"As the Cooter Clan Chief, I say this with assurance, "Geugeu said in all seriousness, "You haven't been written off as useless. You're still our number one priority…"
"No, it's alright," Wittral said as he stared at his two palms, in silence for a second before clenching his hands into a fist. Following that, his thumb and index fingers opened up before stabbing into his eyes, "I know my worth."
Plop!
Two eyeballs fell on the floor as blood gushed out of Wittral's empty eye sockets, with nerves dangling out. He had brutally ripped out his eyeballs, venting his anger and frustrations through them.
The Minor Treasure of Water Flow Sense and Minor Treasure of Wind Flow Sense were in each of the eyeballs.
Wittral then similarly pointed at his chest, for the Minor Treasure of Tangible Psychokinesis was fused to his heart. But just as he was about to stab into his chest, Inala grabbed his hand, shrieking in fluster, "Wittral!"
"Stop it!" He truly was flustered, for Wittral's death would absolutely mess up his plans, down to the core. He then shot a glare at Geugeu, ignoring the latter's status to shout, "HELP HIM!"
"Medicine's on the third shelf of the fourth row!" At his shout, Geugeu raised an eyebrow but didn't admonish him. Instead, a stream of Prana exited him and condensed a cloud in the shape of a hand that opened the respective self and fished out a bunch of vials.
Inala grabbed them when the cloudy hand neared him, opened the first vial, and poured the contents into Wittral's mouth, applying pressure on the latter's neck to force him to swallow, "Don't resist! Fucking bastard! Are you insane?"
"Drink it!" He roared in anger and downed another vial in him. Following that, Inala used a soft cloth to clean the blood dripping out of his eye sockets, easing up the damaged tissues and nerves there, and also applied anaesthesia.
Wittral was bursting with adrenaline due to his heightened emotions, but that would soon fade away, causing phantom pains to kick in and make him wish he were dead instead. Inala didn't want Wittral to die. His evolution was riding on the latter. 'No way you're dying on my watch!'
'Gannala! Be ready to recover my Spirit Container in the worst-case scenario!' He thought aloud, feeling a mild itch in his throat in response, a signal that Gannala was ready to heed his order.
If Wittral's condition were to worsen, he would recover his power and infuse enough Lifeforce down Wittral's throat that it would be impossible for him to die.
"Why…why do you care if I die?" Huh? WHY?" Wittral roared as his cheeks trembled in relentless rage, feeling abandoned, "It's done! Everything's over! I'm a cripple! So, they have abandoned me!"
"It's as simple as that…"
"Shut the fuck up, you brat!" Inala shoved his hand into Wittral's mouth, preventing the latter from speaking. He continued to pour in a variety of medicines through the gap and cleaned his wounds from time to time, watching the eye socket muscles squirm in response.
The recovery was absolutely slow, since Wittral's body could no longer process Prana. Therefore, the medicines would have to boost his natural healing. And even after that, his eyes would never grow, unless he recovered Prana.
"Chief…" Inala muttered a minute later upon seeing Geugeu collect the two Minor Treasures, "Is this necessary?"
"I thought the Cooter Clan was rich enough to afford a few Minor Treasures."
"These two Minor Treasures are…" Geugeu shook his head, "The only one of their kind. And the ones that asked these back are part of the family whose ancestors sacrificed their lives to create. I might be the Cooter Clan Chief, but I can't dictate everything as I please."
"Especially when neither side has done any wrong."
"He won't survive if the third Minor Treasure is extracted." Inala spoke, enveloping Wittral's head in a tight hug, his gaze remaining focused on Geugeu, steady, "Is the Cooter Clan planning to kill their Deity?"
"Mind your words, brat." Geugeu snorted and exuded a tinge of his presence in anger, forcing Inala to the floor. But he immediately retracted it upon seeing Wittral too get affected by it, controlling himself.
He warned Inala, carefully pocketed the two Minor Treasures, and exited the house, "You're not a Cooter Clansman. So, stay within your limits if you know what's best for you."
"Wittral can keep the third Minor Treasure. I'll find something else for his sibling."
"Fucking old coot!" Inala cursed once Geugeu had gone away, expressing anger, "He's the third strongest on our continent but doesn't even have the balls to impose his will on his people."
"…Forget it, Amita." Wittral said, his voice emotionless, "At least he didn't ask for my life. It means my value has yet to plummet to the bottommost level possible."
"Forget about such nonsense. Let's focus on your recovery." Inala said and grunted, lifting him up before carrying him to the bedroom. "Get some rest. I'll nurse you back to full health."
"What's the use?" Wittral smiled wryly, "My Clan has already given up on me…"
Wittral stopped speaking upon feeling a stinging pain on his cheek. Inala had slapped him, hard, showing no mercy, stunning him, "Amita…?"
"I don't care if your fucking Clan gave up on you. I'm not a Cooter Clansman. And I won't give up on you, alright?" Inala shouted, "Do you need anything else, you bastard? Are you this weak, huh? Are all Empyrean Snappers such fragile fucks?"
"Is that it?"
"…" Wittral turned silent at the shouts, unable to argue. He then felt pangs of pain upon hearing sobbing sounds from the individual who had been shouting at him until now, "Are you…crying?"
"I'm not! Dumbass!" Inala raged. He was pretty emotional while in his female form. And at that moment, he truly cried, because Wittral came scarily close to destroying everything that Inala had planned.
One impulsive move was enough to almost destroy months of careful preparations, whether it was for Gannala's Tertiary Nature or his own evolution. It honestly was an enactment of the worst nightmare possible for Inala. Hence, he shed tears, realising that even the greatest of schemes would fall apart before an absolute dumbass.
'Fucker! I had a heart attack!' Inala shed tears profusely, unable to calm down in the slightest. Even now, seeing Wittral's empty eye sockets terrified him, making him paranoid that Wittral would suddenly drop dead, just like that.
That was Inala's thoughts. From Wittral's perspective, here she was, a Free Human that had known him for just five months, bawling her eyes out in concern over him, all while his own parents promptly gave up on him and decided to make another baby at the first sign of a problem.
'The Cooter Clan has become too big and lax. That's why our desperation is geared in the wrong direction. Reaching the Mystic Grade is all we want, ignoring all the issues that come with it. Instead of solving them head-on, we flee towards other modes of sacrifice.' Wittral gained a concrete understanding of the Cooter Clan as he stared in Inala's direction, grabbing the latter's hand to hold them dearly, 'In contrast, Amita cares shit about that. She just wants to paint and sightsee.'
'Yeah, maybe that is indeed a better future.' Wittral exhaled slowly as he felt his mind clear up, 'Since the Cooter Clan doesn't want me, I'll figure out a way to cure myself and leave this place with Amita immediately after.'
"Say…" He muttered, speaking a few seconds later, "Do you want to go on an adventure?"
"Adventure?" Inala's eyes lit up in excitement, wiping tears to nod repeatedly, "I do."
"I do! I do!"
