This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

The tension in the chamber thickened like clotting blood.

The Eastern Continent's leader—a woman with a phoenix-embroidered jacket—spoke first, her words sharp and foreign.

Kain caught only fragments, the rest of the words blurring together: *"Xianzhe"* (sage, he thought?) and *"Xīfāng"* (western, maybe?). Kain could not understand and only recognized some words from old books he'd read, but the disdain in her tone needed no translation.

Her companions shifted behind her. A scarred large man with the jade dragon clasp grunted something low and guttural, his hand resting on the curved blade at his hip.

The younger girl among their trio—her crimson sleeves embroidered with coiling serpents—responded in a voice like wind chimes.

Cassian's fingers tightened around his sword hilt. "Holy Son of the West," he said, his voice dripping with forced neutrality. "I wasn't aware the Church involved itself in... secular trials."

The golden boy's smile never wavered. It was the smile of a saint on a stained-glass window—beatific, untouchable. "Naturally, I would not exclude myself from the 'secular' as you call it. Especially not when my followers are part of it." His voice carried an undercurrent of something ancient—like generations of disembodied voices speaking through him. "Not to mention that there are many paths toward enlightenment. Even yours."

'Holy Son of the West?' Kain thought in confusion. Kain briefly recalled learning about the Western Continent in one of the college lectures regarding beliefs.

That same lecture had introduced the topic of Emanascions, who are spiritual creatures born from the strong beliefs and emotions of many people for generations, and often had unusual abilities—Balens was one such creature.

'What did they say about the west again…? That their cultivation required the absorption of beliefs, and the strengths of those beliefs?' If it's true, Kain was also confused about why someone that didn't cultivate in the traditional manner would bother entering a relic. Wouldn't his time be better spent preaching to these 'followers' he mentioned?

Kain was also curious about what the title 'Holy Son' meant to the Westerners.

Unfortunately, Kain couldn't get any more information to clear up his confusion. The three leaders on each side then began speaking in a language that Kain wasn't familiar with. Perhaps the tongue of this western continent?

Serena, who was next to him, leaned even closer, fingers brushing against Kain's wrist. "Listen." She whispered.

Kain couldn't help flinching as what felt like a warm static lingered on the skin she touched, but quickly understood what she meant. What she was offering.

Directing Bea, soon the amoeba's mental field extended just until it covered Serena, connecting their minds. The white-eyed girl on the other side of Cassian noticed their movements, briefly glancing at them, before refocusing on the conversation.

Instantly, the foreign words took on meaning:

"—disrespectful to bring your kind here," the Eastern leader was saying. "This trial is for warriors, not your kind."

The Holy Son tilted his head, the motion so fluid it seemed rehearsed. The jewels adorning his collar caught the light, scattering prismatic shards across the floor like scattered offerings. "Yet here we stand, Lady Zhao. Eight chosen from hundreds across three continents." His golden eyes flicked to Cassian, then to the white-eyed girl, who stiffened under his gaze. "Tell me—do you believe that is a coincidence?"

Cassian's jaw tightened. "What do you want?"

The Holy Son spread his hands, his sleeves rippling like liquid gold. "Only what the relic offers. Though..." His gaze slid over all those gathered there. "It is not as though it is up for debate."

"I will receive it," the Holy Son continued softly, almost reverently, like he was stating a cosmic inevitability rather than a personal ambition. "It has already been written. Whether the rest of you arrive at your ideal ending is… still undetermined. Perhaps if you too, were attuned to a higher-power and had absolute faith, you would not be floundering around in uncertainty for your entire lives."

'So he knows what can be obtained from this relic?' Kain thought, his curiosity burning.

The confidence in his tone was quiet, but absolute. Unshaken. That quiet certainty, more than any shout or sneer, drew subtle flinches of irritation from several of the others.

Cassian's hand twitched again near his blade. Lady Zhao's nostrils flared. Even the white-eyed girl by Cassian stiffened, the corner of her mouth twisting into something between disdain and unease.

Lady Zhao's hand twitched toward the twin dao blades strapped to her back. "Enough. If you've come to proselytize, save it for your acolytes. This is a trial of strength, not scripture."

"Is it?" The Holy Son's golden eyes gleamed. "Then why does the relic test our minds more than our blades? Why show us visions of futures that may never be?" His gaze, glancing around, seemed to linger longer on Kain, heavy as a physical vice grip. "Why show some of us... what we could become?"

Kain's blood ran cold. 'Does he know something?'

Cassian's sword hissed as he drew it an inch from its scabbard. "As Zhao said. The strongest one will succeed as selected by this trial." The Easterners began nodding in agreement. "Naturally, it will be me."

Their nods of agreement immediately stuttered to a halt as they began to glare at Cassian as well.

'Wow…for someone that may represent the Empire one day, he sure has a knack for pissing off foreigners…'Kain thought in 'admiration.'

The chamber lights pulsed once, twice—a warning that the tests were about to start.

[Trial of the &$$%. Please display your entry tickets.]

Kain and Serena immediately pulled out their badges. Glancing around, Kain noted that while Serena and his badges were identical, the 'tickets' presented by the others were different.

Cassian and his fellow student from the First Celestial Academy presented golden keys with inlaid jewels.

The easterners each presented a scroll, rolled up so that Kain couldn't read the text inside.

And the 'Holy Son', as Kain now knew him as instead of 'golden boy', presented an empty golden chalice with intricate carvings.

The second the 'tickets' were revealed, they each disappeared.

The Holy Son's smile turned serene. "It seems we'll have to continue this discussion... inside."

The floor beneath them dissolved into light.