I felt something shift inside me. Growing, forming, and honestly, it was oddly comforting, like being fed a massive meal. Which, by the way, hadn't happened in a while.
"Ah…"
'Don't do that,' Luna said flatly.
Satisfaction settled over me, warm and heavy, but the floating eyeballs couldn't let me enjoy the moment. Their robotic voice interrupted.
"R—" The word broke off, static crackling through the air like a busted radio signal. Then it cleared, sharp and deliberate. "Return."
I blinked, confused. Return? How the heck was I supposed to do that?
A sound came from beneath me, smooth and slicing like scissors gliding across silk.
Then I fell, with no time to even scream. No pain, no violent tug. Just weightlessness and a fast, controlled descent. I floated upright, the motion a bit nauseating, but nothing unbearable. A far cry from the chaos I had been forced to get used to.
I blinked again, and... a familiar statue appeared right in front of me.
'Uh… Peter?'
"YEEEEES!" I jumped up from where I'd been laying, nearly nose-to-nose with the stone man. My eyes adjusted to the faint light. "I AM OUT!"
'Peeeeter?'
I ignored her. "RUDE BASTARD, I BEAT YOUR TEST."
'PETER!'
'...Yes?'
'There's a problem,' she said calmly, interrupting my victory speech.
She was right. It hadn't hit me in the first few seconds, but now that my post-victory high was fading, I noticed it. 'Yeah. Food. I know.'
Also… where's my book?
I scanned the floor with rising panic, then spotted it near where I'd landed. I snatched it up and tucked it into the waistband of my torn-up pants.
But seriously, I was starving. Like literally starving, I think.
'N—I mean yes, I could eat, but no,' Luna admitted. 'Umm, I didn't say anything earlier. I thought it would disappear when we left.'
'What?' My stomach paused its protest. Was something wrong with her? The purification?
'Umm… it's still here. Sort of,' she said hesitantly.
A creeping sense of unease crawled up my spine.
'What is?'
'Just look.'
I pushed aside my hunger and fading elation, focusing inward and there it was. Two new things immediately stood out.
First: something embedded at the center of my Nexus, nestled inside the Precursor flame. A pitch-black hole. Small, stable. Harmless, for now, at least I hope. Guessing that's the Voidseed I got as my reward. As for its function? Total mystery.
I couldn't help but notice that my Nexus had changed a lot since the beginning. A circular flow of energy now orbited that tiny black void, with a flame bursting around it like a sun. Coiled through it all, a serpent of red lightning swam lazily, endlessly.
Theeen there was the second thing.
A clump of energy. Not part of the Nexus. Off to the side, like a stowaway. Its form reminded me of the avatars from the first section of the trial. It wasn't free but still bound, restrained by Luna's roots just as before.
"But… it was just an illusion." My voice barely escaped. That thing… even if it somehow had the ability to separate from its body, even if it took on that form, none of it had been real. Right?
'I don't know how,' Luna said, reading my thoughts. 'But this little guy was there, even when you climbed the stairs. I thought…'
'Yeah. You thought it would disappear.' I didn't blame her. How could she have known? The trial realm didn't even seem to contain my real body even in the end.
But now… the implications hit me like a sledgehammer.
Asmund. Janus. Daniel.
Were they real?
If it wasn't just an illusion then where was it? And… Ramus.
My hands started to tremble. My breathing quickened. Truthfully, the only reason I'd acted so decisively against him… was because I thought he wasn't real.
It was one thing to take out Dain, someone who tried to have me assassinated, not to mention no flesh, blood, and bones to crack under my knuckles. Just a poof of glittering energy. Much easier to deal with than beating an old man to death.
'Peter.'
Luna's voice pulled me from the spiral and I managed to shake the thoughts off. Now wasn't the time. 'Is it resisting at all?'
'No. I think it'd be safe to kill it if you wan—'
'No.' I cut her off. If it wasn't a threat, then maybe I could use it. 'Just keep it locked down if you can. Right now, I really need something to eat.'
I wasn't feeling weak exactly, probably thanks to cultivation, but there was a definite, growing weight in my gut. A dull ache that was beginning to hurt.
Also… I had no idea how much time had passed.
'Yeah, find something for both of us,' Luna agreed.
I glanced down at her, at my arm and blinked. "Oh."
'What's wrong?'
