Being creatures born of chaos, familiars experience the Twisted Effect far more intensely than humans; however, under the law of awakened advancement and cultivation, it is explicitly stated that the bonds (humans) are and will be held responsible for the actions of their familiars regardless of the situation or their own state of mind at the time. This provision clearly holds the bond accountable for any misconduct or damage caused by their familiar, emphasizing the need for control and responsibility during the process.
Professor Faelar Dubois (AC)
Sector 5, Ragnarok.
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When Fortuna had asked Aodhán how he bonded Varéc, his first instinct had been to completely deny her, but after his gaze landed on Tyrus Hadjen, who was seated stoically beside his father, he’d gotten the brilliant idea to use Fortuna to fulfill Daruk’s promise to the lieutenant.
Perhaps, because of her friendly demeanor, Aodhán had forgotten that the woman was a colonel, a military rank even higher than that of the commander, and to be completely honest, he was uncomfortable with the whole Arnold Frostbourne charade.
As much as he wanted to forget all about the lieutenant and the event that tied them together, this was a chance to sever whatever karma existed between them, and it would be foolishness not to take advantage of it.
Fortuna observed him quietly for almost a minute, her expression twisted into a frown of confusion and irritation. “Is there a reason you’re requesting the transfer of a soldier, Mr. Brystion?” She folded her arms and squared her shoulders. “I didn’t think I had to remind you that civilians have no business meddling with the military.”
Aodhán stared at Fortuna calmly, not allowing her change in tone and demeanor to scare him. He let out a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and replied. “Lieutenant Hadjen was instrumental in the survival of my brother and me after a terrible ship accident, and we promised to repay him. This is what he wants.”
“I see.” Fortuna gave a tight smile and created a chair for herself to sit on. “What I do not understand is what you expect me to do about it.”
Aodhán shifted awkwardly under Fortuna’s intense gaze. Admittedly, he knew very little about the military or the procedures and requirements involved in the transfer of a soldier from one sector to another, but Fortuna was a noble, a Colonel, a champion, and more importantly, a future ascendant candidate. Surely, she had enough pull within the military to do something like this.
“Lieutenant Hadjen has asked to be removed from the Sigma 25 camp in Conquestia and transferred to another. As a Colonel, I thought you could—”
“You thought wrong.” Fortuna cut him off with a glare. “Transferring a soldier to another sector isn’t the problem. Transferring Tyrus Hadjen is. His father will fight me tooth and nail if I even suggest moving him out of his current post. Besides, I have no official grounds to carry out such a request. It’s simply too hard and frankly not worth the trouble.”
Aodhán glared at her. “Evolving your bloodline from Epic to Blessed was considered almost impossible, yet you did it anyway. I never pegged you for someone who would shy away from hard situations.”
Fortuna smirked, not at all offended by his words. “I think you missed the part where I said this wasn’t worth the trouble.”
Aodhán wanted to argue, but instead, he shrugged. “Well, I’m sorry, but those are my terms. If you can’t fulfill them, then I can’t tell you anything.”
Fortuna’s smirk twisted into something more sinister, and she leaned forward slightly. “You do realize that I could force you to tell me, don’t you?” She gestured to the soundproofed chamber. “No one would hear you even if you screamed.”
Aodhán barely managed to suppress a shudder as his gaze darted around the vine-covered chamber, and he hastily took several deep breaths to steady himself, only now realizing that he was alone with a late-staged, advanced-class soldier with nowhere to run or hide.
Foolish. He berated himself quietly. However, the situation wasn’t too dire. He might be alone, but he wasn’t exactly unprotected.
He let out a small smile, crossed his legs, and said. “You would risk offending not only Mythic Zatya Malakov but Ascendant candidate Lightus as well if you dare do such a thing.”
His voice was soft and unthreatening; however, it had a more profound effect on Fortuna than he could have imagined. Her cruel smile withered immediately, and a flash of fear crossed her verdant gaze, although it was gone so fast that Aodhán wondered if he’d imagined it.
Fortuna grimaced and observed him for a moment before she snapped. “Fine! I’ll transfer the fucking lieutenant, but I won’t be fulfilling the second condition if you won’t even tell me how you bonded the familiar. It’s only a deal when it’s fair.”
Aodhán shook his head and tried to convince her. “I assure you, the class-scaling skill is less of a condition and more of an opinion. I just want you to observe the skill and tell me what you think.”
“I’m not doing it without additional information.” She refused. “In fact, I shouldn’t even fulfill the first condition without additional information. If I wanted to know more about familiars, I could have read a fucking book or asked my mother. The only reason I’m even speaking to you is because I want to know how you managed to do the impossible. If you can’t tell me how, this entire conversation is pointless.”
