Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith-Chapter 322: Boom goes the Whale

"They are almost in there," Greldo shouted over the constant angry screaming. "A few more got stuck, but I don't think they are going to get free!"

"Alright, then, let's get out of here," Irwin shouted back, rubbing his head.

The two of them were sitting on a fleshy ridge that Ambraz had blown into the highest part of the stomach area, while below them, a few stragglers were running deeper into the Chaos Whale toward where the heart area was. Constant waves of uncontrolled soulforce rippled out from that direction, running havoc on his senses. Even Greldo said he sensed some of it, but it didn't seem to bother him much.

To the Addled, however, it seemed to function like some soft, powerful lure.

Greldo grabbed his shoulder, and the screaming and undulating dulled as they entered the shadowrealm. Irwin felt relieved as they began shooting through the body, rapidly heading to the exit Ambraz had made.

As they burst out, Irwin noticed a handful of Addled around the corpse while the babies had risen a bit further. Their song, muted in the shadowrealm, had taken a confused and frightened tone.

I'll need to do something about them before they fly away and get themselves killed or draw something this way, Irwin thought.

As they angled back to the ledge they had been at before, a ripple ran through the large corpse below them. Waves of soulforce burst out of it, and as it increased in power, Irwin felt a sense of awe than worry.

If there's anything nearby, they are going to notice this, he thought. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

As they reappeared in the real world, the crazed pulses of soulforce rammed into him. They were far more powerful even than those of the Earth Titan, and the only reason he was still standing was because of how far away they were.

"Irwin? You alright?"

Irwin looked at Greldo, giving his friend a quick nod.

"The soulforce is going crazy," he said, watching as a nebula of chaotic soulforce began growing around the body.

A soft whine pierced through, and he looked up to see the babies begin to back off, heading towards the top of the valley. Seeing the beings fly away, tiny in comparison to the corpse below and exuding palpable fear, Irwin thought of his own Embers. Picturing Glow stuck in the Earth Titan, drained to the point of almost death, made him clench his hands.

"Get us up there," he groaned, pointing at the ledge of the valley. "If they leave like this, they will probably die."

"I have no idea what you think we can do," Greldo said, grabbing Irwin's shoulder and pulling him back into the shadowrealm.

Irwin almost let out a moan of relief as the soulforce pulses were dulled. It sadly only lasted a short while, and as they reappeared on the edge of the valley, he found that the added distance barely helped.

"If there's anyone or anything nearby sensitive to soulforce, they are going to detect this," he said, almost shouting. Although he knew Greldo couldn't hear what he was, he could barely hear his own words.

I need to find a way to dampen this, he thought, looking down at the four small chaos whales as they flew up towards them. Their eyes were swirling in their sockets, and they were clumped close together as if trying to draw some measure of reassurance from each other.

A deafening soulforce resonance screeched from below, and he barely remained standing. Whatever was happening with the Chaos Whale body, it was different and on a vastly different scale from the Earth Titan. A panicked cry came from the small chaos whales, somehow piercing the blanket of blurriness threatening to engulf him. He stared at them, hazily seeing them speed up.

Need to do something, Irwin thought, as he absently sensed the rockface start to tremble below his feet.

He heard Greldo shout something about the addled and about Coal, but he could barely make sense of it. His mind, even that of his otherself, was being rattled by the soulforce. He could sense his three embers had begun hiding within the volcano, and he barely managed to tell Ambraz to look after them.

Counter… resonance…

The words came to him as he recalled what he'd done down in the Pyroflux sea. His otherself acted immediately. A fast, unordered counter melody began playing through his soulscape, and as it did, Irwin felt a slight bit of relief. As the relief came, his otherself changed the counter melody slightly, and as he did, Irwin realized that it wasn't working as it had with the Earth Titan. It wasn't actually a counter melody, but merely the fact that his own soulforce resonated loudly enough that it seemed to push back the chaos that tried to swallow him.

Both of them acted on the new knowledge as one.

"Grell, don't get close and stay in the shadowrealm!" Irwin roared, knowing that if he played as loud as he could, he might harm anyone too close.

