Waking up was more difficult than falling unconscious for Bahamut. He felt as if his body was being stretched to the limit. His sight had become blurry as he tried to sit up, but he couldn’t.

"What happened..." He muttered to himself, but the system responded immediately, showing his current status. He needn’t open his eyes to see them.

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name: Bahamut

Age: 17

Race: Chimera (Cub)

Class: Tier 2 (Elemental Core Formation)/ ???

Rank: Blessed

Titles: Psychopath (Titled), Ruthless Killer (Titled), Unknown, The BEAST (Titled)

Super Title: The First of His Kind

─

HP: 1000 / 1000

MP: 1500 / 1500

Level: 20

EXP: 200 / 1750

─

Attributes (Super-Ranked):

Strength: 11+5 = 16

Speed: 11+5 = 16

Agility: 11+5 = 16

Endurance: 11+5 = 16

Perception: 95

Willpower: 105

Luck: 3.5

Charm: 8

─

Element(s): New!

- Fire

- Water

- Wind

- Earth

- Light

- Darkness

─

Skills:

• Pain Immunity (Lv. 3)

• Super Reflexes (Lv. 11)

• Super Senses (Lv. 13)

• Self Healing (Lv. 7)

• Death Intent (Passive – Locked)

• Beast Trait Manifestation (MAX)

• Spear Mastery (Lv. 3)

• Sword Mastery (Lv. 1)

─

Special Traits:

• Fragmented Soul (Effect Unknown)

• Past Lives Memory (Partial Dormancy)

• Madness Bloom (Dormant)

─

Followers:

• Ren (Chaos Bunny)

• Alana Nyx (Cow Beast-kin)

PATH OF THE BEAST

B - Brutality of the BEAST (80% Complete!)

E - Elemental Beast (New Unlocked!)

.....

New Ability Identified!

Apex Shepherd’s Law

...

Bahamut could only stare slack-jawed at what was in front of him. He didn’t know how to react. This was so... insane! Most of his attributes had ranked up. Charm had moved from 5 to an 8! That was a plus four without doing basically nothing, not to mention Luck. It had moved from 2.5 to 3.5.

No matter how difficult it was to understand these two attributes, he was still happy for the increment. Now turning to the two new things on the screen, he couldn’t help but ask for clarification, and the system answered him.

[Elemental Beast:

- As part of your main concept, Path of the BEAST, you are awakening sub-concepts of it. You first awakened Brutality. Reaching Tier 2 and gaining elements awakened the second sub-concept, Elemental.

- The Elemental sub-concept is the only concept you can manifest naturally, unlike the other four, which were more conceptual. The Elemental concepts make the usage of your elements easier. The only downside is that, unlike its peers, it doesn’t have a set of requirements to become proficient in it. It is like a discovery.

You would have to figure everything out yourself.]

’I see. What of the Apex Shepherd’s Law?’

The screen flickered. The words appeared slowly, as if something far older than the system itself was deciding how much it should reveal.

[Apex Shepherd’s Law:

- You have been acknowledged as a Shepherd. This is a Law, not a skill or technique. The Apex Shepherd’s Law grants you authority over beasts and all that carry the essence of instinct. Beings under this Law will recognize you based on your dominance, will, and existence. Those weaker will submit, those equal will hesitate, those stronger will resist.

- Through conquest, recognition, or acceptance, you may form a Flock. Those within your Flock are bound to you through instinct, not chains. They are not slaves. They are not equals. They exist beneath your authority. The Flock shares a connection with the Shepherd. This connection allows awareness, influence, and synchronization of instinct.

- You may draw upon the nature of your Flock. You may imprint your will upon them. You may expand your dominion.

- Warning! The Law does not differentiate between control and consumption. Failure to maintain authority may result in loss of self. You are not the owner of the Flock. You are the Apex. ]

Bahamut lay there, unmoving.

"Heh..." A faint, dry laugh escaped his lips despite the weakness in his body. "Of course it’s something like that..."

His chest rose slowly as he exhaled. Somewhere deep inside him, that faint presence stirred again, watching and waiting. And for the first time since waking, Bahamut smiled, not because he understood it, but because he didn’t need to.

He would figure it out like everything else. The hard way.

...

Bahamut lay still for a while after the system screen disappeared, his chest rising and falling slowly as he tried to get used to... everything.

His body felt wrong; not injured, not weak. Just... different.

