As Silvia stood over 'Alphy' with her grip tightening around bow, arrow, and string, she noticed 'Alphy's' agitation slowly slip away and turn into fear. Yet, although 'Alphy' feared her she also noticed the wolf's hesitation at the mention of forming a contract.
Eventually, the wolf closed his eyes and a Circular Runic Array began to take form before him. It was lightning blue in color and was made of countless complex and archaic Runes.
After Silvia saw The Runic Array appear some of the tension left her body, and a similar Runic Array gradually took form before her. The one before her was slightly darker in comparison to the one before 'Alphy' and the latter's seemed more subservient.
The Runic Arrays began to rotate in opposite directions and seemed to be drawn to one another as they moved through the air.
Silvia then completely released her tension on the bow's string and reabsorbed the Star Qi contained within the arrow itself through her right-hand.
She then bit her free index finger and drew a drop of blood. She flicked the drop of blood towards the Runic Array which had formed before her and 'Alphy' did the same.
Silvia watched as the drops of blood fused into their respective Runic Arrays as the latter drew ever closer together.
Eventually, the Runic Arrays made contact and began to merge into a new whole.
The new Runic Array was an image of 'Alphy'. He appeared to be lounging on the top of a mountain peak, which was surrounded by clouds of silvery-blue streaks of lightning.
The Runic Array floated towards Silvia as she held out her right arm. The Runic Array then branded itself into the flesh of her presented shoulder.
As they Runic Array merged with her flesh, Silvia felt a great amount of pain along with; the connection between her Sea of Consciousness and that of 'Alphy', and a new spark of Star Qi flowing through her body.
This new Star Qi tempered both her bodily flesh and inherent Runic Arrays as it traveled through her Origin Pathways.
Due to the recently formed connection between their Seas of Consciousness, Silvia could tell that 'Alphy' was enduring a similar, although more prominent experience, as some of her Star Qi entered his body and tempered his body the same way his Star Qi did hers.
She looked into his eyes and said, "You need a new name, "Alphy" is, of course, fine as a term of endearment. But, how could my, Silvia Thunderpeak's mount and contracted Demonic Beast, be referred to as 'Alphy'."
"I never liked the name in the first place." The now nameless wolf's voice responded in Silvia's head with a matter of fact tone.
"Watch your tone pup!" Silvia's tone took a turn as she replied in mock anger. She threw her bow to the ground and give the wolf a few pounds on his head.
"Ouch! Okay...Okay! Crazy psycho bitch..." The wolf muttered in his thoughts as he used his right paw to rub his head.
"What'd you say smartass!?" Silvia said as she raised her fist in preparation to once more pound on his head.
He quickly corrected himself, "I said: Okay, Young Mistress."
"Yeah, that had better been what you said," Silvia said with a smug look on her face before she continued, "Anyway, what do you think of the name Lothar?"
He gave a grin which could only be construed as wolfish and haughtily responded, "I love it. 'Muwhahahaha...' I am now 'The Mighty Lothar'. All plebians shall prostrate themselves before my magnificence. 'Kekekekeke...' "
Various lights flashed through Silvia's eyes in the instant she heard Lothar talk, but her eyes reverted back to normal just as quickly.
"Yes that's right my 'Alphy', wait, I'm sorry, my 'Mighty' Lothar. You can never be too cocky. You must flaunt your supreme arrogance." Silvia said as a vague killing intent took form in her eyes, and she stood over him.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom!"
She suddenly leaped on to his back, mounting him before she started pummeling on his head coldly shouting, "Not! You better be humble and well behaved at all times. Absolutely no flaunting of your arrogance is allowed, and nor shall it be tolerated. We have an image to keep and the Thunderpeak Clan's Family Name can never be besmirched." She seemed to be a completely different person as all traces of gaiety and smugness previously showed vanished. They were replaced by anger, pride, and a great sense of protectiveness.
After pummeling on his head for some time, her breathing became rough. At that point, she stopped her punches and seemed to regain some of the control she had previously lost. She stood up and took a few calming breaths. Then she gazed down at his trembling form with a hint of apology, which she would never admit to, present in her eyes.
His trembling slowly ceased and his eyes took on a wronged look.
