Chapter 14
The first body
With incredible effort, he brought his body into balance, using the energy of the ether with spiritual forces, and achieved some balance. He couldn't remember the last time he had strained his mental image and his spiritual sea of reason so violently and furiously. The exhaustion of his body and soul was not the result of a battle in which he unwittingly became a participant, but was the result of wasting his strength for too long a distance and maintaining a passage by tearing through space, opening the way for his mental aura. The job was done, and he summoned his aura back to his true body, which was located in an incredibly fortified and protected place on Arath. In ancient times, he chose this area and this cave ridge under the snowy mountains, which in ancient times were called the Cordilia Mountains. This place was saturated with the energy of the ether, and its concentration was quite high, due to the rich deposits of minerals containing radionuclides. His true body practically did not leave this cave for years, being in peace and quiet, constantly replenished and saturated with energy flows, ionizing radiation of uranium and thorium. Most importantly, he was satisfied with the outcome of his mission and the kid did not disappoint him. Sitting in a deep cave, under huge layers of natural stones, like an animal in its hole, Irichtey absorbed the energy of this place, compensating for the spent forces, while analyzing events and immersing himself in his thoughts. He was reborn many times, and countless times, rebuilt his body, destroying it and creating it anew, and each time the new body was stronger and stronger than the old one with additional improvements. Without exaggeration, he could be called a deity of his kind. Having several recreated mental souls, he could be in several places at the same time, control several of his personalities, independently of each other. He laughed, remembering the battle he had fought, being side by side with the Keeper of the Manuscript. And his laughter spread to all his mental bodies and souls, which were in different parts of Arath, and some even in other parts of the universe. He was very pleased. Irichtey was genuinely amazed by the unusual skills possessed by the Guardian, and being in spiritual form, he was able to easily withstand two opponents at the initial divine level. Even for a spiritual form, Venerable M was quite strong, and it was pleasing and reassuring at the same time, as there was no need to worry about the boy. Zuhair was under reliable protection until he himself gained the strength to resist the enemy. And the kid has enough enemies. Having possessed the body of a priest from the Betaros clan, Irichtei could not completely take control of him. The priest was strong. His spiritual power level had almost reached the divine level, and his resistance, despite the power of the aura and the strong skills of Irichtei, managed to give the second one enough headaches. In fact, this level meant nothing in front of Irichtei's spiritual power, but the distance that absorbed an incredible portion of energy was the reason for this power to dissipate and fade along the way, despite the spatial rifts that he opened. The divine skill of the puppet skill, which was used by the head of the Meruid race, made it possible to master and control the mortal physical shell of any creature below his level. This technique was also called the soul transmigration technique. This skill was once given to him by a very strong and historical person, who now called herself the Keeper of the Manuscript. Since then, he has honed this technique and brought his own changes, improving it and opening up new possibilities of this skill. Dear Mr. M. Irichtei suddenly remembered the times when he was the Supreme Leveler of the Meru clan, who had not yet reached the level of a deity, and how fate had pushed him against Mr. M. And now, as he left the battlefield, he couldn't say goodbye to his old friend as he wanted. He was not alarmed by the sudden appearance of Kumus and Arsun, who woke up ahead of time. Most of all, Irikhtei was worried about the appearance of a companion who accompanied the head of the Manshur clan. This person gave off an incredibly powerful aura that was very frightening and strange. The stream of spiritual power that burst out from this expert did not consider the opponent's powerful attacking seal to be any kind of threat, and simply swept it out of the way without any effort. But the head of the Meru clan caught something familiar in the outgoing flow of energy from this man. And the man who came with Cumus also noticed the nameless priest, sensing a different emanating aura. So at some point, both of them, having scanned, and rather smelling, in each other not those whom they both pretended to be, silently established a non-disclosure agreement and parted ways. Irichtey remembered this moment, trying to figure out who was in front of him then. The aura of that person was cold and otherworldly, as if the dead man was cultivating the spiritual power of the underworld. There was only one race with such energy, whose representatives Irichtei had once encountered. It was the envoy of the Enmish race. It was undoubtedly the Other Side. He couldn't have been mistaken. He undoubtedly knew this aura. But what did the Enmish have in common with the second-rate Manshur clan? It was a mystery. And where will the answer lead? What are the consequences? Did the Enmishi prove themselves for the sake of the boy? Because of the prophecy? Most likely because of him. It's all about him, namely the altered prediction of the oracle of the Enmish. Irichtey analyzed the latest changes and began to understand where the wind was blowing at the moment. And it was not a simple wind, but a wind of change that could bring a storm with it. The Enmishi have always been neutral, but now they have finally made their choice. Irichtey realized that a turning point was coming in the galactic system, which would affect the life of everything in this space. He brought out his mental aura and cut through the space, went in a spiritual form to the Meru clan equalizer community.
