"Young Lady, your son has finally woken up."
Liu Xia looked up with a gesture of disbelief upon hearing the servant's words. Her face, marked by deep circles under her eyes and weeks of anguish, struggled to process what was being said. The servant remained at the door, waiting with a mix of hope and caution, aware of how fragile his lady's mood had been in recent days. Had she heard correctly? Had her son, Liu Feng, finally awakened?
For weeks, Liu Xia had been a shadow of herself, trapped in a cycle of anxiety and fear, dreading the worst while her son lay unconscious. She hadn't slept, and her health had begun to deteriorate as the days dragged on. But now, those words broke through the wall of oppression surrounding her like a wave of relief.
Her breathing quickened. The emotion was so intense it almost paralyzed her, but finally, her legs reacted before her mind. She rose hastily, her steps quickening as she rushed toward her son's room, her heart pounding in her chest.
Upon reaching the door to Liu Feng's room, she stopped abruptly. She needed a moment to collect herself. Her hands trembled slightly as she placed one over her chest, trying to calm the whirlwind of emotions. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, attempting to steady herself. The door handle, cold to the touch, turned under her trembling hand. As she opened the door, her eyes met those of her son.
Liu Feng was awake.
The boy, sitting up in cradle, watched her with golden, piercing eyes. They were the same eyes she had seen shortly after he was born, but now they seemed different, sharper, as if they concealed an understanding far beyond that of a mere child.
Liu Xia's smile came immediately, but the emotion that flooded her was so overwhelming she could barely hold back tears. The relief was so profound that her knees nearly buckled under the weight of all she had been enduring. After two weeks of agony, her son was conscious. However, as her eyes swept over his small body, she couldn't help but notice the changes. Liu Feng had grown, beyond the usual size for a child his age. His hair, now darker, fell in soft strands over his forehead, and his features, though still childlike, had acquired a fierceness that was a little concerning, given that he was barely more than a year old.
Liu Xia felt a slight pang of worry at noticing these changes, but when her son's soft voice broke the silence, all those fears disappeared completely. "Mom, I'm hungry."
Her heart melted at hearing those simple words. All the worry and fear she had felt during those weeks vanished in an instant. With infinite tenderness, Liu Xia approached him, her gaze softening, and she sat down next to him on the cradle. Without hesitation, she began to nurse him as she had since his birth, paying no mind to the sharp claws protruding from his small hands.
Those claws, though more prominent than before, didn't concern her. From the day he was born, Liu Feng had always been careful, even in moments when his more primal instincts seemed to surface. She knew he wouldn't hurt her.
As he fed, Liu Feng seemed lost in thought. Although he didn't fully understand everything that had happened while he slept, he could feel that something within him had changed. He had awakened his first elemental core, the Wind Core, though he couldn't fully sense it yet. It was a strange feeling, as if that core had always been a part of him, but his consciousness was only now beginning to grasp it. Something pulsed inside him, a different energy, new yet ancient at the same time.
A soft cough interrupted the moment. Liu Yao, Liu Feng's grandfather, appeared in the doorway. His face bore a serious expression, with a mixture of emotions his grandson couldn't yet fully comprehend. Liu Xia looked up as she sensed her father's presence, and for a moment, the tension in the room intensified.
Liu Yao, with his hands clasped behind his back, took a few steps closer. His dark, analytical eyes moved from his daughter to his grandson, and though his gaze seemed stern, there was something else behind it. Something he was struggling to hide. He knew what that boy represented, and although he had tried to ignore the reality of his lineage, he couldn't help but be consumed with worry.
"Little Xia, how much longer will you continue with this?" His voice was grave, as if the words carried the weight of months of internal conflict. "You know what he is. That creature should not be here."
Liu Xia straightened in her seat, and though her heart trembled, her voice remained firm. "Father, don't call him that. He's my son. He's not to blame for what he is."
Liu Yao let out a huff. His eyes narrowed, and his lips formed a thin line of disdain, as if the conversation was already tiresome, repetitive. He took another step toward them, his tone even more severe. "I warned you. If he ever shows signs of being a threat, I will leave him in the forest. His fate will be decided by nature, not by us."
There was harshness in his words, but also a shadow of doubt. Liu Yao had spent a long time researching the Wolftaken, soul beasts born from the union of a human and a Stormwind Demon Wolf. Bloodthirsty soul beasts that reveled in indiscriminate slaughter. He knew how dangerous they could be, but he also knew that since the day he was born, Liu Feng had been different.
