“C-Chief… W-What in the heavens is that?”

One of the bears stuttered as he stared at the scene in front of him with shock.

“That bird… is not of this world…”

Lort whispered to himself while he trembled in fear. He had once met a Saint stage beast when he travelled with Chief in their earlier days, but the feeling he got from the colossal golden bird was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

He knew it was just an illusion, but for a mere illusion to put him into this state of uncontrollable fear, it meant that the real might of this bird was unfathomable.

“Get back. NOW!”

The ma.s.sive red bear suddenly shouted, as he frantically snapped his head back to gaze at his subordinates.

His fangs glowed a bright orange color and his green eyes flashed with an intensity that none of the bears had previously seen before on their Chief.

“Chief! It’s Karn! He is…“

One of the bears in back abruptly exclaimed in a panicked voice.

Lying on the ground and shivering with glazed eyes, Karn began foaming at the mouth.

“Dammit! Get the kid out of here!”

Chief roared in deep rumbling voice as he addressed Lort.

“Take them all out of here, and wait for me back at the village. Abandon our post in the cave… it’s too close to this area.”

The red bear somberly stated as he firmly held Lort’s gaze.

“Ch-“

Lort began, but was instantly rebuked by Chief.

“Do not fight me on this, Lort! That human is too dangerous, and if we leave him alone, he might discover our village. I cannot let such a dangerous being wander around in our territory. If I do not return… you know what must be done.”

The red bear said gently towards the end of his sentence.

The others bears surrounding Lort could hear their Chief’s voice as well, and when they realized what their leader was about to do, traces of moisture started forming within their eyes.

“Leave… ”

Chief softly whispered in his grating voice, as he turned around and charged towards the distant human below.

After a few minutes had pa.s.sed, the red bear faintly heard a series of mournful roars in the back.

*chichi*  *chichi*

Small golden metallic scales shot up through Calron’s skin, and started to cover his body.

The gut-wrenching sound of the human boy filled the air, while bolts of lightning continued to crash around him.

The boy’s body was currently bent back like a strung bow, as his muscles twitched under the lightning which was destroying his insides. Calron’s claws dug into the soil, as the small golden scales continued to spread all over his skin.

His head was flung back as thick veins emerged around his neck and the blood vessels within his eyes began to tear apart.

Just looking at the state of the boy’s body and the distorted expression on his face, one could only imagine the extent of agony that he was going through.

Each time a scale shot through his skin, beads of blood would form at the edges until Calron’s entire body was covered with golden scales outlined by a thin red line.

*hisss*

A hot cloud of steam erupted out from Calron’s body as the lightning continued to burn his body from within.

“Raizel, we are one of the primordial beasts of the bird races, and one day you will become the heir of our family. You must learn what it means to be a primordial beast”

A giant golden bird flew across a starry sky with its brilliant scales illuminating the dark night.

“Aww! But grandpa, I was supposed to play with Ezkael tonight! I don’t want to listen to this boring stuff…”

A small dark-haired child complained with a pout on his chubby face, as he sat on top of the giant bird with his legs crossed .

“Haha, that can wait for later, Raizel, and I’m sure Ezkael is being given the same lecture you are.”

The golden bird stated in an amused tone, as it flapped its wings and continued to soar in the dark sky.

“Hmm, then it’s fine.”

The chubby boy said in a satisfied voice, knowing that his friend was going through the same torture.

“Raizel, let me ask you a question: what are the primordial beasts?”

“Um, they are all powerful beasts like Grandpa and his other old friends!”

Raizel replied in an enthusiastic voice.

“You’re lucky that Rephia can’t hear you right now… if she knew that you called her “old”, I’m afraid that not even I would be able to save you from her beating.”

The golden bird mirthfully chuckled as it tilted its head to glance at the boy seated on its back.

“She is mean…”

Raizel flinched as he recalled the last time Rephia had caught both him and Ezkael sneaking into her orchard to steal some delicious fruit. The slap marks on his bottom still remained even after several days had pa.s.sed since that event.

“The primordial beasts are creatures gifted with extraordinary strength. We are the first of our species to enter this realm, and we were given the responsibility to uphold peace within this world. Some of us disagree with each other on these matters, but it remains our duty to maintain balance.”

The golden bird seriously conveyed.

“Okay… ”

Raizel yawned as he casually leaned back with his arms crossed over his head and began to slowly close his eyes. All this talk about responsibilities seemed to thoroughly bore him.

“I’m guessing that you don’t want to know about the awesome ability that the primordial beasts have then?”

The golden bird inwardly sighed as it realized that it was losing the boy’s attention, and had to pique his childish mind with curiosity.

“Huh? What awesome power? Tell me! I promise to listen more to the boring stuff!”

Raizel suddenly sat up straight, and began to poke the back of the golden bird’s neck when he saw that his Grandpa remained silent in order to tease him.

“Haha, that seemed to have caught your attention.”

The giant golden bird laughed out, while slowly descending down to the ground.

“Hey! You promised to tell me. Hmph, I will go back to sleep if you don’t tell me.”

The chubby boy threatened his Grandpa, as he pretended to sleep again.

“We’re here. Come, I’ll tell you once we are inside the palace.”

The golden bird lovingly replied to the boy as its azure-blue eyes twinkled in the starry night.

“What is going on?”

Calron muttered as he stared at the empty white room. He felt like he saw some images earlier, but everytime he tried to recall them, it would just evade his memory.

He tried looking down at his body, but could see nothing except the white floor.

Suddenly, a hazy image started to form on the white wall. It displayed a boy covered in metallic golden scales and screaming his lungs out towards the sky. His body appeared to be wracked with agony as flashes of lightning bounced on top of his scaly skin.

Looking at the figure being shown on the white wall, Calron felt a strange pang of sorrow.

Who is this boy?

Calron thought as he continued to watch the figure screaming on the ground.

“That is your body, Calron.”

A deep voice echoed within the white room, as a man slowly approached Calron from behind.

With long purple hair fluttering behind him, the newcomer arrived in front of Calron.

“We finally meet, kid.”

The Voice stated with a slight smile on his face, while his amethyst eyes shined with amus.e.m.e.nt.