"The funny thing about disasters is that there will always be one guy who will warn people about it, but gets ignored...or worse, they donât tell anyone about it."
-The sardonic musings of a man who lost everything.
________________________________________
"Teleportation is a success. Zhen Hai has arrived safely to Stone Claw City."
"Iâll go next," Zhen Feng said to Zhen Liu. "Just in case you change your mind about you-know-what."
"Aye, but it should be fine...probably."
...
"The hell you mean I canât get involved?!"
"..."
"Iâm aware this is a rite of passage for Kaijin Lords, but now? Of all times?!"
"..."
"I know itâs just a coincidence, but doesnât the fact Iâm here mean I could-"
"..."
"Oh, you motherfuckers!"
Away from the prying eyes of the wider world,and the people of Stone Claw City, Cornileus was in the middle of a very strange argument.
For some context as to when and why heâs back in Stone Claw, shortly after the whole stint in the [Abyssal Lands], Cornileus made use of Zhen Liuâs [Key to Nowhere] to get back to Stampeding Bison. A part of him had wanted to stay behind and assist Jin Fang with her training in Undertow, but he figured it would be too...awkward.
Back to the present though,the reason why this argument was strange was because he was arguing with his pocket watch while standing in the middle of an abandoned alleyway, like a crazy person.
Then again, his life was intertwined with several dozen or other crazy people who talked to multiple voices in their head in a very literal manner.
"Look, I get that this is something that has to happen, but is there really a rule that says I canât just...delay it for better circumstances? Or at the least, tag along."
"..."
"Urgh...fine! But this current lord is the vindictive type, and I will not be in the receiving end of his rage," Cornileus finally capitulated before stowing away his pocket watch.
Shortly after doing so, Cornileus disappeared and reappeared on top of a building in order to watch events unfold. More specifically, his gaze was directed to where the most intense conflict in the region was occurring.
âThey say itâs going to happen, but itâs still a one in a ten million chance...right?â
...Meanwhile, in a certain teleportation chamber...
"Bbbbbleh! Holy shit! No wonder weâre going one at a time! How the hell can a teleportation array feel sticky in transit!," Zhen Hai complained after stepping out of the teleportation array in Stone Claw. "Seriously, why the...wait a minute..."
Zhen Hai paused before actually leaving the array, focusing on the aforementioned environmental issues causing the teleportation array to act up.
Needless to say, he wasnât exactly happy about being able to identify the cause.
"Itâs not just the aether acting up...this feeling is [Chaos]...damn. I guess Xiao Liu wasnât joking about the rest of the family learning how to use this stuff as-"
BOOM!
Rumble!
"What the fuck?"
Before Zhen Hai could finish his observation, a sudden spike in both [Chaos] and aether followed by a small earthquake interrupted him.
It took him all of a second to notice exactly who was the cause of this spike.
"Ah, it appears the matriarch finally made contact."
...Literally at the same time as the above...
Bang!
"A draw?!"
"Grunt!"
SKROOOAA!
Despite doing their absolute damndest to overpower the [Whirling Dust Devil Tyrant], Zhen Shi and Tiny were only able to bring their exchange of blows to a draw.
The [Chaos] constructs that Zhen Shi and Tiny manifested had been dispelled alongside the tyrantâs sandstorm, knocking them both back due to the sudden burst of energy.
Thoom!
Even the previously raised terrain fell apart due to this sudden release of [Chaos] and aether.
In all honesty though, it was still rather impressive to any and all onlookers and outsiders.
After all, normal logic dictated that a seventh tier aether beast had the same raw might as an Aether Overlord.
Without the usage of any cultivation abilities, this meant that Zhen Shi and Tiny were essentially punching two to three tiers above their status.
"Holy shit, they managed to push back against the [Whirling Dust Devil Tyrant]."
"How?!"
"I donât know, but godsdamn!"
In other words, the Zhen Clan had unexpectedly raised their reputation even higher than before, just due to the fact that their patriarch had showcased he was much stronger than he appeared.
However, such goodwill was pointless if they didnât survive this Beast Tide.
Both sides were forced to take several steps back due to the stalemate,but their recovery times were vastly different from one another.
