Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 271 - 270 - Inheritance

The massive space in front of them was rather plain, but the area above was far from that.  The once much simpler twinkling stars now had beautiful nebulae, asteroids, and planets filling their vision.

Lind's Eyes revealed Qi.  It hurt to see it, but it was so damn beautiful.  It made the gasses, the stars, even the empty black was full of Qi.  The clouds were a variety of colors that like Ethry's scales changed through all spectrum of colors.

It was gorgeous just with that, but there were structures in the sky.

Lind could not quite make them out.

They were partially faded structures with flashes of pillars, arches, doors of stone, metal, and crystal.  Lind saw creatures of myth and legends of Earth.  He also saw quilins, and other creatures he had only begun to hear about since being reborn.

None of them could live in the mortal realm but in the higher realms, it was possible they really existed as the carvings were far more detailed than just imagination could be.  His instinct of studying illness and injury for over a decade told him so.

"We should not waste time.  Others will come soon."  Rathi's calm voice broke the spell a bit but Lind merely waved him forward.  He wanted to study the sight more.  Rathi bowed and moved on.

Athena also left Lind behind.

As they walked forward, there was a change.  The structures began to flicker faster and pressure increased but it was not unpleasant.  It was, however, directly in front of Lind.  He saw the pair in front of him stop and close their eyes.

They were in no pain but the flickering slowed until 2 structures began to descend and solidify.  One was enshrouded with shadows and dark stone pillars surrounding a dark door of metal or wood.

Lind was unsure of what Qi it was.  His Eyes could not perceive it.  He looked at the 2 in front of him and Rathi stepped forward.  The Qi seemed to reach out to Rathi but before he could get in contact, a sun appeared.

Lind had to blink the spots out of his eyes before he saw a flowing blue fire surrounding a stairwell ascending into nothing.  A Ruin?

"No, it is a portal."  Lind had heard of that.  Some Inheritances had non-physical entrances and it was clearly a demonic Inheritance.

Rathi stopped and discomfort appeared.  Lind closed his eyes and used his elixir abilities.  He found it, spirit Qi.  It was pure spirit Qi trying to pull Rathi in 2 directions.  Lind grasped the gist of it.

The Inheritances were syncing with Rathi, his very foundation.  They recognized or acknowledged him as worthy but they were competing.  Lind then stepped forward but emerald light blazed around him.

"Being greedy will only cause him to spurn you, let me help."  Lind knew one aspect of his harmony.  It made hidden facts about cultivators resonate to the surface.  All his wives told him that when his harmony ran wild, they felt their dantians improve and their cores or fonts resonate with his emerald light.

Lind let his harmony flow into the air around him.  The spirit Qi danced in his senses but Lind felt it.

Rathi's foundation was closer to the shadow of the first Inheritance.  The blue fire gave up and faded back into the sky.  Lind saw Rathi's pain vanish and he practically floated into the now open doorway of the Inheritance.

Lind was about to turn when he felt the brush of something incredibly profound.  If he was to put words to it, it was thanks.  He bowed and returned back to where he was.  He never stopped summoning his emerald harmony and prevented any Inheritance from choosing him.

Athena still stood still but finally a sinister set of murals appeared with what looked like various forms of torture and death, but he could not judge as nothing else came.  She moved towards it but seemed to blend into the mural before it returned to the sky.

Where once there was only flickering, now there were 2 solid shapes.

"Congratulations to 2 competitors for finding their Inheritance."  The spirit appeared not far away but it seemed far more solid than before.  "You will not move forward?"  It looked at him but Lind shrugged.

"I am learning something, I can feel it."  Lind felt like he was on the cusp of grasping something important just standing there.  Beside, he was a 6 elemental.  It was highly unlikely he could get lucky again and find an Inheritance looking for someone like him.

The spirit bowed and dissolved into bits of light.

Suddenly more flashes appeared and he saw Bastion was sweating but now smiling.

