46 The True Bonding Ritual of Earth

{Author's Note}

DEAR GOD, I AM GLAD TO FINALLY HAVE THIS OUT!

You guys have no freaking idea how much anticipation I had for creating this chapter. In fact, it's the same amount I feel for all of the ritual chapters, really.

But, that didn't mean it was easy. I had to do my best to make it as unique in terms of word choice from the last Ritual as possible, meaning I had to constantly go back to chapter 29 to make sure. Then, there was trying to express the images in my mind for what is actually happening during the ritual, which was hell in and of itself.

Anyway, I'll rant more about it at the end. For now, I hope you all enjoy the chapter! And the debut of one of the newer forms!

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Just...just get on with the story. I'm too tired at this point to be unique anymore...

***

{Outskirts of the Safaru Ruins}

Unlike last time, Kevin was at least somewhat prepared for the change that overcame him. Memories of how his free will had been taken away, replaced by an overpowering NEED to find the source of the aura he was sensing in the air, had circled through his mind as he was hyping himself up to cross the barrier. He had hoped that having experience with it this time would give him some semblance of resistance, and maybe allow him to think clearly in his search for Gnome.

He was wrong.

Deep instincts embedded in every level of his being flared to life for the second time, no less powerful than before. All of his senses, especially his magical sense, were sharpened for the sole purpose of finding the source of the magical aura saturating the air. His eyes sharpened in order to see the the otherwise-invisible magical currents in the air; his nose sniffed the air as he subconsciously used his minor control of the wind to keep the sand away from his nostrils; and his ears were standing straight in an attempt to pick out any sound that could possibly lead him to his target.

Upon finally detecting the direction which the elemental energies in the air stemmed from, he immediately moved. Like before, he didn't go so far as to run toward the source of the pure elemental aura. Instead, he walked, slowly yet steadily, unconsciously manipulating the sands beneath his feet so they wouldn't impede his trek across them.

Following at a safe distance, and only entering the barrier once the Eevee was more than fifty yards away, Alice and Sylph watched him closely. The former took extensive mental notes on everything, from the expression on the boy's face, to the subtle shifts in his own aura, all the way to the miniscule twitches of his ears and tail, all for the sake of later documenting this event for the history books. The latter, on the other hand, was fighting to keep herself from returning to Kevin's soul and assisting him with making his way to Gnome faster. It was an internal struggle that was almost guaranteed to keep her quiet for the duration of the ritual.

It was only after ten minutes of walking that the first obstacle appeared. It took the form of a sudden shifting in the sands, which normally wouldn't have been surprising, considering how unstable the dunes were in the desert. When the movement took on the appearance of a whirlpool, however, it was clear to both observers on the sidelines that there was nothing natural about it.

Sure enough, popping out of the center of the whirlpool of sand was a monster. Or, more accurately, half of a monster. Her light brown hair and pale skin would've been attractive on a normal woman, but the two antennae sticking out of the top of her head and her lack of arms were the first signs that she was anything but. Just beneath her breasts was where the human parts ended and the giant insect parts started, covered in lightly colored chitin. What really set her apart from other insectile monsters were the two enormous scissor-like appendages sticking out on either side of her human torso, poised to trap any unsuspecting prey and drag them under.

[Antlion Girl]

[Type: Bug/Ground]

"Oh, another delicious man!" she grinned, her expression one of hunger and perversion. "Please...come closer."

To her, it appeared that the unexpected snack was actually following her instructions as he continued walking in a straight line toward the center of the trap. She'd never had a meal that was this easy to capture, but she wasn't going to complain, considering how long it had been since she'd last had her fill of semen. A suicidal fool was exactly what she needed.

In reality, Kevin was simply continuing toward his final destination. The quickest way to get from point A to point B was by heading in a straight line, after all. Should something stand in his way, like that one elf back in the Forest of Spirits, they would discover that he was more than willing to remove anything that stood in his way, be it natural land formations, buildings, or other living beings.

