With skies glittering above them, and the wind calmly passing through, Imuru sat, intrigued to see if this conversation may bring forth an understanding.
"You're an oddity… For an Otherworlder, kid. I sensed it the moment I saw you, but now I'm certain, you are one," T1 remarked, trying to discern Imuru's origins.
"Otherworlder?" Imuru muttered, perplexed.
"Ah~a… Don't fret. Those are just people who got transported here from their world—Usally after death," T1 replied. "Strange that you don't remember."
"Yea~... That's complicated," Imuru said, recalling Eld-onone's words.
T1 nodded. "Let's cut to the chase. Expect the population to return soon—the ones I sent out to be precise," He turned his head up. "I stationed most of them above the clouds."
"For that request… My request to you is to destroy me."
"....?" Imuru's eyes widened in shock, unsure of what to say, this unexpected request catching him off guard. "Destroy you?"
"Yeah, I said it. Destroy me—my conscious existence on this plain," T1 confirmed. "Before that can be done, I'm gonna need you to look after the Celestial Lake, since I won't be there anymore."
"Ick!?" Imuru felt a chill run up his spine. "Umm… I'm sorry, but are you sure there's no one else better qualified for this?" Imuru pleaded.
"Hmm? No… I don't trust anyone else," T1 firmly replied. "Geez… Calm down." T1 rested his head lightly against his clenched fist, leaning forward, elbow on his thigh. "The properties of the lake will still apply, I just need you to look after it, you know. Just check up on it now and then. Its contents are very special for it to be left in the wrong hands."
"Hi-Hi~..." Imuru muttered in defeat.
T1 stood to his feet. "Whenever you're ready. I'm in no hurry."
Imuru gasped quietly, taken aback by the speed of the situation. "No hurry… How are we gonna do this?"
The vessel glowed a blinding light. The body fell to the ground, leaving the light where the body once was.
"This is it… Your flame should do the trick, since it evolved a moment," The Celestial Lake consciousness assessed.
Raising his hand slowly, Imuru hesitated. "You're certain?"
"I came to be a bit after this world was created… the chaos, the calmness, it's like an eternal cycle… A cycle I no longer wish to be a part of," The Celestial Lake consciousness calmly reassured him.
With a nod, the flames came forth, engulfing the consciousness. It raged on, striping and breaking the consciousness apart piece by piece.
The process was slow, and difficult, but finally after a few minutes, it was finished.
Imuru pant, dropping to his knees, exhausted.
The body of the vessel, sprung up, blinking his eyes a gorgeous blue. "Uh~"
As Imuru fainted, the once vessel of the Celestial Lake—Urin o', caught Imuru in his arms. "Wow, hey there…"
"Hey," Imuru muttered, losing consciousness.
[[>Evolutionary Process Engage<]]
…..
Evolution Detected
…..
Stats Acquired
…..
Requirements Reached
…[Imuru Evolution Process Engaged]...
…..
[Evolutionary Process Complete]
[>Greater Demon<]
↓
[>Enhanced Capabilities<]
[>All Physical Abilities Improved<]
….
[Skill Acquired: Attack Duplicate]
Awakening the first thing Imuru was aware of was the gentle touch. Not of a blanket, but of sunlight, true, golden, undiluted sunlight, warming his cheek through a tall, arched window.
His eyes fluttered open. The air he breathed was clean, smelling of beeswax, dried lavender, and the faint, sweet scent of ripe apples.
His weapons were gone, carefully cleaned and placed on a stand in the corner.
It was then, as his senses settled, he noticed he was not alone. They were arranged before him, not as regents and subjects, but as a family.
King Alistaar stood closest, his crown absent, his hands clasped before him. The man's face was soft with an emotion that bordered on reverence. The lines around his eyes seemed deeper, etched not by stress, but by profound relief.
Beside him, Queen Lara had one hand resting gently on the king's arm and the other pressed on her own lips, as if holding back a prayer of thanks.
And In front of them, almost shyly, were the twin prince and princess. The boy, Slute, stood with a forced, formal posture that couldn't hide his awe, his gaze fixed on Imuru. His sister, Orin, clutched the fabric of her mother's gown with one hand, but in the other, she held a single, perfect, sun-yellow apple, offering it out towards Imuru, as a heartfelt tribute.
For a long moment, the only sound was the soft rustle of the linen curtains in the breeze and the distant, joyful sound of the population in apparent celebration.
Then the king broke the silence, his voice low and thick with an emotion he made no attempt to conceal.
"Young master," he said, and the words were not a title, nor a command but a simple overwhelming acknowledgement. "We thank you."
