Chapter 932: Ink, Candy and Bug’s glorious adventure…
“Well then, if the matriarch is still recuperating, I suppose we’ll just head back to Stone Claw until she’s-”
“Ah, no, wait a minute. We may now have a means to teleport back and forth between our two houses,but it would still be rude of us to send you guys back without at least feeding you lot something.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. I would hate to be bother….”
“No, please. We insist.”
“But…”
‘Oh boy…’
While Zhen Liu was waiting for Logos and Pathos’s latest information packet to download into his head, his grandfather and granduncle were busy having a good ole fashion etiquette war.
Zhen Liu knew that deep down, his grandfather had wanted to simply go home after visiting Matriarch Zhen Xun Tian, he also knew that there was a bit of nuance to tell someone that you simply want to go home when the initial plan goes out the window.
(Un)fortunately, this was going to take a while, as made evident by the sight of his First Uncle sitting himself back down into his seat. Zhen Liu could see this expression on his First Uncle’s face, that suggested he knew that these two old fellows would probably have this argument over etiquette and politeness until the cows came home.
Which was fine by him, since he needed to get a sit-rep from two kaijin he barely talked to anyways.
…
=Download complete, milord. You should now be able to communicate with Kit and Rodenia now.=
‘Well, once I get my [Chaos] established, right?’
Following the instructions that Logos and Pathos just shoved into his brain, Zhen Liu proceeded to circulate his [Chaos] into his brain and ears in an entirely new way. Once he did, he began to hear what was the equivalent of static in his head, until…
[…are you sure it was completely necessary to let her tattoo us? I don’t mind the design, but that needle made me itchy.]
[Oh, it’s fine. She needed something to take her mind off of laying in bed, we might as well help with that at least.]
[I know, but-]
‘Testing, testing. Can anybody hear me?’
[Huh? Why am I hearing more voices in my head? Did our fight without the whale fister leave me more rattled than anticipated?]
[No, I don’t think so…wait a minute, Maker? Is that you?]
‘Rodenia! Kit! Good to hear that you two are still alive. Recovering, but still alive.’
[Oh my!]
[Oh, hello Coach! Where are you speaking from-wait…oh…I sense you now…hmmm. I guess it would be inappropriate to rush out and give you and the others a hug, huh?]
‘Probably, but you two can do me at least two favors since we can communicate now.’
[Yes?]
[What are they?]
‘First, how is the condition of Matriarch Zhen Xun Tian? I heard she was terribly injured.’
[Oh, she was, but she is a remarkably quick healer.]
[Yeah…she literally got up this morning, announced she was bored and demanded Kit and I to be her new tattoo canvases.]
‘Oh my…you two okay?’
[Yeah. The tattoos are a bit itchy though.]
[Probably doesn’t help that yours is carved into a carapace as opposed to mine being simply a dye, more or less.]
‘Huh.’
…
=Normally, unless…oh boy…=
…
‘Alright, follow-up question, what the hell happened when you guys went to the Abyssal Lands? How’d y’all end up injured?’
[Ah, that.]
[Well…]
What followed after this question was posed, was a story that was worrying to say the least.
___________A few days ago…_____________
“So this is the entrance to the Abyssal Lands that Xiao Liu managed to find? Looks about as depressing as every other entrance I’ve seen,” Zhen Xun Tian declared while hovering over a swampy looking lake filled with pitch-black water.
As an Overlord of some repute, and as someone who had lived long enough to be involved in a couple crusades into the Abyssal Lands, Zhen Xun Tian recognized an entrance to the Abyssal Lands when she saw one.
That stated, she was a little shocked to find one so close to her beloved Willow Scale City.
‘Had this always been here or is this new?,’ Zhen Xun Tian briefly wondered. ‘Hmm…doesn’t matter! What matters is if this stinky little hole of darkness will take me to those Fallen bastards directly or indirectly.’
With her query now close at hand, Zhen Xun Tian was ready to take the dive into the ocean of darkness beneath and go hunting all by herself lonesome. However, she wasn’t actually alone.
