Several kilograms of jerky disappeared into the Elemental Phoenix’s stomach. If that was not enough to show his petty side, Volix’s snarky comment certainly did.

  How could you forget to feed your Soulkin? Do you care about them that little? I expected more from you!

  The need to explain myself rose and died down within seconds. I’d been certain the Elemental Phoenix fed on soul energy. He consumed so much of it–why would he need anything else? Evidently, reality looked different. Volix could eat a ton of food.

  You could have told me you’re hungry, I grunted inwardly, scanning the Elemental Phoenix from claw to beak.

  He’d grown considerably. Flames condensed his body like before, but he was taller and longer now. His blazing frame was the size of a large eagle, his wings expansive, and his neck extended, releasing azure sparks into the surroundings.

  The nutrients and ether within the jerky clearly helped Volix reach his peak…or the peak of power I provided. With my World’s soul energy replenishing, I fed the phoenix some and watched him grow further. Consuming the Accelerated Regeneration serum, I recovered faster, which not only made the soul energy recovery process easier–it did a lot more than that.

  The serum was wondrous. It even accelerated the weave’s restoration by a notch or two.

  You are such a bad person. Starving your most loyal Soulkin!

  Volix whined, but the mirth in his voice was impossible to ignore.

  “I noticed something odd about you,” I said, ignoring his whining. “Are you bipolar? Or like tripolar or something along those lines? At times, it feels like you have a dozen personalities.”

  The Elemental Phoenix said nothing at first. His blazing figure levitated before me in silence, the crackling of fire mingling with the muffled noises of the forest.

  I lived many lives, and I do not remember my past lives usually. Not until I condense my ether into liquid droplets for the first time. Sometimes that takes longer than it should.

  Volix commented quietly in my mind, his somber tone suggesting there was more to it.

  The Elemental Phoenix was not comfortable talking about this, and I was not about to push it further.

  “I understand. Thank you for sharing.” I wanted to know why Volix remembered everything this time around, but I reckoned binding himself to my World as well as his timely rebirth were at fault.

  Volix turned around, his physical form shrinking until he looked more like an eagle. If one took a closer look, one would notice Volix was more of an elemental spirit and that several features didn’t align with an eagle’s, but it worked well enough. He blazed through the forest, fiery sparks leaping everywhere as he passed by.

  Valuable ether plants have been marked with my signature. You can harvest and store them. Preserve them properly if you want to become an Alchemist.

  Volix ordered, his voice back to the neutral yet domineering tone I was used to.

  Alchemy. Working as an apprentice for a Beaster didn’t sound too bad. Honestly, it was all I could wish for now that I was binding more and more beasts. It’d save a lot of money if I were to concoct my own serums. Even better, I could earn a decent buck and help others all the same.

  Not a Beaster. You will become an Alchemist as long as I have a say in this.

  “But you have no say. It’s my decision.” I muttered, knowing the Elemental Phoenix was already far away. Volix could still sense my displeasure, but he didn’t seem to care all too much. If anything, he seemed oddly satisfied now that I kept feeding him more soul energy.

  Despite the phoenix’s antics, I didn’t discard my plans. A portion of soul energy continued to seep into the damaged bonds, speeding up their recovery. As for feeding the Elemental Phoenix, I was not going to let Volix occupy the rest of my World. I had more than enough soul energy to spare, but I had to keep enough room for Aureus and Nox. The latter not so much, but Aureus would be done soon, and he’d grow rapidly. I could feel it.

  Other than that, I needed some savings for emergencies. In case a beast evolved suddenly or the opportunity to bind a rare beast occurred.

  Greedy human.

  Volix grumbled, reading my thoughts.

  And you are not? I chuckled, reminding the Elemental Phoenix about his own greed–his manipulation attempts to push me into giving him the rest of the Growth Aspect Ring and all the soul energy in my World, leaving nothing for my other Soulkin.

  Volix clicked his tongue, which sounded more like an angry chirp, and we continued onward. The sacred beast flew through the forest, hopefully searching for a river or another water source, while I bustled around to collect all the ether plants he’d marked with his ether signature.

