Chapter 79: Artheria
A mistake would cost him a lot, but doing something utterly foolish would cost him his very life. And, he can’t have that.
"Can I really do it...?" This time, kneeling before the little mole, his hand extended to her, he questioned the creature with some hesitation.
If something went wrong, more than his own life, he was worried about the life of everyone around him.
It wasn’t a simple decision anymore. But, the creature was not backing off either.
"Mii~!"
She walked forward and caressed his hand with her head. The creature was not going back to that cradle anymore, she had made her mind.
And her certainty calmed the boy as well.
"Thank you."
-Oooooooooooooooong!
He called out the Soul string that connected him, Nyx, and Felix.
At the same time, following the Doctrines of synchronicity, he channeled the new energy inside him to strengthen their bonds.
-Zaaaaaaaaaa...!
As winds covered the area around them, through a complex process that the elder could only stare at, a blue string arose from the small creature... actually, there were more than one of these strings.
"...?"
Strings that were formed when she might have contracted with someone else, strings that were old... too old for someone that seemed so small.
He realised something at that moment.
"You’re an Elder Beast?"
The identity of the small creature was clear to him now.
Of the countless creatures that roam the world, there are few that live a little too long.
Almost immortal by nature, these creatures form many bonds throughout their life, bonding with a different being after the death of their tamers.
These beings possess immense strength. But more than that, they hold a kind of experience that most of the younger beings do not have.
"Miii~."
The creature that seemed more child-like to him than either of his partners all this time also seemed to be the one that had the most experience among them.
She had already been out in the world, perhaps for much longer than any of them could imagine.
There were nine strings without an end coming from her, so before him, she had been with nine tamers throughout her life.
Yet, there was one string that none of these nine had ever met.
A string that made her what she was, a connection to the deepest part of her soul.
"Hello."
-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!
A storm of energy exploded when the string that made him and the string that made her found each other.
He was too weak to have her, he knew that the moment he began the process.
Yet, he did not stop.
"SAM!"
The storm of energy was too violent.
Even though she was seeing the impossible things happening here, she could not stop it now.
-SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH!
In this special moment of unison, she was but a spectator.
[ "Hello, mister." ]
The form that looked like a small mole to him grew instantly as a shadow of what seemed like a draconic entity and fell on them all.
-Ooooooooooooong!
Materialised in a translucent form visible to everyone, the giant entity, covered in blue scales, looked down at the boy with her pink eyes.
And the boy looked up at her, respect and affection present in his red gems.
"I’m called Prism Von Ignasis Sungrade."
Names were very important, especially before beings that were given a [True name] by their originators.
Nyx had a true name that Sam could not pronounce so he called him by a nickname.
However, those who have a true name of their own take pride in that name.
[ "I’m called Artheria." ]
The draconic shadow made of fire smiled at him with the same innocence as her small form.
[ "Your ancestors used to call me The Blue Starfire. They were nice." ]
Her true voice was heard by all of them present in this dome. It was a sweet voice, and a kind one.
However, anyone who knew the title of Blue Starfire would never think it to sound anything like that.
For the people of East, the people of Topaz, and for all those who have studied the history of six continents, that name was one of the most frightening things.
She was a legend.
Not just by power level, but also by the literal meaning of the word.
"I was right..."
Even the Elder lady was scared right now.
She had been denying it. The vague description of blue skin and pink eyes wasn’t enough to conclude anything even though it was a legend passed down in the direct bloodline of the Sungrades for generations.
"The strongest Salamander..."
One of the strongest beasts to ever walk the earth, and also one of the oldest beings known to history.
She was a part of the Sungrade’s founding history. And now, that legendary entity was choosing a new master.
"I shall call you Art then."
The pressure from the formation of this new bond, the connection of the red string and her pink one, was too great.
His eyes and nose were bleeding, but sharing this burden were his two partners.
His dragon heart endured, and the two others helped immensely.
[ "Then I shall follow you from now on, Sunny Sam." ]
She gave him a unique nickname, something he liked quite a bit.
-Ooooooooooooooooooooong!
After a process that the Elder Lady could not understand but could still strangely decipher to a certain degree, the three-fold string of Prism had become a four-fold one.
The pink string was part of his being, and now, there was a unique Bond mark on the entire back of his right palm.
For spiritual creatures like her, there were no Essence cards.
They were half like the spirits and half like the beasts. They formed a contract instead of a former master-servant bond.
Special spiritual creatures like her could not be defined with simple power structures.
Even though he had formed a bond with her, the amount of power he could borrow from her depended on how strong their bond was and how proficient he was with her powers.
She wasn’t just a Salamander... She was an actual offspring of a Dragon.
"Mii~."
The ferocious catastrophe of the east, the blue hellfire, the harbinger of bloodtears... She had earned many nicknames during a lesser known period.
But now, she will walk the earth again as a partner of a Regressed professor.
"Welcome to the family, little lady."
She had taken the physical form of a small, smiling lizard. In this form, her distinct pink eyes looked much more dull.
Still, she looked adorable.
And thanks to the blue fire burning at the end of her tale, she looked like a certain orange creature that evolved into one of the closest reflections of the dragons.