[Bad stuff…really bad stuff!]
"What…do you mean by bad stuff?" Yamahara felt jittered by the tone of voice the Transcendent Eater had used. The eldritch entity before him seemed invincible, but even it seemed unprepared for whatever seemed to be coming at them next. "Can you tell me the details?"
[I can, but you mustn't reveal it to anyone else. If you do that, then Sumatra will block me from talking to you ever again.]
"I promise to not tell it to even my parents." Yamahara gave his word. There was silence for a few minutes before the Transcendent Eater began to speak.
[There exists Cosmic Beings that wish to devour the Major Treasures. Hence, every time a Major Treasure reveals itself, the Transcendent Worlds move to defend Sumatra from these Cosmic Beings. The stronger the Major Treasure is, the greater the number of Cosmic Beings it can draw in. The beam unleashed by your dad is the strongest there exists.]
"How many Cosmic Beings are lured in every time he does it?" Yamahara asked.
[Three…which is a lot. But we have enough Mystic Transcendents to face them. However, that's not the only issue we have. The bigger problem originates from other Continents.]
"Are they also lured in by father?" Yamahara frowned, "But what reason do they have to chase after a Major Treasure?"
[It's simple. If a continent manages to assimilate the Celestial Boar into its fold and establishes a method to birth them, they'll obtain a Major Treasure every era. That's the sheer advantage gaining possession of your father brings to them.]
"But father has no reason to be worried about them. With his power, the stronger the opponents he faces, the stronger he becomes." Yamahara argued, "If brute power could kill him, he would have been killed long ago."
[That's true, but even with so much power, he has yet to kill the Mystic Seven, right?]
Seeing Yamahara turn silent in response to its retort, the Transcendent Eater continued to speak.
[The reason he has lost so many times is due to a lack of information. He's always a couple steps slower in information warfare. So, his enemies are able to prepare well in advance and deal with him accordingly. The enemies that'll be coming in from the other continents will be equipped with a level of knowledge, unlike anything we've seen. After all, their Continents are more developed than Sumatra.]
"Tell me something," Yamahara asked as he stared at the Transcendent Eater, "In the past three decades, Sumatra's power system has developed significantly. From barely anyone having a Second Nature to countless people having three Natures. If we continued to develop at this pace, wouldn't we become tremendously powerful in a century?"
[Maybe, maybe not. Body, Mind, and Soul are three aspects that form Prana. Sumatra's power system is primarily reliant on the mind aspect alone. The other two aspects haven't been developed much. Even the breakthroughs we have are in the mind aspect, through which we're emulating the other two aspects. That's our disadvantage. Our enemies have developed all three aspects. They probably have the means to shrug off our attacks without issues, as they operate at a level of power system far beyond our understanding!]
"Then, help me." Yamahara requested, "Since you know everything, help me perfect our power system. And if you take the lead, it'll be easy to stop the war and focus on development until enemies from other continents arrive."
[Unfortunately, I cannot interfere. Sumatra might be in stasis, but it set in place some rules before becoming a Continent. It would rather try to kill us all than have all of us actively interfere with whatever is happening on Sumatra Continent. Originally, it allowed communication. But because of the Mammoth Ancestor's attacks, it blocked all means of communication too. If not for my relation with the continent, I too would have been blocked out fully!]
"I understand," Yamahara sighed, "Seems I can only try to forge peace one by one on my own."
[That's too late, Yamahara. Whether it is the Mammoth Clan, Cooter Clan, or the Brimgan Empire, too many of them have been killed by your father. The hatred had simmered too long and it's just a matter of time before it explodes. It's better if you use your strength to elevate the strength of Sumatra in other regions. It's a massive Continent. And everything you've witnessed is happening in a small region on it!]
Yamahara processed all the information and then asked, "Can you give me information about the body and soul aspects of Prana?"
[I would love to, but I don't know anything about them either. Sumatra's Transcendents are actively collecting information about it, but all the nearby continents are either on par with Sumatra or are weaker. And we're all using the mind aspect alone.]
Upon seeing Yamahara's disappointed expression, the Transcendent Eater thought a little before saying with a cheerful tone.
[Say, why don't you return a couple of decades later? I'll have obtained some information about the body and soul aspects of Prana.]
Yamahara stared at the figure of Celestial Boar and the golden Yarsha Zahara defending him, observing that they were worn down, 'The power I absorbed from mother and father has already been mostly consumed. It'll take me time to collect an equal amount of blood without hindering their growth.
Letting out a soft sigh, he stared at the Transcendent Eater and bowed, "I found what I came here for. The costs are too high to converse with you, so I'll only resort to it when I find myself at a dead-end. Thank you for your time."
[Seems you have some ideas to explore.]
