"Please enter this establishment, respected Mystic Paths." Rattac said with a respectful tone, "He's inside."
'Someone knows how to build up tension.' Virala thought in response and spread his Prana into the house, retracting it a moment later, "He's inside, alright."
Just as Orakha was about to enter the house, Virala grabbed him by the shoulder and shouted, "Can you stop with the plays, Inala?"
He stretched his hand and knocked on the stone house, "The both of us can sense what is inside."
"Alright, you got me." A familiar voice resounded from within, followed by a surge in Prana. "You can enter now."
"Let's go," Virala said and entered the house, noticing a round table placed in the centre, followed by three chairs around it, each at an angle of 120 degrees from each other. Seated on one of the chairs, facing the entrance was Inala. In his hand was a Gold Biome Bomb, layered inside by stone.
Originally, the inner half of this stone house was made using the Gold Biome Bomb layered onto the walls. This way, anyone who enters inside wouldn't know that they were stepping within a Biome Bomb, now under the mercy of Inala.
Any regular cultivator wouldn't be able to sense the Biome Bomb, since it was wedged between layers of stone. However, both Virala's Mystic Ewworm and Orakha's Mystic Eaters were mineral-seeking entities.
They were able to notice the difference between the grain structure of the external stone house and its internal counterpart.
However, though Orakha sensed the difference, he didn't seem to care. First of all, Inala was already aware of all his original secrets. Secondly, the secrets that he maintained currently were expertly hidden using Sumatra Gold. No ability was able to break through that defence for the time being, whether it be Gannala's immune system or Inala's Perfect Biome Domination.
"You were this close to dying, you know?" Virala stared at Inala and said with an exasperated tone, "It's dangerous to steal information from me, alright?"
"No need to boast." Inala chuckled as he pointed at the two chairs, "Take a seat. Want some tea?"
"I'll take your most expensive tea," Virala said and seated himself.
"We're not a restaurant." Inala rolled his eyes.
"If you say so." Virala didn't comment much on the matter as he calmly stared at Orakha to start speaking.
"We had to take risks to come here for one reason," Orakha said with a sombre tone and began speaking about Yamahara's birth and the changes that happened to the Wean Clan as a result of his arrival.
Inala listened to everything in silence until the end, his expression gradually growing serious as he kept mum. He then brought in a jar of tea and began serving the two.
"Say something, will you?" Orakha shouted as he stood up in anger, "Why the fuck are you mute?"
"There's nothing much to say." Inala remained casual, "It doesn't matter how strong the Wean Clan becomes. We'll be free as long as we kill Brangara. We don't need to care about the others."
"Wow, that's spectacular analysis from you. If only we had the brain smarts to have thought of it long ago." Virala clapped with a sarcastic tone.
"You're pretty daring to say that after coming to my territory." Inala laughed.
"What can I say, I am confident of wreaking this place competently." Virala smiled, not in the least masking his intention.
"Tell me, Inala." Orakha glared at Inala, "Are you planning to do anything?"
"Why are you talking as if I'm the only capable one among the Mystic Paths?" Inala shrugged and pointed at Virala, "Don't you have this oh, so strong one? He can cook Brangara for breakfast and Yarsha for dinner."
"I can do that, unlike a certain turtle." Virala winked at Inala, "How's the retirement life treating you?"
Bang!
Orakha slammed the table and got up, huffing in anger for a few seconds before regaining his calm. He then alternated between the duo of Inala and Virala, "My job is done here. Whether or not you want to do something is your headache. I'm leaving this fucking continent behind."
"And go where?" Inala asked all of a sudden, his tone serious, "Another continent?"
"Are you insane?"
"I'm perfectly sane." Orakha snorted, "The Mammoth Clan has already made the journey once. We're simply following the footsteps of our ancestors."
"Seems you don't understand the risks associated with the travel." Inala laughed with a tone of disdain, "It's not just the Sandy-Grey Void that you have to worry about. There's also the influence stemming from the Transcendents and Cosmic Beings. You're better off remaining here since I'm pretty sure Mahira Tusk hasn't permitted you to leave Sumatra."
Seeing Orakha frown in response, Inala sighed, "Seems I was right. You're taking the risk without the guidance of a Transcendent."
"Then assist us so that we may escape," Orakha asked, his tone turning respectful.
"I can tell you more about the situation out there, but that's the limit of what I can do." Inala shook his head, "Only an actual Transcendent can protect you from harm once you enter the Sandy-Grey Void."
Inala then talked about the Cosmic Beings and the fights the Transcendents had against them at the Nodes. He then detailed the state of the Sandy-Grey Void, at how there were long tunnels trailing from the Nodes and at the end of each tunnel was a Continent.
"You'll be travelling through the tunnel to reach the Node, following which you'll be entering the tunnel leading to another Continent." Inala said, "The closer you get to the Node, the stronger the influence bombarding you. In the best-case scenario, your bodies will mutate into horrifying monstrosities. Anything other than that is worse than your wildest imagination."
"Mahira Tusk probably protected the Mammoth Clan actively as they made the journey. And there was a good chance she made a deal with a Transcendent from the destination Continent to do the same while the Mammoth Clan approached their continent." Inala said, "And even with all this, I'm not sure what their state is by the time they reached the other Continent."
"They might be suffering from problems stemming during the journey even to this day, even when the Empyrean Tusks died and transferred their inheritances to their successors." He concluded.
"Cosmic Beings…?" Virala asked in interest, "How strong are they?"
"Pretty much all of Sumatra's Transcendents will have to take action against one of them." Inala said, "I don't know much about them either. This is the extent of information that I've gathered over the years."
