The Empyrean Tusk had voluntarily created channels in its bone to allow the Mammoth Clansmen to enter and exit. But over time, due to a lack of use, many channels closed up from the sedimentation of dust and nutrients that solidified over time.
During an invasion, such as the First Minor Crisis, the Empyrean Tusk naturally closes most of these channels. And unless necessary, Mammoth Clansmen wouldn’t open them.
‘One such channel existed here.’ Grehha thought as he stared at the place he poured the mysterious solution over. The channel here had never been opened after it closed a few centuries ago. It had been neglected to the extent that the channel entrance fused with the exoskeleton. He had already scouted the place in the past month.
The solution he poured over was an acid refined using Mud Viper toxins. It wasn’t strong enough to corrode the Empyrean Tusk’s exoskeleton, but it acted upon the joints of the entrance and gradually consumed the solidified dust.
Twenty minutes later, when the joints had loosened up enough, Grehha used his Prana to control a bone sphere and slammed it into the entrance, pushing it using all his power as he saw the edges of the entrance stretch like rubber before snapping.
The entrance was pushed open as a turbid smell wafted out. It was dark inside as Grehha calmed himself and entered it.
The channel was two metres tall and one metre wide, enough for a person to move through it. Even though it was dark, the moment he entered it, his Mystic Bone Art fired up on its own, enhancing his Prana sense.
Suddenly, his surroundings lit up. In reality, it was still dark, but for the Mammoth Clansmen, it appeared brightly lit. This was one of the Empyrean Tusk’s defensive mechanisms.
Even if a Pranic Beast were to get into the channel, it would be unable to see. That wasn’t all. Rupturing gravitational force would pummel the invader, shredding its body into meat paste.
Those cultivating the Mystic Bone Art wouldn’t be affected by either. Rather, they would be treated as part of the Empyrean Tusk’s immune system.
Grehha closed the entrance and walked through the channel for a couple of hours, soon reaching a pulsating organ. “I’m here.”
The channel diverged into multiple narrow channels that could only be crawled through. These channels surrounded the pulsating organ that had mostly withered.
Grehha crawled through one such channel and entered the pulsating organ, sighing upon sensing the lack of lifeforce in the region. He felt melancholic and had the urge to tear up, ‘She’s on her last leg.’
He suddenly slapped his face, brisking himself, ‘Why am I feeling such attachment to this Empyrean Tusk all of a sudden? I’m not originally from this world.’
He landed within the organ and walked through a fleshy passage, reaching the end to enter a chamber within which lay an egg. No, it wasn’t an egg, but something that would eventually become one.
Ovum!
It was the Empyrean Tusk’s Ovum. There was only one remaining here. At the sight of it, Grehha was relieved, “Thankfully, there’s one here. I didn’t want to enter the ovaries of another Empyrean Tusk.”
Thanks to the fair, most of the Mammoth Clansmen were on the hilltop. Ennoudu Plains was a safe region, bereft of any Pranic Beasts. Therefore, security in the settlement was minimum at present. 𝒪𝗏𝓁xt.𝗇𝓔t
The sparse few cultivators remaining in the settlement were only there to guard the important locations. As a result, abandoned channels leading to the ovaries weren’t monitored. But, that would only be for today.
Once the fair ends in the evening, all the cultivators would return. Grehha would have to finish his task by then. But, if he failed to find an Ovum in the 44th Empyrean Tusk, he would have to infiltrate another Empyrean Tusk.
Not only was it dangerous, but he was also running short on time. A trip to the ovaries took at least a couple of hours if not more. Therefore, he wished to succeed on the first try.
And upon seeing the ovum, he was overjoyed, gently touching it, “Thank goodness.”
[My Son!]
“What?” At the sudden booming of a voice in his mind, Grehha screamed in fright, “What was that?”
[It’s me, my son!]
He had never heard that voice before, but for some reason, it felt overly familiar. Moreover, before he realised what was up, his chest felt constricted as Grehha choked. Tears streamed down his eyes as he became emotional, instinctively recognising the source of the voice, “Empyrean Tusk?”
[I am Gannala, the 44th Empyrean Tusk!]
“I…can communicate with you?” Grehha was stunned. It was stated in Sumatra Chronicles that only the Mammoth Clan ancestor was able to communicate with the Empyrean Tusks. No one else following that could do it.
Even the various Settlement Leaders were only able to sense their respective Empyrean Tusk’s emotions and communicated the same with the Mammoth Clan to coordinate on various matters.
‘Even Resha couldn’t communicate with an Empyrean Tusk, even at the end game.’ Grehha was flabbergasted before excitement surged in him. A few seconds later though, the excitement vanished, replaced by sadness.
He stared at the Ovum, retracting his hand to notice that he was unable to hear the Empyrean Tusk’s voice. Once he gently came into contact with it, he was able to hear her voice, “Why…am I your son? You didn’t give birth to me.”
[You are my son!]
The reply was short and curt. Grehha amounted the Empyrean Tusk to be delusional, ‘I’m not even from this world.’
[I’m old, but not enough to be delusional yet, son!]
“What?” Grehha retracted his hand in a fluster, “Y-You can read my mind?”
He didn’t hear a reply since he wasn’t in touch with the Ovum. Grehha wished to do nothing but walk away, but remembering that the Ovum was a necessity for his plans, he gathered courage and touched it, ‘Even though I can compete with Resha, I have no guarantee of succeeding. At present, Resha, Virala, and even Inala are ahead of me in the race. This is my only option to success. I can’t give up here.’
The moment he touched it, the Empyrean Tusk’s voice resounded in his mind.
[All Mammoth Clansmen are a part of me. To my senses, they are akin to a Bone Slip. I have access to all information in their bodies.]
“Then…” His heart lurched as he stared at the Ovum, “Are you aware of my origin…?”
[Yes, you’re my son!]
The ovum gently hovered in the air and touched him, merging into his body.
[It’s only natural I support my son. I hope you succeed!]
[My son, Grehha!]