My eyes shot open, and I found myself standing in a dark space—a black void. I felt floaty, and the last thing I remembered was blacking out, so somehow, that led me to believe I was just dreaming.

“So you’re the human that has awakened me.”

I turned around and found myself face-to-face with an enormous lion. Though the lion had made himself comfortable lying on the ground, his presence alone felt suffocating and demanded respect. His brown manes shone a fury red at the ends, and his fangs showed their sharpness the moment his lips curled up in a grin. I didn’t notice earlier; it was evident that he was the one lighting up this space.

Though I wasn’t against fantasy-like dreams, I wasn’t fond of the thought of this turning into a nightmare. I stepped back from the creature, earning a low cackle.

“Heh. Interesting.”

The sight of him was terrifying, yet the warm look in his eyes and tone made him seem more friendly than he initially looked. However, this could also be a strategy to get his prey to let their guard down.

“Who are you?”

“Ghaaahaha!” His roaring laughter made me flinch. Was what I said funny?

“Of course, you would want to know the name of the mighty creature you have fused a Bound with! Ahem.” He stood up, easily towering over me, and puffed out his chest proudly, closing his eyes as he stated his name. “Behold! I am the Great, the Fierce and Furious: I am Dardanos! That’s right, the Great Dardanos! Rejoice, human, for you are the first human to be deemed worthy enough to lend my strength in a hundred years!”

I stared at him in silence for a few seconds. What kind of wack dream is this?

The silence seemed to confuse Dardanos as he opened one of his eyes to look down at me with a raised eyebrow. “Human, why are you not saying anything? In fact, why are you not on your knees? I am certain I introduced myself loud and clear- Wait!”

The lion sat down and turned his head away as he thought aloud. “Don’t tell me that the humans have forgotten who I am! That can’t be!”

“Uhm…” He seemed too troubled for a beast that was supposed to chase me to my death. I started to feel bad for him. “I know for a fact that if there lived a lion as big as you, sir, eh, Dardanos, nobody would forget you.”

My remark seemed to cheer him up. Dardanos held his chin high as he grinned from ear to ear. Is it me, or is he blushing?

“Ghahaha, you flatter me, human! Though, I must say I am one of the biggest in my tribe. Hmm. Very well, state your name. You have gained my favor.”

“I’m Kyra.”

“... Just Kyra?”

“Well, Kyra Candos, actually.”

“Aha! Kyra of the Candos!”

I gave a strained smile. It’s just Kyra Candos. Whatever. I didn't want to risk upsetting him when he looked this happy.

“Hm?”

Suddenly Dardanos lowered his head towards me and sniffed the top of my head. “You smell weird, Kyra of the Candos.” He then stood back up to circle me, eyebrows knitted into a frown. His previous carefree attitude had disappeared entirely. “You do not have the blood of the humans I know.” As I watched him sit before me, he nodded to himself. “Aye, that explains things. You are from the world that is yet to exist.”

Before I could ask him anything, a bright light shone in the sky.

“Our meeting was short, Kyra of the Candos, but don’t forget I’m there with you, so long as you keep me with you.”

===

My eyes shot open for the second time. However, this time I didn’t find myself in a pitch-black space. I was lying on a bed in a bedroom I didn’t recognize. I sat up to look around me, but I didn’t see anything that helped me figure out where I was.

I found the room to be spacious, at least three times bigger than my own for sure. It didn’t look like any of the rooms I’d been in before. It looked much more traditional: all the furniture was mostly made of wood, and the bits that weren’t wooden looked shiny or sparkly. Maybe traditional wasn’t the right word, but it looked expensive.

I felt out of place, as if this room was for someone of a higher status. I can get used to the bed, though.

The door soon opened, and I saw Adam tiptoeing in. I guess he was scared to wake me up.

“Oh, you’re awake.” After clearing his throat and regaining his posture, he closed the door behind him and walked over to me. “Ehm. How are you feeling? Anything off?”

“Hmm..” I hummed in thought and looked down at my hands. Oh, I guess something had stuck to the inside of my hand. I assumed it was mud or something. I started rubbing it off with my other hand.

“I’m feeling really good. Don’t necessarily wanna say I feel refreshed, but I haven’t slept this well in a while.” Gosh, this mud is resilient. “I did have a funny dream with this gigantic lion, claiming to be the Great and Furious, if you want to call tha-”

“You whaaaat?”

I looked back up at Adam, who had visibly tensed up next to the bed. “I… dreamt of a big lion?”

The color drained out of Adam’s face. “You… met Dardanos? The Dardanos?”

I raised my eyebrow at his reaction. “Yes, I guess I did. Wait, how did you-”

Adam grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me towards him before I could finish my question. “You’re for real?”

