Bastards Ascension: A Playground of Gods-Chapter 126: Clan Head

The silence that followed the Drex’s single word was suffocating.

"Master?"

Kieran stared at the Beast sitting on the ground, one eye closed, tears streaming down its face—*his* face. It was deeply unsettling to see himself crying, especially when he felt nothing of the sort.

"What... what did you just say?" Karin’s voice was barely a whisper, strained and disbelieving.

The Drex—still wearing Kieran’s features—looked up at her with confusion, then back to Kieran with something that could only be described as reverence. "Master," it repeated, this time more firmly.

Karin’s pale complexion somehow grew even whiter. She stumbled forward, nearly collapsing as Galand and Vesha struggled to keep her upright.

"No," she breathed. "No, that’s not possible. Drex don’t... they can’t just switch masters. The bond is absolute. It’s—" Her voice cracked. "What did you do?"

Kieran raised his hands defensively, still disoriented from whatever had happened during the mimic process. "I didn’t do anything! I just stood here like you told me to!"

"Liar!" Karin’s voice exploded through the room, raw and furious. She tried to push away from Galand and Vesha, but her weakened state betrayed her. "You did something! You must have! Drex don’t just abandon their masters!"

"I’m telling you, I didn’t—"

"Then explain it!" Karin shrieked, her composure completely shattered. "Explain how my Beast, bonded to me since I was twelve years old, is suddenly calling *you* master!"

The Drex, still sitting on the ground, tilted its head—Kieran’s head—in that same unsettling way it had done before. Its trembling hands gradually steadied as it watched the exchange.

"Karin, calm down," Galand interjected, his voice steady but concerned. "Shouting at him won’t—"

"Don’t tell me to calm down!" She whirled on Galand with such ferocity that even he stepped back. "Do you have any idea what this means? A Drex is supposed to die with its master! It’s biologically impossible for it to bond with someone else while I’m still alive!"

Kieran felt his own frustration rising. "And I’m telling you, I have no idea what happened! One second I was looking at that... that blue stuff inside its face, and the next second everything went weird and dizzy. I didn’t *do* anything!"

"Then undo it!" Karin demanded, taking a shaky step forward despite Vesha’s attempts to hold her back. "Whatever you did, reverse it! Give me back my Beast!"

"I can’t undo something I didn’t do in the first place!"

Karin lunged forward, or at least tried to. Her weakened legs nearly gave out completely, but before she could fall—or reach Kieran—the Drex suddenly moved.

It stood up with surprising speed, placing itself directly between Karin and Kieran. The Beast’s expression was blank, but its positioning was unmistakable: protective.

The room fell silent again.

Karin stared at the Drex—her Drex—standing in defense of someone else. The betrayal on her face was palpable, a mixture of hurt, fury, and complete disbelief.

"You..." Her voice broke. "You’re defending *him*? Against *me*?"

The Drex said nothing, but it didn’t move either.

"This is unbelievable," Karin muttered, her hands clenching into fists. "Absolutely unbelievable. I sacrificed my life force for you, I’ve fed you, trained with you, and this is—"

"Karin, please," Vesha said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You’re exhausting yourself. The Death Kiss already drained you significantly. If you keep this up—"

"I don’t care!" Karin snapped, though her voice had lost some of its earlier fire. She was clearly running on pure emotion now, her body barely able to support her fury. "I want my Beast back! I want him to undo whatever he did!"

"I. Did. Nothing," Kieran repeated slowly, meeting her glare with his own steady gaze. "I don’t know how Drex work. I don’t know what happened during that... whatever that was. But I swear to you, I didn’t intentionally do anything to your Beast."

’Alexa, any idea what the hell happened?’ Kieran asked internally, hoping his system had some explanation.

’I’m... analyzing,’ Alexa replied, her voice unusually hesitant. ’This shouldn’t be possible. The bond between a Drex and its master is one of the most absolute connections in existence. For it to spontaneously transfer like this...’

’So you don’t know either?’

’Give me time. Something about your interaction with the Drex triggered an unprecedented response.’

Karin opened her mouth to shout again, but before she could, one of the Ravenspare crew members burst through the door.

"Miss Karin!" the crewman called out, slightly out of breath. "The Clan Head is on the line. He’s requesting immediate communication with you and the guests."

The effect was instantaneous.

Karin’s fury seemed to evaporate, replaced by something else—was that fear? Or respect? Her entire demeanor shifted, her spine straightening despite her exhaustion.

"The Clan Head?" she repeated, her voice suddenly much quieter.

"Yes, ma’am. He specifically asked for you and the newcomers to join the call."

Karin stood there for a moment, visibly struggling between her anger at Kieran and whatever the Clan Head represented to her. Finally, she took a deep breath.

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth. She pointed a shaking finger at Kieran. "We’re not done here. You and I are going to figure out what happened to my Drex, and you’re going to fix it. Understood?"

"I’ll do what I can," Kieran replied carefully, "but I meant what I said. I didn’t do anything intentionally."

"Later," Karin said firmly. "We’ll deal with this later." She turned to Galand and Vesha. "Help me to the communication deck."

The two immediately moved to support her, and Karin allowed them to guide her toward the door. She paused at the threshold, looking back at Kieran with an expression that was equal parts exhaustion and determination.

"Come with us," she ordered. "The Clan Head wants to speak with you too."

Kieran nodded, following behind the group. The Drex—still wearing his appearance—moved to follow him as well, staying close like a loyal shadow.

As they walked through the corridors of the ship, Kieran couldn’t help but notice how dramatically Karin’s attitude had changed the moment the Clan Head was mentioned. The fierce, confrontational woman from moments ago had transformed into someone almost... deferential.

’She calmed down immediately,’ Kieran thought. ’Just from hearing that the Clan Head called. Who exactly is this person?’

He’d heard the title mentioned before, but this was the first time he’d seen such a visceral reaction to it. Whatever authority this Clan Head held over the Ravenspare clan, it was absolute.

The group made their way through several corridors before reaching what appeared to be the ship’s main communication deck. The room was dominated by a large holographic projector in the center, currently dormant but humming with latent energy.

Karin pulled away from Galand and Vesha, forcing herself to stand on her own despite the visible tremor in her legs. She straightened her clothing and ran a hand through her hair, clearly trying to compose herself.

"Activate the connection," she instructed one of the crew members.

The crewman nodded and began working the controls. The holographic projector flared to life, light coalescing in the center of the room.

Kieran watched as the light began to take shape, forming the outline of a figure. His curiosity peaked as he waited to see who commanded such immediate respect—and fear—from Karin.

’The Clan Head of the Ravenspare,’ Kieran thought, his eyes fixed on the forming hologram. ’Let’s see who you really are.’

The Drex stood silently beside him, still wearing his face, its presence a constant reminder of the bizarre situation he now found himself in. Whatever came next, Kieran had a feeling things were about to get even more complicated.

The hologram fully materialized, and Kieran prepared himself to meet the mysterious leader of the Ravenspare clan.