I saw two giant Gatarototus lying in front of the house, and broken pieces of the fence. It was in really bad shape. Its fur was torn apart in many places. On its neck, there was a deep wound — so deep that you could see the bones. Its face was smashed, it was missing a leg; it seemed something had bitten it off. Did another Gatarototus do this, or did something even more powerful come?
Suddenly, I felt gust of magic waves.
From behind me, some vines of the Beda tree came at high speed, grabbed the corpse, pulled it upwards, wrapped it in vines, and started absorbing the mighty Gatarototus. And just like that, another of these fiends disappeared like nothing. Then, again using its vines, the Raga Beda tree (the one under which my shabby house and underground library stood) fixed the broken fence.
"I think this Gatarototus was bigger than the previous ones I saw 'thousands of years' ago. What do you think, Gar?"
"Gar!... Sigh! Yes, but you are the reason."
Why was he sighing? If I'm giving him permission to use my short name, I have the permission to use his too. Besides, he's my follower now. Hehe, a god! And now my follower. [ ;) ]
Well, Shila isn't here, but he's taking her place with his annoying attitude just like her. How can I be responsible for this scary, hideous creature?
"How am I responsible now!?"
"You don't know? How shocking! (Really, he's just asking for a beating.) Your breath technique — more precisely, the by product of your breathing technique. When you breathe in, you take in some mana with the air. Then inside your body, you dismantle it, recreate, trim, compress, or expand it — I mean, somehow, you're making it way more powerful than its original form. And when you breathe out, some of it leaks. Because of that, every creature near your house, even if they are not using your breathing technique directly are inhaling your mana and becomes more powerful. That's also why Shila is transforming into a king spirit too. And since you're living at the eye of the forest, the mana density here has become far heavier. In the future, I won't be shocked if these monsters even learned your way of breathing."
Ah! I really am the reason for this chaos. (+_+)
"But anyway, what happened to it for the Gatarototus to end up in this state? Did adventurers attack? Or because of the thick mana, did a new creature appear? Or something else?"
Really, I'm scared. Maybe I'm a bezelian years old, but for me, it was just a long study — nothing else. I'm just a little boy!
"Why don't you check yourself? (^^) With your knowledge, it's possible for you to sense whether it was a human or another creature."
"But to know that, I would have to know which animal produces what kind of mana or breathing. I can differentiate between the different types of mana, and I can also see the thermal picture of the area if I concentrate mana in my eyes, but I don't have any practical experience. So it's no use now."
Gargian scratched his forehead while thinking upside down, floating around me. He was making so many expressions in a short amount of time, I was amazed.
"Ah! Got it. We need to go on a adventure. You may be smart, but you're a fool when it comes to things outside of books. And aren't you curious about the outside world beyond these fences too?"
"I am... but what about the monsters?"
"What about them? Did you forget your first encounter with me? You can defend yourself against a god, so this is nothing."
"But I lost in the end, right?"
"Don't worry. Now, only gods can pull Shila out from the spirit realm. And moreover, we Gods can't get involved directly unless it's related to world abolishment. Besides, Shila will be a king spirit soon. So you don't need to be so anxious, okay? Just think about the adventure."
"Hmmmm, um... okay, but I was never the type of guy who traveled a lot. I was a lazy person and introverted... or maybe ambivert."
"Sigh, if you stick to this weird tree any longer, you'll go crazy, you know. And you won't get anywhere — I mean, you won't be able to live a proper life here."
"Ok."
"I can't hear you."
"I said yes, okay? So are you coming or not?"
Oh god, am I really doing the right thing for me? I don't know. It's true that I don't like crowds, but I don't want to be left alone either. At least I want to have one person who will be with me.
I only had my mother and sister in my previous life. In this life, I was with Shila, but now she isn't here when I'm really confused about everything, and now this weird god is sticking with me. In this journey, will I be able to meet someone who will always be with me, with whom I can share all my thoughts... who knows?
Finally, after a lot of ups and downs, after coming to this world, I am finally leaving the Raga Veda tree. I'm taking a last look at everything before leaving. I checked every magic circle and fixed them, and I also installed some new ones too. Without Shila, this house feels really lonely—
"Luo! (He screamed like an annoying crow.) Luo, come fast, look what I got!"
Agh... I was in the mood! Did he really have to ruin it? He better have a good reason for it.
He was in my parents' room. I don't go there, because it triggers memories of them, and I don't want to see it. No, I can't handle it. Losing loved ones is painful — very painful. So I waited outside the room and asked him the reason. He insisted I come and see. Agh...
"If you have something to show, bring it outside. Otherwise, forget it." I said that angrily because I was pissed.
"Geez, you are so stingy! Ok, ok, I'm bringing it."
He brought a deep green robe, a beautiful one. It had fine embroidery work, like that painting in the library. On the side, there was golden vine work. But suddenly, my eyes started flowing. I couldn't stop, and the memories started to come—
---
[A woman is saying something to a man. I can't properly see their faces.
"Honey, you're really working hard, huh?"
"Yes, because it will be for my dearest son. I don't think I'll be able to do much after this year. My condition won't improve, but I want to give him something at least."
"But you're pouring mana into each thread while working. It will worsen your condition."
"So what? I can't be there for him when he'll need me. At least, I want to be there this way. So don't stop me."
"I can't beat you, huh? Well, I never could in the first place. But let me help too — he's my son too."
"You suck at this, so you'll be a burden. Get lost." (He gave puppy-dog eyes, and she fell for it.)
"Okay, then go and make a powerful wand for our boy. You're not half-bad when it comes to wands."
"I'll show you my skills then. I'll make it so good he'll like it more than the robe you're making!"
And both of them laughed it out.]
---
The dream broke with a frantic shouting—
"Luo! Luo! Wake up! Wake up! The house is on fire — hurry! Aaaaa, Luo!"
Everything around me blurred. The memories, the warmth, the sorrow — all of it was torn away by the urgent cries.
I snapped back to reality, heart pounding, the robe still clutched in my hands.