On the other side of the dragon, a patch of light turned dark, at first, it looked like an empty space within the glow, but then the dark patch widened, forming a third figure.
It was much smaller than the other two, almost the size of a human, yet...
*SFWWOOOOSH*
When it released the pressure, almost every being present here lowered their head. The force was too strong, it was in no way or form weaker than the Dragon’s or the Nine-Tailed Fox’s. If anything, it was stronger.
"Another one?"
"...what creature is that?"
There were questions, questions that no one had the answers to.
The figure raised its head, the pressure it released increased even further. One of the House elders gripped the back of a chair, unable to take the force. Even Orven took a step back unconsciously.
"Master Orven."
Gareth called in a solemn tone.
"Do you recognise what that is?"
"...No."
Orven shook his head and the instant he did, several people turned towards him.
Master Orven spent decades studying summoned creatures. Few in the family could remember the last time he gave that answer.
"Perhaps the shadow is unclear."
Helena suggested.
"Perhaps."
Orven nodded, but he knew the truth. The shadow wasn’t unclear, he just couldn’t recognise it. And as someone who had studied every single summoned creature in existence, him failing to recognise one meant...
This particular summon had never answered a call before this.
It was an unprecedented event.
"A Dragon, a Nine-Tailed Fox and an unknown creature?
Is this... a multiple summoning?"
Someone spoke and the instant those words were said, the hall reacted.
Multiple Summoning.
There have been rare cases where a summoner called more than one companion during the Summoning Ritual. Each companion granted the summoner a separate Aspect, and while that might sound like an advantage, the reality was more complicated.
The quality of a Summoner’s Soul Throne determined the companions they could accommodate.
Normally, that potential went toward attracting one powerful companion, resulting in a single, more powerful Aspect. In a Multiple Summoning, that potential is divided across several weaker companions instead and weaker companions generally grant weaker Aspects.
Yes, the summoner with multiple summons does gain several abilities, but none necessarily match the strength or potential of the single Aspect they could have received.
"This is..."
So it was understandable when the people in the Hall reacted negatively to the name, just that...
"We are talking about a Dragon, a Nine-Tailed Fox and a creature probably at the same level as them. This isn’t an unfortunate result, this only proves that Young Master Kaine’s potential is so strong that his Soul Throne summoned multiple strong creatures! It is a matter of celebration!"
An elder raised his voice, unable to hide the excitement behind it.
The rest of the people turned towards Orven, wanting to confirm if this was true and Orven nodded.
"Lord Flasa is correct.
It is indeed a matter of celebration."
And the instant those words were said, the Hall erupted.
The people turned towards each other, each thinking about how the family was going to change after this, how special Kaine was and how he managed to do the impossible.
"I knew it."
A broad smile appeared on Gareth’s face.
"I knew that boy would give us something extraordinary."
"Extraordinary?"
An elder laughed.
"You’re calling this extraordinary? A dragon could change the standing of our entire family!"
He exclaimed loudly.
"Hahaha!"
The Valcrests couldn’t contain their excitement.
Inside the circle, Kaine felt three presences settle within his soul, his Soul Throne was no longer empty, he now had three beings residing inside it.
Above him, the dragon’s wings folded, the fox’s tails drew inward, and the third shadow sank into the light.
"Here they come!"
Someone spoke in excitement as the light began fading away.
Kaine opened his eyes and glanced at three figures lying on the stone in front of him and then he blinked in surprise.
Unlike the mighty figures everyone expected to witness, what they saw were... three weak-looking, frail women lying on the stone floor.
The first one was the ’mighty dragon’, she wore a thin grey garment that was hanging loosely from her weak, skinny body.
There were dark marks around her wrists and her legs, likely from the chains that held her. Some scales clung to parts of her arms and neck, but most of them were missing, almost as if they were torn off. The skin under the missing scales was bruised and torn, scarred with patches that never healed properly.
One of her horns was broken off, leaving only a rough stump. The other was small and short, as if it was growing back but the progress was slow and instead of a pair of wings, she only had one wing, which was mostly torn off.
And somehow, that wasn’t even the worst part.
One of her arms was bent at an angle it should not have been, the other was near her chest, thin and swollen around the elbow. Her legs were the same, they were both twisted at unnatural angles, neither of them moved when she tried to shift her body.
Yes, all four of her limbs were crushed and judging from the blackening and bruises, it wasn’t recent, it happened a while ago and her limbs had remained that way since.
