Chapter 1615 – Primordial Soup

The descent into the lower chamber of the heart was a difficult one. The flesh of the chamber walls was sagging and leaking mucus, yet even so, the way was narrow and dangerous. The Zissth had created a path, but dragging such a large and heavy monster through wasn’t easy. Once they were through, Zluth could feel the change in the air instantly.

Rising from below were such potent and toxic fumes that his skin began to bubble and burn when they brushed against him.

Down there was the pool of sludge left by Theorazzn, from which the pools in every other slimeground in the region had been drawn. He couldn’t wait to see it up close, but was wary. Respect for the dangerous elements of the fifth was exactly what kept the Krath alive in this environment.

“How close are we going to get to the pool?” he asked Soluzz directly.

The big Krath knew exactly what he was getting at.

“It’s so potent even I will melt if I get too close,” he replied. “From a hundred metres away, we can roll the monster in and watch the change take place. Any closer than that and I can’t guarantee your safety.”

Even from a hundred metres away? Zluth was even more intrigued. Every Krath had a deep-seated respect for the Ancient, but no idea of what Theorazzn was truly capable of. To think that a pool of his perfect sludge could sit here in the heart for thousands of years and still be so potent!

Chozth was not feeling the same reverent emotions as Zluth, continuing to glare at the still form of the slime-wrapped monster. She struck it once more with venom.

“Not long now, filth,” she hissed. “Soon you’ll hate everything you ever loved.”

“Still one more to go,” Zluth reminded her. “The task isn’t finished yet.”

“The other one didn’t kill my warriors. This one did,” Chozth spat, her acidic saliva bubbling on the platform.

“Once we have turned this one, we can return to the fortress and destroy it. With that, the singing will come to a stop and two thirds of the Ancient’s task will be done,” Soluzz said.

“There may be more,” Ulliz, Krath’lath of the Bulg, spoke up. “Now that the Ancient is awake, we should be prepared for more visitations.”

“I will be prepared, but you don’t need to bother,” Chozth bit off each word as she addressed her rival. “Theorazzn will only speak to the worthy.”

Considering he had spoken to Chozth directly, it wasn’t something Ulliz could refute directly. Before they could retaliate, Soluzz cut them off.

“We’re here. Be silent from this point.”

He gave no other warning, but glared with bulging red eyes to ensure they knew he was serious. Lowered by thick strands of mucus, the platform made from hardened mould that had been melted together with acid touched down at the lower reaches of the heart.

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Looking up, Zluth was still astonished at the size of the thing. A beating pump of poison and toxicity, the heart was the centre of this entire section of the fifth, through which all the mana flowed, enriched by the miasma of the Ancient. The walls pulsed on either side, forcing the flow of energy, a constant cycle of contamination that had made the Krath who they were.