NOVEL NEXT Chapter 126: Back to the Sanctum
goal? To force your opponent to miss the return while keeping the orb's unstable energy from spiking too hard and destabilizing the board. The orb gained speed and complexity with every hit, adjusting to the flow of mana in the paddles.
They squared off.
Ethan took the first serve, tapping the orb gently.
It zipped toward Mia's side, bouncing with a light "twink" off the air-barrier. She returned it with a sharp flick, spinning it diagonally and forcing Ethan to move fast.
The pace picked up rapidly.
Mana sparked slightly at the edges of the orb with each hit, glowing brighter every second. Soon, both of them were a blur—feet shifting, arms moving in perfect rhythm, eyes locked on the shimmering, aggressive light.
"Is it just me," Mia said between a breath and a strike, "or is the orb... mad at us?"
"It's escalating," Ethan agreed, deflecting a particularly fast shot. "You're putting too much mana in—calm down."
"No such thing!"
She whirled and slapped it with a mana-infused backswing, and the orb screeched through the air like a comet. Ethan barely managed to catch it with a lunge, sending it looping softly just past the arc-line.
Mia dove. Missed.
The orb dissolved into motes of harmless light and the table shimmered slightly in response to the conclusion of the round.
Ethan raised a hand, victorious. "Match point."
"I tripped," Mia panted, flopping backward onto the couch. "Obviously."
Ethan walked over and plopped beside her. "You gave it too much heat."
"I gave it spirit," she retorted, nudging his shoulder. "Still. That was fun."
He smiled, leaning back, his chest still rising and falling with residual adrenaline. "It really was."
The table retracted automatically, folding back into the ceiling as the mana around it dispersed. The room returned to its usual calm, and Ethan exhaled deeply.
"This... was exactly what I needed," he said quietly.
Mia nodded, and the look she gave him was soft and knowing.
"Next time, I'll win," she declared with mock seriousness.
Ethan tilted his head. "Next time I'll let you think you might."
They both laughed.
The city lights of Nexa shimmered like stars come to ground, reflected faintly in the glass panes of shops still open under the dusk-draped sky. After their energetic Arc-Pong match, Ethan and Mia took their time wandering through the gently buzzing streets. The scent of grilled meat and spiced bread hung in the air, mixing with the chill of the approaching night.
Mia clung to his side, fingers laced with his, her cheek glowing faintly from exertion and joy.
"Let's go by the riverside next," she suggested. "I like how the lamps shimmer on the water."
Ethan gave a simple nod. "Alright."
They reached the riverside path just as a trio of lantern ships passed, casting dancing amber lights across the black current. A gentle wind stirred the reeds by the shore and tugged at Mia's hair, making her laugh as she tucked strands behind her ears.
They sat on a low stone bench overlooking the river.
Neither of them said much for a while.
And they didn't need to.
Mia leaned against him, her head resting just beneath his shoulder. Ethan stared ahead, his fingers gently tracing the back of her hand. His mind was quiet—an unfamiliar kind of peace that had become rare to him lately.
"You'll be going back soon, right?" Mia asked eventually, her voice soft.
Ethan didn't pretend not to understand. He sighed.
"Yeah... I can't afford to stay too long. Things are moving fast on the other side. I have responsibilities now. People counting on me."
"Is it scary?"
He paused, then answered honestly. "Sometimes. But… it feels right."
Mia smiled faintly. "You've always had that look when you talk about the Labyrinth. Like it was something waiting for you all along."
He turned slightly to glance at her. "And what do I look like now?"
"Like someone who's trying to carry the world but still doesn't want to let go of the one thing that makes him feel human."
Ethan chuckled under his breath. "You make it sound like poetry."
"Maybe it is."
They sat there a little longer before Ethan finally stood. "Come on. Let's head home."
---
They walked the winding path back to their apartment, not rushing, just moving in step as street performers played light tunes on mana-harps and children chased luminous insects that flickered around crystal-lit trees.
By the time they reached the front of their residence, the moon had risen high.
Back inside, Ethan checked his void ring, confirming the time signature on the teleportation core linked to the Sanctum rune. He had roughly twenty minutes left before the return channel opened.
