Beastforged Bond

After the older Blessed digested the news, they changed their plans. Bert had me undergo a dozen tests to learn all about my body and World. As excited as he was about the effect he believed my World had, he was equally interested in the potency of the special Gates.

Blazing, Earthen, and Liferoot Gates.

My blood was drawn, tubes were inserted into my body at his request so I could use the Gates’ attuned ether, and several more somewhat painful tests were performed to better understand my limits and how best to train me. Then there was yet another problem: Bert wanted to know how other people formed special Gates and how those Gates affected their weave. After all, my condition was unique.

Special Gates, according to Merlin, were not so rare. Dragons and other mythical creatures could form unique Gates once bound as well. That depended on compatibility and a few other factors, but it was possible nonetheless.

In any case, my condition differed from the norm. My Gates were much larger, and they leaked ether. Fire-attuned ether constantly oozed from my Blazing Gates, whereas others with the same Gates would have sealed them perfectly. Knowing that, it was obvious that the Blazing Gates of other Blessed wouldn’t form a circulation system to guide leaking ether through the weave. They received other benefits instead, although I had no idea what those looked like.

“What’s your plan?” Merlin asked once the medical examinations and tests with Cosmos ended. “You know we came up with a fair share of plans to deal with Raffael. I’m sure you also know that I would like to use you and the phoenix as bait to gain leverage on the Ruler of Fire. You don’t look opposed to it, but some people are harder to read than others. So… what do you think? What exactly do you want to do?”

I stared at Merlin for a moment without uttering a word. Daniel’s uncle wanted Raffael Torch dead. He sought vengeance for his lover. I, on the other hand, didn’t need revenge against the Ruler of Fire. All I wanted was to be left alone. To never have to hide my Soulkins again, fearing someone would come after me to take them away. Or kill me to take them away.

Raffael Torch was not a good person. He had sacrificed several Rulers for his selfish goals, betrayed the Caldera who had been nothing but good to us, and he was terrifying. He was an ambitious man who didn’t shy away from cruel, selfish acts if it meant getting what he wanted. The Ruler of Fire would kill me. Heck, he had nearly torn my World apart on mere suspicion. If that had continued just a little longer, it would have ended me.

“I will be your bait,” I said at last. “But I don’t want to end up as a sacrifice. You promised me a year, but I hope you and your people can give us a little more time. One year is simply not enough to do everything I’ve planned.”

Merlin nodded slowly. “What do you want to do in that year? Or years?”

“I have a World Defense technique called Fortress. It’s expensive in terms of ether because I need to keep practicing it as I refine my World, but it protects the World from external forces. Raffael Torch stared into my World once, and I don’t want that to happen again. He nearly ripped it apart. Easily.” I shook my head. “I can’t afford that happening once he actually knows I have the Emperor beast he’s been searching for.”

“What else?”

“Then there’s a Mind Strengthening technique called Mindbreaker Shell. It’s a bit violent, but it works as intended. The technique prepares me for mental attacks like Aureus’ Paralyze and worse. I’ve seen Ruler Sera and younger Blessed manipulate others with their mental traits, charming and bewitching them into doing things they would never have done otherwise. I don’t want to take any risks.”

As my words echoed through the room, both Bert and Merlin nodded in understanding.

“I would also prefer to fill and link fifteen Gates of each Rank to the weave. Five special Gates of each kind. I still need to alter a few ordinary Gates into Liferoot Gates, but I’ve already formed a solid foundation with fifteen Gates of the first three Ranks. Unfortunately, one year won’t be enough to do the same with Unblemished Gates. Especially since my Gates are several times larger than normal. Absorbing enough ether to do everything else while refining fifteen Unblemished Gates would be too difficult.”

“You haven’t refined an Unblemished Gate yet?” Merlin asked in disbelief, his brows furrowing.

“I didn’t say that, but I won’t deny it either. Like I said, my Gates are quite large. I’m confident that my largest Evolved Gate is bigger than most Unblemished Gates.” I waved the details aside. “I plan to fill three Unblemished Gates and one Guardian Gate. The latter might take longer than a year if I want to do everything else as well, but if it works, I’ll be as strong as a newly advanced Grandmaster. At least, as long as my Soulkins grow alongside me.”

Honestly, even if most of my Soulkins didn’t progress as quickly, I had an Elemental Phoenix and a World Tree sproutling that could be power-leveled. One required my blood, which I could provide in large quantities if necessary, and the other needed vast amounts of soul energy. Both blood and soul energy could be supplied in sufficient quantities as long as I had the right resources at my disposal–and enough endurance. Fortunately, my pain tolerance was high.

If there was one thing I had learned over the past few years, it was how to endure pain. To push through it and grow stronger because of it.

Maybe it wasn’t healthy for my mind, but that was something I could address once I felt safer.

“Most Blessed take years to refine a five-star Gate,” Merlin said, shaking his head. “You, on the other hand, have Gates that are far larger than average. This isn’t as simple as you make it sound. You’ve grown quickly over the last few years, but I don’t want you to ruin your foundation. We can think of something else.”

“That’s not necessary,” I replied lightly. “I’m not refining my Gates. All I need is a massive amount of ether and enough time.”

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“What? Why wouldn’t you refine your Gates? Don’t you know how much potential power you lose by–no, wait.” Merlin stared at me. “Your Gates aren’t sealed. They’re leaking. The refinement process doesn’t stabilize when you link your Gates to the weave, does it?”

I nodded. “I refined my first Gate using a simple technique. Daniel helped me. Unfortunately, the refinement didn’t last long. Only a few weeks passed before the additional benefits became negligible. That’s why I don’t bother anymore.”

