Lyrus awoke to the roar of Silvio and Devora. It seemed their evolution was complete. He stepped out of the tent and was greeted by the sight of flying serpent dragons soaring through the sky.
Silvio had grown larger and looked much stronger than his original form. He had become grander and more regal. While there weren't many drastic changes, he now appeared more dragon-like with a reinforced physique. Devora, on the other hand, had evolved into a dragon wyrm and could now freely fly. Though her body had no major transformation either, both of them looked powerful and impressive—more draconic and mightier than ever.
Xukhar had also successfully evolved. He now stood around 12 feet tall and appeared more humanoid, though his body remained fully armored. He resembled a fallen angel in a battle form—a chaos-type beast that fought primarily with strength. His physical attacks were now imbued with poison, and he seemed capable of harnessing new abilities. He was currently challenging Sedestro again, with multiple Xukhar clones materializing in the air and attacking Sedestro simultaneously.
He could now launch a barrage of multiple violet laser attacks—nearly impossible to dodge since they chased the target even if they evaded. But even these weren't enough to damage Sedestro. When Sedestro turned black, all attacks simply passed through him, similar to how Lyrus became untouchable when he turned white—just a white existence that couldn't be touched or harmed. Even if they sustained damage, they would simply reform as if nothing had happened.
Agarez: Roar.
(He had evolved as well. He had fully become an earth dragon, with all his dinosaur traits now draconic. His wings had developed and become broader. His body was clad in earthen metallic armor. The hill dinosaur had transformed into a colossal mountain dragon. He could now fly, and every flap of his enormous wings created wind pressure strong enough to obliterate a forest. His wind gusts could instantly reduce low-rank beasts to meat paste. The energy emanating from him was terrifying—it seemed he was close to a breakthrough.)
In the distant horizon, dark clouds were gathering, releasing lightning from above. Zakhar appeared to have stepped into the Mythical Rank. Lanfer was there as well, casting an aegis around him and absorbing the lightning tribulation to help boost Zakhar's breakthrough. She seemed to realize that containing the energy within a barrier during evolution helped enhance one's power. Now in her beastial form, Lanfer had taken over the role Leonor once held. Leonor, in turn, was riding her and keeping watch over the surroundings.
Horus and Edeo were nowhere to be seen—it appeared the two of them had gone off somewhere. The area around Lyrus's tent was also encased in a dome barrier with a sound-blocking effect. Clearly, they were being considerate of their master's rest.
Agarez: Master, I am hungry. I will go hunting.
Devora: I'll be going too, master.
Sedestro: I will go too.
Xukhar: Hey, we're not done yet. Fight me again.
Sedestro: If you want to develop your skills, take it to the jungle. How about this—whoever kills more beasts wins.
Xukhar: Hmm. That's a good idea. Let's go. This time I'm going to win.
The four of them left, but Silvio stayed. He had already hunted a giant T-Rex of Legendary Rank and was now eating near Lyrus's tent.
Lyrus: Yawn. Silvio, once you're done, we're going somewhere else.
(He was planning to go back to the camp. After all, he had promised to evolve Teo's and the others' beasts, and he still had to tame the beasts the others had captured.)
Silvio: (Chomp.) Yes.
After a while, Lyrus left, riding Silvio. Within an hour, they arrived at the camp.
Silvio: Roooaar.
Teo: A dragon? (They were alarmed.)
Vania: This is not good.
(A dragon beast is a powerful threat to any beast of the same realm, so everyone was on high alert when one was seen approaching from the horizon.)
Logan: Look, someone is riding on its head.
Lyrus looked down and saw that everyone was on guard and ready to fight at any moment.
Lyrus: Relax everyone, it's just me. (Then he jumped down.)
Vasha, who was much larger now, greeted him and Silvio.
Selso: Did you notice? Ever since we left the city, Lyrus has seemed like he doesn't have a presence. This is very peculiar. Even plants, sneaky animals, or assassins give off some kind of aura or energy fluctuation. Even shadow creatures and ghosts have their own unique presence. But he doesn't. It feels like he doesn't exist.
