Chapter 649: Sear
While Michael prepared for the creation of his Mermen theme park, the other companies in Metropolis weren’t just sitting still. They were preparing.
Specifically, they were getting ready to welcome a specific group of Mermen rumored to visit Metropolis in the coming days.
And if those rumors were to be believed, then they could expect whales to start landing in Metropolis. This name was not due to the mermen’s physical attributes, but instead because of their wealth.
They had Sand Dollars aplenty!
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Meanwhile, far East of Metropolis, there was a large convoy consisting of about twenty or so carriages, each enough to house about four humans in total.
However, the passengers on this convoy weren’t human at all. They were beastfolk—specifically, Mermen.
The direction of their travels headed straight towards Metropolis, but it would probably take them at least half a month before they arrived.
Since they were beings used to the comfort of the raging sea, these mermen took frequent stops along the way. They were uncomfortable with the seats, as in the water, they simply just swam to their destination and were practically weightless.
They took camp along a clearing in the forest. And instead of building a campfire to keep them warm, they instead dug a huge hole in the ground and used their powers to create a small pond where they could take a dip to refresh the moisture in their bodies.
The children basked in the water, finally in a good mood, while the adults prepared a simple salad containing seaweed, corals, and a little bit of preserved krill for their protein.
As they prepared their camp, one mermen had a little bit of trouble taking a stone out of the ground.
"Reed, can you help?"
When a problem occurred, they always turned to Reed, who was in charge of the whole convoy. He was a middle-aged merman with distinct red scales surrounding his face, and a tall stature.
Stature within the Mermen community was dictated by the amount of raised shark teeth-like bumps on their skin, acting as sort of a tattoo. It was a symbol of growth in their Dao Heart. The more bumps, the more respected he was.
And Reed was the merman who had the most, with his entire body littered with shark teeth-like bumps.
After Reed helped the merman, he turned to his wife.
"Our trip to the surface world has been worth it so far, just from seeing the looks on our children’s faces. Kids’ Dao Hearts can be easily stimulated. This little experience will do wonders for them," he said.
His wife showed a pained smile on her face. "It’s true. I just hope that it’s the same for our little girl."
They both walked towards their carriage and peeked into the partition.
Inside the dark room, they saw a little mermaid girl shriveled up in the corner. She wasn’t sleeping, as she had her eyes open. But it didn’t look like she was ’alive’ either. She might be awake, but there was no fire within her eyes.
"Nixie, dear? Why don’t you play outside with the other children?" Reed asked his daughter. "They’re having a lot of fun out there."
"We can escort you there, if you’d like," said her mother.
But Nixie didn’t react. She just kept staring out into the darkness, not reacting to any stimuli.
Both Reed and his wife could only sigh in dismay. They were both about to close the blinders when they heard a grunt from Nixie.
They quickly turned around and saw her clutching her heart in pain. As unfortunate as it was, this was the only emotion she had ever exhibited throughout her life.
"Nixie!" Reed shouted in alarm, quickly coming over to hold his daughter. "We need help over here! She needs her medicine!"
It wasn’t long before the other mermen in their group gathered at his call.
An old mermaid, one with eyes blurry like that of a pearl, boarded their carriage and sat next to Nixie. She examined the child, touching the heart that was causing pain.
Nixie flinched, showing a distressed reaction.
"How is it, Old Seer?" Reed asked.
"Her condition is getting worse," Old said Old Seer, shaking her head. "Her Dao Heart is deteriorating faster and faster."
The only way for a Dao Heart to continue growing was if they were stimulated with new experiences. One of the ways to accomplish that was through combat.
However, Nixie’s Dao Heart was far too weak to exercise. She couldn’t even get up off her bed. Unfortunately, that only caused her Dao Heart to deteriorate even further.
It seemed was an unwinnable situation.
Nixie’s parents held each other’s hands in worry. "Should we go back? Is the surface world too much for her to bear?" Reed asked worriedly.
The Old Seer sighed. "No, it is much better for her to continue her journey in the surface world. Her Dao Heart would have grown a lot weaker if not for our trip here."
Reed gritted his teeth. If only he could exchange all of his wealth, his power, and his influence to cure his daughter, then he would do so in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, this Dao Heart disease was something that not even the great seas could solve.
Out of pure desperation, they journeyed out of Atlantis and into the surface world in search for an answer.
"Will our daughter really be healed here?" Reed asked.
The Old Seer’s pearl-like eyes glowed, with the raging seas and terrifying currents reflected off its surface.
"Yes," she answered. "The seas dictate that the cure for your daughter’s disease will be found in the surface world."
This gave Reed the confidence to continue their journey.
"The only person who can give us the answers we want is the world’s greatest healer: Sinclair," he said. "We shall head to Metropolis as soon as possible. One of Sinclair’s students has set up their own apothecary branch there."
Seeing the surety in Reed’s eyes, the Old Seer gave him a warning.
"I’d like to remind you that the answers you’re looking for may not be in the place you’ve been searching in."
Prophecies were never as direct as possible. From the Old Seer’s experience, it was almost impossible to guess the truth behind those predictions. After all, it could be interpreted in a lot of different ways.
It was even possible that the person who would cure Nixie may not be a healer at all.
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In an office filled with exotic plants and herbs growing along the walls and the cabinets, Aerith showed an expression of pure focus. She picked up a vial of a glowing violet liquid and gently poured it into a beaker containing water.
As the two liquids mixed, an explosive reaction occurred that broke the beaker into countless shards.
"Another failed one," she cursed.
"Missus, I do not think that this is possible," one of her assistants said gently, trying not to offend her. "There has never been a way to artificially strengthen a Dao Heart."
Aerith’s goals were ambitious. As a chemist, she believed that she could solve beastfolks’ Dao Heart problem through her concoctions alone. It was an arrogance she learned from Sinclair herself.
Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried, she just couldn’t find the solution!