Free Web NovelChapter 12: 12. Embraced by water
"This space again..." Alaric voice echoed in a vast expanse.
A still lake as far as the eye could see, reflecting the brilliance of the giant blue moon fix in the star filled sky.
The moon as bright as the sun, the only differentiating factor being it’s color, a serene calming blue unlike the majestic golden of the sun.
He stood on the still lake, the lake surface undisturbed by his presence.
" Still can’t believe it... " He raised his head, his crimson eyes reflecting the moon above.
" I am really in another world..." He chuckled to himself, a solem smile his lips ... " His gaze down, a clear image of a man clad in camouflage navy suit.
" Mark! " He exclaimed, as he stared at the image of his comrade in his old life.
This was his internal world, like a subconscious, a domain only prevail to him.
He discovered this place a few days after the strange occurrence leading to his elemental affinity changing.
Everything seemed surreal but after careful observation and analysis he was sure this was another world.
Remembering what his comrade in arms, mark had told him about reincarnation and rebirth.
He wasn’t a skeptic but didn’t really believe it, believing more of the existence of hell and heaven more than reincarnation but now here he was, six plus years in his new life.
" Sigh... " He stood there in silence lost in thought, the surface of the still lake flickering with images of his every thought.
"The damage is greater than I expected."
A familiar voice echoed through the vast expanse.
" I guess it’s time for me to wake up "
Like a shattered mirror, his mind’s world collapsed
Following that, a warm, refreshing sensation enveloped the entirety of his being.
Not his spiritual form, but physical body.
He felt as if he were drifting on a cloud, a similar sensation to whenever he would rest after a grueling training session in the Navy camp
He relaxed in his bed, brows relaxed, lips slightly curved as he allowed himself to relish the serene feeling.
Flick!
"Ow!" He opened his eyes, awakened by the sharp pain to his forehead.
"Wake up, it’s time for prayers," Vel smiled at him.
"Prayers?" he echoed, looking around the room.
In the Japanese-style bedroom, he lay on a futon. Around him stood Vel’s mother, a beautiful, well-endowed elf with short green hair and gentle brows, her emerald eyes staring at him with warmth.
In the corner of the room sat his mother, curled up as if under punishment, averting her gaze as she noticed Alaric looking at her.
"What did you tell her to make her like this?" he inquired of the other two women in the room, his tone straightforward, lacking the curiosity or innocence of a child.
"Nothing... let’s go..." Vel unceremoniously pulled Alaric out of bed, ignoring his question.
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A large towering tree stood in the center of the city of Irindor, its branches crossing the skies and extending to cover almost half the city.
Multicolored leaves adorned it, dots of light like fireflies dancing around it canopy.
Beastly cries could be heard from its top, as majestic dragons made their nests in its branches, flying in and out of their homes.
Its trunk as large as a football field, bronze-colored, and around it were thick vines rising from its base to the top, wisps of energy floating at its base.
Alaric craned his neck as he looked up at the tree, lost for words every time he saw the mountain-like flora.
"Bow down."
He felt a slap to his head and quickly knelt in the moss-covered field, bowing in worship like the thousands of elves around the tree, all gathered for the daily worship of the World Tree.
"Oh mother of nature, created by the One to protect His world... Oh mother of Chroma, your branches cover the entirety of the world, your roots holding the it together..."
He recited the prayer, bowing like the rest, but unlike them, he meant nothing by it.
He was not religious in his past life, and the last memory he had of worship was of a cult.
To him, this was a mere formality.
As usual, he believed he just needed to act. It only lasted five minutes after all, bow, recite some words, and go on his way, as it had been since he could walk.
But today was different. As he bowed, he noticed out of the corner of his eye blue wisps of energy moving toward him.
He ignored it at first, as these wisps were elemental spirits roaming around the World Tree, common to see.
But as he rose to bow again, he saw them directly before his eyes, tens, then more, then countless, blinding his vision.
He tried to ignore them and finish the prayer, but the wisps began moving into his body.
"What the f..."
Alarmed, he shot to his feet, his sudden movement causing those around him to turn.
That was when they noticed several water elemental spirits buzzing around him.
"Hey, don’t move..." Vel’s mother warned as she saw Alaric trying to swat them away.
He hesitated. The elves knew more about the World Tree than he did, and this was a new world, perhaps this was normal.
Though he wanted to swat them away, he stayed still heeding Vel’s mother’s word.
The blue wisps of energy entered his body.
One, two, three... a hundred.
The worship session ended, yet everyone remained silent, watching Alaric absorb wave after wave of elemental spirits.
"He is loved by water..." one elf murmured.
"If these were wood elemental spirits, he could become a high elf..." another whispered.
Alaric remained unmoving. He felt a serene sensation wash over him, like lying in a cool lake, and he found himself enjoying it.
"You are our chosen champion."
A voice reverberated in his head, multilayered, the voice of many yet sounding as one.
" Strange! " He opened his eyes, trying to understand what had just happened. That was when he noticed that all the elves who had been staring at him were now bowed, not toward the tree, but toward him.
The only one still standing was his mother and himself.
He looked around in confusion, both mother and son wearing the same expression.
"What was going on...?"
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A/N
2/2
