"That's…awful. How could she do that?" Brangara was immersed in Yennda's story, cursing by the end, "What the heck did that woman want, then?"
"I…don't know." Yennda shook his head, "I did whatever she wanted me to do, alright? But she was never satisfied. In the end, she dumped me. It wasn't just her though. Even my children were unwilling to see me."
"In those times, reading Sumatra Chronicles was my solace. It was the only time when I could feel any emotion other than depression." Yennda became silent towards the end, sighing after a minute of silence, "Well, I don't wish to talk about it further. I'm better off not thinking of it."
"What do you need in life? What are your goals?" Brangara asked as he stared at Yennda, only now having a better understanding of the Yellow Mystic Path as a person and not simply as an enemy he had to think about.
"Why do you fight?"
"I don't have a reason." Yennda spoke, 'Or maybe I do. I have a temporary reason. But once Harrala doesn't need me, I'll be back to square one.'
"I'm just…living." He stared at the ceiling and sighed, "Just like the rest of the Mystic Paths, I was born a Mammoth Clansman. But I didn't know that until a few years ago. When I lived on Earth, I longed to be a part of this world. I felt more alive reading Sumatra Chronicles than living my life on Earth."
"And when I was brought here by Renduldu, I was excited, immensely so." Yennda noticed that Brangara silently listened to him and continued to speak, "Originally, I wanted to obtain a type of strength that was the best of both a Mammoth Clansman and a Free Human."
"But I failed," He said with a sombre tone, "Grehha killed me. I think moments before my death is when I realised…"
His eyes turned moist, "Whether it was on Earth or Sumatra, I am not the Main Character."
He stared at Brangara, "I was ambitious once. Maybe if my original plan had succeeded, I would have become strong enough to challenge you head-on. You know, have a battle like true men."
"Are you telling me that you poisoned my children without any enmity towards them?" Brangara's eyes widened, "I assumed you possessed hatred towards me as I had killed your Deity."
"I…don't have that." Yennda shook his head, "If I truly wanted to kill your children, I wouldn't have used a non-lethal ability on them."
'That's true.' Brangara nodded, 'Their bodies became weak but their lives weren't harmed. And over time, their Prana alone was enough to fully cure them.'
Typically, diseases weren't potent enough as Prana had curing properties. As the energy made from the fusion of the energies of body, mind, and soul, as long as enough Prana circulates in the body, it will always try to bring the body to an optimal state.
If there was an injury, Prana would heal the injured region. If a portion of the body got severed, Prana would focus on regenerating the missing parts. If the mind was tired, Prana would focus on energising the mind.
In a similar fashion, if an illness were to plague the body, Prana would focus on curing the body.
Typically, Pranic Beasts adapted to a region in this manner. Once subjected to new environmental conditions, their bodies will be damaged while their Prana will focus on healing them. Eventually, as long as their Prana was robust enough, they'd survive.
Their bodies, after being constantly damaged and healed, would have adapted to the environment. In some cases, this brought about a Mutation. In other cases, a brand-new race would be birthed.
The disease Yennda afflicted the Wean Clan siblings was potent, but wasn't life-threatening. As a result, once the bodies of the Wean Clansmen entered the 2-Life Stage, their Prana became potent enough to gradually begin curing themselves.
They naturally made a recovery over time. But had Yennda intended to kill them, he could have released a powerful disease that would have ended their lives in a matter of seconds.
Once Yarsha Zahara obtained Yennda's three Natures and researched them, she realised that Yennda hadn't intended to kill her kids. She understood Grehha's statement of their intention only being to send Brangara—alongside his kids—away from the Attributed Region.
And now that Brangara heard more about Yennda's life, he realised that there was no enmity between the two of them. Yennda hadn't caused any harm to Brangara or his family. And similarly, none of Brangara's actions warranted Yennda's hatred.
"If it's like that, then why don't you work with me?" Brangara extended his hand, "We can work together. I'll try my best to give you a reason to live and enjoy life."
"I have no interest in that." Yennda shook his head, "Currently, Yarsha is controlling me to serve her objective. Once I die here, Blola will revive me and I'll be used to serve the Mammoth Clan's interests."
"Nothing more, nothing less."
"Are the rest of the Mystic Paths the same as you?" Upon seeing that Yennda had no intention or drive to join his side, Brangara changed the topic, "Are they simply living for the sake of living?"
