The wind howled low, like a lullaby sung by ghosts.
Snow fell gently in the twilight of the Veiled Vale, blanketing the forest floor in sheets of white silence. Above them, twisted trees stretched like cathedral arches—skeletal, ancient, and draped in frost. Each breath fogged the air in bursts of fragile warmth.
They walked in quiet, five souls and four Bonds, moving not as warriors, but as weary embers still burning.
At the front, Ren walked stiffly, his coat drawn tight, Vultherin padding silently at his side. The frost-flame fox flicked its tails, eyes scanning the shadows—but Ren's gaze was distant. Alert, but not fully present. He still bore the echo of the Shepherd's voice in his ears—taunting, unraveling. Trauma doesn't always scream—it often whispers. And for now, Ren listened in silence.
Rica took the rear, ever-watchful, her posture straight—but her steps slightly behind. She wasn't marching like a queen anymore, not yet. Queen, her Aether Dragon, flew quietly above, wings half-unfurled, her light dimmed for caution. Rica's thoughts gnawed at her: Can I lead again? Can I afford another failure?
Kristie, in the middle, was doing what she always did—trying to break the silence.
Kristie (half-whispering, to Snarl):
"Alright, if anything jumps out at us, you bite first and ask questions later. Got it, bud?"
Snarl growled playfully, brushing against her leg. She grinned at the pup, then looked at the others—her usual spark tempered by tension.
Kristie (muttering):
"Y'all better not freeze into sad icicles. I'm not dragging corpses through snow again."
It was a joke. But none of them laughed.
Beside her, Elly walked with Koirin circling above in fluid, gentle spirals of glowing water. She kept her hood up, cheeks red—but not just from the cold. Every time her eyes drifted to Ren, her breath hitched. That hug—the quiet breakdown, the almost-confession—it haunted her now, made her steps careful. Her heart beat like a drum, but her courage had not yet caught up.
Seri, smallest among them, didn't flinch at the cold. Her little boots crunched in the snow with determination, small gloved hand holding Kristie's cloak gently.
Seri (softly):
"How much longer, Miss Rica?"
Rica snapped out of her thoughts.
Rica:
"Another hour... maybe two. Once we pass the frozen lake, we'll reach the outer ruins."
Kristie leaned in.
Kristie:
"You sure we're not getting lured into some ice-cursed death pit?"
Rica gave her a flat look.
Rica:
"No. But thanks for the optimism."
Seri tilted her head up.
Seri:
"Even if we are... it's okay. I'll be brave."
Elly smiled faintly at that.
Elly:
"You already are, sweetheart."
They continued walking. Wind picked up again, blowing snow through the trees like falling ash. Vultherin paused, ears twitching. Ren looked down, and for a moment, his hand brushed his bond's fur without thought. A reflex. Like grounding himself.
Ren (quietly):
"...This place feels like it's waiting."
Rica walked up beside him.
Rica:
"It is. The Veiled Vale doesn't just hold ruins. It holds memories."
Ren turned to her, curious.
Ren:
"Memories?"
Rica nodded, adjusting her scarf.
Rica:
"Old legends say the Vale remembers those who enter it. That the snow here listens—and sometimes answers back. There's an ancient structure ahead—half-submerged in ice. Stories say it's where one of the Starbeasts once fell asleep. A creature of water and air... shaped like a Hippocampus."
Seri's eyes widened slightly.
Seri:
"...Like Koirin?"
Elly blinked, surprised. Kristie gave a long whistle.
Kristie:
"Great. So instead of a fish, we're aiming for a seahorse deity."
Rica:
"If it still exists at all."
They walked a few more paces before Rica added:
Rica (softer):
"If it answers to anyone... it might be Seri."
Everyone looked toward the small girl. She didn't flinch.
Seri (nodding):
"...I'll do my best."
Elly gently rubbed her back, proud. Ren's lips parted slightly—like he wanted to say something, to reassure, or thank her. But nothing came out. He just nodded and looked ahead again.
The group fell quiet once more.
Only the wind howled, threading between them like a specter, reminding them of what they've lost—and what little they've yet to hold onto.
They emerged from the forest into a hollowed expanse where time itself seemed to sleep.
