Eztli focused his qi into a ribbon and guided it through his blood vessels, towards the Dire wolf bloodline cluster hidden in his heart. It was clear in his mind; the seven cells of Dire Wolf blood moved as if alive—beating in sync with his heart.

Cautiously, he wrapped the ribbon of qi around the smallest of cells and constricted it. Come on. He thought. Burst. Activate. But it was useless. The cell showed no signs of bursting, even with the increased amount of qi. Fuck. It's not enough qi.

It had been ten days since he had finished refining his blood and managed to gather Blood qi. Immediately, he had tried to activate the bloodline within him, but failed. No matter what he tried to do to activate it, it always ended with the cell intact. He had figured that it was because he had too little qi so he cultivated and gathered more before trying again.

Fuck! He cursed to himself. How will I be able to gather any more blood qi, if this body is already at its limit. It was unfortunate, but he had overestimated the limits of the Sepir Rabbit bloodline. He had hoped that he would manage to gather enough blood qi to activate the Dire Wolf cells and improve his body—so that he would be able to continue to cultivate—but now his hope was gone.

No, there must be a way. Eztli thought as he turned to watch Kael's Qi Whirlpool. As he saw the swirling qi, a crazy idea popped into his mind. It can possibly kill me, but If I can condense qi and...

Not thinking further, he closed his eyes and carried it out. He stirred his Blood Qi and started his breathing technique. Fortunately, once he refined his blood, his strength was enough to maintain his own Qi Whirlpool—without the use of his soul. All eight rings glowed brightly as they gathered massive amounts of Atmospheric Qi. However, once it reached the eighth ring, he didn't take into his body; instead, he controlled back to the first ring and repeated the process. Soon, the qi condensed into a drop of liquid qi. It shined with the intensity of a miniature sun, filling the room with light as it flowed slowly through each ring until it reached the last.

Taking a deep breath, Eztli finally took the drop of qi into his body and guided the liquid qi into his heart. Along the way, he merged his blood qi with it, tinting it red. He encased the smallest cell again and proceeded to burst it. Come on. He thought, willing the qi harder. Burst. You have to work.

Yet it didn't burst. It burned.

What the hell? Eztli wondered as he focused on the cell. It’s...it’s being refined! How was it that I didn't think of such an easy method? He let out a laugh. He had been trying the wrong method all along, luckily, the drop of qi was so concentrated that it had managed to start refining the blood on its own.

Eztli actively focused the qi and refined the cell as if it were normal blood. Quickly, it burned and his body trembled. Pain shot through him in pulses. His muscles grew stronger, claws extended from his paws, teeth grew sharper and his fur spiked. Eztli laughed harder as he felt his body change. Enhance.

Then, he noticed that the refined cell was disappearing instead of remaining like normal. No! Something's wrong. He screamed to himself, his laugh turning into anger. Forcefully, he expelled the stream of qi and stopped the process. Without the active refinement, his body slowly returned to its previous weak state. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Why is the change not permanent!

The anger inside exploded into a storm. His blood qi flared causing the floor around him to burn black. He ignored his pained body. It can't be true. He thought. There has to be a way to make it permanent. There has to! I can't stay weak.

Ideas flashed through his mind and he calmed down. Yes…he thought, the anger turning into a smile. If I can manage to create that formation…the only downside is that I need large amounts of blood qi. And it has to be my own. Well, I’ll think of someth-

Suddenly, Kael roared. Bringing him out of his rage, Eztli turned startled—flaring his blood qi instinctively. Then, he froze in shock. The Atmospheric Qi in the room had grown so densely packed that it turned to mist, but the astonishing thing was what Kael was doing. His whirlpool slowly formed a second ring—increasing the amount of qi it took in. Kael let out a second roar causing the qi mist to swirl towards his two-ringed whirlpool and into his body.

I-impossible...this boy...he’s completing his blood refinement!

##

Nar stared at the mountain of Leth flowers like his life depended on it. If he turned away even slightly, his Sight would cause him to experience extreme pain until he turned his head back. What do I do? He asked himself, sighing. I really want to look at the patterns...he shifted his eyes towards the burnt wood.

At first, he thought that the qi was going out of control randomly. Every time he tried to bind the fox, the qi would turn in different ways and burn the wooden floor, but as he continued to try, it became clear. It was not random. The qi did go out of control and each time a different direction, but seeing it all together he noticed the truth. It was burning a formation circle on the wood. The pain came back, telling him to focus on the Leth flowers.