Lying beside her was a woman with fox ears.
She was the grand Nine-Tailed Fox, only that eight of her nine tails were missing, judging from the scars, they were pulled out one by one.
The remaining tail wasn’t any better, its fur was patchy, most of it was cut off, the rest was in the process of regrowing.
One ear had a deep notch along its edge, the other barely rose through her tangled hair, her eyes were half-open and had next to no light or emotion, as if they had given up on life itself.
The third woman curled close to the fox. She had silver-white hair that was in sharp contrast with her dark skin, which carried a faint violet hue. There were two damaged horns on her head.
Dark restraint marks could be seen on her thin wrists and throat. She was holding her hands near her chest, her narrow shoulders were drawn inward and her pale violet eyes moved nervously between the strangers surrounding them.
"What...?"
The instant Gareth saw them, the smile on his face disappeared and just then...
"Hmph!"
Someone snorted.
"That makes much more sense."
Gareth’s eyes fell on an elder standing near one of the pillars with his arms crossed. The man ignored his gaze and continued.
"I was wondering how one Soul Throne accommodated three such creatures. Now I have my answer."
He spoke as he glanced at the women lying on the floor.
The dragon pressed her shoulder against the floor, she tried to move closer to the other two, but her broken limbs made that very difficult.
The elder watched her struggle and shook his head.
"The shadows showed their races and we made the mistake of assuming the strength they possess."
"They are still extraordinary races."
Another elder replied.
"And what use is that in their present condition?"
The Elder snorted as he pointed toward the dragon.
"She cannot even stand, the fox doesn’t even move and the third one looks as though she might disappear at any moment.
The three practically have no strength, I wouldn’t be surprised if they perish the moment the Protection Period ends."
The Protection Period was the first twenty-four hours after summoning during which a Companion cannot die, be harmed or feel pain unless it attacks or harms someone first.
"They are useless, no wonder his Soul Throne managed to accommodate them."
The Elder snorted again.
"No wonder...?"
Gareth narrowed his eyes at those words.
The Elder looked back into his eyes and shrugged.
"Has this not made it clear? Your child’s summons are useless, that is a clear indication of his potential. I advised you not to invest so many resources in someone whose potential is still unclear, you did not listen."
A few uneasy glances passed around the hall.
Kaine heard those words as well, his gaze, however, remained on his summons.
"But Young Master Kaine’s talent is beyond question."
One of the younger men spoke loudly.
"Is it?"
"He mastered the family’s basic sword forms before he turned nine. At twelve, he defeated three senior trainees in succession."
"Without taking a clean hit."
Another added.
"Yes and two years ago, when he was only sixteen, he defeated a guard with more than ten years of combat experience."
The elder listened without changing his expression.
"Yes."
Then he nodded, agreeing with all the mentioned points, Kaine had achieved much, much more than any Valcrest had in the history of their family, no one could deny that, but...
All that proved was...
"The boy can handle a sword."
The younger man frowned at that statement, the elder didn’t care.
"It proves that he trains hard, learns quickly and knows how to fight, but it tells us nothing about the quality of his Soul Throne."
He shrugged.
"The Soul Throne is innate. It does not become exceptional because someone spends more hours in the training yard.
Effort and natural potential are not the same thing."
One of the relatives folded his arms and nodded.
"That is true."
Helena turned toward him, he avoided her eyes.
"Hard work matters."
He added quickly.
"But it cannot determine what sort of Throne someone is born with."
"Then you believe his potential is lacking?"
Another asked.
The elder glanced at the three women, then he nodded.
"I believe we have a reason to question it."
The rest of the people turned towards Kaine as well, studying him with uncertainty. Some looked disappointed, some acted like they already expected it.
It was strange considering how just a few moments ago, these same people were discussing how Kaine would raise the family far, far above every other house in the zone.
Master Orven turned toward Kaine.
The young man stood there without speaking, his expression remained calm like always but that didn’t ease Orven.
After years of praise, hearing his achievements being dismissed in front of the entire family must be humiliating.
"Young Master."
Orven called out.
"There is still time for another attempt."
Kaine’s eyes moved toward him.
"The Season is still open.
We can sever the contracts and perform the ritual again."
"Again?"
The elder by the pillar raised an eyebrow.
"On what grounds?"
"On the grounds that one result does not explain everything."
