"It’s right over there," said Pelagor as he looked at the ominous looking, black colored, single mountain that rose to an impossible height, with its peak somehow hidden inside an alternate realm with a fixed entrance near the top of the mountain. The spontaneous rivers of flowing lava, entire flocks of massive ravens circling the mountain, and random claps of thunder really set the mood.
Oh, and the mounds and mounds of skulls which formed an entire mountain range around that one, towering mountain really made it abundantly clear just how weling this place was.
Oh right, he could also, with his spirit sense, sense just how ridiculously dense the negative karma around the mountain was, as if it was a plague trying its best to eradicate all it touched with extreme vindictiveness!
The laws of the universe were churning and agonising, but no matter what, they could not pass into that other realm which hid the peak of the mountain, thus preserving whatever it was that attracted such obvious hate.
"This place bees like this whenever the laws of Vaelûn are in control," said Pelagor as he looked up at the mountain. "It’s as if the universe itself wants to destroy that one item we’re going towards."
Lex looked at the mountain, and then down at the whale.
"This is the item you want me to use to find whatever it is you’re looking for?" Lex questioned, a hint of accusation in his tone.
Pelagor hummed.
"It is not an issue. I have passed this mountain and into that realm myself, and can assure you that there are no consequences for it. I myself would have attempted to absorb that specific Dao material, but the intensity of subsequent Primordial aura would kill me. That’s if I survive the retribution land around it."
Lex raised an eyebrow, and that was question enough. He did not need to say the words.
"Yes, the Hollow has surrounded the material with a land of retribution. It seems to be a form of protection, keeping the laws of the realm from destroying it. Those two are my biggest obstacles, preventing me from getting my hands on the material myself. If you can succeed, then more than half the task is already done."
The immense danger did not intimidate Lex, but it made it clear to him that obviously this item was far from normal. When he heard about its ability to transform Dao radiation, he already found it hard to believe, but now it was somehow believable. It made sense that an item with such a broken ability would be targeted by the universe itself.
"Alright, let’s go up," said Lex without asking anymore questions. His guard was up, and he would deal with any situation himself. Of course, he was also expecting Pelagor to inform him about the dangers since he should be familiar with them.
Pelagor moved swiftly across the terrain that was already familiar to him, dodging past obstacles and avoiding pitfalls that could not even be detected before they were triggered, revealing just how much time the whale had spent here.
Lex also stopped absorbing resources because everything here was so thoroughly steeped in negative karma that even he didn’t want to touch it.
"Have you ever played that game ’the floor is lava’?" Pelagor asked all of a sudden as they flew over the hills posed entirely of skulls.
"Um, yeah, as a kid. Why?" Lex responded, taken aback by the sudden random question.
Pelagor chuckled.
"It’s because every time I do this, I feel like I’m playing that game again. Except, it’s not that the floor is lava. So is the air and everything else around you. Brace yourself."
Lex did not ask any questions and suddenly erected a barrier around himself. A few seconds later, they reached the base of the mountain, and Lex heard a sound that he had heard all too often.
He heard the sound of thunder, except this was not normal thunder. It was the thunder that acpanied tribulations!
A blue bolt of lightning fell out of the cloudless sky, yet it did not touch them for Pelagor swerve out of the way, dodging it easily. Yet the lightning was only the beginning, as a hand made of pure rock reached out of the ground to grab at them. Birds formed from clumps of negative karma started stalking them like prey, and the light that filled the region began to retreat until it took the shape of a phoenix, leaving them surrounded by darkness.
"What the hell is happening?" Lex asked, stunned. It wasn’t that he was surprised by the sudden attack. No, it was the fact that the laws of the universe almost seemed alive, and they quivered with anger.
"I asked the same question the first time I came here," Pelagor answered as he calmly dodged all attacks, letting not a single thing touch him. Though he was a whale, and of considerable size, he flew through the sky with a grace that far surpassed even the bird circling them!
"The answer I received after countless years of searching surprised me. This land is a vestige of a battle between Vaelûn and Pentagal, where neither retain full control and both lash out aggressively at each other and anyone else they meet.
"It is merely two universes trying to exert their control over us cultivators. I do not pay too much attention to it. We are cultivators - it is in our very nature to defy the natural order. The more they wish to keep me out, the more I will invade."
With those words, Pelagor spread out his fins and began to spin in the air, dodging lightning and karmic birds as they threw themselves at him. Let alone attacked, they could not even e close to the whale as it dominated the sky without a single ounce of fear in its actions.
What’s more, he didn’t even use many laws. Lex could see that everything Pelagor did was through the application of the law of gravity, controlled with such familiarity that it was akin to art.
Though the whale had proved to be a silent panion so far, now that it was time to take action he was not shy at all. Through him, Lex could see that the whale truly lived the words he had spoken: he had lived in defiance. He had defied the limits of his race, defied mon convention, and now he was defying the remnant will of two universes on an ancient battlefield.
The ground shook, and from within the river of lava a number of flaming lizards began to rise. They howled in the air, as if announcing their fury, before they began swarming towards them. On another side, the mountain broke off into rock elementals who charged towards them. The lightning bolts, unable to even touch them, began to take the shape of the Farham as they readied themselves to chase after the two.
Lex raised his eyebrow, and made a mental note to memorise all this. When he went back to the Midnight Inn, he would make an obstacle course like this for immortals. It seemed like a lot of fun.
He started to feel a certain itch in his hands, wanting to participate as well. Unfortunately, he had no opportunity at all for Pelagor left him no chance. Maybe it was because he had e here all too often, but no matter what came their way, they were never able to touch the two of them.
Lex had somewhat an idea of what the whale was doing. He was showing Lex what he was really capable of doing. He may not be social, and he may not be a talker, but on the battlefield, he was an absolute asset.
Lex did not have a dedicated mount, but he had occasionally ridden various mounts into a fight. From Fenrir, to Little Blue, to Sol birds and the like, they had all served as his mounts. Most of the time, the presence or absence of a mount made no significant difference to him.
Lex had always been a one man army, and in the truly serious and difficult fights, a mount would only be a hindrance for it wouldn’t be able to keep up with him.
Pelagor, though, was showing some potential.
Lex smirked as he caught the underlying meaning behind this performance. Pelagor was showing Lex what he was worth, and soon it would be Lex’s turn to do the same.
He had said that the retribution zone came after crossing into the alternate realm, which meant that Pelagor didn’t consider this area to be an actual threat. Now Lex was looking forward to what came next.
"Brace yourself. When we cross into the next realm, the Primordial aura will be thick, so protect yourself," Pelagor warned right before they reached the top, where the opening to the other realm swallowed the peak of the mountain.
"Don’t worry," responded Lex calmly. "I’m ready."
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