As the malevolent shark that dwarfed any whale closed in with its mouth parted, nning on swallowing the two like nkton, he leapt up before cocking his fist back.


    "---!"


    WHAM


    A [Dragon Strike] was mmed right against the colossal nose of the scarred shark, unleashing a shock wave that stopped it dead in its tracks.


    "Damn! You actually stopped it! Ha-ha!" The elven manughed.


    Not wanting to simply wait around and watch, Blimpo ran around it, using the separated parts in his belt to quickly build a rune cannon before firing at the side of the massive shark''s body.


    Being repeatedly pelted by fiery sts from the rune-firing cannon, the ck-skinned behemoth iled, mming its tail and fins around as it spurred a great set of rumbles.


    "Woah–!" Blimpo let out, nearly toppling over.


    There was no doubt that if it continued the way that it was, the malignant leviathan would likely bring the entire cavern down. Recognizing this, Emilio changed his approach, analyzing the battlefield for a moment.


    Its hide is incredibly tough; that Dragon Strike hurt it, but it didn''t leave anysting damage. Same with the sts Blimpo has been hitting it with. The sort of firepower I''d need to actually bring something like this down would only run the risk of destroying this cave, too. In that case…I need something fast and contained, he realized.


    "Get back!" He called out.


    Blimpo looked over, "Huh? Okay, ya got it!"


    As soon as the elven tinkerer was out of the way and the massive predator chased the elf down with an open mouth that carved up the rocky ground in its path, Emilio clenched his fist:


    "Greater Water Binding!"


    The invocation manifested itself through chains of solidified water increased in scale to be able to wrap around such an overwhelminglyrge beast, gripping around it tightly.


    Gotcha! Emilio thought.


    It iled violently, cracking the rock beneath it as its harrowing teeth were bared with nothing but savage intent.


    Bring it down–plummet the temperature and embody the winds of winter; encase it forevermore as even in death, it remains stagnant in time, he invoked.


    Perhaps his most unfamiliar form of magic, he had to focus intently, keeping his eyes closed as he summoned the frost from a distance, imbuing it through the very chains of aqua that held the great beast.


    Blimpo witnessed it from not too far from the shark, watching the behemoth be frozen solid as frost stretched across its body, "...Ha…Ha-ha! Ya got ''im!"


    It required a lofty portion of mana and a tiring effort, but after a minute, the young Dragonheart exhaled before finishing the spell, looking towards the now frozen-solid, colossal shark.


    "Phew," he breathed out a frosty breath.


    Soon after the massive, aquatic beast was dealt with, the After-inhabiting fish returned to swimming in the dank airs of the cavern before the two moved on.


    "No more of that, please," he sighed.


    "Still, that was pretty awesome–I didn''t know you could use ice magic!" Blimpo excitedly said.


    He shook his head, "I can''t. All I can do is lower the temperature of water–that''s the best I can manage. Even with that, it took a huge chunk of my mana to aplish."


    "You''ll master it no sweat, I''m sure," Blimpo encouraged.


    "Thanks."


    Moving through the cave of the air-swimming fish, whatid beyond was an actualke hidden within the depths of the chasm. Perhaps even more perplexing than its existence was the sky of trees hanging from the ceiling; tinum-leaved trees made up the roof, like a silver sky amidst twilight.


    "Woah," Blimpo looked around.


    There was a single stretch of rockynd that connected the entrance to the area to the other side, surrounded by nothing but the massiveke of crystal-clear, but dark water on either side.


    "Howrge is this cavern, anyway?" He asked.


    "The After is infinite in size, if that answers your question," Blimpo told him, "So this single cavern could even berger than Arcadius."


    "I''d prefer it if it wasn''t," he responded.


    "Even if it is, that eye of yours said this was the right way, so there''s an exit somewhere close, eh?" Blimpo told him.


    "Better be or I''m getting a refund on my lifespan," he sighed.


