The swarm flew higher and higher while the fairy watched the lively environment. The buzzing of the army had stirred the whole vertical tunnel, and mundane insects and spiders as big as half her body were rushing within the vibrant emerald moss as fast as possible. A whole world was uncovered for a few seconds before everything went silent again.
Without anything to watch, Tyra closed her eyes to savor the feeling of flying again, a sensation she thought lost for almost three years.
It was exhilarating.
However, their journey ended far too soon, and the creatures reached the end of the shaft before she could really appreciate it. Something two days before she felt was almost impossible to accomplish was done without any effort because they could still fly. Her own broken wings ached at the thought, but she ignored the feeling as much as possible.
Tyra tilted her head as she inspected the odd dark blue vines blocking the way up. Mana swirled between and within them, with gravity-defying water coating their surface. Most of the lianas were thick and dense, with oblique leaves larger than her body poking out of the blockage.
As she followed the streams of mana flowing between each interlocked plant, the fairy's brown eyes widened as she realized how similar they were to the odd ethereal consciousness within the flying creatures' nest. They rushed in the same fashion, and the feeling they gave her was almost identical, even if the mana being was much more complex and conscious.
The nest's material was rather similar to the color of the vines as well, even if it was slightly paler and duller. It was clear the beasts used the plants ahead to create their home, and the consciousness' existence was connected to the phenomena she was observing.
Tyra chewed on her lips, wishing she could create a similar ethereal consciousness inside her dungeon when she found her own core. From the general knowledge she received after her birth, she could guess that the being inside the nest was almost a miracle, with incredible potential if fully grown and supported. However, it wasn't something that could be replicated just because she wished to.
There were methods to integrate wild creatures within a dungeon as well, but she doubted it would be happy to move away from its home, and Tyra didn't know if it could live outside the nest.
After a few seconds, she smiled ruefully; it was so easy to dream of the future and everything that could be. Yet, she knew the chances of truly finding her half without the link were incredibly low.
Shaking her head and biting her lips, she refocused on what she had to do.
Before the beast carrying her joined the others among the vines and inside the dripping barrier of water, Tyra closed her mouth shut. She didn't have to worry about suffocating since fairies were beings made of mana, capable of living within every environment, and they could replace the need for air by consuming a little bit more of their magic. However, this didn't make the idea of filling her lungs with water any more attractive.
As the creature broke the water's surface and sneaked through the plants, the fairy almost gasped, nearly ruining her forethought. The water was being constantly pushed toward the plants, creating heavy pressure on her tiny body.
While the beast moved between the vines rather awkwardly with only five available legs, the fairy held on as hard as she could to avoid being carried away. The journey was much longer and slower than the previous one, and it was much more uncomfortable as well.
Gradually, the vines became thinner, and the pressure diminished as well. The flying monster kept moving upward within the narrowing tunnel, and after a while, the shaft opened up within an enormous open space.
This time, the fairy couldn't help but gasp in awe before immediately starting to choke on the water that found its way into her lungs. Her magic stirred within, pushing the liquid out, and began to constantly flow inside to replace the necessary oxygen.
Tyra didn't spare any more thoughts about her body after her magic intervened, constantly shifting her eyes between everything she could see. Long dark blue vines sneaked upward like a growth of narrow trees while thick green glowing moss covered the water's bed. Small fish and aquatic insects swam rapidly between the vines, hiding as fast as they could while the rest of the swarm invaded the environment.
The water slightly warped the green light, giving the view a surreal effect, and the fairy truly loved everything about it. While the tunnel felt lively, it simply wasn't the same as watching the muted world expand from below, with the slim vines rising upward until she couldn't see them anymore.
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The creature moved its leg forward and watched her with its black compound eyes. Realizing she was wasting their time, Tyra let go, awkwardly paddling with her arms and legs between the more agile monsters.
She observed the swarm, trying to copy their actions. However, she had to give up when they raced forward while launching themselves off the vines with their six legs and using their wings to change direction afterward. Trying various methods, she settled with pushing sideways with her arms as a frog would do.
After a few minutes, while still feeling self-conscious, the fairy reached the swarm ahead and saw they were stealthily taking position between the plants. Confused, she stopped near one of the dark blue monsters and observed everything around her. Tyra chewed on her lips and shifted a hand on her stone dagger when she didn't spot anything different in the environment. She knew something was out there from the beasts' behavior, but she simply couldn't see it.
