I sorted my thoughts for a few moments. The Prophecy Tier Up did not do much for me in actuality aside from teach me three new plants that I barely understood. Though in part, I supposed the more relevant aspect of a Prophecy was the affinity level rather than the Grade of it— maybe? I was admittedly a bit unsure, all things considered. I slowly stood up, and looked around the chamber once more. The light of the keepsake remained strong, and indifferent, the plants remained immobile and to some extent, I felt a greater affinity with them, but— they were very much out of my reach.
I took a deep breath and moved myself towards the pedestal. Reaching the book in just a few moments. Initially, I was supposed to just take it, but casting my gaze on it simply reminded me of the next step of the quest. Of Lumina’s quest. Just to confirm, I checked the updated quest and sure enough.
[Lumina’s Will (Mythical): Lumina has accepted you as their inheritor. Find the Great Encyclopedia of the Dark (Legendary Item) and gaze upon its contents. Reward: Unknown. Step. 2 out of ?.]
I felt slightly uncomfortable, but nonetheless I ran my hand through the book, feeling it's cold cover. There were some doubts in my mind about the reality of the situation, perhaps the tree was artificial and so was Lumina’s body, but was this chamber artificial? The plants? It just didn’t make sense to me. I ran my fingers through the edge of the book and perched my finger on a random page, it felt just right.
With a shallow breath, I cracked it open, the pages were almost glued to each other as they made a sticky sound, I had to rip them ever so slightly with my other hand only to notice something rather interesting. Something that I found utterly confusing and weird. The pages were pitch black and had no content whatsoever.
That is strange. As I held my gaze on the page that felt right, something strange happened. The black page shifted and I saw white lines bubble up, almost drawing a diagram as I saw a body spread out. Its heart was marked and text began to appear.
‘It is said that the heart is where all mana resides. Once it is lost, if the being is weak it inevitably dies. If the being is strong, they can recover their heart after a long arduous process. The heart is where all the mana is born, and it is also the first place the mana leaves through.’
I continued reading with some interest.
‘It has been observed that once a being is B grade, their body will stop natural decay even after death. It is theorized that it is possible to revive them in such a state, given that only their heart is missing. However, this is an ongoing theory that has only been tested twice with no success, instead it caused—’ The text cut off and became garbled. ‘A great catastrophe of instability.’
The lettering changed as if they became notes.
‘A heart is volatile, but it is possible to resurrect someone. The new heart however, must be compatible with the being from the get go. A great way to confirm this is a matching affinity, but most importantly, the both of them must be members of the same race.That said, I’ve also played with the idea of artificial hearts, those made out of materials or things of their affinity. Mixed, alchemical, and artificial.’
The text shifted as the writing became familiar. It was Lumina’s
‘Adastra will allow me to reach immortality. Of course, I don’t necessarily care too much about it, but it’s a neat thing is it not? Anyway, my lifespan is coming to an end, but I finally managed it. So much research just for a single plant. A sapling that can create anything and mold into anything… I’ve done it.’
The text cut and new emerged.
‘It was so close, but the news reached the wrong people. And now, I must run and hide this book… Something I worked all my life to achieve became shambles just like that, pathetic. And now, I will await my demise. Hopefully, I can make a return. The notes to make a new heart are all here… If you, my successor, is reading these, use them. If you can’t find my body that is fine, I still hope this assists you.’
I frowned as a notification came.
[You have completed the second step of a quest — Lumina’s Will (Mythical); Find the Great Encyclopedia of the Dark (Legendary Item) and gaze upon its contents — Use the research within the Great Encyclopedia to make an Artificial Heart.]
Ha. My mind blanked out for a bit as I closed the book. I held onto the book and lifted it from the pedestal with utmost care, but the crystal did not react. There was a brief pause before I decided to go back to the surface and ponder about things once more. As I stepped onto the stairs, I couldn’t help but give the chamber of deadly plants a weird look, and then, I simply shook my head and started my ascent.
