He stood up and approached her, hoping to form a bond with her through soul link. But to his surprise, Pearl took a few steps back.
"..."
' She still doesn't trust me?'
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If she is still hesitant, then why all the drama?
' Do I have to prove myself before she becomes completely willing?'
He sighed at his predicament and retraced his steps, observing the spring.
" Do you know the locations of similar springs?"
A series of similar flashbacks in black and white encompassed his mind.
From what he saw, they were similar springs across the spirit realm. Some were even larger and richer in life essence, but strong, favourite beasts always guarded them.
From the great lengths she went to move around them, it was clear she was extremely wary of the spring guardians.
He then saw the moons, and the emphasis on the repeated memory of the third moon's appearance.
' Strange...'
' Is there something wrong with the third moon?'
He eyed Pearl with confusion, which prompted her to show him the next vision.
A behemoth of a bird several stories high, with a wingspan the length of several buses, and each feather not only sharper and deadlier than any object he had seen on Earth but had the toughness of steel to back it up.
Its talons could smash mountains into rubble, its attributes granting it mastery over the laws of wind and steel — a cyclone.
Tsunami took deep breaths when the connection to Pearl's memories was severed.
'That thing can create tornadoes and wield them like weapons. '
He looked up at the sky and confirmed that there were only two moons at the moment.
' Katarina told me, the moon's appearance can help one keep track of time in the spirit realm.'
' Unlike the real world, which has 24 hours in a day, the spirit realm has longer days of 100 hours'
' There are no stars, but ten moons that appear and disappear every 10th hr '
He moved his fingers like an old scholar calculating figures
' From midnight to now, about 26 hrs have passed.'
' That means I only have about four hrs, maybe less, to absorb this essence, before that cyclone comes back'
Without further ado, he jumped into the spring, causing a splash.
By the time he had settled and was about to start his absorption, he turned back and was shocked to find Pearl lying down.
"..."
' Is there something wrong with her legs, or is she always this lazy?'
Pearl never minded his odd looks, summoned a door that appeared on the other end of the spring, whizzing past several tall bushes and severing their connection to the ground. Before another door appeared next to her, a heap of grass and leaves formed.
She lowered her head on the makeshift pillow and closed her eyes.
"..."
Tsunami was out of words.
...
Back into the task at hand, reality struck; the amount of essence that his soul was absorbing was a much smaller fraction of the entire amount found in the spring.
He willed his system to appear, but what he saw nearly made his eyes pop out of their sockets.
***
Available pleasure points: - 880, 600
***
' That darn mansion! '
He seethed.
' How long has it been for it to charge me that high? '
He tried to calculate it, and the only way the number came close to what he was seeing was if 4 weeks had passed in the real world.
'This can't go on'
' There must be a limit to its ability to siphon my essence '
' Maybe a certain distance, or an artifact that can shield me from its might '
' But something that can counter it can only be a god level artifact— where am I going to get that. '
He looked at his inventory of artifacts, which consisted of the [Ghost Cloak] and [Hand Break].
***
[Ghost Cloak] description: [ A witch of the netherworld liked her human toys. She hung them in her abandoned tower and defiled them with dresses and powder. They were all men, mighty and strong, but to her they were her favourite dolls. Her hums would send chills to the poor souls, for they knew it was time for a game that would never end— "Is it your turn, Federick?" She would jump and dance in her high heels, her makeup bag in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. One doll escaped his confines and used his nails to peel some flesh off her cheek in fury. His deepest wish was to escape the witch...]
[Rank]: Level 2
[Attribute type]: Passive
[Blessing]: Avoid detection from those you seek
[Fallout]: For a full day, all your inner thoughts will be shared by all.
...
[Hand Break] description: [ In a clan of forge masters, an outcast was ridiculed for lacking talent in the art of weaponry. Day and night, he bled— CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!... was the constant sound inside his head. He never knew why, but he received visions in his dreams of a weapon so sophisticated that it was ahead of its time. Years of perfecting his design went by, he lost an arm, lost a leg, and one eye, but when everything was completed, he was later known as the father of guns...]
[Rank]: Level 2
[Attribute type]: Active
[Blessing]: With nine rounds, I shall take your life
[Fallout]: When the cylinder is empty, the wielder shall lose a random limb.
***
"..."
'Why are these fallouts so problematic. '
' Even if I were to get a Favourite artifact of divine rank somehow, it matching my purpose and not having fallouts that I can withstand is going to be an issue. '
He was lost in thought, considering all the possibilities that could aid him, circumvent the mansion's overwhelming shadow.
' If I can get enough essence to activate my eyes again, or be in mortal danger, and activate my devouring powers, maybe I can find answers. '
He went back, absorbing the little essence remaining at his disposal, and looked at the horizon just to be sure he still had time.
Seeing they were still, two moons he wanted to go back absorbing, but there —5 black dots, that weren't present on Moon's surface before, appeared to be moving and enlarging.