Dominion of The Beast Masters

Adrian recoiled as if he'd been physically struck, his smirk faltering. He took a step back, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender.

"H-Hey, I was just joking, Merc! Come on, lighten up," he stammered, a nervous laugh escaping him.

But Mercury wasn't laughing anymore. The playful light in her eyes vanished, her expression turned ice-cold, and the warmth that had been there moments ago was gone, replaced by a deadly calm.

"Listen to me carefully, Adrian," she said slowly, enunciating each word. "I don't care about your stupid flirting. But if you try to touch me again, I'll rip your arm off. Got it?"

Adrian's eyes widened, and he swallowed hard, nodding quickly.

"Y-Yeah, I got it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cross a line," he blurted out, taking another step back.

Mercury turned away, walking off, her mood visibly soured.

But Adrian, still desperate to salvage the situation, scrambled after her, his voice babbling in a rush.

"Hey, wait! I didn't mean it like that! I was just trying to cheer you up. You know, like old times. We're friends, right? I thought we could just catch up, maybe grab a drink and..."

Mercury stopped abruptly, turning to face him again. Her eyes narrowed and filled with annoyance.

"Stop following me," she said flatly.

Adrian clenched his jaw, his frustration boiling. He decided it was time to use his trump card, hoping to hit her where it hurt.

He smirked, leaning in slightly, his voice dripping with a smug, mocking tone.

"Fine, fine," he muttered, then forced a casual laugh. "Actually, I was planning to grab a drink with Eratz and his wife. You know, congratulate him on his little family. I heard he's even got a son now."

Mercury paused, her expression shifting from irritation to mild confusion. She blinked, as she processed Adrian's words.

For a brief second, she looked like she was trying to solve a puzzle, and then it clicked.

"You think you know something, don't you? But whatever, a man doesn't touch the woman of another man, you weirdo," she said, her voice light. "Even if it's just to congratulate them. Have some dignity. Or are you just that stupid?"

Adrian blinked, completely thrown off by her response. He stared at her, his mind reeling, trying to make sense of her words.

"Wait... what?" he managed to say. "The woman of another man? What are you talking about?"

Mercury sighed, looking at him with a mix of pity and irritation.

"You sound like an idiot," she said bluntly. "Seriously, Adrian, do you even listen to yourself? Keep following me, and I'll crush you."

She turned and walked away, clearly done with the conversation. Adrian watched her go, his face filling with confusion and frustration.

He took a step forward and called after her, trying to make sense of what she'd just said.

"The woman of another man?" He laughed awkwardly, scratching his head. "What are you talking about? I'm not interested in Eratz's..."

And then, he froze, his entire body petrifying as the pieces started to click together in his mind.

"The woman of... Another... man?" he whispered, his voice shaky.

He looked at her retreating figure, and second by second, everything, from the change of attitude to the chat they had and their training sessions together, everything converged in a single conclusion.

His breath started coming in short, panicked gasps.

"No... no, it can't be," he muttered, his voice filled with disbelief. "His girlfriend... That girlfriend... Mercury?... with him? No... no, it's not possible..."

He shook his head, stumbling backward, his hands running through his hair in a frantic gesture.

"What the... when? How?" he whispered, his voice breaking. "No... I must be wrong. It can't be true..."

He looked after her one last time, his face twisted in a mix of horror and regret like a man watching his world crumble before his eyes.

Meanwhile, Eratz soared across the sky, the wind whipping against his face, his hair crackling with residual static from the lightning.

Eratz flew high above the landscape, the world below a blur of green forests, winding rivers, and glinting cityscapes. The wind rushed past, the horizon stretching endlessly before him. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly.

He focused inward, trying to recreate that mind state he'd reached against Raya. With each breath, he calmed his mind, feeling his spirit align with his body. The noise of the world faded, leaving only the synchronized rhythm of his heartbeat and Raijinara's energy.