Was this really all artificial? The more time that passed, the more skeptical I became. It was said that the Sangir tree was artificial, but there was absolutely no way the item, the corpse or this weird trial was artificial. It was way too weird, too confusing too— it just didn’t make sense.
With a heavy heart, I reached the initial chamber and gave the dead Lumina a very weird look. There was some doubt in my mind, as I made my decision. Based on the journal, Elasia and Lumina were more than just friends, so it was— it was fine to ask… I pushed mana onto my ring, and took out the communication bead. There was no sound as I stared at it for a few seconds. I was hoping Lumina’s Will would stop me, but nothing came.
At that moment, the system update came.
[You have taken the book — Next step: M̸̩̓a̷͎͛k̴͍̔e̸̹͑ ̴̣̽a̵͝ͅn̷̦͒ ̷̛͖A̸͍̓r̵̭̚ṯ̴̒i̵͇͒f̶̣͊i̷̞͋ç̷̉ī̶̟a̸̳͝l̷̝̆ ̷̱̊H̵͎̑e̵͕̎a̸̝̔r̷̨̃t̷̠̋.]
The notification gave me pause and instantly made me nervous. Whatever had happened, had completely gone out the window. In the end, I made the call.
The bead buzzed, and soon with some background static I heard Elasia’s voice.
“Hello? Did something happen in the trial? I can’t really see anything after you enter the tree.”
“The trial is too weird, that’s what. Wasn’t the tree artificial, why is everything here so…”
“Everything so…? And yes, it is.” Elasia agreed.
“I found a Legendary Item called The Encyclopedia of the Dark, that’s what.”
There was some silence, before Elasia’s tone shifted. “You found… that book? There?”
I took a shallow breath. “It’s not artificial is it?”
“It’s not possible for it to be…” Elasia said after a brief pause. “Did the trial take it as a quest objective?”
“It did.”
There was another silence. “Then, it must have fused the artificial with reality and created a new trial altogether. One that… might be too dangerous for you. Blair, what else is under the tree?”
“Lumina.”
“What? What does that even mean?”
I took a breath as panic settled in my mind. “There is a dead Lumina and now I must create an Artificial Heart for a quest. The trial objective became corrupted and is telling me to do the same thing!”
“T-The trial objective is corrupted? Is the text similar to the one you saw when you first met me?”
I nodded fervently. “Explain to me what is happening, please.”
There was some silence as my heart began to beat faster and faster.
“Good news is that I might need to go over there to assist you, the bad news is that… You no longer have any form of safety. If the trial objective is corrupted then that means all safety measures for the trial are voided. Blair.” She took a breath. “You are in grave danger. I will lend you 100 points of Wisdom, but… I suggest you stay away from the Artificial Sangir Tree, Lumina and whatever else you’ve seen.”
I breathed. “So—” The light of the keepsake flickered and the entire room and chamber quaked. I made some quick decisions. “Do I take Lumina’s body from here—”
“NO— do not touch it.” Elasia practically screamed. “Even if all the plants explode in the forest and go towards that place, they will leave Lumina’s body alone. I now understand why the trial said to find the first seed. She is the first seed. All the plants in that place come from her, at least the current generation. It was her experimentation ground. Just… survive.”
I nodded once more and threw the book into my ring, moving upwards once more.
“Blair, regarding the objective of making the Artificial Heart…” Elasia spoke as I reached the surface. “If you feel safe enough, do try to complete it. If you do… I will be— I promise that I will do anything for you.”
At that moment the keepsake completely lost its light, and the ground beneath me began to shake. I swallowed as I realized the crazy forest down there became active once more. My sense of danger became overwhelmed as I saw nothing but red in my vision.
I paused with some panic. “I’ll try to, but try to come here as soon as possible, things are more chaotic than you think.”
“I can see that they are much worse than what I initially thought…” she commented with a sigh. “I’ll be there in a few hours, hopefully. Do not die.”
