It can speak?!

Kyte’s expression was a mix of fear, amazement, shock, and interest. So many thoughts were bouncing around in his head that he almost forgot he couldn’t breath. He immediately created an air bubble around his head, giving enough room for him to breathe for a few minutes before recycling the air. He still couldn’t see the creature in-front of him; only that one eye was visible as it shined with a brilliance that seemed to stare into Kyte’s soul.

“U-umm...hello?” Kyte managed to mutter.

“....That the best you could do?”

“...”

“Right, right. I forgot how weak humans are. You always cower in fear in the presence of something greater than you. You fear the unknown. You fear change. Whether it be laziness or just downright unwillingness, you humans can never change because you don’t have the desire to.”

“...Well, you’re not wrong. However, you’re not completely correct, either.”

Kyte struggled to his feet. He barely managed to stand up straight and stare directly into the creature’s eye.

“Oh? How so?”

“I’m assuming you haven’t seen human civilization in its entirety or humans in quite a long time, so you’re opinion on us as a species is quite biased, don’t you think?”

“Biased? MY opinion is biased? Human, I have the capability to discover your age. You’re not even a hundred years old yet you’re talking to me about opinions? About civilization? You’re lucky to to even be in my presence.”

“That’s right. I’m only eighteen. Does that disqualify me from having a decent conversation with you? You’ll never know about what’s happened in the outside world if you don’t speak with me, you know.”

“You’re quite confident in yourself. Even if you did know what was happening, do you have the capability to comprehend it?”

“...What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? Haha, laughable! You truly don’t know? Well, that’s what happens when the old don’t educate their young.”

“Stop playing around and just tell me.”

“Even if I told you, it wouldn’t matter. Your insignificant power is truly too weak to even be in the presence of the truth. Speaking about power, what are you doing down here? Someone as puny as you shouldn’t even know of this place.”

“Should or shouldn’t, it doesn’t matter. You think I’m weak? I know things that you don’t even know. You see, there’s always two sides to everything. Maybe even three. You just sit here, in this darkness, without a care in the world for what’s happening. You know the truth? So what? This isn’t the only universe.”

“Hmm? Oh, I see. Now that you know you’re insignificant, you play the ‘more than one universe card’. What, next you’re going to say there’s always something stronger? There’s something stronger than me? What do you know? You don’t know the slightest about the real essence of this world. What do you know?! Were you ripped from your home and forcefully placed in a world of darkness for thousands of years?! Was your family slaughtered in-front of you while you were forced to watch?! How about your entire planet being destroyed just because you’re special?!!”

The eye’s golden brilliance changed into a deep red that resonated a profound hatred. The red lines that spiraled around the iris transformed into black and they seemed to move along with the pulsating energy of anger. Kyte instantly fell to his knees underneath such intense pressure. He could feel that deep hatred. It was stronger than any emotion he ever felt before.

The eye returned to its normal golden brilliance a couple seconds after the outburst.

“My apologies. Having a conversation with another intelligent species after thirty thousand years has quite a profound effect.”

“I probably would’ve done the same. You said you’ve down here for thirty thousand years? Why?”

“.........I can sense that you mean no harm. At least you have no ulterior motives. I can sense a sort of...scientific wonder inside you. You yearn for answers that you may never be able to obtain.”

“Ok...that still doesn’t answer my question.”

“The reason why I’m done here? It’s quite simple, really. You see this array on the floor?”

“Array? You mean formation?”

“Formation, array, same thing. I know you’ve noticed it. You want to know what it does?”

“Yes.”

“Heh, it’s sort of...shameful to say. This formation leeches my power. It takes away just as much as I recover. However, I was reduced to one percent of my full power a long time ago. This tree prevents me from leaving. Did you try to break the wood?”

“Um...no, I did not.”

“Well, even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to. This tree doesn’t originate from this planet. I’m not sure where it came from, actually. All I know is that it’s my cage. It keeps me here, locked away in the bottom of some lake on some part of this planet. I have my energy continuously sucked out of me for tens of thousands of years. For what? I don’t even know the purpose of this torture.”

