Aksai placed the Aether Crystals one by one around the Heavenly Poison Pyramid.
Each crystal settled into the formation like pieces that were part of puzzle falling in their rightful place on their own. The symbols responded at once, growing clearer and sharper.
More items followed—small tools and strange materials that did not belong to this world. All of them had been prepared long ago. All of them had been sent to him by his clone, Aron, from the Aether World of Acarnis.
Aksai had basically decided to spend almost all of his noteworthy accumulation from Acarnis on this project. The other plans he had could wait. Safety always ca first.
When everything was ready, Aksai finally raised his head.
His eyes were calm, but deep inside, his focus was sharp to the extre.
"Stay still," he said quietly. "Do not resist. Not even a little."
Seralyth nodded and relaxed her soul completely.
The formation activated.
The Aether Crystals shattered into fine purple mist. The mist flowed like water and wrapped around Seralyth’s soul form. The Aether symbols in the air rotated and sank inward, forming layers upon layers around her Soul Space.
Through the Aether Crystals, Aksai was changing his imdiate surroundings to make them more like a region in Acarnis than Dadangar. After all, unclaid Aether essence was sparse in Dadangar. He needed to make up for that flaw in order to make his Aether formation as powerful as it should be.
Aksai clenched his teeth.
This was not a normal branding thod. It was sothing he had modified himself with Nuri’s assistance—a thod ant to deal with beings far stronger than him.
Slowly, carefully, he pushed his will forward.
The soul-branding process began.
After arranging everything in order, the Spirit farr sat cross-legged at the center of the formation, right above the Array Eye of the Heavenly Poison Pyramid.
His breathing was slow and steady, but his heart beat hard in his chest. He had already pushed the Aether formation to its limit. Now, there was no room for hesitation.
He closed his eyes and reached out through his soul.
Verdant Elder answered.
A deep rumble echoed through the space. Above Aksai, a giant spectral figure began to take shape. Dark green mixed with purple as the Aether Beast fully revealed itself.
Verdant Elder appeared in the form of a massive demon turtle. Its shell was even more mysterious than before, covered with faint natural lines that looked like rings of old trees.
From the top of its shell grew many thick tentacles, like wooden vines, twisting slowly in the air. Behind it, a long snake-like tail swayed, and every now and then, it spat out a breath of purplish-red fire.
The pressure in the area increased sharply.
Seralyth watched in silence. She was shocked to see such a form of summon.
At Aksai’s will, Verdant Elder moved.
Its limbs shifted and stretched. The turtle form changed, its body lowering and becoming heavier. Thick legs ford beneath its shell, turning it into a tortoise-like Aether Beast. With a slow but firm step, it landed on the ground in front of Aksai. The formation trembled but held.
Verdant Elder turned toward Seralyth.
The wooden vine-like tentacles extended forward. They moved gently at first, as if asking permission. Seralyth took a deep breath and nodded. She did not resist. She opened her soul fully.
The tentacles wrapped around her soul form.
Then they pierced inward.
The vines dug into her Spirit Manifestation body, sinking into her soul with her consent. The mont they connected, Verdant Elder let out a deep roar.
It was a roar filled with pain.
The branding began.
Verdant Elder started to burn its own Aether Soul Essence. That essence flowed through the vines and into Seralyth’s soul, carving the Loyalty Mark bit by bit.
Each line of the mark was etched with force, pressed into a soul far stronger than its own. It was like writing on a thorny iron wall with one’s bloody fingers after the nails have been removed.
Every ti the mark deepened, Verdant Elder’s body shook.
Cracking sounds echoed through its Aether form. Calluses ford on its shell and limbs, rough and uneven, like broken eggshells. These calluses chipped away, fell to the ground, and vanished into nothing. New ones ford again almost instantly.
The pain was endless.
Verdant Elder cried out again and again. Its eyes turned wild, filled with agony, fear, and stubborn resolve. Tears of Aether mist leaked from the corners of its eyes before evaporating.
