"Let's go," Virala said as he grabbed Orakha and jumped out of the house, leaving behind a shockwave as he increased his speed, uncaring if he caused chaos. After all, the resulting chaos would be Inala's headache, not his.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't angered by the fact that after all that setup, the one that greeted them was a puppet. 'And he purposefully behaved like he was after our data to make us assume he's the real deal. As always, he doesn't stop even when a disguise is perfect but has to go beyond.'
He retracted his Tratham armour except for the shoes, generating psychokinesis as a force upon the water as he landed on its surface. This force spread wider across the water surface, allowing him to stand on the water. With a kick of his leg, he sped across the ocean.
Upon running for a few kilometres, his expression widened in shock, "So, that's how you detected that he was fake, Orakha."
"Your senses towards minerals are superior to even mine." He exclaimed in praise. Only after coming close enough that his Mystic Ewworm was able to sense Sumatra Gold deep in the ocean water. Orakha's Mystic Eaters were able to sense them from a range more than thrice his.
'If only this guy doesn't flee and stays behind, there's plenty we could achieve through him.' Virala thought as he stared at the figure of Orakha in his hold, 'His potential is inferior only to Resha. His build can grow endlessly if only he was desperate enough.'
To date, Orakha had never been desperate. He sought strength and intended to improve himself by learning through his failures, but that was it. He wasn't as desperate as Inala or Virala who attempted every possibility along their path to forge ahead.
'The fact that he hesitates to take a life speaks volumes about his approach. If only that changes and he changes from a merchant to an unscrupulous merchant, things will be different.' His thought arrived at a halt as Virala stopped at a spot on the ocean surface, "He's deep inside, right?"
"Probably on the ocean floor." Orakha nodded. "The water pressure will kill me."
"Don't worry about that." Virala grinned and condensed the Tratham submarine. Once the duo took seats within, the submarine sped into the water, gradually slowing down the deeper it went due to the force of buoyancy acting against them.
"Goodness, what the fuck is that?" Virala exclaimed as he stared at the Biome Lattice, startled by whatever the heck Inala was doing here, "This bastard doesn't sit still, huh?"
He soon observed a line, created by Biome Bombs connected to each other to form a thread-like channel. As he followed it, he observed the figure of the Royal Zinger, in all its glory, seated at the end of the line, absorbing Prana from it.
Stretching from his spot as the focus were eight such lines, each pumping Prana into him. Glowing orbs floated on his back, using a string of Prana to latch onto him. Virala stared at the glowing orbs as his gaze became incredulous, "Is that…for real?"
He slapped Orakha on the head, "I'm not dreaming, right?"
"Fucker, you're supposed to pinch yourself in such situations and not hit me," Orakha growled, but couldn't say much beyond that, with the entirety of his focus on a Biome Bomb dangling at the side of the Royal Zinger's hips.
From it, he could sense Sumatra Gold, two pieces in fact. 'I know he has three pieces. But now, I can only see two. Did he use one of them?'
If only his skill level in using the Mystic Eaters had been as good as currently during his time at the Brimgan Empire, he would have easily detected the three pieces of Sumatra Gold getting fused into the body of Amita Brimgan.
However, his attention was always on Yarsha Zahara, for she had dozens of pieces with her. So, he hadn't even thought about looking anywhere else. Of course, as the three pieces were being fused into Amita Brimgan's skeleton by Maroppa using her power, it was harder to detect them.
Conversely, Yarsha Zahara retained the pieces as is in her Minor Treasure of Storage Lantern, which made it extremely simple for him to detect them back then.
'What did he end up using the piece of Sumatra Gold on?' Orakha frowned as he expanded his senses through his Mystic Eaters but failed to find a third Sumatra Gold.
As the duo approached the Royal Zinger, the latter lifted its head and revealed an eerie smile in their direction.
"Fuck, that's creepy," Virala commented, coughing awkwardly when Orakha stared at him in silence, remembering that he had a Mystic Ewworm form.
Seeing their approach, the Royal Zinger condensed eight Biome Bombs, using them to absorb Prana from the lines while it assumed human form, still protected by a layer of Biome Bomb. It was Inala, his expression sleep-deprived.
Messy hair, parched lips, sunken eyes, and dark spots across his wrinkled forehead. Though he seemed the same as usual, bursting with vitality, he somehow appeared to have also aged considerably.
He condensed a Biome Bomb at its maximum size—a sphere with a radius of 180 metres. The entrance opened as through Perfect Biome Domination, he prevented the ocean water from entering inside.
He jumped inside and beckoned the two of them to enter, expressing through body language that he had no intentions of doing anything against them for the time being.
Virala and Orakha made eye contact and nodded at each other, confirming that the one before them was indeed the real deal. The submarine entered the Biome Bomb as Virala retracted it, taking a couple of steps forward until he was a metre's distance from Inala, observing that the latter was more haggard than he had initially witnessed, "What the fuck happened to you, man?"
"It's a short story," Inala said in an energy-deprived voice and snapped his finger, condensing a wooden table and three wooden chairs through Prana. He took seat on one of them, slumping towards the end grandly, "I…know too much."
"What do you mean by that?" Virala frowned, seriously disturbed by Inala's words. After all, it was after taking inspiration from Inala that he too treated the information path, seeking data above everything else.
"This shit," Inala tapped his head, "You know the Major Treasure of Attribute is a brain, right?"
