Fay woke up early the next day. He had only managed to sleep thanks to Somni's calming abilities, which helped him avoid any lingering nightmares.

The rest was much needed. His body was sore, his core overused, but with the recovery granted by his creature, he felt stronger than ever.

He began by summoning all three of his companions and handed them the stones he had on hand. There were at least fifty to start with.

When the Ravari saw what he was doing, they joined in, offering more. Even the Eluwyn contributed, sharing their own stones to help strengthen his monsters.

Stone cores of all kinds were placed in front of him: Storm Sparks, Whisper Stones, Mirage Orbs. There were even rare Nightglass shards, each one carrying a significant amount of aether.

All of them created a pile that would probably be worth a fortune, but no one cared about the value right now.

They wanted revenge for their fallen, punishment for the thieves and slave traders.

Fay stood at the center, arms outstretched, holding one of the gifted aether stones, which flickered in his palm.

Somni hovered quietly over his shoulder, her ribbons weaving soft trails and pulses of light. Jolt crouched beside him, crackling with lightning. But it was Grin, his largest beast, who stood before him now, eyes locked onto Fay's.

As Fay looked at him and nodded, he began feeding each of his creatures one by one. He started with Grin. The creature grew even more, but this time it was his real body, not aether manipulation. That meant Fay no longer had to waste aether adjusting Grin's size to its largest form.

Grin now stood three meters high and four meters long. A trail of smoke followed wherever he moved, blending naturally with the new mane that had grown from his neck, producing a constant, drifting gray haze.

His eyes glowed a deep blue and turned grey when he cast magic. As for his fangs, the two front ones had grown more pronounced, not as large as a sabertooth cat's, but slightly longer, making them visible even when his mouth was closed. They were sharp like daggers, ready to slash and tear through anything soft or armored without issue.

His body became even more muscular, his forearms thicker and longer, and his hind legs stretched for greater speed. His tail split into three; each one appeared normal, but Fay could only imagine what they were truly capable of. For now, they stayed hidden beneath the drifting haze, waiting to reveal their purpose.

Grin let out his signature laugh, but now it was deeper, rougher, something no one would want to hear at night... or even in broad daylight. The sound alone made Fay's hair stand on end, as though he had just tasted what true fear sounded like.

Yet both the Ravari and the Eluwyn approved. They cheered for the strength the beast now demonstrated, understanding he would be a cornerstone in recovering the ones who had been taken.

Next up was Jolt. The lizard eyed the set-aside cores Fay had prepared for him with a greedy look.

Without hesitation, he began biting into them, devouring each one in seconds. Then it began. The transformation didn't increase his size, but it did alter a core aspect of his form. His once-standard hide deepened to a rich blue that matched the electric currents he produced.

Jolt's back spikes were now sharper and more defined, metallic in color, he truly resembled the spinning saw Fay had once imagined him to be. His legs grew stronger, able to support him upright, and his arms were now free, capable of channeling charged lightning directly.

As for his face, he grew what looked like two external gill stalks, reminding Fay of an axolotl except these seemed to generate electricity, with sparks dancing along their length. It appeared he no longer needed to spin to create this element; he simply had to direct it through the gills.

Fay decided to test whether this would hasten the time it took to receive energy from Jolt, and noticed static bouncing between the gills and his own hands. A small arc formed in his palms, which he returned with ease back to Jolt.

He was satisfied with the result and with the creature Jolt had become. Jolt himself was hissing with pride.

The last to receive her share of cores was Somni.

The little jellyfish-like creature clung to the stones with her tentacles, draining nearly all of them at once. The pulsing within her translucent body revealed just how much aether she was absorbing.

Within seconds, she began to pulse again. Her body grew the small bell, doubling in size, emitting a hypnotic rhythm that made one feel drowsy just by watching it. Her tentacles also changed, growing longer and more fluid in motion. But it was the four new ones beneath the others that caught Fay's attention.

They looked different and very dangerous.

He could tell by instinct alone that touching one would do more than just lull someone to sleep.

Fay still didn't fully understand what his three creatures were now capable of.

He would need to test them in real combat to truly grasp the extent of their evolution. But one thing was certain: each of them had become something far more powerful than what they were before.

That was when someone called out to him, it was his teacher, Elaruîn. He looked tired, but that didn't stop him. There was determination in his eyes; he clearly had something important to say.

"I see you've already strengthened your creatures. I just hope you have some stones left, Fay…"

Fay glanced at the pile. He still had more than twenty cores left, though he hadn't decided who to give them to yet.

"Yeah, I've got a few. I was saving them," he replied.

"Good. Keep them. I know I told you this would be dangerous, but with what you're about to do... you'll need this next creature."

His master then pulled out the Thoughtcoil gem, the same one he had tested on Fay before. The gem that would allow him to summon one more creature.

"Are you sure?" Fay asked, eyes fixed on the transparent bead. "I thought this was something we'd save for later…"

He swallowed hard, uncertain of what was coming.

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