The sound of battle faded at some point. We definitely won, but I couldn’t tell how my friends had fared. I didn’t have the luxury to turn around and look for them. My attention remained on Nox, thrashing in my grasp, failing miserably to escape.
“Are you okay?” I asked Aureus.
Fine. But angry!
The Earthheart’s emotions surged through the bond–a rush of anger, confusion, and disappointment. I couldn’t blame him for that. If anything, I felt just like Aureus.
My first Soulkin had escaped the chitinous canine’s attacks unscathed. As great as that was, I was more concerned about his mental state. As strong as Aureus was, no one could be fine after a whirlwind of malicious emotions had been forced upon them. I didn’t think so, at least.
Control. No friend.
My lips pressed into a thin line. Just when I thought Aureus and Nox had warmed up to each other, this happened. It was a disaster, and I couldn’t even tell how it came to be. Or why.
Kindness isn’t working. Force will.
Aureus growled in my mind. It was the first time I’d seen him like that–so disturbed, so… I shook my head. Aureus was not the problem. He would be fine. That didn’t mean Aureus wasn’t petty; before he retreated into my inner World, he stared back at Nox, and his tail smashed into the Ferronox Mantis’ face.
A flurry of anger and killing intent erupted from Nox’s bond. The Ferronox Mantis burst free from my grasp and leaped at Aureus. However, Aureus was no longer present. He was back in the World, restricting the bond to keep to himself. It was a first for Aureus to block the bond completely, but how could I hold that against him when it was none other than I who failed to protect him from the influence of Nox’s malicious emotions?
The issue had to be resolved–as soon as possible. That much was obvious, even more so when the Ferronox Mantis turned to me, scythes brandished, ether coursing through his body.
Nox looked at me like I was his prey. His gaze was predatory, as if he was challenging me.
“Are you challenging me?” I mouthed quietly, eyes narrowed.
There was no response. Instead, my ears perked up as footsteps rang out from the side.
“Adam? Is everything okay?” Sophie asked, stepping closer.
I only saw a glimpse of her boots and the Aceraspis from the corner of my eyes when a shift in the Ferronox Mantis’ killing intent caught my attention. Nox leaped at them with surprising speed, but I was ready. My hand shot toward the Ferronox Mantis like a viper, pressing firmly against his thorax. A burst of ether and a mountain of physical strength later, I smashed Nox into the ground.
Sophie yelped in surprise–or did she say something? Anyway, I stared sharply at Nox, who met my gaze in defiance.
“I don’t like this,” I said, surprised by how cold my voice sounded. “I don’t like this at all. But your attitude is unacceptable. You will NOT harm my people. No one, is that clear!?”
If there was something I’d learned in my short time with the Beastarium and all the research I did both before I became a Blessed and after I bonded Aureus, it was that not all Soulkins were like the Earthheart. Aureus was more of a highly social Soulkin. Our bond and the way I treated him were all the Earthheart needed to gravitate toward me.
As far as I could tell, binding Aureus before he hatched would have been enough to guarantee his loyalty. Treating him decently secured his trust. I went above and beyond, ensuring a firm, almost unshakable bond.
Unfortunately, not all Soulkins adhered to a social hierarchy, nor did they prioritize family. Some Soulkins would challenge their Blessed even if the bond made that increasingly difficult. They would not attack their Blessed given the bond’s interference, yet many Soulkins would challenge their Blessed and resist their attempts to–
Nox’s mandibles snapped at me, narrowly missing my fingers. He thrashed around, his scythes tearing through everything they touched, but I didn’t let go. Burning pain pulsed through my arms, but I pressed harder, pushing Nox deeper into the ground.
Even though I bonded with Nox before he hatched, I was not his parental figure. Being his parent didn’t mean anything–it couldn’t have been any less meaningful. Instead, strength was all that mattered. Dominance.
Aureus was a Soulkin that followed a more social hierarchy; Nox was clearly more violent. Following a dominance hierarchy, he needed to be sure the being he followed was stronger–better–than he was. If that was not the case… I shrugged inwardly. That would never happen. I would never allow the Ferronox Mantis to grow stronger than I was.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Predator activated as I locked onto my target–my prey. Yet instead of being led on by Nox’s killing intent and the overwhelming desire to fight me to the death, I forced my emotions onto him. I wanted to be nice–I really did–becoming friends with all my Soulkins, maybe even treating them like family, but it looked like that was impossible. For now.
It pained me to harm Nox. Being the cause of his cracking exoskeleton was never something I wanted to do. However, if that was what the Ferronox Mantis needed to submit to me–to follow me with his whole heart–I would do it.
And that I did.
