Reinhard froze completely before terror blood across his face. "What do you an!?" The words ca out with a shout mixed with horror. "He was already given the cure; shouldn't the ember have been destroyed or left his body?"
Odin nodded, the horned helt tilting slightly. "It did its job, which is sothing that surprises … That soone can create a dicine like that."
Reinhard's brows furrowed. "But?"
"The ember being in Klein isn't the issue since he got fully cured." Odin's voice remained maddeningly calm. "The issue is that Klein was never a normal host. I am sure you should already know."
Reinhard blinked, mind racing through his mories. "You an him rembering fragnts of his nightly tornt?"
Odin nodded again. "And why is it that he can recall?"
Reinhard's thoughts clicked into place with horrible clarity, and his voice ca out barely above a whisper. "It's because he has a very good spirit..." Then louder, with dawning horror: "Are you saying Klein's Beast Spirit caused a reaction with the Ember fragnt before it got removed?"
Odin tilted his head before saying calmly. "The truth is your brother's Beast Spirit is that Towering Black Being, Surtr."
Reinhard stared blankly at Odin.
The void around them seed to tremble with the weight of those words. Countless emotions flashed across his face in rapid succession, such as disbelief, shock, denial, horror, desperate hope it was a lie, crushing acceptance that it wasn't.
"What!? How is that... No... What the..." Reinhard couldn't form coherent sentences. Thoughts fragnted, scattered like broken glass at the absurdity that his brother's Beast Spirit was Surtr.
The sa being whose embers had tornted Klein for two years. The sa being that had signed a death warrant for him in eight years.
The irony was so cruel it felt like mockery.
"It's ironic, I know." Odin's voice carried sothing that might have been sympathy. "But it also makes sense... You can think of all those who recalled the fragnts as being sowhat related to Surtr's domains and powers or Surtr himself, not just because they have a good spirit."
Reinhard's furrowed brows deepened, but he forced his mind to work through the shock. "What does this an for Klein exactly?"
"Klein will be forcibly turned into a Beast Master, which isn't an issue on its own..." Odin paused, letting the implication hang. "But his body isn't strong enough to withstand bringing Surtr's pieces into reality."
Reinhard trembled. "Will Klein die?"
Odin looked upwards for a couple of seconds as if lost in thought before sighing. "His body will burst, and a great fire will spread out, consuming the entire continent."
Reinhard gritted his teeth as white-hot rage mixed with terror in his chest. "Did you know this since the first ti we t? At the academy ceremony?"
Odin nodded without hesitation. "I did. But you knowing wouldn't have mattered because you are too weak and would have made you far too reckless and suicidal in your actions."
Reinhard trembled more violently now. His lips pressed together so tightly they turned white, then he bit down on the lower one until he tasted copper even in a dream space.
"You need to beco a True Beast Master to gain one of my strongest Runes so you can use it to seal the flas inside your little brother."
The words made him tremble.
True Beast Master.
The pinnacle of the world that not a single S Class, SS Class, or SSS Class Beast Master in Paradise's entire history had ever reached. Klaus and Rosaria had pointed out that it was extrely difficult for even an A Class Beast Master to beco a True Beast Master.
And so far, only those with an E class up to A have ever achieved this.
Reinhard pushed away the disbelief and whispered. "How long do I have?"
Odin bluntly says. "When the boy reaches seventeen-"
Reinhard's eyes widened. "Wait, then shouldn't he be fine? That is close to the ceremony-"
Odin's interjection cut through like a blade. "The issue is your brother will be fusing with all of those embers beyond the world. And those embers will act as souls that a Beast Master devours-"
The color drained from Reinhard's face as he said. "aning Klein will be dealing with all of those embers at once..."
Odin nodded, the movent sohow carrying satisfaction at Reinhard's understanding. "Your brother won't even survive a second, as his mind will lt from that before anything can be done."
An absolute and crushing silence fell.
Reinhard couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't process the enormity of what he'd just learned. Klein had seven years before his mind would be obliterated by the accumulated suffering of every Dark Tide victim throughout history.
Once again, his little brother beca a victim of a curse and has a countdown clock.
How could soone be so unlucky? How could the world be so unfair?
And the worst part is, Reinhard couldn't tell Klein any of this because it would utterly crush him. Or worse, make Klein start to believe he was a mistake that shouldn't have existed, hence why these things are happening to him.
I will never allow such thoughts to form… Never.
Finally, Reinhard spoke again and asked, "And then the continent will be consud?"
"Indeed." Odin's confirmation was simple. "That's when his Beast Spirit can no longer wait and will forcibly form a connection to Klein, which will lead to the embers condensing into your brother because Surtr's spirit will draw them into him. So you have until then to reach True Beast Master."
Reinhard stared in disbelief and shock. His mind tried to reject the impossibility of it, even as he knew every word was true, and then the question escaped before he could stop it. "How can I even achieve such a thing? There has been no S Class or SS Class True Beast Master in the entire history of Paradise, let alone a damn SSS Class."
"Why should you allow the failures of others to affect you?" Odin's voice was challenging now. "Didn't I tell you before? As Odin, what others fail at doesn't an we will fail to."
Reinhard grit his teeth as frustration, terror, and desperate determination warred in his chest. "But you're telling to beco a True Beast Master in close to seven years! Right now, my Soul Count is around 1,066, and the required Soul Count for True Beast Master is 100,000! How the hell-"
"Then you need to work even harder and better." Odin's interjection brooked no argunt. "You need to continue doing those dangerous missions and expeditions. Just like how you went from a Third Class Beast Master with one soul to a Second Class Beast Master with 1,066 souls in almost a year through those expeditions. You will grow faster and better with those types of missions."
Reinhard sighed as his voice ca out bitter. "Both of those, I was constantly close to death, with the ending having rely on external help to survive."
Odin nodded without sha or apology. "And you will continue doing it until you're strong enough. But do not be ashad or look down on yourself." The massive spear shifted slightly in his grip, blue engravings pulsing with emphasis. "Only a fool would not rely on using everything around them to survive and continue forward to achieve their goal."
The words settled over Reinhard, making him look down, and he could see the absolute truth in them.
But it was still ridiculous.
The math alone was staggering. He needed to increase his soul count by over 98,000 in seven years, which ant roughly 14,000 souls per year. He'd gathered 1,066 in almost a year and nearly died multiple tis doing it.
Reinhard needs to work vastly harder and go on more Phantasm Beast hunting to really begin to achieve this. He would have to mix the Expeditions with constant visits to the Monster Zone, like Colin Forest.
All with little rest and continuous devouring of souls that will cause him an extre amount of pain and stress as he closes in on True Beast Master rank.
And yet, did he even have a choice?
The image of Klein rose in his mind. Not the boy tortured by the embers, but the one he'd seen just hours ago on the beach.
Running through waves with pure joy on his face, laughing with Anna and Anasha. Sleeping peacefully without nightmares for the first ti in years and being able to stay up in the night like other kids his age and have fun.
That sa boy who'd looked at Reinhard and said with complete faith. "I always knew you'd save ."
That boy had seven years before his mind would be destroyed and his body would beco a continental funeral pyre.
Reinhard's trembling stopped before his light blue eyes hardened.
"Fine." The word ca out steady despite everything. "I'll do it. Whatever it takes."
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