The Stargazing Witch & The Dungeon Planet

Chapter 136: Ceella Stella

…

…

..Eg…

…

…Ergh…

…

I couldn’t feel anything.

…

But slowly, my mind returned to me. 

…

Well… at least I ain’t dead.

I felt together, at least.

…It’s gone…

But besides that, I couldn’t tell much of anything.

I couldn’t see or feel anything. I didn’t know if I was up or down, on the ground or floating. Well, to say I couldn’t feel anything wouldn’t be entirely correct; I could feel the connections I made to the core, though it felt as if I was directly touching instead of being connected via starlight strings.

…the pain…

I didn’t know if it was because I couldn’t feel anything at all, but I was free… I hoped forever, but I was at least free for a momentary relief from that torture.

…

I enjoyed the lack of sensation for far longer than I should. Afterwards, I spent who knows how long trying to figure out anything. After moving, well, trying to move, I tried using my Soul Pressure to sense my surroundings, but that also got me nothing. 

“You are like a baby.”

I heard Espoiramissa’s voice, but it sounded different. It wasn’t coming from me inside my head… but around me.

“Hmm… well, it won’t be long before you can see again.”

Still, it was the same, shifting between pitches and tones. 

I wonder how long, long is supposed to mean.

Espr didn’t reply to my thoughts.

Can they not hear me?

They still didn’t reply.

After another unknown amount of time passed. 

What is this place…

Finally, I could see again? More accurately, I was using [Star Mapping] again in high detail without much issue to see everything around me. To which I discovered I was floating in some sort of large void… With a large purple star floating in the sky.

It’s… wonderful…

I was lost in the majesty of this place, of the star that stood above me… my star…

To be accurate, maybe sun would’ve been the better word, but looking at it made me reminisce about looking at stars from a telescope rather than staring at the sun.

Espr… speak voice! Speak! 

I wanted to talk to Espr, but my voice still wouldn’t allow it. 

What do I do now?

“What? Having difficulty speaking?”

Giving me sass?

“Yes, and no, I can just see your facial expressions.”

I used [Star Mapping] to look at my own face, and yeah, I definitely looked irritated and naked, but that wasn’t the only thing strange.

Instead of six horns that formed together to make my twisted antlers, I had one pair of proper antlers growing from my forehead, made of purple sparkling starlight.

What has happened to me…

My body slowly felt different… A slow filling of my vessel with energy as if I were being awoken.  

I would like some clothes…

With a simple thought, clothes formed around me. I could tell they were made of mana, but they looked like ordinary clothes I would wear. My hair was long again, reaching my feet, but far less messy than it had been.

I stopped observing myself for a moment to notice the small orb that was floating near me.

“Finally noticing me?”

“ESPR?!” My voice finally started working, but while my mouth was moving, I could feel my soul pressure being infused into my words. 

“Yes. Hello, Ceella Stella.”

They were just floating there…

“What is happening… and where are we?”

“You are still in the Existence of Possibilities.”

“The what?” I had a guess, but better leave the answers to Espr if they were finally willing.

“Existence sides do hold names; the one you were born in is named the Existence of Expansion, and the one you ended up in, the Existence of Possibilities.”

“Couldn’t you have mentioned that sooner? It would’ve made communication easier.”

“No.”

“As for what is happening, I have broken into your domain to speak with you.”

“Domain?” The void around me certainly could be considered a ‘domain’, but I didn’t know what that meant. To try and get some answers, I tried to see my soul page, but nothing was appearing in my mind. “I can’t see my soul page either…”

“Because you don’t have one, but you can ask Existence to show you the equivalent of one. Sigh. Once you check that, I will explain everything else.”

Sure…Existence? Can I see a soul page… equivalent?

Ceella Stella | Spiritual  | Race: [To be Determined]

I recognise that term, Spiritual, it was what that invisible whale thing was referred to by Espr.

Then I heard my own voice speak back to me, “What would you like your race to be called?”

“Human?”

“Already taken as a Spiritual Race.”

“What is going on…?”

“Just pick a race name, not human. Existence is simply keeping a record.”

It felt like I was extremely rushed for an answer… but I also didn’t really care. “Stellar.” 

