POV: Rio
The moment my hand touched the slime—
Light burst out.
Warm. Gentle. Alive.
The slime pulsed.
The others froze… then retreated.
Tess stared at me.
"Rio," she said slowly. "You're glowing."
I looked down.
"…Whoa."
The slime pulsed again.
And then—
Everything went black.
I didn't feel myself fall.
There was no sensation of dropping, no panic, no wind rushing past my ears. One moment, the mountain air filled my lungs—and the next, I was sitting.
On nothing.
No floor. No sky. No stars.
Just endless, quiet space stretching in every direction, like the world had been erased and forgotten to be redrawn.
"…This place again," I muttered.
Before I could even stand, space folded in on itself.
He appeared beside me.
No light. No sound. Just—there.
"Oh! You're awake already?" God said brightly, eyes lighting up as if he'd been waiting for this exact moment. "That was faster than I expected."
I jerked sideways. "Could you stop doing that?!"
He laughed. "Relax, relax. You're fine. Better than fine, actually."
He leaned in, inspecting me with open curiosity, like a craftsman admiring a tool that had just surprised him.
"This is fascinating," he said. "Truly fascinating."
"…What is?" I asked warily.
"You," he replied instantly. "You crossed a threshold. Not intentionally, not forcibly. It formed."
Before I could demand an explanation, he snapped his fingers.
The space around me ignited.
Golden magic circles bloomed into existence—one beneath me, several above, dozens more rotating around my body in slow, deliberate layers. Symbols shimmered, rearranging themselves as if reacting to my presence.
"Hey—wait—!" I protested as my body lifted off the invisible ground.
I wasn't spinning. I wasn't restrained.
I was simply… floating.
Golden light poured from my chest, warm and steady, like a heartbeat made visible.
"This isn't power," God said casually, walking around me midair. "Not raw strength, anyway. Think of it as… structure."
My chest tightened.
thup.
The sensation hit deep—far deeper than flesh.
thup.
It felt like something clicking into place, like scattered thoughts being neatly stacked, like chaos agreeing to behave.
I gasped. "What—did—you—do?"
God waved a hand. "I didn't do anything. You did. I just made sure it didn't collapse halfway."
The circles slowed.
Then dissolved.
Gravity returned gently, setting me back down.
God stepped back, arms crossed, satisfied.
"This will be very helpful for you," he said. "Dangerous, too, if you misuse it. But that's part of the fun."
"What did you give me?" I demanded.
He smiled.
"I left something for you," he said lightly. "That's all."
Space began to twist.
As I was pulled away, his voice followed me, amused and distant.
"Take good care of it."
"Tell me what it is!" I shouted.
His reply echoed faintly.
"You'll figure it out."
"Rio!"
I inhaled sharply and bolted upright.
The mountain sky rushed back into view.
Tess was right in front of me, hands gripping my shoulders, her expression tight with worry.
"You collapsed," she said, voice trembling just slightly. "You wouldn't wake up. I tried healing magic—nothing worked."
"…How long?" I asked.
"Ten minutes," she replied immediately. "I counted."
Ten?
That didn't feel right at all.
I pushed myself up—and froze.
My body felt… right.
Balanced. Light. Like every movement knew where it belonged before I even made it.
Tess noticed instantly.
"You're different," she said quietly.
I forced a small smile. "Am I?"
"You look calmer," she said. "But not tired. More like… organized."
That hit too close.
"I'm fine," I said quickly. "Probably mana exhaustion or something."
She didn't argue.
But she didn't look convinced either.
We began walking back toward Dustford, the mountain path quiet except for our footsteps.
Tess stayed close. Closer than usual.
"I was scared," she admitted after a moment. "I thought… I thought something went wrong because of me."
I stopped. "Tess."
She looked up.
"That wasn't on you," I said firmly. "Not even close."
She searched my face, then nodded slowly. "Alright."
We walked on.
Then—
shlrrk.
I stopped again.
"…Did you hear that?" she asked.
shlrrk.
Wet. Slow.
I turned.
Behind us, wobbling awkwardly down the path—
The slime.
The same one I healed.
It paused when it noticed us.
Then pulsed.
Then followed.
Tess stared. "…Is it… attached to you?"
"I think," I said slowly, "something followed me back."
And deep inside—
Something responded.