    There was a somewhat unnerving sensation while walking along the stone path, surrounded by the ck length of unknown reach; a single fall wouldnd one into unknown depths. It waspletely silent in theke-filled cavern; the water was deathly still, leaving only their footsteps resonating through the area.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Crossing into the next spot of the vast chasm, what was found was a room with multiple tunnels to go down, all filled with shadows and no discernable path which was "right".


    "Oh boy, one of these rooms," Blimpo exhaled, scratching his head.


    "Is this chasm some sort of deathtrap?...Forget I said that," he remarked.


    It was certainly a conundrum, considering neither of them were familiar with the deep-dark chasm in the first ce, left with a half dozen options to choose from.


    For a good half hour, they paced back and forth, discussing possible paths, venturing a bit into each path to see if there was a clear indicator of one being the sure way, but s, nothing made itself clear.


    "Maybe I should take another look–I''d rather not get lost down here," he said, cing his hand over his eyepatch.


    Blimpo quickly interjected, "Hold on, hold on! Don''t be so willy-nilly with that right eye of yours!"


    "Do you have any better ideas?" He asked, "I don''t need to remind you that I''m  on borrowed time here. If we get lost in this cavern, I''m as good as dead."


    "Maybe so, but I just have a bad feeling about that eye, ya know? If ya keep relying on it for every answer, you''re going to run dry your life out before you even make it out of here," Blimpo advised him.


    "Duly noted," he quietly responded.


    After some consideration, he managed to bring himself to thinking rationally, realizing there was some truth to the words his friend gave him.


    It''ll be a downward spiral if I really do begin using this power at any given obstacle. Is that what Adam wanted? Did he know this path would force me into relying on it? I won''t buy into it, he decided.


    "I have an idea," he found himself speaking just as the idea popped into his mind.


    Blimpo looked at him, "Oh yeah? I was just getting one myself, but if you have an idea, it''s sure as hell better than mine."


    "What''s yours?"


    "I was going to blow through these tunnels and turn ''em into one passage," Blimpo told him.


    "Yeah…I think mine might be better," he wryly replied.


    Exining it to his elvenpanion, he got an exciting response from Blimpo who seemed to advocate for his n heavily, though it was mostly because the man seemed eager to witness what was about to be deployed.


    I''ve never activated this before…For some reason, there was a "fear" etched into me by the Faceless One when it came to this, as if trying to keep me from using it. I only realized it after thatst meeting–I think Adam might''ve cleared that effect from me, he thought.


    "I don''t really know how this works, bute forth…Soulbound Spirit!" He invoked.


    Raising his hand which had the six-pointed seal etched onto it, he finally gave light to the bond ced on his palm.


    Mana flowed through the seal on his hand, taking a violet glow before a sh of light filled the multi-tunneled room.


    "It''s working!" Blimpo watched.


    Standing there was a man in avish suit with long, well-kempt hair of a scarlet shade, cing his hand over his heart and subtly bowing, "Well met, Master. I was wondering when you''d finally rely on us."


    "Gavill, right?" Emilio asked.


    A small nod of confirmation from the spirit that was soulbound to the Dragonheart was a breath of relief for the young man who summoned him, not wanting to screw up his first impression.


    "I''m in a bit of a bind right now, I–" He began to exin.


    Gavill interjected, "I am familiar with the problem at hand. As are the other five of your Soulbound servants."


    "Really? How?" He raised an eyebrow.


    "We''re always watching over you, of course–well, most of the time," the scarlet-haired spirit smiled.


    "Always…watching?" Emilio repeated as a small flush came over his cheeks, "Hey! That''s a breach of privacy!"


    Of course, the young man was well-aware of what sort of sights would await those that would watch him day-and-night; he wasn''t exactly the most innocent of souls when it came to his private time.


    Gavillughed, "Worry not, we do not intrude on such matters; you need help figuring which path is the correct one, is it?"


    "Yeah, that''s about it," he answered.


    "You happened to summon the right man for the job then. Worry not, Master Emilio," Gavill assured him, turning to face the variety of tunnels.