"This is a secluded enough location." Inala said and dropped Wittral, observing the latter's discontent face about being dropped off as he continued, "I'll fill you in on everything that has happened and clear up your misunderstanding."
"Nothing you say will ever change my mind." Wittral gritted his teeth, blaming himself internally because he was feeling happy at Inala's consideration towards himself.
"When my male form went away, using Inala's identity, I sneaked into the Mammoth Clan. Then, I found out Loot's true identity." Inala said, watching Wittral's shocked expression. Upon seeing that the latter observed him with complete attentiveness, he continued, "His actual name is Virala, a Mammoth Clansman born with a Mystic Path."
"Mystic Path? What's that?" Wittral expressed his confusion.
"I'll start from the beginning." Inala sighed and spoke of the events from two millennia ago, going into detail about the Mammoth Clan's actions that resulted in the birth of the Boar King, "When Renduldu and the Mammoth Clan Chief, Undrakha were in the process of becoming a Transcendent, Brangara drew in a Bolt of Transcendence and became the Boar King."
"During his eventual conflict with the Mammoth Clan, the Supreme Tusk went missing."
"Supreme Tusk?" Wittral's eyes widened in shock, "Doesn't it sound just like…"
"Your brother, Wally." Inala confirmed Wittral's suspicions, "Using Brangara's speciality under Renduldu's instructions, the Mammoth Clan managed to birth the Supreme Tusk earlier than the Cooter Clan."
Inala then spoke about the Supreme Tusk Gannala's sufferings, watching Wittral tear up as he went into greater detail. As he concluded that story, Wittral was bawling like a baby, "When her beloved died, she assumed her Empyrean Tusk form, for final this time."
"She crippled her path to the Mystic Grade in the process. Hence, the Supreme Tusk Gannala focused on transforming her accumulations to create as many possible paths to the Mystic Grade as possible. They are the Mystic Paths." Inala said, "She created seven of them in total, naming them according to the colours of a rainbow."
"Inala was the Indigo Mystic Path while Virala is the Violet Mystic Path." Inala said, "The Mystic Path's child will grow up and accumulate her parent's life experiences. And once her Mystic Path is full, she'll enter the Mystic Grade."
"So, the child is the one who'll enter the Mystic Grade, and not the parent?" Wittral wiped his tears and asked.
"Yes," Inala nodded, "To avoid the Boar King, an Empyrean Tusk sent Inala flying with Gannala and Asaeya. The place they landed at was the Sanrey Plains."
"I see," Wittral nodded, "So that was when you found them."
"Yup, and it seems Virala was right there too." Inala continued, "He latched onto the Prana Bomb and made his way to the Sanrey Plains. These seven Mystic Paths compete for valuable resources, especially the Major Treasures."
"They knew about the appearance of the Attribute?" Wittral asked in shock.
"Not just this, but they know when and where three more Major Treasures will appear. I was stunned when I learnt of this information." Inala sighed, "As they're all competing for the same Major Treasures, they're enemies."
"Virala took advantage of the situation at play to target Inala. That was when I inherited his powers and his appearance through the Mudropper's power."
"Seven Mystic Paths?" Wittral frowned, "If they're competing for the Major Treasures, how come I never saw them?"
"What do you mean?" Inala controlled his shock and partial fear as he uttered, "You've seen them before."
"What?" Wittral was stunned by his words, "What do you mean?"
"Orakha is the Orange Mystic Path." Inala continued to speak as Wittral's expression became more and more afraid as he heard further, "The Parute Tree we sold in Arlfarah Auction House was the Blue Mystic Path. His true form is that of a Transcendent Eater, an existence capable of consuming even Transcendents. At his full strength, he could devour Sumatra overnight."
"The Minor Treasure we sold at the end of the auction was the Red Mystic Path."
"My…goodness." Wittral felt that his knees had gotten weak as he found a rock nearby to sit on.
"It's not just that," Inala sighed as he spoke, "Hayaya was actually Asaeya while Lannla was Gannala."
"What?" Wittral shouted in shock, "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Inala sighed, "They had us in the palm of their hands because of one reason."
"Gannala is Virala's deity!"
Before Wittral could fully process the truth bomb, Inala spoke, "He had two bodies. The first body possessed a power capable of transforming Humans and Pranic Beasts into orbs that he could equip and wield the power of whenever he wanted. It was through this power that he targeted us."
"Then our Spirit Containers?" Wittral asked in shock, his eyes widening in fear to see Inala nod.
"Yes, he was collecting our Natures. It was him that we called as Loot." Inala continued further, "And there's a second Loot."
"There's another one?" Wittral shouted in a fluster.
"It was the one we saw in the centre of the Attributed Region." Inala expressed mild fear, "I visited the Mammoth Clan after becoming the Royal Zinger. I wanted to use Inala's identity to continue accessing their accumulations. I found that this second Loot slept with Yarsha Zahara and had a child. Nothing much is known about this second body other than the fact that he's more terrifying than the first Loot. His actions are even more perverse."
