"Let's get going shall we?" Ares threw himself back onto a couch in the Roving Elliot and set it to automatically drive towards the west. He'd never been there before so he could only give the caravan basic orders to just drive in that general direction but that was still sufficient for now. When they arrived at the rough area Ares could hand control over to Sandy and let her take the wheel either metaphorically or literally, whichever she preferred. Right now she was lecturing Ares about more of the monsters on the hit list. Ares had his notebook still but the lecture would be good for cross referencing later so he could strike the monsters off the list as he deal with them without worrying about whether he accidentally missed one or got the wrong monster. Also, he could tell that Sandy was really into this talk and so he obliged by acting like a humanoid sponge and soaking up all of her excitement, responding in kind when she squeezed an answer out of him during an impromptu quiz to make sure he was listening carefully. Ares just figured she was happy to finally have a friend other than Arla and, well, he wasn't technically wrong. That was definitely a large part of it but also definitely not all of it.
The road trip carried on for another hour or so but after a certain point, as though Ares had crossed an invisible line in the sand, he was hit by an overwhelming aura of familiarity that shook him to his core and rattled his senses. Sandy's eloquent stream of information became drowned out and little more than indecipherable babble as Ares' world spun. He felt dizzy, that was just how hard the aura smacked into him but, regardless, he wasn't worried. It was the complete opposite, actually, he had a massive grin on his face. Sandy understood something had happened and so she paused her explanations to give Ares time to sort through whatever it was he was dealing with. There were myriad expressions and emotions that flickered across his face over the last few seconds but right now he seemed to be happy and Sandy shared in his joy even if she didn't know what caused it. Before she knew what was happening Ares placed his hands on her shoulders and lightly shook her back and forth while laughing merrily and repeating the same words over and over again like he was possessed.
"It's a Cluster treasure! It's a Cluster treasure! It's a Cluster treasure!"
Despite his weird behaviour Sandy joined in by reaching up to her shoulder, interlocking hands with Ares and rocking side to side with him. ""It's a cluster treasure!"" The two idiots kept this up for another few seconds before Arla intervened by clearing her throat and directing a questioning glance at Ares.
Ares spotted it and let go of Sandy's hands to answer everyone' inquisitiveness although the bundle of clothing that was Sandy seemed to deflate a little. Ares also could have sworn he heard her cursing under her breath again, like back when they were at the sect earlier today in the morning, but the target seemed to be Arla this time for some reason? Something about 'getting in the way' or whatever... Ares paid it no mind and got to talking. "I just felt the existence of a Celestial Cluster treasure! They're some of the rarest treasures in the universe and they come in a set usually but they were scattered around here and there by their original owner before he committed suicide."
"Suicide?" Arla raised an eyebrow and it seemed everyone else wanted answers too...
"Uh, it's a long and complicated story so don't worry about it too much. Rather, he's still alive and kicking, inside me currently, so if you're worried about his health you really don't have to be."
"Inside you!?"
"... Erm... Ok, let me just start form the beginning..." Ares realised there was no easy way to talk about any of this without a quick history lesson so he spent the next thirty or so minutes telling a tale of a certain revenant who was currently barking away inside his head. "So you see, that's the story of Dominus... As it should be. He's currently trying to tell me to embellish the story and add multiple grand feats he definitely did not achieve to it but that's just the kind of guy he is... All revenants are like that, actually. I can't deny that I would do the same in his shoes for the most part..."
"So... Like... Is he there now?" Sandy looked Ares up and down because this was important information! She was interested in Ares, not some two for one package deal!
"Kinda? I lock him up in my bloodline for the most part. He doesn't always have the most useful information to share and he likes to talk to hear the sound of his own voice a lot. While he's tucked away he's basically in a permanent coma and has no idea what's happening outside. When I let him loose, though, he's free to speak to me for as long as he can before he gets knackered out and I can share memories with him to speed up his understanding of where I am and what I'm doing. You can think of him like a summon, almost, in that he's not here if I don't want him to be... Thank God. If I couldn't control him I would never have any privacy or peace knowing him..."
