Shira sat in her garden, tea in hand, eyes closed as she absorbed the cool breeze. It was a moment of peace following a stretch of intense work.

  Upon returning home earlier, she had immediately turned to her notes and books, searching for any reference to a beast with a contract pattern resembling moons and stars.

  Despite hours of searching, she couldn't find an exact match. However, she did come across something reted—a pattern she recognized.

  "The sun pattern and the earth pattern."

  In fact, her own beast, Mathilda, bore an earth pattern—an intricate design depicting a massive tree sprouting from the earth. Mathilda belonged to the Gaia lineage.

  For a beast tamer, the pattern of a beast’s contract could reveal a great deal. This is why most beast tamers kept their patterns hidden.

  Yet, even after examining the pattern closely, Shira found no clue about the beast’s origins or the nature of its powers.

  What struck her most was the complete absence of Sophia's mana within the contract. This indicated that Sophia had no influence over the beast, making it a one-sided contract.

  A one-sided contract meant that Sophia had no control over the beast. Yet, at the incident, the beast had still obeyed her commands, which puzzled Shira.

  "Does it simply favor her?"

  Beast taming wasn’t viewed favorably. In typical cases, the tamer formed a contract with a beast to gain its abilities, while the beast received something in return—often something specific to its nature.

  The issue arose from the beast's peculiar and often unsettling desires.

  While some beasts were benign in nature, most were not.

  Many had bizarre cravings—some preferred specific disturbing offerings at certain times, others were drawn to degrading acts performed by their masters, and some even had a disturbing tendency to consume parts of their masters.

  This was, in part, why they were called "beasts."

  The worst part was that the masters couldn’t resist, as if the compulsion were ingrained in them through the contract, like a primal instinct.

  But in Sophia's case, the beast's contract was different. It didn’t seem to require anything from her, nor did it demand any specific actions. It was as though the beast's only purpose was to mark her.

  Shira let out a frustrated sigh. She was eager to understand what kind of desire a primordial beast might have.

  "I need to meet Sophia again."

  ***

  On the quiet night, Calyxianov was rushing through the pace, searching for Sophia. He had already checked the guest room where she was supposed to be, only to find a cat curled up on the bed.

  Earlier, his father had told him about the incident that took pce that day, leaving Calyxianov stunned and anxious.

  Given Sophia’s frail body, Calyxianov found it hard to believe she could tame even a one-stroke beast, let alone a nine-stroke one.

  Although his father assured him that she was unharmed, he couldn’t calm his anxiety without seeing her with his own eyes.

  "Where are you..."

  As he continued his search, he finally stopped. From a fifth-floor window, he spotted Sophia sitting alone on a bench in the pace garden.

  "That idiot... why would she be outside on a winter night."

  Without hesitation, Calyxianov leapt from the window and began running toward her.

  ***

  Sophia sat alone on a bench in the imperial pace garden.

  She had woken abruptly earlier, the memory of the recent incident weighing on her mind. Seeking soce, her first thought was to find Cal. Yet despite searching the sprawling pace, he was nowhere to be found.

  Exhausted and overwhelmed, she now rested in the garden, her hands trembling as she tried to block out the images repying in her mind.

  The memory of causing someone’s death, and in such a brutal manner, lingered vividly.

  Looking down at her hands, she envisioned the face of the man. Her fingers shook uncontrolbly as a wave of nausea surged through her.

  "Where are you…" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

  Moments ter, a hand touched her shoulder, and a voice broke the silence.

  "You shouldn’t be out here. Let’s go back inside."

  Startled, she turned and saw a young man with blond hair and slit golden eyes. His expression filled with worry.

  "Cal?" she asked, her voice quivering.

  "Yes, it’s me. Let’s go inside."

  Sophia stared at him for a moment, then, as if her emotions finally overwhelmed her, she flung herself into his arms, holding him tightly.

  "Cal! Cal!" she cried, her voice muffled against his chest.

  Caught off guard, Cal stiffened briefly before his body rexed.

  "I missed you," she murmured, her voice trembling.

  "It’s only been a few weeks," Cal said, his tone slightly bemused.

  "...I missed you," she repeated, her grip on him tightening.

  Cal sighed softly before responding, "I missed you too."

  Sophia’s chest eased at his words, and she buried her face deeper against him. After a pause, Cal spoke again.

  "Sophia, I need to inspect your condition. Hold still for a moment."

