Chapter 23: The second pet beast
The sixty-fourth hour of the National Entrance Exam arrived with a drop in temperature that turned the humid neon jungles into a landscape of frost and flickering static. The central obsidian peak of Planet X-99 loomed above the group, a silent, jagged god of black glass piercing the bruised clouds.
At a small plateau halfway up the southern face, a fire crackled. It wasn't a normal fire; the wood was harvested from flux-saturated "iron-brambles," burning with a steady, pale blue flame that hummed with a low-frequency vibration. In the center, several large haunches of Stardust Raptor meat were skewered on obsidian rods, the fat dripping into the flames and releasing an aroma that was half-savory, half-ozone.
Roman sat with his legs crossed, the Lightning Sword resting across his knees. Beside him, John was methodically sharpening the edge of his Titan-shield with a whetstone, while Ellen sat with her eyes closed, her soul-core synchronizing with the warmth of the fire. Shane was the only one moving, fussing over the roasting meat with the dedication of a professional chef.
"Eat up," Shane said, carving a slice of the pale meat and handing it to Roman. "We've got eight hours until the final extraction window opens. If Julian Thorne or those 'Unseen Watchers' you're worried about show up, I don't want to be fighting on an empty stomach."
Roman took the meat, the warmth seeping into his fingers. The Flux-Marrow Fruit from the previous hour had done its work; his energy was a roaring furnace, and the Aperture Opening in his chest felt like a solid, polished diamond. He was at the absolute ceiling of Rank 2. One small push, and he would break through to Rank 3.
"You're holding back, aren't you?" Shane asked suddenly, his playful voice turning uncharacteristically serious. He sat down across from Roman, the blue firelight dancing in his messy silver hair.
Roman looked up, his clouded eyes unreadable. "What do you mean?"
"The breakthrough," Shane said, gesturing to Roman's chest. "I can feel your soul-core vibrating from here. You're at the Peak. You could step into the Spirit Sea rank right now if you wanted to. But you're suppressing it. Just like I am."
John and Ellen paused, looking between the two.
"My father always told me," Shane continued, leaning back against a crystalline rock, "that the galaxy is full of 'Geniuses' who rushed their cultivation. They hit Rank 4 or 5 by twenty, but their foundations are like hollow glass. He said it's better to stay at Rank 2 or 3 for an extra year using a high-tier cultivation method than to jump ahead with a mediocre one. A solid foundation at the Aperture stage determines how much 'Cosmic Energy' your soul can eventually hold without shattering."
Shane's shadow-lynx manifested beside him, purring like a low-frequency engine. "That's why I haven't leveled up. I'm waiting for the right moment to synchronize my core with a specific stellar frequency. If you rush now, Roman, you might limit your ceiling later. Astral Star University doesn't want fast cultivators; they want infinite ones."
Roman nodded slowly. "Your father is a wise man, Shane. I'm not suppressing it for rank... I'm suppressing it because my 'vessel' isn't stable enough yet."
The conversation drifted into a comfortable silence, the only sound being the crackle of the iron-bramble fire. But then, a faint, crystalline sound cut through the humming wind of the mountain.
Ting... Ting-ting...
It sounded like wind chimes made of fine porcelain hitting each other in a gentle breeze.
Roman stood up instantly, his hand closing around the hilt of his sword. His True Sight flared, but the mist around the plateau was thick with ambient flux, creating a "white noise" that obscured long-range detection.
"Do you hear that?" Ellen whispered, her hand moving toward her Fire Bow.
"It's beautiful," John muttered, his eyes unfocused.
"Stay here," Roman commanded. "I'll investigate. It's coming from the grotto behind the ridge."
He moved silently, his boots barely touching the frost-covered glass. As he rounded the jagged obsidian corner, the mist parted, and Roman froze.
The grotto was filled with thousands of glowing, translucent insects. They were Dream Butterflies, creatures of legend often found in high-flux zones. Their wings were a delicate, pale light-blue, decorated with intricate dark-blue markings that looked like ancient runes. As they fluttered, they left trails of shimmering dust that hummed with that same porcelain chime.
"Guys, come see this," Roman called out softly.
Shane, Ellen, and John crept around the corner, their faces illuminated by the soft, ethereal glow. The butterflies moved in a synchronized dance, a swirling vortex of blue light that seemed to pulse with the heartbeat of the planet.
"Dream Butterflies," Ellen breathed, her eyes reflecting the azure light. "They say if you sleep near a colony of these, you can see your future in the Star Realm."
"They're harmless," Shane said, relaxing his posture. "They feed on ambient flux and emotions. They're basically the fireflies of the deep space sectors."
Roman raised his wrist, his Truth-Seeking Bracelet glowing as it scanned the swarm.
[ Identification: Dream Butterfly ]
[ Rank: 1-2 (Varies) ]
[ Attribute: Spirit/Psychic ]
[ Status: Passive ]
The group stood for a moment, simply appreciating the rare beauty in a world that had tried to kill them for the last sixty hours. It was a pocket of peace in the center of a war zone.
"We should go," Roman said, turning away. "The extraction zone won't wait for us to admire the scenery."
As Roman turned to leave, a sharp, stinging sensation erupted from his wrist. The Truth-Seeking Bracelet didn't just glow; it turned a violent, flashing crimson. A series of rapid-fire notifications flooded his mind, overriding the previous scan.
[ ALERT! SENSORY ANOMALY DETECTED ]
[ DISGUISING PROTOCOL DETECTED ]
[ SCANNING SUB-LAYER... ]
Roman spun back around. His True Sight pierced through the blue haze of the swarm. In the very center of the beautiful vortex, clinging to a stalk of glowing blue lichen, was a single butterfly that looked almost identical to the others—but its markings were wrong.
