Beastforged Bond

“Found it!” Daniel exclaimed, pointing at a crevice leading to a massive cliff face that wasn’t visible a moment ago.

“Didn’t you say it’s supposed to be well-hidden?” I shared a glance with Volix. The Elemental Phoenix hovered nearby, fire-attuned ether billowing from him as he searched for the amazingly well-hidden entrance to the Netherkin’s home.

As it turned out, it wasn’t hidden all that well.

Their defense mechanism must have been damaged.

Volix commented and sent an image through the bond.

It depicted a massive array constructed around an even greater pillar, adorned with etchings of various colors. The pillar was dark-violet and magnificent as it towered above everything else.

Is that their defense against beasts? What is that? A structure to camouflage their home? I thought rather than spoke when Daniel and the others hastened toward the crevice.

A repelling station that works against all creatures, sentient or not. Stations like that are no longer used, but they were fairly common at that time, using illusions to guide beasts and other lifeforms away from the homes of the races that desired peace over combat.

Volix explained, making me think about the Caldera.

The Caldera tribes would not have used such a station. If anything, they would show themselves openly and challenge their enemies to honorable battles. To die in an honorable fight would give their life value. Hiding…would deprive their lives of value.

The part about the tribes didn’t make much sense to me personally, but I knew enough about the Caldera to know how much they valued combat strength and honor. I really missed them.

“The Netherkin were a peaceful race? That’s unexpected,” I murmured to myself, but Scott must have heard me as he slowed until I caught up to him.

“Why do you think so? Because they were associated with the Spirit of Death and worshipped her? Just because they worship Death doesn’t mean they have to be violent and thirsting for blood.”

As true as that may be, I doubted anyone worshipping Volix would do so when they were afraid of fire.

Why wouldn’t they be afraid of fire? It can burn as much as it can heal. The Caldera respected the power of fire and what it can do. Death and life alike. They respected the fire, just like the Netherkin respected death and all it entails.

Volix’s sagely words rang in my head.

What he said wasn’t without reason. I thought about it as I followed Daniel and Lea into the crevice. Volix compressed his blazing body and shrank as he brushed past me.

The crevice was too narrow to fit us side by side. We had to go one by one, and even then it didn’t feel like there was a lot of space to twist or turn. Volix didn’t have that problem and shrank further until it felt almost like his flames had gained physical mass. By that point, the phoenix had shrunk to the size of a sparrow, his blazing body illuminating the trail leading deeper into the crevice.

We climbed until we ended up in front of a natural tunnel. Except for a few marks in the ground and murals that had appeared on the walls at some point, there were little signs of life. Lifesight didn’t pick up anything either.

I had no idea how long we had been traveling or how deep we’d climbed, but several hours must have passed before we reached a massive underground ecosystem.

Nature survived deep underground. It created a small river that passed through the extensive underground hall and wound around tree-sized mushrooms, brilliantly colorful bushes, and moss that stirred and wiggled in tune with the sounds reverberating through the hall. Then there were trees, their bark crystallized, just like the fruits grown on them.

Lifesight triggered at last, revealing that there were actually lifesources down there. The moss was alive, and so were the grotesque-looking fishes swimming through the river. Even the crystal trees and the fruits growing on them were alive, even if barely.

No, not barely. The crystals seal the lifesource. Contains and…compresses it? I narrowed my eyes at the crystal fruits and infused more life-attuned ether into my Lifesight and my eyes.

It was like a layer of fog that I didn’t know existed faded, revealing all that was hidden behind it. The effect didn’t last long, but for the few seconds it prevailed, I could see everything.

“Those apples are overflowing with life, ether, and…something else,” I exclaimed, reaching out, only for someone else to beat me to it.

The Mirage Serpent emerged from my World and lunged at the closest crystallized apple. Resh gobbled the fist-sized fruit, his bond filled with an abundance of joy as his hunger subsided instantaneously. That was a first. Resh was always hungry. Even when he ate Monarch jerky, his hunger never truly disappeared. It was suppressed and would no longer bother him as much, but I knew it was still there.

Resh didn’t even bother turning to the next fruit. He swiveled to meet my eyes, happiness and gratitude shimmering deep within them. Then, without bothering to look at the other apples, he returned to the World.

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Soul energy surged toward him, wreathing the Mirage Serpent in a paper-thin golden layer. It wasn’t enough. I did not have sufficient unoccupied soul energy to mantle my Soulkin’s entire body in a thick membrane, but Resh did not care. He was patient, just happy that the hole in his beast core had finally been filled.

“I think…I think Resh is evolving,” I blurted out in disbelief.

“What?” Lea spun around. “That old Mirage Serpent? Are you serious? How can it evolve? It doesn’t even have a good trait!”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“What? Your Mirage Serpent doesn’t have a powerful trait. The racial ability might be superior, but it’s certainly not good enough to justify feeding it with the jerky of a Monarch beast,” she reasoned, which wasn’t entirely wrong.