“Wait, wait, wait!”
“If you’re going to drag me out of work today, at least have the common courtesy to wait for me to catch up!”
“Whoopsies! Sorry about that.”
She had actually brought along a pair of companions who just so happened to be the ones who informed her of this entrance’s existence.
Kit and Rodenia may have had the powers of Aether Lords, but they were rather unused to the act of flying.
Kit never had much use for it, since they were usually helping their mom out at the candy store, while Rodenia herself didn’t know she could fly until about a day or so ago. Regardless, Zhen Xun Tian made sure to wait until her kaijin companions caught up with her before deep diving into the Abyssal Lands.
Once they had finally caught up, panting in exhaustion all the while, she decided to tease them a little. After all, she was in the know.
“I thought you kaijin were supposed to be ‘elite warriors that could defy the very laws of heaven, aether and nature’. I didn’t know you all could move so slow or get tired so easily.”
“I’m made of taffy and I spend most of my days working in a candy store. Flying isn’t in my job description,” Kit defended themselves.
“I don’t work, but I used to be a giant pill bug. I roll and run better than I fly,” Rodenia stated. “Oh! And punching, I’m really good at punching.”
“Well, you’re gonna have the opportunity to do just that,” Zhen Xun Tian said as she pulled out a strange looking aether treasure that took the form of a small hoop. Get close to you two. Like forbidden lovers on a warm summer evening with a full moon illuminating all the naughty bits.”
“Okie-dokie!’
“That wasn’t even an issue with phrasing, that was just dirty!”
“Just get over here.”
Following Zhen Xun Tian’s command, Rodenia and Kit proceeded to float even closer to her so that they were practically in hugging distance.
Once they were all snuggled together, Zhen Xun Tian proceeded to infuse the hoop in her hand with a lot of aether, causing it to glow with unknown power.
“Alright, I hope you guys are ready because this next part is gonna be as claustrophobic as being trapped in a giant clam shell.”
“Why do you know how that feels?”
“Because I’m old and crazy! [Expand!]”
With this warning given, Zhen Xun Tian proceeded to throw the hoop upward.
Once it was just a head above her and the kaijin, the hoop proceeded to suddenly pause mid-air before expanding to the point that all three of the aforementioned warriors could easily slip through.
“And…[Coat]!”
Zwup!
“Whoa!”
Zhen Xun Tian had made a chopping gesture with her hand, directed at the giant hoop, prompting it to come down and cost her and the kaijin in a large bubble made of Luxarii aether.
The kaijin were in awe at the sudden shield…but also developed a bad feeling that they knew what was going to happen next.
“Alright, kaijin, pop quiz, is it safe for the average aether warrior to dive headfirst into an entrance into the Abyssal Lands, yes or no?”
“No.”
“No…?”
“That’s correct, and why is that?”
“Because you’ll drown…?”
“Well, that is a factor, but what else?”
“Because of the mix of Caligos and Aquari aether creating a hostile environment known as Shadow Water, Kagemizu in Tide Tongue: Island Dialect.”
“Damn! I see you have more than sugar in that brain of yours. That is exactly right!,” Zhen Xun Tian praised.
“Technically speaking, Kagemizu has the ability to not only drown you like normal water, but it will also drain you of your aether, your soul and force you to relive your most embarrassing moments. Like the entirety of my first marriage, rest in peace, old friend.”
“Frost marriage?,” Rodenia asked Kit in a whisper.
“Don’t think about it,” Kit replied.
“Anyways, because Kagemizu is so dangerous, we need to be either as strong as yours truly, or if we’re a mixed party, we’ll need one of these,” Zhen Xun Tian explained while gesturing to the glowing bubble that was surrounding them. “A [Meteor Bubble Ring].”
“Why…why is it called a [Meteor Bubble Ring]?”
“Because it costs you in a bubble…,” Zhen Xun Tian trailed off while pointing a finger downward. “Before dropping you like a meteor!”
“Oh…OH FU-!”