Mia disappeared into the bedroom for a moment and returned with a small cloth-wrapped bundle. She placed it into his hand.
"What's this?"
"Snacks. And a new mana charm I made—it's tuned to my energy signature. So if you ever feel completely alone, maybe it'll remind you that you're not."
He unwrapped it carefully and smiled. Inside were dried energy petals, a small canister of spiced tea, and a mana-forged pendant shaped like a crescent, pulsing faintly with soft pink light.
"Mia…"
"Don't say anything," she interrupted, then stood on tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "Just come back again. And try not to get eaten."
"I'll try."
The air shimmered as the teleportation rune he'd placed on the floor earlier activated with a low, rising hum.
He stood in the center, his figure bathed in shifting light.
Mia stayed at the edge, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Tell Kaeryx I'm still annoyed I didn't get to pet him."
Ethan smirked. "He probably sensed your intentions and fled."
The light grew brighter.
He held her gaze for a moment longer, then spoke with calm finality.
"I'll be back soon."
And in a heartbeat, he vanished—swallowed by light.
Ethan appeared in a quiet flash of pale-blue light, his boots gently pressing against the obsidian-carved threshold of the Dragonkin Sanctum's teleportation circle.
The change in atmosphere was immediate.
The air here carried a hint of heat—thick, but clean. It was more intense than Grosh'ka, pulsing faintly with the pressure of latent draconic essence. The moment Ethan returned, Kaeryx—sensing his arrival—let out a low, resonant hum from somewhere deeper in the sanctum, an instinctive ripple of awareness between god and master.
He took a breath.
Back to the grind.
His footsteps echoed softly as he moved through the inner chamber, past the carved dragon totems and enchanted braziers that flared briefly with his passing. Several Dragonkin and other inhabitants respectfully lowered their heads. Though their loyalty was still forming, the weight of what Kaeryx represented—and by extension, Ethan—was too real to ignore.
As he stepped outside toward the courtyard, he spotted David waiting for him, already dressed in light armor with scrolls and a thin mana-slate in hand.
"Welcome back," David said with a smile, then chuckled lightly. "Mia didn't trap you into staying forever?"
Ethan gave a half-smile. "She tried."
David shook his head with amusement before his tone turned serious. "A lot happened while you were gone. I kept the patrols running smoothly. Scouts didn't find any new sanctums nearby, but there were two beast group encounters."
Ethan nodded slowly. "Losses?"
"None. The orcs handled themselves well. They've started to trust the dragonkin more since Kaeryx's presence kept the latter in line."
Ethan raised a brow. "That's unexpected… I thought there'd be more tension."
"There is. But mutual fear of you and Kaeryx is keeping things calm," David admitted bluntly.
Ethan snorted. "At least it's working."
David offered him the mana-slate. "Also, the dragonkin Warlord—Thraaz—he's trying to be useful. Turns out he's a smith. A good one. I had him work with the Sanctum's forge. You should see some of the armor pieces they've produced—they're infused with low-tier draconic resonance."
Ethan's eyes gleamed faintly. "That might be worth building up."
"Also," David added, tapping a line on the slate, "the sanctum's barrier formation reacted to an energy fluctuation yesterday. It wasn't an attack—it was… something else. Like a probe."
Ethan's gaze narrowed. "From another sanctum?"
"Most likely," David confirmed. "But they didn't press further. I've tightened the outer patrols. And I've prepped a team to start sending safe-route signals back to Grosh'ka once we're sure."
Ethan was silent for a moment, weighing all the pieces in his mind.
"How about internal unrest?"
David exhaled. "Minor grumblings. Some of the dragonkin hate being under anyone's command but their own kind. And a few of the humans still flinch around orcs. But… no one's made trouble."
Ethan folded his arms and tilted his head. "So far so good, then."
"Yeah." David gave a small grin. "But you being back should help reinforce things. They respect strength here. And you've got Kaeryx."
Yeah." David gave a small grin. "But you being back should help reinforce things. They respect strength here. And you've got Kaeryx."
Yeah. A