"Ah, that's good. Very good." Sandy nodded alongside Ares who also agreed this was 'very good' albeit for different reasons entirely. Ares didn't want to be pestered by someone equally, if not more, annoying than him twenty-four seven while Sandy... Well she was wondering if this weirdo pervert was going to force her to be comfortable with voyeurism in the future. Even just later when she spoke to Ares she'd really rather not have anyone else around.
"Anyhow, the Celestial Cluster belonged to Dominus but now I'm collecting them in his stead. I should be able to get my hands on all of them eventually, due to my advantage of being able to sense them from a distance based on my cultivation, but they're extremely powerful so the sooner I collect them the better... Although I have no idea what's waiting for me in store with this next one..."
"Aha! But I do!" A strange voice resounded throughout the caravan and everyone, Ares included, turned in shock to see who this mysterious person was... Only to find out there wasn't really anyone else in the caravan at all! No matter how much everyone looked around they couldn't spot this male intruder anywhere... "Tsk, I know I'm currently kinda tiny but I'm literally right here damnit!" As the voice spoke for longer this time it was easier to search for and track it down and now the three ladies were all staring at Ares as he stared down at his own chest. Eventually the four people riding the caravan managed to spot a small red stain on Ares' shirt that wasn't there before and had no business being there now. Ares hadn't eaten any food lately, and he liked to think he wasn't that clumsy so as to make a mess anyway, nor had he spilled blood or wine so this little splotch was clearly the aforementioned caravan intruder. Ares pretty quickly figured out who this was, though, and was the first to double check.
"Dominus? Is that you? Better yet, how'd you get out here anyway?" Dominus had been let out by Ares earlier, and he was yapping away inside his head prior to this moment, but now he was actually outside Ares' body and speaking to people by himself! Ares hadn't gone through what his pagoda clone went through yet regarding bloodline awakening, so he wasn't as familiar with Dominus or his capabilities, and he wasn't aware Dominus could pull off this little stunt and, even if he could, definitely not before Ares reached bloodline awakening. Seeing was believing, though, and here Dominus was... Even if he was rather poxy right now. Still, poxy or not, he was an egotistical guy so his narcissism would inevitably more than compensate for his teeny stature.
"The one and only, baby! Hahaha, oh I am GOOD. A real genius, even if I do say so myself. You got any idea how hard it was breaking free from your body? I mean, yeah, this ain't exactly dignified, far from it, and I can do a whole lot better in the future, but seeing as how you ain't even in bloodline awakening yet... Well I'll say it again. Damn I'm good!"
"You're definitely something alright..." Ares gave a sly comment which Dominus didn't take kindly to!
"Rude bastard! After all the techniques of mine you've pilfered! And all the combat prowess you've absorbed! I'm ashamed to call someone as devious as you a descendent!"
"Oh please, if anything that makes me the perfect revenant and you know it."
"Heh, yeah. Anyway, I've been working on this a while. Like I said last time, I disappeared for a while to pull this little stunt off! 'Cos you called me out earlier a few times I won't be able to maintain this permanently like I'd hoped but every time you call on me from now on I can do this at least. Again, at bloodline awakening these restrictions will disappear but, for now, it's nice to get some fresh air without taking over your body for once. Also I can speak for myself and, if I'mma be honest, that's the real reason I did all this. Ares! You have tarnished my image with your poor orating of my perfect spectacles and spectacular perfections! You've not even yet scratched the surface of my heroism nor my wondrousness brilliance so from now on I shall..."
"Yeah yeah yeah, back inside with you..." Ares placed his thumb atop the splotch and tried shoving it back inside himself.