Unaware of the potential danger she was in, the Antlion girl spread her 'jaws' in anticipation. "That's right, little boy. Come connect with me and have a good time. I'll be sure to make it feel so good that you'll die!" With the boy finally within range, she lunged forward and trapped him between the scissoring jaws, immobilizing him as she prepared to remove his pants and begin her feast.

Unfortunately for her, this was also what finally alerted the teenager's entranced mind to her existence. The fact that she was holding him in place, and thus preventing him from fulfilling his desire to seek out the Spirit hiding within the ruins, triggered the only response his instinct-addled mind and body could come up with in order to continue forward: Violence.

With strength that belied his small form, the boy grabbed both of the jaws and forced them apart with little to no effort. He didn't give the Antlion girl enough time to process the situation before tightening the grip of both of his hands to the point where the chitinous appendages cracked. The monster cried out in pain as, not only did her jaws erupt in pain, but the damage seemed to spread down to their base and shatter even more of her natural armor.

[Crush Grip - Normal Type Move]

[Description: The target is crushed with great force. The more HP the target has left, the greater this move's power.]

Kevin didn't stop there, though, as the obstacle was still in his way. Using his unbreakable grip on the monster girl, he hefted the rest of her insectile body out of the ground. She was only airborne for a split second before the Eevee lifted her over his head and slammed her into the ground. Then, he did so again...and again...and again. Over and over, she was raised up only to be brought down harshly on the other side of him. Her entire world became pain as her legs broke, her human skin turned black and blue, and one of her antennae actually snapped off.

Within minutes, it became too much for her, and she finally lost consciousness. Luckily for her, Alice's worries that Kevin might turn off his sealing powers were proven wrong, as the Antlion girl erupted into light and was replaced by a normal sized antlion that limply fell down into the sand. She sank beneath her own trap, fated like so many others to wake up in the future with psychological trauma from her encounter with the evil boy.

Alice let out a sigh of relief as she watched him continue on as if nothing had happened. The proof that he wouldn't actually be brutally murdering any of her cute subjects in his trance was a load off of her conscience. Not only because it meant that they wouldn't be dying, but also because she wouldn't have to go out of her way to try saving them from their own stupidity for attacking Kevin in the first place. It was annoying enough when she had to rescue the Queen Class monsters.

It didn't take much longer for him to reach the point where both buildings and pillars were sticking out of the sand, alongside some surprisingly lively looking trees. If he were able to think clearly, he might've concluded that the water source the town once used to keep its citizens hydrated in the unforgiving desert was still there, buried beneath countless layers of sand, and the trees were just tall enough to poke out of the top. He'd seen weirder things in this world, after all.

His approach also, predictably, alerted yet another resident of this area, Erupting from the ground in a shower of sand and rubble, and extending her incredibly long body high above him, was a colossal monster. Human from the waist-up, with her lower half being replaced by a massive sandworm, this was by far the largest monster the boy had ever encountered. Even just one of her hands was bigger than his entire body!

[Sandworm]

[Type: Bug/Ground]

Fortunately for any of her potential victims, though, the green haired titan was not exactly...intelligent. She raised one of her hands to scratch her head through her turban, looking around to try locating the prey she had sensed through the vibrations of the sand. It wasn't until he was feet away from her worm half that she actually looked down and spotted him.

"Human," she slowly said, obviously not noticing the extra ears and tail that marked him as a non-human. "Let me suck on you."

Normally, a battle with this kind of enemy would include slowly whittling away at her defenses, as she tried and failed to keep track of whoever was attacking her. Every once in a while, she would gain the presence of mind to attack, either crushing her opponent or capturing them in her massive hands, only to put them in her mouth an suck on them. Even the strongest Heroes blessed by Ilias would be taken out of the battle with her first strike, and be swallowed whole once the towering monster realized that they didn't taste very good.

Kevin, on the other hand, had a different approach. Rather than treating the wall of flesh before him as a monster getting in his way, he saw it as the equivalent of a large building that suddenly decided to get in his way. What made this distinction important was that his instinct-driven mind remembered that he had recently acquired something that was specifically designed to turn an entire building to rubble. With a little bit of enhancement on top, this creature would soon cease to be an issue.

Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out the leather bag that Lazarus had left behind in the Mermaid Bar. It instantly resumed its ticking after time resumed for it, only seconds away from detonating. For good measure, the Eevee channeled a specific Move into the device within, and threw it toward the Sandworm.

The explosion that resulted shortly after it made contact with the monster was powerful enough to cause what felt like a localized earthquake. It sent sand, stone, and chunks of monster meat and chitin flying hundreds of yards in every direction, leaving a crater at ground zero. If the boy hadn't had his [Sealing] setting turned on, it also would've rained blood as the titanic monster was torn in half, her eyes wide in both confusion and pain as the half above ground collapse, shortly followed by her bursting into light particles as she was sealed in the form of a tiny worm.

[Explosion - Normal Type Move]

[Description: The user imbues an object with immense explosive power. Can also amplify the potential of objects that are already explosive in nature.]

In the aftermath, Kevin stood alone in the middle of the crater. While one may expect him to at least take a small amount of backlash damage, seeing as he was only a few feet away from the center of the explosion, but they would be wrong. Shimmering around his stationary form was an impenetrable barrier made from hexagons of light that slowly faded out of existence. When they were gone, he once again put one foot in front of the other, as if he didn't just decimate such a massive creature in a single attack.

[Protect - Normal Type Move]

[Description: Enables the user to protect themself from all attacks. Its chance of failing rises if it is used in succession.]

Needless to say, the massive explosion was powerful enough to scare away any monsters who even considered remaining within several miles of the Safaru Ruins. Watching from a distance as the Sandworm was brought down with ease proved that no, there was no chance in hell that they would be getting a free meal from whatever creature was approaching the center of the ruins, and it would likely be best for them to leave and never come back. It would be several years before any monsters felt brave enough to come back.

As the taller buildings sticking out of the sand became more common and closer together, a different kind of onlooker started appearing at the edges of his vision. Or, it would be more accurate to say onlookers, plural. It started as just one or two, but then more and more showed themselves, not even bothering to hide in or behind the buildings. They stood on legs made of mud, their eyes hollow yet still following his every movement as he passed them by.

They were mud dolls, every single one of which were under Gnome's control. The closer he came to the center of the ruins, the more organized and well put together they appeared. Hundreds formed lines on either side of the path forward, as if trying to deter him from straying away; dozens stood atop the rooftops and pillars; and two larger ones, each twice as tall as the teenager, could be seen in the distance, standing at the exact spot he was headed toward, their arms crossed behind their backs as they stood at attention.

His eyes zeroed in on the short figure sitting directly between them on the edge of a fountain that had long since dried up. To say she was heavily garbed would be an understatement, considering the fact that only her hands and the top half of her face were visible, her green eyes staring blankly at Kevin. From the little bit of skin showing on her face and pointed ears, he could tell that she had a darker skin tone that one would expect from someone born and raised in the desert, and it went perfectly with her long brunette hair. With her brown and green dress, boots, and hat that branched into two points with fuzzy balls on the ends, she pulled off the 'mysterious loli' look quite well.

Gnome also closely inspected the short boy who approached her, both with her own eyes and those of her puppets. Just like her, his appearance was unique, yet disarming at the same time. If one couldn't feel the massive well of elemental energy rolling off of him, they might mistake him for a small child pretending to be a monster. The Spirit of Earth knew better, though, and that knowledge drove her to regard the boy with both intrigue and anticipation, though her expression didn't change to reflect it.

Stopping only when he was a few feet away from the seated Spirit, Kevin did just as he had with Sylph and reached out his hand. Gnome, of course, followed the instincts that were urging her to take it and allow him to pull her up. Not only that, once she was on her feet, she continued to let him pull her into a tight embrace, even going so far as to wrap her arms around him, as he did the same to her.

