Lisa, the practitioner rank spirit master, had managed to escape her restraints. It was scary being paralyzed for so long, as time moved slower than normal. Though that wasn’t what currently scared her now.

A lizard-like man with scales that seemed to absorb all light passed nearby. The more she looked at him, the more fear she felt. A tuft of dirty blonde hair protruded from its head as eyes glowed a predatory golden hue.

“You failed again Lisa. That was your second chance and the fourth failure your boss has faced. How hard can it be to capture one simple child?” It asked in a deep gravelly voice.

“He had a lot of help. You said his master was missing!”

“He should have been. What sort of help?”

“Multiple experts, practitioners and other fledglings.”

“Leon was the forerunner, his failure ended in death. But that means you’re an expert who can make things easy. Go home and report this failure to your master.”

“But he’ll kill me! It doesn’t matter whose head I bring back mine is on the chopping block!” Lisa yelled.

“Sounds like a you problem. Tell your boss that he has five years to get his act together lest we get rid of him personally.” The lizard man said.

“Thank you for this opportunity,” Lisa said with gritted teeth and bowed.

The scaled figure faded away into the air around them. Lisa was alone in this section of the forest, and her ride was dead. The trip back to the Beastblood Empire would be a long and dangerous one.

A man in a wooden mask bowed before an imposing red-haired man in shamanic clothing.

The man in a wooden mask was manacled, beaten, and starved, for his crime was desertion from combat. Had he not been the only survivor who saw everything, he’d already been executed. But the man was a loyal servant of the Empire, a man who did set the capital ablaze yet failed to execute the royal family.

“This whole operation was a shit show. The force was overwhelming and their preparedness was… Most of the citizens that could be evaluated had already been, save for the lame and elderly. Before everything went down, we had to deal with a wheelchair bound man on top of a roof wielding a bow. He took out two of our best, had we had the backup we were expecting, things may have been different.” The masked man said.

“Someone able to kill over a thousand experts among the ten thousand soldiers I sent that direction decided to salt the land.”

“So that’s what happened. That giant bear-like devil took out our best like they were just play things. I’m pretty sure he let me go on purpose.”

“Bear… Was the fur red?” The ruler seemed surprised.

“Yes, master. His power was beyond comprehension.” The man said.

“You, who captured the core of the Great Fire Spirit Ifrit, have one last chance. Leon has also failed in his capture of my intended target. Sources say the boy I want has captured the Great Spirit of Water Undine. I sent Leon after him. Suffice it to say, he is no longer in this world and I have yet to receive any information from my other operatives.”

The masked man seemed surprised for various reasons, but Leon’s death was a major setback. He was one of the strongest spirit masters that they had turned to.

“Five years, I’m giving you five years to train and prepare for the next operation. My dear deranged pyromancer will work in the first training school for spirit masters near our borders. A small one, mind you, but it’s meant to be a cover for the tournament happening at that time. Winning the tournament isn’t your goal but capturing a red-haired boy with green eyes and a tendency to cause trouble. The kids I’ll be sending for you to train have already been chosen. In fact they are already training there. You will be their escort for the tournament, and you will capture my target. I’m sure you don’t want to fail me again.” The ruler leaned on his fist, bored.

“Y-yes your Majesty!” The masked man said.

“Good. Take this man to the location.” Two large orcs picked up the weakened expert and dragged him out of the room.

A young boy walked from behind the throne with a disgusted look in his eyes. Hair an inky black and skin green and sickly. His green eyes held no life in them. “You should have just killed him. I have nothing to learn from a coward like that.”

“There is a difference between being a coward and being an idiot. If a deity comes down from above and gives you a chance to escape. You run and warn the people in charge. Patience isn’t our strong suit but a little of it would have kept more of us alive. Remember Milo, living to fight another day when you know that you can’t isn’t cowardly, it’s a necessary evil. Running from a fight with someone on equal footing however, is cowardly.” The shaman stated.

Milo bowed.” I think I understand. Is Edwin to be executed for his failure?”

“No, I’ll force him to expert before swapping his soul with someone more suitable.” The man said stoically.

“Why do you want that Kyrion so much anyway? He seemed so weak.” Milo stated.

“Milo my child, that boy houses a power in his body that could propel us forward. It’s a more concentrated version of what you inherited.”

“Then how can he be so weak?” Milo asked.

“He isn’t. It’s more accurate to say his power is too much for him right now. When he grows into it then it will be like finding a diamond in the sand.” The shaman stated.

“How did Leon lose so easily anyway. I thought he was one of the strongest in this world.”

“He was, but the person we had take control of his body proved to be incompetent.” Said the shaman

“What will you do with his body then?”

“I’ll claim it for myself. With potential like that, and my knowledge I’ll be unstoppable!” The man stood and laughed wickedly. Horns began growing from his skull as his height doubled.

Milo stood behind his father and decided to stay quiet. If the body was so good, he’d take it for himself. Then train it to the point where he could take the seat of power from his father. That’s the way of the Beastblood Empire, after all.

Cordelia took a long drag on a cigar as she held the helm of the ship she was steering.

