Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 248: Book 4: Chapter 13: The Dark Heavens

Read chapter 248 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 13 “This is… unexpected…” The rumble of the beast’s voice shook the ground at Alex’s feet as it spoke, small rocks vibrating on the floor with every syllable. Its size alone was enough to create sound waves powerful enough to batter Alex’s body. But that wasn’t what tightened the deathly grasp of fear around Alex’s heart. It was what he saw in his [Aether Sight] that did that. Immensity, power, capability beyond what he ever thought possible, that was what shone in his vision as he looked at the Hydra directly. Alex didn’t know exactly what a fourth-tier being might look like, what kind of power a Sage might have, but he had seen Lady Xhiu’s power as a Magus, and the creature in front of him was beyond that. Maybe even more, the fifth tier, a Supreme Aegis. He thought to himself. Again, he couldn’t be sure. He had no frame of reference to compare to, all he knew was how to compare himself to what he saw, and his own aether presence was a tiny candle standing in front of a blazing star. Insignificant and unnoticeable by comparison. He shut off his [Aether Sight] to avoid looking further. “Two descendants… Intriguing,” the beast spoke again. He could see the mouth of one head open and close in time with the words, but he doubted that was the actual head speaking to him. It almost seemed like it created the sound through its will alone. Neither Kate nor Alex moved a muscle; each was locked still as a statue. Kate didn’t have Alex’s ability, so she couldn’t see its power as he could, but she could certainly feel it. They both were silent as they waited. Two of the heads looked at each other as if communicating between themselves. After a second or two, a third head lowered itself down in front of the two of them. Its size was enough that it could swallow them both in one bite if it tried, and leave even more room for desert on top of them. Nostrils flared in front of Alex, a rush of air buffeting his robes and hair as the thing sniffed at him, then Kate in turn. Whatever it was smelling for, it seemed satisfied when it pulled its head back, a rumbling, almost purring noise sounding from its chest. “We see.. We see, one of you is an initiated voice in the legion of our chorus. But the other… you are a hatch-ling, just starting on its journey.” Two of the heads nodded slightly, while a fourth, previously unmoving head, rocked side to side and flashed its eyes as if surprised. It was hard to tell, Alex didn’t know reptilian facial expressions well, going only by what he knew from Tom-Tom and the other Kobolds he had interacted with. The other heads looked to each other yet again and Alex began to think that this Hydra wasn’t just one sentient thing, that each head was its own “person” and they spoke to the others through a kind of telepathy. “Normally, only one would come to us for guidance and training. This changes things, especially with one of you being wyvern-blooded.” Kate’s eyes shot to Alex, and he read the confusion and worry that sat behind her gaze. He merely gave the barest of shrugs. He didn’t know what was happening either, so he didn’t have an answer to her unspoken question. “We are Amniosokyrthrusakia, Elder of the Chorus, and guardian of the knowledge of kin,” The closest head, the one that had smelled them seconds before, settled onto the ground in front of them. “If the Chorus has sent you here, it must be to learn from us in preparing you to help in the waging war of the dark heavens.” Alex frowned at this. Kate looked over at him once more, her brows raised in the universal question of What do we say? It seemed to him that this Hydra was assuming certain things about their reasons for showing up. Possibly something built into the Dungeon by the System. He was hesitant in thinking of piercing that illusion, as it might be popping a bubble of protection that stopped the thing from killing them outright. Obby? “ The creations inside dungeons only know information the System gives them, or what they might ha