While the others had dark-blue runes, this one's wings were etched with deep, void-black markings. It was slightly larger, and its wings didn't just glow; they seemed to suck the light out of the air around them.
"Wait," Roman hissed, his voice like a whip. "Look at that one."
He pointed his bracelet at the black-marked butterfly. The data screen that appeared was unlike anything he had seen on the planet so far.
[ Target: Star-Spirit Dream-Devouring Butterfly ]
[ Classification: Hybrid / Soul-Eater ]
[ Lineage: Dream Butterfly x Star-Spirit Devourer Moth ]
[ Potential: S-Grade Potential ]
[ Ability: Spirit-Drain, Soul-Consumption, Reality-Warp ]
[ Warning: This creature does not feed on flux. It devours the spirit of the Tamer and the soul of the beast. ]
"Get back!" Roman roared, pushing John and Ellen toward the ridge.
The "Dream Butterflies" weren't dancing for them; they were a lure. The black-marked hybrid was the apex predator of the swarm. As Roman spoke, the creature opened its wings fully. The pleasant chiming sound turned into a high-pitched, screeching whistle that made John, Ellen and Shane , clutch their heads in agony.
"It's draining our spirit!" Shane yelled, his shadow-lynx flickering wildly as it struggled to maintain its form. "Roman, we have to kill it or run!.
Roman looked at the butterfly. His True Sight showed him the creature's energy—a terrifying, swirling abyss of black and violet. It was an S-grade potential beast. On Terra, such a creature was a myth. Even in the Core Planets, a hybrid like this was a treasure that royal families would go to war over.
Zuzu hissed from his shoulders, her lightning-horn sparking defensively. She felt the threat to Roman's soul.
No, Zuzu, Roman thought. This is it.
He had been suppressing his breakthrough, waiting for the "vessel" to be ready. He realized now that he didn't just need a better foundation; he needed a second beast to balance the raw, destructive lightning of Zuzu. He needed the Star-Spirit Dream-Devouring Butterfly.
Roman reached into his spatial storage and summoned his Contract Book. The ancient, leather-bound tome manifested in the air, its pages flipping rapidly until it reached the blank second page.
"I'm not killing it," Roman said, his voice echoing with the power of his Overlord Soul. "I'm claiming it."
"Are you insane?" Shane screamed over the screeching whistle. "It devours souls! If you fail the contract, your mind will be wiped!"
Roman ignored him. He stepped forward, entering the "Kill Zone" of the butterfly's aura. The creature sensed his intent and fluttered into the air, its black markings glowing with a sickly violet light.
A wave of psychic pressure slammed into Roman's mind. He saw visions of his past life as Arthur—the cold laboratories, the betrayal, the final explosion. The butterfly was trying to find the crack in his soul to begin devouring him from the inside out.
"I have lived two lives," Roman growled, his feet digging into the obsidian frost. "I have seen the end of one world and the birth of another. You think a memory can break me?"
He slammed his hand onto the open page of the Contract Book. A beam of golden light erupted from the paper, latching onto the butterfly.
The struggle was silent and invisible, but the shockwaves were physical. The surrounding Dream Butterflies were vaporized instantly as the hybrid released a burst of soul-energy. Roman's nose began to bleed, and his vision blurred. The butterfly was fighting back with the ferocity of a trapped god.
Submit! Roman's voice thundered through the mental link.
He didn't just use his Tamer power; he unleashed the full weight of his Overlord Soul. The imagery of a Golden Dragon, ancient and eternal, rose in his mind, looming over the black butterfly.
For ten agonizing seconds, the world seemed to stand still. Then, the high-pitched screeching stopped. The black-marked butterfly's wings faltered. The golden light from the Contract Book began to pull it in, the creature's resistance crumbling under the sheer weight of Roman's sovereign will.
With a final, brilliant flash of violet and gold, the butterfly was sucked into the page.
The book snapped shut and vanished.
Roman fell to one knee, gasping for air. The silence of the grotto was deafening. John and Ellen rushed to his side, helping him up.
"Roman! Are you okay? Talk to us!" Ellen cried, her hands glowing with a faint healing light she had learned for emergencies.
Roman wiped the blood from his lip and looked at his wrist. The Truth-Seeking Bracelet had returned to a calm, steady green.
"I'm fine," Roman rasped. He looked at the empty grotto, then focused on his soul-space.
Floating right next to Zuzu was the Star-Spirit Dream-Devouring Butterfly. It was no longer hostile. It sat quietly on a phantom branch of soul-energy, its black wings slowly opening and closing. Roman could feel a new, cool energy flowing into his meridians—a psychic shield that perfectly balanced Zuzu's volatile electricity.
"Did you... did you actually do it?" Shane asked, his voice shaking with awe. "You just contracted a Soul-Devourer. In the middle of the exam. On a planet that's literally trying to eat us."
"It's an S-grade," Roman said simply, standing up. He felt a surge of power so immense that the suppression he had been maintaining shattered.
[ Breakthrough Initiated ]
[ Soul-Core Level: Rank 2 Peak -> Rank 3 Spirit Sea (Early) ]
[ Dual-Beast Resonance: 100% ]
A pillar of violet and blue light erupted from Roman, piercing the dark clouds of Planet X-99. The flux around the plateau was drawn into him in a massive vortex, feeding the birth of his Spirit Sea.
High above, the orbital drones flickered, their sensors unable to process the sheer density of the energy being released. In the NS-Sovereign, High Proctor Vane stood up from his chair, his eyes wide.
"What is that?" Vane whispered. "That's not a Rank 2 signature. That's... a Dual-Sovereign Resonance."
Roman opened his eyes. They were no longer clouded. They shone with a piercing, violet light, the dark blue markings of the butterfly reflected in his pupils.