"You think you saw… Aether?" Asked Ego, their skepticism not so much coloring their words as drowning them. "The mysterious cosmic energy capable of warping reality and making Bodhisattvas out of Mortal… That Aether?"
Morgan tossed away the last rotting bundle of branches covering the suspected cave entrance. Now that cloudy sunlight illuminated the dark space, suspicion was quickly transitioning to fact. Making out details was difficult, but he could see with certainty that the hole dropped two meters straight down onto a leveled earthen floor. The pale flesh of willow roots lining the walls better reflected light than the surrounding dirt. Their faint outline continued under the stump before darkness swallowed them up.
"Seeing might be the wrong term here." Muttered the Scientist as something about the sight set off warning bells. "I'm not convinced that's what happened."
Ego threw up their hands in exasperation at his conflicting nonsense.
"Didn't you just finish telling me about the endless swarm of monochromatic fireflies and glowing roots, barrier, and band?"
"I did. I also did not call it an endless swarm of-"
"It's called an artistic license." They interrupted hurriedly before changing the subject. "Isn't that where you almost fell through the ground?"
"Yup. Eris mentioned that I should use the Bloodline near the area where we landed, and I noticed a massive amount of Aether being funneled down this hole. All the evidence points that whatever's down there is worth investigating." Morgan explained while scooping Momo out from under his shirt. "Here, hold her for me."
They accepted the temporary ward, who begrudgingly allowed herself to be held by this unearthly stranger. Then, Ego took notice of what he was doing. "Why are you taking off the lab coat?"
The Professor tossed the pristine white lab coat over the log before answering. "Well, it's my favorite coat, and I figured you want something to bury if my corpse couldn't be retrieved."
Morgan jumped into the tunnel before the Monk could even give voice to their protest. His forgotten ankle protested at the harsh treatment, but the pain shooting up his nervous system was already a shadow of itself as if the damage had been days ago. He chalked it to the generous benefits of youth and took out his phone to use as a flashlight.
Only to silently curse at his stupidity as he recalled that the phone's battery was dead. He'd brought a charger and several flashlights, but all the supplies were still in the car, stored in the Dimioninal Ring. If Morgan wanted to retrieve them, he'd first have to find a space free of trees up top to access anything within the Ring. Doing so would take up precious time without any guarantee that they would find ample enough space.
While unfortunate, it wasn't a deal breaker as a solution came to mind.
Working as quickly as one could without the help of light, he checked the immediate area for any sign that a spelunking adventure should be canceled. The floor was inspected for hazards, walls were kicked to check integrity, and a hunk of moss that fell earlier was thrown unceremoniously further into the tunnel to get a reaction out of any potential inhabitants. In a minute, he made a report.
[We're good.] He called up mentally to the Spirit, glaring daggers down at him. [The tunnel floor starts to slope down a little past the stump, the walls and floor transitions to rock after a couple of meters. Also, nothing ripped out my throat so far.] Morgan instinctively whipped his head around, all too aware irony often had a dark sense of humor. Today, however, there would be no punchline as nothing had crept up from behind, which only made tomorrow all the more threatening. [Ego, we'll need you to take point since I can't sense life force. Pass me the lab coat before-]
*Whoosh* The balled-up coat sailed through the air before hitting his face mid-sentence.
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[Getting back to what I was saying,] Projected the Scientist once the others had joined him for the trek down. [I'm pretty confident that Perspective of the Stone Sage allows me to perceive Aether in a visible state. I'm about 90… 95% sure. It fits with what Eris promised about its usefulness in studying Aether. I also imagine that seeing the literal magical lifeblood of Vajrayana must have been a significant advantage for the original owner.]
