The beast burst out of the black lake with a splash that sent the clinging waves crashing back to their seabed.
Stretching its wet wings to their full length, it roared with a tremendous roar that pierced through the roiling mist, blasting the hazy fog apart.
Instantly, the tranquil black forest was revealed in its primitive glory as the mist cleared. Dense ancient trees stood tall as they obscured the sky, blocking the sun.
Wild beasts, small and large, dangerous and meek, froze in their spots as they looked around in confusion, the thunderous roar and unnatural disappearance of the mist, unnerving them.
The next moment, the forest boiled as the beasts panickily ran away in fear, wreaking havoc in their wake.
Black trees and vegetations were carelessly stamped into the damp ground, their leaves and branches blanketing the vibrating ground.
The winged beast ignored the fleeing creatures. With its tail firmly coiled around the Crown Prince, it flapped its huge wings and swiftly flew through the black forest.
Crown Prince Lail was completely calm now. The beast was bigger, stronger, faster, and fiercer than himself.
If it truly desired to kill him, it would just be a matter of sweeping its tail. He could not preserve his life even if he wanted to.
Since there was nothing he could do to turn the situation around, he resigned himself to his fate. It was not like he was afraid of death.
He was just worried about his missing wife, which was why he strived so desperately to survive.
But if death in the Heart of Mistland was written in his fate, then no matter how unwilling he was, it would still come.
Besides, he was not completely hopeless as he could not sense any killing intention from the creature.
Whether he was truly its master or not was no longer important to him.
'Since I can not escape, I might as well relax and let things take their own course.'
Thinking up to here, he leaned back and leisurely scanned his speeding surroundings.
In fascination, his gaze fixed onto a horde of scattering beasts. A little while ago, it was him who ran away from a similar horde.
Now, he looked from above as they trampled on each other below.
Light flashed through his eyes and a thought popped in his mind, branding itself in his heart and soul.
'In every species, only the strong reign supreme.'
That was the case in the empire where the generals and ministers ruled above the civilians, the kings and princes ruled above the ministers and generals, and the emperor ruled above all.
The same law applied in the beast world. The strongest beast ruled above the rest. The horde feared the winged beast and scattered in fear, not daring to even face him.
If he somehow survived this ordeal, he needed to become stronger. So strong that no creature, whether it was a beast or a human, would dare to stand before him with their head raised.
He needed to become strong enough that even if his wife was a dark magic wielder, no one would have the courage to question her in his presence.
Dark eyes flashed with a blue glow, resolve and determination radiated from Crown Prince Lail's body.
After a long flight, the beast swooped and landed on a clearing outside the boundary of the wandering mists. It tucked its wings and uncoiled its tail, gently releasing the Crown Prince.
"What do you think, master? Do I still not have my domineering aura? Am I still not the better choice?" It proudly raised its serpent head as it waited for praise.
Crown Prince Lail watched the flaunting serpent with gleaming eyes, his cold lips lifting slightly in amusement.
This beast was too humane for a wild beast. It also had the ability to communicate with him.
The Crown Prince's dark eyes flashed in astonishment, an old piece of memory resurfacing in his mind.
"Wild beasts that gain spirituality shed their flesh and take on the form of weapons. These weapons are known as spiritual weapons because the spirit of the beast resides in them. They are a hundred times stronger, faster, and durable than ordinary weapons. Moreover, the weapons never decay as they absorb the spiritual energy and magic from the heart of a realm."
"Than Father, I want a spiritual weapon. It sounds so cool!"
"Hahaha. You think anyone can have a spiritual weapon just because they want one? No, son. Spiritual weapons carry the souls of extraordinary beasts that gain enlightenment through their intelligence and shed their skin with great resolve and powerful magic. It is impossible to get one."
"But there must be a way to get one..." There was disappointment and despondency in the boy's voice.
"Yes. There is one way to get a spiritual weapon. That is, to get the spirit inside the weapon to acknowledge you as its master on its own accord. But no proud magical beast would willingly acknowledge a weak human with no magic as its master."
The memory abruptly ended, bringing churning waves in the Crown Prince's heart.
Magic. The first prerequisite to gaining a spiritual weapon's acknowledgment was, magic.
If the beast before him was truly a spiritual beast and it acknowledged him as its master on its own, then that would mean he had magical blood flowing in his veins.
That would mean, he had magic.
That would also mean, he could search for his wife anywhere within the seven realms.
Even in the heart of a realm.
With magic, he did not need to worry about finding ways to get stronger.
He could easily protect his wife from anyone and anything.
As Crown Prince Lail thought more and more of the many possibilities and opportunities that would open up for him to search and protect his wife, his heart raced and his eyes glistened.
Silent tears flowed down his cheeks, cracking his impassive expression.
Only he himself knew how pressurized he felt when he discovered the possibility of his wife being in the heart of a realm. Because that implied she had magic.
How could he bring his wife back from a place he could not even enter?
Because that was a place he could not enter without magic and if he did, he would have dropped dead before even finding her.
Now, he saw a silver of light in the darkness that shrouded his being.
Slowly raising his head, he looked right into the serpent-like beast's eyes, his voice firmly commending.
"Change into your weapon form."
Instantly, there was a flash of black-blue light as the giant serpent beast, right before Crown Prince Lail's very eyes, transformed into an ancient, rune-covered, majestic spear.