He seemed to want to call her something, but he had learned from prior experience and knew not to poke the proverbial bear. So, he instead decided to sheepishly bow his head and communicate. "I am very sorry for my arrogance Young Mistress."
"Hmph..." She snorted while turning her pert noes upwards before she looked towards him and said, "At least you know how to apologize for overstepping your bounds. I guess you're pretty smart after all."
Even as she spoke in an admonishing tone her eyes continued to apologize for her actions.
Silvia then said, "I need you to round up the surviving members of your pack. We need to get back to the family estate contained within the northern section of the forest. Further preparations need to be made for our future travels to The Cradle of Chaos."
In response to Lothar's questioning look, Silvia continued, "The CRadle of Chaos is the most renown Academy throughout the entire Kaotik Universe. It is at the forefront in almost every field of study and the legends of many of these fields are professors there. Not only is it an academy it is also one of the fiercest battlegrounds, which is oft used to train geniuses from not only this Universe but, others as well." Great seriousness and a determination to make a place for herself were present in her gaze.
She then opened her right-palm and raised it to the sky. The swords condensed from Lightning Attributed Star Qi began to dissipate and turn into streams which entered her body through her hand.
Lothar's eyes shone with appreciation and hope was evident in his tone when he asked mentally, "The heavily wounded and the dead?"
"Point them out to me and they will be dealt with accordingly," Silvia responded simply.
Hearing her response some of his hope seemed to disappear, yet he still nodded before he looked upwards to the sky and released a long howl.
As the sound of his howl reached the ears of the 4 betas and 71 omegas still alive looked towards him before they began to drag their wounded and exhausted bodies in his direction. Those lightly wounded helped others with more significant wounds in this endeavor.
As Lothar called out to his pack Silvia released a high-pitched whistle towards the sky.
Suddenly as the Lightning Devouring Wolves were less than fifty meters away from reaching Silvia and Lothar the winds began to rage.
A massive shadow appeared on the ground of the meadow causing them all to look upwards. What they saw scared the living shit out of them.
There was an Azure-Feathered bird, gently flapping its wings as it lowered itself towards the ground. It had a twenty-meter wingspan, hooked beak, razor-sharp talons, and abdomen slightly lighter in color than the rest of its around 20-meter tall body.
At the appearance of the bird, which instilled an instinctive fear in him Lothar instantly took on a fighting stance and narrowed his eyes. But, he was calmed when Silvia gently rubbed on his head and said, "It's okay Lothar, this is my Origin Sym, Luciana. She is an Azure-Feathered Storm Falcon."
Lothar nodded in response, though his sense of fear did not completely wane.
He refocused his attention on his both mentally and physically exhausted pack. He released another howl, yet the tone of this howl was softer and was meant to encourage the other Lightning Devouring Wolves to overcome their fear. It seemed to work as their trembling stooped and lights of determination appeared in their eyes.
They once more began to approach Lothar and Silvia.
Luciana soon landed before Silvia and the two shared a glance.
Luciana, this is Lothar." She indicated to Lothar before continuing on, "He is the newest addition to our household. I need you to show him the ropes, okay?"
Luciana nodded in acknowledgment and turned her gaze to Lothar.
Lothar did the same and as their gazes intersected they were able to share countless thoughts in second due to a mental bond they had formed through Silvia.
It was at this moment that a woman wearing a maid's headdress, a black knee-length kimono, and black stockings made of lace appeared before Silvia. She was around 1.7 meters tall and had long black hair, curved brows, crystal clear blue eyes, a pointed nose, full lips, cream-like skin, attached earlobes, a heart-shaped face, long slender legs, and breast which appeared only slightly above average in size.
She bowed to Silvia and said, "Young Mistress," In greeting.
Silvia nodded her head in deference and responded, "Josaphine."
She then indicated to the surviving members of Lothar's pack which were heading towards them. I need you to heal them and then bury the corpses of the wolves who did not survive the battle in the meadow."
Lothar turned his gaze away from Luciana and turned to look at her questioningly when he heard Silvia's words.
Silvia simply stated, "You are my contracted Demonic Beast, which makes them my family as they are yours." Before she continued on. "Unless you want to distribute their remains amongst the surviving members of the pack for sustenance?"
