My mind was rather overwhelmed with the scene in front of me. I shifted my view towards my body on the ground and it seems a sharp jagged spear made of gray rock had pierced through my vines and roots directly into my core. My form lied helpless as I could see a ray of moonlight shine on the ground then... It ruptured as swarms of monsters burst from it, from large multi-scaled dragons to massive squid-like creatures that could seemingly control electricity down to swarms of the simple goblins and automatons. I saw multiple monster extraction personnel arrive from the holes the monsters created and began fighting them off.

The green serpent personnel were surprisingly quick on their feet, turning the lower half of their bodies into wiggling smooth metal as they slipped through the hoards of attacks. They use their strange sickles to spray that dispelling acid at their attackers. The red bull personnel were monstrously strong, not as quick as the serpent team but they seemed far from slow. They blasted fire from their hands and had a tank on their back connected to their arms seemingly fueling their supply of fire. There was another team I hadn't encountered in my escape, they wore the slimmer armor with the same design as the rest but more purple and their helmets looked more like a squid. They could move things around them without moving a muscle themselves it seems and could employ a variety of strange chemicals that put some monsters on the back foot in their exchange.

From what I could see, they were certainly powerful but the monsters still had the advantage. The weaker monsters would use their numbers to overwhelm individual personnel while the more powerful monsters like the dragons wasn't harmed by any of the attacks that was thrown its way. It looked like a war was taking place, people from both sides being killed left and right with no sign of stopping. I would only imagine this gets worse when those Monster Extermination people join the battle.

My eyes drifted from the bloody battle to Victor and Stephany who were currently running from a large band of raving goblins and boulders with rocks the shape of eyes that rolled freely towards them. I wanted to help them, if not Victor than Stephany. She was always nice to me....

"We were nice to you too, you know."

"Have you been enjoying the outside?"

I heard two familiar voices and focused my attention on the glowing figures below the moonlight. They were floating off the ground near me, imperceptible to the monsters and personnel currently fighting. Their forms... They looked familiar. I knew who they were the moment I heard their voices but their physical forms were new to me. It was Untou and Dongung. Dongung looked pale... white? Gray? Honestly it was hard to tell which, she looked very bright. Like a star, her body shined with a radiance akin to the moonlight that started the war. She was tall, a slender yet slightly malnourished figure with a round face. She had short hair that stretched into a long ponytail and she wore a long yet simple flowing dress that was light brown looking to be made of some sort of leather. Her feet were bare on the grass, unlike other humans I've seen, with no shoes or socks.

Untou was shorter looking much smaller in stature when standing next to Dongung. He was similarly pale but his color was much easier to tell. It was charcoal black, as if it was directly trying to contrast the moonlight. It was a void sucking in the light around it and yet at the same time, I still saw a faint moonlit radiance pierce the void frequently but always being swallowed soon after as if it was being suffocated but not completely snuffed by the void. He had no clothing, all objects he wore or used to wear were seemingly fell into the void that made him up. He looked similar to the humans in that other world, pearly white eyes and stretched looking skin. He had a mouth or what seemed to be his mouth, I wasn't too sure since it was just the skin on his face ripping open and closing to mimic mouth movements whenever he spoke. Unlike Dongung, he held a weapon. It was a long rocky, jagged gray spear... The same weapon that ended my life....

Untou: "Calm yourself Flower, you aren't dead. I made sure not to imbue my weapon with acid so your core may regenerate. You won't be getting up anytime soon though, the skill you've obtained works very slowly and with the amount of damage I've dealt... You'll be stuck here with us for a loooong time."

Dongung: "That was very nice of you sweetie. Has learning the truth made you whole like it did to me?"

Untou: "No, mother. I simply saw what I needed to do. Nothing more, nothing less."

Nice? While I was internally glad that I wasn't dead permanently, this certainly didn't feel 'Nice'. More importantly, how did he know about my new skill? I thought he was gone when I got it... Wait no that's not what is important. I saw them multiple layers in the ground, far away from the surface so how did they reach me so soon?

Dongung: "I'm sure you have a lot of questions dear Flower."

Untou: "You can ask us for we have learned a lot. If you want complete truth however, you can look to the moon. I can provide none of the answers you seek so direct all questions to mother."

Dongung: "You can provide some answers sweetie"

Dongung spoke with such grace and fluidity that I caught myself calming down instantly.... I got the sense that Untou wasn't very happy with me or Dongung though. It's obvious he didn't like me for some reason, he killed me but his behavior towards his mother was strange. His words carried no weight when he responded and were decidedly monotone, it was as if he turned into a automaton. Giving automated answers to asked questions and nothing more. Never minding that, I have many questions and if they're willing to answer them then why not right? What was that alternate reality I keep seeing? Why was that Admin so adamant about Dongung learning the truth? What does the concept incinerator do?

