Misozi felt the changes in her hull, the silver, foam-like algae was working its way into the gash along the starboard side. She wasn't panicking, things like rust were of no concern to her but the Silver foam seemed very adept at getting into the finest of scratches along her outer surface.
There were many many fine scratches from the previous battle with the Orange Queen and hairline scratches were still gouges upon a smooth surface. The silver algae was clinging to Misozi and spreading like a Glenac Infestation.
Misozi dove deeper into the muddied base of the spirit pond, the deeper she went, the stronger the force of energy. With Energy, she could repel any sort of abrasive or corrosion along her body. As a hitchhiker, the Algae wasn't too aggressive. If the algae had been just a bit more problematic and invasive, she would have had a much more difficult time remaining calm.
The Glow of Misozi's Hull had not dissipated and the guards who had been attacking were at a loss about what to do, eventually, one of them left to find someone in charge to report the incident.
In the depths of Misozi's soul, she could hear a voice, it sounded distant and strange. It was calling to her but she couldn't find a direction. When she couldn't figure it out, she activated her sensors and tried again but the voice did not repeat itself.
There was a whooshing around the hull, new noises were hitting the spirit ponds surface, not stabbing marks but the sounds of footsteps surrounding the small pond and then the sound of a formation being laid, Misozi felt heavier and she sank into the mud uncontrollably.
Clerics of the Sunset Empire had surrounded the pond, there was a great beast approaching from a distance, a storm cloud brewed overhead. If the creature came from the light that was coming from the pond, they had to protect it.
That's why they had to conceal it presence fast, the Clerics of the Sunset Empire were descending on their position, Ancestors and Household Deities from across the Sunset Empire were going to arrive soon after and the Clerics would be to blame if anything was unprepared.
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Kuzunoha was flying overhead, she was looking for a way to round up some of the beasts that they had been tracking. Strange creatures with bubbles on their backs, a pod of Iplien were drifting in the trees. When the Creatures were too frightened, they would continually run.
Vira had caught one of them, her speed was pretty average for the group after the girls triple breakthrough but, even with her speed, the creatures were still something that the others didn't want to have to chase after. The spirit stones that were dropped meant nothing but there were fruits that looked like they were fermenting inside of the bubbles, ripening, and all of them gave off a wonderful smell from a distance.
A Storm cloud was looming nearby, clouds were rolling in quickly and there was not much time before the first signs of rain would hit them. The Iplien bubbles were large like beach balls, when the wind hit them they swayed.
Vira surmised that if they were moving around on the backs of the creatures, that the creatures themselves were carrying the item and not consuming them. When she caught the first one, her face was filled with glee. The fruit was liberated from the bubble but the Iplien tried to snatch it back. Vira threw the Iplien into a tree and bound it with ropes.
Vector landed and froze the creature. Iplien appeared to be peaceful, at least, on the outside but Vector could feel a power welling up inside of it. He grabbed Vira and move quickly from that spot.
A gas rolled out of the Iplien, it swallowed the ropes and tree then, even the ground began to vanish from beneath it. The Iplien grew out of control, bubbles covered its body and then they all burst.
Hundreds of bubbles spread into the wind and everything they touched shared the same fate. As the wind blew, more trees and plants began to vanish. Before the group lost track of the bubbles in the air, they noticed that inside each of the bubbles was the plant that had just disappeared. They were being air lifted to another location, carried on the storm front.
"You should be more careful." Vector smiled at Vira and let go.
"Yeah, that was strange." Vira held the fermented fruit in her hands. "But this seems like it was worth it." Taking out a small wooden box, she put the fruit inside and stored it. "We should try to catch at least one more." Vira wanted everyone to get something, she was pushing herself as well. "How's the Egg?"
Vector opened the box that he was carrying in a satchel, inside, the red and purple egg was still pulsing quietly. "Its fine."
"That storm will be here in no time, we already have a lot on our plate. We should find a place to set the Pagoda up if we want to sleep in a dry place tonight." Wu Hai found a large space between some very thick trees and dug into the soil. After his transformation with Noyuki, he had lost a mental connection to the White Spot. It had merged with his body and they had become as one, rather than making a play to get the white spot to respond, he now had a full command of its functionality.
However, when he went to extend the claws to dig, he found himself changing entirely. He had envisioned himself using the claws of a large Terraphtavore but the change had turned his entire body and not just his forearms or hand into a Claw. The shape was an external one, it covered his clothes and arms but his body remained the same. The manifestation of the spot's extension was truly wonderful to experience, Wu Hai could feel every tactile response from the outer edges of its skin like a suit. He breathed deeply and bored into the soil, digging straight down and opening up a large enough pit for the Pagoda.
"That's new," Noyuki had all of Wu Hai's memories but she didn't have the White Spot.
Wu Hai came out of the hole and the white Terraphtavore suit was sucked back into his body like he was swallowing it. "Yeah, its a new one for me too.."
