Chapter 3: Consumption

Aquamarine

The Humamander lies curled up in the corner of the room, it had stopped moving long ago and I was kicked out of its head soon after. I guess this one died too. If I had to make a new one of those things everyday that would be beyond tedious, there might not be any point to it at all. I decided to worry about the small creature later, and instead turned my attention to what it had gotten me

I looked longingly at the berries, how I wish that I could eat them too. Alas I had no method to consume them like the Humamander. Man that is a cumbersome name, I should really come up with a better one later. I focus on the corner of my vision with the creature curled up in it, it was still doing that strange heaving so I guess it was still alive. I could finally see again, as the room had long since cleared up during our exploration, the fog leaving with the open door. I figured I could relax the next time my creature is out.

I looked even closer at my Humamander, and noticed he was a little bigger. It looks like consuming food had helped him grow. So I need to figure out how to consume things as well. My inhabitation of the Humamander gave me new insights, much like the Humamander needs to breathe to maintain his body, the ambient mana flowing in and out of me is much the same. By absorbing it I merely fill up my vessel I am in. Using my mana over and over again will change very little. I need to either restructure my body like with the membrane, find a way to change the material of my vessel, or increase its size. I believe finding a way to eat or some equivalent of that will probably help with the mana problem.

I think back to how my creation ate and it was by bringing the berries inside of it. If I could find some way to take this food within me then maybe I will grow too. An Idea strikes me as I remembered I had never actually tried making my membrane leave the surface of my body. I quickly gather all of the mana within me and create more seafoam once again before I start dragging it outside of my body. As the mana gathers within this tendril I feel faint but I continue along. It takes almost everything in me but the thin strand of mana finally reaches the fruit. As I engulf it I feel a surge of energy, enough to overdrive my efforts and make the thread like tendril into more of a rope.

With my newfound vigor I yank the berry into my form and feel a heat emanating from deep within. I can practically feel the edges of my form shifting and grinding. I was becoming larger and much more powerful from the simple ingestion of a single berry. As I dissolve it within my crystalline form I finally felt alive, like some dormant metabolic process had finally awakened.

I reach out to consume another but it falls to the floor midway through, a strange feeling washes over my mind. my energy starts swirling uncontrollably and fog begins emanating from me in great amounts. Water droplets spew every so often as well as my body desperately tries to expel as much mana as possible. I realized that my membrane was ruptured by the influx of energy.

My mind starts to fade as my body goes on auto pilot, desperately expelling both fog and water for countless hours.

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Creation

Cough! Cough! Cough! I shoot up and immediately eject water from my lungs. I try to take in more air but find it extremely difficult. It wasn't hard for me to figure out why, the pleasant warm mist from before had become an all consuming smokescreen and water filled the room up to my knees. Each breathe was labored and difficult, but still I stood. I stared at the lightly glowing gemstone with wide eyes silently asking why. I wanted to plead for it's help, for its forgiveness. Silent it remained. If it wouldn't help then escape was my only option. I think back to the way the fog dissipated when I parted the stone and start madly pressing at the walls. My vision failed me as not a single thing could be seen. Each moment I grew more desperate and moved quicker, it would only get more difficult to breathe.

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Finally a brilliant light parted the dense white film and I desperately pushed forward. The cold air quickly rushing into my lungs as the warmth of the fog rushed along my back. I turned back to my creator and fear filled me. It said it would protect me with the fog and I scoffed, but now I see how deadly it can be. I stand by the open door as I watch the gem ejecting water and steam, waiting for it all to come to an end. The bright light in the cavern's center had finally faded and the water passing through my toes had slowed to a trickle, the fog the gem leaked had slowed greatly and the violent eruption of water had long since faded. I vowed to not voice my doubts when my creator is within my mind from now on, no sense giving him something to prove again.

I looked around for a rock, and closed one side of the parted stone. I left the rock at the middle of the two doors and allowed the other side of the stone to close. I climbed through the opening and curled up in the fading light. I close my eyes and smile to myself, lets see how strong your fog is now.

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Aquamarine

The fragments of my mind finally manage to bring themselves together. The 50 separate perceptions I had during the time I was gone brought back more memories of the before times. I began to reorganize and the memories seemed to sort themselves. Before long the 50 conflicting stories becoming one. When I consumed that berry the energy I absorbed was so immense that it started to form various other cores within me. I was then forced to fight with them over control of my body and the worse part is, I'm not even sure if the me I started with is the me that won. I had al my memories from before, and all of the memories of the core's I defeated. looking within reveals that my core is bigger than ever and is once again surrounded by a membrane of sea foam. Despite dozens of frantic questions flooding my mind seeing my singularity puts me at ease and a new inner membrane surrounded it, to keep it safe from anymore fractures. At the very least I am one with myself again. Once again I had made the mistake of taking things to fast and failed to organize the energy I took in properly. Still it would be different next time.

However the results still speak for themselves. I would definitely be needing more, and I know exactly how to accomplish that. I once again shut out my senses and focus all my of energy on the idea of a human and salamander put together. The very concept of creation. I feed more and more of my mana into it and once again I feel the ripping of my membrane. This time however I feel my new inner membrane rise out to the surface of my gem and continue to feed this process. By the time its all gone I am left blind, but the spell is finished. I quickly construct more sea foam from the ambient mana and rise from my body to speak to the new creature.

I speak out to the Humamander, "Hello, I am your creator. I shall bestow you the name Twomamander, and I order you to follow your brothers lead." in response the simple being glances up at me without a hint of understanding in its eyes. It was only then that I realized this one was much smaller than the other one, in fact it also seemed less able to comprehend the world around it, with its vacant gaze struggling to focus and moving even worse than the first one did. It even almost chocked on the berries it managed to stumble across.

It did something that the other one hadn't though, it began to eat the fish. I spoke into its mind ordering it to, "Stop!" but it refused to listen. I was a bit annoyed seeing my first creation be desecrated right before my eyes, sure it was a failure but it was mine. Still after eating its fill it followed my order and joined it's bigger brother in the corner of the room, huddling together with him. As he does I realize that my membrane had begun to reconstruct itself already. Satisfied with my new and improved regeneration I decide to make some more fog, and yet even after putting as much energy into it as I can I fail to create any meaningful density. I try harder, eating up the membrane that had just began to regenerate and still nothing. It was then that I notice the door, and wonder.