"How much do you know about a State of Harmony?" Shuwrak Zahara asked, "Even my sister couldn’t achieve it."
’Brother, Yarsha was wielding Brangara’s Unlimited Predator like it belonged to her. A State of Harmony was never an issue for her.’ Inala controlled his urge to roll his eyes and spoke casually, "Well, if she had three Natures, I’m sure she would have reached that point."
"Anyway, that’s what we need to focus on first." He said and stared at Loya, "It doesn’t matter if you simply gained a Secondary Nature. Trying to figure out a Tertiary Nature following that will only raise your chances of never reaching harmony."
"You need to have a clear picture beforehand and then try to obtain relevant Secondary and Tertiary Natures," Inala explained as his right hand turned into a thorny net, "Well thankfully, we can experiment with this."
As he had Mystic Sumatra Art kept active nonstop, the Prana flowing through his hands would imprint the characteristics of the mineral into his blood and his characteristics onto the Prana interacting with the mineral.
It allowed Inala to obtain feedback at a faster pace than Loya working alone. And if he didn’t like the effect of the Secondary Nature that appeared in his Spirit Weapon, he could simply erase the Spirit Weapon by replacing it with another mineral.
That couldn’t be done with Loya. Once it gets a Secondary Nature, that was final.
Secondary Nature—Weapon Hands!
The speed and replaceability brought about by Weapon Hands allowed Inala to experiment and obtain the perfect set of Natures for Loya that allowed it to enter a State of Harmony.
In the meantime, Loya would provide insights into the Spirit Weapon’s functions and brainstorm alongside Inala. He entertained Loya because it was a competent individual, even among other Gold Grade Pranic Beasts.
Of course, Inala ensured to direct Loya’s train of thought towards the output he desired, a defensive State of Harmony specialising in countering the attacker. And most of all, this must be expressed through a Spirit Weapon.
Spirit Weapon—that was the goal. Otherwise, Inala wouldn’t be able to use the power of Loya’s State of Harmony.
"What about you?" Loya asked, "Are you sure your set of Natures will allow you to attain a State of Harmony?"
’Not a Harmony, but Unity. And it’s guaranteed to work, since I’m basing it on the Major Treasure of Weapon.’ Inala thought, nodding to lie casually, "I think it’ll work. Well, even otherwise, I’ll only be attempting it once I’m completely sure..."
Primary Nature—Cyclic Stability!
Inala’s Imprinted Spirit Weapon changed as his active set of organs changed. Now, if he wanted to, he could turn his hands into the Silver Biome Bomb. He stared up at the sky and didn’t observe any Quip Clansmen.
However, he could feel ultrasonic sounds reverberating off the place, at frequencies most natives wouldn’t notice. Only thanks to a Brully’s exceptional senses did he feel them. They were there since the end of the Varahan Challenge. So, Inala wasn’t curious.
"Well, what do you think is the Quip Clan up to?" Shuwrak Zahara was the one to ask.
"Maybe they’re trying to control the chaos or have come to an agreement between the Wean Clan and the Varahan Empire to transport all other guests back to their homes." Loya commented, "I’m sure they made a fortune through this whole ordeal."
"Maybe, maybe not." Shuwrak Zahara said.
"What’s on your mind?" Inala asked, curious.
Before Shuwrak Zahara lost his status in the Wean Clan, he had access to most of the things that happened in the region. And when Narkahamy tried to recruit him to the Varahan Empire’s side, he had obviously sent a bribe valuable enough to change his mind to defect to the Empire.
He was aware of things more than he let on. And hence, Inala was curious. Even though he created the Wean Clan, Inala didn’t have much of an idea of what the Quip Clan was up to other than on tasks he had arranged for them beforehand.
It had been more than nine years since the Third Major Disaster, and a lot of things had changed. He wasn’t as updated on things anymore as he spent the first eight years becoming a Body Stage Brully and then the remainder journeying to the Varahan Empire and staying at the Varahan Enclave.
"Kenka Echo," Shuwrak Zahara began to speak, "When he left the Empyrean Colosseum, he seemed...a bit tense. That got me thinking."
"The Death Knells only revealed themselves because Brangara died. Even though the Wean Clansmen too could steal Natures, they had mostly limited themselves to Iron Grade Natures and a select few Silver Grade and Gold Grade Natures, all of which are now being grown in their nests." Shuwrak Zahara, "So, those existences who had hidden themselves due to Brangara..."