“I can’t tell you how.” Aodhán spoke softly, trying to reason with her. “But I can tell you all I know. Everything pertaining to familiars—
“No! Aodhán.” Fortuna shouted, and the vines around them pulsed eagerly. “I don’t need a lecture on the topic of familiars. I’ve been studying them before you even awakened.”
Aodhán sputtered, desperately searching for a way to convince her. The second condition was no longer a priority—he could always consult Gwendolyn Blackwood for answers once they returned to the academy. However, the first condition was crucial. If he couldn't persuade her to meet it, he doubted he could fulfill Tyrus's request by any other means.
“I could maybe walk you through the process or something.” He said to her after a moment of thought, but Fortuna shook her head in disappointment and sighed. “I don’t want you to walk me through it, Aodhán; I want you to tell me how.”
“I can’t do that!”
“You can’t or you won’t?” Fortuna asked, her verdant gaze piercing through him and stirring his guilt.
In that moment, Aodhán struggled to remember why he had been lying and deceiving the world in the first place. Aside from the fear of having the necklace taken from him or being attacked for it, he realized he had no other reasons for his deception.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Not that the above reasons weren't legitimate concerns; however, as Fortuna stared him down, they suddenly felt insignificant. What was the point of lying if no one important believed him anyway?
Principal Zatya definitely didn’t, and neither did the awakened council. In fact, he doubted anyone above the advanced class did, which begged the question once again: What was the point of lying?
Only people like Fortuna believed his lies, and it was only a matter of time before others began losing themselves to the origin plane in an attempt to achieve the impossible. Guilt pricked at him with the thought. Confessing to Fortuna might have been a foolish decision, but Aodhán did it anyway. He was weary of the lies and deceit. Besides, now that the necklace was safely hidden where no one would ever find it, he no longer cared if the world knew the truth. Meeting Fortuna's gaze, he finally spoke the truth. “I didn’t bond Varéc on my own. I was aided by an artifact.”
The words echoed loudly in the chamber as silence descended. Aodhán sighed in relief, feeling his spirit lighten as if he had thrown off shackles and laid down a heavy burden. Bliss and contentment washed over him, and Aodhán smiled, basking in the newfound weightlessness that coursed through his spirit.
The blissful moment was, however, cut short when Fortuna flashed forward and grabbed the only magical item on his person, his fake necklace, and raised it up to the verdant lamp. Aodhán had barely been able to follow her movements, as she had been so fast that he hadn’t even seen a blur, but as Fortuna probed the necklace with a strand of energy, Aodhán was glad that he’d had the good sense to hide the real artifact away.
After almost a minute of scrutiny, Fortuna grimaced and handed the necklace back. “That’s not the artifact, is it?”
“I could have told you that if you’d just asked.” Aodhán responded with a small grin as he collected the necklace and fastened it once again.
Fortuna observed him quietly, her gaze lingering on the necklace for a long moment before she asked. “What sort of artifact was it?”
Aodhán grinned. “I’ll tell you if you say yes to both conditions.”
Fortuna smiled and shook her head. “Fine, I’ll fulfill both conditions.”
Aodhán’s grin widened, and with a flourish, he stood up, dismissed the chair construct, and gave a shallow bow. “Colonel Willowood, say hello to Varéc.”
With those dramatic words, Aodhán opened his spirit to release Varéc but instantly staggered as overwhelming rage and malice flooded his mind. Varéc surged out of his spirit the next instant, his eyes aglow with chaos and fury. The torrent of emotions surged through their psychic link and into Aodhán’s mind, causing him to stagger once more as he struggled to regain his footing.
Aodhán had suspected that Varéc would be enraged at being cooped up within his spirit for the past four days, but he hadn’t expected the intensity of the emotions Varéc bore, and he wondered if this was a lingering consequence of the twisted effect.
Before he could react or reorient himself, a torrent of black lightning shot out of Varéc’s mouth and slammed into him, engulfing him in a dense amount of decay essence that reduced an entire half of his suit to ash before he managed to stumble out of the attack.
“Calm down, Varéc.” He shouted when he finally gained a semblance of control over his mind, but Varéc wasn’t listening. He couldn’t listen. Varéc's mind was so filled with chaotic essence that all of Aodhán's attempts to control him only aggravated him more.
Varéc let out another torrent of lightning, red this time, and although Aodhán defended with a shield construct, the explosion still sent him tumbling through the air.
It slammed him against the vine-covered walls, and Aodhán groaned as he quickly picked himself up from the floor and moved towards Varéc. Ignoring the numerous welts and injuries that now covered his skin, he focused on trying to push emotions of calm and control through their bond. However, Varéc’s mind was completely obscured by a thick haze of chaos essence that made his efforts seem like pouring resources into a black hole.
He glanced at Fortuna and found her seated at the far end of the chamber, her eyes focused on Varéc as she took down a few notes.
