Chapter 96: The First Wave

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: The First Wave

Meanwhile, Damon had already returned to his room.

He didn’t know exactly what was being planned against him.

But he knew something was coming.

And honestly...

That was enough.

Damon sat on the edge of his bed.

"They’ll probably try something with the beasts."

He thought about it for a moment.

There were too many security measures around him now for a simple assassination attempt to work.

So they would need another method.

The incoming tide was the obvious choice.

Damon smiled.

"Then I’ll just be ready."

There wasn’t much reason to spend hours trying to guess every possibility.

Plans failed.

But Strength was much harder to ignore.

The door closed behind him.

A moment later, Freya and Sylphie appeared beside him.

Damon looked at them.

"You’re both serious today."

Freya moved closer.

Damon reached out and gently rubbed her head.

Sylphie also came closer, and Damon patted her.

"I know."

He could feel their emotions through the connection.

They wanted to grow.

So did he.

Damon looked toward his storage space.

Then he noticed the Frost Seed pulsing strongly.

Pulse.

Pulse.

Damon stared at it.

"You want the Ice cores already?"

The Frost Seed pulsed again.

He laughed.

"You really are impatient."

Sylphie also reacted.

She was even more eager.

Damon shook his head.

"Fine."

He stood up.

"If they want to make plans against us, let them."

He opened his storage.

"I’ll just make sure we’re stronger when they come."

The spirits responded almost immediately.

Lightning flashed.

Wind stirred.

And the Frost Seed gave another excited pulse.

Damon smiled.

"Let’s see whose plan survives."

He reached for the Ice cores, as the next round of cultivation began.

As usual, everyone had the same goal.

Grow stronger.

Damon paid more attention to Sylphie.

She had already absorbed enough Wind elemental essence, and her body was now completely saturated.

She was ready for the next step.

Evolution.

But there was still something she had to decide.

Her form.

Damon didn’t know exactly what her weapon form would become, and neither did Sylphie.

At this point, it was better to let her instincts guide her.

Her body, her nature and everything she had experienced would determine what suited her best.

Damon could only help her reach that point.

"You don’t have to force it."

He spoke through their connection.

"Just choose what feels right."

Sylphie gave a soft response.

She understood.

Damon smiled.

"I’ll trust your choice."

He turned his attention back to the Frost Seed.

The connection between them had become much stronger over the past few days.

It was no longer difficult for Damon to send his Aether into it.

The Frost Seed accepted his energy almost immediately and continued absorbing the Ice elemental essence around it.

And there was plenty of that.

The increased Ice Aether around the Winterbourne Mansion had originally been a problem.

Now, it had become useful to Damon.

The Frost Seed was benefiting from it every day.

Damon could feel its growth.

Slowly.

Steadily.

It was getting closer.

But he understood something important.

Simply giving the Frost Seed more resources wouldn’t be enough.

The same had been true for Freya and Sylphie.

They needed something that pushed them forward.

Something that gave their evolution direction.

And the upcoming battle was exactly that.

The Ice elemental essence was providing the foundation.

The pressure from the battle would provide the push.

Damon didn’t know exactly what the Frost Seed would become.

But he was looking forward to finding out.

"Keep going."

Pulse.

The Frost Seed responded.

Damon continued feeding it Aether.

Time passed.

He cultivated.

He trained.

He practiced with Freya.

Sometimes he used her spear form to test different movements, and sometimes they simply practiced their coordination.

Damon also didn’t forget the snacks in between.

The spirits had earned them.

After long periods of cultivation, he would let them relax and play.

Freya and Sylphie often ended up chasing each other around the room.

Even the Frost Seed seemed interested.

Whenever they played near it, it would pulse brightly.

Eventually, Freya and Sylphie began interacting with it too.

Damon watched them from the side.

"So you’ve already accepted it."

The two spirits ignored him.

Damon laughed.

"Fine."

He was happy about it.

They were becoming a family.

And their bond was growing with their strength.

Days passed like this.

Meanwhile, the Winterbourne Mansion became busier.

More guards appeared.

More elemental users moved around the outer sections.

Defensive formations were checked again and again.

Resources were moved into safer locations.

Damon mostly stayed out of it.

He continued his routine.

Cultivation.

Training.

Rest.

And then more cultivation.

Caelia would occasionally visit him and bring updates.

But this time, she told him the beasts had started moving.

"The first tide isn’t far now."

Damon nodded.

"How are things outside?"

"We’re ready."

She sounded confident.

"Our elemental users can handle the first wave."

So Damon stayed where he was.

He trusted her.

And judging by her condition, she had also been using the time well.

Caelia looked much better than before.

She wasn’t as exhausted, and the tiredness around her eyes had faded.

Damon noticed.

"You’ve been cultivating too."

Caelia nodded.

"I needed to."

"Good."

Damon smiled.

"You’ll need your strength."

"I know."

She looked toward him.

"And so will you."

Damon laughed.

"I’m working on it."

Their conversations became almost routine during those days.

Caelia brought news.

Damon told her about his spirits.

Sometimes they discussed the upcoming battle.

Other times they simply talked for a few minutes before returning to what they had to do.

Damon’s spirits were also getting closer.

Freya had stabilized after her recent evolution.

Sylphie’s energy had become increasingly concentrated.

And the Frost Seed was absorbing more Ice essence every day.

They were all moving toward something.

Then one afternoon, Caelia came again.

But this time, Damon knew immediately that something had changed.

She wasn’t calm.

Her steps were faster and her expression was tense.

Damon stopped what he was doing.

"The beasts?"

Caelia nodded.

"They’ve arrived."