B3 - Chapter 52: Domination

Seth sat cross-legged beneath the shadow of a gargantuan tree, his form concealed behind gnarled roots protruding high out of the forest ground.

He had explicitly told Elena not to remain stationed too close, since her presence would draw unwanted attention. Regardless, he didn't feel like he was in any danger; Nightmare and Colossus would come out of his teardrop necklace and defend him if someone approached.

Seth had also chosen a spot within a reasonable distance from the main camp to ensure that if the Empire launched an assault during the night, his companions would hear something and could halt his absorption process so he could go help the others.

Furthermore, Elena was going to tell the members of their party that he had headed back into the deep woods to map the surrounding area. The excuse should buy him until the next morning. Enduring a single sleepless night wasn't an issue.

The problem was the tight timeline. He needed to fully absorb the Seed in less than a day—ideally less than twelve hours.

'Be the darkness,' Nightmare said through Link. 'This is the way.'

Seth let out a sigh. 'This is not a Darkness-aligned Seed.'

'Details.'

'If it helps, I imagined myself becoming an unbreakable shell protecting our family when I absorbed mine,' Colossus chimed in.

'It isn't helping,' Nightmare answered, shaking his head.

'It helps as much as your advice to 'become the darkness,' ' Seth retorted.

The direwolf let out an irritated huff. 'If a scout happens to wander nearby, I might let him get a stab or two in before saving you.'

'I will not allow it,' Colossus stated firmly.

'Oh?' Nightmare's mental voice turned dangerously calm. 'You are openly rebelling against me now?'

'Only when you are being mean.'

Seth ignored their bickering, letting the duo argue while he reached into his Endless Pouch. He retrieved the sealed glass jar containing Elysha's Seed.

He took a deep breath to clear his mind and unscrewed the container's lid, then tipped the glass forward to let the claw of translucent light fall gently into his palm.

Closing his eyes, Seth turned his focus inward and began.

He seized the powerful, untamed energy radiating from the Seed and drew it toward his Well, just as he had done back in the Cave of Elements. But the moment the energy neared his skin and entered his body, it began to violently warp like a flame caught in a storm. It lashed out against his channels and resisted the process, refusing to become part of him.

The sensation was entirely different from what he had experienced with the Petrified Tree Sap.

Seth frowned and searched for the reason behind.

Is it because of the other elemental affinities inside my body? Because it doesn't match my Null affinity? Something else?

He sharpened his inner perception, analyzing the chaotic energy from every possible angle.

Then he felt it. It was a reaction of his own core. The will of Kreytorus' Legacy.

The raw anger contained within the Seed were actively fighting the bestial energy already in Seth's chest. And his Legacy had answered in kind, meeting the challenge with its own claws.

It felt as if two apex predators had been locked inside the same cage, each refusing to submit to the other.

How the hell am I supposed to stop this?

Seth turned his awareness even more inward, plunging his consciousness into the mysterious energy swirling inside his core. He studied its very foundation, and before long he was able to distinguish three separate forces already inside of him.

The first was the evolved version of Feral Instinct.

It pulsed with a deep, savage desire to hunt, fight, and dominate every obstacle standing in his way. It was the relentless hunger that had been pushing him to climb higher and claim his place at the very apex of the world's food chain.

The second was calmer and more stable. It existed as two invisible bridges extending from his core through his teardrop necklace to reach Colossus and Nightmare and connect him to their Seeds. Alpha's Resonance. One of his Talents.

The third force was the oddest of the three. It was the ancient energy that had once been bound in chains beside his core and carried a pure, unwavering resolve—an absolute determination to never yield and never be stopped.

Will of the Defiers.

Seth allowed his consciousness to sink completely into it. He reached for the same mental state he had achieved when creating his first Ravenous Arrow by bending the spell's purpose to make it his own.

Within moments the indomitable energy saturated every inch of Seth's being as he completely surrendered himself to it.

Then came an exhilarating sensation.

Even if Gaia herself stood before him and ordered him to kneel—to stop his advance—he was certain he would still take another step forward. Because not a single person or god had the right to decide his fate.

His Path was his and his alone.

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It shouldn't be something that could be dictated by cosmic laws or the whims of a deity. It was a route had forged and would continue to forge with his own hands and will. It would shift, evolve, and grow with every hardship he overcame and every drop of blood he spilled.

Four words echoed through his mind again and again.

You. Will. Not. Yield.