The call ended and I felt a surge of mana overwhelm my body. I took a quick look at my stats only to see my Wisdom.
WIS: 330
I was a bit flabbergasted, but decided to ignore the implications of the number. And simply move as far away from the Sangir tree as possible. All the danger came from the center of the forest. The treant I had left outside received me with open arms and weird excitement but I ignored it and headed towards the edge of the inner forest.
The treant followed after me as we ignored everything and anything. For some reason, the danger I felt did not decrease as I got further and further away, and the more time that passed, the more I felt like I needed to find shelter. A shelter away from the danger I was feeling.
About an hour into the leaving process, as I finally reached the edge of the forest, I felt all the danger move towards the center of the forest. Where the Grand Sangir Tree was. And at that moment, the chaotic sounds of the forest paused as if something much greater had just come. The earth rumbled and a terrific roar echoed through my ears as I saw something loom over the horizon. I could barely see it amidst the tree crowns, but it was massive, it was imposing.
I decided to go towards one of the lesser dark plant trees, and it accepted me with open arms. I climb atop of it only to have my mind instantly shut down.
A World Tree?
At the very center of the forest, there was an imposing tree, one that was much bigger than anything else, much taller. Dull crimson leaves filled its body along with jagged spikes and dried wood, but its presence intimidated me. However, it didn’t stop there as danger emerged once more.
An opening on the tree trunk emerged as I saw a giant green flame sprout. It was a treant.
[Blight Corrupted Asbes Treant. Lvl. ???]
My mind paused as a new notification came to mind.
[Emergency Objective: Protect the Great Encyclopedia of the Dark from the Blight Corrupted Asbes Treant.]
The treant did not seem to be looking in my direction, and the book was within my ring, but as I got down the tree, there was only one thought in my mind.
Wait for Elasia.
I had to find shelter and survive. There was no way I could kill that thing.
Azrie
You can read the entirety of book 2 (up to chapter 143) on patreon!
Blair now has a discord server, join here
I sorted my thoughts for a few moments. The Prophecy Tier Up did not do much for me in actuality aside from teach me three new plants that I barely understood. Though in part, I supposed the more relevant aspect of a Prophecy was the affinity level rather than the Grade of it— maybe? I was admittedly a bit unsure, all things considered. I slowly stood up, and looked around the chamber once more. The light of the keepsake remained strong, and indifferent, the plants remained immobile and to some extent, I felt a greater affinity with them, but— they were very much out of my reach.
I took a deep breath and moved myself towards the pedestal. Reaching the book in just a few moments. Initially, I was supposed to just take it, but casting my gaze on it simply reminded me of the next step of the quest. Of Lumina’s quest. Just to confirm, I checked the updated quest and sure enough.
[Lumina’s Will (Mythical): Lumina has accepted you as their inheritor. Find the Great Encyclopedia of the Dark (Legendary Item) and gaze upon its contents. Reward: Unknown. Step. 2 out of ?.]
I felt slightly uncomfortable, but nonetheless I ran my hand through the book, feeling it's cold cover. There were some doubts in my mind about the reality of the situation, perhaps the tree was artificial and so was Lumina’s body, but was this chamber artificial? The plants? It just didn’t make sense to me. I ran my fingers through the edge of the book and perched my finger on a random page, it felt just right.
With a shallow breath, I cracked it open, the pages were almost glued to each other as they made a sticky sound, I had to rip them ever so slightly with my other hand only to notice something rather interesting. Something that I found utterly confusing and weird. The pages were pitch black and had no content whatsoever.
That is strange. As I held my gaze on the page that felt right, something strange happened. The black page shifted and I saw white lines bubble up, almost drawing a diagram as I saw a body spread out. Its heart was marked and text began to appear.
‘It is said that the heart is where all mana resides. Once it is lost, if the being is weak it inevitably dies. If the being is strong, they can recover their heart after a long arduous process. The heart is where all the mana is born, and it is also the first place the mana leaves through.’
