Inside a small office, Chris could be seen talking to a man with a huge physique. He was at least 8ft tall. The man looked dignified yet fierce. His black hair was like a mane and his golden eyes evoked a sense of savagery. The beast-like man wasn't wearing any shirt, only a black fur coat that extends all the way to his knee was decorating his upper body. Five huge diagonal claw marks can also be seen on his chest and if one looked closely, one could see a peculiar blurry mark on the upper side part of his left waist. It wasn't a tattoo because it looks like it was engraved.
"Are you certain, Lionell?" Asked Chris with a frown.
"Yes. I witnessed it myself. There's an unknown beast roaming around the mountain. And wherever it goes… carnage follows." Replied by Lionell as he recalled the wreckage and destruction he witnessed.
"Where did you last see its presence?"
"I last found its tracks a couple of kilometers south from the village beside the stone ruins."
"Do you have any clue as to what kind of beast we're dealing with?" Chris stood up and gazed at a window nearby. His eyes were sharp and his demeanour was cold.
"For now, no. The beast had left some fur and some footprints. It's nothing like I've ever encountered before."
"I see." Chris pondered for a while before saying "We'll form a hunting party tomorrow after Johan returned so we could eliminate this beast at once. It's better to be safe than sorry." Said Chris with a bright smile. His cold demeanor was now gone and he was back to his old self. Lionell also smiled and said. "You've changed. Before, you would always charge right ahead without any plan."
"Hahaha that was because I don't have a son who would cry for hours after I returned home with bruises." Said Chris joyfully as he recalled the time Little Lu cried for hours in the middle of the night after he returned home from hunting some wild beast that's been terrorizing the village.
"I'm aware, in fact the whole village's aware since Lucian's cry could be heard from miles away that night" Lionell responded with a smile.
"Haha" Chris laughed awkwardly as he felt embarrassed. He can't even stop his son from crying, how would anyone respect him as the village chief. "Ahem* Anyway how's the twins?" Chris quickly changed the subject.
Lionell stayed silent for a moment before saying "Their primal instincts are already manifesting. It won't be long before they learn about the tribe's history." Lionell closed his eyes and sighed afterward.
Chris could feel Lionell's worries because he knew what awaited the twins in the future.
"How's Leo, I heard he got stung on his buttocks? He's turning more and more like you by the day." Chris said with a smile as he quickly changed the subject again.
"Hahaha that little rascal still has a long way to go. It's Leah who I'm worried about. It looks like she inherited her mother's curiosity." Lionell laughed while his canine teeth showed.
The two exchanged sentences and caught up for a while before Chris said…
"Head back home for now Lionell, you've been away for days, I'm sure the twins miss you. I'll notify you tomorrow about the hunt after Johan retur-
"CHIEF!!! WE GOT A PROBLEM!!!" A woman suddenly barged in! She was blonde and was wearing a blindfold. It was Auntie Jane. She was carrying an unconscious Noah in her arms and behind her was Calir who was carrying a crying Luna.
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Inside the forest, a few minutes after Little Lu escaped and followed Mary's group.
"Are we close now?" Asked Little Lu excitedly as he ran in the forest. He was alone or rather he was supposed to be.
But… beside the boy, one could see myriads of multicolored Nature Wisps, happily flying all about him. Anyone who could witness this sight would think the wisps were trying to abduct him. They happily danced around him and whispered inaudible sounds.
Nature Wisps were timid and elusive by nature. They rarely show themselves not just because they're shy but also because they are not of this world. They live in the Spirit Realm and only come to the Mortal Realm to deliver an invitation from their master, the Spirits. Nature Wisps were made of Mana and are very weak and fragile. They are mostly composed of soft glowing outer membranes and a core inside. Just like a slime but smaller, have the ability to fly and be more agile. Nature Wisps are also known as the Herald of Spirits. If they were to appear in one place it would mean that a new Spirit would be born there or have already been born and was in the process of establishing a connection to the Spirit Realm. The Spirit Realm isn't the realm the human souls go to after they die. The Spirit Realm is a Higher Plane that accommodates the Spirits that were born naturally. Specifically Elemental Spirits. They were born naturally through thick concentration of Mana in one area. At first they would become a Force of Nature, a natural calamity of some sort and if the right conditions were met they would develop their own consciousness, after that is intelligence, which could take years to develop and finally they sever their connection to Mana, finally becoming a being of their own. Only after they completed all these conditions could they be recognized by Higher Spirits and be invited to the Spirit Realm. They could also leave the Mortal Realm on their own after they became… Law Spirits.
