NOVEL NEXT Chapter 113: Exploration
We continued along our way, my mind still preoccupied with the previous scene I had just witnessed. It made me fearfully keep my head lowered as I did not dare raise in worry that I might just 'see' something else.
Trying to distract myself, I drew closer to my grandmother before asking casually. "Grandma, what is this place called?" I asked motioning to our surroundings. She glanced back at me for a second before answering in a calm tone. "The outskirts," She said.
"The outskirts? That's a..."
"Yes, a shitty name, what can I say the deities have a weird sense in naming stuff, they like their grandiose palaces, and care a lot about their images, then you see some of the stuff they name, and it's just..." Shaking her head she continued. "Ridiculous,"
I subconsciously nodded while studying my grandmother's features in interest. 'Grandma can be considered one of the nicest dragons I have met, she answers my questions, she is calm and seems rational, although she wasn't very happy when she met father, I suppose she did have her reasons, but still,' Just as I was thinking about that her eyes suddenly shone brightly as she grabbed my hand and dragged me along with such speed causing my feet to leave the ground.
"That's a Dela! Look Aether, you can eat that raw and its taste is just out of this world! It's a mixture of sweet and sour, surprisingly managing to be very savory!" She began rambling as we stopped in front of a small purple bush, right below it was a small red fruit with various purple patterns decorating it.
'Yes, I guess her only drawback is that she's a glutton,' I inwardly chuckled, 'But that's not bad, quite the opposite, that's way better than being a battle junky,' A chill suddenly ran down my spine as I unconsciously thought of my grandfather and father.
Shaking my head I quickly asked, "Does It help raize one's strength? Maybe gives some mystical powers, or perhaps improve one's connection to the mana?" Faced with my sudden assault of questions, grandmother chuckled as she calmly squatted down and plucked the fruit from under the bush before gently splitting it into two parts, one of which she handed to me.
I consciously glanced down at the golden liquid seeping out of It, my mouth quickly watered in anticipation as I gulped down. It was then that grandmother spoke, "For us, other than being extremely tasty, no It doesn't help with much, for some of the lower deities the nectar can be used for skincare, or so I heard, though If a mortal was to eat It," Chuckling sweetly she continued, "They would go out with a bang!" She said while spreading her arms wide imitating the image of a large explosion.
This made me freeze as the red fruit with purple patterns stopped before my mouth, I was unable to stop myself from asking, "S-So there is no problem with me eating it right?" I asked for confirmation, to which grandmother directly threw her half to her mouth, a blissful expression soon took over her face as she grabbed her cheeks with both hands with a radiant smile.
Seeing as how nothing happened, I slowly took a small bite from the strange fruit before my eyes widened, I didn't know what happened next as I was left licking my fingers with a satisfied face. "What the heck, that was too tasty!" I cried out to my grandma who nodded in understanding.
"I know right! Tch, damn Gods hoarding all the good stuff, It's only natural for us to enjoy some as well," She muttered the last part to herself, I didn't mind as I was still savoring the after taste, the fruit was truly a blend of sweet and sour, I didn't understand how that could possibly mix well before I took a bite, It was simply magical leaving me carving for more.
It was then that my stomach roared in protest earning me a hearty laugh from my grandmother. "We are just getting started little Aether, from now on you'll eat till you can't anymore!" She proudly declared before grabbing my hand once again, this time we took to the sky as we rushed towards the edge of the hills and closed in on the vague intimidating fog.
My eyes kept darting about, the scene of that gigantic leg passing through was still fresh on my mind, and so I was still a little bit unnerved. Glancing at grandmother's hand which was firmly holding on to mine, I slowly found myself calming down.
'That's right, I got grandmother with me, there is nothing for me to fear,' I noted.
It did not take us long before we found ourselves past the multicolored hills and deep inside the hazy fog. For a second, a chill ran down my spine as I felt goosebumps on my skin. The temperature seemed to drop by several degrees the second we stepped within, and I was unable to see anything surrounding me besides the hand that was holding on to me.
Even with my spirit vision, It felt as if the fog was obstructing my sight preventing me from seeing far ahead. The sky slowly disappeared, the mana stream and elements soon followed, and all that was left was that hazy grey fog. A loud boom suddenly sounded not too far from where we were at causing me to jump subconsciously as I put my guard up, surprisingly, however, grandmother was as cool as ever, she didn't seem to mind nor care as we continued towards our destination.
It was as If she could easily see through everything as we flew without stopping. Along the way, various faint shapes kept appearing and disappearing in the depths making me slightly nervous as each one had an unfathomable aura. 'Gods maybe?' I wondered.
Soon, however, we stepped out of the sea of fog. Bright sunlight assaulted my eyes forcing me to shut them for a second as I adjusted to the sudden glare before I curiously scanned the scenery before me. It was as If we had stepped into an entirely different world all together.
The purple sky that seemed to overlook the vast cosmos was gone, instead, a familiar blue one hangs above. A vast giant forest extended before us, each tree seemed to rise to the sky dwarfing me in size. Yet what made me pause in surprise was not the feeling of being so small as If I had suddenly stepped into the world of giants, no It was the tremendously big tree in the middle of It all.
It was still a distance away but I could vaguely make out its outline. Its sheer size could easily dwarf out my father who looked like a small mountain! I slowly turned my gaze to grandmother intending to ask. "Grandma, what is that thing?"
She slightly chuckled before replying, "That little Aether is a God, and our next food source," She said with a devilish smile.
"Food source?!"