Vania: You're right. That's very odd.
Logan: He's no longer human. Based on what the others said about his fight with the Creatops, that's not something a human can do—not without using spiritual energy, magical energy, psychic power, or something else. His ability is no longer human.
Vania: (She was saddened.) This kid… What did he do to himself?
Even though Silvio had evolved and grown larger, Vasha was still much bigger—but compared to Agarez, she was small.
Teo: (He was on Vania's head.) You've surprised us again. (Referring to the dragon.)
Lyrus: No, not yet. This is just the tip of the iceberg. (He smiled.) Anyway, what do you think of my proposal? Have you decided?
Teo: We did. Everyone agreed to help you hunt that Dehedra in exchange for making our beasts stronger.
Selso: I think helping to get the Dehedra alone isn't enough. I've noticed over the past few days that you've been training hard, focusing on your beast companions, increasing your forces, and taming more beasts—not just low-ranking ones, but high-ranking ones. And you tame them as easily as breathing. You also elevate their strength, upgrading them into unknown royal variants. Not just that—Creatops has evolved into a humanoid beast, and I even heard it talk recently. That Daroke also became a humanoid variant, which is unheard of in the evolutionary history of Daroke species. Your concept of evolution defies logic. I have a friend in the capital who works in beast evolution using forged bloodlines and genetic alteration, but even they take months to produce results like this—not mere hours. We won't pry into your secrets, but we will keep your abilities a secret. What are you trying to accomplish with all of this?
Vania: Selso is right. As friends of your late mother— (They were friends with his mother, even though they were older.) We want to know why you're doing this. Taming this many beasts is already taxing on the soul, especially for someone your age. We also know you didn't cultivate, so how are you pulling this off? And back then, you were satisfied with just Ishvel by your side. Now you're amassing forces. What are you planning?
Logan: Whatever it is, kid, we can help—even if you plan to compete for the Eisien Clan heirship.
They didn't know exactly what was going on, but they had a feeling it might be related to the Eisien Clan.
Lyrus: Thank you for your concern, but I don't want to involve you in this. It's far too dangerous. All I ask is that you keep my abilities a secret.
Teo: Does it involve the Eisien?
Lyrus: I still don't know.
Vania: Is this about your mother?
(Lyrus remained silent.)
Vania: There's a lot of mystery surrounding your mother's death. And not just her—many others who went on that expedition didn't return. (Veronica had gone to ancient ruins deep in the Wildlands along with dozens of Legendary Rank powerhouses and some Mythical Ranks. But only her dead body and her fox were recovered.) Going to those ruins is incredibly dangerous.
Lyrus: Don't worry. For now, I'm just building up my forces. I still need to get that fox from the Eisien Clan—to extract its memories and uncover the truth.
Logan: What did you see in your mother's feedback memories? I assume you saw something that pushed you to amass these forces to get there. But it doesn't seem like you're doing this for revenge. There's no anger—only confidence and calm. You don't look like someone who's grieving, but someone who knows exactly what they're doing. Are you saying… she's still alive?
Lyrus: (Silent.) I don't know her current situation. But she's still there.
Vania: What do you mean? Hey kid… Veronica is dead. Her body was buried in the cemetery four years ago.
Lyrus: Her body is dead. But did you know she had two more Legendary beasts? That's a secret only between me and her. She had a spirit beast and a soul beast. Right now, she's unified with them. She removed her soul from her body just to survive. I'm the only one who can help her recreate a body—or find a new vessel. That's why I have to go, no matter what.
(He did not mention the intervention of a Primordial Sovereign of the fox lineage who was currently controlling Lydia.)
Teo: She's still alive?
Lyrus: No—but she still exists, in the form of a beast.
Teo: But how can you save her? Let alone create a new body for her? That's impossible.
Vania: Poor Veronica... (She teared up.) Huhu... (She cried.)