"The forest is so beautiful! What are those?"
"Wahh! Look at that! What a big bird! I wonder if it would let me ride it?"
Little Lu encountered a lot of wild plants and animals and also some beasts along the way. At first they felt apprehensive towards the little boy, some were even aggressive but after gazing at his eyes every animal and some Low Grade beasts would feel like they have known him for a long time. They would feel a certain kind of connection to him. They would feel safe, even a savage and aggressive animal by nature would calm down and would seek a pat on its head. Well that only applied to animals and some low Low Grade beasts, mostly First Grade beasts to Second Grade. Most beast still retained their natural instinct and acted aggressively toward him. But that's all they did, they acted aggressively. Their instinct screamed and they felt a primal fear invading their whole being whenever they thought about attacking Little Lu. Luckily, with the Nature Wisps' guidance, Lu never encountered an Awakened Beast.
Beasts were essentially just animals that were successful in forming a Mana Core just like humans. They either succeeded because they lived in a place rich with mana or because they were exposed to a lot of danger so they longed for survival hence becoming stronger and in turn their strength became a desire for more power which then became the source to fuel them in successfully forming a mana core. A Beast that was able to form a new mana core are called Grade Beasts. First Grade to Seventh to be exact. They're at the initial stage of strengthening their core before becoming an Awakened Beast. Awakened Beasts are Beasts that have unlocked their full potential and would undergo a complete transformation which would turn them into a much higher life form, after that would become an Earthly Calamity Beast and then become a Heavenly Desolator Beast. Each stage is divided into Seven minor Stages except for when they reach the Divine Rank.
The only difference between a human and a beast's mana core was that a beast's mana core are physically manifested inside their body unlike humans that are incorporeal. Anyway back to Little Lu…
"Hmm? What's this? Oooh! So pretty!"
Little Lu exclaimed excitedly as he discovered new things he hadn't seen before. Suddenly a small blue nature wisp flew close to his ear.
"I can eat this? But it's so pretty." Little Lu said hesitatingly.
"I know!" The little boy exclaimed. "I'll give it to Mama later." Little Lu said as he plucked a rainbow colored flower. Suddenly, a red colored nature wisp flew toward the boy from a distance. It lingered close to Little Lu's ear for a while as if telling him something.
"Hehe I'm going to scare them. This is punishment for leaving me behind" said Little Lu as he continues running.
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Back at the small office.
"What happened?" Chris asked Calir as he used a healing spell on Noah. Chis is a Paladin, a type of Battle Mage that specializes in fighting using the Light Element. Even though Chris is a battle mage and specializes in combat, he also knows some support spells as his element is very versatile.
"Noah's already unconscious and Luna's already like this when I saw them running toward here." Said Calir. She already asked Luna what happened but what she got was just inaudible sobbing sounds. It's better to let her calm down before asking her again.
Noah's expression eased up a bit after Chris casted his spell. His eyes trembled for a while as if he was having a bad dream.
The rest let the Aunt and Nephew settle down for a while before asking questions.
You are reading story God Incarnate at novel35.com
Lionell stood there quietly, but his instinct was screaming! This was the first time he ever felt like this. His uneasiness started right after Auntie Jane barged in a panicked manner and it only kept growing by the minute. 'Something's wrong! But what?!' He thought.
"Jane, explain… " Chris said after a while.
Jane wiped the tears of the now sleeping Noah, she stayed silent for a moment before saying "Noah had his first premonition."
"What?!" Everyone was shocked. Except for Luna who also fell asleep on Calir's arms.
"It's too soon. Didn't you say it would start when he turned 16 years old?" Chris said as he frowned.