“Fuck my life.” Aodhán cursed as he turned his gaze back to Varéc and willed a storm cloud into existence. The cloud had barely even formed before it was completely obliterated by another torrent of red lightning. The resulting explosion was so powerful that Aodhán was blasted back once again and slammed against the wall with so much force that runes flared brightly and his bones rattled violently.
“Okay, that hurt.” Aodhán gritted out as he picked himself up once more and dodged another torrent of black lightning. Still, he wasn’t fast enough, and he grimaced as the last of his suit crumbled to dust, leaving him only in his boxer briefs and the tattered remnants of his trousers.
Aodhán glared at Varéc and muttered angrily. “Well, if emotions won’t work, force definitely will.”
Without further hesitation, Aodhán launched forward and activated {Lightning Beam—Red}. A torrent of red lightning rushed out of his palm and slammed into a similar torrent from Varéc. The subsequent explosion was so large and loud that it blasted both of them backwards and slammed them against the wall with so much force that the entire chamber came alive with runic light.
Despite Aodhán’s resistance to lightning, gashes opened up on his skin, and his earlier wounds widened, soaking his briefs in blood. Aodhán barely grimaced. After several weeks of pain tolerance training with Eldrith, welts and gashes weren’t enough to put him out of commission.
He dashed forward, white-gold lightning arcing in his wake, and with a furious growl, he slammed a storm hammer into Varéc’s head.
Varéc let out a pained roar as the hammer shattered from the force of his attack, but Aodhán easily created another and brought it down on Varec's head with enough force to topple a small building.
Varéc staggered, and one of his fangs shattered, but the pain only seemed to fuel his anger. He gave up on using his skills and lashed out.
Claws, fangs, and a bladed tail struck forward, all intent on skewering Aodhán to pieces. Aodhán dodged instinctively, his body contorting painfully as he spun around to smash another hammer into Varéc’s head.
Varéc staggered and slammed his head against the wall. Aodhán probed their psychic link again, and although the chaos cloud around Varéc’s mind had reduced, it was still too thick for Aodhán’s emotions to pierce through.
In that small moment of distraction, though, Varéc roared, releasing another torrent of black lightning that sent Aodhán careening backwards. Aodhán countered the spreading decay by injecting a beam of {Elemental Lightning—Green} directly into his wounds.
He didn’t have time to study the effects, though, as he had to dodge another barrage of black lightning. He launched forward once again, grimacing as black and green lightning fought for superiority within his body.
He slammed another hammer into Varéc’s head, but Varéc countered by stabbing his horns into Aodhán’s shoulders and releasing another torrent of red lightning at point blank range.
Aodhán gritted his teeth in pain as he twisted and blocked the attack, but Varéc was already gearing up for another attack, and Aodhán knew it was time to bring out the big guns.
He dug deep and harnessed the dormant rage within him. Almost immediately, Aodhán’s gaze turned red, and his hesitation to avoid severely hurting Varéc flew out the window.
He was still in control, but it was as if his emotions were muted. Silenced. Replaced solely with a rage that burned violently within him.
This time, as Varéc arched his neck to unleash another torrent of red lightning, Aodhán seized control of the energy and detonated it right within Varéc’s throat.
If Varéc had been a normal awakened beast, that would have been his end. Instead, his sinuous neck exploded in a gruesome burst, cutting off a roar of pain almost as soon as it began. Roiling clouds of chaos surged to regenerate the neck, but even Varéc’s inherent 'unkillability' couldn't mask the toll it took. The violent healing process drained him, severely diminishing the chaos cloud around his mind and causing him to stagger.
Aodhán barely sympathized. In the next instant, he willed a storm cloud into existence and activated {Lightning Spear Rain—Red}.
Dozens of red lightning spears as thick as his arms rained down from the cloud, piercing Varéc’s wings and body. Varéc tried to retaliate with another torrent of lightning, but Aodhán detonated that too, along with all the spears lodged within Varéc’s body.
The ensuing explosion was so violent that Varéc almost completely vanished, turning translucent as his entire body exploded in a shower of chaos and lightning essence.
Aodhán finally let go of his rage and probed Varéc’s mind once more. The chaos cloud was completely gone, leaving only pain and confusion bleeding from Varéc’s thoughts. Aodhán sighed, feeling a pang of guilt as he approached Varéc’s weakened form.
In his studies about familiars, he had read that it wasn’t unusual for them to have a more severe reaction to the twisted effect. However, when Varéc had shown no signs after their return from the time chamber, Aodhán had hoped he was fine. He’d been wrong.
He knelt beside Varéc and cradled his large head. “I’m sorry, buddy.”
Varéc was too exhausted to respond and simply retreated into Aodhán’s spirit for a much-needed rest.
Aodhán then turned back to their spectator. Fortuna's grin was wide with excitement as she tucked her notes away and stood up. “I couldn’t have asked for a better presentation, Aodhán. Now, how about we discuss that skill of yours?”