Boundless Evolution: The Summoning Beast
Chapter 58: Realm Passage

Chapter 58: Realm Passage

Bennet said nothing, but his eyes lingered on Ash with curiosity, studying him as if trying to decipher his intentions.

Ash took a step back, reaching deep within himself, feeling for the connection. Realm Passage.

He closed his eyes, focusing on the Aether around him, reaching out to the Valen estate, the space he now called his anchor.

A surge of magic responded, and before his feet, a sigil unlike any he had seen before began to take shape—not a summoning circle, but something more primal, more personal.

It wove itself into the very fabric of the space, glowing softly in hues of silver and deep indigo. The markings curved like flowing script, forming a design that pulsed with the energy of his bond to House Valen.

It was not just a point—it was a signature, a mark of his presence in this world, an anchor tied to his will alone. And the system, ringing out in a few seconds, confirmed the success.

[Ding! Arrival Point Set: Valen Estate]

Ash exhaled, opening his eyes as the markings faded into the ground, now part of the very fabric of the estate.

’Now then,’ he muttered, activating Realm Passage as the Aether swirled around him, ’Let’s see if this really works.’

At this, the Aether in the room began to spark to life as it started unravelling around Ash, tendrils of shimmering energy curling away from his body like flowing threads being woven into the spell itself.

Then a deep pulse rang through the study- a heartbeat of pure Aether. And for a brief moment, everything froze.

With a flash of silver and deep indigo light, Ash vanished...

The stronghold of Baltyr loomed like an immovable titan, its towering stone walls scarred by time in the vast plains that were surrounded by forests in Aegaryn.

Within, Zephiron strolled through the inner courtyards of the stronghold, his massive frame moving with deliberate grace. His golden eyes flickered as he observed the creatures below—warriors in constant preparation, training relentlessly in open-air pits while others stood in disciplined lines, awaiting their fate at the summoning circles.

The weight of history pressed into these walls, but so too did the hunger for power.

Beyond the training grounds, near the heart of the fortress, the summoning circles hummed with a dimmed energy.

These were the gateways, the rifts that connected Baltyr to the outside world, allowing its warriors to be pulled into conflicts far beyond their own realm. Zephiron’s gaze lingered on one of them, watching as it lay dormant, unactivated—until something changed.

A faint tremor rippled through the Aether. A pulse, subtle at first, but undeniably present. From inside the circle, the Aether suddenly shuddered as if responding to an unseen force despite the circle itself remaining unactivated.

The beasts in the stronghold halted, their attention drawn instantly to the event unfolding before them. Even Zephiron, who had seen countless warriors rise and fall, found himself transfixed.

Then, in a flicker of silver and deep indigo light—Ash appeared...

Silence fell upon the stronghold.

The gathered beasts froze, their instincts clearly confused at the sudden appearance of a new beast among them. Even the seasoned warriors near the summoning pits turned, their expressions flickering between wary intrigue and deep unease.

Ash, meanwhile, took in the stronghold with an unreadable expression. His sharp gaze flicked across the towering stone walls, the disciplined beasts, the still-glowing summoning circles.

The sight of Baltyr, unchanged yet as imposing as ever, brought a sense of nostalgia that he had not been expecting as he did not think that he would appear back but then it made sense in his head as he considered it.

His last location in Aegaryn before he left was in this stronghold itself.

’So... I’m back here,’ he thought to himself before his thoughts continued as he smirked, ’Let’s see if I can go back.’

At a distance, Zephiron’s gaze locked onto Ash immediately, his golden eyes narrowing in confusion for a split second before it sparked brightly in recognition.

A flicker of intrigue crossed his face before his lips pulled into a knowing smirk.

’The hyena has come back...’ he muttered to himself.

He took a step forward, his massive form weaving effortlessly through the stunned beasts that instinctively cleared a path for him.

But as he neared, another shift in the Aether emerged.

Zephiron, who had just begun stepping forward, halted mid-stride. His golden eyes narrowed, his smirk fading into something far more serious as he observed the unnatural phenomenon. ’What—?’

The energy around Ash flickered and warped, crackling as the very air seemed to distort around him. The same intricate, swirling patterns that had formed when he placed his arrival point in the Valen Estate now wove themselves into the space surrounding him.

Zephiron’s eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the strange energy at work. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The Aether around the hyena shifted unnaturally, bending and coiling as if responding to a force that Zephiron could not yet comprehend.

His golden eyes flickered with curiosity, watching closely as the air itself warped around the creature before him.

Ash, on the other hand, remained calm as he felt the Aether in his body slowly get siphoned off into the air, feeling the link between the arrival point and his body in Aegaryn slowly get stronger and clearer.

His gaze swept the stronghold once more, the walls, the warriors, the towering presence of Zephiron himself.

’Oh, hello again, Zephiron,’ he greeted telepathically as he saw the beast making his way down and onto the summoning circle, its golden eyes brimming with curiosity and confusion.