After evacuating the majority of the country of Limguard, she was tasked with leading them to their new home. The Isle of Rudea, the place where she was born. A country torn apart by a civil war that ended in the deaths of nearly every man, woman, and child still there. A spirit master on the losing side cursed the remainder of the population, which led to them dying out. That was well over fifty years ago. After that, the place had been mostly cleaned out. Used as a hideout for a certain pirate fleet from time to time.

This is where the refugees will hide for the time being. Martialing their forces for the retaking of their home and invasion the further invasion of the Beastblood empire. The only thing left for her to do is train up her granddaughter. She wasn’t the king and had no desire to run this new territory.

A red-haired woman entered a room on the top floor of a nice hotel. It was a penthouse suite with a view of the outside. Its shape was something that didn’t naturally fit in the time and place they lived in. Yet, it could quickly spark a trend in similar establishments.

Gamodren stood over the Balcony, looking out the sky above longingly.

“So you know. Should Kyrion die and I deem it your fault.”

“Kyrion knows not to trust me. I dont have his best interest at heart. Yet it’s like he doesn’t care. It’s as though he just does what he wants on a whim. Healing that Brion kid, and then providing him with a way to surpass him in power again. Befriending the Belfour girl on their first meeting. Heck, he even managed to rope the assassin guild into his circle. It’s like he sees things differently than the rest of us.”

“Does he know that he’s friends with assassins?”

“Yes.”

“And the Belfour girl?”

“She wasn’t meant to survive the trip. Had we not been there then she and her father would be sleeping in the sands. Had it ended there then I’d have just thought he was charismatic.” Gamodren explained.

“What do you mean?”

“Ceres. Is a dragon and not just a normal dragon, a deep dragon. Heh!” Gamodren laughed dryly.

“He convinced the dryads in the forest of purity to help him get to his goal. I wasn’t expecting him to pull a legendary sword from stone. Seems he’s done that twice now. Undine volunteered to be his spirit but settled for joining his core. Believe it or not I did not plan for all of this. I’m not omnipotent nor all knowing. I just act like this is normal because around him the laws of the world seem to shift in his favor naturally.” Gamodren sighed.

“That happens around him. He’s been doing that since he’s been born. It’s as though the world around him has been helping him since his birth. The reason we had him farm so much was because it let him stay outdoors unhindered. The plants would happily absorb the excess mana that radiated from him, which would in turn keep him from exploding.”

“I still find it weird how he can just pull people in like that. Makes me question who I work for.”

Curella sighed. “It’s a trait most rulers have and will kill for. It’s why my grandfather was able to lead a band of loyal pirates. I guess he sensed it in Kyrion as well.”

“The blood is strong in that one.” Said a blue-haired man sitting at a piano that hadn’t been in the room earlier.

“Did you notice him?” Gamodren asked.

“No. But I should have known better.” Curella sighed as the butler began to play on a piano that had not been in the room moments ago.

“Charles, right? How did your employer know Kyrion would lose an eye?” Gamodren asked.

“Fate would be an easy way to put it. Some families are predisposed to injuries. Others might say that the eye I gave him is cursed. To be fair, he would have lost the eye, rather he had it or not. It would have felt weird giving it to him after the fact.” Charles stated.

“Is that grandfather’s eye?” Curella asked.

“Yes, though it didn’t fully bond to him hence it being left behind.” Charles said.

“It isn’t a core is it?” Gamodren asked.

“Nope looks like a core feels like a core, it’s more a family heirloom that passes itself down in sporadic intervals. I don’t really know what it does but I do know that it is powerful in its own way.” Charles stated.

“He’s been given so much. Does he even know loss?”

“Time mostly, his childhood pet, years of living with his body burning him from the inside. Now an eye. Somehow instead of becoming a psychotic murderer, he decided on the path of making lives better. That’s already odd for someone in our family, you know he can kill with his abilities, it’s a mental block mostly.” Curella stated.

“I told him he’d gain the ability to kill if he got a lot stronger. It may be better if he never does however. So, I assume you came here to talk about my proposal? It’s quite hard to act on it with the butler here.” Gamodren stated.

Curella didn’t seem bothered by the attempt to unnerve her. “No. Just came here to warn you though I’m sure Charles has a similar purpose as well seeing as he’s here.” She left after saying that.

Gamodren waited a minute before approaching the butler. “So I assume you don’t want Kyrion getting hurt either.”

“So long as he doesn’t die I don’t care how much danger you put in him. Hell I’m sure he’ll get himself in more trouble than you could put him in. Pressure can turn air into diamonds afterall.” The butler turned his closed eyes and stared into the man.

“Thats. Different, are you s..” Gamodren was interrupted.

“But know this, should your schemes put our dear Asela in danger, I will give you a fate worse than death.” Charles opened dark blue eyes with no sclera, no pupils. His irises took up most of his eyes. At the center, his eyes seemed to grow brighter.

Charles closed his eyes again and got back to playing on the piano.

“Looks like I’ll need to be careful. That student of mine is almost more trouble than he’s worth.” Gamodren began to smoke from his pipe. It wasn’t real. The act just calmed his nerves. When monsters surround you, it’s best not to poke them if they can be friendly.

At that moment, Gamodren could swear that the butler had smiled.