Nicholas swiftly and gently held Arella before her unconscious body could touch the ground.
A sigh of relief escaped his mouth. Truthfully, he did not know how to explain his half man half beast form to her. And when she called him a 'Beast God', he literally found himself dumbstruck!
When did she become so naïve? What have these years done to her understanding of evolution? How could she still believe in the existence of Beast God?
Nicholas found himself at a loss. He princess carried her and sat her on the nearby chair. Her head was on the table, and it appeared as if, she was in a deep slumber.
With a wave of his hand, a transparent barrier appeared around them, shielding them from the outsiders. Yes, everybody was an outsider to him! Only Arella was his own. And he was here to take her back!
Despite his parents opposing him, he sneaked out of the Star Alliance, on his own to bring her back. Back to the place where she belonged. With them!
He knew that her powers were sealed, and only she, herself had the power to break apart this seal. His parents were of the opinion that when the time was right, she could achieve it on her own.
But he did not want to leave it all to time. He wanted her back! As soon as possible! All these years, he had missed her terribly! So, when he became aware of the timely arrival of the Eclipse of Ascension, he took it as a sign to bring her back.
He has already missed her childhood, now he does not want to miss her youth!
To take her back, he had to quicken her process of improvement.
That is why, in the healing center, he helped her quietly. It was thanks to his presence that she had regained her exceptional recovering abilities. Had it not been him in the healing center, she would have taken a year to recover from the backlash of overdrawn spiritual energy!
Fortunately, it was not tough to revive her recovering abilities. Her recovering abilities flowed as blood in her veins. And no seal could stop its flow. She could not use it because she had forgotten its presence.
She forgot, but he did not. He easily stimulated her blood to perform its inherent role. Just a drop of his own blood with killing energy and everything was done!
The moment he dropped his blood into her wounds, her body instantly recoiled. Her blood fought with his threatening blood, and voila, her blood erupted like a volcano!
Vigorous, deadly, and all consuming. It not only subdued his blood but also started repairing her body at an exceptional speed!
She was truly a jewel! And he had to take her back! But looking at her feeble body in the healing center had dampened his spirits. Ah! Still so weak.
Her blood was boiling, and her senses were improving day by day. But this shell of a body was still too weak. It was constantly trying to subdue her spirit.
Killing her body was the best solution, but he was afraid of harming her body. This shell was a safe place for her spirit. No matter how much he wants to deny it, without this feeble shell, her spirit would not have survived to date.
And, somewhere deep inside, he was scared that if he harmed her body, she would disappear too!
So, he only had one choice, to strengthen her body. But a body has its own limitations. No matter how hard she trained, she could not reach her former glory. Though her stamina and strength have improved, all this was not enough.
And he himself did not know the way out. Her body was a lock, and her Beast Spirit was the key. Only she could unlock her full potential. He could only guide her, step by step.
The first step of rejuvenating her recovery abilities was completed swiftly.
Then came the second step, strengthening her body. Although he did not like to admit it, Adrian had impacted her strength positively. Her body started to regain its strength from their union and the presence of the Soul Knot.
Next in line was the training of senses. Due to her protective environment, he could not train her himself. But divulging the information did spark a curiosity in her.
She was always sincere and action oriented. Once decided, she would do whatever she had to. He could see that she adamantly wanted to improve her aptitude. So, half of the task was already achieved. And with her persistence, he knew she could improve well, and soon.
He was constantly monitoring her statistics. Her senses had become sharper within a span of a few days. But the biggest problem still remained unchanged. Her beast. It was still fast asleep!
Though she had achieved great lengths, to attain her full potential, she would have to awaken her beast! There was no alternative to this! And the key to waking it up was in her hands only.
If only what happened to her at that time! He was oblivious to everything that had transpired. He did not know what happened during that unfortunate time. That time is taboo to her parents. They never revealed anything about it.
All he knew was that, once Arella went out of the Star Alliance, and never came back!
It was only later, that he came to know that she somehow lost her beast, and her body was incapable of entering the gates, that is why, her parents had to leave her there, in the protection of such lower beasts!
When he came to know of this, he frantically started gathering information about her life experience. And what met his senses left him madly seething!
Her poor Arella was ignored as if her presence never mattered. The society mocked her and looked down upon her! How dare they! How could they treat his jewel like that?
These lower beasts were nothing good. They only cared about the inherent aptitude, neglecting the nature of the beast spirit. So ignorant! So limited! That is why they could never rise!
Fortunately, Arella had a better eye! She married a beast which was far better than the insufferable ones!
He still remembered, when first he came to know of his presence, he was filled with fury! She was already married to a beast without his approval. She had a soul knot! It was already tricky to break their alliance. On top of that, as if it was not enough, that Dragon beast took a blood oath too!
Insufferable! How dare he lay a claim on Arella! Nicholas had thought so, but there was nothing he could do. It was a done deal. So, as a result, he followed Adrian to check on him. But Adrian was too alert.
He had to follow Adrian in a hidden manner. When he had witnessed the ruby in his hands back then, he realized that Adrian was there to get that evaluated. Hmm, he could feel Adrian's concern for Arella which made his core a little satisfied.
Thankfully, he was quick enough to impart reliable information to the evaluator in time. Otherwise, who would know what spicy tale could people from this planet weave? These ignorant clan members were no good!
Nicholas was lost in his own thoughts when he sensed somebody's intense gaze. The sleeping girl had a frown etched on her face. She had woken up but was still not fully awake.
This minute change broke his reverie. He skillfully touched her face and made her look at him. Then, he lowered his head and whispered in her ears.
"You were exhausted from practicing too hard, so you took a nap in the grasslands. Forget about seeing Nicholas today. He is normal. There is nothing startling or abnormal about him. Now, sleep well."
His hypnotic voice reached her brain, and whatever he had said turned into reality in her mind. Yes, she was too tired from practicing today, so she took a nap. No, Nicholas was not here today. She did not see a half beast, half man today.
With thoughts continuously swirling in her mind, she slept for another half an hour before waking up with a headache, all alone.
"Ouch." When she opened her eyes, she was sitting on the chair, and her head was lying on the table. Her legs were numb, and her head was hurting a little.
She massaged her numb legs lightly and then went back to her home, forgetting everything about Nicholas.