Wind, Tick, and Tock

'It's not just a sculpture, but a being that possesses its own souls? More than one?'

Rentaro's eyes reflected his interest as he willed the system inventory open, the Sacrificial Knife appearing in his grasp.

Counting on his right hand alone, it was difficult to perform a contract without grabbing the knife by the blade itself.

"Kyon, could you cut a small opening on my finger for me?"

"As the elder here, I guess I'm left with no choice but to take on the hard-hitting tasks."

Before Rentaro could hand it off, it hovered through the air into Kyon's pudgy paws.

Schwoo!

It was over in a flash as a cut suddenly appeared on Rentaro's hand, a drop of blood amassing.

Rentaro moved his hand above the Colo Colo, the droplet falling slowly.

The sculpture reverberated, giving off a gentle hum as it shimmered with a silver light.

Alongside the shimmering light, the figure gradually underwent a transformation. It turned into an orb, its silver color quickly becoming colorless.

The humming continued and runic symbols emerged in their surroundings. From Rentaro to the figure, a Soul Contract was being established.

Rentaro couldn't hear any thoughts, though he felt a nudging sensation.

It was like the Colo-Colo was sending its general thoughts and feelings to his consciousness.

He couldn't make out the specifications, but understood the general gist of what it was saying.

It—no—they!

They were happily cheering on for the contract's creation. As he previously heard, this being held multiple souls.

There were three souls to be exact, though their souls were all linked together.

And so, only one soul contract was being established.

Finally, the runes merged into each of their bodies and the contract was completed.

Three figures formed in front of him: a fish, mouse, and an owl.

The fish was small and energetic, with a wind-up key on the side of its body connecting into a small gear. Its meticulously carved scales shimmered a beautiful purple, and its green eyes held tiny functioning clocks.

The mouse was tiny but mischievous, with two red gem like eyes also containing clocks. Its body was grey, and it seemed like an ordinary mouse's.

Lastly was the owl, its head tilted with a trace of arrogance. Yet, there was also wisdom. Its feathers were bland as if it looked down on the idea of beauty, seeing it as a waste of potential that could be allocated elsewhere. Its yellow eyes sparkled, the clocks inside functioning like the others.

Rentaro looked on, lost in thought. Then he had an idea.

"I should give the three of you names, shouldn't I? Fishy, you'll be known as Wind thanks to that wind-up key. Mousey, I'll call you Tick, and Owlie, I'll call you Tock."

Rentaro didn't think, giving them names based on their clockwork appearances.

Wind, Tick, and Tock. He felt they were fitting names.

With a soft cheer, the three fused back together into the scaled-mouse with wings.

It wasn't a particularly menacing appearance, so much as it was awe-inspiring. And rather than change the name of the fused form, Rentaro felt Colo-Colo was a good fit.

Rentaro willed the system stats open, taking a peak at their stats.

***

Name(s): Colo-Colo, Wind, Tick, Tock

Bio: Colo-Colo (Clockwork Series)

Contracted by: Rentaro Eccel

Grade: Legendary

Cultivation Stage: Affinity Foundation - Stage 6

Elemental Affinities:

Time - Paragon Stage

Innate Talents:

[Three Souls] — The Colo-Colo is made up of three separate entities, each possessing their own soul. Splitting apart, they will each take on their own form as a fish, mouse, and owl. Each form specializes in a specific area.

[Wind] — In the form of a fish, Wind excels in the water.

[Tick] — In the form of a mouse, Tick excels on the earth.

[Tock] — In the form of an owl, Tock excels in the sky.

[Colo-Colo Fusion] — When all three souls and bodies combine, they take on the form of the Colo-Colo, becoming a mouse covered protectively in the scales of a fish, sprouting the wings of an owl from its back. The Colo-Colo possesses all rounded strengths.

***

Rentaro was astonished, especially after reading their elemental affinity with the element of time.

