Faith is a huge proponent of my illusions. People must be susceptible to believing in what I manipulate them to see, or the illusion won’t hold for long. It is a method I use with care because it is rarely used benevolently. Which means it’ll produce Dark Faith that can negatively impact my karma.

~Gwyddion, God of Illusions

The steps wound downward for quite a way, and other than Munro’s clanging armor, Crow could hear the water and a lot of it. It sounded like it was in the surrounding walls, and he hoped they weren’t entering a submerged chamber.

Thankfully, not long later, they stepped out of a narrow entry and into a massive cavern that was lit up brighter than daylight outside. Cavern walls were slick with moisture, and a giant lake spread out before them. The lake caught most of Crow’s attention because of the rock-like plant inside it.

Squatting at the underground lake’s edge, Crow tapped the water and observed his finger.

“What are you doing?” Hooligan asked.

“Making sure it’s actually water. It’d suck to get in that and find out it’s caustic enough to melt the flesh off our bones.” Crow grinned maliciously, and Hooligan quickly stepped back from the edge.

After waiting a few more seconds, Crow reached into the lake and gently pulled some of those rock-like plants out of the water. However, the moment it left the moisture, the bright light dimmed. Putting it back into the water, it regained its glow. Crow nodded and pretended to stash them into his Shield.

Since he could only enter his Soulverse, he had to pass the plants to lily to put them into his original Soulscape planet. After pulling a dozen, he left the rest alone. He didn’t want to destroy the ecology of this place.

*Send some of that water over too. Fireheart planet lost a lot of its moisture when your oak trees started seeding themselves.*

*Alright, but set up a different place for it. This water is different. I’m not sure if it’s because of that plant, but it’s good stuff. Wait… Fireheart planet?*

*It is getting awkward listening to your thoughts. Now that there are multiple planet seedlings, you need to name them. So I did it for you.*

*That works for me.*

“What are you doing?” Hooligan asked again, realizing that last time Crow was messing with her.

“Never seen stone plants like these, so I’m keeping a few to study later.”

“Told you, book freak,” Munro said. “Our destination is ahead.”

Crow already spotted the Shrine on the far shore. He also spotted something they both wouldn’t recognize—a fairy ring. The most unusual thing about it was that it was active. He could sense that it was a small jump, but he’d always wanted to study an active one. That was something he could do after they completed the Shrine.

“You going to pull the boat out?” Hooligan asked.

“Nope. Trust me, you’ll want to swim,” Crow said before stripping down to his skimpy undergarment and diving into the water. He said that because he noticed its curative effects when he reached into it to grab the stone plants. It instantly soothed the strained tendons and bones in his hands from his training and constant drawing of the bow.

Hooligan trusted Crow enough at this point that she jumped in without questioning him. The moment she came up, she floated on her back and felt the soothing waters draining away all the tension in her body.

“What the hell is this?”

“No idea, but it’s definitely one of those hidden rewards that the guardian thing mentioned,” Crow said and secretly funneled it away and into his Soulverse. He allowed Lily to use some of it inside Fireheart, and the rest he bundled into a sphere and let it drift around the massive Fireheart Oak.

While they swam, Crow occasionally dove to grab a few things, including fish. He never took much, afraid of unbalancing the place, but if it was living, he’d take enough that he could breed or grow them to his heart’s content.

“This place is serene,” Hooligan said, still floating on her back, allowing the waters to work their magic on her. “Do you think those lizardmen know of this place?”

“Doubtful,” Munro claimed, and Crow noticed he looked deflated without his armor on. His large body didn’t appear as imposing. “Otherwise, I doubt they’d leave this place.”

Sometime later, they all reached the far side of the lake. As they were drying off, Crow could only laugh, seeing that Hooligan still refused to take off her mask even while swimming. However, her hood was down, so he saw the dark, curly hair he had carved her with. He might not have been able to capture her face, but he was sure the details his Soul Carving had were all accurate.

Crow also watched as the two shamelessly filled multiple containers with the water. He couldn’t judge them since he took a lot more than they’d ever realized.

While distracted with their water gathering, Crow allowed the heavenly flame in him to surface, and he quickly dried off. He approached the unassuming fairy ring, which was made of stones and a clear pool of water that looked shallow. Other than the unnatural, nearly perfect circle, it looked like a naturally formed pool of water.

*Fairy rings do form naturally.*

*Really?*

*Yes. This one formed naturally, but I can sense the one on the opposite side is not naturally formed.*

*Lily, do you know how to activate these rings?*

*You need to understand time and space more, I believe. You need to know that I’ve only witnessed them being used. They did so by putting their hand on it and willing it to connect to another fairy ring they were familiar with. If you’ve not been to the other ring before, I don’t believe you will establish the connection—or at least it might be complicated.*

*What about the one on my Soulscape planet?*

*In theory, you’d be able to connect any fairy ring you find to it.*

*I just need to expand my understanding of the Truths, and that’s it?*

*Well… your mana normally might not be enough, but if you can draw on your Soulverse, that might not be a major restriction. I’d recommend you study that book on henges and portals you received as a reward from the Clocktower.*

“Did we lose you?” Hooligan asked, standing in front of Crow.

“Sorry, thinking about something. What kind of Shrine is it?”

“We’ve seen Mind and Body shrines, so yellow and red are taken. The color of the crystal and the special challenge were clear like glass. This one is blue, so probably Spirit.”

“Either of you Spirit oriented?” Crow asked out of curiosity. It wasn’t a question people typically asked each other, but it was necessary. No matter, they both shook their heads, but Munro hesitated. “You sure?”

“You know I switched my weapons, and I picked up a skill that might be Spirit-related—unusable at the moment. It wasn’t a cultivation method, just a technique. I’m not lying to you, just not sure I qualify.”

“Relax, I’m not accusing you. I, too, have some Spirit techniques and picked up a Spirit-based cultivation method but haven’t been able to find the right environment to practice it.”

“I’m not sure it matters,” Hooligan said. “Spirit usually emphasizes willpower because of its focus on ghost and illusion techniques. Supposedly, it makes you more sensitive to fate and karma, so you can sense the natural intent of the world.”

“Are you talking about faith?” Munro asked.

“Sure. That qualifies,” Hooligan said. “Faith is like karma and fate because they are Spirit-based, but you should be careful relying on faith. It is powerful but leaves you at the whim of your followers. Most of those religious organizations like to focus on healing. It’s one of the easiest ways to engender themselves to the public.”

“We can talk later,” Crow told them. “Let’s complete this so we can head toward the glacier.”