Chapter 17: A Safe Passage

*Estrea’s POV

The darkness of the forest was dense; even with several Sonneflowers, it wasn’t enough to penetrate through the thick veil of darkness. Each step on the sodden mud, remnants of the earlier heavy rain, sapped my energy, making it difficult to traverse. That wasn’t all, the forest was oddly silent.

Looking around, there was no sign of anything following us. Those Treco birds that usually annoy me to no end were strangely absent. This unusualness couldn’t help but raise my alarm. While it was a relief to have an easier time with Liberr at my back, the situation still felt peculiar.

Especially with someone tagging along with me.

Is it because of that Ghost?

I turned around to see a floating presence, its form translucent and glowing in white. It calmed to be a Nameless Ghost, not the spirit I had assumed it to be. However, I found myself uncertain about what exactly it meant by a ghost—was it a different kind of spirit?

What’s even stranger is that this presence seemed friendlier than I expected. Their tone, or the way it spoke, was oddly stiff yet bold, speaking slow.

“Hey, do you have any other names besides Nameless Ghost?” I inquired, planting my feet firmly on a thick ground as I spoke. “Nameless Ghost is a bit long.”

“No… But I recall a fake Guardian calling me a Parasite.”

“I think that’s an insult, not a name. So definitely not that.”

As I replied, I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘fake Guardian’? What could the Nameless Ghost mean by that? I wanted to ask more, curious about this Spirit-Ghost. However, with a calm mind in this situation, more thoughts raced through my mind. The Ghost seemed distinct from the Spirits Mother Banshee’s stories had told.

Most of the stories I’ve heard were about Spirits who don’t typically communicate like us, often replacing babies in wombs with animals, or leading children into darkness, never to be seen again. But nothing like that has ever happened in our village, not even once. Seeing one reality, I couldn’t help but wonder if Mother Banshee’s stories were a bit too exaggerated.

“Then, how about I give you a name?” I said. “I’ve named many children before.”

“Name me? I don’t like it. I want to be the one who finds my name. A name for myself—a name that I like.” Said the Nameless Ghost, their tone, shifted a bit. As if it was angry.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to be offensive, or anything.” I hurriedly replied, carefully turning around and lowering my head slightly towards the Nameless Ghost.

“Sure.”

Suddenly, a distant splash echoed, causing me to halt my steps and stand still, vigilant. Turning towards the sound, I spotted a white glowing figure in the distance, shaped like a tree.

Unconsciously, I muttered, “Ossolosis Passage…”

If there is an Ossolosis Passage, then Myrn’s root must be close. We can use that to travel back quickly.

“What did you say?”

“Oh,” I turned to my side and found the Ghost standing beside me. I replied, beckoning with my head towards it, “That glowing thing you see in the distance, That’s Ossolosis Passage. We will be asking it for safe passage on its water to reach the village quickly.”

“That thing?” the Ghost said, moving their fingers to point at it.

But before it could, I quickly placed myself in between, feeling my heart sink as cold sweat dripped down my skin.

Glaring at the Ghost, I hissed in an angry tone, “What are you doing? Don’t randomly point at stuff!”

“Why?”

—Why?!

“If it knows that you pointed at them, it will upset them,” I hurriedly replied. “If Ossolosis closes their passage on us, we will be forced to take the longer route, which is four times as long and much more dangerous!”

“You… are speaking too fast… But I believe I understand. Can you slow down a bit?”

“Okay!? But just don’t point at stuff, okay?” I repeated.

In response to my words, the Ghost nodded and lowered their hands. Perhaps I should start treating this Ghost as someone new to the world, a child no less, lacking common sense.

“Good. Let’s start by finding the Myrn’s root location first.”

“Myrn’s root?”

“Just follow me, and I’ll explain as we go. Oh, but let me know if you spot it—it’s a blue-colored glow that looks like roots on the ground. It should be easy to find, especially in the dark like this”

“You speak very quickly…” the Ghost responded, “Could you please slow down when you speak? I have trouble understanding you when you talk so fast.”

“Ah, my bad.” I replied, retrying my explanations.

Now that I think about it, I have noticed the difference between how we speak. The Ghost’s voice is deep-toned and slow, each word echoes around. While mine flows like liquid, sometimes merging with others words without pause. It struck me that most people here spoke like me, unlike the Ghost, it made it seem like the Ghost doesn’t belong in this world.

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I cautiously stroll, my eyes fixed on the ground beneath my feet. Places like these are usually active with Demons, and I can't afford a misstep on the corrupted ground, especially with Liberr resting behind my back.

“Myrn.. I think I found one on the cliff earlier,” mentioned the Ghost.

“The cliff… You mean Icefell? That waterfall place earlier? Yeah, I know that one, but we’re far from it now. We need to find one that is closer to the passage.”

“Is that so?” The ghost muttered in a curious tone.

I came to a sudden halt when I spotted a set of familiar footprints on the ground. They were massive, resembling the footprints of a Stallos. Clicking my tongue in frustration, realizing that if Stallos are nearby, then I need to find the Myrn Roots before they can. As I was about to take another step forward, a silhouette caught my eye in the distance.

In a swift motion, I drew my bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the figure in the distance. Holding my breath, I waited for the Stallos approach.

“What are you doing?”

A voice inquired, but I maintained my focus, ignoring their words and waited.

“Why are you pointing at a rock?”

‘Rock?’ I thought. “Do you see ahead of us? Can you get some light ahead?” I replied in a whisper.

Normally, I would have done it with my partner, my Daughter…

“Sure.” Agreed the Ghost as one of the Sonneflowers came into view, floating towards the silhouette.

