So about those rewards... I began, glancing at the dry man.
He chuckled lightly and set Maria down, before heading for the tents exit. As he passed , he waved at to follow him. The mont we exited the tent, he put a hand on my shoulder and I felt my body sag. Suddenly, all my strength left my body and I fell to the ground below. Before I even hit the ground, though, my body turned into dust. The feeling was not dissimilar to when my body turned intangible, though the lack of control or ntal preparation made it a much less pleasant experience.
When my sight returned, I found myself fully reconstructed. My surroundings had naturally changed after the shift, but I hadnt expected the change to be quite as dramatic as it turned out to be. Instead of the standing dead wood I had gotten used to seeing on this side of the between lands, I found myself surrounded by old, but healthy willow trees. Their branches hung lazily in the wind, creating the occasional patch of sun that lit up the bright green grass and ferns below.
The warm breeze continued into a large clearing, that had just enough space for a nice-looking wooden house and a pond that stretched to the tree line.
So space was being used to grow vegetables, while the rest of the grass was left open. Currently, a man was hunched over in the vegetable garden, using his leather gloves to tend to its produce. I approached him slowly, trying to prevent a conflict, but quickly found out that I wasnt staring at a random gardener, but the dry man himself. He was wearing leather overalls over his otherwise indistinguishable clothing.
When he noticed my arrival, he looked up from his work.
Ah! Arthur! Ive been waiting for you. My transportation is quite convenient, since it allows to travel long distances instantly. Unfortunately, the instant part doesnt work for people I take along with . I decided to do a spot of gardening while I waited for you to reform. I hope you dont mind...? the dry man explained.
I shrugged, since I had ti to spare anyway. My current surroundings were far more interesting...
What is this place? Where even are we? I asked, while admiring the rest of the little retreat. It was just teeming with life. After not having seen any bugs for weeks, seeing the dragonflies hover over the pond felt sowhat alien.
This is my house. Maria and I lived here, before... the dry man grimaced, Well, you know what I an. This place is still located in the between lands, actually. I found it many centuries ago. As far as I know, this is the only place in my territory that has anything that vaguely resembles a plant in it.
Right... I murmured, accepting his explanation, That doesnt explain why youve brought here, though...
Patience, young man. Patience. He said, before getting up and gesturing for to follow him. His attire naturally shifted back to his usual outfit as he left the vegetable patch, before he brought to the edge of the clearing, where we headed down a small mountain path.
And it was a mountain path. It seed to go on forever and started to incline halfway through. It looped around the mountain, eventually allowing to see how high up we had gotten. Once the trees finally left so space for to see the surrounding area, I found out that we were climbing the only mountain nearby. The dry mans ho was at the foot of the mountain, occupying a small patch of what was actually a massive forest. It didnt quite spread to the horizon, though. Instead, it cut off suddenly, turning back into the grey wasteland known as the dry forest. From a distance, the mountain must have stood out as a giant green mirage.
We headed further and further up, but the dry man refused to answer any questions.
Youll see. He continued saying.
Eventually, about two hours in, we finally made it to the peak. There, we found a small cave entrance, which, naturally, the dry man refused to explain. The cave was completely overgrown, both inside and outside, with vines and other plants. No brown rock was left untouched, and it only got worse as we progressed.
This reward better be good...
Thankfully, the cave itself was unnaturally consistent when it ca to its height and width. I would have thought it a tunnel, were it not for the stone protrusions that hung from the ceiling. As far as I knew, those took ages to form...
It still took us another two hours to head to the bottom. At so point, the vines that hung on every side of the cave had started to bloom. Were it not for the fact that I was being escorted by a tier 7, I wouldve hightailed it ages ago...
At its end, the tunnel opened up into a large round chamber, that had a small lake in it. The plants continued into the lake, where they disappeared in its murky water.
Were here. The dry man said simply.
So... what is it? I asked, motioning towards the lake.
When I first discovered this place, along with the surrounding mountain, I thought the lake to be so kind of source of life. Only later did I realised that this was a place of death... he spoke morbidly.
A place of death? I inquired. That didnt make much sense... The entire mountain was covered in flora and fauna!
Instead of replying, the dry man asked a question.
Arthur... how do you define life? he asked, without turning to look at .
Not having considered the question before, I took a mont to think.
Everything that can react to things? I proposed eventually.
Expound. Was his reply.
