Beastforged Bond

One year was not all that long. It was actually quite short, given all we had to do. For Dirk to not only heal, but also evolve and reach the peak of his evolved potential, was not possible. Not in a year, maybe not even half a decade.

But Merlin was confident in his people. Whoever his agents were, he was certain the Ruler of Fire wouldn’t see any recordings or hear gossip about me, whether it was about the Outsider’s sudden attack or any other reason.

Merlin also ensured that he’d know when the Ruler of Fire would ask about me, telling me to worry less and to focus on my growth. The first part was quite difficult, but I tried anyway. As for the latter… it wasn’t a challenge at all. All I needed to do was get back to work. That I did, with a slight modification of my regular training. I had a World Tree’s sproutling to nurture, after all.

***

Two weeks passed since I told my parents and the Zerogs about Volix. Life was still full of surprises, but something akin to a stable rhythm came to be. Born from chaos came stability. Or something like that.

The sproutling had grown considerably. Using consumable Blood Stimulating Agents that did exactly what the name suggested, I managed to feed the sproutling with quite a bit of blood. The stimulus was excellent, pulling my marrow into overdrive and ensuring red blood cells formed en masse. Alas, the energy required to do so came from ether and an enormous amount of nutrients.

The price was steep, and it was hard to tell how much longer I could go on, but the result was excellent.

The sproutling was no longer just a seedling. It had grown into a baby tree roughly the size of a forearm, with long, gnarly roots. Those roots dug deep into the inner World, creating a foundation for anchoring, which was almost as impressive as its swift advancement to the Evolved Rank.

Anchoring in the inner World and advancing to the Evolved Rank were both exhilarating milestones, as each feat birthed a unique trait.

A trait called Lifesight formed as Sapsie reached the Evolved Rank. Sapsie–that was the sproutling’s name, or what I had named her after some back and forth. It was probably not the best name, but the sproutling was quite excited about it. She–well, it–was happy about everything I did. And she was greedy rather than hungry.

If the Mirage Serpent was a glutton with an insatiable hunger, the sproutling was already bloated and still demanding more. More and more and more. There was almost no end to Sapsie’s greed. She didn’t want to suck me dry, but she desired to occupy every corner of my inner World, whether it was already occupied or not. And that was just the start.

She wanted human Worlds.

That was a bit of an issue and had to be resolved as quickly as possible. That was where Aureus and Volix came into play. Acting as therapists, mostly led by the Elemental Phoenix, they talked to Sapsie, making sure she wouldn’t act up and would think for herself rather than allowing the World Tree’s instincts to influence her.

I considered forcing my will upon Sapsie, but that wouldn’t help anyone. It would permanently weaken our bond and shatter all hopes of reaching the second Stage, forget about the third.

Then there was Nox, who offered to cut Sapsie apart if she did something stupid. Sapsie took that threat for what it was: A promise. The Ferronox Mantis would not hesitate to eliminate the World Tree sproutling if she went against my wishes.

Anyway… Lifesight. Lifesight was the trait Volix had been talking about when he mentioned a way to find the Devourer’s Spawn. I hadn’t used the trait often yet, but its uses were as simple as they were powerful. Activating Lifesight allowed me to see life all around me. Weaker creatures, plants included, appeared as masses of life, but their lifeforce was not as compressed as others. As a result, a Guardian beast was like a flare, whereas an Overlord or Monarch was like a beacon of life.

The details could differ at times, considering beasts could fall sick and thus appear less lively than others at their Rank…or be on the verge of death. Still, the reason Volix considered Lifesight crucial was not the ability to see life itself. It was all about the absence of it. The Devourer and its Spawns consumed lifeforce, after all.

Once I acquired Lifesight, I activated it right away. That turned out to be a mistake. I was assaulted by countless dazzling lights from all over the Bastion. No matter where I looked, I was greeted by blinding radiance, and it took me most of the following hour to tone Lifesight down. After that, I was more than happy with the results.

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Lifesight reached as far as I could see, but there was more to it. I could faintly make out lifeforce sources behind structures as well. The stronger the lifeforce source and the thinner the structure’s ether density, the clearer it appeared. Put plainly, I could see Rulers and Monarchs from almost everywhere. Certain structures made this more difficult, but adjusting Lifesight’s intensity resolved the issue.

The strongest sources of life could be found in the main sector and underground, which only made sense. The strongest Blessed were either at the center of the Bastion or with the strongest beasts in the Sanctuary beneath the Beast Temple.

With Lifesight, I could pinpoint the beings I feared most, whether they were Rulers or Spawns.

