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Sam thought he was finished with tumbling when he was launched off the ramp on the back of the dirt monster, but he was wrong. He continued rotating as he flew through the air, and when he hit the ground, a hole had opened up, and he fell into it, still tumbling all the while. Inside of the hole, there was a ramp leading into the depths of Oterra. If Sam weren’t spinning around like a sock in a washing machine and if his mouth weren’t covered by a snake, he would’ve let out a deep sigh. Why was he getting stuck underground?
“Think about it,” Dirt said, the metallic koala not minding the rotations one bit as it rolled while clinging to Sam’s leg. “The surface of Oterra where you like staying is merely the layer of skin on an apple. There’s so much more to the apple than just the surface. If you were to randomly select a piece of the apple, what are the odds you’d end up with a piece of skin instead of the meaty interior?”
Sam didn’t like the koala’s explanation. It made sense, but at the same time, he was sure there was a flaw within Dirt’s reasoning. However, he wasn’t going to argue with the koala, not when it was deciding his destination—at least, Sam assumed the koala was the one manipulating the ground into a sloped ramp; it already showed its proficiency in manipulating soil and rocks. Maybe that’s why it named itself Dirt.
As Sam tumbled further into the depths of Oterra, he couldn’t help but wonder where the koala was taking him. Perhaps there was a colony of graylings hidden way underneath the blue avians’ territory, but he doubted that’d be the case. Would blue avians really let graylings, a species whose favorite hobbies involved the acceleration of entropy, live near their home? Well, the answer was no because Sam continued to tumble. He really hoped he wouldn’t have to roll through lava. It was questionable whether he’d survive an extended tumble through a sea of molten rock or not.
As Sam rolled and rolled, he continued to pick up speed. If his body were still powered by his heart and lungs, he probably would’ve fainted, but it was nice Paula had destroyed everything in his ribcage, so he could get it replaced by a crystalline reactor designed by a higher-dimensional being. “Where are we going?” Sam asked in his mind after realizing the koala had no intention of stopping its tumble. “Wasn’t the plan to rob the blue avians’ territory?”
Sam checked with his All-Seeing Gaze to make sure Raindu hadn’t fallen out of his clothes. The ferret was still there, so it wasn’t on a mission to rob the blue avians’ territory while the rest of them acted as bait.
“We can always rob it later,” Big Fish said, poking its head out of Joe the sloth’s fur. “Did you see how many of them there were? That was scary.”
For such a large whale, Sam was surprised by how cowardly it appeared to be, always running and hiding. Considering it was connected to his heart chakra, shouldn’t it have been more courageous and imposing?
“Since I’m formed from your heart chakra, I know there is one important thing that takes priority over all else: your safety,” Big Fish said, commenting on Sam’s personal thoughts. “As long as you outlive your enemies, you’ve won. The best thing you can do to get revenge against someone is to take better care of yourself. You’re past the age of being young and reckless, so you should know to differentiate between cowardice and wisdom. It’s the difference between fleeing and retreating tactically.”
“Fine,” Sam said. “Where are we retreating to? It’d be nice to know, so I can decide if I want to sleep or not.”
“Can you sleep like this?” Big Fish asked. Despite spinning around and around, its voice wasn’t distorted because it was communicating with its mind. “You’re spinning really quickly.”
“I can,” Sam said. Long ago, while he was trapped in Big Fish’s mouth, the three blue avian hostages would attack Sam while he was sleeping, so, with the extra boost of motivation, he had improved his mastery over his body and learned the art of sleeping while maintaining his usage of Toughen. Since Dirt was making the journey through the ground as smooth as possible—at least, Sam assumed it was—he didn’t have to worry about crashing into anything or bracing himself for impact.
“Rest for a while,” Dirt said. “I’ll take you where you need to go, and when you wake up, you’ll be in a good place.”
For some reason, Sam was reminded of those sappy movies involving dogs needing to be put down. They’d usually be lied to and comforted with words like those coming out of the koala’s head. However, it wasn’t like it’d make a difference if he was awake or asleep if any of his familiars decided to kill him. It’d be difficult for him to stop them; he had gone through multiple scenarios in his head involving him fighting his familiars, and he always ended up losing, mainly, because said familiars manipulated the one’s in his mind to beat him up. Even though it was an entirely non-physical experience, it was still painful, perhaps more so than in reality.
Thus, Sam went to sleep, and when he woke up, the koala’s words were proven to be true. The sun was shining on him, so he wasn’t underground anymore. In Sam’s opinion, anywhere on the surface was a good place when compared to tumbling underground in near darkness. Sam sat up and used his All-Seeing Gaze to observe his surroundings. At the same time, he asked his familiars, “Where are we?”
