Ch72: Declarations of the Heart

Rein took a moment to compose and restrain his own memories. He had to. After all, his family and the Golden Desert Town was destroyed by a combination of devils and mercenaries.

He had later discovered that the Dingien Clan succession was behind that incident. What was he supposed to say to these likable comrades around the campfire?

Rein imagined the idiotic play of himself bidding these teammates of his to take action. Please attack the ruling Dingien Clan of the Minhr Nation if I fall! In his mind, that sounded like begging his allies to commit suicide.

If he made such a declaration and these words traveled to the ears of one with even a sliver of loyalty to the Dingien Clan, then he, Rein, would be hunted down to the ends of the realm.

As such, he could only target the intermediaries.

"My family was beset by devils, and my brother-- kidnapped. His name is Jein and this is the woman who took him." He passed the vision egg around for the two teams' members to see. "If my younger brother is lost, I will be eternally thankful if any of you could take her life, even if I am already buried ten feet underneath the ground."

"Of course, your continuing stand against devils, bandits and mercenaries would put my heart at peace as well," he added as he hooked his fingers and dipped his chin.

It was unfortunate that there was no point in setting these people against the Dingien Clan. Lyne of the Xuere Clan, for example, sooner or later, would end up bowing her indifferent head as well, Rein thought.

Suey, resting against Rein's right flank, was next. She chose not to speak, only giving a shake of her head then lowering her chin in apology. Rein rubbed the top of his own eyebrows with a thumb and finger. Indeed, Suey would only sound like a madwoman if she stated that she was here to twist a seemingly inevitable future. At least, based on what she claimed before Rein.

"She wishes to find opportunities that will lead to a better future for her home," Rein squeezed firmly down on the woman's willowy waist with his right hand as he simplified her circumstances to the vaguest of terms.

Suey's eyes brightened as she looked up thankfully into Rein's. Rein had interjected because he understood that Xeeseir wished for the ragtag members of the group to have a deeper sense of cooperative spirit.

Suey's mind must be heavily burdened with the implications of her visions. Rein understood such a burden. If he was requested to speak his mind in the aftermath of the Golden Desert Town's destruction, he would have been a raging incoherent inferno.

"I support my older sister's path." Jory's lips curled up a single degree into a small smile.

"Geez…" Chirh sighed dejectedly. "I'm only here because House Larne is after me, and I need contribution points to limit whatever action they take against me in the Halls…" How dour.

"Me…" Dahk paused for a few heartbeats before his eyes firmed and his body musculature tightened like a tiger in preparation to pounce.

"I am Dahk. Of the Southern Starry Seas!" He spun his snake-spear in the air before stabbing it deep into the soil with a vicious determination. "My brother was schemed against in the Ascension Hunt, and I chose to sacrifice my own success to ensure my brother's continued prominent position!"

"For my supposed failure, I was exiled. Only after building a realm-shaking reputation will I be allowed to return to my home in the Southern Starry Seas!"

Rein's eyes widened. He had initially thought Dahk to be from a place even more north than the Golden Desert. Or another realm. On second thought, the Southern Starry Seas was in many ways, another 'realm'. From what little Rein had heard, gargantuan sea demons constantly harassed the humans on the starry islands, and as such, the people of the Southern Starry Seas lived their lives without ever truly having a safe haven.

"My brother's name is Tahk, and he will be eternally thankful if you bring him my spear if I were to fall," he continued. "But I will return triumphant. And when I join hands with my brother again…" He lifted his spear and thumped it back into the soil. "We will sink and raise islands in the seas!"

Dahk rarely spoke so many words. His outburst lit up a fire in the hearts of those that followed after his turn.

"A heirloom was stolen from my people,' Wilo menacingly rolled a number of vibrantly poisoned wooden needles from finger-to-finger, and then hissed with venomous softness. "It will be ours again."

"As for me…" Lyne held an ice-tinged longsword and she looked at the half-reflection of herself from the blade. "We advancers… we are meant to be more. We are meant to… shape the world with our will."

"My grandfather spent his life defending the gap. It is why its name became the Xuere Gap! It is why the fortress guarding that channel into the Minhr Nation is called the City of Zyne! He shaped this part of the world!"

"Many wonder why I, a noble, fight the demons and devils in the western wilderness. Am I to just be wed to the Dingien Clan, hiding safely in the capital, while others die in my stead in this wilderness? I did not become an advancer to imprison myself in the capital!"

