A knock came at the door in the morning, waking Blanc up from the short sleep he had afforded.
"It's time," said Mera from the other side of the door, "The beasts have arrived."
"Thank you, Mother," Blanc replied out loud, waking his wives up in the process. "We will be down shortly."
Without another word from Mera, who took her leave shortly after Blanc's reply, Celine asked, half-asleep.
"What is happening, my love?"
"The harvest we bought has just arrived," Blanc replied, lightly dragging a finger across Celine's face.
"Which means you leave us today," Miyanna added, grabbing Blanc's other hand and placing her head on top of it, using his palm as a pillow.
"It does," Blanc sighed, "But I will be back."
"I know," Miyanna smiled warmly, her bronze colored eyes meeting his gray ones.
Celine remained silent, her eyes steady but her heart crying as she placed a hand on his leg.
She wished she could go with him, aid him, and guide him, but that was not possible since she had to care for herself and their unborn child.
A destiny which she wished for with all her heart.
But now that the time came, she found it increasingly more difficult to let go of him physically or mentally.
"Let us not delay your return then," Celine said, getting up despite her heart telling her not to.
"Yes, you are right," Blanc smiled sadly, not sure if he should be happy or sad at his wife's words.
But still they got up, put on clothes atop their naked bodies, and made their way outside the mansion, where tens of horse-drawn carts awaited.
Inside the metal cages that stood inside the carts, just as many beasts stood sleeping, their eyes tied shut with a piece of cloth matching their size.
To their left, all of Blood Maroux and Blood Denegis stood in silence, watching as Lucien spoke with the merchant, handing him the gold for the purchase.
With a deep bow, the man accepted the transaction and took his leave, retreating to where his guards waited at a distance, far enough that they couldn't witness the Harvest process behind the metal bars. Bars that were now fully surrounded by Blood Maroux's own soldiers, their backs to the cages behind them.
"Well then," Lucien turned to face them all, a grin painting his face, "Time to start the harvest."
With a nod, Blanc, Celine, Miyanna, Lune, and Kael took a step forward, drawing their blades.
The process was a simple one, despite its cruelty.
All the beasts, small or large, were put into a deep sleep, their bodies placed inside the cages in such a way that a single hit to their vitals would send them straight into the embrace of the Vita, allowing for a quick and effective Harvest.
Lune, Kael, Celine, and Miyanna slowly began their killing, choosing to kill all eight beasts before harvesting them.
Blanc, however, looked at the forty-eight beasts that awaited their death, even if they did not know it yet. He did this once before when Blood Certa brought them as part of the deal they made. But then, he and the rest of his family only had five each.
Now he had almost ten times that for himself alone.
Although grief struck at his heart, he understood he needed their strength for himself.
So, as the only things he could do to show his gratitude were a deep bow in front of the metal cages and a whispered 'I am sorry, and thank you for what you will offer me today', before he started his Harvest.
He first was a boar, his tusks mighty as he defended his territory, before… darkness.
Next, he was an owl, his yellow eyes seeing through the darkness, hunting for a rat to satiate his hunger, before… darkness.
Then he was a bear, eating from a bush of berries, his brown coat dirty with dirt, blood, and the juice of berries, before… darkness.
After that, he was a lynx, his spotted coat a camouflage he used to hunt a deer, before… darkness.
Next, he was a badger, climbing into a tree, a small bird in his mouth, its blood wetting his dried throat, before… darkness.
Then a sun bear, basking in the light of the sun, standing casually on his back, chomping happily at a fruit, his eyes fixed on the sky, before… darkness.
So far, after every harvest completed, Blanc found it increasingly more difficult to continue with the next one.
As the grief in his heart only kept increasing as he witnessed the memories of the beasts.
Still, he kept on going, understanding well enough what it meant for him and his loved ones if he went through with this.
A higher chance of survival. And that was enough to stab his sword deep into the heart of the next beast, blood, making the handle slippery as he did so.