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Dongung: "All your questions will be answered, just clear your mind and ask us whatever you want. We're not omniscient but the moon has provided us with new knowledge that we can impart to you."

Hm... I focus my attention on the smiling moon above us, not for truth but to simply recognize it. It looked exactly how I saw it in others memories but it was especially vexing when seeing it myself. It looked like it had human skin melted into its rock and someone forcibly carved a smile into it. It looked so unnatural that if I didn't have those memories, I would've thought that it was just an impossibly large monster. Looking at it didn't give me the revelation I thought it would, I thought I would learn the answers to all my questions by glancing at it myself but it seems that was nothing but an impossible wish.... No matter, there's still Dongung and Untou. They have answers and I need some to understand my place in the world so I asked.... What am I? Why can I think and feel the way humans do?

Dongung: "An excellent question. You're a Genie Sprout. That has never changed but you've simply been blessed by the moon ever since you were a seed. It gave you your intelligence to guide you along your path to the truth."

It... Guided me? What do you mean? Why do I need to learn the truth?

Dongung: "Of course it guided you. It guides all of us, it allows humanity to thrive in the darkness of the world. It gave us light when none existed and you are apart of that process. Haven't you noticed that all 'monsters' are linked? Yes, together they help humanity thrive by acting as their predators in a world where they had little."

What? Am I.... Just a tool for humanities sake? How does this help humanity? Why did the moon do this?

Dongung: "We cannot know the moons intentions with its grace but it did help humanity. Technology and a human's way of living had advanced significantly thanks to the introduction of Skills and magic. Why do you think moon blessed this world with these gifts sweetie?"

Untou: "The intentions of the moon are an enigma to even the highest grade Apostles. Guessing it's motives do it a great disservice due to the impossibility of understanding its mind."

Dongung: "Very true. Flower, it is up to you to decide if you're a cog in the wheel or not. Though, I don't want you to misunderstand. You're position isn't very unique. You have the ability to wish for whatever you desire, all you need is the blood of humanity. But that ability, too, was given by the moon to all of your kind and as such, will always be subject to what rules it decides."

This is all far too much to handle. From what it sounds like, all my actions up until now were all decided by the moon. When I wanted to escape, establish that I have free will and can break free from the cage of my captors. In the end, I was always caged wasn't I? No matter what I did, I would always be within the clutches of someone more powerful than I. Someone who wanted to make my life hell to achieve their own ends. It was all for their agenda, their whims. None of it was for my sake, none of it was for my benefit. It always up to me to decide what was best for me, nothing else had to take value over my own whims when no-one else puts mine over theirs. But why was this the result then? Was it because of the moon that so much misfortune had befallen me?....

Focusing my attention on the moon, I could see it shine its moonlight upon my disembodied form. No.... That's not right. Whether it be in that facility or out here, the moon was always watching out for me. It knew my every move because it cared for me. It led me outside, it gave me my wish for escape. It helped the monsters I had been so conflicted on helping, it gave me answers when I was stuck, and helped me realize my true path. it made those decisions on my behalf because I was too scared, too unprepared to make them. My instincts were sharpened by the company I was given, back when I was simply drifting in the cosmos to alleviate the tedium, it was there. It provided me with the ability to imagine that cosmos, to think of a world where my whims truly mattered! It was my teacher, allowing me to see the flaws in my centered thinking and I couldn't be more delighted to move past those sinful thoughts. It had helped me so much, yet I had given it almost nothing in return. Not almost, I had blatantly leeched off its blessings like a parasite and what could be more shameful than that? I shouldn't be saddened about how I can't establish myself within the world, I need to repay its relentless kindness in the only way I can.

"Skill Ascension: Self Realization is attempting to ascend to Major... Ascension complete!"

Dongung: "He is finally ready to enact the truth! Listen to the moon my friend! Let it show you the way like it did for us!"

Ahh.... Yes I feel it. Its command, its gentle demands. I'll follow them, it's the only way I could repay its generosity. For all its done for me.... For us! I feel my core regenerate faster than it has ever been and I see my form grow with moonlight covering my roots like a warm hug. The black roots and vines turn to a moonstone gray and my petals harden as they glow a faint moonlit radiance. My form grows and grows until it towers over the bloody battle, my fellow spawn of the moon need my assistance. What betrayer of my word I would be if I were to reject such an order?