After all the Spino Dragons had been taken care of, everyone regrouped and tended to the injured, mainly for the people who had fought the dragons. Everyone else only had minor injuries.
People mostly surrounded Nova, who admittedly had it the worst. But with the help of Cora, all the wounds she sustained were quickly dealt with.
With a wave of her hand, she released a chantless healing spell that fixed up Nova's leg, leaving only faint scars.
Mina and Korin were healed first, but the two sat next to each other in silence, deep in thought. Not noticing Nova, who stared at them with worry.
The twins had done a good job fighting off the dragons, but their blunder in leaving one of them behind nearly resulted in the death of the escapees.
She was ready to intervene; after all, she had already healed to the point of being battle-ready. But she did not want to reveal her strength yet.
Or, more accurately, they wanted to keep it hidden from Raka.
The plan was to let Nova and the twins take care of the dragons while she stayed with the escapees.
Along with the eagle's assistance, she thought things would have gone smoothly. But after the dragon charged at the civilians, she was ready to take action.
What she did not expect, however, was for Raka to rush at the thing head-on.
She had to admit that she was surprised and lost her composure. After seeing Raka freeze up at the sight of the dragon, she thought he would be too afraid to move.
His fear made her forget the amount of mana he possessed in his body.
What happened after was… A slaughter, to put it lightly.
Turning her gaze, Cora spotted Raka sitting at the far front of the group, with the eagle sitting next to it.
After the battle finished, he simply carried Nova over before walking away. But she did notice an odd expression on his face.
One of sadness.
With her thousands of years of experience with humans, it didn't take long for her to come up with some theories on Raka's actions.
One was that he was deliberately hiding his strength until the escapees 'lives were endangered, and he did not interfere in the fight because he deemed it unnecessary.
Though from her short conversations with him, she doubted that this theory was correct.
Another theory is that he himself was unaware of the strength he possessed. This seemed far more likely.
It would explain why he was so afraid of Nova when he first appeared. While he wasn't quite skilled, he had far more raw power than she did.
He must have thought that Nova was stronger.
That also would explain his fear of the dragons; from his reactions, she concluded that he must not have seen many monsters in his lifetime.
But that just gave her more questions than answers. It was best for her to ask him herself.
After healing the injured escapee's minor wounds, she turned to walk towards Raka. Who was still sitting in silence?
Only for someone to grab her by the hand.
It was Nova.
She gave Cora a hesitant look, reluctant to let her get close to Raka. Still shaken from his powerful attack, he incinerated a section of the Swampland.
Gently, she pushed off her arm while giving her a reassuring nod. Nova wasn't convinced, so Cora released a gentle wave of mana that pulsed through the air.
It was to tell her that she had already recovered her mana and that she would be okay.
Nova finally relented after this and allowed her to continue walking to Raka. But her gaze never left Cora's form.
As she got closer to him, Cora had to admit that she was a little nervous.
She had sensed Raka's extremely potent mana from the moment he appeared, but seeing it released in such a brutish and devastating way was shocking.
There was a possibility that he might even have a larger mana pool than her.
/ - /
Raka sat alone, away from the gentle murmurs and occasional laughter of relief coming from the group behind him.
His gaze fixed blankly on the still-smoking devastation before him, his thoughts spiraling uncontrollably.
His heartbeat hadn't calmed down yet, and his chest felt so incredibly tight. Each blink brought a fresh wave of distressing memories.
The terrified faces of the escapees, their wide eyes filled with a desperate plea for survival. He clenched his fists tightly, knuckles whitening as he tried to steady his breathing.
His mind just kept going back.
The two dwarves, Klamli shielding Deira with his trembling body, had pierced his mind, forcibly reviving his most painful memory.
Sarah's small frame flashed vividly in his mind—her frightened eyes, her tiny hand gripping his body so tightly, only to be ripped away, leaving him clutching nothing but air.
An unwanted image surged into clarity—the sickening sensation of gripping her severed hand. Raka flinched violently, breathing rapidly and unevenly.
A wave of nausea rolled through him, and before he knew it, he struck his temple sharply with his palm, desperate to erase the vision.