I continued reading with some interest.
‘It has been observed that once a being is B grade, their body will stop natural decay even after death. It is theorized that it is possible to revive them in such a state, given that only their heart is missing. However, this is an ongoing theory that has only been tested twice with no success, instead it caused—’ The text cut off and became garbled. ‘A great catastrophe of instability.’
The lettering changed as if they became notes.
‘A heart is volatile, but it is possible to resurrect someone. The new heart however, must be compatible with the being from the get go. A great way to confirm this is a matching affinity, but most importantly, the both of them must be members of the same race.That said, I’ve also played with the idea of artificial hearts, those made out of materials or things of their affinity. Mixed, alchemical, and artificial.’
The text shifted as the writing became familiar. It was Lumina’s
‘Adastra will allow me to reach immortality. Of course, I don’t necessarily care too much about it, but it’s a neat thing is it not? Anyway, my lifespan is coming to an end, but I finally managed it. So much research just for a single plant. A sapling that can create anything and mold into anything… I’ve done it.’
The text cut and new emerged.
‘It was so close, but the news reached the wrong people. And now, I must run and hide this book… Something I worked all my life to achieve became shambles just like that, pathetic. And now, I will await my demise. Hopefully, I can make a return. The notes to make a new heart are all here… If you, my successor, is reading these, use them. If you can’t find my body that is fine, I still hope this assists you.’
I frowned as a notification came.
[You have completed the second step of a quest — Lumina’s Will (Mythical); Find the Great Encyclopedia of the Dark (Legendary Item) and gaze upon its contents — Use the research within the Great Encyclopedia to make an Artificial Heart.]
Ha. My mind blanked out for a bit as I closed the book. I held onto the book and lifted it from the pedestal with utmost care, but the crystal did not react. There was a brief pause before I decided to go back to the surface and ponder about things once more. As I stepped onto the stairs, I couldn’t help but give the chamber of deadly plants a weird look, and then, I simply shook my head and started my ascent.
Was this really all artificial? The more time that passed, the more skeptical I became. It was said that the Sangir tree was artificial, but there was absolutely no way the item, the corpse or this weird trial was artificial. It was way too weird, too confusing too— it just didn’t make sense.
With a heavy heart, I reached the initial chamber and gave the dead Lumina a very weird look. There was some doubt in my mind, as I made my decision. Based on the journal, Elasia and Lumina were more than just friends, so it was— it was fine to ask… I pushed mana onto my ring, and took out the communication bead. There was no sound as I stared at it for a few seconds. I was hoping Lumina’s Will would stop me, but nothing came.
At that moment, the system update came.
[You have taken the book — Next step: M̸̩̓a̷͎͛k̴͍̔e̸̹͑ ̴̣̽a̵͝ͅn̷̦͒ ̷̛͖A̸͍̓r̵̭̚ṯ̴̒i̵͇͒f̶̣͊i̷̞͋ç̷̉ī̶̟a̸̳͝l̷̝̆ ̷̱̊H̵͎̑e̵͕̎a̸̝̔r̷̨̃t̷̠̋.]
The notification gave me pause and instantly made me nervous. Whatever had happened, had completely gone out the window. In the end, I made the call.
The bead buzzed, and soon with some background static I heard Elasia’s voice.
“Hello? Did something happen in the trial? I can’t really see anything after you enter the tree.”
“The trial is too weird, that’s what. Wasn’t the tree artificial, why is everything here so…”
“Everything so…? And yes, it is.” Elasia agreed.
“I found a Legendary Item called The Encyclopedia of the Dark, that’s what.”
There was some silence, before Elasia’s tone shifted. “You found… that book? There?”
I took a shallow breath. “It’s not artificial is it?”
“It’s not possible for it to be…” Elasia said after a brief pause. “Did the trial take it as a quest objective?”
“It did.”
There was another silence. “Then, it must have fused the artificial with reality and created a new trial altogether. One that… might be too dangerous for you. Blair, what else is under the tree?”
