Seeing the firmness of Rentaro"s att.i.tude, Wilhelm merely chuckled as if he already knew Rentaro would react this way, his voice filled with approval despite trying to dissuade Rentaro"s decision previously."Hehe, Alright, alright. Go ahead with whatever you"ve decided. I"ll support your decision 99.99% of the time!"
"Oh? Not 100% of the time?"
"There may be times where I need to knock some sense into you. If I sit around and watch you do anything stupid that would end up harming you and our companions, I"d regret not stepping in!"
Smiling, Rentaro resumed his mental link with Kyon. "Kyon, actually-"
Before Rentaro could finish speaking, his heartbeat sped up as a strong sense of unease filled his heart. Suddenly, his eardrums were filled with a rumbling sound as the ground below him vibrated heavily and he fell to the ground at the sudden occurrence. The animals in the surroundings let out several squealing sounds of panic, as they fled underground, onto trees, and into the sky.
A crackling sound rang out as a large tree seemed to break in half, crashing down onto other trees as it collapsed to the earth with a booming sound. Panicked and at a lost, Rentaro"s eyes followed the fallen tree to its origin which was far to the east, where he made out a large beast-like figure.
A sudden system notification resounded in his mind, forcing Rentaro to try and split his attention between both sudden occurrences.
[System Alert] [System has detected a beast at Qi Foundation Establishment Stage 4, the river stage, in close proximity to host"s current location. Best course of action is to flee, followed by-]
"Huh? Stage four, d.a.m.n!" Before Rentaro could finish listening to the system notification, the figure of a beast approached, revealing a panther upon closer inspection. Disregarding the notification, Rentaro forced all of his attention on maintaining his cool.
The panther"s fur was a dark brown color, though its body seemed to be shrouded in a dark aura. Its deep green eyes glowed with a murderous intent. The murderous intent seemed to be without any specific target, directed towards any living beings weaker than itself for the sake of releasing its bloodl.u.s.t. The panther locked its gaze on Rentaro and Kyon as it noticed them, followed by it releasing a loud roar, one which reverberated in Rentaro"s mind as it seemed to pierce his eardrums until they popped and all he heard was a ringing sound.
Rentaro remained kneeling on the ground from his initial fall, his hands being the only method of holding himself from collapsing as the pace of his breathing quickened, with an even heavier intake of oxygen per breath than before. His vision was a blur before it ultimately faded away, with only the ringing sound as a measure of confirmation that he was still awake, consciously at least.
The constant ringing brought with it a nauseous feeling, a sick feeling which pervaded the depths of his stomach and traveled up his esophagus, as he vomited. His face overcast with a deathly pale color and his condition which seemed to only worsen, the pressure continued. With the continuing pressure, it wouldn"t be surprising if Rentaro started bleeding from his pores and the seven orifices.
Off to the side, Kyon was holding up much better. After all, he was in the form of a spirit with his body sealed protectively within the crystal. Furthermore, his cultivation level before he was sealed was surely anything but weak.
Currently, Kyon"s hazel eyes seemed to carry an ever growing intent of wrath as he focused his gaze on the panther. His current phantom-like figure suffused an even brighter aura, as the natural green and sky blue colors seemed to mix, forming a cyan color.
Kyon reached his pudgy arm outwards, the cyan aura flowing from his body and forming into a barrier which obstructed the panther"s pressuring aura.
"Hmph! Some lousy cat who doesn"t know his place dares to invade my territory! Just when I thought it was going to be a peaceful night as well!"
*Growl*
Kyon"s current aura was surely daunting, but strangely enough, the panther didn"t pay any heed towards it whatsoever. Instead, it increased its speed as it moved in Kyon"s direction, five silver metallic claws extending from its paws. Seeing the panther continue in his direction, Kyon raised his hands as he concentrated the cyan aura along his hand, where it seemed to gather and condense on his small fingertips.
