"What’s happening?" Councilman Hyak stared at YoriBuntara in shock, ’She’s not...one of us!’
He knew the existence of every Mystic Human, having been one of the oldest of their kind. Whenever a Mystic Human was born, he was there at the scene to witness. And of course, all the Councilmen would then discuss to plan the newborn Mystic Human’s build according to their developmental plans.
Due to influence issues prevalent in Free Humans due to using selective minerals to build their Human Avatars for generations, their chances of becoming a Mystic Human were abysmal.
Only the Free Humans originally under the Cooter Clan’s control, and now under the administration of the Mystic Humans had a higher success rate, since they had never built a Human Avatar for thousands of years.
Moreover, the Mystic Human Council had made it forbidden for Mystic Humans to try to make more of their kind outside the Dralh Sea. Therefore, it was inconceivable to see a Mystic Human in the wild like this, someone he was unaware of.
’Moreover, she’s...stronger than me!’ Councilman Hyak stared at YoriBuntara in shock.
"...Cousin?" KalTara stared at the woman before him in shock as he raised his hand to break free of her hold on his neck, ’She’s...strong!’
"That’s a...Boar King?"
"There was a second Boar King here?" The Free Humans became tense upon sensing her presence. However, they soon noticed the difference. Unlike KalTara’s presence that was overbearing and murky, also containing many other presences mixed in it, under his control, YoriBuntara’s presence was...clean.
There was no hint of another presence in her. She only emitted the overwhelming presence of a Boar King, nothing else.
"I feel inferior when staring at her for some reason." A Free Human muttered and then eyed Councilman Hyak in the distance, "I see."
"She’s a Mystic Human!"
"There’s a Boar King among the Mystic Humans?"
"When did they achieve it? Even the Wean Clan only has one Boar King."
However, ignoring all the discussions, the woman in question glared at KalTara, "Did you kill him?"
"Are you angry at me?" Upon seeing that the woman before him wasn’t a Wean Clansman but a Mystic Human, the trace warmth and confusion in his voice disappeared. A series of wind blades churned out of his palm and sawed through the hand he held.
YoriBuntara didn’t flinch the slightest at her hand being cut. Instead, her gaze remained locked onto KalTara, "Tell me the truth."
"I defeated him," KalTara shrugged, "But he killed himself."
"Does that answer your question?" KalTara’s presence gradually began to increase, "Now, answer mine."
Veins popped in his eyes, turning it beet red as he uttered in stark rage, first expressing actual fury, "How the fuck did you become a Mystic Human?"
However, instead of facing him, YoriBuntara churned Prana into her legs and kicked the ground, leaping a long distance to land before Mesupoh, "Is it true?"
"...Yes," Mesupoh said and activated Gold Inheritance Art, condensing a Narkahamy Aurora to explain, "Boss sacrificed himself to create a future for all Free Humans. Anyone with Gold Inheritance Art can now inherit his complete build."
’Something changed since the last time I saw her.’ Mesupoh was obviously aware of YoriBuntara, as he was one of the few individuals who Narkahamy had confided in about her.
...
"Boss, are you absolutely certain she won’t betray you?" Two months before the Varahan Challenge, Mesupoh asked Narkahamy, "She is always around you. And considering the sheer...torture you put her through..."
"You’re afraid she’ll exact vengeance?" Narkahamy chuckled, "That’ll never happen."
"How?" Mesupoh wondered, "You haven’t exactly showered her with love or anything. Rather, you’ve treated her horribly. She’s merely your plaything."
"You only assume as such because you don’t understand the type of existence I am to her." Narkahamy tapped his chin, thought for a few seconds and then began to speak, "Think of this situation."
"You’re trapped in a well. Instead of water, there’s lava at the bottom and it’s rising. You’ve clung onto a brick protruding out the wall. The temperature is rising and fumes are mixing into the air, making it hard to breathe. The walls are growing hot too," Narkahamy eyed Mesupoh, "In this situation, someone lowers you a cold rope to hold and be pulled to safety."
"Are you that cold rope, boss?" Mesupoh asked, "Then, did you make her believe that you were her hero? As the cold rope, you saved her from a burning situation..."
"The well is infinite," Narkahamy chuckled, "She’s never leaving it. The rope is being pulled up at the same speed as the lava’s rise."
"Then..." Mesupoh frowned, "Are you telling me that she’s clung to that cold rope, you, as her hope? But what if she finds another cold rope in the future?"
"This is only an analogy, right?" Mesupoh asked, "She’s not trapped in the analogy but is living in the palace with you, in luxury. Can’t she easily do whatever she wants."
"That’s exactly where you’re wrong." Narkahamy laughed, "Did you assume I was the cold rope in the analogy?"
"Then?" Mesupoh tilted his head, "Are you something else in that analogy, boss?"
"Everything!" Narkahamy stated smugly, "The cold rope, the rising lava, the heating walls, the toxic fumes, the clean air."
"I am the well." Narkahamy rested his hands behind his head and relaxed on a corner of the study to state, "Good, bad, ugly...hope, despair, nonchalance...whatever it may be, I am all of them."
"Basically, I am her world." He concluded, noticing Mesupoh’s confusion to ask a question, "Tell me, Mesupoh."
"Yes, boss." Mesupoh sat straight in response.
"Do you like water?" Narkahamy asked.
"Obviously, Boss." Mesupoh nodded, "Other than to satisfy my basic needs, I love admiring lakes, rivers, and the likes."
