NOVPUBCain blankly stared down at it.
"This is..."
Julio nodded, staring down at it as well,
"Strange? Yeah, it definitely is strange. We can agree on that at least."
"Hm? What is so strange?" The thing they were staring at said.
Cain rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed,
"No. It's nothing. Never mind. More importantly..."
Although he said that, Cain did feel a bit uncomfortable. The giant turtle they had ridden into this enormous underground burrow had shrunk again.
Only, this time, it shrank to the size of a normal turtle.
It had turned tiny...
Cain didn't know how to feel about this.
Why did the supposedly ferocious {Turtle Golem}; a beast that could repel even the strength and numbers of the Devils in the city...
Why did it look so... cute?
He didn't know how to feel at all.
He sighed again.
"More importantly, I believe we should exchange pleasantries. My name is Cain."
Julio waved at the little turtle,
"I am called Julio."
They all turned to the Steel Herald.
The metal elemental was silent for a moment.
Then it spoke. In a tone that seemed somewhat hesitant,
"My... name is Enoch."
The turtle nodded sagely. Like an old man happy to be able to advice the youth,
"My name is Fuji."
Julio frowned,
"Fuji?"
The turtle, Fuji, nodded,
"Yes. Fuji. I am a {Turtle Golem}. Or at least, that is what my species is called. We are descendants of the great beast, the Black Turtle."
Cain raised a brow, "A Black Turtle?"
Fuji shook his head again,
"No. 'The' Black Turtle."
Cain folded his arms,
"What's the difference?"
Fuji seemed taken aback,
"You are quite ignorant, Demon Human. You do not know of the Black Turtle?"
Cain frowned.
'System... What is this guy talking about?'
{Replying to Host: The {Turtle Golem} before the host is likely referring to one of nine ancient creatures. A group of beings referred to as the Nine Suns of Aether}.
Cain tried his best to suppress a grin. He knew he had made the right choice.
'Tell me everything...'
{Replying to Host: The Nine Suns of Aether were nine creatures that fought in the great war between the Devils and Celestials that resulted in the destruction of the Devil Mountain, and the creation of the Aether Realm}.
{The Scarlet Blood Dragoon, The Cyan Mist Whale, The Iron Battle Primate, The Vermilion Flame Eagle, The Black Stone Turtle, The White Frost Panther, The Evergreen Vine Buck, The Soul Consuming Beetle, and The Poison Heart Serpent}.
{Each and every single one of these beasts were creatures born of devilish blood. And they had grown to be so powerful, they could rub shoulders with the gods themselves}.
{However, they were all banished to the Aether Realm after the war ended. And the shackles of divinity were placed on their necks. Eventually, their bones withered within the realms they ruled and their remains have become relics of an ancient past}.
Cain breathed heavily then turned to Fuji, his eyes practically burning holes through the little turtle's shell.
Having to remind himself that looks were definitely deceptive, Cain spoke carefully,
"The Black Turtle, huh... No, I do know it."
Fuji huffed. Stomping its stumpy forelimbs on the ground, it spoke proudly,
"Of course you do. And think about it; it isn't everyday you get to meet a famed beast like me, right? One with such noble blood!"
Cain nodded enthusiastically, "Of course, of course."
He cleared his throat,
"Well, Great Fuji. I hope you don't mind me asking you a few questions..."
The Turtle glanced at him,
"I do not."
It seemed to be in a good mood.
Cain sucked in a deep breath,
"First of all, what exactly are you? You don't seem like your run of the mill turtle. I am sure you must be quite special."
Fuji chuckled,
"Who I am and where I am from... I don't believe that matters now, does it?"
Cain's eyelids twitched,
"What do you mean?"
The {Turtle Golem} chuckled deeply, a deep, wise aura radiating from it in waves.
"Like I said, my name is Fuji, a proud member of the {Turtle Golem} race. Nothing special about me at all. However, I am a bit curious about you, Cain."
