hot.

  It simply resonated—with us.

  Selem watched in silence.

  Nael stood frozen, his mouth slightly open.

  The world had not changed.

  And yet—

  we had finally awakened our bond.

  Notes:

  Heiryū（併流）– shared flow.

  Attō（斡導）– Willful guidance.