Elder Cultivator

Chapter 994

There was plenty of room in the ship for an extra handful of cultivators- if necessary they could have been standing or whatnot, but the sort of ship leaders in the Scarlet Alliance could get was more than spacious enough. They didn’t have any fancy space bending things inside, because that had functional conflicts with the other formations, but it wasn’t difficult to move a decent size vehicle around at high speeds.

Everyone was exhausted to different extents. The poison that Fuzz had sensed had been determined to be some effect of the distortion beast- the four Integration cultivators had sensed it during their battle but not before. It had seemed somewhat odd for it to be part of a perpetual trap, but nobody knew exactly what the reason for things had been anyway.

Fortunately they were able to begin purging the poisons easily enough once they were safe, with some aid from various pills. Durff just ate anything he was told. Jyotsana was suspicious, but did it once she saw the others had the same thing. Misi and Juli were curious and studied theirs for a while before consuming them.

There were a million words that could be exchanged, but for the most part everything important had already been covered. People were content to sit and rest.

Technically, the four Integration cultivators needed to be watched. They should have had proper guard shifts, but everyone was close enough together that it didn’t seem necessary. More relevantly, they were far weaker than the other group, so even if Velvet vouching for them wouldn’t have been enough the worst they could do was break the ship, which would be annoying but pointless for them.

Alva was the weakest among the others, but even she was probably strong enough to fight them all alone, even before she advanced to Augmentation. Currently, she was taking the final step- the battle had given her the insights, but she hadn’t advanced instantly. Sometimes people needed a more stable environment for an advancement, after all.

They had spent a few days heading towards Xankeshan, exchanging reports and the like to make up for the time they had been gone. It wasn’t terribly long, but there were still relevant things for them to manage. Most people’s recoveries were going well. However, Durff seemed to be having more serious issues.

He didn’t say anything at first, though Velvet still spotted it. His energy was imbalanced, and he had more injuries than anyone else to begin with. He was tough, but that should have resulted in him being less wounded except that he overdid himself.

Ultimately, he wasn’t stoic for no reason. He seemed to have been assessing his recovery, or hadn’t thought to bring it up until it came up in conversation.

“I’m pretty much fully recovered now,” Timothy had declared. Not that he needed to, but it was nice to have assessments from others since internal matters were less clear. “Just a few small parts need to be rearranged. I never really anticipated that issue.”

Durff grumbled. “Me neither. I have so many things to put back! I still have bits of wall inside me too!” He snorted. “And I feel heavy.”

“It’s not odd to be tired after something like that,” Alva said.

Durff shook his head. “It’s not like that. Is the gravity in this ship more?”

“Standard artificial gravity,” Catarina confirmed. “How bad it it?”

“Very uncomfortable,” he said. “Maybe I should try moving around more…?” He did so, but kept shaking his head. His feet thudded as he walked… which was exactly what Velvet expected. He was not quiet when he moved. But it did seem slightly different, now that he mentioned it. Finally, he stopped. “I feel heavier when I use my energy,” Durff said. “That doesn’t make sense, right?”

It was Misi who finally came up with the answer. “Durff. What did you do with the… fragment?”

Durff pondered for a moment. “The starheart fragment?” Misi winced. “It disappeared.”

“You found something like that?” Velvet asked.

“Right before the snake showed up,” he nodded. “I think it wanted to eat it. And everything else.”

“How did it… disappear?” Misi asked.

“Well, it was there. And later it wasn’t,” Durff said. “I think I would have heard a thud if I dropped it?”

“Did it get stuck in you, somehow?” Misi said. His senses stretched out towards Durff’s torso.

Durff pat himself down, then took off his shirt. “Nope, looks all good to me.” He poked at a couple wounds. “I don’t think it would fit in any of these.” He paid special attention to his belly button, but it was pretty obviously not there just by visual inspection. “Maybe my back?” he turned around, letting everyone look.

“Just some recovering wounds,” Velvet said. “I think we could pick out the feeling of a starheart, if it was here. But…” she shrugged.

“Where did the weight come from, then?” Misi questioned.

“Maybe I ate too much?” Durff tilted his head.

“You haven’t eaten an abnormal amount since we were reunited,” Velvet explained. “So unless you noticed this happening before…”

“Nope,” he shook his head. “I’m pretty sure this is new.”

“Then we should assume he fused with it,” Catarina said simply.

Jyotsana grimaced. “Does that happen so easily with starhearts?”

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“Who can say?” Catarina shrugged. “But it would make sense. It was just a fragment, right? Otherwise I do believe our vessel here would be having issues, based on the theoretical mass and density of such a thing.”

“It was like this,” Durff held his fingers slightly apart. “Pretty small.” Suddenly, he grimaced. “Ow. I don’t feel so good. I’m gonna… lie down.”

He thudded onto his back, his body bouncing slightly- which was better than the alternative, most likely.

Timothy was immediately next to him, checking his vitals. He wasn’t a healer, but he knew enough. “He seems… fine? His internal energy is low, but stable. I certainly don’t know if we can do anything to respond to this.”

“We’ll watch him,” Velvet declared. “But unless his signs start to diminish, we should probably leave him as he is.”

Nobody had a better idea.

-----

Durff remained unconscious until they reached Xankeshan itself, including the part where everyone was scanned. While these people were guests of some important people, they were from presumed enemy factions. They could have managed to bypass protocol, but they were exactly the people who shouldn’t be doing that to set the right example. Besides, they hadn’t fully agreed to join- except for Durff.

