Chapter 91: Seeds of Change

Standing by the creek in the Beast-Farm, Darius and Marcus were silent, watching the water ripple gently.

"I'm sorry," Darius said, his gaze fixed on the flowing water.

Marcus sighed, the sun catching his blonde hair and mustache. He gave a bitter chuckle, "No need for that. Really, I should be the one apologizing."

Picking up a stone from the creek bed, Marcus rolled it in his hand before speaking. "When I was young, I used to beg my father to buy me a Faerie slave to play with. I held onto resentment for years because he never did." He clenched the stone tightly, then hurled it into the water. "I've never been one to dwell on the past, but now... I feel an intense shame for my past actions, for the things I've been a part of. You must have thought so little of me during the auction."

Darius paused, his eyes drifting towards the distant hatchery, then back to his Immortal Beast Codex. "You're an honorable man. And no, I didn't think little of you. I know that in this world, there's often no justice—winners dictate the terms, losers comply."

"But that auction," Darius continued, his voice firm, "the way everyone there treated it—it crossed a line. It’s one thing to recognize darkness, another to be utterly blind to it. These are lives, Marcus. Elf, Werefolk, Faerie Kin... they’re all beings of this world."

Marcus's brow furrowed as he observed Darius, his youthful face echoing the wisdom of an old mystic. The conviction in Darius's words briefly took Marcus aback. "So what's your plan now then? You said you needed my help, so what is it?"

"You heard that? I thought you were still out of it."

"Just bits and pieces," Marcus admitted. "At the time, I was too angry to really focus."

Darius reddened slightly, embarrassed. Clearing his throat, he turned his gaze towards the Hatchery. "For now, the plan is to focus on the wedding. But after that, these eight children—and Percy—will be the foundation of my plan."

Darius turned to Marcus, his expression earnest. "After killing Hershel, I came back here to check on the children. I wanted to make sure they weren't injured or sick. That’s when I discovered it—these children are perfectly compatible with my Arcane Cultivation. I believe all of the Elder-races might be compatible with my path."

"So you plan to train them? Like you do with Percy?"

"Not exactly," Darius clarified. "Percy, I'm afraid to say, is more of an experiment. He's already a Manaforged knight and not compatible with my cultivation path. But if I can manage to alter his, give him a new direction, imagine the possibilities, Marcus. Think about every knight who has reached their potential or faced limitations. What would they do if they learned there was a way to alter their fate?"

Marcus's eyes lit up with a fiery intensity, the idea seizing him completely. "You could easily create a power to rival the Union! Even the Towers would have to take notice."

Frowning slightly, Marcus considered the logistics. "The time it would take to build this force would be immense. Even if you managed to attract true ascended to your side, the training and assembly time, not to mention finding a location hidden from their eyes, would be enormous challenges."

Laughing, Darius gestured around them. "Did you forget where we are?"

His laughter at his oversight booming, Marcus seemed to snap back to his usual vigor. "Right, I did forget! A Beast-Farm inside a private dimensional space. You couldn’t ask for better! All you need now is time and perhaps a name for your kingdom."

"No kingdom," Darius corrected with a shake of his head. "What I aim to build is something Gaia has never seen. We will establish a Sect, a holy land dedicated to the ideals of arcane cultivation. I plan to embed my path into the very bedrock of this world."

A thrill ran through Marcus, his breath catching before he frowned slightly, puzzled. "What’s a sect?"

----

Crelos sat on the edge of his bed, his straight brown hair tangled between his fingers. Heavy bags underscored his eyes as he stared hollowly at the floor, the image of stress and malnutrition.

'He must have changed his mind. Who could blame him?'

Lifting his head to look at his hands, he watched the dance of fire mana within his aura, tiny runes flowing throughout. 'If only I were stronger...'

His gaze drifted to the window, eyes lifting to the stars. He sighed deeply, "One more day. One more day and I'll—"

He jerked upright, fixated on a wisp of blue flames that had leapt onto his windowsill. Scrambling forward, he fumbled with the latch as he opened the window. "Hurry."