"The rest have strong reasons to live and fight you, for their respective objectives," Yennda said.
"What about…that guy?" Brangara pointed in the direction of the bedroom, "The gaze he directed at me wasn't one of hatred. it felt like hatred but didn't feel like it. It was the first time I experienced such a sensation."
"He's a Yarsha Zahara fanatic." Yennda smiled wryly, "His entire goal is to get into her good books and score brownie points towards her."
"A fanatic?" Brangara frowned, "Does he like…worship her or something?"
"Something like that," Yennda nodded.
"Help me a bit here," Brangara asked after some thought, "How do you think I should threaten him?"
"Bring him away from her and he'll lose his mind." Yennda laughed, displaying anger in response, "I am annoyed by geniuses like him. So that should teach him a lesson."
"Got it," Brangara got up and patted Yennda on the shoulder, "That was an interesting conversation. I had fun."
His gait was slow as he arrived at an open space three hundred kilometres from the Zahara Kingdom, beginning to use Subtle Terrain Domination to carve out a large bowl using the earth. He threw in a few trees, some topsoil, and poured a decent amount of water.
Astral World—Drifting tunnel!
Using the power of Drifting Tunnel, he began to create large tunnels in the bowl, mimicking the Guna Caves. He released two Tangible Natures of Bludders into the bowl and observed their actions.
The two Tangible Natures of Bludders roamed through the winding paths formed within the tunnel and returned as Brangara retracted them into his Astral World. As he was supplying Prana to them and hadn't deactivated them, the two Tangible Natures didn't dissipate.
In this state, he exerted his influence on them and gradually extracted information from them as they lived in the Astral World, understanding what they felt while living in the bowl, 'They can temporarily live there, but over time, they'll suffer from depression.'
Bludders needed a large, complex space to move across and hunt other creatures. They couldn't be grown in a safe, constrained environment.
Brangara continued to experiment in such a fashion, using Subtle Terrain Domination to make corrections to the large bowl. Eventually, he created an expansive structure similar to an anthill, one that reached a size exceeding three kilometres.
He released two Tangible Natures of Bludders alongside Shifting Ants and Ewworms. He exerted his influence on them, prompting them to live as they pleased. As a result, immediately upon being released into the bowl, the Bludders targeted the Shifting Ants while the latter intended to flee using a Drifting Tunnel. In the meantime, the Ewworms targeted the anus of both.
A tunnel collapsed upon a Bludder and crushed it. The second Bludder unleashed an Eddy Blade and severed the bodies of both the Shifting Ants while an Ewworm plunged into its rectum right as it arrived at a stop.
The final Ewworm burrowed into the ground and fled to safety.
Brangara had released six Tangible Natures, observing in interest as their numbers dropped to half in a minute. Staring at the Tangible Nature of Bludder that was chomping upon the three Tangible Natures that had died, Brangara smiled, 'This is a basic nest. It's working, but it's not perfect yet.'
A large variety of moss grew along the tunnel walls of the Guna Caves, which was feasted upon by the Shifting Ants. Typically, the Ewworms consumed the excreta of the Shifting Ants to barely sustain themselves.
Once they had enough energy, they remained in hibernation after picking a spot on the ground. Until the moment comes when they chance upon a prey, they'll remain in hibernation.
As Brangara observed them, he was gradually perfecting the structure of the nest. He intended to do the same for various nests that were planned to be erected in the Varahan Empire. 'Once it's working in full swing, I'll be able to relax a little.'
Exactly four days later, he returned to the palace through the underground tunnel created for his exclusive use, smiling upon seeing the figure of Yarsha Zahara waiting for him, "You're here."
"Obviously," Yarsha Zahara rolled her eyes and apologised, "I lost my cool. I'm sorry."
"I understand," Brangara pulled her into his embrace, "Controlling two Mystic Paths while preparing for everything else is taking a toll on your mind. That's why I gave you some time to breathe. In the meantime, I have perfected the nest to house the Bludders, Ewworms, and Shifting Ants."
"As expected, you understand me the best." Yarsha Zahara grinned and planted a kiss on his cheek,
"I have factored Subtle Terrain Domination in our plans. And guess what,"
"They've become many times simpler now."