"We won't last until we wait for the Fourth Major Disaster?" Blola blurted out in shock, "How is that possible? None of us have reached our peak!"
"We're only going to become stronger over time!"
"That's true, but things are different now that we have captured Brangara." Resha nodded, "With that, all of us will be at our peak by the Third Major Disaster. Hopefully, we can reach that point, even if barely."
"Then what's the issue?" Blola argued, "Even without Orakha, if the six of us combine, we're really strong, you know? And there's also Boul Brimgan to assist us."
He patted his chest, "I can simply take root at a spot and constantly generate Prana. Inala could absorb it from me and funnel it into you and Virala who can fight Brangara head-on."
"With our endless supply, we can win against him!"
"There are two things you don't understand." Resha shook his head, "From the very beginning, it wasn't a question of us being able to overpower Brangara. That option never existed even when he was the Empyrean Boar King, not to mention after he became the Celestial Boar."
"It has always been about how much we can limit his growth and catch up to him." He made eye contact with Blola, "We only have a chance of success if we succeed in limiting his strength to a conservative extent."
"And secondly," Resha pointed at Blola's chest, "The Transcendent Eater's Primary Nature is to revive anyone it has consumed. But what about your characteristics of being able to gather nutrients like a plant and generate Parute Fruits?"
"It's just what the Transcendent Eater's body is capable of." Blola nodded.
"Exactly!" Resha shouted, generating a shockwave in response as Blola and Wally clutched their ears in response, "Every race has a physical characteristic. And do you know what the Celestial Boar's is?"
"It can…eat a lot, right?" Blola muttered.
"Yes," Resha nodded, "It's a fucking pig! So, eating like a pig is what that pig specialises in, whether as the Empyrean Boar King or the Celestial Boar."
"In a desperate situation, Brangara will resort to consuming us." Resha said, "You might not have realised, but the majority of Brangara's evolution has been brought about by his consumption of the Mammoth Clan, especially the Empyrean Tusks."
Astral Chart could store 100 Natures, which fell under the same field as Empyrean 100 and Weaponisation. Resha was the one who created Empyrean 100, but the possibility of this Nature already existed in their genetics. It just hadn't been realised by anyone before him.
When Brangara gained the Tertiary Nature of Cultivator, it was through a strict diet of consuming only Mammoth Clansmen at the Spirit Stage. That allowed him to absorb their characteristics which eventually resulted in the Tertiary Nature of Cultivator, which was the same as a Mammoth Clansman assuming a Pranic Beast form at the Body Stage, but exhibited in reverse.
The Mammoth Clan's cultivation technique, Mystic Bone Art was a digestion-based technique in the first place. It allowed them rapid digestion, the products of which accumulated strength in them.
"It's not like we just casually stumbled upon the Empyrean Boar Race and decided to use them for our purpose." Resha shook his head, "No, it was a calculated approach."
"Two thousand years ago, the Mammoth Clan didn't enter the Varahan Enclave just to feast upon an easy prey. With the size we had, plus the powerful masters at our disposal, even Gold Grade Pranic Beasts were mere prey." Resha explained as he stared at Blola, "It was the Mammoth Ancestor."
"I think she had used her prowess as the Transcendent to scout across the races of Sumatra until she found one with characteristics similar to Mystic Bone Art." His eyes turned cold as he muttered, "And that was the Empyrean Boar Race."
"You mean…?" Blola's body trembled as he slumped on a nearby dune, taking a few seconds to calm down, asking after a slow inhale, "The Mammoth Ancestor purposefully made us target the Empyrean Boars, even while aware that at the slightest mishap, something like the Empyrean Boar King might be birthed?"
"I'm afraid they were banking upon the possibility." Resha shook his head, "I have been thinking all along, as to why our Ancestors behaved as they did back then, and as to why the Mystic Paths have been created."
"I might not be able to hypothesise everything, but I think I've scratched the surface at least." Resha slowly stared at the sky and glared in the direction of the Transcendent Worlds, "What do you think it means to become a Transcendent?"
"It's to become a singular entity, right?" Blola thought for a couple of minutes, remembering his mental fights to say, "But I'm still not entirely sure as to what it means."
"The energies of Body, Mind, and Soul combine to form Prana." Resha said, "If you remember Inala's incident from when he became the Royal Zinger, the Bolts of Transcendence tried to fuse him into a singular entity."
"This is what I think about the Transcendence Stage," Resha lifted a finger and stated, "Your body, your mind, and your soul fuse intos a singular existence. Basically, you become a being of Prana."
"For us, it also includes our Natures, Skills, knowledge, and cultivation technique." Resha sighed, "The result is something like an authority that's exclusive to us alone. In that vein of thought,"
He pointed at the Transcendent World which had large blocks of ivory trailing across it, "Mystic Bone Art itself is the Mammoth Ancestor's authority. It's why the Mammoth Clan Chief is able to converse with her."
