Chapter 59 (LIX) Taken

"Umbra!" Jackson called out as the wyvern tattoo on his chest began to fade like Khione's on the back of his shoulder.

The small wyvern appeared in a flash, gliding through the air as he landed in the sand. He walked up to him, rubbing his face against his leg as he screeched.

Jackson smiled at his new companion as Khione's eyes narrowed, immediately feeling jealous as she ran to her master, jumped into his arms, and started being overly affectionate.

He laughed, hugging her tightly before he set her on the ground, and she quickly turned, trying to return to his arms, meowing.

He patted her on the head, smiling as she pawed at his arms.

He looked over at Umbra, who had approached the remains of the egg that contained him and began eating the shell.

Khione meowed to get his attention again, and he turned to see her sitting in front of him, looking at her with sad eyes. She rubbed against him, meowing and purring, wanting to get closer to him.

He pulled her into his arms, holding her as he stood. She leaned against him, nuzzling his chest as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Jackson approached Umbra, sitting in the sand next to the campfire, and watched him eat the shell, inspecting his stats:

[Name: Umbra]

[Species: Twilight Wyvern]

[Spirit Rank: Emperor (Evolvable)]

[Spirit Trait: Draconic Visage, Shadow Form]

[Spirit Level: 3]

[Affinity: Darkness, Fire]

[Power: 34]

[Perception: 29]

[Stamina: 30]

[Speed: 26]

[Instinct: 40]

[Available Points: 0]

[Spirit Artes: None Registered]

"Mythic never ceases to impress!" Jackson chuckled as he grinned over Umbra's stats, inspecting his traits:

[Spirit Trait: Draconic Visage]

[As a member of the Draconian Race, Umbra has Dragon's Eyes, allowing a myriad of benefits to his Master.]

[Rank: 1/1]

[ When Umbra is Called, the Climber will be able to discern a person's true nature, confirm the truth from lies, and see Mana Channels. In combat, Umbra's abilities include a brief terror effect when activated in addition to their typical effects.]

[Spirit Trait: Shadow Form]

[Being a Twilight Wyvern, Umbra is able to shroud his entire body in black smoke, turning any part of his body incorporeal.]

[Rank: 1/5]

[ Umbra has an 18% to avoid any attack thrown at him by shrouding himself in a cloud of black smoke. Each increase in Rank increases the activation chance.]

The primary reason why a Spirit Beast's Rank was so important was due to the appearance of traits.

Starting at the King Rank, they would have one trait, and Emperor Rank had two, while the highly covetous God Rank had three; of course, the additional attributes didn't hurt either.

Khione was glaring at Umbra as he finished off the shell and started to approach as she began softly growling slowly.

Jackson stared down at her, looking at her with a raised brow. She continued her low, threatening growl as she stared at the wyvern.

Jackson sighed, patting the top of her head, as she stopped and she gave him a look of disapproval. Umbra ignored the warnings as he continued to approach.

She growled louder as he got close, and he stopped, looking down at her. She snarled, showing her fangs and swatting the air with her paw, and he stepped back, confused.

"Play nice, Khione!" Jackson scolded, wagging his finger toward her. She then looked at him, tilting her head as she seemed to be considering something.

With her attention drawn away, Umbra waited patiently for a moment, crouching low to the ground as he slowly crept closer.

He reached Jackson's calf, climbed onto it, and started sniffing Khione, which startled her as she hissed and leaned away, pressing against the young man's stomach.

Umbra sniffed the air, making a soft cooing sound as he looked up at Jackson, crawling into his lap, then curled up, resting his head on the side of Jackson's thigh.

Khione huffed, turning away and climbing onto Jackson's shoulder and jumping off his back, and trotting along the beach.

Jackson watched the winged panther kitten walk away and rolled his eyes, and patted Umbra's head softly, "Don't worry, she'll warm up to you eventually…"

Jackson stood as Umbra crawled up his chest, resting across his shoulders, his tail curling around his neck.

He reached up and rubbed his fingertip against Umbra's shout, smiling when a bunch of small birds were startled and flew from their perches nearby.

Jackson narrowed his eyes and checked his minimap, noticing a dot nearby, exclaiming, "Shit!"

A loud screech pierced the quiet roll of the ocean as Jackson's eyes widened, and he sprinted down the beach, searching for Khione.

"Return!" He shouted as Umbra immediately dematerialized, and his tattoo became vibrant, but Khione's remained greyed out.

"Return!!" He shouted again, but nothing happened. He bolted toward the red dot on his minimap.

As he approached, the dot began to move away quickly, and the faster Jackson ran, the quicker the dot moved away.

"Get back here, you son of a bitch!! Jackson roared, pushing his body to its limits. He felt his legs burning with each step, but he pushed on, gritting his teeth as he tried to catch up to the dot fleeing with Khione.

His breathing was ragged, his heart pounding in his ears as he struggled to gain on the mysterious figure.

He reached the edge of the forest and saw the trees start to thin out, revealing the blue sky above.

He spotted the figure ahead, running toward the cliff face. Jackson screamed loudly, his body enveloped in lightning as he shot through the air.

The purple bolt of lightning arced wildly as monstrous booms of thunder spread out each time the lightning changed directions.

The mysterious figure leaped into the air, rapidly moving up the cliffside. Jackson landed before them as the purple lightning burst into the ground.

The hooded figure held Khione in their arms, holding her tightly against them, twisting away to keep him from his partner.

"Give… Her… BACK!!!" Jackson shouted, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with anger.