NOVEL NEXT Chapter 199: The Final Upgrade.
Jax finally felt the heavy weight of reality lift, but only slightly. The lingering fear from the confrontation with the four Primal Beasts still clung to him like a shroud. He was deep in thought when Manaia, her eyes filled with a mixture of love and urgent purpose, approached him.
"My Lord," Manaia said, her voice cutting through his troubled thoughts. "The time has come. You returned just in time. You would have missed the GRB."
Jax's head snapped up, the solemnity returning to his gaze. "The time has come," he confirmed, standing up.
All of his wives immediately gathered around him, their movements synchronized by their deep concern. They had anticipated this moment. One of his wives presented a simple, yet ornately carved, wooden ring.
"My Lord, this is a Spatial Ring," she explained, holding it out with trembling hands. "We have filled it with everything we could find in the forest. Food, preserved meats, warm clothes, medicinal herbs... and some of the best metal plating we could forge into armor and weapons."
Jax took the ring. It felt feather-light, but he could sense the vast amount of materials contained within the spatial pocket. A genuinely warm smile touched his lips, erasing some of the tension. Even as a demigod, with divine protection and abilities, the gesture of mortal care touched him deeply.
"Thank you," he said, looking at all of their beautiful, worried faces. "I am touched by your concern, my darlings. I don't need the weapons or the armor, but the intention to keep me safe is a greater power than anything the ring holds." He gently placed the ring on his finger.
He looked around the circle of devoted women. "Before I go," he said, his voice regaining its command. "I need to know if you require anything from me. I don't know what will happen in the Realm, or how long I will be gone. I prefer to leave everything stable and ready."
"My Lord, our greatest need is you," one of his wives whispered, tears welling up. "But we are worried about the security. Even with the tunnels fixed, the fear of those powerful beings... If they were to attack before you can honor your contract..."
Just then, a flash of purple caught his eye. His personal purple snake, the one he had brought from his previous journey, uncurled from the sleeve of his discarded armor. It raised its head curiously, observing Jax as if seeing an old acquaintance. It still let out a small, low growl, showing its innate wildness, but its fierce gaze, combined with its iridescent scales, made it look beautiful, not terrifying.
Jax laughed, a genuine, powerful sound that made the remaining tension in the forest snap. "I see I have an anxious guardian here."
He realized he had the perfect solution to their immediate anxiety. "I know how to leave you a guardian," he announced.
He gently picked up the purple serpent, holding it between his hands. He then began to infuse it with his own divine energy, a torrent of golden power flowing from his body into the small, coiled form. The serpent's scales began to glow violently.
"What is he doing?" one of his wives gasped, stepping back slightly, her hand flying to her mouth.
"He's giving it his power!" another realized, watching in awe. "He's feeding it with his own divine energy!"
The serpent began to grow rapidly. Its length stretched, its girth ballooned, until it reached the size of a mountain, its coils towering over the treetops. The serpent roared at the sky, a sound that transcended the natural world, shaking the very air they breathed. Its body began to shine with an intense purple-black light.
"Look, My Lord!" Manaia exclaimed, pointing. "It's evolving!"
The power emanating from the serpent became chaotic, raging inside the mountains they called home. In the distant lair of the four beasts, the colossal Serpent from the Destiny Contract, still in human form, turned her head sharply, staring in the direction of Jax's camp. Her eyes narrowed, an expression of shock crossing her face as she sensed the sudden, artificial surge of raw, primordial energy.
The purple serpent's chaotic transformation subsided, and it emerged from the light. It was no longer an adorable purple serpent; it now had deep black patterns like tattoos running across its massive body, giving it a terrifying and majestic appearance. Its aura was colossal, strong enough to crush the spirit of any lesser god who dared to approach.
One of his wives was trembling. "My Lord... its aura... it's too much! We can barely breathe near it! It feels stronger than... than anything we've ever known!"
Jax, however, was calm. He effortlessly levitated onto the serpent's gigantic head. He looked down at his wives.
"She is now your true guardian," he declared. "I gave her a portion of my divine power to nurture her. So that if anything happens, she can protect you. She is strong enough to deter any threat that might dare to enter my territory. I love you all."
He gently stroked the massive serpentine head. "Guard this place until I return," he commanded the serpent.
The serpent let out a final, powerful roar—a vow of protection—and began to shrink again. It spiraled down, returning to the size of a small bracelet, its new, terrifying black patterns still visible on its scales. It gracefully placed itself on Manaia's wrist and settled there, immediately falling asleep, exhausted by the infusion and the transformation.
"You gave it some of your power?" another wife asked, bewildered. "That must have been a tremendous sacrifice!"
"The sacrifice is nothing compared to your safety, my loves," Jax said, stepping down, his energy slightly depleted but resolute. "I will not fail my promise, either to you or to the Beasts of Destiny."
As he spoke, a luminous notification, visible only to him, appeared in the air before him:
[GRB will start in 3...]
[GRB will start in 2...]
[GRB will start in 1...]