Falcon Staff urged him:
“Open the scroll.”
Tii opened it.
Reality bent.
He was pulled into a vast pocket dimension — self-rejuvenating, overflowing with essence, rivers flowing, trees towering.
This was the Bond Realm, reserved only for bonded beasts.
Nyx immediately claimed a shadow-covered forest section as his territory.
Tii gained:
Nyx’s Beast Traits:
? Increased speed
? Increased strength
? Increased stamina
? Increased durability
Unique Trait from Nyx:
Shadow Step — short-range shadow teleport (5m).
Tii already had a thousand combat ideas.
He collapsed.
Nyx sat beside him.
Proud.
This was the moment Tii became something the world had never seen before.
The world returned slowly, as if Tii were surfacing from deep water. A warm breeze rolled over his face, carrying the scent of fresh riverwater and blooming herbs. His wounds had mostly closed; even his cracked rib felt like nothing more than a dull bruise.
He sat up — and froze.
This place was… perfect.
A vast, endless world of greenery stretched before him. Towering trees whose canopies shimmered with faint essence. Rivers that glowed faintly blue, pulsing rhythmically like veins in a living being. The air tasted cleaner, thicker with life.
Nyx sat beside him, tail curled around his paws, eyes half-lidded with contentment as though watching a child he found amusing.
Tii stared around.
“…Uh. Where am I?”
Falcon Staff hummed and spoke the moment Tii grabbed it.
“Welcome, Tii Alpha’leo… to the Bond Realm.”
Tii blinked. “That sounds important.”
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“It is important, you insolent brat.”
Tii snorted. “I’m injured, not deaf.”
THE BOND REALM EXPLAINED
Falcon Staff continued, tone shifting into its “ancient wise teacher with anger issues” mode:
“Listen carefully. This realm exists outside the constraints of your outerworld.”
The world rippled to demonstrate, the river beneath them pausing as if holding its breath.
“This place is built from your essence, shaped by your will, and sustained by the bonds you form. Time flows differently here — five days inside equals one day outside.”
Tii’s eyes widened.
“Oh hell yes… that means I can avoid people longer.”
Nyx huffed.
Falcon Staff ignored him.
“In here, your beasts heal faster, grow faster, evolve faster. Their territories will form naturally.”
Nyx immediately teleported across the clearing into a region shrouded in thick purple shadow-trees.
Falcon Staff sighed.
“As you can see… Nyx has already claimed his.”
Tii nodded. “Yup. Looks edgy enough for him.”
“You may store your bonded beasts here. You may meditate, train, and craft here. But you must never overuse it. The realm is tied to your life. If you overstrain your essence, this realm collapses… and takes you with it.”
Tii raised a brow.
“Noted. Don’t die in my own brain dimension. Got it.”
“This isn’t your brain—”
“Technicalities.”
Falcon Staff groaned like an exhausted uncle.
With a thought, Tii willed himself out.
The Bond Realm vanished — replaced by the wild jungle, humid air, and fading sunset. Nyx remained within his shadow, whispering amusement directly into his mind.
“Try not to die again today.”
“I’ll do my best,” Tii muttered, packing herbs and supplies. “But I make no promises.”
He traced his route toward the nearest human settlement, following the stars and wind currents like Mu sailors taught him.
Two hours later, the jungle thinned.
Three hours later, the scent reached him.
Five hours later, he saw it.
POVERTY TOWN
It looked like the world had given up on this place centuries ago.
Rotting shacks sagged under their own weight. Mud streets baked into cracked clay. Children played in filth while adults slumped against broken walls, drunk, high, or too exhausted to move.
Everywhere Tii looked, there was suffering.
Hollowed eyes.
Starved bodies.
People selling what little dignity they had left just to live another day.
Tii slowed.
“What… is this?”
Nyx spoke low from his shadow.
“This is normal. Out here.”
“Normal?” Tii repeated. “This is worse than the storm. Worse than the pirates. How do humans let this happen?”
Nyx didn’t answer immediately.
When he did, his voice was cold.
“Because someone benefits from their suffering.”
Tii noticed a group of robed figures — church officials — walking with eerie calm through the filth.
Children were being dragged behind them.
Some crying.
Some too weak to cry.
Tii felt his stomach turn.
He stepped into their path. “Where are you taking them?”
The officials scowled. “Move, heathen.”
Tii tilted his head.
“…No.”
Nyx growled silently in agreement.
One official grabbed a child’s arm. “These brats offer themselves for purification—”
“Pretty sure that’s not how that works,” Tii said.
“We serve the Holy Light. This is our righteous duty.”
Tii blinked slowly.
“…Right. Got it.”
He drew Falcon Staff.
In the blink of an eye, Falcon Staff morphed into a sleek obsidian katana.
Before the officials could yell, pray, or scream—
shhhk
shhk
shhhk
Tii moved through their shadows like a breeze.
Six bodies froze.
Throats split.
Chests opened.
One chopped diagonally.
One decapitated cleanly.
Their bodies fell apart in wet thuds.
The children stared in shock.
Tii sheathed the blade. “There. Problem solved.”
But instead of gratitude…
The villagers screamed.
They backed away. Crying. Ranting. Praying.
“You cursed us!”
“You killed the holy ones!”
“You’ve doomed us all!”
Tii felt a deep ache for the first time — not from wounds, but from confusion.
“…I just saved your kids.”
“They were chosen! They were blessed!”
Nyx whispered:
“They are too far gone. Manipulated for too long. They cannot be helped.”
Tii clenched his jaw.
“This world is… disgusting.”
Nyx didn’t disagree.
This was Tii’s first taste of the Outerworld’s true corruption.
And it would not be the last.