"They're not related to the body and soul aspects. I'm only relying on my power as a Minor Treasure to strengthen my people." Saying so, Yamahara waved his hand, "Thank you for your valuable input."
His figure vanished from the mindspace. But a sliver of the Celestial Boar remained behind and glared at the Transcendent Eater, expressing its voracious desire for an instant before dissipating. A few seconds of silence later, the Transcendent Eater left a comment.
[This bastard must never reach the Transcendence Stage. No one will be able to stop him!]
Blood mist oozed out of the Parute Tree and transformed into Yamahara. His eyes shot open and stared at the Parute Tree withering right after he had exited its body, 'As I assumed, the Transcendent Eater dislikes anyone touching its root tendrils. So, it's changing locations for those that are touched.'
Parute Trees were root tendrils of the Transcendent Eater. The reason they existed on Sumatra was to fuel it. And it was the Transcendent Eater's job to keep the natives of Sumatra Continent well fed in terms of Prana.
As for the energy requirements to produce trillions of Parute Fruits across the entire Sumatra Continent, the Transcendent Eater relied on the Sandy-Grey Void, using it as nutrients. And it's not like it's doing it for free.
Any being that dies close to a Parute Tree gets absorbed by it gradually. The records of that being will appear in the Transcendent Eater's database, allowing it to revive them when necessary. Of course, it cannot revive them on Sumatra Continent, for the Continent won't allow that to happen.
But the Transcendent Eater could revive people anywhere else it pleased, 'That means even if someone dies, as long as they die near a Parute Tree, the Transcendent Eater will be able to revive them. They'll be able to fight the invaders from other Continents in the future.'
His mind was filled with thoughts as Yamahara stared at Brangara and said, "Father, there are some risks related to your usage of your Tertiary Nature. But it's an inevitable risk, so you needn't worry about it. Go all out, whenever necessary."
"What exactly is this risk you speak of?" Brangara asked, dropping the matter upon seeing his son shake his head, "If there's a reason you cannot speak about it, I won't press on it further."
"Thank you, Father." Yamahara smiled and then faced Yarsha Zahara, "Mother, can you summon my siblings?"
"There's something I need to show everyone."
Ten minutes later, the quartet of Brana, Baga, Braga, and Barla gathered around Yamahara, their gazes curious.
"You're a Minor Treasure? That's so cool!" Barla said as she twirled her younger brother's long hair, "You have the same scent as Mother."
"I do, hehe!" Yamahara smiled as he leaned towards Barla, making it easier for her to play with his hair. The hair then turned brown, surprising everyone as he said, "Who does it smell like now?"
"Dad?" Barla was surprised by the sudden change. Her eyes twinkled when Yamahara began to smell like her next, "You're amazing, Litto!"
"Litto? That's not my name…" Yamahara smiled wryly when he was lifted into the air and twirled around by Barla.
"It's short for little toddler. I thought of it just now, praise me!" She said while sniffing, "You know, now that I get a better grasp of your smell, beneath what you're showing, you have the same scent as a newborn baby. So, you're Litto!"
The siblings had been accumulating significant stress upon being attacked by Blola at the Zahara Kingdom. They were constantly worried about being jumped by the Mystic Seven. In such times, the arrival of Yamahara was a breath of fresh air, allowing them to relax and have fun a bit.
"Give me your hand, big brother." Yamahara extended his hand towards Brana, fusing into the latter's body upon contact.
"Eh?" Brana looked around in surprise before finding himself convulsing on the forest floor, twitching erratically as a large stream of Prana seemed to be gushing into his body, steadily building up his presence.
"Dad, what is happening?" Barla asked Brangara in a hurry, "What's Litto doing to Brana?"
"This is…" Brangara was unable to speak, too stunned to utter anything. The presence fluctuations before him weren't nostalgic, but stuff from his worst nightmares. "You should…
stop that, Yamahara!"
"Please, don't do it."
"It's not what you're worried about, Father." Yamahara's figure condensed beside a twitching Brana and consoled his father, "Please relax and observe the changes to Brana."
"What just happened?" Brana regained his bearings and got up, feeling strange, "Why do I feel…stronger? Is that my body?"
He clenched his hand into a fist when his presence flooded out of his body, unleashing a gale as the nearby Decodus Trees bent faintly in response. He couldn't believe himself, staring at Yamahara in a daze, "What did you do to me?"
"What was that?" Brangara stared at his youngest son in confusion.
"That's my power, Father." Yamahara said, "I can absorb and store bloodlines in myself. And I can use it to strengthen the respective bloodlines."
"Then, am I…" Brana stared at Brangara, "I feel like I've become similar to your past self."
Mutated Expert Gold Grade Pranic Beast—Boar King!