Orven answered back.
"Whatever their state may be, Young Master still managed to accommodate three strong races into his Soul. I would prefer to see another result before passing a comment on his natural potential."
"And if the next result isn’t any better?"
"Then we will know more than we do now."
"We will also have spent another scroll and another set of mana stones."
"Neither is beyond the family’s means."
"And what about time?"
The elder questioned as he looked at the rest of the candidates.
"We do not know when the season will close and the other children have yet to summon."
Several parents glanced toward their sons and daughters.
"August is still waiting."
Someone raised his voice.
"So is my daughter."
"My son too!"
"Yes, mine too!"
The Elder looked at them then turned back to Orven.
"We gave Kaine the first attempt because we expected the best result. Must everyone wait while he keeps trying?"
"No one suggested keeping the circle occupied indefinitely."
Orven replied in a stricter tone, the Elder, however, did not back down.
"A second attempt will not give him a different Soul Thro—"
Before he could finish, Gareth spoke up.
"Enough."
Both the Elder and Orven turned silent. Gareth looked at the elder, then at the relatives gathered around him.
"Other candidates will receive their turns after a reattempt."
"My lord, the season—"
"I am aware of the season."
The man closed his mouth. Gareth then glanced at Orven.
"Prepare a fresh scroll for Kaine."
"Gareth—"
The elder uncrossed his arms.
"The cost will come from my personal funds."
Gareth interrupted him again.
"If the family’s expenditure was your concern, it is settled."
For a moment, the two men looked at each other, then the elder turned his head away.
"As you wish."
Gareth then turned to Orven.
"Master Orven, please proceed."
The appraiser immediately signaled his assistants.
"Check the remaining stones, bring a replacement set and a Severance Scroll."
Movement returned to the chamber, servants hurried toward the supply boxes.
Gareth looked at Kaine.
"We will try again."
Kaine did not answer.
Orven stepped beside him and gave him the Severance Scroll.
"Young Master, this will release your Soul Throne from the present contracts. Once that is done, we can begin."
Kaine accepted the scroll, his eyes, however, still remained on the three women who were watching everything play out right in front of them.
The old man lowered his voice.
"Do not concern yourself with what was said.
I am positive the next result will not disappoint you."
The rest of the relatives who were still on Kaine’s side nodded, they too wanted to give him a second chance.
Just then, a young boy pointed at the three women and asked another question.
"What happens to the three of them once the Contract is Severed?"
The Fox’s ear twitched at those words. The other two reacted as well, listening closely.
"The summons rejected by their Summoner return to the exact place from which they were summoned."
An Elder answered and...
The reaction was immediate.
"No!"
The Dragon’s voice echoed through the chamber as her entire body tensed. Kaine had noticed how, despite her condition, she was looking at every single person around her with a fierce look on her face, however, the instant she heard what was going to happen, the fierceness in her eyes was replaced by something much stronger.
Fear.
"No."
She repeated as she forced her shoulder against the floor and tried to drag herself forward using her broken limbs.
"Do not send us back!"
She begged as her breathing became heavier.
"You cannot..."
Despite her condition, she dragged herself another inch.
"Don’t send them back there! I’ll do anything you ask! You can take as many of my scales and horns as you want, as much of my blood and tears as you want. I won’t complain or resist! I won’t even let out a squeak! Please!"
She begged as she stared at Kaine with moist, desperate eyes.
The third woman reacted differently.
Her entire body began trembling, her pale violet eyes stared at the Severance Scroll in Kaine’s hand with absolute terror. Her fingers moved towards the Fox beside her, desperately trying to grab onto something.
Kaine watched them in silence.
Their reactions told him enough.
Whatever place they came from, they were terrified of returning to it and for obvious reasons, he could see the state they were in.
But what affected Kaine the most wasn’t the two women openly showing their fear.
It was the Fox.
She wasn’t struggling, trembling or begging, she simply looked at the Severance Scroll in his hand.
Kaine actually waited for a few seconds, expecting something, fear, anger, desperation, anything.
Nothing came out.
Her eyes momentarily moved towards the Dragon, then towards the trembling woman beside her, then, she lowered her head to the cold floor and...
And she waited.
As if she accepted the fact that she couldn’t escape.
Kaine kept staring at those empty eyes.
Eyes that showed no resistance, no expectations, no hope, no will to fight against what was coming.
Eyes that... he once had.