Unlike their previous rest, Ourayo only stayed in the river for minutes as Inin watched as the qi of the river began to rapidly strengthen their physique.
It was certainly odd given that, out of the qi that resided in every natural element, the only qi humans could absorb was ambient qi - or the qi that naturally forms in the atmosphere. The old woman said nothing and instead she smiled.
She'd already called it when their body was unconscious and bleeding out on the floor of the Head of the Silent Melody Family.
This person was different.
She just didn't expect for them to be so passive. Not that she minded in the least right now.
...
Ourayo's head was a mess as they lay in the river.
They were disconnected from their body but could feel the utter pain as their body forcefully drew in the endless qi of the river. They felt their bones condense and consolidate, they felt their muscles inflate and then tighten before contracting and trying to strangle their bones.
Their eyes began to throb as qi began to circulate in them and around their heart.
And this didn't even end with just their body.
The monster's head swam as they watched what could only be memories as they saw a first person view from the third person.
The qi began to expand to form a sea of thought where Ourayo writhed and remembered. It rushed into the new space and created a nebulous form of energy in the center and calling the entirety of the process a mess was an understatement.
It was a small hell as they changed from a weakling to... whatever they were becoming.
But even the pain of hell was forgotten as they could only watch themself stare at the floor in seething rage.
The edge of the thought sea showed visions of two people on either side, a creature of clouds and a creature of fire.
All around them, a booming voice denounced 'Ourayo, the criminal'.
There were no charges that they were told of.
It was simply denouncement. And the seething anger of failure.
And then the pain of losing all that seemed close.
And then black, and the monster was left in a dark expanse with a silver nebulous mist.
...
More than a dozen minutes had passed and Inin's smile had since vanished to an impatient frown.
She was clear she had no clue what was going on but she still felt she'd made a decent decision by declaring this being her heir and student. After all, any being capable of absorbing qi aside from ambient qi was unheard of.
She'd have to ask them what happened when they awoke, she resolved.
...
Ourayo looked out into their thought sea with several new bits of information.
One, there were people that they considered friends.
Two, they were considered a criminal somewhere, but had yet to recognize where.
Three, they were... a person. With a history. And while part of them wanted to know the history that they held, there was a part of them that wanted to forget it.
But if they truly forgot it, wouldn't they be a different kind of person?
They wondered, but sighed, because their body seemed finished in its tempering, and while this nebulous mist grew, it had since leveled off and only increased by small amounts.
It seemed as though they'd gained the energy they needed to truly enter this world prepared.
'New life, new me? Something like that. After all, I don't want to be a criminal.'
And so Ourayo opened their eyes.
...
After a half hour, Inin's patience was rewarded.
She could clearly see that Ourayo had gone through a strange form of body tempering even though she didn't know which kind of method they'd used.
Even Ourayo didn't know what kind of method they'd used.
She could see that Ourayo awoke but didn't open their eyes, but she was surprised nonetheless. After all, the monster's hair glowed and gave off the predatory aura of a mid-level creature only found in the wilderness.
She could still defeat one fairly easily, but it was a big increase from the aura weaker than a small child she was used to.
The monster could likely lift a hundred stones. She far surpassed that though.
But not everyone else did, and so she walked over to Ourayo and rapped on their head. The monster's eyes flew open as she did so and they complained with an "ow!" and rubbing their forehead.
...
Ourayo didn't see Inin mind and instead she activated an oppressing aura once more that threatened to devour them. Instinctively, they turned off their own aura in an attempt to hide, to which the old woman smiled and retracted her own killing intent.
'The old woman...?'
'Smiling?'
'This doesn't seem good one bit.'
Regardless of their thoughts, the old woman spoke first. "So, you possess a modicum of talent. Good. While you'll find you're the second strongest here, that doesn't immediately qualify you for inheriting my estate and becoming my student. One comes before the other, and I've chosen to take you as my student. Understand?"
They had to ride with it, they felt. If Ourayo refused, she might get suspicious or even mad, and they didn't want to feel the aura again.
The monster didn't trust themself to say anything, so they nodded.
The old woman smiled and even without aura, the action seemed terrifying.
'If this is the starting point, how much worse can she get?'