novelraw Chapter 905: An Old Friend
Chapter 905: An Old Friend
Tossed by the waves, the boat drifted until it ran aground.
Gnarled roots, tangled together like a nest of snakes, barred their path deeper into the swamp.
As with all places touched by the power of anomalies, the temperature in the warped, sprawling dark forest remained above freezing; winter held no sway here.
Lu Li stepped into the ankle-deep water, entering a forest whose chill was distinct from the biting cold of the winter they'd left behind.
The Shadow Cultists remained on the large ship.
Following a worn path deeper into the forest, weaving between roots and trunks, they found themselves under a canopy of bizarre, desiccated trees that blotted out the sun. A closer look revealed the trees were still alive, somehow thriving in the saline soil that bordered the sea. Their sharp branches, forming an impenetrable roof, all leaned toward the south.
Even back in the Ancient Era, Lu Li had been aware of the Northern Shadow Swamp encroaching upon the Southern. At the time, the Mother of the Swamp was still barely holding her ground. He had no idea if she was still here twenty-four years later, if the north had finally consumed the south, or what condition she might be in now.
Swish—swish—
The murky water, littered with floating debris and clouded with stirred mud, rippled outward. The ripples struck the tree roots and rebounded, dissolving back into the endless motion of the swamp. Yet some lucky few always slipped past the roots, spreading far into the distance until they reached unseen depths or simply faded away.
Lu Li raised his oil lamp, its light cutting through the dark, silent swamp.Ophelia held Prusius, the crack running across her body glowing a deep, slow red with emotion. She didn't like this place. It wasn't just the feeling of being submerged in icy water, but also the unsettling, oppressive aura radiating from the forest itself.
As they ventured deeper into the woods, the back of Lu Li's hand, though it no longer burned, let him know they were getting very close.
They picked up their pace on the trodden path, and after a few minutes, they spotted a silhouette flit between the trees ahead, sending ripples spreading out from the depths.
"Prusius... call him," Ophelia urged, giving him a little shake.
"Deep God!"
Prusius's thin, youthful voice echoed through the woods.
The distant ripples vanished. As the figure drew nearer, a silhouette shrouded in a curtain of seawater materialized in the ghostly forest. The shadow beneath its hood watched them in silence.
"Can you sense the location of the body?"
Lu Li cut straight to the point.
"...Right here."
"You can't pinpoint the exact location?"
"No."
Eyes darker than the forest itself stared into the depths. The Northern Shadow Swamp likely followed a simple principle: the closer to the center, the higher the probability of finding what they sought. The only problem was that the dense canopy blotted out the sky, making it impossible to get their bearings. Just like in Innsmouth, their compass had become useless the moment they stepped into the woods.
"How much of your power is left?" Lu Li asked.
"That evil spirit attacked me..."
The deity gestured toward Ophelia.
"My name is Ophelia, deity," she reminded it.
"...I barely managed to escape."
It was hardly a manner of speaking that befitted a god.
Lu Li's gaze slid to Prusius, who was still in Ophelia's arms, grinning sheepishly.
"In that case, I suggest we leave the swamp and observe the situation."
"I am a deity."
The Deep God whispered the words as if stating an undeniable fact, one that made retreat impossible.
"A deity that hasn't recovered its power," Lu Li amended.
After a brief silence, the deity drifted toward Lu Li. The curtain of water around it subsided, lowering the being until it was at eye level with him.
"Find me a body."
"It's too late..."
Ophelia suddenly tossed Prusius at Lu Li and spun around, her gaze fixed warily on the depths of the forest.
"Something... is coming!"
Her warning was confirmed by a churning wake that appeared in the depths, an indistinct line in the water approaching at high speed.
Hiss—
Lava streamed from the cracks in Ophelia's body, vaporizing the seawater as it surged toward the approaching shape.
The Deep God commanded serpents of water to strike at the foe, but they collided with Ophelia's lava first. A violent cloud of scalding steam erupted, obscuring everything from view.
Lu Li moved clear of the deadly steam and stopped the Deep God's attack.
"Let Ophelia attack."
The words had barely left his lips when the enemy shot through the steam like an arrow. It coiled around the Deep God, revealing its true form: a mass of tree roots.
More roots erupted from the steam to ensnare Ophelia, but they instantly ignited upon contact with her.
Writhing and shuddering, the burning roots released their grip and collapsed into the water.
Freed, Ophelia and the Deep God fell back to Lu Li's position as a stream of lava cut off their unseen foes. They quickly retreated from the northern swamp, got back on the wooden boat, and pushed away from the shore.
"The enemy is... the forest."
Back aboard the Andrea, Ophelia recalled the tentacle-like roots that had attacked them.
"What... is... your plan?"
"We'll observe from a distance and investigate the southern swamp."
The Andrea sailed east, dropping them off just outside the swamp's perimeter.
This time, the Shadow Cultists followed as Lu Li led the way south.
They passed through the ruins of Tenebrae, which looked exactly as it had twenty years before. The only difference was that the swamp road separating the northern and southern sections was gone, consumed by the canopy of trees that had invaded the Southern Swamp.
"We keep heading south."
The journey south took longer than they had anticipated. It was nearly evening, the sound of the southern coast's surf already audible, when a patch of clear land finally came into view—the only ground in the entire swamp not covered by the oppressive canopy.
As Lu Li approached, he saw faint figures moving in the shadows of the surrounding trees.
The Mother of the Swamp was still there.
Then, to Prusius's surprise, he saw shy, shadowy figures peeking from behind the trees, six-legged creatures crawling about curiously, and banyan trees swaying their branches as if in welcome.
"Do they know you?" Prusius couldn't help but ask.
"Mhm."
Guided by the shadow people, Lu Li and his companions reached the center of the clearing.
The colossal, hundred-meter-tall banyan tree was gone. In its place stood a simple, two-story hut.
Beside the hut stood two gravestones, side by side. In the fading light, Lu Li read their inscriptions.
[Rest in Peace]
[Lilia Toyalagon]
[21st Generation of the Toyalagon Family]
[— To Protect is the Greatest Honor —]
[Rest in Peace]
[Rolan Toyalagon]
[3rd Generation of the Toyalagon Family]
[— Even if the flowers wither, people will remember their beauty —]
"Because the part of me that was human has already died."
A soft, gentle voice spoke. Shrouded in a light veil, a figure that was both beautiful and terrifying—half human, half insect—addressed Lu Li, who had closed his eyes.
"I am controlling my power... You can look at me now..."
When Lu Li opened his dark eyes again, the Deep God whispered, identifying the Mother of the Swamp's nature.
"A foreign deity."
The Mother of the Swamp, now much smaller in stature, turned her gaze upon the Deep God.
"The true gods do call me a foreign deity," she acknowledged. "So... who might you be?"
"Lord, ruler of the oceans, ancient god eternal, guardian of the world, the Deep God."
Compared to his previous introduction, he had added two new titles.
"A weak, yet venerable god... Greetings." The Mother of the Swamp placed a hand gently to her chest and bowed.
Her gaze shifted from the Deep God back to Lu Li, a flicker of human tenderness in her eyes. She stroked her pale abdomen through the veil.
"I can feel your presence... I know... you are still alive... after having passed on your bloodline."