Chapter 1884 - 1883 - Harmony of Nature

Ethry had gathered several beasts to follow her in the entrance she chose. One was a wolf, one was stone dral, and the last was a vermillion bird. A scout, a shield, and an agile warrior.

It was a basic but stable setup. She, of course, was raw power. She quickly discerned the nefarious nature of the candles but unlike other races, beasts were not as bothered by the loss of Qi.

Beasts had an advantage in that area. The loss of Qi would affect external Arts or abilities but the natural gifts were still theirs to use.

"Lady Ethry, the left passage smells wrong but the other 2 are only weaker in that regard." A young woman in dark blue robes was standing at the first intersection. Ethry already knew what she meant but the wrongness could be vile Fiend Qi put there to intentionally mislead beasts.

She turned to the vermillion bird. He was a slender man with dark golden eyes and vibrant golden robes to match. His hair, however, was bright crimson. He glowed briefly before an arc of wind condensed before him.

It shattered into nothing down each corridor and he frowned.

"There is something obstructing my senses. It is not just the drain of those infernal candles but some other force is at work." Ethry nodded but frowned. All of their senses were being negated too well.

She stepped forward then. She concentrated on her dantian. She had been close to finding her Harmonic Core before they set out but she did not seem to be as hampered as others when it came to using her draconic Arts.

Part of that was that she was a rare Divine Ryuu that had access to all 6 elements since she was born. Unlike humans, demons, or aether children, beasts could have all 6 elements without being stuck at the Soul Realm.

The lack of a harmony was the only real difference.

Both she and Lind had wondered for a long time if he had influenced her elements but other dragons and other divine bloodline beasts had ones like her. It was just rare.

Yet, when she became a Master Tier, she had a massive advantage over all of her brethren. Harmonies were very well known to her and she had exploded in mastering the refining of her Mystery layers.

Now, as an Eternal Realm, she was close to finding her Harmonic Core. Its focus, however, was still dictated more by her bloodline than anything else.

She had thought it would be related to some facet of dragon life, yet it was closer to one Lind had encountered before, that of Nature.

Dryads and other plant Divine Realm cultivators had some variant of the concept of Nature. The Harmony of Growth, Renewal, and so forth were good examples.

The Harmony of Decimation was one that stood out as the most dangerous but most potent. Only dryads or ents had acquired that particular one.

Ethry, however, got something unexpected. She got them all. She carried the literal Harmony of Nature. While beasts are far closer to plants in the cycle of life and death compared to other races, dragons were usually not considered that close.

Unlike a plant, she had drastically different powers. Her harmony allowed her flames to both destroy and to heal now! However, there was one more thing they did that Lind had immediately latched onto.

She summoned several seeds from her storage ring. She placed them at each entrance and then blew her prismatic flames onto them. The seeds exploded with power and vines that shot into the corridors.

The other 3 beasts were shocked but the stone dral smiled as she prepared to move out. She was a battle maniac but one with a good head on her shoulders. She could smash through just about anything with stone covers on her body.

Her robes of dark gray shimmered with power.

Ethry had her eyes closed as she resonated with the plants and followed their growth. Unlike anything else they tried, nothing seemed to stop them. It was because they had no Qi at all.

Her initial investment was to make them grow but the vines were a weed that was feared by frontier villages in mortal worlds. It grew without end and had to be burned out to stop it once found.

It would consume all nutrients until nothing was left.

Some believed it was artificial but Lind had not found any sign of that. Likely it was caused by a place of extreme nutrients that had to be consumed or it would be over run. Taken out of its natural habitat made it the threat it had become.

For her, however, it was a blessing because it was useless to the Bastard while helpful to her.

She frowned, however as an endlessly growing maze was revealed.

"A Myriad Maze. Troublesome but not a huge problem for me." She had seen nothing. No traps or even a sign of guiding to a place to be killed. Just more endless corridors and the candles.

She then recalled how the left corridor had felt bad to the wolf. She summoned even more seeds and inserted them into the wax. It was as soft as normal candle wax but she carefully only touched the seeds.

