Pearls of sweat trickled down my temples and dripped to the ground, joining the puddle around me. My hair was drenched and stuck to my forehead and neck, and my clothes had seen better days as well.

Today’s beating was over, and so was the World Refinement session, leaving only the worst to complete: Soulfusion.

At this point, I wasn’t even sure if this body was still truly mine. It felt foreign at times, which did make sense in a way. After all, the human body was never meant to drain and digest ether from dishes–not in the way I was doing, at least.

If it had only been dishes made from Guardian beast meat, I would have been all right. Not comfortable, but I would have survived. Ruler Kazriel, with his fake benevolent smile, was not satisfied with the results. No matter how much I improved, the Ruler pushed me further. That was how I ended up displaced in the core of the Sanctuary, forced to wield and absorb the dense ambient ether. Even better, to avoid dying from severe ether toxicity within the hour, I had to annex the Sanctuary’s ether smoothly using Soulfusion, Aureus’ digestive tract to be precise.

Honestly, there was more to Aureus’ digestive system–a lot I didn’t quite understand–but the Earthheart solved all issues and guided me greatly. Without his help, Soulfusion would be nearly impossible–and so would infusing the surplus ether into my Gates. It was actually a smooth process. Most of the time. Until I collapsed from overexerting Soulfusion. Or until the bond with Aureus was so strained, cracked up, and falling apart that even Kazriel’s soul soothing couldn’t mend it instantaneously.

Troublesome as it was, straining the bond was an efficient and well-known method to strengthen it. And with all the serums and traits at Ruler Kazriel’s disposal, training and refining my control of Soulfusion was almost too good to be true.

The Ruler’s methods repaired the bond and the body in seconds when they should have taken days–if not weeks, normally. Thus, forged and tempered in the Ruler’s blazing flames, Aureus and I became one. As far as the third Stage went, we understood each other better with every passing day. It was blissful and more than worth the pain and suffering I’d gone through in the last few weeks.

At some point, I could no longer maintain Soulfusion. I gasped as the breath was drawn out of my lungs, and Aureus and I split into two individuals again. Our bond felt brittle for the umpteenth time, and I was sure it would fall apart this time. Yet, like the last dozens of times, Ruler Kazriel stepped out of a distortion in space.

“Fifteen seconds longer than yesterday. Not perfect, but good enough,” he said, smiling as he retrieved two serums and a potion. “Summon your friend.”

There was no need for an invitation. Aureus manifested beside me, wings flapping excitedly. At this point, Aureus was five meters long and still growing. His wings had grown considerably, but the most impressive gains were his traits and mental capabilities. Aureus was simply too smart for his own good.

The tasty serum first.

The tasty serum was overly sweet and accelerated Aureus’ growth. I was pretty sure it was the sole reason he was still growing, but who was I to complain about that? It was a shame Aureus could no longer rest on my shoulder, though that was a thing of the distant past. Whether he was three or five meters long didn’t make much of a difference in that regard.

Ruler Kazriel handed me the vials. They nearly slipped through my sweaty palm, but I caught them just in time. Removing the cap of the first vial resulted in a massive lizard smashing into me. I struggled a little against Aureus, only to surrender and feed him while he weighed me down. I groaned, emptied my potion, and fed Aureus the second serum, ensuring our bond would heal smoothly–so that I could tear it apart again tomorrow.

“Your Ferronox Mantis should reach the Peak soon,” Ruler Kazriel mentioned when Aureus disappeared into the inner World again.

“Tomorrow. Maybe the day after, he should be ready to break through,” I responded after double-checking Nox’s situation. Kazriel didn’t provide any serums for him, but that was about to change.

A belt filled with more than a dozen serums–some pitch-black, others dark grey–appeared in his hands. “Feed him once a day starting tomorrow. He should break through by the time he finishes the last. They’ll compress his strength and fix some flaws in his foundation. If the researchers aren’t wrong about the Ferronox Mantis, he’ll have a surprise or two for you.”

As useless as his words were, I found myself looking forward to the next few weeks.

Wait a moment… did they turn me into a masochist? I shook my head. I was not a masochist. Aureus seemed to agree, even if I was not sure I liked his response better.

You don’t like pain. You like power. Addict!

Great. I was not a masochist, but addicted to power. I… well, that was not actually wrong.

It was acceptable.

***

Kazriel moved with the wind. No, he was the wind. He floated before me one moment, my blade arcing through the air, nearing his head, only for him to disappear and emerge beside me.