The small light revealed a deformed stone statue of a Stallos, twice the size of mine, looming menacingly with its protruding sharp teeth. This Stallos… Did it try to escape from a Demon and was turned into stone?

Glancing down, I noticed the corrupted ground—long grasses, trees, and even the blood that dripped from the Stallos had turned to stone.

“We have to proceed… Carefully from now on.”

“Is that so?” The ghost replied.

Adjusting my bow back, I held a knife in one hand and several Sonneflowers in the other. As I moved forward, my gaze fixed on the ground, I remained vigilant of my surroundings. It was then that I spotted a distant pale blue light in between the trees.

Before allowing myself to get too excited, I turned to inspect the branches above, looking for any Treco Birds that might be trying to deceive me with their false illusions. And by finding none at the end, I breathed a heavy relief and carefully began to approach the roots of the Myrn.

Peering between the trees, I spotted several Myrn roots extending until it was consumed by the darkness. Fortunately, they appear unharmed by animals or monsters. Retrieving one of the vials from my bag, a deep red one, I removed the cork and began pouring its contents onto the Myrn Roots.

As I did, I began to reciting one of the incantations for the Blessings of Passage. “Baslir’gohos, Baslir’gos, Myrn Miras, Asto Baslir’gohos.”

Suddenly, the spot where I poured the vial inflated to a bulb, growing several times than their original before coming to a stop and repeatedly blinking in a soft glow, as if signaling that it was safe to approach.

“Asmos, Gratis.”

Grabbing the knife, I carefully scraped the sides, separating the bulb from the roots. After a few moments, the bulb fell to the ground. I quickly grabbed one of the green vials and poured it over the Mryn’s wound. That should heal it.

Turning my attention to the bulb, I gripped my knife and carefully sliced into it, opening it up. An overpowering smell wafted towards me, the humid air causing my skin to itch. I ignored the discomfort, and reached inside, feeling the warmth penetrating my skin.

“This smell. I don’t like it… It’s very… bad.” The Ghost remarked.

The Spirit-Ghost can smell? I couldn’t help but grin as I responded, “That’s a Blessing-Bulb for you. They have quite a pungent odor.”

“Do you not smell this?”

Using my hands to search for something inside, I replied, “I got used to it.”

Eventually, I felt a hard object block my hands. With a secure grip, I pulled it from its inside. There, in my hand lay a Blessing of Passage—a white, translucent membrane with a pulsating red object inside, thin red vines spread across the surface.

“I’ve found it. We can use the Ossolosis Passage if we present this,” I declared, returning my knife, and wiping the liquid off my hands on my clothes.

“Let’s continue,” I said, putting the Blessing inside my pockets before walking the steps where we passed by.

Eventually, we arrived at an open area where the Ossolosis and its waters extended across the lake. The lake shimmered in white, pale blue glow, with thin fibers creeping out its surface. Occasionally, fish-like animals glide above, their bodies covered in a bubble of water.

At the heart of the lake, the Ossolosis tree stood surrounded by solid ground, its roots forming a cage-like structure around it. The trunk rose to meet at the center, adorned with vibrant corals.

Rising towards the center, the trunk was decorated with vibrant corals. Unusual flowers bloomed, and peculiar unknown species of fish swarmed around its petals. Curious turtles climbed onto the central ground, bothered by the jellyfish floating around the pink leaves above.

Now the question is, how do I get there? It would be difficult, even for me, to swim with Liberr on my back. Should I place the Blessing first and ask Ossolosis to bring her?

While I was lost in thought, the Ghost spoke beside me, “Are we missing something? What are you waiting for?”

“No… I’m just thinking. How are we going to cross that center ground? Actually, since you can float, can you go over there and ask Ossolosis if it could grant us passage to the highest peak?”

“I can…” The ghost said, “but I can do this instead.”

Suddenly, I felt all my weight disappear and started floating above the ground. Surprised by this, I panicked momentarily but could barely move myself in the air.

“Calm down, I will take us there.” said the ghost as we started closing towards it.

Oh, it’s the Ghost’s doing.

I landed clumsily as the Ghost’s released me, the rush of air filling my lungs and grounding me briefly before that emotionless stillness resettled.

Even though places like this typically bring me happiness, today was different. There was no fear, no joy, just a sense of duty leading us towards the village. When my gaze caught Liberr’s fingers at the corner of my vision, there was no fresh pang of grief, only a thought—’One last duty fulfilled’—before I turned my head towards the Ghost, receiving a simple nod in return.

I rose from the ground, thinking, ‘It's not yet over.’

I carefully made my way to the heart of the ground, lifting my gaze to take in the sight of countless glowing crystals nestled beneath the tree’s roots. “Ossolosis, I humbly seek a safe passage to the mountain’s peak, where flickers of flame remain, where my people rest. Will you take us there?”

The Ossolosis let out a loud growl in response, its trunk vibrating as crystals flashed in different colors. It seems like it's willing to… but wants the blessing…

“Of course, please accept this as a token of my gratitude.” I said, reaching into my pockets to retrieve the Blessing I had stored. “I am certain you like these.”

I placed the Blessing of Passage under the ceiling root of the Tree. All of a sudden, the ground trembled. Taking a look around, I noticed the waters waving with a bright glow. Small bubbles of glowing lights began to emerge from its waves, and the fibers grew thicker .

Upon glancing back, I saw the Blessing of Passage wrapped in thin fibers, as if it had accepted my request. Suddenly, the ground beneath me shifted, causing the Ghost to lag behind briefly before catching up in an instant.

“Oh, I didn’t know that was supposed to happen.” the Ghost said, returning where it last floated.

“I didn’t either.”