Talking Trees

I feel my consciousness slowly come to. The throbbing in my head has vanished and my body feels cool. It takes me a moment to realize I'm laying down in the water. I sit up, worried I'll drown, and look around. I see nothing but water in all directions. The water is only six inches tall, at the most. Underneath the water is stone, smooth, and without a crack.

"Good morning, Eric." I hear a voice behind me say. The voice is clearly a man and sounds soothing. I turn around and see a man about the same height as myself. He's wearing a white robe, the same as mine except his goes from his shoulders down to his knees. They stop just a few inches above the water. Behind him is the same tree from the lake.

"Are you the Primal Source?" I ask while standing up. He looks at me, slightly shocked, before smiling.

"Yes, that is what some call me. But I'd prefer you call me by Prisma. I know it's an odd name, but I like it." He replies.

"Sure, so Prisma, where am I?"

"It's complicated but think of it like this. Since you've drank the water containing my raw mana, I'm able to enter your mind and talk with you like this. So technically you're still at the edge of my lake, your body's still falling as we speak." He says before raising his left hand. A screen, much like the one Gaia showed me before, appears above his palm. On it I see myself kneeling on the edge of the water. The golden cup is floating below my hand and my body is leaning to the side. "Time works differently here, one hour here is just one second out there." He says and I look at him shocked.

"Is there any reason I'm here?" I ask him and he smiles again, but I can see sadness hiding behind it.

"I have something to ask you. As well as a favor. Firstly, as you know, your Mythos side will awaken from the water. But this will make you a full Mythos, so it'll remove your Devil side. Do you want me to keep you as a Half-Mythos and stay the Flame Devil? Or would you rather I make you a true Mythos? I should mention you'll still get your Soul Skill, no matter your choice. And if you decide to become a true Mythos your max MP will greatly increase. But you'll lose your Devil skills forever. Take your time in deciding, however, you can't leave until you choose." He says before sinking into the water. Despite touching it the water makes no ripples or waves. It remains perfectly calm. I sigh and start to think about my choice. I would like more max MP. But I'd be giving up my Devil skills. That would be my Fire Immunity, Demonic Flare, Flame Horns, Flame Pillar, Create Fire, Demonic Eyes, and Demonic Strength. Wait, it would also mean I wouldn't be able to use the Flame Devil's Ring, which gives me 30 INT and 20 WIS. Shit, I forgot about the skill too. Once I level up it'll also give me the Flame Kings skill. Is more max MP worth it? I... Fuck! I don't know, I do get more max MP for being a Devil, but I assume becoming a true Mythos will give me more. OH SHIT! I forgot about my wings! They're a combo of Flame Wings and Annihilation Cloak. Will it just turn back into Annihilation Cloak? Even if it does I'll probably have to get used to flying it again. But I like my wings, it feels nice when the girls snuggle up with them and use them as a blanket. Is that going to be what decides this? The girls liking my wings. I think while laughing and smiling.

"I've made my choice!" I say just below shouting. Prisma appears from the water right where he was. Despite coming out of the water he doesn't have a drop on him.

"That was quick, I hope you won't regret this. I should've said earlier but you can't change it later." He says and I nod.

"That's what I thought, I'd like to stay a Half-Mythos."

"Good, then prepare yourself. I'll be giving you your Soul-Skill now." He says with a smile while reaching out with both hands. A thick fog spreads from the water around me and embraces me. I feel it flow into me, going through my skin but not causing any pain. After it all goes inside me I look down.

"I don't feel anything?" I say confused and Prisma chuckles.

"You won't get it until you wake up." He says and I nod.

"So what was the favor you wanted?" I ask and he sighs.

"I need you to stop Ayashi from uniting the two worlds. She has good intentions, but she underestimates the other Lyna."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"Her Soul-Skill allows her to influence normal people. As long as they don't have mana she can influence them into doing her bidding. She used that ability to find you. Her plan is to use this to prevent people from discovering me after all, all a human has to do to become a powerful Lyna is drink the water from my lake. But if other Lyna go to the humans and convince them to look for the source of mana, they will. She can stop people from wanting to find the source of magic, but she can't stop Lyna. So eventually I will be found, and I fear the Lyna wars will repeat themselves. But this time the human world will be involved. So I'd like you to stop her, even if you have to kill her."

"Kill her!? Do you think that'll happen?"

"Yes." He says with a heavy sigh. "She's been working for hundreds of years on this plan. She won't give up, even if you beat her."

"So you want me to kill her?"

"Preferably not. She has decent intentions. She wants to help people but she also has a subconscious desire to be in power. So by ruling the world she'll get both. But that desire is blinding her. That's why the School of Annihilation was made."

"Is that why my mother fought against the rest of the Mythos?"

"Yes. She spent many months here, perfecting her School. I'm sure you noticed by now, that the Annihilation Energy you can create destroys mana. When you used it on the Devil of Rage, you destroyed the mana that created his Nuru. Which in turn, destroyed his chest where the ability was being used. This makes it perfect for killing Mythos, whose very bodies are infused with magic. Gods and Goddesses too, now that I think about it."

"Wait what's a Nuru?" I ask him and he looks at me surprised.

"You don't know? It's a Devil's equivalent to a Soul-Link. It's a unique Devil skill that they get during training. I was wondering why you didn't ask the guilds about it. How'd you forget about it?" He asks.

"I don't actually remember much of my fight with the Devil of Rage. Draconic Rage is powerful, but if my control drops then the memories become fuzzy. I remember him using it but I didn't hear him call it a Nuru, I thought it was a skill of his School." He nods before continuing.

"Well, for now, I'd like you to act like you're working with Ayashi. But keep training and preparing for the inevitable battle."

"Yeah, I'd like to sort the whole thing with the Demon God first. So, is there anything else?"

"Yes, I have a request." He says before stepping forward and reaching out. I turn and see a large root appear, it stretches for miles and grows the further it gets from us. It's covered in bright green vines and colorful flowers. "This is Gaia's branch. She's one of my favorites, due to her kindness. I'd like to ask that you take good care of her. Her last Champion... Sorry, that's not my right to tell you." His comment concerns me but I decide against asking about it.

"I will, I wasn't planning on hurting her or anything." I say and he nods. "But, could I see my root?" I ask and he nods again. He reaches out and I see Gaia's root vanish. In its place is one covered in dark spikes burning with a bright flame. The wood is red and has two large branches on the sides. One green and the other white.

"That's... Interesting." I say, stunned and in awe.

"Most people have that reaction. The flame and spikes represent your Devil side and School of Darkness. The green and white braches are your connection to Gaia and Bergeth."

"I see." I respond, still surprised at how... Aggressive it looks.

"Eric!" Prisma says suddenly.

"Yes?"

"When you return Ayashi will ask why you weren't turned into a full Mythos. Tell her that you're Devil side interfered with it. And that, in order to do it you need to slay the Demon God. Don't worry about her wanting to help with that. She can't bring attention to herself by fighting a God. If she did the other Gods and Goddesses would notice her and interfere with her plans. But she isn't exactly patient, so you'll have a month or two at max before she starts helping. Which would normally be good, but then the guilds and other Gods would get involved." He says and I nod. "Well, Eric if you ever want to chat use the skill I'm giving you. You'll get it when you get your Soul-Skill, and it'll bring you back here."

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later." I say before getting sucked under the water.