He could feel it, that an abomination was here, and worst of all, it was performing some kind of ritual. He had read in the library before that those of the beast race cannot cultivate like humans; they can only perform rituals to purify their bloodline with the help of spirits they believe in, which also involves the spirits choosing them, and then progressing on their path to power.
The beasts without spirits are strong too but have fixed strength according to their Ancestor's realm, being chosen by a spirit is an extremely rare phenomenon even amongst the beasts, like the Nightfur tribe, none of them can contact the spirit they pray to directly, except for their ancestor, who was the first one to have a contract with it and performs sacrifices to it for further strength.
Based on the spirits who choose them, their abilities would also progress in the same direction, but for abominations, it's a bit different, unlike beasts who rarely have contracts with the spirits, Abominations can easily have a contract with any spirit they wish to.
In exceptionally few instances..., comes a time in which a spirit is birthed alongside an abomination, they are the fastest to progress and also the strongest even among the abominations, they don't have any bottlenecks.
Abominations that have a spirit born alongside them, have great synergy between them, and can easily fight those above their realm.
"No one mentioned anything about a spirit, and it's impossible for a newly born Abomination to get in contact with a spirit this easily, but if it's a spirit that was born alongside it, then this mission's difficulty is not something that even my cohort members will be able to handle," mused Jonan with a pensive expression.
No matter what, he still decided to retreat and inform his cohort members about his discovery.
Jonan crouched beneath the twisted canopy, the blackened roots of the blood thorn trees curling around him like skeletal fingers.
The pulsating power from the ritual circle behind him still ravaged his senses, so far away. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, and he willed his breathing to settle. He had witnessed enough. The abomination was not singular, and that changed everything.
He reached for one tree, where he changed his previous markings, after continuously marking the trees he tagged before, he was also moving back to their post, where he would wait for them to come back, he wanted to stay and discover more, but knowing about his own capabilities, he refrained from doing so.
He didn't linger.
With practiced ease, he slid back through the underbrush, navigating through the thick country, dodging dry limbs and patches of light with muscle memory alone. The further he moved from the ritual ground, the lighter the air grew, the crushing weight in his chest relaxing little by little. Yet, unease curled within him like a snake.
After what felt like an eternity, he reached the previous meeting point, a small glade surrounded by ancient stones, which were ancient and bloody, their bloody smell, made it so that no one would willingly come here.
Elias was already there, leaning against one of the stones with arms crossed, his short stature, leisurely basing in the last rays of the day.
"Took you long enough," Elias said with a forced smirk, though concern flickered in his amber eyes.
"I had eyes on something... worse than I imagined," Jonan replied, brushing leaves from his cloak.
"Worse than beastlings?" Elias raised an eyebrow.
Jonan didn't answer, waiting for others in his cohort.
A moment later, Marla appeared, her lithe form emerging from the underbrush like a shadow. She was unconcerned and with a nod, brushed dirt from her gloves.
"Signal was faint, but I caught it," she said. "What happened?"
"Wait for Edric," Jonan said, scanning the treeline.
Sure enough, the last of them arrived minutes later. Edric was a quiet one, as always. His physique blended seamlessly into the environment, and his steps were heavy with momentum, easily for others to be intimidated.
"We're all here," Elias said. "Let's start talking."
The four sat in a loose circle within the glade, the silence between them thick with tension.
Elias went first, naturally.
"I scouted northeast," he began, pulling out a rolled-up parchment and spreading it before them. "Found two, maybe three small bestial tribes. Mostly Nightfur and Fangtide, probably just scouts looking for any intruders. There were no real signs of movement or any kind of disturbance. Didn't sense anyone powerful among them either."
"No spirit presence?" Jonan asked.
Elias shook his head. "None that I could detect. Just regular beastkin. Strong, yeah, but nothing we couldn't handle, look at you finding spirits on your first try."
Jonan could only nod somberly.
Marla nodded. "Same here. I took the southern cliffs. Found remnants of some old scouting towers and a few isolated dens. Beastlings were... scattered. No sign of organization. It felt like they were hiding something, though. Their movements weren't normal."
Edric finally spoke, his voice low and measured. "I went west. Found a system of caves. Some were collapsed, and some looked abandoned. But a few weren't."
Elias leaned in. "Go on."
"I found bloodstains, faint traces of spirit energy too. There were altar-like structures—primitive, but active. Ritual sites. At least one of them was recent."
Marla stiffened. "You sure it wasn't just old traces?"
"No," Edric said, meeting her gaze. "There was still spirit energy coming off the stones. Someone was there, recently."
Elias frowned. "Damn. You think it's a spirit contract site?"
"I think someone's trying," Edric said. "Or preparing for something, but their purpose is not something, I am able to decipher."
Jonan let the silence settle for a moment before speaking.
"What I saw wasn't a beastkin attempting to contact a spirit."
They all looked at him.
"I came across the remnants of a ritual site. I am sure an abomination was performing it, and it wasn't being chosen by a spirit, it was already with one because the ritual looked more for sacrificing than for making a contract."
The others froze.
"Explain," Edric said simply.
Jonan nodded. "As instructed, I was just moving along deep into the region and was wandering aimlessly, when I found some beasts, as well as one dangerous beast, from whom I was barely able to get away, and it was then I found a clearing, where an altar was with a glyph representing a broken eye, and there were fresh bloodstains on the area, but there was this suffocating aura, which only abominations can have."
"That's impossible," Elias said. "A newborn abomination shouldn't be able to form a contract so quickly."
"Exactly," Jonan said grimly. "Unless the spirit wasn't contacted."
"You're saying... it was born with it?" Marla whispered stunned.
Jonan nodded. "A spirit birthed alongside it. I am not sure, but I can feel it, for some reason that abomination wasn't moving, because I could feel being watched by it, but it didn't take any action against me.
"Hmm, maybe it wants you to bring its meal, and it will also be helpful for its sacrifices," Edric said quietly. "Damn abominations."
"Yeah, abominations are far more insidious, it could have planned on letting you go so that you can bring others with you to it" Elias muttered. "Well, our mission just got far more tougher to complete."
"How is that possible," Jonan said exasperated, he couldn't fathom, he was being used as a tool with just one encounter with the abomination, they are truly abominable beings.