"Yes, as that is how we… The Seer Clan have been since time immemorial." Jane said. "16 is the age our Spiritual Mind reaches its full maturity. And by then our mind and soul would be able to handle the burden of the future. Our life would no longer belong to us after we turned 16, it would belong to the World." she continued.
After Jane explained, everyone remained silent and pondered for a while. They thought about the implications of the sudden turn of events will have on the village. And most of all, what did Noah see in his prophecy.
After a while Jane spoke again.
"Something is wrong with the stream, the flow of time has been disrupted. I don't know how or why but I'm sure I felt it when… " Jane paused.
"When Lucian was born…" Lionell continued.
Chris and Calir frowned. They were aware. They were aware but it's still hard for them to come to peace with it. The fact that their son was so special that he could affect everything around him by just existing.
"Everything is happening too soon." Lionell said. "My twins are already showing signs of Primal Instinct manifestation."
"Noah already experienced his first premonition." Jane chimed in.
"The amount of Earthly Calamity Beasts are growing by the year." Continued Lionell.
"The mana concentration around the village is getting denser and denser." Calir added in a heavy tone.
"And most of all the Fog surrounding Smog Mountain is becoming thicker and more potent." Said Chris with a sigh.
"At this rate we won't be able to survive. Especially since you two, Old Beth, and Johan are the only abled Mage around." Lionell said with a heavy mood as he touched the engraved mark on the upper side part of his left waist. Jane did the same and clutched her right shoulder.
"N-No! S-Stop! Run!" Noah suddenly started screaming in his sleep.
"Noah! Everything's alright Noah. I'm here, Aunty is here." Jane softly said as he hugged and caressed the boy's head.
Noah's eyes trembled for a bit before they opened. "Ahh! W-where am I?!" Asked the boy frantically as he clutched his aching head.
"Noah!" Auntie Jane immediately hugged the boy tightly. Her body was shaking in concern and in fear. She was concerned that his mind might be damaged permanently since he hasn't reached full maturity to handle the burden of seeing the future. And she felt fear, fear of losing Noah, the only family she has left.
Noah hugged Auntie Jane back after he remembered what happened and he started crying heavily. His body remembered how the future felt. It was dreadful. "Aunty! Uwaaaah!!"
"Aunty! *hick Save them! Save Leah and the others!" Noah suddenly said which caught everyone by surprise.
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In the forest, Leah's group suddenly came to a stop.
"Is this the place you found it?" Asked Gin.
"Yes, yes! I found it right here." Leah said as she pointed towards the ground. Gin and Mary noticed the mark where the barrel could have been sitting. But what caught their attention the most was the broken barrels lying all around.
'What the hell happened here?' Asked Gin inwardly. He surveyed the surrounding while gripping his sword handle tightly.
"Whoa! I didn't notice before but this place smells like Tonic Nectar. Big Sis! Big Sis! I think I discovered where nectars came from. I can't wait to tell Leo hehe." Leah said excitedly. She was about to explore the area when Mary suddenly pulled her close. "Don't wander around!" She said strictly. "B-But-... okay.."
Gin went in front and crouched down. He took a palm worth of dirt. "I believe all of these barrels contained Tonic Nectar. Too bad everything's been spilt to the ground." He said dejectedly.
"Wha- no way." Leah said disappointedly. "I thought this is where the nectar grows. So this place just smelled like nectar because nectar was spilled everywhere? Who would do such a thing!? We need to teach them a lesson! Right Big Sis?" She genuinely thought that this place was the place where Tonic Nectar came from.
Mary just smiled at the little girl but her smile made Leah shut her mouth.
Gin saw a track which a barrel makes after it rolled. He followed the track while the others followed closely behind him. He eventually came to a dead end because the track ended beside a small cliff. It seems like the barrel fell down from this cliff.
"L-Let's head back. It seems like something bad happened here. T-This could be a bandit's hideout." Said Mary as she gripped Leah's hand tightly.
"Don't be so worried Big Si-
Before Leah could even finish her sentence her eyes suddenly constricted into pin size as her hair stood on ends. Gin drew his sword as he ran back and stood in front of them.
"W-What's happening?!" Mary asked frantically as she pulled Leah close to her.
"Blood." said Gin.