I definitely knew one of the Outsiders. How could I forget that powerhouse of a woman?

The Caldera woman from the Giant Forest stood there as we left the underground Sanctuary through a second, more secluded door. Her eyes scanned the projected screens and ether technology with what appeared to be a mixture of curiosity and suspicion, but she did not seem particularly scared. Nor was she wielding a glaive.

This time, she was clad in formal attire–or what I was fairly sure Calderas wore for formal events. Then again, the dark crimson leather that covered most of her body might as well have been used for combat. It might not have been meant only for formal occasions, yet there was a stark contrast between her current outfit and what I’d seen in the Giant Forest. Back then, she hadn’t worn nearly as many pieces of clothing as she did now.

Anyway, the Caldera woman was not alone. An even taller man–also a Caldera–stood beside her, molten lava snaking beneath his thick skin. His features were nearly identical to the Caldera woman’s, although he was clearly older. Powerful Blessed had longer lifespans than the unBlessed, which made it harder to tell a Blessed’s actual age, but I was sure the two Calderas had a close relationship nonetheless.

He stood tall, his vibrant crimson eyes swiveling toward me. A grunt spoken in rapid Caldera put me on edge, yet my eyes flicked back to the Caldera woman as she raised her left hand toward my face. She muttered something inconspicuous, pressed four fingers against her forehead, and followed up with a subtle bow.

The older Caldera’s stare intensified at the woman’s gesture, and he radiated a presence of certain death–one even more intense than the Grandmaster’s. The second stretched seemingly infinitely as I stood there frozen, paralyzed by the old Caldera’s pressure.

Mind your manners.

Aureus commented, clearly recalling the customs of the Caldera better than I did.

I cleared my throat and repeated the Caldera woman’s gesture, finishing it with a deeper bow. That, among other things, was necessary to show that I understood my rank in the Caldera hierarchy. I might not have been a member of their race; however, I was clearly weaker than the glaive-wielding woman. The greeting clarified that I was not only fully aware of the power disparity but that I acknowledged it as well.

Thanks, buddy.

I had never been happier to have attended a class–or to have a Soulkin as smart as Aureus.

Whereas the Earthheart told me to get my act together and follow the lectures I’d been taught in the Outsider Class, a mixture of anger and defiance flowed from the bond with Nox. His killing intent was as strong as ever, but I’d gained far more control over it. The Ferronox Mantis’ intellect had been augmented through the soulshare as well, which made it considerably easier to reason with him.

Unfortunately, Nox was still far from intelligent enough to know when it was better to keep a low profile. That was why I was there–to keep him on track. As the bond closed in on the second Stage, Nox gained more and more from the soulshare. Not only was he granted a portion of my power–just as my physical strength was augmented by him–but his potential and depth of sentience reached new levels.

Calm down, little one.

Nox didn’t like the nickname, but he should have behaved if he didn’t want to be called that. Putting the insignificant incidents with the Ferronox Mantis aside, I was relieved when the tension in the room finally subsided.

“So you know how to behave. Knowing our friends’ customs is crucial to forming a relationship.”

A voice rang out to my right, and I turned only to see someone standing beside me.

I would have yelled and scrambled back to Nathaniel if not for the kindness filling every nook and cranny of the room. Kindness flowed through the air, toward me, and within me, reassuring me instantly as my gaze met the dark brown eyes of a man I had never seen before.

He was human and appeared younger than Nathaniel, but I didn’t doubt his power for even a fraction of a moment. He had appeared beside me without a sound. The man had no presence, emitted no ether, and it almost felt like he wasn’t even there. Yet, as our eyes met, I knew I wasn’t hallucinating. Nor was the kindness in the room an illusion–it practically oozed out of the strange man.

“Your Excellency!” Nathaniel blurted, pulling me back as he rushed past me. His eyes beamed with excitement as he bowed deeply before the kind stranger.

“It is an honor to meet you again, Your Excellency,” the old man said, beaming at the stranger–or should I say, Ruler?

My eyes went wide as I scanned the unfamiliar man again. He didn’t look special. His brown hair was cut short, his brown eyes were dark and… ordinary. If one ignored the kindness pouring out of him in overwhelming waves, the Ruler was average at best. Even his height and build weren’t all that unique. However, Your Excellency wasn’t something anyone used casually–especially not Nathaniel.

The Ruler greeted Nathaniel with a smile and turned to me.

“You must be Adam. I heard a thing or two about you.”

He smiled, his entire being filling me with kindness. It was similar to Wesley’s Charm, yet it affected me less–or was that wishful thinking? Even Nox began to feel the influence of the kindness seeping into me. The bond flared up, but it didn’t trickle into the soulshare. Before that could happen, Ruler Kazriel retracted his aura with an apologetic expression.

“I apologize for my presence. It has been a while since I met an… Adept.” I was sure he wanted to say something else, but he continued without a care in the world. “Your World is very curious. I couldn’t ignore it.” His smile widened. “I am Ruler Kazriel, and I am happy to see you made it to the Sanctuary without any issues.”

