Chapter 162: The Pull Back To The Main World
The transition back to the crystalline space was jarring, like being yanked through reality by my collar. One moment I was communing with the Deep Root Tree beneath Pearl Heart Lake, the next I was floating in that strange heart-space again, surrounded by fragments of dying stars.
Han Renyi's sleeping form floated nearby, his consciousness still lost in whatever peaceful dreams Astralis had granted him.
Speaking of the mischievous spirit, he stood – or rather, existed – a short distance away, the dying stars in his hair twinkling with barely contained curiosity as he watched me separate from Han Renyi's body.
The sensation of leaving a host body was always strange, like stepping out of clothes that have become too comfortable. For a moment, I felt oddly exposed, souls were clearly not meant to exist outside their vessels.
Han Renyi's soul, freed from the bubble, drifted lazily back toward its proper vessel. The fractures I'd noticed earlier were already beginning to heal, fine lines of golden light knitting themselves together like threads in an invisible tapestry. Whatever Astralis had done to induce this healing sleep seemed to be working well.
I took the opportunity to process everything that had just happened. The events at the site of the three trees had been... enlightening, to say the least. It was somewhere between miraculous and terrifying, depending on your perspective.
The Genesis Seed had used the blue sun's energy as a conduit to sink its roots into all three world-stabilizing trees. It was essentially attempting to annex an entire realm right under the nose of its guardian spirit.
I had to admire the audacity, really. It reminded me of those stories about particularly clever thieves who would steal precious artifacts while chatting with the guards. Except in this case, the "thief" was a semi-sentient world-seed, and the "guard" was an immortal messenger who couldn't lie but apparently loved trying to trick people anyway.
"You're wondering about the annexation attempt," Azure said.