Anastasia's voice shook as if she couldn't possibly believe the words Damian had just spoken.
Interstellar Beast Master.
Was it really so easy to become one? To speak it aloud and be it?
Hundreds of humans and cybernetic hybrids died every day trying- throwing themselves into Entropic Rifts, hoping they had the talent to bind an Interstellar Beast and ascend to the skies in a single, miraculous moment.
Could Damian actually be...
Anastasia's heartbeat thundered in her ears as she looked at Damian's face, which was serious and unreadable.
Only now did she truly see him.
His build had shifted and become taller and broader. His face was more defined.
And beneath that oversized black overcoat, his physique had filled out, muscle pressing against the fabric that once fit looser.
Was it possible?
The thought sparked like lightning in her mind, dancing through wild possibilities as her breath quickened.
Until, at last...
"Show me."
She breathed the words with something between disbelief and hope. A desperate, silent wish that his words were true. That somehow, against all odds, he had truly become one of them!
An Interstellar Beast Master.
Damian looked around the lounge, then shook his head.
"I can't really show you anything here, so-...!"
But he didn't get the chance to finish.
Anastasia was already on her feet, grabbing his hand and dragging him toward the back of the Riftstack Lounge with purpose.
They passed through throngs of people and came to a halt in front of a massive man guarding a purple door, behind which only a few were allowed to pass.
She held out her phone and addressed the man twice her size with a voice cold enough to freeze molten steel.
"A private room. Now."
Her tone carried no fear, only authority as was commanding!
One of the bouncer's eyes flickered with a swirling blue glow- an ocular cybernetic implant. A massive scar ran down his left cheek, but his lips curled into a grin as he looked from Anastasia to Damian.
"Five hundred credits. Bit steep this early."
The private rooms weren't meant for quiet meetings. Not usually anyways. Everyone in the lounge knew what they were for.
But Anastasia didn't hesitate as she tapped her phone against the scanner he held. A soft chime sounded as the credits were withdrawn from her account.
Without a word, the bouncer opened the purple door behind him and glanced at a hovering display before he nodded.
"Third door on the right. Enjoy yourselves and...try not to be too loud."
His horrid laughter was left behind as he glanced at them with cold envy while they passed through.
Past the purple threshold, the noise of the lounge faded and was swallowed by a hallway bathed in violet neon strips that glowed along the floor and ceiling.
Several doors lined either side, like a row of hotel rooms.
Anastasia walked briskly, pulling Damian along behind her. She reached the third door on the right, unlocked it, and slipped inside while tugging him in after her.
The door slammed shut as multiple locks clicked into place.
Then she turned to him and repeated herself again.
"Show me."
There were no cameras here. No watchers.
That was the one guarantee of the Riftstack Lounge's private rooms.
Anastasia didn't even know what she wanted to see. His beast? His power? Anything that would make this wild truth real!
If Damian truly was an Interstellar Beast Master, would he need to summon his bonded creature? Or maybe...he could show her something else? Some hidden strength that only a Beast Master would possess?
Damian understood the desperation in her eyes. He understood that madness that was born of grief and fury and a burning need for vengeance...because he felt it too!
Every night as nightmares of blood and gore came.
He sighed.
And then, in a voice quiet as a whisper, he called out.
"Kitsuul."
...!
The word rippled through the still air.
And on his shoulder, a silver-purple brilliance shimmered into existence.
A soft, piercing cry followed as a regal, cute furry creature revealed itself triumphantly.
"Kitsuul~..."
The sound of a purring fox.
Anastasia froze.
Her body trembled as a six-tailed creature took shape before her, nestled on Damian's shoulder as she was delicate and dazzling!
The fact that it had been invisible this entire time shook her to her core. Her breath became faster as her eyes widened.
She looked from Damian to the beast back and forth- again and again.
As if trying to anchor herself in reality.
A full minute passed before she finally spoke. her voice barely audible.
"Its power... your power. Is it enough to go against someone like the Drunken Butcher right now?"
A straight question right away as towards it...
Damian shook his head.
"From what little I know of Beast Masters. Those who have been bonded longer, who have fought and devoured beasts in multiple Entropic Rifts- they're much stronger. I remember the Drunken Butcher well. In my current state, even if I stood in front of him, the result would be the same as that day."
...!
"I need to train Kitsuul and enter Entropic Rifts. To get stronger. But I also need to understand Vex Talon- his movements, his weaknesses, his connections in ZENTHRA, and all those responsible for the cover-up. And that...that is where you come in."
He watched as his words crashed through her, her thoughts spiraling behind her eyes.
He spoke again.
"Even if I don't have the power to face him now...Kitsuul can turn herself and me invisible. To people. To surveillance. To Interstellar Beast Masters- to everything. Of this, I'm certain!"
...!
The words caused something in Anastasia to light up.
He saw it- the way her eyes sparked with sudden clarity.
Anastasia stepped forward slowly, then reached toward the tiny fox on his shoulder.
She scooped up Kitsuul, holding her delicately in her arms as she examined the creature from every angle.
Kitsuul blinked innocently, letting her inspect her as her very fur a shimmering silver-purple, her six tails flicking lazily behind as in the next moment Anastasia's hand reached out to stroke the furry tails as she called out the name while her eyes flashed dangerously with countless possibilities!
"Kitsuul..."