Julius kind of deserved that last aura attack; he went a little too far, especially since it was a family matter. But he’d also done it purposefully. He truly believed Lora could handle the spirit. Drasil seemed to think so as well. Julius didn’t know what kind of expertise Drasil had in the matter. Yet, he still found himself trusting the spirit's opinion.

Her father also agreed, which was why they were already setting up the process. Kaito was already prepared, and everything was set up quickly. There was no point in waiting. The spirit was becoming increasingly volatile. The sooner they bonded, the better it would be for both of them. That is, if they managed to survive the soul binding.

Luckily, Drasil was there in case anything went wrong and he needed to intervene. It was always nice to have a powerful healer on hand.

While Kaito was placing the last finishing touches to the ceremony, he thought about the woman who’d just been here. She seemed like someone he needed to be careful around if he ever saw her again. He already suspected she was investigating who he was.

She mentioned something about having really good connections, and the fact that she knew Kaito was bringing in the spirit likely meant she had some information about the Sky Nimbus Company.

He had a few questions he wanted to ask of Kaito when they finished this. But in the meantime, he focused back on the problem at hand. The older man was waving at Julius, and he quickly strolled over and placed the spirit, which had been hovering in his palms, into the center of a runic circle next to another similarly sized circle. A larger and more powerful circle encompassed these two circles.

The accumulated mana was already quite intense, but the circles were holding strong. It was obvious the man knew what he was doing; he moved with grace and finesse, manipulating several aspects of the circle, tweaking small details that Julius couldn’t follow. He used his focus skill to remember as much information as he could, in case it became necessary to set up his own spirit-binding ceremony.

Then it was Lora’s turn to step forward into her own circle. The moment she did, the gold runes on the floor flared brightly, and it looked like molten lava ran down the runes of each circle, toward one another. They eventually connected in the middle, and the outer circle exploded with light and wind mana. It was so powerful, it felt like the space itself almost tore open.

Julius watched as both Lora and the spirit shouted in pain and flailed around, trying to control the massive surges of energy. He winced. He didn’t remember his own bonding experiences being this painful. But then again, he didn’t have a cursed body, nor was the spirit on the verge of collapsing. It was obvious her bonding process was going to be a lot more complicated than his.

Fortunately for him, Seraphyne and Drasil were easy partners to connect with, and their souls had been bound very easily.

He saw Kaito pacing at the side of the circle, looking every bit like the nervous father. However, there was nothing either of them could do except watch. Everything was up to Lora and the spirit. They needed to figure out how to coexist on their own.

And it wasn’t going that well. Julius could already feel the energy rippling off the two of them was off balance. It didn’t help that the amount of mana was extraordinary and more than anything Lora had probably handled in her life.

Still, she was doing an admirable job. He could feel her efforts and skill with mana, allowing her to make it this far. Without it, she would have already been crushed, and her soul would have likely been shattered or heavily injured.

That being said, they were missing something. They need to work together and become more in sync. They were still practically strangers, and despite their shared goal, neither really knew what the other was like.

They needed to establish an anchor point. Something strong enough to stabilize both of them and help them begin working together.

“You need to work together,” he cupped his mouth and called out, not sure if they could hear him. “A spiritual bond is something much more. You two need to remember why you are doing this and help one another take control of this influx of energy.”

He didn’t know whether it was because of his words or her own efforts, but something shifted. He wasn’t able to deduce what exactly was shifting, but he felt the mana start to pulse differently. This change also affected Lora physically. The mana, which was barely held at bay, was flowing through her dangerously.

He could already feel her weak body unable to handle the pressure, and something began to crack. He didn’t know what it was, but her flesh had dozens of golden veins running through her limbs. They were pulsing so hard, he was scared they would burst open. He could see blood dripping down her nose and from her eyes.

The stress and pressure of the process were becoming too much for her body to handle. Fortunately, Drasil was already doing his thing. He reached out, and thanks to Kaito’s last-second additions, he was able to send a nice flow of life mana into the circle. The wounds on her body slowly faded, as did the expression of pain.

It was a constant cycle of this. The mana kept on getting stronger, too, as they got closer to establishing the bond permanently. But Drasil kept her alive and healthy, allowing her to fully concentrate on the task.

And it took a long time, but eventually Julius felt something slide into place. Like a key finally finding the right keyhole after stumbling in the dark for hours. The mana that had been raging endlessly suddenly went silent, vanishing as if it had never been there.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Or at least that was what he thought. He found himself painfully blinded by the enormous amount of wind and light mana exploding from the runic circle.

He slashed the air with his hands as if this would help get rid of the white spots in his vision. Thankfully, Drasil sent some life mana into him, healing his damaged retinas and restoring his vision. He did the same thing for Kaito, because even though the man could have reacted in time, unlike Julius, he decided to stare directly into the light, not wanting to risk losing sight of his daughter.

When the light show was over, Lora stood there with a tired but victorious smile.

Kaito immediately appeared beside her, checking every inch of her body and aura to make sure she was okay. And after a few minutes of careful inspection, he seemed relieved at what he saw.