From her vantage point a hundred yards away, Alice was intrigued. Watching as the Spirit of Earth and the Eevee held onto each other as they stood motionless amongst the army of mud dolls was an odd sight, but honing in on them with her senses confirmed her suspicions. This wasn't a mere hug, but an attempt on both sides to confirm with as many senses as possible that the being each held close to them was real.

The Monster Lord had conversed at length with Sylph to get an idea of what each step of the ritual, from the lead-up to the ritual itself, would entail. According to the Spirit of Wind, this part was a final inspection on both sides, making sure without a shadow of a doubt that there was no illusion or trickery in play. The tiny Spirit never said what would happen if either found the other lacking in any way, but the implication was that the reaction would be...visceral from the one who made the conclusion.

After a solid five minutes of embracing each other, mostly due to this being Gnome's first time initiating such an encounter, both came to the same mental conclusion at the same time. 'He's/She's real.'

This was all that was needed for a presence to suddenly cover the entirety of the Safaru Ruins. Alice was unable to see it, but she could feel a being older than even the Spirits themselves suddenly set its sights on the small section of the desert. Its mere existence was enough to cause her to hold her breath, every cell in her body warning her that if it noticed her and disliked what it saw, it could easily obliterate her without a second thought.

For the second time in the history of the world, the overseeing force behind the [True Bonding Ritual] had descended upon the mortal plain.

As was customary for the [True Bonding Rituals], the two participants separated and took a few steps back from each other. The air was thick with tension as they once again stared at one another, though this time there was a purpose to it besides simply observation.

Once exactly thirty seconds had passed, Gnome tilted her head cutely to the side, a single eyebrow raising as she donned a curious expression. No words came out of her mouth, but the impression Alice received was that she was 'asking' a question. How she was able to come to that conclusion, though, was lost to her.

In response, Kevin smiled and nodded. For this particular [True Bonding Ritual], no words were necessary. Unlike the boisterous and talkative nature of the wind, earth wasn't an element that required constant movement, or the transfer of information through grand gestures. No, it was an element that embodied strength, structure, and the knowledge that actions spoke louder than words.

A single mental trigger later, and Kevin's body erupted with light as he evolved into the form needed for this ritual. When the light died down, where there once stood a boy less than five feet tall, a six and a half foot tall man took his place. Skin as black as night showed on his completely exposed upper body, pulled tight over muscles that looked rock solid. Dark gray cargo pants served as his only clothing, even his feet being left exposed to the elements. His short black hair appeared to be composed dozens of layers of volcanic glass, stopping just above his human ears. What stood out the most, though, were his pure amber eyes, diamond shaped stone ears coming out of the top of his head, and the rock spike of a tail protruding from the base of his spine through a hole in the back of his pants.

[Name: Kevin]

[Age: 17]

[Form: Obsideon]

[Type: Rock]

[Ability: Shatter/Stamina]

[Weapon: None]

To say that this form was a nightmare to fight head-on would be an understatement. With Stamina, every attack he received would just continue to increase his defense even further. Shatter, on the other hand, was a unique Ability to this form that made it so any physical damage he took would cause pieces of his rocklike skin or fur to break off and embed themselves in the flesh of the attacker, with the missing parts quickly growing back. Even against a Fighting Type, whose moves would be super effective against him, anything short of a one hit knockout would quickly turn into a one sided beatdown. That is, if he were in a world with inhabitants that were at least as strong as him.

Gnome certainly wasn't complaining about the muscled hunk of beefcake now towering over her. If she had been in complete control, she would have gone so far as to drop her jaw and widen her eyes at what she would deem to be the perfect male specimen. In her current state, though, all that she could manage was a small trail of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth behind her high collar.

The lamia watching all of this from a distance also had an...interesting reaction to this. As the Monster Lord, and with the expectations the title conferred onto her, she never really developed a taste in men. It was mostly due to the knowledge that no matter how tall, short, muscular, or lean they were, almost no human man could measure up to her in terms of power, so she wouldn't be able to pursue any of them. However, as she spent more time with Kevin and was exposed to more of his evolutions, both male and female, she was slowly discovering that maybe she did have a type...

