"Elder Lysara," Tian began, his voice carrying an urgency that immediately captured everyone's attention in the crystal chamber. "I need to tell you about something. Something that makes everything else seem insignificant by comparison."
The elder settled back into her teaching position, but her expression had shifted from patience to sharp focus. Around them, his teammates ceased their meditation exercises, drawn by the gravity in Tian's tone.
"I have experienced not one, but two complete visions of our future," Tian continued, his enhanced perception allowing him to see how his words affected the energy patterns in the room. "Both times, I lived through every moment from this awakening to... to the end. A horde will attack us, our preparations, the victory celebration, the sanctuary's transformation and migration—I've seen it all happen exactly the same way twice."
Dr. Sarah Chen leaned forward, her scientific mind grappling with the implications. "You're saying you've had the same prophetic vision multiple times? That's... What does that mean? I have heard its a sign of bad omen from my grandmother"
"Not the same vision," Tian corrected, his voice heavy with the burden of knowledge. "I lived through it. I felt every sensation, experienced every emotion, witnessed every detail as if I were truly there. The first time, I thought it was simply a dream brought on by the divine orb's integration. The second time, I realized it was something far more significant."
Elder Lysara's expression grew increasingly grave as she recognized the weight of what Tian was describing. "Continue. Tell me everything, no matter how incredible it might sound."
Taking a deep breath, Tian began recounting his visions in exhaustive detail. He described the approaching horde with precise numbers—forty-two Vykras, twenty Grimjaw Behemoths, twenty-three Vorthak, and four Hasuras. He explained about the parasitic flower that would drain their magical energy during combat, hidden away from the main battlefield where it could feed on every spell cast in defense of the sanctuary.
But more importantly, he revealed knowledge that no outsider should possess—the sanctuary's greatest secret.
"After the battle, when our presence was revealed and we had to migrate," Tian continued, watching Elder Lysara's face carefully, "I witnessed the most incredible transformation. The entire sanctuary—every branch, every root, every protective barrier—began contracting and folding inward. The great tree rose from its hidden depths and emerged above ground, transforming into a massive seed nearly two hundred meters tall."
Lysara's intake of breath was sharp and audible. This was knowledge that only people of our clan possessed, secrets that had been guarded for generations. No outsider could know about the sanctuary's ultimate defense mechanism.
"The seed continued shrinking," Tian pressed on, "until it became small enough to drift on the atmospheric currents like a grain of dust. Inside, all of us continued living normally, protected by the elders' magic while our entire civilization traveled in search of a new refuge."
"Impossible," Elena whispered. "How could you know about something like that?"
Elder Lysara raised her hand for silence, her centuries of experience telling her that Tian's knowledge was far too specific and accurate to be fabrication or lucky guessing. "Continue," she commanded. "What happened during this migration?"
Tian's expression darkened as he approached the crucial detail he had omitted from his previous warnings. "We drifted through the poisonous darkness for what felt like hours. Everyone was celebrating our victory, children were playing, families were sharing meals. The mood was festive and hopeful. Amara was in her ethereal form, watching our progress from outside the compressed sanctuary."
He paused, the memory of what came next still vivid despite having experienced it twice. "Then she screamed a warning. A single word that shattered our peaceful journey: 'Snake!'"
The crystal chamber fell into absolute silence as everyone processed this new information.
"A serpent of impossible size had been waiting," Tian continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "It was coiled among the ruins of collapsed mountains, perfectly camouflaged, patient beyond mortal understanding. Its scales were so dark they absorbed light, and its eyes burned with yellow fire that spoke of intelligence older than civilizations."
Marcus leaned forward, his practical mind immediately grasping the tactical implications. "How large are we talking about?"
"Miles long," Tian replied, his enhanced vision allowing him to see the disbelief on every face. "Its body stretched across what had once been mountain ranges. And when our sanctuary drifted within range..." He paused, the memory still painful despite its repetitive nature. "It struck like lightning. One moment we were celebrating our survival, the next moment we were swallowed whole. The sanctuary, everyone inside it, our entire civilization—consumed in a single instant."
Elder Lysara rose abruptly, her usual calm demeanor cracking under the weight of this revelation. "Hisag!" she called urgently to the scholar who had been quietly observing from the chamber's edge. "Request an immediate emergency meeting with Grand Elder Zivan. Tell him we have received prophetic intelligence about a threat that surpasses anything in our recorded history."
As Hisag hurried from the chamber, his cheerful demeanor replaced by obvious alarm, Lysara turned back to Tian. "Your knowledge of the sanctuary's transformation proves your visions are genuine," she said grimly. "That process is known only to the eight elders who comprise our governing council. No outsider has ever witnessed it and lived to tell of it."
Within minutes, they found themselves in the Grand Elder's chamber, where Zivan sat in his eternal lotus position, his starry eyes focused on some distant point beyond physical reality. When Lysara finished recounting Tian's visions, the ancient elder's expression transformed from peaceful meditation to something approaching horror.
"A serpent of that size and description," Zivan said slowly, his voice carrying the weight of terrible knowledge, "could only be one thing. A Greater Hasura—an entity so powerful that even my father, who achieved the fifth chakra level, could not defeat one without sacrificing his life in the process."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Elena grabbed Tian's arm instinctively, while Kai's face went pale with understanding.
"No ordinary demonic creature could devour our sanctuary, even in its compressed form," Zivan continued, his cosmic gaze now focused entirely on their immediate reality. "The energy contained within our seed-state would destroy any lesser being that attempted to consume it. But a Greater Hasura... they exist on a different level entirely, capable of devouring entire civilizations and growing stronger from the consumption."
Lysara's expression was grim as she absorbed this information. "Is it possible to fight such a creature?"
"Fight it?" Zivan's laugh held no humor. "My child, Greater Hasuras are why entire clans have vanished without trace over the past few years. We assumed they had simply failed in their migrations or fallen to conventional threats. Now I understand the truth—they were hunted down and consumed by beings that treat our greatest defenses as nothing more than appetizers."
He stood slowly, his ancient joints protesting after hours of meditation. "If Tian's visions are accurate—and his knowledge of our transformation proves they are—then this creature will find us regardless of where we flee. Greater Hasuras are patient hunters. Once they have chosen prey, they will pursue it across continents and decades until they achieve their goal."
The implications settled over the chamber like a funeral shroud. There was no running from this threat, no hiding from an enemy that could track them across any distance.
"Then what do we do?" Tian asked, though part of him already knew the answer would not be encouraging.
Grand Elder Zivan's starry eyes met his with an expression of grim determination. "We prepare for the most desperate battle in our clan's history. I will summon all eight elders to emergency council. If we are to face a Greater Hasura, we will need every ounce of power and wisdom our people possess."
He paused, then looked directly at Tian with something approaching gratitude mixed with hope. "Your prophetic abilities may be the only thing that gives us a chance of survival. If you can show us exactly when and how this creature will strike, perhaps—just perhaps—we can find a way to turn your visions of doom into prophecies of deliverance."