As Lucas walked out of the library, some of the Beastkin gave him worried looks but didn't approach him. As he exited, he found a rather tall Beastkin outside the library.

It stood almost three meters tall, its stature robust, yet strangely elegant. Dressed in simplistic black and gold battle armor. A small crest was etched into each shoulder, a crown beneath a crimson sun.

Its fur was deep, midnight blue. Its bestial features were sharp, with a narrow, almost serpentine face and long. Delicate claws tipped its powerful hands as it stood with clenched fists. Its feet were quite notable since it had three toes like a bird. Each foot covered in tough, black wrappers.

When their gazes met, Lucas felt a deep chill which froze him in place. His tendrils went stiff out of sheer terror. It felt like the ultimate predator had him locked in its sights, one wrong move and it would all be over.

'Holy fuck!'

The mysterious Beastkin quickly withdrew its gaze and gave Lucas a deep bow. Its armor retracted from his neck.

/I'm deeply sorry sir Lucas. I did not mean to frighten you. The Queen has requested me to escort you to her office. Hence I came here./

Lucas took a few moments to collect himself. He took the deep breath he had been holding and tried to be nonchalant as he whizzed out.

"It's cool dude… it's totally fine. Umm… could you just… not do that again? Please?"

The hulking Beastkin rose to his full height as he said,

/Of course sir Lucas. I apologize once more. I'm just not… used to being so exposed. But it seems my self control is still quite lacking./

He said, two patches of light blue blooming on his face. Lucas almost smiled at its mental message but given he didn't dare look at its face, he didn't see its blush.

"You can lead the way umm…"

/Nyaar. Nyaar Coldblood. Please follow me./

With that, Nyaar led the way and Lucas followed while contemplating what just happened.

'How is everyone so freaking strong?? First it was Evélyne, then Katlyn, and even Sasha! Now even this random guy almost gave me with a heart attack with a look…'

When he reached this point in thought, he was distracted by something quite odd. Nyaar's shadow seemed to be moving strangely, almost… dancing?

Due to the lightning in the halls, Lucas' and everyone else's shadow was somewhat forward facing. Nyaar's shadow on the other hand, leaned and waved backwards. Almost touching Lucas' shadow. Immediately put on edge, Lucas gathered his courage and said,

"Nyaar…"

Without turning back, Nyaar responded with,

/Yes?/

"What's up with your shadow?"

Nyaar stopped at this and actually took a look at his shadow. He first had a puzzled look but then a lightbulb lit up in his mind.

/Sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable sir Lucas. My shadow is… rather special. It's an extent of my Will and I use it to protect my wards./

Not sure if he should feel secured or even more scared, Lucas just nodded with a forced smile. Nyaar gave him a smile as well as he kept moving.

After a few minutes, they made their way to Katlyn's office. Nyaar tapped his heart with his right hand then waved at Lucas before disappearing with a black light.

Lucas just shook his head, doing his best not to think about Nyaar. He knocked on the door twice and waited for a bit. Katlyn's voice came through from the other side in perfect English.

"Come in Lucas."

Lucas was taken aback but he was already getting numb to these surprises. So he just walked into the office calmly. He saw Kaylyn seated at her spot, going through multiple holograms with her mind alone.

She closed her eyes and all the holograms shot off. Leaning back on her chair, she brought her full attention to Lucas. Lucas just stared back at her in silence as the locked gazes.

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The first to break the silence was Kaylyn as she asked,

"What do you want, Lucas? What is your current goal in life?"

Lucas still didn't say anything, almost like he was transfixed by her gaze. He finally responded with,

"I want to grow stronger. I want to be as strong as possible."

Katlyn nodded faintly. She opened up her right hand while her gaze was still on Lucas. A very complex Rune appeared within it. Lucas caught the crimson Rune just for a moment before Katlyn said,

"Here you go, this should solve your communication issues."

The Rune shot out like a beam of light, piercing into Lucas' head. A flurry of thoughts, impressions, and feelings appeared in his mind. These were years of experience speaking a foreign and alien language.

Thankfully, his mind was powerful enough to handle the neural load as he just closed his eyes for a few moments. Katlyn switched to the Vitauri dialect as she spoke again, her voice rising to a higher frequency than human speech.

"Good. Now, let's speak properly. I know how our 'mind talk' as you call it, makes you feel."

Katlyn gestured at the seat opposite to her, Lucas walked over and took a seat. Katlyn began, her expression going perfectly flat and icy.

"I am not my daughter. What I am about to tell you should be taken as law. It's not negotiable or some form of agreement between us, these are simply facts."

