A new day dawned, and Emmet stretched, feeling a profound lightness in his limbs. The air was crisp and cool, carrying the scent of wet earth and pine on a gentle breeze. He watched Eanne by the river, her eyes already fixed on the glimmer of a fish, and a quiet happiness settled over him. Today was the day to quantify that feeling, to see what had truly changed.

  "Okay, time to evaluate," he said, his voice low and warm. "We need to check our status. Physical, spiritual, our link… everything."

  “Okay, but first,” Eanne said, not looking up from the water, “I’m going to catch more fish.”

  Emmet smirked. “You can catch all of them if you like, but if you don’t let them repopulate, we won’t have any more fish to eat. And neither will the town.”

  “Oh, yeah, I don’t eat that much, Emmet,” she said, her voice dripping with mock innocence.

  “Yeah, sure you don’t,” he replied, a hint of amusement in his tone.

  Then, a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. “Okay, Emmet, why don’t we have a contest? Since I can’t catch them all, let’s see who catches the biggest fish?”

  Emmet’s smile widened as he stood up. “You’re on.”

  They moved to a deeper part of the river, and their different styles of hunting became immediately apparent. Eanne, with her raw speed and instinct, would dive in and out of the water, manually grabbing what she saw. If a fish was too small or not to her liking, she’d toss it back. Meanwhile, Emmet stood perfectly still on the bank, observing and analyzing the currents, planning his move.

  Eanne watched him from the water, an amused smirk on her face. What’s he going to do, plan it and just stare at the water all day? Haha, I am so winning this.

  Emmet, in his mind, was processing every detail. This river… it seems like most of the fish here are too small. Something doesn’t seem right. The river is deep enough to—

  Just as he finished his thought, a high-pitched scream echoed across the water. “Emmet! Help!”

  Emmet looked up to see Eanne running toward him, with a panicked look on her face, being chased by a colossal, whiskered fish. A Giant Catfish. Now I see, he thought. So this is the top predator here. That’s why there are no other bigger fish.

  Eanne was still screaming. “Emmet, stop spacing out and help!”

  “Oh, yeah, right,” he muttered to himself. He rushed forward, leaping over a rock and dashing towards the water. With a powerful swing, he punched the giant catfish right through its face, knocking the beast out cold.

  Eanne, teary-eyed and trembling, ran to him. “You’re safe now,” he said, but then he realized she wasn’t crying out of fear. Her eyes were wide with unbridled joy, and she was murmuring, “What a big fish… a big, delicious fish…” while drooling.

  Emmet watched her, a warm feeling spreading through his chest. He dragged the massive fish from the river.

  Eanne instantly declared, “I won this! I lured myself into catching this! But I won’t be greedy. You made a little contribution, so as a reward, you can grill it.”

  Emmet just agreed with a soft smile. “Okay, Eanne, I’ll make you a delicious meal.”

  Later, as they ate the grilled fish, the air filled with the warmth and aroma of their simple meal. Eanne chewed thoughtfully, then asked, “Hey Emmet? Why are you so strong? I mean, physically, you’re stronger than most people I’ve seen.”

  Emmet finished his bite before replying. “I don’t know. I’ve always had this strength since I was a child. I thought it was normal, but as I grew up, I realized I was different. It’s probably the effect of my mutated divinity.”

  “You fight so well, too,” she added, impressed.

  “Well, I trained with the fighters in the north,” he said, a bit of humble pride in his voice. “But my fighting technique isn’t really a technique at all. It’s more about analyzing and strategizing what’s most appropriate for different fight scenarios.”

  Eanne looked at him, a new kind of admiration in her eyes. “You’re not just good with magic theory; you’re an adept fighter, too. You really are a weird one.”

  Emmet chuckled, a deep, relaxed sound. “Well, I can’t help it. Guess I really am weird, heh.”

  A comfortable silence fell between them as they finished eating. Eanne wiped her mouth and then asked, “So, what’s our plan now?”

  Emmet’s gaze turned distant, looking out over the winding river. “I still plan on finishing my pilgrimage and learning more about the world. We also need to learn more about these demonic altars and the bloodbounds. The more we know, the better.”

  Eanne nodded in approval. “It’s important to have a purpose in our travels. I approve.” She paused, tilting her head. “What do you want to do, though?”

  “Well, Eanne, why don’t you tell me what you want to do?” he replied.

  “Me? I’m stuck with you, and this era is new to me,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll just learn about the world through you, and with you.”

  Emmet smiled, a quiet resolve settling in his heart. He had more reason to travel now—to show Eanne the world. But a part of him regretted that this pilgrimage was not what he wished it to be. He wanted to show her a beautiful, hopeful world, but the one he saw was filled with darkness.

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  After breakfast, Emmet sought out a secluded place near the water. The river's constant, calming flow made for a perfect meditation spot. He sat, closing his eyes, and began to turn his focus inward, determined to assess his new state of being.

  He entered a new, internal space. The Earth Totem was a colossal, unyielding spirit of living stone. Its eyes glowed with the deep-seated wisdom of the earth, and he felt a profound, grounding comfort in its presence. Next, he saw the Fire Totem, a roiling, vibrant spirit of pure flame, its form a fiery serpent coiling in the air. Its passion felt a part of him.

  Finally, he approached Eanne’s essence. It was a shimmering, crystalline spirit shaped like a girl, a Shade that resembled Eanne but was translucent and ethereal. He reached out to it, and a new idea took hold. Could he interact with her essence directly?

  Suddenly, Eanne vanished from the riverbank in the real world. Her astral form appeared beside him in his inner space, looking around in shock.

  “Where… where am I?” she asked, her voice an echo in the quiet space. “Emmet? Is that you?”

