Chapter 54

Almost another week passed, when not just Rin and Lassie appeared in front of my desk, but what looked like twenty other Bound as well.

“What's this? Did you bring all your offspring?" I asked jokingly.

'No, Master—or, well, yes, some of them are our offspring. These are the ones with memories of creatures like the one you and the being still in its shell encountered. Some of the Unbound spirits here are the oldest of their kind. One of them has firsthand knowledge of this creature. I will let him tell his story,' Rin explained.

“First, tell me how the one in the orb is doing. Is it all right?" I asked.

_'It still needs much more energy to grow strong enough to become Bound. It cannot yet communicate with us. If you wish it to speak about how it got here and what hunts it, you must give it a body. We are certain it is one of us, though it is different. Our youngest offspring are providing it with energy, as they have the reserves to help it the most. Give it another week, and it will be ready, Master,' _Lassie answered.

A panther stepped forward and sat on its haunches.

“If I remember correctly, you're Blacky," I said.

'Yes, Master. I am called Blacky. I was the first Unbound to become a warrior for a being. This world was likely still forming then. The spirits may not remember this, but there are other worlds with non-corporeal beings—at least one other.'

'The being who placed me in an animal was the ruler of his world. He sought to destroy this other spirit world to claim it as his own. I was bonded in a monstrous animal and trained to fight. Once I was ready, my master ordered me to mate with other animals. My offspring became plentiful, but none carried an Unbound.'

'My master ripped me out of the animal and cast me to roam as a spirit forever. The planet my master sought to conquer discovered the offspring and entered them to destroy him. However, while they could possess the bodies, they could not control them. A part of me remained within them, preventing complete domination.'

'Mad from being unable to take over the bodies—or escape them—the invaders killed every living thing on my master's world. I am certain the creature you encountered is one of those beings. How it came to this world, I do not know.'

“Do any of the others here know how to fight this creature?" I asked.

_'One among us believes you should reason with it.' _Rin told me.

“Let the one who thinks this step forward and explain their reasoning," I said.

A massive kangaroo hopped forward.

“Wow, you're even bigger than the last time I saw you. Kal, right?" I asked.

'Yes, Master. The one you gave me to has me fighting other men for sport. We train daily. I've grown stronger from all the training.' He flexed, his pecs and biceps bulging, veins clearly visible. 'I hear you like men with muscles. I hope you like mine too,' Kal said, as he displayed his body.

“Yes, you're impressive, but we're here for more important matters. Tell me why you think I should reason with this creature."

'I believe it is after the orb because its memory of the past is corrupted. It likely thinks you are the Master who created the first Bound animal and caused it to become trapped in its current form. The shell with the Unbound must be from Blacky's era. If you can speak with the Unbound, you may confirm this. The creature believes the battle from long ago is not yet over.'

“We'll wait until I can speak to the one in the orb. If necessary, I will find a host for it. I would prefer a peaceful resolution to this dilemma, but if we must fight, I'll call you all back for more information. Bring the orb to me as soon as it is ready," I instructed.

All but Rin and Lassie vanished. I called the spirits, and Ursus and Stone appeared first in their spirit forms before shifting into corporeal forms. Both knelt on one knee.

“Why do you two keep doing that? Stand up; we need to talk," I said.

“You've been watching this creature's movements. Is it still searching for the orb and me?"

“It has searched a large area but has slowed. We believe it follows a scent. Since you and the orb arrived here, it struggles to find one. It is waiting," Ursus said.

“Have you gotten a better look at it?" I asked.

“It seems to be either not fully corporeal, or it can hide itself in a dense cloud of matter. We can only see its eyes clearly. When we fought it, our blows only kept it from attacking but did not seem to harm it," Stone said.

“Yes, there were moments when my claws seemed to pass right through it, as if it were merely an image or a spirit like us. At other times, my strikes connected, but as Stone mentioned, they only served to hold it at bay," Ursus added.

“Tell me, do you think it might be one of your kind, but somehow changed?"

“I don't know. Our kind would never attack another being without reason. To become such a monstrosity is unheard of in our world. What could drive one of us to become something like that? No, Master, I do not believe it is one of our kind," Stone said vehemently.

“While it did share some aspects of our nature, I agree with Stone. It could be another race of spirits, but it is not ours," Ursus added.

“Are you saying that there are other worlds with your kind?" I asked.

