Beastforged Bond

Calling the boy curious was the understatement of the year. He absorbed knowledge like a sponge, his expression growing brighter by the minute.

There was no sign of his initial hesitation. If anything, it was like the boy had been replaced by an energy bundle as soon as we checked out the Blackstar Hound pups.

“They’re so cute!” he whispered excitedly. “How can anyone be afraid of them? They look like they cannot harm a bee!”

I’d seen bees dangerous enough to kill powerful Blessed, but that wasn’t something I was going to tell him.

“Do they play a lot with each other? Or are beasts not that playful? But playing is so fun!” he chirped, but hurriedly covered his mouth with both hands when he realized that he’d been a little loud. The Blackstar Hound mother stirred and looked up. Her pitch-black eyes met mine only for a moment before she lay down again.

“Oh my! In the Rulers’ Names… Did you just communicate with her? Can you do that? Is she your Soulkin? Do you have more Soulkins?” He bombarded me with questions, his lips were sealed shut as soon as I turned to him.

“You can ask questions, but keep your voice down,” I lectured him sternly. Maybe I was a little harsh, but the puppies needed rest and the boy was a lot more energetic than I thought he would.

“I’m sorry.” The boy, who had introduced himself as Kale, looked down, but smiled again as soon as his attention returned to the Blackstar puppies.

“It’s hard to think of them as dangerous. They’re so cute. I bet they’re really nice to cuddle with.” He chuckled quietly. “Do you cuddle with your Soulkins? How did you bind them? How… does binding work? Do you think I can do it as well? My World is not that large. Pa said I need to train more and that he would find me a Soulkin in the future.”

His excitement faded at the last part. “But I think he is lying. Pa has no Soulkin. How can he get one for me if he does not have one?”

I… Honestly, this was way above my pay grade. Not that I was paid a lot for my work at the Beast Temple in the first place.

“One question at a time, please?” I said, feeling a little lost. Since when were kids that difficult to handle?

“Oh… I am sorry.” Kale rubbed his cheek in embarrassment. “Ma and Pa say I speak a lot when I am too excited.”

“Don’t worry about that.” I waved dismissively. “What are you most interested in? Do you want to know more about Blackstar Hounds, or are you more interested in traits, the way your World works, or something else entirely?”

Before the boy could answer, I quickly added, “And no, I am not cuddling with my Soulkins. But we spend a lot of time together, which you should too once you find a suitable partner. Your first Soulkin will change everything for you.”

Kale looked thoughtfully at the beasts and then at me.

“That’s a shame. I sometimes cuddle with Ma and that’s the best. Cuddling with my Soulkin would be great.” He marveled, lost in thought for a few seconds.

A yawn pulled him back to his senses, his lips curling up as one of the Blackstar puppies turned onto its back, its paw hanging in the air.

“How do you bind a beast? I… I think it will take a little bit longer before I am ready. Until we have some credits, but…”

“You are curious about the bond?” I intercepted before Kale could suffer from another mood swing. “The bond is something magical. You separate some of your soul energy from your World and circulate it through the beast of your choosing. After several circulations, an ethereal thread will form, establishing a faint link. It will be unstable at first, but by spending time with your Soulkin and treating it like you wish to be treated, you will quickly strengthen and stabilize the connection.”

“The process is relatively simple, but it can come with complications. Not every beast wants to be bound, no matter how beneficial it can be for them. Depending on the severity of their rejection, I would recommend selecting a different beast to bind, since discrepancies can lead to a multitude of problems that are much harder to resolve once the bond has stabilized,” I explained, hiding the grimace when I noticed how confused Kale looked.

“Usually, younger beasts, especially newborn beasts, are the easiest to bind. They do not resist the bond as strongly. Many young beasts welcome the bond, sensing that the Blessed’s World is highly suitable. The bond will help them grow faster and reach maturity before their wild siblings would, which helps–”

I was just about to talk about the perks of a growing World and how beasts could grow and surpass their racial limits, but Kale appeared even more confused than before. As painful as it was to admit, I was not a good teacher. My explanations were definitely not suitable for an eight-year-old boy. He couldn’t care less about most of what I’d just said.