What exactly is that circle for? He thought, intertwining his fingers. The fox growled and hit the cage with its body repeatedly and grew panicked. Only making Nar more aware that he had one night left to tame it. If he couldn't...then it was over for him. He would never reach the peak and gain the influence he longed for. He would remain forever a weak commoner. He was no fighter so if he failed the aptitude test there was no way that he would pass the other one. Even if it was easier. He turned to the fox and astonishingly the pain didn't hit him.

"What the he-"

At that moment, Nar's vision went dark and was filled with images of a man. The same man he saw at the spring. Nar tried to speak, but the words were stuck to his throat; he could only stare. The man spread his hands and a blue circle glowed behind him. Then, a multitude of Leth flowers appeared around him and arranged themselves into a pattern.

T-that pattern. He thought, eyes going wide. It's the same as the burnt wood.

As if the man had read his thoughts he nodded. His mouth moved and his soothing voice rang in Nar’s mind. It mumbled the same words he had at the spring, yet Nar couldn't understand them. The man seemed to know that and let out a sigh. He pointed at the circle of flowers and a small fox appeared on his other hand.

Y-you...want me to bind my beast? Nar asked.

The man nodded and said some words again—Nar could still not make sense of them. Suddenly, the man turned into the red bird. He burned brightly, like a blazing sun, drowning out the blue glow of the Leth flowers. As soon as it appeared, it vanished; along with his vision.

Nar sat in shock for a long time before he finally stood and walked towards the Leth flowers. Slowly, he took some and began placing them—along the burnt floor—in the same position the man had showed him.

I don't know what will happen, Nar thought, looking at the fox—who unlike his usual self, just sat still. But it has to do something with why I can't bind you. With my Sight. Hopefully, it is a good thing.

With that Nar continued to cover the floor with blue, his Sight urging him to speed up.

##

Beads of sweat fell off Brin's forehead and pounded the ground like a pair of stomping feet. At least that's how it sounded to his enhanced ears. Brin flipped, landing on his feet from his handstand and tensed his muscles. Over the last weeks he had trained and grown accustomed to his new body. Strangely, something was changing him, making him stronger...like the time in the training room, before he attacked the rabbit. Although, there was no rush or pressure, Brin couldn’t help but think that it was related.

A soft whimper came from the corner of his room. Brin turned to see Ser, his wolf. It had been two weeks since they let him stay within the same room and Brin was glad. The wolf was no longer a cub. Its body had grown almost to three times its previous size. There were no wounds on his body, either. It was like it had never been hurt. Ser look at him, perking his ears up and wagging his tail.

Kill him. A whisper rang in Brin's head. Kill hi-

"Go back to sleep, Ser." he said, ignoring the voice. The wolf nodded and rested its head on his front paws.

Brin let out a faint smile. The wolf had grown to like him, forgetting what he had done to him. That wasn't all, his control over him had become so easy...almost like an instinct.

Kill him. The voice grew louder in his mind. Now!

No. I won't do it. Brin said in his mind. So, shut up.

The voice stopped and Brin felt as it as it retreated to the back his mind. He sighed. Why can't you go away like the scars? He thought, looking down at his uncovered arms. They were littered with scars, but they were faint compared to the initial ones. The change in him had helped heal them. Even Robin didn't know why it happened so fast. Brin, however, knew why and welcomed the change as it made him better. The only downside was that he still heard that infernal voice.

He had huddled in the corner of the room, whenever it came to him. It had been his way of coping with it, and he had barely managed to keep it under control. Sometimes he would feel that his body was not his and that he was a puppet. But as his body strengthened, so did his mind. And soon, the loud voice turned to whispers; it turned fainter once they brought Ser to him and their connection grew. It still came occasionally, but it was manageable.

Looking at Ser, Brin smiled and sat on his bed.

Tomorrow. He told himself. I will finally show them my strength. I will show them I'm a genius like father believes and that I'm not sick. He tightened his fist. Anger bubbled within him as he remembered the day the Council stripped his father of his position. Father, Brin vowed to himself. I will restore your glory. They will feel how wrong they were.

Deep in his mind, the voice started whispering. Its enthralling and soothing tone grew louder—almost as if it were happy.