Zhen Hai and Tiny were a touch slower than the [Whirling Dust Devil Tyrant] in this regard.
SKORRAAA!
"Shit!"
This left them wide open for a follow-up attack that came in the form of the [Whirling Dust Devil Tyrant]âs blade swinging towards them at speeds that made it impossible for either the patriarch or the Raijin Hippo from being able to defend against the attack.
"Father!"
"Tiny!"
Their deaths would be swift and sudden of this blade made contact. Thankfully, that didnât happen.
<<Donât think so! [Avatar], manifest!>>
"Wait, what?!"
"Matriarch Xun Tian?!"
"Where did she come from?"
Moments before the blade could make contact, the tattooed leader of the main Zhen Clan had appeared out of nowhere and summoned her [Avatar], a giant tattooed multi-armed warrior woman, to not just block the blade but break it entirely.
Adding insult to injury, Zhen Xun Tian made sure to knock away the broken blade behind her before the bastard could even attempt to repair it.
SKORRAAA?!
And now that the [Whirling Dust Devil Tyrant] was disarmed, Zhen Xun Tian decided to make use of her arms.
Repeatedly.
<<Apologies, grandnephew of mine, but do you mind if I take over this dance?>>
<<Go right ahead,>> Zhen Shi agreed while collapsing in a slightly tired manner onto Tinyâs back. <<That attack drained more out of than I thought.>>
<<Brilliant! Now allow me to show off my [Chaos] art!>>
Shortly after making this statement, Zhen Xun Tianâs [Avatar] suddenly manifested a set of six gauntlets that were made of concentrate [Chaos].
The moment these rather demonic fists took form, the [Whirling Dust Devil Tyrant] suddenly felt the shadow of death creep into its non-corporeal throat.
And Zhen Xun Tian hadnât even finished calling out the attackâs name yet.
[Chaos Art: Krakenâs Symphony]!
Once she did, the arms of her [Avatar] became a lot more...squid-like.
<<You know, I always wanted to punch a ghost...this is close enough!>>
...
"Teleporation is a success. Zhen Feng has safely arrived to Stone Claw. Youâre last, young master."
"Alright...fuck it. This will be quicker than me trying to run through the desert."
[Itâll be fine, Executor.]
"Letâs hope so..."
...Now back to the cave...
"Blech! Why does the teleportation array feel weird?!"
"Oh, hey Zhen Feng."
Shortly after Zhen Hai made his earlier observation, Zhen Feng made an appearance in the cavern shortly after.
"Why do I feel...gritty?"
"Itâs because of all of the aether and [Chaos] in the air right now," Zhen Hai explained. "The battle outside is getting so intense that weâre feeling it down here."
"Ah...wait, doesnât that usually mean the environment is getting fucked-"
...
The following can only be told via a play-by-play.
...
In the middle of Zhen Fengâs sentence, a giant chunk of desert glass that was shaped like a massive blade came crashing through the ceiling of the cavern that he and Zhen Hai were currently standing in.
Normally, such a thing would be impossible, but the chunk of desert glass came from the body of a seventh tier [Sand Devil] and was subjected to not just a huge quantity of aether, but massive quantities of [Chaos] as well.
The blade came tumbling down, breaking the caveâs ceiling into chunks of stone that fell down on the scions, causing them to jump backwards and away from the teleportation array.
Normally, they would lash out and break the rocks falling towards them, but the presence of the desert glass blade caused their instincts to go into flight instead of fight.
If this instinct has gone in the other direction, then perhaps they couldâve avoided what happened shortly after they dodged.
As the blade came falling down, down, down, the two scions soon realized it was going to fall on to the teleportation array they had just exited.
And in that array, they saw for a brief moment, their cousin, Zhen Liu, teleporting during that exact same moment.
A terrible coincidence as it were.
And this is where timing is oh so...funny.
If Zhen Liu had teleported in before the blade had fell, it wouldnât have mattered in the slightest.
If he had teleported too late, the blade wouldâve impaled him or worse.
But, he was teleporting in at the exact moment the blade impacted the array.
A terrible coincidence.