Chapter 129: A Guardian's Test
“What’s the difference?” Haku asked, his sharp eyes scanning as he exited the ravine.
“Age determines their strength,” Labrys replied evenly, his massive hooves crunching against the stone as he followed behind. “The longer their cores absorb the earth element, the more their bodies develop and their powers evolve.”
“What’s the oldest one you’ve seen?”
“Siaer believes there’s one here that’s been around since before the chaotic mana region even formed. But the oldest I’ve personally encountered? Around three hundred years.”
“Was it strong?”
The guardian glanced at Haku, his glowing eyes narrowing slightly. “You could probably handle one around fifty years old, if that gives you an idea.”
Haku whistled, his tail flicking as his eyes widened. “Naturally forming monsters…” His voice carried a mix of awe and fascination. “Do they all look like the one you fought?”
“More or less, though it depends on where they first formed.”
As they reached a high vantage point, the terrain before them unfolded into a vast, jagged expanse. Haku’s gaze swept over the horizon, his expression momentarily stunned. ‘It’s endless.’ Peaks erupted from the earth like the spines of numerous great beasts, their sheer size dwarfing the clouds that clung to their summits.
“How long to get to Barrond’s Domain?” Haku asked, his voice subdued as he took in the scale of the Shattered Crags.
Labrys paused, tilting his head in thought. “At the speed I’ve seen you run? At least a year. The middle area is the largest of the three.”
“A year…” Haku’s voice trailed off, the weight of the distance pulling his ears back slightly. His claws scraped the stone as his tail flicked nervously.
Noticing the shift in the fox’s demeanor, Labrys sighed, his deep voice carrying a note of impatience. “What’s your plan, kit?”
“My plan?”
“Yes. From what I understand, you and your brother don’t stand much chance against this Crowley. So what’s your plan?”
Haku nudged a loose rock with his paw, watching as the tiny stone plummeted at incredible speed, burying itself deep into the ground below. “The gravity here is manageable,” he muttered, more to himself than to Labrys. “I was hoping to reach the center and fight stronger beasts, but a year to get there is too long. I’ll stay here instead and train.”
Labrys didn’t let up. “And how will you do that? What’s your goal?”
Turning to the guardian, Haku raised a suspicious brow. “Why so curious all of a sudden?”
A faint blush darkened the glow of Labrys’s eyes. With a loud huff, he bellowed, “Nonsense! I couldn’t care less. But if I’m stuck watching over you, I’d rather not waste my time. So, what do you need to do to get stronger?”
Haku tilted his head, considering Labrys’s question for a moment. Turning his gaze back to the endless Crags, “something like what happened earlier with your shade was unexpected, I grow normally through combat and devouring what I kill,” he explained. “but after consuming your shade, I’ve hit a bottleneck.”
Scratching at the dirt, Haku drew six lines, each separated by three smaller marks. “I practice a cultivation technique called the Celestial Beast Soul Mantra. It has six layers, each granting me greater strength and new abilities. Each major layer has three minor layers. Right now, I’m at the peak of the second major layer.”
“So your bottleneck is preventing you from accessing the third?"
“Exactly. To progress, I need to fight and consume enough mana to reach the peak of a major layer. Breaking through to the next, though—that’s different.” Haku’s voice grew serious. “To break into the second layer, I consumed the bones and marrow of a half-step fourth-stage mana-beast.”
Labrys raised a brow, his tone faintly approving but slightly mocking. “Quite the lucky find. How did you manage that? No matter how weak the species, there’s no way you or your ‘monster brother’ took one down.”
The temperature around them spiked suddenly as Haku bristled. Though his gaze remained fixed on the horizon, his voice carried a sharp edge. “You’re free to think whatever you want about my brother, and maybe some of it’s true. But don’t speak about him like that in front of me again. If you do, even though I know you’ll kill me, I’ll rip your throat out.”
Labrys froze for a moment, taken aback. The pressure radiating from Haku was nothing to him, but the conviction behind the fox’s words was unmistakable. The old guardian tilted his head slightly, his tone probing. “You’d really die for that, wouldn't you?”
Haku finally turned to face him, his blue flames licking at his dark fur. “I would.” His hind legs trembled slightly, but his eyes held firm. “So don’t push me. I really don’t want to die today.”
