The Weight of Connection
The bond was permanent.
And now, they had to learn to live with it.
The Unspoken Voices
It started small.
Tranquility woke up to find himself exhausted, despite having slept. It wasn’t until he saw Reiko rubbing her temples that he realized—
She had been the one unable to sleep.
Syaoran reached for his teacup at breakfast, only for Yue—sitting across from him—to do the exact same thing at the same time.
Jadeite and Zoisite finished each other’s sentences without realizing it.
Endymion tried to cast a spell—only for Nephrite to instinctively complete it.
It was disorienting. Confusing.
And it was only getting worse.
Emotions Run Wild
Reiko stormed into the training hall, her patience gone.
“This is insane!” she snapped, whirling on Clow. “We can’t live like this. We’re feeling everything.”
Syaoran rubbed his temples. “I haven’t had a single quiet thought all day.”
Endymion crossed his arms. “I almost stabbed Nephrite because I thought his thought was mine.”
Tranquility exhaled. “We need control.”
Clow studied them for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. We’ll start immediately.”
Learning to Separate
The training was brutal.
Clow pushed them hard, forcing them to differentiate between their own minds and each other’s.
They had to recognize the subtle shifts—what was theirs and what wasn’t.
It took days for them to even partially succeed.
But the first real breakthrough came from an unexpected place.
Yue and Syaoran’s Breakthrough
Yue and Syaoran were sparring again, but this time, something shifted.
Syaoran’s emotions flared—frustration, determination, something warmer.
Yue felt it instantly.
And for a moment, he let himself lean into it.
Their magic twisted together, synchronized perfectly.
Syaoran swung. Yue moved before he could even react.
The attack missed.
Syaoran stumbled back, breathing hard. His golden eyes locked onto Yue’s, something unspoken passing between them.
“...You felt that too,” Syaoran murmured.
Yue nodded.
Clow’s voice cut through the moment. “You’re starting to understand.”
Reiko and Tranquility: A Dangerous Side Effect
While the others worked on controlling their thoughts, Reiko and Tranquility faced a different problem.
Their connection was more than just mental.
It was physical.
During a duel, Tranquility dodged—and Reiko felt the impact of the missed attack.
She staggered, clutching her ribs.
Tranquility’s eyes widened. “Did you—”
Reiko exhaled sharply. “It was your pain.”
That was when Clow’s warning truly hit them.
They weren’t just linked in mind.
Their bodies were beginning to blur together.
Endymion’s Decision
Endymion watched his friends struggle, his heart heavy.
He knew his own bond with his guardians was affecting them.
Their magic had begun to merge in strange ways. Their emotions were tangled.
They couldn’t live like this.
So Endymion made a choice.
“I need to leave,” he told Clow.
Reiko spun toward him. “What?!”
He exhaled. “I have to go back to the Moon Kingdom. I need to find answers about why this is happening to me.”
Tranquility stepped forward. “You don’t have to do this alone.”
Endymion smiled faintly. “I do.”
And with that, the bond pulled tighter—and the distance between them all had never felt more unbearable.