“Those are my friends. People I hold dear. Harm them, and you will know true fear!” I bent down, snarling at him as I imagined my parents, Aureus, and my friends being harmed by Nox.
The beast within the Ferronox Mantis surged, and his emotions tried to tear through mine. He tried desperately to block the tidal wave of emotions forcing their way through the bond, but Nox was too weak. As strong as he was physically, his will was fragile. He was a wild beast, and he could do nothing against the emotions spreading through him.
Our bond flared up, and for a moment, I was sure it would crack. Yet, as much as I wanted to keep Nox by my side, I was unwilling to cave in. Not today. Not ever again.
Finally, as Nox’s killing intent collided with the tidal wave of fury, the fury subsided.
The bond resumed its former steadiness as the Ferronox Mantis returned to normal. He stopped thrashing, but his eyes remained on me. This time, however, there was no killing intent. Instead, a glimpse of curiosity flashed through his eyes.
“Are you done throwing a tantrum?” I chuckled half-heartedly, exhausted from the struggle, and it took me a while to notice everyone looking at me.
A pained groan later, I released Nox from my iron-tight grasp, trying to ignore the warm blood dripping from my forearms. Dozens of cuts, some a little too deep for my liking, covered my arms, but I gnashed my teeth through the pain. Nox remained unmoving, eyes still locked onto me. This time, however, it didn’t feel like a challenge. He wasn’t testing me to see if I would falter at the sight of a few cuts. He just…stared.
The familiar sensation of Accelerated Regeneration reached me, and so did Sophie, carrying bandages and a healing potion. Acer stood by Sophie’s side, hissing at the Ferronox Mantis, but Nox stayed where he was, eyes trained on his Blessed.
“Drink that,” Sophie ordered in a tone that didn’t allow disobedience after pouring half of the healing potion across my forearms. My arms felt like they were burning, and the hissing and puffs of smoke rising from them certainly didn’t make me feel better, but I obeyed in silence and drank until only a little was left.
A long minute later, the bleeding had stopped, and some of the shallow cuts were already no more.
“Can you cast Accelerated Regeneration on Nox too?” I asked Fabienne. “Please?”
Fabienne had kept her distance. She looked at Nox first and then at my arms, clearly hesitant.
“It’s fine. I have this under control. Now.”
That was enough for Fabienne, and she cast Accelerated Regeneration on Nox. I moved closer to him and emptied the last bit of the healing potion on the claw marks in his exoskeleton and the cracks I’d caused.
“You can get up now,” I said, and Nox obeyed instantaneously. He was definitely more submissive now that the hierarchy had been clarified.
The Ferronox Mantis even went as far as to pull on the bond, requesting to return to the World for swift recovery, which I accepted.
As for my bond with Nox, it felt stronger than before. Quite a lot, actually–noticeably so, if I had to guess–and I only just noticed power surging through my body.
***
Only Nox sustained injuries in combat. Even Filps managed to avoid the chitinous canines’ claws and fangs. Sure, Daniel and Coco protected the young bull, but they had charged through the masses like they were mad.
I half-expected someone to get clawed once or twice, yet Nox and I were the only losers.
Why am I complaining about that in the first place? I don’t want them to get hurt! I cursed myself and joined the others. Aureus and Nox were safely kept in my World, their thoughts and emotions sealed away. And I…I was alone in my head for the first time in a long time.
“What were those creatures? They weren’t particularly strong for Mid- to Late-ranked Awakened beasts, but how did we not notice them ahead of time?” I asked, joining the others.
“Exonds. They usually look like felines–often panthers–but some swarms resemble wolves,” Sophie explained as she stored the last Exond corpses in her spatial storage. “This was a rather small swarm. We must have entered the network of the Hive Mother, alarming them.”
“We were lucky.” Scott grimaced. “This has to be a newborn Hive Mother, or we would have had to deal with a lot more than a hundred Awakened Exonds.”
I didn’t feel particularly fortunate, although that had little to do with the Exonds. Their ambush had been an unwelcome surprise, but the Giant Forest was filled with threats. There was a reason the Giant Forest’s outermost ring was considered an Evolved Zone.
The good thing about most Evolved beasts was that they weren’t as bad as the Lionaer Fiend. Most beasts would be several times stronger than the average Blessed as they reached the Unblemished Rank. That was when most beasts turned into the real deal.
Why was that important? We’d soon reach the edge of the Evolved Zone and have to cross over to the Unblemished Zone in the inner rings to find the ether plants for our mission.
That was great, wasn’t it? I certainly felt wonderful, arms all carved up by my young, rebellious Soulkin.
Surely, I was ready for an Unblemished Zone, being an Adept and all.
Fuck, who in the Rulers’ Names am I kidding!? This reeks like a disaster.