A picture frame stood on a white painted wall of churches hallway. Like many of the others that decorated every inch of the building, it was like a snapshot of history.
In it, golden city's of high towers rose up from the ground.
Below them, colossal mansions and sleekly clean streets filled every space to form a massive city that had been built around lush forests and greenery. An orange light shone down on everything, not from the sun, but from the moon overhead. The entire painting was a work of art that held a plaque above it with the ensciption of a date that read-120BBR, Age of Dreams.
Cypher stood Infront of this painting and examined every inch of it while ignoring the church members that passed through the hallway.
"Wonderfull, isn't it." A woman's voice called out from behind Cypher, calm yet powerful.
"It is Clementine. Do you know where this is?" Only a date was shown with no hint of a location.
"Your living in it. That is the Capital city of the empire, Thorn. Though it's not as vibrant as it was all those years ago. Above ground isn't to bad I suppose." Having been born above ground in a noble district, Clementine had already extensively explored Thorn.
"Anyways, The beast master is ready for you. You can go in now."
It had been 10 days since Cypher had completed his mission in the underhive. During this time he had also completed multiple other minor tasks, including raiding more criminal hideouts or stalking suspected individuals with ties to the cult.
If any benefit came from his missions, it was earning merit. With it he could have access to more recourses then others his age.
Don't let the fact he is strong fool you. While every Dreamweaver had their own unique techniques like Cyphers sand, they took time and strenuous effort to master. Even if their teqniques were innately usable, Cypher was one of the few exceptions that could master them with barely any effort.
One of the benefits was choosing a Beast to accompany him. Cypher had learned a little about them from his studies in the library, namely that the beasts in this world were special. They could also use soul Caliber like humans and act as allies.
Without waiting any longer, he opened the door to the beast masters quarters. It's cold surface embossed with outlines of different fierce animals.
Stepping into the room, the first thing that hit Cypher was the smell. Unsurprisingly, it was horrible, like wet dogs and cats had lived here for years.
The room was in a long rectangular shape that had rows of cages stacked atop eachother. Each one containing different species of animals that shared similarities to that of his previous Earth. Bears, lions, dogs and even insects like spiders huddled into corners of their cages as if afraid.
Sitting on a chair lazily with his hands behind his head and legs resting on another chair placed Infront of him, a tall man with striking long red hair and somewhat feminine features turned his head and sized Cypher up. His robes were starkly different from the usual Dreamweavers, featuring a mostly white colouration however with red inscriptions and patterns that resembled the same look as the door. This was Beastmaster Orion.
An awkward silence lingered between the two as they staired at eachover. Orion, seemingly annoyed, spoke first with a light voice," New Dreamweaver? Damn, they really want me to give away another one!"
The church always takes the animals he collected for granted. Do they know how hard it was to get them!
"You! I'm doing this for the saint, so don't get any ideas." Orion stood up in indignation and fiddled with the keyset inside his robe," You only get one opportunity, if you dont like what you choose then thats your problem."
'What's this guys problem.' in his mind Cypher had already formed a general personality for the Beastmaster. He was an asshole!
"That's fine by me Mr Orion. I'll take your advice to heart." Cypher outwardly smiled and responded.
"Good, at least your better than the others. Take a look at the cages and see which one you want. Be quick, I don't have all day."
Orion threw the keys to Cypher and sat back down before throwing a book over his face, seemingly sleeping.
"Don't have all day? What a joke." Whispering under his breath, Cypher moved in-between the two colloums of cages that stood either side of him.
Grrr
Not a single creature didn't hate him! They only receded further back into their cells in fear. Even a fearsome looking panther backed away.
'Whatever, I won't take a coward with me.'
Cypher ignored the growls and the skittering aof insects and made his way to the coloumbs at the end of the room, feeling like something was calling to him. A resonance that even affected his soul core which vibrated in his soul space.
Caw!
Immediately shifting his gaze, Cyphers eyes landed on the last cage in the room, it's iron bars horribly weathered. It's metal distorted and bent out of place with signs of being relentlessly chewed on.
Cypher bent down and looked inside, the lack of light in the corner of the room blocking the inside of it from view.
Caw!
Two yellow lights pierced through, intently studying the boy with curiosity and.... familiarity?
Thud!
Without warning, a creature flew into the iron bars and furiously gnawed at the bars desperately. The air warped slightly, and Cypher smirked as he watched a kindred spirit seek freedom.
The creature was a bird, or more like an amalgamation of a raven and a hawk. It's massive wing span nearly covering the entire cage. With sharp streamlined features that were coloured with a mix of vanta black and dove White, it truly looked fearsome.
"How cruel. Tell me, do you want freedom?"
The bird stopped and tilted its head, a deep resonance flew through it's body as it listened. It couldn't understand Cyphers language, but it could comprehend his thoughts and feelings.
"Do you want to fly through the world without restraints? Then come with me, and we'll break free together." Smiling widely, Cypher held the key up.
Caw!
If the bird could smile, it would. It's long beak clacked together with sharpness. This was its way of agreeing.
The key turned slowly, and the gate that separated the two swung open as the bird flew out, it's massive wings majesticly stretching as it swung around and landed on Cyphers shoulder.
He gently carresed it's head while it snuggled into his neck lovingly.
A profound change in both their soul spaces rapidly occured. It was like two magnets connecting. Both their soul cores vibrated with the same frequency, in perfect harmony.
New abilities burned into their minds from the connection, opening a whole new dimension to the concept of soul caliber.
They could see through eachovers eyes, they could communicate to eachover regardless of distance, they could understand eachovers abilities seemlessly.
And most of all, their was something telling them that they could do something much more with time.
As the saying goes, 'Birds of a feather flock together.'
"I think I'll name you...Rain, let's be partners until the end of time." The connection grew stronger as the bird accepted the title.
"Haha, to think that the little devil actually chose someone! Boy, you can gladly take her. He's been a nightmare to maintain. I mean, what kind of bird eats through steel!"
Orion interrupted their meeting, causing Rain to caw angrily.
"I'll be leaving now, have a good day sir."
Cypher also felt mildly irritated. His new companions emotions being transmitted to him. The key flew through the air and landed in Orion's hands.
"Well, I'll see you on the battlefield. I'm also being deployed. You better not slow me down kid." Orion watched Cyphers back as he walked out.
"I look forward to joining you." Cypher lied and shut the door.