"Stop," he whispered hoarsely to himself, voice thick with pain and guilt. "Just stop."
Suddenly, a firm nudge nearly knocked him sideways.
"Oof-"
Startled, Raka barely caught himself, turning sharply to see the eagle towering beside him. Its large eyes regarded him curiously, head slightly tilted.
"W-what?" Raka stammered, his voice shaky.
The eagle clicked its beak softly as if chastising him.
"Why are you acting like a worried puppy now?" Raka asked weakly, managing a faint smile.
The eagle puffed out its chest slightly, clearly pleased with its successful attempt at distraction, feathers fluffing up with satisfaction.
Raka took a deep, calming breath, the knot in his chest loosening slightly. His eyes traveled to the eagle's wounded wing.
"Is your wing okay?" he asked gently, reaching out cautiously. The eagle eyed him warily but eventually allowed him to inspect the injury. T
The flesh was bruised and had some feathers ripped out, but thankfully, there was no more bleeding.
"You know, you didn't have to warn us about the dragons, much less fight," Raka murmured softly, gratitude evident in his voice. "You could've just flown away. So why didn't you?"
The eagle blinked slowly, its gaze not leaving him. Raka stared expectantly for a moment, then realized the issue. "Oh, right. You can't exactly talk, huh?"
The eagle's response was… a distinctly unimpressed look, accompanied by a dismissive huff.
Raka chuckled. "Sorry. Guess I'm not really thinking straight."
The eagle nudged him again, softer this time, as if reassuring him.
"I appreciate it, though," Raka said quietly. "You saved lives today, mine included."
It gave him an odd look after he said that, "Look I didn't even know I could do all that until today."
But it didn't care before settling comfortably next to him, preening its feathers. Raka watched in amusement.
Turns out having a giant feathery bird sit next to you does wonders for your mental health.
Soft footsteps drew his attention, followed by the feeling of strong mana. Raka turned around, startled to find Cora.
She looked okay, with no visible injuries that he could see. But something about her was odd… It was as if she was being a little cautious for some reason.
"Raka," she said gently, her eyes flickering to the eagle for a split second. "Could we talk for a moment?"
She must want to know about his powers. No point in trying to hide anything at this point, not after he basically atomized three dragons.
Finally, he nodded slowly, rising to his feet and casting a glance toward the eagle, who gazed at Cora with disinterest.
"Sure, what's up?"
/ - /
Cora and Raka stood before each other at a respectful distance. The eagle stood to the side, staring at the two in mild interest.
Cora had many questions, but she knew she needed to erase the tension first.
Then she moved her body in a slight bow, surprising Raka.
"Thank you," her voice was sincere before she looked back up at him. "If you hadn't stepped in, we'd be burying people tonight."
She must have said something wrong because he visibly flinched at her statement. His hands tighten at his sides before looking away from her gaze.
"It's alright… I just did what I thought I had to do… Anyone else would do the same."
How odd. The way he responded to her was like he was reluctant to accept her thanks. His tone also suggested a feeling of guilt?
"Even so, I thank you all the same."
He didn't respond after that, and the two were left in an awkward silence.
"Are you all right?" she asked, noting how his eyes seemed to go in and out of focus.
"You've been awfully silent after the battle ended and sat far away from everybody else." She gazed up at him with a worried face. "You seemed troubled."
"It's nothing. I just needed some air after the fight."
A blatant lie. This wasn't getting her anywhere; it looked like she had no choice but to get to the point.
"That makes sense. Your attack released a lot of smoke into the air. Inhaling so much must have felt suffocating. "
She purposefully moved her eyes towards the marks under his left eye. "About your attack, it wasn't a spell, was it?"
Raka flinched, "N-no, I just released my mana in its basic form. I didn't need to do any more than that…"
"Released his mana"? What an odd way of wording it. Cora already knew that, of course. But from the way he worded it, it sounds like a complete novice.
Like someone who wasn't entirely familiar with the inner workings of magic, far off from an actual mage, it was easy to tell that his "release" was extremely messy and unrefined.
