Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls-Chapter 414: Next Steps

Morning arrived slowly.

The soft sunlight filtered through the tall curtains of the room, scattering golden hues across the still-warm bed. Kael awoke slowly, first aware of the comfortable weight on his chest… and then the warmth.

Inari slept in his arms.

Her white hair was spread across him, a few strands possessively wrapped around his waist and one leg, as if even in her sleep she refused to let go. Her face was relaxed, serene—nothing remained of the intensity of the previous night.

Kael observed for a few seconds.

Then he chuckled softly, so as not to wake her.

"Sleeping like this you're even cute…" he murmured. "You don't even seem like the crazy woman who decided to test every possible limit last night."

Inari mumbled something unintelligible, her nose wrinkling slightly before she snuggled even closer. A soft sound escaped her throat—almost a purr—as one of her tails twitched on its own, reacting to the touch.

Kael couldn't resist.

He carefully slid his hand along one of her nine tails, stroking it slowly, feeling the soft texture beneath his fingers.

"See?" he whispered, amused. "Cute."

The purring became a little more audible, but she didn't wake up.

For a few moments, he simply stood there, appreciating the silence. Not the heavy silence of contained battles or imminent dangers—but that rare, precious silence that came from hard-won peace.

Then the thought returned.

Training.

Getting stronger.

Protecting this.

Kael took a deep breath, his gaze now firm, though the smile hadn't disappeared.

"I'll need enough strength to maintain this…" he thought. "To protect this peace."

Carefully, he adjusted his body so as not to wake her and looked again at Inari, sleeping peacefully, safe.

But she wasn't the only one.

Sylphie.

Irelia.

Amelia.

They still didn't know he had woken up.

Nor that the world had changed a little that night.

"Well…" he murmured, more to himself than to her. "It's past time to go after the girls."

One of the tails lightly squeezed his leg, as if Inari disagreed with the idea of ​​him getting out of bed so early.

Kael laughed silently.

"Calm down. I'll be back."

The morning had begun.

Kael remained motionless for a few more seconds, simply feeling the tranquil weight of Inari in his arms, as if that moment deserved to be recorded in its entirety before being left behind. The room still held the warmth of the night, the air lightly perfumed by her presence, by the subtle magic that seemed never to completely dissipate.

With almost ceremonial care, he began to move.

First, he slowly released the tail that was wrapped around his leg. She reacted immediately, tightening slightly, as if silently complaining. Kael smiled softly and slid his hand over the white softness in a slow, reassuring gesture. The pressure eased little by little.

Then, he adjusted his body so that Inari remained lying down, supported by the pillows. She moved only enough to murmur something inaudible, turning her face to the side, her tails settling themselves around her body, instinctively protective.

She didn't wake up.

"Sleep…" he murmured, almost like a promise.

Kael got out of bed slowly, dressing silently. The clothes fell on his body familiarly: the light fabric of the shirt, the well-fitting boots, the cloak left aside—he didn't need it now. Before leaving, he cast one last glance at Inari.

The nine-tailed goddess seemed smaller as she slept.

Not weak.

But tranquil.

And that, to Kael, was more precious than any proof of power.

He closed the bedroom door carefully, making sure the latch didn't make a sound. The corridor of the witches' palace was silent, bathed in a soft light that streamed through the tall windows. The ancient walls bore arcane inscriptions that reacted slightly to his passage, as if recognizing him—not as an intruder, but as part of that place.

Kael walked slowly at first.

Each step felt like a transition.

From the intimate to the world.

From rest to responsibility.

As he crossed the main corridor, he felt unseen gazes following him—not hostile, just attentive. The oldest witches always knew when something changed. And something had changed.

He left the palace and breathed in the morning air.

The training field stretched out ahead, vast, marked by ancient scars in the ground: craters, impact lines, cracked pillars that had never been purposefully rebuilt. There, strength wasn't hidden—it was tested.

Kael walked to the center of the field.

He stopped.

He closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath.

The Chaos within him responded immediately, not like a restless beast, but like a deep ocean, calm on the surface and immense below. The new organ pulsed once, twice, as if confirming its presence. There was balance there now. An axis.

"So that's it…" he murmured.

He opened his eyes.

The world seemed slightly sharper than before. Not slower—just clearer. Every detail of the field imposed itself with definition: the distant sound of footsteps in the palace, the rustling of the wind, the slight tremor of the earth beneath his feet.

Kael positioned himself.

Firm feet. Relaxed posture. Loose shoulders.

He began simply.

A direct strike in the air.

The impact made the space vibrate, the pressure expanding like an invisible wave. Kael frowned slightly. The control was better. Much better.

— Good… — he murmured.

He advanced.

Chained blows, alternating arms and legs, not to destroy, but to feel the flow. Each movement drew energy from the inner core — not by force, but in cooperation. Chaos did not resist. It followed.

Kael spun his body and delivered a low kick that cracked the ground ahead. Small fissures spread like roots, stopping a few meters away.

He stopped.

He breathed.

— Still too safe — he assessed.

He closed his eyes again and, this time, allowed the energy to flow a little more freely. Not uncontrolled — just honest. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

When he attacked again, the air screamed.

The pressure was enough to tear fragments of stone from the ground, which rose for an instant before falling scattered. Kael felt the impact reverberate throughout his entire body… and smiled.

