Chapter 169: The Seven Doors of Riches
"Big brother, I missed you," A little snake girl said as he held onto Karsha's hands never daring to let go. It's Starr, Karsha's unofficial little sister.
"Big brother misses you too. Hope you've been a good girl and listened to everything Mom said" Karsha responded sparing no effort to hide his happiness. The last time he was leaving was to go into a life-and-death battle. So now that he emerged victorious, what's there not to be happy about?
Starr nodded looking back at her mother with a gaze that said, 'Please don't tell big brother I've been wanting to run away and come look for him'. Seeing the look on her face Lady Illo smiled and the look at the back of the human she tried stopping from going after the Overlords.
'He really did it. He broke the curse' She said inwardly. When the Karsha and his guards appeared at the border, they were surprised to see Lady Illo, Starr, the five elders, and another old but energetic lady. Karsha was immediately assaulted with a hug from Starr while the others welcomed them with happy expressions.
"You've become bigger Starr, did you enjoy the meat I left you" Karsha knowing the others were staring at him from behind quickly started conversing with the snake girl. He noticed that from elders down to Starr have all become Mutants.
But that's not the striking part. The Elders have all become Tier 8 Terror Mutants. Although they are still in the early stages, the chaotic aura around them shows they are incredibly powerful even in their human form. Starr is now a Tier 6 Great Mutant making her even stronger than Human Average Saints.
The old woman who looks almost the same as Lady Illo is emitting an aura of a Tier 9 Dark Mutant. Karsha just couldn't believe it when he saw her. His back broke a few sweat just by staring at her. However, the monster among them all was Lady Illo. She is now a Tier 9 Terror Mutant.
Karsha was beyond amazed but what he doesn't know is, all these years of suppression from the curse has not just stopped them from advancing, it also has been accumulating years of cultivation so when the damn curse finally broke, all those years of cultivation poured in. Lady Illo happened to be a genius among geniuses so her breakthrough was far more shocking than the others.
A few minutes later, they reached the now sanctuary nuzzling with life. Many faces Karsha hasn't seen yet are working on developing the place. Karsha even saw some snake people melting gold in what looked like they were creating pillars for something. The whole place is lively, they are all mutants each exuding powerful auras.
After entering the white house, Starr quickly went into action and started playing dress up with Karsha's hair.
"It seems a lot has changed around her," Karsha said looking at Lady Illo. "It's all thanks to you. After the curse is broken a lot of changes occurred. Changes are still happening at an alarming rate" Lady Illo replied, her tone full of reverence toward Karsha.
"That is great." Karsha nodded. He already knew things like this would happen but looking at how many changes had happened in just these few days brought him a great shock.
"So what are your plans now that the curse is broken" Karsha asked. He wanted to see what plans they had before helping them any further.
"Well, now that we are free from the curse, the other races have also recovered from their sorry states meaning they can now be integrated into society. I have deployed some of my people to see to it they remain united while we figure out the best course of action. There are many races so getting them all to listen to reason will be hard, but not impossible"
'She is a natural born leader' Karsha praised her in his heart. "That's thoughtful. On our way here we saw so many snakes going about their duties, it seems the curse has really made their lives miserable." Although he hadn't seen evolution go by this fast, he still felt like the snakes were adapting way too fast.
Of course, some will still choose chaos over reason, but the majority of the snakes are now adapting to their new lives.
"The curse indeed caused a lot of pain but it also brought power. Now, many of my people are gaining ideas and knowledge on how to transform this island into a utopia for all snake races. It's just a matter of time before this place turns into a world worth living in" The Old Woman Karsha got to know as Lady Illo's mother chimed in.
She handed the mantle of leadership to Lady Illo a hundred years ago.
Whenever a snake is nearing their life span, they will hand over their duties to their heir and enter seclusion in the hope it can break through. Despite the curse, the Purple Tail anaconda race never stopped trying to break through, They dedicated most of their time to cultivating in the hope of breaking through to Tier 8.
"Well, your race is always meant to be the rulers of this island. Also, you don't have to worry about anything. The curse that plagued you for years has also paved the way to your salvation." Karsha stood up holding Starr in his arms. "Let's go on a quick stroll" Karsha started walking outside. The shadow guards along with the elders and Lady Illo with her mom followed.
"Alida" Karsha only had to call her name. She took out the flying boat and made it expand. Karsha and Ayarr were the first to climb in. The Elders look at one another before following in. Lady Illo and her mom joined them. Dhaka and the rest also climbed.
Within a second, they are kilometers away. "Lady Illo, what do you know about the Origin of your race" Karsha's question came as a bolt of lightning to all except Starr.
Lady Illo was taken aback by the sudden question but she went ahead and answered his question, her race has a complicated history. They don't know where they are from. But according to what their ancestors left behind, they are from a race called Igho. They don't know what this race is where they can be found or whether they are still alive.
But they strongly believe that is where their origin could be traced.
'I guess there is a lot to be learned about this island and these snakes' Karsha said inwardly. From the knowledge he possessed now, have an idea of where the purple tail Anaconda and the other snakes came from. But without enough data, he can only call them people of the Unknown. He knows the Unknown has an Origin and one day he will find out, but for now, he can only remain in the dark. Stay tuned for updates on empire
After flying for five minutes, they appeared in front of the waterfall at the queen's embrace. They entered through the waterfall and appeared on the other side. Karsha could tell the place has undergone some changes. New plants are bearing different types of fruits.
"After breaking the curse, I got to discover some secrets of this place. It appears the person that placed the curse on this place has also provided a way out." A said directing the boat toward the Stone Tablet. When they neared the 500-meter mark, Karsha formed a hand seal, and at once, the energy restriction vanished.
"This stone tablet is a time tablet. The energy here is pure so in the future, have your people cultivate near it" After stopping for a few minutes in front of the stone tablet, they started moving again. They were shocked to learn time runs differently around the 500-meter radius of the stone. Also, the three times comprehension speed boost blew their minds.
After moving for another 40km, they appeared in an Area far removed from the Sanctuary. The feeling and air in that area feel completely different. There are trees, towering stones, and rivers around. The place is beautiful, just like the queen's embrace.
But what is even more shocking aside from the beauty of the place are seven 10-meter tall and 5-meter wide portals. They are made from jade stones and fine lime crystals, The doorway has a silverlike pool of unknown cosmic energy creating a portal to an unknown place.
"These portals lead to seven different places. Each place has different resources your race will need to climb back to its formal glory. The first three doors lead to places full of minerals your race can use to make this place better. The fourth and fifth doors lead to Vegetaions where all you need to sustain your hunger can be found.
The last door leads to a place full of monsters, you already know what to do "Karsha smiled looking at the shocked look on their faces.
Even Karsha himself is shocked by the ingenuity of the person who designed the places. The system already told him about pocket dimensions but the places these doors lead to are not pocket dimensions but a whole different realm. He doesn't know who made those places but he knew the person would have to be incredibly powerful to make something like this.
"Aside from that, there are other places on the island with amazing things, you will have to explore those places when things are settled down."
Be it the Elders, The Shadow guards, or Lady Illo. they are all shocked looking at Karsha like his a god sent down to save their kind.
"No need to thank me, I am just the messenger." Karsha smiled. They stayed there for almost an hour before leaving. Karsha didn't bother with checking out where these portals lead since he doesn't have enough time on his hands, He now has 36 hours more to go.
After coming back to the sanctuary, Karsha along with Starr, Lady Illo, and Ayarr once again left and went to check out the garden Ayarr spoke about. If all is up to satisfactory, He will concoct a few pills before leaving.