Takeru blinked at Kain slowly, as if the words had taken a few seconds to process through the haze of alcohol and exhaustion.
Then he gave a dry laugh. "A part to play? If you followed ho, then you saw trip over my own feet earlier, right? What could a powerless man like possibly do?"
Kain didn’t answer imdiately. His gaze was steady, almost unsettling in its calm. "You could start by not calling yourself powerless."
Takeru raised an eyebrow, unsure if he’d heard correctly. "You’re serious?"
"Dead serious," Kain said. "You’re not beyond saving. I can help you awaken."
The prince’s smirk froze, then faltered. "Awaken?" he repeated flatly. "As in—beco a beast tar?"
Kain inclined his head slightly.
For a long mont, Takeru just stared. Then he rubbed his temples and muttered, "Wow. I must be drunker than I thought. I could’ve sworn you just said you could awaken ." He glanced at his cup with suspicion, as if the drink itself had betrayed him, and set it down with exaggerated care. "What kind of alcohol is this?"
Serena rolled her eyes but didn’t interrupt.
"I’m not joking," Kain said evenly. "You can form a contract—one that doesn’t rely on the usual awakening or affinity tests."
Takeru laughed again, but it was weak, forced. "You an the kind of thing people dream about? Do you know how many healers, scholars, and so-called miracle workers my family brought to before they finally gave up? The only things said to guarantee an affinity are mythical plants that no one’s actually seen for a thousand years. And they usually just give you weak plant-based affinities even when they do exist. So unless you’ve got one of those lying around—"
"I don’t," Kain cut in. "And even if I did, we’re not close enough for to waste sothing so expensive on you."
If Kain got his hands on such a plant, even if he had a way to awaken people, nobody except those closest to him knew that. Such a plant could probably be sold for millions, if not billions, of Celestial Dollars. Rather, for those unawakened in powerful families that will be the most desperate, he could trade it for even more precious things.
That made Takeru pause. He blinked at Kain again, trying to decide if that was a joke. It wasn’t.
Kain continued, "What I’m offering isn’t from a plant. It’s sothing else. A different kind of connection."
Takeru leaned back slowly, wary curiosity flickering across his face. "You’re not making a lot of sense."
Kain didn’t seem offended, and began to explain the fictional story he’d set up to explain Pangea’s existence. "You’ve heard of the smaller realms attached to this world, haven’t you?"
Such realms are relatively common knowledge. Although now sealed, the Blackheart family relied on one of those realms, called the Underworld, to obtain contracts for their affinity to infernal creatures. Now it appears that they use a relic created by their ancestor that has infernal creatures within it, so that the underworld entrance could remain sealed.
Takeru frowned. "Of course. There’s also supposed to be an elental realm sowhere in the center of our continent—still open, supposedly—but it’s just a legend."
Kain took a step closer, lowering his voice as if telling a secret. "Well, I can create a spiritual link between your soul and another realm. A place most can’t reach. The connection forms a bridge that allows sothing from that realm to respond to you. If it accepts, you’ll have a single contract and beco a beast tar."
Takeru stared at him, eyes wide. "You expect to believe that?"
"I don’t expect anything," Kain said. "I’m just telling you the truth. I’ve done it before."
Takeru shook his head in disbelief. "And why would you even want to do that for ?"
Kain’s tone didn’t change. "Because you’re not just so drunk hiding from the world. You’re the last prince of the Rising Sun Kingdom. Whether the people know it or not, your bloodline still carries weight. And when the Abyss pushes south, soone will need to gather what’s left of your people."
The words hung in the air.
Takeru looked away, jaw tightening. "You think I can lead survivors? I can’t even lead myself to the door without tripping."
Serena spoke gently, but there was no pity in her voice. "You’re still alive when everyone else from your line isn’t. That ans sothing."
Takeru laughed bitterly. "It ans I ran faster."
"Maybe," Kain said. "But running’s not the worst thing you could’ve done. You survived. Now do sothing with that."
The prince stared into the empty glass on the table, watching the faint shimr of light reflected from the lanterns outside. His voice was low when he spoke again. "Even if you could sohow awaken , I wouldn’t be like the others, would I? You said only one contract."
Kain nodded. "One. But if it’s strong enough, one is all you’ll ever need."
After all, even most 9-star beast tars only had one demigod level contract. As their strength increases, the cost of raising each contract also increases exponentially, while not every contract is equally talented. Therefore, it is more common and cost-effective for beast tars to invest the majority of their resources into 1 or 2 of their most gifted contracts. After all, one demi-god level contract is more useful than a bunch of violet and indigo grade contracts.
Takeru’s brow furrowed. "Are there any risks or a chance to it going wrong?"
Kain t his gaze evenly. "Well it is a little... well extrely...painful. I’ve heard it described as your soul being repeatedly slashed and burned. But if you can’t withstand even that degree of pain...then perhaps I evaluated you too highly."
Silence.
Serena shot Kain an incredulous look, but he didn’t back down. He wasn’t one for sugarcoating.
Takeru exhaled slowly. "You really don’t bother hiding anything, do you?"
"No point," Kain replied. "If you’re going to accept, it should be because you understand what you’re getting into. This isn’t so temporary recruitnt of a partner form another realm. It’s a bond that links two souls. Once it’s ford, it can’t be undone."
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