This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Kain’s fingers closed around the object within the tree’s mouth, and began to retract.

But as he did so golden light surged up his arm like a molten tide, flowing along his veins, washing through bone and spirit alike. It wasn’t painful. It wasn’t warm. It was… transformative.

The tree pulsed once more, its golden canopy shimmering like a living sun, and then the mouth began to close behind his arm.

Kain’s eyes glazed.

But then, before he could even process what it is he’d grabbed—

DING.

A sharp, long lost chime cracked through the silence of his mind.

Then another.

Then five, ten, dozens more.

[WARNING: Extremely toxic substance detected— no action taken due to System lockout by external relic authority.]

[WARNING: External spatial shift detected. System’s perception of Host’s whereabouts is limited.]

[ALERT: System synchronization delayed due to priority lockdown by relic authority.]

[Calculating deferred messages… loading 257 critical alerts.]

His mind was immediately filled with a rising cascade of beeps, each one echoing louder than the last. Dozens—hundreds—of suppressed System notifications surged like a tidal wave. His ability to communicate with the System was prevented while in the relic, but it seems like after passing, or perhaps the inheritance itself, was releasing that restriction.

DING. DING. DING. DING. DING. DING—

Too fast.

He couldn’t keep up with what they were even saying anymore. Not to mention that the incessant ringing was beginning to feel like a hammer smacking against a bell—only his mind was the bell.

He grimaced, eyes still closed as the torrent rushed through him. The System scrambled to interpret the influx of data while reconnecting to his consciousness.

And then, finally, the cascade began to slow. The notifications came less like a deluge and more like steady rainfall.

[SYSTEM RECOVERY: 100% of functions restored. Connection to Host: Stable.]

[Integration into Pangea: Stable]

[Update: Unknown artifact successfully transferred to host’s Star Space.]

[Artifact Name: Seed of Continuance.]

Then, before Kain could even process what it was exactly he’d received—a seed, he guessed, based on the name—it was snatched from his hand by the System.

[Analyzing Seed…]

[Artifact contains Source-class encoding. Origin— Extinct world designator: Earth in conjunction with the %&%%$%]

[…Processing…]

[System Alert: Seed integration requested. Estimated impact: Moderate to High. Proceed?]

Kain didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. His intent alone was enough.

[Confirmed. Beginning integration… now.]

He felt the effects immediately.

The heart of Pangea, tethered to his very soul, trembled.

Aurem the golden dragon may think of himself as the supreme Overlord of Pangea, but as the one most intimately connected with the planet, Kain can confidently attest that the one with the greatest influence over the planet is, in fact, the Tree of Life.

Quiet and without its own consciousness, its presence is often overlooked. But Kain knew that the progress of the planet, aside from his own cultivation, was heavily dependent on that tree.

Now that very Tree of Life, a vibrant emerald monolith with shiny metallic bark and surrounded by flourishing exotic plants and animals, began to shimmer violently.

And then—

[Alert: Compatible host found within Pangea.]

[Seed of Continuance transferring to Tree of Life.]

Soon, a familiar sight entered Kain’s vision—the light of evolution.

‘I didn’t even know it could evolve still? Could Aurem as well, if the provided material was high enough in quality?’

Wherever the bright light landed, the grasslands bent as if pressed by an intense wind or an increase in gravity.

The skies overhead were filled with golden auroras. Animals all over Pangea, including the far-off Aurem and the Kraken-like sea lord under the sea, stopped in their tracks and looked toward the glowing horizon.

And at the center of it all, the Tree of Life began to change.

The bark cracked. Split. Reformed. What had once been lush green turned radiant gold. Its roots surged downward, expanding beyond the limits of the soil it originally grew on, now merging with the core framework of Pangea itself.

And its size—

It grew. And grew.

Into a giant made of what looked to be solid gold and light. Fortunately for the plant life below it though, it seemed to radiate with its own internal sun-like energy that not only didn’t make the plants underfoot die from like of light, but seemed to increase their health.

When the changes in its appearance were fully done, now standing higher than many smaller mountains on the planet, something shifted again.

[Tree of Life has evolved: World Tree established.]

[New function unlocked: Sentience.]

[World Tree may now impart spiritual knowledge obtained from the inheritance and host soul memory to spiritually awaken the intelligence of native species. Status: Active Guardian of Pangea.]

[Alert: Soul Pool detected within Seed of Continuance.]

[Estimated soul quantity: 8.2 billion. Origin: Earth. Classification: Human remnants.]

