“I said that I was going to save her and that has not changed at all. Even if it’s a Bubble Universe, it’s my job as the Hero to save her, especially someone as kind as her.”
I went a little too deep with this one. Not only do I have a serious look on my face, my blue eyes easily tell her my determination and will to make what I said a reality. However, another event has happened that I was not expecting at all the moment I said this. The Void Queen sharp eyes somewhat mellow down as I say this, a gentle, soft and small smile briefly appears on her face not only that, I could see Miranda in the corner of my eye doing the same thing although on her case, it was a glimpse as I still cannot see her eyes, you know, because of that.
“I know that, I was just answering your question.”
Her voice, unexpectable, matches the look on her face, it’s for the quiet side but also for the gentle side too. I would never have guessed such a cold person could have this range of emotions as she swiftly and perfectly switches her look to a serious one in a matter of a blink of an eye. Maybe, and I hope that it’s not my wishful thinking but, maybe the three of us can actually become friends, bonding together to defeat the Shadows Calamity.
“What am I supposed to do here then? Do I need to defeat all the Shadows and we are good to go?”
Just telling me to prevent the Shadows from taking over this place won’t tell me much and the reason for this is because of Kiana. Her story is far from over, if I deal with the Shadows present here, then, everything is done and solved. Can you see how improbable it is? And even something that is quite easy to achieve as I don’t sense any Shadows at all, let alone a Shadow that is strong enough to make me eat my words.
“That’s exactly what you need to do. As someone as strong as you are, you already have noticed that there aren’t any shadows in this vicinity; however, the same cannot be said about the other areas of this Bubble Universe.”
Well, that explains why I cannot sense any Shadows near us. At the same time though, what she said can mean that the other areas are isolated and I will only know the situation there once I go there. Now this brings more questions as for example, how do I access those areas? When do I know that I have to go to said areas? I cannot be everywhere at the same time and if I cannot sense what’s present in the other areas, this is going to be a pain in my Heroic and somewhat beautiful rear end. I will have to go back and forth trying to figure out what’s happening. If I could clone myself, I could easily leave one clone in each area and just go to the one that needed the most attention as the clones wouldn’t have my real strength, just a fraction.
“How am I supposed to know in which area needs my attention? Actually, can I even freely walk between them? Or will I have to go through an order?”
A thought just crossed my mind and that’s why I’ve asked this question. There is no need for me to worry about what I previously thought if I will have to go through said areas in a specific order. Clear them and move to the next one. The only worry that I have with this is the simple fact that, if I have to go back for some reason. However, while from here I’ve no clue what’s happening in those areas, the same cannot be said once I’m there… Hmm, it seems I will figure this out once I’m actually there. I doubt The Void Queen will waste her precious time laying down every single detail for me.
“You’re overthinking it, the more you progress with her story, the worse her state will be, allowing you to go to the correct area that needs your cleansing. And yes, you can move freely between them once you have unlocked them.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
What an odd way to phrase it but, I can understand what she’s saying. For now, as I’ve progressed so little with Kiana’s story, the majority if not all of the areas will be locked for me. Maybe I could force through and enter them, however, I have no clue the effect it can cause on our Kiana so, that’s a big no-no. What I also got from what she said is that, when an area is getting “consumed” by the Shadows, either it will tell the entire Bubble Universe or, I will be able to sense it. One of the two things will happen or a third one will. After all, Miranda is supposed to be my guide.
“That does make my life easier, however, I now have a question about your monsters.”
It’s nothing of this world but, she does seem quite intrigued as she does raise her left eyebrow by a little bit for a few moments. But what I mean by this is simple as we might talk all we want about the Shadows and how much of a cancer they are however, the Crystal monsters are also present here. Will I have to worry about them attacking me? Will they fight the Shadows? Or maybe they will do both and I will have to take care of both at the same time.
“Will they attack me just as they did previously? Can you order them to stand back if they see me?”
“They were not created by me.”
That left me speechless.
They are clearly Crystal Monsters, not only some of them I’ve seen in the real world, the new ones that I have discovered, they all share the same magic type not only that, they are extremely similar to each other, how in tarnation were they not created by her? Does that mean that someone else can do the same thing as her? But just as I was questioning this, she slowly points her index finger from her empty hand towards the sky, easily answering all my questions without saying a single word.
The Crystal Whale.
For some reason I completely forgot about it however, it does answer a few questions that I had and the ones that I currently have. First of all, I’ve mentioned that the Crystal Whale was here to protect something or someone, at that time I thought it was this lovely young lady in front of me but what I got from what she said, is that the Crystal Whale is protecting the Bubble Universe instead. Since the first time I was here I was thrown here by mistake, the Crystal Whale took me as a threat, making its minions, the Crystal monsters, try to eliminate me. If the Crystal Whale is the one creating new Crystal monsters it can also explain why there are new variants of them. But now I wonder, that thing is easily at SSS rank, that should be more than powerful enough to stop the Shadows from “consuming” this world, why am I here in the first place then? It does not make sense and the moment I open my mouth to let out this question to her, it seems time is up as her ornament in her head, the flower one with the magic flowing at the top of it, it gets a little “livelier” as it seems it got a “message” from the real world, telling her and me since I noticed that, that, the time is indeed up.
“Humph! It seems this is it Hero. Miranda, show him the place where he will stay. I will be gone for a few hours, use that time to rest.”
“A place to stay? Wait-”
Snap! Magic noises!
Alright, what do you mean by a place to stay? What about what I want? Huh? I also have rights! You can just simply and elegantly get up, turn around and walk a few steps and poof! Gone just like the wind! To make it even worse, Miranda takes off her cute apron as she told her to show me the way! You can’t do that! That’s far too cruel, man!
“You sure like to stare at my Empress, now do you?”
And why are you mad?
I mean, have you looked at your Empress at all?
With a rather annoyed tone of voice, she says this to me. Is this a damn question that I should not answer and just ignore it? I can tell her that her Empress is the forbidden fruit that can only be appreciated from afar although, I think my head will roll if I do say it so, better stay quiet then... Ah, the look on her face does match her tone of voice and by putting her right hand on her waist, she makes it even more evident that she's indeed mad at me for me looking at her Empress.
“Ahem! Would you kindly explain to me what she means by that?”
This was smooth if I say it myself, I was able to gently change the topic without her even noticing as I asked her with a stoic, manly and calm tone of voice followed with a confident look on my face and a determinate look on my blue eyes.
