Chapter 106: Seed of Creation.
"What the fuck is this shit?"
I cursed instinctively, looking at the last thing I had expected to see in my Soul World.
An island.
How the hell could an island exist in my soul?
The soul is supposed to be a metaphysical space within my own self which I could enter through my consciousness but I had never expected an island to be created here.
But more importantly...
What the hell was its use?
I immediately opened the notification which had appeared back when I had received this blessing, hoping I would see some answers there at least but I was disappointed soon.
[Blessing of Spirit King Received]
[The Seed of Creation]
[Effects: ????]
[Note: The Spirit King who has existed since the beginning of time has deemed you worthy enough to give you the Seed of Creation. Nobody has received such a reward from the King before, nor has there been any record of its effects. The seed adapts according to its wielder, so it’s difficult to say what it would be for you. But one thing is known and that is that you are simply too weak to use it, so get good.]
"... yeah, screw you too."
I cursed the damned note from the Eye of Usurper, which barely left me any opportunity to show it how weak I was, and looked back at the island.
It wasn’t very big, but the moment it had appeared, the mana sea had quietly given it some way to exist. Without thinking any further, I immediately walked forward, towards the island.
If standing here wasn’t going to give me any answers, then I might as well check it out first.
As soon as I stepped onto the island, the whole area seemed to tremble slightly. There weren’t any trees, hell, there wasn’t even any grass on the ground as I crouched slightly and picked some sand up.
The sand didn’t seem much better either.
It was a bit darker than normal but that was all.
"Am I supposed to farm here or what?"
Naturally, the space didn’t answer, so I looked around a bit more. Only after roaming the entire island did I reevaluate my opinion.
"This is worse than shit."
Not only wasn’t there anything worth seeing but it was completely ordinary from every direction. And more importantly, the ball of energy seemed to be sentient but no matter how much I called out to everything here, nothing responded.
The only thing that did respond to me was a small sapling, the only greenery in this barren island, situated right in the centre of the island. I could only think that the sentient part had gone inside it because its leaves moved every time I said something.
But other than that, nothing seemed to scream something special. I didn’t know if this was because I was too weak but it sure as hell was annoying.
So, after looking at it one last time, I gave up and decided to return. There wasn’t much to see for now anyway and if this island really was anything important, I would know once I grew stronger.
With that thought, I looked at my Soul World once again.
I had many questions.
Why was Askruak targeting me or Seles?
If he was indeed targeting her, why?
What did she have to become a target of the God of Pride?
And if I was indeed the target, what did he want with me?
Many more such questions continued to swirl in my mind and now this damned island made from the mysterious blessing had just added even more questions to it.
I just wanted a peaceful life but the more I tried to move forward, the more mysteries continued to pile up.
At the thought, my gaze turned towards the moon representing Seles’s Talent.
Well, at least I did manage to copy her Talent.
I knew that this Seles wasn’t the one who betrayed me, I wanted to avoid that trouble in the future...
... but seeing these memories now, I wasn’t so sure about that anymore.
I didn’t have much feeling left for her after the way she had betrayed me in my last life... but she was my first wife once and if she really hadn’t betrayed me of her own accord, if she was indeed manipulated by Askruak, then I had no intention of killing her either.
But that would have to wait until I verified whether it was indeed Askruak, as I suspected or if it was something she wanted herself.
And I had a feeling that I would get those answers soon since the memory I had witnessed of Seles had a number one attached to it, meaning there would be a second and maybe even a third, but I didn’t know what the conditions were to trigger them.
I took one last good look at my Soul World and then at the barren island within my mana sea before I willed myself to exit, returning back to reality as I wondered...
What kind of expression would Lily be wearing after my kiss?
***
Meanwhile, in the outside world, Zenith lay in a deep sleep, engulfed by a cute, pink-coloured slime with round, big eyes and a smile.
Rwar had been focused on healing the boy for the last ten hours without a break but the boy’s injuries were far more severe than she had told Lily but finally... the injuries were more than enough healed.
Rwar had even sneakily tried to inspect the boy’s soul for traces of black magic or something similar but unfortunately, even she, being an ancient spirit, could not pierce through the defenses of the soul of this mere eighteen-year-old boy.
It was as if his soul was at an even higher tier than hers, which should have been impossible, but knowing the Spirit King’s interest in him, it didn’t seem impossible anymore.
Just then, out of the slightly ajar door, a pair of crimson eyes blinked at her.
"He still hasn’t woken up, and you haven’t gone to sleep already, Lily. It’s damn two in the morning." Rwar sighed exasperatedly. "You will get dark circles under your eyes if you continue to stay awake until later."
"I told you I would tell you once he is up, right?"
"How did you know I was here?" Lily frowned. "And I only woke up to drink water. I was sleeping completely peacefully without a care. Why would I even stay awake for this weirdo?"
... yeah sure.
At this point, Rwar had completely given up on the girl. She was far beyond the point of reason now. In the last ten hours, she had visited this room at least a hundred times.
And more than that, every time she visited, she asked how she was detected.
Rwar could sense everything on this entire floor with her current strength, limited by Lily’s own, let alone who was standing outside the door.
And Lily really expected herself to remain hidden.
Emotions really do make a person dumb.
Rwar sighed for the hundredth time as the boy finally stirred in his sleep.
"Ohhh, he is waking up."
As soon as she said the words, Lily walked a little closer, peeking at Zenith as he opened his eyes.