Or rather, she had MANY types.

Back to where important things were happening...

A rumble was sent through the surrounding landscape as the foundation deep beneath the sand stirred. Following this, every pillar, building, and mud doll as far as the eye could see crumbled to dust, scattering into the dunes, leaving no evidence of the ruins or its golem-like inhabitants ever being there in the first place.

Only the fountain was left standing, but it didn't remain a fountain for long. Carefully chiseled stone visibly melted, forming a puddle of liquid rock that rapidly flowed into a new shape. Where once stood a landmark meant to distribute water to the people of Safaru, now lay a large rectangular platform that was completely level with the ground around it.

Gnome and Kevin stepped onto the platform, which was approximately ten by ten yards in square footage, and walked to opposite ends. Turning to face each other, the two participants tensed their muscles (one more visibly than the other, considering the state of his wardrobe) as they prepared themselves for a signal that only they would hear, deep in their hearts, that would signal the start of the [True Bonding Ritual of Earth].

{Author's Note: I listened to numerous songs to try and get a good idea of how I wanted this scene to go. Here's a short list: Counting Stars by One Republic; Pompei by Bastille; Stronger by The Score; etc.}

As most things do, the ritual started with a single step from both participants. They each raised their right foot and moved it forward, almost gently setting it back down on the smooth stone. When said feet made contact with the surface, though, dual shockwaves were sent out into the bedrock deep beneath the sand around them in all directions, the earth responding to the unspoken command of its two undisputed masters.

Neither stopped moving, though. They slowly approached each other, each step sending a more powerful shockwave out. By the time they were each halfway to each other, the earthquakes they were causing could be measured on the higher end of the Richter Scale. It was bad enough that Alice had to fly up, so as not to constantly be rocked back and forth by the seismic nightmare the two were causing.

It was only when she was high in the air that the Monster Lord saw exactly what the purpose of the localized tremors was. In all directions, the dunes that characterized the desert were dispersing, evening out until all that was left was a level layer of sand as far as they eye could see. They weren't just sending out random waves of destructive force...

They were laying a solid base for what was to come.

Reaching each other in the center, the Spirit and the Obsideon stopped for a brief second to regard each other. It was only a single second though, with them quickly breaking eye contact and turning to stand back to back. Well...it was a little awkward to say they were 'back to back,' considering the fact that her head only came up to his chest, but neither was conscious enough to even mentally comment on the gap in their heights. A heartbeat later, they both slowly raised their arms. While the synchronization between them was impressive, the results of their movements were even more so.

At first, the only evidence that anything was happening was a slight vibration in the flattened sands surrounding them. Then, far in the distance, something started to peak out. Or rather, a LOT of somethings. While it wasn't obvious at first, what started to take shape were hundreds, maybe even thousands of sandstone cubes, all organized in a massive circle that spanned for miles. The ones furthest away were the smallest, each only about the size of a single-story house; but as Alice observed from her position in the sky, she noticed that the closer they came to the duo, the larger they became, with those within a few hundred yards being almost as tall as Sabasa Castle.

Then, the platform beneath them also rose, the earth given birth to by far the largest cube of all. Once it stopped growing, it was even larger than the cathedral back in San Ilia. It was a monolithic structure, perfectly smooth on all sides and exuding an aura of endless, untapped potential; just waiting for its masters to carve it into something beautiful, as were all of the cubes now covering the landscape.

With the stage finally set in its entirety, the teenager and the Spirit stood motionless for a minute, arms still stretched out high above their heads. Time seemed to freeze, the world itself holding its breath as the two ritual participants received an image in their minds. Their eyes scanned over the miles of untouched stone cubes, structures seeming to superimpose themselves over each one in milliseconds. What they saw was not a landscape of random building blocks.

No...it was their perfect canvas.

When they finally moved again, it was like watching a pair of artists in motion. Every single part of their bodies, from their heads down to their feet, moved in a way that was reminiscent of both a dancer and a sculptor. Legs pivoted, rotated, and maneuvered around each other flawlessly; hands and arms delicately probed and caressed the empty space around them; and occasionally, both would switch sides, brushing against each other as they passed.

