Seven days into their stay—or about one and a half hours in outside time—Eli stood in the center of the main chamber, Starling extended before him. The dark core pulsed faintly in his hand, its vibration syncing with the binding spell's rhythm.

  "Initiating combat sequence," the HUD announced. "Eight Forms of the Shifting Star, basic progression."

  The holographic projection materialized before him—a figure wielding a staff identical to Starling. Its movements were fluid and precise, each stance flowing into the next like water.

  "Form One: Warding Circle," the HUD instructed.

  The projection demonstrated the movement—a sweeping circular motion with the staff that created a barrier of energy around the practitioner. Silver threads extended from the figure's binding spell, enhancing the barrier's strength.

  Eli mimicked the motion, trying to match the projection's fluidity. His first attempt was clumsy, the staff moving too quickly in some places, too slowly in others.

  "Adjust right arm angle by twelve degrees," the HUD suggested. "Maintain consistent velocity throughout the motion."

  He tried again, focusing on the corrections. Better, but still not right. The binding spell pulsed at his neck, the silver threads responding to his movement but not enhancing it as shown in the projection.

  "Sync breathing with motion," the HUD advised. "Exhale as you complete the circle."

  Eli adjusted his breathing, feeling a subtle shift as the motion aligned with his exhale. The binding spell warmed, and to his surprise, a faint silver thread extended from it, following Starling's path through the air.

  "Improved execution detected," the HUD confirmed. "Energy circulation increased by 18%."

  Encouraged, Eli continued the practice, repeating the form until the movement became natural, until the silver thread grew stronger and more defined with each repetition. By the twentieth attempt, he could maintain the thread throughout the entire motion, creating a faint but visible barrier of energy around himself.

  "Form One mastered at introductory level," the HUD announced. "Proceeding to Form Two: Piercing Thrust."

  The projection shifted, demonstrating a forward lunge with the staff. This time, the energy didn't form a barrier but concentrated at the staff's tip, creating a focused point of power meant to penetrate an opponent's defenses.

  Eli worked through the form, adjusting his stance, his grip, his breathing. Each repetition brought improvement, the binding spell responding more readily to his movements, the silver threads extending and contracting with increasing precision.

  By the end of the first day's training session—equivalent to five hours inside the Grotto—he had mastered the basic versions of the first three forms. The binding spell no longer felt like a foreign presence but like an extension of himself, the silver threads responding to his will with growing ease.

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  "Energy redirection efficiency increased by 34% since initial baseline," the HUD reported. "Binding spell integration progressing at optimal rate."

  Eli lowered Starling, feeling a pleasant ache in his muscles. The cool tingle of redirected energy flowed through his limbs, more substantial now, more controlled. Not a flood but a steady stream, carefully channeled through pathways he was only beginning to understand.

  "That's enough for today," he decided. "Let's check on the scouts."

  The automata had continued their mapping, the three-dimensional model growing more complex with each passing hour. The anomaly in the northwest passage remained, but had not expanded or moved. The crystal recorders showed stable energy patterns throughout the mapped areas, with occasional spikes that coincided with Eli's training sessions.

  Aura had spent the training session exploring the Chamber of Memories, the tracker crystal recording everything she saw. According to the HUD, she'd spent considerable time studying the ancient murals, her emotions fluctuating between recognition, sorrow, and determination.

  When she returned to the main chamber, her light seemed brighter somehow, more focused. The tracker crystal pulsed steadily against her form, and the symbols it projected were more stable, less fragmented.

  the HUD translated.

  "It feels different," Eli admitted, touching the silver threads at his neck. "Not like a burden anymore. More like..."

  Aura finished, her light pulsing in a rhythm that matched the binding spell's warmth.

  "You knew this would happen," Eli realized, studying her. "You knew the binding spell could be worked with, not just against."

  Aura's response came as a complex mix of emotions and symbols, some too nuanced for the HUD to translate fully. What came through was a sense of ancient purpose remembered, of knowledge long forgotten but not entirely lost.

  the translation read.

  The words echoed what Marco had theorized, what the murals had suggested—that the binding spell wasn't meant to suppress power, but to refine it. To contain what could not be destroyed, to balance what could not be removed.

  "And the training forms?" Eli asked. "The Eight Forms of the Shifting Star—they were designed for this, weren't they? To work with the binding spell, not against it."

  Aura's light pulsed in affirmation.

  She drifted closer, her tiny hand reaching out to touch the dark core of Starling. Her emotions washed over Eli—concern, determination, a strange mix of hope and fear.

  the HUD translated.

  Eli looked down at Starling, the dark core pulsing faintly in his hand. It did feel different—colder, heavier, with that strange vibration that seemed almost hungry.

  "What happened to it?" he asked. "When you emerged, the core went dark."

  Aura's light dimmed, wings drooping slightly. Guilt radiated from her, sharp and bitter. The HUD struggled to translate her response, symbols flickering and shifting too rapidly to read clearly.

  it finally displayed.

  Before Eli could ask what she meant, a soft chime sounded from the HUD.

  "Scout Three has detected movement near the anomaly," it reported. "Pattern suggests deliberate locomotion rather than energy fluctuation."

  Eli's attention snapped to the map display. A section of the northwest passage was highlighted, a void in the data that now seemed to pulse with a rhythm all its own.

  "Something's down there," he murmured, gripping Starling tighter. "Something alive."

  Aura's light flared with sudden urgency, wings beating rapidly. Her emotions crashed over Eli—not fear, but recognition. Not warning, but invitation.

  the HUD translated.