[That would fit the given narrative.] Admitted Ego, taking the hint to swap to mental communications as they took the lead in the narrow passage. [But until the details line up, I'm not buying it. For one thing- Hang on.] The party stopped as the path ahead of the group curved hard to the left. Ego's avatar froze in place, the cassock still in mid-flutter as they devoted all their concentration to scouting. Evidently, no insidious bugaboos brimming with Essence had been waiting around the corner since the Spirit had reanimated and continued where they had left off.
[For one thing, how can anyone see energy? One can observe the effect or presence of energy, but it's not like energy can absorb part of the wavelength and reflect the rest into your eyes. A Bloodline affects the user, not the world around them.]
Around the bend, the downward slope became far steeper, like that of a staircase, and now every step forward took them even deeper underground. Further exploration might've had to be postponed if the floor had been smooth or slick with moisture like most underground structures carved by water erosion. One misstep now might have resulted in a bone-cracking tumble that could last whole minutes before coming to a stop. Oddly the rock under his boots remained rough, dry, and the many tree roots poking through provided excellent traction. A blessing to be sure, though it begged the question of what had carved the passageway in the first place.
[Is that doubt in my conclusion I hear? Excellent. Believe it or not, I also have a basic understanding of biology and immediately came to the same issue. Hence why I said 'perceive' and not 'see'. I'll cut to the chase. I believe the Bloodline itself is either capable of sensing the Aether around me, or enhances an already existing sense for the energy. I'm not sure which one it is yet. Still, I am convinced that once the energy is detected, my ability translates that sensory information into a visual medium I can somewhat understand.]
[I'll concede the first part may have some merit to it. But translates?] They asked, their glowing face looking over their shoulder to see if he was screwing with them. [Perspective of the Stone Sage, the eye-enhancing Bloodline, is an ocular translator? That still sounds like seeing.]
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[It's really not; you're just getting hung up on-] The Professor suddenly pitched forward as his boot snagged on something unseen and would have face-planted if he didn't manage to cling to a convenient handle. A jolt of bewilderment arched up his spine when he realized the perpetrator and savior were living tree roots. The panic was short-lived once he recalled the plant's bizarre situation stated in the info window. If these island trees were all one massive connected entity, these roots might extend deep into the planetary crust.
Unseen in the pitch-black tunnel, the Scientist's brows shot up as he recalled the information written in the 'Five Wouderus Voyage' window. If a World Core meant what he suspected, then these trees' mystery went far deeper than just the crust.
[You ok?] Ego asked, poking their head around the second turn.
[I'm fine, now where was- oh right. Try this analogy. I am given a written description of a movie, but it's in an alien language that I can't and will never understand. My Bloodline can read it, but the language can't be translated into English. So instead, the ability draws me a picture book displaying its contents. Even though I can't read the words, I can now understand their meaning.]
The Spirit didn't respond immediately; likely they were pondering on his theory or trying to devise a polite way of informing the Scientist what an idiot he was. In either case, twenty or so minutes ticked away in silence.
Morgan didn't mind, as he found doing anything besides keeping upright challenging, as the roots were becoming quite hazardous. With every turn, more and more of them seemed to poke out of the stone. By the 7th turn, the wall around them consisted of wood rather than stone.
[I'm sensing a massive amount of life past this turn. But we don't have to worry because it all sounds like plant Essence.] Ego finally projected before turning around with a wide toothy smile. The dark environment accentuated the ghostly blue light shining through the gaps of their teeth like a carved Halloween pumpkin. [Before we go take a peek, we need to talk.]
Talk? Talk about what? The fact that plants have a Soul?
[Yes Professor, plants have a Soul like all living things.] They answered, beating him to the punch. [But that's not relevant right now. What is relevant were your mentions of translators and language. It got me thinking about something important that you've probably overlooked.]
[Considering everything that happened in the last 48 hours, I'd bet there's a lot of shit I've overlooked.] He snorted in self-deprecation. [Can't this wait?]
Naturally, the man wanted to know what the Spirit had in mind, but they had just walked so far, and the possible finish line was right there.