"Wait! Waitwaitwait! I have information on the treasure!" Dominus could hardly fight back, and would have been sealed right back inside Ares' bloodstream eventually, so he played the ace up his sleeve in order to get some more time in the limelight. Ares froze and sighed in defeat as he lifted his thumb and gave centre stage to Dominus exactly how he wanted. "Ha! I knew you couldn't resist! I don't blame you though, the clusters are great treasures and you should really prioritise them over everything else. If you weren't so busy with all this Xasca crap you'd be better off marching straight to Isasz, picking up the treasure, and them coming back to finish things up after."
"You know I can't do that. I've got a packed schedule... Stop wasting your limited time out and about, what's up with the treasure."
"Sheesh! So demanding! I'm finally free, or at least a little anyway, and this is how you treat me? And here I was thinking about learning how to launch an attack or two to be helpful after i get a bit bigger but now I don't feel like it!"
"You bloody well better learn something! You've been a damn freeloader for far too long!"
"Asura Rondo alone covers the price of admission! Don't even pretend otherwise! Speaking of, you haven't used it in forever. You should really keep training it and add your scythe skills into the mix. The art will do you good the more you invest in it... Although it's certainly got a lot of competition with your destruction arts... Whatever. Getting back on topic. This cluster treasure is a real special one. I think for people like you and me, Ares, it might actually be the strongest of them all. Or close anyway."
"Seriously?!" Ares couldn't fathom a treasure stronger than Omniscience as that thing was able to contest even treasures like the Primordial Blade for spot number one. For a treasure that wasn't fundamental pillar associated it was truly a marvel and Ares simply assumed nothing else like it, or the Converter, existed. Then again, where there's one, there's two. And where there's two, there's four, and so on, so on. Ares just didn't know enough about the world and assumed there was a scarcity of overpowered treasures. Apparently there were a lot more than Ares thought drifting around. "Is this cluster treasure really as good as Omniscience?!"
"For the average cultivator probably not. The Celestial Moongate Mountain is an interesting treasure..."
"... Mountain? I'm not gonna have to walk around with a mini mountain on my head am I?"
"What? No... I mean the cluster treasures are all body part replacements, sure, but it's not called mountain because it's literally a mountain... Well it is... Kinda... It's shaped like a mountain so it... Ah whatever, let me explain it to you first and then you'll understand! As I was saying, the treasure isn't anything too great for a normal cultivator. If you placed all the cluster treasures in front of an average cultivator and asked them to pick one the Moongate would be the last thing they pick, actually. It's incredibly strong but the effect of the others... Well you already know that, don't you? The Prisms are quite something, no?"
"You can say that again... It's a little ridiculous something like them even exists, if I'm being honest..."
"Before I carry on, do you know the story behind the Prisms? Did you ever check? That might answer your question as to how it exists but you may not like the answer..."
"... I'll check..." Ares closed his eyes and placed his pointer finger on his eyes for a short while before letting out a massive sigh and shaking his head. "The things people do for power..." Ares mumbled to himself. The story wasn't a complicated one. Long story short, countless legendary prophets and geniuses were all sacrificed at the alter of the pursuit of perfection. Someone once managed to figure out roughly how treasures were created and decided to try and custom craft one. They knew that the ingredients mattered a lot so they purposefully targeted experts in every field under the sun as well as highly respected fortune tellers and scientists of all walks of life. Billions slaughtered over the course of hundreds of millions of years was an estimate on the lower end of things. This one person's pursuit of the perfect treasure led him to storing the eyes of his victims, those that had seen wisdom beyond the average person's comprehension, all in one location until his work finally bore fruit. Needless to say his experiment was a resounding success and the Prisms Ares now had connected to his brain were the result of near endless butchery.
