The following morning, Elias found himself at the same table he had occupied for the past few days. But unlike earlier times, he appeared both anxious and restless, glancing up eagerly each time the café door swung open to welcome a new customer. It was clear he was waiting for someone…
Of course, he was expecting her…
His mind was a whirlwind, caught in a tug-of-war between excitement and anxiety. While he thrived on the thrill of new adventures in an unfamiliar world, a nagging fear of the unknown loomed over him.
The doorbell chimed again, signalling someone's arrival, and in an instant, Elias turned to see who it was.
"Finally!" he exclaimed with a sigh of relief as he recognized Celestia stepping inside.
She smiled warmly at him as she approached. "No time to waste! Are you ready?" she inquired.
"Why the rush? We still have—"
"That's exactly why I'm rushing. The longer we wait, the more you'll overthink and hesitate." She took his hand gently and murmured, "Trust me, everything will be alright!"
And suddenly, Elias felt a familiar tug in his gut as the world around him dissolved into a swirl of lights. He blinked, and in the next moment, he was standing in a vast, desolate landscape. The air was different—lighter, yet charged with an otherworldly energy. It was the Astral Realm, the place Celestia called home.
"Welcome back," Celestia said, stepping out of the shimmering portal beside him. The silver aura around her seemed to pulse in harmony with the strange world. As it was before, he saw the sky was a deep shade of indigo, filled with swirling galaxies and stars that looked close enough to touch.
"Still a trip," Elias muttered, trying to shake off the dizziness. "You'd think I'd get used to teleporting by now. It's really like those in movies!"
"You have much more to get used to," Celestia replied, her voice cold. She turned and began walking toward a wide, open field surrounded by jagged rock formations. "This is where we'll train."
" This isn't the place where we arrived last time, right?" Elias murmured.
" Ah yes, this is another area of the Astral Realm, called the Luminous Abyss. As the name suggests no one likes to live here, because… huh, you don't need to know for now!" Celestia sighed as she uttered the last few words.
" What's with that secrecy, huh?" Elias questioned with burning curiosity.
" You will know in the near future. Right now, you don't have to worry about that, just follow me."
Elias trailed behind, feeling the jitters kick in as he took a mental note to uncover the mysteries of this place. He was aware that Celestia was genuinely invested in helping him get stronger, but he was uncertain about her training methods. He still recalled the odd sparkle in her eyes when she talked about training. He couldn't let this chance slip away, even though he noticed her tone had shifted once they arrived. But backing out wasn't an option. 'Let's do this!' he thought. After all, mastering his powers was crucial if he wanted to survive the Heavenly Gates and the creatures that came with them.
Once they reached the center of the field, Celestia stopped and turned to face him. " Shall we start, then?"
' Shit! I was right!'
"Got it. Let's do this." Suppressing his overwhelming emotions, he replied.
Celestia's eyes flashed. Without warning, she lunged at him. Elias barely had time to dodge as her fist slammed into the ground where he'd been standing, leaving a small crater.
"What the—?!" Elias stumbled back, raising his hands to shoot a beam of light. He concentrated, but all that came out was a weak flash. The beam flickered and fizzled out before it even reached her.
Celestia laughed. "That's pathetic! Do you call that an attack? If I were a real enemy, you'd be dead right now!"
" Hey! Can't you just tell me before you start? You almost killed me there!" Elias wailed.
"All the time you didn't train yourself right! If you're not ready to face real threats, you'll die the next time you encounter a beast. No enemy warns you before attacking, isn't it? And this is what we call, training!"
"Shit!" Elias snapped, wiping sweat from his brow. He tried again, channeling energy into his palms, but the light was unstable, veering off course and hitting a rock instead of Celestia.
"Pathetic," Celestia muttered. Suddenly, she disappeared, and appeared an inch away from him, her hand closing around his throat and lifting him off his feet. "You can't even aim properly. Do you think beasts will wait for you to figure it out?"
Elias gasped for breath, struggling against her grip. "I... I'm trying!"
She released him, letting him fall to the ground in a heap. "Trying isn't good enough. Show me you are not useless, Elias."
He got back on his feet, rage bubbling up inside him. "Useless, you say, huh? Fine!" Elias focused, drawing every ounce of energy he had. He fired another beam, but Celestia deflected it with a casual flick of her wrist.