He then pointed at himself, "When I unlocked the fourth phase of Mystic Bone Art, I too gained the capability to speak to her. This is also why a Free Human at the 10-Life Stage is able to converse with a Transcendent who had entered the Transcendence Stage with the same cultivation technique."
"But that's it," He nodded, "Based on what Renduldu said to the Supreme Tusk when he entered Sumatra Continent when we were newborns, Transcendents cannot grow. Reaching the Transcendence Stage means the end of your growth."
"Maybe the Mammoth Ancestor was disgruntled by it," Resha stared at Blola, "Only after becoming a Transcendent did she realise the sheer untapped potential of the Mammoth Clan. If she had explored more of it when she was here, she would have become tens of times stronger than her current Transcendent self."
"So, she was looking for some kind of possibility, which is when she discovered the Empyrean Boar Race."
"But what does that have to do with our current situation?" Blola retorted after being silent for a while, "Even if it's the Mammoth Ancestor's plan, and Renduldu created the Mystic Paths just to keep growing as a Transcendent, that doesn't change our situation, right?"
'You managed to grasp that, huh?' Resha's eyes widened in surprise at Blola figuring out the crux of the situation with the Mystic Seven and why Renduldu created Sumatra Chronicles, 'So, it's not that this guy is dumb. He's just smart in selective fields. And he has never explored them to figure out his strengths.'
"It does," Resha nodded, "In every Major Disaster, we'll face Brangara, and our experience will funnel into our daughters. And at the Fourth Major Disaster, they'll evolve to enter the Mystic Grade. But, this is only possible if our opponent is strong enough."
"What if we eclipsed his strength before the Mystic Paths in our daughters are filled?" Resha smiled wryly, "If we manage to kill him prematurely, then the entire plan conceptualised by Mahira Tusk and Renduldu collapses. So, they wanted to find someone who can keep up with our growth and possesses similar characteristics as us."
"And that's Brangara," Blola thought for a while before nodding in realisation, "Yes, he can endlessly grow strong. As he has evolved by consuming the Mammoth Clan, he can always consume us to get a spurt in strength when push comes to shove."
"Brangara evolved by consuming Mammoth Clansmen, and the Supreme Tusk was birthed using his gains as fuel. Eventually, the Supreme Tusk split her potential to result in the Mystic Paths." Resha nodded, "So, the seven of us are intrinsically connected to each other. When I talked to Inala, he told me that the prime component that resulted in him becoming the Royal Zinger was the Empyrean Boar King's Prana."
"It's the same for the Celestial Boar." Resha said in disgruntlement, "Every time he hunted and devoured an Empyrean Tusk, he was steadily absorbing their characteristics, as that was Voracious Nature's characteristic. His Tertiary Nature of Cultivator only made him more attuned to consuming Mammoth Clansmen, especially Empyrean Tusks."
"And that resulted in the creation of Astral World once he became the Celestial Boar." Resha explained solemnly, "In essence, it's an Empyrean Tusk's biome that has taken on the characteristics of Astral Chart."
"Do you understand now?" Resha smiled wryly, "The Mammoth Ancestor's pursuit of power made her create a powerful enemy for us. But her greed resulted in the Celestial Boar, an opponent we can never eclipse."
"Does she benefit from the four Major Disasters that much?" Blola asked, his expression one of anger.
"I'm not sure, it's just my conjecture. Otherwise, this entire scenario makes no sense." Resha analysed, "Grehha had no reason to participate in the Second Major Disaster. What his build sought was either the Major Treasure of Weapon or Pet. Getting Attribute didn't really elevate his strength. So, he had zero incentive to participate in that fight."
"But he did," Blola nodded, "You think there's a reason for it?"
"Yes, Inala was the one who figured this out." Resha sighed, "Whether we like it or not, we'll subconsciously find ourselves heading to the centre of the Four Major Disasters. Even if we had other plans, we would still head there accordingly and end up confronting Brangara."
"What do you think?" Resha stared at Blola, smiling wryly upon seeing the latter's face turn pale in response, "Does that ring a bell?"
"Back at the Ennoudu Plains, when you fled the Mammoth Clan, you had no intentions to return early, right?"
"…Yes," Blola's face grew pale with fright as cold sweat dribbled down like a waterfall, "I…wanted to head to an Empire and establish myself as an Emperor. My goal was to use my position to trade for tusk bone powder from the Mammoth Clan when it visits to trade with the Empire."
"Because I had attained the same four partial transformations you possessed in Sumatra Chronicles," Blola stared at Resha to say, "That allowed me to act like a Free Human and showcase the partial transformations as part of my Human Avatar."
"And with my Primary Nature being Internal Inertial Gravity, no one could hold a candle to me…"
"But for some reason, you found yourself returning to the Mammoth Clan." Resha uttered, "Now you see?"