Beastforged Bond

Recovering was easier said than done. I tried to focus on recovering to potentially increase the World’s healing while studying the books in Ruler Kazriel’s library and the ones I found in a nearby bookstore. The owner, a portly man with blue skin, beautifully curled horns jutting from his forehead, and small leathery wings spanning his back, was nice enough to exchange a few books with me.

I provided him with some of the fiction books I’d found while rummaging through Kazriel’s library–I didn’t really expect the late Ruler to be such a romance lover–and was given a few interesting, yet common, books. Books about Dracos, the languages spoken in the city-state, and the history of Razarn ever since the Spirit Descent.

The history book interested me most, but it was nowhere near as detailed as I’d hoped it to be. It didn’t mention much about humans’ suffering over the centuries and mostly talked about the rise of Razarn’s ether density, the development of native flora and fauna, as well as the Spirits and the races they rescued from the maws of the so-called great evil.

It was hard to grasp why the author didn’t say “Devourer,” or why he never mentioned the Devourer’s Spawns, since they appeared to be an integral part of Razarn’s history after the Spirit Descent, but all he ever mentioned was “The Evil,” or something similar. Everything was tied to the Devourer, yet it was labeled in a nonchalant manner, almost as if the author had done his utmost to take away the fear of the Devourer. To turn it into something normal, if that was possible in the first place.

There was a lot about the history book I had yet to fully understand, but the content was rather disappointing nonetheless. The same couldn’t be said about the language book and the books revolving around Dracos. The former caught my attention simply because it was written in a language I understood. Sure, the history book was also written in the human tongue, but I failed to grasp the importance of that… or the fact that the Terat spoke telepathically to me in my language.

To me, it was only obvious, but that was not the case. Not at all. We were in Dracos now, a city-state created by none other than the Spirits during the time of their descent. Dracos had grown ever since, and new races had settled down, their languages were integrated seamlessly.

But that was not the issue. The issue was Common, the language everyone spoke. I considered learning Common as soon as I found out that everyone in Dracos spoke it, but that wasn’t necessary, because Common, the language spoken by the Spirits and their denizens, was also the language the Bastions’ humans used. We spoke Common and could effortlessly talk with just about everyone in Dracos, and we didn’t even know that.

Or was the Council aware of that? They had to know about it, especially the old Rulers who had been alive for centuries. Those who built the first Bastions had been victims of the Spirits. They…

I let out a heavy sigh. Of course, we knew Common. Spending who knows how many years as the Spirits’ livestock, we learned to adapt and grow. And that did not only include our Worlds or our understanding of the power humans could potentially wield. We learned their language as well.

That’s why it was so easy to communicate with Volix, and why the Caldera understood us.

The days flowed into each other seamlessly as my understanding of Dracos, its history, and the Spirits grew. Sure, I thought of the Spirits as unreasonable and disgusting for turning humans into livestock, but as far as I could tell, that wasn’t the fault of all Spirits. Whether Volca was involved in the human farms, I didn’t know. Maybe he was, but I couldn’t get myself to hate him. That was confusing, and I was aware enough to understand as much.

He was Volix’s father, in a manner of speaking, and he did not kill me when the Elemental Phoenix bound himself to me. Sure, he did manipulate Volix to guide me toward one of the Devourer’s Spawns, but that was not necessarily a bad thing. I nearly died at that time, yet I also learned about the threat befalling Razarn. In a way, that was quite helpful.

Even if Volca had done more to manipulate me or Volix, I wouldn’t hate him, because he was the reason Volix existed and we found each other.

Unfortunately, that did not explain why he brought me–my family and the Zerogs–to Dracos, though. I also wanted to know where Volix was, since I was fairly sure the phoenix was not with me. Our bond was severed right before the phoenix’s death, meaning he had to be with his father.

Does that mean I have to talk to him to get Volix back? Could I even do that–take him back? The phoenix would spend years, if not decades, before he’d be reborn, and I wanted to accelerate that process if possible. But that wouldn’t be easy, for I doubted Volca had any ulterior intentions.

The Fire Spirit may not have any ill intentions, but with the Insignia and the talk about “Primal Heir,” I couldn’t help but think that the Spirits had other plans for me. At the very least, Volca had something planned for me, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to walk into his trap. There was no way I’d become one of his pawns.

Feeling like screaming out loud, I ruffled my hair instead.

“Why are the Spirits so difficult?” First, the Voice of a Spirit, then a human-eating World Tree, who was probably a Spirit as well, and then there was that talk about the slumbering Death Spirit. The only good thing about my situation was probably that I hadn’t met the Death Spirit yet. Then again, Volix got me and my friends to absorb one of the Essence Sources she’d left for one of the ancient civilizations. The same one she later eradicated for being too greedy.

It had been necessary to grow strong enough to fight Raffael Torch and eventually kill him, but I sincerely doubted the Death Spirit cared about that.

One problem at a time.

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Complaining, cursing, and wasting time wouldn’t help anyone.

Training, on the other hand, would help. Resting, training, and eating as much as my stomach could hold were all I needed to wake my body up. My muscles had atrophied a long time ago, courtesy of the several-month-long coma, transforming my once impeccable physique into a pathetic excuse of a Master Blessed.

The atrophied muscles did not remove the empowerment granted by all my Gates, but my body needed a lot of work to return to its former glory. That, however, was riddled with yet another issue. My body was still as broken as it had been my entire life. I leaked ether even now. Mom and Dad made sure to provide me with enough ether in the form of ether infusions while I was unconscious, but my Gates were still leaking ether. The infusions did nothing more than stall the process.

To refill the Gates, I’d have to use annexed ether, meaning I had to gain access to my core again. And that would take time.