Zephiron’s body tensed as he arrived at the summoning circle area, his sense spike as the Aether surged violently.

’What—?’ he began, stepping forward, his presence towering over Ash, ’Hyena, what are you doing?’

Ash met his gaze, unaffected as his focus was still distracted, he simply replied,’I am testing something.’

Zephiron’s eyes darkened in confusion, ’Testing...’

Before he could finish his sentence, the swirling mass of energy fully activated. Aether roared to life, the ground beneath Ash vibrating with raw force, arcs of silver and deep indigo light streaking upward as space twisted around him.

Realm Passage!

And then, in a blinding flash— Ash disappeared.

Zephiron stopped mid-step, his golden eyes narrowing at the empty space where Ash had stood just moments before.

The beasts of Baltyr stood in stunned silence, their instincts unable to process the strange event unfolding before them. Something unnatural had happened, something beyond their understanding, and for a brief moment, even their primal instincts faltered.

Zephiron, however, did not move. His claws flexed against his palm, his expression unreadable as he was confused at what had happened. He had never seen something like this happen before, he exclaimed loudly, ’What in Aegaryn’s name... did that hyena just do?’

Back at the Valen Estate, Bennet stood in stunned silence as the last traces of Aether from Ash’s departure faded. Slowly, his hand clenched at his side before he exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face.

He stepped forward and pulled the heavy carpet back over the sigil that Ash had left, his mind still reeling from what he had just witnessed.

His footsteps echoing in the study as he made his way back to this table, needing to sit and think deeply to process everything. But the moment he sank into his chair and turned to the scenery outside his window, something shifted.

The air in the study grew dense, the very Aether in the room quivering as though responding to an unseen force. Bennet’s sharp gaze snapped toward the floor where Ash had placed his mark as the Aether began to emanate from it, passing through the carpet.

The Aether pulsed softly at first, then with growing intensity before soon enough, it began to ripple through the room, twisting and curling into invisible tendrils. The air hummed, charged with raw energy, and Bennet’s pulse quickened.

His mind raced through possibilities, searching for an explanation. What was happening? Was it an attack? The air was shifting in unnatural patterns, the Aether surging as if responding to an unknown force. But then as he recalled what had happened recently, he realised that there was only one culprit for this phenomenon.

Ash.

Before he could fully wrap his head around what was happening, the Aether surged, and in a sudden flash of silver and deep indigo light—

Ash reappeared.

Bennet, a man who had witnessed war, political betrayal, and the darkest corners of Westreach’s noble games, stared at Ash like he had just defied the very foundations of existence.

His fingers curled into fists against the desk, his breathing slow but controlled, his mind racing with calculations and impossibilities.

"This... this should have been impossible..." his voice was tight, his usual sharp precision shaken to its core.

Ash grinned, stretching his arms out as though testing himself. ’It worked.’

Bennet’s chair scraped against the floor as he abruptly stood, his narrowed eyes locked onto Ash with an intensity that burned like a dagger.

"That isn’t possible!" Bennet stated, his voice dangerously low, his mind fighting against everything he had ever known about summoning.

He took a step forward, his hands gripping the edges of the desk so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"You just—" Bennet exhaled, running a hand through his hair as he tried to process it, "You just reappeared back in Terranis... without being called... but out of your own will?"

Ash chuckled as he smiled, "Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?"

Bennet slammed his palm onto the desk, the sharp crack echoing through the study.

His voice edged on frustration and disbelief, as though every fiber of his being rejected what he had just witnessed, "Do you understand what you just did?"

Ash’s smirk remained, but he could feel the gravity behind Bennet’s words. What he had done wasn’t normal. It wasn’t supposed to be possible.

Bennet exhaled sharply, his gaze flicking to the faint remnants of Ash’s arrival sigil on the floor. But before he could even process what had just happened, Ash’s eyes flickered with a new thought.

’Alright then,’ Ash muttered, stretching his arms slightly, ’Time to test something else.’

Before Bennet could react, the air around Ash twisted violently once more as tendrils of shimmering energy curled away around his body like flowing threads being woven into the spell itself.

Bennet’s pulse spiked as realization dawned. ’No—wait, you’re not—’

But it was too late.

Then once again, a deep pulse rang through the study and with a flash of silver and deep indigo light, Ash vanished...

Bennet muttered to himself, his mind running through every possible explanation. "Summons do not leave and return of their own will. No summoner, no contract in existence, has ever granted a summon that level of control."

His fingers pressed against his temple, his pulse quickening as the implications of what he had just witnessed settled in. "If—if this knowledge spreads, if the wrong people find out that a summon can move between realms freely..."

He exhaled sharply, leaning back in his chair, his mind still spinning. "This changes everything."

For a long moment, silence filled the study, the weight of realization pressing down on him.

Then, finally, Bennet let out a slow breath and muttered, "I need a drink."