NOVEL NEXT Chapter 105: First Evolution
Panic set in like a painful vice around all my vital organs–my chest felt tight, and my stomach made the types of flips that made me want to hurl.
What happened to Eira? I thought as I continued to flip her disc-shaped egg in my palms. Did I… Did I kill her somehow?
That latter thought was too horrible to even allow in my mind.
I began pacing, clutching the etherea egg close to my chest. How would I have killed her? I followed Rodney's, the etherea expert, instructions flawlessly. And Eira hadn't hatched yet, making feeding her not yet necessary. So, I definitely hadn't starved her to death. But maybe she'd hatched while I was out!
I gently set the etherea egg back on the desk and scoured the room like a madman. I turned over every piece of furniture, accumulated piles of dust on my clean jumpsuit from climbing under the bed, and even pulled the soft, white covers off the mattress. It looked like my room had been ransacked by an intruder.
After at least half an hour passed by, I gave up and plopped down in the middle of the hard floor, planted my face in my hands, and groaned.
"Eira?" I called, my words sounding muffled through my fingers. "Where are you?"
My breathing felt constricted, so I moved to lay flat on my back and stare blankly at the dinghy ceiling. The thought of Eira being gone sent a pang through my chest. Somehow, I had already made a bond with the creature. Her disappearance had brought on more of a reaction within me than I would have guessed. It was almost like… Like when I'd lost the companionship of Codex in my head. The absence of Eira made my loneliness feel that much more stark.
My stomach rumbled at me, almost mocking the fact that I still hadn't retrieved dinner for myself. Even with the encouragement of my hunger pains, dragging myself to the mess hall didn't seem like something I was capable of at the moment. Besides, I'd be lucky to purchase a meal and eat it all before they closed for the night. If anything, I needed to wait to eat in the morning.
Just as I was about to succumb to my pathetic sorrow, skip the rest of my schoolwork, and climb into bed, I heard a high-pitched chirp.
I shot up straight, a beacon of hope resonating within me. The only thing I'd ever heard make a noise quite like that chirp was…
"Eira?"
The chirping continued, turning into an excited trill accompanied by a strong vibration that shook my entire desk.
I jumped to my feet and bolted toward the egg. Beams of light with purplish hues shot from the disc and bounced all around the walls and ceiling of the dormitory.
I whistled, impressed but not sure what I was witnessing. I peered into the egg and still only found the swirls of lightning-filled clouds within its contents–Eira was nowhere to be seen. But now, the cloud-like masses glowed an angry purple.
More trilling resounded. I craned my neck upward and toward the source of the eerie singing. My eyes widened once I saw her.
Instead of her previous, adolescent blob-like form, Eira hopped and flipped in the air above my head as something almost entirely new. She pranced around on four long legs akin to what I'd imagine a horse would do, except… Eira floated as she pranced instead of pounding her hooves into solid ground as a horse would.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The rest of her stark-white body had elongated into the majestic form of a horse-like creature. Her long neck, glowing mane and tail, and immaculate coat mesmerized me. Eira threw her head back with a pleased chirp (not a horse-like sound), and the motion drew my attention to the sparkling silver antlers protruding from the top of her head. The weird antennae on the baby etherea had grown into magnificent yet delicate branches. Eira looked mystical, majestic, and beautiful.
Her body still maintained her translucent quality, like she was a ghost. I reached up to try to pet her side, but my hand fell through her body as if I'd just tried to grab a handful of mist. My skin tingled from where I'd tried to make contact, and Eira seemed to like the unsuccessful pets. Her enormous, stormy blue eyes met mine, and I could've sworn she tried to smile at me.
"So, I'm guessing you hatched, huh?"
Eira fell back onto her hind legs and waved her front hooves in the air with excitement. She then climbed down toward my face, like she was treading on a set of unseen steps.
I ran both hands through Eira's projection again, in awe of her existence. She reminded me of the holographic version of Lord Solomon in his facilities. But if she wasn't corporeal, how was she supposed to help me in battle like everyone I'd talked to about ethereas said she could? Maybe she was a spellcaster. I couldn't wait to find out.
"Would you like to eat some food?" I said, remembering what Rodney had said about nourishing my pet once she hatched.
Eira threw her head back and released her own unique bray that really sounded like more of her ethereal, high-toned singing.
I fished out the white sack I'd bought from Rodney less than a week prior, then scooped out a single transparent marble about the size of the pad of my finger. I recalled the words of the merchant:
"Once your etherea has hatched and starts projecting herself out of the egg, stand close to her and crush one of these between your fingers. A powder will release, and your etherea's presence will draw the powder straight to her digestive system. You'll need to feed her once a day during her first evolution after hatching, then twice daily for every evolution after that."
I squeezed the solid marble between two fingers, surprised to feel it squish in my grip with ease. Upon first glance, the orbs seemed tough and sturdy. Just as Rodney had said, a white powder floated from between my fingers and hovered in the air like a cloud. Then, within seconds, every minuscule piece of the powder sped in a line toward Eira. The powder disappeared in a flash of white light, and I could only assume that she'd absorbed the strange food.
Eira threw her head back and forth in delight, making her brilliantly white mane flow in waves in the air surrounding her. She nudged her nose toward the bag of food, pleading with her eyes for more.
"No, no." I held the bag back behind my shoulder. "Rodney said once a day, then twice a day after your next evolution."
I studied my pet as she whimpered and dropped her head at my refusal to give her more food.
"I wonder what you'll look like when you evolve again," I said.
Though fascinated by Eira's playful galloping, I couldn't help but find my eyes drifting toward the digital clock that read 9:30. I still had a lot of work to do and also wanted to get a decent night's sleep before training with Nic in the morning and reporting for my first shift as a member of Elite Group #1 in the evening.
I stowed Eira's food back underneath my bed, then planted my hands on my hips. "Now, how do we put you away? Or are you going to stay projected and bouncing around my head forever?"
Eira didn't respond with any sort of sound–she didn't even look at me. But it seemed she understood my question. The bright beams of light dancing out of the etherea egg flickered off, and Eira's transparent, ghostly form disappeared along with them.
Slightly worried that I couldn't see her, I leaned over the egg to see if I could still catch any sign of her presence. Two eyes with their stormy hints of gray, blue, and purple stared right back at me. I could see only her pair of beautiful eyes–she had stored the rest of herself away somehow–but it made me feel better.
"Uh, thanks," I whispered to my pet, "for going back in your egg."
Her eyes blinked in response.
I tucked her egg back in the left corner of the desk and, unfortunately, got back to work.