Brief Encounter
Kim thought she knew pain.
After All, she'd been through so much that she thought she'd become numb. So what was this soul wrenching agony she was feeling?
Pain so extreme that she couldn't even think. And the only thing that came out of her mouth was rapid breaths as she couldn't even scream.
She felt pain in places she didn't even know was possible, and the intensity literally made her feel as if she was being torn apart.
If she could form a single tangible thought, she'd be regretting not listening to Christopher when he said it would hurt. Because this pain literally made her feel as if she wanted to die.
And when it all ended, she laid limply of the ground, her body devoid of strength.
"How are you feeling?" Christopher squatted near her face and asked. He didn't look worried since he knew she would be fine. He was just genuinely curious as to how she felt at the moment.
"... Tired." She said after a moment before forcing herself to sit up.
"I told you it would hurt." Christopher said with a chuckle and she couldn't help but glare at him. It wasn't strange though, no sane person could go through that much agony and not feel any sort of indignation towards the person that caused it.
"Oof. My bad. But, you really look different Now." Christopher said and her eyes widened.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked.
"Well…" Christopher couldn't help but trail off as he looked at her stats. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't impressed.
Race: Beast Woman (Celeritas Panther Rank: Quasi-Blue Affinity: Space, Lightning Physique: Peak Extreme Bloodline: Celeritas Panther (Evolution possible) Abilities→> Those were her stats. 'Her physique is on par with Umbra and Chiara.' He thought. And it wasn't just her stats. Her appearance had changed as well. Her hair, ears and tail which were previously black had turned a deep purple and blue color. Her slitted pupils also had this colors as they were literally divided in two. She also seemed a bit more mature. Only a year more or so. But one could clearly tell that she was developing greatly. Her skin was white and tender. But despite being small, the muscles beneath her skin were taut and filled with explosive power. "Wh- What?" Kim couldn't help but feel nervous when Christopher stared at her like that. Had something gone wrong? At that juncture, Christopher decided to stop keeping her in suspense and created a mirror With earth magic (too lazy to explain) and showed her. She took it from him and looked at her appearance, and she couldn't help but gasp in surprise. Was that really her? "The enhancement unlocked your latent bloodline. Seems like this is what a Celeritas Panther looks like." Christopher explained and she stared at him in confusion. "Enhancement? Bloodline?" She said clearly not understanding and Christopher decided to explain. When he finished, Kim looked at him in utter shock. "H- How were you able to do such a thing?!" She exclaimed and Christopher chuckled. "That's just my ability." When he said that. She stared down and digested everything She just heard. Then she looked back at him with a smile before suddenly getting on one knee. "I will keep my promise. I, Kim, thank the master from the bottom of my heart and promise to serve you for the rest of my life." Genuine gratitude leaked from her voice as she was too grateful. Other than her appearance, she could feel how her body had changed and knew that she was much, much stronger than before. 'If I had strength like this before. None of those things would have happened to me. Now. Now I can live without fear.' She thought and smiled to herself. Boundless loyalty filling her heart. "Rise." Christopher said simply and she promptly stood up. But the moment she did, Christopher suddenly began to pat her head. "You don't have to be so uptight. You've been Through a lot, you can be at ease around me." He said with a smile and she felt his touch to be quite enjoyable. "Ah, right. Let's have you meet the others." He suddenly said, snapping her out of her reverie. Christopher turned to the cliff where Silver and the dragons were watching. "You three. Get down here." He said. Not even a moment later, the three appeared right next to Christopher and Kim. Kim was surprised at their sudden arrival but didn't get scared. What did scare her though was the identities of the twins. "This will be our new member. You guys get along and get her familiar with this place." Christopher Said not paying heed to her shock. "Hello there. I'm Silver. These two are Umbra and Chiara." Silver said in a friendly Smile. However, Kim was too shocked to speak as she couldn't take her gaze off the two dragons. "B- But that's impossible. Dragons?" She stuttered out and the twins looked at each other before laughing. "I like her." Chiara said and walked up to Kim who flinched backwards. "It's nice to meet you. If master said we should get along then I'd love to get to know you." She said and rose her paw as a greeting. Kim looked at her paw and then back at Christopher who nodded. Then Kim hesitantly stretched her hand and took the claw. "N- Nice to meet you too. I'm Kim." Kim said somewhat timidly. Not expecting the dragons she'd heard to be so proud and arrogant to be so amiable. Umbra walked around her with an interested gaze and said. "Wow. Her body is impressive. It's similar to ours." Hearing this, Kim's eyes widened and she turned to him in surprise. "How? I'm Beast person." She asked. "He means your physique. Both of you have a physique at a similar level." Christopher answered and her eyes widened. "B- But. They're dragons." She said in disbelief and Christopher nodded while smiling. "Yup. That's what the enhancement did for you. Your physique prior to the enhancement was already fairly decent. And after it, it became even better." Christopher explained and her eyes grew even wider. "My physique. Is on the same level ?" She whispered and Silver chuckled. "That's how it is here. Everything that enters the master's domain gets enhanced." He said with a smile and realization finally dawned on her. The person she'd just sworn her loyalty to, was a horrifying existence. "Well. You guys can catch up. I'll be stepping out now." Christopher said and disappeared before any of them could say anything. "Hey Kim. How about we show you the spots in the Dimension we made our territories?" Chiara