Elder Cultivator-Chapter 1240

Now that Bear Hug was all safe and cozy in the upper realms, they had to get back to their actual goal. Aside from convincing someone to ship them to Second Gift from this side of things, they had to get strong enough to actually do things with the planet. They didn’t even know what those things would be, but being stronger and more would help. Cultivating was pleasant, at least.

Unlike Scha which had been hot or cold, most of the Scarlet Alliance planets were a nice middle ground while still having bountiful upper energy. About that energy… Bear Hug wondered if it should be called one thing by them over here, and something else by those below? Or perhaps simply referencing the energy they actually possessed would be correct.

They did their best to help Uzun with what he wanted, but after the scans there wasn’t really more than was needed of them. After that, Bear Hug’s main goal was to increase the number of bodies they had in the upper realms. That might balance things, and at the very least would increase the variety of activities they could get up to.

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Meanwhile, in the lower realms, more of Bear Hug was focused on what they could do to protect Second Gift. Practical ideas were few and far between, unless they could heat a whole planet. However, inspiration came in the form of a turtle.

Anton’s home planet of Ceretos was nice- the best planet in the system. Bear Hug had one of them there, now. Bear Hug wasn’t very good with cities full of people, but really liked some of the lakes near the people that felt like Lev. And the huge tree. And the other, still pretty big trees. People knew Bear Hug was there and also that they couldn’t really talk to each other, so mostly anyone who came out on the lake waved when they passed each other. It was nice.

Then an ocean flew overhead, carried by a big turtle. Bear Hug already knew about Paradise, but it was very different to see him. Especially when you realized how far away Paradise was while still taking up most of the sky.

Bear Hug wanted to carry an ocean. That one might actually be big enough to cover a planet. And then there would be a frozen ocean all over the planet.

It wasn’t a perfect plan, obviously. They were still working on it.

Still, being good at controlling all that water would help. It wasn’t just power either. Paradise felt strong, but there wasn’t an overwhelming, constant effort. Clearly, there was skill.

Bear Hug stretched towards the sky. “How do I do that?”

Then they remembered that they could ask. Yelling up into the sky was probably not the right way to do that, though. Instead, they could just ask Lev to introduce them. Yes, that seemed right. Why not ask right away?

Oh right. Lev wasn’t on-planet. And Bear Hug still hadn’t gotten a waterproof communication thingy. Hopefully Paradise wasn’t leaving right away.

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Bear Hug wasn’t sure if it was fast or slow, but a couple days later they were in the sky talking to Paradise. “How do you control all that water?” they asked.

Words were translated through Lev, who was helpfully giving of his time. More people were learning the energy language, but that took time and people didn’t always need to speak to Bear Hug. Maybe they should figure out how to digest ‘sounds’, though, so that they could talk to more people. And how to make sounds. Bear Hug didn’t want to make people learn to talk to them. Though it was for sure a better language.

Paradise didn’t answer. Instead, Erin did because she was the one who talked. Though Paradise should be able to talk, right? He controlled energy so good. “It’s mostly continuous practice for centuries. And more centuries.”

“Oh. I’m trying to figure out how to keep a planet from freezing. Can you do that?” Bear Hug looked Paradise in the eyes. As much as one could, with the eyes being so far apart and Bear Hug not having their own eyes to look with.

Paradise gave a tiny nod. Probably. It was a very large movement up and down overall, but relative to head size it was tiny. Bear Hug also wasn’t sure it was a nod until Erin confirmed it.

“... Do you want to learn the energy language?”

Paradise shook his head. Which kind of meant he already sort of understood.

“Paradise doesn’t like communicating,” Erin explained.

“Oh no!” Bear Hug grew concerned. “Am I bothering him? Should I stop asking things?”

Bear Hug got splashed with a small ocean. Except the salt was removed, so it was just a lake.

Erin shook her head. “I think Paradise is saying that he just doesn’t want to be responsible for talking. If he was actually bothered by you, I would have stopped a while ago. I think splashing you was positive. It felt that way.”

“I like water,” Bear Hug confirmed. It was strong and powerful. “You pushed the first planet. Bounty. Are you going to help with Second Gift?”

Paradise had no simple response. Erin, however, came up with an explanation. “He certainly doesn’t seem eager at the prospect. I don’t think it would help, either. We’re pretty much limited to the lower realms. We’d only cover half your journey.”

“But… teamwork and friendship…?” Surely whoever was in the upper realms would want to keep things good as well.

The second time Bear Hug was hit with a lake, they thought Paradise might actually be mad. But it didn’t hurt. It just knocked them far into the distance and then dragged them around.

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It was hard to get out of the flow, and they were just stuck circling Paradise for a few minutes. Then they were doing it but not stuck.

The flow of water was entrancing. It was like they were in a real river, which… they didn’t actually do very often. There was a reason Bear Hug stuck to lakes and ponds. Unless you latched onto something, you would be pulled along and taken along with the current to anywhere. Well, specifically downstream, but that might not be where you wanted to go.

The flow of water wasn’t just trying to be a river, though. It was about how it was flowing. Obviously there wasn’t a slope the water was going down. Paradise was controlling the water. They were showing Bear Hug how it worked. Which was what they wanted to begin with. Making sure the water wasn’t salty was a nice gesture, because Bear Hug was most definitely a freshwater algae.

