ROAR!!!
"Heartly Submission!"
Two gravity forces collided, and...
BOOM!
Both of them were sent back a couple of steps.
"Greedy Bear... you benefited greatly from the Glacial Holy Honey."
ROAR!
Indeed, the honey acted like a powerful tonic, sending the Rocky-Armored Bear directly to the Initial Stage of the Primordial Descendant Lord.
It became stronger, but Atlas wasn't scared.
ROAR!
There was no time to speak because the Bear's only purpose for this battle was to subdue the human in front of him.
The gravity power was useless, so the two used their body to fight.
One was huge and heavy, and the other small and light.
From the start, it was easy to determine who would be the winner, yet the young man with his tiny body could still put up a fight.
ROAR!
Seeing the Bear advancing, Atlas planted his feet on the ground and waited patiently.
"Come, little Bear..."
His taunting voice acted like a catalyst.
The creature became furious and charged at him even faster.
The time of collision finally came, but suddenly, the Bear found itself slamming into the soil with his back.
Growl...
It all occurred so fast that the creature didn't know why its heavy body was literally turned upside down.
It noticed the human making a strange movement, yet that tiny figure was so fast that it was impossible to follow.
"Hey... little Bear... What are you doing there?"
Hearing his taunt again, the creature flipped his body and looked back with a strange expression.
"What... do you want to concede?"
Looking from a safe distance at the battle, August couldn't help but grin deviously.
"Hahaha... look at my boy. He grasped the fundaments of the Myriad Devastations of Angrarum pretty well... He even adapted his body to the dangerous flow path required from the Immovable Mountain of Enyoir, the secret close combat style inside the Myriad Devastations of Agrarum..."
Indeed, after weeks of tests and failures, Atlas could finally adapt his veins to the explosive and virulent outburst of power described in that mystical technique.
It took him a while, probably more than he had speculated, but the results were making him jubilant and eager to beat that arrogant creature with his bare hand.
Like all the other Techniques in the Myriad Devastations of Angrarum, the Immovable Mountain of Enyoir was a devastating battle style that could constantly harden his body and expand his veins to burst out a small but deadly power all over or in precise parts of it. Its muscles and bones were put under considerable stress, but with a well-distributed usage of internal energy, one could considerably lessen that burden.
Initially, Atlas didn't want to use it until he found a suitable Tyrannical Titan Path manual because one needed a tempered body to fully operate its capabilities. Yet, he wanted to show off his power, determination, and capabilities in front of his grandpa, the one who had protected and nurtured him since he was a little boy.
ROAR!
In response to his words, the creature assaulted the human again.
Alas, it was the same old story.
ROAR! ROAR!
Angered by the unseen situation, the Bear vented against him, roaring like a mad lion.
"You are too noisy... it getting late. Come on!"
Atlas couldn't help but mock him again. He was having so much fun bullying this arrogant creature.
Growl... Growl...
Noticing this wasn't the right way, the Rocky-Armored Bear changed its plan.
It was time to use his new ability.
ROAR!
The creature attacked again but with a different strategy this time.
Its steps were heavier than before, and its aura grew to its peak.
It was ready.
ROAR!
With a mighty roar, the creature stood up with its rear paws and then slammed into the ground...
BOOM!
A terrifying power erupted from where the two frontal paws touched the soil.
All happened so fast that Atlas couldn't react in time and found himself bombarded by a thick wave of tiny stones.
The bear's new ability was an area attack that used the battleground around him as a weapon. It generated a dome of rocks and debris reinforced by its Chaos Energy.
Atlas thought it was another physical attack and was caught unprepared.
Taking all these tiny weapons directly caused a lot of damage. Wounds appeared all over his body, and the after-match tattered his clothes.
"Damn... bastard..."
Finally, Atlas took the fight seriously and extracted his loyal companion.
"Take this!"
Astra morphed into his most lethal form, a battle-ax, and then chopped down.
ROAR!!
Seeing the deadly weapon, the Bear used another ability to make his fur hard as a rock.
Boom!
Another impact occurred, signing the beginning of a brutal battle.
The two fought for a long time.
All the abilities in their possession were used...
Heartly Blessing... Eternal Grasp... Turned out helpful in the battle.
Catching one of the paws with Eternal Grasp was the deadliest strategy against the creature and let Atlas win almost all the rounds.