Snapping back to reality, he realized that he didn't seem to develop an elemental affinity with the time element.

'Now that I think about it, I didn't develop an affinity with Rjuka's shadow element either.'

Tess said, [You can't gain an affinity with complex elements through contracts just like that. The shadow element is a fusion from the elements of fire and wind. You'll have to master the shadow element on your own, though you still have the assistance of Rjuka and his memories.]

Wilhelm followed enthusiastically, [Rentaro, the time element is very complex. Elements that accompany a broader subject like chaos, spatial, yin, yang, and many others will take much practice! Hang in there though!]

Aside from feeling some despondency, Rentaro felt it made sense.

Pushing aside his curiosity for now, it was time to start thinking of the bigger picture.

Rather than stay cooped up in Krose Village, as nice as it was, he felt like going on an adventure and seeing what else was in store for his new life.

Not to mention, this was but one realm, and but one World Tree.

There had to be much more out there! He couldn't just wait around at the beginning of his journey forever.

Rentaro's words carried much more weight as his voice boomed, "Wilhelm, Roy, Kyon, Tess, Rjuka, Colo-Colo... In a few days, it will be time for us to head out."

"As I learned the hard way, I worry that we won't get much stronger here now that the calm has resumed. I'll need to take a few days to get used to living without my left arm first though."

Wilhelm immediately agreed, taking note of Rentaro's voice. There was a firmness to it which was previously lacking.

Wilhelm sighed, 'He lost his arm, but at least he's standing even stronger.'

Tess noted down, 'With an early introduction to the harshness of his new life, he should progress with better efficiency.'

Initially, Rentaro was terrified after losing arm.

His nerves were wracked and if it were a normal situation, he'd still be shivering in recollection of it.

But while the traumatic shock was strong, he experienced quite a bit during his loss of consciousness as he recollected his memories.

His drifting memories eventually brought him to surf into Kyon's memories as well, thanks to their soul contract. There he saw much worse than what he had expected—horrors he couldn't even have imagined to exist.

There were humongous titan-like beings with harrowing auras, but their figures were far too vague to be made out. Relating them to hand-drawn outlines by a stickman artist was the best comparison Rentaro could find.

And it was these horrors that gave him two options: get stronger or wallow in fear.

Of course, wallowing in fear wasn't an option Rentaro would consider. And even if he decided to hide in seclusion, a single passerby seeking trouble would ruin that option, as what happened in Edalas' situation.

As his thoughts continued, his budding energy started to lessen, prompting him into a tired daze.

'What... What is wrong with me now?'

Wilhelm started in concern, [The more summons you have, the more energy needed to sustain their summon outside of their dimension.]

"Why wasn't I tired having Roy and Kyon summoned for so long?"

[Roy and Kyon both exist in the same realm as you. Rjuka was summoned from another world, and while you received Colo-Colo from a random gift, they also came from elsewhere.]

[Only when your cultivation progresses much further in the future will you be free to summon as many summons as you want and for how long as you want. Until then, the summoning cost will tax your energy.]

Rjuka voiced his concern, "You can send me back to the summoner space awhile."

Rentaro felt bad as Rjuka showed his love for the outside world, but a trace of drowsiness overcame him and his body fell onto the bed.

'He's only sleeping.'

The others checked to their relief.

They covered him with a blanket before Rjuka and Colo-Colo returned to the summon's space.

Roy and Kyon stayed out, hopping onto the bed to rest while watching over him.

Kyon looked at Roy, "Let's both get some rest as well. Much has happened today, but much more will happen in the future."

Wilhelm's voice resounded in their ears, [You're right. Let us all get stronger, not for our own sake, but to protect one another.]

Roy was so tired that he uttered a wu-wu noise in agreement, closing his eyes.

While they slept, Icrin and Astrona had returned home with smiles on their faces.

Icrin's fatigue was overcome by one thought: 'Rentaro, Roy! We need to have our Sworn Brother ritual done soon!'