So he was actually a Ruler.

Kazriel.

That name didn’t ring any bells, and I couldn’t find anyone with the same name or look among my memories either. I went through them several times, but I came up short.

He was not one of the 13 Rulers. How’s that?

Ruler Kazriel appeared more than understanding of the look on my face and added, “I am not one of the young ones. I do not care about the publicity. I do like to be by myself and my family, which is probably why you’ve never heard about me.”

I could get behind that. If I were a Ruler, I’d much rather be unknown as well. Although I doubt that would work at this time and age. Everyone knew everything thanks to the ethernet. That was all the more reason to question Ruler Kazriel’s ability to remain hidden.

Then again, Nathaniel knew the Ruler and bowed even deeper than I did.

“He’s the Master of the Pagoda,” he half-whispered, half-hissed at me.

“That is true. I created the Beast Pagoda. Partially because I wanted to help people with similar Worlds like mine – like yours,” Ruler Kazriel explained, and our eyes met again.

“My World is highly adaptable and relatively small. Well, it was at one point in time. That is no longer the case, of course. Your World is similar. It is not the same though. Your World has something mine doesn’t.” He jabbed a thumb at his chest, right above his heart. “An irregularly firm connection.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Your World reaches out to the beast’s heart, creating perfect compatibility with any beast of your choice.”

I came to the same conclusion when my World resonated with most beasts I encountered. There was more to my World though. A lot more. Not only could I resonate with all beasts–as long as they didn’t plan on tearing me apart–but I could help Blessed resonate with their Soulkins too.

There were still a few mechanics I had to figure out–most of them, to be honest–but my studies with Fabienne, Sophie, as well as Daniel, hinted at an accelerated harmonization of Soulkin and Blessed. Even Coco’s bond, which had been inching closer to the edge of the second Stage for years, had benefited greatly, allowing Daniel and the Thunderhorn Bull to finally surpass their greatest hurdle.

If not for my friends, I wouldn’t have known how hard it was for them to strengthen their bonds. I’d been certain Coco and Daniel were already in the second Stage, closing in on the third Stage. That couldn’t have been further from the truth, and my bond with Aureus was already stronger than all of theirs–except for Scott, who was one with his lovely squirrel Soulkin.

Putting aside those thoughts, I nodded at the Ruler. Not quite sure what he wanted from me, I waited. Instead of the Ruler, the old Caldera spoke, and Ruler Kazriel turned back to reply in the same tongue. I tried to understand them and caught glimpses, but my understanding was not deep enough for most parts. Fortunately, I had a translator nestled in my inner World, and he understood everything perfectly fine.

“Negotiations?” I mouthed at Aureus’ translation.

Ruler Kazriel turned back to me with a smile. “Looks like someone has been taking language classes. That’s good. The Caldera are very impressed with your team’s performance. They liked that you honored the Katrak, and that you taught their young Spirit-touched a lesson. I think they call him the Spirit of Volca. Or blessed by the Spirit of Volca.”

The Caldera woman stepped forward and spoke in a broken human tongue, crimson orbs locked onto me. “Young spirit. Greater power.” A flurry of words spoken in Caldera followed.

Ruler Kazriel raised an eyebrow. “She says–…”

He glanced at me and stopped when he saw my smile.

“They knew I hadn’t awakened too long ago,” I translated. Their words translated into something more like the touch of the Primal Spirit lingering on me. “How long has it been? Nine months? Eight and a bit?”

Time passed so quickly since I awakened. One way or another, the Caldera woman pointed out how short it had been since I gained access to ether–short enough to attract their attention with my power, or something along those lines.

As far as my studies of Outsiders had taught me, Caldera looked at the manifestation of ether as something spiritual–that the Primal Spirit had chosen them. It was a special event, especially for those chosen by multiple Spirits and those with a deep imprint of the Primal Spirit. Both were signs of great potential. A prosperous future filled with blood and victory.

So for the Caldera blessed by the Spirit of Volca, who had only awakened a year ago, losing to me was bad. Not necessarily for me, since I did something no first-year Spirit-touched Caldera had been able to do, but for the young man blessed by the Spirit of Volca, it certainly was a big deal.

As confusing as some of the Caldera’s terms were, it was fairly obvious that they paid more attention to how long a Blessed had been awakened rather than to power, which did make sense in certain ways. Humans could easily gain access to ether. Binding a beast was all we had to do. The same did not apply to Calderas. Every Caldera had a reservoir of some sort, just like humans had cores in their Worlds, and that had to awaken naturally.

They could expand their reservoirs naturally, but the size of an awakened reservoir played a greater role for them than it did for humans. After all, we had restricted Worlds and thus more factors to consider when determining a Blessed’s potential.

The Caldera woman said a lot more, and I was happier than ever to have Aureus by my side. He translated everything, revealing that Zegrath–the Caldera’s name–was still a young Spirit-touched who had only awakened four years ago, yet she commanded the power to fight and defeat Unblemished beasts on her own. Other Spirits hadn’t touched her, but the Primal Spirit had been generous with her, granting her power, battle spirit, and her people’s honor.