It was almost as if my words had awakened something within Kale. He looked at me, his eyes growing wide.

“Are you… strong? You feel like the soldiers Pa and I saw yesterday!” His eyes twinkled.

“I am not as strong as the Rulers, but I think I am a little strong.” I couldn’t help myself, so I manifested a flame in one hand and an earthen spike in the other.

“Whoa!” Kale gasped, but hurriedly shut his mouth when he glanced at the sleeping pups.

Birds of fire bloomed from the flame in my left palm. They fluttered toward the exit, and Kale followed them without a second thought. I joined the young boy and watched him giggle as the conjured constructs swirled around him.

“That is so cool!” Kale said excitedly, his fingers phasing through the birds. “It’s hot, but it doesn’t hurt.”

He spun around to face me. “You’re amazing!”

My chest swelled with pride at his words. It was odd, but talking to Kale was a relief. His words felt like they helped me discard some of the pain that had been weighing on me. Why? I had no idea, but listening to him was helping me.

“You must have many strong Soulkins!” Kale quipped, his twinkling eyes making it impossible to reject his silent plea.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

So, I summoned Aureus. Nox was too scary, revealing Volix would be beyond stupid, and Resh was asleep. The Mirage Serpent wouldn’t want to be bothered with something as mundane as showing off in the first place. Aureus thought differently. He was excited, so I let him have some fun.

Kale shrieked and retreated in fright. He quivered, his eyes searching mine for support, before calming down a little.

Aureus lowered his body toward the boy and waited patiently until Kale gathered the courage to approach.

“He might look a little scary, but Aureus is a kind soul. You can touch his scales if you want.” Leaning closer, I quietly added, “Aureus is a little spoiled. He loves good scratches.”

Kale’s eyes widened, but he stepped closer, his trembling hand reaching for the Earthheart’s side. His fingers came into contact with one of Aureus’ larger scales with the utmost care. It was as if Kale was afraid to hurt Aureus… or to get hurt himself. Still, it didn’t take long before the boy found the courage to press his palm firmly against the Earthheart’s side.

Aureus hummed, his wings fluttering as Kale made it his holy mission to scratch Aureus until he was satisfied. The effort resulted in a strong gust of wind that nearly blew the boy over. I worried for a moment, but Kale only laughed. Aureus turned around in concern and inspected the boy from up close. His massive head stopped right in front of Kale, who froze like a Bloodbath Deer in domelight, until a wet, barbed tongue dragged across his face, drenching him in spit.

“That tickles!” Kale chuckled, whipping his wet hair aside, which only incensed Aureus enough to do it again.

Kale’s eyes grew wide once more, as though he had just realized something ginormous.

“Can you understand me?” He tilted his head, and Aureus licked across his face again, rewarding him for his quick thinking.

“Yes, he can understand you. Perfectly, actually. Aureus is very intelligent. He’s been by my side since the beginning, and his intelligence still surprises me at times,” I answered honestly.

Aureus didn’t really look like an intelligent beast. Correction: His eyes and actions overflowed with wisdom and intellect, but the rest of his body didn’t suggest the same. To be brutally honest, the Earthheart was massive and looked incredibly dangerous, like a feral beast that relied on raw strength rather than intellect, deceit, or traits that required significant mental effort. Funnily enough, Aureus’ weakest perk was his physical strength.

He was nothing like the tiny Mutant Soilback he had once been, but his Earth Aspect, Paralyze, and mental power far surpassed the physical might of the eight-meter-long Earthheart.

I can fly now!

Aureus complained weakly, his wings flapping as he hovered a few centimeters above the ground.

“Amazing! Aureus, you are wonderful!” Kale clapped vigorously, his praise encouraging Aureus to do more. As a result, the Earthheart shifted mid-air, conjured several projectiles that he controlled simultaneously, and adjusted the boy’s weight until a single flap of his dragonfly wings generated enough force to propel Kale into the air as well.

“I know you can fly, Aureus, but only because you have Gravity. And that, too, is something you acquired because of your intellect,” I chided the Earthheart. “You comprehended Gravity with your mind, not your physical strength.”