He flexed his fingers slightly, watching as they trembled before settling. Even that small motion sent a strange ripple through his arm, like something inside him hadn’t fully settled into place yet.

"So this is Tier 2..."

His voice came out rough, but steadier than before. The bed beneath him felt... soft. Too soft. Now that he paid attention to it, it was almost like he was sinking into it. The fabric was smooth against his skin, far more refined than anything he remembered using before. For a brief moment, he wondered if he had been moved somewhere else, but the thought didn’t stick. There were more important things to focus on.

His elements.

A slow breath left his lips as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Let’s see..."

He raised his right hand, though it only made it halfway before his muscles protested. He clicked his tongue softly and let it rest back down on the bed.

"Alright... no dramatic hand movements then..."

He closed his eyes. Inside, he could feel them. All of them. Six distinct presences.

Fire burned with a restless hunger, always shifting, always wanting to expand. Wind was lighter, almost playful, moving in constant motion. Earth was heavy, unmoving, like a mountain sitting quietly beneath everything. Water flowed endlessly, never still, never fixed. Light was warm, radiant, almost blinding even in its calm. Darkness lingered at the edges, silent, watching, deeper than all the rest.

They were there, all of them. They were his.

"Move."

Nothing happened. Bahamut frowned slightly. He focused again, this time trying to reach for fire. It was the easiest to identify, the most aggressive of the six.

He imagined it.

A spark.

A flame.

Something simple.

The fire inside him responded immediately. It surged upward, wild and uncontrolled, like it had been waiting for him to call it. His body tensed, his breathing hitching as heat flooded through his chest.

"Tch!"

The surge collapsed just as quickly.

Outside, nothing appeared. There was no flame or spark, just a faint warmth that lingered in his palm before fading.

"That’s annoying."

He exhaled slowly, calming himself down.

"Again." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

This time, he didn’t force it. He remembered what the system said. Discovery. Not control.

"Alright then..."

He relaxed his mind, letting his awareness drift instead of grabbing at the element. The fire responded again, but slower this time. Gentler. A faint heat gathered in his palm. Then a flicker. A tiny, unstable flame appeared just above his skin. It wavered weakly, barely the size of a candle’s flame, its light dim and inconsistent.

Bahamut’s eyes widened slightly.

"Heh."

The flame sputtered and went out.

"Okay, that’s something."

He shifted his focus.

Wind.

That one felt... easier and lighter. He reached for it, not with force, but with intent. A soft breeze stirred around his fingers. At first, it was barely noticeable, just a faint movement of air. Then it grew slightly stronger, enough to brush against his face. A thin strand of air coiled around his hand like a lazy serpent before dispersing.

"Not bad."

His lips curved faintly. Earth came next. That one was... difficult. He tried to move it the same way he did the others. Nothing happened. He frowned, then changed his approach. Instead of pulling, he grounded himself. His awareness sank downward, deeper, heavier. A faint vibration spread beneath the bed. A small clump of dust lifted from the ground nearby, trembling as if unsure whether it should obey. It rose barely an inch and dropped.

"You’re going to be a problem..."

He let out a quiet breath and moved on.

Water.

The moment he reached for it, something clicked. Unlike the others, water didn’t resist. It flowed toward him. A droplet formed in the air above his palm, pulled from the moisture around him. Then another. And another. They gathered slowly, forming a small, floating cluster of water that trembled with unstable motion. It spun weakly and collapsed, splashing lightly against his hand.

"That felt better..."

His gaze softened slightly.

Light.

The moment he touched it, his entire perception shifted. Brightness flooded his mind. Warmth. Clarity. A faint glow appeared above his fingers, soft and pure, like a tiny star struggling to exist. It pulsed and flickered out.

Bahamut blinked slowly.

"Yeah... that’s going to take some getting used to..."

Finally, Darkness. He hesitated for a second and reached. The response was immediate. A thin strand of shadow peeled away from beneath the bed, crawling upward like a living thing. It wrapped loosely around his wrist, cool and silent. It didn’t flicker. It just existed, and just as quietly, it slipped away and returned to where it came from.

Bahamut stared at his hand for a long moment.

"You’re the easiest one, huh..."

He let out a slow breath, his body sinking deeper into the bed as exhaustion began to creep back in.

Six elements, six different behaviors, six different problems, and all he could manage... were wisps. Tiny, unstable, barely-there manifestations that wouldn’t last more than a second.

"This is going to be a pain..."

But despite that, he smiled because for the first time, they had answered him.