“Andeland,” Birdbrained said. “This is where the Venusians reside.”
Sam stood up, the metallic koala hugging his leg making his movements clunky. Around him, there was a field of crystals, the ground entirely made up of a translucent rock with fibrous, white strands running through it. There were crystals of various colors sticking out of the ground similar to bushes and shrubs growing out of a field of grass. Sam glanced at the crystalline ground, and he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if his talent triggered when he touched it. Would the ground vanish? What shape would the hole be that was left behind?
Speaking of holes, Sam turned his head to look behind himself. There was a pig-shaped hole in punched through the crystal. Multiple layers of crystals could be seen, but Sam only saw darkness at the end of the tunnel. “Are the blue avians following us?” Sam asked.
“No one knows what those people are doing,” Birdbrained said.
“If they’re following us, they’re going to have a hard time,” Dirt said. “I made plenty of false tunnels and erased the main one I created. If they can track us through that, then they deserve to catch us.”
Sam decided to trust the koala’s words since it had proven trustworthy once already. He relaxed before looking around, trying to see if he could see anything his All-Seeing Gaze couldn’t. Considering he could sense practically everything connected to the crystalline ground he was standing on, his physical vision couldn’t even compare. However, Sam couldn’t locate any Venusian. However, he did notice a group of a dozen graylings located not too far away. “So, are we on the outskirts of the Venusian territory, or am I just not seeing them?”
“The outskirts,” Birdbrained said. “We bumped into some Anunaki on the way here. They have knowledge of this region. If we go straight to the center where all the Venusians are located, that’d cause a huge ruckus, and those blue avians will know we’re here.”
“I’m pretty sure one of the blue avians we were entangled with before I fell asleep said something about blue avians and Venusians working together,” Sam said. “If we alert any Venusian….”
“We’re disguised,” Vercedei said. “Some blue avians might be able to see through Werchbite’s illusions, but Venusians aren’t that talented.”
Sam took out his stone tablet and connected with it using his Sahasrara. With its aid, he refreshed his memory on Venusians. According to humans, Venusians were blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and tall humans. According to the reptilians, Venusians were an intelligent type of dreamlurker capable of infiltrating one’s mind to rewire their thought processes to ones more beneficial for the invading Venusian. Also, they were addicted to gold. It must’ve been an important fact because it was clearly stated in the encyclopedia within Sam’s tablet.
Sam used his All-Seeing Gaze to observe the illusion casted over himself. He appeared to be a mass of gray aura taking on a humanoid shape, and when he viewed himself with his normal vision, he was invisible. “Am I disguised as a Venusian?”
“Yes,” Vercedei said. “You’re—”
“Try sensing them,” Dirt said, interrupting the twin-headed snake. “Use your Vasundhara properly.”
Sam ignored the hateful thoughts Vercedei was shooting Dirt’s way and followed the metallic koala’s advice. He turned his attention onto the ground beneath himself where his earth star chakra was located. He took in a deep breath through his nose and held it for a few seconds before exhaling. He waited before breathing in again, meditating while syncing his breath with the vibrating chakra he visualized beneath himself.
As he breathed in, his Vasundhara pulsed, and bits and pieces of information flooded Sam’s brain in the form of geometric lines and colors. Sam exhaled, and the images faded from his mind. When he breathed in again, his earth star chakra pulsed once more, and the vague lines and colors appeared in his head again. Sam’s meditation continued, and with every inhalation, the lines and colors became clearer until something clicked in his head; the colors represented the various types of crystals in the ground, and the lines showed their relationships with one another. That being said, there were hundreds of thousands of lines, and they often overlapped, making several individual lines into one thick, distinct line similar to a rope and its fibers.
Sam’s meditation deepened, and he delved deeper into the ground, fascinated by the various colors—many which didn’t have names because they couldn’t be seen by the human eye—his Vasundhara was detecting. After exploring for a bit, he remembered what he was trying to do and directed his attention towards the surface. From there, his awareness traveled in a straight line until he detected something new: Venusians. They were dark-gray, humanoid masses of energy, resembling an aura without an individual.
They were located underground inside a pocket of space, which Sam assumed was a large geode. It didn’t surprise Sam much considering it’d be difficult to build structures without a physical body. However, as Sam continued to scan Andeland with his awareness, he realized he was wrong. There were a few towering structures made of gold, and within those golden buildings which practically formed a whole city of gold, hundreds of Venusians were gathered. The gold acted as beacons when viewed through Sam’s Vasundhara, and the Venusians seemed very comfortable around the shiny metal, their dark auras were brighter than their counterparts living in the ground. Apparently, humans weren’t the only ones with a clear social disparity. Perhaps the underground Venusians were akin to talentless humans.
