Theron sat in a quiet silence, his legs crossed and his heart at an odd peace. The Alpha’s large head was on his lap, its dense fur—usually so abrasive and sharp—feeling soft and pliable in his hands.
He stared absently into space, scratching the back of the Alpha’s ears as it slept.
Peace.
What an odd feeling. He couldn’t rember the last ti he experienced such a thing, and he honestly... didn’t know if he liked the feeling.
It almost felt artificial.
How could he feel peace? His family was still dead, his revenge hadn’t been had—was his Will really so weak?
No... that rage was still there, but it wasn’t consuming him like it should have been.
But that made even less sense. He was soone who had failed a Heart Demon Tribulation. He should have been destined for hardship and pain all his life.
So little about his existence made sense.
The Alpha moved a small bit, its eyes opening. It yawned, and for a creature that was so large and dangerous, Theron couldn’t help but feel that it looked quite adorable right now.
Of course, the Alpha had recovered extrely quickly. It was a Blood Mancer—its control over bringing its body to the brink and pulling back to recover was on another level, even compared to Flux Mancers and healing specialists.
It looked up and blinked at Theron, licking at his face and then plopping back down.
"Do you want a na?" Theron asked.
The Alpha blinked, then its nose wrinkled as though it had slled sothing funky. Theron almost chuckled, shaking his head. He wondered if the Alpha thought he was crazy.
"In that case, from now on your na is Alpha."
A low rumble ca from Alpha’s chest. It almost felt like a small earthquake, but he seed pleased enough about the change.
This experience taught Theron a few things.
For one, he still had at least one person by his side—beast or not.
And second... maybe he had been too cautious with the Alpha. Even the Umbra Clan didn’t recognize Alpha’s abilities, and that was despite having had all the ti in the world to study it.
Back then, Alpha had even been actively trying to heal himself, but it still didn’t click to them that they were facing a Blood Mancer.
Maybe there were people who could see through it, but at least in this portion of the world, the Alpha was more likely to be seen as the odd mutation of a Flux Mancer than anything else.
In that case, Theron should use Alpha more freely even if it ca with risks. Alpha needed to train just as much as he did. In fact, maybe the reason they hadn’t found a thod to progress his Resonance just yet was because Theron left him trapped in the beast holding bracelet so often.
This bracelet wasn’t a particularly high-rated item. It could be said that Alpha was in a state of hibernation every ti he entered. That was to say that it was a miracle that Alpha had managed to co up with new thods of using his legacy in the first place, considering his consciousness was, well, unconscious 95% of the ti.
Theron was holding Alpha back.
Plus, it seed that whether Theron was cautious or not, it always ca with problems no matter what. If he was going to be on the run or offending impossibly powerful characters left and right anyway, he might as well do it in a way that maximized his chances of survival.
And right now, Theron’s strongest state was actually when he fought alongside Alpha, precisely due to [Entangling Blood Vein Pupils]. Their connection, thanks to the inheritance, was invaluable.
As though all of that wasn’t enough to convince Theron...
Would he have this state of calm now if not for Alpha?
He still didn’t understand it, but what he did know was that his heart was at ease and his body was soothed.
Maybe it was because he had finally managed to protect sothing he wanted to protect.
He had lost his family, lost his wife, lost even his ho world. What victories he had gained felt so vacant and hollow when the greatest enemy of his life looked him in the eye and inford him that everything he had ever known was just a small part of her dantian.
But today he had managed to save Alpha. He had fought against a family just months ago he would have been helpless against. He had improved, and it cald a part of himself that made him feel like he had actually accomplished sothing.
He had killed many powerful enemies before, faced impossible odds only to co out the other end. He had even killed a Quasi King not long before all of this, an expert who was far beyond Analisc. Sure, it took trickery, but it was the truth nonetheless.
And yet, none of that had felt anywhere near as good as saving soone he cared about.
He was well aware of the state of his inner thoughts. Just that small change made his introspection feel as though it was opening up into a new world.
There were two roads laid out before him.
He could continue to feel enraged, to feel angry, to allow it to consu him.
Or... he could take another path.
And honestly...
He still wasn’t sure which one he wanted.
It sounded so easy to just let it go... but why should he? His parents, his little sister, Malaya... none of them deserved what happened to them. As the only one left alive, how could he leave them without their revenge?
But maybe there was a compromise, a road down the middle sowhere... maybe instead of wanting the whole world to suffer, he could just make sure that she did.
Goddess Sacharro.
Theron’s head suddenly turned to the window, a shadowy figure appearing from nowhere. It seed that the female assassin had finally finished her assignnt.
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