asked excitedly. "Oh! Great idea sis. And since master puts such a large importance on her, we could get her her own territory as well." Umbra said in agreement. "Um. Okay." Kim blinked And agreed. Not like she had anything else to do. "I'm coming too." Silver said. "Naturally. Let's go!" *** Christopher reappeared in the alleyway he'd been in and let out a breath. He'd helped Kim. And now he felt a deep sense of gratification. "Okay. I've done enough today." Christopher thought as the sun had started to set. He took off his mask and transformed his armor into some nice looking clothes before he began to walk back towards the capital. He felt that today had been quite successful. As he walked back towards the castle. He reached the gate he and Titus had passed through initially and met with the Empyrean Soldiers again. It was a different one posted this time so he immediately assumed he'd be stopped for questioning. However, when he reached the gate, the one in charge glanced at him and asked. "Sir Christopher right? Would it be fine if we patted you down?" He asked and Christopher was pleasantly surprised. "You were already informed of my arrival?" He asked and the guard nodded. "Those on the morning shift saw you leave and we were told to give you a simple search before letting you in." He replied. "Well that's convenient. Well, I won't make your jobs difficult. " Christopher said and stepped forward before raising his arms. "Thank you for your understanding." The guard said, sounding genuinely relieved before stepping forward and gave Christopher a search. While the two of them knew in their hearts that Christopher still had something on him via Space storage. The guard had no way of searching for that. And he knew that trying to demand something like the personal storage from the guest of the Darius family was a great way to be promoted to a civilian. When he finished, the guard looked up at Christopher and smiled slightly. "You're all set sir Christopher. You may proceed." He said and Christopher nodded. "Keep up the good work." He said back before walking in. He looked around the castle grounds as he walked and couldn't help but still be in awe despite having seen it already. It was such a beautiful piece of architecture that even distinguished individuals had to take more than one glance. And while Christopher was strong, he was in no way distinguished. Thus, he kept staring at the building until he was finally inside. However, when he stepped in, he immediately saw Empyrean Soldiers walking with an individual in their middle. More specifically, it was the eldest daughter of the Darius Family. Felicia. However, she wasn't the only one. Next to her was a male with stark white hair and piercing blue eyes that immediately rose to see Christopher the moment he stepped in. 'White hair and Blue eyes? Isn't that the…' He didn't finish his thought. More specifically. He couldn't as he shifted his body to the side just in time to avoid a Lightning bolt that completely eviscerated the door behind him. He immediately went on guard as he stared at the blue haired individual whose hand was still crackling with electricity. "Why in God's name is there a commoner inside here?" The disdain and complete disregard in his voice was pure and unmasked as he asked no one in particular. The moment he said that though, Christopher felt a spot on his arm turn warm and he could feel his weapon's rage through their connection as it desired to be let out to teach this person a lesson. 'Calm yourself Scarlet.' Christopher said calmly. '... As you wish, master.' Scarlet replied reluctantly. "Your highness. Please calm yourself. This is the guest I was telling you about." Felicia said calmly to the man And Christopher was now sure in his heart. 'Yup. That's one of the prince's of the Empire.' Christoper thought Felicia stepped in front of the Prince without looking flustered. "Oh? He's the one that saved little Titus?" The Prince asked and Felicia nodded. "I greet his Royal Highness." Christopher didn't get annoyed and simply bowed while paying respects with a straight face. "I see. Well, I apologize for my outburst then. I just hate it when people who don't deserve it set foot in this place. You saved the life of Titus who I consider to be my little brother. So by my authority, you can stay here as long as you like." The Prince flashed a smile as his personality did a complete 180. Felicia gave an exasperated sigh before walking past the guard and looked over Christopher's body. "Are you alright?" She asked and he nodded. "Miss doesn't need to worry about me so much. I'm more durable than I look." Christopher said with a smile and Felicia chuckled. "I don't doubt that. I take it that your training was fruitful?" She asked and Christopher grinned. "Very. Anyway, is Titus around? I agreed to train him this evening and I don't want to be late." Christopher asked And Felicia smiled. "He is. I heard about it. The boy seems really excited. He's so talented but never showed much desire in getting stronger. Seems like you were the push he needed. It may not be worth much but… thank you for that." She said genuinely and Christopher nodded. "The pleasure is mine. Well, I wouldn't want to keep his highness standing and listen to us talk. I will take my leave now." Christopher gave her a quick bow before turning the corner. "That person. Who did you say he was again?" The Prince came up to Felicia and asked. "He's just a talented individual with no backing. My father attempted to recruit him but he made his stance clear. So he settled for befriending Him instead." Felicia explained and The Prince smiled. "Do you think he would refuse if I offered to take him in?" He asked and Felicia chuckled. "Why the sudden interest, your highness?" She asked and the Prince snorted. "Someone capable of easily dodging A Lightning bolt that can kill a Blue level individual is more than enough to meet my eye." He replied and Felicia smiled. "It would seem dumb for him to say no. But honestly, I'd be surprised if he said no. I've never seen anyone so calm around the most powerful people in the Empire. I'm sure you noticed it. When he paid his respects to you, there wasn't an ounce of fear in him. And he merely did it because he wanted to avoid trouble. Someone like that, is clearly very confident in their abilities." She analyzed and the Prince nodded. "I suppose so."