One floor after another, Dana led the way for the rest of her group. With each floor, they would stop long enough to let Petra spread her shadow, grab the local level orb, and then move on. Like this, they were able to clear eight floors, and made their way into the seventy-fifth floor in under two hours. They had decided to add an extra floor to their list, given that they weren’t able to get the level orb that had been infected with the memetic powers of the sixty-seventh floor.
Of course, there were downsides that came with how quickly they were advancing. The most notable was the fact that they were unable to confirm any special qualities of these floors for the immediate moment, unless said quality was extremely apparent. For instance, the seventieth floor vaguely resembled the sixtieth in the fact that there were black stone walls scattered all over the place.
However, unlike the maze of the sixtieth floor, the seventieth floor’s walls were disconnected from one another, more resembling giant tombstones jutting from the ground. Each of these walls led to an isolated space, and Dana had to create a new spell specifically to identify which of the many walls would lead to the next layer.
When they arrived at the seventy-fifth floor, Lifre was practically bouncing on her heels, eager to get some excitement. “Did you do all the tests you wanted, Dana?” She asked, looking forward to having a turn to ‘play’ herself.
Dana nodded her head with a small smile. “I did, thanks. After all of this… I can say that an Origin is both stronger and weaker than we had assumed previously. I’ll be making a full report to the boss after I get back. Do you need me to stay to give you a ride?”
“No, I’m good! I’m still technically a priestess of Aurivy, so I can make a portal to send us back whenever I want.” Though, not to mention being a priestess, she was also a subordinate goddess, and could access Aurivy’s domains for herself if she really wanted.
Dana nodded her head once again, turning to look at Lena and Petra. “What about the two of you? Do you want me to take you back with me, or are you going to stay here?”
Petra looked around for a moment as she thought. It was currently night-time within the seventy-fifth floor of Fyor, but she could easily make out the towering mountains in the distance. “I think that I will remain, too.” She said with a nod, Lena quickly giving the same answer.
With a shrug of her shoulders, Dana’s body seemed to dissolve into darkness, leaving the trio alone. “So… what is she?” Petra couldn’t help but ask after Dana had left. “I’ve never heard of an Origin before… is that something special to the Keeper’s servants?”
“Not really.” Lena answered as Lifre began to lead the way, walking along the barren rock. “It’s a level of power that is supposedly above gods and the fallen. I don’t know the specifics, though. I’m still pretty new. All I know is that the Goddess Terra can temporarily turn into one, and that it consumes an astronomical amount of energy.”
Lifre’s head spun around to face Petra as she continued walking, grinning broadly. “I don’t really know, either! Dale’s been really hyped about this ever since Terra awakened the ability, though! Oh, but I do know that you won’t be able to become the Origin of Darkness. Apparently, Origins are actually unique! Even if you’re in another universe, you can’t be the same Origin as somebody else.”
Petra’s eyes widened at that, but she nodded her head. If Origins were truly unique, and Darkness had already been taken, then it was as good as the possibility for her to become one not existing at all. “So, where are we going?” She asked curiously, not sure if Lifre had any set destination in mind.
“On an adventure!” Lifre’s head spun back to face the front, her fist pumping into the air. “Let’s start by going to that mountain, and see if there are any local bosses for us to beat up!”
Lena gave a bitter smile at that suggestion, looking at the distant mountain. “Given the size of this layer, and the visible distance of the mountain, that should be about a light month away, right?”
Lifre couldn’t help but blink, letting out a laugh. “Wow! How crazy is it when we have to measure things within the same world in terms of ‘light distance’, as if it’s just a casual thing?”
However, Petra had a different question on her mind. “If that mountain really is so far away, isn’t it weird?” She asked, causing the others to turn to face her. “I mean, well, think about it. Even if the atmosphere is thin here, that mountain should be completely invisible to us at that distance, looking as if it were behind a dense cloud. Also, I don’t see any waves of light in between us and the mountain.”
“At that distance, there should be dozens of day cycles before we get there, but I don’t see anything. Isn’t that weird?” She asked, and the two looked forward again.
“Now that you mention it, I guess that’s right. I hadn’t thought about it because I haven’t been here in a while, but that is kinda strange.” Lifre said, Lena nodding in agreement.
“Want to go take a closer look?” She asked, but Petra’s face suddenly went pale. When she didn’t answer, Lena looked back at her in confusion. “Is everything okay?”
“Uhm… maybe? No, no, definitely not.” She shook her head, looking up. The sky was pitch black, with not a star to be seen. However, she couldn’t help but think about the words that Thelsa had just sent her.
There’s no mountain in that direction. Also, you are currently in the day cycle, according to the shadow world.
