Bond

The silver expanse within Caine's eyes suddenly trembled and expanded, gaining a life of its own, twisting and shifting in ways that defied explanation.

The silver landscape widened and stretched endlessly, transforming into an infinite dimension. Against this backdrop of shimmering silver skies, dark lands of pure black emerged in stark contrast, while an ocean of gold formed below.

High above, nine radiant rings materialized in the silver sky, shining so brightly they anchored this dimension, acting as its suns.

Caine exhaled slowly, and the vivid world within his eyes blurred and receded. His pupils returned to their usual form.

Surprisingly, opening his Bond Space had turned out to be far easier than he had anticipated.

Though the process required only a single command, he had expected complications—something to go wrong. Yet, everything had proceeded without issue. Shaking his head, he prepared to continue.

But before he could take another step, something extraordinary occurred. Beside the three eggs that hovered in the air, two more suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Caine barely had a moment to examine them before all five eggs vanished, reappearing deep within his Bond Space.

He froze.

"Five eggs…?"

His pupils trembled as the realization struck.

'Normally, a Velios can only have a single bond. It's an absolute law—unshakable and unquestionable. Only rare, mutated bloodlines produce exceptions. But…'

Caine wasn't just any Velios. He was a royal—a direct descendant of the main line, the bloodline that had ruled since time immemorial.

His bloodline simply couldn't mutate. It was an absolute impossibility.

Which meant…

'This has to be related to my past life. In one life, I can only have a single half—otherwise, it would create a paradox.'

His pupils trembled even more. 'Does that mean…?'

Caine immediately shook his head, forcing the thought from his mind. Now wasn't the time to lose focus. He would have to wait until he returned and sought Zao's counsel to examine his condition. Assuming the worst now served no purpose.

Taking a shaky breath, he steadied his mind. As calm settled over him, he exhaled once more, his worries dissipating as his thoughts fell into alignment.

Closing his eyes, he embraced the darkness behind his eyelids.

His bones began to glow, their radiance seeping through his flesh. The intricate runes etched onto them pulsed, resonating with the dense qi coursing through his blood. A low hum reverberated through the space, and within his Bond Space, the five eggs began to tremble.

Runes and streams of qi gathered in the air. At that moment, grand shadows began to materialize within his Bond Space.

Caine tried to discern their shapes, but each attempt brought a splitting headache so intense it nearly forced him to collapse.

Despite the pain, he pressed forward.

'Let's begin.'

The five shadows suddenly vanished from his Bond Space and reappeared around him in the physical realm. Just as swiftly as they had appeared, they shattered into countless runes that burrowed into his body.

Caine's robes disintegrated, revealing his bare skin as five distinct rune patterns began to form.

Upon his left arm, a crimson tattoo of fiery clouds appeared, completely covering his hand, forearm, and shoulder. Pure, maddening vitality erupted from the tattoo, flooding his body and saturating his blood qi in an instant.

On his right arm, black-scaled tattoos outlined in deep amethyst materialized, stretching from his fingers to his shoulder. The overwhelming vitality coursing through his body was rapidly devoured by these scales, condensed and contained within his frame, amplifying his power.

The tattoos from both arms converged on his chest, forming a majestic fresco: golden flames engulfing a scaled dragon.

On Caine's legs, silver feathers appeared, etched like the remnants of an angel's descent from the heavens.

His back bore the image of white mountains clashing against stormy black clouds, arcs of grey lightning raining down in a depiction of the eternal struggle between earth and sky.

Caine's eyes snapped open, glowing with intensity as a complex arcane sigil seared itself into his retinas, burning deep into his very soul.

The tattoos on his body shimmered with auspicious light before sinking into his skin, embedding themselves permanently within his flesh.

Runes bloomed from these tattoos, linking seamlessly with those on his bones, their intricate arrays expanding his internal structure.

Deep within his Bond Space, Caine could now feel an unbreakable connection to the eggs. The bond was primal, raw, and profound—he felt almost paternal, as though looking upon his own children in the safety of a womb.

It was a strange sensation, yet it felt natural, as though it had always been meant to be this way.

WHOOOSH!

A cold wind swept through the hall as Caine exhaled and rose to his feet. From thin air, white robes transmuted from qi wrapped around him, draping over his frame.

'What a strange feeling,' he thought, a soft smile gracing his lips. He felt whole, like a shattered vase finally restored.

'I wonder what Uncle's bonds look like. He never talked about them.'

Pushing the thought aside, Caine turned his attention to the task at hand—escaping this strange place.

The presence of the eggs and the formation they were kept in revealed something crucial: this wasn't the original hall he had entered. It was clear the Pope had hidden these eggs in a separate location, accessible only through the teleportation formation within his hall.

Yet, as Caine examined his surroundings, he couldn't shake the unease creeping into his thoughts.

'I have no idea where I am.'

This wasn't just a different location—it felt like an entirely separate dimension, a pocket space. It was eerily reminiscent of the place where his trials should have originally taken place.

And if this truly was a pocket space, one created by the Pope…

Caine's thoughts darkened.

'If the Pope is capable of forming pocket spaces while existing as an entity within a fractured reality…'

Caine was under no delusions. He knew he'd inevitably have to face this Pope if he wanted to leave and if before he was confident in coming out unscathed, he wasn't so sure now.

Caine sat down on the floor cross legged and closed his eyes, circulating his qi as he waited.