The Mystery of Flay and Kairo

Flay arrived in the oasis and could see the Bewilderbisons feeding on the marsh that grows nearby. The strange thing was that the Kragg Hippose were not alarmed by the heard but welcomed them.

"Strange…"

"What is it, Master?"

"The interaction of these monsters… I thought the Kragg Hippos would get all territorial with a herd of Bewilderbisons approaching since it would mean their food supply would decrease. But the Hippos actually welcomed them!"

"What does this mean, Master?"

"I don't know. I should have paid more attention to the classes in the village regarding the Three Hs. In any case, I need to get this green plant essence off me! Otherwise, the hippo or the bison will eat me!"

Flay ran and jumped into the water to wash away the plant essence. However, it was very cold, and Flay quickly moved out and used the python's heat.

The Kragg Hippos and the Bewilderbisons were looking intently at Flay.

"What? You guys haven't seen a guy heat himself up with a Monster Core?" Flay frowned.

The hippos and bisons began to distance themselves from Flay. But they did not show any aggression.

"They even welcomed me here! I thought they would at least intimidate me!" Flay was amazed.

"Master, could it be that they too are desperate for allies?"

"That would be it. But this is good for us. At least, we can live through the night. I doubt anyone would guard here. I'll just make some leaf covering to shade me from the heat later on." Flay began to work quickly. He didn't know how many hours he had left until sunrise, so he quickly created a shade through the branches and thick leaves he found.

Soon, Flay had a little tent which he placed right next to the pond.

He sank his Taming Hand in the cold water along with the branches of wood he carried earlier.

"Kairo. You decide which to work on first. Create more of those stamina pills with these Ever Itch branches. And devour the rest of the Bewilderbeast Core. But save the python's core for now."

"Understood, Master. Please, rest quietly. I will be drawing the power of Neptune to help you replenish your vigor. That will be my priority."

"Alright… Kairo. You keep watching. Slimes don't need to sleep, right?"

"Don't worry, Master. I'll absorb energy and peak out."

"Thanks." Flay smiled. Immediately after that, Flay fell asleep. With his alertness and guard dropped, his body succumbed to the fatigue.

"...He fainted? Master must have been in a more troubling condition than I thought." Kairo began to work and started to gather the water energy to heal Flay and use some to constantly try to remove the strange seal in Flay's Taming Hand.

"The Eos would not be so naive as to leave me to Pluton! If this is Pluton, why did they seal me? My Masters are not reckless. And this Pluton used to be a part of them! Could it be that Pluton's system is sealed in Master? Is that why he has great hearing, a vision that can see through the dark, and an unnatural resistance to cold?" Kairo began to think about the strange things of his master secretly.

"And that terrifying battle instinct! He fought and survived against two beasts surpassing his realm! Not many can do that! How many geniuses would have the wit and reaction of my Master?" Kairo began to heal and unseal.

Two hours passed, and the sky began to lighten up.

The heat of the sun quickly arrived, and the cold temperature in the lands dropped.

Flay was still unconscious, but Kairo had progressed as he gathered a significant amount of water energy from the pool.

The pool was teeming with life essence from all the plants that fueled it. Kairo knew that this must have been related to the Three H that Flay talked about.

Hours passed, and the cool shade protected Flay, and the water energy kept Flay protected from the arid lands. As a result, Flay didn't even perspire from the heat.

Inside the Taming Hand's soul space, Kairo's body was seated atop the Taming Jewel as it continued to use the energy to break it. The monster core of the Bewilderbison had been fully absorbed, and with that energy, Kairo attacked the seal in the Taming Jewel.

BOOM!

At the attack, the seal finally broke!

Flay woke up from the power and felt a strange syncing of power was occurring between him and Kairo.

---

Sol System is assimilating with Flay Eulser….

Assimilation Complete!

Taming Hand has acquired the power to wield the powers of the Sol Eos!

---

The strange words began to appear in Flay's vision.

"Wha-what the?!" Flay was started as he woke up.

"Finally…" Kairo was relieved.

"Kairo? What happened?"

"You finally received the Sol System. There was a seal that was blocking the Sol System from syncing with your soul! But I spent the night removing it from your Taming Jewel, and as I removed part of the seal, the Sol powers finally synced with your soul!"

"What do you mean? I thought I had it already?"

"No. My powers were supposed to be shared with my master. But that seal was stopping the power of the Eos from flowing in you. Now it can. It means that you have acquired the Blessing of the Sol Eos. You can use their system. At your current level, you may choose one power among the Systems that I have to take for your own."

"My own? Do you mean I can use it? If I take Venus's powers, I would have the ability to absorb fire?"

"Yes, Master! You see, I theorized that your Taming Jewel is more than just a jewel. It is your soul."

"It's my soul?"

"To be more specific, the jewel inside the realm of your Taming Hand is your very soul. I was curious why my power couldn't sync with you since we met. And when I saw your Taming Hand and the seals that covered it, I knew that this was the cause."

