The mountain air was thin.
Cold.
Too clean.
It did not match the smell of blood still clinging to Jeather's hands.
The hunters lay scattered across the clearing.
The rage had passed, but its echo still lingered inside his chest like a fading storm.
Astrael stood beside him, Bronze-ranked demon of emerald dominion, aura calm but watchful. Velkaria rested her blade at her side, Silver-ranked knight radiating disciplined frost. Saxum clung to Jeather's shoulder in his small bronze earth form, pebbled fingers gripping his collar.
"Jett…" Saxum murmured.
Jeather blinked, the darkness in his eyes slowly dissolving.
"…Right. I snapped again, didn't I?"
Astrael's voice was smooth, edged with quiet menace.
"You did not snap. You descended."
Velkaria bowed slightly.
"My Lord executed them."
Jeather stared at the corpses.
"…Yeah."
Silence.
Then he stretched casually.
"Well. That was emotionally unstable."
Saxum nodded seriously.
"Jett boom."
"…Yes. Jett boom."
Bloodline Awakening (Minor)
A faint pulse stirred beneath his skin.
Not from integration.
Not from system mechanics.
From within.
When Jeather had named Astrael… when he had named Velkaria… when he had named Saxum…
The bond had already fused.
Their strength flowed through him naturally.
No ritual. No merging.
Naming was claiming.
Claiming was integration.
Now, something deeper stirred.
[Hidden Trait: Noble Bloodline — 3% Unsealed]
Jeather touched his chest.
"…So that's new."
Astrael observed him carefully.
"Your aura carries authority."
Velkaria's eyes sharpened.
"It feels… royal."
Fragments flickered in his mind.
A burning estate.
A broken crest.
His aunt screaming.
His cousins dragged away.
Sold.
Humiliated.
The hunter's mocking voice echoing—
"Care to guess what happened to them?"
His hands trembled.
Saxum grabbed his face with tiny rocky fingers.
"Jett no boom again."
Jeather exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah. No boom."
He forced a grin.
"Trauma later. Hobby first."
Astrael sighed quietly.
"You are absurd."
Jeather lifted a fresh sealing card.
"Two Platinum beasts escaped the district chaos. This mountain range should still have strays."
Velkaria nodded.
"My Lord wishes to collect."
He grinned.
"I wish to invest."
They moved through the mountain slopes, coordinated without command. Astrael's emerald flames surged through roots and stone. Velkaria's silver arcs carved precise strikes. Saxum shifted between earth and metal forms mid-leap, occasionally tripping but always enthusiastic.
A Bronze-ranked Stoneback Dire Bear roared from a ravine.
Jeather cracked his neck.
"Dinner and merchandise."
The battle was quick.
Efficient.
Controlled.
Seal.
[Bronze Beast Sealed]
Jeather smiled warmly.
"That's at least 120,000 coins."
Astrael looked mildly disturbed.
"You derive joy from monetization."
"It's called financial security."
Later, when a Silver Thunderhorn Drake attempted to flee across a cliff face, Jeather leapt after it without hesitation.
Mana surged through his body naturally.
Not from new integration.
Not from recent merging.
But from three named bonds already flowing inside him.
Astrael's demonic force strengthened his mana output.
Velkaria's disciplined aura stabilized his control.
Saxum's earthen density reinforced his frame.
The punch landed.
The drake crashed.
Seal.
[Silver Beast Sealed]
Jeather lay on his back, breathing hard.
"…Worth it."
Velkaria approached.
"My Lord grows steadily."
He stared at the sky.
"I didn't integrate Saxum."
Astrael smirked faintly.
"You named him."
Jeather blinked.
"…Right."
Naming was dominion.
Dominion was synchronization.
There was no separation.
That night around a small fire, Saxum attempted to cook mountain lizard meat and nearly burned it into charcoal.
Astrael stared into the flames.
Velkaria sharpened her blade.
Jeather watched them quietly.
"I didn't feel anything," he admitted.
Astrael did not look away from the fire.
"You felt satisfaction."
"…That's not better."
Velkaria spoke gently.
"My Lord's enemies were cruel."
Jeather poked the fire.
"I'm not worried about mercy."
He paused.
"I'm worried about getting used to it."
Saxum climbed into his lap.
"Jett good."
Jeather blinked.
"…You think so?"
Saxum nodded.
"Jett feed Saxum."
Everyone slowly turned to look at him.
Jeather coughed.
"Okay. Yes. I forgot to feed you for a bit. Minor oversight."
Astrael smirked.
"Beast Collector forgets beasts."
"I was emotionally spiraling!"
Velkaria calmly added,
"My Lord spirals frequently."
"Rude."
At dawn, the mountains trembled faintly.
Multiple presences.
Heavy.
Layered.
Jeather looked toward the deeper peaks.
"…That's not wind."
Astrael's emerald aura sharpened.
"Higher-tier signatures."
Velkaria's frost intensified.
"Organized movement."
Saxum switched rapidly between lava and metal forms out of excitement.
"Big smash coming?"
Jeather slowly smiled.
"…Maybe."
He pulled fresh sealing cards from his storage ring.
"We're not heroes."
He looked toward the trembling mountain range.
"We're collectors."
Astrael's emerald flames flickered.
Velkaria's silver aura spiraled.
Saxum bounced eagerly.
Jeather stretched his shoulders.
"Let's go shopping."