As the Dream fades, and I wake, I become acutely aware that something, or someone, is stroking my head gently. Whoever it is then runs their hands through my mane, causing my scales to bristle as the same muscles that would cause goosebumps in a human are used to raise them into their defensive position.
"Ah, Priestess, be careful, those are razor sharp" Yggdrasil warns, as the hands abruptly stop petting me. I carefully get up, only to see the Grand Priestess kneeling beside me, blushing deeply.
"W-what the- ahem, what in the World is going on?" I ask worriedly, as the Priestess stares at me with... lovesick eyes? I swear, if it was possible, they'd be heart-shaped.
[Please, don't be upset, but I think the Grand Priestess might be suffering from a peculiar side-effect of surviving a Nightmare attack... She... She is madly in love with you.]
I give Yggdrasil an incredulous look. "She's what?!" I exclaim telepathically, electing to keep the conversation between the two of us.
*Eros Delusion: A mental condition where the sufferer is utterly convinced that the one that saved them is their one true love, regardless of species and gender, and even the preference of the sufferer. Sometimes caused by acute trauma, making the sufferer bond to whoever is perceived as their 'savior', such as in the case of hostages being rescued from bandits and bonding with the rescuer.*
Oh no. Please tell me there's a way to fix this.
*No known cure exists other than time and perhaps therapy, though psychology is very limited in this World compared to yours. Some sufferers recover over time, losing the intense love for the target entirely, others have reported that the feelings lessen, but some again never lose the intensity and stay bonded until the death of either the sufferer or the target.*
I facepalm. Of course this is a thing. "Did you know this could happen, Yggdrasil?" I ask her, again telepathically as I try to not be too weirded out by how clingy the Priestess is being.
[Well... I knew there was a chance of it happening, but-]
I sigh heavily. "But it wouldn't have mattered if you told me about it or not, since it might have happened regardless." I guess what she's going to say.
[Yes, but also that it might have made you apprehensive about saving her at all, and that was a chance I was unwilling to take.]
I am about to retort when I notice something dripping out of the Priestess' ear. "Oop, I guess the Nightmare's on its way out." I murmur as I try to reassure the slightly panicking Priestess.
"Actually, what happened in the Dream? I'm unable to enter it myself, but I did feel the presence of something." Yggdrasil asks as she gets closer to look at the slug-like monster now halfway out of the Priestess' ear. It balloons oddly as it gets out, so it seems to be able to compress itself when it's entering a head.
'plop'
The Nightmare drops to the floor with a wet sound. It squirms and undulates for a bit, before shriveling up and becoming still. "That's not supposed to happen. Cutting the connection only forces it to leave its host, it doesn't kill it." Yggdrasil mumbles as a root emerges from the ceiling to carefully prod the now dried out Nightmare.
As the root gently pokes it, it crumbles to dust. "About that. Just as the Nightmare was about to drag us both with him into the Dream, something... ripped a hole in the Dream. It took the form of a large hand that grabbed him and then once I cut the connection, pulled him out of that hole just before the Dream ended." I explain.
"I... see... Have you ever felt that presence before?" Yggdrasil asks, her face grim. "Twice. Once when I tried learning the Meditate Skill on my own, and all the while I was asleep combating the Malice."
"I know this might be insensitive, but did you have family before you Evolved into a Monarch? Specifically, did you lose any of them to Hatefulness?" Yggdrasils face is serious, her likeness to my mother makes me remember the face mom made when she learnt of my condition after the accident.
"I- I was born a Goblin. There was a blue one, a runt, I called him Blue as a nickname- and... Well... I learnt afterwards that if I hadn't helped him hatch he'd have died and... My entire tribe might still have been alive by now." I fight tears, and the Priestess hugs me tightly in an attempt to console me, black slime still dripping from her ear.
"He saved me, you know, from himself. Somehow made me sleep before he went and fought some hunters that had found the two of us, and then he... he turned. And he killed the entire tribe. He was only stopped because Grim, the Death Envoy, killed him."
Yggdrasils face lights up in realization. "Do you know how he killed him? This might be solution to the riddle."
I think back to that scene. It's hard to remember exactly, and it's colored in browns and grays instead of the actual colors that were there, but... "He said he 'destroyed the Soul', but it still was able to move and attack him, so then he used his hand on it, and it just turned to dust."
Yggdrasil furrows her brow in thought. "But, 'destroying' isn't something even Grim is able to do, only- uh, only the Malice can do that. At best Grim could rip it free of its Vessel." She pauses her mumbling before asking me a final question.
"I'm sure you were able to Evolve shortly after, but... did you do it near the place where your brother died?" I can see the urgency in her eyes, and am taken aback slightly. "I- I did. We lived in a cave, so I Evolved there, since it was the safest place in the area."
"... I see. Now, this might come as a shock, or even seem completely implausible, but hear me out." Yggdrasil starts pacing about, gesturing with her hands as she explains her theory.
"Your brother became Hateful, and normally he'd be allowed to roam free until he happened upon humanoids, and they'd band together to slay him. His Soul would enter the Abyss as normal, and enter into the Cycle."