"Mistress that is not necessary," Lothar said in response to her question before continues with devotion in his eyes, "But I thank you for showing my brethren respect in death. I pledge unto you my undying loyalty, and a promise to do the best I can to ensure the same from my surviving brethren in perpetuity." He then bowed his head in submission.
Silvia smiled delightedly before saying, "I shall gladly accept, and I promise to do my utmost to make yours the 'Strongest Pack of Wolf-Type Demonic Beast' throughout the multitude of Universes," She then reciprocated his with a nod and a pat on his head.
The rest of the pack had heard the exchange between the two. The gazes they used to look upon Silvia with were no longer clouded with fear, hate, indignation, or hesitation towards their situation, but were now instead filled with respect, sincere admiration, and loyalty.
They similarly to Lothar bowed towards Silvia in order to express their loyalty.
Josaphine then began her assigned task, finishing the burial of the deceased wolves in mere seconds before she returned to Silvia's side.
She then raised both of her open palms towards the sky. They emitted beams of Golden Colored Mana which rushed up into the sky. They formed clouds of golden life force in the sky. Drops of golden colored-rain then fell from the clouds.
The rain entered the bodies of the injured wolves. It flowed through bothe their veins and Origin Pathways healing their battered bodies, while also working to soothe their exhausted minds.
The wolves were soon healed, and Josaphine closed her palms to cut off the beams of light causing the golden clouds to dissipate. She lowered her hands to her sides and, moved so that she stood a half-step behind Silvia.
"Josaphine" Silvia called out as she gazed at the recovered wolves and continued to pat the head of Lothar who laid next to her.
"Yes, Young Mistress?"
"Have Malikai and Alyssa completed the Ceremony?" At this point, she had turned her attention to the sky above.
"Yes, they have Young Mistress." Josaphine responded before she asked, "Would you like to know the results?"
"Of course not. There is no way in Pangu they could have failed to contract an Origin Sym, and knowing which ones they have contracted with would simply take the anticipation out of it and would thus ruin the fun." Silvia responded with a matter of fact tone which was also filled with excitement.
"Very well" Was Josaphine's only response as she refrained from commenting on her Mistress's words.
After a few moments of silence, Silvia turned to say to Lothar, "Josaphine and I will ride atop Luciana to the estate. I want you to lead your pack in following us along the ground and through the forest, okay?"
"Very well, Young Mistress," Lothar responded aware that was her preferred title.
Silvia nodded at his response and said, "Come along Josaphine."
Silvia then walked forward a few steps before she jumped upwards and landed on Luciana's head and proceeded to sit down with her legs crossed.
Josaphine did not respond as it would be tedious and unnecessary, she simply followed behind Silvia and stood to her left when she arrived atop Luciana's head.
As Luciana began to flap her wings and rise into the air she cast a final glance towards Lothar who was surrounded by billowing grass.
Lothar rows to his feet and nodded in response to Luciana's glance. He then raised his head to the sky and released yet another howl. As Luciana soared into the sky the rest of the pack howled in response to Lothar.
Lothar then took off in pursuit of Luciana's shadow and the rest of the LIghtning Devouring Wolves stormed after him through the forest.
As Malikai and Alyssa walked out of the mountain's entrance they were followed by Gregor. He was now merely 2 meters tall and had olive-colored skin, yet his aura was even stronger than before. His two swords were sheathed across his back and his hands were balled into fists at his sides. His ears occasionally twitched and his tail was dragged along behind him.
The light of the Sun which hung in the sky above glistened off of his golden-colored armor.
They stood on the surface of the water which was covered in ripples caused the creatures moving below its surface.
Malikai raised his right hand into the array and fired off a small beam of blue-colored Mana in order to signal their readiness to Quentin and the others.
They only waited for a few seconds after the beam exploded into a cloud of light before Quentin and the others appeared in the sky above from various directions.
They all soon landed on the surface of the water.
A curious expression surfaced on Quentin's face as he observed Gregor.
He looked to Malikai and Alyssa and asked them, "Who is this."