There had never been an instance where the shadow world and the main world had different day and night cycles. However, there was one thing that would potentially cause this difference. “Okay, so, I need you guys not to panic at what I’m about to say.”
“You have my attention.” Lifre spun around to face Petra, somehow more excited than ever, while Lena looked slightly concerned.
“Well… that’s not a mountain over there. My guess is… it’s a foot. Or a hoof. Also… it’s not night time here… we’re in a shadow.” Creatures did not get copied over the same way as physical landmarks when Petra spread her shadow, so it was only natural that she didn’t see this right away.
“Wait, but that would mean that… whatever it is, its body is… at least a ‘light month’ long?” She pointed out, while Lifre’s grin grew so large that her lips spread past her face.
“I wanna punch it! Oh, please, can I punch it?!” She asked, looking at the two of them. If Petra was right, that would make this creature along the same scale as the largest beast from the previous invasion.
“I don’t think punching it would do anything.” Lena pointed out. “How about we teleport up to the ceiling of this layer, so we can get a good view of it from above?”
Petra nodded her head, and Lifre created a portal with a snap of her fingers. The trio walked through, looking down at the massive, crawling creature. Its body was too large to fully observe, and it only barely seemed to be moving from their perspective.
This creature had a giant, black-furred hide, crawling on countless legs. Additionally, it was not alone. Though faint, they could barely make out the silhouette of another creature with a similar body structure walking alongside the first. Lena focused, her eyes pulsing with golden light. “I can sense… there are just under five hundred of these creatures in this layer. They are all either traveling alone or in very small family groups.”
“Those things have to be the apex predators of this layer, right?” Lifre asked, beaming with excitement. However, Lena shook her head.
“Actually, they seem to be herbivores…” She pointed out, causing Lifre’s jaw to quite literally begin dropping from her face.
“What plant could they possibly eat at that size?!” She asked, and Lena held a hand out, projecting an image in front of them. The image showed a large tree, as well as the figure of one of these crawling monsters walking up to it and leaning up to eat its leaves. “There… there is a tree that is bigger than them? No, since they’re spread out, there are multiple trees that big? You could fit entire solar systems in those branches, and you’re telling me that they just grow here naturally?”
“That’s right.” Lena nodded her head. “Also…” She snapped her fingers, and the projection began to zoom in on the tree, again and again, magnifying closer by the moment. Soon, the other two were able to see a small hole in the side of the tree, two slender figures watching the giant monster enjoy its meal.
“Are those Sylvans?” Petra asked in surprise, noticing the distinctly floral theme of the two individuals, with green skin and foliage clothing.
“They look similar, but no.” Lena rejected that idea immediately. “According to my scan, these are purely energy beings. They seem to have more in common with world spirits than anything else, though they also have faint traces of ki and mana.”
Lifre pouted slightly, looking at the projection. “Okay, but if those things aren’t the apex predator, what am I going to punch?! I came all the way here, I wanna punch something!”
Lena gave a knowing chuckle, shaking her head. “I’m not picking up any kind of predator. At least, not one at that scale. There are more insidious creatures that prey on the fruits of the tree, but the giant monsters seem to scare them off with their presence.”
“So there is something there!” Lifre beamed, before diving towards the projection. Lena froze, not sure what she intended to do, before seeing Lifre essentially enter the projection itself, disappearing from the space around them.
“…What did she just do? And how?” Petra asked, and it took a few moments for Lena to process it as well, watching Lifre charging at the plant-like people to try to talk to them.
“…Absurdity of Fate? If she viewed the projection as a gate, maybe she was able to teleport through it? My brain hurts.” As she said that, Lena sighed, opening a new portal for the two of them to enter.
On the other side of the portal, Lifre was happily waving at the surprised guards, her voice resonating with natural energy. “I come in peace! Show me where the bad monsters are, so I can punch them! Also, I really like your tree!”
Julia was just getting ready to start her first live stream, following Aurivy’s advice. It had been so long since she had done anything like this, but she was excited to give it a try again. However, as she had finished setting up her streamer account, she heard Aurivy suddenly burst out in laughter from the other room.
Curious, Julia went to investigate, finding Aurivy leaning back on the couch and holding her sides. “You okay, Rivy?” She asked, and Aurivy simply kept laughing for a moment, before wiping her face.
“Oh, yeah, I’m great, Jules. I was just taking a look at what Lifre was up to… Side note, I found the biggest tree ever. Totally going to take you there later, for inspiration on your divine abilities, by the way. I’m talking massive. You could fit the Earth a hundred times over on a single leaf.”
Julia couldn’t help but blink at that. “There’s no way that a tree that large would be able to support its own weight, right?”
When Aurivy heard that, she simply grinned. “There are stranger things in heaven and earth…”
“You’re using old world references again, Rivy!” Julia said with a faint pout.