Limin's main equalizer was in a huge repository, in the hall of manuscripts, buried in reading and scanning at the same time the energy clusters that carry certain information. Being in one of the main treasures, which was located deep at the bottom of the ocean, Limin was trying to figure out how he could help a young guy from a kind of people, who was carefully taken to the medical laboratory, which was located on the territory of the community of doctors and healers, obstinate Shisa. Despite his life experience, the Chief Equalizer could not understand how life could exist in a body from which the soul had been completely removed. Of course, he knew about the development of the spiritual sea and the cultivation of the soul, as well as the consequences of destroying the sea of consciousness. But in the case of this guy, there was something strange going on with his body. Zuhair's desolate body contained an unknown substance, which supported his meager sea of intelligence and could even progress in the case of cultivation, while not having the basis of the spirit. The wounds gradually healed, and the body began to stabilize. At the same time, any mental interference was aggressively rejected, as a powerful spiritual barrier was created from nowhere. Limin stopped manipulating the guy's phenomenon immediately after the first resistance of an unknown substance to the invasion of another force on his territory. In addition, the annoying and stubborn student in the person of Shisu, who did not leave the guy's body a single step, categorically opposed the urgent admonitions of the doctors of the community. The medical community of the Meruid race, where Zuhair's body was located, was hidden at the very pole of the planet. The race had a network of communities of various importance with a strict hierarchy. The conditioning and purpose of such a system was a vital necessity for the Meru race. Clan communities, hidden from prying eyes and containing management, academies, military systems and storage facilities scattered all over the planet, carried the main ancestral genome, the very backbone of the race on which the current generation of Meruids relied. One of the main communities was a community of archivists and a network of repositories. It was one of the main values of this family, containing the cultural and material heritage of the race, historical relics and various artifacts. The vaults contained objects, books, and manuscripts not only of the Meruid race, but also the valuables of other once-existing races and civilizations, as well as unusual, diverse data carriers. Careful preservation of cultural and historical heritage for posterity has always been considered sacred in the Meru clan. The clan's community system was not like that of other human races and clans, as the Merud had no cities, settlements, or anything like that. Meruids interacted between communities using spatial portals and passages, and this skill was in their blood, which they absorbed conditionally with the energy flows of the ether since childhood. They could control the space at the highest level. Therefore, no one really knew about the location of the Meruid clan. They were everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Ignorant people and creatures were unaware that the most important secret lay in the portals of the Meru race. An informed person could enter the main throne room through the Meruid portal, as well as the clan's border outposts. It all depended on skill and skill. At the moment, Chief Equalizer Limin was busy trying to find information on how to restore the sea of reason in the representatives of the human race who were in a comatose state and on the principles of the spiritual foundations. Limin instantly sensed the presence of the Chief Ruler. His aura was intense and dense. After a moment, Shisu appeared in the portal. Both Limin and Shisu bowed towards the powerful energy cluster, which began to slowly and slowly manifest in a swirl of small particles, the huge outlines of a figure from which greatness emanated.
