Chapter 222: Fate intertwined.

Hunter threw his hands up in self-defense, leaning away from her just in case she got violent. "Hey, hey! Take it easy miss super punch, I am a very vulnerable man. Also, in my defense, I married first! Eliot’s wedding came after mine. And besides, you’ll probably never see Lita again anyway. I have zero plans of ever going back to see my family again. We are on different paths now."

"That changes nothing legally!" Zyra paced back and forth, dragging a hand through her hair. "How is my fate and Lita’s so intertwined?! The universe is sick. Truly sick! After everything that I did to get away from her!"

She went quiet for a long moment, stomping around the training floor while Hunter sat there, quietly wheezing with relief. He was just glad the secret was out. Hiding something like that from her_ especially when it involved her arch-nemesis of a foster sister, had been giving him an ulcer.

Finally, Zyra stopped pacing. She looked down at the pendant sitting in her palm, her expression softening. She walked back over and pressed it back into Hunter’s hand, closing his fingers over it.

Hunter looked down at his fist, totally confused. "You don’t want it?"

"My mother gave it to you," Zyra said, a faint, genuine smile touching her lips. "She would’ve preferred you to keep it. You earned it."

Hunter smiled back, relieved. "So, you are not mad or anything like that?"

Zyra shook her head with a laugh. "I’m still processing the trauma of being related to Lita again, but no, I’m not mad at you." She turned on her heel toward the exit and gestured over her shoulder. "Come on, follow me to the Beast Pavilion. It’s feeding time and it have stuff to do there."

First, they checked on Snowy, who was peacefully resting. The other beasts were enthusiastically enjoying their meals in the feeding area, served by a few other workers besides Scotty.

"Hey Zyra, you want some?" a red monkey called out, cheekily waving a half-eaten banana in her direction.

Zyra flicked her fingers dismissively. "I’m good Red Sun, thanks." Why the owner had named the monkey Red Sun was confusing to her, after all, nothing about the monkey was sunny. Especially not it’s short temper. The fact that it was willing to share a banana with her was scary. "Can monkey poison food?" she muttered. She turned back to Hunter, her expression becoming more serious. "Hunter, I got another opportunity to evolve beasts using resonance stones."

Hunter smiled like a pervert. "Oh, that sounds awesome. Spice has already started her journey so she is out, If I had to pick between the Squirrel and the Drake, I’d choose the Squirrel. You remember the reasons I told you last time, right?"

Zyra smiled softly and nodded. "I do. But actually_ I was thinking about evolving the Drake and Tyrant first. That way, we can go hunting for another King beast together later and help the Squirrel evolve then."

Hunter opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. The sheer weight of her generosity hit him all at once. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he moved suddenly and pulled her into a tight, spontaneous hug.

"Whoa! Look at them!"

"Love is in the air!"

Red Sun threw the half-eaten banana at them.

Other than the mean monkey, the surrounding beasts instantly erupted into wild cheers. A few cheeky beasts started making loud kissing sounds, while a pair of parrots whistled loudly. The human workers standing nearby just stared in total confusion, wondering what on earth had suddenly gotten the beasts so excited. Was it the hug or something else they had missed?

Zyra, meanwhile, had frozen. Her mind was blank because she didn’t expect the sudden hug. Her heart did a strange, fluttery flip inside her chest, and a sudden warmth rushed to her face. It was an odd, sweet sensation_ like her body recognized how nice it felt to be held by him long before her brain could even process why she liked it so much.

Hunter let go just as quickly, rubbing the back of his neck, a bit flushed himself. "Thank you, Zyra. Seriously_ I’ll never forget what you’re doing for me."

"I-it’s fine," Zyra managed to nod, clearing her throat to regain her composure.

Wasting no time to hide her fluster, she called out in her mind, ’Beauty, give me a Resonance Stone.’

Instantly it materialized right in the palm of her hand. They quickly moved over to the Drake’s abode. The duck waddled forward, its round eyes sparkling with curiosity as Zyra held out the stone.

"What is it?" The drake asked. The wives waddled to stand next to it.

Zyra smiled and said, "I want you to become the best version of yourself." She tossed the drake. "Go ahead, feed on the energy," she instructed gently.

The Drake tilted its head, quacked softly, and tapped its beak against the stone. Instead of crunching down on it, the resonance stone dissolved into a stream of liquid gold light. The brilliant light flowed smoothly into the duck’s beak, wrapping around its body in a shimmering, radiant cocoon.

A sharp, clear chime echoed directly in Zyra’s mind:

[Ding! Drake evolution initiating.]

The Drake suddenly began to cluck frantically, making loud gack-gack noises like it was choking on a giant bone.

Before Zyra could even panic, her link band beeped loudly, flashing bright red warnings that the duck was in critical distress.

The duck wives of the drake began to flap their wings frantically.

"What have you done to him!" One asked.

"What is happening?" Another asked.

"Help him, Zyra." The third screamed.

Zyra did not know what was happening either. She reached out to the system. "Beauty! Is this normal?!" She asked, watching the little duck flail its wings in agony.

[Yes, Host. Nothing new here, just evolution taking its course. It is painless by the way, forget the act Drake is putting on.]

Suddenly, the ground trembled. Deep, low groans echoed through the entire pavilion. The humans standing nearby didn’t even blink_ they were used to the shelter randomly expanding itself by now. Sure enough, the floor groaned as it stretched wider, and the walls of the pavilion shifted outward, expanding the Drake’s abode into a bigger pond with duck houses on the bank, in the reeds.

Then, blue lightning burst straight up from the floor, completely swallowing the Drake in a blinding pillar of raw energy. The light was so terrifyingly bright that everyone_ humans and beasts alike_ had to cover their eyes and turn away.

Finally, total silence.