THIS BEAST-TAMER IS A LITTLE STRANGE

Kain wasn’t having Darius suffer just because he was a sadist.

The first time this procedure was done on Ferrin, Bea completely dulled his senses and so he felt no pain.

Since Bea wasn’t recovered for the director’s and Gabriel’s procedures, spiritual plants were used instead, but they weren’t able to completely eliminate the sensations of pain.

However, Kain noted that the time both the director and Gabriel’s soul fragments were able to persist in Pangea, and the quality of their contracts, were improved.

Gabriel’s circumstances were unique due to the artificial core that had fused with him and made him have a much more dense and concentrated spiritual power. However, the director had no such boost. Moreover, due to his age, Kain had actually expected for the director to have a more difficult time than Ferrin with activating the array and have a weaker soul fragment. But that wasn’t the case.

Therefore, Kain hypothesized that being able to withstand the pain caused by the array may have a tempering effect or make the individual more closely in tune with the array so that they’d benefit more from the procedure.

Darius, who Kain had no close emotional ties with and has already proven his resilience, was the perfect guinea pig.

This was the first time Kain was seeing the array being printed without any kind of anesthetic, and considering that Darius’ bronze skin was gradually getting noticeably pale and droplets of sweat were beading all over his body, Kain was able to conclude that the pain caused without anesthesia was definitely much more painful than just getting a simple tattoo.

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Kain still had a third of the array left to complete, but it was getting difficult to draw the specific and intricate lines because Darius was shivering unconsciously while gritting his teeth to prevent from screaming.

‘Maybe talking would help take his mind off of the pain. I’m also curious…’

“What does it feel like?” Kain asked, finally unable to resist. After all, Darius is the only one who has been able to fully feel the array being etched so far.

Darius’s jaw clenched tighter, his teeth grinding as he tried to suppress the pain. His hands gripped the arms of the chair so hard that his knuckles turned white. For a moment, Kain thought he might not answer, but then Darius managed to choke out a response, his voice strained and hoarse.

“It’s… like fire,” Darius gasped, his words coming out in short, labored bursts. “But not just on the skin…it’s like it’s burning through my soul. It’s unbearable.”

Kain paused for a moment, his brow furrowing as he considered Darius’s words. Kain had assumed the pain was primarily physical, but if it was affecting Darius’s soul as well, that could explain why those who endured some of the pain previously without Bea’s help seemed to benefit more from the procedure. Perhaps the pain wasn’t just a side effect—it was part of the process, tempering the soul and making it more receptive to the array’s power.

“Interesting,” Kain murmured, more to himself than to Darius. He resumed drawing the array, his movements precise and deliberate. “Keep talking. Describe it in more detail.”

Darius let out a low groan, his body trembling as Kain continued to etch the intricate lines of the array into his skin, but did as directed. He described every change in sensation that he felt, and talking actually seemed to help him through the pain.

Keeping him talking also helped Kain keep an eye on his condition. If it got so bad that he lost consciousness, he was prepared to stop the procedure and administer medical treatment immediately. After all, he couldn’t have his latest subordinate, that he found with much effort, die in vain.

The fact that Darius was still conscious and coherent despite the agony he described was a testament to his strength and determination. Kain couldn’t help but feel a flicker of respect for the man.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Kain stepped back, examining his work with a critical eye.

“It’s done,” Kain said, his voice filled with satisfaction. “The array is complete.”

Darius let out a long, shuddering breath, his body slumping in the chair as the pain began to subside. His skin was pale, his clothes soaked with sweat, but there was a glimmer of something in his eyes—something fierce and unyielding. He had endured the pain, and now he was ready for what came next.

“What… now?” Darius asked, his voice weak but determined.

“Now,” Kain said, “we activate the array.”

Kain began to explain the process, but before Kain could even finish his explanation, the array began to glow, the lines lighting up with a soft, light. Kain’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected the array to activate so quickly. It took Ferrin and the director several minutes of concentration for the energy to flow into the array, but Darius had managed to do it almost instantly.

“Interesting,” Kain murmured. Based on this speed of activation, Kain could already tell that enduring through the pain must come with some changes, but is it just activating the array faster? If so, the enduring the pain wasn’t worth it.

Kain’s curiosity was piqued, and he decided to investigate further. He closed his eyes, directing his mind inward to Pangea.

As the “god” of Pangea, Kain had a unique connection to the world and instantly pinpointed the location of Darius’s soul fragment as it entered the planet.

The soul fragment was denser and more resilient than Kain had expected, far more so than Ferrin’s or the director’s. It was only slightly inferior to Gabriel’s, which had been artificially boosted by the core that had fused with him.

But unlike Gabriel’s soul fragment, which had been drawn in the direction of Aurem and his subordinates, Darius’s soul fragment was heading in a different direction—toward the vast ocean that covered more than 70% of the planet’s surface.

Kain followed curiously behind the fragment. The ocean was a mystery even to him. While he had explored parts of it, the sheer depth and vastness of the waters made it impossible to fully explore.

While there were many creatures on the single supercontinent of Pangea, Kain knew that the vast majority of Pangea’s life forms resided in the ocean. Now, with Darius’s soul fragment heading in that direction, Kain couldn’t resist following it.

He focused his consciousness, tracking the soul fragment as it moved through the water. The ocean was teeming with life, from tiny, bioluminescent creatures to massive, serpentine beasts the size of houses.

The soul fragment moved swiftly, drawn by some unseen force, until it reached a deep trench in the ocean floor. Kain followed it down, his curiosity growing with every passing moment.

As the soul fragment descended into the trench, the water grew darker, the pressure increasing as the soul fragment delved deeper.

And then, Kain saw it.

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