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Labrys stared at the fox, his expression unreadable—until a sudden roar of laughter erupted from him, echoing across the Crags. “Impressive! You acknowledge your weakness, but you’d still throw your life away to defend your brother. Idiotic, but I like it!” He clapped Haku hard on the back, the force sinking the fox’s paws into the stone beneath them.
‘Pretty sure that was a warning,’ Haku thought, rolling his shoulders as he yanked his paws free and shook the dust from his fur. “But to answer your question,” he continued, his voice steady, “I was lucky. I met the half-step mana-beast at the end of his life. We formed some karma between us, and he gave me his body to consume. He was an honorable and mighty Volcanic-Ram. Without his sacrifice, I’d have had to settle for something much weaker. My entire foundation is thanks to him.”
Labrys’s expression shifted, his molten eyes dimming slightly. “So that’s what happened to Shattyr."
“Wait—you knew him?!”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Labrys’s voice grew distant, tinged with something Haku couldn’t quite place. Turning back to face the fox, the guardian’s tone softened. “Tell me how it happened. I’d like to know if he died well.”
Seeing the sincerity in Labrys’s eyes, Haku hesitated. Taking a deep breath, he nodded and began to recount his and Darius’s encounter with the Beast Graveyard.
---
Haku’s growl deepened, his claws digging into the stone beneath him as he glared at the ground. “I’ll find the humans who killed his herd. I’ll bury their skulls where his family died, and Shattyr will finally rest.”
Labrys sighed, a plume of hot steam escaping his nostrils. After making a few symbols with his hand, he crouched, scooping up a fistful of dirt and rubbing it across his chest with slow, deliberate movements. “It gladdens me to know he found someone willing to carry out his vengeance. I met him once, not long ago, when he traveled through the Bastion. If his loved ones hadn’t been slaughtered, he would've never left the Pyroclasmic Expanse. He was one of the few beasts I’ve met in my lifetime who truly earned my respect. You must do everything you can to keep your word, Kit.”
Haku raised his head slightly, his blue flames flickering as he replied with cold certainty, “Don’t worry. If they’re still alive, I’ll find them. They’re already dead, they just don’t know it yet.”
Labrys chuckled, his molten eyes narrowing. “We might need to worry more about you surviving long enough to carry it out. At the pace you’re going, you won’t live very long. I’m honestly shocked you robbed a beast graveyard. Even the newest ones have owners.”
“Owners?” Haku’s ears twitched, his mind flashing to Darius’s account of the enormous skeleton guarding the final barrier of the graveyard. “So that giant was the owner?”
“Maybe…” Labrys trailed off, his expression distant. “But if it’s the one I think it is, what your brother saw was likely not the owner.”
“Then what was it?” Haku pressed, his flames dimming slightly as curiosity overtook him.
Shaking his head, Labrys waved him off. “Doesn’t matter. Even if you tripled your strength, you’d have no business going back there. Best not to dwell on it.” Adjusting his axe on his shoulder, the guardian turned back to the fox. “So, what do you need to break through your bottleneck?”
Haku’s ears perked slightly as he straightened. “For the First layer, I needed the bones and marrow of a powerful mana-beast. This time, I’ll need to consume the flesh and tendons of one.”
Labrys raised an eyebrow, his expression skeptical. “Wait—you said Shattyr gave you his entire body. Why didn’t you save his?”
Haku shrugged, his flames flickering brighter for a moment. “I would have, but Darius said it’s best to use a different beast for each breakthrough. If I relied on Shattyr for everything, it’d limit my potential. So I didn’t save his tendons or flesh.”
Labrys hummed thoughtfully, hefting his axe as he followed Haku’s gaze toward the center of the Lithic Bastion. “I suppose that makes sense. So what now?”
“I’d hoped to reach the center, and the beasts here are far too weak for me to break through using them. So I’ll settle for pushing the second layer to its limits. Soon I'll reach the threshold, when that happens I'll only fight and consume bones and organs, that way, I should be able to push my cultivation without triggering the breakthrough. I’ll also focus on refining my combat skills and finding new ways to use my phantoms.”
Labrys hesitated, his eyes flashing as his grip tightened on his axes. After a tense silence, he snorted, his tone mocking. "Maybe it’s fated."
Haku blinked, tilting his head. "Huh? What’s fate got to do with it?"
Ignoring the question, Labrys’s tone turned serious. "I’ll be leaving you now."
