Just as the Servant's Bond was established between the Thunder-Lord Kechi and me, a bright white sphere of light appears between us. Both of us watch it carefully, unaware of what it is.
*That sphere is a Dream Mote. In rare cases like this, where one Lair owner Bonds with another Lair owner, the Dream Mote appears to quickly facilitate the transfer of Lair Settings. If both of you touch it together, you'll be able to change the Settings between those of your Domain and the Thunder-Lord Kechi's Lair. The Dream Mote is only visible to the two of you, and will remain at the site of its appearance until the death of either of you.*
I quickly relay what World Knowledge told me.
Thunder-Lord nods in approval. I suppose this is quicker and safer than having us both enter the Dream together.
*Large scale alterations to this Lair is only possible by entering the Dream proper.*
So there are limits. I can't change the Settings I have, only apply them. Oh well.
We both reach out to the Dream Mote, and I flinch slightly as the voice I've come to know as World Knowledge speaks out loud to us both as the Voice of the World.
*Lair Settings Change Accepted. Importing Settings... Applying Settings... Complete. The Settings will take effect now.*
The Dream Mote quivers a little before emitting a bright flash of light. Once I'm able to see again, there doesn't seem to be an immediate visual change to the landscape, but I can sense the slightly increased ambient Magic levels.
"I have to scout the other locations now, but I'll be back as soon as possible." I inform Thunder-Lord. He nods before trotting off down the mountain to inform his troop about what's going on.
I spread my wings wide and take off again, setting a course towards the next target: Wanderers End. I'm fully resistant to the Overheat Status, so I have no worries about the heat. My only apprehension is the hallucinations Kalim reported. But I can't know more about it until I get there, so there's no use worrying just yet.
The highland plains that predominantly make up the Kingdom of Harmek soon gives way to a tundra as I get further north. As the elevation keeps going up, the amount of large plants go down until it's more or less just rocks coated in lichen with the occasional patch of stubborn heather-like plants.
Without realizing it, I'm currently getting close to the Zaleniths. A colossal mountain-range home to the tallest mountain in the known World, Terraus' Crest. So named not because the Elder Dragon themself reside there, but because those who have seen both the Dragon and the mountain claim the mountain looks almost completely alike the Dragon's' headscales.
Even further north, there's the Crystal Waste, where a predecessor of mine went kaboom. Even just looking in that direction is giving me chills. I shake my head, heading east towards Yo'ud. The Zaleniths are a natural border between the two nations, and only a small section of land south of the end of the mountain allows direct access between the two.
It was a bit south-west of this border that the final battle between Harmek and Parshura happened. If it was any closer, Yo'ud would have intervened and attacked Harmek's army preemptively.
As I fly further east, the freezing cold gives way to a faint heat, even at this altitude. Or perhaps I'm so cold that any temperature over zero degrees Celsius (~32 F~) feels warm. The craggy terrain quickly gives way to arid steppes and sandy dunes.
The lifeline of Yo'ud, the uncountable rivers running from north to south-east before ending up in the Maretung Sea after travelling through Eyslef, come into view. Following the rivers curves are incredibly dense pockets of humanoid habitation, walled in by large fields of hardy crops unknown to me.
I quickly pass over the inhabited parts of Yo'ud, flying into the desert that the nation is so famous for. In its center, the Domain of Scal, the Elder Dragon of Heat. As much as I want to drop by, I don't have time. I'll have to do it at a later time.
The Domain itself is contained within a caldera, but the effects of the intense heat escape their containment, making the immediate area around the caldera no less deadly than the area within.
A strange expanse of relatively flat terrain catches my attention. Cross-referencing with my map shows that this is Wanderer's End. I land at the edge of the area, hesitant to enter properly.
Ah, I see. It's a lakebed. All that's left is the thick layer of minerals and salt left over from the water evaporating, creating a tough shield against erosion.
*Scan complete. There is a large system of caves below, most likely the remains of lava tubes that once branched off from the main upwell of magma centered in the Domain of Scal. It contains many kinds of lifeforms, though it is difficult to get an accurate reading due to the thick covering of mycel just below the lakebed.*
So it is a fungus colony... I brace myself before stepping onto the lakebed. Wincing, I gaze into the flat expanse in front of me, only seeing the air shimmer due to the heat. So far so good. Awareness picks up on several monsters in the air above me. Perhaps awaiting me dying in the Wanderers End so they can get a nice meal?
