There were rocky caves and jagged ridges everywhere as the salty sea sprayed mist in the air. The crest itself was much smaller than most others. It consisted of only 9 pneumarians and 50 klevonians. Surprisingly, it had no main element. I figured water would've been their element. Guess not.
The central city was called Domnis. It had a population of over 100 million people. Rabae ruled it with justice and fairness. Despite its location, many people loved life in this district. The Hydra Crest's worth, while staggering, was comparably significantly lower than the other crests, standing at about 990 million spendil.
As we flew across the murky waters, we saw the head of a monstrous sea creature surface before it resubmerged into the wet darkness of the sea.
"I think that thing has two heads. I expected more," Avarice called out.
That one is young and has never lost a head, Viraa told us. Most hydras start with two heads, then grow an extra one for every head lost.
"Since Rabae's the Crest Head, does that mean he can regrow his head, too?" Za'Fia asked as I noticed her enflamed arm flickering from the rain.
I'd already kept myself dry by keeping the rain at bay with my barrier. Avarice, apparently, turned some items inside his spatial bag into gold and materialized a safe arc over him for the rain to roll off. When I expanded my shield to Za'Fia, she immediately started to steam as she dried herself off.
Heads? No. However, his sacred gift, Regenerated Heart, allows him to grow an additional heart for every heart destroyed or that stops operating, Viraa answered. As a pneumarian, thus having no heart, Regenerated Heart instead creates five essences within him that must be destroyed simultaneously to kill him effectively.
"Isn't that a weakness?" I asked. "Most pneumarians have no heart, so stabbing them in the heart wouldn't do anything. Rabae's sacred gift effectively gave him a weakness no other pneumarian has."
Hm. It depends on how you view it, I suppose. Rabae is exceptionally skilled even for a pneumarian. With his unique set of abilities, there are not many who are not in the upper echelon of the known figures in the quadrant that could outright kill him. Even against Raina or the Ryfa Pakt, it would prove difficult to land the necessary strike that would kill him.
"With his ability to teleport, I can see why," Avarice replied.
The wind raged as we shot toward a mass of rocky land.
"This place reminds me of the myths humans spread about the Bermuda Triangle," Za'Fia said over the wind.
"It does, doesn't it?" I called back.
We eventually landed on a large rocky island of caves. Inside the caves were homes built into their walls. I directed us to the cave I'd seen Rabae in before.
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When I knocked on the door, a stark-naked guy who was on fire answered. Like all klevonians, he had reddish brown skin. He had short, shaved hair and was of medium build. His flames flickered and flared around him, safely covering his...bits.
He went by the name Tulin, or Flame-scaled, to some. He was a 2.5-star threat with a base EQN of 41,892,000. His only cintracy was the Blaze cintracy, making him a Fire Hydra.
"You're the klevonians Rabae brought here," he said. "Greetings, he's just on his way out," he said, stepping outside.
Behind him was Rabae, towering over us, and then another klevonian closing the door behind him.
The klevonian was dressed in purple and gold, giving me Greek gladiator vibes. He had medium-length, flawless purple hair and a thin purple aura that made me want to keep my distance.
His name was Jolon, also known as The Serpent. He was a 2.5-star threat with a base EQN of 42,006,500, and possessed the eutierric Bio Toxin cintracy, making him a Venomous Hydra.
"Welcome! I see you all are getting acquainted with Pneuma City," Rabae greeted us warmly. "Congratulations on becoming a Crest Head. I must say, it is quite the rewarding position seeing you influence spread throughout your domain."
I laughed nervously as I blushed.
"Yeahhh, there's a lot I have to learn. Lots of places here, but we're pushing through. I want to see and learn at least the bare minimum of what I can about Cindar."
"A wise decision," Rabae nodded. "Unfortunately, I am currently heading out on official business in the Sphinx District. You are free to roam the district, but I hear most do not care for the excessive rain and salty air," he laughed. "My domain is usually uneventful since I do not care to bring attention to myself."
"No worries, our next location is the Sphinx District, maybe we could fly there with you," I suggested.
"We are already here," Rabae smiled amusingly.
I looked around and saw that we were suddenly standing at the top of a futuristic skyscraper. In fact, the entire city we were in was like a scientifically advanced city you'd see in a movie.
"Whoa..."
Water beneath us returned to normal as Rabae approached the edge of the building. He must've teleported us all by shifting the water beneath our feet into a platform with his spirit energy.
"There is no crest here, so there are no important figures for you to introduce yourself, but there is plenty of history here that you can look into as you cross to the next district," he said as Tulin and Jolon approached his side.
Before he could disappear, I abruptly said, "Wait! Speaking of history, is it true you were once a klevonian?"
Rabae's gaze softened as he stared below.
"Yes," he admitted. "It was billions of years ago. A time when things were much simpler. A time when pneumarians still reigned supreme even to other worlds...a time I do not care to think about right now."
Seeing a new emotion on him, I used Heart's Eye and saw his emotions fluctuate from a nostalgic blue to a proud orange, then back to a neutral grey before he and his men vanished without a trace.
"Sore subject?" Za'Fia asked, approaching me.
"Then we look into it ourselves," Avarice suggested. When he saw my disapproving expression, he defensively said, "If it's public knowledge, then it's not prying. There's a renowned library somewhere in this city. Let's find it. There's undoubtedly some information a Crest Head should know there."