Leaves curled slightly in the scorching air, and fish churned ceaselessly in ponds on the verge of drying up.
Months of drought and blazing sun had battered the life of the Samei Rainforest.
Plants and animals alike endured the fierce heat.
But the currents of air had changed.
Far out over the deep ocean, a thousand miles away, warm currents steadily sent vast quantities of water vapor rising into the air. Trade winds drove hundreds of millions of tons of it toward this ancient land.
The wind passed through the towering giants in the highest reaches of the canopy: Sa Mei Su Mu, Trumpet Trees, and Giant Chestnuts.
They stood fifty meters high, the first to sense the violent turmoil in the air pressure.
In a short time, the breeze grew into a storm. The vast canopy swayed like waves, and hundreds of millions of leaves tumbled in the gale with a tremendous rustling roar. The scorching, dry air was swept away, and coolness descended from the sky, carried to the earth by leaves drifting gracefully down.
Rolling black clouds spread across the horizon, completely blotting out the afternoon sun.
In the darkness, Famu looked up.
A bolt of lightning tore through the darkness, spreading into branching cracks across the sky and lighting the entire rainforest a brilliant white.
"Rumble—!"
The thunder called the rainy season back.
With a pat, a brilliant splash bloomed against Famu's black scales.
A second drop followed, then a third, and then countless more. Within seconds, the scattered drops had gathered into a monstrous wave pouring down from the heavens.
The downpour formed an impenetrable wall of water, completely engulfing everything between heaven and earth. Everywhere the eye could see was a white haze of spray. Rain pounded the towering Su Mu trees, scoured their thick vines, and washed their long-parched branches and leaves. The water level in Blackwater Swamp rose, submerging the shallows, while White-Faced Monkeys sheltering beneath leaves cried out in delight.
"Hummm—!"
A deep vibration came from the center of the swamp.
Headscar saw the silhouette of a snake dancing beneath the downpour, its form branded onto the earth by a flash of lightning.
Famu swayed into the rain, his spine rumbling as his resonance chambers continued to amplify the furnace core's influence. Raindrops like bullets of water struck his scales and were shaken apart by his dance, forming a mist that enveloped him.
The furnace core's power continued to pour forth.
The rain no longer scattered only upon touching Famu. It became a flowing mist around him, meaning he had successfully extended his power, even over the rain.
Between his vertebrae, the resonance chambers turned as strings were plucked.
The great black serpent roared in the mist, like a giant dragon dancing wildly behind a wall of water.
It had to be admitted that Famu's appearance now came incredibly close to that creature of fantasy. He had the potential.
In the canopy, the dense rain swept away months of accumulated dust. Withered yellow leaves were washed away, exposing tender green shoots beneath them. The rain formed countless tiny waterfalls, which streamed down the thick trunks to the ground and seeped into the parched earth.
Newly born Crowned Herons flapped their wings joyfully, and some even tried to take flight in the downpour.
Red-Spot Colin came beneath a tree to shelter from the rain. He looked at the wall of water before him, shook his head and ruffled his fur, then brought his prey somewhere the downpour could not reach.
In the stinking graveyard where the Horned Giant Rhino Family's corpses lay, the downpour washed away pus and dung. Remaining scraps of flesh were swept downstream, and before long, the stream had swelled into a broad river channel.
In the Mara River, Muerjia, heavy and solid as bronze, set out, ripple after ripple spreading across the water as the enormous creature beneath it traveled along. At her side was her husband, also the finest priest in the Mara River. Behind the couple, ten Typhons much smaller than they were followed closely.
Tessa's husband was named "Dalenmayou." In the Typhons' Mud Language, "Mayou" meant a sacred river, long, winding vitality. It was also the suffix of his name, signifying that he was a priest who had undergone rigorous cultivation and earned the shadow's recognition.
Dalenmayou was slender and graceful. Following beside Muerjia, he told his wife about their offspring.
Those behind them were all their offspring, male Typhons who had remained in the territory. They were usually around ten meters long, with a few that had grown well reaching twelve meters.
"The downpour has come, and the flood will soon cover the land. Our children will leave us to learn the knowledge of the shadow."
"Mm, I will bless them, but only one child can stay in the King's Territory," Bronze Tessa replied.
"I know, but I can't bear to tell them. They've looked forward to this day for so long, eager to study alongside their brothers."
"Have you chosen the children who will go to the King's Territory?" Tessa asked. "Only three children can go to the King's Territory, too."
Dalenmayou did not answer.
Tessa sighed. "You spoil them too much."
"They're all outstanding."
"But there will always be one who is the most outstanding."
"I'll take care of it," Dalenmayou said.
"I found traces of Dead Sun Armor in a bend in the middle reaches of the Mara River," Tessa suddenly said.
"Those followers of the Red God?" Dalenmayou was taken aback.
As a priest of the shadow, Dalenmayou loathed Dead Sun Armor. His faith represented sacred, winding vitality, the very opposite of Red God Nia from birth.
"Yes. I have a feeling this rainy season won't be peaceful, so you need to learn to be appropriately ruthless too, and treat your offspring with indifference. It will help you."
"What about that Dead Sun Armor? Did you kill him or capture him?" Dalenmayou asked. "You never even told me about this before. I could ask the shadow for you."
"I didn't find any clues. That Dead Sun Armor was killed before I arrived," Tessa replied.
"A little crocodile?"
"No, a big one, around ten meters long. Very few in these waters could have done anything to him. I found some black scales in the nearby waters. They belonged to an adult Typhon, roughly sixteen meters long, judging by the scales."
"A sixteen-meter Typhon killed a ten-meter Dead Sun Armor? What astonishing combat strength," Dalenmayou exclaimed, but he soon realized this was not good news for his wife.
It meant that an unknown, powerful Typhon was roaming near the Mara River.
Why had the other party come, and what was he coveting?
Most of the time, outsiders like this were eyeing Muerjia's throne.
"This fellow is still young, far from being a match for me," Tessa said, telling Dalenmayou not to worry too much. "But the arrival of Dead Sun Armor is a sign. I'll consult the scholars. They'll tell me what's happening on Dead Sun Armor's side."
"You're going far away?"
"The flood is here. Muerjia's territory will naturally expand several times over, so I can only call this a patrol of my territory."
"I agree. There's no stopping you, but I won't go with you. I don't like those scholars."
"They are the eyes of the rainforest." Tessa accepted that she would be going alone.
"Speaking of which, isn't Xing Rui about to set out? This rainy season, she'll follow the flood to the King's Territory to take part in the coming-of-age ceremony," Dalenmayou asked.
"It's rare for you to remember a girl's name," Tessa said.
"Because you talk about her all the time. You care a great deal about her."
"She's the heir I acknowledge. She's the largest of this generation of offspring, and her furnace core is the most mature among them. One day, Xing Rui will inherit the Mara River and my name of Bronze," Tessa said proudly.
"But you never go to see her."
"That would violate the ancient laws of the land, and you know it. You're always talking about those laws yourself, yet you're telling me not to obey them." Tessa slipped into the deep water, affectionately patting Dalenmayou on the head with her tail as she descended.