"How do you know that, Jack? How do you know something happened to me… after Ironfang sacrificed himself?"
James's voice trembled not with fear, but with something far deeper and excitement: hope. His eyes widened, searching his son's gaze as if Jack held the key to a truth that James couldn't grasp alone.
Jack met his father's eyes calmly, his voice low, but steady.
"That's just… what my intuition tells me, Dad. I can't explain it, but I feel something great is waiting for you."
He didn't say more. Not about the harpy girl Sora. Not about her cryptic words, or the unknown mysterious god whose presence still echoed in his heart.
Not yet.
BOOM!
The weight of truth was too heavy to drop all at once. Telling them now could spark more confusion than clarity.
So instead… he hid it behind one word.
Intuition.
Still, he leaned closer, his tone gentle, almost coaxing.
"So, Dad… did something happen after Ironfang sacrificed himself for you?"
Emma turned, her lips parted, her expression softening as her eyes traced her husband's face. She too had noticed the shift James wasn't mourning anymore. He was remembering, he was happy and his face lit up with excitement.
"Yes…" James finally spoke, his voice raw, as if dragging the words out of a wound he thought would never heal.
"Yes, son… something did happen."
He took a step back, clenching his fists tightly as memories surged like a flood.
"That Shadowclaw Manticore… it struck while I was kneeling beside you. You had fainted from the last beast's blow and slowly recovering from potion. I was vulnerable at that time, wide open… but thenthat dammed Shadowclaw Manticore beast ambush again, this time it's target is me."
BANG!
"ButIronfang came charging in he blocked attack for me… he didn't hesitate. He leapt right into the manticore's claws."
CRACK!
James's voice cracked with grief as he spoke.
"He took the hit meant for me. I still remember that sickening sound, his bones snapping, his blood flying through the air. His roar... it still rings in my ears."
"If he hadn't interfered with that attack… I would've died. No doubt about it. A hundred percent."
THUD.
He sank to one knee, shaking.
"After the dust settled, all that was left was his beast core. His body… gone. Crushed. Torn apart."
Silence.
Only their breathing could be heard, heavy and strained.
"I held that core in my hand before I went to unconscious. I gripped it like it was the last thread connecting me to him."
Emma covered her mouth with both hands, eyes glistening.
Jack stepped forward slowly, eyes locked onto his father.
"But then?"
James looked down at his calloused hands… then toward the air, as if trying to grasp something invisible.
"But when I woke up… the beast core was gone."
Ding!
A faint pulse. A subtle echo rang within his mind like a distant heartbeat returning from beyond.
"And now… now that you've asked me, Jack…" James's voice trembled as his eyes widened with dawning realization. "I remember." He looked up, almost breathless. "I can feel him, Jack. Ironfang… he's still there. Alive. Just out of reach but not gone."
WHOOSH!
A powerful gust swept through the field as if the world itself acknowledged his words.
"I can feel Ironfang. The bond it's still there. Weak, distant… but not broken. He's not dead. I just… can't reach him."
BOOM!
It hit like thunder.
Emma gasped, stepping forward as her tears spilled. "Hubby! You mean Ironfang is still alive?! You can feel him?!"
James nodded slowly, a tremble in his breath. "Yes… He's not gone. He's somewhere… inside me. Or beyond me. I don't know how, but… it's like he fused with me. Not lost… just changed."
Jack's eyes burned with awe.
Sora's words comes in his mind... It's true. A surprise awaits. Something unimaginable… has already begun.
He took a deep breath as a new light flickered within him.
----
James nodded, a slow, almost disbelieving smile forming across his weary face.
"I can't summon him… I can't hear him… but I can feel him."
BOOM!
Thunder exploded inside Jack's mind.
The moment those words left his father's mouth, everything clicked. Every puzzle piece, every whisper from Sora, every forgotten lore snapped into place like a lightning strike from the heavens.
Beast Space…
That realm.
That hidden dimension was buried within the Sea of Knowledge, a sacred domain where tamed beasts resided in slumber, only accessible to those who had practice the ancient beast taming technique that lost in forgetten.
Jack's breath hitched.
Just like his own egg the mysterious presence that pulsed within him, dormant yet alive his father could feel Ironfang.
But… James wasn't supposed to have access to that kind of power.
Jack clenched his fists.
He remembered what Sora told him clearly, her voice echoing in his memory:
'Only those who've practice the forgotten ancient beast taming technique can unlock the Beast Space.'
Then how?
How had his father unlocked the space? He had never practiced the ancient technique. Never studied it. Never even heard of it!
And yet Ironfang was inside. Trapped… or protected. Not dead. Just sealed away within a space James couldn't touch.
Crack!
The tension in Jack's chest fractured as a warm smile curled on his lips.
"Dad… I think I might know where Ironfang is." His voice was gentle, careful like handling glass. "But I need to confirm something first. I read about something similar… back in the Academy's library. I'll check it when I go back."
He paused, then added with a thoughtful look, "And if that doesn't help, we could always ask Ava. She's way more knowledgeable about things like this and rare phenomena than most people I know. Maybe she can guide us."
Jack nodded along, but deep inside, he knew the truth stretched far beyond any book or expert. Sora, the unknown god, the awakening of his father's Beast Space it was all connected.
But for now, this lie would protect them. Until he uncovered more, this fabricated story and Ava's name would be his shield.
If he told them about Sora…
If he revealed the Unknown mysterious God…
They might bring fear. Panic. Questions without answers.
No. Not yet.
Jack smiled gently, masking the storm of thoughts swirling in his mind.
Thud.
James stepped forward and grabbed Jack by the shoulders. His eyes once tired and shadowed shone like twin stars.
"That's amazing, Jack! If you can find a way… if I can get Ironfang back, if I can just see him again…"
His voice choked.
Emma, too, wiped at her eyes, her smile radiant. "Yes, Jack! Please help your father. I couldn't bear seeing his sorrow. But now? Look at him. You brought back his light."
"And if I can't find anything… we'll ask Ava. Maybe she can help."Jack said with full confidence.
James's eyes lit up with renewed hope. "That's... that's a great idea, Jack! If anyone can figure this out, it's Ava."
Emma nodded eagerly. "Yes, let's ask her. She always seemed to understand more than she lets on."
Jack's heart twisted with warmth and guilt, but he nodded.
"Of course, Mom. Dad. I'll look into it as soon as I return to the Academy or we ask Ava after we return to our house."
Then Jack thought 'And in future I'll uncover the truth behind the unknown mysterious god who give his Supreme blessings to me and tell whole secret to You all and i don't hide a thing from you.'
Jack's gaze turned skyward, feeling that mysterious presence brush against his soul once more gentle, distant, yet undeniably real.
When the time comes… I'll tell them everything.
But not now.
Not until I understand why our destiny is shifting…
Not until I know why that mysterious god chose me…And why I feel… he's not done with us yet.
There's more to this than meets the eye. Something deeper. Something vast. Something is brewing in the shadows.beyond our sight, beyond our understanding….And when it comes, everything will change.
-----
To Be Continued…!!!