"Okay," Haku said casually, shrugging. "I should get back to training anyway, this time—"
"Not like you think." Labrys’s voice cut through Haku’s words, his tone final. "I will be leaving you completely. From this point forward, you will face everything alone. I will no longer watch from a distance. Any and all dangers, you will handle entirely on your own."
Haku’s brows furrowed, "wait, what? Why now?" His tail flicking in confusion.
Labrys planted his axes in the ground, the sound echoing through the ravine. "If you truly want to break through your bottleneck, I’ll help you do it."
Haku’s ears perked, his inner excitement barely contained. 'Yes! I knew it! He’s gonna give me somethin.' Masking his emotions, he feigned confusion. "But how? And why? You’re one of the most powerful beings on Gaia. Why would you bother helping me more?"
"Does it matter?" Labrys’s eyes were unyielding. "The fact is, I’m offering you an opportunity. But I’m not doing it out of goodwill or in exchange for some vague promise. What I require from you is immediate proof."
Haku’s mind raced. 'Proof? Does he want me to survive alone?'
"You need to prove to me that you can endure on your own."
'Called it.'
Labrys continued, his tone heavy with challenge. "And since I won’t be watching you, I’ll need a guarantee that you weren’t just hiding the whole time."
Haku gulped, "guarantee?"
Labrys leaned forward, his gaze like stone. "You have five months until your brother returns from Agarttha. If you can make it to Barrond’s Domain within that time, I will give you what you need to break through to your third layer."
Haku’s eyes widened. "Impossible! The breakthrough into the second layer took me a month alone! That means I’d need to make it there in four months, and you already said it’d take a year! Can’t you meet me halfway at least?"
Labrys snorted, his voice dismissive. "This is the opportunity I’m giving you. You can take it or leave it. If you refuse, I will still keep watch over you while you train, but my terms won't change."
Clenching his jaw, the weight of the decision settling on Haku’s shoulders. 'If I do this, even if I make it in four months, who knows how long the breakthrough will take. But if I don’t, there’s little chance I’ll be able to help with Jarek unless I advance.'
His massive jaws tightened, resolve burning in his eyes as he looked up at Labrys. "I’ll do it. I’ll get to the center in four months."
Labrys nodded, his expression firm. "Good. Then I’ll be waiting for—"
Before he could finish, Haku had already leapt off the cliff, flames igniting as he bounded into the distance. "I’ll meet you there!" he shouted back. "Don’t be late!"
Frowning as he watched the fox disappear into the jagged expanse of the Crags, Labrys’s expression slowly eased into something unreadable.
“I hate it when you do that,” he muttered, his deep voice rumbling through the air.
The ground beside him trembled, shifting as Siaer emerged seamlessly from the earth. Shaking dust from her antlers, she tilted her head with an amused smirk. “Seems I’m getting rusty. First the human, and now you.”
Labrys snorted, “I can smell the death on your aura.”
Her smirk faltered, replaced by a flicker of annoyance. “I’ll remember that.” Shifting her gaze to where Haku had vanished, her tone softened. “Are you really not going to follow him?”
“I’m not.” He began to turn away, his hooves digging into the cracked stone. “But you are.”
“I am not!” Siaer barked, her eyes narrowing. “And where exactly do you think you’re going? You’re not just going to sit around and wait for him while I’m stuck out there!”
Pausing mid-step, Labrys’s heavy shoulders squared as he glanced back at her. “You will watch him. Or else he will die, because I'm going to the Pyroclasmic Expanse.”
Noticing the finality in his tone, Siaer’s jaw tightened, her gaze flickering back to the horizon where Haku had disappeared. Her tone turned quieter, more composed. “And what do you intend to do?”
He didn’t answer immediately. As he strode forward, a faint yellow aura began to seep from his massive body, thick and oppressive. If Haku had still been present, it would have been his first glimpse of it. The yellow haze twisted and darkened as tendrils of black seeped into it like ink in water.
“Something I should have done in the first place,” Labrys growled, his voice low and heavy with intent.
Siaer watched him silently, a shadow of sadness flickering in her eyes. “Be careful,” she murmured. “Another king’s Domain is no place to cause trouble.”
Labrys didn’t respond. Instead, the Stone Tyrant crouched, his massive legs coiling with raw power before the ground cracked beneath him, and in a single leap, he disappeared into the horizon, heading toward the Stalwart Plains.