Chapter 86: A third beast bond.

He didn’t stop at thinking about it; Achilles went on to point it out. "We have three takers here. I am sure one of them can save the Snow ant from death." He walked closer to the crystalline anthill, "You guys know that Snow ants are rare, right? If this one was not missing a piece of its soul, it could be sold for millions at an auction." He knew all the right auction houses and buyers.

Tessi and Yanxi sighed gently from across the room. "We already have two beasts each," Tessi explained helplessly. "Our souls can’t handle a third. We can’t take it."

Yanxi lowered her eyes, "I am sorry."

She seemed to be on the brink of tears, as if this was a crime which could not be forgiven. There and then, Achilles decided that Yanxi was out of the running for Hunter’s Soul maiden wife. She was too weak.

Hearing them lay out the grim reality, Malia finally broke. The heavy grief she had been suppressing for hours came crashing down all at once. She collapsed into tears. "What do I do? It is the only reminder of my husband I have now. I left everything we had in the capital. I don’t even have a picture of him. I promised myself that I would save it even though I couldn’t save him. What do I do now?"

Zyra didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward and pulled Malia into a tight, grounding hug. "Let it out," Zyra murmured gently, rubbing her back. "Weep as much as you need to. Don’t hold it in."

While comforting Malia, Zyra’s gaze remained fixed on the Snow ant that looked lost.

Suddenly, Beauty’s energetic voice chimed directly inside her mind. [Host! This is not a regular snow ant. It has a unique bloodline. With the right herbs or pills, it can evolve into Glacier Queen ant! She can create a whole colony of assassin snow ants. That’s why I gave it an ant hill! I was hoping that you might take interest in it]

Zyra blinked mentally. A colony of assassin snow ants? When did mutated beasts get bloodlines?

[Yes! A Glacier Queen ant can control all the ants in her colony through telepathy. If you control her, you control the entire army. She can freeze enemies with a single breath, she’s completely resistant to fire below certain temperatures, and she can sprint through arctic blizzards without slowing down. Bonus for you, where she is, certain edible mushrooms can grow.]

Beauty paused, and a glowing, holographic image popped up on Zyra’s internal screen. It showed a strange, mutated mushroom pulsing with icy blue veins that released shimmering, sparkling spores.

[To make her evolve, you have to find this: the Frost Heart Fungus. Location: Deep in a frozen zone where sunshine and bright light has never reached. Oh, and bonus? This exact fungus is an ingredient that could be used in a serum to help Hunter repair the jagged cracks in his corrupted soul. This is an off the book mission that you do not have to take on but the benefits outweigh the losses.]

Zyra’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Hunter’s soul. Decisions were made in an instant. She had to get that fungus, if possible, store a lot of it in the beast dominion.

Releasing Malia gently, Zyra stood up straight and said to her, "I will bond with the snow ant, and I promise to take good care of it just like your husband did when he was alive. You will have access to her, like shared custody between a divorced couple."

As if it understood her words, the sad little snow ant lifted its tiny white head, its antennae twitching in her direction. The entire pavilion went dead silent. Everyone stared at her like she had lost her mind.

"Zyra, you can’t..I mean have you forgotten?" Tessi asked, her voice dropping in concern. "You’ve already bonded with two beasts. We met them here, the snake and squirrel. Your soul capacity is full. I heard the Divine soul maiden tried to take on a third half-life beast and she got very ill, her soul was injured and she was bedridden for days."

Zyra only smiled at them.

"Are you going to abandon one of your beasts?" Scotty asked.

Spice and the Squirrel released noises that showed that they disagreed. The two beasts rushed over and clang onto her.

"That will never happen," she told everyone but mostly the beasts.

Inside her head, Beauty spun around excitedly, practically throwing confetti. [Host, do you accept to bond with the snow Ant?]

Yes, Zyra thought.

Instantly, a glowing red thread materialized in the air, looping elegantly between Zyra and the tiny creature. The contract snapped into place.

[It has been done. Congratulations on contracting your third beast, resonance level has increased to 25% which means that you share senses with your beast. You can choose to turn it off as you have many beasts or turn on one at a time.]

"Turn it off for now."

[Rewards; known location of the frost heart fungus, 200 unassigned points, 500 resonance points]

"Come Snowy" Zyra said.

The snow ant didn’t hesitate. It scampered down the anthill and marched straight toward Zyra. Zyra extended her index finger, and the tiny creature climbed right up, settling onto the tip and wrapping its little legs securely around her finger like a unique, icy ring.

"She is my third contracted half-life beast." Zyra announced.

There was some silence for a while, as they all processed her words. Was it a joke? Was it real?

Malia gasped, falling to her knees as fresh tears of profound relief and gratitude poured down her face. "Thank you... thank you for saving her from going feral, Zyra." Now, a piece of her husband could live on.

But Tessi and Yanxi were completely paralyzed with shock.

"This... this is impossible," Yanxi stammered, her jaw practically dropping to the grass.

Achilles looked back and forth between them, totally lost. "Is it really that impossible? Not even in your history books?"

"Soul maidens can only contract two beasts in their entire lifetimes, Achilles!" Tessi yelled, her voice cracking with awe. "That is an absolute law!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

"Who made it the law?" Zyra asked with a snort.

The Soul maidens could not respond, and neither could anyone. Truly, it was not a law, just something shared through the ages as if it was a fact.

"No way...Trinity tried and failed." Tessi muttered. "She was not the first, others have tried to do it and they all failed."

Yanxi stared at Zyra as if looking at a god. "Perhaps... perhaps Zyra is different. They say she was born with brightest blossom ever seen. Maybe she is the true Divine Soul Maiden. How else do you explain this? She just broke the laws that we know."

Before anyone could say anything else, Gilby dropped heavily onto one knee right there in the dirt, pressing his fists together. "Mistress Zyra, I pledge my eternal loyalty to you!"

The rest of the group just stood there, staring at Zyra as if she had literally dropped straight from the heavens or suddenly grown horns.

Achilles looked at the ant, looked at the kneeling Gilby, and hit the panic button in his brain. Without a word, he spun on his heel and took off at a dead sprint to find Hunter and tell him what had just happened.