After a long journey through the underground railway, Inala watched as the speeding surroundings gradually arrived to a halt. One of the staff responsible for the railway walked through the compartments, announcing their arrival, "We've arrived at the Varahan Empire!"
"We've arrived at the Varahan Empire!"
"How was your journey?" The moment Inala alighted from the railway, Wepetay approached him with a smile, luggage in hand.
"I don't think I'll ever become bored of it." Inala laughed, "It's beyond my wildest imagination to journey safely through Sumatra, that too with endless refreshments coming my way."
"You're exactly right!" Wepetay stared up slightly in pride, "I have been living here for a decent time, but I have yet to become used to the sheer convenience of this place."
He then muttered with a somewhat sullen tone, "It's just that my kids take it for granted, since they were born here."
"But you're happy they can grow sheltered, right?" Inala stared at Wepetay and patted him on the shoulder, "We're struggling just to ensure a safe future for our kids."
And that line, Inala wasn't kidding. It was neither an act nor a part of his scheme. He genuinely wanted to create a future for his children. As the Royal Zinger, every Quip Clansman was pretty much an extension of him. So technically, they could be considered his bloodline.
Everyone cultivating Mystic Royal Art was accumulating Royal Zinger genes in their genetic information gradually, which brought them closer and closer to him as kin. His thoughts too were changing accordingly.
Unlike his Mammoth Clan self, the current Inala, as the Royal Zinger was responsible for the entire Zinger Race, worshipped by the latter as their Deity. Therefore, he had responsibilities that came with the role.
And creating a safe future for the survival of the Zinger race was his goal. Before his arrival, the Zingers weren't harmed as a race. The Dieng Canyon was their home and though many Zingers lost their lives fighting the entities travelling through the Dieng Canyon, the population of the Zingers was never affected.
Inala integrating himself with them placed the Zingers in the Celestial Boar's radar, bringing danger to their survival as a race. As a result, the responsibility weighed on Inala's shoulders to better their lives as much as possible.
'I'm only doing this for our survival. Please, don't hold it against it.' For a moment, he stared at the back of Wepetay, mentally weeping for the latter. Based on their interaction until now, Inala knew that Wepetay was a genuinely good person who resonated with the struggles of his past and treated all Free Humans amicably to the best of his capability.
He never allowed power to get to his head, performed his work admirably, and was never biased in praising the people working under him.
'If I had been born in a Free Human Kingdom and was absorbed into the Varahan Empire, I would be similar to him.' Inala thought as his eyes moistened a little, imagining Wepetay's future, 'He hasn't done any wrong. It's just that he's on the other side. Nothing more, nothing less.'
His expression gradually hardened as Inala firmed his thoughts, mentally preparing himself to brutally destroy the lives of Wepetay and countless other innocents like him just because they were a part of the Varahan Empire.
It started as a fight between the Empyrean Boars and the Empyrean Tusks. But now, it had evolved into a one-versus-all situation, with the Varahan Empire being the strongest of them all. Unless they weren't stopped, they'll swallow everything in their paths.
'The greatest of Empires always crumbled from within.' Inala recalled a famous saying from Earth, for that was the core principle with which he had formed his current plan. An internal conflict that would eventually result in a civil war that would raze down the mighty existence called the Varahan Empire.
'When that happens, Brangara would spend all his time and resources on damage control. He can't simply leave it to Yarsha Zahara as he does now.' Inala thought as his walk was met with silence, soon filled by hard-paced footsteps from other people.
The railway station was practically endless as Inala could see hundreds of railway tunnels, with more than half having railways that had arrived at their destination. Flocks of people dressed in all sorts of attire, originating from countless regions across Sumatra alighted from the railway and began to head towards the exit.
"Follow me," Wepetay said to Inala and a small group of passengers from the Noikatol Kingdom who were arriving at the Varahan Empire for the first time, "Please don't get lost here. This place is massive and it'll take us a few days at the very least to find you once you get lost."
A sense of hurry seemed present in the place as the pacing of all passengers was somewhat faster than normal. Inala found himself swept up by the pace as he followed Wepetay and arrived at an escalator that seemed to go up for more than a kilometre.
Escalator!
His eyes widened as he observed it, noticing flat blocks of rocks strung together by chains acting as steps. They were wrong around a belt system while a faint force of gravity existed in the tunnel, pulling towards the top.
This pull caused the strung flight of stairs to constantly move upwards. The people, though hesitant, were caught up in the pace of others and hurriedly set foot on the stone slabs, taking a few seconds to adjust to the jerk.
