Amei looked tense, though confusion clouded her expression, clearly unaware of the gravity behind the discussion. “It’s just a Bloodline, Seirth. What’s the big deal?”
Serith cast a sidelong glance at me before answering, thankfully keeping her word from the previous day. “A single Bloodline awakening is nothing extraordinary. Even multiple awakenings aren’t an issue by themselves, but consistent, deliberate methods to trigger them? That draws attention from the sort of people we cannot afford to cross. Some already…”
She trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether she had kept what she knew about me from Amei. Instead of pressing, I continued the thread.
“If I’m guessing right, Serith means people connected to the Great Ancestor.”
Serith hesitated before speaking again. “Not exactly, but you’re not wrong either. Stewards are usually creatures of pure self-interest, though some still act under his shadow.”
I raised a brow, uncertain. “Then why?”
Serith shrugged, her tone matter-of-fact. “Because I’m self-interested too. The management of our territories doesn’t depend solely on the Stewards—it relies on you as well,” she explained.
The implication wasn’t difficult to catch, though I couldn’t yet see how it worked. “So, the stronger we become?”
“The denser the world’s power grows,” Amei finished for me. “But… that’s only the most basic layer. The Blessings reinforce their own barrier, in essence.”
Elric rubbed his temples with a grimace. “What do you mean by ‘barrier’? Are you saying we’re going to hit some kind of ceiling soon?”
“Not at any level that should concern someone as feeble as you,” Serith replied, though her smirk betrayed her teasing. “But for me? The stronger you runts grow, the higher I can ascend.”
Thea perked up, curiosity glinting in her eyes. “Do you mean missions? Will they stop coming?”
I recalled vaguely back before they became Unbound by the system, missions had been tied to ranks, either appearing at random or triggered by some unknown cause, but that had changed. Now, their advancement came through combat, growth fueled by the might of their opponents.
How would Serith’s circumstances be affected by absorbing Precursor Eneryg?
“My objectives stopped long ago,” Seirth confirmed. “The only reason I accepted this position was to complete the last one. Ideally, another will surface eventually.”
I turned to Amei, expecting her to elaborate.
“Engineer Blessings don’t function the same,” she said, “but even so, objectives will end in time.”
Then why the restriction? Why spread the Great Ancestor’s Bloodline so far and wide? Rather than wrestle with the thought in silence, I asked outright. Now was as good a time as any to demand an answer.
“How does a Blessing even sense a World’s Power?”
Seirth squinted, weighing her words, but finally responded. “It doesn’t. Not directly. Its influence should be—should,” she repeated deliberately, “be tied to its owner.”
It had been some time since I recalled Serith’s view of the being that had saved our worlds from ruin by merging them with another. Even after severing his influence from her domain, she had admitted it was a mistake to reject his blood. In truth, Serith’s ambitions were clear—she wished to grow stronger, and the means of doing so seemed to matter, within reason, little to her.
I couldn’t summon resentment for that choice. It was her own path. Yet this new knowledge twisted the system into something more mysterious.
Something was watching through it. Whether directly or not, it was sensing the value others could provide, retracting its gifts when they failed to meet its expectations. Even Griffith had voiced concern about that during the Dragon Vein mission: manifested knowledge, cryptic instruction.
A call to find three. A certainty that there were more than the two we had uncovered.
The growing tension on my face must have been obvious, because Serith finally spoke again. “I’ve told you before, but don’t confuse power with omnipotence. Just because something benefits another doesn’t mean you can’t claim rewards of your own.”
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
I nodded, though the uncertainty lingered. Words drifted through my mind, those verses that had burned into me the moment my Bloodline awakened: The Blood is only a path. Awaken them. Obliterate Dominion.
Not exactly the kind of mantra that encouraged cooperation or “using tools.” Then again, listening to disembodied voices in my head may not prove to be the most reliable life choice. Who knew what they wanted, or who they even were.
Leaning back, I began to rock side to side, lightly bumping into Thea every few seconds. “Well, whatever. We’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing. If it helps you too, all the better,” I said, shrugging the thought away.
The politics of it all were beyond me anyway. Growing stronger had never truly been a goal but a necessity, not an ambition. What I wanted was simpler: a place of safety, a semblance of peace, and the space to train. Training had long since stopped being a task; it was simply my way of living now.
