Chapter 54: Hearts That Speak
The Beast Bond Chambers had not been built.
They had grown.
Crystal trees as wide as houses rose through the district’s inner path, their roots spreading outward and then downward, leaving soft mounds of ground between them.
Nestled in the roots were chambers that glowed softly from within, looking less like rooms than like something a forest had decided to make comfortable. The light moved slowly, and it was a different color than the rest of the district.
Students were coming out as Arthur’s team arrived.
One girl walked out laughing, her hand pressed to her face. A pair of students came out in silence, then one put his arms around his beast, who seemed to understand exactly what was happening. Another student walked out staring at nothing, then sat down on one of the roots and stayed there.
"What happened in there?" Arthur said.
"You’ll understand," Athena said.
...
The instructor who met them was brief.
"These chambers don’t strengthen your body," she said. "They strengthen the bond between you and your partner. The chamber removes the barriers between you, the misunderstandings that build up over time without either of you noticing."
Arthur tilted his head. "Removes?"
"For a short time," she said, "you will hear your partner’s heart. Not their thoughts. Not their memories." She looked between them. "Their heart."
She gestured toward the chambers.
"Go in pairs. Take as long as you need."
They split up and headed to their chambers.
On the way, Arthur got curious about how the tribe was doing. The first round had shown him how much pressure Gruk was under to keep things stable.
He opened the main screen to check. He tapped his talent, then the Cronwell tribe, and pulled up recent developments.
[Recent Developments]
Suri reaches level 9
Four Goblin Hunters reached Level 14
New Sworn Followers: 6
Loyal Followers: 19
Gruk, with two hunters, has established peace with the Direwolves after orcs in the south tried to turn them into mounts.
...
Arthur’s eyes widened. He’d expected something small, but the update covered the other goblins’ growth, new loyal followers, and the tribe’s overall situation.
It amazed him.
Arthur stared at the screen. "They’re really doing it."
A month ago they had been struggling just to survive. Now they were solving problems on their own. He smiled. "...I’m proud of them."
He then paused before tilting his head. "Orcs, huh? I really do pity them."
"Huh? Something wrong?" Vedas asked, confused.
"Nothing much. Just pitying a bunch of fools rushing to their own defeat."
"...What are you planning, Arthur?" Vedas asked warily.
"Of course, our heart-to-heart talk."
"T-That’s not what I meant!"
Arthur hummed and kept walking. Vedas followed quickly, looking worried.
...
The chamber Arthur entered with Vedas was quiet in a way darkness usually wasn’t.
No light except a faint glow from the walls. No sound. No system notification in the corner of his vision. No equipment, nothing from outside the room. Just Arthur and Vedas, standing a few feet apart.
Arthur looked at Vedas.
Vedas looked at Arthur.
Arthur laughed.
"This is awkward," he said.
Vedas nodded. "A little."
...
"What were you thinking?" Arthur said. "During the desert. When I was carrying Melo and Athy."
Vedas was quiet for a moment, the way he got quiet before answering honestly.
"I almost told you to give up," he said.
Arthur blinked. "You did?"
"I thought if you kept walking in that condition, you would die." Vedas looked at the chamber wall. "I was calculating whether saying it would make things worse."
"I almost gave up," Arthur said. "I started to."
Vedas nodded. "I know."
"I didn’t want to."
"I know that too."
A short quiet.
"I wish I’d lasted longer before needing everyone else to carry me," Arthur said.
Vedas shook his head immediately. "No."
Arthur looked at him.
"We only lasted that long because of you," Vedas said. "Not because you were the strongest person in the desert. Because you were the one nobody wanted to leave behind."
"I mean, anyone could—"
"No. If anyone else had fallen," Vedas sighed, "I don’t think we would have kept walking. I know I would have given up. If the strongest person I know couldn’t do it, what hope did I have?"
"No, even if I had fallen, I know you could do it."
"Because I’m your partner?"
"Because you’d want to take me somewhere safe. You wouldn’t abandon me."