He was now a fox, his coat a beautiful orange, his mind sharp as he planned on how to catch a rabbit, before darkness and terror overtook him.
A wolverine was his life now, using the trunk of a fallen tree to sharpen his mighty claws as the darkness caught him by surprise.
Then a water buffalo, helping his human companions draw a cart over a shallow river, before arrows caught his human friends in the neck, and darkness overtook him.
Now a hippo, watching his territory, partners, and children with pride and love for all he had achieved so far, before terror overcame his soul as his vision darkened.
He then was a mighty eagle, a crown of feathers atop his head, surely mightier and prettier than any Metamorph Eagle could ever be as he soared through his Kingdom, the sky, before as any King before him, fell from the sky, darkness whispering nightmares in his ears.
He found himself a cheetah now, licking his cubs clean as his partner hunted. A constant purr left his cubs' throats, a beautiful song to his ears as they enjoyed being bathed by their father, before darkness stole him from them.
Then a rhino, his horn the deadliest of weapons, but one he hated using on others, even now, when he was charging at a group of humans, who were only there to harm him. As darkness shadowed his vision, he understood they had won.
And lastly, he was a sabertooth tiger, a beast of legend, the closest beast to a True Vita. One who, with pride he continued his hunt, working on achieving his dream of even becoming one. But out of nowhere, his legs gave out, and for some reason, as his paws trembled, darkness overtook him just as the serpents of crimson and amber started to settle into Blanc's heart.
As the last of the harvests was completed, Blanc felt like puking.
Not because it was difficult, but because it was cruel. The darkness and terror each of these magnificent beasts felt was not the peace of death but the terror of being alive and not knowing where.
The terror of the unknown to a beast that only understood one thing. Survival.
Blanc did not even care about his newfound powers, as he felt undeserving of all of them.
But he checked… he checked as he always does. Not before promising something to himself, however.
Promising that no matter the situation, he would rather fight a beast to the death in honor of its life and might, than ever do this again.
But as he promised that, the last Harvest settled into his heart, sending him to his knees, grabbing at his chest, feeling as if all the beasts he just harvested crystallized into yet another Bloodshard fragment.
Small cheers followed every grunt of his as the people present, his Blood and in-laws, were overjoyed to see his newfound progress.
But for him, this good omen was a sign he took gratefully as the pain subsided, a sign the beasts did not blame him, and a sign for the journey ahead. So he got up and focused on all his Marks, old and new.
All the old ones were black except two.
The Mark of the Rabbit, Human, and Sun Bear.
The last one was surprising as he did not expect the sun bear to be the one Mark that would not turn black after five harvests, and instead turn a dark gray.
But throwing that aside, he then focused on the new ones.
A pair of wings stood on both of Blanc's scapulas, the Black Mark of the Eagle.
The cheeta's spots stood covering Blanc's knees, the Black Mark of the Cheetah.
The mighty horn of the rhino stood hidden behind Blanc's scalp as the Blak Mark of the Rhino.
The saber teeth of the tiger stood hidden inside his mouth, behind his canines, as the final Black Mark. The Mark of the Sabertooth Tiger.
As he focused on all of them, the surge of power he felt undeserving of suddenly became obvious, as his body felt different.
He felt his bones heavier, yet his body lighter. He felt his muscles stronger, yet the control easier. He felt his sight catching new colors, yet it looked the same. He felt his ears catching sounds he was not aware of, yet it did not make it harder to hear. He felt his brain sharper, quicker, yet time moved the same, regardless of the speed of his thoughts.
He was stronger, faster, wiser, smarter, sharper.
Though the animal tendencies increased, his emotions deepening, his worries screaming, his joys loudly exclaiming, he felt better now. He felt more whole than before.
With one hundred and fifty-three beasts harvested, all crystalized into his soul, a part of his very being, he felt more ready for the journey ahead and all that was to come.
Allowing him to turn and face all who were watching.