It had been a fool’s action to bind with Resh. Or, it would have been, if I hadn’t been certain that there was more to the Mirage Serpent, or that I needed Mirage to hide Volca’s Mark more than I needed the jerky. No matter how valuable it was, my life felt more important.

Especially now that I could no longer hide the Mark.

Insignia.

Volix and Aureus corrected me in unison.

Anyway, I was more than happy with the turn of events, even if I had no idea what was happening.

Resh is evolving!

Nox screamed in my head.

I know that. That was not–You know what? Forget what I said.

“You said he ate the crystallized fruit?” Scott walked up beside me. A moment later, Sapsie emerged from my palm. She was no longer a tiny sproutling and had grown into a tiny tree. She was as tall as a two-year-old child and wiggled around with her roots as excited as if she was one.

“Resh ate one and started evolving. At least, I think he is,” I nodded, while trying to rein in Sapsie’s excitement.

“What’s wrong with you?” I hissed when her roots coiled around my fingers, restraining them as I tried to restrain her. She then reached for one of the crystallized apples as well.

I want!~

She squealed, resisting me when I shoved her back into the World. She disappeared – for no longer than a heartbeat – and emerged on top of my head, her root-like limbs pulling on my ears and nose as a distraction. She reached for an apple again while I stepped back, increasing the distance to the tree.

“You won’t get an apple before you tell me what it is,” I told Sapsie, who started to sob almost immediately.

There’s Essence in the apples. In fact, everything here seems to be infused with Essence. A considerable amount of it.

Volix answered instead when Sapsie wouldn’t quiet down.

“Volix says there’s Essence in everything here,” I forwarded once again.

And that is what we’re looking for. What I was hoping to find.

He added.

What are you getting at?

One of the Death Spirit’s treasures has to be somewhere close. Either it was damaged, or it was never properly sealed. Regardless of the circumstances, there is a treasure that releases Essence. That’s almost as good as a fresh Source. If you’re in luck, it is even better. Because Essence is the equivalent of solid ether–perfectly purified and even more potent.

Volix started to explain, but I could feel that there was more to it. My Soulkins wanted the crystallized apples. Aureus was hiding it well, but neither Nox nor Cosmo, let alone Sapsie, were good at it.

They all wanted to eat an apple, maybe more than one even. Looking around, I noticed that Sapsie wasn’t the only Soulkin in the massive hall. Lea’s Soulkins had emerged from her World and so did Daniel’s. Only Scott’s two Soulkins did not appear interested in the apples.

“Why are our Soulkins going crazy for Essence?” Lea asked, struggling to control her Soulkins.

“I have no idea. Volix only mentioned that I could substitute ether with Essence,” I shrugged. “From the sounds of it, Essence is a lot better than solid, highly-purified ether.”

If there was enough Essence in this place, I wouldn’t have to search for a Source. I’d have enough to fill a few Gates and grow powerful enough. Maybe I could help Nox and the others grow stronger as well. Lea and the others would be happy to nourish their Soulkins too.

But what exactly was Essence now?

“For the record.” Scott cleared his throat, looking a little too uncomfortable for my liking. “Essence is the substance that helps beasts grow stronger. It expands their natural potential and stimulates mutations and evolutions, and unseals dormant traits.”

His eyes turned into a meteorite shower of silver as a horn of pristine energy grew from his forehead. “It’s the energy beasts acquire from consuming human Worlds.”

The information settled slowly. No one uttered a word as they digested Scott’s words.

I felt nauseated. My stomach rumbled, eyes drawn to Scott’s emotionless face. If Essence was what beasts acquired from consuming human Worlds, didn’t that mean our Worlds were made of Essence? If so…wasn’t all the Essence around us from…from humans?

The theory floated through my mind no longer than a second or two when Volix spoke.

No.

He responded confidently, but his answer was fast. Instantaneous.

The Elemental Phoenix must have noticed as well because he sighed in disappointment. Aimed at himself.

No, this is not the Essence of human Worlds. Not only, at least. Honestly, I don’t know which creatures the Essence was extracted from. All I can tell for sure is that the Spirit of Death hardly ever fought with one of the human tribes. Even that was a long time ago. As to whether she extracted their Worlds to store them in one of her treasures…I don’t know.

Volix didn’t seem all that bothered.

For all we know, the Essence could be a remembrance of the Netherkin’s betrayal. A declaration of the Death Spirit, to show all those who came to visit the Netherkin’s home what would happen to those who betrayed her.

They would be killed, their Essence extracted. If they had Essence, that is.

Honestly, none of what the phoenix said was helpful in any way. It still didn’t explain what Essence truly was. Other than it belonging to sentient beings… and that he wanted me, my friends, and our Soulkins to consume it to grow stronger.

But the worst part about that wasn’t even the phoenix’s thoughts. The worst, by far, was that I actually considered it.

I needed power. A lot of it. The more the merrier.

I had to take this opportunity if I wanted to have the faintest chance of surviving a fight against the Ruler of Fire.

Fuck.