The Moon root Grove is quiet.
The waters now still, silver-gold light reflecting off the moss-covered carvings. Whisper, injured but recovering, sleeps beside Nai'Esha, who stands vigil near the pool's edge.
In the heart of the pool, Feng Xian sits cross-legged, hand resting on the living relic—the Beast borne Seed core.
Its roots pulse slowly, and then—
Light consumes him.
—Vision: The Dawn of the Beast borne—
He awakens into a primeval dreamscape: endless jungle, untouched by time, where beasts the size of mountains walk beside robed figures. The sky is amber, and the air thrums with Qi so dense it forms visible threads between trees and stars.
A figure waits on a cliff: tall, bronze-skinned, cloaked in living fur, horns curling like a ram's, and eyes like golden suns.
"You who carry the fractured bond… listen well."
He is Ra'Zhan, the First Beast borne, a human who did not tame beasts, but merged with them in will and spirit.
"In our age, men hunted beasts for power. I chose to become one."
"I did not dominate. I listened. I knelt… and in kneeling, rose."
He extends a hand toward Feng Xian, and with a flash, memories flood in:
Ra'Zhan taming a Thunder back Titan Ape, not by battle, but by mirroring its grief for a lost mate.
Being betrayed by early poison sects—proto-forms of the Serra spine Brood—who used corrupted beast cores to counterfeit strength.
"I bound beast and man in harmony. But in time, my legacy shattered—split, hidden, and hunted."
"Now, your flame stirs… not to consume, but to protect."
Ra'Zhan touches Feng Xian's chest.
"You are not my heir. You are my echo. Let your steps speak truth."
—Reality Shifts Back—
Feng Xian gasps and opens his eyes.
His Beast borne Mark now glows with primal glyphs, shifting faintly like animal tracks. His Qi is calmer, but heavier—less wild, more attuned.
Nai'Esha steps forward.
"You've changed."
"I saw him," Feng Xian whispers. "The First Flame… the real Beast borne."
"He wasn't trying to control beasts. He was trying to become… part of them."
She nods slowly, then tilts her head.
"Then we must prepare."
"Because someone… or something… is tracking us."
A beast cry echoes in the far distance—too deep for a natural creature. The leaves rustle unnaturally.
The Seed core pulses once… then goes still.
Feng Xian rises from the pool, not as a cultivator who gained power,
but as a bridge between the ancient world… and the war that looms.