“...You sound like you’re in quite the pinch here, Mr. creature-sir. Would there be a way to get you out of here?”

“....HAHAHA! That’s what you want to know? Besides, why would you want me to be uncaged? Aren’t you afraid that I would kill you and then go on a rampage in this world?”

“Well, you haven’t killed me now. Plus, I believe you to not be the type of being that would slaughter the innocent.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because of what you told me earlier. You told me that your family was slaughtered. Your planet destroyed. Why would someone who witnessed the slaughter of the innocent, against their will, want to repeat that action? Besides, I also believe the powers that caged you are much more powerful than the ones I know of.”

“...Hmph. You’re quite intelligent, aren’t you? That’s right. I would never repeat the action used by the ones that destroyed my people. Although I have a deep hatred, I have no desire for vengeance. The only desire I have is to know the truth behind my people’s eradication."

A bright light manifested into being in the middle of the floor. It emitted light that spread to the perimeter of the spiral trunk. The entire body of the creature was presented within that light, however, Kyte was unable to perceive the full length of its body before it suddenly flashed with light.

The long serpent-like body disappeared. In its place was now a humanoid body. It was a bit shorter than Kyte. It had long, deep blue hair and it seemed to be...wait…

“Why are you a female?” Kyte asked.

“...Are you gay?”

“What? No, of course not! I only asked why you’re female. Your voice from before was obviously that of a male’s.”

“Oh, I don’t have a gender. Well, to be precise, I don't remember what my gender was. I took this form solely based on your own interpretation of beauty. You see, I at least want some dignity when I present myself.”

“Your other body was quite fear-inducing but now you’re just really great to look at. Especially since you’re naked…?”

“Ah, I forgot about that. Taking the form of a Sea Emperor means you don’t need clothing.”

“I see...so why are you still naked?”

“I don’t have clothes.”

“Right.”

Kyte walked forward and pulled some clothing out from the storage necklace. He was trying his best not to stare at the magnificent body that was presented to him. It was even more difficult knowing that the creature purposefully chose it based on Kyte’s own image of beauty. He didn’t know why it had transformed nor why it suddenly grew more intimate. Actually, he was incredibly confused at the developments that took placed. Originally, he was just going with the flow of the conversation like he usually does. He didn’t expect things to take such an unexpected turn.

“Why are you giving me clothing? Don’t you prefer me without them?”

“Uh, that’s true, but I would be too difficult to concentrate when you’re naked.”

“Oh. I’m not originally human so I forgot about their insatiable lust.”

“It’s not insatiable. Some people are different than others. Fortunately, I’m able to keep myself under control. There’s a difference between actually performing the action and just observing. Sometimes the only thing you can do is observe.”

“Hm. It was a bit different back when I was visited often by humans. The men always had several wives and for some reason the women were alright with that. The men would have approximately twenty children but I doubt that’s how much they actually copulated.”

“Really? Wow, times have changed. Of course, there is a certain area that I haven’t traveled to yet. I don’t know if those same practices are occurring in that place or not.”

The creature took the clothes Kyte handed to it and put them on. The clothing was just regular sweatpants and a t-shirt and, although they were immediately wet because of the water situation, they managed to cover what should be. You would think the clothing would be see-through, right? Wrong. Why would clothing Kyte stored have the deficiency of being see-through? That’s just stupid.

“Thanks for the clothes, I guess?”

“...That should be fine. So, are you going to tell me a way to get you out of here?”

“What’s the real reason you want to help me? I know it’s not because of an act of chivalry. You don’t really care about honor or upholding justice.”

“You’re right. I don’t give a damn about chivalry. It’s a waste of my time. I’ll only give respect to someone or thing that earns my respect. Doesn’t matter if you’re stronger than me or not. Anyway, the reason why I want to get you out is because...well, I just want you help me. It’s like a compromise. I help you, you help me. Everyone’s happy.”

“As much as I want to leave this prison, it is impossible to break me out. This tree has a natural sealing effect which is perfectly paired with the array. Not only that, but the array itself is far beyond anything you’ve ever seen before. I can tell, because this array doesn’t originate from this world.”

“I see. So, I’ll just have to come back when I’m strong enough to destroy this place. Before I leave, I want to ask you a question.”