I tried to access the energy circulation system created by the linked Blazing Gates to refill the other Gates’ shrinking reserves, but that was only semi-successful. Less than half of the leaking energy could be redirected into other Gates, leaving me with the other half to train with. It wasn’t much, but by using the little ether at my disposal efficiently, working out generated much better results. It was still not perfect, but I managed. I had to, after all.

***

“You want to sell Ruler Kazriel’s library?” Chloe Zerog narrowed her eyes at me.

My family and the Zerogs met up on the fifth day after I regained consciousness. I hadn’t seen Chloe and Peter ever since I woke up. Daniel visited me once before he’d been called back by the Alchemist he was apprenticing under, all while my parents were there for me every day. Their love was endearing, yet it was also somewhat suffocating. Anyway, I could understand how they felt and held back from saying anything, even when they tried to stop me from leaving the house to recover.

Lea… Well, Lea was Lea. She was rarely home. Nothing new, really.

“Yes. I still have some weapons I was too afraid to sell in the Bastions.” I smiled wryly. Ruler Kazriel’s library and armory had been filled to the brim ever since I inherited it, and even after selling many goods for hundreds of millions of Credits, I was left with the best. Ruler-ranked weaponry, some of which were valuable enough to get myself killed if exposed. I never paid them much attention since I wanted to keep a low profile with the Elemental Phoenix bound to me, but there was no reason to keep a low profile now.

If anything, it’d be stupid not to sell the Ruler-ranked weapons… at some point.

“I want to start selling some of the books from Kazriel’s library, but I will move up to Kazriel’s armory fairly quickly. Some weapons I will keep to use for myself, and I can give you all a few weapons as well, but I have four Ruler-ranked weapons I can sell to help with rent and some other things. Selling one should be more than enough to…” Huh, what’s going on?” I stopped mid-explanation when everyone stared at me wide-eyed.

“Why the fuck did he have four Ruler-ranked weapons? Most Rulers don’t even have one such weapon?” Daniel exclaimed out loud.

“You never told us about that fortune hiding in your spatial ring!” Lea grumbled accusingly, but her eyes shone with excitement. I would be surprised if she didn’t approach me to claim a high-ranked weapon later.

“You… you had such powerful weapons and you didn’t give anything to Merlin? If–If…” Chloe Zerog’s voice was strained and laced with a mixture of disbelief and raw, unfiltered disappointment.

“I offered him the weapons, but he rejected them. The Ruler-ranked weapons are a little bit odd, which will definitely diminish their worth even if they were auctioned in Dracos’ Grand Hall, but they’re powerful nonetheless.” I explained, not minding Chloe’s outburst. That was to be expected. Regardless, I felt like I had to repeat myself, “Merlin rejected my offer.”

“Still, you could have…” Chloe’s voice cracked and she closed her mouth. She, more than anyone else, knew how stubborn her brother had been. She knew Merlin Zerog, yet she couldn’t help herself. Chloe Zerog felt helpless.

Peter pulled her into a tight embrace, his expression soft as he turned to me.

“You do not have to help us financially, kid,” he said calmly. “We paid for the house, so there’s no rent to be paid. Sure, it cost us dearly, but it’s more than worth it. The ether in this part of Dracos is relatively dense and pure enough to help us grow even if we were to stay here for years.”

He waved dismissively, but I couldn’t help but be suspicious.

And I was right to be. As it turned out, the Zerog family used the vast majority of the fortune they’d left to buy the house as soon as they arrived in Dracos. Precisely, the family used everything they managed to gather in their storage rings ever since Merlin and I started to plan the Fire Ruler’s downfall. That had been long enough ago for the Zerogs to liquefy most of their assets and turn them into etherstones and large ether crystals to be used in the wilderness or to create new identities and build new lives in another Bastion.

Instead, their massive fortune was merely enough to buy a building with five rooms, none of which were particularly large. There was no special training equipment, nor were there any more funds to purchase excessive amounts of serums and other things.

Once I figured that out, I tried to convince the Zerogs to let me pay for a portion, but Peter dismissed me with a wave, telling me to focus on my recovery.

And as soon as my recovery was brought up, Daniel stepped forward.

“I might be able to help you with the World Mending Elixirs,” he said confidently, but that very same confidence crumbled fairly quickly. “Maybe, if you’re fine with a low-efficacy Elixir. Like… really low-efficacy.”

The more he said, the more his smile faded.

“Man… I have no idea anymore.” He grumbled after a moment when nobody else said anything. “Alchemist Zuan is an annoying piece of work. He’s very interested in the works of the Bastions’ Beasters, you know? I still think he only accepted me as his apprentice because I’m from the Bastions.” Daniel sighed deeply. “Anyway, he told me he’ll demonstrate how to concoct a World Mending Elixir if I provide him with the necessary Essence. And damn, Essence is hella expensive, especially higher-ranked Essence.”

“Wait a moment.” That caught my attention. “You can buy Essence? What the fuck?”

Did I really need World Mending Elixirs if I could just purchase a ton of Essence? I still had Death’s Source but it was no longer what it used to be. The Source had devolved into an empty vessel that no longer contained any Essence. Of course, it didn’t. Nothing could ever be easy, after all.

Did my World absorb the Source? To stay afloat while I was out cold? It sounded far-fetched but so was the idea of the Source’s Essence fading into nothingness. No matter how annoying it was, I had to put that thought aside. There was nothing I could do to change my situation.

Back to the initial topic, buying Essence sounded fairly good. However, everyone grimaced weirdly at my excitement. Even Chloe stopped sobbing to stare at me like I was the weird one.