Abel stared at the kneeling Gnoll Leader with wide eyes, completely stupefied.
'Did that thing just speak to me?!' The thought was quite unnerving, but it was the only thing he was capable of thinking of at the moment.
After a few silent moments, the Gnoll raised its head and connected its gaze with Abel's. The two of them maintained their gaze for a while, resulting in a clash between a vibrant green, and deep purple. After a couple of seconds, the Gnoll Leader shifted its gaze, bowing its head and admitting defeat in the visual battle.
"You can speak?" Abel probed once he had calmed down. The Gnoll nodded its head, choosing not to speak. When it did this, Abel had a faint feeling in his mind that let him know why it didn't speak. It had held back from speaking because he hadn't permitted it.
"You may speak now." Abel granted it permission.
"Thank you, Master..."It paused for a moment before speaking again, "I can speak because I had gained a level of sentience that was above usual before my death." It's voice was deep, rough and had a steel undertone to it. It was quite fitting for a creature that was as big as it.
After thinking upon its words for a while, Abel asked another question, "If you claim to have acquired sentience, then why would you choose to serve under me, a human?"
"..." It didn't reply.
"Perhaps you are hoping to get your revenge on the ones who ended your life, and so, you chose to remain with your Core to achieve that-"
"No! I did not remain in my Core to take revenge upon you, or the man who killed me." It suddenly spoke up, raising its head to glare at Abel. The change in demeanor startled Abel a bit. A few moments ago, it was being obedient, and now it had suddenly turned aggressive. Even the Gnoll itself was a bit taken aback, with its eyes wide, and its jaw left slightly slacked. It quickly regained its composure though.
"Forgive me for my outburst, Master, but I did not chose to stay behind to exact revenge." It took a deep breath before continuing, "I chose to stay back because I saw potential in you. Potential far higher than I saw in myself, or any of my kind." It's gaze connected with Abel's a fire seemingly lit within it. Abel nodded slightly, his hand rubbing his smooth-shaven chin as he immersed himself in thought. He had also regained his earlier composure after some time passed.
"Oh, by the way, you can stand upright now." Abel waved for the Gnoll to stand up. It towered over him, blocking out the sun and casting a shade over him.
Abel thought over the words of the ex-Gnoll Leader. It had said he had potential. Of course, he already knew that; Audu had made it very clear to him that as long as he trained hard and did his best, he would be able to make waves in the world of Montreya once day. That was before his reincarnation, though. It was all different now.
"Are you perhaps able to hide yourself or something? Because I don't think I can explain how exactly I got a three and half meter tall Gnoll as my bodyguard, you know. If I tell them you're a Beast Soul, they won't stop pestering me till I sell you to them." Abel rubbed his forehead as he tried to come up with an idea.
"Of course, I am perfectly capable of residing within your mental space until when I'm needed, although I would prefer to be brought out at certain intervals, as I am your only Beast Soul and your mental space will surely be boring." Although it was still a creature, the Gnoll interacted as though it was well accustomed to human culture.
"Oh. Well, that makes things much more simple. So, how do I go about this?"
"You just have to will it, Master. Think of it happening, and it will happen." The Gnoll was slightly amused at Abel's cluelessness. Although Abel could sense its thoughts, he chose to ignore it. Instead, he focused on his thoughts. They centered around making the Beast Soul enter his mental space.
After a few scant moments of willing for the action to happen, the body of the Gnoll shone a pale green before darting into Abel's head. The moment it happened, Abel gained a faint mental weight. That 'mental weight' was the presence of the Gnoll within his mental space.
After taking a few minutes to get used to the feeling, Abel turned around and returned to the town with the intention to tell Audu about his new Tower Running companion. He didn't bother running back, as he knew that Audu had nowhere to go to. He didn't even think the old man had any friends other than the armorer Dwarf!