Chapter 17 - The Spirit Beast Egg
Auntie Rook examined the Foundation Seed using a mirror that insulted everyone who looked into it.
"Heaven marked it," she said.
"Can we clean it?"
"Yes."
"Price?"
She pointed at Sable.
I immediately said no.
Rook smiled.
"Good. Correct answer. I wanted to know if you'd trade a bonded beast for power."
The system chimed.
[Hidden morality check passed.]
[Defiance Points +20]
I glared at the air.
"Stop testing me."
Rook heard only my half of the conversation.
"That applies to most gods."
She gave us a black egg the size of my fist.
"Spirit parasite. It eats foreign marks. Put it near the seed."
I did.
The egg cracked instantly.
A tiny featherless creature climbed out, looked at me, and bit my thumb.
[Companion candidate detected.]
[Species: Heaven-Eater]
[Rank: Unknown]
It swallowed the contamination in one gulp.
Then it tried to eat the system window.
The window flickered.
I screamed and pulled it away.
Mira stared.
"What happened?"
"It tried to eat something important."
The creature burped blue light.
[ERROR: Unauthorized consumption.]
[System integrity: 99.4%]
I named it Pebble.
Rook looked horrified.
"That creature may be an extinct celestial predator."
"Pebble."
"Your naming rights should be revoked."
The cleaned Foundation Seed began to glow.
Then it cracked open.
Inside was not qi.
It was a map.
May you like
A map of tunnels beneath Iron Lotus Sect.