"Of course, we were all there when you took it." Orakha nodded, "Is there an issue with it?"
"Obviously," Inala chuckled wryly, "Resha merely fused with it and gained some mere fragments of knowledge, through which he realised that the Major Treasure of Attribute originated from the Brimgan Founder."
"But in my case…" His wry expression deepened, sporting traces of helplessness, "Through the Bolts of Transcendence, I fused it into my genetic information. The Major Treasure of Attribute no longer exists on Sumatra. Its power became the Royal Zinger's characteristic."
"How can there be an issue with that?" Virala frowned, "It all seems to be good."
"Yes, it is good. But the problem is that I also inherited all of the Brimgan Founder's knowledge." Inala sighed, "That madman was crazy about figuring out the secrets of Sumatra. So, he purposefully failed to enter the Transcendence Stage and turned himself into a Major Treasure. And by becoming a Brain, he was able to collect information through all the water bodies connected to the Brimgan Sea."
"Yes, it was with purpose that he became a Major Treasure here." Inala nodded, "The Attributed Region formed in a location that could be considered a node for the water bodies. And since the day he became a Major Treasure, that madman has been thinking, nonstop, never resting for a single moment."
"Goodness!" Virala exclaimed as he stared at Inala, "No wonder you look fucked up now. Has all that information been bombarded into you?"
"It's a part of me." Inala nodded weakly, "These days, the moment I think of something, tens of thousands of thoughts that the Brimgan Founder had bombards my mindspace. Having options seems good, but only when they're limited."
"I am burdened with too many options for every single choice I make." He grumbled, vexed to the limit, "And his character gave me OCD. Now, I am damn irritated if I make a choice without analysing all the options. Thinking that damn much is frustrating, even when I'm a Mystic Grade Pranic Beast."
"Can't you just…block them out?" Orakha asked as he pointed at Virala, "This guy might be able to help with that."
"Dude…" Virala raised his voice in complaint, not liking the fact that Orakha hinted at his secret to Inala.
"That won't be necessary. I have a million methods to overcome this issue." Inala sighed, "And that's the issue."
'This guy is straight-up flexing now.' Virala clicked his tongue and said, "Anyway, did you receive all the information from our conversation with that puppet of yours?"
"Yeah," Inala nodded, "Sorry about that. I couldn't leave this place on short notice, so I sent a puppet first."
'He's apologising?' Virala felt creeped out by this initiative from Inala, "Man, come out and live like a normal person from time to time. You've become damn weird."
"Is that so?" Inala laughed awkwardly, "I can't help it. Sorry about that."
"So?" Orakha stared at Inala as his voice turned serious, "What's your opinion?"
"Like my puppet said, don't leave Sumatra." Inala said, "Without a Transcendent's active support, leaving Sumatra is impossible, even if you forge a ship solely using Sumatra Gold."
"What makes you say that?" Orakha was startled by the statement, getting up in reflex.
"The so-called Sumatra Gold is merely the Transcendent Prana of Sumatra, a Mystic Transcendent that lost the will to live and turned into a Continent." Inala said, observing the expressions of shock on the faces of the duo as he continued, "When Iron Transcendents lose their will to live, they become Enclaves. Silver Transcendents become Satellites revolving the Transcendent Worlds and Gold Transcendents become the Transcendent World. Finally, a Mystic Transcendent becomes a Continent."
"That's unreal," Orakha slumped on his seat.
"So, you see." Inala nodded, "Sumatra Gold is a priceless treasure for us, but it's merely Transcendent Prana for the Transcendents. They're able to bypass Sumatra Gold's defences and harm us casually. Sumatra Chronicles states that a 10-Life Stage Empyrean Boar King can face weak Silver Transcendents, but that's only in terms of pure power."
"The influence we generate through our Natures will transform into something like a concept upon becoming a Transcendent. So, though Brangara might be able to kill a weak Silver Transcendent, the latter's influence will mutate him beyond recognition. He'd lose his individuality, sense of being, etc. in a matter of hours." Inala concluded as he stared at Orakha, "So if Mahira Tusk doesn't reply, think of an alternative."
"Head to an Enclave and close yourselves. You'll be able to live in hiding for the rest of your lives." Inala said, "That's a better fate than venturing out into the Sandy-Grey Void and having to bear the influence of Transcendents from multiple Continents, not to mention the terrifying Cosmic Beings too."
"Then, take action as soon as possible. Help us!" Orakha shouted as he got up once again, agitated, "Let's target Yamahara and kill him as soon as possible. The longer he lives, the worse our situation becomes."
"I would love to, but unfortunately, I cannot." Inala smiled helplessly as he stared at Virala, "Sense my presence and tell me the truth. Am I strong?"
"You…" Virala's eyes shone as he expanded his Prana detection methods to the extreme, sensing a vortex of presence before him, one inferior only to the Celestial Boar, "You're strong, very much so. But,"
He expressed his confusion, "Why is your strength the same as what you possessed at the Second Major Disaster?"
"That's why I cannot take action." Inala sighed, "My preparations are merely halfway…no, not even that far. I apologise if I dashed your hope, but I'm not leaving this place until I'm prepared enough to face Brangara."
He then stared at Orakha, "If you want to kidnap Yamahara and lock him up in some place until the end of the Fourth Major Disaster, find Resha."
"By now, he must have broken out of his shell."