New law of Beast Taming

"Let me tell you one thing, young one. Humans cannot be trusted as a species, but not all are bad. The same could be said for gods. But unlike humans, a god's death is irreversible. So, if you cherish your partner, do not let her die."

Those words shook Kori to the core. Until now, she had never considered Amane, her partner, but now she thought differently.

Her wide-eyed look was enough to make Hortencia chuckle in amusement. Her body eroded faster and faster while her soul shined a bright white.

"My time is up now. I wish you the best of luck. But I will also advise you - the one who governs fate is mighty. Only an overwhelming power can overcome his decision and change his sentence."

"You may have to make a decision one day and swallow fate if you want your partner to live."

Hortencia's eyes shined silver when she spoke. Her magic-laced voice gave Kori the chills. Hortencia was not saying these words because she wanted to but because her powers told her something.

"May your journey be a better one than mine was."

These were Hortencia's last words before she dissolved into mist. Kori was left standing in the clearing and quickly turned her attention to Amane.

Amane's body was cold, and reserves were damaged. But she was not in a life-threatening position. She would recover from this injury soon. But Kori could not shake her weird feeling when she looked at Amane.

'Is parting inevitable for us?'

....

Yellow eyes blinked, and Kori woke up from her sleep. She had a terrible past dream that put her in a bad mood.

The past could not be denied. Nor could it be changed. The mistress of time was harsher than fate, and her power was undeniable.

'But If I can overcome fate, I can also overcome time. I just do not see a point in increasing my load now.'

Kori looked at the reports that were laid out in front of her. They all detailed the experiments Chen had conducted to bring Amane back.

They were all-powerful in theory, but they needed more practical applications. But the beasts were a good starting point for Chen.

It was unfortunate that Amane had reincarnated before Chen could conclude. His experiments would never show results now.

"Mother, are you listening to me? I said that I am sorry for my failure. I invited Yoko Tsurugi, but she was busy. She had undertaken an important mission and would not return for a while."

Chen explained the situation to Kori in an annoyed voice. He sounded angry and ashamed to tell Kori this news.

The news disappointed Kori as well. She wanted to see Amane once more and to reconcile with her. She was sure Amane would recognize her as soon as she saw her.

'It has been centuries since we last saw each other. Waiting a few more weeks will be worth it.'

Kori did not show her impatience on her face. Chen could not read her expression and became more nervous.

"I…father, I guess you do not care, huh? Let's talk about something else then. Here, look at these reports. Hortencia had decided to increase the scope of her experiments. Sean is helping her choose her subjects."

"According to her, we will start to see results soon."

Chen held the report before Kori, expecting her to take it from him. But Kori did not touch it. She had promised not to interfere with Hortencia's research and her intentions.

Since Chen did not know Hortencia's real intentions, he could drink tea in peace. And Kori was not about to tell him about the deal between her and Hortencia.

"I see. Keep me posted about Hortencia and her progress. I will entrust everything to you regarding this matter, so take care of it for me."

Kori washed her hands off this topic. Chen looked happy when his father entrusted him with these responsibilities.

"Of course. I will take care of everything from here."

Chen walked out, not even noticing the conflicting look Kori had on her face. She was unsure if her actions were right or wrong, but this was the best she could do for now.

'I am sure things will be alright. I have planned everything out nicely. Nothing will go wrong.'

Kori had to believe in her plans and her powers. After all, she had managed to change fate once. What also stopped her from changing it a second or a third time?

....

"Hey Amane, are you alright? Ah, are you into kinky stuff? I don't think these chains would come in handy for that."

Loki teased Amane, and she snapped out of the memories that plagued her mind.

The past shall remain in the past. Trying to think about it would not help Amane solve the current situation.

"So why are we here? Did you want to show me these chains?"

Amane asked with a tired sigh. She needed to take her mind off the depressing memories threatening to crawl up her spine.

"No way! I am not here for anything that stupid. I just wanted you to meet someone special. This person doesn't leave her lab often, but you will get along quite well."

Loki explained before he opened the door to a familiar lab. Amane's heart sped up as she opened the door.

The familiar lab, the familiar scene. It was almost as if Amane had stepped back in time and was visiting her friend.

The friend was no longer there. Instead, an unfamiliar face stood behind the counter, and mixed materials were in the test tubes.

"Hey, Rune, drag your head out of your experiments and pay attention to me. Look, I brought someone new with me. Did you even notice? Your lack of interest in me makes me sad."

Loki pretended to clutch his heart and look at Rune with wide eyes. He was trying to appear innocent in front of her.

But Rune was not amused by his acting. She looked annoyed and glanced at Loki before returning to her experiments.

As soon as she did, she looked up again and noticed Amane standing beside Loki. That attracted Rune's attention, and she stopped her experiments.

"Rune, what did you do? Where did you catch such a good specimen? Hurry, detain her. We need to detain her and conduct experiments. I can already see all the possibilities-"

Amane's amused mood soured, and she glared at Rune. The pressure of her gaze made Rune freeze, and she stopped speaking.

Rune gasped for breath as Amane increased the pressure on her body.

"Come on. We are all friends here. Rune, this is Amane, and she is *not* a person you can conduct experiments on. You will die if you try. And Amane, this is Rune. She is our resident scientist as well as doctor."

Rune finally took in a deep breath once Amane pulled the pressure back. She looked at Amane with a scared expression.

Amane was sure that Rune would not try anything annoying with her now. She would be too scared to even look in her direction.

"Did you set this lab up yourself? How long have you been here? What about the previous owner of this lab?"

Amane wanted to know everything regarding his lab.

She was not sure about Charlie, but she knew that the elders of the divine guild knew about the tragedy in this room and Anya's death. They had closed the research lab in Amane's time to honor Anya's death.

Or that was what those old men had said.

But Amane wondered how long those old fools had kept their promise. They may not have even waited a year before reinstalling this lab.

'Hortencia would be disgusted if she saw this lab up and working. She might have done everything in her power to destroy this place. What if she revived to destroy this place?'

Amane suddenly had a ridiculous thought. But as soon as she thought it, she broke out into laughter.

Such a thing was impossible to happen. She was sure that she was fooling herself.

"This reminds me, were you responsible for the difference between people in the detention center? I heard the guards discussing it when I was brought in."

Amane finally started her investigation. She needed to start at a time when the other's guard was down. She had a feeling she would not get a better opportunity than this.

"Hah, as if. If I had human subjects to experiment on, I would not be stuck halfway. Even I have no idea what is going on."

Rune explained as she continued her experiment. She had no interest in this talk and let the others know.

"It started about a year ago. People began to disappear for no reason, causing the guards and other inmates to panic. It was tense for a while, but nothing happened for weeks."

"Just as we relaxed, another disappearance happened. But recently, the rate of disappearances has increased, and we are all worried we can be next."

"Do not move around alone if you can help it. That is when the kidnapper strikes and takes their prey away."

Loki warned Amane, and now she had a lead. She knew what she had to do, but she needed time.

"I see. I will try my best not to move around unnecessarily and not be alone. I hope you will let me know if you also find anything important regarding this case."

Amane looked at Loki when she said that, and he agreed quickly.

"Yeah, sure. I will let you know if I get a lead."