  She nodded faintly.

  Cal pced his fingers on the back of her neck, and a sharp, stinging pain coursed through her body.

  "Ugh…" Sophia winced, clutching at his clothes as she endured the sensation. Gradually, the pain subsided, and she heard Cal exhale in relief.

  They remained embraced in silence.

  However, as time passed, Sophia’s thoughts began to spiral. A realization struck her—she had clung to Cal, her 'friend'.

  The thought made her cheeks flush with growing embarrassment.

  'What am I doing!'

  She suddenly felt self-conscious. Yet, despite her desire to pull away, an equally strong fear held her in pce.

  'What is Cal thinking? How will he react to this?'

  Sophia's heart raced.

  "Sophia," Cal’s voice broke the stillness, "I heard about what happened today."

  Her chest tightened at the mention of the incident.

  "How was it?" he asked.

  "...I didn't like it," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

  "I see," Cal replied, his tone steady. "But you did well." He pced a hand on her head.

  Sophia nodded, allowing herself to accept his comfort.

  After a moment, Cal gently released her.

  "Let’s head inside," he said, his voice coaxing.

  Still unable to meet his gaze, Sophia looked down and murmured, "Okay."

  ***

  Sophia and Cal sat across from each other at the tea table in the Pace's guest room. A bck cat, Seraphix, rested peacefully on the surface.

  "So, what do you think?" Sophia asked, her voice brimming with confidence.

  Cal sat silently, his gaze fixed on the cat—the nine-stroke beast that Sophia had somehow managed to tame.

  At first, he had assumed it was just an ordinary cat, but closer inspection revealed something unusual.

  Just like his father, Cal possesses the bloodline ability known as the "Eyes of Discernment," albeit a more potent version due to his stronger connection to their shared ancestor.

  This ability grants him the power to perceive what is 'Concealed', though it comes with certain restrictions.

  Through this ability, Cal perceived a harrowing vision within the cat—a world shrouded in darkness.

  "It's definitely not a normal cat," Cal muttered.

  "No, that's not what I mean," Sophia responded eagerly. "Look at its soft fur, its paws, its adorable face. Don’t you think it’s the cutest thing in the world?"

  Cal ran a hand over his face, frustration mounting.

  'You really should understand the gravity of your actions...'

  From Cal's perspective, what Sophia had accomplished was beyond anything he could have imagined.

  "... you actually managed to do it..." Cal remarked, his disbelief evident.

  "No, it wasn’t just me. It was us, remember?" Sophia corrected him.

  In truth, the summoning was mostly due to Cal's efforts. Beyond offering little to no advice and preparing a useless contingency pn, he had handled everything reted to the summoning of the beast.

  He had sourced the materials for the altar, designed the summoning pattern, prepared the incantations, and even created a detailed tutorial notebook.

  As the only person who fully understood the entire process, Cal knew better than anyone what Sophia had done.

  'It should be impossible.'

  The truth was, everything about the summoning ritual had been a fraud, deliberately designed to prevent Sophia from undertaking any more dangerous experiments while he was away.

  He had intentionally structured the ritual in a way that would make it repulsive to her, hoping she would abandon the idea.

  He never imagined she would go through with it, let alone succeed in contracting a nine-stroke beast.

  Cal rested his head in his hands, feeling the weight of his headache intensify.

  "Hey, Cal, this beast is from the A—" Before Sophia could finish, Cal quickly interrupted, pressing his hand over her mouth.

  "I’ve told you countless times, don’t mention 'that' while we’re in the Maurya Empire," he said, sweat starting to bead on his forehead.

  In the Maurya Empire, even mentioning the word 'Abyss' was a taboo.

  "Ah, I’m sorry! I—I forgot," Sophia stammered, clearly flustered.

  "It’s alright," Cal replied, though his mind raced.

  'It’s not from the Abyss, though,' Cal added in his thoughts.

  In reality, Cal had secretly altered the summoning coordinates, which were originally meant to locate the Abyss. Instead, he had inserted a random coordinate of his choosing.

  However, he had no intention of revealing the truth to Sophia, knowing that doing so would expose the entire ritual as a carefully pnned deception.

  "Um, Cal?" Sophia’s voice broke the silence.

  "Yes?"

  "Thank you... for everything," she said, her expression softening into a gentle smile.

  Despite her gratitude, Cal couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling in his chest.