Beastforged Bond

Volca didn’t tell me how many Spawns I had to defeat to get back Volix. He did not tell me any more about the Primal Fragments in Death’s possession either. I had no idea how to close a Fracture either. Was I supposed to figure out how to close Fractures on my own?

We can figure this out together.

Aureus called out, which was reinforced by Sapsie.

Once I’d calmed down a little, I focused on the new intel. The Primal Spirit, while weakened, was not dead yet. He wouldn’t die anytime soon either. It was just that he had to expend his power to keep the Devourer sealed in the Primal Realm.

The increasing number of Fractures popping up all over Razarn was a bad sign. After all, it meant that the seals weighing on the Devourer were growing weaker. Their nemesis had regained enough power to create more Spawns, to create a new type of Spawn, and to create portals that led through the fabric of reality.

While it was good to know that the Spirits did not expect me to defeat the Devourer or anything of that sort, I wasn’t sure what the next best move would be.

Should I put everything aside to close some Fractures? I could visit the Temple to request higher access and to be informed whenever a Spawn or Fracture was sighted, but was that really enough? Then again, even if it wasn’t enough, what else was I supposed to do?

As unsure as I was, I tried to devise several acceptable plans to remove Spawns and Fractures from existence. That also included officially putting in a request in the Spirit Guard Temple.

After that, I returned to the Grand Hall to visit the market and the auction house to purchase everything needed for my other plans. For all I knew, I wasn’t doing enough to prepare for my next encounter with a Fracture, but I could make it work. I had to if I wanted to survive and reunite with the Elemental Phoenix.

Hence, I kept pushing my Soulkins to new heights, excluding Cosmo and Tessa. Growing my bond with them was important; however, they weren’t born to be combatants. Their growth had stagnated, and that was fine. But while I offered them to stay back home where peace and tons of food were the worst enemies waiting for them, they rejected the idea. As much as Cosmo loved freedom and as dearly as Tessa held on to quiet and peace, they did not want to part ways with me for prolonged periods. That was heartwarming, but it also made me wonder if the World and our soulshare compelled them to stay with me.

Two days after putting in the request at the Spirit Guard Temple, I received more access. Officially, I was still a Proto Knight, but seeing how deep my access now reached, I started to wonder if I’d been promoted a few times.

From the way it looked, only Glacia’s Knight should have a higher security code than me. That was the Spirits’ doing. One hundred percent.

***

Still nothing?

Aureus asked for the umpteenth time this week.

“Nothing. And yes, I understand how odd that is. Before my access changed, Zegrath annoyed me about taking breaks and Spawn sightings almost every day, and now, suddenly, there’s been a drought of Spawns for days?” That didn’t make any sense.

Did that mean the Devourer found out about our plan somehow? If so…that would mean he knew about me. Even if that wasn’t the case, something was going on. It smelled foul, and it was starting to affect my training.

Fight!

Nox hissed angrily, but there was little I could do to help him.

The only thing I could come up with was putting the Ferronox Mantis up against Aureus. Or, and that turned out to be a much better idea, I had him spar with Zegrath and Daniel. My childhood friend was no longer as busy as he used to be. He still spent half the day at Alchemist Zuan’s base to concoct a wide variety of serums and Elixirs, but he was no longer progressing. To progress further, he had to find ways to improve the purity threshold of his materials. And that was rather difficult as the owner of a highly restricted World.

A Thunder-Aspected World, even if it accepted Lightning as well, was still unable to bind uniquely aspected spirit flames. Even the Thunder Flame that could only be purchased in the Spirit Guard Temple was not compatible with Daniel since his World was also restricted to a small number of mammals and avians. With the World Aspect he acquired and bound, the number of possibilities kept growing, but he was unlikely to ever bind the Thunder Flame.

Hence, having reached his limit, he was now more focused on devising new serums and Elixirs while also training in the Spirit Guard Temple. He joined the Spirit Guard Temple, achieving something even his sister was unable to. The tantrum she threw the day she found out that Daniel had been scouted turned our home upside down. It was terrifying, and it only got worse when Lea challenged Daniel for a fight.

Unlawfully taken from NovelPhoenix, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Daniel, using the power of his sacred beast and elemental constitution, was much stronger than he used to be, but the same could be said about Lea. She was a beast in human hide, especially for someone her age. Alas, she didn’t have an affinity toward any of the Spirits and would never become a Vowed, nor did she have a sacred beast Soulkin like Daniel. That was also why Daniel had been scouted. The Temple somehow figured out that my friend had a sacred beast Soulkin and thus invited him.

