"Well, it doesn't really matter why they sent me to fetch this thing. What really matters is that I've managed to succeed and now I have to find a way to acquire the King Viper's poison sack and somehow make it out alive whilst also facing together with the giant snake its ten giant snake underlings," He sighed."Fun times...."

Ventus then controlled a bit of the golden sand of the desert to make a small globe to store the flower and attach it to his body so that he wouldn't have to carry it on his hands all the time. He then threw his board on the sand and stepped on it ready to leave, but as he was about to get out he heard cracking sounds behind him.

He looked backward and saw that the once lively flower garden rapidly withered the metallic roots oxidized and the plants with their flowers slowly decayed and fell to pieces. He then saw that everything that was mysteriously decomposed was sucked into a small golden orb leaving behind a crater with the orb in the midst of it.

"huh? What's this?" Ventus wondered.

He put the flower orb and the sandboard on his back and slowly walked towards the tiny golden sphere the size of a newborn's fist. He approached it with care as he could not be sure of the nature of the thing, so exercising caution was the wisest path to take.

Before he touched the orb he decided to take an even wiser decision. His mana was running low, and so he began to refine world mana so that he could recover, he figured that if he had no mana to summon an emergency when facing this probably dangerous item, he would certainly pay the price later.

He sat down in front of the orb and refined mana for about two hours refilling his mana completely. He stood up and condensed ten mana threads between his hands, he then approached the tiny orb and enveloped it with his threads before lifting himself up. His hands were slightly separated as the tiny orb completely trapped by the threads seemed to float between them.

Before he could even react his mana that was connected to the orb started being sucked in, so much so that his full to the brim mana lost about 1% of it in an instant. He was shocked and immediately tried to break off the connection, but no matter his efforts, he was not able to retrieve his mana threads.

His mind grew frantic as he was helpless against this mysterious orb. He feared that if he did not break the connection he would be sucked dry, and that could absolutely not happen! if he fell unconscious due to mana exhaustion here, who knows if the orb would not do something else to harm him or even kill him.

As these thoughts flew through his mind and the time flowed, his mana also rapidly vanished from his core and was forcibly infused into the golden sphere. Ventus desperately tried breaking the connection as he attempted to pull his hands apart, but his arms didn't budge at all no matter how much strength he used.

"I'm going to die at this rate!!"

He lost 1% of his mana per second and, around a minute had passed since he "grabbed" the golden orb from the ground, he wouldn't last another full minute if things proceeded at this rate. He quickly began to refine mana, he figured that since the orb was holding him hostage and forcing him to keep the connection, then maybe if he stopped struggling and focused in refining mana to stabilize his mana level, he could actually keep his little life!

His mana circulated furiously as he tried to keep up with the absorption ratio. His mana was now being constantly absorbed but he was no longer in danger, and even better, every ten minutes he managed to refill 1% of his mana without letting it fall back down.

As the mana was forcibly poured into the golden orb Ventus began to have a strange sensation. At first, it was just a nagging thought at the back of his mind, but as the time passed, the sensation grew and eventually became a strong urge that he could not press down. He felt as if that golden orb was becoming part of himself and not only that, that the orb hid something inside of it, strangely, he felt even that the orb didn't hide only something, but also someone.

He spent a whole ten hours having his mana drained from him whilst he executed his refining technique, he had sitten down so that he wouldn't increase his burden any further. The stars had already filled the dark blanket that was the night sky and the cold, refreshing wind of the night helped him cool down after a long day under the mighty sun's eternal heat waves. He looked at his guiding device and found out that it was already 11:00 PM.

"Hoh...It's already this late huh?" he sighed as sleepiness began to affect him.

"Yup, it already is so late..." A voice sounded straight in his mind.

"I guess I should sleep," he yawned, "But I can't, otherwise this stupid orb will drain me to death!"

"Hey, no need to call names!" The voice complained.

"Oh, my bad, sorry,"Ventus replied, "wait....sorry? what!?"

"Took you long enough!" the voice chuckled.

Ventus shot up alarmed and began to look all around, his mana circulating in preparation for battle. He then molded the golden sand-board into a sword and gripped it tight, his nerves tense and his blood pumping rapidly.

"Come out! Face me like a man!" Ventus yelled.

"Why would I face a brat like you as a man?" the voice laughed.

"You're a coward!"

"No, I am just practical," the voice retorted, "plus, you can't fight me!"

"Oh yeah? are you calling me weak now?" Ventus roared, "I'll have you know I've faced the silver sand poison dragon and survived!"

"And you're proud of that why?" the voice mocked, "Oh right, with your meager strength it's obvious you would find something like that impressive."

"I ate those for snacks when I was just a newborn!" the voice laughed," and you think you're impressive? please, kid, don't make me laugh so hard or I just might break my ribs from the effort!"

Ventus rage was constantly boiling. The voice kept mocking, teasing and provoking him all whilst maintaining itself hidden from his perception.

"Where are you! face me!" Ventus yelled angrily once more as he swung his sand blade in frustration.

"I already told you, you can't fight me!" the voice replied slightly annoyed.

"Why?" Ventus replied angrily.

"Look at your hands, do you notice anything missing?"

"Huh?"

At this moment Ventus finally noticed that he had reacted so fast and violently that he totally forgot about the golden orb. His arms could move freely and the orb was nowhere in sight.

"The golden orb? where is it?" Ventus asked confused.

"That's my point, you can't fight ME!" The voice explained, "I AM the golden orb!"

"What!? how is that possible? how can an orb talk?" Ventus inquired disbelievingly.

"Its because I'm not an orb idiot!" the voice mocked, " I am a beast soul, and the golden orb is my core."

"Yeah right!" Ventus snorted, "As far as I know, you could just be a beast that can transmit its voice."

"Oh you doubt me?" The voice laughed, "Then I'll prove my identity to you."

Ventus suddenly felt a strange pulsation inside his body, near the region of his core which affects his mana rendering Ventus unable to control it, making both the sand sword and the sand orb that contained the corona cactus flower disintegrate and fall in the ground. Or that's what he thought for the first instant, but then he noticed that it was not the mana he could not control, rather, he was unable to control the golden sand.

"What is going on, what did you do? and why did I feel that something is inside my body?

"Are you really that stupid or is your current status of starvation making you grow idiotic by the second?" the voice mocked.

"Oh shut up!" Ventus complained.

"Well, to answer your question. I've locked your control over my body and also, I am inside your body, when I exert my strength it is obvious you would feel it." the voice chuckled.

"Inside my body? wait.. you said you are the golden orb, and now you say that you're inside my body..."

"yes?"

"Do you mean to say that somehow that tiny golden sphere ended up inside me!?" Ventus inquired shocked.