As if in defense of their Goddess, six jet-black trees that gleamed like metal were placed in a circle around the flower on which he and Gaea stood. Alan's jaw dropped when he realized each glistening trunk stretched for what must've been dozens of miles into the air, dwarfing anything he'd ever seen.
The mind-boggling trees supported an incomprehensibly vast network of interconnected branches that filled the up sky. Each of them were covered in a dense layer of leaves, every single one seemingly carved from the purest of emeralds.
A cloudless, orange sky of gleaming stone peeked through the sparkling canopy, casting a dazzling light-show upon the Realm, and looming over everything within sight.
Beneath the canopy was a scene right out of a hallucination. Crystal animals and beasts in various shapes and colors wandered the earthen floor, and soared through the vast orange skies. While the oversized rabbits, deer, birds and wolves were at least recognizable, the majority were things he was unable to put a name to.
It was when Alan's eyes fell upon a pack of flying creatures made of glistening sapphire that his mind began to draw blanks. He decided it would be in his best interests to stop trying to categorize the entirely alien animals. There was simply no frame of reference in his mind to pull from. He thought of them as being some kind of bird-like abomination. Each one had the head of a dragon, eight tentacle-like legs, and the wings of a butterfly.
Many of the crystal chimeras seemed peaceful. They were happy enough to keep their distance, and go about their business. Although in places, gigantic monsters formed of radiant gemstones could be seen doing battle amongst the fields of metallic grasses that filled his view.
Alan heard a series of muffled booms, and his eyes were immediately pulled to the left, where he saw an army of colossal Humanoid Golems armed with spears. They seemed to be teamed up in groups of four, each of which was taking to the field of battle, arrayed against one of the many mountain-sized lamprey eel-looking monstrosities that dotted the landscape. Each of Golems footsteps set off a violent shockwave that rushed through the fields, flattening metal grasses for miles in all directions. He tried to activate [Examine] but nothing happened. After trying twice, he was forced to accept that at least for now, he couldn't feel any connection to his Skills or Spells.
Alan spun in place, taking in the entirety of the strange new environment in the span of several seconds. As he braced himself for the shockwaves released by the Golems footsteps, Everything came to a standstill. If it weren't for the fact he could still move, Alan would've believed time itself had stopped.
What the fuck just happened?! Alan wondered, staring at the Golems. They were all now locked in place, having frozen up mid-step. Without warning, the metallic purple dome rose up out of the floor, enclosing the room once more. Sealed off from a world of incredible sights, a disappointed Alan glanced at Gaea, hoping for an explanation.
“That…that was unreal!“ Alan whispered. "What is this place?!"
“It is something special isn't it though? It's a pity I had to cut short your time watching their games, but I couldn't have you or your pretty friend getting vaporized by their footsteps now could I?“ Gaea said with a look full of pity. It was obvious she wanted to see the results of the battle.
That thought brought Alan pause. “Well that's fair enough,” he said with scrunched eyebrows. “I'd definitely rather we weren't vaporized… But, what world is this anyways? Where are we?“ Alan wondered aloud as the pleasant humming in his cells grew to an invigorating jolt of energy. “It feels so familiar to me…like I was always supposed to be here.”
Gaea smiled happily. “This is my Spiritual Realm Alan. It is a physical location within my soul.“ She paused to listen to Alan gasp in shock. Her smile widened further before she continued. “As I'm sure you've just guessed, you are currently standing on a world that is inside of me.“
Alan tried to ask a question, but Gaea continued speaking as if she'd never heard him. “I only tell you this because you have the potential to become a Cultivator.“ She said in a high-pitched whine. “You may not have known, but I was once friends with a Cultivator! Though it has admittedly been billions of years since I made the choice to sever all connections to that friendship. That was around the time I formed the Pantheon. It was another life entirely.“ For just a moment, she stared off into space, reminiscing about something Alan couldn't even hazard a guess at.
“As a Cultivator, you have the potential to create an inner world of your own one day…and the Ten Heavens as my witness, I do look forward to visiting! But let's not get ahead of ourselves. That is a topic for future discussion. It will take a long time for your Spiritual Void to mature. And your cultivation Core may never awaken at all.“ She winked at Alan, and kept speaking.
