Chapter 64: Talents of Grass

Well, my plan is made.

First, figure out a way to absorb other forms of energy.

Next, store them.

Then fuse them together.

And finally…hope I don't explode.

I opened my eyes, shutting off my internal flame, then tried to move. Something shifted. My fingers twitched. That's progress.

I circulated my energy only for some of it to leak out like a busted pipe. Great. And if that wasn't enough, my movements were about as dexterous as a slug.

But the real problem? My internal force was barely responding thanks to the fissures in my grand channel messing up the flow.

Not good.

I needed a fix. Fast.

Maybe I could make miniature cores to plug the gaps…but those wouldn't last. Eventually, they'd fizzle out, and I'd be back to bleeding energy every second. Not to mention the recovery of the force I would lose.

And speaking of things I didn't have…

Hunger. Thirst.

I was drained. I mean, dangerously drained. I couldn't even move properly, let alone fix it. My throat was so dry I was debating licking the cavern walls.

And for hunger...is orange moss deadly? Hmmm. Probably best not to find out.

Before I could spiral any further, the cave shook with the deep, ground-rattling roar of some massive creature.

…I don't need to explain that joke. You get it.

Alright. Back to moving.

I activated my half-domain, forcing the sluggish energy delicately through my channel, sinking it into my legs and arms first.

Something was off.

The moment energy hit my arms, something pulled.

It wasn't just leaking.

It wasn't natural dispersion.

It was being absorbed.

I tensed. A pressure clamped down on my forearm. Tight, solid, unyielding.

Not painful. Just…different.

Energy pushed through me, slow but steady. I lifted my arms, flexing my fingers, then rotated them in slow circles. Moving like this while lying down felt a bit odd, but I wasn't about to try standing yet.

My right arm was the focus of that 'off' feeling. Heavier, but solid. Sturdy.

Should I say…barky?

My hand felt mostly the same except for my thumb.

I exhaled in acceptance. Guess those monsters took more than just a chunk of my energy.

My toes tingled, like tiny needles were pricking them. A good sign, right? Or maybe just poor circulation. Either way, I took it as progress and began lifting each toe, one by one.

I circled my arms, lifted my legs, rolling each joint carefully while still lying down.

Must've been a sight to behold. If the others were here…what would they say? Guess I'll never know.

Moving like this actually helped. I felt a little better, and so far, the mental strain wasn't unbearable. Still, I had no idea what would happen if I used any abilities.

Some testing is probably better left well…untested.

I forced a bit more energy around my body and there it was again. A tightening around my sides.

It must've been the root Luna injected into me. The one that saved my life.

I swayed side to side, like an off-balance rowboat, trying to warm up my muscles. Eventually, I was ready.

Sitting up.

I got this.

Okay.

One…Two…and...

"THREE!"

I—I did it.

"…Oh. Oh no."

A second later, I was leaning to the side, violently emptying the last remains of my stomach.

My sides constricted, not painfully, but with a firm, stabilizing pressure.

The roots? Were they reacting to my stress? Holding me upright, keeping me steady?

"You can make liquid too!"

Luna chimed in, glowing way too brightly for the situation.

Apparently, she got done with her soap op—I mean...she got done with her totally mature shows meant for all people. Yeah…

"We really aren't that different. You can change colors like me, and we both also produce fluids!"

I coughed, steadying myself in my seated position with my arms. "This is not a pleasant thing."

"It never is," Luna pulsed, glowing solemnly.

"No, I me—ugh, forget it. Humans don't normally make releasing…fluids a big deal."

"Weird."

"I know, right?" I agreed with feigned solidarity.

Communal release. Some culture back home had to do that, right?

I shuddered before forcing myself to refocus.

"You need water, right, Luna?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Then aren't you getting thirsty?" I mean, it had been a long time since she had a good sip from the ground.

"What? No. I get everything I need from you."

If there were crickets, they'd be chirping right now.

"Well…I am not. So I need water."

Luna hummed thoughtfully. "I think there's plenty on the ground."

I felt around the damp cave floor, my fingers brushing against the pools riddled with what I only hoped was just rock, sand, and dirt.

"I need to clean it first. Humans can get pretty sick if we take in too much bad stuff," I explained.

"Roots."

"What?"

"YOU HAVE ROOTS," she thrummed, flashing a shade of green that screamed 'Idiot.'

"Did you struggle to make friends?" I asked, genuinely curious.

There was a slight shift in the grass wrapped around me, and a second later, my stomach twisted and my vision hazed.

"Luna! Stop, you're gonna kill me!"

"I was thirsty," she stated simply, radiating pure indignation.

