Feeling the tension and floating above the ground as if this situation was none of her business, Lisa's appearance was small and light, yet finding no coexistence with the Light of this place. There was no Resonance for her here. She was outside of the box.
She was ruining nothing, for she had her maps closer. The other half was up with Murai, making this cave wonderful and her smile weird. She was curious and worried about Murai's Resonance, and her feelings about whether this place was right or greater than she thought were no longer false.
How far it could go was the worrisome part, though the Calling was an authentic problem that happened on its own. It happened through and for the Bloodline, so it must be a rightful predisposition. Murai might've done more problems, either by bricking the instincts and all the possible Callings, or who knows what else.
Until now, of course.
The Resonance wasn't the Calling, but it helped with something.
According to her intel, many caves and surrounding mines below the tenth kilometer were very dense and clustered in many veins like these, making them good or impossible to take. This was one of the bigger deals, with very few smelting, carving, or mining opportunities.
It was about quality, danger, and less about the size. Sure, it was mountain-sized, so the amount of Gems it could create might be worth a fortune, but Levandis never liked to gamble unless it was worth it. The purpose could also lead to the mystery of the Ultra Materium or this temple or Gate.
Some unique underground portions showed matters of the Old World. They might not touch or involve a large portion of Ultra Materium. Whether someone mined them or not wasn't important. Intent didn't matter either, and valid reasons depended on the living things, rather than what had once happened.
Lisa doubled down on some issues and believed some things must be related to the unknowns. For once, their portal and this Gate and mining showed some connections. Then, there was Murai as a whole, and... questionable matters of how it transpired.
Why was he given this chance? Was Levandis willing to push this Anatidae to this place and depth? Lisa wished to verify this but knew she couldn't afford it right now.
Or was the matter of value worse? True or false scarcity moved the prices, so when Levandis had this sort of goldmine, mining it too fast would crash the market and those above. Many Gods of the Sky would love this sort of goldmine, yet it wasn't worthy enough to wage war into her territory, let alone into a former place of a Sun God. It was part of the Somalis Hell.
And very few Sky Gods would be willing to try their chances by waging crazy wars against Hell without any restraints.
For Ultra Materium that was precious beyond common measure, perhaps some would find it worth it. What came off from these caves looked like a mountain of glistering golden flames, rivers of flowing glossy containers, and who knew what else.
They kept glistering in bright light, affecting the eyes, and heat, touching upon the Laws and dozens of Affinities. It was scorching, influencing the air and gravity, and leaving the entrance restrained.
The heat wasn't overbearing like on the Scorching Light. It was a different kind of heat, as it couldn't properly kill. It was more gentle, etched onto the Materium itself. What came off from them was a simple bit of breath. Yet that breath felt not comforting to most.
Lisa had seen such sights before; looking like worth of lives and valuables. Thus, she knew these could belong to her directly, or some Overlord was overseeing them. It could be false. Some nasty figures definitely harbored some intense thoughts about these things, yet nothing and nobody was around to attest to it.
This place was free.
Not a soul was around.
Lisa would expect at least some Mindarch due to the privacy and matters involving this place, but not as if someone could mind them because they liked to. Perhaps if Bagus had tried his best, some chips would fall off of some parts, but they wouldn't explode to bits. This seemed like too much hustle for very little benefits because this mountain might have no simple cuts.
According to the Lookish and Foolisch, such old and big Materium veins were here for a very long time. Numbering in dozens of caves on many levels, they were rare and intense in their light.
The further it went, the more kinds of Materium spread, giving the mining much better worth for those strong enough, and leaving weaklings unable to grasp them. It was a wonder why no Extremes were allowed here. At least mining them wouldn't hurt; they could store them in a safe location and slowly sell them, but Levandis had never done that.
Lisa wasn't questioning a God. There was no point in such hopes and plotting because there were much closer issues ahead. Perhaps these Ultra Materium veins were growing through time, giving no incentive to mine them, while what was within them was another story altogether.
It wasn't worth alienating it, making enemies of it, and taking it for a storm. It might be natural, that much could be truth, so Lisa considered it as such.
Looking at it from a steady perspective, mining looked like a hassle, felt like a job, and ruled the laws of power and training. It wasn't all that bad for anyone thanks to the capability of business and opportunity.
