After eight lifetimes of love and betrayal, Orin Stonewood's soul awakens in his ninth and final reincarnation. He is now Zmey Ashbane, a ruthless dragon emperor ruling the Infernosphere. His own past lives haunt him. Those he trusted killed him. Now, he must confront his fears and the curse of the Ninefold Resurrection Ritual. Hated by humans and hunted as a beast, Zmey carries the weight of his fiery realm. A cruel fate demands his death. Will he break free of the cycle and forge his path, or succumb to becoming tame or a victim of Beast Exorcists? For Zmey, death is no longer in the picture—he must rise, not as a pawn of fate, but as its master. ---- join discord https://discord.com/invite/yhWjUVJQMD
She said it as if someone had already told it to her. Silvan clenched his fist.
Years ago, in the kingdom of Vintergaard lived a family of three. The parents were poor. They sought money by helping others with their work.
They always needed more time to stay long with their only child. Their house was on the outskirts of the kingdom, and the child was only told to wait inside the house for them.
Meanwhile, their ten-year-old son saw kids playing in the ocean or making balls from thin dry leaves. But he felt detached from the others since he had not come out of the house over the years.
He knew how tough his parents worked, so troubling them if he got hurt wasn't a good idea.
Every night, without fail, the parents always came back home, drained of energy. So, they could get him some steamed potatoes before they went inside to sleep.
But the ten-year-old Silvan Ferox would never complain. His folks worked as apprentices in different locations.
At one point, his father told him once about their job, when he asked out of curiosity. They had once been restaurant and market helpers.
They even worked their arses off cleaning other people's houses. He couldn't fully grasp the struggle, given his age. But he knew it. His parents were working too much, aging, and growing weak.
Then, when Silvan turned twelve, he had once asked his mother for permission to join them too. She was the older folk and usually made most decisions in the house.
Captain Silvan, in the cold depths of the illusionary world, could hear his mother's yells to him that day.
On that day, she was so upset that for the first time, she ever hit him. He wondered why, and later, after two days, she told him.
That was also the first time they talked at night that his mother hadn't gone inside to crash in bed.
With a mix of firmness and hope, she told him their responsibility as parents was to provide for him, even though they were poor. But he should aim to be better than them.
He should become highly skilled. One day, he would then shine among the others from the Magic Sanctuary. That way, the glory of their Ferox family would shine through the centuries.
However, back in the present, Ferox wondered if their family's heritage would go as planned. Because the more he recalled the past, the greater the urge he had to kill Necrot Nymera.
She had killed everyone in his kingdom, including his parents.
And as if that weren't enough, she had also continued killing more until he turned thirty-six. The grudge he had against her, to him, was his guardian to the strength and immense power he had today.
As her words replayed in his mind, he agreed she was right.. this was why he lived! To kill at least her if he wouldn't be able to attack the other Necrots like that.
Looking back, it made sense. She was what he looked forward to killing. He had gone through the tough rite of ascension for every sorcerer to move from one mage body to another. It shaped their destiny and form.
The process had been gruelling. The trials required intense training and dedication. They had to align a mage's body, mind, and soul with each magical force.
But before that moment, the Necrot had destroyed the embers of hope he had left in the world. With a touch, she froze the adults and children on the outskirts of Vintergaard into statues.
She had absorbed their life forces.
For Silvan, staying indoors had initially spared his life. But not for long. When he peeped through the window, the sharp cracks piercing his mother's skin made him scream.
Driven by terror, he jumped outside. But he froze at the terrifying reality of dark magic and the eerie, dark female creature.
'I would have died! I should have! But he saved me, although only two souls could leave among three...'
In the chaos, a Beast Tamer had saved the scene, although he had already been late. He was one with a chiselled jawline. He wore a long black leather jacket.
Its hem held an intricate design of a curly serpent.
At that moment, there was a flicker of hope in his eyes when he laid eyes on Silvan. He could still recall the relief settling in his eyes back then.
The Beast Tamer's powerful aura and his Terrmagma beast known as a Ymirhund, were enough to kill Nymera back then.
Yet, even as the battle raged on, more Necrots, male and female, Nymera's backup army, came and dominated the scene. That day told Silvan something he could never forget.
It was then he learned: One must focus on responsibility above all else. Be ready to do anything to complete your life's mission. So far, they had chosen the path themselves from the outset.
In the end, that was what the man had done. He had left himself behind to face the dark warriors. He summoned his second tame, a malevolent phoenix. It removed Silvan from the scene in a short time.
As the Necrots closed in, the Ymirhund beast had stood against them. The phoenix had rescued him from a cave deep in the mountains of a forest in Eldengrove. He was oblivious to most things.
At first, he didn't understand why the terrifying phoenix was circling the cave. Or what happened to his parents then. Yet, the Beast Tamer never returned.
Within a day, the phoenix was nowhere to be found, either. There were stacks of veggies and fruits inside the cave, plus a stony platform that looked like a bed. Everything was terrifying to him.
But one morning, upon waking one day, a glowing golden star dancing in the air above him met his gaze. Holding it changed his story forever.
He entered the Tamer's Soul Land. A Soul Land was the point of an awakening of power for someone injected with the Sable Mark. It would send the souls of the injected to the Soul Land, where even the wind's movement seeks attention.
Whether one awakens as a Beast Tamer or Exorcist there depends on their resilience. Otherwise, they would never get to wake up.
Inside the Soul Land held the Tamer's memories, messages, magical scrolls, and the key to tame his beasts. In a way, it felt as if the man were still alive.
As Silvan explored further, he learned about the magic system, its history, and the Necrots' creation. Most importantly, he learned why he should grow from a helpless child into a powerful person.
He had to grow strong enough to tame the man's beasts: the Ymirhund Terramagma beast, the phoenix Infernosphere, and the tree spirit.
The more Silvan learned, the clearer his path became. His mission was to avenge his parents. The Beast Tamer's mission had been to save people like him, even at the cost of his own life.
For years, he lived in the forest, raised by the three beasts. During this time, he pushed his limits. On some days, he climbed mountains, slipping often, only to be caught by the phoenix.
On others, he practiced fighting moves and dodging techniques with the Ymirhund, a wolf-like beast that conjured ice into arrows.
In addition, the tree spirit, adept at stealth, tested his reaction speed even in total darkness. Over time, Silvan grew stronger, learning to evade its attacks even while blindfolded.
This created a soft spot in his heart for beasts. Unlike most Tamers or Exorcists on Earth, he was among the rare ones. They do not hurt any beasts at random. Because when reality had taken his parents away, the three beasts took their spots.Eventually, after eight years, he was ready to attend the Magic Sanctuary's awakening course. That marked a turning point.
From then on, he became a Beast Tamer, finally strong enough to tame the beasts one by one. With his strength renewed, he set out for Frosthaven to complete his life's mission.
Back in the present, Silvan clenched his fist. He held his sword horizontally at eye level. Flames spread from his fingertips and engulfed the blade.
The surrounding air grew warm. His muscles twitched, and a faint azure light lit up in his eyes.
Nymera chuckled. "You're activating the power of your Immortal Mage Body already. Didn't expect you to use your strongest power so soon..."
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