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Haku leapt down into the room, casting a glance around and sniffing briefly before nodding at Crelos. "That was easier than I thought; Big Brother's runic language is much tougher."

Crelos, after shutting the window, dashed to the door and placed his hand on the ground before it, tracing something quickly.

Feeling the pulse of an activated array, Haku sniffed, turning to Crelos. "Are we safe?"

"Yes," Crelos responded, his tone reflecting a mix of relief and excitement as he stood to face Haku. "I was beginning to think you guys had changed your minds about helping. Thank the Sun you finally came."

"Thank my big brother, not the Sun," Haku retorted with a snort, shifting from his ghost-form. He jumped onto the bed, wiped his feet on one spot, then moved to another and sat down. "Big brother is gearing up for the wedding. He told me to tell you to keep following your Master's plan as usual. When it's time for him to step in, just act naturally. You should even play your part in 'finding' the culprit."

Crelos squinted, his aura flickering with unease. "Wait, 'finding'? Is that really all he said? There has to be more than that."

"Yes, he also emphasized that the less you know, the better."

"You have to be kidding me! You’re—"

"Shut up!" Haku’s flames on his feet flared, cutting him off. "If my big brother tells you he has a plan, you do your part and be glad of it. You have no right to doubt him when you're the one in need. Are you that ungrateful?"

Haku jumped off the bed, shifting into his Ghost-form. "Once this is all over, his obligation to you is fulfilled, so keep your distance from him. You mages are nothing but trouble."

Crelos held his tongue as he watched Haku exit through the window. His eyes widened when the wisp didn't wait for Crelos to deactivate his array; instead, Haku effortlessly scribed a rune in mid-air and flicked it, creating an opening as he leaped through.

"Even his pet is powerful..." Muttering to himself, Crelos closed the window and then deactivated his array, settling back on his bed, his mind raced, 'Did I make the right choice? What if something goes wrong? He should at least tell me the whole plan so I can be prepared. Does he really think I'm that incapable?'

Frustrated, he ran his hands through his hair and threw himself back on the mattress, his thoughts a whirlwind. 'No, I need to trust him. If he says this is the best way, I must believe in that. What's the point otherwise?'

He raised his hand, observing the runes within his mana, his heartbeat thundering in anticipation of the upcoming event—the wedding that the whole city was abuzz about.

----

Within the All-Room, the bare stone floor and walls stood silent until a starry portal at the center spiraled open. A hesitant leg emerged first, followed by the rest of the elf slave Darius purchased.

As the elf glanced around, Darius stepped out behind him. "That's actually quite convenient for what I need right now." With a smile, he headed toward the beast-farm, the portal closing silently behind them.

"Forgive me for saying this, but I don't think you understand," the elf began, bowing slightly in his clean white tunic and brown trousers, his long green hair tied back revealing his disfigured ear. "The seeds I can create take an extremely long time to grow. For an elf, this isn't much of an issue, but for humans, I fear they won't be much help, Master."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," Darius said with a smile, opening the door to the beast-farm, "this will be your home for the time being."

The elf's pale skin flushed as he stepped into the beast-farm, eyes wide with wonder. Taking a deep breath, he smiled slightly, "this isn't Gaia, but the mana here is abundant. What is this place?"

"It's called a Beast-Farm, an artificial space that can simulate any enviroment," Darius explained. "We might need a different name in the future, but for now, we'll just call it the farm." He touched his pouch and produced three different seeds. Extending them towards the elf, he commanded, "Show me your ability."

Snapping out of his reverie, the elf stepped forward. "Yes, master." He took the seeds, cupping them between his hands and bringing them to his chest as if in prayer.

Using his Arcane Gaze, Darius observed the seeds, 'interesting, his mana's raw, just like the natural elements, devoid of any runes.'

With his eyes closed, the elf’s face showed a slight strain before relaxing. Opening his eyes, the yellow glow dimming, "they are ready to be imprinted. Once you plant them with the image you have in mind, and considering the mana richness here, it shouldn’t take more than a few decades for these to grow to be useful."

