The Bloodline System

Author's Note: Unedited Chapter 

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Besides the difficulty of locating the Trackiowar star since it was always drifting across space, there was also the fact that getting close to it would mean certain death.

Fortunately, Endric was able to fulfill this crazy demand and managed to acquire way more than eight Tartan hearts. Now all they had to do was trade it for the information that brought Endric there in the first place.

Gustav, Endric, and Sersi walked toward the fifth tower upon their arrival there. They weren't the only ones in the surroundings. Other alien species could be sighted as well. After all, information was a universal need.

They arrived at the entry point of the fifth tower and inserted some pearl-like stones into the walls since no one could enter the tower through conventional means.

Thrriihh~

They soon vanished and reappeared on a part of the eighth floor of the fifth tower. They appeared in the middle of an intersection that led to six different hallways. The floor had a large flower-patterned design that glowed slightly upon its appearance before getting dim.

Just as Gustav suspected, the interior of the tower was much larger than it looked from the outside.

The entire place was crowded with hundreds of different-looking species trotting about. Despite the numbers, the vicinity was still relatively quiet.

"This way," Endric said to them and turned towards the northeast direction.

They began walking towards the second hallway on the right until they disappeared into the crowd.

Minutes later, Gustav, Endric, and Sersi had entered a large space with a bunch of people waiting by the sides.

Endric took bold steps forward until he arrived before the counter, where two beings with gray, scaly faces and long canines reaching their chin area could be spotted. These two were Ehrams who seemed to be apprentices due to the golden-striped gown-like outfit they were clad in.

"Requesting a presence with the Mundane one," Endric stated.

"You will have to wait in line like the others," the one on the right responded.

"I already have an appointment. I have brought back the requirements," Endric said with a straight look.

There was no way they could wait in line for all of those people to be attended to first. It would take days.

"Name?" the Ehrams' apprentice inquired.

"Endric Oslov..." Endric replied.

The Ehram apprentice proceeded to place its three-fingered palm on a glowing orb positioned on the counter. Their eyes emitted the same color as the orb for a few moments before dimming.

"Endric Oslov, the Mundane One is expecting you," the Ehrams apprentice stated while gesturing for Endric to take the path on the left towards another room.

Gustav and Sersi followed behind Endric, but just as they arrived at the path, one of the Ehrams apprentices spoke.

"Only two can go in at a time,"

The trio paused for a bit before Gustav turned to stare at Sersi, "Wait here," he instructed.

Sersi nodded in understanding before turning around.

Gustav and Endric continued ahead without her and soon found themselves in a very large space.

This space consisted of floating books in circular arrangements.

"That's a lot of books," Gustav muttered with a slightly bewildered tone.

"Apparently being the most knowledgeable species in the universe also means they read a lot," Endric voiced in response as they made their way forward.

Each row and column had a circle of books that extended towards the ceiling above. They were each longer than fifty feet in length. The number of books that existed there was no doubt more than a hundred thousand in number.

"Endric Oslov, you came with a visitor this time," A voice called out from up ahead.

Gustav and Endric looked upwards and spotted a creature similar to the ones that had attended to them outside. However, one noticeable difference was the completely golden gown he was clad in as well as the five stars outlined boldly on it.

"He is my big brother. The one who originally sent me on this quest," Endric answered while the being used a floating stairway by the side to descend.

"Interesting... although I already knew that," The being answered as it closed in on the bottom of the stairs with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Mundane one… I have acquired what you required of me," Endric stated.

"Our sweet sweet rhymes…" The mundane one said while walking towards them.

"You wouldn't copulate with me so you took the hard way out eh?" The Ehram known as the mundane one arrived before Endric and reached out to stroke his left cheek.

Gustav was immediately taken aback, 'I thought it was a he and not a she,' He hid his look of discomfort.

However, the mundane one seemed to have noticed this and immediately turned to stare at Gustav.

"The Ehrams bear no gender. We can copulate with any gender of any species… we will still bear an Ehrams regardless since our genes are supreme," The mundane one intoned.

"I see," Gustav responded rather dryly.

"I like this one. He seems to have quite the spunk and not to mention that he is a sight to behold…" The mundane one said with a look of interest while walking towards Gustav.

Gustav tried to hide his repression to no avail as he stared at the mundane one before him.

"The good looks run in the family I guess," The Mundane one reached out to touch Gustav's face but he caught their hand before they could make contact.

"You seem to be the opposite of your name," Gustav stated with a tone of ridicule while lowering the Mundane one's hand.

"Ouu... he is quite the stern one. He is making my tentacles vibrate," The mundane one said while sticking out a thin green tongue with a turned-on expression.

"I can take you both but not in a fight," The mundane one added.

"We are here on official business. Restrain your horniness," Endric voiced from the side before snapping his fingers.

Zing~ Zing~ Zing~ Zing~ Zing~ Zing~ Zing~ Zing~

Eight massive pieces of organs suddenly appeared all across the place.

"You weren't supposed to put them here, you just soiled my floors," The mundane one yelled while staring at the organs which were still oozing blood. A very strong stench suddenly filled up the place.

"I'll pardon you this once since I have a liking to you but how are you able to use your abilities here?" The Mundane one added, distraught.

"You tell me. You're the one with all the knowledge in the universe," Endric responded with a light shrug.

"You flatter me but not all the knowledge in the universe," The Mundane one said with a smile.

"I am guessing he can also use his abilities here," The mundane one said while pointing at Gustav.

"We are not bound by whatever rules were set in this place. We have brought your requirements, now tell us what we wish to know without any further delay," Gustav stated while stepping forward with a tone of intimidation.

"Now hold on there… this is a space that was built away from the construct of existence. No supernatural abilities except for that of the Ehrams are supposed to exist. It has existed this way for millennia and protected our species. The other Ehrams will not be happy to learn of this," The Mundane one said with a tone of concern.

"If I was here to wreak havoc, I would have already done so. Even the most powerful of beings in the universe would be ordinary people here so… who could stop me?" Gustav voiced menacingly.

For the first time in centuries, the Mundane one felt threatened. Within this tower, they were gods. Just as Gustav had mentioned, even the most prestigious beings in the universe would bow in their presence and do anything just for a glimpse of their power.

It turned out that such rules didn't apply to the one before it.

"Fortunately, I am not here for that. Just tell us what we need to know and we will be out of here immediately," Gustav said with a calm demeanor.

"Follow me," The mundane one said with a serious tone.

Endric turned to stare at Gustav, "I think you humbled him," He whispered.

"Are we calling him a he or she?" Gustav asked with a slightly confused tone.

"You just called him a he before asking whether to call him a he or a she," Endric pointed out.

"So a s…"

"Are you two coming?" The Mundane one voiced from up ahead.

Both of them immediately stopped quibbling and followed after the Mundane one.

They arrived before some desks of sorts and the mundane one gestured for them to take a seat.

The moment all three of them took a seat, the surroundings around them changed. Everywhere turned dark in an instant like a huge black ink had blotted the entire environment. 

The arrangement of books in the surroundings was still vaguely visible but it was almost like they had entered another space.

"You wanted to know how to get into the otherworld dimension and save your friends… I will show you what you need to do," The mundane one eyes emitted a milky glow as their voices blared.