"So, everything was true." Standing on a mountain far away, Resha observed a group of women moving about in the thicket of trees. There were a total of 105 women, somewhat varying in age. The sole male accompanying them was Raaha, the Mammoth Clan Chief.
Clutched in Resha's hand was a Bone Slip given by Inala, containing information from his experience of visiting the Mammoth Clan a few months ago. It was through Inala's perspective, since the information was extracted from his memories.
This was given by Inala to prove that everything he conveyed was true. And now, as Resha observed the women, he was able to verify Inala's information. His gaze then fell on the woman walking towards the end of the group, feeling his vision spin in response.
Protect!
His heart thumped as his face began to heat up in response. A powerful urge to return to the Mammoth Clan erupted in his being, to submit himself to the rule of his Deity and work tirelessly for the Mammoth Clan's benefit.
"No, not now." He clutched his head, retreating to avoid reverting to his old ways once again. Until now, Resha tried to change three times. The first time was when he lost his Spirit Container due to Virala's scheme.
Resha gave up his original plan and made a beeline towards the Supreme Tusk Gannala's heart. He didn't wish to be controlled by his hatred and instead wanted to be someone who could lead the Mammoth Clan to a future of survival and excellence.
He maintained that state of mind until he exited. Once he did that, he approached Yahira and told her information about the future, protecting and improving her. He schemed and planned to continue changing for the better.
But that was the end of his scheme. He never progressed beyond that. The second time he wanted to change was following the Boar King's attack on the Mammoth Clan after the Fifth Minor Crisis.
It was once again during a confrontation with Virala. The latter's claim that the Empyrean Tusks knew his detestable schemes and still turned a blind eye to his actions infuriated Resha. He vowed to change after that and indeed did.
But at some point in time, he stopped scheming or gathering information and instead reverted to strengthening himself once again.
The third time was when he infiltrated the Brimgan Empire. He made a scheme to act as a Minor Treasure and fuse with Harla Brimgan's skeleton, intending to gather information from the source who controlled the Empire.
When Yarsha Zahara called for him through the Summoning Bell, he should have tried to influence Harla Brimgan into checking out the situation and not revealing himself as he did. And once he saw her, he snapped and reverted to a battle maniac who fought against the Boar King.
This action of his was a time-tested failure. It was how he met his end in his past life. But irrespective of how much he changed, whenever something happened, he always found himself proceeding through his old ways, those that had failed once already.
When the race started two decades ago, he had the greatest advantage, both in terms of information and experience. But now, Inala had already surpassed him. Virala did it too. Orakha was on par with him while Blola was steadily catching up.
Only Grehha and Yennda were inferior to him at this point in time. It meant that out of the seven Mystic Paths, Resha's development was the slowest. In terms of strength, he was still growing at a terrifying rate, but if strength alone could kill Brangara, then he would have won in his previous life already.
With a heavy gaze, Resha walked in the direction of the Guna Caves, staring at the second Bone Slip given by Inala. He accessed it and found himself in a foreign world, staring at a computer. He didn't know what it was, but as he saw it, all the related information surged in his mind.
Displayed on the computer screen was a book cover sporting the title, 'Sumatra Chronicles.' The contents flipped through, reading through the story, a recount of Resha's past life from an omniscient perspective.
"This is a gift from me. Prepare for the endgame, Resha." Inala had given the Bone Slip to him with those words. Contained in this Bone Slip was a perspective from Inala's point of view as he read Sumatra Chronicles for six years, the highs and lows he experienced at different arcs, and how he was influenced by this story.
Obviously, after reading a chapter, Inala went through the comment section too. And that info too was contained in the Bone Slip.
When Inala arrived at Sumatra, he couldn't recall everything he had read. But upon reaching the third Stage of Mystic Bone Art—one attained by masters at the Life Stage—Inala was able to recall his entire past with startling clarity.
Accompanying that was his reading experience with Sumatra Chronicles.
Resha went through it in a daze, seeing his actions written in words that invoked a strange feeling in him. And accompanying every single scene was criticism, varied criticism from the readers.
He could have done it like this, he could have done it like that, he was smart, he was a retard, etc. It felt like his head was about to burst upon hearing random strangers' comments about his life, as a portion of the comments were damn offensive.
He raged upon hearing mocking remarks about Yahira, wishing to do nothing but destroy them all. But how could he do that? He didn't even know where Earth existed or how to reach it, not to mention finding the identities of those readers veiled by the anonymity of the internet.