Vedas froze, then trembled and covered his face with one hand. Arthur smiled, but before he could say anything, it arrived.
It came differently this time. Instead of just the emotion, he received an image attached to it.
Fear, from the hours he’d watched Arthur walking through the desert.
Gratitude, watching Arthur cheer everyone up and tell stories.
Relief, when the white light came, and everyone was back in the King’s Arena.
And finally, pride, when they were all praised by Steven and Ajax while leaning against each other.
All of it landed in Arthur’s chest without passing through his ears. He put one hand against his sternum.
"You really felt all that," he said. "And that’s what you were thinking in those moments."
Vedas blushed and looked away. "You... why did you see those?!"
Arthur grinned. "So you’ve been secretly proud of me."
Vedas immediately looked away. "...No."
Arthur laughed. "...Liar."
Vedas covered his face. "You weren’t supposed to see that."
Arthur grinned. "But I did."
Vedas looked down. "This is too embarrassing."
"No, I think it’s amazing." Arthur rubbed Vedas’s head. "I’m happy you worried about me like that. You really are the best partner for me."
Vedas opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He looked away. "...You always say things like that."
Arthur blinked. "Like what?"
"...Things that are hard to answer." Vedas frowned. "I still think the best partner would have helped you better in the round—"
"No." Arthur shook his head. "I don’t need a strong beast or someone perfect. I need my partner. Vedas."
Vedas trembled, then looked down. "...Still. I want to become a leader like you," he said.
"Like me?" Arthur looked confused, then smiled. "I’ve been trying to become someone worth following. I didn’t realize someone already was."
"You never stop believing something is possible," Vedas said. "I think that’s what a leader needs. I wish I had that."
Arthur shook his head. "I nearly broke. I was a second away from saying the words."
"But you didn’t."
"We didn’t," Arthur said.
The "we" answered both of them.
The chamber pulsed. Blue light spread across the floor beneath them, but neither moved.
The air went quieter.
Then—
The notification was quiet.
[Synchronization Increased: 52%]
Arthur blinked and smiled. Then something new happened. He’d been looking at Vedas, thinking about the simplest way to say what he wanted, not in words, just an image.
Vedas jumped toward the water with him in his arms after he’d fallen. To his surprise, Vedas actually moved.
"Uh... Vedas... why did you jump?"
"Huh? Didn’t you tell me to?"
Both of them stared at each other.
"I didn’t say anything," Arthur said.
"You didn’t? But I saw..." Vedas said. "An image forming at the edge of my mind for a second before it went clear."
"I was just thinking that if you guys couldn’t pull me forward at the end of round one, you could’ve jumped into the water with me in your arms."
Vedas blinked. "And I saw that image. Try imagining me doing something else."
Arthur thought about Vedas moving to his left.
Vedas moved to his left.
Arthur grinned. "Don’t tell me you can see what I think?"
"Maybe..." Vedas closed his eyes.
Then Arthur saw an image of Vedas raising his hands like he wanted to fight him.
"I heard that one," Arthur said, grinning.
"Good," Vedas said, surprised.
Arthur imagined Vedas spinning in a circle.
Vedas immediately spun once. He stopped. "...Arthur."
Arthur burst into laughter. "I had to check."
Vedas sighed. "Of course you did."
"So that’s the reward for our bond being so strong." Arthur laughed. "Not a bad benefit. Giving orders during battle just got a lot easier."
"Especially," Vedas said, "since future battles won’t have you watching from the side."
Arthur smiled. "I don’t think we’ll ever fight alone again."
Vedas looked at him. "...No. We won’t."
Arthur’s eyes lit up, and he said. "Oh, with this ability, you should be able to show me the Mana Realm, right?"
Vedas’s mouth twitched. "Well, I can try..."
He closed his eyes. After a few seconds, something appeared in his mind.
But Arthur only saw blue and nothing else. Vedas opened his eyes. "Did you see it?"
"Uh, no. All I saw was blue. Like I was too far away."
