Chapter 151: Beyond the ThreadsOn Raijinara's back, Eratz felt a rush of wind against his face, but it wasn't just the breeze that had his heart racing.
He couldn't stop the smile tugging at his lips, slowly widening until it turned into a grin. It grew, stretching further, his eyes lighting up with a manic kind of excitement.
"I got it," he muttered, voice filled with a giddy kind of disbelief.
His fingers clenched into fists, and he shook his head as if trying to hold back the wave of exhilaration washing over him.
"This is it... This is what it was... Now I'm sure." He leaned forward, laughing breathlessly, almost deliriously. "Damn, damn, damn!"
His eyes were wide, sparkling with an intensity rare on him.
Rex's revelations had lit a fuse in Eratz's mind, bringing everything into a new view of the world.
Rex had identified Raijinara as being the same as Nivalys and Nivalys was one of the beasts he was looking for.
"That's it," Eratz whispered, more to himself than to Raijinara.
His earlier experience flashed through his mind, that fleeting glimpse of the mind state he'd achieved.
He had seen a thread of energy linking Raijinara to something far greater, but now, in hindsight, the true revelation almost made him crazy.
It wasn't just one thread.
There had been multiple threads, like an intricate web, each line of energy stretching out into the unknown, leading somewhere he couldn't see.
Each thread connected to that mysterious door he had felt, and now, Eratz knew what those threads meant.
Underneath each of these threads was a unique beast.
The truth was so glaringly obvious now, he almost laughed. It was like staring at a map of buried treasure, and he was the only one who'd figured the key.
Eratz reached out, patting Raijinara gently, almost reverently. His fingers brushed against the bird's feathers, crackling with residual static.
"The menu has changed," he whispered.
Raijinara let out a screech, as if sharing in his exhilaration, its wings flaring wide as they soared faster, cutting through the sky.
Almost an hour later, the moon hung high in the night sky, casting a soft silver glow across a wide, empty plain.
Eratz stood in the middle of the field, his silhouette outlined by the faint starlight. The air was still, only broken by the occasional rustle of grass in the breeze.
He scanned his surroundings carefully, his eyes narrowing as he searched for any sign of movement.
"Looks like we're alone," he muttered, satisfied that Rex hadn't followed him.
He took a deep breath, then lowered his head. His shadow began to ripple and stretch, spreading out across the ground.
Slowly, three familiar creatures emerged from the darkness: the Thunder Lycaon, the Terrakrus, and the Aetheri.
Eratz straightened up, looking at each of them with a serious expression.
"Alright, listen up," he said, his voice low. "We're changing things from now on. I've decided on new strategy."
The Thunder Lycaon tilted its head, its bright eyes fixed on him with an almost curious expression. The Terrakrus rumbled, shifting its weight as it listened, and the Aetheri floated closer, its energy pulsing gently.
Eratz took a step forward, his tone firm.
"First, I'm going to share a big chunk of my power with Lycaon, Aetheri and Terrakrus," he explained. "Your mission is simple. Lycaon, Terrakrus, go and find any kind of beast, defeat them, and make sure they stay alive. Then stay near them. Aetheri will act as a control tower and will absorb them from each of you."
The Thunder Lycaon let out a low, rumbling growl, its eyes gleaming with excitement.
The Terrakrus stomped its foot, the ground trembling slightly beneath its massive weight. The Aetheri pulsed, acknowledging its role.
"For tonight," Eratz said, a small, predatory smile playing on his lips, "you three are the hunters. Catch everything on your sight... everything non human of course."
His beasts growled in agreement, a unified sound that echoed across the empty plain. Eratz then turned to Raijinara.
"And you," he said, stepping closer to his companion. "We're going to try that mind state again. But this time, I want you to hold back your power as soon as it starts creating another storm like before."
Raijinara let out a sharp screech, spreading its wings wide, as if to show its understanding. Eratz nodded.
"If it takes too long and I a storm start to form, it could mean Raijinara is incapacitated by that case, so, Aetheri, I need you to attack me, just like Rex did. Do you understand?"
The Aetheri nodded, its body shimmering as it floated closer. Raijinara screeched again.
Eratz looked at his beasts and gave a final nod.
"Alright," he said softly. "Let's begin."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, the world around him fading into silence. His aura surged out like a wave, directly from his beasts.
The Thunder Lycaon and the Terrakrus roared in unison, their energy merging with his own before they leaped away in explosive, ground-shaking jumps, vanishing into the darkness. Sёarᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
High above, the Aetheri hovered like a silent sentinel, its light casting a faint, ghostly glow. Eratz slowly sat down, the night air cool against his skin. He shut out everything, the wind rustling through the grass, the distant howls of creatures in the wilderness.
Bit by bit, he lost his awareness of the world, letting go of the noise and sensations, until there was only him and Raijinara.
The bird's energy pulsed steadily, syncing with his own heartbeat. He felt the bond between them tighten, the limits between their minds dissolving.
His breathing slowed, becoming deep and rhythmic. His aura calmed, flowing like a gentle river instead of a roaring tide.
He could sense his connection with Raijinara growing stronger, the two of them merging into one singular consciousness.
Every now and then, dark clouds gathered in the sky and a small beam of energy shot from the Aetheri, jolting him back, but he remained focused, diving deeper each time.
Time lost its meaning. The moon moved across the sky, casting long shadows that gradually faded with the approach of dawn. He felt the cold dew forming on his skin, but it didn't
matter.
The entire night became a spectacle of sensations, moments where the storm started again, followed by the Aetheri's sharp correction.
And then, as the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, something shifted.
Eratz's eyes fluttered open, and he was sitting in the middle of a shallow crater, the ground
scorched and cracked around him.
He smiled, his lips curling up slowly, almost lazily.
"At last," he whispered.
A faint yellow aura clung to his body, barely visible.
On the outside, his appearance seemed normal, but from his perspective, everything had
changed.
He could see them, stretching out into the distance like strands of light: the threads.
Dozens of them, each one glowing faintly, weaving through the sky like strings of a great
web, all heading to different locations in the void around them.
He chuckled, a low, satisfied sound, his smile widening. "Things are really going to be interesting now," he murmured.