Aethan's eyes glowed with power, his veins pulsing with energy, and vitality thrumming through his system. His already muscular body underwent a change as the Typhoon Horse's body shrunk, its Blood Essence being extracted.
Horses were known to be powerful beasts, and a magical beast surely had more power in it. Although the Typhoon Horse wasn't physically based but Elemental, it still had great physical strength and agility.
Aethan felt his muscles enlarge and compress repeatedly, becoming firmer and more flexible.
The muscle fibers rolled beneath his skin like steel cords, each tendon and ligament becoming sturdier and denser.
His dexterity received a large leap in power, and he felt he could maneuver and change direction faster and easier than before.
Other than that though, Aethan could feel it. He could feel the unique swirl of Aether flowing through him.
Countless times had he fought Wind Elemental beast, and his constant absorption of their Blood Essence was coming to fruition.
The unique, calm —yet shredding— Wind Aether, passed through his Aether pathways, his body attuning itself to it and the Blood Essence Extraction increasing his understanding of the Element.
Blood Essence Extraction seemed to be doing its work and was feeding him not only vitality and Aether, but also the extracted knowledge of the Wind Elemental creatures whose Blood Essence he had extracted.
The consolidation of the Wind Aethers came naturally to him, and a small Light-Green Core began to form within his Crimson Core, rotating slowly and pooling Wind Elemental Aether towards itself.
From behind, Darion smiled, his prideful expression turning into an unnerving grin.
Everything was going smoothly and gradually, until…
A spark of electricity zipping across the shrunken horse's body streaked through the air and slammed into Aethan's chest, flinging him backwards like a ragdoll.
The sudden movements caught Darion off guard, but he was still quick enough to move swiftly and catch Aethan before he slammed into a tree.
"What's happening?!" He asked Aethan, perplexed and worried.
His gaze rolled over Aethan's body, his eyes narrowing in concentration and confusion. He could 'see' the sparks dancing across his body, and knew it to be the last will of the Typhoon Horse acting up.
With a surge of his Aether though, a superior pressure fell over the Lightning/Thunder Aether, forcing it into submission. However, before Darion could force it out of Aethan's body, the lingering effect of Blood Essence Extraction took hold of the Lightning and absorbed it.
"NO!" Dariin roared, his Aether flooding Aethan's body with forceful yet controlled movements, trying to seize the Aether before it caused irreversible damages.
Darion felt his mind go blank for a moment when the Lightning/Thunder Aether was sucked in, and he paused, his heart beating out of his chest, threatening to jump into his mouth.
Aethan shuddered, his skin charring and peeling off suddenly as the Lightning/Thunder Aether ravaged his Core and insides.
He wasn't careless by any means, but what he didn't expect was for him to get zapped by a stray, will-controlled Aether of a beast he just killed.
He didn't even know something like that was possible. If he did, he would have been extra careful and taken things slowly.
The effects of Blood Essence Extraction triggered again, its finesse and methods unmatched as it culled the rampaging Aether.
It put a leash on it, subduing it in seconds and pulling it into the Crimson Core.
Though all these happened in seconds, it was enough to fry Aethan from the inside out, turning him into a living, breathing, roasted humanoid.
The two Aethers, Wind and Lightning/Thunder, met within the Crimson Core, and as if sensing their familiar origins, they shot towards each other and began bonding, fusing into one seamlessly.
There was no grand display of an unexplainable phenomenon, just a short, silent fusion of two Elemental Aethers.
Aethan's body twitched once, then shuddered again, before going completely still.
Darion panicked, cold sweat matting his back.
Was it a mistake on his side for bringing Aethan to creatures far above his league?
He only wanted the best for his son and gave him a good challenge, believing that he had the strength to overcome it.
Aethan had gone beyond his expectations and done more than he believed he could do regardless, but it had come at a cost.
The cost of his son's life.
Darion shot up to his feet like a spring, and with calculated movements and smooth control of his Aether, the ground beneath Aethan rose, hovering before Darion quietly.
The silence of the forest was soon shattered by the pounding of Darion's feets as he dashed at his fastest speed towards home.
"Martha can heal him!" He mumbled the words, reassuring himself.
---
An hour later, Aethan was resting silently in his bed, his breathing regulated and his skin smooth and pristine. His brows were furrowed in his sleep, as if he were in pain, but he didn't let out a single sound, laying there in silence.
Martha's jaw clenched in frustration.
There were no signs of him having gone through a terrible shock and third-degree burn on the surface, but if one looked within him, they would see a mess of a system.
His internal organs were still having a hard time healing, and his mother was straining herself to do so.
For some reason, the Blood Essence Extraction wouldn't deactivate and let her healing Light Aether to do its work, resulting in Aethan's body absorbing her Aether greedily without any positive effects.
It did nothing to help his bodily state, only accumulating Light Aether in it for future purposes.
They had no choice but to wait patiently, hoping that he would wake up before the situation could get any worse.
"This is all my fault," Darion muttered under his breath, raising a hand to his face while the other was akimbo.
Martha sent him a glance, her contorted expression softening into a reassuring smile.
"Don't blame yourself darling. It wasn't what you could have predicted," she said to him.
Darion smiled back at her, his mind calming at her words.
Suddenly, Aethan stirred in his sleep, his fingers twitching as he jolted awake, eyes shooting wide open and sudden winds and crackling electricity whipping around his forearms and fists.
Martha gasped. "Galethunder!" she said out loud, just loud enough for Darion to hear, but not enough for the disoriented Aethan to.
"They actually merged…" Darion replied to his wife, his face a mix of awe, pride and disbelief.
It seemed like he had underestimated their Bloodline power. Even in Aethan's unconscious state, it had fused Wind and Lightning, merging them into a single, rare force… Galethunder.