  Better than roaming the wild feeling dirty and uncomfortable. I did not have that problem. If anything, I felt a little bit too comfortable. Spending hours roaming the forest was oddly exciting. It made me happy, so much so that I didn't bother searching for a shelter for the night until it was almost too late.

  My brain was too focused on the present; the desire to collect more ether plants, search for a small pond or river, and chat with the Elemental Phoenix. Because of that, I nearly missed several beast attacks when a group of hyenas approached. They had a wide variety of traits. None appeared to have the exact same trait, although some were similar.

  Anyway, they were weak Unblemished beasts and did not perform well against the combined efforts of a phoenix with terrifyingly hot flames, a Ferronox Mantis whose scythes carved easily through their dark and murky barriers, and myself.

  Even though I was probably the weakest with how carefully I had to exert my weave and most traits, we dispatched them easily. Volix deemed them valuable enough, so their corpses were stored in the onyx ring to be sold or utilized later.

  I would very much prefer it if you could stop being stingy. Your World has grown a lot, and it will keep growing quickly for several weeks. Giving me more soul energy to occupy and enough of the Monarch meat to eat won’t hurt you. If anything, it will prepare you to fend off enemies stronger than these Pest Hyenas. Volix insisted once more after we found a pleasant place to rest high up in a towering tree.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Why are you so impatient? I thought you wanted me to bind more beasts?

  I stopped supplying more soul energy to the Elemental Phoenix once he’d occupied enough to push him to the equivalent of a Peak Unblemished beast. He was not yet an Unblemished beast and needed to eat more soul energy to accelerate his newborn body’s growth further, but Volix was not satisfied with that. He wanted more, desperately so… and that was the issue.

  I didn’t want him to grow this fast. Until now, my growth had been relatively fast. However, I always had more than enough time to fill and connect enough Gates to push my physical prowess beyond what my Rank suggested. It prepared me for my beast’s advancement, which would inevitably change my physique once more.

  If the Elemental Phoenix was to advance to a Guardian beast, my foundation would be weak. I… would be weak. Plus, Volix was more of a mind- and soul-empowering beast. His physical empowerment was near nonexistent, which would only make everything more difficult. I was just getting used to the Elemental Phoenix’s rapid growth, which flooded my mind and soul with power. Too much power.

  Aureus’s bond augmented my mind tremendously. It prepared me for almost everything, yet the phoenix’s empowerment was not something I was prepared for. It crept up my mind and inner World slowly, embraced them, and tore through them–burned them–only to heal them through the same flames. Phoenix fire was as destructive as it was healing. And that it did. It destroyed and healed, destroyed and healed… destroyed and healed.

  As much as I loved growing stronger, I had yet to digest Volix’s empowerment as an Unblemished beast. I was afraid that if I pushed further, I would lose myself. Time to recover was needed. Just a little. To get used to everything.

  I see. You appeared fine, so I wanted to push you further. I apologize for failing to recognize your situation. We can focus on the Blazing Gates first if that is what you desire. Volix gave in, but it was too easy. Too fast. He even sounded a little worried and overly submissive, which was weirdly upsetting.

  Anyway, that was better than nothing. Working on the Blazing Gates didn’t sound too bad.

  “Can you circulate phoenix fire through the weave while I work on the Gates?” I asked, a plan forming in my mind.

  ***

  “Why?!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, escaping a light beam by a hair’s breadth.

  Why did Volix push me to fight a creature I couldn’t defeat? What even was that?

  Right now, the beast in tight pursuit resembled a panther with white fur and crimson eyes. Light coalesced in its maw and shot toward me every other second. The beast caught me once in the side, tearing through Ferronox Mantis exoskeleton and flesh far too easily.

  Blood poured down my side, each movement worsening the wound, but I continued. I leaped across a high-rising root and burst through a wild-growing hedge. As branches smacked into my face, fire poured out of me, burning all around me at once. As far as I was concerned, the hedge didn’t turn into a massive wildfire, but even if it did… I could do nothing about it. Not with that abomination lumbering behind me.

  The head of a python rose from its back when I glanced behind me. I shouldn’t have done that, but our eyes met, and I slowed, feeling like my legs were stuck in mud. Cursing, I activated Paralyze, stopping the abomination in its tracks. A fireball lobbed through the air and exploded in the python’s face, destroying it, but a second and third head jutted from the beast’s neck.

