Chapter 77: Sylvanus
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After Brunhild transformed her own house into a powerful Spiritual Tree-like entity, Sylvanus suddenly burst into a thick wall of smoke and vanished from sight. The unexpected display left both Brunhild and Freyja standing there in complete shock.
“Ugh, what the hell is this smoke? It smells like... like weed. Cough... Damn, was this stuff laced or something? Why did Sylvanus just poof out of thin air into a cloud of weed smoke?!” Brunhild complained, waving her hand in front of her face.
“Weed?” Freyja wondered, raising an eyebrow. “Huh?” She narrowed her eyes and peered through the dissipating haze. Suddenly, something small emerged from the center of the smoke. “Ah! Look over there, Brunhild!”
“Hm?” Brunhild narrowed her eyes as she continued waving her hand, causing the smoke to clear even faster. “Wait... what’s that?!”
To their utter disbelief, Sylvanus was still present. He had simply become much smaller. Greatly reduced in size, the spirit now floated gently amidst the remaining smoke. Brunhild and Freyja immediately recognized that it was still him despite the dramatic change.
Sylvanus now resembled a watermelon-sized seed with a big, vibrant leaf sprouting from the top and two small, glowing yellow dots for eyes. The sight was utterly adorable, leaving both women momentarily speechless.
“S-Sylvanus?! Is that really you?!” Brunhild asked, rushing toward the floating spirit.
Responding to his master, the small spirit drifted closer and hovered right in front of her. Brunhild slowly reached out and touched him. His form felt spiritual yet possessed a unique sense of physicality. It seemed slightly solid, but not entirely. Touching ethereal lifeforms was always a unique experience, but with Sylvanus it felt far more complex than with any other spirit she had encountered.
“It turned into a spirit...” Brunhild said softly. “Was this because of some ability? Wait, that one?”
“Yes! Sylvanus transformed using the Forest Spirit Transformation Ability!” Freyja replied. She quickly pieced together what had happened and nodded with clear fascination. Then she approached the big seed and touched it gently with her own spiritual hands, feeling a deep connection. “Oh? It feels very connected to me, almost like... huh? Like a son... Why?! Is it because he was born from the houses built using my system interface?”
“A son?!” Brunhild asked, unable to believe the nonsense Freyja was saying now. “Come on, Freyja. Take things a little more seriously please.”
“Ah, sorry. Yeah, it’s not like I gave birth to him, but there is a connection. He inherited a piece of me,” Freyja explained. “Hmm, this is a very unique circumstance! I don’t think it could be replicated even if we tried doing the exact same steps...”
“Why?” Brunhild asked.
“It’s more complicated than you imagine...” Freyja sighed, gently caressing Sylvanus, who remained still and simply watched them in silence. “The house you made wasn’t just made of materials. It also involved Soul Points, right? The Divine Soul Orb you possess became part of my system as well, so it turned into an extension of my power. That’s how it can function properly! I adapted to it.”
“Oh, I see,” Brunhild nodded. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Freyja sighed again, shaking her head and crossing her cute little arms. “Be patient! I am getting there,” she said. “As I said, it is part of me, right? So it was born from my power, just like your skills and everything else. When you evolved it and breathed even greater life into it through Evolution, and when it absorbed your two divine spirits, which are now resting and recovering... well, it evolved into something even stronger. At the same time, it still holds a ‘piece’ of me within it. That’s why it might be considered my child... or well, our child.”
Brunhild stood there shocked. “So I’m a mom of Sylvanus?!”
Freyja giggled softly. “Don’t take it so seriously though. It’s obviously not the case... it’s just like an allegory or something. Nonetheless, Sylvanus is now your new Familiar and Spirit...!”
Brunhild smiled warmly and caressed Sylvanus, who seemed pleased by the affection. He closed his small eyes and leaned into the gentle pets, appearing truly joyous about the attention. “He’s so cute...” Brunhild said.
However, as she continued caressing him, she suddenly realized her house was now gone. The entire tree had vanished along with it, and so had her entire family who had been inside.
Her eyes widened in horror. She grabbed Sylvanus carefully with both of her large hands and asked the spirit desperately, “W-Wait! Sylvanus! Please tell me what happened to all your contents! Are the people inside alive? Is my family okay? Wait, were they all pulverized inside of you?!” She panicked and imagined the worst. Her tanned skin grew surprisingly pale, to the point she looked like she was made of candle wax.
However, to her disbelief, Sylvanus did not respond. He simply remained still, watching her panic while occasionally blinking. It seemed this spirit was very young and premature, incapable of actually speaking properly or communicating like normal people.
Brunhild had already experienced something similar with her other Divine War Spirits. Ares and Hermes were just as silent and awkward at first, but they were at least learning new words. They possessed the intelligence and the intent to speak to some extent.
However, Sylvanus was... just different. Maybe it was because he might be the youngest of her spirits. Brunhild considered that Ares and Hermes already had some age to them. She did not know if they had been within her all along or only awakened when her physique evolved, but they were definitely older and more “mature.” That might also be because they were born as “reflections” of herself from her own divine physique, as Freyja was now explaining.
“Your Divine War Spirits are quite literally ‘reflections’ of yourself, Brunhild,” Freyja said in a calm tone. “They were born from your physique itself, and as it grows, new ones will emerge, sometimes from skills that connect to it as well. So they already come with some level of development because they mirror your current growth. Thus, Ares, Hermes, and the third one which you haven’t named yet would be more... well, intelligent. Meanwhile, Sylvanus is... a baby. He’s literally a baby. So he will grow slowly like one.”
“Huh,” Brunhild nodded, understanding the explanation. However... “Okay, but where’s my family?! Why are you so calm?!” she asked desperately.
“They’re fine. I would’ve known if they died,” Freyja assured her. “When you use Evolution on items and people, they become connected to me and a ‘fragment’ of my own self is shared with them. Did you know that? I can more or less ‘feel’ where they are to an extent. If one of them were to suddenly die, that fragment would return to me, notifying me of what happened... but that hasn’t happened.”
Brunhild was shocked, but then she nodded and sighed in deep relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “Okay, but where are they then? ...Inside of Sylvanus? No way, right? He’s so small now... Were they teleported elsewhere?”
“No,” Freyja shook her head. “I believe they’re indeed... inside of him.”
“???” Brunhild tilted her head in utter confusion, completely speechless. “...What?”
“Yes,” Freyja nodded, laughing lightly. “They’re fine... I was shocked myself, but then I ‘felt’ it! Touch him and you’ll know.”
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