Mewtwo retires for sleep. He seems to still need to recover from our recent tribulations. I, however, remain awake. I feel no need for sleep. I never felt the need for sleep here I realize. The only times I 'slept' were when my power ran out. I wonder if it might become a problem later.

I stay outside, taking stock of what I still have in my inventory. The portable smeltery is still here, along with most of the ores we mined. I still have the stone pickaxe, although its durability is almost exhausted, as well as the remains of the stone sword. I wonder if I should fix it or just make a new one.

Molds, wood, stone, and miscellaneous monsters remains fill my inventory. Bones, rotten flesh, a skull. Most have usage in many recipes, there are few I can actually make. I leave them be for now. Why? Because My inventory is full, if not about to burst. I have no slots left and no ways to expand it. I mean, I have the 'backpack chip' quest, but I do not have the materials for it. And speaking of chips, I have none left.

How did that happen? Where did they go? I quickly make a new one for crafting, burning through a chunk of my wood, and as I install it, I find out what happened. My left upper arm opens, and reveals the truth. In the previously two occupied slots, only charred pieces of wood remain. I go to pick them up, but they disintegrate to ashes in seconds. The overheat! That's what the durability on those is for! Welp, changing from wood to something else might become a priority in the near future then.

I quickly remake the furnace chip as well, grumbling. Stupid body, stupid overheat. I need more xp, and more stats, so more quest needs to be done. I have the entire night before me. Mewtwo will most definitely sleep through most of it, so... I am in a magical forest. There has to be mystical flowers somewhere right?

With my new objective, I step away from the silent clearing. Time to look for those flowers. Wait, no, inventory first. I silently enter into the house and go the the storage room. There, I quietly empty my inventory... as quietly as I can anyway. A bone slips and falls down with a dull thunk. Hope I did not wake Mewtwo. I wait for a few seconds, but nothing moves, and after straining my hearing, I can hear his gentle snores from the bedroom. Okay, safe. I finish making space by reassembling the portable smeltery in the front yard. I am certain I will have use for it soon.

With space finally made, I start exploring the surrounding forest. I smile at myself, recalling my first day on this world. Merely a week has passed, and yet so much has happened. It feels like so much more time has passed. I wonder around for some time, looking around. The woods are luminous, even so late at night. then again, except for the altar clearing and the surrounding of the large tree, the canopy completely obscures the sky.

As I walk around, I take my time to feel the forest around me. The smell of mulch and humidity is everywhere, but it is pleasant more than overwhelming, filling a part of me with nostalgia. Fallen branches and sticks crunch under my feet and my talons sink into the soft dirt. There is no designated paths here. It is peaceful. The distant sound of kricketots and crickets mix together in a strange symphony. the little wisps of colorful light filling the air seem dance along their tunes. The forest is alive, and although I do not feel like a part of it, I do not feel rejected either.

The sound of flapping above me makes me look up. A couple of murkrows have landed on a branch above. the black crow like pokemons, with crooked yellow beaks, look at me tilting their hatted head in curiosity. The hats makes me think of a witch hat. They caw at me curiously, and I wave at them, before continuing my exploration.

The murkrows follow me for some time, periodically cawing my way, as if trying to ask me something. I mostly answer with a shoulder shrug as I keep looking for those mystical flowers. I stumble upon one after rounding a large tree. Its bell-shaped purple flowers shimmer in the low light. Little sparks sometimes flow from it. I crouch, looking at it closer. It appears as a 'Purple Mystical Flower'. I look at it for a few moments. Its shimmer is enthralling and distract me for long minutes.

Finally, I nod to myself, I found one, time to take it! I go to do just that, but stop. This... this is a florges domain. From what my knowledge tells me of florges, you do not just take something from a florges domain. especially flowers... I should ask her for permission. A caw from the murkrows reminds me of their presences. I get back up and turn to them.

"Hey, do you know where Princess is?" I ask them, "I need to ask her something."

The pair of crow pokemon tilt their heads, before suddenly cawing in alarm and taking off. Uh? Are they scared of her or something?

Thou desire something? Princess voice echoes in my head, making me jump in surprise.

"Bwah!" I yelp. I turn around and come face to face with her.

Or more exactly, something that looks like her. The florges that stands before me is not the real one, but one made of off-green thorny vines. The light of the forest reflect on the thorns, making her form glimmer slightly. Two pink orbs fill her eye sockets, giving her a threatening look.