"Master Frey!  I see you beat us here?"  Bastion limped forward but it seemed like it was not a wound but more of a strained body.

"A few did, but I am comprehending something.  If you move forward, the possibility could begin."  His words spurred on the 4 others and Bastion bowed as they moved forward.  Lind smirked to see they were all complementary or overlapped elements in 5 people.

The flickering started once more but suddenly, Lind felt wariness from Ethry.  Before she had not reacted at all, but now, her hackles seemed to rise.

"What's wrong?"  Lind tried to interpret but all she gave back was a vague feeling of wariness.  Something in the current situation seemed to make her concerned.

Lind instantly flared his harmony and stepped forward.  He put out his senses but all he found was spirit Qi thickening once more.  He tried to feel more but that was all he could grasp at his current level.

The power around him was too far beyond to really understand what was happening.

Suddenly, he felt a thud in his chest and opened his eyes to see something that left him shocked.  It was a massive structure with metal doors a lot like a garage door opening.  On either side was something he recognized very well.

They had humanoid shapes and cultivators would call them golems, but with the golden horns pointing out to each side with a shield in the middle of the forehead and green eye pieces falling down into masks reminded him of samurai.

"Mobile suits?"  Lind knew George would slap him to only call them that but he could only remember those 2 words.  Lind wracked his mind and finally came up with the word.

"Oh right, they are Gund–"  Before he could finish speaking, a massive suction force sprang out once the metal door was raised.  Lind tried to replicate what he did with Rathi but he finally felt a difference.

Before, the 2 Inheritances were simply vying for a compatible youth, but the mobile suit entrance seemed unwilling to bend or even acknowledge an outside influence.  In fact, it latched on to Lind's harmony!

Panic filled his body as its power was far above him and resistance seemed futile as they were all pulled inside.  The dark maw had no inkling of what lay behind it.

"This is wrong!  Spirit, this Inheritance is wro–"  Lind was cut off as he vanished inside and the door dropped like a maw snapping shut.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

"What just happened?!"  Cyntilla was afraid.  The look on Lind's face was not normal.  It was a mix of fear and worry.  He would not have such a look for no reason.

"Lind was fighting it.  Why?"  Annabelle spoke of the worry in Cyntilla's heart.  The girl was very perceptive but Qing and Shoti only silently stared at the image.

"Spirit, can you tell us what Big Brother was saying?"  Fey's voice pierced their worry but they doubted the realm spirit would respond to non-contestants.

"Disciple identity already confirmed of competitor Lind Frey.  Inquiry accepted."  The spirit appeared which stunned the crowd in a different way from before.  Lind was a contender and had worked out some aspect of the realm to get a reaction.

Fey was completely outside of its concerns but it still answered because of Lind.

"Words of Lind Frey conveyed unknown issues but I cannot confirm details as none were relayed.  However, Inheritance has appeared before."  The spirit was emotionless but then glanced their way.  "None have ever returned."

The spirit then left and Cyntilla felt shock flood her body.

"NO!  I refuse to believe Lind will not come back!"  Shoti was enraged as she stared at the now solid shape joining the others in the firmament.

"Of course he will come back.  He was in a Relic for 6 years and came back stronger than before."  Qing's words should have been a comfort but Cyntilla turned to Annabelle.  The girl had been through it before and been devastated but what was her opinion?

"He knew something.  He perceived something about that Inheritance.  Could it be a bad one?"  Cynitlla suddenly felt her heart still.

He had told them of the false Ruin off the coast of the Saint Kingdom by Fortune Way.  Could he recognize something similar again?

"Spirits watch over them both.  Remember, he is no longer alone."  Cyntilla reminded them that Lind was not alone.  Ethry, despite being weaker, was with him.  They had seen how 'weak' she was too so it gave them some assurance.

Even so, an Immortal Inheritance was far above them all.

They looked on and hoped Lind would return once more as other contenders appeared and tried to attract other Inheritances.