What actually bothered her, though, was the sheer audacity of his attack.
Only using a wave of mana to attack dragons isn't something that even she would do. It was reckless and, above all, extremely inefficient.
Using a wave of mana to fight would disperse one's mana everywhere, creating a wide-ranging attack, but also risks hurting the user.
The only conclusion she could come up with as to why he would do something like that is that he doesn't know how to use any spells with his near-bottomless mana pool.
Which was hard to believe, but it made the most sense.
Since it was evident that he didn't know much about his own attack, she needed to change her strategy.
It was a risky question, but it would help explain things. "If you do not mind, may I ask if that attack was related to your Soul Trait?"
"That's none of your business."
Raka answered immediately. He didn't raise his voice, but the firmness in those five words rang louder than a shout.
She flinched at his cold and sudden response. Noticing his eyes suddenly turning a yellow color.
Must be a touchy subject.
A Soul Trait—the crystallized essence of a person's soul. When a soul awakened, it distilled its core desire into a single concept and brought that concept into reality, granting abilities that reflected its nature.
A fitting example would be a chef that made their very soul and purpose the act of making food, it might manifest a soul origin correlated with fire. Something like: "Ember" or just simply: "Fire."
But it could also take on a more metaphorical form. They may manifest a Soul Trait called "Kitchen." Which would allow the conjuration of flame, water, or manifest slashes, such as a cutting motion in a kitchen.
By the same logic, Raka's command over fire, his golden heat that devoured three dragons whole, pointed to something equally fiery.
She doubts that it would be something literal or straightforward. An attack that potent had to come from a soul trait that supports it, so she concluded that it had to be one of a metaphorical nature.
Which would be all the more terrifying, the more she thought. A metaphorical soul trait and a near-bottomless mana pool?
Raka could very well become a force like none have ever seen.
Cora wanted to dig deeper, to know exactly what was going on in that body of his. But she knew she was already pushing it.
"I apologize," She finally said, "I shouldn't have asked about something so personal."
Raka exhaled, now looking a little guilty for snapping at Cora, "It's fine. I get why you asked… But it's not something I can just tell anyone you know?"
"Indeed."
He had a point there. Even for her, only a few knew of her true Soul Trait. She knew Raka telling her was a stretch, but it didn't hurt to try.
"Shall we head back to everyone?" She offered,
Raka turned to look at the eagle for some sort of response, but only received a shrug. It didn't care; it would follow him if he went and stay put if he didn't.
Cora chuckled at the eagle, which earned her an annoyed glare.
Seeing one of your species act so protective is adorable. She mused to herself. But the eagle got the idea of what she was thinking and huffed in annoyance.
Raka, oblivious to the interaction between them, finally answered, "Alright, let's go back."
/ - /
It didn't take long for the group to set off again. With none of the escapees being seriously injured, they all set their sights back on Dravareth.
This time, though, with only Raka and Cora at the very front. Nova was stubborn and reluctant to take a step back, but some scolding from Cora made her back down.
Even if she was healed with spells, her body still needed time to adapt. So Mina and Korin took it upon themselves to hold onto Nova's sides as the three walked from the very back.
Some people in the group were still afraid of more monsters appearing in the Swampland, flinching at any noise that came from the swamp.
But other than that, it was back to being peaceful for Raka and the group.
He walked side by side with Cora, who looked relaxed as ever. It was probably because of living for so long, but her calmness still freaked him out.
Especially when she asked him what his Soul Trait was.
It was something important that Prof. Recca and Freya relentlessly drilled into his brain… And something that he embarrassingly just remembered.
Those two were right, my memory is really shit. He thought with a bitter smile.
Everything they told him rushed back into his mind after Cora asked him about his Soul Trait, and Recca's lessons came to mind.
A soul trait was someone's unique magic to put it simply. Something that is unique to one person and that person alone.
People might have similar Soul Traits, but never an exact copy.
Recca called it "One's first step toward divinity." Because if trained correctly, a Soul trait could become a power that could bend the rules of the universe to a person's will.
He asked Recca if it was possible for him to manifest a Soul Trait. But he told him that it was very unlikely.
