"I was puzzled at first, upon seeing your drawing." Runthral's father, Raurau, began explaining in the Information Slip, "No Pranic Beast exists that looks like that, based on Clan records."
"I felt devastated, in failing to deliver an answer to your doubts. However, I figured it out once I changed my perspective," The image displayed the golden silhouette of a woman, "There was a Free Human who matched your description."
"Her body wasn't silver. I did feel confused about it, but then, I assumed maybe it was more symbolic than factual." Upon staring at the golden silhouette, Runthral shuddered, feeling the other party's presence was…familiar, 'That sense of oppression I feel from her matches that silver figure's!'
"The records state she was a Free Human who could freely manipulate and wield Prana as she saw fit. When she wielded her power, her appearance resembled your drawing." The message almost reached its end, as it seemed Raurau couldn't find anything beyond this, "I apologise, my honoured son, as my level of information access stops here."
"The last I could find out was her identity," There was a video of Raurau bowing in regret, "Once you become the Clan's Deity, you'll get full access to our Clan records. Until then, please keep looking out for anything related to this woman,"
"She's the First Varahan Empress, Yarsha Zahara."
"Yarsha…Zahara?" Runthral muttered, "I think I've heard this name being mentioned by the Clan Elders in the past."
But however hard he thought, he couldn't recall anything worth noting about. Still, the fact that there were clues regarding this issue gave Runthral hope, 'Eventually, I'll figure out the truth about your trump card, Boiboi.'
"And once I do, I'll guarantee your death." He snorted.
…
Standing on the cliff edge of the Canteen's waste disposal spot, Torq calmly gazed at the sea, eyeing Runthral's dorm room. Upon noticing a metre-wide ball speed across the water surface towards the room, he chuckled, "Maybe he figured out something this time."
"That's better." He dumped the waste in the trolley into the pond below and returned to the open theatre section of the Canteen, 'The greater his understanding, the more he might fear it.'
'I won't have to worry about needlessly flexing my trump card to his face.' No matter how great his trump card was, he couldn't use it as a threat without actually unleashing it. However, if he were to unleash it, Runthral would die.
He didn't want that to happen, unless the situation had progressed to the extent Runthral became a hindrance to his plans. Only then was Torq okay with killing Runthral.
'I still need to find out exactly what my unfortunate brother has understood.' Shaking his head, he patted his bloated stomach and made way to the dorms, "But it's not a priority."
'I only need to focus on getting that build. With that, I'll have better freedom in investigating the movement of our enemies.' He frowned in thought, 'Since my regression is successful, the drop in the Celestial's strength would have alarmed our enemies.'
'They will clamour for an answer. And once they do, they'll change their strategy and move with better efficiency than before.' He analysed, 'We lost the previous time, since they outplanned us.'
"I can only hope they tense up too much and commit a mistake." Torq expressed in seriousness, "That will create a chink in their unbeatable network."
In this universe, named the Sandbox Universe, there were plenty of Continents moving around as they pleased. Each Continent was a world of its own, with its respective laws and power system.
Now, a bunch of Continents were invading Sumatra Continent. Among them was a Continent named Nusantara, with a living being possessing an infinite room for growth, the Celestial. That Celestial was the strongest enemy Torq had to worry about.
'That's still far into the future.' Torq thought as he noticed a few instructors passing by. Even though the instructors tried to hide it, their expressions were grim, 'The first signs are here.'
Growing on Sumatra Continent was a special type of tree bearing fruit that was a pure condensation of Prana. They were called Parute Trees, and formed the core of every powerful force.
Parute Fruits resembled berries and were the size of the little finger's nail. They were fought over for their exceptional properties, in that the consumption of 100 Parute Fruits developed the Spirit Container by 1 unit's worth of Prana.
By consuming 8200 Parute Fruits, Torq could theoretically reach the peak of the Spirit Stage in a matter of days. His growth speed would be on par with the number of Parute Fruits he could consume as food.
Wherever a Parute Tree grew, a bloodbath ensued, until a powerful force monopolised it. As Parute Trees were sensitive, wilting at the slightest damage, they were protected with extreme care.
The Cooter Clan lorded over hundreds of Parute Trees, thanks to controlling an entire region. They primarily used the Parute Fruits to refine Elixirs, which were medicines capable of sharply developing a Spirit Container by hundreds of units of Prana.
Now, the point of concern, which caused grimness in the instructors, was the fact that all Parute Trees in the Tsloch Sea had wilted recently.
'What they don't know is that this phenomenon isn't limited to the Tsloch Sea alone.' Torq huffed as he arrived before his dorm room, 'All Parute Trees on Sumatra have wilted.'
'And this happened right around my regression.' He closed the door shut behind him and promptly began infusing Prana into Runthral's skin, "Even I cannot predict how the enemy will move this time."
"However, that's still far away for me." He smiled wryly, "My priority now is to graduate successfully. Otherwise, the Cooter Clan will kill me promptly."
'They truly believe I've stolen Runthral's talents.' As he thought about it, Torq couldn't help but chuckle, 'The funny thing about this is that they're not mistaken.'
Originally, everything that was part of Boiboi and Runthral was supposed to have been concentrated in the latter. However, they were born as twins, which was extremely rare.
They were born twins, because Torq wanted to reincarnate on Sumatra at a time where things were bound to turn chaotic the most, and in places with the most relevance. In the Cooter Clan, that focal point was Runthral.
Hence, Sumatra itself prepared a vessel for Torq, which was Runthral's twin brother, who ended up monopolising most of Runthral's genetic gifts. 'I am the reason you're such a useless Deity.'
It's why he always addressed Runthral as his unfortunate brother.
"Well, let's ignore the small stuff and focus on the task at hand." With that, he began charging up the Empyrean Snapper Pet.
The students at the Academy did begin to talk about his frequent visits to the Canteen, calling him a madman who had gone insane from desperation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Seated on his bed, Torq focused on his task, when loud, banging sounds reverberated from the door. He frowned and got up, inching to the floor while he actuated his psychokinesis to open the door. He was ready to retaliate at a moment's notice.
There was no one outside, followed by the sounds of footsteps in the corridor and hushed chuckles. He peered into the corridor for a few seconds and closed the door shut. Then, once he returned to his bed and resumed his task, the banging sounds returned, even louder.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
'Childish pranks,' Torq snorted, understanding a group of students had formed a team to constantly bang on his door, trying to use the sounds to disturb his sleep and cultivation, 'Do these guys seriously think this will affect me?'
'I've reincarnated so many times and have been through plenty of frustrating situations…'
A few hours later, a Spirit Container shattered, bringing down his Prana capacity to 17. Torq promptly got up, veins bulging on his forehead, "I was wrong."
"This incessant annoyance indeed affects me." He looked around his room and used Mystic Mist Art to break off a fist-sized chunk from the stone chair. Then, carrying the stone, he exited his room, "Peace is an illusion."
"It's no longer this dorm's reality."