Speaking of which… “Mei, you’re not feeling any pressure here?” I asked, remembering the oppressive nature of the island.
She gave me a puzzled look. “The conversation’s weird, but I’ve been tuning most of it out. Too boring,” she said, completely missing the point.
The only reason Griffith hadn’t died here was because he’d strengthened his spirit and learned to access the Inner World. Mei and Sei, though, hadn’t reached that stage yet. I glanced at Amei, silently asking for an explanation.
She looked toward her old mentor.
Serith met my gaze in return, coming full circle.
“Does Animora increase Spiritual Strength?” I finally asked after the silent standoff stretched too long.
Mei shot her hand up like a student desperate to answer first, maybe too shy to interrupt otherwise. I pointed to her.
“Yes!... Maybe!” she said brightly. “Well…”
Her voice trailed off as she pressed a thoughtful hand to her chin, staring intently at the ground as though the answer might be buried there. Her father cut in instead, his voice slurred but certain.
“More absorbed life! More resistance to someone taking it from you!”
Mei turned toward him with a grin, shooting an enthusiastic thumbs-up that he returned with equal energy.
“What the heck is Animora?” Elric interjected, cutting through the bizarre family exchange.
At once, Mei perked up, and Thea’s hand gave a faint tremor in mine, her curiosity clearly caught.
But none of them would get their answer. Not yet, at least, and this time, that was my decision. I couldn’t let Serith derail another conversation every time we strayed from her comfort zone.
“We’ll wait until everyone’s gathered,” I said, suppressing a yawn. “Otherwise we’ll just end up explaining everything again and again.”
The endless talking was starting to wear on me anyway. The exhaustion of the past two days finally hit now that I was surrounded by familiar faces. Ones who’d been there since I first arrived. I leaned against Thea, words slipping out between a tired yawn.
“Everyone here has something to offer the rest of us… but I’d rather continue once we’re all together.”
Sei, ignoring me completely, began walking toward the massive serpent that ruled this island. I quickly reminded myself to wake Wyrem soon. The great beast turned its head toward him, its crimson-slit eyes narrowing with lethal precision.
“Peter?”
“Ugggh. What?” I muttered, eyes already half-shut.
“Are you going to use your snake?” he asked with genuine curiosity.
My nose crinkled. “What kind of question is that?”
“Intelligent beasts are rare,” he replied smoothly. “I want it. Actually—no. You’re my student now. We’ll share it.” He said it as if that somehow made sense, as if partial ownership of something not mine to give was perfectly reasonable.
“Do not kill the snake,” I ordered through another languid yawn.
He chuckled darkly. “That was never the plan. Something this precious should be savored slowly. Allowed to recover... then savored again.”
Maybe these people really didn’t have much care for living creatures. Not that I was particularly sentimental myself, but the serpent and I had reached a kind of truce.
I turned to Serith for backup.
She sighed, the sound laced with equal parts irritation and warning. “If you want to experiment on it, you’ll have to wait. Otherwise, I’ll just take Peter home and leave you here to your own devices.”
I didn’t bother opening my eyes to watch their exchange. Whatever look she gave him must have been enough, because I heard Sei’s footsteps retreating and returning to his “honey”.
Then, a pair of small hands nudged my shoulder. I cracked one eye open just a sliver.
Mei leaned close, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Do you live in the woods?”
“Nope,” I whispered back, matching her tone. “I live in a big dome made of dirt.”
Thea joined in, leaning forward until the three of us formed a quiet triangle of secrets that everyone nearby could probably still hear. “And we’ve got little houses inside that dome. Each of us has our own. Isn’t that nice?”
Mei froze, her face twisting into an awkward half-smile. “No.”
So, her earlier politeness didn’t extend to matters of comfort. Still, Thea laughed softly. “Yeah, I agree. Not nice at all. But there are a few ruined houses around here. They might be livable if we spend the time fixing them up.”
“It’s okay,” Mei whispered back kindly. “I’ll ask my dad to find you people to make something nice. We’ll come visit again after we leave.”
Before I could answer, Amei’s voice cut in, steady and determined. “Alright, I’m ready,” she said, standing straighter. “I can take more this time, Serith.”
In an instant, light swirled around us again. My Guardian wasted no time.
And then, we moved.