The tahr's last bellow was nothing but fear and defiance.
Life slipped out of it a moment later, the final ember of consciousness guttering out without ceremony.
Saddened, Antoine lifted the beast's still-warm body with ease and carried it to a trench a little farther on.
Inside, about a dozen carcasses already lay. Half of them bore obvious signs of killing—most often a clean cut at the throat. The others seemed to have died for no apparent reason. Yet one thing united everything in the pit: their warped bodies and tormented expressions.
With a gentle motion, Antoine laid the inert tahr beside the yaks, the blue sheep, and the chickens.
He then knelt at the edge of the trench and began to pray for their souls. He did not move an inch for an hour, save for his long hair, given over to the whims of the mountain's cold wind.
Guilt gnawed at him from within; so many lives had gone out because of him.
He could have saved at least half if he had recognized the situation ahead of time and taken the proper measures. Instead, he had chosen to reject change.
If he had simply read the books he'd received sooner—and truly paid attention—he might have…
"Enough. Regret is useless! I have to take this as a lesson and put everything in place so it never happens again. For the sake of those who died because of me—and so it won't happen to anyone else!" he shouted as he stood.
Taking up a shovel, he began solemnly to fill the trench.
The task was finished in a few minutes. Antoine offered one last prayer and headed for the yak pen.
Creatures never before seen on Earth were there.
The scene felt unreal, as if it had stepped out of a fantasy film.
The survivors of the forced evolution numbered ten.
A rooster who, apart from a blue comb and being a touch larger, didn't seem that different.
Two yaks that had grown so much they towered over him utterly. Not quite at elephant size yet, they stood two and a half meters tall. With his four horns, the male even reached three meters.
Beside them stood the only youngster to make it through: a calf whose mother had died in labor and whose father was the very body Antoine had just buried. The calf looked no different than before, seemingly unchanged.
And yet, it managed to surprise Antoine. With each of its steps, a fine layer of frost spread over the ground.
Intrigued by the phenomenon, he promised himself to study it in detail before moving on to the pen's remaining animals: four blue sheep and two tahrs.
The two species—once similar enough—were now far easier to tell apart. The formerly slate-to-bluish coats of the big bharal had turned to sapphire, making them easy to distinguish.
The changes in the tahrs were far subtler. Aside from a small increase in size and horns now twice as large, they were broadly identical to their untransformed kin.
In a separate enclosure, those spared by the Qi were huddled together: one yak, three tahrs, five sheep, and ten chickens, all mixed and trembling in a corner.
It might almost have looked amusing.
But not to Antoine, who watched them with pity. He brought them their favorite food, then did his awkward best to comfort them. Used to the presence of the human who had always protected them from wolves, they calmed a little.
He took his time before leaving the pen, his departure met by the reluctant eyes of its occupants.
Outside, he reinforced the fences of the pasture where the spirit beasts now lived.
Only once the work was done did he realize it had been in vain. If his new residents decided to leave, these barriers wouldn't stop them. "But at least they won't snap as quickly as before…" he muttered, consoling himself.
Pausing a moment to survey his work, he found himself thinking of the array basics he had studied not long ago. An entire section of the manual detailed special arrays for raising spirit beasts. Ordinary methods no longer sufficed to contain them, so cultivators had developed arrays designed specifically for the task.
The more time passed, the more Antoine grasped how crucial it was to learn arrays. The ones he had received from the System had already proven their worth—from protection to utility.
Although the arrays he could study for now were very basic, their level would rise with time. He would have to carve out room in a schedule that was already tightening to train himself properly. And with that, one more line was added to his ever-growing to-do list.
A brush of fur against his thigh drew his attention back to Custos. The Tibetan mastiff, true to form, wagged his tail in excitement, eyes locked on him.
Reading his thoughts, Antoine set a hand on the dog's muzzle. "You'll get your treats soon. Just a little patience," he said, approving.
At the word "treat," Custos bounced and barked for joy. Seeing his reaction, a shy smile tugged at Antoine's lips.
A moment later, master and dog were climbing the path side by side.
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At the same time, in the cave, a young man who had been sleeping peacefully until then suddenly opened his eyes. Disoriented and dazed, he cried out when he saw, floating before him, a blue screen—uncannily like the ones in the video games his father had always forbidden him to play.