I nodded my head. He squinted my eyes and studied my face for a moment before finally letting me go and sinking into a nearby chair. “Oh. I’m in so much trouble.”

I couldn’t help but frown at him. “Look, are you finally gonna tell me what’s going on?”

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’ve… created a Bound with Dardanos.”

That answer didn’t make any sense to me. If anything, it only raised more questions. “Adam!” As I yelled out his name, he looked at me with wide eyes in surprise. “I don’t know what this Bound is, okay! Who is ‘Dardanos’? Just explain already!”

I could see a glint of doubt in his eyes, but he at least seemed to realize that he couldn’t keep dodging my questions without me getting hostile.

Stolen story; please report.

“Okay! Okay. I’ll try to explain, but okay.”

He cleared his throat and leaned forward. "Right."

"So, in short, Dardanos is what we call a Soul Beast, which is a big animal with ancient powers. They are so powerful that they can move mountains and control oceans. Our tribe lives with Soul Beasts, and we can form a pact with one by creating a Bound. This way, they lend us their powers so we can solve problems they can't solve."

"Oh, right. A Soul Beast chooses their Bound depending on the strength of a person's Elemental Resonance. One that controls the air is drawn to a person with a strong Wind Resonance. My father said that they-"

I stared at him in disbelief. "A person's what now? Resonance?"

"It's Elemental Res-"

"And what's this Soul Beast nonsense you're talking about? Wait, do you think I'm stupid? I swear if you-"

Adam shot up from his chair and turned around. "I'm being serious! Look." He raised his hair, exposing a teeth tattoo at the nape of his neck. "This mark is what binds me to Perseus, my partner."

His partner? I snorted and kicked the blankets off of me. This guy's nuts. "Right, I've had enough." As I turned and sat on the side of the bed to stand up, Adam moved in front of me and, once again, held me by my shoulders. At this point, I was scared he was planning to hold me hostage. "Adam, let me-"

"I'm not lying! You should have one too!" Before I could object, he sat behind me and moved my hair.

"Wha- Wait! What're you-"

"Woah, I didn't know you were hiding this much hair under your beanie." Probably unable to get a good look at the nape of my neck, he lifted my hair. "Oh... You have no mark."

"Ugh, I told you."

"Maybe it's on a different spot."

"Woah, no! Hold on!"

Ignoring my protests and dodging my punches, he moved my shirt to expose my shoulders and raised it to scan my back. Then, not satisfied, he got on his knees in front of me and lifted my chin to check the skin under it.

I glared down at Adam with gritted teeth, feeling my face burn as I got angrier by the second. "I'm going to knock the living light out of you."

Adam looked up at me with a smug look and stuck his tongue out. "I needed to find proof, didn't I?"

"Oh, you-" As I raised my hand to hit him, Adam went wide-eyed and grabbed my wrist. "Here!"

I followed his gaze and looked at the mud inside my hand.

Wait, no. Now that I was looking at it clearly, it wasn't just a random spot of mud. The 'spot' had clear lines, and its shape held something.

"What in the..."

Adam finally let me go and sat back down on his chair with a proud grin. "Seeee?"

He was right. I had a mark too. I caressed the inside of my hand and examined it more closely. The mark was red colored and shaped like a lion's mane, and I was quickly reminded of the lion in my dreams.

"So, you're saying that wasn't a dream?"

"Well, technically, it was a dream. It's just that it's one of the ways to connect with him through your subconscious since he isn't and can’t be here with you in person and-"

"I'm going to kick you." I looked up at Adam with a glare. It was supposed to be a simple yes or no question. I didn’t ask for a whole lecture.

“Ah- Right, no. This really happened.”

I looked back down at the inside of my hand. This was absurd. Ancient powers. Giant beasts. These things only existed in movies and books. There were no mythical creatures in this world.

But the surge of energy I felt back then…

“So, in that fight, I was using Dardanos’ power? I was able to defeat that man because of that?”

“Yes. They give us strength beyond the limits we normally have. To be faster, stronger, or sturdier. But…” Adam furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “I’ve never seen anyone bind with a Beast this quickly. People need to prepare to bond physically and mentally. Creating a bond takes a lot of energy and practice.”

“It’s also normal for a Soul Beast to reject someone a few times. For a Soul Beast to accept a human as easily as Dardanos is rare. The only other exception I can think of is my brother.”

“So, as long as I have this, I can beat anyone with this?”

"Ye- Wait, you can't use it, though."

"What? Why not? I'm bound by him now, right?"

Adam sighed and shook his head. "Yes, you're bound to him, but you can't channel his powers if you aren't in contact with his Elemental." He took a plastic bag with the red necklace out of his pocket. It wasn't glowing as much as it was earlier. It seemed rather dull. “I’m sorry, but I can’t involve you further than I already have.”