"It is said that we humans were all slaves in the Age of Demons. I may not have been born in that age, but I remember! I remember our ancestors' past! So I must stand here, against the tide! If I fall, my only wish is for others to continue the fight, even should the heavens fall and the realm crumble!"

Zehz, Nunan, Bohr and Karsutz all kneeled to the ground.

"We willingly joined the Xuere Clan for this reason!" declared Zehz.

"Your will is our will!" They uttered in a resounding unison.

Rein felt relieved that he had gone first. He found his own goals to be comparatively small of heart against all these other declarations.

Xeeseir beamed. He wasn't sure if his attempt to draw the members closer together would work, but it had played out quite well.

"So… our targets, Rein?" Xeeseir gestured for Rein to identify their targets. All had previously agreed that Rein could pick their targets.

Rein was rather hesitant to impose his will on them all, but a pinch from Suey on his right bicep helped him realign his mind-- they came to complete red diamond missions, so he need not worry that any would shrink.

"I've shown the vision egg to Vice-leader Kurhz. The devilish beauty, Saenise, is from the Harvest Devil Sect. With our bounties, I have identified a related target."

"The bounty target is the Poison Germination Devil, Dujahrn of the Harvest Devil Sect. He captures targets, and plants his poisonous seeds within them. The seed germinates into a poison flower and absorbs the powers of the advancer to strengthen and transform the flower's poison. Once the advancer is drained, Dujahrn harvests this poison flower for his own use."

"It is said that by doing this, Dujahrn can grow all types of poisons-- the poison he is capable of delivering depends on the elemental nature of the advancer that his poison flower devoured."

"To draw this man out, we need to strike at a plant demon." Rein shared a piece of paper that displayed the image of a vibrant flower with vines whipping about, functioning as both arms and legs. "This plant has gained spirituality, and can be considered a rank five demon." A face had already appeared on the vibrant flower, and its body had even somewhat morphed into the curved shape of a woman.

"It can fill the air with a spore that paralyzes its prey. It will then consume said person through the center of its flower mouth. That is not all. As more of a defensive measure, it can spray a hallucination fog with a nerve destroying contagion, thus killing more dangerous targets in a deranged pain-filled bliss."

"The Halls call it the Blissful-Endflower."

The members shared looks with one another, all filled with determination, with the exception of Chirh's pale face.

"The main point? If we can obtain its heartblood… Dujahrn will be hellbent on pursuing us for this heartblood, in his desire to obtain the inborn poisonous nature of the Blissful-Endflower. He will hunger to absorb this heartblood to raise his own strength and complexity of art."

The Blissful-Endflower was but bait.

"And although he may be our primary target… it is likely that quite a number of others might be attracted as well." Rein threw a few more bounties of plant poison users belonging to the many devil sects hidden within the western wilderness.

"I also believe it beneficial for us to practice against an easier target first," Rein continued as he placed the image of a three-headed cobra before the others. "A rank four demon beast. Capable of obscuring itself in a thick mist that poisons the sight of prey. It then attempts to deliver a hot poison into the body with a quick bite, causing an advancer's blood vessels to burn him to death."

Many heads nodded in agreement to the warm up against the three-headed cobra, and the group soon dispersed to rest in their tents for the night.

Rein, however, climbed by himself to the top of the western tower. He wished to take in the western wilderness. Finally, he had made observable progress in finding his younger brother Jein.

He reached the top and gazed into the deep night. The skies were clear and as such, the crescent moon casted a silver edge onto all environments, while the glittering stars temporarily wiped Rein's awareness of the western wilderness' dangers.

Rein soon discovered that his sight had significantly improved at night, no doubt a result of his draconic body. It wasn't quite so obvious until he arrived at this uncivilized world where artificial light was sparse like a needle in a haystack.

He turned his gaze to the horizon, swinging his eyes North to West to South, seeing barren lands of gnarled trees, thick and lush forests besides expansive sparkling lakes, and snow-capped peaks in the far north and northwest.

It was then that once again, a feeling called to Rein from his heart. He opened his mind and welcomed the sensation.

He was once again in the body of Gent, floating in the air beside a mountain peak. What amazed Rein was that the mountain peak before him was perforated with holes. Gent traveled forth and Rein discovered that the whole mountain peak had been carved into an extensive cave system wide enough to house dragons!