Their movements weren't just a dance, though. Starting at the very edges of the massive field of stones, the cubes started changing shape. What were once faceless hunks of rock were rapidly changing in response to their masters' wills. Holes were cut out for doors and windows, the latter of which were filled in by molten glass that quickly cooled and solidified; artistic designs depicting monsters, humans, and the six original Spirits were etched into every wall; and eventually, hundreds of small houses could be seen.

As the changes gradually moved closer to the center, towards those orchestrating this event that reshaped the very environment itself, more complex structures and buildings came to life. Aqueducts were formed, sandstone roads and archways took shape; and countless buildings, from dwellings to business locations, were carved from the countless monoliths.

It was then that Alice realized what was happening before her eyes: They were creating a city!

Six of the largest cubes, aside from the one the architects were standing on, were molded into churches that surrounded the center of the city; one for each of the original Spirits embodying the elements of the world. They were not side-by-side, each one being set in its own district as they surrounded what would become the largest structure of the entire continent.

Finally, as the ritual was coming close to its end, Kevin and Gnome worked on the cube beneath their own feet. For this, though, they needed to maintain constant contact with each other. As a result, the Obsideon reached out his right hand, gently gripping the smaller woman's left one in it, and they started shaping the most important part of any city in a fantasy world:

The castle.

As they molded statues, shaped parapets, and carved one room at a time, the bond that had been forming between their souls with each passing brush between them was finally nearing completion. Their souls became irreversibly entangled, to the point where not even death could separate them; memories flowed between them freely, though they wouldn't be able to truly examine them until the ritual had come to an end; and love as strong as the boy's bond with Sylph was forged between them, never to be broken or betrayed.

As with all things, the [True Bonding Ritual of Earth] eventually came to a climactic conclusion. Now standing on the balcony of the largest bedroom of the entire castle, the two showed rare smiles as they took in their work. The castle was constructed with a western style, which stood out quite a bit when one considered the standard architecture in the desert and spanned several acres of land. Its most notable features were the large drawbridge over a moat full of quicksand, numerous stained glass windows depicting both the Spirits and Kevin, and the massive throne room with seven thrones deep within its winding halls.

It was truly magnificent to behold, no matter what angle one looked at it from.

The overseer, noticing that the ritual was coming to a close, once again spoke the only word in its vocabulary, which prompted both Gnome and Kevin to turn and face each other.

{Kiss}

No hesitation was shown by either as the latter kneeled down on one knee, coming face to face with his new 'wife.' Using one hand to lower her high collar, his other cupped the back of her head and drew her in for a loving kiss. It lasted for a few seconds, not going as far as using their tongues, but it was still as passionate as if they were.

When they eventually separated, they leaded their foreheads against each other as Gnome's feet began to dissolve into particles of light that flowed into Kevin's chest. Once again, each revealed a small smile, neither of which disappeared until the Spirit of Earth had her body fully absorbed into the teenager's soul.

With that, the presence of the overseer faded away, the pressure that had saturated the area completely disappearing as the [True Bonding Ritual of Earth] officially ended.

***

{Author's Note}

THERE IT FUCKING IS! NEW WAIFU FOR KEVIN!

Also, Obsideon form = Stoic and Silent

I'm hoping all of you had a better time reading this than I had writing it, as trying to describe the way the two of them built the city throughout the ritual was hell. I actually have a headache at this point, and will probably allow myself to pass out after attaching the Obsideon art I based him on to the status part of the chapter

After this, the group is going to try to adjust to their new member and start heading off to the Noah Region! I have so fucking much planned, and not enough attention span to do it in a timely manner, so you all are just gonna have to sit in suspense and LIKE IT!

Also...YAY! The story is over 200k words as of this chapter!

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As always, comment on the paragraphs and the chapter itself. Try not to be a dick, memes are appreciated, and correct my grammar so I can fix it for future readers!

See you later!