"Then, do you love a flood?" Narkahamy asked next.
"...No," Mesupoh shook his head.
"Well, if you were caught in a flood, will you curse it?" Narkahamy’s eyes curled up a little.
"I will complain about my fate but would try to survive." Mesupoh then asked, "What are you implying through this, boss?"
"Will your love for water change after your experience in the flood?" Narkahamy asked.
"I’ll have a different perspective after the experience, but both are completely different. One is the picture of peace and the other is a natural disaster." Mesupoh said, "That’s nature. Nothing can be done about it."
"Exactly, that’s how nature is." Narkahamy grinned, "And in YoriBuntara’s perspective, I am her nature."
"Air, water, sunlight, food, soil, you name it." He explained, "That is the type of existence I am to her."
"To love someone, she loves me. To hate someone, she hates me. To long for someone, she longs for me. To ignore someone, she ignores me." Narkahamy concluded, "Whether by body, mind and soul, YoriBuntara defines her existence through me."
"Even if she ends up killing me in the future, she’ll be tied to Narkahamy." Narkahamy said, "So, I’m never worried about her."
"Whatever my thoughts are, she’ll live to abide by it, whether I am alive or not. That’s what I turned YoriBuntara into."
...
"I see..." YoriBuntara extended her index finger longingly and touched the Narkahamy Aurora. She watched her finger pass through the aurora but was able to feel its presence, beaming into a smile as she asked, "Does every Free Human possess this now?"
"Everyone with a Vara Human Avatar, yes." Mesupoh nodded and then asked, "What...happened to you?"
"How did you become a Mystic Human?"
"He made me like this." YoriBuntara shook her head, "I don’t understand much myself. But it’s what he wanted me to become so that I could birth the next Varahan Emperor."
"You..." Mesupoh was in a state of shock for a moment before his face beamed in joy, "You’re pregnant with boss’s child?"
"To ensure his child is successfully born a Free Human, and inherit all his strength, he needed me to become a Mystic Human." YoriBuntara expressed, "He made all preparations before leaving for the Varahan Challenge."
"After ensuring that the child growing in me is a Free Human, he has given me a new identity." YoriBuntara said, "I am the Mystic Human renamed by the Varahan Emperor as Yoribu."
She announced upon eyeing everyone in the Empyrean Colosseum, noticing the Quip Clansmen quickly reverberate her voice throughout the place, "Henceforth, I will be serving the Varahan Empire as part of its crown,"
"As the Varahan Empress!"
The moment she announced as such, Mesupoh was the first to kneel, expressing his support, "I greet Her Highness, Yoribu."
"We greet Her Highness!" The Free Humans of the Varahan Empire kneeled instinctively upon perceiving a mild fluctuation from their respective Narkahamy Auroras.
"That sounds great!" KalTara clapped sarcastically, "If you were pregnant, you should have stayed put at the Varahan Palace. Why did you come here?"
"You won’t be leaving her anyway."
"Protect Her Majesty!" Mesupoh roared as immediately, a group of Free Humans possessing a Blessed Influence moved to defend Yoribu. However, the latter remained unresponsive.
Instead, Yoribu eyed KalTara and spoke nonchalantly, "I am a Mystic Human now, you know? I never have to worry about influence."
"The one dispatched here," She pointed at herself, "Is just an extra body."
She shrugged casually, "Back at the Varahan Palace, my 3-Life Stage is nurturing the next Varahan Emperor."
"Even if you kill me, nothing changes, since this body isn’t the one in pregnancy." She then looked around before focusing on Councilman Hyak, "You must be Hyak. I was taught a little about Mystic Humans when I became one."
"It’s a new society, Councilman." She announced, "The Varahan Empress is a Mystic Human. And to preserve the talent of the royal bloodline, every generation ruler will marry a Mystic Human."
"That’s the Varahan Empire’s decree." She walked, her surroundings silent as she arrived before Councilman Hyak to ask, "Does the Mystic Human Council accept it?"
"I cannot make the decision on my own. The Council will have to give its verdict. But I, Councilman Hyak," He bowed, "Accept the Varahan Empire’s decree."
There was a trend shift on Sumatra. With their characteristics, Mystic Humans would play an important role for the Free Human Race. Thanks to their resistance against external influences, they’ll remain themselves and would never go mad, something many Clansmen and Free Humans experienced at old age as their Natures consumed them whole.
This resistance, coupled with their lifespan that surpassed Expert Gold Grade Pranic Beasts, meant a stable control of whatever society they were a part of. The Brimgan Empire had obviously comprehended this at the very beginning, which was why they accepted Orakha’s proposition and declared Ruvva as the Brimgan Guardian.
And now, Narkahamy had seen the picture, recognising the importance the Mystic Humans would play in Sumatra’s future. Hence, he roped them into his fold through YoriBuntara.
Now, both the colossal Free Human forces—the Brimgan Empire and the Varahan Empire—would have close relations with the Mystic Humans, especially among their Royalty.
Yoribu’s declaration pretty much pulled the Mystic Humans away from the Brimgan Empire’s fold to a more, neutral standpoint. As long as she existed as the Varahan Empress, the Varahan Empire’s fate became a concern for the Mystic Humans.
"And," She inched forward and cupped her fists to address Councilman Hyak, "I heard the strongest among Mystic Humans serve as a Councilman."
Seeing Councilman Hyak’s expression morph into shock, Yoribu revealed a smile, "Does a Boar King quality to join the council?"