The trees thinned into jagged silhouettes behind them, and ahead stretched a clearing encased in frost—an ancient basin, sunken deep into the snow-covered valley floor. At its center, jutting from beneath layers of glacial ice, was a ruin—a shattered coliseum of smooth white stone and spiraling runes etched deep into its arches. Faint blue light pulsed underfoot, like veins of frozen energy buried in the ground.
It was silent.
No wind.
No birds.
Only the crunch of their boots.
Kristie slowed, her expression skeptical as she glanced around at the broken spires and scattered stone.
Kristie:
"This is it? Really? I was expecting something... y'know. Bigger. Flashier. Less 'dead ice tomb.'"
She kicked a piece of rubble. It didn't move.
But Ren—
The moment his foot crossed the outer ring of snow circling the basin—
He felt it.
A pull.
Like breath caught in his throat. Like a memory surfacing.
His legs faltered. Vultherin stopped beside him, ears twitching.
Ren's voice came low, distant:
Ren:
"Seems like we hit the jackpot."
Rica turned sharply to him.
Rica:
"You're sure?"
But she didn't need to ask.
Because Elly's knees buckled slightly. She reached out for Kristie's arm, gasping softly.
Elly:
"Koirin... she's glowing."
And she was.
The koi-fish spun above her like a ribbon unraveling in water, her glow now deeper—stronger—pulling toward the ruins like a tide drawn to shore.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Then came Seri.
The girl stumbled forward without thinking, eyes wide in wonder. Her hand hovered toward the air, as if brushing something unseen.
Seri (whispering):
"...It's warm."
Kristie, now startled, looked around.
Kristie:
"There's no way it's warm out here. My snot is trying to freeze inside my nose."
But Ren didn't hear her.
His palm burned—not from cold, but from resonance.
From something beneath the ruin.
Something ancient and breathing.
He took another step.
And the world... answered.
The snow shimmered faintly. The ruin's spiraling runes lit up in a soft, ethereal blue. The ground beneath them hummed with a slow, deep thrum like the heart of a slumbering god.
Rica reached for Queen's bridle. The Aether Dragon had begun to shift restlessly, her translucent wings catching the glow with every motion.
Rica:
"This place... it's not dead."
Ren's voice came quiet, dazed.
Ren:
"No. It's waiting."
Vultherin growled low—not a threat, but in recognition. A greeting.
Elly stepped closer to Ren, unable to stop herself.
Elly:
"What... what is this place?"
Ren's gaze never left the center of the ruins. He felt it now—something coiled, not just in the earth, but in him. Dormant. Deep. Powerful.
The Starbeast.
It pulsed faintly beneath his chest, the same way Koirin had during the it's awekening.
This place... was connected.
Ren:
"...I think this is where it all started."
Seri stood beside him now, her little hand reaching out toward the spiraling light.
Seri:
"...Then maybe this is where it begins again."
...
The cold bit deeper here.
Snow clung to stone like ancient memories refusing to fade. Cracked pillars and shattered archways littered the heart of the Veiled Vale, half-buried in ice and time. The ruins stood still, breathless, as if waiting for something to return.
Rica knelt before one of the taller stones, her gloved fingers brushing the frost away with the delicacy of a scholar uncovering truth.
Rica:
"These carvings... they're older than any text I've seen in the Royal Archives."
She pointed at the stone—three figures encircled a larger sigil: a dragon, it's serpentine body curled in a graceful arc; a whale, breaching upward; and a hippocampus with curling fins. All were facing a towering shape etched in shadowed lines, crowned by a burning halo—Magnus, the Eternal Maw.
Kristie: (squinting)
"Wait. Koirin's a koi fish. That's a whale."
Rica: (half-distracted)
"Symbolism, maybe. Or a future form. Some myths say Starbeasts aren't static—they evolve. Change. Awaken."
Kristie: (stage-whispering to Seri)
"She says that now, but wait 'til she starts reciting page numbers."
Seri giggled quietly beside her, huddled into Snarl's fur for warmth. Rica merely huffed but didn't stop.
In the background, Elly stood apart, watching Ren.
He was still. Too still.
The frost didn't seem to touch him. Vultherin stood at his side, breath rising in slow wisps, flame dimmed. Ren's gaze was fixed on nothing—or maybe, everything.