Most of the deep Materium was dense and far too large in their structure, looking as if they were part of the collective waves that could destabilize everything when cracked in larger ways. A little bit wouldn't do much, so this created a problem for mining, and overall matters weren't that simple.
Perhaps it made sense to let things be unless some special mining techniques outshined those problems, or personal techniques and tools would become better. The employment of drills, special pickaxes, or swords with enough precision and carving was the aftermath of that issue.
Lisa and even Bagus knew them, though their matters and factors involved no regular miners. This touched upon what one might call stupid and reasonable at the same time.
Tossing the maps back to Itrosh, who backed behind Bagus because of this sight and pressure, taking shelter under the shade of his wing, Lisa shook her head and flew close to Murai. He took this storm well, all things considered.
Murai felt itchy, irritated, and annoyed at the Calling and this Resonance that was in control. He wished Lisa would be the same, though he heard her voice next and assume she had a hunch this shit would happen.
“I am unsure what family has something to do with you, but Anatidaes are familial animals, and even if their history and time are crazy, they do have their instincts and impressions. Though lacking in breeding, their individuality and every member is like a new star.”
“Didn't ask for that...” Murai said to her mind, accepting having this conversation in this manner.
“Sure, you didn't. But what do you expect? This world? Us? Do we even know what is right or not? And this cave is...well, I mean our situation is complicated for not just that. Resonance is what I guessed. I almost swear I've told you about it, but I might be wrong with the family part, or not know the truth. I can only sense so much in your present condition because of the Resonance. Perhaps it has been with you for as long as you are this, so this Calling might be natural. With you like this, it isn't that surprising for shit to turn in itself.”
Murai blinked as if golden water was in his eyes. Flashes of bright places overlapped Lisa's face and sona, giving her and this cave a weird look. Was she one with it, or was the picture closer, while the sheer depth of the distant realm initiated the swallowing, but couldn't finish it just yet?
The reason was his willingness or soul. That was his guess; Lisa actually thought the matters linked to more than him, unknown, or that Calling, or this cave.
Shaking his head, Murai wasn't sure what to look at or get. He still heard her enough and got that she was a bit sorry and tricky, so he talked.
“This feels like crashing waves of reality... and I get it. You think I don't? What have you been trying to do?”
“Reality that hurts. As it should. We live and breathe and some places do that more. Battleworld seems to lack some mannerisms and truth across the board ever since we get it, while the Encounter is long gone out of the picture when we speak about the Resonance or some instincts. Sure, it can help with some things, but what if it doesn't want to, couldn't do it, or buried it? Then, what about the family? That might be an entirely different story from the start. For once, your egg is part of what we can't see, but it has been there. Who created that? How long was it in the Redglory Forest, or what is with your birth, soul, and situation of the rest? You grew up quickly, consumed food, and ignored something precious, didn't you? The situation is nigh and closing on no points but my guesses. You didn't question it, is that correct?”
Murai slapped his head against the feathers of the ground, though Bagus didn't feel anything. It didn't help. Bagus was looking away from the light of this crazy cave, overlooking the little creatures on his back with some doubts and curiosity.
He didn't know what to think of these two when they talked in their heads, or one quacked and the other glared like a witch, succubus, or Fairy.
“You see no rights?” Lisa asked. “Not a single message comes on naturally right now, or away. The world is in limbo. Everyone else isn't, however, or something can't be. Everyone does what they always do; take power and act in their own ways. Like back in the Old World, this is beyond this little world that you seek and live with. You are alone with what you do when you have to, while Resonance does its justice as part of this shitty universe, or it has something to do with everything, for it is out of the norm, or part of nothing. Rather, this Resonance could echo through the World itself, come and go, or make its amends. That is my hypothesis for this sudden party. Resonances carry differences away from the voices from above.”
Murai blinked. “Hypothesis that doesn't matter even a little bit. Do you think I believe assumptions? I feel it, while you don't but thinks you do and judge it even more. It's almost annoying how thoughtful and wretched it makes it.”
“I do a little. Why not? You know Resonance like the back of your palms, but which one? They come and go, snatch things, or make things change, or anew. This one is... different from what you know, is it not?” She asked, curiously folding her little arms around her small chest.
