[FELIX POV]
Creeeeeaaaak~
My ears perk up immediately as the door to my cell opens and three figures walk in.
I look up.
First impression: humans are way too tall.
Second impression: the middle one is him.
Cedric Ashvale.
I recognised him without anyone having to say it.
He is taller than I expected for a fifteen-year-old, with dark hair and broad, muscled shoulders, walking with a grace that seemed almost regal. He looks like the type to work out at the crack of dawn —not to show off, but somehow still makes everyone else feel inadequate just by existing.
It's his earnest face that ruins the image of a heaven-blessed, talented young master—too earnest, like he genuinely believes the world is something that can be managed through responsibility and good intentions alone.
And now that face is looking at me with the kind of pity that makes me want to throw up at the hypocrisy.
I bare my teeth.
RRRR—rrrk—
"He looks—"
"Angry."
Well spotted, Captain Obvious.
The woman on his right steps closer. Sharp lines, sharp eyes, and a face that could probably freeze blood if she thought you were checking her out. She doesn't smile; she just looks at me like I'm an object—evaluating whether I'm broken beyond repair.
The other woman was significantly older with softer features, and with eyes that linger a little too long, like she's used to watching people hurt and trying to decide how best to help.
"Oh," the kind one says. "He's really small."
The sharp one turns to her.
"Yes. Because he hatched prematurely. It's almost as if he's defective."
RRRRRRrrrrrrrr—
"Don't talk about him like that, Janice."
Cedric snaps the words out sharply.
I blink.
That… wasn't what I expected.
It doesn't match the image I'd built of him in my head. Noble heirs don't correct their subordinates over beasts. They certainly don't do it over defective ones.
"I didn't mean it as an insult," Janice replied
"It's a technical observation."
"Well, whatever the reason may be, he is mine. We're stuck with each other—and if there's something wrong, then it's my responsibility to deal with it."
…Ah.
There it is.
Mine.
The word lands like a slap to my face.
I snarl, a low vibrating sound ripping out of my chest before I can stop it.
RRRRRRrrrr—
Cedric stiffens. Just slightly. He masks it well, but I see it—the way his shoulders set, the way his hands clasp behind his back like he's bracing himself.
He turns to me fully then, posture straight, voice firm and practised.
"Felix. I am Cedric Ashvale. From now on, you will be in my care and my responsibility. We have eight months until the Imperial Academy entrance test. I will require you in fighting condition by then. To achieve that, we will need to cooperate."
…
What the hell is he talking about?
I stare at him with disbelief. I did not even think to question how he knew my name; I knew it was all part and parcel of a soul bond.
But cooperate?
With him?
RRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrr—
"Felix, you don't need to feel threatened. I have no intention of harming you."
That's not comforting.
That's what people say right before they do something terrible for your own good.
RRR—RRRRRR—
"He is getting worse," Janice says suddenly.
I felt it too. One moment, I was growling at Cedric; the next, I was curled inward and shaking, pain violently rippling through my body as it started to crack, and I started to slowly disappear into nothingness.
No. Please..... no no.
"What is happening to him?"
The sharp woman, Janice, quickly activated the runes at the bottom of my feet, which glowed but did little to offset the awful feeling of being erased.
"Core destabilisation, he is dying again"
Again?!
I didn't even know there was a before.
"Cedric, you need to channel your mana and stabilise him from the inside, now"
"Ok"
Even through the pain, I could see his infuriatingly earnest expression as he channelled mana through the bond.
Relief crashes over me so hard my limbs go weak.
The pain doesn't disappear, but the sensation of being unmade stops.
Cedric's face tightens with strain almost immediately as sweat runs down his face at the strain.
"Careful," Mara said as she placed her hand to support him. "Don't overextend."
"I can hold it," Cedric grits out.
I feel him weaken as I stabilise.
Then we collapsed at the same time, me from relief and him from exhaustion, and immediately I felt the flow of mana between us weaken, not cut off completely, but just enough to keep me from dying again.
Janice nods. "This is his baseline. Any less and he deteriorates. Any more and you injure yourself again."
Cedric huffed from exhaustion.
"Why did this happen suddenly? He was fine before"
Janice smiled humourlessly.
"Because beasts need mana like humans need air, without the beast space or mana absorption, his limited mana was bound to run out sooner or later "
Janice clears her throat. "Anyway, we need to discuss what happens next."
"You mean, he needs to hunt."
Wait, what hunting? Me?
Janice gestures toward me. "Felix must consume mana cores to repair his own. He cannot absorb ambient mana. That won't change for a while."
Mara objects, "But he is so young, how will he hunt alone?"
"He's a wyvern," Janice says flatly. "Hunting isn't optional."
"Besides, he will not hunt alone; he can't, with his residual mana energy. He won't even make it through the first hunt alive"
Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Though inwardly I knew she was right.
"Cedric needs to go with him to sustain him"
Cedric nods. "Ok, when should we go?"
"Within the week," Janice replies. "Preferably sooner. The longer he waits, the more strain the bond places on both of you."
"Where should we go?" Cedric asks.
"There's a controlled forest zone two hours from the duchy," Janice says. "Just low-tier mana beasts, and remember, nothing too large in size of the beast indicates quality and quantity of mana in the core. The last thing we need is for him to explode from mana."
All three of us flinched at her words. Janice continued as if she had not seen us.
"Although in your case, the beast mana would just backflow, Cedric, leaving him bedridden again"
Cedric paled, while I felt some satisfaction.
"You don't need to go alone", Mara assured.
"Quite so", Janice agreed.
Cedric looks at me then. Really looks.
"Felix," he says quietly. "I need you to understand something."
"You didn't choose this bond," he says. "But I did, and I won't abandon you."
I snort.
RRRR—rrk—
He winces, but keeps going.
"You'll hunt," he continues. "I will make sure nothing happens to you, and we will be starting with weak creatures with small mana cores, and these creatures are definitely weaker than you, so there is no reason to be scared"
I curl tighter, shaking.
I was a nurse.
I helped people.
Now I'm supposed to hunt like an animal.
Eat cores.
Kill.
I feel sick.
"And when your core heals," Cedric finishes, "you won't need to do anything like this anymore."
It is your fault this happened to me in the first place.
I just glared at him.
He pauses, then adds, voice lower, "Felix, I promise I won't fail you."
I snarl at him, vicious and raw.
RRRRRRRRRRR—
He flinches.
Just barely.
And —that—is the only victory I get.
.
.
.
.
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AN: What did you guys think of the chapter? Comment, review, and gift power stones.