  Each head looked different, and their traits were not the same either. One tried to paralyze me with a similar but inferior trait to Paralyze, but it showed me all I needed to know. The beast expanded, and wings grew from its back–several pairs of wings, to be precise. One pair was small, resembling a bat’s, whereas the others were much wider, covered in feathers of different colors.

  This is an old beast. Some of your kind like to give them a label, but I deem that unnecessary, Volix commented lightly, like we were not just about to get eaten alive by a beast that had the ability to transform into just about any kind of creature. Something about his voice and actions was odd, but I couldn’t place it.

  It has lived many centuries. Oh, he even devoured a juvenile Roc and lived to tell the tale. What a precious fella.

  I really hate your bipolar shit. Couldn’t we have avoided that thing?

  One moment, the Elemental Phoenix guided me toward a pond, and in the next, the abomination with dozens of faces emerged. Volix disappeared into the inner World, his commentary annoying the hell out of me.

  “You need to fight more. This is an opportunity–a necessity to learn more about the dangers of the wild. You were fortunate enough to escape the strongest beasts in the last few days. However, luck is not always on your side,” Volix sounded scholarly, but I only wanted to punch him.

  Luck? If there was anything I was not, it was blessed by fortune. Some may disagree, but the last few days had been torture. More than a hundred Unblemished beasts thought it would be smart to attack me. Some were intelligent enough to strike when my guard was lowered, but others relied on brute force and numbers.

  Nox was happy with the turn of events. I couldn’t say the same for myself. As much as I’d recovered in the last few days, constant fighting as well as the occasional training regime slowed the healing process. Aureus’s and Volix’s bonds recovered, though it was still difficult to call upon the Earthheart’s traits. Before the bond was damaged, I’d been proficient enough to use the Earthen Aspect and Paralyze instinctively. That was no longer the case. They required more, although they now carried more power than before as well.

  The Chimera, I recognized the beast as such even if it may be something else, closed in on me, emerald crescent-shaped blades coming for my head. A light beam tore through a root right as I leaped across it, and a shockwave rang out from behind.

  Death!

  Nox hissed, but I’d already sensed it.

  Soulfusion active, I covered most of my upper body in the Ferronox Mantis’ exoskeleton. Spinning around, a shockwave of darkness tore through nature. It caught up to me and struck the exoskeleton. It lost its luster and life. It cracked and fell apart in a moment. Nox’s Soulfusion faltered, and I stared at the lumbering figure of the Chimera in shock as the shockwave struck.

  The impact was physical, hurling me through the air until a tree trunk stopped me, but it struck something much deeper as well, leaving an imprint of infinite coldness in my chest.

  Volca’s mark glowed vibrantly and pulsed, spreading warmth and comfort through my body. The cold was dispelled, but my body’s temperature continued to rise. The mark etched on my chest sparked and ignited into a vibrant flame, pumping fire through veins and muscles.

  Fight, Child of Earth and Fire. Let loose and fight the Devourer’s Spawn. Show me that you deserve the Primal’s intrigue.

  Volix intoned in my head in challenge, yet the voice did not sound like the Elemental Phoenix I knew. His voice was emotionless, unlike Volix, and it was much deeper. However, the most pressing was the bond. The echoes of the voice didn’t come from the bond. They reached far deeper.

  Was that Volca? Blood trickled down my face, and my back cracked as I pushed myself out of the tree that caught me earlier.

  “Get out of my head!” I growled as the voice rang out again, anger pouring from the bottom of my heart. Not because Volca or whatever was talking to me. Not because the Chimera – Devourer’s Spawn, or whatever – was about to bulldoze me. Instead, the fact that someone used the Elemental Phoenix, MY Soulkin, to manipulate us both irritated me. It brought forth a wave of uncontrollable anger and possessiveness.

  “And don’t touch my bonds!” I rumbled in defiance, reaching for the World’s resonance.

  My World hummed in accord with my feelings, and I erupted with power, barring Volca or whatever had forced its way into the Elemental Phoenix and my bond.

  Then, the Chimera was upon me.