"Won’t even more of them start revealing themselves? And among them are the Empyrean Snappers." He concluded and stared at Inala, "That might be what worried Kenka Echo."
"I see, you make perfect sense," Inala muttered, "The Silver Grade Pranic Beast I interrogated near the Varahan Empire did state the Cooter Clan had personal enmity with Brangara, after what he did at the Dralh Sea."
"How many Pranic Beasts did you interrogate?" Loya asked.
"A few," Inala nodded without hesitation. He then turned his right hand into a Silver Biome Bomb and severed it. Following that, he used psychokinesis to hoist it the farthest he could in the sky. A second later, soundwaves rippled out of the Silver Biome Bomb in his voice.
"No signs of the Empyrean Snappers yet."
"No sign in the Wean Clan as of now."
"No sign in the Varahan Empire at present."
"Sir Wally will be arriving soon."
There was a large volume of information being dispersed through the soundwaves. Inala only focused on the stuff he wished to know at the moment. Upon hearing about the Empyrean Snappers, he faced Shuwrak Zahara with a smile, "You were right."
"I am worried about this place." Shuwrak Zahara let out a sigh in response, scratching his head to say, "Even though I’ve severed myself from this place, it seems mentally I’m not there yet."
"Well, let’s go and see what happens." Inala said and then faced Loya, "You can accompany us if you’re fine with it."
"Otherwise, you can head to the Rumtara Kingdom and we’ll catch up later."
"I’m not in a rush." Loya shook its head and focused elsewhere, thinking, ’I am most curious about what you intend to do, Leukeu.’
’The way you carry yourself is that of the strong.’ Loya thought, recalling the Brimgan Royals it had seen in the past, ’I’ve seen Brandal Brimgan once. And your posture, as if you’re ready to face whatever might come your way, far surpasses even him.’
’He might not know, but I do.’ It subtly eyed Shuwrak Zahara and then lay its gaze on Inala, ’There isn’t a Brully like you.’
The Brully Race was rare on Sumatra now, but it wasn’t as if they had gone extinct. Encountering one was difficult, but not unrealistic. Resha had encountered one and consumed it to add its body to his Tertiary Nature of Empyrean 100.
The Quip Clan found a Brully egg for Inala. And the parents of that egg were the ones Loya had encountered and killed during the ensuing scuffle.
It was already en route to the Varahan Empire when this happened. The encounter occurred a couple years before the Third Major Disaster.
A Brully egg resembled a smooth rock with a crystalline outgrowth and barely had a presence. It was also buried deep in a secluded spot, amidst rooks that looked similar, away from anyone who might detect it. That was why chancing upon a Brully egg was difficult, even for the Quip Clan.
They only managed to find Inala’s Brully egg upon performing a carpet sweep using Prana Bombs. When one of the Prana Bombs absorbed a tinge of Prana after coming into contact with a rock, they found the egg.
After he became a Brully, Inala looked completely different from when he was a Mammoth Clansman and had transformed into a Brully. In that transformation, some of his facial features were reflected on the Brully’s face.
But now, his face had no traces of Inala. That was why Loya was certain, ’Leukeu has their features.’
It had zero intentions of revealing this information though. Even when aware of the fact that a Brully didn’t really care about its brethren’s death, including its parents, Loya remained apprehensive.
Maybe it was guilt, maybe it was pity, but that was why Loya revealed information about the Rumtara Kingdom to Inala. Maybe the last of the Brully Race in this region were Leukeu’s parents. And the one who killed them was Loya.
Of course, the parents behaved no differently from the usual Brully. The moment they saw a Panger, they charged with reckless abandon to experience a great fight. Loya had simply retaliated in self-defence. Only by killing was it free from endless Brully attacks.
Maybe as the Panger Race too were limited in numbers, it related to Leukeu’s situation and hence wanted to reunite it with more of its kind.
While Loya’s mind was filled with the thoughts of the Brully Race, the nearby Brully wasn’t in the least concerned about its kind.
’If I turn my hands into a Billakin, and punch a Spirit Weapon with the intent to create a Secondary Nature in it, my attacks could directly harm the opponent’s Spirit Container.’ Inala thought, growing excited, ’Before I work on the State of Harmony for other Spirit Containers, I need to focus on Billakin. It can truly become versatile once I couple it with Mystic Sumatra Art.’
He was just enjoying the journey, unconcerned about everything else. Even visiting Wally was just because. The drama that would unfold between Wally and the Empyrean Snappers was bound to be interesting.
And Inala was only afraid he would miss a front row seat to it.