The Rebirth Of The Beast Tamer
Chapter 103: Deep into Sovereignty 1

Chapter 103: Deep into Sovereignty 1

After their return to the Sanctum School, they were summoned to the chamber for evaluation and a way forward.

Lyra’s leg and shoulder wounds were bandaged, her face was still feeling the pain, but her eyes burned with determination.

"Cindy is still out there," she said, with a sharp voice, her gauntlet flared as she clenched her fist. "This Sovereignty that she keeps talking about, I she is working for someone bigger."

Darius leaned on the table to Kelvin’s right, his soulstone was glowing with Peaks’ soulstream gems, the maze-like structure runes, and the griffon feathers, his chest and flank wounds were seeping through fresh bandages, but his hazel eyes gleamed with fierce determination.

Rhoam, his iron-plated panther, sprawled behind, with his massive paws scratching the floor, his plates were reinforced with Peaks’ ore that were clinking softly.

"Zack s involved," Darius growled, tossing his soulstone with a flick of his wrist. "Whether manipulated or not, he knows something."

Kelvin nodded, with his jaw clenched and his staff raised. "If there is a traitor in the Sanctum, we will root them out." The monitoring device in his pack buzzed and its runes flickered.....

"New rift detected in Iron Fens. Rogue tamer activity confirmed. Investigate immediately." The Sanctum’s warning was urgent, the signal’s stability was a stark contrast to the Hollow’s interference, but the mention of Cindy’s trail reignited their strength.

Master Torin with his silver robes that was gleaming, as he leaned forward, his stormhawk Veyra perched on his shoulder and its crackling feathers were sparking.

"The Iron Fens," he said. "A swamp is crawling with corrupted beasts and pulsing with Veil energy. Cindy’s trail leads there, and the codex may hold clues to the Sovereign’s identity.

Your mission is to track her, seal the rift, and uncover the truth. Be wary, rumors of a traitor among us is growing louder." His gaze was locked on Kelvin’s face, heavy with expectation. "You are Adepts now. Prove it again."

The trio left the chamber with their beasts trailing after them, the Sanctum’s spires is fading behind as they crossed misty plains toward the Iron Fens.

The swamp loomed on the horizon, its murky waters and gnarled cypress trees were shrouded in fog, the ground is soft and treacherous under their boots.

Kelvin’s ribs throbbed, but Xerion’s warmth steadied him. Lyra’s limp was slight and her gauntlet kept pulsing as she scanned for Veil energy. Darius’s stride faltered, his wounds were slowing him, but Rhoam’s steady presence kept him moving.

"Zack’s no tamer," Kelvin said, gripping his staff, the codex’s weight heavy in his pack. "But he’s tied to this somehow."

Lyra’s eyes narrowed, her gauntlet glowing as she adjusted her bandage. "Cindy used him to mess with us. We will find her trail." Darius tossed his soulstone, his grin was sharp despite the pain. "And we will break her this time."

The Fens’ edge was a treacherous maze of shallow pools, twisted roots, and sunken logs, the water rippled with violet energy, the trees pulsed with dark runes that matched Cindy’s from the Hollow.

Xerion’s scales bristled, his hiss sharp, sensing her lingering energy. Salaris kept moving ahead and her feathers were blending with the shadows, her talons gleaming as she scouted for threats.

Rhoam growled as his plates clinked with his massive form ready to charge through the mire. The monitoring device whispered, its runes flickered...

"Bogstalker activity detected. Prepare for engagement." Before Kelvin could respond, the swamp erupted with a deafening roar.

Bogstalkers were massive, crocodile-like beasts with thorned scales and glowing red eyes that burst from the water, their jaws snapping, their bodies pulsing with Cindy’s dark runes.

Their psychic roars hit like a shockwave, conjuring visions of Zack in the Sanctum’s training yard, with his mocking voice: "You will fail, Kelvin. You are nothing."

"Form up!" Kelvin shouted, Xerion rearing with his flames ignited in a blazing arc that lit the swamp.

He channeled a fire Convergence through the dark gauntlet, enhanced by ritual runes and griffon feathers, a searing fire lance erupting from his staff, slicing through a bogstalker’s thorned scales.

The beast roared, its core glowed in its chest, but the visions were intensified, Kelvin saw his father’s burning form while accusing him of weakness, the Sanctum’s spires were crumbling behind him.

His heart pounded, guilt clawed as his resolve, but Xerion’s warmth surged through their bond, grounding him like an anchor.

Lyra wove a shadow cage, her gauntlet trembling as tendrils lashed out, pinning two bogstalkers to the muddy ground. Salaris struck from above, her talons rendered a core, but a beast’s tail whipped her side, drawing a sharp scream.

Lyra’s face paled, the visions showing her sister’s ghost, eyes hollow, accusing her..... "You failed me." She gritted her teeth with blood dripping from her shoulder as she tightened her cage, her voice raw.

"I won’t break!" The tendrils crushed a bogstalker’s core, shattering it in a burst of violet light.

Darius fired soulstone blasts, the gem-enhanced green light which was boosted by griffon feathers, exploding across a bogstalker, obliterating its core.

Rhoam charged, his iron bulk crushing another, his plates deflecting a snapping jaw. The visions hit Darius very hard, his village burned in flames, Zack’s taunts echoed through the inferno.

"Shut up!" he bellowed, his blasts were precise despite the blood seeping from his flank, shattering another core with a deafening crack.

The bogstalkers were relentless and their thorned scales were regenerating their psychic roars that amplified the visions.

One lunged at Kelvin, its jaws grazed his leg, tearing through his armor and drawing blood. He cursed, channeling a second Convergence, Xerion’s flames roared into a fiery vortex that incinerated the beast, its core exploded in a shower of sparks.

Lyra dodged a tail swipe, but a claw raked her arm, reopening her bandage. She cried out, collapsing to one knee, but Salaris’s talons ripped through the bogstalker, saving her in a blur of feathers and claws.

Darius took a hit, a beast’s jaw that clamped his arm, his concussion that flared as blood dripped from his brow, but Rhoam’s charge crushed the bogstalker and its core bursted under the panther’s iron weight.

"We are losing ground!" Darius shouted, his voice was cracking as the visions shake his resolve. "She is in our heads again!"

Kelvin’s mind raced, the Veil’s visions merged with Zack’s taunts, You are nothing. You will fail. His grip trembled, the image of the Sanctum’s fall flashing before him.

"No!" he roared, shaking off the illusions, his staff blazed. "Focus on the cores! We hit them together!" He pointed to the glowing cores in the bogstalkers’ chests that was pulsing with dark energy, the key to their destruction.