On one occasion, Star had considered a dubious conjecture that could potentially yield him infinite meat. The rule of immortality existing within Paradise worked in relation to the souls of the creatures in question.
As long as a shard was present, it would reform the creature until it was whole once more. But the fact that the shards he harvested didn't turn into cores that then became a foundation for the already dead creature brought forth another revelation: Paradise needed the structure as well as the foundation.
The soul and body were one and couldn't exist without the other. So Star's plan was simple: chop a fish in half multiple times during the day and have it regenerate. It wouldn't die due to the nature of Paradise, and thus he would never run out of meat.
But it was quite easy to see the numerous flaws in that plan. Even if it were flawless, it was far too cruel, so he dropped the thought immediately—Star would much rather put a creature out of its misery as quickly as he could than have it suffer endlessly simply because he wanted food.
He waded through the water, but no matter how long he searched, he wasn't able to find a single fish that would be enough for both he and Elysia.
"I guess I could just get two?"
As Star muttered those words, he looked up, tracing the width of the river with his eyes. Though the body of water was larger than any river he had ever seen, it was still much smaller than any sea, so he could see the other end.
The other side of the river had always intrigued him due to how it looked. Just like the shore on which he stood was covered in white sand, the other shore was too, but the beach there seemed much larger. It stretched as far as his eyes could see, and farther away he could see what looked like a jagged line cut across the sky.
It looked blurry, but the vague outline led him to guess it was a mountain range, and one that was rather tall. He could only see a vague outline because the summits were hidden somewhere far in the clouds.
'This makes me wonder just how endless this place actually is...'
As much as his adventurous curiosity gnawed at him, Star knew he had to hold himself back. In reality, he knew too little about this place to tell how an Awakened Soul Beast had ended up here.
There hadn't been another similar accident since that one, so he wouldn't be receiving an answer anytime soon. It was not like he needed an answer, though—it would only be a matter of weeks before this entire place came crashing down.
But that was all a long way from happening. Right now he needed to catch some fish, and just as luck would have it, there was still a lot of time left for him to do just that.
Stepping out of the river, he put away his spear and took off his tunic. Thereafter, he donned his armor, admiring the feel of it on his body. The armor glinted with crimson, refracting the light of the sun like some kind of prism. It contoured every inch of his body perfectly, feeling like a new layer of skin.
As Star studied his shiny wear, his face suddenly contorted in a frown. Back when Viviric first gave it to him, he had thought of the armor as something that was better being looked at than worn.
As much as he held onto that belief, there were a few instances where he had to actually appreciate the suit's usefulness. However, as he began training the flow of his Soul Energy, he became aware of the presence of others as well.
Every Soul Crafted item he had seen so far possessed a subtle aura he could feel; Elysia's robe, her spear, and his rapier before it was broken beyond repair all had a certain presence.
But his armor was different. Star was unable to sense even the slightest sign of a presence from the equipment, and yet it all changed when he finally donned it. Now he could feel its presence; an aura similar to his own radiating within it.
'Strange...'
He regarded the thought for a while before taking a dive into the water. He remained close to the surface, not being hindered by the weight of his armor in any way. In fact, it left him with little to no restrictions.
Soon, he arrived at the other end of the river and came out, shaking the water off his body. The sky was blue and clear, without the blemish of a single cloud. In its center the sun remained, casting upon the world a golden light.
Turning around, Star took in the view of all that the light revealed. There wasn't much to see, however, because all around him there was nothing but a white beach and the mountains that stood somewhere far to the south.
To the west lay a lush forest. The trees there seemed taller than the ones behind him, their branches so sturdy they barely moved in the wind. From where the beach ended, the forest continued for as far as he could see.
The long river cut a bay into the beach somewhere to the east, with a few coconuts growing close to the shoreline. The concave shoreline extended quite far, but Star paid it little interest. He did plan to come back for the coconuts at some point though.
"What was it that Viviric said about keeping one's eyes narrow? A quick peek should be narrow enough, right?"
Star mumbled his thoughts aloud, contemplating going further into uncharted territory. The northern shore of the river behind him was as far as Star—The Last Promise's deuteragonist—went in the original story.
Therefore, he would be all on his own the moment he dared venture that far, and in the end he decided to put his worries at bay. After all, the worst he could imagine happening to him wasn't possible in Paradise.
He summoned his spear, keeping his eyes peeled as he marched towards the forest. He practiced his spear skills along the way, trying to get the hang of it better. Star could only use the most basic of spear techniques, but all things considered he was only slightly below average.
This level of skill was the most he needed to kill Dormant Soul Beasts, and killing Dormant Soul Beasts was all he could do. Awakened creatures would simply overpower him, and a more skilled Awakened human would outmanoeuvre him.
When he was just a few meters away from the forest edge, he stopped and frantically sniffed the air. The air was suffused with a scent, one that grew stronger the farther he went. The scent was quite familiar as well.
It was heavy and carried a metallic tinge.
'Don't tell me...'
It was the smell of blood, quite putrid nonetheless.
---
Deep in the darkest chambers of a long-forgotten temple, the most harrowing of wails continued to sound, echoing great anger, sadness, and terror.
A blue torch was lit, and an azure radiance washed over the room, revealing a man in an ancient robe that was worn and tattered, his eyes like two pools of ancient shadows. He had just entered the room, and before him was what seemed to be some kind of humanoid eldritch horror chained to the floor.
However, the bound creature was in fact a human being, a person stripped of their soul and denied death. Theirs was the curse of immortality, and this boy could only cry out as his body continued to rot without repose.
Viviric glanced at the boy, feeling a great turmoil rage in his heart. For so long he had watched this boy's smile turn into a twisted face of horror, one that only turned more sorrowful as time went on.
His once flawless skin had blackened with decay, his once lively eyes had long since become bleak and lifeless, and his body was now nothing but an empty husk. It was to the point that he had to chain him here so the boy wouldn't bring himself more pain in an attempt to end his own life.
But that was all soon going to change—he would make sure of it.
He got closer and knelt in front of the boy, a sad smile lighting up his face. Viviric leaned in and pulled him into a tight hug, whispering a few words.
"It's okay. You don't have to suffer anymore. I promise... everything will be alright."