Her voice was small, but it rang through the contract with a clarity that stopped him cold.
"If you want to protect it," the Spirit Fairy said, "then let me protect its soul."
Aether's hand, already half raised to pull her back, slowly lowered.
He realized then that he had been wrong about her. He had always thought of her as a support beast, a gentle presence whose purpose was to heal and to soothe. He had assumed that her evolution would eventually lead to stronger spells, brighter light, a sharper edge.
But she was not reaching for sharpness. She was reaching for shelter.
*Her path isn't about becoming stronger in a fight,* he thought. *It's about protecting souls. Nurturing them.*
The idea settled into him, quiet and certain. He nodded once.
"Then protect it," he said. "I'll hold the rest."
The Spirit Fairy's light flared, and the barrier around the newborn beast steadied.
Meanwhile, the Fallen Succubus had not been idle.
And what she saw was not what she had expected.
