SSS Rank: Strongest Beast Master

The loud noise of the arena faded as Jonah walked away, but the image of Ariana and her sword of pure light was burned into his mind. It was a beautiful, impossible puzzle and every part of his creator's soul screamed at him to solve it. Her power wasn't like anything he had ever seen or even read about.

He knew he had to talk to her.

He didn't find her in the busy common rooms or loud mess halls where other students eagerly talked about the new contender. He followed a gut feeling, a silent pull towards the calmer, more private parts of the Academy, where people went to think, not to talk.

He found her in one of the meditation gardens.

It was a small, peaceful sanctuary behind the main library. It had a small waterfall. Glowing moss grew in spiraling patterns on smooth grey stones. And there was the gentle rustle of silver leafed trees.

Ariana was sitting on a simple stone bench with her eyes closed and her posture perfectly straight but completely relaxed. She wasn't meditating, but simply listening to the garden's calmness. She opened her eyes as he neared, and Jonah felt certain she'd been aware of his presence the whole time.

"Jonah of Cinderfall," she said, her voice as calm and clear as the water in the stream.

"Just Jonah is fine," he said, feeling a little awkward. "And you're Ariana."

She gave a graceful nod, gesturing to the empty space on the bench beside her. "Please. sit."

He sat, leaving a respectful distance between them. The air was filled with a quiet tension, not of hostility, but of two very different kinds of power sizing each other up.

Ariana was the one to break the silence. "I have heard rumors about the source of your nation's strength," she began, her gaze direct but not unkind. "They call it the Divine Serum."

Jonah tensed slightly. The secret he now carried, the truth about the stolen dragon essence, felt like a physical weight. "It's what grants us our power," he said carefully.

"So, I have heard," she replied. She looked at the glowing moss, her expression thoughtful. "In my homeland, our way is different. We do not believe power can be given or taken. It must be earned."

She turned her clear eyes back to him. "We believe power comes from within. It is a process of discipline, of intense spiritual training and meditation. We spend years learning to harmonize our own inner energy with the flow of the world's natural mana. Our abilities are a part of us, grown from our own spirit, not injected into our veins."

Her words were simple, but they carried an immense weight.

She paused, choosing her next words with deliberate care. It wasn't an attack, but it was a clear criticism. "To bind the soul of a beast to a human…" she said, her voice soft but firm, "it feels like a violation of the natural order. A shortcut. And such power, gained without the wisdom that comes from earning it, can only lead to corruption."

Her words hit Jonah like a physical blow.

He didn't get angry. He didn't get defensive. Because in his heart, he knew she was, in some ways, absolutely right.

His mind flashed with images he could never forget: the monstrous, failed experiments of Station Chimera, creatures deformed into things of pure agony. The tragic rage of the Broodmother, a magnificent being turned into a weapon-making factory by those who saw her only as a resource. The ruthless ambition of the Bureau, so hungry for power they were willing to kill for it.

Power without wisdom leads to corruption. He had seen it with his own eyes.

He let out a slow breath. "You're not entirely wrong," he admitted, the honesty of it surprising even himself. He saw a hint of surprise in her eyes. "But my power… it's not from the serum. It's different."

"I can sense that," she said, her curiosity clear. "It feels… complex. Not borrowed. But not entirely your own, either."

"It's a partnership," Jonah tried to explain, the words feeling clumsy. "I don't bind the souls of beasts. I… I create new ones. I take the essences, the blueprints of creatures I have a connection with, and I weave them together. It's based on understanding. On symbiosis." He thought of Sylva, of Maul, of the fierce loyalty he felt from them, and the deep responsibility he felt for them. "They are not tools. They are a part of me. They are my family."

Ariana listened closely, her head tilted a bit. Her calm face changed to one of true, deep interest. She looked at him as if he were a living puzzle, something that shouldn't be real by her understanding of the world.

"Symbiosis," she repeated the word, tasting it. "You stand between the two philosophies, then. Not taking power from a beast but creating a new power with it." She looked at him, and for the first time, he saw a spark of a true challenge in her eyes. "An anomaly."

She stood up in one smooth move.

"Your way is fascinating, Jonah," she said, her voice now holding a new intensity. "Words are one thing, but the truth of a power is only revealed in its use."

She gave him a respectful bow.

"I wish to face you in the tournament," she declared, her voice strong with a certainty that could not be moved. "I must see for myself what this 'symbiotic' power of yours is truly capable of."

She turned and walked away, leaving Jonah alone on the bench.

He was no longer just an observer in this tournament. He had a challenger. And it was a challenge that went far beyond a simple desire to win. It was a clash of worlds, a battle of beliefs.

He now had to prove not only the strength of his nation, but the very truth of his own path.