As Isaac and Ivlir stood in awe, Isaac began to notice that he's sinking into the clouds. Isaac may not be very familiar with the nature of the clouds but he can guess what could happen if he fell through the clouds. "Let's keep moving Ilvir. The more we stay here, the likely my weight will drag me through the clouds. Who knows if there is even a bottom here."
And so they traveled above the clouds. With no real idea were the other portal would be, they decided to head toward the cloud castle.
Soon, they began to see a town on the way to the castle. It looks like walking there would take them only a hour by foot but it ended up taking them 3 hours thanks to Isaac's weight, and slow pace.
Isaac felt like he was walking through quicksand, but eventually, they reached the local village.
From the distance, the town looked like a regular countryside village Isaac would usually see back home. But from up close, is looks like the entire village is made of clouds. Think of a countryside, buildings made of wood, and people walking about, going about their business. The only difference is that everything is made out of vapor. The vapor seems to be thick and solid for the buildings and cloud people, and thin and transparent everywhere else. The cloud people also look like humans made of clouds.
Isaac seriously need to lose weight or find someplace to purify his petrified statues. As Isaac watched the cloud people go about their business, he had a sickening thought. The cloud people are no different from the creatures from the Crypt, right? What if he can take the corruption from the cloud people and make himself lighter. That should make him light enough to carry his passengers.
Isaac walked over to one of the cloud people. The creature looks like a beautiful woman that Isaac will probably love on first sight back home. Regardless, Isaac needs her corruption to keep from sinking into the abyss.
As Isaac approached the woman, Isaac held out his knife. The nearby cloud people tensed up as they saw the wepon. They knew what was going to happen but they were to far away to stop it. Time seemed to slow down as Isaac went for the stab...
...but before the metal could even scratch the cloud woman, Isaac stopped the knife. A internal battle was being waged inside Isaac's head. His corrupted side is telling him to take her essence and survive. The human part of him is fighting his dark desires using logic. With the exception of Ilivir, every monster he stabbed was absorbed into him. They weren't purified like Ilvir, they became part of Isaac. Sure, they were monsters, but they were also sentient and he basically killed them. Stolen their monstrous essence into himself. If this cloud woman is not a corrupted human then he is about to make the mistake of killing a innocent. No amount of innocent lives are no less valuable then his own. He can risk sinking into the abyss for now.
In his moment of hesitance, Isaac began sinking into the cloud fast. Without the constant movement of walking, there is nothing keeping Isaac afloat. To make maters worse, Ilvir was too far away to save him. As Isaac's head submerged into the cloudy floor, he felt someone grab his hand. It took a few terrifying moments, but Isaac managed to resurface from the cloudy ground. After some deep breaths, Isaac realized that the person holding his hand was not Ilivir but the cloud woman he just attacked. In fact, Ilvir and the cloud viligers were holding on to the cloud woman's waist to keep them from falling.
Once everyone caught their breath, the cloud villagers pointed they're cloudy pitchforks at Isaac. One of villagers spoke up in a high, helium-like voice. "We haven't had a visit from a outsider for years and the first thing he does is attack dear Mary! Let's throw him in jail for attempted murder!" The villagers shouted their agreement and began surrounding Isaac. Ilvir readied himself for a fight as Isaac held up his hand to stop him.
"Wait!" Isaac had to jog in place to keep from sinking into the ground again. During his training days, he was taught that honesty wins over the hearts of the innocent.
"I have a knife that can take the essence of whatever it touches into my body. My body is too heavy and it's making me sink. I was trying to adsorb the cloud-like essence of this land to keep myself afloat."
That didn't lower the pitch forks. In fact, the villagers looked even more angrier. "You monster!" The villagers began advancing on Isaac.
Isaac was a little shocked to be called a monster but he held his ground and held out his hands for the villagers to stop.
"Wait!!! I wasn't finished! I need to keep myself from falling into the abyss so I can cure these statues!"
The villagers stopped in confusion. Isaac took that moment to open up his chest and pull out one of his cursed statues. The villagers stared in shock at the gruesome image.
"This statue was once a living, breathing creature. In the world I came from, this creature was unfortunate enough to be turned to stone by a Basilisk. The basilisk and many other dangerous monsters has plagued my homeland for many generations."
"Monsters like you?!" A villager accused.