"Why was it sealed?"

"I don't know, Master. The truth is, I only removed one layer of this seal. From the looks of it, there are many more seals to destroy! But I'm too weak! I need to reach the next level of the Sol System. So you have to upgrade all Systems for me to destroy the next seal!"

"What?! Is it that strong? Aren't you like an assistant to gods? And even you can't break this seal?"

"It is indeed a curious thing. Master. Now that our souls are linked, I can no longer hide the secrets I have kept. I saw something the first time I destroyed the obstruction of energy. There seem to be two curses in your body. The first one was a seal that seems to have been affecting all your tribe. But this is the weaker one. It is made of man. But there is another curse in your body that is of godly origin. And this might be the key to your very unique abilities in hearing, seeing, and your resistance against the cold."

"Godly origin? What have you not been telling me?"

"My apologies, master. I kept this a secret since I was not sure what to make of it. But now I will tell you the vision I saw back when I was absorbing and sending the energy of the Gators monster core to you!"

Kairo revealed everything with the link in their soul and how Kairo was bound to servitude. The sight of the Eight Eos and the attack on Pluton. And the mysterious words that the Eos spoke to Kairo at the end of the vision.

Flay was stunned silent at Kairo's revelation.

"What does this mean? Pluton was sealed in you?" Flay asked.

"I didn't understand, Master. But in my life of service, they never sealed anything in me. That vision must have happened after I was locked away and sealed."

"Then, who was this Pluton?"

"I believe… he is you, master."

"Me?! How can it be me? I found it in that pool!"

"No, Master. You didn't find me in that pool. You released me in it. I was sealed inside this Taming Hand. The pool you found was perfect for me to create a body, and that was why I came to be. This is why your Taming Hand turned from Black to Red. You didn't awaken me from a mysterious slumber. I was sealed inside your Taming Hand. And when I came out, your seal vanished." Kairo finally revealed.

"You… You were in me?"

"Yes, Master. That is the only logical explanation. Monsters like to create a cultivation mucus. The Pteranodon was trying to mutate or evolve. It was creating that pool for it to cover itself in as it undergoes a metamorphosis. That was what the pool was. It was valuable, but it never had the power to contain me. But a tribe of lost Summoners would have the ability to seal my soul inside. You mentioned that you are an orphan, correct?"

"Yeah… The Tamers told me that my father left me to them and then vanished…"

"Then… what am I?"

"I do not know, Master. What I do know is that I am bound to serve you. And that you are in danger right now. And your village is on the brink of annihilation." Kairo reminded.

"What I do know is that you have the power to save them. And what I do know is that my masters, the Eos, wouldn't be so reckless as to seal me in Pluton without any reasons."

Flay was silent at first, but Kairo's words made Flay remember his village.

"You're right…! Right now, I need to live and get out of this alive!" Flay slowly tried to stand up.

"WHAT?! MOTHER CRITCHES!" Flay cursed out a vulgar phrase that his village used.

"Master?! What happened?!"

"I…"

"Master… Did you… pee on yourself…?" Kairo finally noticed that the ground under Flay was wet.

"My hand was submerged the entire night! And I've drank a lot of water!" Flay defended.

"What an amazing power the great Pluton has! The very earth softens where he lies." Kairo laughed.

Flay was about to answer in anger when a more sinister thought surfaced.

"Kairo. Clean the ground up. I command you."

"Ma-Master…?!"

"What? Is there a problem? You absorbed gator spit? What's a little pee from your master?"

"The- the.. Pteranodon! It will detect me!"

"Liar. I can sense no Death Mark in you. Our link has allowed me to sense it clearly! It must have been eliminated when our two souls resonated and synchronized! Do it!"

"No…! Anything but that, master! My dignity!"

"You should have thought about that before you insulted your master." Flay sneered.

"Master! I can show your stats now! Our link has allowed my system to synchronize with your stats!"

"My stats?" Flay was intrigued.

"Yes, master! The Eos created this as a means to identify and quantify the powers of a person! I believe these stats will intrigue you! It will show you… MASTER! NO! PLEASE NO! MERCY!"

"I am Pluton! The God of Death! Why would I be merciful?!" Flay began to push Kairo on the small pool that Flay had created.

As Kairo suffered an embarrassing predicament, several kilometers from the oasis that Flay was in was a wearied woman.

She was in tears as the Azure Stallion that carried her had finally died from the heat and wounds it received. But the woman knew she couldn't mourn the death of this beast but had to keep on moving.

She covered her face with a thick cloak and kept on moving through the great heat. Her stallion had sensed the abundant water and was already headed towards it. But alas, it died. The woman could only hope that she could reach the oasis before she succumbs to the heat.

On the right arm of this woman was a strange green jewel. Just like Flay, this woman had a Taming Hand.