If not for the Aether formation, it would have collapsed in monts.
The formation glowed brightly. Healing power surged nonstop, repairing Verdant Elder’s form as fast as it was damaged. Even so, the pain never stopped. It only stayed barely manageable.
Aksai felt everything.
Through his bond with Verdant Elder, waves of pain slamd into his soul. It felt like his soul was being burned alive while also frozen solid. Like fire and ice tearing him apart at the sa ti. His vision blurred more than once, and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
Still, he did not stop.
His hands moved constantly, adjusting the formation with Nuri’s guidance. Symbols shifted. Energy paths were corrected. Every small mistake could an death for his Aether Beast.
At the sa ti, Aksai sent commands through his soul.
In the distant Aether World of Acarnis, his clone Aron worked without rest. Aether Crystals, rare materials, and raw Aether essence were sent again and again through the Enchanted Everwood Farm. The resources arrived in real ti and were fed straight into the formation.
The cycle repeated.
Pain. Healing. Pain again.
Days turned into months. Months turned into years.
Seralyth never moved. She endured everything in silence, her soul trembling as the Loyalty Mark slowly took shape. She could feel the mark binding her, anchoring her soul to Aksai’s will.
And yet, she did not resist. Not once. In fact, she helped Aksai a lot during the process by injuring her own soul with her own ans so that the branding process could go smoother.
Three long years passed.
Finally, the last line of the Loyalty Mark was completed.
When the Aether formation finally went quiet, Aksai remained seated on the Heavenly Poison Pyramid for a long while. He did not move. He did not even open his eyes at first. His mind felt slow, heavy, as if it were filled with thick fog.
Then the change hit him.
A deep wave of power surged through his Aether cultivation path. It did not rush in like a flood. Instead, it spread slowly, firmly, filling every crack and weak point along the path. His Aether cultivation base trembled, expanded, and settled again at a much higher state.
Aksai opened his eyes.
He could feel it clearly now. His Aether cultivation had leaped forward. What once felt thin and unstable was now dense and steady. From the early-stage Wisp Mastery realm, he had stepped straight into the mid-stage realm.
This was no small jump.
The reason was simple. Verdant Elder had been broken down and healed countless tis during the branding process. Each injury and recovery had refined its Aether form again and again. Loads of precious Aether resources were also used in the process. And since Verdant Elder was tied directly to Aksai’s Aether path, that growth fed back into him without pause.
Still, Aksai did not smile.
Instead, he winced.
A dull, endless pressure weighed on his soul. It felt as if soone had placed a ten-ton bell over his head and was striking it from the outside again and again. There was no sound, yet the vibration shook his thoughts and senses nonstop.
He clenched his jaw and breathed slowly.
This was the cost.
The bond with Seralyth was far heavier than he had expected. Her soul was vast, deep, and old. Even weakened, even half-alive, she was still a terrifying existence.
Carrying that connection felt like a weak and bony man holding the leash of a massive Great Mastiff that could break free at any mont. One wrong move, one lapse in focus, and he would be dragged apart. Even if he didn’t die, his Aether Beast would be the first casualty.
Part of the reason Aksai was still alive was Verdant Elder.
His Aether Beast had taken on most of the backlash, acting as a shield between him and Seralyth’s overwhelming soul weight. The other reason was Seralyth herself. She had not resisted. Not even once. If there had been the slightest rejection from her side, Aksai knew he would not be sitting here now.
A faint ripple passed through his soul.
Verdant Elder responded weakly.
Aksai looked inward and saw the massive Aether Beast curled in on itself. Its shell was dull, its tentacles drawn close. The fierce presence it once carried was gone for now. Verdant Elder had grown stronger, yes, but it was also exhausted to the core.
It was entering a deep slumber.
"Rest," Aksai whispered in his mind.
The Aether Beast did not answer. It simply sank deeper into stillness.
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