The flat side of his longsword smashed into me, breaking several ribs upon impact. I would have been hurled through the training room if not for the Ruler’s generosity. He held back and retracted his sword before his attack could kill me. A muffled scream escaped my lips, and I gasped for air, yet my body didn’t stop.

Predator showed me my enemies’ weaknesses. It even showed me Ruler Kazriel’s open spots, even if I was half-certain he’d exposed several vital spots intentionally. I took him up on the offer anyway and accelerated. The silvernit sword flashed before my eyes. It moved almost too fast to see as I reached out for the Ferronox Mantis’ second trait.

It had manifested only a few hours ago, and I’d only just managed to use it as well. Albeit draining my energy rather than ether, Nullblade was a powerful trait. So powerful, the blade scraped across the Ruler’s arm, severing several hairs and carving into his skin.

“I…did it?” I yelped in surprise, right before a backhand yanked me through the arena.

I tumbled to the ground and didn’t get right back up, my mind reeling.

Nullblade was excessive. It consumed way too much physical energy, and yet I loved it. With Nullblade, I actually managed to cut the Ruler. Not deep, of course, but compared to before–if before counted in the first place. I was beaten black and blue, and my hits, if one came true, were repelled easily. I didn’t even reach his skin as his hair turned into steel. Or maybe they were made of steel at this point. Maybe that was a Ruler thing.

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Now, however, I was cutting his hair and leaving tiny scratches behind. An Adept managed to hit a Ruler, wounding him. That… Looking into Kazriel’s eyes, my excitement died down. He allowed me to hit him; he knew I was going to use the Nullblade. Of course, he did. Using all those serums stimulated Nox’s growth, urging him to develop that trait.

That was part of his plan, wasn’t it? I felt like cursing, yet I was happy. I took pride in harming Ruler Kazriel.

Then again, was I really an Adept at this point? I snickered at that thought. Officially, I was still an Adept, but in reality? I sincerely doubted any Adept could keep up with me.

***

Aureus was the first to advance even though Nox was the first to reach the Peak of the Awakened Rank. The Earthheart didn’t have to waste precious time consolidating his strength for weeks to initiate and complete the breakthrough. Aureus just did it smoothly, spending less than 48 hours to burst through the obstacles other Awakened beasts had to face.

As Aureus advanced, a familiar burning sensation returned. My physique changed. Rivers of lava and streams of liquid ice sloshed through my body, burning and freezing my cells as the Earthheart’s breakthrough altered my physique forever. Yet, as terrifying as the changes were, I barely noticed anything. How could I, when my brain was molten to soup, only to be frozen solid? Then, just as I thought my brain recuperated, the heinous cycle started anew.

Advancing alongside Aureus was horrifying. It was also fortuitous, as it empowered my mind and brain to new heights. As the metamorphosis completed, and the rivers of lava and streams of liquid ice toned down, I could finally grasp just how much had changed. The surroundings were clearer than they used to be, and things that used to be too complex were suddenly much easier to comprehend.

Controlling ether, soul energy, and my traits simultaneously was no longer near impossible. It was difficult nonetheless, yet it was more manageable. Just thinking about all the things I could probably do with my traits made me giddy and all the more ready to spar with Ruler Kazriel.

Impressive as the gains were, there was a problem: I was the problem. My brain, to be precise. I did everything I could to tone down the massive amount of information flooding my brain, yet nothing could be done. My brain took in every little piece of information, deciphered it in ways I didn’t even think were possible, and expanded on them.

I helped a group of researchers the day after Aureus evolved. To join the antelopes and make sure they were doing fine, but also to watch the dozens of tests they did on the Earthheart. Aureus had grown again.

He was a monstrosity with a length of six meters and the height of a child, yet it was his wings that attracted most attention–or maybe it was the fact that some of those researchers were sleeping with each other. One even with two women, who seemed to be best friends. My brain forced me to dissect and digest every piece of information that entered it, and the passive effect of Predator helped little to alleviate the issue. If anything, it made it worse.

The issue got so bad that Ruler Kazriel adjusted his schedule to accommodate me. We trained for almost one week until I got used to the changes. Then Nox broke through and advanced as well. My physique changed again. This time, however, the changes were more prominent. The brain was unaffected, and it was the body instead that was pushed to a new height. After all, the Ferronox Mantis was a purely physical-attributed beast, and it carried far more power than its tiny body suggested.

But Nox was no longer child-sized. The Ferronox Mantis grew rapidly over the last few weeks, yet it was not until he broke through to the Evolved Rank that his height reached the size of a teenager. Well, he was almost as tall as I was, which was how tall most adult Ferronox Mantises were. So the reports said–though I wasn’t quite sure about that.

