The fact that the Boar King was watching Inala made him nervous. But since he didn't have his power, he wasn't able to sense the Boar King's presence through his Secondary Nature as he did usually.
Therefore, without being able to pinpoint the Boar King's position or movements, it was hard for Inala to know what the latter was up to. He could only rely on Gannala for that, but it wasn't convenient to communicate.
He would have to puke out the messages, which wasn't possible in all situations. As Gannala was reading his memories and was aware of the Boar King's position, she knew when to message him. But the window of opportunity for that was limited.
Most of the time, he was accompanied by either Taltal or Wittral, having very little private time. It implied less information through which he had to make preparations, which meant he had to put extra care into his plans and think of a crazy number of possibilities.
'Gannala, alert me whenever I'm in the Boar King's line of sight or Prana sense range by scratching my throat. That's enough.' He thought, aware that Gannala received the message immediately. He coughed once when an Empyrean Zinger placed its hand in the food pipe and made light scratches.
It meant that the Boar King was watching him now. 'So, I can neither reveal the fact that I have a biome inside me nor can I talk to Wittral as usual and unnecessarily increase his hatred towards the Boar King. I need to be careful.'
Wittral was in a mentally weakened state and opened up a lot to Inala, someone in a similar situation. It provided Inala ample opportunity to get into Wittral's head and plant whatever he wanted in there and nurture them.
"Argh!" There was a shrill scream from a nearby room, the usual as Inala wasn't in the least flustered by it. Rather, he peered outside and observed that the Death Hour was about to begin, nodding in response, 'It's time for his suicidal tantrum.'
He approached the room and opened the door, only to find Wittral rush past him in an effort to rush into the sea. In habit, Inala extended his hand, grabbed Wittral by the scruff of his neck, and pulled him back.
His hands slung across Wittral's back to envelop him in a hug while applying pressure to stop his march. A stern voice, but filled with care resounded, "Calm down, Wittral."
"You haven't recovered your powers yet."
"…" Wittral raged for a few seconds as he watched a wall of mist form on the Dralh Sea due to the effects of Death Hour. His shoulders slumped in disappointment as his hands coiled around Inala, burying his face on her shoulder, inhaling in frustration, "I hate this life!"
"We had a breakthrough this afternoon." Inala said, his voice soothing, "You'll be back to normal very soon."
"How long do I have to stay like this, Inala?" Wittral asked, his eyes red, barely holding back tears, "It's vexing to see my people treat me like a fragile vase that will shatter without their protection."
"I was treated as their Deity until now! But here I am, having fallen from grace, wasting my Clan's resources needlessly." He sobbed.
"Take a seat, I'll brew you some tea." Inala consoled Wittral and began to brew some tea, one that was vastly tastier than what he made at Fral Island, since he was now fully armed with Lurt's data, "It's your favourite."
Once the tea's aroma wafted into his nostrils, Wittral calmed down. He jugged a glass full of tea and relaxed enough to speak with more clarity of mind than before, "I too experienced a breakthrough in my research. I created a tissue that can react and store a small amount of Prana. I don't know if I can evolve it into a Spirit Container, but it surely can become one that holds Prana."
"As long as we figure out the means to create a Spirit Container that can trigger our cultivation techniques, we might be able to rebuild a Spirit Container in our heart," Inala said, sharing the results of his research.
Taltal was at the 2-Life Stage. When she arrived to assist them in their research, she split her bodies between Inala and Wittral. Thereby, both could proceed in their respective line of thought and compile their gains in the end to succeed.
Wittral was originally an expert in the field of medicine refining. And now, his situation only prompted him to exercise this talent of his more.
"Fucking Boar King," Wittral expressed his rage, "If he never came here, this would have never happened."
'Maybe this is a good time to reveal that.' Inala thought, pausing for a second to smile subtly when there was an itch in his throat. It was Gannala giving him confirmation that the Boar King was within earshot to hear his conversation. That meant he could finally lay down the intricate details of the story he had set sailing before.
"I'm sorry," Inala expressed sadness as he spoke in pain, "If I had never come here, then you wouldn't have suffered so much. It's all my fault."
"I told you to never mention it like that!" Wittral raised his voice, "You were merely forced by that bastard."
"What could you have done? You're nothing but an ant before the Boar King. Even my Cooter Clan is afraid of him."
"I could have committed suicide if I truly wished to never implicate others." Inala shed tears. His hands trembled as he gritted his teeth, "But I wanted to live! No matter what, I don't want to die. So, I did whatever he asked me to."
"Inala…" Wittral held Inala's trembling hands, "I don't blame you. We all wish to survive. That's only natural."
"I…am not Inala." Inala's words were heavy. His lips trembled, afraid; his face expressed distress, fighting against the urge to keep his secret. He stared at Wittral, "Can you…keep what I'm about to say a secret?"
"I'll give you my word." Wittral nodded resolutely, patting his chest, "This, I vow on my life."
"Thank you," Inala let out a relieved chuckle, "It all started sixty-six months ago."
"I come from a place called the Sanrey Plains. It was established by my grandfather, Fhoong Brimgan after he lost the successor war in the Brimgan Empire and fled with his supporters." Inala began to recount a made-up story that was portrayed realistically.
He got up and invited Wittral to his bedroom. He opened a secret drawer there, one filled with scrolls that he had painted in his free time. He pulled up one of them and unfurled it to reveal the image of his female form dressed in fluffy clothes of six different shades.
The hair of the woman in the picture was adorned with jewels. Braided threads of gold hung from these jewels, like curtains on walls over her hair, each step of the way. Her hand was covered from wrist to elbow in bangles, each expensive enough to buy a house in her Kingdom.
Though dressed to the extreme in wealth, the woman in the picture had a face of absolute sadness, a maiden without a will, quite younger as compared to the current Inala.
Staring at the picture, Wittral asked, "Is this the you from…six years ago?"
Standing right outside their house, having stacked two Primary Natures of Decaleeches atop a stealth Nature was the Boar King. Though he stood in the open, his presence mired with the nature, registering in the minds of others as no different from a wall décor.
His ears pressed on the wall, the Boar King heard the conversation inside, intending to satiate his curiosity and obtain more clues regarding Loot. His eyes widened in shock as he heard Inala's subsequent statement.
"My grandfather created me to be the Boar King equivalent of the Free Humans."