As for the other trait, it aided yet another issue I’d been struggling to resolve. The foundation formed by the sprouting did not only create an anchor in the inner World, it changed something. As of now, it was hard to tell how it came to be or if it was just a synergy of my World and the World Tree, but the Pond of Life was born.

Sapsie’s roots spread through the World and carved an alcove around the foundation. It was small at first, but with Sapsie’s growth, so did the alcove. And it did not take long before it turned into a small pond filled with the lifeforce Sapsie formed naturally. It was highly compressed and resembled nectar. A nectar formed from the abundance of life. A nectar with the power to attune ether to life.

With the birth of the Pond of Life came the Liferoot Gates, for they could be shaped with nectar. Sapsie did not form any Gates. It transformed existing Gates. Shaped them. And by creating Liferoot Gates, the ether stored within naturally attuned itself to life. Recycling the very same ether in the Pond of Life then produced more nectar, which could be used to repair internal as well as external wounds. Be it the weave, bones, or severe ruptures, all could be healed with the Pond of Life.

Regrowing limbs… was a different matter. Maybe the nectar was potent enough to regrow limbs and other body parts, but I didn’t want to test it. For now, I’d accumulated enough nectar to fill the Pond of Life and keep me going in an emergency. Next up was the creation of multiple Liferoot Gates. As many as I had Blazing and Earthen Gates. Only then would all surplus nectar be used to regrow sore and torn muscles, if possible, the brain as well, to train even harder.

It was the perfect substance to push my training to the next level.

All I needed was enough nectar and a Pond of Life that grew with the World Tree’s growth. Or was it better to say Sapsie’s growth at this point? Honestly, it was hard to tell them apart. Sapsie was the World Tree’s offspring, yet it was more than a tree.

It was a World Tree containing a tiny creature. Something was inside there, but Sapsie was unnecessarily secretive.

You need to find out for yourself, you fool~! What am I? A tree~? A spirit~? Or something entirely different, perhaps~? Maybe I don’t even exist! Maybe I am just a ghost of your mind! Hehehe~

Sapsie’s sonorous voice echoed in my mind, driving me a little bit crazy. And that was exactly what it wanted: to get on my nerves.

Slice it? Tear it apart?

Nox asked, bringing a smile to my lips as Sapsie reeled back, her connection to me and the other Soulkins faltering momentarily.

“That won’t be necessary. I am sure Sapsie will behave.” I chuckled and resumed training.

***

Two days later, I was back in the Beast Temple to feed the beasts and take care of them, but also to make use of the Rising Foundation to acquire a large batch of beasts for unblessed. And for myself.

Since resources were more sought after than ever, following the weeks that the Outsiders had spent ransacking the regions around the Bastion, selling the body parts of exotic Overlords and some smaller bone fragments hailing from Monarchs was well worth it. It helped offset the horrendous price I had to pay for exactly 100 beasts, twenty of which had the potential to reach the Evolved Rank, and three to advance to the Unblemished Rank.

Most beasts would be given to unblessed or used to reward those who contributed greatly to the Bastion’s protection, but one egg and one of the younger beasts with the potential to reach the Unblemished Rank would stay with me. I needed them to prepare for the majority of scenarios Merlin and the others had come up with for me.

The egg and young beast were unique enough to attract some attention, but considering the Rising Foundation’s past actions and its most recent bulk purchases of beasts, I could only hope nobody would notice anything amiss. Other than the Rising Foundation’s heavy funding, of course.

It was somewhat of a risk, but as long as all suspicion remained on the Rising Foundation rather than me, I’d be grateful. After all, my newest additions were my trump cards.

A Cosmic Chipmunk. A beast with a rare elemental attunement to space. Some Blessed with Space-attributed Worlds had tried to bind it in the past, but they failed due to affinity incompatibility. The exact reasons were still unknown, although that hardly mattered to me. I was confident I could bind the Cosmic Chipmunk, which was reaffirmed as I caressed the tiny creature. While the bond did not come to be right away, my World reacted to the young Cosmic Chipmunk.

Just like it reacted to the egg of the Horror Tessar. It was the very same egg I was offered at the start of the Grand Camp. An egg from the abyssal plane. I didn’t pick it at that time, favoring the Ferronox Mantis egg over it. But now I needed it–the ability to weaken my enemies, inflict fear, and create illusions.

Combined with Mirage and the Cosmic Chipmunk’s one and only trait, Blink, I would have no problem escaping the Ruler of Fire. Or… I shouldn’t have a problem. If everything worked out as intended. If I had a year to train, grow stronger, and learn all there was to learn about my Soulkins. All of them.

They too had to grow stronger, for we had to kill a Ruler in due time.

I’m really going to do that, aren’t I? I chuckled to myself mirthlessly.