The book sat on the floor in front of Kael, its rough cover glowing faintly in the dim light of the single candle flickering in the corner of the shack. He had cleared the space around him, pushing aside the few belongings he shared with Eren to create room for his work. Eren was gone for the moment, likely scrounging for food or chatting with the other orphans in the slums. Kael had made sure of that. What he was about to do, Eren couldn't know about.
Kael opened the book slowly, as if afraid the energy radiating from it might suddenly lash out. The air around him felt heavier the moment the cover lifted, the strange runes on the pages glowing faintly as though alive. He had spent the last two nights pouring over its contents, and while much of the text was still strange to him, he had deciphered enough to attempt what the book described as the "First Binding."
The process was crude, dangerous, and incomplete he could see that even with his limited understanding. But it was also powerful. Kael wasn't foolish enough to try the rituals on anything significant yet, but there was no way to know if it worked without testing it.
For that, he needed a subject.
Kael had chosen his target carefully: a small Rift Vermin that nested near the edge of the slums. Rift Vermin were little more than pests, but their glowing eyes and warped bodies made them distinct from ordinary rats. They were quick and vicious, but nothing Kael couldn't handle.
He had spent the better part of the morning tracking the creature. The ruins near the slums were littered with tunnels and crevices, and it wasn't long before he found a nest, a hole dug into the crumbling foundation of an old building. Kael crouched low, gripping his dagger as he waited.
The Rift Vermin emerged slowly, its sleek, black body covered in matted fur, its claws scratching at the ground as it sniffed the air. Its glowing green eyes darted around, alert for threats.
Kael moved swiftly, striking before the creature could react. His dagger flashed in the dim light, slicing into the Vermin's side. The creature screeched in pain, lashing out with its claws, but Kael dodged easily, his movements precise and calculated.
Within moments, the Rift Vermin lay on the ground, bleeding and struggling weakly to move. Kael wrapped a scrap of cloth around his hand and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, careful to avoid its snapping teeth.
"This will do," he muttered, his voice calm despite the adrenaline rushing through him.
Back in the shack, Kael placed the struggling Vermin inside a crude circle he had drawn on the floor with charcoal. The runes from the book were messy and imperfect. Kael didn't fully understand their intricacies yet, but he had done his best to copy them from the diagrams.
The Rift Vermin hissed and snapped at him, but it was too weak to escape. Kael didn't flinch.
He opened the book again, his eyes scanning the lines of text as he reviewed the steps. The "First Binding" required three things: pain, submission, and will. The tamer's will had to overpower the creature entirely, breaking it down until it had no choice but to obey.
Kael's hand trembled slightly as he picked up his dagger. He wasn't nervous, at least, that's what he told himself. This was just another challenge to overcome, another test of his strength.
The Vermin screeched as the tip of the dagger pressed against its skin. Kael hesitated for the briefest moment, then cut a shallow line across its back. Blood oozed from the wound, and the creature thrashed in pain.
The runes around the circle began to glow faintly.
Kael's heart raced. It was working.
He placed his hand over the Vermin's head, ignoring its desperate attempts to bite him, and began to chant the words from the book. The runes on the page burned themselves into his mind as he spoke, the air around him growing colder with each syllable.
The Vermin's struggles grew weaker. Its glowing eyes dimmed, and its body went limp, though it still breathed.
Kael felt a sharp pain in his chest as if something inside him was being pulled taut. The bond was forming he could feel it, a thread of connection between him and the creature. But it wasn't like the bonds he had seen tamers form with their monsters. This one was different. It was raw, jagged, and violent.
The Vermin let out one final whimper before going completely still.
Kael sat back, breathing heavily. The glowing runes faded, leaving the room in silence.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the Rift Vermin opened its eyes.
They were no longer the glowing green of before. Now, they were dull and lifeless, as if the creature's spirit had been snuffed out. It didn't move or growl it simply stared at Kael, waiting.
Kael's lips curled into a small, satisfied smirk.
"Get up," he ordered.
The Vermin obeyed immediately, rising to its feet despite its injuries.
Kael stood, watching as the creature followed his every movement, its head lowered in submission. He could feel the bond between them, a constant presence in the back of his mind. The creature's will was gone, replaced entirely by his own.
"It worked," Kael whispered, more to himself than to the creature.
He knelt beside the book, his eyes scanning the pages for any clues about what came next. The text spoke of refining the bond, of strengthening the connection to make the monster more powerful. But even without those refinements, the Vermin was his now completely and utterly.
A sound at the door made him freeze.
"Kael?"
Eren's voice.
Kael snapped the book shut and shoved it under the floorboard, kicking some dirt over the runes on the ground. The Rift Vermin scurried to the corner of the room, curling up into a motionless ball.
The door creaked open, and Eren stepped inside, a sack of bread in his arms. He froze, his eyes narrowing as he took in the scene.
"What's going on?" he asked, his gaze flicking to the Vermin in the corner. "What is that?"
"Just something I caught," Kael said, his voice calm.
Eren frowned. "A Rift Vermin? Kael, those things are dangerous. You should've killed it."
Kael shrugged. "I thought it might be useful."
Eren set the sack down, still eyeing the creature warily. "You're not planning to keep it, are you? That's not… normal. Tamers don't keep Rift Vermin."
"I'm not a tamer," Kael said bluntly.
Eren sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Sometimes I don't understand you, Kael. You're always… different."
Kael didn't reply. He didn't care if Eren understood him. All that mattered was the book and the power it promised.
Eren shook his head and turned away. "Just be careful, okay? That thing looks like it'd turn on you in a second."
Kael smirked, glancing at the Rift Vermin in the corner.
"It won't," he said quietly.
Eren didn't hear him.
Kael sat back down after Eren left, his hand resting on the floorboard that concealed the book.
This was only the first step. The Rift Vermin was weak and insignificant. But now that he had proven the method worked, there was nothing stopping him from going further.
From taming something stronger.