This explained a lot though. It's not that the answers Ares' Prisms gave were some sort of divine intervention, they were just analysed through the lens of uncountable geniuses throughout history all combining their knowledge and effort. Be they experts in runemancy, illusory arts, puzzle solvers, engineers, mechanics, mathematicians, combat exemplars, chefs... Anything and everything. If you were a professional with a notable depth of knowledge, what you understood at a glance of any problem in your field of expertise was considered invaluable to this one lunatic who would not spare you from being put into his planet-sized jar of eyes. Ares despised the method but, whether he or anyone else liked it or not, the result was unquestionable. Ares felt no guilt owning this treasure, though. He was not responsible for what happened and could not be blamed. Rather, in spite of how it came about, there was no one who wished to see this treasure destroyed. Not a single sane person wanted anything other than to own this treasure and that was true of even the Gods also who wished they could make use of it. Still, it was interesting to see that someone else had actually started to understand how treasures were made. They didn't seem fully aware of details regarding the void and nothingness' role in merging objects with mana but they were on the money with near enough everything else and the other steps involved in the process. A genius madman if ever there was one.
"You ready for a bombshell?" Dominus chuckled as he saw Ares come back to his senses after checking the Prisms' history.
Ares was surprised to learn there was more to this but he nodded anyway because behind the scenes information was usually hard to come by with treasure histories. "That guy, the one who created the Prisms. He created the other cluster treasures too. Ah but that's not the bombshell, it's just a harsh truth that constantly reminds everyone the prettiest methods aren't always going to be the most successful and bare the best results. Anyway, the bombshell I'm dropping is about the guy himself. You don't know him but you do indirectly know someone related to him. Is that enough to give you a rough guess? It should be, you've seen a lot of this related individual a lot lately even if only through the remnants of his work here in Xasca."
"Sevorus? You're telling me the guy who created the clusters is related to him?"
"Mhm, he was Sevorus' master. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! And in this case they were both rotten... Although Sevorus is a lot more tame than his master was, I'll give him credit for that, but there's an unwavering determination in both of them that most people in the upper domains are pretty scared of. I don't hunt Sevorus necessarily because of what he's done, although that's a pretty lengthy list in and of itself, it's because I'm more worried about what he might one day do if his fascination for anything ever rivals his master's fascination for treasures. You catch my drift? He's not a problem child, Sevorus... He's created some problems before, sure, but only ever out of harmless curiosity. Keyword being 'harmless', there. If anything I should give him his dues for not becoming like his master yet despite the old fool having extensively pressured him to do so. Pressuring him to give in to his urges to discover and unlock the secrets of the universe by any means necessary."
"Where is this master now?"
"Nobody knows. After his experiments, after the cluster was created, he vanished and has been gone since. Even Sevorus doesn't know anything about his whereabouts. Quite frankly, I think I speak on behalf of literally everyone when I say this, good riddance and I hope things stay that way. There are some people in the cultivation world you kinda just have to hope are well and truly dead if you haven't seem them for a millennia or two, you know?... I mean I guess I'm one of them in some people's minds so I can't really talk..."
"I see...So what about the Moongate Mountain, then?"
"Another mass murder experiment but, this time, Sevorus' master targeted cultivators with exceptional mental endurance. The Moongate Mountain is a mental realm."
"An entire mental realm?!"
"Yeah, it replaces whatever your current one is and helps defend almost immaculately against mental attacks. Anyone who wants to launch one has to climb an entire legendary mountain in your mind filled with brutal tasks and borderline unsolvable conundrums. Most people forge a boring maze but this treasure forces your opponent to undergo a million and one trials and hurdles before their art can even get anywhere close to your brain. Its a protective treasure and it's damn good at what it does. Plus it means you don't have to waste hundreds of years cultivating to improve your mental realm as you'll always have the prefect defensive measure in place. You can't do better than the Moongate Mountain and its power scales with your cultivation anyway, getting more complex to navigate the higher your cultivation base climbs. Again, it's fantastic, it's just that most people would prefer something like the Prisms way more as they aren't restricted to a single use case. Some mental attacks can even be solved with the Prisms, namely illusions, so there's even some overlap occasionally and one has objectively higher value than the other."
"But for you and me it's different... Because we're revenants?"
