Death... and me

Roan also added, “Besides, although each opening happens at different times, we won’t really have to wait for the whole duration. We might arrive in a continent just a year or two before the tunnel opens.”

Etherian nodded in agreement. “That much I have to agree with.”

Roan then proceeded to ask Etherian things he should pay attention to in each continent. For example, Pol Continent was mostly a huge sea, with just some islands for one to stay at. If one couldn’t fly, one’s only choice was to navigate. Treavin Continent, on the other hand, was just a huge desert. They talked for a while about those things.

“Well then, that’s about it. I don’t have anything else I can tell you,” Etherian said as he concluded their conversation.

Roan nodded and decided to take his leave. However, it was then that he remembered something. “Oh, right! I wanted to ask if it’s possible to see the Guardian Beast of the Huring Sacred Land.”

“Our Guardian Beast?” Etherian was surprised by Roan’s request. “Why would you ask such a thing?”

“Because of our demon beast that came with us from the Mortal Realm,” Roan explained. “Kentucky is a Divine Demon Bird, so he wanted to ask the Sacred Land’s Divine Demon Beast about his race.”

Etherian nodded in understanding. “I see… Still, I didn’t know that your black and white Demon Bird was a Divine Demon Bird. Which race is it from?”

“A Minokawa,” Roan answered.

“Minokawa, huh?” Etherian seemed to recall something. “That’s weird… Minokawa weren’t supposed to have that feather crown on their heads.”

Roan knew that. Elder Reliance told the twins back in Sunkan Planet that Kentucky’s mutation gave birth to that crown on his head. The twins believe it to be an effect of being born in their Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. After all, they always had a connection with Kentucky. “That’s a mutation, as far as I know, at least. Still, since it seems like you know Minokawas, shouldn’t you have recognized it even if Kentucky simply has a feather crown? After all, the rest is supposed to be the same as a normal Minokawa.”

Etherian looked at Roan, puzzled. “Normal? He’s very different from a real Minokakwa. Well, at least he’s different from the Minokawas that I know.”

“How come?” Roan asked.

Etherian then explained what he knew. “To be honest, Divine Demon Beasts are very rare. Our Huring Continent probably doesn’t have more than three or four of them. Obviously, our Guardian Beast is one of them. With that said, I haven’t seen a real Minokawa until now. I only heard about what they should look like.”

Etherian continued, “Sure, your Kentucky seems somewhat similar to one. However, the feathers on his body are different, not only the feather crown on his head. Real Minokawas, as far as I know, have metal feathers. Your Kentucky, on the other hand, has normal feathers.”

Roan understood what Etherian meant by that. “Oh! That’s because Kentucky isn’t controlling them. If he wants to, his entire body will be full of feather blades as resistant as Golden Middle-level metals. But if he isn’t in battle mode, he keeps his feather in their fluffy form.”

Etherian didn’t know that. “That’s the first time I’ve heard of it. Well, as I said, I’ve never seen a real Minokawa before. They might really be able to change their feathers between metal-like and normal ones.”

Roan nodded in response. “That’s why we would like to talk with the Guardian Beast. He, as a Divine Demon Beast, might know something.”

Etherian pondered over it for a bit before asking, “Why do you want to find more Minokawas? Do you want to give Kentucky back to his race? I can tell that you have a connection with each other, so shouldn’t you keep him by your side?”

“That will depend on what he decides to do,” Roan replied. He and Rean really relied on Kentucky for many things. However, Kentucky had never really been a prisoner. If he ever decided to leave, neither of the twins would stop him. Finding his race might be a good thing in that regard, especially as a species. There were bound to be many things that other Minokawas could teach Kentucky that the twins would never be able to, nor would Kentucky figure on his own.

Ethereal then let out a light sigh in response to Roan’s request. “The problem is that our Guardian Beast is in a deep slumber at the moment. To put it in simpler terms, our guardian beast is already very old, much older than me, for example. He entered into a deep slumber so that he could live for as long as possible. Unless the Sacred Land falls into a calamity, he definitely won’t wake up.”

“So that’s why…” Roan remembered Kentucky saying that he could feel the Guardian Beast, but the Guardian Beast didn’t seem to be in a state that it could talk. “Can we give it a shot? Perhaps since Kentucky is also a Divine Demon Beast, the Guardian Beast will hear his call.”

Etherian pondered over it for a bit and nodded in the end. “Alright, I’ll give you access to the dwelling place of our Guardian Beast.”

“That easy?” Roan was expecting some refusal or at least the need to fulfill some conditions.

“You seem to have the wrong idea here. As I said, unless a calamity happens, it won’t wake up. Nevertheless, it’s extremely strong. Neither you, Rean, or Kentucky could possibly force it to wake up by brute force. In fact, you couldn’t damage it at all. You’re too weak that even while sleeping, it’s immune to you two.”

Roan doubted that. After all, he could use Dark Element. If he used it on the Guardian Beast while it was sleeping, he was sure that he would cause some damage, even if it took some time due to the cultivation difference. Of course, he wouldn’t do that. He wasn’t going there to buy a fight.

Etherian concluded, “That’s why there’s no problem. Besides, we have people watching it, so they’ll act if they see your group doing anything wrong.”

Roan still found it way too easy. “There is another reason why you won’t stop Kentucky from trying, right?”

Etherian was taken aback before he burst out into laughter. “Hahaha! You truly are a smart guy. Indeed, there’s one more reason. The thing is… our Sacred Land would also like to talk to it, but that guy simply doesn’t wake up at all. If you can make it wake up, you will be doing us a great favor.”