As the majority of the Attributed Region collapsed, the ground caved in, falling to form a crater with a depth of two kilometres. Amidst the wreckage, amidst billowing dust, there was a vortex. The ground churned as if it were liquid and parted open to form a tunnel, through which the figure of Wittral walked out, uninjured.
For someone capable of controlling the surrounding terrain, the ground caving in was never an issue. Upon arriving at the surface, he stared at the sky in a daze, unable to process everything that he had witnessed.
When Brangara summoned over a hundred Bolts of Transcendence, Inala had extended a hand to save Asaeya. That was the puzzling point.
Wittral knew who Asaeya was, for based on the story that was told to him, the trio of Inala, Asaeya, and Gannala had been captured by Loot. And then, Inala was killed for his power to be transferred to Amita by Maroppa.
The transfer of power wasn't problematic. After all, Maroppa did the same to Wittral, allowing him to gain the power of both a Brimgan Royal and a Clumped Finger into a form suitable for himself. So, having Amita obtain Inala's power wasn't odd either.
The problem stemmed from an inconsistency. When Amita's male form left the Brimgan Empire for whatever reason, the group accompanying him consisted of Hayaya and Lannla. But when he returned, the one accompanying him was Asaeya.
Wittral didn't see the group of Empyrean Tusk women accompanying Inala. By the time he arrived at Layer 1, Inala was already facing the Boar King.
Wittral's suspicions only originated from Inala's action of trying to save Asaeya, and her existence. Since Loot was there at the centre, it could be thought of as Asaeya working for him now, either by being brainwashed or blackmailed. Whatever the case might be, there could be reasons associated with her existence.
There didn't seem any concrete reason to kill her at all, since among the trio, only Inala and Gannala were valuable for Loot's objectives. So, maybe Loot brought Asaeya to the Attributed Region for some reason.
But then, why did Inala try to save her? At that moment, was he Amita? Or was he Inala?
Wittral struggled to figure out an answer, feeling a blighting pain in his chest. He stared around, able to spot Asaeya far away, accompanied by a group of women who were fleeing the place.
If he wanted, he could reach her quickly and ask her the truth. But for some reason, his feet refused to move. Was it hesitation? Was it fear? He didn't know.
Oftentimes, a sweet lie was significantly more comforting than the bitter truth. Wittral was in such a state, calming down as he emotionally countered whatever details his mind was picking up from the scenes he had observed.
'Have I been used? No, if that was the case, there would have been no reason for Amita to send me the Nature Weapon with a Brimgan Royal's power. My strength increased by leaps and bounds thanks to it.' Wittral shook his head, 'Then, if Amita is still the same, how can I explain her recent actions?'
"My head hurts." He clenched his head and gasped, crouching low to stare at a faint stream of water gushing out of the ground. It was filling up the hole he had dug out from, forming a pond. Though turbulent, it reflected his figure.
Wittral stared at a female in the reflection, feeling disjointed with reality. He realised that he was a woman now. It wasn't the realisation of him being a female that troubled him, but the fact that his emotional connection to Amita was strange.
The emotion of love he felt, was it from Wittral towards Amita? Or was it from Dhya towards Amita? If it was the former, why was he feeling heartache now? The fact that his natural state of being was as a female now meant his thoughts were clouded, unable to make a judgement from Wittral's perspective. Instead, the only available perspective was that of Dhya's, which is why he was concerned about Inala approaching Asaeya.
Asaeya's existence wasn't of a concern to him, but rather, Inala's involvement with her was what troubled him the most. This was unlike him. But somehow, it made perfect sense to him now, not as Wittral, but as Dhya.
Until now, Wittral accepted his changes without issues. After all, he had no other identity apart from his relation to Amita, having given up his old self at the Dralh Sea. And now, when the truthfulness of the identity itself was being questioned, he spiralled into a series of mental conflicts.
It would take a while to sort things out. And the solution to it was to have a conversation with the Royal Zinger.
At the same time, the person in question was in the air, hovering at an altitude of four kilometres above ground. Through his exceptional eyesight which was further enhanced after becoming a Royal Zinger, Inala observed Brangara and his family leaving in the direction of the Dieng Canyon.
'He's in human form but is faster than before. And somehow, he has infused the power of Internal Inertial Gravity into the bodies of his every family member.' Inala thought, figuring out Brangara's plan, 'He's planning to capture the Zinger Queens and stockpile as many Natures of Life Bombs as possible.'
Life Bomb was the only Nature through which Brangara had a fighting chance against Inala. Without it, there was always a possibility of him being killed by Inala.
"Do I chase him?" Inala muttered as he inspected his condition, clicking his tongue in regret, "Dammit! Only 1000 Prana left."
