Re:Ant Lord
Chapter 238: My Choice!

Chapter 238: 238: My Choice!

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The Alkaidon hovered low, wings flexing softly. Its feathers rippled with sea-glow light, like twilight caught in mid-motion. It dipped its head slightly toward him. Silent but... waiting.

Kai stepped back and thought. He paced once. Twice.

"The crab’s a fortress," he muttered. "But I already have a mountain. The tunnels can’t hold it. I need to create a big enough path for it, that will give my enemy an advantage. It can’t fly. It would be terrifying in battle, but it would draw attention. And it wouldn’t climb well."

He turned toward the hovering bird, frowning. "The bird... it flies. It swims. It’s mobile. Flexible. If I can train it, it can serve as a scout, transport, or even a high altitude aura bomber."

He imagined it perched atop Monarch Mountain’s highest spire, like a living sentinel.

"And it would keep the ants below safe. It doesn’t need a tunnel. It wouldn’t need to walk. It could dive into the mountain from the hollow sealing. Patrol the entire range."

Then Kai paused, "A skyguard... with Star in the skies, and this above the sea mists..."

The decision formed like water turning to ice.

System pinged softly:

[Recommendation: Based on current lair parameters and survival advantage, aerial-marine hybrid is 78% more compatible with host lifestyle and terrain.]

He chuckled lightly. Then his tone sobered. "But what if I need siege strength later?" he whispered. "What if war comes?"

Another pause. Then he remembered. "You’ve already got siege weapons." Kai had himself.

His Apex Form. The tunnel warping predator body. His mark blades. His queens. And many more will come.

He didn’t need more destruction. He needed the reach. Wings. Eyes. He nodded slowly.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak— his decision made, words rising in his throat—

The fog pulsed again. A quiet shimmer in the dark.

And then—

"Time narrows," the voice said. "Have you chosen?"

Kai’s hand clenched at his side. Not in hesitation. In readiness.

He looked once more at the crab, who shifted with slow, deliberate menace, eyes narrowing but not hostile.

He looked at the Alkaidon, who crooned again, soft and low, like a thunderstorm remembering it was once a song.

Then he raised his head. His mouth opened. And Kai said clearly, voice steady as bedrock, "I choose the Alkaidon."

No tremor, no doubt. The moment the words left his mouth, the fog reacted, spiraling upward in gentle celebration, as though exhaling a breath long held.

The Sable Crested Alkaidon unfurled its wings wide, and every scale feather caught the ambient glow, scattering flecks of sea born light like drifting stardust. Its eyes never left Kai. At that moment, no oath was needed. Before bindings were carved into flesh. They simply understood each other.

The great bird dipped one wing, then lowered its head, neck arcing with grace and reverence. A sound passed between them. It was less a screech, more a low toned melody echoing off eternity’s shell. A memory shared between a beast born of the deep skies and a devourer born of ash and tunnels.

The voice from the mist did not speak at first. She let the moment settle. Then:

"You have chosen well," she said softly. "This one has seen much. Fought deep battle with leviathan. Watched the drowning of a city / kingdom. It will not abandon you. So long as you give it reason to fly."

Kai reached forward slowly, extending a hand toward the Alkaidon’s beak. The beast lowered its head further, letting the plam of Kai’s hand outstretched, his fingers resting against the razor curve of its obsidian glow beak. It didn’t flinch. It pulsed once, aura to aura.

A connection. Not a soul link, this was no hatchling. No egg-born ward. But a pact of respect. Two predators shaking hands across worlds.

[Ding! System Notification – Bond Formed! New Companion: Sable Crested Alkaidon (6★ Rank Predator)

Type: Aerial-Marine Hybrid | Predator Class

Abilities:

Abyssal Dive: Allows dive based attacks from sky to water at supersonic speeds.

Storm Plume: Launches a wave of high pressure wind blades laced with condensed aura.

Glide Field: Passive aura field around wings disrupts projectile attacks.

Sea Wind Resonance (Bonded Only): Syncs with Kai’s aura direction. Increases battlefield coordination, movement speed, and long range communication.

Status: Autonomous Mount – Not dependent on host aura. Loyalty based on mutual respect.

Note: This beast is marked by the Voice from the Black Mist. The host cannot apply Monarch Mark to it.

It is not part of the host’s subroutines yet.

You cannot mark this beast without either:

-A direct override authorization from its master

-Or the beast recognizes the host as its rightful ruler through mutual bond development.

Advice: Gain its trust. Fight beside it. Protect it. Form a bond not through domination but respect. When the Alkaidon truly recognizes you as its master, you may attempt to apply your Monarch Mark again.

Reason for Marking Restriction: The Voice wields an energy far superior to the host’s current aura.

Suppressed Classification: ¢π@°$ Energy – this force overrides all Monarch aura marking protocols. ]

Kai blinked. "Hey, System... what’s this ¢π@°$ nonsense?" he muttered, scowling. "Don’t just throw encrypted cosmic squiggles at me like I’m reading a cursed sushi menu. What is that? What kind of energy?"

The system chimed calmly:

[System Notification- Locked Content Accessed

Response: Host security clearance insufficient.

Minimum required rank: Seven Star.

Access denied. ]

Kai’s eyebrow twitched. "Seriously? You’re not even gonna give me a hint?"

[System Remark: No.]

"...You’re such a smug collection of data crumbs."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaled like a drowning man catching his breath, then stared off across the open mist beyond the Alkaidon’s wings.

"You could’ve just said: big scary energy, don’t touch," he grumbled. "Instead you give me encryption and homework."

[System Remark: Consider this motivation. Also, your tone is noted.]

Kai was about to respond, sarcasm loaded and ready, when a familiar presence whispered at the edge of his senses.

The Voice. It curled through the air like wind circling water. "You wear frustration," she said gently. "Why? What troubles your mind?"

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