Grinning, Darius accepted the seeds. "It shouldn't take that long, but for now, let's go meet the children."

Suddenly, he paused, his face coloring slightly, "shit," he said, turning back to the elf, "one second."

Bewildered, the elf looked on as Darius nonchalantly produced a small red barrel from his pouch. Approaching the control stone, Darius laid a hand upon it, his eyes closing.

Immediately, the farm erupted with the sounds of earth bursting and trees cracking. As the elf scanned the horizon in alarm, several trees along the perimeter dramatically sprouted, unfurling foliage and dangling large fruits from their branches in rapid succession.

Still processing the sudden transformation, the elf's astonishment grew as Darius opened the small red barrel. From it, three beams of light escaped, swiftly materializing into monkeys. The elf's gaze shifted back to Darius, his mind racing. 'Could he be a true ascended?'

Darius chuckled awkwardly, his head cocking to the side as he observed the troupe, "you're not running away? Wait, what happened to you? Why do you look different?"

Two of the monkeys, with their standard brown fur and black faces, stood off to the side. They seemed to defer to the third, chattering softly among themselves.

The third monkey, distinctively larger and now as tall as Darius's chest when standing upright, bore pronounced muscles and striking reddish-tinged fur.

Darius employed his Arcane Gaze. While the forms of the two smaller monkeys appeared as clusters of white motes of light, the larger one was similar but interspersed with specks of red, indicating some unique transformation.

"No matter. We'll look into it later." Waving his hand dismissively, Darius smiled. "Go explore, I've planted some treats throughout the forest for you."

The red monkey paused briefly, then let out a boisterous howl, darting towards the woods with the two smaller monkeys yapping excitedly as they followed.

"Sorry about that distraction," Darius said, passing the still-dazed elf. He chuckled to himself, 'Could they be getting stronger from battle? Marcus might have been onto something. There's more to this primordial treasure than I realized.'

Approaching the hatchery, the carefree sounds of splashing and laughter cut through his thoughts. "Seems they're still obeying orders."

"Master's here!"

The laughter halted as the children, some still dripping from their swim, hurried towards Darius and the elf.

"Are you all enjoying yourselves with Ursie? She's not giving you a hard time, is she?"

Tem stepped forward eagerly. "She's been great! She lets us ride her as long as we don't grab too hard."

Darius chuckled, pleased. "I'm glad to hear that." He then gestured towards the elf. "While I take care of something real quick, I want you all to meet someone. This is Glabe. He'll be staying here with you and will take charge while I'm away."

All the children swiftly lined up, their voices echoing in unison, "Yes, master." Darius couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance at the title as he turned and walked towards the forest edge that skirted the hatchery pool.

Gazing into the waters, 'Thank you for taking care of the children. I’ll make sure to bring you even more bones when we leave the city.'

'The ones before, care for those who come after. Big...brother...shouldn't praise us.'

He shook his head, smiling warmly. 'Continue to look after them.'

The large splash that answered him brought a smile to his face as he moved past the forest's edge, walking for a distance until he knelt and pushed a seed into the ground.

He swiftly drew an array around it after covering the seed with dirt. The Elemental Nexus Array quickly took shape, this version featuring only one large node a few meters from the array, unlike the usual five.

Darius repeated the process, setting up two additional arrays and planting seeds within each. All three were separated by a large distance and linked to the center node.

Enhancing his fingernail with wind mana, he sliced his palm and pressed it to the ground over each seed. Closing his eyes, he focused, a vivid image forming in his mind.

After completing the ritual for each one, he stood and approached the large node. From his pouch, he retrieved a massive glowing yellow chaotic crystal, larger than a man's head.

"This should speed things up."

---

Tem's smile faded as she and the children turned towards a thunderous noise that shook the ground beneath them. Her eyes widened as she pointed toward the sky, "What's that?!"

From the center of the Farm, three towering masses of vines and trees spiraled upwards, intertwining and growing at an alarming rate. The sight was both awe-inspiring and terrifying as the plant life twisted into the sky, creating three large structures that dwarfed everything in sight.