Grehha's Dungeon!
Seated at its core with a solemn expression was Grehha, his back erect, his form poised in full focus. He stared to his side and stared at the Empyrean Incubator prepared specifically for Inala, and growing within it was a teenage Inala.
First Minor Crisis-Mammoth Clansman Inala!
The one within the Empyrean Incubator was exactly who Inala was at the Mammoth Clan at the start of the First Minor Crisis, affected by the Fragment Diseased and with a Spirit Stage cultivation having 12 units of Prana.
The teenager wasn't fully Inala yet. He had some genetic differences that grew on his skin, nails, hair, etc. But the moment Grehha intended to 'birth' him, all the genetic differences would be shed, making him truly Inala.
A full reset, exactly how Inala wanted. Moreover, Inala had selectively planted memories in this new body, which consisted of his Earth's memories as the base, and an accurate version of Sumatra Chronicles. Following that were a few insights that Inala had accumulated across his journey until now.
That was all. Majority of the data stemming from the Brimgan Founder had been omitted. Even the Royal Zinger Inala struggled to handle that information overload, as the moment he pondered a question, dozens of ideas, if not hundreds would overwhelm him with the effect of OCD.
Irrespective of how much he tried to keep himself steady, Inala was steadily influenced, affected, and shaped by them. Experiences shaped an individual, and these memories shaped Inala too much.
Hence, he sought a holiday. Inala planned to do everything in his power to ensure Brangara was dead. And hence, following that, he wanted to do what he wanted the most-explore Sumatra.
He wished to do that all along, but didn't have a solution. But the moment Grehha showed the Empyrean Incubator, he was honestly happy, genuinely shedding tears out of joy. And in a matter of minutes, Inala used the entirety of the Quip Clan's network to scout Sumatra Continent in search of the specific Pranic Beast he wanted to fuse with after reviving as a new self.
In a matter of hours, he found the right one, captured an egg of it, and brought it for Grehha, giving him exactly the modification he sought with it.
"I'm already done with the modification, Inala." Grehha muttered softly as he held an Empyrean Incubator in his hand that contained the Pranic Beast egg, "It wasn't even that hard. It was the simplest modification I had done in a while."
The Fragment Disease would vanish the moment Inala fuses with the Pranic Beast egg. He wouldn't be getting Internal Inertial Gravity, and instead, the Fragment Disease would be harmonised with the Pranic Beast genetics to obtain a Tertiary Nature that wouldn't influence him wrongly.
Inala only desired a build that would help him explore Sumatra Continent in its full glory and not as a broken existence that could decide the fate of an entire race on a whim, such as the Royal Zinger.
Half of Sumatra's appeal was its danger, which made the regions as beautiful as they were dangerous. And he intended to experience it in the same fashion they were meant to be experienced.
"I'll be watching patiently, Inala." Grehha muttered with focus, "The moment you die, I'll revive you here spontaneously. That way, you won't be revived by any other party."
The Quip Clan will try to revive the Royal Zinger, as they had hundreds of plans underway for the exact purpose. If Root is alive, he'll try to revive Inala by condensing Mystic Royalty in his Zinger World.
If Blola swallows the Royal Zinger in its final moments, he could revive Inala too. Grehha didn't know about the other Blola being able to revive Inala's Mammoth Clan self, but he prepared against such a scenario too, 'I'll be the fastest in reviving you, Inala."
"So," He muttered softly, "Fight without worries and give your everything to the cause!"
"As your only friend, I'll protect your dream."
Ravaged Federation, Quip Clan Settlement!
Zhya stood before Inala, staring at his back like a helpless maiden, "Are you...final on your decision?"
"Will I...never see you again?" she asked, her eyes welling up in tears.
"As long as even a single Quip Clansman remains alive, I will return," Inala said softly.
"I'm not talking about that," Tears streamed down her face as she asked, "I will only worship that Inala, but not...not fall in love with him..."
"I have no one else other than you, Inala." She pleaded, "Can't you...can't you try to survive?"
"I'm sorry, that's impossible." Inala sighed, "Even at my peak, I'm outclassed by the Celestial Boar..."
"Then give me a Lie!" Zhya roared, "Can't you just tell me that you'll solve everything? As if everything is a part of your plan? You're the smartest individual on Sumatra! Just say you will survive, even if you can't! Give me hope!"
"Do you have a dream?" Inala turned around and asked, his expression laden with guilt, "Whether as Wittral, Dhya, or Zhya. What do you want in life?"
"You!" Zhya patted her chest aloud, "I never wanted anything else! You asked for my dream, right? It's to be with you. Maybe we roam the streets of the Ravaged Federation, buy a few trinkets, argue with a bunch of old farts, and sightsee various regions."
"Do you remember what I asked of you before?" Tears streamed down her eyes as she stared
at Inala in pain, "I asked you a question."
"Do you wish to explore Sumatra with me?"
"I...remember," Inala nodded, closing his eyes as he couldn't bear to make eye contact with Zhya, "I have never forgotten it."
"You promised me, and I am only asking you to uphold it." She clenched her hand into a fist and thumped her chest thrice, "Please return alive, as you, the one I have loved since you were nothing, a mortal, long before you became a Deity!"
'Seems I've become more emotional these days, since my end is in sight.' Inala acted like he was massaging his eyes and subtly wiped his tears. He turned around and waved his hand, his expression, "That promise, I've never forgotten."
"Not once, never in my life." He spoke with utter seriousness, "That is why I fight."
"Wait for me, Zhya." Inala said and vanished, "The Royal Zinger won't return to keep up the
promise, but I will."
"I promise."
Kalahatra Desert!
Appearing beside a sand dune while the power of the Major Treasure of Flight was activated was Inala, observing from afar the standoff between Virala and Brangara. Yarsha Zahara stood silently behind Brangara, her expression unreadable.