Similar to the railway, it was a marvel for everyone as they watched in surprise as even without walking, they were steadily travelling upwards. Upon seeing it, Inala sighed, slightly emotional, 'The Nature of Drifting Tunnel has been exceptionally used for both the railway and escalator systems.'
'It feels pretty close to Earth.' He stared at the edges of the stone slab where thick grass was growing, providing them with an indicator to stay away from the edges. Handrails had also been placed on the tunnel walls, providing balance to anyone standing near the edges of the moving stone slabs.
Inala looked around, noticing at least a dozen safety parameters installed in the escalator setup alone, 'All the Free Humans here have Silver Grade strength. They're not as fragile as humans on Earth. And even if they get injured, they can recover thanks to Prana. However, despite all that, a lot of concern has been placed into this system to make it as safe as possible.'
Inala was confident that this escalator system wasn't the only groundbreaking mechanism installed in the Varahan Empire. There must be hundreds, if not more of them, with even more being innovated and introduced to society constantly.
But despite all that, Yarsha Zahara had placed enough attention on the little things, ensuring the people could truly feel happy about living in the Varahan Empire. 'I can feel her care all around me.'
If he didn't have his responsibilities, Inala would have sought to live in the Varahan Empire, maybe have a small family, go to a day job, and once he had saved some money, he'd enjoy a family trip to the countless Kingdoms that Varahan Empire had under its control.
It would truly be a life of contentment, something almost akin to paradise in a world as dangerous as Sumatra. But that paradise would be short-lived, all thanks to him.
'It's not destroying something that resonates with my dreams.' Inala let out another sigh, finding it hard to bring himself to destroy this place. After all, his wish was extremely simple, one that had remained constant from when he was on Earth, when he was brought to Sumatra, and even now.
He wished to explore Sumatra and take in the sights of its grandeur!
But one existence loomed above him, blocking his path, preventing him from enjoying Sumatra even when he travelled its various regions. Due to this existence, thoughts of survival, growing strong, and ways to dismantle the enemy's side were all that filled his mind.
Expert Mystic Grade Pranic Beast—Celestial Boar!
Not only was it the strongest existence to have appeared on Sumatra Continent, but it was also a Major Treasure. It meant that Brangara's power operated beyond the logic of Sumatra's current power system.
'Maybe some other Mystic Path could beg him to leave him alone, but not me.' Inala recalled the face of Gannala, for a moment imagining her fate if she were ever unfortunate enough to be captured by her enemy.
Reddish veiny patterns covered his eyes at the thought. Inhaling a deep breath, Inala controlled himself from acting on impulse. After all, he had observed enough to know where to use his palm stitch to disrupt the escalator system violently and result in the deaths of thousands in an instant.
'I'll be the subject of Brangara's hate.' Inala thought slowly while conversing with Wepetay from time to time, 'His most hated individual will be me; his second most hated individual will be me; his third most hated individual will be…me,'
He thought in a loop, 'His twentieth most hated individual will be me; his twenty-first most hated…'
"We've reached the end." Wepetay's words broke Inala of his thoughts.
The escalator revealed a massive hall that was circular in shape, reaching a height of a hundred metres and spanning a radius of two kilometres. Thousands of pillars ran between the floor and ceiling, propping up the place.
The station had been built in the mid-section of a freaking mountain, which explained the sheer pillars running in the place. Inala faced a massive board staring his way, reading the words 'Munkut Station.'
"Follow me," Wepetay said and escorted Inala in the same direction as the rest of the crowd, bringing him to the edge of the station that was bereft of walls, leading into a gallery view of the massive land expanding beyond.
Trees the height of four hundred metres littered the place, creating a lush forest. They were spaced far from each other, sporting bridges built out of their branches naturally, as if they grew to become that.
Not a single sign of artificial instalment was sighted, creating a picturesque view as if the place magically popped into existence. And moving about, mixed with nature were Free Humans, in the millions.
The presence of every single individual was at the Silver Grade, and the uniformity of their Human Avatar resulted in a collective presence that influenced the atmosphere, creating an aurora, but one in the shape of an Empyrean Boar.
Staring at it with a fanatical gaze of admiration, Wepetay pointed at the aurora of the Empyrean Boar and announced, facing Inala and the others from the Noikatol Kingdom, "Welcome to the Varahan Empire, the absolute utopia of Free Humans, led by the strongest Emperor and Empress in the history of Sumatra!"