The Pagoda didn't take long to expand but there was a distinct lack of energy. When it was expanded, Wu Hai covered it with dirt to hide their location and teleported everyone inside. "We're going to wait out the storm in here and then go check on Misozi. After putting her into that pond she should have had time to start repairs. She said she could have them completed in one month but I don't want to wait in the Pagoda for that long."
"Lets get inside, I'd rather not be stuck in the rain right now." Kuzunoha was always wearing a thin white dress, every time she got wet, it became almost transparent. She was ready to get some sleep after having chased the Iplien through the forest.
"When are you going to start wearing armor when we go hunting?" Wu Hai poked her in the butt and teleported the group inside.
Qu's avatar was not present and the lights were still out through most of the tower, it would take several years to repair even in the Ultinian Heavens. There simply wasn't enough material to completely repair his Core at the same time as Qingchi's and Qingchi would not have survived if the core wasn't split.
Wu Hai was upset that he couldn't do more for Qu, he had been with him for so long.
"Do whatever you need to do but in the morning, be ready to go hunting to the North." Vector wanted to find some compatible spirit stones. He was falling behind in terms of strength, the creatures that they had run into were mostly fire types.
"That sounds like a plan." Vira smiled and pulled at Noyuki, "Lets get to bed."
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Vector had a room that he hadn't been to in a while that was still setup in the Pagoda, when Mursayade and him entered there was an old Ice bed, it was simple but flat and hard.
"This isn't going to do." Mursayade pulled out her bed and put it down. "Hand me the Egg."
"I've got it." Vector was gentle and pulled the Egg from the box, setting it down, he felt it's pulse quicken. "I don't think it wants to be on the fire bed."
The Egg rattled.
Mursayade saw the changes in the Egg and wondered what was going to happen, "Is it hatching?"
"Doesn't seem like it." Vector pulled the Egg back and placed it into the box, the pulses slowed and he probed the Egg with his senses. "I think it's frightened.." He wasn't sure why, but the feelings he was able to receive all signaled the same thing, the creature in the Egg was afraid. "Maybe I should just keep holding onto it for now."
Mursayade laughed a little and laid down on the Fire Bed atop some furs. "Well, Are you coming to bed or do I have to find a way to convince you?" She waved her hand and her clothes vanished, replaced with black underwear and a lace bra.
Vector Gulped and closed the lid to the Box.
Without the exterior shield, the Tower was buried in mud. Subsequently, the Arena balcony was also completely unusable as it was. When Vira wanted to practice she was left with little alternative, as soon as the doors to the Arena opened mud came flowing in and she was forced to clear a portion of it just to close the door.
Filthy, Vira decided that it was time for a bath. There were baths every three floors to accommodate the many guests that had previously housed themselves within the Tower. When she came around the corner, she felt a hot steam and got an eye full of Vector railing Mursayade against the side of the large tub.
She smiled, turned away and looked to another floor.
Vector and Mursayade both finished their round of exercise, a fog rolled out of the room when Vira had entered and she had forgotten to close the Door.
"Its called negotiating!" Mursayade laughed and pranced around the room in a towel.
"I'm not giving up the Egg." Vector chased her until he had her pinned against the wall.
She dropped the towel.
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Within the Sunset Empire's borders, guards were rushing around the City whilst preparing for the aerial attack. Mounted beasts did nothing to stop the ripping winds outside of the City's protective shielding and the storm was intensifying by the minute.
All attempts to stall the storm by the Mages present were failures, they were worse than morons, the speed of the storm was actually increased as they fed it energy.
'Xiu'
The Crack of a Bird's call caught everyone's attention and from above, flames began to fall from the storm, they fell like feathers scattered in the wind and everything outside of Town was set ablaze, then doused and set ablaze again. Smoke filled the basin of the City and blacked out the light, they were in the darkness and crashes against the shield could be repeatedly felt.
The Divine Beast of the Eclipsing Empire, the Storm Crow, had descended with its claws and pecked at the shield over and over, micro-fractures appeared and then the shield fell. Winds swept up soldiers and sent them into the air, buildings were torn apart and personal items began to tear the population to shreds while the Storm Crow made a meal out of anyone and anything with energy.
Misozi could feel the intense aura that was not too far away, it pounded against the ground and vibrations translated through the waters. The Pond was still protected by a formation that hid its location and energy levels but the Guards nearby had disappeared, their priorities had changed after the Storm Crow's arrival. Misozi knew what she had to do, she expelled one of her puppets that had control over a storage ring and very quickly, the stones within the spirit pond were taken away.
Puppets could withstand the turbulence caused by rapid expansion, their bodies were not living and so no manner of twisting would kill them so long as they remained powered and in tact. When the stones were gone, a silvery liquid remained. The puppet grabbed as much of the accumulated spirit water and mud as it could collect in a few waves of its hand, the material value of the pond was just too good to waste or become food for the arriving Divine Beast.
Misozi didn't want to be eaten at that time, she had the puppet grab hold of her hull and sprint toward the group's last known position.
The puppet was almost indistinguishable from the debris that was flying around while she fled and Misozi took the chance to escape very seriously. The puppet raced at its fastest speed from the area, the Storm Crow would not be finished eating for some time.