The family all bowed in appreciation, Imuru stared still yet to process anything completely.
The mother sent her children away to play, wanting to hold a private conversation with Imuru.
Looking at the apple for a brief moment, Imuru then glimpses his sword in the corner, breathing his sigh of relief.
King Alistaar cleared his throat, to address Imuru. "I must ask, what is your name—If you're willing to tell?"
"Uh. I'm Imuru," He replied. Gazing away from the pair, Imuru thought carefully. "Snow white hair, mother's green eyes, must be Ori's parents. She is the princess after all."
"We must thank you again, Imuru," King Alistaar said, bowing his head again.
"Yes, we are forever in your debt," Queen Lara said, mirroring her husband's overall thoughts.
"It's not an issue at all… Speaking of which, you must be concerned about your daughter's whereabouts, Ori is her name correct?" Imuru inquired.
They gasped surprised. The Queen stepped up closer. "Y-Yes. That is her name." Queen Lara's emerald eyes glimmered, as a warm smile formed on her face. "She's well? And her grandfather?"
Imuru smiled, and nodded in confirmation. "They are. It's thanks to her why I'm here really. That's a strong willed daughter you have."
Queen Lara clutched her chest proudly. "Yes, she is." Lara wiped the tears from her eyes. "Troubled, of course, and might be a handful at times…" She said through tears.
Alistaar gently squeezed his wife's hand, a proud smile on his face.
"Seems she really has great parents," Imuru thought.
Before this could go on any longer, their champion warrior Urin o' came bursting in. Coming to bow on a knee, and right on one knuckle he spoke. "Emergency! Your Highnesses. We request the presence of the hero. The Celestial Lake, it's begun to glow."
Imuru swiftly grabbed his sword. "I'll handle it. Lead the way!"
Swiftly slipping through the city, taking the highest paths to cover ground as quickly as possible, Imuru and Urin o' got to the edge of the city, a few guards standing on guard at the edge, gazing down upon the glowing body.
The kingdom was built upon an elevated platform of smooth whitestone. The reflection perfectly mirrored, in the vast lake that sprawled before the walls. Beyond the lake, the land stretched into endless, empty plains, a sea of whispering gold and green that rolled all the way to the hazy horizon, a testament to the kingdom's solitary prominence.
Just right to the north, however, the scene shifted dramatically. There, the city met the untamed, primordial northern edge of the Sacred Forest.
"This is how it started?" Urin o' said.
"Hmm… Give me a moment, I'll handle it," Imuru said, leaping down to the bottom. A couple hundred meters from the lake, Imuru, confidently tracked on up close to it.
"Is the consciousness still there?" Imuru mused, stopping right at the edge.
Its surface seemed to generate its own cold, silver luminescence from within its unfathomable depths. It did not ripple or wave, but simply glowed, a vast, silent eye of polished silver. The air above it hummed with a silent, thrumming energy, charged with a power so ancient.
Then, the stillness broke. Not with a sound, but with a motion. From the lake's radiant skin, fine particles of water began to lift, separating with the languid grace of dandelion seeds on a windless day. Each droplet was a tiny, perfect star, a pinprick of captured moonglow that drifted upward, unhurried and weightless, levitating above the surface.
Imuru stretched a hand out. "Hi-Hi~... At this point, I wish I'd focus on getting some instructions about this," Imuru thought with an exasperated sigh. "Well… Won't get anywhere unless I try."
Moving his hand down and up, nothing responded. "That worked," He thought sarcastically. "Wait. I need to focus. Perivállon is the source this world functions on… Focus."
His hand out once again, Imuru remained calm, trying to bring himself to understand this world's source of power. The understanding did not come as a violent epiphany, but as a gentle irrevocable click. Staring at the Celestial Lake, watching its luminous essence separate.
And in that profound silence Imuru came to an understanding of what Perivállon is enabling him to understand his own.
Waving his hand down and up, the small droplets or water responded to his every move.
A triumphant gasp was torn from his lips as the final piece clicked into place, his breath catching in his chest not from exertion, but from the sheer, soaring thrill of success. A brilliant, exhilarated smile instantly broke across his face, fierce and proud, a raw and unguarded testament. For a single moment, every ounce of his composure was replaced by pure victory.
But just as quickly he drew a steady breath, the smile softening from a blaze to a quiet, confident ember as he straightened his posture, smoothing his figure back to calm authority.
With a simple downwards motion of his hand, the droplets and glow was subdued. The Celestial Lake returned to its calm neutral state.