“No, Master, like us, bonding with you, we changed and evolved. Others of our kind could have done the same in other worlds. That is who We speak of. They could have changed_—_evolved differently than ," Stone answered.

Until I learned more, I dismissed them and called for an inner circle meeting. To ensure all members could attend, I scheduled it for two days later. The members already shouldered the burden of managing our growing numbers, and recent events pushed them to prepare their teams for anything.

*****

On the day of the meeting, Rin, and Lassie appeared at my desk again, accompanied by nearly the same number of bound as before.

“I have a meeting in an hour. Is this about the one in the orb?" I asked.

_'Yes, Master, it is,' _Rin replied.

Kal stepped forward, placing the orb on my desk, followed by a rooster.

“What's the rooster for?" I asked.

'It was the only animal willing to accept our offer. It will allow the Unbound to merge with it. This is the only way the being can communicate with you, Master,' Rin explained.

“To do the bonding, I'll need to call the spirits to form the circle. If I do that, they'll become aware of this one," I cautioned.

'Master, we've told you before—bound can do almost everything the spirits can,' Lassie reminded me.

Kal, Rin, Lassie, and a large dog—who I recognized but couldn't recall his name—took positions at each corner of my desk, forming the circle. I knew what to do.

“I order you to enter this rooster," I commanded, focusing my will to bind the being to its new host.

The entity floated from the orb toward the rooster. As it did, all the Bound left their animals. Time seemed to freeze. The lights in the study dimmed, as though we were losing power, though they didn't go out completely. Rays of light shot from each Bound into the rooster, and then a larger beam erupted from the rooster, pulling the floating being inside.

The next thing I heard was_, 'Thank you, Master. Once more, I am free. I have much to tell you...'_

*****

I entered the inner circle meeting area and took my seat. Most members were already there, with the last few rushing to settle in.

“You all know the purpose of this meeting, but there has been a change of plans." My words surprised many; if I hadn't already had their attention, I did now.

“There is something I didn't tell you before, but I will now. While we were underwater, just before the attack, I found something." I held up the orb.

“This orb contained a being. It called to me. At first, I thought I was imagining it—its voice seemed to come from Cobra. But when the orb floated to me and its voice grew clearer, I knew it was real. I kept its existence hidden from the spirits. It felt like one of the Unbound, but how could an Unbound be on Earth? The spirits claim they are inert, floating forms that almost never awaken.

“I conferred with my bound, and they said it was similar to them but not the same. When I asked if they could revive it, they agreed to try."

“But why?" Grey interrupted. “You might have made things worse! What if this being is connected to the one that attacked you?"

“It told me that both of us were in danger, even before the attack. It claimed to have been hiding from that creature for thousands of years. Its voice was faint, like it was clinging to life. I believed it—I can't explain why, but I felt it was telling the truth."

More questions erupted, but I waved them off.

“Listen. By now, the bound have sealed this chamber from the spirits. I feel the spirits haven't told us everything. Whether it's because they lack written records, have forgotten their history, or are intentionally keeping secrets, I don't know. For our safety, we need to keep them in the dark about this being. I gave it to the Bound to help it revive."

“This morning, they approached me, and I bound the being to a rooster. There are other worlds out there, such as the spirit world. We do not know how many exist or if they are interconnected. This being predates our Unbound. The spirits themselves say that every few thousand years, an Unbound awakens and becomes a spirit."

The murmuring grew louder.

“You are aware of the history of the Unbound: some were placed into animals. When they failed to satisfy their creators, they were removed and left as spirits, condemned to see and hear but never to touch or live again. What you may not know is that, according to my bound, some of their offspring became these spirits."

“One of them, the one from this orb, was present in the world where the creature that attacked us was created. It was bound to a monstrous being by a master who intended to breed it with others to form an army to destroy a neighboring world inhabited by spirits. When its offspring turned out to be unbonded animals, it was wrenched from its body. The Spirit World sought to use these creatures to attack this ruler, but soon discovered they could not control them, as a fragment of the being from the orb resides in each offspring. Attempts to separate themselves also failed, driving them mad and resulting in the destruction of both worlds. The creature we fought is the last remaining spirit creature from that time."

“The creature seeks to kill the bound from the orb and me because it believes the bound is its ancient enemy and that I am the ruler who destroyed its world. Both spirits and the Unbound detect a scent from me. Although I do not have the same mind as that ruler, I share the same physical form. I am connected to both the bound and the spirits."