"The Dual Swordsman: Gregor KIng of Beast. He is one of our family's most ancient Mechanoids and he is one of the most advanced Mechanoids our Ancestor Christopher Hightower ever created. Gregor himself is infinitely close to being a living organism which possesses both sentience and the ability to cultivate Origin Forces instead of simply storing them. These paired with his ability to decipher Aria allow him to cultivate past his initial Realm." Alyssa explained with great pride and admiration present within her voice.
Respect appeared within Quentin's eyes after he was made to be aware of Gregor's identity. He proceeded to say, "I have heard of his legendary exploits and unprecedented ferocity of the field of battle. I myself witnessed one of his battles when I was but a mere brat barely past the Core Condensation Stage."
{ What do you mean 'was' but a mere brat? You're still an insignificant brat, you red-headed doofus. }
Virgo's voice appeared within Malikai's head and he had to hold back a chuckle.
Gregor appeared to be relaxed and acted as if their conversation had absolutely nothing to do with him, yet in reality, his body left zero openings to exploit. One could decipher his massive combat experience from this simple fact.
Regardless of that, he himself had been observing the actions of Quentin and the others behind him from the moment they appeared in the sky above him, Malikai and Alyssa. This was so because he took the security of Alyssa and Malikai ass his absolute duty, because of their identities as the heirs and greatest historical geniuses of The Hightower Imperial Family.
"Moving on from that. We need to depart for The Forest of Eden." Gregor cut off any further conversation regarding himself.
"Gregor is correct." Malikai agreed before he looked to Alyssa and stated, "Sister, if you would."
"Of course brother," Alyssa said before she held out her right hand, whose ring-finger now donned a ring similar to the oneMalikai had constructed for himself in the Library.
She channeled her Mana into the ring and its Runic Array glowed in golden light before one of the many ships which had been inside The Warehouse appeared on the surface of the lake behind Quentin's group of cloaked individuals.
The ship was purplish-red in color and covered in Runic Arrays glowing in blue and gold light. The ship had five masts beginning at different levels of height with the mast in the center being the largest and the two on the ends being half its size. The ship was shaped like a classic naval cruiser besides the fact; that instead of an engine or propeller it had thrusters on its back end. The distance between the bottom of the ship and the top of its highest mast was around 200 meters while the distance between the bottom of the ship and its deck was 20 meters.
The ship was as long as two football fields and the center of the ship was 40 meters wide.
Quentin and the others turned to look back at the ship and released gasps of amazement.
'This is The Cosmic Cruiser the flagship of the future fleet belonging to me and Malikai and her name is Cynthia. We will be using her for most of our travel." Alyssa introduced the ship to Quentin and the others, as Gregor had already been briefed of most plans down in The Warehouse.
"V-very Well," Quentin soon overcame his stupor enough to say.
Malikai and Alyssa lead the way to the ship's port side. Once there Malikai jumped aboard first soon followed by Alyssa, then Gregor, and finally by Quentin and his people.
Once they were on the deck the distinction between the tiers of the ship was evident. There were four levels/tiers above the deck with each having 3/4 the surface area of the one below it. The observation deck and bridge took up the entirety of the first level. The next level was dedicated to both the kitchens and crew boarding, while the first two masts were situated on top of its two ends. The third level was dedicated to accommodations for passengers, the 3rd and 4th masts were on its two ends. Finally was the fourth level which was solely dedicated to the captain's quarters and the final mast was on top of it.
Malikai walked towards the bridge of the ship and enterd inside with the others following behind.
It was semi-circular in shape with the arched side facing the ship's bow.
The bridge's fron and back sections were separated by a set of stairs leading downwards to the front, effectively creating two levels. There was a captain's chair situated against the back wall, and raised platform in the middle the upper-level.
The chair seemed to be one with the rest of the ship, as if the ship itself had given birth to the chair instead of the latter being crafted.
Malikai sat in the chair and it seemed to conform to his body as if wishing to become one with him.
Alyssa stood to his right side and placed her hand on his arm.
Malikai nodded in response to her comforting gesture and closed his eyes before separating his mind from the outside world.
Gregor stood to his left and continued to observe the others as the either wandered around the bridge looking out its floor to ceiling windows or sat on the seamless ground.