"How…are these guys able to do all these things?" Wittral sighed.
"Future Sight!" Inala stated solemnly, "Renduldu used this power of the Red Mystic Path. Basically, he had experienced all these events once already. Armed with that knowledge, he can make plans."
"The rest of the Mystic Paths are only aware of that information in the form of a story. But they still know when and where a Major Treasure appears."
"Then, can you find out more from the Mammoth Clan?" Wittral asked in a hurry, "If they were armed with future knowledge, do they have the means to deal with the Celestial Boar?"
"Future Sight isn't perfect. Many variables have changed the events, so the Mammoth Clan isn't prepared for the Boar King's evolution." Inala pointed at the two of them, "In the original timeline, I was dead while you grew up into a normal Empyrean Snapper. We never interacted with each other."
"So, Inala's arrival at the Sanrey Plains changed everything." Wittral nodded in thought.
"Yes, by obtaining Inala's power, I managed to survive and made my way to the Dralh Sea in fear of Loot." Amita sighed, "The strangest thing I found out is that the very same Loot that made us suffer has been captured by Gannala once she found out his identity."
"Her influence was the answer." Wittral figured out everything by now, "So, Loot is in the Mammoth Clan's captivity."
"Then, can you ask to meet with him? This is a good chance to exact revenge." Wittral said, surprised to see Inala shake his head.
"The truth's out of the bag," Inala smiled wryly, "Gannala knows that I'm not Inala. They would have killed me had I not been the Royal Zinger."
"They chased me away," He scratched his cheek awkwardly, "So, there you have it. Before my identity was revealed, I managed to obtain the full picture."
"Maroppa is the Mudropper." Wittral said, surprised to see that Inala wasn't shocked by this revelation, "You knew this already?"
"The three pieces of Sumatra Gold in my stomach…whenever she came to see us, she sneakily used her powers to help me assimilate with them better." Inala laughed, "If I didn't have your Subtle Terrain Domination, I would have never sensed her actions. Since I had it, I knew who she was from day one."
"So, you acted like you didn't know her." Wittral sighed, a moment later understanding that Inala was always like this.
"Since she was being secretive, I didn't want to reveal that I knew who she was." Inala said, "Though, my male form had made contact with her multiple times. He figured out her identity while spying on the Orange Mystic Path."
"Then, the reason you wanted to save Asaeya at the Attributed Region?" Wittral asked the most important question.
"I was still acting as the Mammoth Clan's Inala at that time. So I had to show some effort. But it seemed she figured out the truth the moment I became the Royal Zinger." Inala sighed, "And then Gannala too ended up finding out that I have been hiding information from her."
"Something like that is possible?" Wittral was shocked.
"Since I had both Mystic Bone Art and Mystic Mist Art, I could easily create a skill that protected sensitive information. I made it in such a way that all information related to my secret and plans would automatically be protected by this Skill." Inala grinned confidently, "As a result, even when Gannala accessed my memories, she failed to learn the truth until now."
"I became a Mystic Grade Pranic Beasts without any plans toward it. So it was only obvious that the truth was revealed." Inala concluded the discussion.
Considering Wittral's emotional attachment towards Inala, he didn't have to explain himself. But Inala wanted Wittral to know everything that was happening. Only then could he actively participate in all future schemes.
Moreover, Inala ensured to tie everything to his story even while revealing the entire setup to Wittral. This ensured to erase the faintest doubts in Wittral, further cementing his status as Inala's staunchest ally.
Considering how much Wittral was smitten with him, even if Inala didn't do anything, Wittral would still be on his side. But Inala wasn't satisfied with it. And now, he had Wittral's absolute support.
"I told you everything I know," Inala made eye contact with Wittral, "Are you satisfied with this explanation?"
"Yes, perfectly so." Wittral nodded as he asked, "You'll stay with me from now on, right?"
"There's just one body of mine now. So, yes, you'll be seeing more of me from now on." Inala hadn't even finished speaking when Wittral jumped in joy, mistakenly sending the nearby trees flying.
Seeing boulders fly in the sky with every stomp from Wittral, Inala hurriedly used his Secondary Nature to erect a thick dome of mud as protection, able to hear Wittral's excited laughs even through the thick layer of earth.
'I shouldn't have said anything!' Inala felt a headache as the ground rumbled in response to Wittral's actions. He was the one who made Wittral jubilant. And now, he had to face an excited Wittral.
Boom!
The dome he had erected collapsed as Wittral rushed inside like a truck, grabbed Inala in a bear hug, and used Subtle Terrain Dominance to create a tornado the inside of which he flew, "Hahahaha! Thank you for keeping my feelings in consideration all along."
"Ah, what a fun day to be alive," Wittral exclaimed in joy and then stared at Inala with a heated gaze.