Elly shifted, uncertain. Then took a step forward.
The snow crunched under her boots, brittle as her heartbeat.
Elly (softly):
"You haven't said a word since we left."
Ren didn't answer.
Elly:
"Back there... when everything fell apart. When the Shepherd found you—"
(She paused.)
"You let yourself break. Just for a second. Just in front of me."
His shoulders tightened. Not resistance—just memory. Pain.
Elly:
"You held me like you didn't want to let go. And I—"
(She faltered, lips trembling.)
"I didn't want you to, either."
She stepped closer. Not quite touching, just close enough to share breath.
Elly (quietly):
"But ever since then, you've been further away than ever."
A beat. Then Ren turned, slowly.
His eyes met hers. Haunted. Tired. Cracked in places he didn't know how to hide.
Ren (barely above a whisper):
"I'm still hearing him."
Elly:
"I know."
(She swallowed.)
"But I'm still here."
Elly (fiercely):
"I need you to stop treating that moment like it was a mistake."
"You let me see you. The real you. Even if it hurt.
And that... that's not weakness."
(She looked away briefly, then back.)
Elly (barely audible):
"That's what I've been waiting for."
Ren didn't move. The cold wrapped around him. But his walls... were thinner now.
Elly turned away.
Elly:
"If you want to forget it, I won't stop you.
But I won't pretend it didn't mean anything."
Ren hadn’t meant for her to see him like that. But now, with everything unraveling, he wondered if it had saved him more than he knew.
Elly began to walk back—but Vultherin brushed gently against her leg. She paused.
Elly turned.
Ren lifted his head. And nodded—slowly. A fractured, honest nod.
Elly smiled, small and flickering—but it was real.
Then the ground trembled.
The pillars lit up—sigils pulsing with ancient power. Wind whipped through the ruins, howling like a cry long buried.
Ren gasped, clutching his head. Vultherin roared—his frostflame lashing outward.
Elly screamed, falling to her knees as Koirin burst forth in radiant blue, spiraling upward like a constellation.
Seri cried out, holding her chest—eyes glowing faintly.
Kristie:
"Ren?! Elly?! Seri?! What's happening?!"
Rica stumbled back from the wall, staring at the inscriptions now burning bright with resonance.
The Starbeasts were awake.
Ren collapsed forward, barely catching himself.
Elly reached him, gasping.
Elly (shaking):
"Ren...!"
...
The tremors had ceased, but the echoes of their pulse still clung to the air like static—primal, ancient, and watching.
Their breaths fogged in the biting cold, but no one spoke. Not yet.
Ren led the way now—his steps quiet, purposeful, though still visibly shaken. The deeper they went into the ruins, the more the snow seemed to thin, revealing black stone floorwork etched with glowing veins—lines like constellations carved into the ground.
Ahead, rising gently atop a snow-dusted hill, was an altar, framed in a ring of towering columns. Time and frost had weathered them, but even now they hummed faintly with celestial energy.
At the very heart stood three marble pillars, arranged in a triangle—each no taller than a person's height, and carved with intricate star-like glyphs.
The wind stilled. Even Vultherin's flames dimmed, flickering softly in reverence.
Then—
Koirin stirred.
The koi-fish Starbeast unfurled mid-air, gliding in a stream of luminescent water that wasn't truly there, dancing toward the leftmost pillar. It shimmered as it drew closer, its scales reflecting the lines in the ruins below.
Elly (startled):
"Koirin—wait—!"
She hurried after it, reaching just as Koirin's head pressed gently against the pillar. Her fingers brushed the stone a second later—
FLASH.
The leftmost pillar ignited in a burst of soft ocean-blue light.
Elly stumbled back, a gasp on her lips.
The others froze.
Rica:
"That... wasn't random."
She stepped forward, eyes narrowed, studying the light now humming from the pillar.
Rica:
"The pillars are keys."
(She turned to the others.)
"Ren. Seri. Try the others. Now."
Ren hesitated for only a moment.
He nodded once and approached the rightmost pillar.
Seri, wide-eyed and small, stepped cautiously toward the final one.
Kristie held her breath, reaching toward her on instinct—but stopped.
Seri looked at her with that same quiet bravery from before... and touched the stone.
BOOM.