After a few seconds, the green-haired fairy saw one of the flying creatures move ahead, and as it reached a cluster of thicker vines, her eyes widened in recognition. Hidden within was a long dark snake with red fur running through its spine. The green light masked the creature's colors, giving it the chance to easily camouflage.
Tyra watched as the flying beast bit the enormous reptile on its tail before rushing away as fast as it could, and the ensuing fight left the green-haired fairy without words.
The vines and moss around were all thrashed and torn apart as the big monsters fought, ruining the idyllic landscape. The snake was gigantic, easily ten times longer than her, with long silver fangs and sharp smaller teeth behind them. Tyra was sure it could easily fit her entire body inside its mouth.
Yet, her allies almost played with the creature the whole time, never being in any danger whatsoever. It was nothing like she had expected the fight would go, considering the difference in proportions or magical potential between the two species.
After a few minutes into the hunt, the fairy's heart jumped on her throat as she felt mana pulse within the snake. However, before she could do anything, she was dragged away by one of the flying beasts. A cloud of darkness expanded from within their enemy, but she was well outside the ability thanks to the quick-thinking ally.
Tyra played nervously with her stone knife's hilt while all the creatures waited calmly around the cloud. The ability soon ended, and she saw the reptile emerge 30 or so centimeters away from her. Noticing one of her allies was lagging behind and was about to be eaten, the fairy summoned her magic. Waving one hand in its direction, she Tricked the snake's vision as fast as she could, causing the reptile to miss the slower insect by a hair.
Sagging as the mana left her, the fairy sighed in relief when she saw the flying creature was able to get away.
With half-lidded eyes, she kept track of the fight, but even without any real combat experience, she was able to understand that the snake was on its last breath.
After a few more minutes, twenty dark blue beasts rushed with Water-Attuned mana revolving around their stingers and finally killed the Dark monster.
Tired, the fairy swam near the dead reptile and took two months' worth of mana from the prey, her body shivering in relief.
The same flying creature that escorted her moved near, offering a leg. For a few seconds, Tyra let her eyes wander within the endless submerged world, before reaching for the appendage without any words.
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A whole month flew by as Tyra settled into a routine. The fairy spent her days going inside the waters to help with the hunt of dark snakes, training as hard as she could until exhaustion, and speaking with the ethereal being. Her time was filled, leaving herself as few hours of sleep as possible.
However, even when doing so much, she couldn't push away the feeling of powerlessness that plagued her thoughts.
Her nature kept pushing her to move, to go away from the nest and search for her core. After the hunts, she found herself multiple times floating within the waters and wondering what would happen if she just swam in a random direction. However, after seeing the snake and flying beasts in action, it was clear she simply wasn't ready for the outside world. She wasn't strong enough, nor did she have any idea where her dungeon really was. The world seemed far bigger than she thought, and the chances to find it without her link looked grimmer and grimmer.
The swarm was growing, their hunting area was expanding, and she was gaining enough mana to practice with a small amount of her magic rather often, but the fairy understood those things were not nearly enough. In the end, she knew she had to find a way to change something.
After a successful hunt, the fairy was training within one of the nest's cells. Her right hand was spread open, and her magic was surging between her fingers. Keeping her company and trying to project more complex ideas, the ethereal consciousness was floating lazily around her.
'Queen,' it sent randomly.
"Ah. Now that I think about it, I never saw one inside the nest. Isn't the queen really important for insects like you?" the fairy said without shifting her eyes.
'Yes? No? Eggs. Death, more Queens.'
"That's cold."
It swirled, unconcerned.
Tyra summoned a little bit more of her magic, trying to Trick the air into light, when it happened.
Dense mana stirred around them.
In the blink of an eye, the fairy's knife was in her hands and her magic was bubbling under her skin. A fraction of her attention was on her ghostly friend as it swirled around her body faster and faster, projecting brightly, 'Life! Life! Life!'
A little bit panicked, Tyra was about to ask what was happening when a deep voice reached her.
It was the creakings of an enormous trunk and the rustlings of an immense canopy, it was old and everlasting, and to the fairy, it was the voice of something she had longed for her whole life. "Mortal. We have to talk."
Tyra's mind was sent spinning as she heard the voice, and tears fell from her eyes as her whole being recognized it without having ever heard it before. Overwhelmed, she muttered, "My Core..."