120 New Mysteries (1/2)

Ed stared into the panther's eyes, wondering what was happening. The panther nodded its head towards the tunnels and began walking towards them. After several steps, it paused and glanced back towards him.

'I guess it wants me to follow it...' He hesitated a moment before deciding to follow. It's not like he had much choice in the matter. The other mutants stayed behind as the duo traversed through tunnels and caverns. Much like the cage, purple lava and smoke flowed everywhere. Soon, they entered a river of lava and swam through it. Ed kept his body covered in scales as he encountered rain, whirlpools, fire, lightning, and other strange phenomenon. It was extremely similar to his prior experiences in the cage when he had lost his sanity to the crocodile.

Days passed as they continued their journey. The heat grew greater, as did the amount of lava. Soon, there was more lava than land, and it continued growing worse. The strange purple elements increased in number, and it grew increasingly more difficult for Ed to continue. His chimera flesh wasn't as strong as it had been in the cage, and he was growing exhausted from continually using his purple mana for protection. Eventually, the panther grew frustrated with his slowness and shot a beam of purple light from its eyes towards him.

Ed flinched as he saw the light approach. It was far too fast for him too dodge, and he was too exhausted to even try. The light enveloped his body, and to his surprise, it protected him from the surrounding elements. ”Thanks...” He said towards the panther, feeling ridiculous as he did so.

The journey continued for nearly a week before they finally stopped. By now, they had traveled to an indeterminable depth. They entered a large cavern that easily reached dozens of kilometers in height, and Ed froze in shock.

In the center of the cavern was what looked like two ridiculously large trees. They connected the top and bottom of the cavern together. In the center of the trees was an irregularly shaped spherical object that was almost as large as the trees. 'What is it?' He wondered as he stared at it. Suddenly, the object moved, growing larger in size. A wave of mana blasted in all directions as it rapidly shrank back down in size. The hair on Ed's body stood up as he trembled in fear. It was a fear like he had never felt before. As if by instinct, he slowly knelt down towards the object and lowered his head.

'The hell is this?!' He protested to himself. 'Why am I kneeling to this... thing?!' He forcefully raised his head, glaring angrily at the unfamiliar object. Nearly a minute passed before the object grew in size again. Another wave of mana blasted past him as it shrank again. His entire body shook, and he instinctually felt fear and the urge to bow his head towards it again. But he refused and continued holding his head high.

Time passed, and like clockwork, the object repeated its actions once every minute. Slowly, Ed grew used to the feeling, and he managed to stand up once again. He eyed the panther, which was lazily lying down nearby. The panther rose its head and nodded towards the object, indicating for him to walk towards it.

Ed hesitated a moment before nodding. He took a step forward, and felt a tremendous pressure envelop him. He forcefully took another step, and cold sweat covered his body.

Suddenly, the object grew and shrunk again. The wave of mana stung Ed's body, causing him to tremble in pain. He stood silently, slowly growing used to the pressure once again.

Days turned into weeks as he slowly moved forward, the object's actions increasing in frequency as he did so. Soon, the object was growing and shrinking once per second. By now, Ed had come up with a theory on what it was. 'If I'm not crazy... that thing has to be some type of heart. It looks just like one and now beats just as fast as one.' After several more steps, he finally managed to get close to it. He slowly reached forward, placing his hand on the object. ”UGH!” He groaned. It felt as if all seven elements were ripping his flesh to shreds and pieces, and he soon blacked out from the pain.

...

Ed awoke to a dark void. 'My unconscious space?' He wondered. 'No.' He shook his head. 'It's different.' The void was filled with purple smoke above him and purple lava beneath him. They seemed to stretch out infinitely along the horizon.

Slowly, the smoke began concentrating nearby, forming a towering humanoid body well over 500 meters tall. Ed was barely a tiny ant when compared to it. After the outline of the body formed, purple lava flowed in, forming a network of veins and organs. In the chest was a familiar looking heart, matching the one he had touched before losing consciousness.

Suddenly, a dull purplish-golden glow lit up in the giant's eyes. It glared down at the ant beneath its feet.

Ed felt a shiver travel down his spine. It was as if all his secrets in life were being laid bare. He again felt the instinct to bow down. His head throbbed, and he felt a pounding pain as he resisted the temptation.

Several moments of silence passed before the giant's voice boomed and echoed throughout space. ”Master the seven elements. Become a paragon of golden faith. Forge a divine body. Create your Dao. Acquire the seven keys. Conquer Bermuda. Inherit the throne.”

Ed's head throbbed with each sentence the giant spoke. Purple smoke flowed into his soul body, causing several more cracks to appear upon it. It felt like the giant's words were being engraved directly into his soul, making it so that he could never forget them.

Slowly, the scene faded away, and Ed awoke in front of the heart. 'What was that...' He wondered as the shock slowly faded away.

The panther stood up from the ground, indicating for him to follow. He hesitated a moment as he glanced at the beating heart. ”Tsk.” He clicked his tongue while shaking his head. 'It doesn't matter how valuable it is. The panther will kill me if I try taking it.' The duo began their journey towards the exit, swimming through rivers of lava. However, Ed now looked at the lava very differently. He gulped as he stared at it. 'If I'm not wrong, then this isn't lava at all... It's blood. The giant I saw, and the cage in Alaska... They're both connected and are part of this giant's body. The nightmares are nothing compared to this thing!'

After nearly a week, they exited the tunnels. The mutants freely allowed Ed to leave. He felt a mixture of relief and sorrow as he exited the cave and bathed within the hot Florida sunshine. 'A pity.' He sighed. 'So many purple mana-cores just outside my grasp. If only I was a bit stronger.'

”Ed!” A voice called out in surprise. It seemed that Dupe had a clone waiting for him. ”Carlos told me what happened. I tried entering the cave, but the mutants completely blocked me. What happened?!”

Ed glanced back at the cave, a complicated look in his eyes. ”Forget it.” He shook his head towards Dupe. ”Keep access restricted like you have been. No need to assign guards or anything. Let's head back to your house in the capital.”

”Sure.” Dupe agreed. ”Just let me pass the request to World Walker. Lucky us, the bastard didn't leave after you set him free.” He pulled a steam pistol from his back pocket and aimed at his own head, slowly squeezing the trigger. Bang! He blew his own brains out.

Ed stared in disgust at the dead body. 'He still hasn't gotten rid of that weird habit... He really needs a new way to communicate between his clones'

A short moment later, a portal opened, and Bolin stepped out from it. ”Let's go.” He nodded towards him, slightly less respectful than how he would have done so in the past. It seemed his attitude had changed somewhat after obtaining his freedom even if he still chose to support Harmony.

...

Back at the Governor's mansion. The group ate dinner quietly while Ed refused to talk about the incident. ”Thanks for the meal.” He said as he stood up. ”Flair, we'll leave tomorrow. Make sure you're packed.” He excused himself from table, returning to his guest bedroom.

Tao, the pet crocodile, was waiting for Ed in the room. Its eyes sparked with excitement as it saw its long-lost master.

”Well, haven't you gotten big.” Ed chuckled.

Indeed, Tao had grown much larger since the last time they had met. By now, it was as long as Ed's body was tall. Its skin was currently red, and it made for quite the intimidating pet.

Ed lied down in bed and closed his eyes, and Tao climbed up to lay beside him. He concentrated on the words the giant had told him. 'Master the seven elements... that much should be obvious. It obviously means to master the 49 paths. Is that why Carlos was excluded? Maybe only seven-colored mana-core espers are eligible for the inheritance of the throne it mentioned? The throne to what though?'