Vedas sighed. "I guess I can’t visualize it that well."
Arthur chuckled. "It’s fine, you’ll get better at it. For now, let’s start training."
Vedas smiled and nodded.
Arthur moved to the chamber’s control panel.
And the training began.
The willpower training was deceptively simple, which was exactly why it worked. The chamber projected one question at a time.
Name.
Arthur answered. "Arthur."
The next appeared.
Partner.
"Vedas."
Goal.
"Become stronger."
Again.
Name.
"Arthur."
Again.
Partner.
"Vedas."
Goal.
"Become stronger."
The rhythm never changed. The questions never got harder. They just kept coming. Around the twentieth repeat, Arthur’s mind started to wander. The chamber didn’t care.
Name. "...Arthur."
Partner. "...Vedas."
Goal. "...Become stronger."
By thirty cycles, then forty, his answers slowed. Not because he’d forgotten, but because answering something this simple, over and over, wore him down in a way he couldn’t quite explain.
The chamber pulsed, and the questions sped up. His thoughts started lagging behind. The chamber wasn’t testing his memory. It was testing whether he could stay focused when his mind wanted to give up.
By the sixtieth cycle, even speaking felt tiring.
His eyelids grew heavy.
His concentration frayed.
For just a moment, his mind went blank.
Then something reached him. Not words, not a voice, just a quiet feeling. Arthur turned and saw Vedas hadn’t looked away from the questions once. His expression hadn’t changed.
But Arthur could feel it.
Steady.
Calm.
Still moving forward.
Arthur took a slow breath. "...Arthur."
The answer came smoothly again.
Partner.
"Vedas."
Goal.
He smiled. "Keep moving forward."
The chamber stayed silent.
Then the questions continued.
...
They came out with the others into the late afternoon light of the district.
[Willpower Successfully Trained]
[Goblin Commander]
[Level 9 → Level 10]
"Even that makes it grow," Arthur muttered, looking at the others.
Mithra and Melo looked like people who’d just had something said that changed the air between them.
Athena and Athy walked close enough that their steps synced without either of them trying.
Kong sat on Sun’s shoulder, leaning against the side of his head in a way that didn’t need words to explain.
Everyone looked exhausted.
Everyone was smiling.
Mithra looked toward Arthur. "Did yours get awkward?"
Arthur immediately answered. "Very."
Vedas looked away. "It was."
Sun frowned. "...Should I be worried?"
"No," Arthur said.
"Yes," Vedas said.
Athena quietly wrote something down. "Interesting."
Nobody asked what she wrote.
...
The second hallway branched off the main path at an angle easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention.
Arthur noticed the door and started walking toward it.
"Don’t," Athena said.
Arthur froze. "...Locked?"
"No." Athena pointed at the warning above the crystal on the door. "You’ll get thrown out."
ADVANCED BEAST WING. Below that: ACCESS REQUIRES ESTABLISHED DEEP BOND.
He sighed. "What’s in there?"
"Only students whose bond meets the threshold can enter," Athena said.
"What’s the threshold?"
Athena adjusted her glasses, the way she did when something was genuinely hard to explain. "You feel each other’s emotions without trying. You share intent, the way we did today." She paused. "At the highest level, your partner acts without you needing to think at all. A motion, a wave, and they already know the whole plan."
Arthur stared at the door.
He tried to picture it: Vedas responding to a thought that hadn’t even fully formed yet, both of them moving as one decision instead of two people who’d agreed.
"I want that," he said.
Athena smiled. "I know."
...
On the walk back, in the easy quiet of people who’d been through enough for one day, Arthur felt something shift toward Vedas.
He turned.
Vedas was looking straight ahead, his expression neutral.
"You’re smiling," Arthur said.
Vedas glanced at him. "I didn’t say anything."
Arthur smiled. "You didn’t have to," he said.
Vedas looked ahead. "I know."
Arthur smiled. "You felt that?"
Vedas nodded once. "I did."
Neither of them said anything else.
They didn’t need to.
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