The Greatest Fight [progression cultivation isekai]

X2.6.4 – The Unborn Oracle

"Watch out!" shouted Thero as enormous mosquito-like creatures swarmed them on a mountain called Veinspire.

"Don't let them pierce you. You'll die in seconds. They're known to suck out all of their preys' juices in mere seconds," explained Elevar as they ran away.

The travelers had brought the son back to the chief, and had been awarded with the information they needed. They dove down, into Mucous Marsh, and the flying parasites eventually gave up.

"Please—please tell me we are almost at Nanoo," Indigo implored as she swam out of the viscous liquid.

"There is one last stop before Nanoo. How's the boy doing?" Elevar asked.

"His aura is slowly decreasing, but he is still alive, for now," explained Thero, analyzing the Sunflower.

After several days of trekking, they finally arrived.

"What is this place?" asked Rosso.

"Death's Womb," the monk explained.

"Why exactly are we here?"

"Because we are here to see the oracle," Elevar said, pointing to a large, glowing mass in the middle of a gigantic dome of flesh. An umbilical chord dropped down from the center of the large dome, holding on to a large lump of meat.

"Oracle?" said Indigo as they approached it.

"My sensors are picking up on an aura," said Thero, pointing to the mass in the middle.

Elevar began to speak in the Carnassian tongue, and the thing attached to the umbilical cord began to wriggle. It spun slowly, turning on itself until it revealed a gross nature of its shape.

"It's a giant—fetus," said Indigo in shock.

"That's the oracle," said Elevar. "The Uretus."

Inside of the placenta an eerie glow shone. Inside, squirmed a being whose eyes glistened within the flesh. It spoke.

"What did it say?" whispered Indigo, hiding behind the monk.

"It wants to know the meaning of life," Elevar translated.

"What?"

"It wants to know the meaning of life. The chief said that the Uretus is the smartest being in Carnassia."

"Well?" asked Indigo, opening her arms.

"Well, what?" asked Elevar.

"Well, you're the monk—what is it?" said Rosso. "I'm a man of science. This is your realm of expertise."

"Well—it depends on who you ask," said the Pardasian.

"Yeah, but we need an answer for the—thing," said Rosso.

The being in the placenta glowed again, speaking words only the monk undertood.

"What the hell did it say this time?" whispered Indigo again.

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"It asked what life is," the monk responded.

"What kind of—philosophical—unformed—" muttered the heretic.

"Experience," said a voice. It was Roa, who lifted his arm as he lay on the ground. "It's an experience."

"Life's an experience!" shouted Elevar, translating it for the creature which hummed in agreement.

"Yeah, what an experience we're having," joked Indigo.

"Did he like the answer?" Rosso asked.

"I think so. But—"

"But?"

"But, it wants the answer to the other question too."

"What is the meaning of life?"

"Yeah."

"Well—if life's an experience, then—"

"The meaning of life must be—to live? To experience?" said Indigo.

"We are—Universe—conscious of itself," Roa muttered again, regaining consciousness for a moment.

"What did you say?"

"We are the—part—that gives meaning to life," the Sunflower said, before collapsing again.

The monk translated those words as best he could. The unborn oracle hummed some more. Its umbilical cord unwrapped until it dropped the creature almost to the ground, in front of the travelers.

"It's—disturbing," said Indigo.

"I can hear it's heartbeat," said Rosso.

"What a fascinating being," said Thero, tilting his metal head.

"Taat-turr-wajj-ha," it said, as it turned away from them.

"Well? Translate!"

"It said that Nanoo is that way, three days from here."

Leaving behind the strange, wise being of Death's Womb, the travelers camped for the night in the Cave of Tonsils.

"We got a big problem," said Elevar.

"What now?" Rosso said, annoyed. "My skin is covered in rashes. I'm constantly going to the bathroom, and I have a fatigue that never goes away. What is it?"

"Our food," Elevar said, opening the last backpack of supplies. Flies and maggots covered the insides of the bag. "It has all gone bad, I am afraid."

"Great."

"My batteries are also running out. I am unable to locate an energy source in this world. I have about a week left of operational time," explained Thero, tapping onto the screen on his face.

"What do we do now?" asked Indigo.

"Now—we do what we hoped we wouldn't have to do. We eat the meat," said Elevar.

"I think I would rather starve," said Rosso.

"You will starve if you do not eat it," the monk blurted back.

Several days passed and Nanoo was still out of sight. The travelers had not eaten anything and the last of the water finally ran out. Their bodies began to weaken and their movements grew sluggish. Indigo's face was covered in zits, and Rosso's skin was blemished by several strange lesions. Elevar's fever had grown much worst in the meantime, causing him to shake and sweat profusely.

"I can't go on like this. Everything hurts, my skin is on fire, and I'M ABOUT TO GO INSANE!" shouted Indigo, screaming at the top of her lungs. "I have to eat something."

"We should have arrived by now. Why aren't we there yet, monk?" said Rosso, lifting Roa off the ground once more.

"Your speed is decreasing. Or, the oracle's directions were wrong," explained Thero.

"I think the robot is right."

"The robot is right about us being slow, or about us going in the wrong direction?"

"The first one—I hope," said Elevar.

Indigo turned around. Her hands were covered in blood. They were cupped. She raised them to her face, and sipped from them, causing the other two to gag. Soon after, she vomited everything out.

"That is the most—disgusting thing I've ever had to do. How are we supposed to eat if everything is horrible in this place?" she asked, vigorously wiping her face.

The monk took a knife and slices several pieces of meat from the ground. He placed them on the floor and his hands began to glow with heat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm using my aura to cook the meat. It's best if we don't eat anything raw in this place."

"I don't want to eat anything at all in this place," said Rosso.

"You will, or you will die."

The pieces of meat wiggled as they cooked until they stopped moving at last. Once their color changed from red to brown, the monk handed a piece to each.

"Close your eyes, and just—think of your favorite dish," he said.

Rosso closed his eyes and said, "lasagna."

"Filet Mignon," said Indigo.

"Thank goodness I run on electricity," said Thero.

Elevar bit the beat, which exploded in his mouth with juices and a rancid taste. Regardless, he forced himself, between gags and the desire to barf, to swallow as much as he could, knowing full well that it had been too long since their last meal.

The travelers continued on for days, occasionally feeding on whatever they could find, only when hunger became too much to bear.

"I've had diarrhea for weeks," said Rosso, pale as a ghost. "I'm shitting my whole soul out at this point."

"I can't stop itching. My face is covered in blisters," said Indigo, her face worse than a teenager's.

"There it is," said Elevar, barely standing.

"Nanoo?"

"No. Nerve Forest," he said, and then collapsed face down unconscious onto the ground.

The others kneeled and shook the monk but got no response from him.

"Great. Our boy is almost dead, we are all sick, our robot is running out of energy, and our guide just passed out," Indigo said, placing her hand on her face.

"He could have at least told us what's in the damn Nerve Forest before going unconscious," complained Rosso, picking up the monk off the ground.