Fuki's little black eyes stared holes right through him,
"You look like a human, but not at the same time. I can sense traces of Demon blood within you, but not as well. And then, there is the subtle stench of Devil that irks me so. But at the same time, I see it... A touch of that troublesome celestial divinity buried deep within, where no light should reach. How intriguing."
Cain frowned. He knew this turtle was not simple!
Cain smiled,
"Perhaps you are mistaken? I am not that special."
Fuji chuckled,
"In that case, why don't we strike a deal, human."
Cain leaned down, "What kind of deal?"
Fuji stomped his stumpy feet on the ground,
"Let's play a game."
Cain immediately sensed something was off.
" A game, you say..."
"If you can turn me onto my back, you win and I will grant you safe passage out of here. If not, I get to eat you and your friends."
Julio's expression changed,
"Hey, Cain! What the hell is this thing saying?! There is no way—"
Cain put his hand in front of Julio, silencing him.
Then he turned back to Fuji,
"You want to eat us? Why?"
The turtle shrugged,
"Although humans are weak, devouring them,
body, soul and spirit acts as a natural panacea that can increase the power of an Aether Beast. For me however, an ordinary human won't do."
It raised a stumpy legs and pointed at him,
"You, Cain. Your vitality and essence radiate the power of a Demon. No, it might be something even more. But you are definitely human. I am deathly curious..."
Cain grimaced, "And that curiosity is pushing you to eat me?"
The turtle nodded, "Correct."
Cain sighed..
"You can't seriously be considering this, Cain. This smells like a setup." Julio said, clearly panicked.
'There is something strange about this thing.' Cain thought to himself.
Even when Fuji had said it would eat him, he had not detected any killing intent coming from this beast.
And that was not all.
Although the {Eye of General Observation} showed him what this thing was, he couldn't see anything beyond that.
Even the system was useless. It couldn't provide him any more information on the beast than he already knew.
However, that was to be expected. There was no way a talking turtle was your everyday monster.
Cain sighed,
"It's just a game, right? I'm in."
"Cain!"
Ignoring Julio's cries, Cain stood up, staring down at Fuji with determination.
The turtle chuckled.
Suddenly, its body became a bit bigger.
It stopped growing when it came face to face with Cain.
"Before we begin our game, I would like to ask you, Cain... Do you know what Aether truly is?"
Cain froze. After a moment of thought, he replied,
"From what I know, Aether is a strange mutation of Devil Essence that happened a long time ago when the Aether Realm was just formed."
Fuji nodded,
"That is indeed the case. But before that, before the Aether Realm existed, Aether did exist..."
Cain raised a brow. This was certainly the first he was hearing of something like this.
Fuji continued,
"Aether is indeed an evolution, or mutation of Devil Essence. But isn't just all it is. The nature of the Devil is to corrupt and malform what already is. The energy of Devils does the exact same. It takes a thing and twists it, preversing its very nature."
"You asked me why I am here, and the only way I can answer is that I was spirited away from my mountain burrow. To be honest with you, I am a rather antisocial turtle. Finding myself in this world randoiwas certainly not something I wanted..." Fuji trailed off.
Cain cleared his throat,
"Ah, sorry. Where was I?"
The turtle paused for a moment then continued,
"Originally, Aether was the energy that the Nine Suns had created themselves. The Devil Essence within them corrupted a portion of their bodily Ki, granting them new powers and the energy of Aether. In other words, for all intents and purposes, they had stopped becoming Devil kin and had become their own, separate specie of beast."
"But of course, the Celestials were not satisfied with this. Any creature associated with the Devils have the reputation of being corrupted and impure. And so, with the power of all the heavens , they imposed a curse upon Aether. The energy itself . A curse that cannot be broken even after a hundred thousand generations."
"A curse of servitude..."
"Forever bound by Cains, we have become beasts of burden. Creatures of summoning, fated to be captured and used in war and bloodshed."
Fuji stared right into Cain's eyes,
"Alright. That is enough rambling from me. You may begin."
