The pridormial beast of ash

Chapter 2

"Go ahead and pull the trigger, because if I survive this, I am tearing your world down block by block."

The dark, abyssal light exploded outward from the platform, hitting the approaching guards like a physical wall. The heavy iron boots of the soldiers skidded backward across the broken marble, sparks flying as they groaned from the impact. The sudden pressure wave sent a freezing wind howling through the entire Sky Reach Arena, extinguishing the decorative fire braziers in an instant.

"Get away from him!" High Elder Ronald screamed from the high balcony, his voice cracking with panic. "The fool is destabilizing the entire array! Guards, cut him down!"

Ethan collapsed entirely over the tiny creature, his vision flashing a blinding white as the dark energy sank through his skin. It felt like liquid ice pouring directly into his veins, freezing his lungs until he couldn't even draw a breath to scream. Beneath his palms, the little lizard let out a sharp, pathetic wheeze. Its tiny, translucent ribs expanded rapidly as the crimson blood on its forehead vanished into its skin.

"Is it over?" one of the guards coughed, pushing himself up from the ground while his blackened armor hissed with frost. "What did he just do?"

"The idiot actually did it," Asher Crest said, stepping to the very edge of the platform with his arms crossed. His eyes were wide with dark, twisted amusement. "Look at him. He is half dead already."

Ethan forced his elbows to lock, lifting his upper body by sheer force of will. He coughed violently, spitting a mouthful of dark, copper-tasting blood onto the shattered stone.

"He is mine," Ethan whispered, his voice raw but carrying a deadly weight that made the nearest guard pause. "By the ancient code of the founding tamers, the contract is locked. You touch him, you kill a citizen's bound companion."

"A citizen?" High Elder Ronald scoffed, his footsteps echoing like thunder as he descended the VIP stairs into the arena dirt. "You think you are still a citizen, boy?"

The elders quickly surrounded the platform, their powerful, high-tier auras pressing down on Ethan's shoulders like lead weights. The air became so thick it was hard to breathe.

"You have brought absolute shame to the Vance lineage," Ronald hissed, his face contorted in disgust. "Binding your soul to a biological error. You have condemned yourself to a gutter life, and for what? A hairless maggot?"

"I chose him," Ethan spat back, lifting his chin despite the immense pressure crushing his spine. "The law says I have the right to bind with my summon. You cannot override the founding code."

"The law protects actual tamers, not garbage," Asher interrupted, walking up to the platform with a slow, predatory stride. His Lightning Griffin crackled behind him, its violet eyes locked onto Ethan with predatory intent. "Elder, my family provides sixty percent of the academy's funding. We do not sit in the same classrooms as defective trash. It is bad for our morale."

Ronald nodded slowly, his expression softening as he looked at Asher. "Young master Asher is entirely correct. The academy has standards to maintain."

"You are going to expel me because the Crest family is throwing a tantrum?" Ethan demanded, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the edges of the cracked stone.

"Silence!" Ronald snapped, his voice booming through the amplification arrays. "Ethan Vance, for the crime of defiling the Awakening platform and binding yourself to an unregistered genetic failure, you are hereby expelled from the Sky Reach Academy. Effective immediately."

Ethan didn't blink. He had expected the expulsion the moment he bit his thumb. But Ronald wasn't finished.

"Furthermore," the elder continued, a cruel smile touching his lips, "your extended family has already contacted us. They saw everything. They have signed the disownment papers. You are stripped of the Vance name. You are an outcast."

The words hit Ethan harder than any physical blow. "My family signed it? My uncle?"

"He didn't even hesitate," Asher laughed, walking up and intentionally stepping on Ethan's torn sleeve, pinning him to the ground. "He sold your father's old workshop to my family for pennies just to wash his hands of your disgrace. You have nothing left, Ethan. No name. No school. No money. Just you and your little worm."

