004

As usual when one formed a core, it produced a small phenomenon in his surroundings. As he was forcefully brought back to reality, he heard a loud noise. That noise came from inside of himself. Then, a little tempest was brought about, lifting the dust in the nest and sending it away from him in a circular motion.

The noise had scared the unprepared owls in the nest. Even his Mother slightly jumped from the surprise. As she turned around and walked to him, her eyes seemed to contain pride. It might have been a delusion though. He didn't know how to read the face of an owl. Maybe it was his own pride at his success that made him feel like that.

Anyways, he soon found himself being hugged in the wing feathers of his Mother. She remained that way for a few minutes before leaving him and making her way back to the other side.

Pride aside, he was slightly wet now.

He didn't want to end up with some sickness so he hurried over to the other three and began to cuddle with them. It was a way to make sure he would stay warm.

As he was in the embrace of his giant owl mother, he tried to sense the changes in his body. Due to having a core, he was now able to do that. He could understand his body further. There wasn't much to say. It was what was to be expected from a spiritual beast and an owl.

Well, there was something new. Near his heart, there was a little something the size of a rice grain. He wasn't able to sense much as it was only the very first step in cultivation but he made an educated guess. It was likely his spiritual beast core.

A beast core was probably the biggest difference between humans and beasts. While the core of humans would forever remain solely in their soul sea, for beasts, it differed. They would end up with a representation of their core harden inside their physical bodies. It would serve as a link, a passage. Because most beasts relied on instincts to cultivate.

His case was different.

Usually, a beast would innately develop a core after a certain amount of time. And with more time, it would grow by itself, absorbing unconsciously the wild energy. It was very impractical and slow obviously but beasts lacked the awareness for more. Most of the time, this was the determining factor to their evolution. Of course, there were exceptions here and there.

As for him, it was solely an additional perk. From now on, he would be able to accumulate energy thanks to the physical core aside from his own conscious efforts. It was a bonus. But not that much and far from enough. At least, its speed was hellishly slow. He could feel it. If he relied solely on that physical core, it would take him years to step in the first stage of body refinement… He wasn't going to waste so much time.

How long was the lifespan of an owl anyways?

He didn't know but he didn't want to either. He feared that he would run out of time. Which is why he had to work even harder.

Fortunately for him, it didn't seem like he had any rivals when it came to the resources in the nest. His siblings did not have a core and would not form one until weeks later if left to nature and his Mother seemed to rely on the natural assimilation from her physical beast core. She was one of those beasts who lacked awareness.

While sad in a way, it meant that all the wild spiritual energy drifting in this nest was his to take. And he wouldn't deprive himself.

From that night on, his Mother always brought back more food. And she always gave him more than the other two siblings combined. Did she realize that he formed a core? Probably. As a beast, she might have considered him stronger and worth nurturing more. It was a good thing for him. For his siblings? It didn't change much. They still shared the same amount of food between themselves.

By now, he was used to eating living insects or dead small animals. As long as it wasn't vomit, he could take it. He even enjoyed some of the meat to be truly honest.

Aside from that, he kept cultivating. Now that his core was formed, he had to fill it. The goal was to send the spiritual energy dots inside the pyramid to fill it with energy until it overflowed. Once it overflowed, the energy would seep throughout his body strengthening it. And he would go up a stage. There were five in total in the body strengthening realm. So, he would need to overflow his core five times.

Of course, dots would dissipate and leave his soul sea which is where the core came in. Due to the membrane, the spiritual energy got stuck inside after it was placed in. And to place it in, he only needed to move aside a face of the pyramid, similar to a door. The core was nothing more than a container at the moment.

And days went by.

Two weeks later, he finally managed to overflow his core for the first time. Warmth spread all over his bird body before weird greenish substances escaped through the pores of his skin. They were the impurities and this was the first round of purification. His Mother took on the nasty job of cleaning him. He was grateful about it for once. He wasn't quite comfortable with being licked but it was relief to see the filth being licked away.

Once she was done, he saw her vomit it all outside the nest…

Two more weeks went by and he once again managed to overflow his core. The quantity it could contain hadn't changed so it wasn't unexpected. The impurities were extracted once again and he felt stronger. He could sense more of his surroundings too. All his senses were sharpened.

It was a few days later that things changed though. His Mother forced him and his two siblings to the edge of the nest. It was a moment he had expected and dreaded at the same time. Time to fly. He was a bird after all. He had no prior experience to flying with wings of course so it scared the shit out of him like nothing before.

It was his first time seeing the outside world and the first thing he felt was acrophobia, the fear of heights. Because he was very high up in a tree trunk. He could see a lot of other nests all over the tree. It seemed like a beehive. And his own hole was quite high. At least, it seemed like it to him. At the moment, he was only half the size of his Mother. Which he wasn't sure how big she was. But she clearly was very small compared to the tree. And he was even smaller.

He looked at his siblings who were scared just the same. All three of them were trying their best to step back and return to the center of the nest. Tough luck. The Mother wouldn't have any of it. And soon, he felt the gravity. His Mother pushed him down the nest.

He wanted to scream murder but only a pitiful high-pitched yell. He was hooting for the first time since being born. And it was out of fear.

Unconsciously, he ended up unfurling his wings and, as if a primal instinct overtook him, began to feel the air currents and glide over them.

He was flying!

Never before had he experienced such a feeling. The gentle breeze, the feeling of freedom… Instinctively, he understood how to move his wings to fly. And so, he flew. He did a few twists and tricks as he enjoyed himself.

After a moment, he saw his Mother flying next to him. Then, behind, far behind, his two siblings were there. The entire little owl family was having a blast for their first flight. As for him, it was probably the first time he truly believed it wasn't that bad to have become a owl.

Flying made him feel just that great.