Re:Monster - Soul Eater

Day 106 - 110

- Day 106

Hazuki and I made it back to camp early in the morning, just as the others were beginning to stir. Naturally, they understood what happened to us at a glance, especially with Hazuki's arms wrapped around my own and her tail raised behind her back with a slight twitch at the tip. She quickly averted her gaze from the others, releasing me from her grasp while her tail remained as upright as before. A few members of the group managed to stifle a chuckle but not enough to avoid being noticed by Hazuki who flushed a deep red. I couldn't help but chuckle at her myself, placing my hand lightly on her shoulder as she puffed up in mock anger. By that point, the others couldn't help but join in. A surprisingly happy morning considering what happened last night, not that I'm complaining.

Speaking of which, because of Hazuki's little rampage, I got a chance to try out my new {Bright Seal: Shadow Elimination} skill. It seemed to have made it impossible to use the skill without my consent, which would be easy to ask for with {Ally Communication}. Of course, I intended to remove the seal once she has full control over the skill.

When the merchant woke up, we were able to get back on track, making our way towards Shiltvelt once more. Apparently, it would take another two days to get there, including today. The merchant and I spoke some more and I asked him about whether he knew about anyone known as the [Daughter of Flame], [Prideful Gladiator] or [Man of War]. He gave it some thought and managed to list off a few people he thought might fit the description for [Prideful Gladiator], who would be appearing in the tournament in Shiltvelt. Of course, he made sure to preface his opinion by saying that most gladiators with any reputation for winning their fights tended to have at least a modicum of pride.

When it came to [Man of War], his mind went straight to a few generals he knew of that had made their names during previous wars or smaller battles with a few warmongering lords and nobles tossed in for good measure, none of whom were in Shiltvelt. Honestly, I had hoped that my {Intuition} would let me know if anything sounded right but so far, nothing.

The merchant had far fewer ideas about who the [Daughter of Flame] could be. Only two, in fact. The first, a bandit queen that made her base to the east of the city that the well endowed holy woman told me about. It would certainly be worth a look. I could kill two birds with one stone; Three, if I'm lucky. I could stop the kidnapping, find the [Daughter of Flame] and take out (eat) a group of bandits. The second option wouldn't leave me with such pleasant circumstances. Apparently, when he was a child, the merchant's maid used to tell him stories about the [Elemental Mothers]. According to the story, these creatures, spirits in all likelihood, were the first beings that the gods blessed with the ability to manipulate the elements.

Apparently, the four spirits spread out to every part of the world, spreading the elements wherever they went. The mother of wind breathed life into the stale, still air. The mother of water, of course, created the oceans, rivers and every other body of water. The mother of earth, took a page out of the wind mother's book and breathed life into the barren land, allowing the grass, plants, trees and all other parts of nature to flourish. Finally, the mother of fire, who was scorned by her sisters for being a source of destruction, retreated beneath the ground, where her sisters locked her away for eternity. The story says that her rage at her unfair treatment causes the molten lava to rise every so often, resulting in spots where the other mothers can't keep her contained; Volcanoes.

I decided not to tell the merchant, but if that story has any ounce of truth to it, and considering that gods do indeed exist, it's very possible, then the mother of fire retreating into the earth would have created, or otherwise done something to, the core. Her sacrifice or imprisonment, whichever it truly was, resulted in the planet attaining stability. I'll admit, I could respect that, even if I don't quite understand the whole "self sacrifice" schtick. Whether the story is true or not, would be debatable but certainly worth looking into. In all likelihood, the story itself was probably made up by the maid to get him to listen to his mother more.