Beastmaster of the Ages

Fiery rain began falling on the ground of Ordieria. The firestorms on the northern hemisphere of the star were far stronger than those of the southern hemisphere, to the extent that it seemed like the whole world was set aflame. Countless totems were baptized by the falling flames, though their semi-ethereal bodies made them quite suitable for life in such a harsh environment. The rain also seemed to have an impressionable effect on the temperament of the lifeforms on the sun.

However, the Ninemoon Palace seemed like a lone island in the world of fire. The light present there was gentle, like the moon's, and the sights were tranquil and beautiful. This was the palace the sun emperor had explicitly built for his daughter. Not even his ten sons were able to enjoy such a luxury.

Within the palace, a group of beautiful maidservants were chattering nonstop.

"Goddess, do you want to bring this outfit with you?"

"Do you have enough divine herbs? I heard the nova source there is lacking and far from what we have here."

"How long will we be there? Will the goddess's cultivation be interrupted?"

It was quite a rowdy procession, but everyone fell silent when the air tensed up. The maidservants gradually turned around and saw a huge man in golden flames at the entrance of the palace, standing some six meters tall. He looked like a mountain that towered over everyone else.

"Long live the Sun Emperor!" The maidservants all lowered their heads and knelt in unison before neatly plastering their heads on the ground, staining it with their cold sweat.

"Very good." The man waved and said, "You're dismissed."

The maidservants carefully backed away without turning and disappeared into the palace, leaving only a girl with long white hair behind alone in the great hall with the huge man. She coldly looked at him before turning to leave, only to find that she couldn't move at all. She began nervously sweating. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned back to look at the giant.

The flaming man took a few steps toward her and stopped when they were less than half a meter away, the flames on his body already licking the girl. "Daughter," he said with a slight smile.

The girl didn't respond. She had heard that word countless times. Though she didn't deny it, there was a trace of hatred in her eyes. She didn't like being called that.

"I'm about to leave. Don't stop me, alright?" she said, gritting her teeth. No matter how fierce she appeared, she deeply feared this man at her core.

"Before you leave, daddy has a gift for you," he said with a gentle look. He took out a nondescript black bottle containing a crimson liquid within. The girl felt a nightmarish aura coming from it.

"What is it?" Alarmed, she tried to struggle and leave, but it was a vain effort. There was nothing she could do but speak.

"I found this treasure in a place called the Necrovoid. It's incredibly precious, almost sacred for totemancers. It is something that allows totems to evolve! You can consider it something akin to universal manna for lifebound beasts." He gently smiled as he reached out his gigantic hand and held the girl's arm. It looked like a giant bear was grabbing the arm of an infant. Then he carefully rolled up her sleeves without harming her and looked at the five moon bane-rings.

"Let go! Go away! Leave me!" she cried in a panic, but her arm couldn't move in the slightest.

"Qingyu, don't give me that look. Daddy loves you. One day, you'll surpass even me and become eternal. You must understand what I'm trying to do for you. The effects of this treasure have already been tested on your aunt, and it was proven to work," the man said, furrowing his brow.

"I don't have an aunt, I never had one! I don't even know you! Kill me if you want! Just stop torturing me!" She was on the brink of a breakdown. Tears flowed as despair filled her entire being.

"Sigh… you're the child I raised myself. I remember each and every moment, so how could you forget? Who you were in the chaos skyjail isn't who you really are. How could you confuse it? You've been a nonabane from the very beginning. Your pentabane self was only the outer skin you shed away, yet you can't seem to let go of it," he said, helplessly shaking his head with a pained look. However, he didn't let her go and opened the black bottle, then dripped its contents on her bane-rings.

That instant, the girl gave off an incredibly bloody aura. Even the whites of her eyes seemed to flash with the appearance of a ghostly face. A bloody flush appeared on her skin, then immediately receded.

"Let me go! You're a demon through and through! Let go of me!" She was yelling so hard that her body shook, but she was nothing but a weak bunny before a force of nature. There was nothing she could do but despair. In fact, she could no longer make a sound. Oh, her lips still moved, but her throat itself didn't vibrate. One after another, ghostly faces flashed across her eyes. Five drops were applied—one on each of her bane-rings on one arm. Then four more for the bane-rings on her other arm. The blood seeped into her white moon bane-rings. The totems within them were visibly struggling as the blood permeated their bodies and fused with them. Then it was finally over. The last drop flowed out and left the bottle entirely empty.

"Perfect. I used eight drops before, and nine drops now. It's finally finished. I leave the best stuff for the two people I love the most in the world," he said, his flaming face smiling as if he was someone who had sacrificed something precious.

He let go of the girl's hand, causing her to fall flat on the ground. She looked at her bane-rings, only to find them looking completely like they had before, as if nothing had changed. However, they seemed different on a fundamental level. She curled up on the ground as if in a daze.

The man knelt down and stroked her head. "Qingyu, you're still too young to understand the burden of being a parent. But as long as you trust daddy, you'll become someone mighty. One day, daddy will grow proud of you. Now go and have fun with them. Let your mind wander. The other matters are also prepared, so you'll be getting married soon. I hope that once you start your own family, you'll grow and mature and abandon that old skin of yours to become who you really are." He pinched her face a little and continued, "My dear daughter, now that you've grown up, you haven't ridden on daddy's shoulder for a long time, or asked me to take you on a voyage through the astralscape in the Sun Palace…." He stood up with a pained smile and left.

"Sun Emperor!" the girl cried, causing him to stop. She struggled to get up, tightly clenching her fists. She looked just like she had when she tried to get up after falling down. "Feel free to keep toying with me and lying to me, even threatening me. If I really surpass you one day, the first thing I'll do is kill you!"

"Hahaha! Daughter, you wouldn't go through with it. You'd never…." He kept on laughing as he left the Ninemoon Palace. Even the pure white curtains around the area seemed like they had been stained with a ghostly air.