Oscar and Avril settled themselves on the edge of the floor, right before where Marshal Exalt Beasts rested on the first layer of the wooden steps, overlooking the battle. The layers above drew further away from the center but higher from the floor. Many other Exalt Beasts watched the battle between Erden and the thundering gorilla, ignoring him and Avril, staying true to their King Exalts' orders.

'You got this, Erden. Sorry. I can't help you….That Crow King Exalt is staring holes into me.' Oscar met Ness's gaze and closed his eyes with a nod, a gesture to show his stance. He would not interfere in this battle, for it was Erden's alone. Ness scoffed and turned away back to the battle, seeming to have received his intent.

Erden chuckled inwardly. It had been a long, good while since he had last fought alone like this. Ever since he met Oscar years ago in his home, they have fought together in all the trials and battles since. His fur perked up, and his nostrils flared, his body heating up from the anticipation of battle.

…….

Years ago, in the Burning Valley, Erden couldn't move a single inch, rubble covering parts of himself. The wall behind him had collapsed entirely from a powerful strike that reached so far it created a new pathway through the ravine. Coughing out blood, Erden's body was spent, exhausted to the brim.

The ground shook as the sound of heavy stomps drew closer to him. Erden twisted his neck to see Tort approaching, the damned Wortortle grunting in laughter with his sickening eyes staring as if he were nothing but a toy.

Tort groaned deeply with a single breath, his meaning weaving and intertwining in his clear, imposing voice like Sevon's. 'Little one. Thanks to that human, you have wits and smarts beyond the norm. But that is not enough.'

Erden shouted his own beastly cry. 'My Meld is far more impressive than what you might think. With our connection and Eirin, Oscar and I can defeat most of our foes. What do you mean that's not enough?'

Tort stomped and kicked up dust, scattering it all over Erden's face, irritating his eyes. The Wortortle snarled and opened his mouth wide, a roar from the depths of his stomach striking fear into Erden. 'And you? Eirin or Vis, its true name, comes from your human. The Meld is thanks to his anima. You speak only of his power, not yours. Tell me, little fawn, if there is no human, what are you? Do you even remember?'

'I…' Erden grunted softly.

'Remember who you were before you met him. Before you and he teamed up. What were you?' Tort lowered his body, resting his stomach on the floor. His red magma eyes stared into Erden's soul, the fiery blaze swirling around in their pupils. 'Tell me, young fawn. What were you?'

'I…I used to survive, day by day, alone in the forests and jungles of Ashen Grove. Every day would be filled with battles. I would emerge victorious or lose but escape with wounds.' Erden stretched out his tongue and licked his dry lips, the dust tasting salty and making him drier.

'In those days, you were what you truly were, a beast.' Tort grunted.

'Am I not a beast now?' His bones still never stopped ringing. Erden tripped and fell over on his way up.

'You are closer to a human than a beast. If you truly wish to be stronger, you must remember. Remember your roots. The instincts that drove you to survive in the wilds. They are long repressed and put aside by the human influence from the Blood Transmutation.' Tort kicked Erden with his stumpy foot, turning him over.

'Are you saying the Blood Transmutation was a mistake?' Erden coughed out dirt.

'Jumping to conclusions is idiotic. You have gained much from this connection, but be careful. You must not lose your beastly roots. Similar to how Reis and Ein form a more powerful fusion, you must balance the human and beast. Return to your roots and figure it out.' Tort answered.

'It has been so long since those days. Where we fought with pure instinct.' Erden recalled the intense, bloody battles where he saw nothing but red.

'I don't believe you have lost it. Yes, we beasts can also think and plan, but our roots are entirely different from humans. Just remember that. You might not feel it here or during our battles, but return to the wilds, and you will learn anew. The best place is in the Lands of Zeret. Fight your heart out there.' Tort grunted multiple times again in laughter.

…….

'Tort. Even after those long years in the Burning Valley, I still never felt that rush like you said.' Erden leaped in with the opening he created, Ein cascading from the tips of his antlers like sparks of flames. Suddenly, two large hands grabbed his antlers, locking Erden from moving forward. The gorilla had recovered from its bad footing far faster than he expected.