There was a calmness in him that didn't match the ferocity he had read about, suggesting some sort of mutation. Still, if Liu Feng ever showed signs of intense aggression or bloodlust, he would not hesitate to put him down for good, even if it meant earning his daughter's hatred.
Liu Feng was feeling a bit drowsy, as he hadn't woken up in two weeks, yet he could sense the tension that filled the room. Although he didn't fully understand his grandfather's words, he grasped the tone and what it implied. His instinct told him there was something about him that wasn't quite right, at least from the perspective of others. However, he decided to push those thoughts aside for the moment. There was much he needed to figure out.
Finally, when Liu Feng finished feeding, Liu Xia gently lifted him, her touch full of maternal love. With slow and steady steps, she carried him toward the door, where the cold air outside awaited. The sun was at its highest point, and its golden rays shone through the windows, bathing the mansion in a warm light.
It was the first time Liu Feng had seen the outside world since waking up. His eyes had to adjust to the bright light. The cold wind brushed against his skin, but rather than being bothersome, it felt invigorating. Despite his young age, his thoughts wandered back to memories of his past life. He remembered the extreme trials he had endured to master the elements, like the challenge in Antarctica, where he exposed himself to the extreme cold without clothes or protection to manifest the elemental ice sphere.
As he gazed at the horizon, Liu Xia, with a calm smile, said to him, "Little Feng, isn't the outside beautiful? The doctor said that staying indoors affected you, and that's why you fainted. From now on, you'll be able to go outside more often."
Liu Feng nodded slightly. Although he didn't understand some of the words, the first thought that crossed his mind was that his mother had been deceived by a fraudulent doctor or was simply told a lie. He dismissed those thoughts and let his golden eyes roam over the vast meadow that stretched as far as the eye could see, bordered by a dense forest in the distance, and beyond that, snow-capped mountains rose like silent guardians. It was an impressive sight, but for him, who had seen much more in his previous life, it wasn't that surprising. Yet this time, everything before him was both new and something he could manipulate.
Five years later...
The evolution of Liu Feng had been remarkable. During these years, not only had his body grown, but he had also become much more powerful. Since manifesting his first elemental sphere, he had acquired the ability to launch elemental slashes with his claws. Additionally, he had already mastered two more elemental spheres: earth and fire. However, with each new sphere, the difficulty increased, becoming more demanding.
What had surprised him most during those years, however, wasn't his own progress, but the place where he had been reborn. After closely observing the servants and their strange abilities, which they called martial souls, he had come to the conclusion that he was in Soul Land, a novel he had known in his previous life.
And today was finally the day of his martial soul awakening at the very least, he hoped to awaken one. Liu Yao, his grandfather, watched him from several meters away, his expression serious as he released his own martial soul, which took the form of a lily made of ice. Around his feet, five soul rings could be seen. Two yellow, two purple, and one black. The old man had placed his grandson at the center of a hexagon of black stones before beginning to touch one of his grandson's hands and infuse it with soul power.
Liu Feng, for his part, remained still, focused. He closed his eyes and tried to feel any change in his body. He had already become quite familiar with soul power, thanks to the Myriad of Elements technique, which seemed to adapt somewhat to this world, and he tried to sense a connection with his martial soul.
But nothing happened.
When he opened his eyes, no martial soul had manifested. Although he had somewhat expected this, he couldn't help but feel a slight disappointment. However, beyond that, there was a deeper understanding. He wasn't completely human, and he had accepted that upon seeing the form of his body, but he had still hoped to awaken a martial soul like the mermaid hybrids in the Soul Land series.
"Grandfather, I'm sorry. I couldn't awaken my martial soul," he said, his voice filled with disappointment.
Liu Yao sighed, and to Liu Feng's surprise, he didn't seem disappointed. He gently patted his grandson's head with a softness that contrasted with his usual stern demeanor. "Don't worry. You will always be a member of our family, no matter what you are."
After that unexpected gesture, he began to gather the stones from the ground, his gaze lingering on a crystal ball for several seconds.
"Liu Feng, you may leave now."
"Alright, Grandfather. I'll go tell Mom and then I'll play with Kuro," he said with a cheerful smile on his face. However, as Liu Feng left the area, his expression became melancholic despite his earlier words.