Seth seized the feeling and moved his focus to Kreytorus' Legacy. He plunged straight into the raging energy to feel its true nature.

The lingering will of the original owner demanded absolute supremacy. It wanted him to become the sole apex predator standing above all other living beings. The sensation was like standing at the edge of an ocean of pure bloodthirst that could drown his identity beneath endless tides.

The Legacy sought control. It aimed to reshape his mind, bend his instincts, and force him onto the predetermined Path.

You. Will. Not. Yield.

The four words from the Will of the Defiers thundered through Seth's consciousness once more.

Toren had warned him exactly about this. Carrying a Legacy was like selling one's soul to the devil. The foreign energy lived to push the bearer toward a Path that was never truly theirs.

But Seth refused it.

You. Will. Not. Yield.

He would not let someone—or something—else's ego, decide his fate. That Legacy would not choose which Seeds he could or could not absorb. It was nothing more than a tool. A means for him to climb higher.

This was his body. It had no right to reject the Claw of the Primal Tiger on his behalf out of pride.

Pride was irrelevant.

Only strength mattered.

Seth grasped the bucking energy in his chest.

Kreytorus' Legacy fought back right away. It roared inside his core, thrashing with all the might of an apex predator that had never once bowed before another existence. It resisted his will, trying to break free.

But Seth's resolve did not waver.

He tightened his hold. Again. And again.

He crushed every ounce of resistance, forcing the prideful energy lower and lower until the once-arrogant Legacy was finally at his feet.

Guide this Seed, Seth ordered. Forge it into a weapon. One that will help me to stand at the very top.

Kreytorus' Legacy answered with an unwilling growl... yet it obeyed.

This time, the energy surged through Seth's body in a violent rush. Every hair stood on end. His pupils widened, each muscle locked taut, and his jaw clenched as a roar threatened to tear itself from his throat and shake the silent forest.

Controlled by him, the subdued Legacy reached outward from his core, seized the chaotic, sputtering energy of the glowing claw, and dragged it into him.

The two powers collided and temporarily fused.

The volatile energy of the Seed slowly moved deeper into his body, seeping relentlessly into his flesh. The Primal Tiger's inherent anger and its desperate desire to tear apart everything in its way became amplified by the very nature of Kreytorus' Legacy.

Seth channeled every ounce of his focus into directing the integration process, completely blocking out the external world. Time drifted by without him realizing it.

The first faint rays of the morning sun came through as a sliver of light behind the dense canopy of leaves and the swollen clouds hovering in the sky. The illumination barely managed to alter the landscape, shifting the darkness from a near-black hue to a gloomy grey.

Seth opened his eyes as the final glowing particle of the Claw of the Primal Tiger vanished from before him, now inside his Well.

Achieving such a rapid absorption would have been impossible without forcing Kreytorus' Legacy to act as a mold to shape all that anger, yet it still felt like his own accomplishment.

'See?' Nightmare's smug voice echoed through Link. 'You were worrying for nothing. It took you half a day to absorb that thing.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Seth answered.

Colossus stirred inside his Pocket-Realm.

'Big brother Nightmare and I rotated our watch throughout the night to make sure nothing happened,' the scorpion added with pride. 'He even left his den and went to make sure Elena and the others were doing fine back at the camp.'

'Seriously?' Nightmare growled. 'Do you really have to tell him everything?'

'Why are you angry?' Colossus protested. 'Caring about the well-being of Elena and the others is not a bad thing.'

'I don't care about her... or any of them. I did it for Seth. Because he cares.'

'You do too,' the scorpion insisted.

The direwolf let out a dismissive huff.

Seth smiled and pushed himself up before stepping out from beneath the massive roots. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his legs to work away the lingering stiffness. Once that was done, he headed back to the main camp.

He slipped through the dense ferns and weaved between towering trees before finally coming to a stop a few dozen feet away from the camp.

Kastal's soldiers were gradually waking up, calmly distributing morning rations and preparing for the day ahead.

The relaxed atmosphere made one thing abundantly clear. There was no imminent threat.

Reassured, Seth looked down at the scar on his left palm and cast Intermediate Identify.

Seth barely paid attention at his attribute numbers—he instead focused on the two glowing dots above his Arcane Power stat.

Seth frowned. It's only supposed to be Legendary, not Legendary+.

Even when Colossus and Nightmare had improved their Seed above their natural bonus, the actual grade had remained the same.

Holding his breath, Seth focused on his new Copper Seed to see its effect.