He took a deep breath, then began singing and playing the loudest song he knew. It was one from the Galadin sheets that he had adapted to play together with Skylar and the others, and it dealt with the last stand of a ship against an incoming armada. As his soulforce resonated with the words, rippling outward, the beautiful sound from the soulstrum guitar interwoven with them, harmonizing and increasing the soulforce resonance to a gale. Irwin sensed, saw, and heard the incoming waves of soulforce slam into his own soulforce resonance. It was shoved away and all around him, like the waves of a sea against a rock in the surf.

A tiny part of him worried if he wasn't making things worse, but a cry of surprise and weary hope caused him to ignore it.

Looking down, he saw the four tiny Chaos Whales slow down, looking at him and sending out waves of confused cries. He had no idea what they wanted, nor could he pay too much attention to it. Below, the corpse of the titanic Chaos Whale had become hazy. A bloody steam leaked from between its lips and shot out of the hole Ambraz had made. The ground below Irwin's feet shook, and clouds of powdered snow rose as avalanches slid down into the valley.

Irwin continued singing, forcing his soulcard and heartcard to resonate as strongly as he could. His otherself sensed Ambraz pulling the embers further down and doing something he couldn't fully understand. Whatever it was, he knew they would be safe with him.

His focus was nearly entirely on the resonance, and as Irwin felt the pressure from below increase, four uncertain soulforce resonations joined his song. He looked down to see the four chaos whales reach the point where his soulforce resonance held back the massive buildup from below. They slowed and hesitated, their uncertain voices trying to join his song, searching for points and failing.

They don't know what to do, Irwin thought.

There was room in the song for them, he knew it, as it was meant for not just him and Skylar. But how was he going to… the recordings!

Irwin's otherself tried to pull out the Tablatures, but the need to use his full attention on the guitar caused him to fail. Gritting his teeth, Irwin pulled some of the stress on his otherself into himself, causing a migraine to scream into existence. Still, it was enough for the Tablatures to appear beside his otherself.

It took even more effort to flip it to the right page. His ability to interact with objects in his soulscape without touching them was stretched to the limit, but eventually, he reached the recording of the song he was playing. Filling two entire pages, Irwin mentally prodded the point in the song he was on, trying to ignore the migraine now antagonizing both of his selves.

A female voice suddenly joined his, and Irwin felt a sense of nostalgic sadness as Roubi's powerful voice blared the song along with him. At the same time, Skylar's hesitant saxhorn added a side melody that almost seemed like a second person, sadly wishing the war to stop.

Irwin focused on the four chaos whale babies, who were still hanging just beyond the barrier of his song. He wasn't sure why they didn't move within the safety, but he guessed it had something to do with the song.

Their eyes were all focused on him, and he let the recorded song play for a few seconds together with his own singing before he stopped it. As soon as the saxhorn and Roubi's voice vanished, the missing pieces stood out like sore spots.

Come on… you can do it, Irwin thought, watching the hesitant chaos whales.

Just when he worried he'd have to do it again, one of them began producing a sound similar to the saxhorn but deeper. Almost immediately, a ripple moved through the song's soulforce resonance, and Irwin almost forgot his next line as he saw the resonance he was creating strengthened two-fold. The humming chaoswhale baby's voice became louder, and with what Irwin could only describe as joy, it shot through the barrier and started circling around him.

It was the only thing the other three needed, and a moment later, a second, third, and then fourth saxhorn-like sound joined the first.

As the three chaos whales flew forward and joined the first in circling him, Irwin heard the slight imbalance the four of them were creating. The song wasn't meant for this many saxhorns. The resonance in his soulscape began shuddering, and a cry of worry came from the chaos whales.

I… 'Ambraz, I need help!' Irwin's otherself said, projecting his voice close to where Ambraz and the embers were hiding.

He didn't hear any response as he tried to find a balance in the song and failing.

Ambraz plopped out of his soulscape and onto his shoulder, and without missing a beat, he added his voice to Irwin's. Fuller and with less rasp, it mingled with Irwin's, restoring the balance and stopping the dangerous undulation in Irwin's soulscape.