With Earth humans being new to magic in general, it was still just speculation if it was even possible for them to manifest in Earth humans.
But Recca was very persistent in him having a Soul Trait. If Raka was to become a being that could rival gods, he needed a Soul Trait that would support him.
Sadly, even after hundreds of attempts, and countless hours of training. He never awakened one.
They needed to find a workaround. To find a way to imprint someone else's Soul Trait into another person. Or more accurately, into his soul.
So they did.
Inside his soul, the scientists at the facility found a way to imprint another person's Soul Trait into him.
Raka was sceptical at first, because it sounded like they just murked someone and took their Soul Trait.
But he actually got to meet the holder of the Soul Trait that now burns within him. A soldier who came out of a war, the only survivor.
Defeated an entire army on their own, and manifested a Soul trait that they detested. A Soul Trait that he now inherited.
A self-devouring Soul Trait known as "Burden"
…
…
…
/ - /
"And with that, the camp is done!" An escapee cheered as they put the last finishing touches on their new camp.
Some of their bags and satchels were blown away during the fight with the Spino Dragons, but they were still able to make do with what they had.
Though a camp formed in a straight line was quite a funny sight. After all, there wasn't a lot of space on one road going across a swamp.
Everyone settled in little groups, with Nova and the twins surprisingly already dozing off at the back. Leaning onto each other, with the twins twisting and turning like actual cats.
Raka squealed in his mind at the cuteness, he was a big cat person after all. But made sure to not voice his thoughts.
He was pretty sure calling Beastmen "animals" was racist in some sort of way.
Looking at the three warriors peacefully sleeping with each other filled him with mixed feelings.
It reminded him a lot of how he and his sisters would sleep closely when they were at the gymnasium.
It was a messy, chaotic, and scary time. But at least they were together.
"Are you planning to sleep today, or are you going to be up all night again?" Cora asked on his side.
She had made a makeshift mattress with her cloak and sat comfortably right in the middle.
"Maybe?"
Cora chuckled, "That's not an answer, you know."
He shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to her, at the edge of the pond. Dipping his feet into the shallow water.
"I don't get tired easily, so I'm probably just gonna stay up again."
"Really? So even after fighting multiple dragons, you're still not at all tired?" Her tone stayed the same, but even without looking at her, Raka knew that she was trying to find out more about him.
"Not at all."
…
It was a moment before she finally responded, "Alright, I simply wanted to make sure that you would not be tired for tomorrow. Even your eagle friend is already resting."
"Huh, what's happening tomorrow?"
She looked at him, amused, "Why, tomorrow is the day we finally arrive at Dravareth, and the day we will be safe from the slavers' pursuits."
"O-oh yeah, that's tomorrow… I forgot."
Suddenly, he stood up quickly, startling Cora. "Well, I'm going to go sit by myself to… enjoy the swamp's views before dozing off, alright?"
"Oh, Okay-?"
"That's great then, rest well Cora!" And he quickly went off on his own, leaving Cora confused at his change.
/ - /
He walked a couple of meters away in front of everyone else and allowed himself a moment to think.
The mention of Dravareth had sent a spike of adrenaline through his body. If they were going to arrive at Dravareth tomorrow, then he needed to mentally prepare himself.
He had the Sunpiercer's energy coursing through his veins, and Cora was already suspicious of his power.
The last thing he needed was someone like Karthzion finding out about him.
As much as he wanted to snap her neck and crush her skull. He knew that at this point, he was still no match for a god.
He needed to find Recca and Freya and continue his training to get stronger. But if they aren't around anymore, and he is truly alone.
Raka would still train.
Train and polish his powers and abilities so that one day he will become the one to challenge the gaze of the gods.
And bring an end to the divine order.
So that no one will be cast aside like ants by the games of the divine.
Turning his gaze to the setting sun, a feeling of unbridled rage bubbled within. And only Karthzion's face appeared in his mind.
"Karthzion, I was forged by the fires of your creation, and by those flames, I promise you destruction—"
"And when your final dawn rises, may it illuminate nothing but ash."