20 A higher elemental being's daily life
A few months had quickly gone by...
During this time, Isaac, as always, stayed on the mountain he can't escape from.
He had already explored most if not all of the mountain both interior and exterior.
He went to the caverns inside the mountain where he first woke up in this world and explored the place.
During the time he was down there, he saw many ruins and items that once belonged to a civilization like a candle stick and some broken furniture covered in the snow.
Isaac continued exploring until he couldn't find any more places he can go to. In the end, he deemed the whole underground cavern as his "Secret place."
He covered all the exits of the cavern with thick layers of ice with only the ice palace as the only entrance. Even there, a secret passage is needed to enter the mountain cavern.
There was a natural hole on the top of the cavern and Isaac found that it could be used as a light source to illuminate the cavern.
A few days after he did all of these, he returned to the cavern only to find the Cryo Whopperflower roaming around.
He continued inspecting what it was doing and from its behavior, Isaac thought that it was some kind of dog finding the best corner to pee on.
...That was a bad analogy but you get the idea.
Anyways, he left the Cryo Whopperflower alone to explore the place. As for how it got into the cavern, Isaac made many speculations but in the end, he decided to think through all the possibilities of how the Cryo Whopperflower got in and fix it.
Yes, he REALLY wants to keep the cavern a secret place. As for why he wants to, it's just to pass the time.
After all, besides roaming the mountain and occasionally receiving Daleth's messages and Moccus' reports, he had nothing else to do.
* * *
The golden sun rose high in the sky, indicating that it was the middle of the afternoon.
On a majestic ice palace situated in the center of a raging blizzard, on one of the balconies made of pure ice, Isaac stood while his arms were behind him as he looked at the vast lands beyond the mountain.
Isaac then waved his hand and soon, a chair appeared behind him.
Isaac then took a sit and exhaled a breath as a white fog escaped his mouth.
He looked at his pale hand which looked like it has no blood and blinked twice.
'Alright...' Closing his eyes and breathing a heavy sigh, Isaac started making himself comfortable and calm.
All stressful thoughts, for a brief moment, left Isaac's mind. His mind felt like it was blending in with the surrounding; Ice and Snow that had existed on this mountain for many, many years; Undisturbed existence that is forever observing; One that cannot move from its place but has a big impact on the surroundings; One that can set an avalanche if the situations favor him...
"Alright, one more try."
After saying this, Isaac focused all of his willpower to enter his mindscape once more.
Isaac's willpower tried its best to enter the mindscape again, but after trying to enter inside, it felt as if an invisible barrier was blocking his path.
An immovable barrier that he cannot leap or cross over.
It was as if after showing itself to Isaac, the thing that resides in Isaac's mindscape now puts up a lock on its door to keep him out of its room.
Like a Hikikomori (Shut-in).
And yes, what Isaac was doing right now was trying to gain access to his mindscape which he was rudely kicked out of.
Ever since the day Dvalin visited, he had been constantly trying to figure out what he saw back then. Moreover, figure out why it was inside him.
As for Dvalin, after telling Isaac that he should meet the Geo Archon, he never appeared again.
'Seriously...' Isaac thought in frustration as he stopped his attempt again today.
'He told me something important and did not elaborate further and just straight up left...' Isaac thought as a certain muscular man from a meme he saw in the past that refuses to elaborate further appeared in his mind.
Isaac then stood up from his seat and leaned forward to the railings of the balcony. 'As for the Geo Archon he mentioned... How am I supposed to find another God?'
Isaac had already changed his plans since Dvalin visited.
His original plan was to expand his influence secretly without exposing his existence to the world.
Yes, he was playing the "Behind the scenes" card. An edgy way of not putting yourself in danger but it was rather worth it than letting everyone know that someone like him exists.
Anyways, back to the plan. As he gave Daleth the mission of creating a secret organization or was so that in the future, he can indirectly give them an order of searching for ways to "Unseal" something.
As for how Isaac concluded that he was sealed, well, it was very obvious. No need for an explanation.
His backup plan if the mission he gave Daleth failed, was Moccus.
He specifically gave Moccus the mission of recruiting nearby animals or beings that can be used by Isaac.
It was also to extend his intelligence gathering further. By getting control of animals, he can ask Moccus to command them to gather information.
And although his original plan changed, his backup plan is still ongoing.
Moccus already told him that he took control of a group of elemental beings called "Geovishaps", located west of the mountain.
As for how Moccus got in control of them, he said that it took a bit of beating, but they eventually surrendered. 'Leave it to the Snow Boar King Moccus...'
Geovishaps are extremely aggressive towards other creatures. But when a Snow Boar King arrives with a group of abnormally strong snow boars to beat them up, they stand no chance.
It is only when they are in large groups, that are they truly terrifying.
Anyways, back to his backup plan. Using the Geovishaps, Moccus, without Isaac telling him to, commanded them to seek out their Geovishap gathering to recruit. Of course, Moccus came along for backup.
As for why Isaac and Moccus were gathering so many elemental creatures, it was to seek out the Adepti.
The adepti, according to Daleth's investigation, are beings that live in the huge mountains of Liyue under the Geo Archon's command.
No one knows how they came to be, nor how they were born. All the humans know is that they serve the Geo Archon.
So, if Isaac sends out a large pack of elemental creatures to Liyue, then perhaps one of those Adeptus might appear to which Moccus will talk to.
Yes, this was a crude, idiotic, bold, and risky plan, but it was worth giving a shot rather than nothing.
Moreover, it doesn't even affect Isaac's original plan that much. It's just that new variables were added.
Isaac's eyes scanned the green plains in the distance.
The ever-so-green environment he longs to embrace, the nostalgic feeling of running along the fields, the warmth of the sun under a tree. These visions entered Isaac's mind.
He sighed and shook his head. "I'm getting too obsessed over this..."
The toll of staying in the mountain is now taking effect on him. He looked at his hand once more and clenched it. "I need... To distract myself."
"Yes..." Isaac stopped clenching his hand and went back inside the ice palace. The balcony he was on was connected to his main bedroom.
Arriving in front of what looked like a desk made of ice, Isaac took the quill and ink bottle he got from Daleth along with some paper and started writing.
"Yes... A distraction." Isaac thought of this and started writing.
* * *
(A/N: I hate my migraine headaches... It usually just lasts for 6-8 hours but the one I had yesterday lasted for at least half a day... Anyways, I feel better now.)