Irwin let out a mental sigh of relief as he continued the song, glad it was one of the longer ones. As the stress on him faded, he watched the flesh on the Chaos Whale's corpse start blistering, the layer of bloody steam turning denser. On a hunch, he tried to reach out to control it, only for his 'sense' to be crushed as soon as he tried to move beyond the barrier before him.

A high, piercing hiss came from below as the bloody steam seemed to build and the body bloated. The body ballooned outward, doubling, then tripling in size. Cracks appeared on its side, and Irwin barely had the time to pull out his hammer, placing it before him like a shield when a thunderous boom came from below. The hiccup in the song caused his carefully crafted barrier to shudder and compress closer upon him. Snow blasted around the hammer as his and the Chaos Whale's voices were almost lost in the soulforce ripples that flooded outward.

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Huddled behind his hammer, Irwin continued blaring out the song, his soulstrum guitar creating a sound loud enough that if he was playing it in the real world would cause incredible damage.

As the lingering thought played through his mind, he hesitated for a moment, thinking about pulling the stoulstrum guitar out to try. Then he pushed the idea away, knowing if he did, he might harm the chaos whales. Besides, out of his soulscape, it wouldn't cause the same soulforce resonance as it did within, and it might not even help as much.

The pressure from below kept rippling around him for a few more seconds before slowly weakening. When it finally stopped, the sudden silence was almost startling. As if on cue, Ambraz jumped back into his soulscape.

'Checking on the kids!'

Irwin's otherself shot after him from where he'd been hovering above the soullake, though a cursory glance down made him stop abruptly.

"The soullake," he shouted in surprise, causing Ambraz to stop halfway to the volcano.

"Kid… you keep pulling these weird stunts. Now we need to figure out which part of what just happened caused this!"

Both stared at the more than half-filled soullake, until Ambraz finally snorted and began moving again.

"We will check if there's any damage later," he shouted.

Irwin's otherself nodded, took one more look, then shot after him, heading toward the spot where he sensed his three embers.

In the realworld, Irwin stopped singing, his own rasping breath sounding distant. Shadows moved along him, and he looked up, finding the four chaos whales circling him, their eyes wide and locked on him. A soft resonance echoed from one of them, almost like a question.

"It's over now," Irwin muttered, adding a bit of resonance that he hoped would be soothing.

"That's good to hear."

Irwin almost jerked to the side before glaring at Greldo. His friend wasn't even looking at him but focused on the bottom of the valley.

"I don't think we really had to bring all of those addled inside to destroy them…"

Irwin focused on the bottom of the valley and barely believed what he saw. A pit now covered half of the previous jagged bottom. The bowl-shaped top was filled with swirling clouds of stone dust, powdered snow, and the remnants of the ruddy red steam. Boulders and rocks were rolling down from the hillsides before dropping over the edge and disappearing into the depths.

"Do you think the exit portal is still okay?" Greldo asked softly.

Irwin focused on the soulforce resonance, grimacing as he felt how sore his senses were. It took him a few seconds to locate the small undulation hanging above the massive pit.

"It's still there," he said. "But I don't think this is the one we want anymore. I've got the feeling that we made enough of a racket to draw anything to us."

"Yeah. A shame, though," Greldo muttered. "That means we might have to search for a long time again."

Irwin shrugged. "Might be better if we just head much further inside and restart the search. At least now we know there are exit portals here."

"Should we open it and give it a look?"

Irwin stared at the exit portal and was about to say that it might not be a good idea when he thought of something. "I don't know about looking inside, but opening it is a good idea. Perhaps those who come here will think that it was the opening of the exit portal that caused whatever happened here."

"You sure that makes sense?" Greldo asked. "I didn't think that opening portals had such an enormous effect."

"It usually doesn't," Irwin agreed. "But remember how the Dimarintsia River came into existence?"

"The portal that kept pouring water?"

"Exactly… who is to say what could happen? Perhaps the portal opened in the middle of a volcanic eruption," Irwin said, shivering as he imagined something like that actually happening.

"Alright," Greldo said. "I'll get the others. You stay here with our new friends?"