Nox had the potential to reach the Peak of the Evolved Rank, and I highly doubted he’d stop growing. Definitely not if Nox had any say in the matter. He wanted to find a way to surpass my height, after all. Honestly, it was cute how obsessed my Soulkin was at times. He had some temper issues, but those were rather easy to deal with. That didn’t change the way most cadets and researchers viewed the Ferronox Mantis.

Nox was feared by many, and I could not blame them. He shed his old exoskeleton multiple times in the last few weeks, and it grew darker and more terrifying each time. Nox’s exoskeleton was dark green, almost black, at this point, and it resembled the plated armor of a Death Knight. It was even better in certain ways, as it seamlessly wove around his body without disrupting his agility. The exoskeleton appeared heavy and cumbersome at first glance, yet Nox could contract and expand it at will, transforming the young, once-cute mantis into what could only be described as an impressive machine of death.

There was no way I’d tell Nox about that. Pushing the mantis’ ego even further would only cause trouble. This was even more so now that his growth spurt had reached the third and final phase.

It was a short phase–or ought to be–but I did not doubt Ruler Kazriel’s investments for a second. At this point, I knew the Ruler well enough to know how much he was willing to sacrifice to ensure I’d defeat everyone in the Katrak against the Caldera. His reasoning was still unknown to me, but I didn’t think it was solely to impress the delegation of Caldera.

Considering Kazriel’s investments, I could not help but stare at the massive scythes extending from his front limbs. They were naturally coated in Nullblade, and I was half-certain he could tear through an Unblemished beast. Hell, I could probably do that with a half-decent weapon with Nullblade.

Nox emerged from the inner World, ready to drench the world in chaos once his soft, new exoskeleton hardened. A dozen researchers were supposed to examine the Ferronox Mantis, but killing intent burst forth before anyone touched him. A scythe arced through the air, almost beheading an eager researcher, but I flashed before Nox and triggered Paralyze.

The Ferronox Mantis rose to the challenge and let out a deafening scream. However, I was too tired of Nox’s defiance to care. Stone pikes burst from the ground, piercing Nox’s exoskeleton and abdomen on my command just as my fingers coiled around the opposite edge of the mantis’ mandibles. I stared him dead in the dark eyes and smashed him into the ground.

Nox tried to resist, but his physical might stood no chance against the force at my disposal. How could he? I’d finished refining and filling the remaining 2-Star Gates in the five weeks it took Nox to initiate and complete his breakthrough to the Evolved Rank. Squashing Nox before he could get used to his new powers or use his traits was as easy as breathing to me.

The Ferronox Mantis’ eyes glowed crimson for a moment, but he assessed me wrong if he thought I’d show him mercy. The heel of my boot smashed into his back like a rocket, shattering the exoskeleton he was so proud of.

Pinned to the ground, he let out a miserable sound, and I almost felt sorry for putting him in that situation. Almost.

“Are you done throwing a tantrum?” I asked, bending down and shoving as much ether into Predator as possible. “You are in my team. Yes, we are a team. But that does not mean you have any say. I am in charge, and you will do as I say. You will listen to me, or I won’t let you fight beside me.”

I had studied the old records of Ferronox Mantises after the first incident with Nox, but I couldn’t find much. So I researched more about predatory insects as well as other methods to tame strong-willed beasts, with a strong focus on creatures with an insatiable desire to fight.

“I won’t abandon my Soulkins; however, if you continue to stir trouble, I will not waste my resources on you. My strength, Aureus’ strength, and the strength of my future Soulkins will increase with time. We will fight powerful Unblemished beasts and Outsiders, and we will hunt, maybe even tame, Guardian beasts, and we will do all of this without you if you do not get your act together.”

I gave Nox a moment to digest my words before doubling down.

“You will get to watch as we fight and enjoy our lives while you are forced to stay in my World to spectate,” I growled, the stress accumulated in the last few weeks finally erupting from me. “Do you want that? No, you don’t. You do not want to get left behind. I know you desire to fight. You want to bleed Ruler Kazriel to death and kill everything in your path. That, I won’t allow.”

I thought about it for a second and added, “But I can create opportunities for you to let loose. To fight Ruler Kazriel and to satisfy your desire for blood and combat.”

The bond rippled and went taut. I saw the cracks as they formed all over our bond, yet they vanished in the vibrant light that burst outward. Seconds stretched to eternity, and the light faded, unraveling a bond much greater than before. Shock and awe flooded me, followed by a distinct sense of acceptance. Then it clicked, and my bond with Nox settled into the second Stage.