“Now listen closely, because we only have about fifteen more minutes before the Naga is stable, and I still need to do something about your ridiculous {Suit of Anger} Technique. I mean seriously! What exactly Zalbohg was trying to accomplish here eludes me entirely." Gaea rolled her blazing orange eyes.
"It's nothing more than a brute-force hack job! There's no subtlety to it at all! That's a typical ArchDaemon for you Alan. They are perfectly satisfied solving all of their issues by piling on the Daemonic Flames, and then just waiting around to see what happens. He's basically turned you into a ticking time bomb.“ Gaea narrowed her eyes, and Alan could feel her peering through him as though he were made of glass.
“And you LET it happen boy.“ She slid her palm down her face, momentarily hiding her features. As she lowered her hands, and her face was once more revealed, it had undergone a hideous transformation. Her smooth, unblemished tan skin had been replaced with patchy grey fur. The flesh beneath was flabby, and covered in putrid-smelling lesions. Gaea's skin was obviously suffering from some kind of System-enhanced leprosy or something. The once-cute face of a child had been replaced by a long-toothed, flat-faced monster.
“HOLY SHIT!…” Alan shrieked as he retreated to Su'ong's side. “What the fuck happened to your face Gaea?!“
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
The now-wretched-looking Goddess turned and stared at Alan, her much-too-long front teeth making her smile look maniacal. She grasped the three-foot-long rabbit ears protruding from the sides of her head and pulled them down over her face, shyly hiding her ruined features. Like removing a well-made Halloween mask, Alan heard the wet slurp of suction, and he was once again staring wide-eyed at the giggling form of a child-like Goddess. In her hand, the hideous mask began to fade away as if it never existed in the first place.
Gaea tossed the remnants of her mask up into the air and it disappeared in a puff of colorful sparkles that fell around around her once-more serious face. “You listen, and you listen well Alan Robbins. I know this is all very new to you, but it's time you wisen up! Start using the brain that I assume is what's allowing you to continue breathing.“ She shook her head in exasperation,
“THAT was a Daemon Alan. Did I seem friendly to you?! Did you not once hear the old saying about never taking candy from strangers?? You need to THINK THINGS THROUGH!!“ Realizing that she'd begun to raise her voice, Gaea took a deep breath and gave Alan a hard look.
“It is my hope that Su'ong will be able to curb some of your more rash tendencies. And that is the main reason I'm willing to attempt the foolishness that is going to be required if what you desire is healing her back to fighting form.“
Alan nodded his head vigorously, but Gaea held up her hand, signaling he should wait for her to finish. “Now, before we get to that, while we're still on the topic, I also planned to talk to you about the whole 'being slowly devoured by Daemonfire' situation you have going on, and how the only reason you haven't been fully corrupted is your ever increasing stats.“ She rolled her eyes back, seemingly searching her mind for the proper words.
“Well,” she said suddenly, “That and the System helping you out with the creation of your Emotional Stockpile, and that flimsy excuse of a Mana channel… I have to imagine that the Admins aren't too happy about the assistance.” She studied her hands as if they contained the words she needed.
“But I digress. Until you evolve, you are going to need to allocate more Stats to your Endurance, Willpower, and Resistance. They will help you resist the negative influences already wrought upon your damaged psyche by [Daemonfire of the Impure Realm]. Evolution should allow you to better handle the Daemonic influence as well. If not further adapt your body to handle it. But we're going to try and avoid evolution for now."
"I was going to tear that [Daemonfire of the Impure Realm] out of you root and stem, but it has spread so far throughout your body that I ain't don't have the time, nor the expertise. Not to mention saving your pet Naga without drawing any unwanted attention is going to use up a lot of my energy. So instead, if you accept my terms, I plan to make a few…shall we call them adjustments? Yes! That should do nicely!“
Gaea held up a finger, suddenly reminded of another serious matter. “Oh! And when you evolve, your Cultivation Core is probably going to awaken... Honestly Alan, that is only going to draw more attention to you. So, As I've already said, let's hold off on Evolving for as long as Humanly possible! You get it! Humanly! Cause you're a…Human." Upon taking notice of Alan's serious expression, Gaea lowered her eyes shamefully.
“Ahem..“ After awkwardly clearing her throat, she stomped her tiny foot and began to pout. “I know I'm not the best at delivering jokes, but you could've at least pretended it was funny. Well, I was going to warn you not to tell anyone you don't trust with your life about possibly being a Cultivator, but whatever…I'll just keep that one to myself.“ She said with a smirk.