  He stared at the Shade, amazed. “It really is you. I… I think I just summoned you here.”

  Eanne’s Shade looked around, her eyes wide with a mix of awe and annoyance. “This is your divine core’s inner space. I can feel the contract. It feels… warm and safe.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, a pang of guilt in his voice. “I was just testing something.”

  “Well, you can test it later. Get me out of here. That catfish is getting away!” she demanded, her focus already back on the feast to come.

  He smiled, a deep, easy feeling spreading through him. "Okay, sorry about that." He focused, and the Shade dissolved, reappearing in the real world to continue her hunt with renewed vigor.

  Emmet remained in his meditative state, examining Eanne’s essence more closely. He saw an inner space within her Shade, a hidden vault filled with countless items. Diving deeper, he felt her sealing abilities like a complex, fading tapestry. He saw brief, fragmented visions of her past: a powerful shield of woven light, a field of absolute stillness where magic failed, and a whirlwind of energy that sealed away ancient beasts. He also saw other abilities that seemed to have been completely purged, memories severed from her being. It was like looking at a book with half its pages torn out. The contract had given him this incredible link, but it had come at a cost.

  He came back to reality, his mind heavy with the weight of this new truth. He felt a wave of guilt. Was this his fault?

  Suddenly, a face appeared in front of his, and a voice broke his thoughts.

  “Boo!” Eanne said, her eyes twinkling. “What’s going on in that head of yours? Did you access some of my memories?”

  “Not exactly,” he admitted, the knot of worry in his stomach tightening. “But I found out… you lost most of them, and your abilities, too. I think it’s permanent.”

  Eanne stood up and stretched, a carefree smirk on her face. “Well, better than losing my life, right? Don’t overthink it, Emmet. My past is gone. I have to let go of that now. Besides, I couldn’t use those abilities anyway since I’m no longer the old me.” She looked at him with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “I think I gained some new abilities, though. I bet you saw them. The sealing space is the only one I really understand yet, but we’ll figure the rest out. Together.”

  Emmet felt a weight lift from his shoulders. “Then we’ll learn them together.”

  “You bet we will,” she said, and his own smile returned, genuine and relieved. He felt a deep desire to help her, to understand this magic so she could become her own person, independent and whole.

  After a month of discovery and training, Emmet and Eanne had finally decided it was time to move on. “So, we’re done here, huh?” Eanne asked, looking at the familiar river. “I love it here, but I love traveling more.”

  Emmet smiled. “Yeah. I have to continue my pilgrimage. And… I guess we need to continue our study of the bloodbounds. They’re somehow aligned with my pilgrimage, so it’s best to understand them more.”

  “Right,” Eanne said. “And I’ve got all the stuff we need now.”

  And so their journey continued. The world had changed for Emmet. His pilgrimage was no longer a personal quest; it had become a calling, a bond to this fight. Their travels took them across sun-scorched plains to the bustling port city of Vesparia, and through the mist-shrouded peaks leading to the ancient shrine of Solterra. Along the way, they visited a myriad of shrines and divine altars, but their most frequent stops were towns and villages plagued by the demonic corruption. They fought not only bloodbounds but also the fanatic cultists who served them, stopping one demonic altar after another.

  Emmet began to notice patterns in the chaos. He concluded that the demonic altars came in different forms, their structure and energy dependent on the location and the specific type of demonic energy they harnessed. He also found that the bloodbounds themselves had different behaviors and forms, which seemed to be influenced by the altar that created them. One town's bloodbounds were like hulking, armored behemoths that moved slowly and with brute force, while in the next they were swift, ethereal shadows that melted into the mist.

  To better understand their enemy, Emmet began a meticulous, albeit gruesome, research project. He would dissect the bodies of fallen bloodbounds—both young and old—to analyze their physical and divine makeup. He made significant progress, documenting his findings in a small journal. He noted hints of divinity within the corrupted creatures, which made him recall the corrupted luminaries from one of his earlier adventures. This led him to a disturbing thought: was this a result of the demonic cults deliberately tampering with divine essence? Were these creatures simply byproducts of a larger, more sinister experiment? The hints suggested that this wasn't a natural phenomenon but a calculated creation. While Emmet knew this wasn't his specialty, he was determined to analyze every shred of information he could gather.

  During one of his dissections, a surge of unstable demonic essence erupted from the body. Using a quick command, Emmet had Eanne, with her new ability to manipulate magic particles, attempt to collect it. To their surprise, as the particles of pure demonic essence passed through Eanne's essence and into a collection vial, they solidified, forming a small, obsidian-like rock that hummed with a low, malevolent energy. A demonic crystal. This discovery felt like a breakthrough. He'd never seen anything like it. This wasn't just a byproduct of corruption; it was a specific, deliberate process—a demonic conversion. He realized the bloodbounds were not just being tainted; their very essence was being systematically harvested and purified to fuel the altars. This meant the altars weren’t just places of worship; they were factories of evil, turning living beings into a form of fuel.

  As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, the pair continued their adventure and demon-slaying. Emmet’s unique fighting style, combined with Eanne's mysterious sealing abilities, began to draw attention. He was no longer just a wandering pilgrim; he was becoming a known force. The duo's success had caught the eye of various groups—some good, who saw them as a hopeful sign, and some evil, who saw them as an obstacle to be removed.

  The sun set on another day of their journey, casting long shadows across the landscape. The pilgrimage had evolved into something much larger than either of them could have imagined. Their purpose was clear, their bond was unbreakable, and the road ahead was full of both immense danger and profound discovery.

  And so, their adventure continued.

  Chaosbound: Elarith Chronicles | Royal Road on Royal Road. It explores a different side of the same universe and is the perfect way to satisfy your craving for more.