"Bingo! Ding Ding Ding. Good job spotting the operative word in the treasure's name that changes things up. 'MOON'gate. Being revenants, big ol' wolves, means having a moon around benefits us greatly. It's not something we can control though and some planets, and even domains, don't have any moons whatsoever. Being reliant on something easily destroyed by powerful experts for a boost in strength is tricky and I've fought countless people who blew up nearby moons just to stop me from powering up. The strength boost we get from a moon is astronomical but it's also easily taken away from us even by something as pathetic as a simple cloud. Much like what you thought of the fellahin earlier, you know, how they're made useless without sand or when someone can fly? It's like that for us revenants too... Usually.
There are moon related treasures out there, I would know I owned a few, that can mitigate our issue or erase it entirely. The Moongate Mountain is one such treasure and functions as a permanent source of moonlight for you to enhance Garmr with. You can never be denied your true power if you own this treasure. It might not be at max effectiveness, and given the strength of Garmr you'll likely need other moon related treasures to ensure you can be at full power all the time, but this is something that will prove very useful to you. I might as well mention this now but, alongside the cluster treasures, I also owned a set of moon treasures, a moon arsenal. They were all weapons with high quality moons embedded in them that can only be wielded by revenants in their revenant form. You think Garmr's strong now? Try giving him massive treasure gauntlets with moons slotted into them! Ah but you won't find the arsenal for a while. Even I don't really remember where I left them so you'll just have to search for them the hard way. Still, moons ought to be easy enough to come by when you climb through the domains so if you ever figure out how to create treasures yourself you can always just do that. Moons are pretty frequently sold at auctions if they're of a high enough quality as water pillar cultivators, werewolves, and other such people really need them for this or that to further their cultivation career. You won't be any different so keep an eye out for moon related goodies in the future yeah? But anyway, the Moongate Mountain is a must have for us revenants. Be sure to go pick it up after you're done here in Xasca. You're about to enter bloodline awakening and get access to Garmr so don't just leave it there!"
"Yeah yeah, I hear you. Now get back inside my body!"
"Wait! Why?! I want to stay out longer!"
"No. You need to save your energy for tomorrow! Go to sleep!"
"Ohhh. That thing, eh? Yeah, if I'm being honest, I kinda want to kick its ass around a little too. What a horrid thing..." Dominus didn't much like the psychopath stepper either so Ares letting him out to beat it up sounded like a good time to him. Dominus was like Ares in that he didn't much care for dispensing justice but there was a limit to how much blatant evil he could ignore and that stepper was comically evil on a scale Dominus hadn't seen in hundreds of thousands of years. Even Sevorus' master was technically less evil because he had a reason for his actions. He wasn't justified, not even remotely, but he wasn't doing it for the fun of doing it like this stepper was, at least. It was better to rid the world of such a pest as it was more akin to a natural disaster that would keep bothering people for all eternity unless dealt with. "Alright alright, I'll go back in. Don't forget to let me out even if you can win without me, though! I've been cooped up in here long enough! I'd be lying if I said I didn't wanna play around with the scythe a bit too. You take and you take from me but now I finally have a chance to steal from you! This is a rare opportunity for me to wield a scythe without that nuisance Charon showing up so don't forget or I won't stop bugging you about it!"
"Fine, I hear you. Anyway, shoo." Ares shoved Dominus back into bloodstream and sighed. The Moongate Mountain, huh? Guess I won't be going home just yet when I'm done with Xasca after all.. I'll have to send Enyo and Blo Blo a letter and apologise for delaying our reunion... Alas, there was nothing Ares could do about this. The cluster treasures were really far too great to pass up on so this was basically a mandatory trip. Thankfully there wasn't actually much to see or do in Isasz so his trip there ought to be a lot quicker than his Xasca stay, but it was unavoidable. Ares sat back down on the couch and it seemed like there was a lot more explaining to be done for the fellahin ladies to be fully satisfied, as there was a lot of stuff mentioned that they didn't quite get, so Ares was going to spend however long going over each and every detail to the best of his ability. By the time he was done they'd have already made it to the western side of Xasca so it was a way to pass the time at least...