“Woah. Are you two talking? That’s really possible?” Kale laughed happily, spinning in the air like an Aerous Elemental. “I want that too! I want to be a Blessed!”

The moment the words escaped his lips, the boy’s eyes widened and his cheeks burned red.

“You can become a Blessed,” I said, but my words were overshadowed by a loud, worried voice.

“Kale? Boy, where are you?”

Kale tumbled to the ground as gravity reasserted itself. He groaned but hurriedly scrambled to his feet.

“Thank you for everything,” he mumbled in a hurry and rushed to the front desk, where a man who looked like an older version of Kale stood.

The father?

“Probably,” I nodded.

The man looked like he was in his mid-thirties, his face worry-ridden. That did not stop him from scolding Kale for running away from home.

“I am so sorry. I should have known he’d come to hide here.” The father lowered his head and apologized to Tanja over and over again.

The elderly woman regarded the man and waved dismissively. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Adam took care of your boy. That’s nothing to do with me,” Tanja gestured to me as I approached the desk. “It looks like he enjoyed showing the kid a few things, so I wouldn’t worry too much.”

Her attention drifted toward Aureus gliding behind me. She raised an eyebrow at the Earthheart, and then at me, but didn’t say a word.

Come back, I ordered, and the massive Earthheart returned to the inner World.

“Thank you very much.” Kale’s father lowered his head and made sure his son would apologize as well. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry. It was a fun experience.” I winked at Kale. “Don’t you think so?”

My approval seemed to ignite a fire in Kale. He turned to his father and turned into a chatterbox, one worse than Aureus or even Daniel.

“He showed me the Blackstar Hound puppies, Pa! They looked so cute. So fluffy! Even their mother looked so nice!” Kale pointed at me. “The mother looked at him when I spoke too loud, and she just lay back down to rest. He’s so powerful! His Soulkins are amazing…well, the one I’ve seen. But I saw him conjure a flame that split up and turned into dozens of flames. They turned into birds that flew all around me...”

It was hard to follow every word. He spoke so fast, and the topics he spoke about shifted even faster.

I studied Kale’s father. He smiled, seeing his son well and excited, but deep down there was pain. The pain was not alone. It was accompanied by guilt, fear, a sense of unease, and heartfelt regret.

He was unBlessed, just like Kale had mentioned. The father also wore clothes much worse than his son. Their family was probably not dirt poor, but they were not part of the ‘better-off’ unBlessed households either, and I highly doubted the steadily rising prices of goods helped them in any way.

Maybe they were completely different and my perception was skewed, but Kale and his father felt like my family had been just two years ago. Much had changed since then, but the past held onto me like a leech.

“Can I show them a little bit more?” I wasn’t sure if that was the best idea, but something made me ask.

Plans formed in my mind and I brushed them aside as my elderly coworker turned to me with a shrug.

“Your shift’s already over, isn’t it?” She asked, pointing at the clock. Tanja was right; I was already a little late for my studies with Bert.

“But I don’t mind. As long as you check out, you can do whatever you want.” Tanja regarded the father-son duo with a faint but kind smile. “They seem like good people. But don’t give them too much hope. Make sure that old prick doesn’t see the three of you either. He doesn’t like showing people around when he thinks they–”

She didn’t finish the last part, but the content was obvious.

‘When he thinks they cannot afford it.’

Maybe that was the truth, maybe not. Preferential treatment was a weird thing in the Beast Temple. It didn’t exist, yet it did. After all, only those with big enough wallets were treated kindly - by that old man and his idiot cronies. I was incredibly lucky to work with Tanja most of the days, but I learned enough about the other receptionists to know I didn’t like most of them. All they cared about were sales commissions and social connections.

Many cared about that. Not all… but enough to make me feel bad.

The father must have heard Tanja because he stiffened, his lips tightly pressed together.

Only Kale was oblivious to her words.

I wanted to make a change. Shatter the gap between unBlessed and Blessed, for my parents had suffered from the same discrimination as many others. We escaped, but others had not been as lucky.

Maybe I could change that… somehow?