Chapter 41 – Letters of War, Threads of Fate
Scene One: The Elven Prince's Message
Evan unfolded the letter slowly, the royal sigil of the Holy Elven Empire stamped in molten silver wax.
The letter itself was short—arrogantly so:
"I saw the fire over Aflety.
And I saw the one who walked through it untouched.
The next time we meet, I will not be watching.
I will be testing you.
—Prince Caelith of the Ivory Crown."
Lilith frowned after reading it beside him. "He's not known for being gentle."
Evan narrowed his eyes. "Good. Neither am I."
Behind them, Nex growled low—not in anger, but in agreement.
Scene Two: The Council's Gift
Despite the division within the War Council, some had chosen to back Evan.
Before leaving Fort Altherion, he was summoned once more by the Emperor and presented with a gift:
The Beastbrand Gauntlet.
Forged by dwarven flame-priests and inscribed with elder runes, it allowed perfect syncing between beast and tamer—and could tap into ancestral echoes, a hidden trait of Divine Beasts long thought to be myth.
As the gauntlet clasped around his wrist, it shimmered—reacting instantly to Nex.
And in that moment, Evan saw it again:
A memory not his own.
A world covered in sand.
A sky torn by serpents.
A god falling.
And a name whispered in his blood:
"Sepntis."
Scene Three: Unseen Eyes, Hidden Blades
Back at Aflety, repairs were underway. Wards were reforged, ruins cleared.
But something lingered in the air.
Suspicion.
Unease.
And… watchers.
Evan noticed it first during combat drills—an unfamiliar professor observing from afar. He wore green robes, plain and unadorned, but the way he moved… fluid, silent, lethal.
His name was Professor Cyras. Supposedly a scholar of forbidden beastology.
But when Evan's shadow moved independently during one duel, mimicking a creature not of this world, Cyras merely smiled and took notes.
Kei whispered, "That man doesn't blink. Not once. I watched."
Evan made a note to keep Lilith and the others close.
The Nest wasn't the only thing crawling through Aflety.
Scene Four: A Tamer's Vow
Late that night, Evan climbed the North Tower alone.
Below, the academy pulsed with quiet magic, healing… but never forgetting.
He looked up at the stars—at a world far beyond this one.
"I don't know who I was supposed to be," he said aloud. "But I know who I need to become."
Nex appeared beside him in full Divine form—majestic and terrible, his scales now laced with obsidian shimmer.
They stood together.
Man and Beast.
And in the distance, far beyond the hills, a storm was forming.
Not of weather.
But of fate.
Scene Five: The Rise of the Ash Court
Far from Aflety, beneath the remnants of an ancient, buried temple, the Black Nest gathered.
Their leader—still unnamed—sat upon a throne of bone and black feathers, a beast draped at his side. A chimera of divine origin, bound in chains.
A hooded agent approached, bowing low.
"The Basilisk Boy has awakened ancestral sync."
The leader chuckled.
"Good."
He fed a fragment of soulstone to the chained beast. It roared—then began to shift.
Its feathers turned crimson.
Its eyes burned blue.
The leader looked at it with pride.
"One day, they will realize this was never about control. It was always about remembrance."
He stood.
"And the gods will weep when they see what we've become."
[End of Chapter 41]