'At the 9-Life Stage, Brangara's Astral World is almost indestructible. If he reaches the 10- Life Stage, it'll truly become indestructible. Meaning, it'll be impossible to kill him. And Astral World's influence would endlessly keep recreating his body. Thanks to Turnip, he won't reach that level, but even at the 9-Life Stage, his Astral World is almost impossible to be destroyed.' Inala let out a faint sigh, 'Harla Brimgan's strongest attack failed to even scratch Astral World. And she could partially unleash Deity Fusion too.'
'This won't be an easy battle, not in the slightest.' Inala thought and took flight, steadily increasing his altitude as his expression was firm, 'I need to make serious preparations!'
In the meantime, Virala continued to stare at Brangara with a provocative gaze, "I've
customised your grave to suit your tastes, Brangara."
"I hope you give a five-star review for the experience."
Positioned towards the edge of the Kalahatra Desert was Blola, having assumed Transcendent Eater form as he voraciously sucked in the resources. Standing next to him was Barla, steadily munching on his branches to elevate herself in the Life Stage.
She had already condensed her ninth body and was on the verge of condensing her tenth body.
Her Astral Chart was already armed with all 100 Natures necessary to unleash the State of Harmony of Astral Puncture.
Simultaneously, 82 Wean Clansmen stood beside her, consisting of her siblings, children, nephews and nieces, all Boar Kings that had been armed with the best possible set of Natures that resulted in the power of Blessed Influence.
Narkahamy's Blessed Influence was what inspired Inala to use Barla's Astral Chart to create the State of Harmony of Astral Puncture. He similarly used it to construct the strongest versions of Blessed Influence on the Boar Kings, powerful enough to surpass the effects of Internal Inertial Gravity and Subtle Terrain Domination.
The Blessed Influences had power surpassing Expert Gold Grade Natures in terms of power,
almost reaching pseudo-Mystic Grade. All 82 Boar Kings were armed and ready, steadily consuming Blola's Transcendent Eater branches to progress further in the Life Stage.
Even the weakest was at the 4-Life Stage while Barla's three sibling brothers had reached the 8-Life Stage.
Standing on one of the branches, hidden behind a carnivorous mouth was Boul Brimgan, his expression focused. One of his Kinesis Felines was positioned at a high altitude, from where it could observe Brangara. Another hovered at a spot in the sky where Inala was supposed to appear, at an altitude of 180 kilometres.
Boul Brimgan served as the means of communication between all parties. His third Kinesis Feline was positioned deep underground, next to a Pranic Beast that spanned a length of eighty metres, shaped like a serpent with more than a thousand gills.
Constantly being ejected out of them was bone mist that transformed the sand of Kalahatra
Desert into the same material that formed the tusk bone powder of an Empyrean Tusk. The entire desert had already been changed, save for the final 20 metres of the topsoil.
So, the Kalahatra Desert only looked like its usual self from an external perspective, but twenty metres deep and it was solely tusk bone powder.
The fins of this Pranic Beast fluttered as it used the bone mist similar to how a fist treated
water, and swam through, using this to freely move through the densely packed ground. Its
body was shaped like a spindle, flexible like a worm, and perfectly suited to rapidly move underground without issues.
It was Grehha's 11th body, created using the Major Treasure of Pet. In terms of combat power,
it was severely lacking as all its strength had been focused on its movement capabilities underground and the dispersion rate for the bone mist it released.
If revealed, even a Bludder could easily destroy it, as its physical might was absolutely
minimal, geared only to move through the underground and withstand the pressures at the respective depths.
The fourth Kinesis Feline was positioned at a crater twenty kilometres away where Yennda
and Yahard Tusk were in hiding.
The fifth Kinesis Feline was positioned in an underground cave where Root, in his human
form, was seated, biding his time to make an appearance. And finally, the sixth Kinesis Feline hovered in the sky, beside a large-framed man whose expression was calm, collected, but absolutely seethed in rage within.
"It's time," Resha stared in the general direction of Brangara as he heard the battle report
from the Kinesis Feline hovering beside him. 'Trigger him well, Virala.'
'You're an expert in the craft!'
"Say..." Virala trailed his voice purposefully as he assumed Brangara's appearance and eyed
the figure of Yarsha Zahara who had been hiding behind Brangara, "Are you shy, woman?"
"You shouldn't blush too much upon seeing me," He chuckled and pointed at Brangara,
"Though you haven't been very faithful to him, he is still your husband, even if in appearance alone."
"Aren't I right?" He stared at Brangara and chuckled in glee, "Your Highness, the strongest predator that can absolutely protect shit?"
"That's a pretty subpar attempt to trigger me." Brangara huffed in disdain as he looked
around, "So, where are the rest? With the influence of Sumatra Chronicles, they must be here
by now."
He stared in the direction of the approaching sandstorm, "That thing will reveal Weapon
anytime now."
"Well, they're stuck in traffic." Virala let out a helpless smile, "So, I'm here to entertain you
until then. So, here's a quick question."
"Barla, or Yarsha." He raised the index finger of each hand, "Who do you think granted me a
wonderful time in bed?"
He pointed at his face that resembled Brangara, "When I maintained this appearance, of course."
"Spoilers," He echoed his voice twice louder than necessary, "It's not the one you're thinking, you deranged family man. The answer's the other woman. It's unfortunate if you don't have the experience necessary to make an educated guess..."
"Haha..." Brangara tried to laugh it off, but a storm erupted from his spot as his presence
seethed out, enough to cause an aurora resembling the face of the Celestial Boar in the sky. He
was extremely incensed, "Alright, you fucker!"
"I'll butcher you first!"