I gulp, and calm myself. "I... Your highness, I would like your permission to gather these types of flowers." I say as respectfully as I can, pointing at the mystical flower. "They come in many shades of color, and I will need them to further our growth. May I, with your permission, collect them? Please?"

The eyes on vine-Princess narrow. She looks at the flower for a few moments, then back at me. Thou may, but do not collect more than thou shall need. We shall watch, and we shall count. And with that, the vines recede into the earth, and she is gone.

That went... well? I would say that went well. I breath out, and pick up the flower. It resist at first, but then something that I can only describe as magical happens. As I pull on the flower, the roots slowly recede from the earth and soon bundle themselves under its stem. I hold it up, tilting my head in confusion. Was that normal? Or...

That is one interesting way to pick up a flower. Princess voice echoes in my head once more. I almost lose my balance in fright. Please stop doing that.

The vine construct is back, looking in curiosity at the flower I have just picked up. Try putting it back. She orders, and I obey. I approach it back to the forest floor, and let it touch the dirt. The roots slowly unfurl from each other, and soon the flower is back into the ground, as if it had always belonged here. Impressive. More testing shall be needed, but we recede our previous limits, take as many as thou may need, but return to the earth those that thou would not use.

I nod silently, and vine-Princess disappears once more. Sighing, I resume my search. I have a purple one, just like the one I found in that forest so long ago. I now need to find nine more to complete the quest. And so I resume my walk, looking around in wonderment, As I do so, I realize something else. I will need to ask Princess for wood at some point. That might be a harder ressource to collect compared to simple flowers. Hum... We will see.

My exploration continues deep into the night and the forest alike. I find a blue, a yellow, and two red mystical flowers. They all have different flowers and growth shapes. The reds have stout stems and long vertical petals, the blue are similar to the purple, but with more rounded flower shapes, and the yellow looks like a tulip. The murkrows duo came back at some point, and have been cawing at random intervals. However, when they first saw me pick up a flower, I could see they were ready to fly away the moment Princess came to exact her wrath upon me. When nothing happened, they tilted their head in wonderment. I then told them I had her permission, and they visibly relaxed.

After that, they have been guiding me to different flowers all night. Some were not mystical ones, and after a trying with one, I realized that every flowers I pick up come with their roots. I can plant them back at any time and anywhere. Wonder if it works everywhere... I'll try in a cave at some point.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

After a couple of hours, I finally clear the quest. It is now the next day within the Sanctuary, one a.m. to be precise. God I love being able to tell the time. Anyway, ten flowers. Yahoo. On top of the previous five, the purple, the yellow, the blue and two reds, I have found two more purple, a green, a white and a black one.

Each have their own strange shapes. The green one makes me think of a mix of a rose and a tulip, while the white one is similar to lily of the valleys, although the flowers come in far smaller clusters, finally the black one is the strangest yet. Its petals twist around themselves, growing to be almost as tall as their stem.

he quest validates and I claim the reward. I'll give the candies to Mewtwo once he wakes up. Since I am done, I look at the follow up quest. Two more quests have unlocked.

Botanical absurdities

Welcome to the Botania stage. Hope you have a green thumb, because you'll need it. From petals to flowers, and flowers to new adventure.

Check your tutorial page for new info.

Craft a 'Petal apothecary': 0/1

Craft a 'Pure daisy': 0/1

Rewards: 25xp; 1 Exp. Candy S

But that's the wrong color!

You will need a lot. And we do mean A LOT. of these mystical flowers. Good thing there is a fertilizer to grow them in bulk.

Craft a 'Floral Fertilizer': 0/1

Rewards: 20xp; 3 Exp. Candy XS

I look at the quest, then at the items it wants me to craft. Fun fact, I can access these directly by clicking on them. Wish I tried that earlier... I am going to click on everything on the screens now.

Anyway. So... The floral apothecary is easy enough. Just cobblestone and a flower petal, which I obtain by putting a flower in my crafting grid. I get two petals for one flower. As I start crafting, I ask the pair of murkrows if they saw another of those white mystical flowers anywhere. They look at each other, then one seems to recall something. They caw in unison and take flight, circling me to try and get me to follow. I oblige them and after another dozen minutes of brisk walk, birds do be flying fast, we arrive before another white mystical flower. I thank them and pick it up, and then make my way back to the cottage. I have all I need to start, I hope.

I arrive back at the cottage, and not much changed. I check on Mewtwo and see he is still asleep. Maybe I'll wake him if something interesting happens, but for now I let him rest. He still need to recover from the battles, I am almost certain he is fully organic.