Their ghastly azure smile widened as they tapped the Aether repository, still masquerading as a necklace on his neck. [It can wait; I just thought you'd like to know that your necklace holds more secrets than either of us thought. But I'll scout ahead since you're in such a rush.]
The Spirit teased before rashly disappearing. Almost immediately, Ego reached out to him, their projection giddy. [Morgan! Get down here, you need to see this!]
The Professor sighed, continued walking, and whispered softly to himself and the sleeping gecko, "It's like they've never seen a horror movie before."
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Well, Morgan had to hand it to Ego. He really did need to see this, as where the tunnel led to wasn't the life or a death trial like he suspected his Patron had in store. In fact, it was just the former.
Life. That simple yet boundless concept embodied every centimeter of the vibrant cavern stretching for hundreds of meters. Thousands, no, likely millions of willow roots of varying sizes joined together to create breathtaking displays of chaotic harmony.
Car thick roots crisscrossed into one another in gargantuan checkerboard surfaces that formed not only the floor Morgan stood gaping on but also over the walls like living curtains. However, the smaller roots refuse to be outdone by their larger siblings, compensating for their puny size with elegant style. By weaving together like strands of a wicker basket, they formed themselves into natural bridges connecting random sections of the cave or simply dropped from the ceiling to cling to the floor like hollow pillars large enough to fit houses inside. Save for one to his right, most of these pillars grew on the far larger half of the cave.
How could the Professor take in the fantastical view when he was several football fields below the ground? It was thanks to one of the cave's inhabitants.
One specimen sprouted near the entrance, a plant with two black tear-shaped leaves at the base of a stem whose top curled down due to a large white flower bulb emitting a spotlight of yellow light, similar to the lights they'd seen in the fog earlier.
The plant the Scientist crouched beside was only a youngling no bigger than a desk fan, while many in the distance grew to heights rivaling telephone poles on Earth. All the ambient lighting emanated from these living lamps, making everything but the high ceiling visible. But everywhere the light touched grew mats of fluffy green moss that almost seemed highlighted in the plant light.
Cutting through this arboreal Nervana, a stone's throw away from the tunnel entrance, gently flowed an underground river. Neither its source nor end could be seen, but a tight cluster of eroded stone formed an arcing bridge wide enough to fit a modest shack.
In fact, his eyes could've been playing tricks on him, but there seemed to be a structure erected at the center of the rock formation. Although, naming what Morgan saw as a structure might be too generous a description. What he saw was more like a large pile of branches and various dead mosses haphazardly stacked into a loose bowl shape wide enough to block off any passage completely.
[This is incredible.] Whispered the Monk with such earnest reverence it distracted the Scientist from the growing unease he felt then. [Morgan, did the trees do all this?]
He turned to find their avatar beside him, Ego's face alight with child-like wonder as they turned every which way to catch everything there was to see.
"I think so," he whispered as well, figuring if the Spirit thought it safe, then there was likely no danger. "At first glance, I'm thinking that this is some kind of nexus point for all the tree roots on this island. The info window said that every tree is connected to the World Core. Assume that a World Core is located at, get this, the center of a planet. These roots must have broken into this cavern, eventually growing to cover the new space. When the stump above died, the main roots must have weathered way, creating the tunnel. Plants change their environment way faster than water, but even still, all this must have taken thousands of years."
[Oh, it's probably older than that if our Patron knows about it.] Snickered Ego, already stepping away to explore. [Who knows, if the Pholóē Forest is the premier training ground for Realm Europa's budding talents, maybe she stumbled here in her early days. You know what, I think she would want us to set our camp here. I can feel this cave has a profound connection with the Dao.]
Did it? Well, they could talk about that later. At the moment, a far more critical question needed to be asked.
"That reminds me. What were you going to say about something important I've overlooked?"
*Thwip* The air whistled as something sped through it.
Irony often had a dark sense of humor, and proof of that had struck hit just as the pain did.