CHAPTER 337: SOUL BOND

A soul pressure suddenly expanded outward like a silent explosion from his being, causing the very air to quake.

A thunderous pulse rippled through the air, invisible yet overwhelming. Every beast in the vicinity froze mid-pounce as something unfathomable and dreadful pressed upon their very being.

To them, it was as though a heavenly pressure had just descended and this was due to Victor’s soul attack.

One of the perks of being a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was that one could attack another living being soul directly without having to move a muscle.

The beasts whimpered as their growls lowered into pitiful sounds. Some flattened themselves to the ground, others trembled in fear. A few bolted outright, disappearing into the icy horizon.

For a brief moment, Victor’s half conscious figure couldn’t he approached by any living being in the vicinity.

The beasts still present began to step backwards when a violent crack suddenly split through the silence.

Victor’s frozen arm shattered like glass, sending an unforgiving pain through his mind.

"Kiiarrrhhhh!" The agony tore a scream from his throat.

With his right arm gone, blood steamed as it splattered onto the icy grounds below.

Due to this, he subconciously deactivated the soul pressure emanating from his being.

The beasts that hadn’t fled stirred again.

Their fear was replaced by renewed bloodlust at the scent of his blood.

Their roars soon filled the air.

Victor gritted his teeth while forcing words out slowly. "Not again..."

The pain was indescribable... it burnt both hot and cold at the same time.

The open stump got frozen up almost instantly, preventing any more blood from spilling out.

So in a way, this helped Victor not bleed out.

However, besides the agonizing pain, one problem still persisted...

The few beasts left in the surroundings had closed in around him and were about to take a bite ttom

He pressed his left hand right to the groud earth as he closed his eyes again. His ripple spread forth from his soul once more...

However, unlike the previous time, this wasn’t soul pressure...

A single thread of will shot out like lightning and latched onto one of the winged beasts hovering above a dark-feathered beast with crimson streaks on its wings. The creature screamed and thrashed as its mind got instantly assaulted by Victor’s soul.

’Soul Lock... let’s hope this works....’

Victor just happened to have activated another ability privy to Nascent Soul Realm cultivators...

The ability that helped with creating a soul bond with spirit beasts, in order to turn them into a mount.

Victor had never tried it in Ascendant Realms because he had never actively gone hunting for a mount. There was no telling if it would even work in the real world since these were magical beasts not spirit beasts but he still had to try.

Victor channeled all his focus into the string and the connection formed... creating a glowing tether between their spirits.

The beast resisted, clawing at the bond, but Victor’s soul overpowered it.

He didn’t have any qi left but his spiritual strength was monstrous and his inner bank was completely replenished since the last time he expended its energy.

The beast had no other option but to bow to that supremacy.

Its wings faltered and then steadied as it beat in tune with Victor’s heart.

At this same moment, one of the ground beasts which was a white tusked serpent, dove forward.

It’s jaw opened wide enough to swallow him whole. But before it reached him, the massive white raptor like beast screeched and dove forward before slamming into the serpent midair with a force that shook the surroundings.

The serpent went tumbling across the snow while hissing violently.

The winged beast spun in midair and glided low in Victor’s direction.

Its massive beak clamped down on Victor’s body as its talons dug into the ground, kicking up frost debris.

With a heave of its wings, it lifted him off the ground, ascending high into the dim skies.

Victor’s body dangled limply while the world blurred beneath him. His vision spun as the searing landscape shrunk below.

Cold winds lashed against his face as his new mount flew him out of sight, saving him from the disastrous predicament.

"Hah..." Victor laughed weakly. "It actually worked... now I’ve got a new uber ride..."

The massive white raptor like bird screeched in response with wings beat faster as it climbed higher into the open sky.

Below, the other beasts scattered. None dared to give chase.

Victor continued to dangle with a single remaining arm. His head throbbed and he was almost completely out of gas but a wild grin broke across his face.

He had done it.

Against all reason, he had bonded with a living beast in the real world... a feat that should’ve been impossible.

A soul bond... in reality.

However, his internal celebration was half lived...

Victor’s breathing grew shallow as the last of his strength faded.

His consciousness slowly slipped away and despite trying to fight it... darkness claimed him.

The beast continued flying through the horizon, cutting across the dying sunlight.

It was unknown where the creature was headed but there was no doubt that it was taking its new master somewhere safe.

...

...

(( Domed City - New Avalon ))

Soft golden rays filtered through the curtains of the small but neatly kept apartment, painting the walls in a mellow hue of warmth.

The sound of hovercar streaking past, the rhythmic buzz of the lev-rails a few streets away and other city wide daily activities could be faintly heard in the distance.

But here, in this quiet home on the second floor of Building 4A, time seemed to move differently.

Victor’s mother sat in the old rocking chair by the window. The gentle creak of its wooden joints formed a rhythm in harmony with her voice.

In her arms lay a small bundle wrapped in pale pink fabric... Within the wrap, happened to be a baby girl who was barely two months old.

The child stared up with wide, unblinking eyes which were the color of dusk, greyish violet.

The woman smiled faintly as she sang a lullaby. This was a tune she hadn’t hummed since Victor was a baby. Her voice trembled slightly at first, but soon steadied, growing warmer with each verse.

When the song ended, she leaned down and kissed her her baby’s forehead before whispering:

"You haven’t shed a single tear since I birthed you... that’s another point to you and none to your big brother, Victor."

A wistful chuckle escaped her, though her eyes glimmered with moisture. The name Victor carried a thousand memories that pressed heavily on her chest.

She could almost see him again as a baby... that little boy who’d cried at every sound, who would cling to her clothes every time she tried to leave the room, who would tug impatiently at her dress whenever he wanted milk.

"My little glutton..." she murmured while smiling through the tears and recalling the nickname she gave him long ago. "Always trying to drink me dry."

Her laugh broke halfway, dissolving into a shaky breath. She blinked rapidly as the images continued: Victor’s first words, his scraped knees from rooftop races, his stubborn grin when he got into trouble, the way he hugged her before leaving for the Awakened Academy... and then his disappearance.

He was gone now. The hero who had saved five hundred students and vanished without a trace...

She didn’t even have a body to bury.

Her voice grew faint as she whispered to the infant in her arms:

"Now... you’ll never get to meet your big brother... my sweet boy..."

Her lips quivered as tears streamed freely down her cheeks, falling onto the baby’s smooth skin. The child blinked but didn’t cry. Instead, she reached out with her tiny hand and brushed her mother’s cheek with her fingers.

And suddenly... a faint luminous glow was emitted from the baby’s palm.

This soft glow steadily, wrapped around both mother and child in a cocoon of soothing brilliance. It wasn’t bright enough to blind, but it was impossibly pure.

The glow shimmered like moonlight over rippling water, buzzing faintly almost like the echo of a heartbeat.

Victor’s mother froze. Her tears halted midstream as warmth spread through her... a warmth that wasn’t just physical.

The grief that had crushed her for weeks seemed to lighten, as though an invisible hand had gently lifted the weight from her heart.

"W-What..." she breathed hurriedly while staring at her baby’s glowing hand.

The infant’s eyes glowed like twin lanterns of radiant white threaded with traces of violet.

For a baby of barely two months old, her expression seemed calm and knowing... far too knowing for a child so young.

At that moment, the door creaked, and Calla, Victor’s mother’s caretaker, turned from the kitchen where she’d been slicing fruit.

Her eyes widened as she saw the light emanating from both of them.

"M-Ma’am! Your baby—she’s—"