"They're that strong, huh?" Virala expressed his interest as he stared at Orakha, "Will you be able to afford the journey?"
'Since Maroppa is with them, journeying across the Sandy-Grey Void won't be an issue for them. And with Orakha's help, she could fuse Sumatra Gold into an Empyrean Tusk's tusk to forge a solid ship. As long as they stay within it, they might be able to withstand the influence of Cosmic Beings.' Inala thought, asking Orakha, "Do you have to leave Sumatra?"
"There's no other choice." Orakha sighed, "We'll all die to Brangara if we stay. It's better to seek a path of survival outside. Since no matter how far we travel across the Continent, we'll always remain within his grasp."
"Bruh, just hole yourself up in a far-away Enclave and you'll be fine." Inala grumbled, "Use the Sandy-Grey Void to travel across Sumatra's border until you come across an Enclave. Since they're surrounded by the Sandy-Grey Void, no detection method will be able to sense you there. You can simply cut off the sole route leading to the Sumatra Continent and I guarantee you safety from Brangara."
"You can live a life of content there," Inala shrugged, "That's a thousand times safer than making the journey without Mahira Tusk's support."
He then stared at Virala to ask, "When was the last time you antagonised Brangara?"
"Around five-plus years ago." Virala nodded.
"Did he unleash a pillar of light?" Inala sighed upon seeing Virala nod. He stared at Orakha and shook his head, "Then it's a death sentence to leave. At least two Cosmic Beings might be fighting in the Void. You're guaranteed death if you so much as dare set foot in the region of the Sandy-Grey Void beyond the range of Sumatra's protection."
"What should I do then?" Orakha rested his face on his palm, absolutely confused.
"Are you unable to contact Mahira Tusk?" Inala asked next.
"Yeah, we haven't been able to contact her after the Second Major Disaster." Orakha sighed.
"Then do it like I said." Inala nodded, "Head towards an Enclave and live there for the time being. And once you're able to contact her, you can make plans accordingly. That's your safest bet. And though it won't be as good as living on Sumatra, Enclaves should be able to support your need for resources, I think."
"Yeah, I think we can do that." Orakha thought, 'With Maroppa's help, it'll be possible to reach another Enclave from the Gaja Enclave. Or we can even skip a few Enclaves and head to a location as far as possible from the Varahan Enclave.'
"Is anyone staying behind?" Inala asked next.
"Gannala and Harrala are staying," Orakha said, startled to sense Prana billow out of Inala in response.
"Fuck, why?" He lost his cool for a moment as Inala grumbled, "Why the heck are they staying?"
"Dude, just bring them with you as you flee." Inala glared at Orakha, "Shouldn't you have enough sway over the Mammoth Clan by now?"
"I do, but Gannala volunteered to stay behind to take care of the Mammoth Treasury." Orakha sighed, "And Harrala wanted to give her company."
"Welp, someone's daughter is about to become pig food…" Virala hadn't finished his sentence when a projectile slammed into him and pummelled him into the walls of the stone house. He casually got up from the attack and shrugged off the dust that the projectile had turned into.
He casually stared at Inala, "Truth hurts, doesn't it?"
"I can make it hurt better." Inala glared as immediately, Virala began to age.
"Hmph!" Followed by a grunt, Virala encased himself in a Tratham armour, cranking up psychokinesis to the limit, watching the strings of Prana latched onto him be pushed away in response.
They dangled a couple of metres before him, unable to approach him. He glared at Inala, "Don't think for a moment that I haven't prepared against your abilities."
"You sure about that?" Inala said and transformed his arms into a Royal Zinger's, condensing a Biome Bomb that hung by a threat from his index finger. With a mild tug, the Biome Bomb dangled like a pendulum, beginning to condense lava within.
"Now, that's the spirit." Virala bellowed, excited to fight, "Finally, someone to fight without holding back. Don't cry if I by mistake use your face to wipe my ass."
"It'll be eroded by the time I use your ass to clean the streets." Inala snorted, getting ready to attack.
"I'm leaving." Right as the duo were about to engage in a battle, Orakha stood up and expressed his intention. He then stared at Virala, "Are you coming or not?"
"Already?" Virala raised an eyebrow as he pointed at Inala, "I've yet to see if this turtle has grown strong or not. Besides, it'll be better to understand the strength of the force he's raising, right?"
"His force isn't here." Orakha said and stared in the direction of the ocean, "It's somewhere out there."
He then glared at Inala, "And this fucker isn't even Inala."
"It's a mere puppet."
'I see, so that's what is happening.' Virala's eyes narrowed as his smile widened, 'No wonder that throw felt damn weak.'
"Just send a body to inform the Mammoth Clan." Virala said casually, "You can still revive next to Raaha."
His expression hardened as he plunged his fist through the figure of Inala, snorting upon seeing flesh within. A flex of his hand and the mass of flesh was scattered, allowing him to see the layer of Biome Bome that had condensed the flesh to behave as Inala.
With a clench of his hand, the Biome Bomb was destroyed, following which he stared in the direction of the ocean, "We're not leaving this place until I meet his actual body."
'It seems all the Zinger shrieks were done to give this puppet of the information necessary to maintain our conversation.' Virala thought upon feeling Zinger shrieks resume in the background, sneakily using his Mystic Human Stamp to gather some tangible data from the collapsed puppet. His expression froze for an instant before revealing a smile upon seeing a line hidden at the bottom of the data he gained, one delivered using Inala's voice.
[If you're done playing around, and are feeling brave enough, come to my home.]