— Greetings, Chief Ruler! — Shisu and Limin said in unison, standing in a respectful bow.
— Yes, yes. And I greet you the same way. Let's skip the formalities. — the essence said disdainfully, but at the same time with gentleness, in the voice of Irichtey, and continued addressing Limin:
— What do you think about the condition of the boy's body? Is there a threat to life? I'm also interested in his spiritual condition.
Limin paused before answering. After walking around the huge area of the hall, he answered carefully, choosing each word.:
— I knew that your visit would be related to this mysterious body, Venerable Ruler, and I tried to learn as much as possible about it before your arrival. But I was faced with a dilemma that I had never known before. Having studied the object initially, immediately after Shisu's arrival with the boy's body, I felt a complete emptying of the vessels of the mind and soul. But it didn't go any further. There is a certain foreign substance in the body that does not allow spiritual interference in the sea of reason. I initially mistook this clot for the energy of the Manuscript, but this aura is of a different kind. Unfortunately, we have lost track of the Manuscript, and I cannot even say approximately where it may be at this stage. At the place where the body was discovered, some group of spies who are under the protection of Hano was busy. And these spies are from a small maskhab in the south of the Faras continent. I have already sent one link from the shadow community to collect data on this maskhab. They probably hurt the kid. The healers put the physical condition of the body in order. But we were unable to scan and simply investigate this spiritual anomaly. The substance exposes a barrier that is similar in level to the divine.
— A barrier, you say?" — Irichtey smiled, thinking about what kind of prankster and cunning this Mr. M was, having managed to protect Zuhair's body here by exposing protective skills. After thinking for a minute, he had already turned to Shisu:
— My girl, you can go about your business.
— But, Ruler. I … — Shisu, forgetting about subordination, tried to interrupt the head of the Meruids, but he gently stopped the flow of her girlish stubbornness, which was beginning to boil, with his raised palm and said a little more firmly:
— I give you my word that everything will be fine with Zuhair. No one would dare to offend him. Don't worry about him. Now, go.
Shisu bowed and reluctantly went to the portal, occasionally glancing back at Limin. A fire of indignation burned in her heart. No, her despair and resentment were not caused by Irichtey's order. She was angry at herself, at her incomprehensible feelings that she had for the guy who was in a comatose state. What was wrong with her? Why was she so eager for him, for Zuhair? As she walked through the rift, she chastised herself for her lack of restraint for a long time.
As soon as Shisu left the storage area, Irichtei gave instructions to Limin:
— Seal the kid's body in a pressure capsule and triple the protection. You are personally responsible for the safety. Yes, and as soon as the body is active, treat it with respect after waking up, and let me know right away. Tomorrow morning, I will visit the military community. Gather everyone from the shadow community and meet me there. Big changes are coming, and chaos is coming. We need to prepare.
— I'll do everything as you said. — Limin said, bowing to the head of Meru. Standing there, Limin still couldn't figure out who this Zuhair was, that the head was so concerned about him? He didn't even ask about the Manuscript. "Treat them respectfully after waking up." It was all so strange. But Limin's face didn't move a single muscle. And Irichtey went on and on talking:
— We must prepare for chaos. Moreover, you know that my life cycle is coming to an end. I'm ready to leave, but before that, I have to take care of the safety of our race. Otherwise, what kind of leader would I be if I couldn't even protect my people?
— Great Ruler, can we somehow extend your cycle? We have been working with the Supreme Community on this for a long time. I think we'll find a solution before the end of your cycle.
— You're wasting your time. I'm not grasping at shaky straws. And I'm not afraid of my candle's flame going out. I am only embittered that my departure coincided with the beginning of the third chaos. And I perfectly understand what I need to prolong my cycle, but unfortunately, this is not in the world I know. So let's make the most of our time.
Irichtey fell silent. After a moment, he seemed to wake up and said in a satisfied voice:
— Did you mention Hano? That's by the way. It's time to visit our Neberum friend and have a chat.