NOVEL NEXT Chapter Eighty Seven
[I see, so that means Cythia…]
Yup! I ate her consciousness! There is no Cythia now, only Mellily!
And Mellily says that this stupid nuke tree thing has to go!
[You’re correct, we can’t waste any more time than we already have. It’s about time that you return to your body.]
Yeah! …Oh wait, does that mean that this isn’t my body right now?
[No. While Cythia had you locked away, I actually snuck you out of your body and back to me. It’s why I could show you so many things.]
A screen appeared in front of my vision again, showing me the familiar picture of the spooky tree and my corpse-minions fighting, only now my rotten-looking body was just standing there blankly and lifelessly now that mom was no longer in control.
[Your body is there, empty, waiting for you to return to it.]
Oh! Okay okay, so uh… How do I get to it, then…?
[All you have to do is simply leave, and your soul will automatically go to where it belongs.]
Ooooh! That sounds cool! And also, uh… scary. Wait a minute, there’s not a chance that I get rejected somehow even if mom’s not there anymore, right? Or like, that I pass on or something and get reincarnated instead? Gosh, that would suck sooo much if that happened by accident right now! I still have so much to do, Spirit!
[...If it worries you so, then I will take extra care to help guide you back, Mellily.]
Phew! Okay good, because yeah, you were right; I really was starting to get worried there!
[Yes, now if you would just-]
I should really thank you though before I go, Forest Spirit. You’ve done a lot for me, and I promise I’ll never forget this! I’ll definitely make the forest and the rest of the world a better place for you, I promise!
[I appreciate your kind words, Mellily. Now if you would please-]
Oh yeah, and before I go, I have one more thing I wanted to ask you about!
[...Haaa… Yes, my child?]
I wanted to ask you what the secret was to me growing things on myself! Because you know, mom really kind of screwed up how pretty my body looks, and I don’t really think looking like a decrepit freak is gonna help me achieve world peace very well! And also, um, being naked and… ‘boob-ed’ in front of everyone probably won’t win me any favors either, so I was thinking, um-
[Yes yes, I understand. Once you’re back in your body I’ll explain things properly to you there.]
Oooh, you will?! That’s great! So then you're saying I’ll still be able to talk to you like this once I’m back in my body, right?
[We don’t really have time for this right now, so why don’t you go to your body already, and find out?]
Well it’s just that-
[Leave!]
Okay okay, I’m going! Sheesh!
~~~
Opening my ‘eyes’ back into my own body was wayyy different than when I lost it! Unlike the swift but gradual fade away of mom replacing me, regaining my control and consciousness was so immediate that it was kinda really shocking! All of a sudden just poof, I’m back in business!
So uh… Now that I’m back again, what exactly is it that I should do?
Just because I replaced mom doesn’t mean that this big spooky nuke tree has gone away, and even if it’s not fully complete just yet, that doesn’t mean that it’s not actively pulling in a stray soul here and there. Honestly, I’m amazed that I can still hear people running around and screaming in the background with how many souls this thing must have already absorbed!
The fact that my minions are still running around fighting and wreaking havoc is also a bit of a problem really, because anyone they manage to kill is also fueling this damn tree. I wanna just put them away so there won’t be any more tree-feeding, but then the people that were fighting against them are just gonna come and fight against me
, you know? I guess for now the best thing I can do is rein them in a bit and have them go on the defensive until I can sort out how to take care of this tree. And then after that I guess beating a swift retreat is in order? Eh, I’ll play it by ear, we’ll see.
I’d already thoroughly made sure to stop all contact with the tree so that I wasn’t channeling any more power into it, but it doesn’t seem like that’s enough to hinder the damn thing. I’m pretty darn big now with how much carnage mom inflicted, heck I’m practically kaiju sized now, but this tree is so large and thick enough that I don’t think I’m gonna be able to pull it out! Besides, with how mystical and magical this thing is, I wouldn’t be surprised if just uprooting an Ankh tree wouldn't be enough to kill an Ankh tree, you know? So then what exactly is it that I’m supposed to do here? Am I gonna have to call Shui away from fighting and have it saw through this thing? Would that be enough to stop this biblically bad nuke tree?
Hey, oh great Spirit of the Forest or whatever! Weren’t you supposed to be helping me out with this? Give me a hint here or something, would ya?!
[Ah… I didn’t tell you how to remove it, did I?]
No, no you didn’t! So come on and tell me the answer already, before this thing gets even more out of control!
[Hmm… I would believe that all you have to do is counteract the evil that formed the tree in the first place. You have the power to purify, do you not? Unlike my other children, I specifically made sure that you grew it.]
Huh? I… do? Hey wait a minute, what do you mean you ‘made sure that I grew it’! Are you telling me that you had a hand in how I grew?!
[I influence how all my children grow, in one subtle way or another. But unlike the others, you were made to retrieve my lands, not just to defend them. I had to make sure that you would be able to fulfill that purpose once the time came.]
Oh… Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But don’t think we’re done with this topic, alright?! We’re totally gonna have a talk about this once I get everything settled here! And you’re also gonna tell me how to fix the way I look right now too, darn it! Don’t forget!
[Yes yes, my dear, I promise to listen when the time comes…]
Good! You’d better! Hmph!
Alright, lemme stop wasting time and get to the bottom of this stuff. Let’s see, let’s see, the power to purify, the power to purify… I’m sure my camellia flower isn’t the answer, since it would probably be labeled as the power to ‘attract’. My bleeding heart flowers only function as minion cores, I believe. And my mushrooms… Maybe they purify? I mean, the stuff that they suck the magic out of mostly turns into dusty husks afterwards like they’d been dried out though, and as much as I’d like to suck the magic back from this awful tree, I doubt that my magic sucking mushrooms would be what the Forest Spirit was saying would purify the land; If anything, it would probably just drain all the magic from everything and leave it a barren wasteland! Besides, I’ve tried plenty enough in my spare time; My mushrooms don’t seem to work on other plants, only on once living, breathing things.
I guess… that just leaves my Lily of the Valley flowers…?
You know, now that I think about it, I never really wanted my lily or bleeding heart flowers before they suddenly appeared, unlike with my camellia flower and mushrooms. Knowing what the bleeding heart flowers do, and how I acquired my minions, I’m sure the Forest Spirit must have snuck that power into me as its 'last ditch effort savior plant'. I guess it would make sense that the lilies on my head came about the same way if I think about it like that, huh? I mean don’t get me wrong, they bloomed at a very convenient time for me to use them to heal that capybara, but considering that the Forest Spirit has been watching me all this time, it only makes sense that the timing was so good, right? Am I right?!
I guess it also explains why growing the stupid lily of the valley’s that one time, instead of just using their healing power, did such a big freaking number on my resources, considering they’ve got such an important function!
Okay then! With how much more magic and nutrients I have at my disposal thanks to mom’s atrocities, I should be able to do it this time, right? I should be able to grow these freaking flowers! Just watch me! This spooky tree is going to look completely beautiful by the time I’m done!!!