Selso: This is a very big problem. I know something about the ruins—she told me about it. There's a gate in those ruins that leads to a very distant continent. That place is extremely dangerous. The expedition was composed of members from all the clans of Culvary. This is a national secret—very confidential. The Council of Eight decided to search for the source of that continent and refine it, all without the knowledge of the Empire. If the Empire finds out, Culvary is finished. There have already been seven expeditions, but only a handful returned. That continent is massively larger than all fourteen continents humans have refined throughout history. And again, this information is internationally confidential—only a few powerful individuals know about it. Do you know that the first Emperor—the first Divine Realm powerhouse—was the one who refined the source of the Tevera Continent? And even after 1800 years, he's still alive.
Logan: What?
Lyrus: I also know this. (Lyrus had read all of his mother's hidden notes.)
Selso: This is a secret that none of you must ever speak about to anyone—or we're dead. So, Lyrus, how do you plan to save your mother?
Lyrus: For now, I need to amass forces. I still have to gather more information. Once I get Lydia back, we'll depart for that new land.
Teo: But even if you gather a strong force, you alone won't survive in that land. You'll die out there.
Lyrus: I won't. Because I'm no longer human.
(Then his whole body exploded into white light, then reformed again.)
Lyrus: But I still need stronger forces to deal with whatever dangers I may encounter there. That's the very reason why I'm amassing them.
Vania: Then we'll go with you.
Lyrus: You can't. You'll all die because you're bound to your beasts through your souls. But I'm different. There are entities there that attack one's soul and spirit directly. Tamers have a line connecting them to their beasts—this invisible connection is the very reason they all died. They encountered a group of Saint Beasts. If my mother didn't have a soul and spirit beast, she wouldn't have survived. And I won't be leaving Culvary for a few years—I still have to attend college.
Selso: By the way, that Divine Realm knows everything happening in all of Tevera. But it seems he's doing nothing—turning a blind eye. We need secrecy among us.
Logan: This information is too much to take in. We need a non-disclosure soul contract.
Selso: I agree.
Vania: So do I.
Teo: Is this necessary?
Vania: It is. We don't know if any of us will become traitors and sell this information. Or what if someone finds out we know, and interrogates us? We're screwed if any of us mutter a word of this.
Lyrus: I agree. But a soul contract isn't ideal—you're forming another connection, and now it's between the four of you. How about this?
(Then white energy gushed out from Lyrus and integrated with them. A white snake formed inside their consciousness.)
Lyrus: That snake is both a protector and a killer. It will protect your soul and spirit from harm. But if any of you betray me, it will kill you from the inside and take over your body.
Selso: This is more insidious than the soul contract.
Logan: Isn't it basically the same? We'll die either way. But with Lyrus' ability, we're also receiving a blessing to our souls.
Vania: What if we made a sect? (She suggested.)
Teo: Are you joking? We'd need territory for that.
Vania: Lyrus, how many beasts do you plan to tame?
Lyrus: The more, the better.
Vania: Do you have any limit to your binding?
Lyrus: I don't. All I need is my white to bind any beast and make it my subject.
Logan: What an overpowered ability.
Vania: How about we create a sect and claim the Wildlands as our territory? If you're planning to amass a legion of beasts, you can't keep them in Culvary—that would trigger national security alarms. There are already many sects in the Wildlands not affiliated with any nation. They've made their own safe havens out there. Even some Eisien heirs have private forces. We can do the same.
Selso: Seems like a good idea. We're always in the wild anyway—it'd be good to have our own place here, right?
Logan: But Culvary is expanding into the Wildlands.
Teo: Only the Black Hammer and Nebelius Clans are expanding westward. And some Eisien heirs are creating their own territories in the wilderness. We also have another Eisien on our side. Only the younger generation is pushing this expansion—the Council of Eight isn't making any major moves, unlike the Ursemia Nation in the north. The Watchers are still stationed at their borders. My friend told me that the Eisien Clan has no plans to move the borders deeper into the wilderness or expand territories aggressively. So this idea seems plausible... but also dangerous.
Lyrus: Then let's create a sect—just not until I tame that Dehedra.
Vania: Then it's decided.