Endure the criticism!
That was all he could do as tears streamed down his eyes helplessly. After all, when viewed at his life from an omniscient perspective, even he criticised his past self's actions, at places he never even regretted or thought of before.
The Bone Slip didn't just contain Inala's experience with Sumatra Chronicles. It also contained the experience of Orakha, Blola, Yennda, Virala, and Grehha.
Gannala had already gained all their memories. Inala had a copy of the same, which was what he recorded in the Bone Slip.
For the first time, Resha understood what the reincarnates felt while reading Sumatra Chronicles and journeyed with Resha until the end.
Thud!
He kneeled on the ground and crushed the empty Bone Slip, having absorbed all the information within it. "I understand now."
"I get why everyone behaved as they did."
Resha remained in the same spot for a few minutes before gathering his bearings to leave on a journey, "There's something foreign at work here."
He stared at the sky in silence for a few seconds before his figure flickered across the place.
Gliding across the sky far away was Inala in his Royal Zinger form. Seated on his back was Wittral, asking with a puzzled expression, "You tore him down verbally. Wasn't that harsh?"
"No, it's a necessity." Inala said, "Until now, Resha felt that only he could protect the Mammoth Clan from harm. But after I became the Royal Zinger, he has realised that there are many others who are more capable of protecting the Mammoth Clan than him."
"Also, when I was at the Mystic Grade as a Royal Zinger, I could feel their arrangement." Inala said and stared at the sky, "Both Mahira Tusk and Renduldu have placed a tremendous amount of influence on the seven Mystic Paths. Among us, Resha is the one who got influenced the most."
"Future Sight!" Wittral exclaimed.
"Yep," Inala nodded, "Resha's past life is a product of Future Sight. From the start, there were seven Death Row students. But in Sumatra Chronicles, there was just Resha. By editing out the remaining six, Renduldu has stitched Resha's memories in a certain way that he becomes bound by his past."
"As a result, he becomes a slave to the Mammoth Clan."
"Aren't all Mammoth Clansmen slaves to the Empyrean Tusks anyway? What difference does it make?" Wittral snorted in disdain.
"There's a difference," Inala said without being offended like in the past, as he was no longer a Mammoth Clansman, "All Mammoth Clansmen start their lives as zero and accumulate experiences. Yes, they can be called slaves, but they live lives based on their character, experience, disposition, and strength. So the actions taken by each Clansman for the same situation would be different. The same Clansman might make different choices for the same situation at various courses of their lives."
"But it's not the case for Resha. He is born with a mental setup that forces him to act in a certain way, consistently." Inala snorted, "That's why, no matter how much he changes, he always reverts back to his usual personality."
"He can neither develop as a person nor break free from the mental construct in his mind that acts as his past." Inala concluded, "So, I gave him the perspective of the reincarnates in hopes he can break free from the artificial mould and bloom with his individuality."
"Why is this being done only on Resha?" Wittral was unable to understand, "Why do they need to go to such an extent to control him? As you said, if all it needs for Empyrean Tusks to enter the Mystic Grade is to have experience of two worlds, then Resha's soul too could have been brought to Earth instead of making him a target of Future Sight."
"It's because he's Mahira Tusk's backup plan." Inala laughed wryly, "Resha is probably the only one on Sumatra who can fuse with more than one Major Treasure. He has the power of an Empyrean Tusk now, plus the Major Treasure of Cure that was created by the Supreme Tusk through Renduldu."
"Even if everything fails, Resha will be able to fuse with all the Major Treasures and Minor Treasures in the Mammoth Clan's possession, receive an inheritance from all Empyrean Tusks, and flee the place to rebuild the Mammoth Clan from scratch. This experience of going against an impossible enemy like Brangara will become his foundation for growth." He concluded, "That's Mahira Tusk's gamble."
"After all, the Red Mystic Path is guaranteed to reach the Mystic Grade. So, he has been the Mammoth Clan's future from the very beginning. As a result, Renduldu is controlling Resha to ensure he operates within the core values that form the Mammoth Clan's foundations." He expressed anger as Inala glared at the sky, "So, they'll do everything in their power to control Resha as a chess piece. Sumatra Chronicles is the tool they created to achieve their control over him."
"Whether we win or lose to Brangara matters naught to these Deities in the sky."