I nod, gently trying to clean some of that slime from the Priestess' ear as she giggles and blushes intensely. I'm fairly sure she's completely oblivious to this conversation.
"However, since he presented an immediate threat to you, Grim was sent to intervene. When he ripped Blues' Soul free of its Vessel, his body, it's entirely possible that the inherent tenacity of the Malice allowed it to linger. Then, combine the bloodshed that happened there, with the intense outpouring of Magic that happens when Evolution, especially yours, takes place, and you have all the makings of a Dungeon Heart."
I'm not liking where this is going, but I keep quiet and pay attention.
"Now, this is where we get hypothetical, as nothing like this has ever happened before, but what if your brothers Soul somehow, possibly via the special properties of Malice, bonded with this newly formed Dungeon Heart? He'd be something in-between life and death, an Other that has the ability to affect the physical world."
"So you're saying... Blue somehow is still alive, and... No- this actually makes sense. I don't know if anyone's told you, but there's something afoot in the Illomen Forest, close to where I was born, and the Divine are Awakening their Champions to deal with it."
I get a sudden sense of urgency. "I-"
"No! If anything, if what you've told me of how he loves you is true, then you'd be playing right into his hands. Do not go there!" Yggdrasil cuts me off, her tone sharp. I flinch, but nod slowly.
"Unless you're called by your Namer, who I understand is one of these Champions, then do not even think of going there. I fear the entire World might be in danger if you do, at least if you go unprepared." She sighs.
"When I aided your Shadow in Purifying you of the Malice, I soaked you in the sap of my physical form. It acts as a Blessing, warding against the Malice, but on its own it's only able to prevent you from accumulating Malice on your own due to your human emotions." She waves her hand, and several roots come down, forming a map of sorts.
"However, if we were to plant seeds of mine near the other Demigods, imbuing them with their Element, and you then ingest some of the sap from those trees, together they might completely prevent you from becoming Hateful. It would in addition allow us to keep an eye on the areas the other Demigods will inhabit as well as strengthening them by sharing Devotion through the roots of the saplings."
I'm sure it would benefit her greatly too, being the one that provides these boons for the other three, making her the head honcho of the Demigods and positioning her such that the others won't want to go against her. "It sounds like a good idea-" I begin, only to be interrupted.
"Sakaya! You're alive! Oh, praise the Divine, I was so worried!" The Trusted rushes into the cave, crying with happiness. So the Grand Priestess is named Sakaya. The Trusted almost hugs her, but thinks better of it, before noticing how she acts towards me.
"What did you do to her?" They ask, that familiar hostile distrust appearing in their voice.
"She's... She's currently suffering the Eros Delusion. Since I saved her life... I'm the target of it." I admit, not very pleased with it either. I move to catch the Trusted as they faint once again.
"Don't listen to them, honey, who're they to tell us who to love?" Sakaya wraps her arms around me as I bend down to lay the Trusted on the pile of pelts acting as my bed. I make no attempt to remove her from me, instead getting back up as if she wasn't there. The end result is her clinging tightly to my shoulders as she maneuvers herself onto my back.
I glare at Yggdrasil, who only gives me an apologetic shrug in return.
"Now, Priestess, I'm sure you traveled all the way here for a reason other than to smother me in your love?" I ask her, perhaps a bit too passive aggressive, though I don't think she took any note of it.
"Oh, thank you for reminding me. Now that it's confirmed that this new source of Divinity is indeed a newly born Demigod, we need to arrange the construction of a Church or Temple, and the infrastructure needed to tend to the Demigod and the Divine Spring." Her tone shifts, almost jarringly, to one of concentrated professionalism.
"If it's okay with you, of course." Her lovey-dovey tone returns as she gives me a hug from behind.
Ugh. Okay, if we're doing construction, we're going to need to talk to the village for help with the constructing part. Sourcing materials should be easy, transporting should be even more so if I help out... There's still time between now and the meeting with the rulers of the other countries in regards to where to put the Divine Springs and their Demigods.
Although I'd prefer it if we remained isolated here within the forest, it's not good for Yggdrasil to be without proper worshipers I think. After all, she's the key to quite a few plans I have.
"Vir'ava, take care of the Trusted whilst the Grand Priestess and I visit the village. If they ask, tell them where I am, and that we'll be back shortly." I instruct as I pass her on the way out of the cave. She's completely adorable with Myan wrapped around her shoulders like a scarf as she comes looking for the Trusted.
"Please, call me Sakaya, there's no need to be so formal with me..." Sakaya seems a bit hurt that I'm insisting on referring to her by title. I try to ignore her as I use Guard Share on her to give her Cold Resistance whilst at the same time adhering her to my back with silk.
"I'm going to fly you back to the village, where you can get dressed. Afterwards we'll have a meeting with Myra about the construction. It might be a bit scary, but I'll make sure you're safe." I inform her. I also need to pick up the Argos whilst we're there...
Sakaya leans her head against my back, gently holding my waist as we take into the sky. I don't know if it's because she's scared, or just enjoying the scenery, but the trip to the village was done in complete silence.