"Once I recover my power, I can repeat the same to the rest of my siblings. It's possible as you've already raised their potential at the Brimgan Empire's Varahan Mansion." Yamahara stared at Brangara to explain, "I used your bloodline of Empyrean Boar King to elevate their being. As they are your descendants, it's a smoother process."
"The quality of your grandchildren's bloodline isn't pure enough, so it'll take me months, if not years to elevate them into Boar Kings currently. But in the future, as their bloodlines are strengthened by practicing Mystic Sumatra Art, it'll be faster elevating their strength." He spoke.
Yamahara's expression turned sad upon seeing the expression of pity Brangara directed at his children, "Father, are you…"
"I became the Empyrean Boar King by consuming my brethren." Brangara became teary-eyed as he stared at Yamahara, asking, "If you have used my bloodline to elevate theirs, then isn't the condition the same?"
"The condition has been attained through you, Father." Yamahara shook his head, "None of my siblings have to go through that. But the rule exists."
"In the worst-case scenario where the Wean Clan is annihilated, the last surviving Boar King will naturally enter the Mystic Stage to become the Empyrean Boar King." Yamahara said, hurriedly explaining himself, "It's only a last resort, Father."
"I know," Brangara sighed as he patted Yamahara on the shoulder, silent for a while. And then, his gaze hardened as he stared at his youngest son in the eye, "I promise you this, Son. There will never come a day where another Empyrean Boar King has to appear on Sumatra."
"No matter how much I have to suffer, I'll ensure my family will never have to bear that fate!"
"Yes, Father!" Yamahara's eyes softened in response. He then asked, after hesitation, "Can I still continue with what I was doing?"
"Of course, my son!" Brangara enveloped him in a hug, "You're a boon to my Clan! Be proud of it!"
The reason Brangara accepted it without hesitation was simple. In his human form, Brana had the Primary Nature of Empyrean Boar Transformation. Upon assuming his Empyrean Boar form, he unlocked the Secondary Nature of Voracious Nature.
This had been his case originally as an Empyrean Boar. But now, he had evolved into the Boar King, granting him the Tertiary Nature of Astral Chart upon assuming Pranic Beast form.
Though it was a Gold Grade version and vastly weaker than what Brangara used to possess, it was still Astral Chart, one that allowed Brana to stack the effects of multiple Natures and become a true powerhouse.
"I congratulate you on your success, Master Brana." Bunakin Vara accompanied the rest of the Royal Guard and kneeled in respect, "Glory to the Varahan Empire!"
"Hmm…?" Yamahara frowned as he approached Bunakin Vara and touched him, transforming into blood mist to fuse with the latter's body. A couple of seconds later, he appeared behind him, carrying a palm-sized golden figurine of Brandal Brimgan. "I knew something seemed amiss!"
"W-What is that?" Bunakin Vara screamed in a fluster.
"Even I failed to sense it." Yarsha Zahara gasped in shock upon staring at the figurine, "This appearance…it's Brandal Brimgan!"
Crackle!
The figurine shone suddenly, prompting Yarsha Zahara and Brangara to flicker beside Yamahara. Yarsha Zahara erected multiple cocoons of Prana around the group while Brangara kicked the figure into the sky, watching the figure of Orakha revive beside it.
"Tch!" Orakha clicked his tongue as he retracted the figurine and committed suicide, glaring at Yamahara in his last moments. But in the fraction of a second that spanned between his revival and him assuming his Human Avatar form, a litre of his blood had been extracted by Yamahara.
'Boar King?' Orakha was stunned upon feeling Brana's presence as his body exploded into a sea of flames.
"Hmph! I've already faced this before!" Brangara grunted and assumed the appearance of an Empyrean Snapper Tangible Nature, churning Subtle Terrain Domination to redirect all the flames further into the sky.
With the crisis averted, he returned to human form and stared at Yamahara, "Anything else you can sense?"
"Nothing else at the moment." Yamahara stared at Bunakin Vara as he absorbed Orakha's blood, saying, "It's not unusual as Orakha's powers allow him to modify Human Avatars. He could have made a modification in such a way it prevents us from sensing that Minor Treasure containing the Iron Empyrean Tentacle's power. But, I don't understand how you have no memories related to the incident."
"They must have come into contact with you at some point in time." He frowned as he analysed.
In the meantime, the figure of Orakha at the Mammoth Clan was freaking out, "It's over! Everything's fucking over!"
"Stay calm! And tell us!" Raaha rushed towards Orakha, followed by the Empyrean Tusks who all became worried at the sight of his screaming self.
"Boar King!" Orakha roared, "The Wean Clan can spawn Boar Kings now!"
"My…goodness!" Raaha collapsed on the floor, despairing at the news. He stared at the collapsing expressions of the Empyrean Tusks and announced in defeat, "We…no longer have a home in Sumatra."
"Let's leave!"
Volume 5: Wean Clan Supremacy—The End!