It was a day like any other in the great city of Argentum. The heavens were dull, the ashfalls rained down, and the colorful lights of buildings illuminated the streets for the busily dressed townsfolk.
These townsfolk were all clad in exquisite, high-quality clothes like leathers and fine silk. They carried with them the air of importance, as everyone else did in a city like this.
Everyone, that is, but this strange boy.
He was the only odd sight in the uniform city. In fact, he hardly looked like a townsman at all. He wore wool and leather; not the fancy kind, although it might have been in the past. His clothing was far too old to tell its original quality now.
His tunic, cloak and pants were made of the old, withered leather. Several sections were patched with mismatched cloth, indicating years of repair. To complete the ensemble, an even older scarf was hung around his neck.
Definitely, this boy was not a townsman at all. The real townsfolk were aware of this, which was why they watched him with contempt as he ambled down a road his kind had never walked.
He greedily ate a snack—an act that the townsfolk thought was reprehensible. It was a packaged beef roll. Not the expensive kind that the seller tried to get him to buy, but the cheaper kind that tasted like bread and dust.
However, he cared little for quality. A full stomach was necessary for what he was here to do.
When the packet was empty, he threw it straight into the waste bins, ensuring the wardens watching him had no reason to engage. Then, he made his way toward the tall, glorious building that was almost intentionally placed in the center of the city.
Drakenhold. The building set aside as the capital for the Hunters Association and all related affairs.
The wardens who had been watching the boy glanced at each other, then ran towards him. "Hey! Dryhead! Come here!"
The boy pretended not to hear them. He reached the doors of the building, let out a deep sigh, and pushed them open.
"I said come here, you little twat!"
He didn't get to see much of the inside. A tall, muscular warden was standing in his way, holding a file that he had been idly reading.
He looked down at the entrant and raised a brow, as if relieved to see something a bit more interesting. "How did you manage to wander in here, dryhead?"
The boy set his shoulders, finding bravery before replying. "I didn't wander here, sir. I came here because I was told to."
The warden scoffed. "Why would anyone send a Forsaken into the Hunter Association?"
"To carry out my Beast Trials, sir," the boy replied in a plain voice. "You see, I've absorbed a Beast Soul."
Just then, the two wardens burst through the doors into the hall. Angrily, they marched towards the boy. The warden lifted his hand to stop them, staring at the boy like he had just sprouted another head.
"You're kidding."
—---—
Half a century ago, the world of Eryndal was introduced to the apocalypse—or at least, what was then believed to be one.
Out of nowhere, rifts tore through space and ushered in monstrosities that humanity had only read about in books. In those books, the humans were usually gifted with abilities of their own to defend against the monsters.
But the universe offered them no such escape. Eryndal was left to defend themselves with their meager technological and warfare improvements.
Predictably, that was not enough to stop the Beast Advent. The world was plunged into chaos, and in less than a year, the civilization was reduced to nearly half.
That changed only after a certain scientist discovered that the crystals left behind after killing these Beasts contained their souls; when absorbed, those souls could grant the bearer the powers that had once belonged to the Beast.
These bearers were the ones who fought back against the Advent, using the powers they had claimed to help bring the world back to a semblance of civilization.
Order was rebuilt as the world was no longer ruled by bullets, blades and bombs, but by magic gifted to the bearers by the Beasts they had absorbed.
These bearers were called Soul Tamers, and their profession of killing beasts was called Hunting.
Becoming a Hunter was not at all an easy task. Beast Souls were sold all over the world, yet only a handful ended up becoming actual Hunters.
After absorbing a Beast Soul, failure to tame the Beast inside meant death. And the stronger the Beast, the more difficult it was to tame.
Because of this, aspirants mostly played it safe.
They usually chose Epic-Ranked Beasts. Creatures in that tier were strong enough to guarantee admission into a prestigious academy, yet manageable enough not to tear their souls apart during taming.
Even then, many died in the process, and many more died taming higher ranks like Majestic and Divine.
Those with wealth and resources were able to prepare their bodies with a special process called Priming, increasing their chances for survival. For the common townsfolk, the risks were too high to bother trying.
It was for all these reasons that it made no sense for a boy from the Forsaken Lands to show up at the Association Headquarters and declare that he had absorbed a Beast Soul.
Unless he had some kind of death wish.
—---—
A few minutes later, the boy stood on a rather odd device. It appeared to be a machine that detected what Beast Soul the aspirant had absorbed.
