An Illusion of Will

Chapter 43: Titaness Agnethe Akselson

After Al had recovered and returned, he found himself bewildered by the scene before him. Ellie was engaged in a conversation with a mud-covered giant who surprisingly possessed the ability to speak broken English. Cesar, Jin, and the other blue giant, who had shot and pummeled Al into oblivion, all lay unconscious. Slowly, Al cautiously approached Ellie, who reassured him with a wave that it was safe to do so.

"Me, Father sent me to North. Get Help," the mud-covered giant named Loh' spoke in his limited understanding of English. Despite his rough exterior, Loh' possessed remarkable intelligence and had managed to grasp some English words through his brief exposure to a human phone. 

Al turned to Ellie with confusion, prompting her to inquire further, "Your father sent you to get help? Is your family in trouble? Perhaps we can lend a hand."

Loh', struggling to decipher and articulate her words, took a moment before responding, "Help from North." Ellie found herself puzzled by his statement, asking, "What do you mean by 'North'?" Frustrated, Loh' replied, "North people under water, ask them help."

Al interjected, trying to make sense of the situation, "He must be referring to the Blood Leafs 5th Immortal Ring. It is we're we are headed after all. If a family as formidable as theirs requires assistance, anyone in the Immortal Chasm should be more than capable of providing aid."

A few hours later, Loh' was conversing in English fluently, as if it were his native language. Asoto' had awakened, and before he could pounce on anyone, Loh' swiftly calmed him down. Meanwhile, Cesar and Jin both gazed at the giant who had nearly taken their lives, now accompanying the group of four.

"As I mentioned earlier, we are not aliens but Tonovians," Loh' explained. "Our history stretches back tens of thousands of years in our homeland of Tonovia. However, our ancestors were human, so technically, we are also human, albeit with slight differences. My teacher, Geova' Murellus, recently dissected five unknown creatures. She determined that they were an entirely foreign life form to our planet, we named these creatures 'The Rakh-ahtan.' which means invaders. This triggered an alarm in Tonovia, prompting us to prepare for an invasion. The day finally arrived when they attacked us. At that moment, the Father of fathers, my leader—not my actual father—sent me and his actual son, Asoto', to seek help from what he described as an underwater human civilization up north, beneath a lake."

Loh's talkativeness surprised the group of four, although they found his revelations mind-boggling. They discovered that, unlike themselves, who harnessed Will, the Tonovians utilized Ancestral Essence to achieve similar effects. Al, in particular, found this distinction intriguing. The six of them began to exchange knowledge and information, except for Asoto', who appeared perpetually annoyed and could not comprehend a single word being spoken.

"I don't know the connection between your people and the God Leaves, but based on what I've learned about them, your best chance for help would be from regular humans, these God Leaves only acre about themselves" Al murmured almost inaudibly. Though Loh' heard him, he chose not to respond.

The group of six proceeded northward towards the Blood Leafs' 5th Immortal Ring, even though they didn't have the exact coordinates, they knew 5th Immortal Ring was located somewhere beneath Lake Huron. 

They swiftly crossed the border between Michigan and Indiana and soon found themselves entering Huron National Forest. As the temperature dropped, their bodies had to exert more Will to preserve warmth, which slightly slowed their progress. 

In contrast, the two Tonovians thrived in freezing cold environments. However, unlike the four cultivators of Will, the Tonovians needed to eat to sustain themselves, which meant they had to spend time searching for edible rocks and stones suitable for their kind.