"Oh? To ignore my aura so easily, you"re definitely no beast. In fact, you don"t even seem to be living anymore. Must be the work of some sort of necromancy spell... has that evil cult returned? Hmph! Very well, I shall return balance to this soulless body. Hear my cry! With the soul in the underworld, the body shall return to the grave!"
Kyon pointed his pudgy arms in the sky, "Tempest!"
Storm clouds formed above the trees, turning the once picture-perfect scenery of beauty into a frightening maw of horror as the clouds emitted a bright yellow light and the sound waves of lightning crackling traveled through the air.
Thunder boomed, and a lightning bolt struck towards the panther that seemed to be without its own consciousness.
*Bang*
The lightning crashed into the beast, and another tree crackled as it exploded into countless splinters. Rentaro managed to open his eyes ever so slightly, only to feel sick in the stomach at the panther"s current state.
The panther"s body was severely burnt, with sections of its fur and skin succ.u.mbing to the lightning, turning to ash and dust. Its body was impaled by several wooden splinters, a gruesome scene. Oblivious to the pain, the panther, or rather the reanimated corpse, continued trudging its way towards Kyon.
"Hmph! How annoying! My qi reserves have already emptied out long ago otherwise that attack would"ve been more than enough to incinerate you. Not to mention, my cultivation stage is only falling further apart as I forcefully use these abilities; pretty soon I"ll be back in the early stages of Foundation Establishment."
"So be it, I"m getting really angry now. Disrespect I, the big boss around here, and pay the price. Aero Conglomeration! Blade!" Kyon shouted as a cyan-colored aura slowly gathered in front of him, taking on the form of a long blade. He reached his pudgy arms out, grabbing what appeared to be a light-grey hilt, with the sword finally taking form and revealing a smooth, cyan blade.
"Now I"m serious. Even the simplest of attacks with this blade will end you. Whirlwind Slash!"
Raising the blade up, the pattern of the wind current suddenly changed with the wind submerging the blade, traveling around the sword in a constant cycle, the blade appearing to be the eye of a cyclone. The wind emitted a shrill screech as it reached an intense frequency and Kyon seemed to hold a glint of expectation in his eyes, steadily swinging the sword straight down with determination.
The panther was still out of Kyon"s reach when he swung the blade down, but the unthinkable happened. The wind seemed to have been launched off of the blade, rushing in a straight line towards the panther who lacked the most basic of intelligence to dodge, while bringing destruction to everything in its path.
Having unleashed such attacks, the surroundings were an absolute mess, with the wind current being chaotic and the storm still brewing above. Kyon sighed as he looked at all the destruction, "Zephyr, a soft breeze that brings peace."
The storm clouds above dissipated, while the wind currents seemed to return to their normal calm. The blade in his hands reverted to the initial state of mere wind elemental qi, returning to nature. Kyon"s chant appeared to be part of his method of controlling the nature of wind itself.
"Hey, kid, you alright." Kyon asked, breathing heavily. His phantom-like figure was almost transparent, as if it was on the verge of vanishing altogether.
"Yeah, for the most part. What about you? You"re not looking very good after that last attack...."
Laughing, though he couldn"t hide the bitterness contained within, "Ahaha, I"m alright. I just used up too much energy with that last attack. I"m afraid my cultivation stage has fallen all the way down to the middle of Foundation Establish by this point. I"ll have to return to the crystal, otherwise I fear my soul will dissipate altogether soon enough."
Shocked at Kyon"s current circ.u.mstance, "Wilhelm, is there anything I can do to help him?"
[Making a contract with him will help him stabilize his cultivation, though he won"t be able to recover his cultivation in the short term. He"ll have to work his way back up.]
"Kyon-"
"Don"t worry, kid! I"ll be alright."
"No, Kyon-"
"Kid, it"s not your fault. I, the Wind Ratatoskr Squirrel, am a Mighty Spirit who doesn"t fear anything!"
"No! I have a method to unseal you!" Rentaro couldn"t help but burst with irritation after repeated interruptions.
