Chapter 643: Beastfolk
Somehow, because of their connection to a Supreme Being, beastfolks had an inherent power that allowed them to use something similar to Aubility.
He verified that they didn’t have GodForge pieces because he didn’t see their hearts glowing with AP like the other Maugnetics he had seen.
"What kind of power do you have? Is it something given to you by your Ocean King?" he asked, probing them for more information.
"Only those who are lucky enough to be born with the Supreme Being’s blessing will be able to access this power. Sadly, it cannot be learned or given to others." Princess Serena answered.
"Our lineages are blessed by our Supreme Being, allowing us to access a power that can change reality itself. For us mermen, we are able to change the reality of water. The effect is different individually, but it is all connected to water in some way."
This gave him a little bit more insight as to how beastfolks worked in general.
It seemed that unlike Maugnetics, whose Aubilities ranged from anything to everything, Mermen were limited to only changing the reality of water.
He guessed that it probably had something to do with the fact that their power derived from the Ocean King himself.
"How does that relate to Fairies? Why would you need their help?"
The old mermaid pointed to her chest. "Our cultivations are based on what we call the Dao Heart. And it is in our minds, our souls, and our very being.
The stronger our Dao Heart, the stronger our connection to the Supreme Being, allowing us to summon a much greater power within us.
And the way to strengthen our Dao heart is if we experience great emotional turmoil. Anger, heartbreak, and fear are the ones that are proven to give the greatest results.
Princess Serena had told you that only the Blessed obtains the power of the Supreme Being.
But it is also a curse for all mermen. Those that are not Blessed still need to strengthen their Dao Heart or risk their health in the process.
It is unfortunate, but we have experienced stagnation in our own homes.
As we grow older and older, it becomes a lot harder for us to bring out our emotions for us to properly cultivate. And without proper exercise for our Dao Hearts, our bodies grow weaker, which in turn, make it even harder to strengthen our Dao Hearts. It becomes a cycle and drastically lowers our lifespan.
And that is the main reason why we have ventured out of Atlantis. We wanted to experience new things and stimulate our Dao Hearts with unseen scenery.
That’s why we need the help of the Fairies. They are the only ones that know how to properly bring up emotions within us beastfolks. They see emotion much more clearly than others. They can teach us how to properly invoke them for ourselves!"
Her speech was ladened with passion and genuineness. She was truly hoping that they could find some way to help their fellow Mermen.
"The number of Blessed and Unblessed Mermen shrinks each and every day. If we don’t remedy this..."
Princess Serena’s words trailed off as the thought of it almost made her tear up.
Michael felt sorry for them. Although they were given strength, it seemed that their gift was ladened with a poison that was slowly killing their bodies.
"Are all beastfolks like this?" he asked them.
"Yes. This is a problem that plagues all of us, but some species have solved it better than others. Us Mermen can be considered the worst at it," the old mermaid admitted.
Just like a normal human’s heart or muscles, if beastfolks don’t exercise their Dao Heart, then they’d atrophy.
"Other species have cultures built on fighting, dueling, and other physically intensive training to keep their Dao Hearts steady. But us Mermen don’t have that.
So, please, Pixie Queen. I beg of you to please find a way to keep surviving!"
Princess Serena bowed her head, and so did the rest of the Mermen around her.
It finally made sense as to why they treated Vivi like a sacred being. After all, she could be the one to save their species from eventual extinction.
"You need to experience emotion to strengthen your Dao Hearts? Can it be any emotion?" he asked them.
"As long as it stimulates our souls, then our Dao Hearts will be well fed," the old mermaid answered.
Michael put his head down, in deep thought. An idea was already brewing inside his head.
This was not the first time he encountered this problem.
Back when he first met Vivi and the Fairies, they were mischievous creatures who did whatever they could to feed on the fear and emotions of the humans around them. He couldn’t blame them. They needed to survive as well.
That’s why the Fairies need emotion, he realized.
Vivi was the Pixie Queen, so this meant that the Fairies under her were also classified as beastfolks. They had Dao Hearts that slowly atrophied without proper stimulation, and unlike the mermen, the Fairies chose to get their nutrition (emotion) from the humans around them.
And thankfully, he already invented a solution for that.
The rollercoaster.
It was practically a factory that produced strong emotions from its riders. Fear, excitement, trepidation. All of those were being made by the humans and immediately gobbled up by the Fairies around them. It was a win-win situation.
But if the Mermen were the ones to ride the rollercoaster, then they could benefit from their own emotions and properly stimulate their Dao Hearts!
"Will you please help us, Pixie Queen?" Serena pleaded.
Vivi pursed her lips and swung her legs as she sat on his shoulders. "Ummm... fine. But I have no idea how I’m going to help you guys. All I know is how to eat emotion."
"Any help would be fine," she replied.
Michael then interjected. "What about the roller coaster?"
Vivi’s eyes widened in realization before she slapped her own forehead. "Duh! I completely forgot about the rollercoaster, hehe!"
Serena and the other mermen looked at each other, confused. "Wollerboaster?"
Vivi buzzed towards them, getting up in each of their faces with an excited look on her face.
"OOOH! You should see the rollercoaster! It’s this big thing that goes WOOSH! Then, tick, tick, tick, tick, WHENGGG!"
She mimicked a ride with the rollercoaster, raising her hands with a XD face and sliding down an invisible railing drop before looping back up.
Despite her ’clear’ explanation, the mermen were still clueless.
"It’s the main reason why we became a Rebornian in the first place!" Vivi exclaimed. "Michael found a way to feed us emotion on a daily basis! We Fairies are no longer hungry!"
Serena and the old mermaid looked at each other. Their eyes met, and both of them knew that they might have just stumbled upon the answer to their problem.
They didn’t know what Vivi was talking about, but the fact that Fairies were feeding on lots of emotion meant that they could possibly invoke that within themselves as well.
"Can you please tell us more about this rollercoaster?" Serena asked, excitement bubbling up to her face.
"Why don’t you go see it for yourself," he asked them.