The elderly scaled woruse stayed silent for a while until the cub tapped it with its paws as if asking it what was wrong.
"Yes, I know."
It lightly patted the cub's back with its paw and the cub indulged in this feeling.
"It looks like you're good at using talismans."
"Yes, I can make mid-level inscriptions."
After telling it his current skill level, the elderly scaled woruse nodded in approval. This was the first time someone had recognised his talismans, but considering the age of the evolved beast it wasn't odd.
"Impressive. As a talented descendent of my old friend, may I ask something of you?"
"Go ahead."
"Please bring this child with you when you leave."
Shui looked at the cub by the elderly scaled woruse's side. Since the elderly scaled woruse was obviously nearing death, it probably wanted to allow the cub to explore the outside world. Since the cub had saved his life, Shui had no problems with bringing him, but,
"That's fine but I'm not sure I'll be able to bring it out since there's a seal on the ancestral lands."
Shui still hadn't gotten a charm for himself, and he wasn't sure if the cub would be able to leave with him even if he got a charm for it, or if he put it in his sachel.
"I'm aware. I shall help you with that. I'm not sure if you will agree with my method, but if you do, then I will give you what remains of my pseudo-true core after I pass on my bloodline secrets to this child."
Beast lords began forming a pseudo-true core which was an undeveloped form of the true core which a beast king would have, and an advanced form of the core that beast spirits had. Unlike the true core which would allow a beast king to revive easily as long as its true core was not destroyed completely, the psuedo-true core only allowed resurrection under harsh conditions. However, as long as there was a psuedo-true core, it was possible for an evolved beast to reproduce asexually. Though the child would normally eat the psuedo-true core, it wasn't essential and what was left in it would be a great supplement to the soul and contain concentrated nature energy. Since he didn't ask for a reward to begin with, Shui looked forward to this but remained curious as to what needed to be done.
"What is it?"
"The core of this seal is the body of my old friend. However, an evil spirit born from his heart demon has corrupted the seal. I need you to get me near it so I can kill it and burn the body of my old friend."
Shui could tell that the old friend it referred to was the progenitor, so along with the suspicions he already had he was now sure that the elderly scaled woruse was telling the truth.
'I knew there was something wrong with the progenitor.'
"I don't mind helping, but are you sure? The progenitor was your friend right?"
"Yes, but I believe it's better that I get rid of his body than let some vile creature take advantage of it."
For the first time, Shui sensed a semblance of emotion in its voice. If the core of the seal was destroyed then the ancestral lands would likely lose its significance and become an ordinary piece of land. However, he didn't have a problem with that.
In his mind, the only things that mattered was the fact that he would get a good reward and get out of this death trap.
"I'll help, but considering it's been alive for so long, it should have a few tricks up its sleeves."
"I believe so as well. There's a barrier around the mountain so I haven't been able to get there, but once I pass on my bloodline secrets to this child I can leave a piece of my soul in my pseudo-true core to fight it. You should probably run away after I do this. Even if I can't beat it, if I detonate what's left of my soul it should be enough to destroy the core."
"Got it."
This operation wasn't safe, but expecting a reward without any risk in his current situation would be too naive. After agreeing to help it, Shui stayed in the room while the two said their farewells and a rainbow sphere covered both of them. When the rainbow orb formed, the light from the walls and ceiling dulled. Since this process of transferring bloodline would likely last until the next day, Shui stayed in the cave. Since the majestic aura was still present, it was unlikely that the assassin would come near this place.
During this time, Shui inscribed two layered 'Confuse' symbols on a grey cloak he had and watched the rainbow orb. Anyone else would only be fascinated by the wondorous sight, but Shui could find inspiration here. In his eyes, he could find brief moments where mysterious symbols flashed on the orb. These symbols were similar to the ones used in his inscriptions but were of much higher complexity.
Learning basic inscriptions only required effort, reaching low-level required imagination, reaching mid-level required knowledge while reaching high-level required inspiration. And in this moment, Shui looked at the orb in search of this inspiration.
At dawn of the next day, he hadn't reached the ability to do high-level inscriptions but he felt like he was close. Around this time, the light of the orb dimmed until it vanished, leaving only the cub and a sphere around the size of its head. The cub's scales were now the colour of the rainbow while its horn became translucent. Shui walked to the platform and placed his hand on the clear orb that had a rainbow-coloured spark at its center.
"I'll stay dormant until you reach the evil spirit. I've told this child its true name, but until it can remember it you should bestow it a name."
After leaving those lines, Shui could only sense the concentrated energy and comforting feeling he got from the orb.
'A name, huh?'
The true name of certain races had special significance to them so it was normal in some cases for it to remain hidden until the holder of the true name was strong enough, or old enough. This was the first time Shui would name a living being so he put on a pensive expression while looking at the sleeping cub.
'Wolfie... Jack... Fern... Roy... hmm, it's not sticking.'
He stared at the cub for a bit longer before his lightbulb flashed.
"Cin!"
In inscription language, the symbol for 'Wolf' looked similar to 'sin' in the common language that was spoken in the Alterna Kingdom. Shui then changed the 's' for a 'c' so that it didn't look as bad. Was this a carefully thought of name? That was up for debate but Shui was set on it.
By the time he had finally come up with this name, Cin began waking up.
"You're awake. Tell me, what do you think about me naming you 'Cin'?"
Cin lazily nodded and Shui took that as confirmation. When Cin spotted the orb he had in his hand, it stared at it with eyes brimming with sadness. It knew what had happened to its parent. It knew that nothing could be done about it, and that it had to move on. After some time spent staring, its gaze shifted to Shui. It lifted its front right paw and waved it back and forth as if calling him. Shui took this chance to step closer to it and stretched his left hand towards it. As soon as the hand reached its head, Cin bit down on it and drank the blood that came out. Since he saw it coming, Shui was prepared for the pain but it still hurt.
After drinking his blood, Cin cut its right leg with the claws on its left paw and raised the bleeding leg. Though he knew this was a necessary part of the ritual, Shui was still reluctant to do it. However, he only hesitated for five seconds before swiftly licking the wound. Once he did so, he felt as if a bridge had been made connecting the two of them. This was the ritual required for a interspecies pact with an evolved beast. With this pact, they swore to treat each other like brothers and to get revenge if the other died unjustly. He didn't know if this ritual was just common sense in the past or if the elderly scaled woruse just didn't remember to explain it to him, but luckily Shui knew of it. Even so, he was flabbergasted by what he heard next.
"Sup, bro. Since we're brothers I'll allow you to call me just Cin."
The voice of a child trying to sound mature made its way to his mind. Because of the pact, there was now a telepathic channel for them to communicate on despite Cin not being a beast spirit. This channel was as strong as their souls and connection so they would probably still be able to communicate even if Shui was in Cyrus as long as there wasn't anything blocking the transmission.
"Wow, you're just as cheeky as I thought. Let's go bro."