?
“I will sadly have to leave you both. I now have even more work than I had planned. Oh… before I leave… Does your realm have any peculiar plants or mushrooms?”
?
“Well, yes, it does, they are quite rare because, as you can see, the Moon Realm is mostly infinite space and moons with nothing else, but we do have a few unique plants. I can easily allow you to go and harvest some if you wish.”
?
“That would be a real pleasure, Lune. Thanks deeply for your help. I will not forget it.”
?
“Now, Saphyrra will accompany you through this realm until you have obtained all that you need. To come out of the Moon Realm, I’ll take you back to Zenthia.”
?
As expected, Sapphyra rushed behind him, clearly preferring his company to the glaring Lune. If she had known she would get in so much trouble, she would have never tried to take over his body. How unfair…
?
“I have the worst luck… the only body I could take over belonged to a Cygilite who’s related to the Moon Guardian?! How is that fair! Give me some of your luck, Akhenamen! Gimme!”
?
Akhenamen did not bother answering, simply watching her with disturbed eyes, as he saw a thousand-year-old goddess act like some sort of pre-teen girl straight out of an anime. His eyes did show the massive disappointment he felt over Sapphyra’s godly pride.
?
“You know it’s not because we gods have lived for thousands of years old that we don’t have some personality! We’re not brooding, anti-social psychopathic beings! I guess a few of us are, but they are a minority.”
?
“By the way, why do you need flowers and mushrooms? I suppose it’s for a job, right? Must you have inherited one from those Prothean bastards? I would appreciate it if you didn’t make that mushroom eat my body a second time.”
?
However, Akhenamen was still silent, seeing his singular eye burning more dimly than usual, she started to figure out a few things. They both reached a moon floating above them that was completely empty of any Transcendents.
?
It was filled with beautiful, gentle blue grass and bright, almost crystalline roses that seemed to have a thin flow of water forming sharp thorns around the rose’s stem. Adorable white rabbits using a small bubble of water that they rested on top, floated all around the moon, grazing on the blue grass.
?
Below, in the dark and non-lit area of the moon, the surface was covered by a thin but extremely soft white glowing moss from which gelatinous glowing white mushrooms grew. Those mushrooms were fully round with small, non-sharp spikes coming at random from the head.
?
Unlike the innocent rabbits, the moon’s dark side was inhabited by turtles. A shell made of a beautiful white carapace with small mushrooms growing on top alongside some moss and grass covering it.
?
Like a miniature ecosystem on a miniature turtle. Because that was the second peculiarity of those turtles. They flew around, carried by an invisible wind. Gracious and chasing each other.
?
Sometimes they would stop on a mushroom like it was their personal landing pad. Looking immensely proud despite the often awkward landing. Those were the babies, at least… Mom and Dad were much bigger.
?
Mountain-sized turtles, which, apart from their size and their skin looking even whiter, looked fully identical, were flying around in space, sometimes taking a bite out of a planet. Each of them seemed to have around the power of an Authority, with a few even at the Dominion ranks.
?
“That’s some really strong turtles… very beautiful. They would pester me about getting one for sure. Syllena would do the same for sure.”
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
?
Akhenamen smiled and laughed gently. Looking fondly at the scene, he had to admit it was genuinely beautiful. Sapphyra stood next to him, looking at him, a soft smile and her attitude finally going from the weird pre-teen anime goddess to the eyes of a being that had lived for millennia and carried many wisdoms and secrets.
?
“I’m glad to see you’re starting to move on, David.”
?
He had not heard his name in so long. Yet… it did not feel familiar anymore.
?
“My name is Akhenamen now, Sapphyra. David died. Now only Akhenamen remains. But yes, I’m starting to move on. Be honest, Sapphyra… is it possible for the System to resurrect my mortal family?”
?
Sapphyra stared back at him for a few seconds, looking for something in his eye. Not that he knew what she was looking for.
?
“Yes. The System might very well be the strongest being in this universe. It’s definitely an Absolute. However, as it controls so many things and living souls, including Transcendents, all over the “
?
“Universe…it cannot properly act, and it obeys its rule of fairness. But it had never been known to lie. Omit the truth? Yes. But never lie. If it promises you a certain reward, it will grant it to you.”
?
“But be careful of how it phrased its promise. If he did not specifically say they would be resurrected. There are a hundred ways he could fulfill the promise without truly bringing them back to life.
?
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep it in mind. I’ll go harvest some of the plants here.”
?
Sapphyra nodded and followed behind him, seeing him kneel down so softly that he didn’t even bend the grass under his knees, small cubes of green crystal like matter appeared around some patch of grass before disappearing with their catch.