Great. I just pissed off the sentient leaf attached to my bloodstream.

…She started it, though. No regrets.

"You told me you absorb everything and store what you don't need, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. Then later, I remove the waste."

"And where do you store the toxins and other stuff?"

"The roots."

That was all I needed.

If this worked, I'd basically have a built-in filtration system. A safe, clean, and viable IV drip running straight through my hands. Any harmful stuff would get stored in the roots themselves…hopefully released later, never touching my body.

Maybe I could even figure out how to control it.

Ideally, the water goes in, diffuses into my bloodstream, and boom…no more thirst.

I took a breath.

"Alright, how exactly does this work, Luna?"

There was a pause.

Then, a glittering rainbow erupted, lighting up the entire cave for several moments.

That…would've been immensely helpful during the fight.

Maybe it was involuntary? I suppose if there was a predator, the normal reaction would be to hide, not light up like a set of holiday decorations.

"Ar—are you laughing?"

I couldn't believe it. This situation. It was too familiar.

"You did not just ask me how to drink water," she echoed in my mind.

I smiled a bit at the memory. "You'd get along with Thea."

"Oh, and also, yes. I'm not a plant. How should I know how to drink like one?"

"Just shove your hand in and wait, genius."

The light show didn't stop, though. Apparently, I had just said the funniest thing she'd ever heard.

Or she found a comedy I watched at some point.

Alright. Just put my right hand he—ugh.

There was a squish.

Definitely a squish.

I started to move my arm somewhere else, but Luna chimed in, much to my great sadness.

"What are you doing? That's the best place for my roots."

Oh.

That's a corpse, isn't it?

Gross.

"I don't need iron," I muttered.

I knew she said excess iron was stored. I just really, really hoped that applied to me. I'm no scientist, but the last thing anyone needs is too much metal in their blood.

"I absorb water from blood much faster. Stay there." She ordered me.

"I separated from your roots a while ago, but they should still work the same," she added.

Time passed.

I sat there, hand submerged in vile meat, contemplating the choices that led to this moment.

"This is slow."

Luna huffed. "Drink it with your mouth, then, if they're so great."

…I went quiet after that.

The roots had reacted to my internal strength earlier.

Maybe I could try something with that.

A pump.

Constrict the roots in sections so they absorb the juices faster.

Without thinking too much, I tried it. Of course, my Precursor Energy was required, but it wasn't too demanding so no headaches yet.

I couldn't really tell if it was working super well, but I was definitely feeling less lightheaded. My throat was still dry…but less than before.

One of my few instant successes.

I let out a low chuckle. Can't wait to tell the others of my genius.

"What are you doing?" Luna asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.

"Using my power to absorb water more quickly."

She pulsed a deep purple. "Wow…can you show me?"

I guess that was the fusion of awe and curiosity.

"Yeah. You should be familiar with world force, right? Can you absorb world energy?"

Silence.

I guess not.

Just because I could see the visible spectrum didn't necessarily mean I could control any part of it. Maybe it was the same for her.

"Alright, I'll inject a bit of my internal force into you."

Wait...she didn't exactly have a Nexus like I did, at least not a human one. No core, no chest, no standard spots for reservoirs. Maybe she could follow my path in her own way?

One way to find out.

"I'm ready." She informed me.

I felt the tension around my wrist, but I started slow, careful not to overwhelm her small form.

I pushed a thread of my energy toward her.

Silence.

"I…don't feel anything," she admitted. Her glow dimmed slightly.

"Huh." I frowned. "Okay, try thinking about it like water. You absorb that fine, right?"

Luna pulsed in thought.

I sent another pulse of energy, this time a bit stronger, guiding it gently into her form.

"Focus on the feeling. This is sort of what you see. Just my altered version of it. Everything should have their own. Sense yours through mine."

No response.

I amped up the energy just a bit more before...

"Amazing! All of this, around me, in me. And I, my family. None of us even knew."

Luna pulsed with wonder as I pulled my energy back.

"Normally, I'd try to teach you how to sense world energy, but…yeah, I don't think that's necessary."

"I started by creating web-lik—root-like structures in special points around my body. Eventually, that caused a change."

"Got it. Let me try to take in the force," she responded.

Just out of curiosity, I injected her with a fresh batch of the cocktail beast and internal force as the energy paths were almost completely gone.

I'm glad I did.

She didn't absorb the default golden energy.

No.

Luna was something else.

I had no idea how I was supposed to guide her.

Because she didn't just absorb it. She took everything.

A vast rainbow of power folded into itself, merging into one solid path of pure, colorless—no, color-overloaded light.