“Your father may have to stay in the hospital for a few days, and I want to stay by his side. Can you go home and bring us some clothes, darling?” Mom asked. She inclined her head as she added, “Do you think you can manage without me?”
I nodded slowly, though I barely remembered what my mother had just said. My fingers were still stiffly curled around the tiny beast egg while my eyes lingered on my father.
“Maybe I should send you a list of things we may need,” she added, rubbing my cheek.
“Sure, do that…”
“Ophelia,” Father stirred and shifted uncomfortably as he looked up. “I don’t have to stay in the hospital, dear. I can be discharged today and we—”
I shuddered as Mom silenced Father with a sharp glare.
“Dear,” she smiled, but her eyes were ice cold. “Think very carefully about what you are about to say. Will you stay here for a few days until you feel better or not?”
“Of course... I will stay.” Father didn’t dare disobey, the way they were bringing a thin smile to my lips.
But the smile ceased as quickly as it bloomed. I glanced back at the beast egg, and my hand reached out to reveal it—when my eyes locked with Father’s. He shook his head subtly and winked at me.
He… wants me to keep the egg?
Before I even realized what I was doing, I pocketed the egg as Mom turned to me.
“Can you do that for me, darling?”
I nodded silently, unwilling to trust my voice, yet my gaze pulled back to my father. He was still badly wounded. He… could have died out there. The thought was enough to make me shudder. Losing my father… just thinking about it was terrifying.
***
I caught the next skytrain leading to the ninth sector just in time. The doors closed behind me and the skytrain left the station after I flung myself onto an empty seat.
Exhaustion caught up to me as I made myself comfortable on the seat. Rushing to the hospital after pushing my body to its limits was definitely not something I should repeat. Not that I had any plans to do something like that again.
But...
My eyes flicked momentarily to my pocket. I had yet to release the tiny egg from my grasp, but that didn’t mean I showed it around like a fool. It was well hidden in the pocket.
Binding it would solve all problems. My problems.
In all likelihood. Then again, nothing was certain. My World was stirring, telling me to bind it and to turn the beast in the egg into my companion—my Soulkin. But was that the right thing to do?
I… had no idea.
I looked out of the window as the skytrain ascended into the air, revealing the Bastion sectors below. It was a magnificent sight and something I came to appreciate.
As different as the sectors were, they were all beautiful. Each sector was charming in its own way, no matter how great the disparity between rich and poor—Blessed and unBlessed—appeared from above.
And then there was the dome. A faint, milky-white, mostly translucent barrier that protected the Bastion and its residents from the terrors beyond.
Not much could be seen through the dome. It was hazy and hard to pinpoint any details, even more so if one was far away from the edges of the Bastion. Yet it was easy to discern the plains and forests that lay beyond. They were flourishing. Beautiful.
However, nature beyond the dome was as dangerous as it was beautiful, if not more.
And that danger forced people to stay in the Bastions. To rely on the Blessed.
My gaze drifted through the half-empty compartment, and I grimaced as I noticed a small Soulkin—a 1-Star Wild, Pulistae Guinea Pig if I wasn’t mistaken—popping out from a young man’s chest pocket.
He was a Blessed with access to ether. He wasn’t the only one on the skytrain, either. I noticed several Soulkin and had to suppress a deep sigh. Sure, none of the Soulkin I saw was very strong, but close to half of the people seated around me had to be Blessed. And that was just based on the Soulkin I could see.
Most had a Soulkin. And if not for me and all those mounting hospital bills, Mom and Dad would have some, too.
My thoughts were spiraling again, yet I was surprised to find myself thinking about one thing in particular: that I could become a Blessed too. If it would solve all problems, I could start working and help my parents repay our debts too.
One hand never left the tiny egg, but the other moved swiftly to my opposite pocket, retrieving my beloved—though a bit old and battered—smartphone.
It was time to figure out what that egg was. What kind of beast laid eggs that looked like clumps of mud?
Research began without delay and continued until the skytrain arrived at the main station of the ninth sector. I wasn’t quite done when the train reached the station, but I’d already learned that identifying the mud egg was going to be difficult.
Official websites turned out to be useless. Knowledge about the Blessed—and therefore, about beasts—wasn’t accessible to just anyone with an ethernet connection. Not if you had a small World, graduated from an average—if one could even call it that—school, and… well, there were other reasons too, including safety. According to the Council, of course.
It had taken me a few years to gain access to certain forums with unique threads—forums created by the Blessed and mostly for the Blessed. Gaining access had been an ordeal, but finding pompous Blessed who loved showing off their knowledge of beasts and the like wasn’t difficult. They enjoyed the attention I gave them, and I eventually had them vouch for me.