'Uhhh… nothing. Just…' I trailed off. I hadn't forgotten, not really. But I kind of had. My arm wasn't my arm anymore. It was Luna, or rather her separated body, woven into a limb I could control.
I ran my hand down my side. The texture was like bark, smooth in some places, rough in others. Hardened with the changes.
'Well… I guess if you can handle purification, we can probably take on plant body refinement together after I purify my new parts.'
'Ready when you are.'
I took a deep breath and turned back toward the blocked cave entrance. It felt like ages had passed, but the area was small, so I remembered exactly where to go.
Before leaving, I spared one last glance at the statue.
It had caused me nothing but pain, suffering, confusion, but I couldn't deny the reward. I had grown in power significantly.
Still. No way I was thanking that thing.
The boulder was still wedged in place. Before I touched it, I readied a spiritual object with Luna's help. Not as lethal as the one I'd used on the Starborn. I didn't need that kind of power.
Better safe than sorry.
If something attacked, or better, if I found something to attack, I'd be ready. The needle I prepared wasn't insanely strong, but it was fast, precise, and hopefully good for a one-shot.
Still, I couldn't forget, my energy reserves were running low, draining heavily from the damages to my channel. I had enough to last a while, but not forever. Fixing that was high on the list.
I took a breath. 'Ready?'
'Let's get something to eat,' Luna replied.
I braced myself and pushed the boulder aside.
So, ummm... lesson of the day? Human eyes are impressively adaptable to near-total darkness. But the moment they're hit with piercing blue 'sunlight'?
"Ah!" I hissed, stumbling back as my vision exploded into a flash of pain. My eyes seared like steak on a grill.
'You're crying.'
'OF COURSE I AM.' I would've denied it, but really, what was the point? This wasn't a cute tear-down-the-cheek moment. My eyes were full-on waterfalls, trying to flush out the burning betrayal of light.
'Humans have it rough,' Luna commented sympathetically.
I took a few slow breaths and forced myself not to rub my eyes into oblivion. Bit by bit, I let in the light, until the pain dulled enough to open them fully.
Finally, I stepped out into the world, the needle floating beside my palm. Luna kept it stable even as I relaxed my focus. Handy.
"Okay… where to go."
I hadn't forgotten the forest of trapped trees. The safety of the wall still pulled at me with the comfort of not being torn apart by razor-like leaves.
And there was that boar-like creature from before. It had been cautious in the forest, like it didn't quite belong there, but still, it did exist, so there were animals, sure. But it was the grass, the saplings, and the trees that ran things in that place.
'Maybe look for more caves,' Luna offered.
Honestly? Not a bad suggestion. The cliff had proven safe enough, and caves meant shelter to anything, not just me, but it had taken me a while to find this one, and I wasn't eager to stray too far either.
I sighed, uncertain then activated my Precursor Sense, hoping it might highlight something, anything, I could use. As I rotated my internal force around it, something unexpected happened.
It got pulled in.
The Voidseed drank in a small amount of my energy, just as my inner flame flared and my vision sharpened. At first, I panicked but curiosity rose quickly to take its place.
I glanced around. Still nothing out of the ordinary.
'Luna, keep an eye out, okay?'
'Alright. But I'm already getting overwhelmed with that and your little weapon.'
'It's not that little...'
I crouched down and against my better judgment, I fed more of my dwindling energy to the seed. It didn't grow, or bloom, or do anything remotely dramatic. It just kept… absorbing. A greedy little thing.
Hmmm. Just a bit more. What could go wrong?
I circulated another wave of energy, letting it spiral through my nexus. The Voidseed drank deeply, then it just stopped.
A faint pulse rippled from it, and... well, nothing.
Wast—
'Peter, stop!' Luna shouted.
"What?" I stood, and immediately felt sluggish, like I was moving through water. Not completely restrained, but every motion was just a little slower. A little heavier.
'STOP! Whatever you're doing, stop!'
'I'm not doing anything!' I sent a trace of Beast Will and Precursor Energy to her. Ohhhhhh.
I realized what I'd done. I was practically a beacon, force pouring out of me in waves, drawing in an enormous amount of world energy, condensing it around me, then pushing it outward in every direction. A signal flare of gold in a quiet environment.
I wasn't even trying. No technique, no intention. And yet, I was pulsing like a fluorescent light in a sea of blue.
So yeah… I guess I had a partial idea of what the Voidseed did now.
But just because Luna could sense energy didn't mean every creature around could— *AWOOO.*
Shit.