Irwin looked at the chaos whales, who were still circling him and sending out curious resonances.

"That should work. I'll wait till you are here and keep an eye out. If something dangerous shows up, I'll just head out."

Greldo nodded, glancing at the chaos whales before waving and vanishing. Neither had to say what the other thought, that if Irwin had to leave, it meant the Chaos Whales would be on their own.

Now, what am I supposed to do with you, Irwin thought as he looked at the cart-sized whales circling him and crooning softly.

I wonder if I could pull them into my soulscape for a while?

He resolutely shoved the idea away. Merely having normal beings, there was enough to cause trouble within a few days. Although tiny and young, the Chaos Whales were already exuding more soulforce resonance and pressure than the most powerful soulcarded he'd met.

"We will figure something out," he muttered as he began scanning his surroundings.

--

Dhalia's hands were wrapped tightly around the railing as she stared deep into the mountain range. Snow was drifting down from the steely gray sky, and even the barrier couldn't keep the perception of cold out completely. Neither of those, however, was what was drawing her attention.

"It's like a buildup…" she said, talking to Yuul'rish and Nim'ron. "Are you sure it's Irwin?"

"It is, and whatever he is doing is very, very loud," Yuul'rish piped. "It's actually painful."

"Irwin is singing against the backdrop of something that sounds like…" Nim'ron hesitated. "It's hard to be sure, but it feels like something is about ready to explode."

"Should we go and find them?" Dahlia asked, turning to Scintilla, who stood nearby, hand on her sword and pale blue and orange flames flickering along her hair.

"Not yet," she said without looking up. "If we go there without knowing what is happening, our presence could cause more trouble than Irwin has now."

"But Mamaheat, Dad needs help!" Mia piped, looking into the distance worriedly.

"Don't worry, sweetie. Your dad fought an Earth Titan. He will be fine. Besides, Coal's clones are still all calm. See?"

Mia stared at the quiet shape of the shadowy hound on the ground, then at her mother, and nodded somewhat reluctantly. Flux and Glow stood beside Zender, holding onto his pants while the tall silver youth ruffled their hair.

They remained there, silently waiting when a Nim'ron hissed, and the thin barrier around them turned as dense as when they traveled the storm. It wasn't a moment too soon, as a pillar of smoke and snow shot up in the air far away. A shockwave visibly traveled through the air, carrying snow and debris before an ear-rattling explosion slammed into the shield. The Concerto was shoved back a few feet, and Dahlia barely managed to remain standing by holding the railing.

"What was that?" Earilla shouted from the helm.

"Okay, enough! Head in the direction Irwin is in!" Scintilla shouted, grabbing Mia's hand. The little Ignitzian girl stood beside her, looking around worried, while Glow and Flux grabbed onto Zender.

Dahlia fully agreed with Scintilla, but she wondered what the reaction to her order would be. With Irwin being the captain and Greldo his second in command, who was actually the one to call the shots now?

Either Earilla didn't care or she agreed because The Concerto began speeding up in the direction the explosion came from.

"What, in the name of all holy flames, was that?" Boohm shouted as he came running out of the cabin door. Two Ignitzians sprinted out behind him, one still pulling her tunic closed before buttoning it up.

Dahlia shelved that for later as she waved him over.

"Something explosive happened in the direction Irwin's in," she said as the burly Onyxian moved to stand beside her. "We are heading there now."

Boohm turned to where Coal's shadow clone still lay on the deck.

"Are we sure that's a good idea?" he boomed. "Coal's clone is still there."

Dahlia didn't respond, looking at where Scintilla was staring into the distance.

"Ah… right," Boohm rumbled. "I guess it can't hurt."

A good while later, they were flying through the mountainous area when Nim'ron let out a relieved sigh. Before anyone could respond, Greldo appeared on the deck beside him.

"Good to see you are already coming our way," he said. "I guess that means you noticed what happened?"

"It looked like half of a mountain exploded," Zender exclaimed, walking forward. "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing much," Greldo said, his eyes gleaming. "We just had to blow up a Chaos Whale corpse with a few thousand Addled inside."