Daniel’s recommendation may have helped a little. I snickered.
Regardless, many of the Blessed were arrogant morons I would never associate with if I could avoid it. Still, they were either foolish enough to share knowledge, or intelligent enough to capture my interest with their posts. The show-offs sought attention, and I gave it to them in exchange for learning more about the outside world—since I had no one else to bother with my questions. Daniel aside, of course. But that was different. I didn’t want to corner my friend like that.
Unfortunately, nothing helped. His information network wasn’t good enough. His access to the ethernet was too low.
Funny how you have to be Blessed to get higher access to anything... Pay-to-win sucks balls.
Or you had to be naturally gifted. A World of decent size would’ve been enough to attract the attention of the Beast Temple—probably. Some of my fellow poor souls at school had been granted special permission by the Temple, and they returned with Soulkins. Weak ones, sure, but that hardly mattered.
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Shaking my head, I didn’t allow those thoughts to fester.
It was a risk to bind an unknown egg, especially since it was hard to determine whether the beast’s traits would be compatible with one’s World. With Wilds, that usually wasn’t an issue, since they typically didn’t possess special abilities. Wilds with unique traits were rare. Even so, many Worlds weren’t compatible with certain types of beasts. Some could only bind reptilian beasts. Others, only mammals.
In some cases, the restrictions were even more severe—allowing only one or two types. I’d read enough about Worlds that only accepted bulls, spiders, or mice with a certain elemental heritage. One unfortunate soul had complained about his World for days in one of the forums I had access to.
His fate was unfortunate, but I didn’t pity him. That guy was a Blessed, and several of his posts hinted at an Awakened Soulkin.
Regardless, a World’s restrictions were problematic. Normally, that is.
Not for me, though. I knew my World better than anyone, and I’d had it examined more often—and more thoroughly—than most Blessed would bother with. The doctors were still confused about how a World as malleable as mine could exist. Its adaptability and the way I could will it to shift was unique. Then again, so was its size. If my World had been bigger, it would’ve been extraordinary. Even an average-sized World would’ve been enough. Alas, I wasn’t blessed with such fortune.
That reminded me of when I was younger. I grimaced as I stepped off the skytrain.
Back then, I wanted nothing more than an ordinary life. An ordinary World. An ordinary body.
As problematic as my World and body were, the versatility of my World was also the reason I didn’t need to worry too much about compatibility. It could bind the beast egg easily and gain access to ether.
But… was that really what I should do?
***
It took me almost three hours to return to the hospital, but I made it—exhausted and hungrier than I was used to. My mind rattled, and a bad headache had lodged itself firmly in my skull, but the luxury of rest wasn’t something I could embrace—yet. My elbow pushed the door handle, and I was just about to enter the room when I heard voices from inside.
I froze in my tracks, two heavy bags weighing me down, as I heard my father’s voice from the other side of the door.
“The treatment is too expensive. We cannot afford it,” he said sternly, and I noticed that his voice had gained some strength. That was good.
“The doctor did what he had to do to save you,” Mom responded just as sternly.
I considered entering the room to dispel the tension, but all that money talk made me hesitate. It filled me with guilt.
“He did… but he could have removed the lingering bits of the blood poisoning if he was going to throw such an atrocious bill at us! We don’t have that kind of money, Ophelia. And… you know I won’t be able to return to work until I’m better, or the poison will flare up instead of dispelling for good.”
“Shush now. We will be fine,” I heard Mom say, but her words were no more than a mere whisper. “We have to.”
No matter how confident she wanted to sound, I didn’t believe it for a moment. From the silence that permeated the other side of the room, I couldn’t help but think that neither Mom nor Dad were certain about what awaited them.
“Do you think Adam bound it?” I heard my father’s voice in the silence and grimaced, my heart skipping a beat.
They were talking about me. About the egg.
“No, he didn’t,” Mom replied instantly, certain this time. I heard something shift in the room, followed by a heavy sigh. “He’s probably overthinking. Worrying about our bills.”
“He doesn’t have to. He is only fifteen. He shouldn’t have to think about the bills. We are his parents. Of course, we—”
“Dear, Adam knows that too…” Mother’s voice lost all its edge, and my heart clenched as she continued. “Do you think… Do you think we are bad parents?”
“You should never—”
I knocked on the door, stopping my father mid-sentence.
Bad parents?! You are the best parents I could wish for! Damn it!
Suppressing the turmoil of emotions, burying them as deep as possible, I pushed the door open.