The scanners found nothing specific about Durff or his equipment, but they weren’t for medical purposes. All it proved was there were no clear anomalies in material or energy. Nothing hidden, especially.

Everyone was treated as a guest, with luxurious quarters and all, but they had limited range of motion. They couldn’t just be allowed to wander around the capital planet as the pleased, especially without escort.

“So, about joining,” Catarina said, speaking to the twins. “Will you two be willing to leave your former sect behind?”

“Well,” they looked at each other. Misi shrugged. “We will miss the stores of knowledge of the Acroamatic Scale. But if you promise to allow us to study freely, we’re not so eager to need to return. Umm, we’d rather not fight them, if it came to it?”

Juli nodded. “That’s right.”

“We’re not planning to start a war anytime soon,” Catarina said. “Or at all, unless some important reason comes up. For the moment, we just wish to survive.”

The twins were easy to handle, But they still went through a process to confirm they understood everything and were speaking the truth about their willingness. It was extremely improbable they had set out to be spies, given how Velvet had come across them both this time and how they had been chosen as a part of her group before, but this was a matter of important security.

Jyotsana was overall more grumpy, though mostly she seemed to want more specific assurances about what resources she would have access to. She also wanted to know the extent what her duties would be.

After Velvet explained, Jyotsana frowned. “That’s quite burdensome, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think it’s an unreasonable amount for an Integration cultivator, especially considering the benefits,” Velvet commented.

Jyotsana looked down at herself, then inside. “Oh. Right. I almost forgot about that, with what happened after. I felt like I was still a Life Transformation cultivator around Integration cultivators.”

“Not anymore,” Velvet smiled. “Though I’m a bit surprised. I thought it would take… longer.”

Jyotsana nodded. “Me too. The loot we found was surprisingly effective at improving cultivation.”

Velvet kept her thoughts to herself. Would Everheart want to improve cultivators from other places than Ceretos? That didn’t seem terribly likely, but it might have simply been bait for cultivators to get entrapped. For what purposes Everheart or someone trying to pull a double fake, she wasn’t certain.

-----

When Durff woke up, he cracked the floor next to his bed. It was just a small crack, but he felt bad. He’d subconsciously swung his leg over and it hit with more force than intended. He felt sluggish, but when he tried to use his energy to prop himself up he felt proportionately heavier. This… might be fine. As long as he could still swing a hammer. But he’d have to try that.

He sensed Velvet approaching a few moments later. “Sorry about your floor,” he said as she entered. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

Velvet shrugged. “I’d appreciate if you learn to avoid that, but it’s fine. The floors aren’t made to be particularly sturdy.” The foundation was, however. There was little point in a secure facility that had one entire direction with subpar resistance. The floor was just there to look nice. “I’m glad you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Heavy,” he repeated. “But less achy.”

When Durff described his difficulties, Velvet suggested only using energy to spread his weight out, instead of using it to lift himself. He’d done both before naturally- every cultivator learned that at a certain level of counterforce you pushed yourself into the dirt if you weren’t careful to spread your energy out. Just widening his footprints meant he still felt heavy, but he was still able to move around. Sometimes he had to steady himself on things.

“I feel slower. This might be bad,” Durff said. “I need to be able to swing a weapon fast enough to hit enemies, or it doesn’t mean anything.”

“We do actually have techniques for that,” Velvet said. “Though they require some energy manipulation. And maybe spatial insights.”

“I can manipulate energy just fine,” Durff said. “I think I’m just really bad at light. And stealth. And everything the Guardians of the Veiled Brilliance did. And elements. I’m not great with elements.”

“... How about you just give things a try and we’ll find out if you can do it? Your muscles might also improve, or you could try some body enhancement techniques.” They’d have to send to the lower realms for the best of those, since they didn’t have as good as Nthanda in the upper realms. Though there were a few who practiced body tempering to some extent.

Velvet didn’t express her concerns that if he increased his muscle mass then his increased density might make things just as much more difficult, or even worsen his position. It wasn’t something they could do anything about, so the negativity would have been pointless and unhelpful.

“... Can I go swing my hammer somewhere?” Durff asked.

“You can,” Velvet said. “But at some point you need to officially join the Alliance.”

“Didn’t I?” Durff tilted his head. “You asked and I said yes.”

“There’s a lot more…” Velvet shook her head. They had people who could do the paperwork. “At the very least, some people will need to ask you questions. I don’t want to force anything, either.” She didn’t want to rely on memory erasure, but it was an option they had access to. Not entirely reliable, but if Durff really had wanted to return. But as he’d said before, he had no real reason to stay.

“... Can I let Aunt Eka know I’m alive?” Durff asked.

“That’s… maybe a bit of an issue,” Velvet admitted.

Durff shrugged. “It’s okay. She knows people die. She’ll get over it.”

Velvet nodded. She noticed he didn’t seem to care if he might fight the Guardians of the Veiled Brilliance in the future- though Eka specifically would likely be an issue. Maybe they could avoid it somehow? If it looked like there might be conflict… Velvet shook her head. If it came to that, it was probably the whole Trigold Cluster. They could try diplomacy if they had a chance, but it wasn’t worth risking a return when she couldn’t even explain what happened to Durff. Hiding that she knew would be difficult, since that was the only connection she had with Eka.