Murai saw where this could go, so he left her on her own devices and truths. He couldn't disregard her voice when she was right, while what she mentioned stunk of ancient and familiar rules. He was the maker. He was touching this like a mirror, or bearing with it like strands going into another river.
If the world was taking something weird like him in some questionable ways, he might not like it from its mere principle, but accepting it was feasible.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
As for the Calling or the Resonance, taking them for an outer factor was also correct. Lisa didn't talk nonsense. What was worse to consider, and what was Lisa thinking when she monologued about some past? It wasn't that far, yet Murai wasn't thinking that far. He didn't have to, so it took him by surprise when it suddenly changed and made him weakened, confused, and desired by something in some way.
Both were different things; one feeling like the foreboding presence of the universe, the other a call from the Bloodline itself, going from him, or at him from far away. It was part of the instincts, which was something he grasped and quenched, or his soul dissipated it a long time ago.
Jumping away from Bagus's back, Murai attempted to fly but failed when he swung his wings, Lisa let him land on his own if that was what he wished for. Landing heavily on the ground as if he splashed into the water, he made some noises as he picked what belonged to his head and mind.
Spinning as if the ground was the ceiling, he wasn't sure if the light should be dark or vice-versa, but he made his choice.
“Fuck the Calling!” He growled and proceeded back to his feet, begrudgingly cursing his wings and eyes that seemed to switch between lights and reality.
Itrosh and Bagus glanced at the troubled pair that was far from their heads or imagination. Both of them knew about Resonances, but they didn't know the details of what drove them, unlike this little pair. They guessed it from the way Murai started to act and look. The rest came from this cave. Materium began to flicker and light and many Affinities started to rejoice.
Bagus or Itrosh never felt it personally, yet their confusion didn't last for too long. Soon, they felt an impulse of Mana Sonar coming from Murai, who was seeking the manageable part of his problems. Some Calling was fine as measly. It wasn't fitting for him or his lives. It should stop and halt, making his Bloodline calm, body better, and mind steady. It didn't, so he had to make it stop by force.
Itrosh was familiar with Sonar or how it worked, as it had some familiarity with her Waves. Still, it had a more mystical way of using mana as a communicator with reality, causing physical and magical links to the mind.
t was much more magical thanks to the Mana Core, which she didn't have, and the way it worked felt quicker, detailed, and rather incredible. Who could process it, let alone push such an extensive technique? Masters, perhaps.
Itrosh wasn't that, though it still had some similarities that allowed her to discover how the Sonar drove the Materium into senseless beats of Resonance.
“Holy fucking shit!” Itrosh unwillingly let out, grasping Bagus's wing.
This was his mana that he was using, or to be price, the way of his Beast Core that came out of his Bloodline Evolution. Specialized mana-related surveillance magic that was capable of turning, focusing, and Shaping when one was in control. That was the Mana Sonar. It was very mindful, so when it was seeking something crazy like this cave, the Ultra Materium was like savage beasts roaring all around him.
It linked into Resonance all along, and Murai hadn't been sure about something until now. It tied into the Calling in a way, despite Resonance being its own thing. For others around, this place was just bright. For him, it felt like drowning fall into a new world; one that wanted something, and one that felt bright and menacing like the finest of hells.
Sonar could accomplish a lot of things that eyes couldn't. In his case, it felt like he was crushing his head into ten-folds, while the feelings of mutual destruction came from the cave and mana. Then, there was the Resonance and its precarious intensity that involved mana and him.
Murai couldn't see or sense the relations between everything anymore. Calling drowned in madness, Resonance came closer because of his terrible idea, while his Sonar and his Bloodline all mushed together, creating a mess that his soul either didn't like, or one of these was taking this to a much bigger scope.
“What are you going to do?” Lisa asked him out loud, floating right above him like a judging succubus. She indicated for Itrosh and Bagus to wait with their wonders in that tunnel. They didn't listen; they insisted on looking at this show.
Murai entered the cave, overseen by Lisa who felt nothing much from this cave, or she did, but it wasn't apparent thanks to her appearance or sona.
“Shitty thing. I will do something insane and you won't judge it!” Murai declared his will, turning his head in the direction of her voice. His eyes were spinning in light and whiteness, feathers were trembling like his feet, and his hoodie seemed to shake as well, even if it couldn't be affected by these happenings. It obscured a good chunk of Murai's body, if not starting to feel the incoming change.