?
Same for the moss; however, the mushrooms and roses were harvested directly by Akhenamen’s own hands. He was extremely delicate, particularly for the roses. The experience of a lifetime as a florist, making his work almost… interesting?
?
It was just watching someone harvest roses and mushrooms after carefully watching and analysing them, yet there was such a level of mastery that it was almost a form of art. Mostly from curiosity, Sapphyra decided to try to harvest some herself, while she could understand how people found some flowers beautiful… She didn’t understand why people would be interested in mushrooms.
?
“Wait… you won’t be able to harvest them properly like that. You’ll tear the head off the body. Look.”
?
He walked to Sapphyra and showed her how to pick up and harvest mushrooms. The feeling of the soft jelly like texture of the mushrooms made Sapphyra laugh a bit, seeing one of the turtles “violently attack” her for stealing her “landing pad”. A pad she swiftly replaced with another mushroom right next to the previous one.
?
“See? That way, you get both. Taking only the head could lead to the plant's death.”
?
“Aren’t mushrooms spreading through spores contained in their head?”
?
“Yes. But not these ones.”
?
[Moon Jellyshrooms] [Epic] : [Those mushrooms aren’t native to the Moon Realm but have only ever been found in abundance in it. No one knows where they really come from, but they, unlike many mushrooms, seem to be born from their stipes and volva (the mushroom’s stem and “root”).]
?
[Bluemmoon Grass] [Rare] : [A type of grass found in all places with deep Moon-related Laws and Intents. They are filled with pure energy from the Moon Realm and naturally cause a deep need for sleep within most non-Transcendents.]
?
[Crystal Rose] [Epic] : [This type of rose, native and exclusively found in the Moon Realm, is said to be amongst the most beautiful flowers on Zenthia. They carry Moon Essence of extreme purity; any Transcendents without any Moon-related Intents or Laws will cause the flower to wither almost instantly. Their scent is extremely attractive to all ???]
?
This was the reason why Akhenamen was helping her. He had tried, and the roses couldn’t be harvested by his hands. He could harvest them with his Tri-Astromath creations, but he also wanted some to be hand-picked in case his Tri-Astromath dimension could modify some of the roses’ properties. So he was tasking the only Moon Law-wielding Dominion he had with him at the moment.
?
Sapphyra was more than happy to have him help her. Talking to Akhenamen was great. Despite his strength and power, he had remained terribly humble. Something she deeply appreciated.
?
He reminded her a lot of Finion. A fellow Dominion, god of childhood, children, etc. He was also like Akhenamen. Extremely humble and collected, no matter what seemed to happen around him. However, Finion did have a slight mischievousness and constant tricks and plots he participated in for funsies. Akheanmen, however, seemed… pure.
?
“Akhenamen… what the Guardian said… about your mortal wife. Do not lose hope. Love is amongst the most beautiful emotions. If there’s one thing that can turn a man into a god, it’s love. She’s just an old grump.”
?
“Thank you, Sapphyra. You’re a good person. Tell me. Have you ever loved yourself?”
?
At those words, Sapphyra stopped for a bit, her eyes showing a time long past. One where she was still just a young kitten, barely a few dozen years old. Exploring the continent with her sister and their friends.
?
“No. I was born as an Authority by an unknown mother. Some say the moon birthed me herself. Some believe I was born from the first raindrop that fell on Zenthia. Truth be told. I don't even know my own birth.”
?
“I simply… always existed. But my power made approaching mortals impossible unless I wanted to break their minds from my lack of control. Then my sister swore an oath to never marry or go out with anyone that wasn’t accepted by the other… and both of us have ridiculous expectations for the other’s partner.”
?
She smiled a little bit at the end. As if remembering some of the shenanigans she had put her sister’s suitors through long ago.
?
“So no, Akhenamen… I have never loved, but I have watched millions of my children love, grieve, laugh, and more. The same thing in the end, no?”
?
Akhenamen looked at her, almost with sadness.
?
“I truly hope you will find the right person for yourself, Sapphyra. Thanks for your help once more.”
?
***
?
A few hundred moons away, Lune was watching everything inside her teacup, the tea showing a reflection of Akhenamen’s and Sapphyra’s conversation. A smile that would have given anyone a shiver appeared on her face.
?
“Yes… Yes… Give me some proper romantic scenes! I want a true theater piece!”
?
Lune, a Singularity, an Aspect of this Universe… was playing matchmaker with her youngest brother and one of her juniors.
?
“I really gotta find myself a hobby. My interest in gossip and people’s love life is getting worrisome.”