Once Chara was sure she had gotten far enough away, she slowed her pace slightly and began to look around. She was surrounded by many stone columns, stalagmites, stalactites, and many other interesting stone formations.
More cave… Chara sighed. She was beginning to get exhausted by the repetitive scenery.
Unexpectedly, when she floated down to the chaotic cavern floor, she ended up encountering something slightly curious. It was a stack of rocks piled one on top of the other. At the base, there was a more elongated slab pointing in the direction she was headed.
Well, this is obviously unnatural. I wonder who stacked these…
After observing the clearly manufactured stone formation for a bit longer, she lost interest and kept moving in the same direction.
A while later, the silence of that area was disturbed by a cacophony of tumbling rocks and a very disgruntled spirit.
Trying to run away? Hmph! Does she think she can get away simply because I’m not restricting her movements? What a naughty spirit! She should be called a [Naughty Spirit] instead! When I find her, I’m going to teach her a lesson…
As Chara had guessed, although the greater spirit’s area of detection was many times greater than her own, it still wasn’t that big. Not only that, but she really had gone and looked for her little escapee in the direction where they originally came from. In fact, the only reason why she had stopped, turned around, and immediately made her way here, is because her bond briefly suggested that there might be something here.
She looked around, but there was only the stack of rocks. If there had been anything else here, then it was most certainly gone. However, that in itself was also a clue.
Before she could figure out what was going on, her bond whispered to her once again. This time, it was from further up ahead. Upon remembering what was there, her mana briefly changed color and rippled in enlightenment.
Haha, I see! That little spirit is really too silly. No matter. Since she wants to deliver herself straight to my home, then I should give her a warm welcome. After all, she will be staying awhile…
As a curiosity spirit, it is only natural that she can sense both curiosity and interest. This is especially the case when it is directed at herself. Concerning who stacked these rocks… naturally, it was none other than Curiosity herself!
In other words, when Chara was curious about who left behind a stack of rocks, she had unknowingly directed interest at her pursuer, inadvertently self-reporting her current location!
Once you arrive, I’ll make it so that you won’t be able to so much as think of anything else, other than me…
***
Another one? Who is out here stacking rocks in the middle of nowhere…
Chara had encountered another stack of rocks piled up one on top of the other. Like before, there was a slightly longer rock at the base pointing in the direction she was headed.
Unbeknownst to Chara, the rock at the base of the stack wasn’t pointing in the exact direction she was going. This was only an illusion caused by her limited perception. Without realizing it, she ended up adjusting her traveling direction slightly to match the rock formation.
After passing three more rock stacks, she started to observe a gradual change in the environment. As she moved along, the number of organically shaped stalagmites and stalactites started to reduce little by little.
Soon, the forest of earth spikes had receded completely. What took its place was numerous polygonal, geometrically shaped earthen constructs, glittering with light mana.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
With so much light mana concentrated in one place, the numerous crystals were miraculously able to push back the darkness, weakly illuminating the underground cavern with a myriad of colors.
For Chara, this was truly a sight to behold.
Ever since waking up, she had only known darkness. Although she could sense the different elements of mana, this was not truly color. Those hues merely inform her of an objective impression indicative of what they represent. As a result, they are entirely devoid of the beauty and emotion that comes from subjectivity and forming one’s own impression.
Up until this very moment, she hadn’t even been aware that she could sense color. As she floated away from the dark and monochrome forest of earth spikes and stepped into the colorful world of diamonds and minerals, Chara was completely mesmerized.
The little spirit floated around full of interest. She couldn’t help but notice how much farther she could see, compared to when she was surrounded by darkness. That’s right, “see” and not “sense”.
Uwaaaaaa~!
Right now, if someone were to witness her unusual behavior, they might have been startled and thought that she was some kind of reclusive cave spirit who had seen light for the first time.
As a myriad of crystals sparkled and twinkled around her, Chara couldn’t help but immediately start complaining. What the heck!? Since when do I have vision? Aaa! This place is so beautiful! Uuu… Why couldn’t I have spawned here instead?
After cursing her bad luck for a bit longer, she continued moving again. As she floated down the crystal cavern, she observed all kinds of unique and interesting light-based visual phenomena. Ambient lighting, translucency, reflections, refraction, fresnel. If something intersected between light and crystals, then it could be found here.
Already being relatively familiar with how light worked, she was able to better appreciate and understand the differences between light and vision when juxtaposed with the intriguing dynamics of mana and perception.
Hmm… With vision, I can see much farther. However, it requires light, I can’t see through obstacles, and low amounts of mana are barely perceivable…
After thinking up to her last point, she was reminded of something else. When she had first woken up and still hadn’t figured out how to sense mana, her senses were constantly clouded by darkness and an indistinct fog.
Could it be that what was clouding up my vision was darkness and wind mana? Hm… Since it’s not so dark here, maybe if I close off my perception, the same thing wouldn’t happen again…
She wasn’t sure, but the idea sounded plausible. She was kind of curious, but since it didn’t seem very important, she threw it to the back of her mind for later.
Actually. I wonder what my reflection looks like…
Chara looked around curiously. A little bit further up ahead there was a crystal pillar with a relatively flat face on one side. She floated over to take a look.
It wasn’t very polished. Moreover, because she was looking at it head-on, the reflection was hard to see. Nevertheless, it was still clear enough to make out the sediment and various other rocks scattered throughout the floor.
However, there was no reflection of Chara. In fact, there wasn’t a single reflection of anything mana related. Only the glimmering of the other crystals and anything close enough to catch a bit of their illumination.
Chara sighed. I guess I wouldn’t be a very good spirit if I had a reflection…
She was just about to float away in disappointment when a sudden gleam caught her eye before disappearing immediately. Slightly confused, she looked into the crystal. After another second, there was another glimmer, however, it came from the crystal’s reflection, not its interior.
Alarmed, Chara quickly focused on the area behind her. Since her vision was 360, she didn’t need to turn around. Off in the distance, she could see something barely visible tumbling in her general direction, intermittently catching the light at just the right angle. It was a diamond!
How— How did she find me?!
In a panic, she started to look around in agitation. Looking for the treacherous curiosity spirit that tried to kidnap her. Yet, what she ended up finding instead was many tumbling diamonds, all traveling in parallel, in the same direction as the first one she spotted, as if combing the crystal cavern for an escaped spirit.
Uwaaaaaaaa!! There’s nowhere to hide!
Chara was completely petrified.
The diamonds kept tumbling in her direction. Closer and closer… until it was close enough that she could sense it at the edge of her perception.
Not minding her terror, not adjusting its path, the line of precious stones single-mindedly kept rolling. Until it passed her completely… and kept going. And going… Until it completely left her perception.
Soon, the lineup of diamonds had tumbled far into the distance, none the wiser that they had missed their target.
Scared me to death!
Chara was completely indignant. She was nearly scared silly, and it turned out to be all over nothing.
Hmph, that curiosity spirit only knows how to bully! She can make a fool of me even when she’s not here! Just you wait till I’m big and strong! I’m going to beat you up so hard, that you’re going to go through the entire water cycle and turn into a rain cloud! And then—
Before she was able to finish her thought, the surrounding mana began to stir.
Inexplicably, the earth and light element mana started to flow away from her direction. Simultaneously, the ice, wind, and dark element mana started concentrating in the area above her, causing the ambient light to dim.
“Found you~!”