“Figures. Then do it and don't blame me for it. I will see through it no matter what, so let go of it and show me what you've got!” Lisa said, smiled, and turned on the spot. Moving back to the tunnel showed no resolve over her choices, but it sure made things easier for Murai, who had enough on his plate to see or consider her eyes or voice.
Murai steadied his posture, back, and feet. He sized the cave from his small perspective and felt as if the heavens were approaching. It made him recall many things that came like thuds from his memory.
Ashen, vast, and resolute, he killed and destroyed, and felt the weight over his choices like his curse. Memories were precious, hiding in his depths, and coming when he least expected it.
He accepted it, while the Resonance kept showing its fangs like a waterfall washing over his eyes. He saw bits of cave at a time until the light became very fierce when he gave up halting it. Walking towards large crystal-like veins of glowing mountain veins, they resembled a different world by now and felt distant.
There was nothing besides their intensity. Their insides were almost empty, but something fierce churred around the air of this cave. It heated him like an oven, and his Sonar saw the truth. It was deep. Too deep and vast.
Unless one's field of view was incredible, one couldn't see the whole picture of this Materium. For Murai, he wasn't looking at the stone or veins all that much; he got their appeals and watched how Materium seemed. It didn't resemble ores at all. It was more like a crystallized matter of mana and blood, mixed with something ancient.
“History of Epochs, eh?” Murai regarded it as his steps halted. “What or who died here? Or is it an aftermath of the Old World's destruction, or it's about this shitty world and its previous incarnations? Well, that might be false, or dubious from mere Epochs. Isn't it one tasty grave?”
Stone walls acted as weight, locking and remaining in place all these impressive veins. As for the ground, it was most peculiar. It had many little and dense lines spreading around the ground, looking as if lighting hit the space and ground, crawling around many stones or Ultra Materium as roots.
The biggest Materium looked like a large tidal wave of bright ice with shimmering gold of bright colors. There were some of the best veins in their finest form, away from mining, or away from those that wanted to touch it, influence it, or make something out of it. Letting it be was one choice; the other was to make use of it, but how?
Murai wasn't even aware of what it was capable of. There was nothing in his memory due to its complexity or distance, so this thing might as well rot here because who would be able to use it? Perhaps those Ultra Gems were the only thing that counted, for this thing was gigantic and appeared like a gem made for giants, or... Titans.
Something hit Murai right there, but Resonance created a new flaring object, ensuring that his mind wasn't calm enough to wander around.
Everything was here for a long time, unaffected by touches, or forgotten because no one was worth it to touch it.
Perhaps it was lonely, Murai briefly thought amid his confusing memories, weird pictures, sight, and an endless supply of Resonance that was increasing the more he touched the Sonar. It was coming and increasing, arriving from almost everything.
A big chunk of the Sonar increased, encompassing three kilometers around him due to the sheer effects of the Materium. This cave was the loudest and most intimate after he started to feel this Resonance, rather than be its taker.
It slowly crept up until Resonance found something through these materials that desired and touched the matters of Light, Flames, and Brightness.
One way or another, it didn't want to leave him alone, which might be weird, because these minerals seemed to empower and link the Resonance and the Calling together.
Murai had never heard of them in this way. Perhaps this was what the finest of Resonances were about, flowing into the correct brackets of reality, body, and magic. It was the kind that felt right, he assumed.
It was as if the most important layers wanted to become one, yet his soul was the part that was shaking this connection, so everything was crashing at him like an angry dog, while the Calling was separate, yet part of it as well. How come?
The family was why, Lisa said, giving him some clarity besides one obnoxious news. Anatidaes seemed like a big deal of a species, and he had family, rather than being left alone in his egg. That surprised him in a sense, albeit from Lisa's point of view, it was inevitable and never close. Odd.
Murai considered some plausible scenarios amidst his storming emotions and visions.
The Resonance involved what was within, outside, or around anything, and the origin maintained. Some things were just meant to be, closing on Fate and what the magic and time allowed.
Resonance was beyond that scope. Time or Fate didn't matter to something that was outside of that vision, but it affected living things as well, even though it was something foreign, far from lucidity, and close to souls.
Ultra Materium was a clustered magical possession, far from something with a soul and sensible way of magic. It was more senseless, still seeking out and forcing this Resonance.
