Chapter 52 - The Beast Form
Nathan Evenhart:
After finally starting to sense a bit of the wind element, I was freed from my restrictions and began meditating to improve the circulation of mana within my body. With the elemental wind mana beginning to flow, my task was to make it travel through all my mana channels and then reach the roots, forcing it to get used to the exit. The teacher said this was a way to accelerate whatever was blocking me from accessing the elemental mana.
"Are you sure you're doing it right?" a voice asked me.
I opened my eyes to see the golden fox girl, Kinue, sitting in a chair. The teacher had asked Chloe to switch partners to assess her progress. The little monster, for some reason, got annoyed with me when she found out I would be training with Kinue.
"Yes, I'm doing it right," I replied, still sitting on the floor.
We were in my room in the mansion. After spending so much time with them, we had gotten used to each other's presence, and teacher Adrihna mentioned she knew about Carnellian because my grandfather had shown it to her in the past.
Kinue was struggling to keep her eyes open, but I could see it was tough for her.
"You know you can sleep, right? It's okay to leave me to practice alone for a while."
She straightened up a bit, looking nervous.
"I'm not bored, I swear," she mumbled, her fox ears drooping. "I just have to deal with periods of extreme sleepiness, and I can't control it."
It must be because her biology is different from mine.
A part of me wanted to know everything about the other kingdoms. I'd asked about the elven kingdom, and for some reason, teacher Adrihna would get a bit uneasy and only give me common information that was already in the books I'd read.
Sitting in front of me was a demi-human, and I finally had the chance to satisfy my curiosity about her kingdom. In my old world, there were just countries or big cities; the concept of kingdoms with different races didn't exist.
"Is this sleepiness normal for demi-humans?" I asked.
Kinue shook her head.
It's not common for her species?
"Is it something unique to you?" I asked.
"Sort of. A few demi-humans have something called 'Beast Form,' and because of that, I experience periods of physical fatigue. Even though I look more human, my beast form is growing along with me, and it tires me out."
I was surprised to hear that.
"You mentioned something about a beast transformation before. Is that it?"
She nodded.
"I have this other form. Not all demi-humans do, and it's pretty rare."
I had almost forgotten about that.
"And what is it like? How does this beast form work?"
Kinue moved closer and sat beside me.
She pointed to her ear.
"A demi-human with a beast form can completely transform into the animal they share characteristics with. It's my spirit animal. At some point, I'll be able to turn into a golden-furred fox. These special demi-humans gain a lot of raw power when in their transformed state, but it's hard to control, and it's a long process. We always have to be careful not to let our minds be affected."
She paused to think.
"I don't know much about it yet. The teacher knows a famous demi-human who will help me learn to control it when I'm older."
Okay, that's pretty awesome.
"And how does a demi-human know they have the beast form?" I asked, excited.
I ended up getting a little too close, and she blushed.
I forgot she's shy.
"I... I'm embarrassed to talk about it..." she muttered.
I toned down my excitement for a moment.
Did I accidentally touch on something sensitive?
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was a private matter for girls."
She blushed even more.
"It's not like that," she said, nervously waving her arms.
Kinue's face was red, and her ears drooped as if trying to hide.
"When... when... when a demi-human with the beast form is born, they don't come into the world like other babies."
I scratched my head, trying to understand what she meant.
"I don't get it..."
Kinue hid behind a book made of light element.
I guess she picked up this habit from the teacher...
"Demi-humans who can transform into their beast form when they grow up are born in their beast form, not their demi-human form. I was born as a small fox, and after a few months, I became a baby girl..." she explained, her face red as she hid it behind the book.
"That's definitely really cool," I said.
She basically started life as a super monster? I would've loved to do something like that during my time as a Sovereign God.
"Y-you don't have any prejudice?" she asked me.
I was surprised by her words.
"Why would I have any prejudice?"
"It's just that... it's not very well accepted in human society..."
"I'm not entirely human either, remember? I've got some elf in me too, haha," I said, giving the shy girl a reassuring pat on the back.
"Even so... there are places that don't like us, especially if they find out about this," she said, still hiding behind the translucent book.
I placed my hands on her shoulders.
"Don't worry, you're very welcome here. Our family accepts all kinds of people, and that includes me. We don't discriminate, and you're very welcome in our home."
Maybe this will help ease some of her little traumas.
"Y-you accept me? What do you mean by that!?" she asked, flustered and blushing.
"I mean exactly what I said. We even deal with a shy panther... and there's that monk too, and even me. I came into this family later, and they welcomed me. Here in Evenhart territory, it doesn't matter what your skin color or race is."
Not to mention a spoiled and clingy phoenix.
"T-thank you," she said. "That means a lot to me. Even in my village... I wasn't very welcome."
Kinue lowered the book, and there was a distant look in her eyes—a look I recognized from another life.
"What do you mean you weren't welcome in your village?" I asked.
"I was born different from the other foxes. My ears and tail don't have the typical reddish-brown fur of a fox. My fur is more like a golden blonde... because of that, people kept their distance from me."
Now I understand why she's so shy...
"But what about your parents?"
"My mother died when I was a baby due to a famine we went through during the war. I was from a very poor village, and the war crippled the economy, which affected us. My father passed away shortly after, and I was alone for a while..." she said, her face filled with sadness.
Kinue was twirling a strand of her hair, and I could sense the same feeling I used to have before I became Nathan Evenhart. I was looking at a small Icarus.
"And how did you manage to eat during that time?" I asked.
Kinue turned her face away.
"I see, you took food from where they discarded leftovers. I've eaten from the trash too…"
"Really? You've eaten from the trash?" she asked, surprised.
"Everyone has their secrets. But I didn't always live here... Let's just say I know what it's like to see a child walking hand in hand with their mother, living a happy life, eating something good, and getting a warm hug. I know what it's like to be on the other side of the sidewalk, alone and abandoned in a dark world." I placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's our secret, Kinue, don't tell anyone."
She nodded in agreement.
"But don't worry, shortly after that, the teacher found me, and I never felt alone again," she said with a smile.
"So you found your sun."
"My sun?" she asked, confused.
"Something that lit up your life and brought color back where there was none. Treasure that, and never let that person go. To love someone and feel loved... is something that no power in the world can replace once it's lost. Even if you become the most powerful person that ever existed... nothing compares to feeling love."
Not even becoming a Sovereign...
She seemed to be trying to understand my words.
"Come on," I said, extending my hand to her.
"Where to?"
"Let's go play," I said.
"But what about the training?" she asked, nervously.
"There are times when we just need to be kids, especially for people like us who never really got to live that part of life."