A few decades ago, the Subaru group, owned and managed by the Subaru family, used to be undoubtedly the biggest financial institution of the republic. Owning hundreds of businesses spanning across several industries within the international stage, it was easily one of the most formidable cooperation in the world, ranking top 10 in the list according to the Green York Times.
However, with the confidence of wealth boasting their egos, they once made an enemy of another family from the world of Anima users. And within a few months, the CEOs, the board of directors and other important figures of the Subaru group were assassinated one after another, regardless of the level of security placed around the victims.
During this short period, the Subaru family was quickly knocked off the rankings as their businesses were quickly overtaken by their competitors. But that was the least of their worry. Under the threat of death and its terrors, the rest of the family quickly looked for a protector; and the Shuzen family was the first to reach out a helping hand.
This was during the early emergence of Anima; the example of the Subaru group showed the world that its order had fundamentally changed. They were in the eve of a new era, where power no longer dictates by wealth, but by the size of one's fists.
Having learned such a valuable lesson with firsthand experience, the current head of the Subaru family married a widow from the Shuzens; hoping his offspring would one day lead the family into the ranks of Anima users from that side of the world. And now, within a large villa, that particular woman from the Shuzen was sitting before Mr. Subaru, and casually blending her coffee with a certain thickened and concentrated milk.
"Welcome back, Himeko. How dearly have I missed my wife? You looked even more beautiful than before." There was a wide smile on the man's face.
"Oh, is that so? The herbs from that island are surprisingly effective it seems." Himeko felt slightly guilty when making up the excuse for her change of appearance; her master's vile seeds were really too nutritious for any woman.
The esteemed mistress of the Subaru family was lightly cladded in a tight black dress pasting over the seductive curve of her figure, a large V shaped opening on her chest proudly revealed the deep cleavage of her bare breasts. With her legs crossed, the meaty thighs were assertively exposed beneath the skirt. Then moving down to her two delicate feet, they were worn with a pair of high heels to enhance her womanly appeal.
Do not be mistaken, this was how the woman dressed regularly, there was no attempt or desire to arouse anyone. However, due to her recent explosive growth sprout, the attire looked more erotic and indecent than usual.
"Mother, I prepared snacks to go with your coffee." Yumeko was delighted to see her mother home; she entered the room with a plate of cookies.
"Oh, you are so sweet, my love." Himeko kissed the young lady on the cheek; outside of training and missions, the mother was truly benevolent to her dear daughter.
"Hey, what about mine?" The man tried his friendliest smile towards Yumeko.
"Hmph!" There was a clear disdain on the young lady's face as she swiftly turned around and exited the study.
"Seems like she hasn't forgiven you. Can't blame her, you really are a scum." The woman nonchalantly jested.
Yumeko was a valuable and gifted female Anima user with a strong bloodline; hence, Mr. Subaru wanted to marry her off to one of her step-cousins within the family. The hope was to have her breed as many offspring as possible in order to contrive more talented individuals into the house. The attempt ended up really badly and a grudge was held to this day.
"Hahaha." The man awkwardly laughed it off.
"Anyway, let's get down to business." Himeko took out a vial containing an artificial essence forged by the twins
"This is the blood of the demon from that island. With the samples in hand, their research can move on to the next step. They promised you will be the first once their experiments are successful."
Himeko was only released from the island as Leo's tamed pet to be a double agent infiltrating the enemies of the Halfmoon. It was obviously unwise to go against the whole government of the republic; therefore, they needed to weed out those who were hostile towards the family. The sample of demon's blood was a counterfeit forged to fool her clients so that the female agent could maintain their trust.
The ring on his hand was a defensive artifact given to him by his mother; it was supposed to protect him from life threatening harms, but it had never activated once. Regardless, he kept it because he was a mommy's boy. Little did he know, the Anima stored inside the artifact had already been consumed by a certain entity.
It was then, white mist flushed out from the ring and took the form of an ethereal old man in white hair and long white beard floating in midair. He had the gentle demeanor often seen on an elderly towards his grandchildren, a perfect faade that could beguile any hostilities with his friendly appearance.
"A spirit? A Yoma? Just what are you?" There was still an expression of distrust on Yuuto's face.
"I have been dead for so many eons that I had already forgotten my name; you can just call me old gramps." The spirit briefly gazed towards the beyond with melancholy, then it awkwardly looked to the side.
"I must thank you for providing the Anima for my awakening. I know it must have caused you trouble, but to think you would... ingest that... get around my siphoning."
For many years, the spirit had been siphoning the Anima cultivated by the young man. It was the reason he couldn't advance his cultivation no matter how hard he tried. Pills, concoctions, or essences stored in rare artifacts, all the privileges he enjoyed were sucked dry for the spirit's revival. However, the spirit was a little too... daunted, to siphon the energies from those special fluids Yuuto acquired through special means, that he was finally spared from its parasitic behavior.
"You what!?!?!? So, the reason I was suffering for all these years was because of you?!?" Yuuto jumped forwards and tackled the spirit out of anger, but his hands simply phased through the ethereal body.
"Relax, child. I was the Grand Magus of the seven towers, I possess cultivation knowledge long lost to this era. This is certainly an interesting time to be alive. To repay the debt I owe to you, I will take you as my disciple and raise you to the greatest height!"
The spirit had existed as a spiritual entity for most of human history. It was forced into slumber for self-preservation due to Anima withering from the world many centuries ago. Now that it had awakened and revealed itself before Yuuto, one can't help but wonder what purpose it has for the young man.
"Really?! Then you are now my new master! I am Yuuto Subaru, please take my knee." In the next immediate instance, Yuuto bent the knee; he reckoned it was finally the turning point of his life.
Hey! Hey! Hey! What happened to following the script? The old gramps was in shock at how fast the young man took his offer without a shed of doubt, rendering all the follow up plans of persuasion obsolete. Yuuto kneeled so fast that the spirit almost broke its facade from surprise.
"Hmph! Very well... you are now my six hundred and sixty sixth disciple. Rest assured that you are in good hands." The spirit caressed his beard and smiled pleasantly at the young man.
"Yes! Master!" Yuuto eagerly shouted with a stern face, but the excitement from his inner mind was uncontainable.
"Hahahaha. A grandpa, my golden finger cheat. I really became a protagonist! Lilith, Elizabeth, just so you wait, you bitches will be mine! Yumeko, you too!" Sacred thoughts were streaming into his head.
However, while the young man was absorbed in his fantasies with his head bowed against the ground, a certain black miasma ambushed the spirit of the old gramps. While a silent battle ensued between the two souls, Yuuto was wondering how long the spirit intended to have him kneel. But for the sake of paying sufficient respect, he endured for another long minute.
"You may raise your head now, lad." It was the same voice from the old gramps.
"Thank you! Master." The young man looked up with great anticipation.
"Without further of due, I will pass onto you the soul devourer cultivation technique of the great abyss."
The old gramps pointed his index finger onto Yuuto's forehead, and the forbidden knowledge was transferred to his mind. Along with it, certain dark energies hidden within the stream. The wicked smile on the spirit's face remained unseen.