Ethan looked up at Asher, the sorrow in his chest suddenly burning away, replaced by a searing, white-hot rage. He didn't beg. He didn't cry. He carefully scooped the shivering lizard into his arms, holding it tightly against his chest.

"Keep the name," Ethan said, his voice dropping to a deadly, quiet calm that made Asher's smile falter for a microsecond. "Keep the workshop. I will remember every single face in this room when I come back to collect the interest."

"Listen to him bark!" Asher mocked, stepping back and waving his hand to the guards dismissively. "Throw this trash out of my sight. The rain outside is waiting for him."

The guards didn't hesitate this time. They grabbed Ethan by his collar and dragged him down the marble steps, his boots trailing in the dust while thirty thousand people cheered for his downfall.

The heavy iron gates of the Sky Reach Arena slammed shut with a deafening metallic clang, throwing Ethan face-first into the muddy, cobblestone street. The sky had turned completely black, and a relentless, freezing downpour soaked through his torn clothes in seconds.

"And don't come back!" a guard yelled from behind the iron bars, spitting into the puddle next to Ethan's head before walking back into the warmth of the arena.

Ethan lay in the mud for a long moment, the icy water washing the blood from his face. His muscles ached from the spiritual drain of the forbidden bond. He forced himself onto his knees, his teeth chattering violently as the cold set in. He wrapped his wet coat tighter around the tiny lizard, trying to shield it from the pelting rain. The creature was shivering so hard its translucent skin felt like ice against his skin.

"We are on our own now," Ethan whispered, his breath visible in the freezing air. "Just you and me, little guy. They think we are done. They think we are going to lay down and die in a corner."

The lizard slowly opened its large, cloudy grey eyes, looking up at him with a strange, solemn intelligence that didn't belong to a mindless defect. It let out a tiny, clicking sound, burying its wrinkled head deeper into his wet shirt for warmth.

"I am not going to let you die," Ethan muttered, his jaw clenched so hard it hurt. "I don't care if the whole city wants us gone. We are going to survive this, do you hear me?"

He pushed himself to his feet, his legs trembling under the weight of his own exhausted body. The outer slums were miles away, and he didn't have a single coin left for a carriage. Every step felt like walking through wet cement as the soul bond continued to drag his energy reserves down to absolute zero. It was a constant, parasitic pull on his consciousness, warning him that his soul was running on empty.

"Just a few more blocks," Ethan told himself, his voice slurring as his vision began to dance. "The old workshop. We just need to make it to the shelter."

Suddenly, a sharp, stabbing pain pierced his temples. It felt like two white-hot needles were being driven directly into his brain through his eyes. Ethan stumbled, his knees crashing hard against the muddy gravel of an empty alleyway. He gasped, dropping his head as the world around him began to spin violently.

"What is... what is this?" he choked out, clutching his skull with one hand while keeping his other arm wrapped securely around the beast.

The darkness of the alley didn't just blur; it began to bleed. Bright, burning crimson characters suddenly sparked across his field of vision, cutting through the heavy rain. They didn't appear on the walls or in the air. They were burning directly onto his retinas from the inside out, flashing with an unnatural, digital precision.

The lizard in his arms let out a low, pained whimper, its tiny body stiffening as if a high-voltage current were passing through its veins.

"Solis!" Ethan cried out, using his remaining strength to pull the beast closer to his chest. "Hold on! Don't you dare fade on me now! We just got out!"

The crimson characters stopped spinning. They locked into place, glowing with a terrifying, absolute clarity against the blackness of his failing vision.

Ethan's breath hitched as he read the words forcing their way into his consciousness.

"Warning," Ethan whispered into the empty, rain-swept alley, his heart freezing as the text solidified. "Forbidden Seal Detected."

The text shifted instantly, the crimson letters glowing brighter, hotter, until it felt like his skull was about to burst from the internal pressure.

"First Layer Ready to Break," Ethan read aloud, his voice trembling as the final line appeared in blood-red light. "Requirements unmet. Host Vitality Critical. Time Remaining: 6 Hours."