That only meant one thing. She had successfully bonded with the spirit.

Kaito immediately came rushing over to Julius and Drasil. Julius flinched when the man literally knelt down in front of Drasil. “Thank you so much. I don’t think Lora would have been able to bond with the spirit without you constantly healing her,” Kaito said gratefully.

“Aurelia,” Lora interjected with a bright grin, the spirit suddenly appearing over her shoulder. “Her name is Aurelia.”

***

Julius and Kaito were sitting back and recovering from that whole ordeal. As for Lora, she was already asleep, tired from the bonding process. Aurelia was passed out, too, lying on her forehead, her mana no longer out of control.

Kaito smiled lovingly at his daughter and bowed again to Julius and Drasil. “Thank you for helping Lora and Aurelia. If there is anything you wish for me, ask away. If it's within my power, I will grant it to you.”

Julius shook his head. “It was mostly Drasil. If you owe thanks to anyone, it’s him,” he said while gently caressing the life spirit’s orb form. He could feel how tired and fatigued Drasil was. Even though had been supplying Drasil with a healthy amount of life mana, it seemed like the continuous healing had tired the poor little spirit out.

“Still, what do you want in return?”

Julius thought about it for a moment. “Do you think you can answer some questions I have? I assume you have a lot of knowledge and information about what goes on in this region, correct?”

“What kind of questions?” Kaito asked curiously.

“Who exactly is Lady Celestine, and why does it feel like your clan, or more specifically, your brother, is so deferential to her?”

Kaito leaned back in his seat. “I suppose that is something that started a few years back. Our clan was going through some issues at the time, and her family came around to offer their help. Thanks to them, we managed to hold on to our position in Goldmere, but it came at a cost. We owed them a great debt, and over the years, they have been collecting interest on that debt.”

“But that’s not all, right?”

Kaito shook his head. “No, it’s not. After they joined the clan, they began to amass their own influence and power within it. My brother and uncle are essentially siding with Celestine and her family.”

“What’s her family’s name?” Julius interjected.

“Cromweld.”

Julius tapped his chin, he felt like the name was familiar but he hadn’t paid close attention to stuff like that. He really wished he had Lily beside him so he could ask her. She probably would have known.

“And what do they want?”

“Everything. They want our transportation system, our local and sect connections, even our private rifts we keep for clan members only.”

“And the rest of your clan are fine with this?”

Kaito barked out a laugh. “Fine? They are getting richer than ever before. House Cromweld also has a way to help forcibly elevate one’s cultivation and tier. There are more Tier 5s in Clan Yoshu than ever before. All of the old farts who never thought they’d reach it are now extending their lifespans.”

“Couldn’t they have just gotten to Tier 5 by consuming enough natural treasures or specialized items?”

“If it were that easy, everyone would be capable of reaching Tier 5. No, even though you can force your way up to Tier 4 with time and resources, Tier 5 still requires some insight and training. But House Cromweld managed to get their hands on something that allows people to break through that barrier without much issue.”

Julius sucked in air and tapped his leg anxiously. If this were true, there would be many dangerous ramifications if used improperly. Imagine if someone wanted to create an army of Tier 5s or something.

“Are you sure this is something you should be telling me?”

“Why not? The way I see it, you and Drasil saved my daughter. It’s not that big of a secret anyway; most members of the clan know about this. And I’m sure many others do as well.”

“There has to be a side effect of this, no?”

“Oh, of course, there is. But for those who have already given up on advancing and progressing their skills naturally, they don’t care. They only care that they get to live longer and get the social status of a Tier 5.”

“Wimps,” Julius murmured much to the man’s amusement before changing topics. “What about the Obsidian Vault? I heard that it's been a thing of heavy interest to those who come to Goldmere.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

“Sort of. I’m traveling around Corvus to see the sights and explore various special places. The Obsidian Vault is one of those things.”

“I can easily get you access to it if you want. Our clan, along with several others, has been managing the situation. We’ve been limiting access to it, but it shouldn’t be an issue to get you special permission. It opens once every new moon, so the next time should be coming up next week.”

Julius grinned. “That would actually be amazing. Is there anything you can tell me about it? Anything you think I should know?”

Kaito examined him closely for a few moments. “First off, let me ask you what you are planning to get out of it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, some people have been trying to actually receive the inheritance. Whereas many people see it as both a test and a way to improve themselves. Nobody has managed to fulfill whatever conditions the Lord of Obsidian placed inside, but many have come out with valuable treasures and weapons. An inner disciple of the Stonepeak Sect attempted it the last time it opened, and apparently, he obtained a powerful weapon that the Lord of Obsidian used himself when he was younger. So I’m asking, what are your expectations?”

Julius shrugged. “Because it sounds fun?”

Kaito seemed amused and exasperated. “Fun, huh?”

“What? Is that not a good enough reason?” Julius asked, wondering why Kaito sounded like that. He didn’t know, but to him, it sounded like a wonderful idea.