As messy as it was, I was happy to be back to fighting alongside Daniel. No longer restricted by the strength and potential of his Soulkins, his growth skyrocketed. But even then, it was hard for Daniel to keep up with how fast Coco was growing. Fortunately, Daniel’s World was positively massive and durable enough to endure being bonded with a peak Guardian beast trying to break into the Overlord Rank. Because that was how strong Coco had grown to be.

Thinking back to her limit being at the Peak of the Evolved Rank a few years ago, a smile bloomed on my lips. One that cracked when my Temple ID burned hot in the onyx ring. I felt it heating up the ring, which was all I needed to know to retrieve it.

The blank card-sized sheet looked ordinary for everyone looking at it, but the heat coming from it was a warning. A warning that took on form as soon as the ambient ether surged toward it, engraving etherious letters on its surface.

[Emergency Alert: Several Fractures have been discovered. One Lesser Region has already succumbed to the Voidtrails. Immediate actions are required. All Proto Knights and above are to gather at the Grand Hall! Danger Level – Immense. Potential number of enemies is predicted to be in the hundreds!]

I had been waiting for this moment. Not for an emergency of such an extent but for a fight. After my meeting with Volca, I’d expected to be in constant combat, so I’d been more focused on refilling the Insignia, packing it full with spirit power. Practicing Spirit Heart while also pushing the trait’s output above its limit hadn’t been much fun. It worked though.

There was no time to think. My things were packed, and in no more than a minute my Soulkins were neatly stored in the World as well. Putting on my armor, I left enough space for my Soulfusion but did not trigger anything just yet. There was no rush.

Take a deep breath. This is not your first fight against Spawns. That was true. However, it was the first time I fought Spawns knowing it was my responsibility to figure out how to close a Fracture and do something the Spirits could only accomplish at the cost of their power.

I did not want to cripple myself permanently to close a Fracture, so I had to find a different way.

Fight!!!

Nox hissed, urging me to get moving. So I did just that. I decreased the gravity weighing on me and leaped across the buildings, taking a shortcut through Dracos. I wasn’t allowed to move like that – streets existed for a reason – but time was of the essence.

It only took me a few minutes to reach the Grand Hall, where several heavily plated men and women were already waiting for me. The heavy-plated members of the Spirit Guard Temple belonged to the old order of Earthen Knights. They had been alive when the old Earthen Spirit, Garus, had still been alive, and they had been waiting for his resurrection ever since he fell, making the escape of the other Spirits and powers possible.

They bent the knee as soon as they saw me, yet they didn’t bend to me. Their loyalty was not aimed at me, even if they would protect me with their lives if necessary. All to protect the new Earthen Spirit.

Pride swelled in my chest at the devotion radiating from the Earthen Knights, but I knew it was Aureus who felt like that rather than me. The Earthheart looked at the scenery through my eyes before materializing in the Grand Hall. He did not materialize in his full form though. Instead, he performed something he’d learned from Sapsie, who had been natural at compressing her body.

As a lifeform without essential organs, that was much easier, but Aureus was a wielder of the Gravity Aspect. Although I wasn’t too sure if the Gravity Aspect played a role here, or if it was yet another trait awarded to Spirits since Volca could expand and shrink at will as well.

One way or another, a thirty-centimeter-long form of Aureus materialized before the Earthen Knights. His wings beat slowly, easily keeping him in the air so that he could look down at his devout followers.

The sight was… interesting to say the least. It was also the first time I saw a dragon this minuscule.

I am not a dragon.

Aureus grumbled, staring back at me.

You dragon. Look dragon, is dragon.

Nox retorted in my stead.

Aureus did have the head of a dragon. He had two massive horns that now looked like tiny stubs in his small form. His scales were as tough as a dragon’s, black as onyx with a faint golden frame. His golden eyes shimmered even more vibrantly. For all I could see, Aureus was an Earth Dragon with the wings of a dragonfly… just a bit modified.

The mud-golden presence oozing out of Aureus, making it feel like the Earthheart was earth itself, resembled the aura of dragons as well. But if Aureus did not want to be a dragon, then he wasn’t. In the first place, he was already much more than that.

You are right. I am much greater than a mere dragon!

Aureus said, pushing his chest out, which looked comical in his tiny form.

As a massive, twenty-five-meter-long monstrosity, that would have been intimidating, but now I was struggling to keep the smile on my face.

Fortunately, Aureus didn’t seem to notice as the Earthen Knights stared up at him in awe. Some gasped after seeing the resurrection of the Spirit they’d been waiting for for an eternity, while others kneeled down even harder.

Even better, the other Knights arrived shortly after.

Playtime was over. It was time to close my first Fracture. Or something like that.