After sealing away the corpse puppet, Ki went to another place filled with several cages with large beasts inside.
During the past year as Nox took more control of the gangs and the trade within the underworld, Ki began to put out an order to purchase any good condition beasts that were captured and sold within the black market or the black markets auction house.
Also when Ki made several trips into the forest with Nova to train her detection and tracking abilities, she had hunted many small animals with nova but when a larger animal appeared within the territory she would immediately call her forces to subdue and capture it.
There was quite a collection that she had captured or purchased, there were many antelopes that had been purchased and they were primarily from the western desert but a large group had migrated to the central lands in the past so they were easier to find.
The other ones that stood out the most were the many wolves within the cages which were from the forest area and were also subdued with the help of Leon's frost wolf who became their leader.
Finally the other beasts that were caged were a snow leopard that was within the forest and a large black bear that was sold within an auction house.
The snow leopard was subdued with a strong tranquilliser within the food Ki and the blood shadow group laid out near its hideout.
Although Ki was able to capture many of the wolves she did not remove too many from the forest so she did not disrupt the forests ecosystem.
She looked behind her as a group of masked people waiting for orders. "Bring one of the cages of the antelopes and then the snow leopard and the bear along with you to one of the barns by the mansion and be discreet about it."
As the days passed by Ki helped the family complete the contracts while Agnes began the sacrificial ritual.
Within a barn after completing the first stage of the sacrificial ritual, Agnes and Ki stood over a sleeping antelope as it lay on the ground breathing softly.
Ki looked towards Agnes as she handed her a runic dagger she had been using for her ritualistic mystical arts. "Now that you have completed the first stage from now on your body and overall strength has been boosted from the animal that you killed and sacrificed but the amount you have been given does not match up to what mother and father have gained through their contract. The difference between the contract and the sacrifice is that while you can gain a little of the strengths of the beast you kill you can build upon it as you go."
Agnes frowned and then nodded upon understanding a little. "So what you mean is that to gain greater strength and changes from the ritual is to continue with the ritual? What about the beast I have sacrificed? Do I need to use the same kind or can I use a different one to take on other characteristics?"
Ki shook her head. "It's mostly about compatibility. It is mostly preferred that the same beast is used to increase the compatibility and not reduce the amount of strength gained from the ritual. The same kind of family of beasts can be used but the effects will be reduced so it is best to stick to the same beast to avoid reducing the effects per ritual. We have already completed the first ritual and drawn the markings on your body so all you need to do is complete the kill yourself and draw out the energy with your mystical techniques markings."
Agnes had a look of realisation within her eyes as she began to look down at the dagger. "I see… so that's the reason why I did not have that much of a change compared to my son and daughter."
She stepped forward and carefully held the dagger towards the back of the head of the antelope and stabbed downwards with all of her strength.
As the dagger entered the body of the antelope its body twitched as its body began to put up a little of a struggle during its final moments.
Agnes placed her other hand on her chest where the marking was located near her heart and began to close her eyes as if putting all of her focus on directing the mark to complete the final part of the sacrifice.
She could sense the changes within the location of her heart as she felt a connection become established between herself and the the dying antelope as she began to draw its strength from its body during its final moments and after its death until she could no longer draw anymore from it.
She took in a deep breathe and calmed herself down and began to feel her bodies strength and overall stamina improving as if it had doubled.
After her body completed its change she displayed a look of astonishment. "I can see why this method is a preferred choice rather than the contract as you said. Rather than having a partner and sharing part of their strengths and senses this is more like a direct way to slowly build up the strength. How interesting it is but I am sure that this method is very costly and requires many sacrifices to be able to surpass the contracts outcome and versatility to be able to be used in combat."
Ki nodded. "If too many took up this method of gaining strength then the animals ecosystem could be greatly damaged and risk endangering the animals species survival and making them become extinct but if it was used in a place with overpopulated beasts like the eastern lands then it would be the best place to use it. Within the central lands this mystical technique should not be widely used because the beasts within the lands aren't as many compared to other places so not many warriors can be created using this method. From now on others will not use this method but the contract ritual if needed."
Agnes agreed with her. "It's no wonder those tribes stay within the eastern lands and have thrived there for such a long time if they had control of such techniques but how did you come to possess such knowledge of this?"
Ki sighed and then spoke as if feeling guilty. "You know that I would gladly tell you everything but it's too much to take in and even if you find out the truth behind everything it is too unrealistic for you to completely believe. So let's just say that there are some things that I have experienced that you and the family are unaware of, some things that have happened in the past few years were not meant to happen as they have and were destined to go down a dark path. What matters is that I have a set of experiences and knowledge beyond my own age but I am still your granddaughter and the same person you have raised even if there have been some changes the core still remains."
Agnes intuition was quite accurate and after listening to her granddaughters words she could tell that her granddaughter was telling the truth and that it was definitely her granddaughter in front of her. "It all sounds unrealistic like you said but since you have said so much I can now understand why you have kept most things to yourself over the years but in the end what is your goal in the end?"
Ki bowed her head in thought and then raised it to look into her grandmothers eyes. "For now it's to just resist whatever comes at us and build up our strength. As for the future I wouldn't dare to set a specific goal or plan because there are far too many variables within the world that could try to become enemies with us in the future and we need to overcome."
Agnes looked a little troubled and then spoke again. "So this must be why you have always been in such a hurry to improve yourself and the families strength and businesses. I just hope that while you are on your quest to gain strength you don't lose yourself and fall too far that you are unable to recognise yourself anymore."
Ki nodded to her words but then thought to herself. 'It has been many years since I have been able to recognise myself but ever since my return I have been on a journey of self discovery once again which has led to the current me. As for the changes I will undergo in the future I am unsure of but I am sure I will not abandon my current goal and beliefs. Now that I have an additional person to protect that is Naara I need to be even more firm in my beliefs and protect my family well to ensure all of our survival.'
Ki lead her grandmother out of the barn while she ordered the her men to dismantle the antelopes body for different purposes and then followed her grandmother back into the mansion. "There will be another antelope available to sacrifice once you have adjusted to your change, in order to keep up with the demand there will also be a breeding site opened up within our lands for the antelopes to increase their population so we never run out. Once you feel you have enough strength to protect yourself then you will no longer need to continue with the sacrifices but if one day you find yourself feeling powerless again then they will always be there to use."