Ancestral Lineage - Chapter 308

Chapter 308: A Mind Among Titans
Later that evening, as the twin moons of the Beast Plane hovered low and luminous over the crystalline cliffs of the T’Shalari domain, Ethan sat cross-legged in a clearing.

Behind him, the sanctum shimmered faintly, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

They were gathering.

One by one, his Spirit Beasts emerged around him — not in full corporeal form, but as semi-astral projections, each resonating in their own distinct frequency.

The first to appear was the Divine Tortoise, a massive entity cloaked in earth and time. Its shell glowed with sacred runes, and its low eyes regarded Ethan with the same eternal patience it always had.

Next came the grey-skinned gargoyle, its limbs fluid with alchemical energies. It crouched beside Ethan, silent and alert, ever the quiet sentinel.

The Cerberus, with its purple flaming mane and three snarling heads, erupted next in a burst of necromantic fire, only to sit calmly beside him, tail thudding once like a heartbeat.

Then came the black featureless figure, the embodiment of Curse — a being of silence and shadow whose form bent light itself. It regarded Saareiya’s presence with unreadable interest.

Finally, the Drake, scaled in deep blue and pulsing with sound affinity, flew low before coiling nearby, tail vibrating with harmonic tension.

And standing at the edge of this circle of power… was Saareiya.

Small. Quiet. Yet unmistakably luminous in her own way.

She took a tentative step forward, her psychic aura blooming with iridescent spirals — not a challenge, not dominance… but invitation.

“They are strong,” she said to Ethan through thought. “But they are old. I am not.”

“They were once like you,” Ethan replied softly, meeting her gaze. “But I chose you because you’re not them. You’re new. A different kind of strength.”

The Divine Tortoise let out a low, rumbling hum — the sound of tectonic plates shifting — and the gargoyle rose, approaching Saareiya with slow, graceful movements.

She didn’t flinch.

Instead, she reached out with her mind, sending a delicate thread of thought. Not a push. A request.

The gargoyle paused — then touched foreheads with her. Just for a moment.

The Drake let out a curious trill, followed by the Cerberus letting its middle head growl softly. The black cursed being simply stood motionless, the shadow of its form merging with hers for a breath.

And then… the impossible happened.

All six affinities pulsed together — Earth, Alchemy, Necromancy, Curse, Sound… and now, Thought.

A moment of perfect resonance.

Ethan felt it in his bones. His mind sharpened. Reality thinned for just a second. He could see the echoes of possible futures spiraling around them — not as certainties, but as potentials unlocked by their union.

This was no longer just a new bond.

It was a recalibration.

Saareiya stepped into the circle and sat beside Ethan, their minds syncing instinctively. Her small hand brushed against his.

“We are not weapons,” she said. “We are roots. Growing toward the sky.”

Ethan smiled.

And deep within his soul, a seventh spiral formed — one of lucid clarity and silent might.

The Path of Thought had begun.

…

“So… would we be leaving soon?” Saareiya asked, her voice quiet — almost uncertain.

Ethan glanced at her, a gentle smile tugging at his lips. “Not yet. Your siblings still need to fully awaken. And I think Onyx is getting close to full sentience too.”

He leaned back, eyes tracing the spirals above. “By the way… don’t you have any family? Parents?”

Saareiya hesitated. “My mother… she went missing a while ago. The elders said she was taken by the E’Sherils. They’re too strong for us to fight. So… we had to let her go.” Her voice trembled, eyes misting over.

Ethan’s gaze softened. “What about your father?”

“I never knew him,” she whispered. “It was always just me and my mother. Now it’s just… me.”

A silence passed between them. Not heavy, but resolute.

“Hm,” Ethan muttered, stretching slightly. “Sounds like we’ll be paying the E’Sherils a visit soon.”

Saareiya’s head shot up, alarmed. “No! You don’t understand. They’re incredibly powerful. Especially their leader. They say she can destroy entire mountains.”

Ethan smiled — not arrogantly, but with quiet certainty. “That so?”

He looked at her, and the air around him shimmered faintly.

“I can create mountains.”

Saareiya blinked, lips parting slightly. “Wait… seriously?!”

Ethan winked. “You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”

Later that night, as the twin moons rose over the sleeping stronghold, Ethan stood beneath a curved arch of living stone. The sanctum’s psychic energy pulsed low and rhythmic, like a heartbeat at rest.

He wasn’t alone.

Three of the T’Shalari elders had joined him — silent figures cloaked in scaled robes, their features carved by wisdom and the weight of time. They had watched his interaction with Saareiya earlier, and they had questions of their own.

But Ethan spoke first.

“The E’Sherils,” he said quietly, the name falling like a ripple across the resonance. “Tell me what you know.”

One of the elders — a long-necked male with narrow eyes and antler-like horns — exhaled slowly. “They are not like us. Not anymore.”

Another elder, older and heavier, folded her hands. “The E’Sherils were once kin. Not by blood, but by bond. They wielded the psychic arts as we do, but they allowed ambition to mold their essence.”