Both Mom and Dad looked at me nonplussed as I stepped inside, lifting the bags with an exhausted grimace. Was I exaggerating? Yes. Was it too much? Probably. It didn’t matter.
“Are you feeling better, Dad?” I asked, earning a subtle nod.
“That’s nice to hear.” Turning to my mother, I waved the bags. “Where should I put them?”
Mom shared a look with my father and took the bags. “I will take care of it.”
She carried the bags to the small wardrobe and began to reorganize the clothes and miscellaneous items within, not without glancing back at me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention.
They looked uncomfortable. Both of them did, clearly aware that I had yet to bind the beast egg to my World. But how could I do that?
Mom must have taken some time off to stay with Dad and take care of him.
She had enough overtime to take several weeks of paid time off, but that was not the problem. Problem one was our bills and debts. Problem two was Father’s job. He would be out of work for weeks if he wanted to be fully recovered before he resumed his physically straining job.
Even worse, I was certain my father would be let go. He was bound to be replaced by another desperate soul and would have to get back to job hunting, hoping to find a decent job—one that paid decent money without sucking the life out of his soul.
And that was the biggest problem: it was hard to find a ‘fair’ job as an unBlessed.
Mom was fortunate to have a great superior, but even she was worked to the bone, forced to work long hours to pay off bits and pieces of their seemingly endless list of bills to pay.
The egg could solve everything in one go. It was small, and a weak Wild was likely to hatch from it, but that was an advantage if anything. Blessed hunted juvenile beasts and especially beast eggs for a reason.
It was the same reason my parents would never be able to afford a beast egg: they were worth a fortune.
Those with money could easily get their hands on beast eggs—even Wild beast eggs. But not for themselves, of course. The Blessed with deep pockets purchased Wild eggs for their children and had them bind them to their Worlds at a young age. The sooner, the better.
My understanding of the ways of the Blessed was lackluster, but I understood their intentions well enough. The young would bind the eggs, granting those with means early access to ether and ether-based methods to refine their Worlds using both soul energy and ether, accelerating expansion. And, of course, they would train with ether from a young age, get used to having a Soulkin, and develop their abilities accordingly.
It was unfortunate for me—the actions of the rich had driven the price of beast eggs beyond what non-Blessed could afford. Still, it was an effective strategy.
That was all the more reason to make use of it. But… could I afford to do that? Sell my only chance at fixing my broken body?
Couldn’t I be selfish for once? Bind the egg—the one my father nearly died to get?
Dad wants me to bind it. Even Mom looks like she wanted that. Can’t…I just do it?
But what if the beast egg was hiding something good? I could always sell it, or even better: replace it with the egg of a weaker beast along with a considerable sum of money to pay off a few debts and bills—possibly all.
I considered the possibility. It was unlikely, but even if the egg turned out to be useless, it would still cover their debts. I could always sell the egg, train for a few more months, and use the leftover money to purchase one of the weakest Wilds on the market. A mature 1-Star Wild insect with no potential to grow would still give me access to ether.
Do I even have several months to train though...? My condition is still deteriorating. Even if I make it… my World would still be a problem. Gaining access to ether wouldn’t solve everything.
To be fair, no option sounded perfect, and I had to consider asking my parents for advice—but I knew what they would say. They wanted me to bind the egg rather than worry about their bills and debts.
That didn’t sit well with me. It wasn’t just their debt. It was our debt. My debt, if I had anything to say in that regard.
“I think I will go home now. I’m tired,” I muttered, spinning on my heel to head for the door.
But I didn’t leave right away and halted before the door.
“I’m glad you are my parents. Don’t ever doubt that.” The words escaped my lips before I thought about it. “You are great parents, and I love you both!”
Heat rose to my cheeks, and I hurried out of the door, escaping the awkwardness before it could settle in my heart.
“Did… he really just say that?” I heard Mother’s voice, barely a whisper.
“He heard us earlier, didn’t he?” Father said.
The rest of their conversation remained a mystery as I strode out of the hospital with quick steps.
My parents wanted me to bind the egg. And, if I was being honest, I wanted that too. My World wanted nothing more than to bind the beast egg—even though it was unclear what beast was hidden beneath the shell of mud. Regardless of what it was, I was certain the egg belonged to me. Like it was supposed to end up in my hands.
What if it was something special?
I retrieved my half-broken phone and moved to my contacts. There had never been a need to save many numbers, but only one of them mattered now.
I’m sure he can help.
At least, I hoped so as I called the only one likely to hold all the answers I sought.
Daniel Zerog: a Blessed, and the only person I was willing to call a friend.