Suddenly, Tom felt a surge of power enveloping his whole body. It was a sensation quite different from when he had absorbed the core of the crystal creature, yet strangely familiar in some ways.
It was as if he had taken a breath of fresh air after days spent in a dank sewer. He felt alive again, reinvigorated with strength. However, the gnawing hunger remained, a constant reminder of his dire circumstances.
Without questioning the inexplicable turn of events, Tom seized one of the offered rabbits and tore into it with a voracity only found in the truly famished. He didn't have the patience to prepare the meal properly; all that mattered was filling his empty stomach.
Fortunately for him, an Etherian's digestive system was robust, so devouring raw meat, especially in his current state, wouldn't cause harm. But such considerations were far from Tom's mind. His sole focus was on sating the insatiable hunger that had plagued him for days.
Minutes passed as he devoured the first rabbit, resembling a starving beast. His primal instincts had taken over, and the only thing that mattered was survival. The rabbit's flesh disappeared rapidly, leaving only gnawed bones in his grasp.
Unperturbed by his actions, the monkey-like creature watched Tom's morbid feast in silent curiosity, its eyes fixed on him.
After several minutes, Tom finished the first rabbit and moved on to the second, tearing into it with the same ferocity. With each bite, he could feel a bit of life returning to his frail body. While these two meager rabbits were far from satisfying his hunger, they had at least pulled him back from the brink of death.
Only after finishing his meal did Tom turn his gaze toward the creature that had provided him with the rabbits.
"Uh... do you understand what I'm saying?" Tom asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice, as he looked at the monkey-like creature.
To his astonishment, the creature nodded, demonstrating that it indeed comprehended Tom's words.
"Okay, since you understand me, can you tell me why you helped me, considering..." Tom's words trailed off as he recalled his last encounter with the creature.
In an attempt to explain, the monkey-like creature began a series of movements. However, Tom couldn't make heads or tails of its actions. After several seconds of perplexing gestures, the creature finished its "explanation" by prostrating itself before Tom.
"O...kay," Tom said, feeling no closer to understanding why the creature had helped him. He began to ponder, analyzing the creature's movements. Yet, even with his best efforts, he couldn't decipher its intentions.
As he contemplated the situation, Tom suddenly remembered something else.
"Hmm... I thought I heard a voice earlier, didn't I?" he wondered aloud.
"Probably just an illusion caused by hunger," he concluded.
[It was not an illusion.]
Suddenly, a voice responded to Tom, causing him to jump on his feet. He looked left and right, searching for the source of the voice, while the monkey-like creature observed his sudden agitation with curiosity.
"What was that? Who said that ?" Tom began to panic. He had just heard a voice speaking directly in his head, so it was entirely natural for him to be unsettled.
'I'm starting to lose my mind,' Tom thought after several minutes of scanning his surroundings without finding anyone.
[No, you're not losing your mind.]
This time, however, he was certain he wasn't dreaming, and there was indeed a voice communicating with him.
'Who are you, and what do you want?' Tom asked, doing his best to calm himself.
[You don't deserve to know for now.]
After receiving this unexpected response, Tom felt disheartened but quickly composed himself to pose another question.
'So, what do you want from me?'
[I am here to help you.]
Tom scoffed upon hearing that answer and replied, 'You're here to help me, but you won't even tell me who you are?'
[It's not that I don't want to tell you, but such knowledge will bring you more trouble than good.]
Hearing this, Tom calmed down a bit but remained cautious.
'If you're here to help me, then why don't you reveal yourself? Where are you ?'
[Conduct an internal inspection of your body], replied the voice.
"Why should I do that-' Before Tom could finish, the voice interrupted him with a somewhat irritated tone.
[Just do it.]
Tom hesitated for a moment to comply because conducting an internal inspection of his body required absolute concentration, and he wouldn't be able to defend himself in time if someone or something attacked him.
[Ask the monkey to protect you and do it quickly; we don't have much time.]
Tom paused, considering whether he could trust this mysterious voice and the monkey.
"What makes you think the monkey won't attack me? And why would it agree to..."
[Just ask him; he will.]
Hearing this, Tom hesitated for a moment before deciding to trust the voice and ask the monkey for protection.
"Uh... could you protect me for a moment?"
The monkey looked at him for a moment before nodding its head.
With the monkey's approval, Tom delved into deep concentration and began inspecting the inside of his body using his etherium.
He examined his body from head to toe, finding nothing irregular, then focused on the part of his head, where his core was located.
His core seemed to be functioning as usual, busy absorbing and distributing etherium throughout his body.
"There's nothing that's changed, so why..." Just as he thought everything was fine and was about to stop his inspection, Tom remembered an irregularity he had noticed and decided to ignore because he didn't know what it was or how to investigate it. Recalling this, he looked around his core and found the supposed irregularity.
The irregularity in question were those strange patterns he had first seen when he unlocked his first seal.
The first time he saw them, he couldn't even approach them, so he had decided to abandon the idea and investigate later. It seemed like he had just discovered what they were, as the voice he had been talking to earlier addressed him again, saying:
[This is where I am.]
Surprised, Tom asked again, "Who are you, and why are you here?"
[As I've said before, we don't have time, so I'll just explain some things about how your bloodline works and how the power I'm going to lend you functions.]
"Huh... What are you talking about? My bloodline? The power you're going to lend me? What are you saying?"
[Just be quiet and listen], said the voice before continuing.
[You've just fulfilled the condition to awaken your bloodline, which is why I can now assist you.]
Tom didn't have much information about bloodlines, but he knew enough to understand what the voice was talking about. However, something intrigued him, so he asked, "What condition are you talking about?"
[The condition to awaken the Ruler's Bloodline you possess is to have subordinates.]