Her eyes widened when she realized she had just given Alan the warning anyways. To Alan's surprise, she clamped her hands over her mouth and began to giggle. Her form was so similar to his memory of his sister Clarice, that he couldn't help but be reminded that this was exactly how she always reacted when her big brother said the word 'plop'.
The bittersweet memory brought a sad smile to his face, which apparently, was enough for the Goddess. When she saw the hint of a smile, she began to cheer.
Does she think I'm smiling at that sad excuse of a joke?! Alan wondered, but he wasn't about to try and change her mind.
“Ouch! Harsh words for such a clueless child...ok,” the giggling Gaea said while wiping her eyes, “Now we get to the heart of the matter at hand…but first, a freebie!“ She began to loosen up her arms by shaking out her wrists and elbows. “ You obviously have problems with self control, serious anger issues, and trouble staying focused. Among your many other…quirks. And for that, I offer you this Skill!“ She snapped her fingers, and an orange light filled Alan's vision.
Remarkable! Gaea, Mother of the Earthly Realms and last of the Primordial Deities, has bestowed upon you the (Common) Skill [Meditation]!
(C)[Meditation] Lvl 1- Once activated, this Skill slightly increases your ability to withstand, and overcome most Debuffs, and adds a 1% boost to HP, MP, and Stamina Regeneration rates. [Meditation] can only be activated when user is seated.
Ability to withstand and overcome Debuffs, and boost to HP, MP, and Stamina increase with Skill Level.
She raised her eyebrows, “Well, what do you think?“
“It's... Wow, thanks Gaea! I'll do my best…” Alan said as his vision cleared, doing his best to sound convincing.
Gaea lifted her tiny hand to her chest and gasped, in a show of false disbelief. “Now, now Alan,” she said fixing him with a lopsided grin. “It admittedly IS an unimpressive Skill at the lower Levels... However, it is my hope that you will disregard your assumptions about [Meditation], and set aside no less than one hour of each day to still your thoughts, and focus inward. [Meditation] should be a great help at taking back control over your mind. And, depending on how you use it, it may even evolve into something special!“
“Now the rest, I'm afraid…”Gaea said with a wince, “is going to require some aggressive, and possibly dangerous, hopping through System loopholes. So it would be best if we establish a formal bond between us. This is a request I am making of you. So you are free to say no. And because it is ME who is asking, I now absolve you of any accidental violations you may happen to make of the core tenets of my Sect. This would be a bond solely between Alan Gerald Robbins of the Humans, and Gaea the Primordial Goddess.“ She fixed Alan with a penetrating stare.
“Alan Robbins, are you willing to accept me, Gaea, Mother of the Earthly Realms and the very last of the Primordial Ones, to be your Matron Goddess?" She huffed out a long breath, "I have to add, the official word is Patroness, but as I am the Mother, I have always preferred to be called a Matron.“
She wants to be my Matron?! I hate being so damned clueless... I don't even know what that is! As Alan began to ponder the implications of what was being asked of him, Gaea grew impatient, and decided to lay out the facts plain and simple.
“Listen Alan, if you say yes, nothing much would change in your day to day life. Well," She said hesitantly, "I would also gain access to the fundamental make-up of your body without having to brute-force my way in. I'm trying to give us both a way to proceed peacefully, but so help me, I will force my blessing upon you if I must!“ She finished in a rush of emotion.
“Alan, don't you see it, they are trying to turn you INTO A Daemon!! Daemonic beings have a very hard time sustaining themselves outside of the Impure Realm. So they now seek to turn you into the perfect vessel!“
Well… Shit. It's not like I WANT to become a Daemon. Nor do I have Goddesses lining up to help… Besides, if she's just going to do what she wants to, regardless of what I have to say about it….
“Ok…” Alan grumbled, having come to the only conclusion that wouldn't end up with pissing off a Goddess. “Alright Gaea, I accept. What do I need to d… Alan's agreement ended in a sharp gasp as a rush of energy flooded into his pores.
The influx of raw power threatened to break his mind. Yet he couldn't shake off a strange feeling of deja vu.
It was simultaneously the most excruciating, yet blissful, feeling he'd ever experienced.