The sun was out by the time Star woke up, lighting the world with a brilliant golden shine. His rapier was still lying next to him, and he felt a great sense of relief. A gentle breeze caressed his skin, making him sigh in delight.
After some good training and much-needed rest, he felt better than he could ever be. He picked up the rapier as he stood, feeling the soft grass beneath his feet. When he looked to the side, Elysia was nowhere to be seen, and two of the nearby trees were missing their fruits.
Time did not function normally here, as everything returned to its optimal condition each sunrise. Since only the living were allowed inside Paradise, it simply meant one thing—he was immortal for as long as he remained here.
But that was something he would think about later. Right now, there was an infinite supply of food in front of him, food that would also provide him with an almost endless influx of Soul Energy.
Too bad there aren't any Soul Beasts around here. I might have actually been able to saturate my core after awakening before venturing inside the castle.
There were so many boons to Ascending past Dormancy. He wouldn't need his portable storage ring because he could simply bind all his Soul Crafted items to his soul, allowing him to summon them whenever he wanted.
And since the ring itself was a Soul Craft, he would still have some extra storage, conveniently carrying mundane items since he wouldn't be able to bind those. There was also the benefit of an ability, an affinity, and the capacity to manipulate his Energy freely.
All he could do now was feel it.
Still contemplating, he reached one of the trees and put away the rapier. Then he slowly began climbing, reaching higher and closer to the single fruit hanging beyond the branches.
It seemed to glisten despite the shadows cast over it. It wasn't long before he grabbed the fruit and climbed down. Star headed toward the lake, and when he didn't see Elysia there, he made his way to the front of the castle instead.
He found her sitting on one of the steps with her face hidden between her knees. She looked up as soon as he came close, only to quickly lose interest when her gaze landed on the fruit he was holding.
Star smiled at her, offering the fruit.
"I noticed that you already helped yourself to the trees this morning, but I still intend to keep my promise. I can go get more if you like."
"Thank you."
Elysia said dryly as she took the fruit from his hand. She kept it by her side and tucked her face between her knees once more, refusing to utter another word.
Star looked behind her, toward the entrance to the castle. Some hours ago, he had been in a hurry to enter and obtain whatever it was that was calling to him from beneath its depths. But he had come to reconsider soon enough.
He hadn't thought much about it at the time, but given who he was when he first walked inside, his survival could only be attributed to luck. He had just happened to enter at a very convenient time and had only lived through it because the summer solstice had arrived during the first thirty days of his stay.
It was at that point that the call had grown unbearable. Even now, he still did not know whether it had been the boy's conscious decision, or the thing calling to him, that had made him push those doors open.
Star sighed, returning his gaze to Elysia.
How am I going to live like this for an entire month?
The only enjoyable thing he could do was travel to the end of Paradise, but even that wouldn't be very thrilling because he already knew what lay there. Paradise simply didn't have an end, so he would just keep walking for all eternity.
Though there was a river somewhere to the south. It was one Star had stumbled upon by accident in the original story and supported his guess that there was more lying beyond what they could see.
"I'll be back."
The words were only a formality he deemed appropriate in the moment, and without waiting for a reply, he turned south and left.
He departed the small grove surrounding the castle while occasionally glancing around. Other than the ivory castle and the golden gate somewhere far to the east, Paradise was almost entirely green, with nothing but trees and plants filling the lonely haven. Well, it was meant to be lonely since it had been created as punishment.
He couldn't imagine what it felt like to have both your life and death stripped away. To be able to feel, but neither bleed nor cry.
"Must be horrible."
Mumbling to himself, he came to a stop when something caught his eye. Scattered across a small patch of ground were vibrant crimson flowers. They were translucent and crystalline, unnatural in every sense.
How many more things like this exist around here?
The flowers swayed the moment he approached, desperately straining toward him. Star thought he heard something coming from below, as though someone was repeatedly calling his name.
He took a deep breath.
It was going to be a month from now anyway. A month from now, the summer solstice would finally arrive—he would awaken and leave this godforsaken place for good.
Taking one last glance at the field of crimson flowers, he continued onward until he heard the sound of running water in the distance. The wind was much cooler here, and he could see a small forest with trees just as large as those surrounding the castle.
Each was at least the size of a duplex building, their leaves rustling as they swayed in the breeze. Star walked through the forest, looking upward with each step he took. He hadn't come here simply to look around.
He was looking for something—one of the few things Star had also seen when he came this way in the original story. He soon found it.
He heard their songs before he saw them, and when he got too close, a flock of birds scattered from the trees and continued farther east.
The birds were colorful. Contrasted against the golden sunlight, their resplendent wings made for a striking sight. Star smiled at them, for it meant he was on the right path.
His lips curled into a grin as he ran deeper into the forest, moving past the trees as fast as he could. The trees around him gradually grew sparser until they disappeared completely, and something else slowly emerged in the distance.
It was a beach of pristine white sand, and farther away, a vast body of water relentlessly washed against the shore. The river was larger than any he had ever seen, with a couple of birds moving across the white sand.
Star was careful not to approach for fear of scaring them away. Hiding behind one of the massive trees, he brought out his rapier from his portable storage ring and studied the birds for a moment.
He had only briefly contemplated how he was going to kill one of the dozens of winged creatures wandering the beach when he heard something behind him.
It was the sound of something moving through the grass.
The rustling came from a distance, so he wasn't able to see what it was, but he remained vigilant, waiting patiently as he hid behind the tree. The wait was torturous, but he finally saw it emerge from one of the nearby bushes.
A snake, its scales as green as the forest it crawled through. Under normal conditions, he would have never noticed it.
The snake was about the length of a goalpost, with a body as thick as an average woman's thigh. It wasn't too big, but it was certainly large enough to kill him... that would have been a problem anywhere else.
However things worked very differently here in Paradise.
When the snake got close, he immediately lashed out from his hiding place and drove his rapier downward.
Star's aim was brutally precise, piercing straight through its skull and into the ground beneath.
He rendered the snake unable to move its jaw and pinned it to the ground, watching it writhe to no avail.
But it did not die.
No matter how much blood flowed from its body, its vitality remained unshaken.
Star had known and predicted this very outcome. It was the very reason he hadn't been afraid of dying within Paradise after all.
For as long as the golden sun continued to shine, every living creature within Paradise was effectively immortal.