Since Drakenhold couldn't just trust people at their word, it was necessary to verify this information. That way, the appropriate defense could be put in place in case one lost the Beast Trial and the Beast returned to the world again; this time in a soul form which was usually more powerful.
"What is your name?" the operator asked.
"Ash," the boy replied. "Ashborn Drayton."
The operator's head shot up his monitor. He inspected Ash silently before returning to the machine. "It says here that your absorbed Beast Soul is a Red Lizard, is that true?"
Ash's lips puckered forward to say something, but he paused. If he told them what his absorbed Beast really was, none of them would believe him. And the worst thing to be other than a Forsaken was a Forsaken who lies.
"Pretty much," Ash shrugged.
The official tapped some buttons on his machine, then pointed to the plainly dressed man standing by the near wall. "Follow him to your trial chamber."
Ash obeyed and trailed behind the man through hallways and elevators, ignoring the curious glances before finally arriving at the Trial Hall.
The unfathomably large space was filled with rows of transparent boxes and beds, most of which were empty, while others housed sleeping aspirants partaking in their Beast Trials.
Ash was led past the chambers to an older-looking one at the end of the row. Only the very best for a Forsaken.
"Enter," the official said as he pulled open the glass door.
Ash stepped into the cube. He took a moment to look around the small space. To him, it looked nothing more than a bed in a translucent cube, but he was sure it was more than that.
"I'll brief you on what to do," the official announced, remaining outside the cube. "Once you lie on the bed, you will receive your Beast's invite to begin your Trials. When you accept it, you will immediately be pulled into a manufactured slumber and sent to your Trial World."
"Trial Worlds aren't real. They are concepts of your Beast's imagination, created to test you. They also differ; even when two aspirants have absorbed the same Beast Soul, the chances of them having similar Beast Trials aren't a hundred per cent."
Ash creased his thick, dark brows. He thought the framing of that sentence was a little vague.
The official looked unbothered. "Usually, the Association only shares information regarding past Beast Trial details with aspirants who pay a certain fee. But in light of the growing deaths of aspirants, they have decided to share this information for free."
Ash didn't seem particularly intrigued by that. Since his Beast wasn't really a Red Lizard, this served him no purpose. So, after the official was done informing him of how prior Red Lizard Trials had been, he climbed onto the bed.
It was soft and comfortable, better than any bed he'd ever laid on. The official wished him good luck and left the chamber. Right after, two armored youths walked inside.
Ash froze, staring at their faces. They looked unnaturally beautiful; the boy had broad shoulders and the girl had toned legs. Their armor glinted inside the cube, and their weapons hung behind them; the boy a sword, and the girl a bow.
"Who are you?" Ash asked.
The boy smirked. "Don't mind us, kid. We're only your babysitters. Here to watch you sleep like the creeps we are."
The girl rolled her eyes, then addressed Ash formally. "We're Hunters on Watch duty," she said with a singing voice. "We're here in case you fail your Beast Trial. If you do, this chamber will expand into a Battle Space, and we'll have to stop your escaped beast from returning to the world."
Ash stared at them for a while, then turned and looked at the other occupied chambers, noting that they had Watchers too.
He turned back to them. "How strong are you guys?"
The boy broke into a chuckle as he relaxed against the wall, crossing his legs. "You want to know if we're good enough to stop your Red Lizard? An ordinary Feral-Rank Beast?"
Ash didn't reply, unsure if it was rhetorical.
"We're both C-Rank Invokers," the girl said. "If that puts your mind at ease."
Ash fell to his thoughts for a moment. Invoker was the third phase of Soul Taming, in which the tamer had full access to all of their Beast's powers. But only C-Rank?
His eyes lifted and scanned the two Hunters. If he failed his Trial and died, these two were definitely joining him right after.
"Hehe," the boy chuckled, studying Ash's face. "You're really scared, aren't you? It's only a Red Lizard. I on the other hand, had to tame a Windcutter Hawk. You'll be fine as long as you have a full belly and follow the basics."
Ash raised a brow at him. "You think?"
The Hunter smiled. "Yeah, kid. Now get on with it and don't stay there for too long. I don't want to have to sit here with her for days."
The girl rolled her eyes.
Ash took a deep breath, then laid back on the bed, staring up at the translucent ceiling.
Ding!
[Bearer, you have been summoned by your Beast to begin your Trials]
[Accept | Wait]
He read the crimson floating text with a beating heart. 'Here goes...'
The second he chose [Accept], his eyes snapped shut and his consciousness fell into a long, deep sleep.
---
A/N: Hello there. Welcome to my novel. Like the start? Please add to your collections to get notifications of update!