"Look at this trash! I have to admit that Greg… whatwever was right!" she said, her tone colder than the Astral winds. "If this is all you can do, then don't you even think about being a beast tamer, not to mention being the Beast Lord"
The words stung more than any physical blow. Elias clenched his fists. "I'm not giving up." Out of all the things he hated, the word, ' useless' more than anything else!
Celestia's eyes narrowed. "Good. Because I'm far from done with you." She stepped back, her body glowing brighter. "Let me show you what true power looks like."
Before Elias could react, Celestia's form began to shift. Her slender figure elongated, her skin hardening into scales that glimmered like silver metal under the astral sky. Her eyes turned into gleaming pools of gold. In seconds, she transformed into a massive serpent, towering over him.
Elias stumbled back, eyes wide. "What... what the fuck!"
"This," Celestia's voice echoed in his mind, "is my true form."
Her body was covered in thick, silver armour that looked impenetrable. On her back were strange protrusions—massive gun-like structures that crackled with energy. Elias watched in awe as one of them powered up and fired a concentrated beam of light into the sky, tearing through several distant stars in a single blast.
"If you think your weak beams can even scratch me," Celestia taunted, her serpent form circling him, "you're more naïve than I thought."
Elias gulped, the realisation sinking in. "You... you're like a living weapon."
Celestia lowered her massive head until her golden eyes were level with his. "And yet, I chose to follow you. But understand this, Elias—you have not tamed me. Not yet. You don't have the strength, the will, or the bond required."
Elias tried to stand his ground. "Then why help me?"
Her serpentine lips curled in what could almost be a smile. "Because I see potential. But potential means nothing without action. So prove it to me."
She reared back and struck like a cobra. Elias barely dodged, rolling to the side. He fired another beam, but it was weak, barely grazing her armoured scales.
"Pathetic," she hissed again. "You have power within you, but you don't know how to use it."
Frustration and exhaustion gnawed at him. He was trying, damn it, but every time he pushed himself, it felt like he was hitting a wall. "Then show me!" he yelled. "I'm not like you, Celestia! I don't have centuries of experience!"
Celestia paused, her eyes narrowing. " Well, it seems you like excuses " Then she lunged at him again, her massive tail sweeping across the ground like a wrecking ball. Elias barely managed to jump over it, landing awkwardly and nearly falling. " Out of all the things, I hate excuses! Don't you dare excuse like a weak ant! It annoys me so much!"
After some time thrashing him, without giving Elias a chance to even breathe, she stopped attacking.
"You need to understand something, Elias." Her voice was calmer now, but no less intense. "A Beast Tamer's strength isn't just about raw power. It's about forming bonds. Emotional connections. Without that, all the strength in the world is useless."
Elias panted, hands on his knees. "Emotional bonds? What... what do you mean? You mentioned it several times before!"
"Your energy is unstable because you're trying to force it, you can't force emotions and I always told you to let your emotions do the fucking work!" she yelled. "You're treating your power like a weapon instead of an extension of yourself. A true Beast Tamer must sync with their beasts, emotionally and spiritually. First, you should practise what is the emotional trigger that allows your emotions to coexist with power!"
"Yeah? Well, how do I do that?" Elias asked, frustration boiling over.
Celestia's massive head tilted. "By learning to control your emotions. By letting go of your restrictions!"
"Restrictions?" Elias frowned. "What do you mean by that?."
Celestia transformed herself back to her humanoid form as she stepped towards him. After approaching him, she directly looked into his eyes.
" Think Elias, think. Haven't you always restricted yourself? Haven't you sealed your emotions in all your life?"
Elias paused for a moment. He thought to himself, wasn't he always holding back? Hadn't he kept his feelings locked away his entire life?
At first, he dismissed Celestia's words as nonsense. But soon enough, a light bulb went off in his head. He recalled how he buried his anger and pain when he witnessed his family perish right before his eyes. He remembered stifling his dislike for Greg, worried that it might cost him his job.
Then it hit him—during the fight with the Wyrm, he felt something powerful. It was the urge to protect! He wanted to shield himself and his loved ones! This was the emotion he had been hiding for so long, all because of fear!
With that realisation, Elias shut his eyes and extended his hands, palms facing a distant pile of rocks. Beastial Qi began to gather in front of his palms, glinting with a silvery glow.
Seeing that Celestia's mouth curled into a satisfied smile.
Author's note: You might not realize just how powerful a single comment or review can be for an author. Whether your feedback is positive or negative, it truly makes a difference! If you could take a moment to share your thoughts after enjoying my story, it would mean the world to me. Your support is invaluable!
Ah don't forget to add this to your collection ;)