“What is it?”

“What exactly are you?”

“Hmph...you mean what was I. Right now I’m just a spirit of my former self. I’ve retained all of my memories and power. I don’t know how they did it. It’s like they stripped away my physical body and somehow created a way to stop my spiritual self from fading away. Although, thanks to that, I’m able to shapeshift.”

“Interesting...stripping away the physical body without losing the spiritual body. Does that include both the consciousness and soul or just one of them?...”

“What are you mumbling about over there? You do know you’ll never figure it out, right?”

“It doesn’t hurt to try. You see, that’s one thing that I’ve learned. There’s always more than one path to a goal. If one way doesn’t work, choose another. If there is no other path, create one. Sometimes, you just have to go with the flow. I’ll be leaving now, creature.”

“My name is Sistaina.”

“Sistaina? That’s a pretty feminine name.”

“Really? It was pretty normal for...I can’t remember anymore. It’s been too long.”

“-Ah, two more questions.”

“Hm?”

“Why are you so open with me?”

“Why…? That’s a good question. Maybe it’s because you’re the first intelligent being I’ve encountered in tens of thousands of years. Along with that, you don’t have any malicious intentions toward me. Although I can sense your growing lust the more you look at this form. Lastly, you’re my only hope I have to ever leave this place. That sounds a bit shameful coming from my mouth, however, I have nothing else.”

“I see. Now for my last question. What do you know about the Dread Ruins and the surge of energy that spread through the continent?”

“Dread Ruins?...So that’s what disrupted the forest. This tree naturally blocked the energy from reaching me and the lake. The Dread Ruins existed even when I was first brought here. I don’t know anything else, except that it was opened once before.”

“Really? What happened at that time?”

“Nothing good. I can’t be certain because I was locked away down here, but the effects of the energy naturally faded away ten thousand years after the Ruins were sealed again. Unfortunately I do not know of the events that occurred during that time.”

“...I was kinda expecting that. Thanks for the info., Sistaina.”

“Glad I could be of some help. I wish I could give you more, however, I am extremely limited as I am.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back. I don’t know when, but I will. Now, could you lift your pressure so I could fly out of here?”

“Ah, right. Sorry about that.”

“No problem. I’m leaving no-”

“Wait, let me see your face before you go.”

“?...Well, it’s only natural.”

Kyte took off the hood which cast a shadow over his face. His deep, void-like black hair drifted down. It was long enough to cover his eyes so he slicked it back with one hand, keeping it from hiding his face. His black eyes stared into the creature’s own as they locked eye contact.

“Your hair and eyes...they seem to be influenced by something. I’ve never seen something like it before.”

“Well, that’s something that even I don’t know about. Anyway, you satisfied?”

“Yes, that’s good enough. I won’t forget your face or the feeling you give off. I’ll be waiting here.”

“Not like you have anywhere else to go. I’ll be leaving now. See you when I get back.”

“Bye.”

Kyte lifted off the floor and began to ‘fly’ upward. He noticed Sistaina’s deep longing and sadness when she spoke the word “bye”. For a creature to have been stuck in a world of darkness for about thirty thousand years with little or no contact with any other living thing...it’s quite terrifying if you think about it. Kyte also decided to cut his hair when he arrived in the core. Having such long hair isn’t that good of an idea.

Out of all the people she could have chosen, she chose to look exactly like Akina. She stated she transformed into my own interpretation of beauty?...Now that I think about it...Ah, stop that. First I have to get out here. Second, I have leave this stupid forest. I’ll take care of my women problems when I get to it.

No, there is no April Fool's joke. I was thinking of making one but I'm too lazy haha. Anyway, this chapter is apparently longer than the previous ones. I didn't think I had typed that much until I checked on WordCounter and discovered that this chapter is more than 2400 words. Mainly dialogue, but that was inevitable.

And no, there is no harem. Don't even ask. To be clear, my definition of a harem is when 3 or more girls are romantically involved with one man. If it's sexual then it doesn't really count. That's just the dude being a baller.

Anyway. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. The spirit at the bottom of the lake may be a lot more important than you might think...