There was no pain.

There was no rejection.

His body accepted it.

"This is what I need," he thought. "Control without restraint."

He ran a hand over his face, taking a deep breath.

Training wasn't just about getting stronger.

It was about understanding how far he could go without breaking what he had already achieved.

Kael moved to a more secluded area of ​​the field, where ancient pillars served as targets. He chose one, already quite damaged, and reached out.

He concentrated.

Not on power.

But on intention.

The space in front of him distorted slightly, as if something were being pulled into a non-existent point. Kael felt the new organ pulsate, synchronized with his will.

"Go…" he murmured.

The pillar imploded.

It didn't explode—it collapsed in on itself, reduced to compacted fragments that fell heavily to the ground. The impact made the ground tremble for a few seconds.

Kael took a deep breath, feeling his heart race.

"There's still a way to go," he told himself. "But it's close."

He took a few steps back, wiping the sweat from his brow. The training wasn't just physical. Each use of that power demanded attention, precision, respect. Now there was more at stake than before.

There were people.

Sylphie, always smiling even when the world seemed too heavy.

Irelia, firm, proud, with that silent way of observing everything.

Amelia, intelligent, intense, always seeing beyond the obvious.

And Inari.

Sleeping in her bed.

Trusting.

Kael closed his hand slowly.

"I won't fail at this," he murmured.

The wind swept across the field, raising dust and dry leaves. The sun was higher now, warming his skin, marking the true beginning of the day. The witches' palace gleamed in the distance, solid, ancient, a witness to eras he was only beginning to touch.

Kael sat for a moment on the edge of a broken rock, breathing deeply, letting his body adjust to the training. There was no rush. Strength built in haste always exacted too high a price.

"After this…" he thought, "I'll go after them."

A small smile appeared on his lips.

...

The roots of the World Tree did not obey the common laws of space.

They stretched across layers of reality, intertwining planes, memories, and possibilities, thick as mountains, ancient as the first breath of existence. There, where time flowed erratically, the light did not come from the sun, but from Yggdrasil itself—a soft, greenish, pulsating glow, like a cosmic heart.

Among these roots, seated in a lotus position on a natural bed of condensed mana, was a dark elf.

Her skin had the deep tone of a starless night, contrasting with her silvery hair that cascaded like strands of moonlight to her waist. Natural, almost runic markings discreetly traced her arms and neck—signs of someone who had walked too far into the power of nature itself.

Sylphie was in deep meditation.

Not an ordinary meditation.

She was connected.

She felt the currents of life coursing through the roots, heard the distant song of forests in worlds she would never tread, perceived the suffering of burnt trees, the birth of new seeds, the fragile balance being maintained by force.

Then… something changed.

It wasn't a rupture.

It was a return.

Before any words were spoken, the presence manifested.

The space before her gently curved, as if an idea were taking shape. The roots vibrated in unison, and the light condensed, assuming an immense and serene feminine silhouette.

Yggdrasil was there.

Not as a tree.

But as will.

— He has awakened — said the absolute goddess of nature.

The voice did not echo.

It simply existed.

Sylphie opened her eyes instantly.

The world returned all at once.

She took a deep breath, feeling the impact of the information spread through every fiber of her being. Her eyes—once tranquil—now shone with something more intense, more focused.

She looked directly at Yggdrasil.

And did not look away.

There was a time when that would have been impossible.

But Sylphie had already surpassed that limit.

She had reached a level of power and perception sufficient to read the expressions of an absolute goddess—not out of arrogance, but out of affinity. The subtle tension in the light. The slightest oscillation in the flow of the roots. The careful choice of words.

Yggdrasil was… attentive.

Sylphie rose in a fluid, graceful movement, but one laden with decisiveness.

"I will," she said, without hesitation.

The space trembled slightly.

Yggdrasil shook its head.

Not angrily.

Firmly.

"No," replied the goddess. "I will bring you here. You cannot leave now."

Sylphie frowned, surprised for the first time in a long time.

"What…?" She took a step forward, the roots shifting beneath her feet as if recognizing her. "Why?"

She opened her mouth to argue, the natural energy around her reacting to her emotion.

But Yggdrasil interrupted her.

"Do you want to destroy all of nature?"

The question landed with absolute weight.

There was no accusation in it.

Only consequence.

Sylphie froze.

The words connected too quickly within her mind. The current state of the world. The growing imbalance. The unstable currents of power. Her own condition—anchored, supporting entire layers of the natural cycle.

If she moved now…

She closed her mouth.

Silence spread among the roots.

The energy around her quieted, like a lake after a stone has sunk.

Sylphie slowly lowered her head.

"…I understand," she said at last, her voice lower, but not broken.

Yggdrasil watched her for a long moment.

"You have grown," the goddess stated, without praise, only observation. "In the past, I would have ignored it."

Sylphie raised her gaze again, her eyes steady.

"In the past, I wouldn't have had the strength to stay," she replied.

A thread of approval ran through the roots.

"He will come here," Yggdrasil continued. "But not now." His awakening is still… stabilizing.

Sylphie discreetly clenched her fists.

"How long?"

"The time necessary for him to set foot here without breaking the world," the goddess replied. "No more. No less."