Beastforged Bond

Daniel exhaled deeply.

Life was a mess. First, the Caldera’s Katrak ended in disaster, pulling the cadets into schemes that showed little regard for their lives. It felt like those behind it didn’t even care whether the cadets lived or died. Hell, not even the lives of the other Rulers seemed important. From what Adam had told him, the only thing the Ruler of Fire truly cared about had been the Elemental Phoenix.

Anyway, most cadets survived the disaster that followed the Katrak with little harm. That time, they all survived.

But this time… this time they hadn’t been as lucky.

Weeks had passed since the Bakurean attack, and it was still hard to believe. To think that an army of Outsiders would strike the flying ship, shoot it out of the sky, and kill hundreds of Blessed. Kill Adam.

Daniel still couldn’t believe it. How could he?

He sat on the repaired deck of the flying ship, teeth gritted and fists clenched. So many good people had been killed, Instructors and Blessed alike. But for someone as hard-working as Adam to die… just like that… it didn’t make any sense. Daniel would have never said it openly, but Adam was stronger than he was. Maybe his physique had been a little worse than Daniel’s; however, Daniel never believed for a second that his best friend was weaker.

Adam was stronger, his dedication pushing him to heights Daniel could only dream of reaching. But now he was dead, dragged away from the flying ship and dropped into the Dark Forest from the sky. Even if he survived the fall from thousands of meters, which was already highly unlikely, he would have landed nearly a thousand kilometers from the nearest Bastion. He would never find his way back home.

If only the ship had crashed nearby. We would have been together.

Their chances of survival would have been low, with several hundred Blessed attracting nature’s ire, but that didn’t matter. Daniel was certain they would have made it out alive. Somehow.

But the flying ship didn’t crash. It performed an emergency landing in an Awakened Zone several hours after the Bakurean’s first strike, once damage to the machine room had been detected. Even then, the emergency landing was carried out in a controlled and relatively safe environment.

Days later, wounds tended, casualties and missing Blessed accounted for, and the worst damage repaired, the journey continued. No scouts were deployed to search for possible survivors. Instead, the dozens of cadets and five instructors still unaccounted for were declared deceased–killed in combat.

“Adam is alive,” Scott said, his eyes glowing with the same eerie, milky-white hue as always.

“You say that, but you can’t see him,” Daniel grunted, tired of Scott’s attempts to give him hope. “You haven’t been able to see anything about him ever since the Katrak ended.”

He wanted Adam to be alive, too. Hell, he’d give an arm just to know whether his friend was still breathing.

Truthfully, he wished Adam were alive, but the last time he saw him, Adam had been dragged into the air by several Bakurean. Adam had retaliated with everything he had, and Daniel knew that even if he survived, his body would be a mess. Aureus’ wings had been damaged, stripping Adam of his only chance at survival.

“But that is the point. I cannot see him,” Scott said, smiling as delusion crept in once more. Ever since Adam’s death, he had been… insane was probably the most fitting word. Not that Daniel could hold it against him. He himself was barely holding on, pouring everything into staying strong–for Adam’s sake.

But did he really have to stay strong? Did it matter if someone saw him weak and vulnerable?

“Fuck that shit,” Daniel growled, his body growing in size as his bond with the Thunderhorn Bull took over.

He grabbed Scott by the collar and lifted him into the air. “Stop with your nonsense. I’m tired of it, Scott! I saw the fear in his eyes as they dragged him away. I saw him fall, his Soulfusion with Aureus failing after they damaged Aureus’ wings!”

Scott dangled in the air as Daniel continued to grow. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t move. He simply stared at his friend and repeated the same words he had spoken for weeks.

“Adam is alive. I don’t know where he is, if he’s injured, or if we’ll see him again, but he is alive.” Scott’s eyes glowed brighter. “You don’t have to believe me. I don’t care if you do. But you shouldn’t act like you don’t understand how my trait works. You know that the branches of the dead disperse. That is not the case with Adam. I cannot see anything about him. And that is the point. The sensation hasn’t changed ever since we returned from the Katrak. As for yours–”

The milky-white hue spread beyond his eyes, faint white threads creeping across his eyelids.

“You…” The corner of his lip curled upward, and a brilliant smile bloomed. “You will be in for a surprise.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Fuck,” Daniel muttered as he released Scott. “I really hate your divination shenanigans.”

“But you hope I’m right,” Scott snickered.

Daniel’s lips parted in rebuttal. He wanted to say no. To convince himself he wasn’t foolish enough to believe Adam could survive the fall and several weeks in the unknown, injured and surrounded by Forbidden Zones. Even worse, the flying ship had been crossing uncharted land when the Bakurean attacked.

Thousands of Blessed, many more powerful than the graduates from the Grand Camp, disappeared in an attempt to explore that land, leaving it marked as a region more dangerous than the Forbidden Zones.