The change was instant as the vines shattered the sconces and then shot somewhere she could not follow. It was looking for something!

She kept feeding the seeds while they grew and the 4 of them waited silently. Soon, a rumbling was heard and then a change was sensed.

"I can smell fresh air!" The wolf perked up and the other 2 prepared to fight but Ethry held up her hands.

"Not enough, I need more." She used even more seeds and the wall was ripped open by the pressure to reveal an entire wall of wax!

All the candles were connected!

Ethry saw the vines were still growing and pursuing something. The wax consumed Qi and the vines consumed nutrients! The 2 actually worked in sync! She let go of her connection and smiled.

She no longer had to lift a finger.

The walls shook and the tremors beneath them grew until the sound of glass breaking faintly reached them.

They were then exposed to a metal hallway far more sinister than the place they had been in. They looked back and saw a smoking cube on the ground. A very few leaves from the vines were smoldering around it.

"We were in that?" The stone dral knelt over and picked it up. It turned to dust but Ethry was looking around in concern.

"There is more than one. All those entrances were Myriad Mazes." Her words made them freeze. They all understood the implication. They had broken free so they were now alone.

"What shall we do?" The vermillion bird spoke but Ethry did not pause.

"We advance. Check for traps and we look for any mechanism that will shut down the Myriad Mazes. They require energy to function and should have a place supplying it." She felt it in her dantian and her eyes cleared as a figure appeared.

It was a massive prismatic dragon that tore free from her dantian and settled in her mind. The dramatic shift was quick but helpful. She could feel the horrific imbalance even more clearly now that everything was where it belonged.

The Harmony of Nature was about the balance between life and death in part but it was also about the vicious truth of the world. No one was meant to live forever. Everything had its time or place and she knew that everything around her did not belong to it.

Fey was the only one truly close to her in this regard but unlike her, she focused on the dynamic of the 2 forces inside her.

Ethry took it all. She now used it and felt various twisted energies varying in strength. The dark metal corridor had no candles or light of any kind but she could see perfectly fine.

Still, she could not pierce the chaos for what she sought. She would have to proceed carefully.

She was about to give orders when all the hairs on her body stood on end. She moved without thought and grabbed the wolf and stone dral in her hands. The vermillion bird also moved but a step too late.

He screamed as vile energies began to rip him apart.

[He he he he. I wondered who would break free first but who would have expected the tiny snake would do it? Your instincts are good too. You should be proud. Other versions of you died with no chance of escape.] The vile voice made her grim but she did not stop.

Her Harmonic Core lit up like a sun and a strange shockwave shot outward. She had no idea what that was but the effects were immediate.

Dryads, ents, and even plants from underwater appeared from thin air. They swarmed several spots and she had the satisfaction of hearing the Bastard grunt in pain.

[That is a plant harmony?! Why do you have that?!] A smile finally spread on her face.

"I came to help Lind kill you. All I have will be used no matter its source!" The 2 in her arms shivered as more vile tendrils tried to lock onto them but the newly summoned plants intercepted them.

Insects appeared and spread more plants in the corridor but it was a stalling tactic. She knew she would exhaust herself long before he did but the more she took care of, the better.

She was about to try and toss the other 2 back into the darkness if she could but there was no exit. The way they had entered had vanished with the maze!

Hope dimmed when 2 blades sliced through midair.

A new cube appeared and another group of 4 followed. Fey stood stoically as the 3 with her nearly collapsed.

Without pause, the 2 blades sliced the air where Ethry felt nothing but 2 spheres were cut in quarters!

[YOU DAMN WHORE! HOW DARE–!] The Bastard's voice was cut off as Fey cut through one more sphere.

The attacks stopped and she stood still.

She looked back and smiled at Ethry.

"Sorry I was late, Mother." Ethry snorted but smiled. The group then cleared up the mess and prepared to advance. They could not wait for Lind, they had to start exhausting the Bastard for the kill.