Before I start, I look at the tutorial section, finding a new extensive subsection dedicated to this 'Botania Stage'. The moment I start reading the introduction entry, I get an achievement.

Welcome to Botania

From strange flowers, create new ones and conquer the world

Rewards: Lexica Botanica

I claim the reward, curious, and am rewarded with a thick volume with a green cover, with the title in gold and a little green symbol. There is no author name on it, although part of the cover is scratched. A little mention at the end makes me raise an eyebrow. 'The official guide for all your Botania needs'. The book feels old, its cover creaks slightly as I open it. Within are a serie of entries about what Botania is all about. The more I read it, the more Aster within me feels baffled. This is not a special creation of this world, this is clearly ripped from his old world. I can feel he is trying to remember where he heard of the name and I can feel he knew the author's name.

But then, if that is true, what is this world? What is the Ezian plane? If these flowers and the powers that seem to be within them is from another world, why are they here? Aster does give me a counter question that makes me relativise a bit: Why are pokemons here? For Aster, pokemons were nothing more than imaginary creatures from a game. They were never real, but here he met them, or at least an interpretation of them. The feelings are getting hazy. The more Aster's part of me think of his past, the more I can feel it grow fainter and fainter.

I put the lexica away, and instead take another book out of my inventory. Aster's journal. I have time, I need to learn who Aster was, and what he knew and discovered here. I skip through most exploration entries, most are how he met a strange new pokemon, then either fought, helped, or befriended them before moving on.

OH! Here!

'Life 12, Day 85

I have realized something. And it scares me. My companions share my anxiety at what I told them. I am losing my memories. Not just of my previous lives on the Ezian plane, no. I am slowly forgetting where I came from and who I am. It may appear as little, but I know I had both a brother and a sister, as I wrote about missing them in a previous entry, but I no longer remember having a brother. Was he older than me? Younger? I do not know, I only know I have one from that one line in that one entry. And for my sister? Her name is Bethany, she is 18 20 21 I do not remember her age, not clearly.

This entry will be where I am going to put all that I remember of my previous world. I need a way to recall it every time I return.'

After that, there is a long list of things from Aster previous world, his full name, the year back on his world as well as the last date and month he can remember, all he could recall of his family, and finally, the parallels between what he saw on the Ezian plane and what could be found on his old world, Earth. Strange name for a planet.

Obviously, pokemons are the first parallel. Supernatural creatures able to bend the rules of nature to their will, now made reality. On Earth, they were one of the biggest entertainment franchise in the world. then comes the monsters. He has many guesses, different games and cultures had such monsters, however, one monster makes him lean toward one game in particular. I have yet to meet a tall black lanky humanoid that looks like he does not belong in this dimension, but supposedly, it belongs to a game called Minecraft. In it a player would appear in a random location, naked but for a pair of pants and shirt purely decorative, and would have the power to break many materials with his bare hands, and then crafting said materials into new items and objects. I blink in surprise as I read this, looking at my left arm and crafting grid in turn.

More parallels are drawn, although he does not have any for the raid portals, he suspects this world might be based on what he calls a modded version of the game Minecraft, but cannot recall enough, or did not play or see enough to give conclusive comparisons. The same applies to the flowers, he clearly remembers them from something he calls a mod, but is unsure if their current appearances are truly what they looked like in game.

After that I close the book. What... am I? A question I had not asked myself in a long time. Clearly I am not truly real. I exist, that much is certain, but seeing as Aster, a real human is partly trapped in me, I am artificial at best. Why create me like this? The Trio simply said that we were convenient, but were they talking to us or those that were part of us? To Aster in my case, and to Aster's two companions in Mewtwo's case?

I sit down, holding my head in my hands. What am I? And what would happen in the end? Wait... I never considered this! What happens when we win, not if mind you, we will win. But then what? Do the Trio reward us? Or only Aster and his team? Once our purpose is spent? What will the trio do with us?

I sit there, brooding for a long time.

Then a though hit me. How powerful is the Trio? Because they clearly went against Eziakophael to recover all three scraps of soul. Then could they no make me real? And still reward Aster? This could be an escape. I will talk to Mewtwo about it once he wakes up. This might be the next questions we ask them when we take on a formal trial. For now, I have to make sure I survive for those questions to become relevant. Can't get rewarded it I die before the finish line.

I take back the Lexica Botanica and start reading more of it. Flower power, here I come!