A long, snake-like, pale limb was shortening and moving. Its hand was holding onto a girl covered in blood. Her kneecaps were visible and deprived of skin; her blue face was now red with empty eye sockets visible from her open eyelashes.
The pale hand was dragging the girl from one crack to another, going deeper and deeper into the tree; leaving a trail of blood and pieces of broken bones.
The pale hand dived into a small black pond inside the tree!
The blue and red woman too was submerged into the water; soon the hand shot out of the water to collect something else.
…
So Flieday felt warm and comfortable. It was blissful. Her eyes shot open immediately as she recalled the past event.
What?
It was total darkness, there was a faint sound of someone breathing beside her and no sound otherwise. It was calm; as Flieday tried to sit up she realized that she was not laying on soft soil as she had imagined — rather, she was floating in water.
She moved her legs, feeling the water move around her as the realization dawned on her — She was completely healed!
She did not feel any covering around her body too, as if she had been brought back to life.
[ I see…You have woken up]
"Who's there?" Flieday spoke with a firm voice.
If there is no light source here, then the voice cannot see me… i can use that
[Do not get paranoid, there is no one here except for you and your male companion.]
Wait! Is this voice… where is this voice coming from
"Then who is talking to me?"
[I am nothing but a spirit]
"What about Hadrien, did you heal him too?"
[Heal? There is no such thing as healing… but you do not need to know that right now]
"What is a spirit?"
Flieday was not exactly calm; instead, she was hundred percent sure that 'the voice' was a beast. However, she also had a vague idea that the voice had saved her and Hadrien's life; the key to her survival was knowing why the voice had saved them.
The voice exists in my mind, or rather it is communicating directly to my mind
[It is a complex imitation or preservation of a sentient being. You do not need to know the specifics. Are you familiar with the word Requim?]
The voice was neither ethereal nor corrupt. It was devoid of any characteristics being something indescribable.
"No."
[do Chinen of your age possess any kind of mystical abilities?]
Mystical abilities? My sister used to– I will think about her once I have saved her.
"No."
The voice went silent for a few seconds before it… chuckled? No, it was laughing!
[... It worked! I am going to be the first!]
[Your species is a thousand days old… celebrate your blessing, Chinen! You will become the heir to the first treasury of the gods!]
***
[Have you ever killed someone]
The voice lingered in Flieday's mind for longer than usual. Flieday inwardly felt quite conflicted, wondering what twisted game the voice would make them play. She knew that the voice was something way beyond herself thus, she had to be vigilant.
"No."
Her voice was barely above a whisper, testing the voice's capabilities.
If I were forced to kill Hadrien, would I be able to do it?
[Do you want to live?]
"Yes."
No! I cannot kill him; He is my partner. That is the right thing to think.
[There is a needle in your heart. If you do not do as I say, you will perish]
"Is there one in Hadrien's heart too?"
[No. there is no need to do so. It will take him days to revert.]
Flieday's lips trembled for a bit, then she opened her mouth to say something before closing it. In the end, all she said was something emotionless.
"...What do you want me to do?"
[Place a heart of a Chinen like you on this bedrock tree in three Dawnlays.]
What?
[The heart should not be of you, but it can be of any other Chinen. It would be better if the Chinen is similar to you.]
"Why d-"
Before she could ask about something else, a pale hand grabbed her, her bare body shimmered with light as a covering enveloped her.
The pale hand dragged her away from the warm pond, away from Hadrien. It had her go from one crack to another before she was thrown out of the bedrock tree.
Before she could understand anything, she saw something horrifying.
A huge ape was standing in front of a blond girl. The ape had golden fur and red eyes, with its body being about 10 metres tall; Its limbs were thin and frail in proportion but were as thick as a log as of themselves. Its long tail was tucked around its neck as it stared at the young girl.
The young girl was covered in a weird type of mixture of leaves. Her body was covered in a thin and elastic layer of black leaves, which showed no signs of being bound to her by vines. The leaves seemed to be a single covering with no vines or grass connecting them.
On top of the black covering there was a layer of thin but strong animal covering dyed black and covering her like armour. Her feet were covered in thick pieces of the same material, helping her get a better grip.
But such amazing clothes could not please her; after all, a mystical beast was standing in front of her. Or was it?
How would she know if it was a graded beast or an ordinary one?
In this world, there were mystical beasts, or graded beasts, and ordinary beasts. People usually called ordinary beasts "animals," but in reality, every living being is a type of beast. At least, that's what her tribe believed.
[This is a Requim beast of grade -]
"What's a Requim beast?"
[It has the capabilities of the second grade.]
What am I doing here? Why am I trying this hard?
… And why am I not being affected by that creature's gravity