All three pillars ignited.
The triangle formed between them flared to life—an invisible boundary snapping into place, and then all at once—
The surrounding columns—lit. One by one.
A ripple of golden starlight raced through the ruin, connecting each column in a circle around the altar like points on a dial. The constellations on the floor responded, blooming with power.
And then—
The wind picked up again.
This time, it was singing.
A low, melodic hum, rising from the altar like a distant voice echoing across stars and time.
The space within the triangle shimmered... and began to surge with light.
The wind now centered on Seri.
She gasped—but didn't fall.
Her feet slowly lifted off the ground, hair and cloak fluttering upward.
Kristie (alarmed):
"Seri!"
Rica (holding her arm back):
"No—wait. She's not in danger."
Indeed, Seri's expression wasn't one of fear.
She looked forward, eyes wide, lips parted in silent awe.
Ren (softly):
"She's hearing something..."
The light from the altar danced around her, wrapping her in silvery spirals.
Seri (whispering, almost in trance):
"It's... calling me."
The wind circled faster now, forming a column of light around her—but still, it didn't burn or harm.
It welcomed her.
Elly:
"She's... being chosen now?"
Kristie (quietly, half to herself):
"Looks like our little stargazer's about to meet her stars."
Then from above, a single snowflake fell through the beam of light.
It didn't melt.
It glowed.
And far in the ruins, something stirred—beneath the ice, beneath the bones of the earth.
The glowing pillars pulsed like slow, ancient heartbeats.
Rica took a shaky breath, her eyes still darting from the inscriptions burned into the ruins. "These symbols... they're responding to her. Seri's not just reacting—she's summoning it."
Ren clenched his fists. "Something here knows her."
And then—
The snow darkened.
Not from clouds.
From presence.
The silence that fell was heavier than the cold.
Seven shadows emerged from the frost-blurred edge of the ruins, their shapes warping the falling snow like heat in the desert.
The Aequinox. All seven.
Sierra, walking casually with the same scornful tilt to her head, twirling a knife of ash-thorn glass.
Lyra, her expression unreadable, her violet tattoos glowing faintly in the cold light.
Isolde, silent and serpentine, eyes like emerald slits cutting through mist.
Caden, grinning, his crimson runes pulsing with invisible rhythm like drums of war.
Marques, quiet but looming, his scaled robes gliding like a glacier in motion.
Valter, his silver mask reflecting only their fear, steps soundless, aura consuming.
Laeryn, barefoot and gentle-looking, her torn veils drifting like ghosts, humming a hymn.
Elly instinctively tried pulled Seri back, but the girl was still slightly floating, still resonating, her eyes wide with awe and fear.
Kristie drew her blade, stepping in front of Elly and Seri. "You've got to be kidding me."
Ren's breath became smoke. His body tensed as Vultherin appeared beside him, fire and frost rippling through his fur.
Rica stood tall beside Queen, who hissed, her wings expanding.
Rica muttered under her breath. "We thought they'd be in the East..."
Ren finished the thought aloud, grim. "Splitting their forces... but they didn't."
Kristie narrowed her eyes. "Then who the hell's Iver up against?"
Laeryn stepped forward with a calm smile. Her eyes found Ren like needles slipping into wounds long healed.
Laeryn (softly):
"You don't need to worry about the East."
She pressed her hands together in mock prayer, the veils coiling like vines in cold wind.
Laeryn (serene):
"'He' is already there."
Ren's heart stopped.
He didn't need to ask.
Didn't need to think.
The pressure in the air, the cold in his spine, the echo of a voice he still heard in his sleep—
Ren (hoarse):
"...The Shepherd."
The glow in the pillars dimmed.
Even the snow paused.
And then the world exhaled...
...but no one breathed.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Veiled Vale Arc.
This entire arc was the original spark that made me want to write Bondforged in the first place.
Everything before this?
All the breadcrumbs, all the slow build, all the trauma, all the “why is Ren like this??” moments — it was all leading here.
…and start becoming: divinity, war, and consequences.
back down.
They only go up.
It seriously helps Bondforged grow on RR.
hinting and start hitting.
Rein Silvers ????
All 7 Aequinox have appeared before them, will Ren's team survive this nightmare? Try to guess what will happen by answering the poll.
