The next few days passed quietly but with purpose.
Tomorrow, I had to return to school.
I rose before dawn and stayed up after the stars appeared, my time split evenly between training my body, my beasts, collecting beast cores and herbs, studying the books Master Sun gave me every day, and nourishing the massive egg nestled in my room.
My two soul beasts had grown just over the past few days.
Lufei now stood as high as my hip, her shimmering crystal antlers brushing my shoulders. Her grace was almost annoying—elegant even when tripping over a laundry line. Maxius, on the other hand, had gotten heavier and bossier, sharpening his claws by attacking tree bark and mimicking every form I practiced quite badly.
Each morning, I wiped down both my soul beasts and the egg with warm water. Maxius squawked at the egg like it might answer him. Lufei curled around it like a warm-natured older sister. She often blocked Maxius with a gentle antler nudge when he tried to tap it with his beak.
"You're doing great," I whispered to the egg each morning, palms warm against the shell. "Grow strong. I'll protect you, so you protect me too."
I surrounded the egg with low-grade beast cores like offerings. Even wrapped it in a woven quilt at night—just in case it got chilly.
Maxius rolled his eyes at this ritual, but always laid one feather beside the egg anyway. Lufei licked the quilt into place each night like a concerned grandmother.
—
My mother helped me dig herbs during the day, using gentle qi energy to nourish the roots and raise their grade a little.
We were digging up star-level plants, making a nice lump of profit. When we split the loot in silent agreement, my mother smirked and said,
"Even brothers need to settle accounts—so do mothers and daughters."
I laughed. "Better me than Dad. I'm more useful now, anyway."
She snorted. "That's not a high bar, with one leg and one good eye."
We both cracked up.
—
She also took me back and forth to the city during those few days, helping sell beast cores and herbs at the local market. The two of us earned enough to get a rented house near the academy.
I shared my plan with my parents, hoping they wouldn't say no.
Surprisingly, they didn't.
"I don't think it's a bad idea," my mother said one night, slicing fruit in the kitchen. "But maybe wait till you finish the first phase of the academy before renting long-term."
"You're still young," my father added quietly from his corner, rubbing his bad leg. "Even with your soul beasts, there's stuff out there that bites harder."
I didn't argue. I just nodded, tucking the advice somewhere between my ribs. But I had a plan in my heart.
—
But today—today was different.
Today was the day I'd perform the bonding ritual with the mythical egg. To see if it accepted me.
If not… well, I'd try to figure something out. Maybe sell it, if I had no choice. But I'd rather not.
I had already poured too much of myself into the big little guy.
—
I asked my father for help with the ritual.
He stood in the center of the courtyard with me, missing one leg and blind in one eye, but steady. He helped me set the stabilizing stones around the ritual space, his hand firm even if his gait was slow.
Lufei helped mark the four directional poles with spirit-saturated leaves, nudging them into place with her hooves.
Maxius tried to perch on a pillar—then immediately knocked it over and blamed Lufei.
She gave him a look.
My mother kept her distance but stayed close enough to intervene if things went sideways.
And—just after lunch—Uncle Hanji strolled in carrying grilled pork buns and no intention of behaving.
"Did I miss the beast birth?" he asked, mouth full.
"We're not calling it a 'beast birth,'" I said flatly.
"Too late," he said, waving a pork bun.
"Emotions are already attached."
Maxius screeched and dive-bombed his head. Hanji ducked, dropped his bun, and yelped.
"See? That was love."
My mother stood nearby, arms crossed but ready to intervene if something went wrong.
They kept their distance—just far enough not to threaten the beast if it hatched, but close enough to step in if the bond rejected me.
I closed my eyes, took a breath, and stepped forward.
—
The air shifted.
A low hum vibrated through the floor. My hands glowed faintly as I called on my beastmaster's energy, pouring it into the egg.
The stabilizing stones pulsed in rhythm.
It accepted the bond.
The egg began to glow.
Cracks formed—thin at first, then branching outward in fine golden lines.
The pressure in the air thickened, like fog. But it wasn't heavy. It was warm. Alive.
Then—
CRACK.
A brilliant light burst out, scattering mist across the courtyard.
The shell broke apart in soft, slow pieces, drifting down like leaves.
And from the center of it all… rose a beast.
—
It was a giant sperm whale, pure white with glowing golden symbols etched along its back and tail.
Clouds clung to its form like waves, moving around it even as it floated midair. Four fins—two on each side—gently waved, like it was swimming through the sky itself.
Golden lightning flickered faintly in the clouds that circled it.
It was as tall as a baby pony, but longer—at least six feet, maybe more.
The beast hovered calmly in the air, twisting once as if testing its own weight.
Then its great, gentle eyes landed on me.
————
🐳 Name: Golden Thunder Cloud Sperm Whale
Class: Mythical Soul Beast
Grade: Unknown (Myth-Class Suspected)
Bonded With: Fan Yumei
Location of Bonding: Family Courtyard, under parental supervision and spiritual containment formation
⸻
🧬 Bloodline
—
"A mysterious mythical whale beast dropped by the heavens."
This creature's origin defies classification. Some say she was born from a thunderstorm touching the sea during a celestial convergence. Others whisper she is a fragment of the Sky Dao made sentient. No records in the modern beast registries account for her kind.
⸻
📜 Titles
—
• Whale of the Cloud and Skies
• Mysterious Being
• Skyborne Leviathan (unconfirmed title from fragmented texts)
⸻
• Bond Seal: Formed without resistance; beast initiated contact
• Behavioral Quirks: Enjoys rubbing against Lufei, dislikes loud noises, reacts playfully to humor—particularly Uncle Hanji's misfortunes
⸻
⚔️ Offensive Skills
—
• Thunder God Strike — Launches a beam of concentrated golden lightning from her forehead crest. Devastating to large groups, shields, and qi-armored foes.
• Storm of the Fallen — Summons a spiral of cloud, wind, and charged rain that suppresses flight and visibility in a large radius.
• Sky Cloud Domain — Activates a floating storm field where Mystic gains 200% speed and agility. Enemies within the domain suffer impaired footing and reaction delays.
• Call of the Whale — Releases a soul-call that can:
– Stun weaker enemies
– Restore morale to allies
– Call storm fronts from distant skies (effect based on emotional state)
• Memory of the Sea — Briefly channels ancestral oceanic power. Restores minor wounds and qi energy to beast and binder. Allows short-duration air-swimming or phasing through surfaces.
⸻
🛡️ Defensive Skills
—
• Sky Mantle Veil — Wraps herself and allies in storm-charged clouds that obscure visuals and deflect mid-range projectiles
• Pressure Coil — Temporarily condenses surrounding air and spirit pressure into a shield-like barrier that absorbs impact and slows enemies within close range
⸻
☠️ Weakness
—
Mystic is powerful, but vulnerable to:
• Spatial compression techniques that limit movement in confined areas
• High-precision piercing attacks, especially those that target nerve clusters or soul nodes
• Extended dry environments where humidity and storm qi are unavailable (e.g., deserts, anti-cloud fields)
⸻
🧷 Classification
—
• Element: Lightning / Wind / Water (hybrid)
• Type: Mythical Spirit Beast
• Size: Juvenile (6 feet long, full size unknown)
• Age: Unknown (egg dormant for 200+ years)
• Current State: Newly Hatched, Bonded, Qi-Synced and Emotionally Stable
——-
I didn't speak.
I didn't need to.
Because at that moment, one name came to my mind.
A name that fit so well, it was like it had always been there.
Mystic.