Chapter 54: Tuning the Pulse
The sun filtered through the thick branches of the training forest, casting shifting shadows across the stone tiles Volundr had laid by hand for their sparring ground. Magical constructs—stone-bodied, rune-marked, and bound by energy—stood motionless like silent watchers. Today, they would serve a new purpose.
Volundr adjusted the gauntlet on his wrist as Kuroka approached, stretching lazily like a cat just waking from a nap.
"More sparring?" she asked, arching a brow. "Or are you planning to throw me at those statues?"
"Something different," he said, stepping forward. "I want to try Aura Synchronization."
Kuroka's expression twisted into playful suspicion. "You want to link our auras? That's… intimate, nya."
Volundr gave her a half-smirk. "You afraid?"
She chuckled. "Only of boring men."
He stepped closer, their auras beginning to brush against each other like magnets hesitating before pulling together.
"I've been testing something," he said. "A way to sync energy flows between comrades. Briefly. In combat. Imagine if we moved as one."
Kuroka tilted her head. "You want a dance partner in battle."
"Exactly."
They stood in silence for a moment, the wind stirring the leaves. Then, Volundr raised a hand, palm open.
"Trust me for a second."
Kuroka hesitated, then placed her hand against his. Their fingers didn't interlace, but their auras did—just barely.
A spark surged between them. Volundr's aura, steady and controlled, pushed gently against hers—wild, flowing, alive. The collision was jarring. Both flinched.
"Too rigid," Kuroka muttered. "You're trying to hold mine down."
"You're not letting yours align." His eyes narrowed. "Try again. But this time, breathe with me."
They stood back to back, eyes closed, breathing in rhythm. Slowly, their energies pulsed closer to harmony. A thread of connection formed between their cores—thin as silk, but real.
"Now," Volundr said, "we move."
The constructs activated. Glowing sigils lit across their stone bodies. One surged forward with a punch, the force cracking the air.
Volundr ducked. "Left!"
Kuroka spun, aura flaring, and clawed through a weak point Volundr had marked earlier in practice.
Another construct lunged. Volundr pivoted and swept it off balance, Kuroka landing a perfect finishing strike.
For a few brief moments, they were synchronized—movement, rhythm, intent. Their aura link pulsed with a resonant hum.
Then it shattered.
Kuroka staggered back, clutching her chest and breathing hard.
"Tch… That link… nearly fried me," she muttered, panting.
Volundr approached slowly. "You kept it stable for a good minute."
Kuroka smirked, despite herself. "It felt… wild. Like I could read your movements before you even made them."
"That's the point," he said. "In a real fight, that second of insight could mean the difference between winning and dying."
She looked at him, eyes narrowed. "You want to train me into one of your perfect little soldiers?"
Volundr shook his head. "No. I want to build a bond strong enough that we don't need words to fight together."
Her expression softened—barely. "Hmph. I guess I can give this weird method of yours another shot. But I'm still the storm. You're just the sky I ride."
Volundr chuckled. "Then let's see if we can conjure thunder next time."
As night fell, Volundr sat in his study by candlelight, quill in hand. He scribbled a new entry into his war journal:
"Early signs of hybrid specialization. Support and offense. She's not just instinct. She learns."
He tapped the ink dry and stared out the window where the stars glittered like scattered plans waiting to be drawn together.