Chapter 1556 1556: Visiting The Crater Oasis
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Leviathan reached the area in just half a minute, appearing above the beautiful crystalline oasis, which was a massive lake surrounded by a beautiful forest that reminded Aquarina of the spirit forests surrounding Agartha.
"Here we are, let's descend!"
Leviathan slowly descended in front of the sleeping volcano, which resembled a crater going down, there was a lot of hard, solid rock here, and it seemed that over time they had formed some sort of staircase moving down.
"Looks like the path down here seems good enough," said Aquarina. "Let's walk downstairs… Khepri, where's the ornament at?"
"Uuuh, we should've descended over the lake instead! It's deep in there," said Khepri. "Is it okay to just walk there? It could be quicker like this."
"Ah, well, it would be rude to do that, the people protecting the Oasis would get upset," said Aquarina. "So I would rather not do that if possible…"
"Yeah, I agree with Aquarina here," said Silvia. "Let's do it cordially and without making a fuss if possible."
"We don't need to ask them about that thing in specific, let's just say we want to explore, swim, and fish a bit," said Justicio. "They should let us in without many problems."
"Aquarina, we'll go inside your Soulscape for now," Pyuku said, disappearing alongside Undine and Leviathan.
"I guess it's for the better," nodded Aquarina.
The trio wandered into the forest, which looked rather beautiful, green and vibrant. There were a lot of butterflies and other bugs here, more than birds and other animals.
Some were gigantic and others, small and majestic, though most were peaceful, minding their own business without bothering others.
"It's a nice place~" said Aquarina.
"Yeah, it looks great," nodded Justicio.
"There!" Silvia pointed into the distance. "That must be their village."
As they infiltrated the forest, the trio found a small village built on houses made of wood, covered with hay and other living plants.
It was well mixed with the forest itself, making it seem inconspicuous to the eyes, and easy to wander into the middle of it if one was careless.
The people were present right now, there were a couple dozen of them, not more than thirteen, Aquarina believed.
They resembled the people from Everstone, a mix between amazonians and desert elves, but their hair was mostly blue, or different shades of blue, some had darker blue and others clearer blue. Their eyes also varied between gold, green, and clear blue as well.
"I believe they're quite different because of their constant contact with the Water Spirit Energy of the Oasis has slowly given them a great affinity with the element," said Undine to Aquarina through telepathy. "Perhaps that's also why their hair changed colors over time… They have become very attuned with an element that the people of Everstone are usually not very closely related."
"So that's what you think, huh," Aquarina nodded. "Ah, hi! We came from Everstone."
Aquarina was the first to greet them, acting nicely as she walked towards the village's entrance.
There, a couple of the villagers glanced at her and noticed her.
"Visitors."
"It has been quite a while since the last ones."
They spoke with calm voices, and seemed to have very serene, stern voices, unlike the more relaxed, vibrant people of Everstone.
"Ah, hi, I visited this place once several years ago when I was a child…" said Silvia. "My name is-"
"Silvia, yes, we remember you," nodded the woman that walked forward, she was slender and beautiful, with dark brown skin, white tribal tattoos, and long translucent blue hair, with golden eyes She was wearing a long, translucent white dress. "Welcome back… You've grown well."
"Y-You remember me?!" Silvia asked.
"I am Justicio by the way…" said Justicio.
"Yes, we remember you as well," nodded the man, who was tall, not so burly, if not rather slender as well, with short dark blue hair and green eyes. "We usually remember everyone that comes here, and their names. We have quite good memory."
"Indeed," the woman nodded with a gentle smile. "However, we don't remember this girl here…"
"A-Ah, me? I'm Aquarina…" she said, a bit nervous.
She saw both the man and the woman approach her, touching her long hair, glancing at her face and her eyes, and sensing her aura.
"Yes, yes, you are indeed quite attuned with water."
"Incredible, the spirits of water love you… You have a contract with one? No, two? Amazing."
"E-Eh, okay… Give me my personal space please, I don't like this touchy touchy thing…" said Aquarina. "If you could, I would appreciate if you… gave me some space."
"Sorry, we got a bit too carried away."
"It's not usual to see someone so attuned with the water spirits, perhaps more than us."
"She's not from Everstone, she came to visit the village a year ago," said Silvia. "She's the daughter of the two Heroes, Nepheline and Shade."
"Nepheline and Shade!"
"She is a Hero herself, right? Her blessing, I can sense it."
"Yeah you got her," Justicio nodded.
"What wonderful news, the Hero of Water is here…!"
"We must tell the entire village and welcome her properly…!"
The two suddenly ran away back to the village, leaving the trio almost completely speechless, looking at one another in surprise.
"Uh, what the hell happened?" Aquarina wondered.
"I don't know! This has never happened before," said Silvia. "I guess they're amazed of your existence…"
"They might throw a party or something now," said Justicio. "So don't be too surprised if they do."
"D-Dammit…" Aquarina groaned. "Okay, I guess… I'll have to just take it?"
As she said that, the entire village approached, rushing towards the two and celebrating, bringing food, mostly fruits and roasted fish, boiled mollusks, and also insects.
"The Heroine of Waters has come to bless us today!"
"The wielder of the blessing of water!"
"Oh, the greatest divinity!"
They were a bit crazier than Aquarina had imagined, they grabbed her, lifted her up, and celebrated, moving her around the village.
The people started asking for her blessings, lowering their heads before her.
"W-What the hell is going on?!"
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