Root didn't sleep.
After the mission, he returned to his dorm, wiped the blood from his gloves, and cleaned Eidolorn's mask with water from the academy spring.
The summon didn't move.
Didn't need to.
By dawn, they were already walking into the Lecture Hall of Binding Theory—a circular chamber shaped like a flattened arena, with layered stone seats and summon glyphs carved into the walls. Students filed in quietly, many with their summons trailing behind or flickering in half-form nearby.
Most had humanoid beasts, elemental mimics, or steelborn cores—low to mid-grade material constructs. A few elites had something stranger—creatures with horns, dual wings, or even glowing internal cores.
Eidolorn stood beside Root.
Full form. Mask intact.
And for a moment, the room noticed.
Not the teachers. Not the top-rankers.
Everyone.
Professor Sariel arrived in a swirl of red robes, her voice loud without being raised. She didn't bother welcoming anyone.
"Let's begin."
A flick of her hand activated the main projection circle—an enormous sigil flaring to life above the hall. Within it spun hundreds of summon shapes—some animal, some human, some voidlike.
"There are five general summon classes," she began, "and dozens of bloodlines within each. But the System doesn't assign summons randomly."
A pause.
"It binds based on soul compatibility."
The crowd stirred. A few whispered. Others already knew.
Sariel continued.
"Your bond determines more than your summon. It affects everything—your growth rate, ability pool, mutation potential, and even the nurturing chamber you're granted."
She gestured, and the glyph shifted—showing a side-by-side of two summon chambers.
One was a cracked, bare room with thin light and a single training circle.
The other was alive—walls of crystal, pulsing mana veins, interactive targets, autonomous sparring dummies.
"The stronger the bond, the richer the space. The higher your summon's potential, the more likely you are to gain a Mythborne Trait—abilities that evolve outside the System's leveling bracket."
Root narrowed his eyes.
His own chamber was unlike either image. It had changed the moment Eidolorn formed—adapting to the summon's presence.
Almost like it had remembered something older than the blueprints.
Sariel raised her hand, voice hardening.
"And for those of you aiming for Level 50, listen carefully. The System does not reward ambition. It tracks skill. Strategy. Obedience."
She looked across the hall.
"But at Level 49, it stops counting."
Silence.
"For those few who continue to grow… we don't have a name."
She smiled. Cold. Knowing.
"But the myths call them Throned."
Root didn't react.
But Eidolorn's mask tilted a fraction. Not left. Not right.
Down.
As if bowing—not to the teacher…
…but to the title.
The air in the Lecture Hall felt thinner now.
As Professor Sariel dismissed the projection, smaller sigils began to float down in front of each student—hovering data scrolls unique to their summon bonds.
"Compatibility reports," she said. "Generated from your summoning rites, stress tests, and latent vein alignment. These determine your summon's growth ceiling and affinity path."
Some students grinned immediately—scrolls glowing bright gold or etched with lightning-like glyphs. A girl in the second row fist-pumped and whispered, "A-rank core and dual synergy—yes!"
Others looked paler.
C-rank bonds. B-minus affinity locks. Even a dreaded "Static Core" scrolled past one unlucky summoner's panel.
Root's report didn't appear.
Eidolorn stood motionless, his presence quiet—yet charged.
"Should we… tell the professor?" a nearby student whispered.
Another scoffed. "It's probably a glitch. That mask thing barely counts as a summon."
Root didn't turn. He just waited.
Then—without warning—his scroll flared into existence with a sharp snap. Unlike the others, it was shaped like a folded dagger of light, twisting in the air until it unfurled with a sharp click.
The glow it cast wasn't gold.
It was void silver.
Summon Compatibility Report – Candidate Alden Veras
Compatibility Tier: Undefined
Vein Pattern: Irregular—matches no known summon category
Bond Strength: Locked (Unquantifiable)
Nurturing Chamber Classification: Apex-Level (Restricted Access)
System Comment: Manual oversight recommended.
⚠ This candidate exhibits non-standard System behavior. Monitor closely.
The room went still.
Even Sariel stopped speaking.
A moment passed.
Then she moved forward and reached out, as if to stabilize the scroll. Instead, it dispersed on its own—shattering into threads of silver glyphs that melted into the air.
Sariel's expression didn't change.
But her voice did.
"Alden Veras," she said slowly. "Your summon… Eidolorn… what type did the System register?"
Root didn't hesitate. "Echobound."
That made her eyes narrow.
"There are no known active Echobound classes. That's a sealed lineage from before the Cataclysm. Pre-System."
Root simply nodded.
Around him, murmurs spread like wildfire.
Pre-System?
Sealed class?
Sariel turned away, not questioning further. But her shoulders were stiffer now. She gestured to the rest of the class.
"Continue reviewing your reports. Bond evolution begins at Level 10. Until then, your summon is still considered formative."
Formative?
Root looked to Eidolorn.
No.
Not formative.
Waiting.
The final segment of the lecture began.
The center of the hall dimmed again as Professor Sariel lifted her hand, summoning a new projection—this time larger, pulsing like a living map.
It was shaped like a tree.
No… a vein.
Five thick lines branched out from a central root, each labeled with glowing glyphs in the System's ancient tongue. The crowd leaned forward as Sariel's voice returned, slower now. Measured.
"These are the known Summon Evolution Branches," she said. "Paths your bond might follow, determined by your compatibility, temperament, and combat patterns."
She gestured to each branch in turn.
"The First Branch: Beastform Ascension. Physical evolution, tied to feral summons and martial growth."
"The Second: Elemental Catalyst. Affinity-based. Evolves through exposure to aligned environments or materials."
"The Third: Construct Spiral. Artificial summons. Evolves through grafting and augmentation—mostly seen in Tech Sigil users."
"The Fourth: Spiritual Synthesis. Fusion-based. Evolves through resonance, dual summons, or host merging."
She paused at the last.
"The Fifth is… anomalous. It's marked by the System as 'Undefined / Locked.' No known evolution path. No trigger conditions. Some records call it the Hollow Branch."
Root's eyes didn't move.
Eidolorn, however, tilted his head—only a fraction—but it felt deliberate.
Root caught the gesture.
So did Sariel.
"I assume none of you have a summon aligned with the Fifth," she said softly, eyes sweeping the room.
No one spoke.
Root didn't raise his hand.
He didn't need to.
His presence already said enough.
Sariel returned her focus to the projection.
"Every two levels, your summon's path will become clearer. New skills will emerge. Traits will stabilize. By Level 10, your core branch becomes locked."
She flicked her fingers, and the Fifth Branch darkened—like the System itself was ashamed of it.
"Only one recorded student in the last century had an evolution that veered into the Hollow. Their record was… sealed."
Root's heartbeat didn't rise.
But Eidolorn's cloak rustled, despite there being no wind.
Like it remembered.
Sariel dismissed the projection with a flare of light. "This concludes today's session. Practice drills begin at dusk."
Students stood.
Conversations ignited instantly.
But Root remained seated.
And Eidolorn?
Still. Silent.
Yet somehow…
Closer.
Root glanced at the spot where the Fifth Branch had vanished.
You already knew, didn't you? he thought.
Eidolorn didn't respond.
But Root saw the faintest crack of movement on the mask.
A twitch. A fracture. A sliver of something beneath.
Not a face.
Not a person.
A mirror.