His eyes rolled around in his sockets as the world sped and stretched. The gorilla swung him around and threw him, the wooden ground of the great tree not so pleasantly taking his fall. The impact all rebounded back onto him. Disorientated by the lightning snapping about his body, Erden bit his tongue and rolled over to the side before the gorilla's brutish electric rush hammered the ground.

The wood of the great tree remained unharmed, easily able to take their devastating attacks. Slamming into it resulted in harsh pain. Erden glanced at the ground and back at the gorilla. The ground should be equally unforgiving to his opponent. Tensing his legs and bowing his head, Erden stomped ahead, his breakneck speed only spurring the gorilla to run forward to meet his challenge.

'Good.' Erden forcibly slowed down his charge to a halt by scraping his hooves against the floor, his antlers which were hung low, assisting as well. He timed it right when the gorilla reached him, and his legs swept across under the gorilla's grasp, toppling him off the ground.

Leaping ahead, Erden drove his front hooves into the gorilla's chest, unable to punch through the hard, lightning exterior, but enough to crash him into the floor. A harsh thud came, followed by the roaring of the gorilla. Erden felt it was a pity the gorilla avoided his next attack by rolling over.

Quickly like the lightning around his fur, the gorilla rammed his shoulder. Erden reeled from the forceful clamping of his jaw, blood dripping between the gums of his teeth. From the edge of his eyes, he saw a blur. The gorilla's knuckles dug into his cheek, lightning stuck hard, and a tooth flew off his mouth. A rapid series of haymakers forced Erden's head sideways, snapping him from left to right.

'Not yet….' Numbness spread across his mind as his brain rattled around in his skull. Red splatters of blood spread and dyed the floor with each passing punch. Erden waited patiently, waiting for the right moment as he agonizingly felt the rhythms of his opponent.

Punch after punch drove themselves into Erden's head and body. Slowly, the roars and cheers of the Exalt Beasts around him quieted, and the world was nothing but the gorilla and him, his mind blocking everything else out to hear clearly, to feel. His ears twitched. A light exhale reached him, not from a roar or grunt but somewhere deeper. Erden ducked underneath and reached out his front hoof, immense Ein shining along its crystal surface.

His eyes focused on his target, not the gorilla itself, but below to its toes. Erden roared and crushed the gorilla's foot. The sound of veins snapping and the crunch of bones breaking was inaudible compared to the gorilla's yelp of agony. With his other hoof, Erden flattened the other foot, staring at his opponent with bloodshot eyes.

Two arms swung at him from both sides, the gorilla's snarl spitting saliva over Erden's lightning-burned face. Expecting this, Erden fell back, and the gorilla fell forward, his squashed and broken feet unable to balance him. Erden leaped above, the light of the two suns shining along his antlers as he swung down on the back of the head of the falling gorilla.

Its defenses were tough but not enough to withstand a blow to the delicate feet and certainly not enough for his last move. From the full force of Erden's blow, the gorilla crashed face-first into the wooden floor, all the impact returning to its head. Erden descended, his face covered in gashes and bruises surging with painful lightning.

"I have won. Now I have won the right to fight for my place in the Pools of Ascension!" Erden shouted. Behind him, the gorilla didn't move, and he stood above. "Are there any objections?"

Hons stomped forward, his lips frowning at the sight of the fallen gorilla. His chest heaved and shook until laughter escaped his now smiling mouth. "Indeed, we have no objections. The recommendation of the Wortortle and the showing of your strength. However, I wonder….how you will fight against the other beasts when you barely are one."

"Enough. They have won and will need proper rest. Let them return to the chamber and rest until it is time." Almos grunted at Hons to back down.

Erden limped over to Oscar and Avril but not before turning to Hons, who shook his head and sighed. Frustrated, he clacked his hooves on the ground repeatedly, unable to even scratch the wooden floor. 'Barely a beast,' those words echoed in his thoughts.

'Where are you?'