No one should take it for a magical event, or purposeful win. Its connection was like a lawless touch at present, giving people what the past deserved, and what the current Epoch required. Some did, that was. Some didn't. What influenced what, was what Murai was thinking when he was seeking his answers, while his Cursed Living and everything about it was as senseless.
Cursed, he was. Trying, he used to be. Wishing for it to be over was nothing but an unfilial dream.
He guessed some reasons with his awareness—that nothing would come by itself. He should look and seek answers like the Resonance itself. Perhaps it was a good lesson or a neat little reminder. Or a knock at his memories that clashed against his reality, validating it, or disregarding it via confusion of New Beginnings.
He was right about one thing. Resonance happened when a couple of layers wanted something much more throughout, before merging into one major craving. This thing turned him upside down, apart from one problem, or the Calling itself.
Ultra Materium didn't do it alone. It was mere fuel.
Resonance didn't touch anything either. It was the mere opening of those beyond it.
Everything flowed for its purpose, guided by Bloodline, and the source that was Murai himself. This body desired this; not him.
His Beast Core was overturning itself, flaring in its Affinities and acting like a raging beast. Sonar helped. That was the key. It affected his Artificial Core as well, leaking to the Beast Core, and affecting the status quo of his whole mana space. The Core Defying Fusion Technique was starting to crack apart. He should hurry and fix it, but how?
Murai had no mind for it right now. Hopefully, it wouldn't crash completely and both would survive when this was over. It should stay reasonable, for his cores were still defiant like himself.
He got he was at the center of a big plate, surrounded by the hunger itself. He didn't care for the origin of this Resonance, nor did he want to create problems that came against his knowledge or body. He wanted to have his life together. The kind that Lisa shouldn't be unaware of, or he might be wrong. Perhaps this was what she wanted ever since she showed him those Ultra Gems.
Back then, he felt something about them, but nothing too strong. Perhaps it was already there, as Resonance was a gradual relation and one would get more out of it the further it would creep.
So if someone unfamiliar with it judged it wrongly once and left, Resonance wouldn't happen and abandon this target.
Murai could do the same thing by leaving these caves and going back to places with no Ultra Materium. Resonance would pass on, leave him and he would regain his calm.
Nothing else but his soul wanted to do it, however. His body wanted to stay. The Bloodline wished for more. Ultra Materium felt like bewitching voices and pictures that wanted to come close, to the comfort he was feeling as an act of its origin, followed by something that he couldn't get even with his soul.
Not many beings in this temple would understand this situation even if they were right before him. Bagus or Itrosh weren't understanding it one bit.
Perhaps there were multiple Callings, one akin to a Law Calling, guided by principles of familiarity and an endless supply of rightful points of Resonance. The other was brutal and untameable as its origin was vastly different from the flesh and blood. When the former would bond, it could be blissful.
When massive layers like these combined, clashing against him, nearly halting it all to a standstill, Murai felt like a tiny duckling again facing the massive depths of a distant realm. He watched it too, blazing forth and coming to get him like a beast—warm and blinding one, of course.
It wasn't a matter of luck, or extreme measures and might of talents and trials. Could Laws grand it in their perpetual rules and loops that guided many Paths in seeking the peak? That was false. Laws were difficult and limited. Resonance followed closely when Paths were up and above the norm, guided by teachers, or someone who was well above it.
Were Gods familiar with such Resonances as their bodies and Paths were their embodiments? Indeed, yet there were some Gods who never felt it once in their lifetime.
Resonances had their markers, but one should never be right about them. Perhaps the only source of some clarity would be the amount of time one would spend under the Resonance.
“What to think, what to make of this?” Murai asked himself, wondering if everything was the fault of his soul, Lisa, or his body, or if he overlooked something else. This pain, these pictures. They wouldn't disappear on their own. Letting it flow like it wanted was next.
He wondered if it was fine because the foreign Calling was getting intense, shuddering his insides, feeling like grasping his heart. His feet trembled, emotions stirred, and feathers shivered in excitement away from his feelings and fear. He wasn't fearful. Something was simply taking two sides of the fear and bliss on the same side. That was his body.
It wanted it, yet Calling was against it, going against the natural Calling of his body. Add to that his soul that this Resonance—or foreign Calling—hadn't liked either, he was a lost cause.