After observing for a bit longer, Sam ended his meditation and opened his eyes. “So,” he said, looking down at the metallic koala. “What is our objective in Andeland?”
“Experience,” Manga said with its four-syllable-long cry.
“Also,” Birdbrained said, “there’s a city made of gold built on a golden foundation. This golden foundation was created by the Venusians before their plane had even ascended to Oterra, and it’s safe to say the whole of Venusian society relies on this foundation to exist.”
“And you want me to destroy it,” Sam said.
“I never said that,” Birdbrained said.
The eagle didn’t have to speak to make its destructive tendencies known. Sam exhaled through his nose. Was he going to harm another species? Perhaps this was his fate; no matter who obtained his talent, they’d be put in the same position as him in the end. “You want me to absorb this foundation with my talent.”
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt, right?” Vercedei asked, determined to get more words in since a chatty koala had entered the mix. “You’ll obtain a new familiar, and those blue avians will have to think a lot harder about dealing with you with extra firepower on your side.”
That was certainly true. If Sam unlocked another external chakra by absorbing the Venusians golden foundation, it’d be difficult for the blue avians to do anything to him since it was already difficult for them to locate him right now. However, what part of himself would he lose next if he summoned another familiar? He already couldn’t walk. Maybe the next familiar would make it impossible for him to stand. Maybe it’d affect his mind, making him unable to think. Then again, even if it did that, did he have free will in the first place with all his familiars driving him? In the first place, did his free will matter? This kind of life, one he would never have as a talentless, this was what he had asked for.
“Let’s do it,” Sam said. “Is it going to be the same operation? Raindu will steal the foundation while we do our best to maintain a low profile?”
“No,” Birdbrained said. “We’re going to make the dreamlurkers give their golden foundation to us, and we’ll take them under our wings.”
In the same way the graylings were under the eagle’s wings? Sam didn’t think the dreamlurkers would willingly sacrifice their lives to the eagle like that. “And how are you going to do that?” Sam asked.
“Werchbite’s been waiting for a chance to shine,” Birdbrained said. “They don’t ever mention it, but they want to play around too.”
Sam knew it. The familiars really were just playing around as if diving to a lower dimension was something fun to do for a weekend. “Alright, Werchbite,” Sam said through his mind, thinking at the twin-headed snake’s purple head. “What do you want to do?”
“Go,” Vercedei said for the snake’s purple head, only needing one word to tell Sam he should head towards the city of gold. There was no point in him asking questions. He was used to being a puppet controlled by Werchbite for the higher-dimensional being’s amusement; after all, there was a period of time he wasn’t allowed to speak or act as himself thanks to the twin-headed snake covering his face.
Sam turned to look in the direction of the city of gold. Then, he looked down at the metallic koala that refused to budge. “Who’s carrying me?” Sam asked, looking down at the sloth hugging his waist. His gaze drifted towards its shoulder at the miniature green whale buried in its clumpy fur. Then, Sam looked at the wooly pig standing off to the side, nudging it with his psychic awareness. “Manga? Big Fish?”
“You do it,” Big Fish said to Manga. “When you’re all inside my mouth, it’s a little lonely out here, and I get scared, you know? Everything’s so big when I shrink myself.”
Instead of responding, the wooly pig heaved a sigh and stuffed its snout into the ground. Then, with a grunt, it flicked its head up, the action scooping Sam into the air and onto its back. Sam landed with a thump and looked down at his leg to see if the wooly pig was injured by the denseness of the koala. The wooly pig’s furs were buckled, but they stopped the koala before the metallic animal could reach skin. Manga let out a cry before marching forward at a pace a regular Venusian could travel—according to Birdbrained.
“So,” Sam said as he made himself as comfy as he could with an immobile shin. “How does a society hinge on this golden platform?”
“Dreamlurkers don’t have physical bodies,” Birdbrained said. “They can only exist in certain crystals and metals. Gold is their best habitat because it’s easy for them to move through and exist around. Once they leave the security of their crystals, they don’t last for very long similar to a fish leaving water or a human stepping into outer space.”
Sam could imagine it now, hundreds of thousands of dreamlurkers working together to create a golden platform, one where they could freely travel and interact with one another without worrying about the threat of death. They would’ve spent years gathering enough gold to create a thriving society, and it may have taken even longer for them to ascend to Oterra. Their efforts must’ve continued as they struggled to survive on Oterra like the humans, and after all this time, they’ve established a home for themselves. If someone were to take away the massive layer of gold all their buildings were established on, what would happen? Their society would fracture, and communication between the individual golden buildings would suffer. It’d be his fault too, but Sam steeled his heart. Living beings were resilient, and Sam had no doubt the Venusians could overcome their impending hardships before blooming into something even better.