novelDen Chapter 582: Who is she?
Chapter 582: Who is she?
Kael stood in front of a half-meter-big egg. It was dark green, with patches of white and black color on it and was covered with thick, even darker shades of green vines.
It was the egg of a Verdalyn Stag, the child of the beast he had just seen in the Shrouds.
After finding the stag, Kael waited and followed it secretly for a good while, all while Cirri continued to use her expanded senses to find where its cave was.
It took an hour since the Verdalyn Stag had come out to eat and needed to look for food before heading close to home.
But the wait was finally over, the moment the stag got close enough to its home, Cirri found where it was, she sensed the egg and brought Kael here.
"I can’t believe I am stealing someone’s child."
Kael commented as he stared at the egg in front of him.
"This isn’t the first time you did that, Father."
Imperia spoke honestly. Kael frowned and the little ant, whose head was already out of Kael’s pocket, turned and looked at him.
"Most eggs you or any tamer gets, they are all stolen from beasts, no beast would willingly give his child away to someone.
You just do not feel the same pressure since you aren’t the one stealing, but bonds are formed after the child is stolen from its parent."
Kael lowered his head when he heard those words. Imperia, however, shook her head.
"And this isn’t something to feel small about, this is just the way the world works, humans steal beasts, that is correct.
But in return, they also provide the child, which otherwise might have died in the wilds, a better life.
I know you will."
"..."
Kael didn’t say anything, he just nodded silently. Imperia didn’t continue the conversation either, they didn’t have the time.
"Father, it will be here soon. You need to leave."
Just then, Cirri’s voice was heard, pulling Kael out of his reverie. He shook his head, emptied his mind, shaking out all the useless thoughts and—
He picked up the egg and walked away, his legs didn’t make even the slightest sound, just like Veylara had taught him back in the day.
A minute later, the Verdalyn Stag returned to its cave, only to find its most precious treasure stolen.
...
On the other side, Kael, who had left the cave and was currently hiding deep within the wilds, surrounded by mist so dense that absolutely nothing was visible,
He finally took out the egg he had stolen from his Sanctuary.
Yes, he was going to do it right now.
Returning to the Heights came with its risks, Aurelia was there, every time he used [Genesis of the Ancients], it caused impossible phenomena and attracted too much attention.
He would rather do it here when he wasn’t surrounded than in a place where he already attracted too much attention.
As for the hunters and the beasts here in the Shrouded Wilds, for them Kael had Cirri. If someone came here sensing something, Cirri would inform him, and if someone tried to observe him from a distance, the mist would make it impossible for them.
He was secured, at least to a certain level.
And if even after all this something did happen, then he was now powerful enough to rely on himself to get out of a problematic situation.
With all of that in his mind, Kael looked at the egg in his hand and—
[Ancient Awakening.]
He activated his ability, the energy in his body moved, the pattern it formed was completely different than any of the patterns that were formed when he previously used the ability, showing that the Celestial Lifehart wasn’t similar to any of his previous bonds.
But even then, Kael kept a note of the pattern in his head while he let the energy move. The same golden tendrils of energy formed and moved out of his palm, enveloping the egg.
And the change was instant.
First, it was the surroundings, the mist around Kael seemed to have thickened almost as if the mist from far away had gathered to witness the birth of an Ancient Being.
Then—
Ba-dump
A heartbeat was heard.
It was the egg.
A genuine, pure smile appeared on his face as he heard the heartbeat, he closed his eyes, trying to synchronize his heart with his child’s, with the new member that was about to join the family.
Then, the egg began to change.
The golden light that enveloped it became denser, as if it was working its magic, and the effect was real. The black patches on the egg began to disappear and the white took over.
Within seconds, all the black patches disappeared and the white took over, overlapping the previous dark green color the egg had.
The egg then began feeding on Kael’s energy, something Kael did not mind one bit, and the more it devoured, the whiter it got, as if it was being purified. Slowly, even the dark green disappeared and the entire egg turned white, the dark green vines enveloping it became a shade lighter as well and seemed much fresher and alive now.
Then, it all stopped.
The egg no longer devoured Kael’s energy anymore, neither was it changing, it was as if the transformation had ended.
For a moment, there was silence.
Kael stared at the egg, as if waiting for something to happen.
Ba-dump Ba-dump Ba-dump
Its heartbeat became louder and confirming Kael’s thoughts—
[Ancient Awakening Complete]
The system notified.
"It’s done."
Kael smiled.
Of course, it wasn’t all done, he knew that as well, but now, in his hands, it was no longer the child of a stag, it was a being whose bloodline had been traced back to its strongest form.
A being who... would now become his family.
A simple thought of that made Kael smile, but at the same time, it made him feel heavy.
Responsibility.
Kael now had another life that depended on him, another reason for him to grow stronger and... survive everything that was and would be thrown at him by the world.
Kael gulped at that thought, then he looked at the screen in front of him.
[Skill
[Would you like to use
[Y/N]
The question was asked.
’Yes’
And Kael answered.
He then took out a knife from his Sanctuary, slit his finger and dropped a drop of his blood on the egg’s surface.
Bzzz
The surface absorbed his blood in an instant and then it glowed brighter, so bright that it turned all the dense mist around him a few shades brighter.
It was... magical.
So much that even Kael was mesmerized.
Crack
Then the egg cracked.
Kael watched it all happen in anticipation, his Sanctuary opened on its own and Igni, Vitaria, and even Nyrri stepped out, all to welcome their new sibling.
Kael didn’t mind, he actually wanted that.
Even if it somehow attracted attention later, it was alright, the new member needed to know it was loved, and not just by one person, but by many.
That was all that mattered right now.
Crack Crack Crack
More cracks followed, this time even more intense light spread out, the mist grew denser as well, as if more had come from far away to witness it.
Then—
Tak
The cracks widened and a part of the shell fell down and from inside—
Little green vines came out, vines that seemed... alive.
These vines moved around, as if making themselves comfortable, soon they began to move in a way that pushed more and more of the shell, making the hole bigger.
And finally—
Once the hole was big enough—
Kael’s eyes fell on that adorable little creature inside it—
She looked almost unreal.
A small, delicate creature that was crouching inside her little egg, with all four of her legs curled adorably.
Unable to control himself, Kael picked her up and lifted her in the air.
Her body was covered in pure white fur, fur that was... ridiculously soft, so soft that Kael, when he was holding her, felt like he would drop her because he couldn’t hold her properly.
As Kael held her, the little thing didn’t feel scared, no, she looked at Kael with her eyes.
Eyes that were almost... hypnotic.
They were large, deep emerald green, brighter than polished gemstones, yet warm and gentle at the same time. They seemed to glow faintly from within, holding a calm and... ancient kindness that felt almost unreal, especially since it came from a newborn.
Looking at those eyes felt... strangely comforting.
When she looked at Kael, he felt... trapped in that comfort. He felt like he couldn’t look away because his body didn’t want to.
That was how... strangely relaxed and at ease he felt.
"W-What... is happening...?"
He muttered out loud, his eyes still stuck on her.
And Igni, the Dragon, just observed everything in silence and smiled.
His plan worked.
And the moment Kael sensed that thought in his child’s head—
"Igni."
He called out, his eyes still stuck on that beautiful creature in his hand, but his tone was now different—
"What did you do?
Who is she?"