“You’re not giving the necklace to me?”

Adam shook his head at this. “This situation is more dangerous than you realize. You can’t get involved.”

I frowned at this. It’s not that I thought it wasn’t dangerous. Despite the power I could gain, I wasn’t familiar with this other-worldly concept. This idea of teaming up with all-powerful beings was still strange, and I couldn’t imagine what I would get myself into.

Adam probably realized this too and must have decided, to keep me safe, that he couldn’t show me too much of this side of the world. It’s not just me; this could also endanger my family.

I can’t cause more trouble for mom.

“You keep saying that you don’t want to involve me, but those guys have seen what I look like, right?”

“Yes, but I can protect you.”

“What about my friends and family?”

“I can protect them too.”

“Can you even handle all of that?”

Adam snorted, then placed his hand on the left side of his chest and gave me a confident grin. “In the name of the king of Alda, your family will be under my family’s protection.”

“Hm.” I hummed in thought. He was familiar with the beasts, and yesterday he seemed to handle himself just fine. Adam knows best what he is facing, so if he says he can protect all of us, what else can I do but believe him?

Rather than arguing with him, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and asked him for more information.

“What is Alda?”

“Oh, I’m glad you asked!” Adam cleared his throat and sat up straight. “Alda is my birthplace! Even though it’s the capital and inhabited by loads of people, there’s a lot of water and mountains surrounding it, making it harder to reach. This was intentional, of course, as it makes the city easier to defe-”

“Wait, stop! Before you tell me all this, I need to stretch my legs.” I thought I would get a short and simple answer, but that started to sound dangerously close to a history lecture. As curious as I was, I couldn’t handle even more information than I already had.

I finally got up and stretched my arms, sighing in satisfaction. I hadn’t realized how numb my legs felt.

“Wait, where are you going? It might still be dangerous outside.”

“I need to get back home. My mom needs help with dinner, and I still need to go do some groceries.” Seeing my beanie, I put it back on and tugged my hair under it. Adam had gotten up from his chair with a sigh.

“Can’t she do that herself?”

“Do you want me to punch you?”

“Oh, sorry.”

I shook my head and walked towards the door before looking at Adam. “She can’t. She works overtime most days.”

“Well, can’t your father do it then?”

“I don’t have a dad.”

I opened the door and stepped out of the bedroom.

“What do you-”

Looking back in front of me, I was greeted by a tall woman, her skin tone a shade dark I had never seen before. Her sharp eyes held a friendly squint, and her lips were curled up in a formal smile. If it weren’t for her curvy figure, I would’ve easily mistaken her for a ‘him’ with her short, light mint-colored hair.

“Woah…”

“My apologies.”

She stepped away from the door and gave me a nod to greet me.

“Oh.” As if by instinct, I copied her actions, taking a step back and returning her nod with my own. “It’s alright.”

Is she his mother? She speaks in such a funny manner. I raised my eyebrow and slightly tilted my head to the side as I looked at her in thought.

She glanced at Adam briefly before looking back at me with the same polite smile. “I trust that mister Adam hasn’t overwhelmed you while you were resting, miss.”

“He hasn’t, eh.”

“I haven’t!” As I wondered who the woman was, Adam came in between us two and glanced at me before looking at Martha. “We are off to, ehm… To stretch our legs.” He managed to cough out as he left the room and quickly walked past Martha.

Martha frowned and studied me for a moment before looking back at Adam. “Are you sure, mister Adam? You seemed quite restless when your friend was not waking up.”

“Pfft-”

“M- Martha!” Adam stormed back to us and grabbed my hand before walking away again, holding onto me to ensure I was following. “We’re leaving!”

“Understood, mister A-”

I was pushed to the other side of the hall and could hear Adam groaning behind me. “Stop calling me mister!”

Turning around the corner, Adam let go of my hand and guided me to the stairs. I followed him closely this time, getting the message of him wanting to leave. Still, I couldn’t help wondering who that woman was to call a child like him mister.

Noticing my silence, Adam glanced back at me briefly with a sigh. “What is it?”

“Does your mom always call you mister?”

Adam’s lips pursed as he looked back in front of him. “Nooo. She’s my butler.”

I stopped in my tracks and stared at him with wide eyes. “Your butler?”

“Agh!” Adam turned back to me fully and grabbed my hand again. “Yes, my butler! Now let’s go outside before the others come-”

“There are others?!”

Adam quickly pulled me through the front entrance and shut the door behind him. “Shh! Don’t be so loouuud!” He let out a sigh out of frustration before turning around and stretching his arms.

“Right. Alright! Let’s do some shopping.”