Though Kaylyn didn't exuded any pressure, Lucas felt his muscles stiffen under the weight of her hard gaze. It took everything he had to nod at her. Ignoring his struggles, she continued.

"First and foremost, if you hurt my daughter or anything precious to her, you will die."

Lucas nodded. His Spirit energy almost ignited within him as it cycled angrily. He couldn't help but feel anger bubble up when she brought up his death so casually. But he hastily suppressed that feeling under her weighty gaze.

"Secondly, you are to do your utmost to make my daughter happy."

Lucas gave her a slightly confused look but her unchanging gaze forced him to silently nod once more.

"Finally, as long as you follow the two previous conditions, I will do my absolute best to provide you with the resources to accomplish your goals as I do for all my children."

Lucas felt the pressure release as Katlyn went back to her usual dignified but smiling self. She looked at Lucas apologetically as she said,

"I'm sorry Lucas, I just had to set some ground rules. We don't want you to get reckless now do we?"

Lucas just smiled awkwardly at that before he said.

"Thank you… Lady Katlyn. Can I head back to the Library now?"

"Of course, make sure to go to my lab first. I have to run some further tests on you. I might be able to help accelerate your recovery."

Lucas immediately brightened up as he rose to his feet. He was about to wave her goodbye but froze, opting for a bow. Katlyn chuckled softly at this before she said,

"No need to bow Lucas. I'm not going to devour you. A simple goodbye works just fine."

Lucas smiled at that though it was a little forced and waved her goodbye the way Sasha taught him then he left. As he stepped out, Katlyn thought to herself,

'How prideful.'

The voice of Nyaar was then beamed into her mind.

/My Queen, are you sure we should let it hang around the princess? It's Essence… I have never felt something like it before./

Holograms appeared around the queen once more as she replied.

/Yes. I trust he understands his position. But most importantly, I trust my daughter. What I did is just… a precaution./

With that, they both fell silent as she carried out her work.

———

Lucas walked through the manor's halls in a daze. His thoughts bounced around what just happened. From meeting Nyaar all the way to meeting the Queen. He could tell it was probably all planned out but so what? The Queen had laid down her rules. If he broke them, death would probably be a mercy. His thoughts eventually cycled to Crash's death and he cursed.

"Intercourse… huh? Did I just say intercourse?"

Lucas stopped as he registered his failed attempt at cursing. Thinking through the new language he was speaking in, there was no direct translation for any of the curses he knew. That meant…

"Faeces! Bloody true void!"

The few Beastkins around gave him strange looks but he just waved his tendrils aggressively as he walked away with hard stomps.

He eventually made his way to the lab and found it open. Now calmer, he walked in with his noiseless, bare footed steps. To his surprise, he saw Katlyn standing in the lab. She was dressed in a fitting yet plain white and black jumpsuit as she faced away from him.

Her attention was captured by some holographic screens as she said,

"You're finally here. I was beginning to think you lost your way."

"How did you—no forget it. So what should I do?"

A small open container floated over to Lucas as Katlyn said,

"Put a small amount of flesh in that then you can leave. When I'm done with my analysis, I will inform you. Make sure not to wound yourself too deeply, your injuries are still quite serious."

Lucas nodded as he stretched a tendril forward. The tip of the tendril detached itself and fell into the container. The vessel smoothly sealed itself and hovered towards Katlyn. Without turning to him, she said,

"Okay, you can go have fun."

"I'll take my leave, Queen Katlyn."

Lucas stepped outside the lab after that, its heavy door closing behind him. With nothing left to do, he returned to the Library. He tried to learn more stuff but the tests were simply too difficult while his Mind was already exhausted from the grueling day.

So after about two hours of failed attempts in the library, he headed for his room. He took a warm bath and swapped out clothes for a silky gown. The soft fabric was perfect for pajamas.

He laid on his bed thinking about his day once more. Everything he had learned today in hindsight was quite groundbreaking but he felt more suppressed than ever.

"Well… that's normal, no? Evélyne is her daughter and she treats all the beast people really well. Why in the void would she just let me run around and let harm come to them?"

When he reached this point, he realized his ego was clouding his judgement once more.

"She has offered me the resources to accomplish my dreams and I actually feel suppressed?"

Lucas smiled self depreciatingly,

"I just have to take things as they come. For now, the Lifeblood family is my only life line. As for losing Crash…"

A pained look flash across his face.

"I'm going to sort that out later. As for now, my goal remains the same as always—Survival…"

Eventually, Lucas drifted off to sleep. Even though he had pacified himself, his failures still haunted him in nightmares.

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