Well... a rock can be broken in half. Though it will change because of this, it cant react to that change. A plant, for example, can grow in a different direction if the locations of the sudden changes. Animals and humans are even more so. In other words, everything that is alive can react to changes, while dead things can only undergo them. I explained, my confidence growing as I thought up a halfway decent argunt.
The dry man humd noncommittedly.
I would describe that as a feature of life, not a definition. He eventually said, Let give you my definition. Everything that breaks order is life. Life brings uncountable changes, twisting fate as it pleases. Death, on the other hand, is a return to order. Its when a chemical and/or a taphysical cycle runs out of the energy needed to persist, and returns to equilibrium.
Okay... I murmured, as if the second part of his explanation didnt completely fly over my head. I understood so parts, though...
So, again, why bring here?
This pond represents death. It is always at equilibrium, both chemically and taphysically. However... he mused, before picking up a rock and chucking it into the pond.
This caused so kind of reaction, and the lake suddenly stirred. Green lights erupted from the lake, before falling back down. The entire lake lit up, showing a storm of small green lights that srized .
...this lake also represents the shift from death to life. The opposite can be found everywhere, but this spectacle is rarer. This will also be your reward. He finished.
My reward? I asked, montarily caught off guard.
Indeed. You will learn much from the principles this lake holds. Your essence will benefit.
You an? I asked, surprised he had found out about my essence skill by himself.
Of course. You wear your essence openly. Any classer of my level would be able to find you from hundreds of miles away.
Huh... I gulped audibly. That wasnt a reassuring thought.
Now then... No ti to waste. The dry man said, before grabbing by the shoulders and hurling right into the middle of the lake.
The last thing I rember seeing before passing out was how the vines turned from luscious green plants into whips made of animal bones when they passed into the water.
Was it too late to start panicking?
-Scene transition-
The dry man patted his overalls, dusting so of the dirt on them to the ground below. His growing love for gardening had been a welcoming hobby. It allowed him to clear his mind and forget his problems for a while. Helios knew he had needed it, in the years after Marias disappearance. Thankfully, she was now back, safe and sound.
It stung that he had to leave his beloved daughter in the encampnt, but there was nothing for it. His sudden return ho had been for two reasons. For one, he wanted to share so of his revelations with the boy. It was a risk to expose the lake, sure, but he owed the young man. This was one way of rewarding him for his bravery, one far more valuable than any tier 5 equipnt he had stored in his vaults. What was more, he had enjoyed the look on the boys face as he had thrown him head-first into the lake of equilibrium, as he liked to call it.
The second reason was far less pleasant, however.
He was expecting a visitor. His ascension couldnt go unnoticed. He had done well hiding his proximity to the barrier, all these decades, but he knew the mont he opened his eyes as a newly advanced tier 7, that his new peers would seek him out. Well, one of them, anyway.
The pope of the Helios church had always been a nosy person, after all.
Sure enough, the area was starting to beco brighter. The birds, which usually stayed quiet in his presence, were now singing as if to welco Helios himself. How pretentious, the dry man thought.
A bright flash announced the popes arrival.
The old man, who had lived for millennia, still bothered trimming his beard and wearing his fancy white and gold clothing. Who was he even hoping to impress at this point?
A small smile appeared on the dry mans face when the pope sunk several centiters into the mud and the gri covered his sandals.
The pope cursed inaudibly and used a skill to make the mud disappear, opting to float the rest of the way. When he finally reached the dry man, he moved first to introduce himself.
Good day, young man. I am the current pope of the Helios church. I guard Helios interests on this continent. As you are a newly advanced peer of mine, you may call Myers, however. The old sod spoke good-naturedly, before extending his hand as a welcoming gesture.
The dry man sighed internally. No matter how high you climbed, there was no escaping politics.
The dry man invited his visitor inside of his ho, where the old man nagged the dry mans ears off with ntions of cooperative growth and militaristic symbiotics. The popes kind smile never faltered once, even when he was suggesting they go to war for the sake of strengthening their respective armies with levels and experience.
By the end of their conversation, the dry man was convinced that he was speaking to a con man, despite the imnse power that roiled off of the popes body, causing his robe to billow in the wind.
The conversation ended with neither agreeing to anything, but the future of the between lands was starting to look a little brighter. After all, the sudden monopoly that the dry man had gained couldnt an that he would start to coddle his troops. Classers grew through battle, after all...
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