*Mycel presence is greatly reduced near the edges of the lakebed, increasing closer to the relative center of the area.*
Hm, won't find much this far out then. I quicken my pace, taking care not to kick up too much dust as I move. Oddly, I find myself veering to the right as I go, and unless I straighten my course with help from the map, I'd be walking in circles in no time.
Is it because of the flatness of the terrain, with no landmarks to steer towards, or am I already affected by the phenomenon? Regardless, I don't have time to fool around like this. Spreading my wings, I take to the air, aiming for the center of the lakebed.
My vision swims, the ground below shifting and swirling. I feel nauseous. Keep it together... Stay as close to the ground as possible, just in case...
A few hundred meters (~220 yards~) from my desired location, I'm unable to keep my balance in the air anymore. One wing skims the ground before making contact, the friction quickly reducing my wingtip to a raw nub. The resulting imbalance is enough to throw me off completely, and I painfully skid to a halt.
As groggy as I am, the intense pain of having most of my scales rubbed off by way of friction is enough to keep me focused.
H-hah... Okay... This is bad.
I quickly move to douse my extensive wounds in water, if only to get the salty lakebed out of them before I heal myself with Miracure. I'm unsure if I'm trembling from the shock and pain of my crash, or-
The ground gives out beneath me.
I pensively wait until the dust settles. As it does, it reveals a large chamber, the walls black and almost scaly-looking; volcanic rock.
Seems this bit of the lava-tubes was particularly close to the surface, and when I crashed into it, the lakebed gave out. I carefully get up, making sure to check all joints and bones for damage. None. I'm surprised, considering the forces of physics are more or less the only threat to my life at the moment.
I also notice that I'm covered in thin strands of white something... it's writhing, ew.
*Miragia*
*A rare species of fungus that only grows in intensely hot areas such as the desert of Yo'ud and the Ashen Wastes. Due to their preference for lethally high temperatures, studying this fungus is incredibly difficult. It sustains itself by releasing infertile spores from specialized fruiting bodies that induce nausea and hallucinations when inhaled. In addition to the ability of a large specimen to reshape the terrain to make it flat and featureless, the spores cause the victim to wander in circles until their death, at which point the fungus will extend its root-like hyphae above the surface to feed.
The mycelium branches out from a central, permanent, fruiting body, which the fungus protects at all costs.*
*Scanning... This Miragia has several genetic abnormalities, but is otherwise a perfect host for the Demigod of Heat.*
Ew, ew, ew, these are fungus roots. Ew!
My skin crawling, I activate Charge, vigorously shaking my body to coat my body in a layer of electricity. There's a faint smell of smoke as blue lights dance across my body, zapping away the strands of hyphae clinging to it.
This place sucks.
Now then... I suppose going back aboveground isn't an option just yet. If I wanted to, I could wait for the Skill to withstand whatever Status this mushroom uses, but I don't know how long that will take.
*Skill obtained: Condition Resistance: Effluvium (Lesser) - Nullifies Effluvium (Lesser), reduces higher ranked Effluvium by one rank.*
Ah. Well then. H-how convenient.
...
I still don't want to go back up. Let's investigate these caverns instead. I bet this is where the Maker of the original Demigod of Heat lived.
*Displaying shortest route to the central fruiting body of the Miragia.*
Nice.
The tunnels are just big enough for a monster my size, even though I have to lean forwards to keep my horns and the Origin Soul Core from scraping the ceiling. They're also truly labyrinthine. I doubt someone like me would have ever found their way around if it wasn't for the cheat that is World Knowledge.
After around half an hour of walking through the seemingly endless lava-tubes, I notice the heat picking back up. It's actually a comfortable heat further from the center of the lake when underground, but now it's becoming comparable to how hot it was above ground.
The amount of life is also increasing. Tiny Insectoids mill about, primarily on the ceiling where the occasional Miragia hypha has made its way through the volcanic rock. Any hypha discovered by the beetle-like monsters is immediately eaten. I guess this is how the Miragia hasn't gotten into the lava-tubes.
Another monster that makes this place its home is the Magma Brulee, a kind of slime. Waves of heat emanate off them as they leave a trail of freshly molten rock behind that rapidly cools again. I guess they inadvertently maintain the tunnels? They even ooze their way across the ceiling, sending the small beetle monsters scurrying in a panic whenever they do so.