“They weaponized resonance,” the antlered one added, “transforming thought into violence. They broke away centuries ago, building their dominion in the Obsidian Groves. None who enter return.”

Ethan nodded slowly. “And their leader?”

The third elder, silent until now, opened her eyes — glowing pools of pale amethyst. “They call her Ashtora. Once, she was a prophetess. Now, she wears the minds of her enemies like jewelry. Her psychic presence erases memory, disrupts identity, bends will.”

Ethan’s gaze darkened slightly. Not in fear — in focus.

“And Saareiya’s mother?” he asked.

“She was taken,” said the eldest, voice heavy. “A rare pureblooded T’Shalari. Likely kept as a tether — or worse, a living core for one of their mind-forges.”

A silence fell again, but the energy in the air shifted.

“I will go,” Ethan said at last, stepping forward into the moonlight. “If she still lives, I’ll find her.”

The elders exchanged looks, their thoughts brushing against his like whispers in a storm. Then they bowed their heads in unison.

“You walk the path of risk,” the oldest murmured, “but also of change. If you enter the Groves… take care not to lose yourself.”

Ethan smirked lightly. “If I find myself again, I might come out stronger.”

“But first, let’s welcome the others.”

Ethan bowed slightly to the elders. In a single spark of gold, he vanished, taking Saareiya with him.

They reappeared atop a floating chain that spanned across a broken void — a titanic link suspended between fractured realms. The chain was so vast it could cradle a small town, yet Ethan’s cross-legged figure appeared no larger than a speck upon its surface.

Still, his presence loomed.

The very chain vibrated beneath him, groaning faintly as if struggling to contain the sheer pressure of his existence. His aura didn’t flare — it simply was, weighty and infinite.

Above him, Saareiya hovered effortlessly, suspended in the air by invisible threads of power. Her silvery-blue eyes shimmered with curiosity and awe, trying to understand what her master was preparing.

Around Ethan, five sigils spun slowly, glowing with steady rhythm — ancient symbols of his bonded Spirit Beasts:

A golden shell: the Divine Tortoise.

A deep blue winged glyph: the Alchemical Gargoyle.

A purple three-headed hound: the Cerberus of Necromancy.

A shadowed spiral: the Faceless Curse Spirit.

A gray-blue scaled fang: the Sonic Drake.

Each radiated its own distinct frequency, harmonizing with his aura until the air itself began to ripple.

The fabric of reality responded.

Waves of unseen force cascaded outward as the space around Ethan twisted, warped… then cracked. Like fragile glass under impossible strain, the realm fractured — once, twice, a thousand times — until it was surrounded entirely by gaping voids.

But he did not fall into them.

He was calling from them.

And the beings within answered.

From each shattered rift, a primal resonance echoed back — a return signal, pulsing and alive. The tether between Ethan and his Spirit Beasts deepened, the connection evolving, threads of destiny weaving tighter.

Saareiya watched in stunned silence, understanding that what she witnessed wasn’t just summoning.

It was communion.

Onyx came first.

Tendrils of dark energy slithered from the void, coiling and unraveling with eerie grace. They weaved through space like sentient shadows, and from them, a shape began to emerge — familiar to Ethan, but new to Saareiya.

Slowly, the full form of Onyx revealed itself.

Saareiya’s jaw dropped in stunned awe.

The creature that appeared was nothing short of majestic — a colossal, inky black presence that devoured light and seemed to stretch beyond the eye’s reach. It wasn’t just big; it was endless, as if a living sky had descended into this realm. If not for the ambient glow from the other sigils, Onyx would’ve been indistinguishable from the void itself.

“It’s like… I’m staring at the night sky,” Saareiya breathed.

“You shouldn’t stare too long, sister,” came a voice — soft, feminine, and echoing from every direction at once.

Saareiya flinched, spinning around to find no source.

Because Onyx was the source.

She was everywhere. Her vast body encased the space around them, the void itself replaced by a living, sentient mass of shimmering shadow. A shiver ran down Saareiya’s spine.

‘How strong is Master, really…?’

“You are welcome, Onyx,” Ethan’s deep voice finally broke the silence, calm and warm. “How have you been?”

“I missed you so much, Master!!!” Onyx cried out, her tone bursting with childlike joy. “And guess what? I have a surprise for you!”

Ethan chuckled. “Oh? And what kind of surprise would that be?”

“Close your eyes first!”

He raised an eyebrow, amused. “Alright.”

“You too, Sister,” Onyx added, referring to Saareiya.

“Oh—okay…” she said, hesitantly obeying.

As soon as Ethan’s eyes shut, his senses detected a subtle but sudden shift — the kind that couldn’t be seen or heard, only felt. The pressure in the air lightened, as if an invisible burden had been lifted, making space itself feel more roomy.

He tilted his head slightly. “What is she up to…?”

But he didn’t open his eyes.

Instead, he honed his senses directly onto Onyx’s presence — not to ruin the surprise, but to make it more entertaining.

And what he sensed…

Was something new.

Something approaching.

Something that felt like the beginning of a bond waiting to be born.