Silence hung on the deck before questions were shouted.

--

'They are solidifying now, and you can't stop it!'

Irwin slammed his fist against the wall, looking around. Greldo had barely left, and there was no way he'd be back in time.

"Alright… there's no other choice," he said, getting a surprised and confused croon from the four chaos whales. "Let's make a cave."

Glaring at the wall, he pulled back his fist, slamming it into the side of the stone. Kinetic energy flooded into him as shards of stone pelted the surroundings. There was a startled outcry from the small chaos whales, and he sent soothing resonances while humming a song.

As he worked on the cave, his otherself knelt beside the Pyroflux river. Soot was almost pushing himself out, his eyes wide and happy. Ti hovered beside him, seeming calm, while Zan was clinging to Ambraz and looking panicked.

"But Mamaheat isn't here," she cried.

"Zan, don't worry," Irwin said. "She will be here as fast as she can, and when she does, she is going to be really happy to see you."

Zan nodded, but Irwin sensed her weak soulforce rippling in agitation.

"I'm ready! Let's go!" Soot shouted. "Will Glow and Flux be there soon?"

Irwin sensed his son's soulforce start to fluctuate, the same thing that had happened with Mia, Glow, and Flux shortly before they solidified. His otherself, back in the real world, had created a shallow cave filled with a dense cloud of superheated steam and flame, meaning it was time.

"When they can," he said, scooping all three of them up. With a final hug, he sent them over.

Irwin caught the three embers, holding him close as he kept his flame surging around them.

"Are you alright? Is it hot enough?" he asked, slightly worried he wasn't able to suppress the intense cold surrounding them.

"Wow! Dad, what are those?!" Soot shouted just as Ambraz appeared. He was wagging his arm at the entrance, where the four chaos whales were hovering, crooning sadly as if they wanted to be in the cave.

"They are Chaos Whale babies," Irwin said.

"They look like really small Earth Titans," Ti said, struggling in his arms to get a better view.

"Have you ever seen such small Earth Titans?" Irwin asked.

"No… but maybe that's because they are really deep?"

Irwin hummed thoughtfully. He could sense the heat was more than sufficient, and so he thinned the steam a bit to give them a better view.

Soot began struggling to get free, pointing at them. "Oh, I-"

The ember fell quiet as Ti began glowing like crazy.

"She's first," Soot said, sounding annoyed. "No matter, I will-"

Soot began glowing mid-sentence, and Irwin gritted his teeth.

"Dad, is everything alright?"

"It's fine, Zan. They are just solidifying…" Irwin stopped talking as Zan began glowing before Ti even stopped.

"Atleast now you have a moment of rest," Ambraz said, and Irwin could hear the hilarity in the Ganvil's voice.

"How am I going to keep them calm and occupied while we wait," Irwin muttered. "Scintilla said we can't bring to a soulscape too early as they now have to form their own resonance."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Ambraz said.

"I hope so," Irwin grunted.

---

"They are on the other side of the mountain," Greldo shouted, pointing ahead.

Earila skilfully maneuvered The Concerto along the side of the mountain they were passing, the ship's hull was passing closer along the jagged stone side than Greldo knew he would have dared.

Scintilla stood beside him, and he saw her constantly fingering the hilt of her sword as they glided across the final stretch. Zender had brought the children down while all of the Ignitzians stood at the railing, ready for battle.

Finally, the prow angled down, giving them a clear sight of the valley and the massive crater at the bottom.

"Over there," Greldo said as he pointed at where he sensed Coal.

The four small chaos whales hovered in front of a hole in the side of the mountain. Steam trickled up along its size, while heatwaves were visible even from this far away. Although much snow had resettled, and more was constantly falling from the dreary sky, there was no snow anywhere near the cave. Instead, thin trickles of water ran down, changing to ice as they rolled down the hill.

"What is going on? Why…”

Greldo looked to the side and saw Scintilla's eyes widen before her face brightened with joy.

"They solidified!"

Scintilla jumped over the railing and vanished in a stream of blueish flames.

"I guess things are going to become even busier," Greldo said, causing a round of laughter from the Ignitzians.