Bear Hug wondered how long Paradise was willing to teach them. But however long it was, they were going to devote as much attention as possible to it. Humans were nice, but Paradise was probably closer to Bear Hug than most even though he was still an animal.

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The ‘Little Alliance’- the West Core for those who were boring- though still technically aligned with the Chaotic Conglomeration in the larger sense, was finding their relocation to be quite advantageous. It wasn’t just the closer access to allies who were willing to help them grow- though that was a significant factor- but because what remained of their holdings on the mid-border with the Exalted Quadrant were in a strained situation from both sides. If they had remained, they would have inevitably folded under the pressure.

As it was, their new homes on the border at least allowed them the option to retreat if it came to it. They didn’t want to, because they didn’t want to abandon the region of space they had lived in for many generations of their sects, but they recognized it was better to live than to perish. And the presence of their smallest allies was still a source of tension. They simply didn’t mention the void ants to visitors. The average person wouldn’t notice- most cultivators, really.

Obviously the ones from the lower realms knew, though. And there was a particularly strange visitor today. A man named Alin Kato. At least, Velvet thought he was odd and Runa clearly agreed. The twins were a different matter, but they were odd too. Reliable allies, but odd.

“Normally I would not have taken such a lengthy journey to ask a small number of questions,” Alin commented. “But secrecy is of some importance. Have you experienced any troubles with the Disciples of the Beyond as of late?”

“You mean after Ramil attacked and tried to wipe us out?” Runa asked.

“Yes, precisely. After that.”

“Not… much. Though we are somewhat more removed from that particular sect now.”

“Yes, I see. And has your spying relayed anything of interest?” Alin looked at Velvet in particular. “I have some particular avenues of inquiry. Specifically, experiments involving actual distortion beasts and not projections.”

Velvet shook her head. “They don’t make it easy to spy on them. And I’d rather not get close to Ramil.”

“Sensible. In your opinion, who do you think would be best placed to intercept something at some particular coordinates in half a millennium?”

Runa was rather baffled at the question. Even a century was a bit far to predict with certainty. The question seemed to come out of nowhere.

Juli answered just fine, though. “Aside from us? I’m not sure. Also, I don’t know that we could, I just think we’re best suited. That’s outside the galactic plane, right?”

“Indeed. There are actually some developments in that area because of this incident,” Alin commented. “My assistant will send them to you,” he waved.

“Who?”

Alin made a face. “Oh yes. He was occupied with… something. In the lower realms. I suppose I shall have to gather that information.” Alin made a face. “What’s your security level?”

“The highest, as far as I know. They kept adding more levels.”

“It was quite an inconvenience,” Alin nodded slowly. “Well, that does make things simpler. I can’t be bothered to sort through things, I’ll just send all of it. It should be useful for life on the border of the realms anyway.” He looked to Runa. “Is the West Core planning to expand to the edges of the galactic plane anytime soon?”

“If we did, we’d outside the Scarlet Alliance.”

“That would be a logistical difficulty, I suppose. But if you could set up some outposts, that might be most helpful.”

“For what?” Runa asked.

“Well,” he paused for a moment. “I must assume everyone here can keep a secret.”

“Durff’s out,” Velvet confirmed. He was actually decent at keeping secrets, but it took him more effort and thus it was better not to burden him.

Alin found himself having to explain about the distortion beast nest- which people were aware of, but without the details. And the details were the tiresome part that people were supposed to have assistants to cancel. But then they had ‘important matters’ and that they ‘couldn’t afford to go hundreds of lightyears away on a whim’. Presumably because of some social thing. Obviously the Alliance was paying for the actual transportation.

The theorized destination of the distortion beast nest would be ‘above’ the upper realms. That in theory put the West Core closer, but in practice they were still quite distant from the location, in all physical dimensions. They were merely the only option for potentially setting up helpful outposts.

Halfway through one of his explanations, Alin Kato felt something strange outside the room. Little machines, and then the distinct sign of void ants. The door opened, and he recognized Crossed Antennae- by visuals, if not by previous interaction. It was quite sensible to keep track of the most prominent void ants, and fortunately those of import tended to be more physically distinct in size and adornment.

“Sorry I am late,” Crossed Antennae signed.

“You can watch the recording later,” Alin said. “The short version is… centered around long-distance ships that wouldn’t rely on standard interstellar mechanics. Like… actual systems or stars. Sustaining life for great distances is a bit of a conundrum.”

“I understand what you mean,” Crossed Antennae responded. “Humans take up so much space and food.”

“Yes, we-” Alin blinked. He hadn’t specifically ignored void ants in his previous thoughts. They had even been part of potential balanced ship ecosystems. They were good for all sorts of small repairs without tearing out paneling, and they were good at small scale plant manipulation as well.

But he hadn’t considered sending only them. He’d already noticed the greater prevalence of mechanical transport for void ants in this region- a trend that had spread slightly to the lower realms as well. The two hadn’t been put together. And void ants were easier to convince to send on a potentially deadly mission for the good of all. Could they fit enough recording systems, though?

If his assistant was around, he probably would have been dragged out of his thoughts sooner. Usually that was the correct call when people were waiting for him to speak. But these people were patient and let him finish quite a deep dive on new and valuable paths of thinking.

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