"Huh? Hehe, Kid, I appreciate your goodwill, but don"t pressure yourself into swearing any sort of oath. I"ve already accepted my situation. In fact, it"s not that bad here, even if I must seal myself back in the crystal. Every night, these little animals come and pay their respects to me, as if I am their ancestor."
"No, I really do! We can make a contract together!"
"Welp, it"s not that I didn"t consider that, but the only was contracts would be capable of overriding the seal would be through someone with sufficient grasp of the World Laws."
"Just trust me on this one, will you?"
"Well, I don"t really have any other options here, and I can see you don"t have any malicious intent. Haha, Give it a try, kiddo. Don"t push yourself though."
Rentaro opened the spatial pocket, the Sacrificial Knife appearing in his hands.
"Whoa, kiddo, how"d you do that. No-no-no, don"t tell me. I think I know! That"s the ability to open a spatial pocket, surely it is."
Ignoring Kyon"s rambling, Rentaro took the knife against the tip of his finger, a small drop of blood oozing from his wound. He placed his hand above Kyon, who was slightly surprised, and the drop of blood seemingly merged into his forehead even though his soul"s phantom-like body appeared to be rapidly dematerializing by the second.
"Let us... make a Soul Contract?"
"Very well, kiddo. You"re the first to experience such treatment from a Ratatoskr Clan member, much less from the one who will soar through the sky above even the Heavens!"
As they agreed on a Soul Contract, the golden runic symbols from when Rentaro and Roy made a contract together made an appearance once again. They surrounded Rentaro and Kyon, perfectly merging into Rentaro, while slightly pausing in front of Kyon.
A dark grey aura took form around Kyon, it being the barrier that had not only sealed Kyon"s body in the crystal, but also attached his soul to it. While the runic symbols paused, it was for a brief moment, before they dug into the seal itself.
Soon enough, the seal had completely fallen apart, with the runic symbols successfully merging into Kyon"s soul, proof that they had binded each others" soul to the Soul Contract. Behind them, the purple crystal, the Twinkling Lanaoite, crackled and shattered into bits of pieces, with the remnants ultimately losing their physical form.
Rentaro, opening his eyes, was rather worried by the effects. Looking over, he saw Kyon"s soul merge with his original body, before getting up as well.
"Hey, kiddo. Looks like I can finally speak aloud again, bahaha."
"Yeah, but what about the crystal? And the memories?"
"Eh? Worried about something so small? Don"t worry, it won"t have any negative effect. In fact, the memories will be spread among the entire forest, blessing the animals within with intelligence!"
"Um, what if they"re violent animals?" Rentaro couldn"t help but ask worriedly.
"There"s plenty of bad humans as well though! That"s just a part of life. Speaking of which, there"s a group of weaklings we"ll need to deal with, a cult that commits some taboo acts, you could say."
[You say they"re weak, but don"t forget your own cultivation level has fallen to Foundation Establishment Stage 5.] Wilhelm"s voice cropped in.
"Huh? Who are you? Show yourself!"
"Kyon, don"t worry. That"s just Wilhelm. In short, I was given a system and Wilhelm was set by the creator to be a system guide. Just speak to him as you speak to me."
"A SYSTEM?! Let me tell you this, I saw a system user in my younger days when I was still traveling among the World Trees. Real punk, I"ll tell you that. I think his system was related to dragons or something. Anyway, what"s your system called, kid?" Momentarily, Kyon was rather surprised. With his origins from the World Trees however, he shook it off while recalling the information he had on the subject of systems.
"My system is known as the "Summoning and Contracting System."" Rentaro responded, when he suddenly heard movement and a panicked voice calling his name from the distance.
"Rentaro! What"s going on here?!" The figure revealed itself to be Haz, as he approached with a questioning glance towards Kyon. Following behind him were the rest of the group, including Roy, who were stunned by the destruction that replaced the earlier peaceful scenery.