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Once they returned ho, Elayne decided to rest on her bed and sleep until morning while also attempting to Astral Project inside her Soul with Mark and Gardenia.
When all three closed their eyes and cast the Spell, they slowly felt a part of their consciousness and soul essence rise, taking the shape of a body made of mana and other energies.
Mark and Gardenia imdiately sensed a powerful attractive force pulling their astral projections into Elayne’s soul. They found themselves surrounded by an endless sea of vibrant, shifting colors.
In the distance floated a massive sphere of brilliant white light, rotating slowly and brimming with countless energies.
"I think it worked!" Elayne said happily. "You’re both here with !"
"Yeah, it definitely worked," Gardenia replied, looking around in wonder. "Wow, so this is how the sphere looks from your perspective."
"It felt like sothing was pulling us in," Mark added. "Was that you?"
"I tried to bring you along," Elayne said with a nod. "I’m glad it succeeded. Co on, follow !"
She took their hands and flew swiftly through the colorful sea, heading straight for the giant sphere of white light. The mont they touched it; a blinding flash enveloped them.
FLAAASH!
The next instant, all three were falling through a clear blue sky, gazing down at the breathtaking landscape Elayne had already explored.
Vast seas of clouds drifted below a radiant sun. Lush forests stretched endlessly, dotted with waterfalls, sparkling lakes, winding rivers, and towering mountains.
Elayne gripped their hands tightly and conjured a pair of butterfly-like wings from pure imagination. With graceful beats, she guided them safely downward.
They finally landed in front of a colossal mountain. Mark and Gardenia stared around in open-mouthed awe.
"This place is huge... and it feels so good to be here," Gardenia said the mont her feet touched the ground. "The air is so pure! And the nature... it’s incredible!"
"Yeah, it’s amazing," Mark agreed. "There’s greenery everywhere. Is this world truly physical? How can you fit sothing this massive inside your soul, Elayne?"
"I honestly have no idea," Elayne admitted. "Maybe it’s like a pocket dinsion compressed in size? I’m really not sure."
"When you spoke with that giant woman, what did she tell you?" Gardenia asked.
"Ah, right. We were trying to understand what this world actually is," Elayne recalled. "She seed to know a great deal about different kinds of realms. I’d even say she was probably so sort of deity. She explained the differences between Soul Realms, Spirit Realms, Divine Realms, Mindscapes, and Dream Worlds."
"Huh," Mark murmured. "Wait a second... I’m human again?!" He looked down at himself in shock. "I can feel my skin and... I’m naked?!"
"We all arrived the way we were born," Elayne said with a light laugh. "Don’t worry, conjuring clothes here is easy. I made leaf outfits before, though I was naked most of the ti."
"Right..." Mark closed his eyes briefly. Dark wooden bark grew around his waist, covering him adequately. "This should do."
"You’re still showing a lot of skin," Gardenia teased. "Trying to seduce soone? I’m not into humans, you know. And you definitely shouldn’t be trying that."
"Who said anything about seducing anyone?!" Mark groaned, covering his face with one hand.
"Haha! It’s fine," Elayne giggled. "Co on, let’s keep going!"
She summoned delicate fairy wings made of semi-transparent flower petals and slender branches shaped like butterfly wings and flew ahead. Mark and Gardenia followed close behind.
When their feet touched the soft grass and warm sunlight bathed their skin, an imdiate sense of peace and joy washed over them.
"I needed this so much," Gardenia sighed happily. "I thought I’d never feel real sunlight again... but look! It feels amazing!" Her body suddenly burst into bloom with countless vibrant flowers, transforming her gloomy mushroom-and-moss appearance into the bright, beautiful form she was ant to have.
"What about ?" Mark wondered. Red, orange, and golden autumn leaves sprouted across his head, shoulders, and back. A pair of long wooden horns covered in those sa leaves grew from his forehead. "Wow... just being here is boosting us a lot. But are these forms actually real, or just illusions with no power outside?"
"No, we’re blossoming our souls," Gardenia explained excitedly. "This place is a natural Soul Healing Realm filled with rich spirit energy! I also sense dense divine power, though it’s harder to manipulate. It’s not quite as abundant as the Forest of Beginnings, but it’s far better than anything outside."
"I see," Elayne said thoughtfully. "So the longer we stay and absorb the environntal energy, the more our souls heal, grow, and "blossom," right?"
"Exactly!" Gardenia confird. "The shape of our souls changes too. Before, yours was cracked and fused with ghostly fragnts, but now those cracks are healing, and it’s taking on a more humanoid form like your astral projection."
"I hadn’t even noticed," Elayne said in surprise.
"My guess is that the longer we remain here, the more our souls will shift into ideal Nature and Spirit-attuned forms," Gardenia continued. "This is incredible! There’s real hope now!"
"And there wasn’t any hope before?" Elayne asked, a little hurt that Gardenia seed to dismiss everything she had said earlier.
"I-I an, of course there was!" Gardenia quickly corrected. "I just ant this is even better, okay? Anyway, the real question is... how did this place appear so suddenly? It doesn’t make sense. I would have noticed if your soul already contained a world like this. Your soul was powerful, but not nearly large enough to develop a full Soul Realm. And yet it can’t be just a Soul Realm either, because we can take physical objects out of here..."
"It is strange," Elayne agreed. "We should figure it out together. From what I rember—and what the Giant Lady told —this world appeared when she awakened. After I died and my soul shattered, she took most of the damage for . She split into three fragnts: two stayed inside my soul, and the Demon King of Death took the third. He probably doesn’t even know about the other two."
"Hm, he might not," Gardenia said thoughtfully. "Well, since we’re here, shall we explore? We could even try eating so of the plants and see what effects they have."
"Wouldn’t that be greedy?" Mark asked. "This world belongs to soone else. Eating things here might be rude... what if she gets angry and kicks us out? Elayne, do you have full control here?"
"No, I don’t," Elayne replied. "I’m more like a visitor. I can cast Nature, Life, and Spirit Spells pretty freely, but I’m definitely not the owner. I can’t control the world itself in any way."
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