Inala's Primary Nature of Mystic Royalty had a set of rules, which he had devised while keeping in mind the growth and maturity rates of Pranic Beasts at various Grades.
The Royal Zinger's base state was as an Expert Silver Grade Pranic Beast. This allowed Inala to mature at the fastest speed possible. And when necessary, he'd upgrade himself to superior forms—Grades—to take advantage of for accumulation means.
As a Beginner Mystic Grade Pranic Beast, while remaining in this form, Inala had a Prana of 10800 and a Lifespan of 10,000 years. Theoretically, he could remain in this state until the end of his lifespan.
But, that is in the case he refrains from using Prana. Basically, the way Mystic Royalty worked was through the Prana and Lifespan values of his Royal Zinger form at various Grades.
Inala needed to consume an amount equal to the Prana and Lifespan of his Royal Zinger form at Beginner Gold Grade to upgrade himself from Expert Silver Grade to Beginner Gold Grade. He'd have to consume the Prana and Lifespan of his Royal Zinger form at Intermediate Gold Grade to upgrade to that stage, so on, and so forth.
The endpoint of this upgrade was at the Beginner Mystic Grade. And in the same way he upgrades himself, the conditions were in reverse to return to his base state.
Currently, he is a Beginner Mystic Grade Pranic Beast with a Prana capacity of 10800 and a Lifespan of 10000 years. Once he expends either of the two, he'd return to Expert Silver Grade.
In Lifespan terms, he'd have to live 10,000 years as a Beginner Mysitc Grade Pranic Beast. This was basically the end, so there was no control in the Lifespan aspect. It was left to his Prana.
The moment Inala consumes 10800 units of Prana in his Mystic Grade form, he'd revert to his Expert Silver Grade form. In his fight against the Boar King, Inala primarily employed the Boar King's Prana to fight.
But he ended up using his Prana to create Biome Bombs, morphing its shape, and controlling the grey sand through psychokinesis. These activities involved his Prana, which caused the expenditure.
Inala didn't use Perfect Biome Domination crazily because that would use up his Prana too fast. And the moment his expenditure reaches 10800 units, he'd instantly become an Expert Silver Grade Pranic Beast.
In close combat against the Boar King, that was suicide. Even Empyrean Tusks and Empyrean Snappers were pummelled by him in close combat, not to mention a Silver Grade Royal Zinger which wasn't equipped for the action.
Hence, he only attacked in ways after calculating a realistic method to kill the Boar King. It took time but was guaranteed success. And then, things happened and the Boar King evolved to become a Celestial Boar.
Currently, Inala had a bit over 1000 units of Prana to use in his Mystic Grade form. To chase after the Boar King, he would have to use Perfect Biome Domination aggressively, which wasn't wise at the moment.
'There's a lot at stake here.' He thought and touched his stomach where a Biome Bomb was sneakily hidden. He carefully extracted it and sensed the interior through his Secondary Nature, clicking his tongue in response, "Too many died."
The majority of the Quip Tribe was destroyed during Inala's evolution. In that situation, all he could do was focus on the most vital members—the Mutated Empyrean Zinger Queen, the two Mutated Empyrean Zinger Kings, and Quip Clansmen.
Altogether, they numbered 23. They were the only survivors. The remainder of the Zingers and Quip Tribesmen were all vaporised by the residual power from the Bolts of Transcendence.
While evolving, Inala could only protect this group. Any more, and he would have been too distracted to succeed in evolution.
Currently, the size of his Biome Bomb was limited to his Spirit Weapon range—meaning a sphere with a radius of 180 metres. These twenty-three individuals were residing in the Biome Bomb.
As Inala created it while at the Mystic Grade, the Biome Bomb will grow plants, water, land, and everything else he wants. He only needs to infuse enough Prana for that, 'Even now, my Prana is steadily flowing into it to keep them alive.'
Technically, he could open an entrance and fill the interior with air from outside, but Inala refrained from doing that. After all, the twenty-three individuals inside were in their purest state of being, only carrying Inala's influence on them.
So, he wanted to maintain them in that state until he gathered his bearings and made plans for the future. 'Then, there's only one way.'
Inala stared at the Biome Bomb filled with the Boar King's Prana and Lifespan. His arm grabbed it and craned with all its strength. Staring at the figure of Resha who was tailing the Boar King from the sky, Inala infused most of his remaining Prana into the Biome Bomb, "This will help you, Resha."
"Since you put your mind to it, commit fully." With that, he hurled the Biome Bomb towards Resha, watching it enter hypersonic speeds and rapidly approach the target. The Prana and Lifeforce in it would assist Resha, allowing him to target Brangara better. In the meantime, it would achieve its goal, which was pretty simple.
Kill the Deing Canyon Rulers before Brangara reaches them.
