Chapter 3: Chapter Two: The Beast That Spoke Back

Chapter Two: The Beast That Spoke Back

“The mind may lead… but only with the heart will the beast follow.”

Location: Abandoned Slave Camp, Southern Wildlands – Day 4

Smoke clung to the trees like ghosts that refused to move on.

The slave camp, once a place of chains and silence, now lay fractured — torn tents, burned wagons, collapsed fences. Ash scattered across the earth. Ruki stirred in the medical tarp she’d been dragged under, the taste of iron still fresh in her mouth.

Beside her, silent and scarred, lay the beast who had saved them both.

White fur stained crimson. Divine pressure fading. Mar-Mar did not move — but his breathing, though faint, was steady.

Ruki coughed, body aching. “Still alive?”

Mar-Mar’s ears flicked.

“You burn through mana like a fool,” he muttered without opening his eyes. “But yes.”

She froze. “…You talk now?”

“I always could. You just weren’t worthy of hearing me before.”

Hours Later – Makeshift Shelter

Ruki sat upright, covered in rough cloth, soup steaming in her hands. The elf woman, Kaelira, was tending to the wounded—those who survived the chaos.

“Twenty-three Beastkin freed,” Kaelira reported. “Ten can walk. Five are children. Two may not last the night.”

Ruki nodded. “We’ll bury them properly. No mass pits.”

Mar-Mar stood outside the tarp, tail flicking irritably. He refused help—wouldn’t even lie down.

“You bonded with a divine beast,” Kaelira whispered as she wrapped new bandages around Ruki’s ribs. “That alone could change this continent.”

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“I didn’t mean to,” Ruki said. “He was dying. I just… asked.”

“What did you ask?”

Ruki’s voice dropped.

“‘Do you want to survive with me?’”

Mar-Mar’s growl rumbled from the other side of the tarp.

“And I did,” he said. “So now we do.”

[SYSTEM INTERFACE RESTORED]

Status: Ruki Yusato

Class: Beast Lord (Suppressed)

Level: 2

Mana: 63 / 200

Known Spells:

– Copy: Magic Mastery (Halved Cast)

– Hollow Step (Tier 1)

– Flicker Shock (Tier 2)

Passive: Beastkin Royal Resonance (Unstable)

Relics: Durecast Earrings [Locked], Aegis Code [Sealed]

Bond: Active – Marzha’ren of the Whiteveil

Tactical Synchronization: +12 INT boost while within 15m of bonded beast

Ruki blinked at the numbers. The bond hadn’t just been emotional—it came with data. Shared awareness. Heightened clarity.

“Do you feel it?” she asked aloud.

Mar-Mar turned toward her, eyes glowing.

“I feel your calculations before you speak them,” he said.

“Same,” she whispered. “It’s like I’m not thinking alone anymore.”

Evening – Campfire Planning

Wrapped in cloaks, the three of them sat near the embers of a controlled fire.

“We have three options,” Ruki said, sketching a crude map in the dirt.

Disappear into the Swamplands. Beastkin survive there, but it’s unstable.

Hide in a neutral zone — old ruins to the west. Rumors say magic lingers there.

Use the chaos. Appear in a small arena town, win fame, and hide in plain sight.

Kaelira studied her. “You’re thinking like a general.”

“I was a tactician… in another life.”

“Then we follow your plan. But know this — if the Holy Empire hears what happened here… they will come.”

“They already will,” Mar-Mar said darkly. “They felt the bond. Even caged, I had value. But free?”

Ruki nodded. “Then we move at dawn.”

Day 5 – Morning Departure

The air was cold. Frost shimmered faintly on the grass.

Ruki limped forward, her mana still unstable, her muscles burning. Mar-Mar walked beside her, slower now, but alert. Kaelira and the survivors trailed behind.

They left behind the smoldering wreck of the camp — no banners, no names. Just broken chains in the dirt.

As they passed the final tree line, Mar-Mar spoke quietly.

“I do not regret the bond.”

Ruki smiled weakly. “Neither do I.”

Cutaway Scene: Imperial Encampment – That Same Night

Location: Mobile War Tent, Eastern Province – Holy Empire Territory

Captain Vyrell stood over the scrying basin, its waters swirling with static.

A robed cleric knelt behind him, eyes wide. “The roar was confirmed, Captain. Divine-class signature. A bond was formed.”

“Which beast?”

The cleric hesitated. “…We believe it was Marzha’ren. The Whiteveil.”

Vyrell slammed a gauntlet onto the table. “And the location?”

“Southern Wildlands. Kareth region. A known Beastkin site.”

Vyrell narrowed his eyes.

“Dispatch the Sanctum Spears. We move before the Syndicate catches wind. If the beast has awakened…”

He turned.

“…then so has the heir.”

End of Chapter Two

Next: Chapter Three – Echoes in the Flame

“When power returns to the hunted, the world must choose who truly rules.”