Famu broke through the surface, white spray splashing over his scales and washing away all the dust and mud from the land.
He kept his body at the surface the whole time, never diving underwater.
With a big fellow riding on his back, Famu used part of his body to hold the old Crowned Heron in place, keeping him from slipping off his wet back and into the river.
But for his size, the old Crowned Heron was far too heavy, lacking the light weight expected of a bird of prey.
Famu could only put it down to the old bird's abnormal growth and mutations. Too much fluid had accumulated in his abdomen, leaving him abnormally bloated and fat. In any case, the old Crowned Heron no longer needed to fly, so his weight could keep climbing.
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lord Famu," the old Crowned Heron said softly.
"Ever since I lost my wings, I've never again been able to look out over this rainforest so freely. My family simply provides for me, and that feeling makes life worse than death."
"I'm a robber," Famu said.
"Hunting is the law of the rainforest. There's no such thing as a robber. The Earth Vein is something super species covet, and after guarding it all these years, I'm long overdue for release," the old Crowned Heron said. "Besides, you're easy to talk to, more refined than I imagined."
Refined?
Famu fell silent. He had never expected a bird to praise him as refined one day.
"You're no insatiable plunderer. You didn't kill my child, and you didn't kill me, though our Furnace Cores are also rich in Earth Vein Energy."
Famu swam through the water.
Secondary Furnace-Core Creatures like Titan Feather-Crested Herons and Nightmare Leopards were not highly adapted to Earth Veins. Their Furnace Core organs had undergone a second transformation by Earth Vein Energy and were extremely impure, offering Famu little benefit now. He needed to absorb energy directly from an Earth Vein or hunt the Furnace Core organs of super species of the same level.
So the only reason Famu hadn't torn apart the Titan Feather-Crested Heron's body and taken his Furnace Core was that he didn't think it was worth having.
But he didn't express any contempt for the old Crowned Heron's words.
A Furnace-Core Creature far older than others of its kind always had a little pride of its own.
Famu respected him.
"It's time to leave the river. Follow this direction toward that high mountain. It's in a cave at the foot of the mountain," the old Crowned Heron said.
"Titan Feather-Crested Herons don't land anywhere this low, much less inside a cave. How did you find this Earth Vein?" Famu crawled across the ground, his wet scales quickly becoming coated in mud.
"Taking shelter from the rain," the old Crowned Heron answered.
After speaking, he noticed something was wrong with Black Typhon.
Famu unwound himself and set the old Crowned Heron down in a clearing nearby. Then he rippled his muscles, shaking off all the mud clinging to him. His glossy black scales overlapped in layers, and the old Crowned Heron even heard them rubbing against one another.
The next moment.
"Whoosh—!"
Wind swept through the forest.
Then came the shrieks.
The old Crowned Heron's eyes widened. He saw his family, saw the white-feathered birds swooping in flocks over the sea of trees. Faces familiar to him came riding the fierce wind, led by his child, Ronan.
"No... no, Ronan!" the old Crowned Heron roared.
"Stop, all of you, stop! Retreat!"
But his voice was drowned out by the thunder of the birds' beating wings.
None of the feather-crested herons paid the old emperor any attention. They had been loyal to Ronan for too long, and those in the family who had known the old Crowned Heron had long since died of old age. In the eyes of the new generation of warriors, the old emperor was nothing but a useless burden his family had to support. He was grotesquely bloated, and as a feather-crested heron, he couldn't even fly.
No feather-crested heron would respect an old fellow who couldn't fly.
Ronan glared fiercely at Famu, and the feather-crested heron warriors behind him swarmed forward.
A gale of white feathers surrounded Famu. The feather-crested herons plunged from the sky, thrusting out their talons and beaks to strike his scales heavily.
But it was useless. Instead, the feather-crested herons' talons and beaks were damaged. Their talons couldn't sink into his scales, and their beaks broke against them. The flock shrieked as fierce winds bent the treetops and whipped up fallen leaves and dust, but Black Typhon stood unmoving in the storm.
"I heard you, Father. Our Furnace Cores were born in the same place. I could hear yours beating even from far away, and I heard everything you said to that Typhon." Ronan spread his wings and spoke to his father.
"Follow this direction toward that high mountain. It's in a cave at the foot of the mountain." Ronan proudly showed his father his strategy. "Don't worry, Father. I'll take the Earth Vein Energy. That Typhon can't do anything to us. No matter how powerful a creature that rules the rivers and the land might be, what does that have to do with us creatures of the sky?"
Ronan gave his father a long look. "Father, once I've absorbed the Earth Vein Energy, I'll definitely come back and rescue you!"
"Don't go!" the old Crowned Heron roared, but Ronan had flown away.
He didn't dare waste a moment, heading straight for the place his father had indicated.
He left his family far behind.
"You've gone mad, Ronan, you've gone mad! If you won't hand the Earth Vein over to the Typhon, do you mean to hand the whole family and me over to him instead?"
The old Crowned Heron slumped on the ground, watching the absurd white downpour. Every feather-crested heron was fighting with all its might for Ronan, for the king of the family, facing a monster they couldn't even begin to comprehend.
Famu watched the male Furnace Core bird leave, flying toward the foot of the mountain.
Then he turned to look at the white feathers filling the sky.
Their broken beaks and talons mingled with the white down. The damaged keratin and feathers drifted slowly down in the sunlight, only to be swept up again by the currents stirred by flight. Feather-crested herons swooped over Famu's head, their talons scraping his facial bones and striking his neck. Some chose to attack his back, leaving trails of air as they struck and flew away.
Famu raised his head, and the pale pupils in that iron-blue face glimmered faintly.
Earth Vein Energy stirred.
The old Crowned Heron sensed something, and his Furnace Core trembled along with it. "No, Lord Famu, I beg you, no..."
"Hum—!"
The Child of the Earth Furnace Core awakened.
The sound of its vibrations swept across the land like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami surging.
White wings danced in the wind.
Ronan skimmed over the mountain forest and passed through a valley, following his father's words until he found the cave.
"Whoosh—"
The white Crowned Heron folded his wings and landed on a rock in front of the cave.
The place where the Earth Vein lay.
He had finally learned the Earth Vein's whereabouts.
Ronan walked in, brimming with excitement. His talons treaded over the ground, his tail feathers trailing behind him, and the cave echoed with the patter of his footsteps. He was so excited that his body trembled a little, and he walked with a swagger that made him look somewhat comical.
Titan Feather-Crested Herons had a measure of night vision, and he could see the things inside the dark cave.
Ronan searched and searched, his excitement gradually turning to anxiety.
There was no Earth Vein Energy, not even a trace. His Furnace Core showed no reaction at all. The pitch-black cave was completely empty, save for some water flowing from cracks in the rock.
Ronan froze in place.
Father, you lied to me.
Or... were you lying to it?