Eli devoted the next twenty days of Grotto time—about four hours outside—to intensive training.

  The HUD projection guided him through increasingly complex forms, each movement building on the last, each stance flowing into the next with growing fluidity. The silver threads responded with greater precision, extending and contracting at his will, weaving patterns in the air that channeled energy with remarkable control.

  "Form Six: Spiral Ascension," the HUD announced, displaying a complex sequence that combined vertical staff movements with a rising spiral of energy.

  Eli followed the projection, Starling moving in a tight pattern that drew power up from the ground through his body and into the binding spell. The silver threads extended outward, creating a swirling helix that surrounded him like a protective cocoon.

  "Execution at 87% efficiency," the HUD reported. "Energy redirection increased by 42% since previous attempt."

  The dark core of Starling pulsed in his hand, that strange, hungry vibration now familiar—almost comforting in its consistency. As he moved through the form, he noticed something curious—the core seemed to draw in ambient energy, particularly from areas where corruption lingered in trace amounts.

  "The core is feeding," Eli realized, watching as faint wisps of darkness were pulled into Starling like water down a drain. "It's... purifying the area."

  The binding spell pulsed in confirmation, the silver threads brightening momentarily. Through it, Eli felt a sense of rightness—as if this was exactly what should be happening, what was meant to happen.

  Meanwhile, Aura's development had accelerated dramatically. The tracker crystal pulsed steadily against her form, and the symbols it projected were no longer fragmented but coherent, structured in ways that suggested not just language but grammar, syntax, complex thought.

  the HUD translated as she hovered nearby, watching Eli complete another form.

  "Young?" Eli echoed, lowering Starling. His eleven-year-old frame was still small compared to the staff, making some of the forms more challenging to execute properly. "Well, I guess I am pretty young for all this."

  Aura's light pulsed with what might have been amusement.

  "How old are you, then?" Eli asked, curious.

  Her response came as a complex swirl of emotion and memory, too nuanced for the HUD to translate fully. What emerged was not a number but an impression—of civilizations rising and falling, of stars burning out and being born anew.

  the translation finally managed.

  The crystal recorders continued their monitoring, gathering data on the Grotto's energy patterns, on the binding spell's interaction with Eli's training, on Aura's rapidly evolving language capacity. According to the HUD, they had been inside for fifty-three days—almost eleven hours in outside time.

  "We should head back soon," Eli noted, checking the time display. "Marco said twelve hours max."

  Aura's wings fluttered with sudden agitation, her light flickering urgently.

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  The HUD displayed a command sequence, a meditation technique that Eli hadn't tried before. The Unbroken Circle—a method for creating a perfect loop of energy between practitioner, binding spell, and staff.

  "That looks... advanced," Eli said hesitantly, studying the projected form. The figure in the display sat cross-legged, staff balanced across its knees, binding spell extended into a complex lattice that enclosed both practitioner and weapon in a sphere of silver light.

  Aura insisted, her light pulsing with conviction.

  Eli settled into the meditation posture, placing Starling across his knees as shown in the projection. The dark core pulsed against his legs, vibrating in time with the binding spell's warmth.

  "Beginning Unbroken Circle meditation," the HUD announced. "Focus on creating a continuous flow between core self, binding spell, and staff."

  Eli closed his eyes, visualizing the energy as he'd been taught—a cool, silver stream flowing from his center, through the binding spell, into Starling, and back to his core. Not a straight line but a spiral, not forcing but weaving.

  The binding spell warmed at his neck, the silver threads extending outward in a pattern more complex than anything he'd achieved before. They reached toward Starling, encircling the dark core in a lattice of light that didn't fight against the darkness but contained it, shaped it, directed it.

  A soft hum filled the air, vibrating through the stone beneath him.

  "Energy loop established," the HUD reported. "Circulation at 72% efficiency and rising."

  Eli felt it—a cool, tingling flow that traveled from his core to the binding spell, from the spell to Starling, from Starling back to his core. Not a trickle but a steady stream, controlled and purposeful. The dark core pulsed in response, its vibration syncing with the flow, not fighting against it but becoming part of it.

  "Remarkable," the HUD noted. "Core energy signature integrating with binding spell matrix. Symbiosis developing."

  Aura circled him, her light trailing patterns in the air that matched the silver threads' weave. Through the binding spell, Eli felt her approval—a sense of ancient purpose fulfilled, of a student mastering a crucial lesson.

  the HUD translated.

  The energy flow intensified, the silver threads brightening as they wove an increasingly complex pattern around Eli and Starling. According to the HUD, his energy circulation was approaching 90% efficiency—far beyond what should be possible for a novice practitioner.

  And then something unexpected happened.

  The dark core of Starling pulsed once, sharply, and a tendril of shadow extended from it—not fighting against the silver threads but weaving between them, creating a counterpoint of darkness within the lattice of light. The binding spell responded not with resistance but with adaptation, the silver threads adjusting their pattern to accommodate the shadow, to balance it, to direct it.

  "Dual circulation established," the HUD announced, displaying the remarkable pattern. "Light and shadow in balanced flow."

  Eli's eyes flew open in shock, staring at the pattern surrounding him—silver threads and shadow tendrils weaving together in a dance of perfect equilibrium. Not fighting, not resisting, but complementing, enhancing.

  "It's... beautiful," he breathed, watching the interplay of light and darkness.

  Aura's light pulsed with satisfaction and relief. the HUD translated.

  The binding spell hummed softly at his neck, warm and approving. The dark core of Starling pulsed in his hand, no longer just hungry but purposeful, the shadow it extended now a tool rather than a threat.

  As the meditation drew to a close, the pattern gradually retracted—silver threads returning to the binding spell, shadow tendrils returning to the core. But Eli could still feel the connection, the flow, the balance that had been established. Not temporary but permanent, a fundamental shift in his relationship with both binding spell and staff.

  "What just happened?" he asked, rising to his feet. His body felt different—lighter, more fluid, energy flowing through his limbs with surprising ease.

  Aura's response came as a complex tapestry of emotion and memory, only partially captured by the HUD's translation. it read.

  The binding spell pulsed in agreement, the silver threads warming against his skin. Through it, Eli felt a sense of rightness, of pieces falling into place, of a pattern beginning to form.

  Aura decided, her light steady and bright.

  —