The wind blew softly through the training grounds, rustling the grass where Kurumi lounged, casually cleaning one of her pistols. Vaelion stood in the center, his shirt soaked in sweat, breathing steadily from his latest spar with Lunaria.
"You're improving," Lunaria admitted, brushing her hair back. "But you're still reckless."
"Reckless works," Vaelion replied with a faint smirk. "Sometimes."
Kurumi raised a brow. "Say, Vaelion… do you have a familiar?"
Vaelion blinked. "A what?"
Lunaria's head whipped toward him, eyes wide. "You don't…?"
Kurumi sighed dramatically. "You're telling me the Divine Scar hasn't formed a familiar pact? Seriously?"
"That pigeon…" Lunaria murmured, gaze rising to the nearby tree. "It's been following you for days. I thought it was your familiar."
As if cued by her words, the pigeon swooped down silently, landing on a stone pillar. Its feathers shimmered faintly in the sun, grey with silver undertones, and its golden eyes glowed unnaturally bright.
Kurumi stood up, her chaos energy subtly rippling around her. "You're being recognized. That pigeon isn't ordinary. That's a divine beast watching you. Or rather… testing you."
Vaelion looked between them. "That thing?"
"Yeah," Kurumi said with a smirk. "It's more powerful than it looks. Some familiars disguise themselves to gauge worth. And if that one's already lingering, it's probably picked you."
Lunaria stepped forward. "Kurumi, what's yours again?"
"A divine cat," Kurumi answered, flicking her fingers. A flash of violet light, and a sleek, midnight feline emerged at her side—its eyes glowing with broken clock symbols. "Her name's Chrona. She manipulates time. Saved my life once."
"And yours?" Kurumi turned to Lunaria.
"A moonlit stallion. Swift and strong."
Kurumi smiled. "So Vaelion's the only one without one. That settles it."
She turned to him with that glint of mischief. "To form a familiar pact, you either overpower the beast in direct combat or chase it to submission. But be warned—if you try the first, without divine power, you'll be flattened."
"And if I chase it?" Vaelion asked.
Kurumi shrugged. "Could take days. But if your will's stronger, it'll bow."
Vaelion exhaled. Then closed his eyes. Echo Mind flared—his Gift of foresight revealing glimmers of the pigeon's path. "I'll chase it."
"Of course you will," Kurumi grinned. "Go get him, Divine Scar."
Later, under moonlight…
Vaelion darted between treetops and fields, a phantom in pursuit. The pigeon moved with uncanny speed, shifting patterns, vanishing into shadows. But Vaelion persisted—his foresight narrowing down its evasions, learning every beat of its wings.
Hour by hour, he closed in.
By midnight, the pigeon landed atop a cliff, watching him with golden serenity. No escape. No resistance.
It bowed.
Kurumi stepped forward from a portal of violet flames. "You did it. Time for the pact."
She drew a glowing sigil in the air with her pistol, chanting softly. Arcane threads formed around the pigeon, binding it in a gentle ring of power.
"Name it," Kurumi said. "Only then will it be yours."
Vaelion approached, kneeling before the beast. "You've outsmarted me. Outswifted me. But you chose to follow me. From today… your name is Azurelion."
A flash of light.
The pigeon's form pulsed—and then a voice echoed in Vaelion's mind:
"I am Azurelion. I shift with your will—cheetah for speed, tiger for ferocity, lion for pride, bear for might… But my true form, the pigeon, is the wisest of all. Intelligence wins wars."
Kurumi's grin widened. "Told you he wasn't just a bird."
Lunaria smiled faintly. "Then… Vaelion has finally found his familiar."
To be continued...