“Lumina.”
“What? What does that even mean?”
I took a breath as panic settled in my mind. “There is a dead Lumina and now I must create an Artificial Heart for a quest. The trial objective became corrupted and is telling me to do the same thing!”
“T-The trial objective is corrupted? Is the text similar to the one you saw when you first met me?”
I nodded fervently. “Explain to me what is happening, please.”
There was some silence as my heart began to beat faster and faster.
“Good news is that I might need to go over there to assist you, the bad news is that… You no longer have any form of safety. If the trial objective is corrupted then that means all safety measures for the trial are voided. Blair.” She took a breath. “You are in grave danger. I will lend you 100 points of Wisdom, but… I suggest you stay away from the Artificial Sangir Tree, Lumina and whatever else you’ve seen.”
I breathed. “So—” The light of the keepsake flickered and the entire room and chamber quaked. I made some quick decisions. “Do I take Lumina’s body from here—”
“NO— do not touch it.” Elasia practically screamed. “Even if all the plants explode in the forest and go towards that place, they will leave Lumina’s body alone. I now understand why the trial said to find the first seed. She is the first seed. All the plants in that place come from her, at least the current generation. It was her experimentation ground. Just… survive.”
I nodded once more and threw the book into my ring, moving upwards once more.
“Blair, regarding the objective of making the Artificial Heart…” Elasia spoke as I reached the surface. “If you feel safe enough, do try to complete it. If you do… I will be— I promise that I will do anything for you.”
At that moment the keepsake completely lost its light, and the ground beneath me began to shake. I swallowed as I realized the crazy forest down there became active once more. My sense of danger became overwhelmed as I saw nothing but red in my vision.
I paused with some panic. “I’ll try to, but try to come here as soon as possible, things are more chaotic than you think.”
“I can see that they are much worse than what I initially thought…” she commented with a sigh. “I’ll be there in a few hours, hopefully. Do not die.”
The call ended and I felt a surge of mana overwhelm my body. I took a quick look at my stats only to see my Wisdom.
WIS: 330
I was a bit flabbergasted, but decided to ignore the implications of the number. And simply move as far away from the Sangir tree as possible. All the danger came from the center of the forest. The treant I had left outside received me with open arms and weird excitement but I ignored it and headed towards the edge of the inner forest.
The treant followed after me as we ignored everything and anything. For some reason, the danger I felt did not decrease as I got further and further away, and the more time that passed, the more I felt like I needed to find shelter. A shelter away from the danger I was feeling.
About an hour into the leaving process, as I finally reached the edge of the forest, I felt all the danger move towards the center of the forest. Where the Grand Sangir Tree was. And at that moment, the chaotic sounds of the forest paused as if something much greater had just come. The earth rumbled and a terrific roar echoed through my ears as I saw something loom over the horizon. I could barely see it amidst the tree crowns, but it was massive, it was imposing.
I decided to go towards one of the lesser dark plant trees, and it accepted me with open arms. I climb atop of it only to have my mind instantly shut down.
A World Tree?
At the very center of the forest, there was an imposing tree, one that was much bigger than anything else, much taller. Dull crimson leaves filled its body along with jagged spikes and dried wood, but its presence intimidated me. However, it didn’t stop there as danger emerged once more.
An opening on the tree trunk emerged as I saw a giant green flame sprout. It was a treant.
[Blight Corrupted Asbes Treant. Lvl. ???]
My mind paused as a new notification came to mind.
[Emergency Objective: Protect the Great Encyclopedia of the Dark from the Blight Corrupted Asbes Treant.]
The treant did not seem to be looking in my direction, and the book was within my ring, but as I got down the tree, there was only one thought in my mind.
Wait for Elasia.
I had to find shelter and survive. There was no way I could kill that thing.
Azrie
You can read the entirety of book 2 (up to chapter 143) on patreon!
Blair now has a discord server, join here