The refinement process squeezed as much potential out of the Gates as possible. It pushed the ether within the sealed structures in the right directions and then settled to elevate certain physical characteristics. More often than not, Blessed specialized in certain physical characteristics. They refined half of the Gate to amplify all aspects and split up the rest to amplify their agility, flexibility, endurance, or even more specialized characteristics like their skin, bones, and so forth.

Countless people researched Body Tempering techniques for decades, some old foggies for even centuries, but no matter how much they studied, it was useless to me.

“Even if your Gates could be up to 30% stronger if refined with high-grade Body Tempering techniques, yours are four to five times larger than the average…so it doesn’t really matter.” Merlin muttered, though it sounded like he spoke to himself rather than Bert or me. He took a deep breath and turned back to me.

“You can save a lot of time by abandoning Body Tempering. Years. You did that already, successfully. Now all you need is enough ether. For your Gates but also your two techniques. Do you have enough?”

That was yet another issue. I did have some Monarch jerky but the stockpile dwindled much faster than I’d anticipated. If possible, I wouldn’t eat any of the jerky and put it aside for Resh, Nox, and my other Soulkins if they ever needed a lot of ether to mutate, grow, or evolve. That left me with etherstones and crystals which contained some impurities. Volix could burn through the impurities but his flames would also burn through some ether, which would increase the amount needed drastically once more.

“I am fairly well off thanks to Kazriel’s inheritance, but I have honestly no idea how long the inheritance is going to last if I go and purchase large etherstones in larger quantities. And that does not even include the fortune I’ll have to put aside for serums.”

“Serums won’t be an issue.” Bert smiled. “You’re a great apprentice and your phoenix fire is extraordinary. If your friend can help me concoct serums of exceptional purity, I will have more than enough time to spare to help you with your Soulkins. All we need is ingredients. The higher quality the better.”

That was a sound plan. Volix could help me concoct serums while also helping Bert. The Elemental Phoenix was powerful enough to help a lot more people extract impurities and a lot more if he wanted to. There was only one problem.

“Volix will help but only under one condition.” I grimaced when the phoenix’s bond flared up.

“Condition?” Bert raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. If you want to use Volix’s fire you are no longer allowed to use the Base. He will teach you how to concoct potions and serums like a real Alchemist rather than a…” I stopped for a moment, but my avian friend wasn’t having it.

Say it.

Volix demanded.

I sighed. “Rather than a fraudulent Beaster.”

Heat rose to Bert’s cheeks, and I was quite certain he would shout angrily at me. Surprisingly, the Master Beaster didn’t. He needed a good minute to calm down, but that was it.

“Fraudulent Beaster? Why does he say that? And what are Alchemists?” He asked instead, taking a few deep breaths now and then to keep his cool.

“Volix is old. Very, very, very old. He’s lived many lives as far as I can tell, which is also why he has multiple personalities. That’s annoying sometimes… Anyway, he was an Alchemist before. For centuries he studied ether plants from all over Razarn and concocted a lot of potions and serums and the like. He also helped me use phoenix fire to concoct serums without the Base. He said the Base is the very reason Beasters are unable to concoct serums for Monarchs, that it is the Base that holds Beasters back from advancing and that he has a lot to teach you.”

Bert’s eyes narrowed but not because of the reason I suspected. “He taught you to concoct serums without the Base?”

When I nodded, his eyes lit up. “Marvelous!”

He rushed up to me, cupping my hands in his. “He needs to teach me! What do I need for that? Phoenix fire? Well, that would be quite hard. What about sacred flames? Would that be enough–a low-ranked sacred flame? Maybe I can acquire one. If we need higher-ranked flames that’ll be a little bit more difficult. But–”

The Master Beaster didn’t stop blabbering for quite a while. I tuned him out and turned to Merlin who was studying me.

“What else do you want to do? I don’t believe you were done.”

I smiled at the towering man. He understood me well.

“I need to reach the 8th Volume of the Blastor Refinery technique. Once I do, I can properly liquefy ether.”

His eyes widened at the implication. “You can fill your Gates with liquefied ether at that point. All of them, even your weakest.”

I nodded once more, bringing a faint smile to Merlin’s lips.

“You would need a lot of ether by then. Gates filled with liquefied ether would be powerful, but the price would be steep. It would require a lot of ether, and you would have many more Gates to fill than others.” Merlin chuckled. “It will be worth it, but a few hundred massive etherstones won’t be enough. You need more than that. A lot more.”

“You need a Source.” Bert pointed out, finally finishing his chatter. “Or an untapped ether sea.”

“Or a dimension filled with ether.” I whispered to myself.

I had to return to the World Tree’s dimension. The life ether there had been of the highest quality, its purity surpassing perfection. It was exactly what I needed, but I had no idea how to get there.

I could bring you~

Sapsie’s sing-song resounded through my mind.

But you won’t be able to leave. Not without freeing Mother and her folk. For she cannot afford to sacrifice anymore of her power to help you before you help her~

Can’t or won’t?

Can’t~

Sapsie chirped.

Mother was imprisoned in a fragmented dimension. It is a dimension that has been eating her alive since the day she arrived. Yet she has to prevail, using her lifeforce to protect the Fae, keep them alive until someone returns to help them. Until you return, for she has sacrificed too much energy creating me and teleporting you out of her dimension to wait for someone else to help them instead.

Sapsie was talkative, had always been, but she was more of a cute little chirper who tended to annoy others. She was not the serious type either, yet that changed. Even though it had only been for a moment, her last words carried a weight to it.

The weight of a dimension. Of an entire folk that depended on the World Tree.