Baddan had grown to settle inside his living quarters quite well.
Sad as it was, being a beast that was used to living in nature – at least that which came with his Cluster – and relying on its bare abundance had almost led him to underappreciate the epitome of luxury that human ingenuity could bring.
Almost.
There was a bed that could have easily fit him and all his kin even if they had laid sprawled out in an attempt to steal space from each other.
There was fresh air and a cool breeze, both with unknown origins.
There was a revolving contraption on the high ceiling which gave different settings of light according to who or what the user was; it had long adjusted to what it presumed Baddan would appreciate given the dark shade of his eyes.
There was even a compartment on the walls that had a series of weapons, and a designated space for personal exercises – which also announced how exceptionally large this room was.
When it came to food and drink, there was a fitted table close to the wall that would dip down, disappearing into the floor, and return with different assortments of foods atop it, all still fresh and all very appealing to any whom nature had granted the ability to eat.
Baddan had been enticed into trying different kinds of foods despite his reluctance at first. That in itself was a testimony to the quality here.
What was that saying again? Fresh is fresh?
When it came to Cluster beasts, the quality of their Cluster determined how strong they would grow and at what rate this growth would take place. During early stages, the Cluster would supply all kinds of energy to raise the beasts, and slowly, with time moved differently within the enclosures of these spaces, the beasts would evolve and grow on their own until they didn't need to be fed as much pure energy.
With time, the energy provided dwindled, but remained in a limited capacity over another stretch, acting as cumulative mana experience which all things needed to augment their powers one way or another.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Some Clusters continued to dot on the native beasts, and with as much abundance as in the early stages, which grandly increased the quality of beasts born.
Most of these were purple Clusters and above.
Ahem, all this tangential exposition to say that, as peculiar as the diet of a Cluster beast was... it could be still be enticed by human culinary arts at their finest.
It had been a while since Baddan had been escorted here. While he was a little worried about his kinsmen before, as they had been given different rooms each, he had grown to calm down.
'To think I have left my home and my culture... to join hands with the same breed that invaded our livelihood...' he thought. 'But... is that creature even one of them? Is it perhaps from another world like me?'
Baddan had yet to understand it all fully, and could afford to wait until he learned for anything else, but this...
It was strange.
Up until now, the most fierce foe he had ever met was the young, lean distant kin who had wiped out his own, and even tamed the most powerful among his race.
That young one.
He was a lot more dangerous than he had appeared at first.
From when the Royale had begun, Baddan had been convinced that nothing, absolutely nothing could stop that spawn.
That deer head he had summoned.
The large saber he conjured next.
And then that dreadful...
Baddan frowned.
How was that even possible?
It wasn't watching his kinsmen's abilities getting copied and used against them, which had frightened him. No.
Heck, when the Keeper, the strongest among all his kin to exist, was bested and torn of his sanity, Baddan had been burned of his faith, but he had accepted soon that truly, there would always be those more powerful than him and those he called kin.
What truly made him turn docile, was the fact that the young one... had tamed even the All-Guiding Appairitoni, the deific existence that ruled his world.
The mountain.
The Sky Watchers governed the skies, and the assegai Baddan had possessed, allowed him to even abuse some of the concepts that only Appairitoni could wield. However, Appairitoni could do all those things and more on its own.
Yet, when the young one invaded... Baddan had felt Appairitoni churn to purge the intruder, and then... nothing
It was only after all hope was lost when Baddan finally understood. That moment... yes, when Rias had said to him:
"That is the task you have. And that's right, when I came here... that force that tried to keep me in place... I will have that sacred mountain of yours recreate it. For the contenders. Wouldn't want them to reach the GOAL too quickly...."
....
Baddan sighed.
'Taming the gods... How big is this world?' he thought to himself in defeat.
A large head drooped onto his lap. A great, dark beast with numerous tails and stripes over its body was with him on the floor.
Thankfully, he and his kin were allowed not to part with their bonds, the Beckoned Retrievers, which were Beckoned no more.
Sigh...
All that thinking about Rias crushed Baddan's mood. This was especially so, when Baddan thought of the monster that lorded over the monster that brought him here.
The master of this Fortress...
Aside from Rias, Baddan felt that this monstrosity was the greatest calamity he had ever faced, even though he didn't feel anything from it.
'Oh Pioneers. I pray that you have rested well...' Baddan gave a silent prayer, unsubscribing from further morbid realisations.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to his room. He frowned parted with his Beckoned Retriever, and opened it.
A young female with pronounced lips stared at the Sky Watcher unfazed from the other side.
"Evening, good sir. The boss requests your presence on the highest floor," she said politely.
"Boss?" Baddan mouthed.
"Yes sir. Take this," the lady said and passed a small wooden object that gleamed with polish over its smooth, fine red to him. "This is a Granted Token. It will take you to the ninth floor."
Baddan, of course, was yet to gain a firm grasp on how things worked here. He could, however, understand the concept of being given something, and thus he took the token the awfully polite woman gave.
The moment he touched it, his felt himself soar rapidly for a second, which brought him to panic, but he hardly had the time to turn hysterical, because in the next, he was standing before a set of giant double doors, a beautiful sigil under his feet.
Baddan gulped.
He did not need added education to know that he who summoned him was just beyond those doors.
Thus, he moved towards them.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, he didn't get to push the doors open, because they groaned to reveal a path forward on their own.
The first thing Baddan met, was a blast of rich mana, then a gust of wind and an odd tangle of chaotic powers that dashed forth from the bare space at the end of the room he had just walked into.
Baddan could hardly focus on all that for more than a moment, however.
His attention was stolen by a chair turned against him, before it, a magnificent set of armour that floated to the side seemingly on its own, and stood against one of the tall columns.
"It's good that you are," Replicus' voice came. His chair rose and turned to face Baddan who was alarmed by the Penetrator's form without the veil of clouds.
"Pay my likeness no mind, Baddan," the Penetrator declared, and leaned forward, the phalanxes of his hands locked together.
The Sky Watcher tried to heed, but failed. He could not stop his eyes from taking in the dark figure and wondering quite a lot about it.
Replicus didn't attempt to stop him a second time.
Rather...
"Shall I earn your loyalty now? Or rather can I?" Replicus said, his head tilting slightly. "If I make you stronger than you were... STRONGER than the Keeper you admired so much.... STRONGER than the child that bested you and your kind... STRONGER than the most ideal version of you branded onto your mind..."
"Will you, without the need of a magical bind, submit to me...?"
With this, Baddan's attention finally shifted.
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