Beast Hack: Customizing Beasts and Capturing Beauties - Chapter 412

Chapter 412: The Offer
Fiona sat stiffly in the wide, cold-lit chamber, her eyes scanning the occupants with growing unease.

She hadn’t even remembered how she got here.

One moment she was packing up her drone gear, and the next, she was being escorted here.

Now she sat alone on a cushioned seat, staring at Luna Luxoria.

She was leaning against a pillar with arms crossed, eyes narrowed in amusement.

Liora was nearby and her expression was unreadable as always.

Across from her stood two masked figures.

One wore white and silver, with jagged engravings like runes etched into the mask’s surface.

Fiona recognized him in an instant.

Lord L.

The other figure stood slightly behind him.

Slightly taller, cloaked in white with a mask that gave off no aura, no signal, no identifier at all.

Fiona had no clue who she was, but every instinct in her screamed not to ask.

Her streaming beast, Fionyx, was silent.

Offline. Disconnected.

She swallowed.

“Fiona,” Lord L said. His voice was calm, almost kind.

“You understand what just happened, don’t you?”

Fiona gave a slow nod.

“Y… yeah. I stream the whole thing. Liora’s declaration. The Aurelius kill.”

“I know about the beast. I know you’re not hiding anymore.”

“Good,” he said, hands behind his back.

“Now you know something else.”

Fiona blinked. “What?”

“You were the one who made it visible.”

He took a step forward.

“Your stream. Your reactions. Your audience. You lit the fire for them.”

Fiona forced a laugh.

“Wait—me? I just… recorded it. I wasn’t even fighting.”

Lord L smirked beneath the mask.

“That’s exactly why it worked. Because you didn’t fight.”

“You told the world what to watch. And they watched.”

Fiona’s throat tightened. “So what, this was all planned?”

“It was necessary,” Luna said coolly.

“And successful. You pushed our visibility past the point of denial.”

“Now the world knows Luxoria Castle. Not a rumor. Not a backwater name.”

Liora stood and walked forward. “And they know who we’re targeting.”

Fiona looked between them. “So why am I here?”

Lucius tilted his head.

He slowly took off his mask, revealing his face to Fiona.

A half-smile played on his lips, not cruel, but too controlled to be warm.

“Because… you’re the reason they saw it happen.”

Fiona sat frozen.

“And now,” Lucius continued.

“I want to give you something no contract can offer.”

He raised his free hand slowly, palm open.

“I want you to join us. As real family.”

Fiona’s brows furrowed. “Family?”

Lucius’s voice didn’t waver.

“Not blood. Not fake words on paper. I mean the kind of bond that doesn’t break under threat, war, or fear.”

“What I have with Liora. With Luna. What we forged when the world left us to rot.”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a bare whisper.

“You’ve already seen it. Liora would kill an army on command.”

“Luna will destroy the battlefield itself just to protect us.”

“And you, Fiona, already proved your loyalty by streaming a war into the eyes of the world.”

Fiona’s mouth felt dry. “I… I didn’t plan that. I just…”

“You believed,” Lucius said.

“Even for a moment. That’s enough.”

Then his tone shifted.

“But we are at war now. And war doesn’t allow passengers.”

He turned his hand, presenting two fingers.

“You have a choice.”

Fiona blinked.

Lucius raised one finger.

“One. You break the contract. Walk away.”

“You’ll be free, untouched… but Fionyx stays here.”

Fiona’s throat tightened.

Lucius smirked. “You’ve felt it, right?”

“He’s not like the other Vornises. He was built different.”

“Built to sync only with you, yes.”

“But not outside Luxoria. His core is bound to our system.”

Fiona looked down. “So if I leave…?”

“He’ll go dormant. Shut down. No more transformations. No more performances. No more heartbeat.”

She flinched.

Lucius raised a second finger.

“Two. You stay. Take my hand. Join us.”

“Not as an employee. Not even as a symbol. But as a real member of Luxoria.”

“Bound not by papers, but by purpose.”

Luna stepped forward then, her voice smooth like frost.

“I hated Master when we first met when I was a slave,” she said flatly.

“Thought he was another freak like others.”

“Then I saw what he built. What he protected. What he saved me from.”

She gestured toward Liora.

“She was also in the same situation as me before. As slaves.”

“But now, our life changes thanks to Master.”

Liora didn’t speak. She just looked at Fiona.

Unblinking. Unmoving.

Watching her like a blade held steady.

Lucius extended his hand once more.

“If you take it, Fiona… I’ll show you everything. Our origins. Our truth.”

“Why Luxoria exists. And why we’ll win.”

Fiona stared at his hand.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she remembered that first day.

She walked into Luxoria Castle with wide eyes and cautious hopes.

Fionyx had just been bonded to her, a beast beyond anything she had imagined.

The streams exploded. Her fame soared.

But more than that… the people here had welcomed her.

Luna had teased her with cool confidence.

Liora had protected her with silent precision.

And Lucius…

Had guided her with more patience and depth than any of her past partners.

She looked into his eyes.

“What kind of bond is it?” she asked softly.

“I need to know before I choose. Luna calls you ‘Master.'”

“What… does that mean?”

Lucius’s silver eyes narrowed slightly.

Then he gave a small, knowing smirk.

“It’s a bond like a beast and a tamer,” he said plainly.

“Where you’re the beast—and I am the tamer.”

Fiona’s breath hitched. “You mean… I’d be like your—”

“You’d still be you,” Lucius interrupted gently.

“Still Fiona. Still free to talk, live, stream, and laugh.”

“You’ll still be famous, still wear whatever style you want, still tease the camera and play with Fionyx.”

He took a step closer.

“But you’ll belong to Luxoria now. To me.”

“Like Luna. Like Liora. A sacred contract—not of paper or coin, but of command.”

Fiona hesitated, eyes wide.

Lucius didn’t stop.

“The bond doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t strip you of who you are.”

“It just means you’ll never betray us.”

“That you’ll never raise a hand against your family.”

“That you’ll always answer when I call.”

His hand remained steady.

“That’s all.”

Fiona looked down again. Her mind raced.

Could she do it?

Could she be bound like that?

But then again… Wasn’t she already?

She’d streamed Luxoria to the world. She’d cheered for them. Fought with them.

Risked her life next to Liora. She hadn’t run away then.

And when the world turned against them… something in her had stayed.

Lucius’s voice was firm now. “So choose, Fiona.”

“Do you want to walk away?”

“Or do you want to become more than just a guest?”

“A real part of us.”

Fiona looked back into his eyes.

Her fingers tightened.

Then she stepped forward.