Re:Ant Lord-Chapter 137: Strong Breath

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"We’ll discuss at council," he said. "First I must see to the hatchling."

Miryam struggled to climb out of her cradle again when Kai returned, determination blazing in her tiny eyes. He placed a smooth ramp of slate so she could descend without falling. She sniffed it suspiciously, then trotted down, claws clicking.

Luna watched from a short distance. She was holding the star milk bowl in her hand. Miryam tottered toward her. Luna knelt with a big smile. But when Miryam reached the last pace she halted, indecision flickering. Subtle fear tremors rippled through Kai’s link.

He extended a psychic reassurance. Warm images of Luna feeding her, singing quiet moon-songs.

Miryam’s scales faintly brightened. She inched closer. Luna held her breath, she was hopeful. Miryam bypassed her elbow and instead crawled onto Kai’s boot, curling around his ankle.

Luna’s smile tightened, pain masked as amusement. She set the bowl down and rose. "She will come around. I must try harder."

Kai caught her hand, then squeezed gently. Moonbound vines pulsing in unison. "She will," he said.

Miryam’s tail flicked. She peered at Kai’s belt, curious. The pouch of two-star beast cores clinked. Hunger again but this time not for milk but for raw aura.

"We’ll pace that diet," he muttered. Still, he knelt and offered a single low-grade core. Miryam sniffed, nipped, swallowed it whole like a grape. Instantly her runes flared, lines of tiny sigils illuminating across her back. Steam coiled from her mouth.

Kai was about to warn her when the iron-Tusk brothers ambled nearer, arguing over seam quality of the latest ore.

A boar’s thunderous grunt startled the hatchling. Everything happened in a single heartbeat.

Miryam screeched high crystalline. Her body convulsed. A whirl of shimmering sand aura erupted from her throat in a conical blast. The wave slammed into the western wall of the chamber, eroding stone as though it were sugar. Dust exploded outward, chunks of shattered rock flying.

Luna cried out and dove aside. Shadeclaw flashed in, knocking Kai flat while shielding him with chitin plated wings. Miryam’s scream cut off. Then she tumbled backward, smoke curling from her nostrils.

Silence fell except for the rattle of crumbling debris.

When the dust cleared, a three-meter crater yawned where the wall had been. Beyond it stretched an unlit storeroom now half-collapsed.

Miryam whimpered, confused and frightened by her own power. Instinctively she scrambled toward Kai, claws slipping on shattered stone. He scooped her gently, stroked her trembling head crest, projecting calm.

System text scrolled behind his eyelids.

[Ding! System notifications: Companion basic Ability Unlocked.

Hatchling Breath. (An embryonic sand aura discharge.)

Range: 3-meter cone, concussive erosion. Cool-down: 3 days.]

And beneath was another notification.

[New Companion Milestone Achieved.

Hatchling Woken a new power.

Reward for Guardian:

Title Gained: First Flame Father

Effect: Bonded offspring growth +10% while within lair.

Aura Insight: Can perceive the inner aura flow of bonded beasts and kin.]

His eyes widened at the second boon. Instantly, translucent lines overlay his vision. He saw threads of amber swirling through Miryam’s tiny form, pulsing through every vein, every nascent rune. He gasped softly at its beauty. He glanced at Luna. Her silver aura spirals wove through her heart-center and down her arms in gentle lunar arcs. Even the boars shimmered with earthy currents. Insight indeed.

Luna dusted herself, then hurried over. "Is she hurt?"

"Only startled," Kai answered. Miryam huddled under his chin, chirping apologetically.

Luna stroked the wyrmling’s tail. Miryam flinched but didn’t pull away. Small bonding Progress.

Shadeclaw surveyed the crater with approval. "Small queen has bite."

"Bigger than mine at that age," Gore grunted, eyes wide.

Kai released a wry laugh. "And she will only grow."

Later that morning Kai gathered all seven of his subordinates before the central starlight pillar. Luna stood to one side, Miryam nestled in a sling of star silk across Kai’s torso. Fresh torches lit the hall; dust from the earlier blast had been cleared.

Kai raised the Monarch Brand in his palm. Threads of crimson light tethered to each subordinate as he spoke. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

"Since the siege I have called you comrade and friend. Today I name you the Royal Guard of the Monarch of Mountain. You are the claws that shield this realm and flames that extend its reach. Everyone’s main priority should be to protect Miryam at any cost."

"Yes, we will do our best to protect the little queen." all seven beasts bow their heads and promise to protect the little Miryam.

Next came the wolf spy, still hidden among Roddick’s ranks but represented by a phantom tether in Kai’s brand. "You are Crescent Whisper, my ear within the enemy camp. Inform if find any information about when that bastard Roddick plans to attack." The tether pulsed faintly, far away.

With each naming, the Monarch Brand flared, imprinting new sigils upon their chitin or hide. Their backs straightened, pride shimmered in the air like incense. Miryam chirped, impressed.

Luna clapped softly, her smile bright though tinged with wistful longing, she too had once commanded troops of her lunar rabbit clan.

Afternoon light poured through the skylight as Kai convened a council in the strategy alcove. Crystal projection stones mapped the region on a shimmering table. Blueloom demonstrated the phenomena she’d witnessed, thin silver fissures forming over distant eastern hills, rippling like torn silk before closing.

Kai studied the illusions. "This looks like some kind of aura phenomenon. Could be an ancient vault or ruin. Could be death."

Luna crossed her arms. "And opportunity. This type of aura phenomenon is known to contain relics. Many rare beasts will go there to claim the relic. There are also rumours of an essence pool. This happens every hundred years."

Shadeclaw clicked talons against stone. "These predators are strong enough to make wolves look like kittens."

Kai weighed the risks. Miryam, perched on his shoulder, peered at the map with wide eyes. The Aura Insight revealed faint threads drifting east. A whisper of power even from this distance.

"We’re not ready to march," he decided. "First we must reinforce the lair. Skyweaver’s star-forge, Stone Ram’s wall rings, Heart Mason’s lower cistern then send scouts. Luna when I am free you must tell me everything about the essence pool."

Silvershadow tumbled assent. "Three days. I can complete the outer bulwark."

"Good." Kai looked at Luna. "You and I will shape Miryam’s nursery with sand-proof shielding, growth channels, and a safe exercise yard."

Luna brightened. "I’ll weave a moon-vine lattice for climbing. My clan kids love that. I hope she will also enjoy it."

Miryam chirped approvingly.

The plan set, Kai allocated tasks. The Royal Guard dispersed with renewed purpose.