Abæus’ red wings softly passed over the journal, closing before rising to his feet. It had only been three days since he arrived in this world, but so much had already happened. He took a deep breath of the morning air that was flowing into his coop. The sun was rising overhead as he looked around outside, checking for Melvin or Umber. “Finally,” he said as the urge had grown far too intense over the last hour. Abæus spread his wings wide and began softly grooming his newly grow feathers across his body with wild abandon. The world slipped from his mind as the need to align every single feather into place took control. He pecked, pulled, and ruffled each feather following an uncontrollable primal instinct, and as the last feather with primped into place, a deep satisfaction filled Abæus chest with pride, and he puffed out his chest, strutting out into the warmth of the new day.

“BAWHAHAHA, why are you walking like those feathers? You’re a real hotshot now, even though last night you almost turned into snake food! You should have seen yourself little broken wings limping all slowly,” Melvin said, his eyes drawn into tight lines as hoarse laugher rolled out from his beak. Almost five minutes had passed before he stopped laughing, his eyes locking onto Abæus. Melvin puffed out his chest feathers, strutting up in imitation, his laughter finally trailing off into the wind. “Alright, Kid, I am done for now, but seriously you almost died to a snake. You sure lucked out with those talons. I haven’t seen that before must be an innate skill. Tch…” Melvin spat on the ground, his eyes rounding out as he clicked his beak in Abæus direction.

“What you don’t know is that now you killed one of that old monsters snake’s sons, he will be coming for you just like Ember, but don’t worry if you read the journal you should know even if you die, we will just follow the ritual and turn you back into an egg then mix your soft feathered ass back into the other eggs till you hatch again,” he said before turning around his wings spread widely as the laughter began rolling out from deep within his chest once again leaving Abæus deflated in comparison. This world was cruel, and Abæus just realized that his death would not even leave a tiny mark at most if he had died to the snake last night. He would have been remembered as a tasty meal, just like all the chickens he had eaten in his previous life. Abæus beak let out a dribble of saliva as his mind wandered back to his last meal “A bucket of extra crispy fried-chicken, some buttery biscuits, and mashed potatoes with gravy long live the colonel” before snapping back to reality. The feathers on his forehead ruffling as he let out a deep sigh. He would never be able to eat chicken again. This would be the third time he felt as if fate had indeed taken advantage of him.

Abæus walked across the flowing grass of the farm, looking out over the animals. He noticed that he had grown taller over the night as he was no longer shorter than the stalks of grass. He had not even need to crane his head high to look up at Melvin’s perpetually smirking eyes. It seems that cultivation had brought not only renewed strength but also physical growth. Abæus watched over the other animals for a time as he wandered around enjoying the day’s breeze. The warmth of the sunlight slowly captured within his feathers. He reveled in his newly found freedoms as he climbed to the top of a building and gazed out across the farm. He nestled in on the building roof’s perch as the sun slowly rose towards the sky’s apex. Abæus gradually refined the captured rays of light trapped between his scarlet feathers as the day progressed towards noon.

The world was quiet for a time as the energy built up within Abæus. He could once again see the energy flowing through his blood and nestling within the seven mysterious pools of energy. The celestial yang beast manual was much better than the cultivation left in Umber’s journal. It also brought innate skills, but he still couldn’t figure out anything else about it.

“Abæus, come down from there. I have something I need you to accomplish for me,” Umber crowed from below, waking him from his cultivation. Abæus looked down at Umber, and he noticed that a large wound ran down his back, it was barely noticeable, but the way his feathers aligned were off-centered as if something had deeply slashed through, damaging the muscles underneath. He wondered if it had been from the battle that killed Ember when the old snake had attacked the farm. However, he kept this question to himself as Umber never seemed interested in talking about the battle. It was most likely a painful memory best left alone for now, Abæus thought as he dropped down from the building roof to meet with Umber below. He paused for a moment as he looked up at the roof’s perch, thinking he would come back to cultivate here from now on as it was enjoyable. It had a pleasant cross breeze and sitting in the grass didn’t suit him.

“what do you need me to do,” Abæus asked while studying Umber’s face trying to catch a hint at his intentions. He was far harder to read and understand than Melvin, who hid nothing and acted on whims no matter how unpleasant. A chill ran up his back, raising his scarlet feathers as his mind replayed the scene of Melvin attempting to sit on him over and over. He quickly shrugged the thought from his mind as Umber spread his wings and nestled down amongst the grass.

“The snake you killed last night is just the beginning, and you are not strong enough for the battles to come. I assume you have reached the second stage from your physical growth alone. However, Melvin and I have long reached the 4th stage and soon break into the 5th stage. He said as his eyes fell upon Abæus.

“Yes, I believe I am in the second stage.”

“That is good. You have a scarlet core, so your cultivation is naturally faster than both of ours but not as fast as Ember’s. He had an azure core, but you should reach this if you can kill another beast with the same attribute as us. This is because you were born from Ember’s ashes, and your core has fallen a grade. This was due to a lack of strength in our helping with your awakening.”

“So, what should I do than Umber,” Abæus asked, his beak clicking softly.

“You need to head into the western forest. The Old monster should heal from his wounds soon. If you are not strong enough, then there is no need for you to be here anyway. I hope you won’t disappoint us.” Umber said, his beak gleaming under the golden sun’s rays as he slowly rose before leaving Abæus alone. The wind washed away the sound of Umber’s strides through the sea of grass as Abæus watched. The wind blew past, and he thought Umbers voice mixed in with the wind a “sorry” that drifted past.