If Adam really survived the fall, he’d be somewhere near those lands. Lands that might as well have been populated with millions of Bakurean, for all they knew.

Still.

Sighing deeply, Daniel muttered, “I do… I really do hope he survives, but it’s impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible. That is something I learned last year,” Scott laughed. “Especially when it comes to Adam Savier. That guy is Fortuna’s favorite child.”

***

The day the flying ship landed, Daniel felt the worst he had in a long time. His uncle had disappeared without a word, while Scott was nowhere to be seen. He had expected that from his uncle after all that had happened to his Wyvern Soulkin, Dirk, but for Scott to vanish? That was odd.

Maybe he doesn’t want to be dragged into our estate. See the Saviers. He shuddered at the mere thought of telling them what had happened to Adam.

His heart palpitated relentlessly as he disembarked from the ship, his eyes drifting over the masses of parents and other family members waiting for the cadets to emerge.

“They didn’t come to pick me up?” Daniel raised an eyebrow when he couldn’t find his parents, the Saviers, or any of the Zerog household staff.

It was odd, but he didn’t hate it. Telling everyone what had happened in a more private setting sounded far better than breaking down in public.

Gripping his chest tightly, he left the harbor in silence. Silent strides carried him through the Bastion, the bustling streets calming him slightly as he raked his brain for the best way to break the bad news.

Was there a nice way to tell the Saviers that their son had died?

Who was he kidding? There was no way in the Rulers’ Names he could twist Adam’s death into something less disastrous than it was. No matter how it was worded, the core remained the same: Adam was dead.

Taking a deep breath, he reached the main sector. The rest of the walk to the Zerog estate didn’t take long, yet it felt as though it stretched infinitely.

The gates unraveled before the extensive building he had called home for as long as he could remember, but it was the first time Daniel hesitated to enter. He didn’t want to return. Not with such devastating news to share.

So what if he had managed to acquire the Species Expansion World Aspect? He would much rather give it all back if it meant being granted the chance to rescue Adam.

But it was too late to change anything.

Daniel’s head flicked to the right as a subtle disturbance in the shadows caught his attention.

“Welcome home, sir.” The estate’s head butler, Steve, emerged with a neutral smile and bowed deeply. His lips curled upward as he scrutinized Daniel. “I see you’ve grown a great deal. You appear far more mature, weathered by the threats lurking outside the Bastions.”

When Daniel didn’t answer, Steve straightened. “Your parents will be relieved to see you as you are now.” The estate gates opened slowly behind him. “They’re in the dining room with the Saviers. The five of them have been waiting for quite some time.”

Five? Is my sister back? That was unusual, but it mattered little.

Entering his home as though it belonged to a stranger, Daniel stepped into the elevator, his heart racing even faster. For a fleeting moment, he hoped it would simply give out. That way, he wouldn’t have to tell anyone about the Bakurean’s attack and Adam’s accident.

He shook his head as the elevator chimed, letting him out into the living room.

Clenching his fists until his nails dug into his palms, Daniel strode forward, his heart skipping several beats when he heard the Saviers laughing at something. His father’s deep voice reverberated through both the dining room and the living room, his questions filled with curiosity, and…was that joy?

It had been a long time since his father had sounded so jovial. And now Daniel had to break that. Shatter it.

If he even cared about Adam’s fate, that is.

Daniel wasn’t entirely sure what his father truly thought of Adam. He had fulfilled his mission and helped acquire the World Aspect. Maybe that was all he cared about

No. He took a liking to Adam. Otherwise, he would never have gifted him the storage belt for his birthday.

Adam’s birthday.

The memories brought back a painful mixture of happiness and loss. It was bittersweet.

Go. Tell them.

Coco echoed in his mind, the Soulkin’s presence offering a fragile sense of stability.

Still, tears welled in Daniel’s eyes as he crossed the living room. But when he stepped through the archway into the dining room, he wasn’t greeted by his sister.

Instead, he saw an illusion surrounded by heaps of empty plates finishing yet another serving. His parents and the Saviers sat around it, laughing, smiling, and eagerly asking about their time at the Grand Camp.

Daniel’s jaw dropped.

The illusion had short brown hair, eyebrows just beginning to regrow, freckles scattered across its cheeks, and verdant green eyes brighter than Daniel remembered.

He caught movement in his periphery but didn’t dare turn away, fearing the illusion would scatter if he did.

“Oh, hello.” His mother’s voice rang out from the left, though her words barely reached him. “Adam returned a few hours ago. What took you so long, dear?”

The illusion looked up from the plate, an all-too-familiar smile spreading across Adam’s face.

“Hey, Dan. You guys were slower than expected. I was worried for no reason.” He laughed.

So Daniel did the only thing he could think of. He released a lightning bolt at the illusion.