It was an elusive feeling, like trying to grasp smoke. He inhaled deeply, slowing his breath, and with each exhale, he felt the tension in his muscles melt away.

His heartbeat synced with Raijinara, their energies flowing together like two streams converging into a river.

The limits between him and Raijinara seemed to dissolve, the world around him blurred, fusing into a single, fluid entity, and then, he felt it.

He flinched, eyes snapping open in surprise.

"What... was that?" he muttered, stunned.

He'd felt something surprising, something unexpected. The sensation was strange, but it left him curious and eager to try again. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let his mind slip back into that focused state.

This time, he pushed further. He synced his breath with Raijinara's rhythm, feeling the beat of their shared pulse. He let his thoughts blend with the bird's, their energies mixing.

Eratz took a deep breath, closing his eyes and focusing inward. He could feel Raijinara's power humming beneath him.

Slowly, he extended his mind outward, tentatively at first, as if dipping his toes into an unknown current. He felt his awareness stretch and merge with Raijinara's spirit, the barrier between them dissolving.

Suddenly, the sensation shifted. He wasn't just a rider anymore; he was a part of the bird itself. It was exhilarating like he had become Raijinara, and the more he pushed, the more it extended.

He could feel the electric charge in the atmosphere, the way the clouds swirled with latent power. The sky wasn't just something he sensed; it was something he was inside of, something he understood.

Then, out of the blue, he reached it again, a thread, thin and barely noticeable. It was a connection, faint but undeniably real, leading somewhere far beyond his usual range.

He paused, feeling a surge of surprise in him. What was this? It felt like a tiny sliver of light seeping through a crack in a door. And behind that door was something vast and immense, like an ocean of energy.

His heart raced, a mix of awe and curiosity flooding him. He had never felt anything like it before. He was just training like any other day, he just wanted to combine this mind state with Raijinara's beastification. He started something, got an idea, and tested it, it had always been like this.

And like any other time, he reached something new, but this time, it was far beyond anything he did.

For a moment, a flicker of doubt crossed his mind. This could be dangerous, he had no idea what lay beyond that thread, what was he even doing?

But curiosity gnawed at him. It was like an itch he couldn't ignore, pulling him forward. The connection felt alive, almost like it was calling to him, beckoning him closer. This energy was something alive, and the more he felt it, the more he discovered new things.

It was reckless, and he knew it, but when was the first time he failed something he tried? Eratz was Eratz, not boastful, but he was literally famous for being a genius, how could he be fail there?

He was like a fly drawn to a bright flame, the things he was seeing too formidable to resist. If he could, he would smile widely, because the more he watched them, the more he could recognize what he was feeling.

He pushed his mind further, feeling the thread stretch. He reached out, mentally grasping at the door, trying to pull it open.

A blinding flash of yellow light split the sky, crashing down on Eratz like a massive hammer. The shock of the strike was immense, knocking him off Raijinara and sending him spinning. It felt like he was falling into a deep, dark void, completely disoriented.

When his senses came back, the world around him had changed. The sky was raging with a sudden storm, wind howling, lightning tearing the clouds.

Eratz struggled to breathe, his body aching all over. He felt lost, unsure of what had happened. His head throbbed, and everything seemed blurry.

"Raijinara!" he gasped out, sending a mental call to his beast.

A sharp screech cut through the storm and Raijinara swooped down like a streak of lightning, catching him just before he fell. The impact left him gasping for air, the pain throbbing through his entire body. He forced himself to sit up, blinking away the rain and trying to make sense of the chaos around him.

"What... just happened?" he muttered, staring up at the stormy sky, his voice shaky.

"I could ask you the same question," A voice answered him.

Eratz turned his head and froze. There, hovering in the air, was a man with long, golden hair. He had bright, shimmering wings like those of a butterfly, glowing with a soft golden light. The man's eyes were hard, narrowed in what looked like a mix of annoyance and disbelief.

"What are you doing?" the man scolded.