Naturally, the Bear's body was a deadly weapon, too, and couldn't be underestimated.
This was the main reason why Atlas had difficulty permanently suppressing his opponent.
After a couple of hours, the difference between the two became evident.
Strangely, even if the Bear was a realm higher, its Chaos Energy reserves were lower than those of Atlas.
Clearly, Atlas noticed that and used it to his advantage to win the battle.
It was a long and strenuous battle. Both were covered in superficial wounds, but since this wasn't a battle to the death, none used deadly blows.
"So... Do you want to continue or..."
Atlas could still stand up, but this didn't mean that his body was in perfect condition.
Growl... Growl...
Shrouded in the darkness of the night, the two opponents looked at each other with a stubborn gaze, yet the human tenacity and valiant battle power gained the respect of the Chaos Creature.
After a long and silent pause, the Bear lowered his head as a clear sign that the fight was over.
"Well... well... well... it was a good show..."
Seeing that the battle had ended, August and Flare approached the duo. Since communication between the Bear and Atlas was still impossible, Flare acted as an intermediary.
"So... little Bear. Is my young master worthy of you?"
Growl... Growl...
"Well... since that's the case... we will stipulate a friendly pact, with the only purpose to improve your future relationship."
Growl... Growl... Growl... Growl...
Hearing its annoying laments, Flare calmed him down: "Don't worry... it's nothing like that. This path is entirely different from a slave, servitude, or those bothersome beast pacts. I used it too with this old fellow."
The Bear was still unsure about its words, yet what could it do?
Growl... Growl...
"You are such an annoying fellow... look at this..."
Suddenly, Flare disappeared.
The Bear was shocked, but Atlas had the same reaction, too.
"Grandpa... where is Flare?"
"Hehehe..." August chuckled for a while before giving a proper answer: "The Soul Ethereal Pact can create a unique dimension inside the master's body, where all your creatures can rest and grow more powerful. We found this technique on ancient sites, too."
"So... it came from the other side..."
"Indeed..." August nodded with a serious expression. It's a marvelous technique, something beyond the more extraordinary realms of this tiny world. Alas, you will understand its true potential only later when you can nurture your soul with an Everlasting Soul Path Manual."
Soon, a small scroll appeared in the old man's palm.
"This is a copy… Learn it and then destroy it."
Atlas picked up the scroll, and sure enough, his eager-for-knowledge side took over his reason.
The young man devoured the content and was ready to test it after several hours, even if it was deep in the night and the icy winds were madly flowing across the silent forest.
In the meantime, Flare had returned and explained all the benefits to the Bear. But Atlas didn't care as he was entirely taken by its content.
"So... my beast companion can be nurtured by my soul energy... basically, it's a beast-taming technique made for Everlasting Soul Cultivators..."
Hearing Atlas' mumbling, August explained in detail.
"Yes... The stronger the soul, the more benefits one will obtain. It's a marvelous technique mainly indicated for those cultivators that have taken the soul path, but there are small tricks that can be used to avoid problems before one reaches that step."
His words caught the young man's attention.
"Surely, you need to use the soul power to nurture your creature, but it's your own decision on the quantity. You will need an enormous amount of soul energy to create a unique dimension at the beginning, but after that, you can reduce the energy consumption to the minimum and wait for the future."
"Isn't that a bit too dangerous?" Atlas asked, knowing the possible and catastrophic consequences derived from the wrong use of soul energy.
"Well... of course, it's risky, but I will be at your side."
There was no reason to doubt his words. Still, he found it a bit annoying.
August could see the young man's expression change and cupe a bit, so he sighed: "Atlas... This is a fair pact and not one from the slavery path used out there. If a beast decides to follow you, it's proper to compensate it somehow."
"I know... let's do it."
After hearing the pact's terms, the Bear was even more eager to do it.
Following the technique's contents, Atlas placed his hand on the creature's head and recited: "Human and Creature may be different, but their heart could still be connected... The bond must be consensual, as nature dictates... When these prerequisites are valid, the Soul Ethereal Pact will bind the Human and Creature for eternity..."
The area around Atlas and Bear started to boil.
Energy collided frenetically, waiting for something.
There was a brief moment caused by the strange events, but then, Atlas concluded: "From now on, you will be... Uranus!"
ROAR!!