Isaac bowed his head in shame. "Yes. A monster like me." But Isaac quickly followed up that thought. "But I'm trying to rid my land of corruption so my people can live peacefully without the fear of being attacked by corrupted monsters. Unfortunately. My body body ended up getting corrupted as well. That corruption made me into the monster you see today."
The villagers started to look hesitant, so Isaac dug deeper. "My quest is to destroy the source of corruption and rid my world of it's stench."
"So you're not from the cloud kingdom?" A young cloud boy spoke up.
"No. No he isn't." Stepping in front of Isaac is what looks to be the Village Elder.
"Strange Creature. You claim to have a noble cause yet you attempted to murder one of my fellow villagers in cold air. I cannot excuse you for that crime despite your intentions."
The Elder paused for a moment. " But we will let you go about your business on one condition."
Isaac nodded in understanding. The elder continued. "You say your weapon can adsorb the essence of anything. Correct?"
Isaac once again nodded.
The elder pointed towards the cloud castle. "You see that castle there? That is were our ruler, the Sky King lives. However, he is also a tyrant and he is constantly bullying us into submission with his pet air dragon."
"Pet air dragon?" Isaac inquired.
"Yes. You see... as a cloud giant, the Sky King is already powerful. But with a air dragon under his control, he can send it out to the surrounding villages and force us to be his slaves." The Elder informed sadly.
"That's horrible!" Isaac esclaimed.
"Yes. But we have no choice. If we don't comply, his men can order the air dragon to eat or kill us. The only way to avoid being one of his workers is to pay high taxes. If we don't... well he can use us however he wants..."
Isaac read in between the lines. "How many women has he taken?"
"He has taken half of the village's women to be his personal maidens. Only the ones he likes gets to return home on a daily bases. However, they must return the castle everyday. Some of the woman who has returned came back with a broken mind. They were "used"."
Isaac began to feel rightist fury flow through his veins. "So all I need to do is dethrone your king and I'll be free of charge for attempted murder?"
The Elder nodded. "Yes young man. In the meantime, you are free to proceed with any peaceful transactions. Be sure to buy any equipment from our merchants for the battles ahead."
Isaac bowed to the village elder. "Yes. Thank you."
The elder pointed to the statue in Isaac's hand. "If you like, you can cure those victims here. I assure you, we will take care of your petrified companions while you go on your quest."
Isaac thought about the offer. He's not sure if all the petrified victims are dangerous or not. He haven't checked who they are yet. And he is not going to strand them in the cloud kingdom. However, he is too heavy here. If he is not going to absorb any cloud creatures then he has to drop the weight soon if he has any hopes of freeing this land from the Sky king.
There are so many unknown variables here. "Thank you for the offer, but I have to think about it. Some of the victims might be dangerous to your people. I made sure to save all the petrified victims. Good or Evil. I need to know for sure that you can handle the victims while I'm gone." The Elder nodded in respect. "So be it. Let me know when you are ready for the personification clenching. In the meantime, there are some cloud shoes for sale. The can help keep you from falling into the air ocean"
Satisfied with what happened, the crowd of villagers started to disperse and do their business. But Isaac just thought of something.
"Wait! Does anyone know the layout of the cloud castle? I need a guild to help me infiltrate the castle." It was obvious on the villager's faces that they don't want to confront the king.
"I do. I will accompany you on your quest to overthrow our dictator." Everyone turned in shock to find that Marry was the one who spoke up.
Isaac was a little concerned. "Are you sure? It's going to be dangerous. Do you really want to be my companion? There's no telling what might happen."
Marry gave Isaac a look of determination. "Yes. I have seen the horrors in that castle first hand and just like how you want to purge your land of corruption, I want to purge my homeland of tyranny."
Isaac was still concerned. Mary looked so delicate. "Do you have any experience in fighting? There is no guarantee we can protect you at all times."
Mary wasn't giving any ground. "No. But if I have to learn to be a warrior for my people then so be it."
Isaac was still concerned by for a woman that he almost stabbed, he can recognize her strong heart.
"Alright. But make sure you're well equipped before we go."
"That's alright. I have enough sunlight coins to buy us all the equipment we'll need."
Isaac wonder how Marry has enough money to buy them all they need for the journey. Then again, he doesn't know anything about Cloud Kingdom money.
Ilvir, who has been strangely silent lately, finally spoke up.
"So... what should we do first Isaac?"