He could see similarities in style compared to the location where Yirn and Gent had first met in that first vision. In that vision, the servant quarters for the Gods was carved out of a singular humongous stone.

Gent came to a stop, and Rein looked through Gent's eyes at a dragoness in human form. The dragoness had fair skin with features of glossy black scales that shimmered in rainbow light. Her horns had the same quality, a wavy rainbow glimmer curving into pointed weapons.

"Auromirrar, dear," Gent gently growled. "Did you not agree that we would not send our third child to the Middle Realm?"

"I had to," the dragoness replied with her chin raised. "Otherwise, our third child will fall behind the others in intelligence."

Gent sat down on a stone chair that was carved into a large claw with intricate depictions of natural disasters.

"I've already informed you that the Middle Realm is not safe. It never was. And it has been chaotic as of late." Gent sounded rather dejected to Rein's ears.

"Why do you still use that old name from the era of Gods?" Auromirrar replied. "We are the Gods now. Its name is the Maelstrom Realm!"

"The human farms within this realm are for our descendents. It is the best hunting ground!" Auromirrar declared. "Worry not, husband. Our third child will return with increased intelligence and strength after hunting there."

Gent visibly clenched the stone table with his hand, filled with a deep sense of discomfort.

"You're stuck in the past, love," Auromirrar stated, having noticed his hand. "You cling to your friendship with Yirn. Yirn did not even deign to help the humans when the Gods fell!"

"That matters not. The Middle Realm is a source of chaos," Gent said. "It is a realm of balance. Over history, its aurae density has always been in the middle, never low enough to be considered a hell realm, nor high enough to be considered a heavenly realm."

"We should not send our children there."

"Oh please." Auromirrar rolled her eyes. "Perhaps there is some truth to your words. After all, the Twelve Heavens became the Twelve Hells, while the Maelstrom Realm is still the Maelstrom Realm. Regardless, it is a place where our children can train themselves to hunt these wily humans, and consume them for intelligence."

"Do we really need to consume humans for intelligence?"

"Love… have you lost your mind? Our creators, the Asurans, have long informed us that we will only gain intelligence by consuming the beings created by the Gods. The Asurans created us specifically to attack those created by the Gods!"

"The Gods then offered us a deal-- they would impart us intelligence by teaching the humanoid species to worship and sacrifice some of their people to us. Even the Gods recognized this to be a necessity to win us over to their side!"

"But," Gent replied. "I've been thinking. What about me? I was not considered talented and received little to no portion of the sacrifices. Yet, my mind is whole. I am even the most wily of all dragons in combat."

"You were born without the signature draconic affinity to all natural elements. Heavens simply gave you compensation."

"I've been thinking," Gent ignored Auromirrar's theory, finally expressing a long-stewing doubt. "Perhaps the Asurans fooled us. They designed our early forms to be dumb but strong as a weapon against the humanoids. When inevitably some of us dragons grew intelligent, perhaps they then lied to us that it was the consumption of humanoids that gave us intelligence."

"The Gods, wanting the subservience of their own creations but also of us, arranged for the humanoids to occasionally sacrifice themselves to us. We beasts gain strength when consuming, so it was inevitable that we would believe our strength and intelligence to come from devouring humanoid species."

"If I was not born elementally-crippled, and thus received little to no portion of the sacrifices… perhaps I would not have realized this dastardly scheme." The more he contemplated this, the more he felt his assessment to be right.

"You've changed, Gent…" Auromirrar was distraught, her face crestfallen, her tone low. "You have filled your mind with conspiracies. Perhaps you simply need to consume a human and your mind would restabilize."

Gent was incredulous. Was he the one who had changed? No…he was the same!

When the vision faded, Rein could feel his heart beating like celebration drums on New Years. He knew that these visions are triggered by relevant and related events or locations. Middle Realm? Maelstrom Realm? Fusion Realm? They are all but the same realm!

His thoughts became muddled as he replayed the vision in his mind repeatedly. If not for Suey, he might have spent the whole night with heaviness in his heart.

Suey soon showed up and bent over, revealing a string of large beads peeking out from her back opening!

"I've been adjusting and training my last opening~" cooed Suey as she wriggled her perky firm bum for Rein. "Seeing as we won't have any opportunity in the near future, tonight is the night for you to complete my… training!"

Rein's mind returned to the present, and his stinging palm elicited a seductive whine from Suey. His kitten would spend much of the night muffled with a ball gag for the peacefulness of the castle.