Just like I did. At least, the honor part, even though I was only an Adept.

The Ruler and the old Caldera exchanged a few words, most of them spoken too fast even for Aureus.

“Nathaniel told you about your promotion, right?” Ruler Kazriel glanced at me.

“Good.” He grinned when I nodded. “I have a proposal for you.”

As overwhelming as the kindness radiating from Ruler Kazriel was, I kept my guard up. The kindness and that bright grin were just too good to be true.

“You can spend your free time in the Sanctuary. Do not worry about the compensation; you will earn more than enough. The rest of the day you will train with me.”

Train with a Ruler? My heart skipped at the suggestion, but the Ruler’s smile squashed my hopes.

“Buuut?” I asked, squinting.

“You’re quick to catch on. That’s good. Definitely better than those spoiled fools who think they deserve all the things in the world just because their household has a tiny weeny bit of influence.” The corner of his lip curled further upward. “Their little prodigy, the one blessed by the Spirit of Volca, wants to fight you again. A second Katrak to reclaim the honor he lost in the first fight.”

“However, he is not the only one who has challenged you and your friend–I think Scott was his name.”

As the Ruler mentioned Scott, Zegrath–the Caldera woman–perked up. “Katrak!”

“Why Scott? What about the others?” I asked, trying to digest Ruler Kazriel’s words.

“Daniel Zerog, Sophie Gardener, and Fabienne Wilster are also part of your team, right?” the Ruler asked with the same irritating smile. “Their talent is exceptional. They’re young and will definitely grow into powerful Blessed one day. The Caldera, however, do not think like that. Daniel, Sophie, and Fabienne gained access to ether several years ago. Sophie and Daniel almost a decade ago. Fabienne four years ago, if the records aren’t wrong. That means only Fabienne is a young Spirit-touched in the Caldera’s eyes, and even that only barely. She is too weak, untalented in their eyes.”

The Ruler’s words were worse than a punch in the gut. Neither Fabienne, Daniel, nor Sophie was wrong. Quite the contrary; they were talented and powerful. If not for Daniel’s restrictive World, he would surely have reached the Expert Rank already! I wanted to speak up and explain to the Caldera that they were strong and that they deserved far more respect than I did, but nobody seemed to care about my opinion.

“Scott is just like you,” Ruler Kazriel went on, ignoring my displeasure. “He did not awaken long ago. I remember searching for a suitable Soulkin for him for… how long was it? Fourteen years? Sixteen? Anyway, I found the Divination Squirrel two years ago and helped Scott get used to his monstrous ether core.” He snickered at the memory. “He is an annoying brat, but his World and their traits are too good to ignore. Which is all the more reason to continue searching for a Monarch-ranked beast of Divination.”

Ruler Kazriel sighed deeply. “A teenage Ruler would be great. It’d open countless new doors to the higher Ranks. With a teenage Ruler surpassing the limits of the old generation, we’d be able to protect mankind, create new Bastions, and maybe reclaim the lands we’ve lost in the–…”

He stopped himself and shook his head. “That is a matter for another time.”

“What we need to do now is to prepare you for your Katrak.” He lifted three fingers, and I froze as the benevolence in his eyes was replaced by something else. Something harsher. Ruthless. Raw and fierce.

“We have three months, maybe a little bit longer if you only awakened a little more than eight months ago.”

I didn’t have anything against training with a Ruler. In fact, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but his proposal sounded more like an order. While there was nothing wrong with that, per se, why call it a proposal when I was going to be forced to do it anyway?

“Why should I fight the Spirit of Volca or the other Caldera?” I asked, feeling a little defiant amid the shift in the atmosphere.

I’d gain a lot. The ether density in the Sanctuary alone was more than enough of a payment, but I was… curious.

“For power? Honor?” The Ruler shrugged lightly. “Maybe to become the connecting link between the Caldera and humans.”

He did not sound like he was particularly interested in my motives. Maybe that was the case; I was pretty sure he would force me to do what he wanted regardless of my motives or desire.

“Or maybe you want to spend some time in the Caldera’s lands.” His benevolent smile returned right on time.

That sounded a lot more enticing. My heart skipped a beat as old, childish dreams of traveling Razarn resurfaced in my mind.

“Of course, I will help you grow strong enough to beat up your opponents. Your little mutant will receive as many resources as he needs to keep up with that Ferronox Mantis of yours. As for the Blastor Refinery technique, I can teach you a thing or two. After all, I know the creator.” His smile was almost devious at this point, yet he went on and spared no effort to tell me everything I had done in the last few months. No–since before I gained access to ether.

The more he said, the more obvious it was that the Ruler knew everything about me. And I did not like that at all.

But that didn’t mean I was going to reject the ‘proposal’. I was more than ready to put a dent into Ruler Kazriel’s steep wallet.