[The Cradle has been updated.]

[New status: DNA + soul imprint archive.]

[Soul compatibility detected between archived humanoid species and stored souls.]

[Recalibrating species generation cost… complete.]

[Result: Drastic reduction in Source Energy expenditure when generating compatible intelligent life due to no longer needing to generate new souls.]

[Additional effect: Reborn souls will have no memories of their past lives but be able to learn and achieve spiritual awakening at a much faster rate than newly born souls]

Kain’s chest rose with a quiet breath. His eyes remained closed.

Kain had always had the dream of adding some intelligent species like elves and dwarves to Pangea. Unfortunately, the cost was insanely high, even if they weren’t exceptionally powerful. Now he understood that this was the cost of generating a suitably intelligent soul from scratch.

Moreover, the newly born souls would likely have taken extremely long to develop civilizations and cultures all over again from scratch to a level that Kain could find remotely useful.

Now, with the change of the World Tree, which seems to be targeted at increasing the average IQ level of Pangea, and the increased learning ability of the reborn souls, Kain’s kingdom-building fantasies may come true within his lifetime.

[New directive formed: Permanent Resident Protocol unlocked.]

[Resident may be bound to Pangea’s World Tree as an eternal steward and guide to the new intelligent lifeforms on Pangea. Transfer irreversible. One position available.]

The last of the golden light that was emitted from the seed had faded from his skin, absorbed entirely by the System, Pangea, and the new World Tree.

He stood unmoving, breath slow, as his mind processed all that had changed—the notifications, the changed functions to Pangea.

The silence in the courtyard stretched long.

Even the Unity tree no longer stirred. Its immense branches towered overhead and blocked out the majority of the sunlight.

A soft wind blew across the courtyard, rustling the remaining grass.

Bai Lian hadn’t moved.

She stood a few paces away, hands curled in front of her, gaze locked on him and watched as Kain ‘obtained the inheritance.

Kain exhaled slowly.

His eyes opened.

And for a moment, he didn’t say anything. He just stared at her.

Bai Lian tried to smile, but it came out tired, fragile around the edges.

“Congratulations,” she said softly, voice steady despite the quiver behind it. “You won.”

Her smile faltered slightly as she looked back at the seedbed where her sapling had once been.

“I didn’t really expect to pass. But I guess I hoped, a little.”

She glanced back at him, trying not to let the weight of that disappointment show too plainly. “Still… I’m glad it was you. Serena and you can reunite on the outside.”

Kain’s expression didn’t change.

Bai Lian turned away, slow and quiet. Her footsteps were light, but they echoed far too loudly in the silence. The door that had once opened for them stood across the courtyard like a final chapter. Her pace quickened toward it.

“I guess I’ll head back,” she said, not turning around.

She didn’t sound afraid. Not really. Just… resigned.

Kain’s voice cut through the air like a quiet blade.

“You don’t have to die.”

Bai Lian froze.

She turned slowly, confusion creasing her brows. “What?”

Kain stepped forward, just once, golden light still fading slowly from his eyes and seeming to settle into the golden ring that now circled his pupils.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just watched her.

Then, after a long pause:

“There’s… a place.”

Bai Lian blinked. “A place?”

“Somewhere else,” Kain said. “Not here. Not the Eastern Continent either. You wouldn’t be able to come back. But you’d live.”

A faint line appeared between her brows. She stared at him like he’d just offered her a miracle and a punishment in the same breath.

“You’re saying… I could leave the relic? That I wouldn’t die?”

“Yes,” Kain replied. “But you will never be able to return back home. And even your actions in the future may be limited…I’m not sure since you’d be bound to another creature.”

Bai Lian didn’t speak. Her fingers twitched at her sides.

“I can’t promise it’s what you’d want,” he added. “But it’s safe. It’s stable. It’s… alive. Heck, you may even end up living for far longer than you would have naturally.”

Her mouth parted slightly. “Why are you telling me this?”

Kain looked away for a moment, then back.

“Because…you’ve been helpful to me,” he said simply. “And I think… You are a good person. You deserve a chance to keep living. Even if it’s not the life you expected.”

Bai Lian’s breath hitched. She looked down at her hands, curling them tight.

“You’re serious,” she whispered.

“I wouldn’t be saying it otherwise.”

Another silence passed, but it felt different from before. Not heavy, but searching. Fragile.

Then, finally, Bai Lian nodded. “Alright. I’ll go.”

Kain said nothing more.

But somewhere deep within him, the World Tree began to glow like the second coming of the sun.