Ah, here we are. The map shows I've reached my destination, and the tunnels open up into a large chamber. In the middle of it, the ceiling bulges downwards, and a thick curtain of mycelium reaches down towards the ground.
Wait... the ground looks off... I walk over to inspect, but Awareness warns me of danger, and I jump back as a beam of heat nearly evaporates the ground I stood on half a second ago.
Looking to where the beam came from, my blood runs cold. Suspended by many thick ropes of mycelium, almost looking like it's hooked up by wires, is the upper half of a monster's body. Dull, white eyes blankly stare; its crocodilian jaws hanging agape, smoke and vapor still emanating from it.
There's a greyness to the body, as if it's covered in dust, but the claws of its feline front seem as sharp as ever. On the ground, a small distance behind the hanging monster, what looks like the back end of a hippo lies, still somehow tethered by the monster's writhing innards.
I try to reach out with Telepathy. A bad idea, as I'm assaulted by the monster's cries in pain.
It's still alive.
Somehow, even in this state, it's still alive, and it's in unimaginable pain. A terrible realization hits me. I gather my focus and call out to the Thunder-Lord Kechi.
A long pause, either due to him trying to remember, or the communication between us taking a while to transfer.
Seems long range communication like this is best done via Hivemind or relay Telepathy instead of via the Servants Bond. It's hard to make out all the words. But I got the most important information. Hesitantly, I inspect the monster that hasn't moved since I stepped away from the odd indent in the middle of the chamber.
*Ammit*
*A now-extinct EXRare Chimeroid. Combines the features of 'a crocodile, jaguar and hippo' according to the Hero of Life. Many folktales shared among the inhabitants of the desert it called its home featured the Ammit as a judge that would appear just before a villain was to meet their end, calling out their sins and devouring their heart. Little is known beyond the description offered in the World's Encyclopedia, as it has not been sighted since before the All-War, and is presumed extinct.*
*Rank: ? Stars*
An extinct monster... yet here it is... still alive, somehow. I get the sense that the only reason it's still alive is because of the Miragia. A part of the Miragias description echoes in my mind; 'The mycelium branches out from a central, permanent, fruiting body, which the fungus protects at all costs.'
What better protection than the monster that gave godhood to it? Actually... The Demigod is long gone, yet its host remains?
...
I'll have to see the Crimsnow Glacier before I can make a definitive conclusion, but I think I'm beginning to piece together the chain of events. For now, let's see if I can't help the Ammit.
A bright light envelops both halves of the Ammit as I cast Miracure on it, the light extending as bridges of regrown flesh move to rejoin the halves. Finally, the light fades, the Ammit is whole again.
As if on cue, the thick cords of mycelium that were suspending its front half from the ground give out, seeming to have willingly disconnected from the main system of hyphae. Shakily, the Ammit gets to its feet, hacking and coughing as if something's stuck in its throat.
'clink'
With a final heave, a fist-sized Malice Core drops onto the floor. Despite their crocodile head, I can read disgust in their expression. Then their eyes seem to focus, landing on me. We stare each other down, both hesitant to move.
Our standoff is only interrupted when the Malice Core starts vibrating, its glass-like surface reverberating off of the hardened lava floor. The Ammit seems severely taken aback by this, and runs to hide behind me.
O-Oh okay then. I quickly leap towards the Core, that seems to have calmed slightly when the Ammit went away from it, and store it securely in the Hidden Space. So that's why Shadow wanted me to drop it back then...
I glance back towards the Ammit, reverence in their eyes. I try reaching out with Telepathy again, and although the howls of pain aren't present anymore, I can't help but feel that their mind is oddly empty.
In fact, it reminds me of when I snuck a peek at Sakaya's mind, after she was afflicted with the Eros Delusion. Oh no...
*Analyzing... Don't worry, this Ammit isn't experiencing the Eros Delusion, but her mind is so severely broken, she has reverted to the mindset of a hatchling. In short, she has imprinted on you, believing you to be her mother. Her condition might improve in time, but if she really is the Maker of the original Demigod of Heat, she would have been in the condition you found her in for a very long time.*
I feel sick to my stomach, and I'm sure it isn't the Effluvium Status getting to me.