CHAPTER 338: THE TRANSFORMATION

Calla’s eyes widened as she saw the light emanating from both of them.

"M-Ma’am! Your baby—she’s—"

Her words faltered as she stepped closer, shielding her eyes slightly from the luminescent aura.

The glow began to subside after a few seconds, fading like a candle being snuffed out by a gentle wind. Silence followed, broken only by the faint coo of the baby in her mother’s arms.

Victor’s mother stared down at her child, speechless.

She remembered vividly the moment of birth... how her belly had shone faintly when her water broke, how the room had been flooded with blinding light when the Mana Defense officers were here.

The doctors had claimed that her baby was ordinary after she successfully delivered over a month ago due to the results of their numerous tests but deep down, she’d known it wasn’t normal.

She had felt something different that day... something powerful, almost divine.

Now, seeing the glow again, there was no doubt about it... her baby was far from ordinary.

And although, this was an extraordinary world with the existence of alien magical species and beasts as well as awakened beings... this was the first time it was heard of that a baby already possessed magical powers right from birth.

Calla was still standing there with her voice trembling slightly.

"She’s... she’s glowing again... just like that night, ma’am. The night she was born. I–I thought I dreamed it."

Victor’s mother gave a soft, almost bittersweet laugh.

"No, Calla... it’s real."

She shifted the baby upright, holding her closer, letting the child’s tiny fingers curl around hers.

"You’re not an ordinary little one, are you?" she whispered while smiling through the remnants of tears. "You really are your brother’s sister..."

The baby gurgled in response, almost as if she understood.

Calla, still awed, placed a hand over her mouth. "Do you think she’s... awakened?"

Victor’s mother shook her head gently. "Too young. Far too young. Whatever this is... it’s something else."

Her gaze softened again, and her voice changed into a tender, protective and resolute tone.

"I don’t care what it is. I’ll protect her. I’ll protect her from all of it. I’m never letting her join that Academy. Never."

Her eyes glistened as she pressed her forehead gently against the baby’s.

"You will not end up like your brother. Not in this cruel world that steals its brightest souls."

Calla lowered her head, saying nothing.

She’d seen the grief in this home for months... the sleepless nights, the soundless cries muffled through pillows, the empty gaze Victor’s mother wore every time she looked at his photo by the shelf.

But now, watching her cradle the baby, something had changed. There was still sadness in her eyes but alongside it, a flicker of light.

Maybe, Calla thought, this baby was more than just a child. Maybe she was a miracle.

Victor’s mother smiled one last time, rocking the child gently again and humming that same lullaby... only this time, her voice no longer trembled.

...

...

The world was still and blue like an endless ocean of frost frozen in time.

Rough glaciers glimmered beneath the moonlight, and the wind howled with a pitch that could chill the marrow of even the bravest soul.

Amid this boundless expanse of ice and death, a single creature soared through the sky.

Its wings stretched wide, cutting through the bitter storm as if defying the heavens themselves. Each beat of its feathers created whirlwinds of snow as its white plumage glistened faintly under the moonlight.

This was no ordinary beast; this was the massive Raptor like beast that Victor Soul-Bonded with.

The proud creature carried its limp and unconscious master gently, allowing Victor dangle between its beak.

The young man’s body was pale as marble with one arm missing entirely and the other limp by his side. His chest rose and fell weakly with each shallow breath, and cracks of frost shimmered faintly across his skin which were the remnants of his Frost Bloom he layered above his skin.

The layer was melting away piece by piece, leaving him vulnerable to the freezing void around him.

Normally, this region would devour anything warm. It did not discriminate; man, beast, or flame, all would be consumed by the eternal cold.

Yet when the last layer of frost bloom came apart... Victor’s body did not freeze.

For some unknown reason, his body was unaffected this time despite not having any layer of frost bloom covering it anymore.

The raptor like beast crystal-blue eyes glittered as it let out a low, mournful screech. Its instincts told it that its master was safe—for now.

Although Victor’s qi reserves were completely depleted, he was okay even though there was not a single wisp of energy left in him.

The beast flew until it reached a tilted skyscraper which was like a relic of an ancient world long buried under ice.

It had long turned into an icy monument with its steel skeleton visible through translucent frost.

The beast glided down, folded its great wings and landed upon the slanted tower.

Its talons pierced the frozen metal, leaving deep gashes as it gently placed Victor upon a bed of snow.

The beast lowered itself beside him, curling around its unconscious master protectively. For a moment, the wind howled around them... and then, all was silent.

Time began to lose meaning.

Minutes blurred into hours, hours into days, and days into weeks.

Through it all, massive frost raptor never left its master for long. It would fly miles across frozen valleys, finding the one unfrozen lake from the time Victor had nearly died when he got surrounded. Then, it would carry the cold water in its beak, returning to drip it slowly into Victor’s mouth.

And every time it did, the change became more noticeable.

Victor’s pale complexion began to regain color as his skin began to develop faint rosy tone. His cheekbones filled out, his cracked lips mended, and the faint black strands that once mixed with his snowy-white hair vanished completely.

His hair grew longer, cascading down his back like threads of moonlight.

It was as though his current looks were starting to mirror that of his avatar in Ascendant Realms.

Even though his right arm was gone, the rest of his body was slowly becoming something... otherworldly.

The qi lines beneath his skin began to glow faintly even in his unconscious state. Each string of light from his chest seemed to resonate with the frosty air around him, causing faint mist to swirl and dance in strange rhythms.

His soul bonded beast watched all this with sharp, intelligent eyes. It understood little of what was happening, but it could feel it.

Its bond with Victor told it one undeniable truth... its master was changing.

And as time passed, the beast’s protective instincts were constantly tested.

Monstrous creatures roamed the permafrost lands. Beasts with hideous, transparent hides and glowing blue cores stalked through the snowstorms. Some were drawn by the warmth emanating from Victor’s resting body, believing it to be prey.

Whenever they came close, the soul bonded beast would rise from the skyscraper’s ruins with a roar that split the heavens.

The large frosty raptor claws could slice through frozen armor like paper, and its cry carried the power of soul resonance, scattering weaker foes before they even reached its perch.

In one battle, a frost serpent the size of a tower lunged from beneath the snow with its jaws aiming straight for Victor’s still body.

The beast intercepted it mid-air, tearing through its throat with its beak and showering the sky in shards of blood and ice.

The beast was relentless, protecting its master with a savagery born of loyalty.

It never lost.

But every victory came with exhaustion. Each fight left the soul bonded mount with more scars, more frost coating its feathers. Still, it fought on.

And Victor continued to sleep.

Until one day...

The beast returned from another trip to the unfrozen lake with water held carefully in its beak.

It landed on the skyscraper’s slope causing specks of snow to scatter from the impact.

And then, it approached the spot where it had hidden Victor’s body under layers of ice to protect him from beasts.

But when it arrived, Victor was gone.

A low, furious growl rumbled in the beast’s throat. It raised its head, scanning the area with sharp spiritual perception.

Whoever... or whatever had taken its master would pay with blood.

But before it could roar, it felt something.

Through the soul bond, he could sense Victor’s location.

The invisible string that bonded them both, directed him towards the west.

The beast’s wings spread open instantly, and with a burst of mana, it launched itself into the air.

The ice cracked beneath its talons as it flew, cutting through the howling blizzard like a streak of white lightning.

Moments later, it descended near a massive, tilted electric mast.

And there he was.

Victor sat atop the mast with his legs crossed and his long white hair floating gently in the breeze.