“The one from the orb told me there's a way to stop the creature. I plan to follow its advice."

All hell broke loose. Everyone started shouting things like, “You'll get killed!" or “It's a trap!" My hounds arrived and took me away to our cave. Once there, I told them to bring me Jesse and Karl. After Karl and Jesse arrived, accompanied by the hounds, I apologized and asked them to fetch Grey and James as well. They simply nodded and disappeared.

“Okay, now that we have people with some sense here, listen to my plan. After I finish, if you can come up with a better one, I'll listen.

The latest unbound, I discovered, differs from our spirits and unbound, though they are all linked by ancestry. You can think of it as their great-grandfather relocating to another realm. This unbound is the bound of the ruler of that realm, who sought to incorporate the spirit world into his domain. However, he had no interest in the spirits themselves. Instead, he used the bound animal to breed with the most powerful creatures in his world, creating others like it.

“He thought each offspring would have an Unbound within it, but that wasn't the case. It requires a female to create one of their kind. Males can mate and produce hybrids, but the offspring only carry part of the male's essence. Essentially, he created an army of massive creatures with half-developed minds. Somehow, this ruler planned to send that army to the spirit realm to destroy the spirits.

“The spirits found out and entered these creatures while they were still on his world. Using the creatures, they destroyed his realm, but not before he expelled the Unbound from its host animal. It's unclear how the Unbound ended up on Earth or inside the orb, it has no memory of its arrival. It only knows it's been here for thousands of years, waiting in the ocean for someone who could hear and help it. Until the attack, it didn't even realize one creature had followed it here.

“That brings you up to speed. Now, here's my plan:

“This creature is essentially insane. When the spirit entered its host, it fused with the creature's half-formed mind. The two couldn't separate, and the spirit couldn't return to its original state. During the battle, the hybrids only thought about destroying the invading world, which they succeeded in doing. Most of them died.

“The survivors, stuck on the ruined planet, couldn't revert to spirits. Most likely, they either gave up and died or went insane, fighting each other to the death.

“I plan to pull the spirit out of the creature. The spirits have told me they can hold it at bay. While they do that, the Unbound from the orb will take its place. He's confident the body won't reject him and that he can remain separate from it.

“Once this is done, the creature should become docile, at least temporarily. The spirits will then have to either rehabilitate the mad spirit or destroy it. The creature's half-mind will be extracted and stored in the orb until the two Bound procreate again, producing a single offspring. That should make the creature's mind whole once more."

When I finished, no one spoke. They all seemed lost in thought—except Jesse, who was waiting for someone to suggest a better solution based on the information I had shared.

After a long silence, Grey spoke. “I think we all need more time to consider this before deciding whether to proceed with your plan or propose an alternative."

“The creature is just swimming aimlessly down there for now. Let's reconvene in three days to finalize our decision. Does that sound reasonable to everyone?" I asked.

*****

I called the spirits to a meeting the next day. I needed to find out something that might help us deal with the creature. In my study, all ten spirits stood waiting as I took my seat.

“Your here because I have a plan to deal with this creature. It may not be the ultimate plan, as I have others searching for better options," I began.

Ursus spoke first. “Master, do you believe we can kill it?"

“I'm not sure we need to. How many duplicates of each of you exist now?"

“We number over two hundred each, Master," Stone replied.

“Can all of you form an omega, or is that limited to the originals?" I asked.

“There are too many of us now to do so. Why do you ask, Master?" Stone queried.

“You told me that when you fought the creature in omega form, you could hold it back. What if there were more than two omegas?"

“Holding it back and killing it is far from the same thing," Cetus interjected.

“I don't want to kill it—just bind it temporarily," I clarified. “And by 'too many of you,' what exactly are you implying?"

“The energy required to take our omega forms is demanding to produce. You have two different groups of spirits; each can form one omega without issue," Ursus stated.

“How many could you form before it becomes a concern?" I asked.

“We can manage three omega forms. Stone's group is not as ascended as ours, but I believe they may form two," Ursus answered. Stone did not disagree.

“Five omegas plus the Bound—will that be enough to contain this creature for, say, five to ten minutes? I'll need that time to touch it and place another Unbound within it," I asked the spirits.

“We will summon over half of our spirits to aid us. Together we will create the time you need to perform the binding safely, Master," Stone said, kneeling to express his commitment.

“We will do the same, Master. You will have a shield of our kind around you," Ursus added, kneeling to affirm his resolve.