“Really?”

“Shut up.”

Ceella Stella | Spiritual | Race: [Stellar]

It really updated…

There was a lot of information I was missing, but I knew clearly I wasn’t under Espr’s influence anymore, my race finally changed to not being human, and that I felt different. 

“So… Espr, what is happening?” I managed to rotate myself to look at the orb. When I did, my eyes finally opened. Still gold, but there were sparkles within them. 

“There are three types of lesser creatures: Awakened, Unawakened, and Aborn. ”

…The Aborn would be monsters…

“Correct, and all life created Existence of Possibilities or in Dungeons. ”

“Now above them are the Spiritual Creatures. These include some familiar faces, your whale friend and that crimson beast that damaged your soul. Both were merely projections to different extents, as anything close to their true power would be dangerous in the incomplete Existence of Expansion.”

“So… I am supposed to be the same as you.”

“Good one. You have always been good at making me laugh.”

I happily joked back, “Thanks for appreciating my efforts; I do my best to please.” For the first time, I felt I could reply back without concern. 

“Still, in truth, you are far weaker than any of those creatures; my comparison of you being a baby wasn’t far from inaccurate in a way.”

…

“Then… I will ask, what happened to me? My method should’ve solved my mana issue and created a stopgap against your infection, and that was working… but before I collapsed and this happened.”

“What you have accomplished as a question mark human is astonishing—”

Rude…

“–However, the path you have taken isn’t completely unique.”

I questioned, “Meaning?”

“You aren’t the only one to have properly consumed a dungeon core, but you are the first one to do it as an Awakened. It is usually an act left to the Aborn. Sometimes, as an act of betrayal, succession in a trial or bet, or the dungeon core willingly allows for their own death to create something new.”

“What happened to the Nelatta’s world then?”

“The dungeon core chose not to be consumed, but it didn’t want to die out. I am not sure what exactly happened, but the core itself had to have a hand in that world’s consuming tendency. Maybe it trusted Al-Roo, its chosen one, to keep defending without consuming its core so that maybe one day it would reawaken.”

“Is that possible?”

“No. That core was completely dead, a battery, nothing more.”

…I wonder how long Al-Roo was fighting for that dead world.

Al-Roo must’ve been the only one to remember the original end and the generations of people trapped within the walls, as more and more worlds were being consumed.

I wanted to ask more questions about myself, but first, it was correct to deal with the consequences of my actions.

“So what happened to that world, and the Nelatta?”

“The world collapsed, and that world that had consumed others was consumed by what is now your own personal star.”

At Espr’s comment, I focused on the star, and I could feel practically endless amounts of Starlight being released from it, and within the core, I saw an intense heat of solar energies, fire, sun, and light.

“As for the Nelatta, they mostly were extinguished.”

“Mostly? Extinguished?” Espr’s choice of words felt purposeful.

“Yes, some died, and now their souls are resting in this space, ready to be used by you for whatever. However, the majority were burned to nothing. This has not much to do with your power of flames, the method of death, yes, but those souls were worn out. The dead planet didn’t have the capacity to grant new souls or allow old ones to rest, so they were continuously stressed to their limit through use and their essence drained; only when consuming other worlds did it likely get an influx of newer souls.”

…

It was hard to feel no guilt at all. I had accepted the fact that I was going to kill them all ages ago, but that didn’t mean I had to enjoy the process.

“Before you ask, the souls of Al-Roo and Cole-Ra-Cu are among the group that are gone forever. Though, Lu, your favourite one is still around here, somewhere.”

“I wouldn’t say she was my favourite; I already had others who had similar roles in my life. Cole-Ra-Cu was probably my favourite; he was nice to talk to. I never really spoke with older people often.”

While Espr said Lu’s soul was still here… I knew there was no way to recreate ‘Lu’ with her memories; if there was, Espr would’ve led with that.

“You said I can use them for whatever?”

“Consume them for minuscule power or create some new life with them. They have a decent base since their previous life had intelligence. Not all Aborn have true souls, so consider yourself lucky. I will mention that your life-crafting abilities are limited; only cores have the ability to create whatever they want. You will see when you try out those authorities.”

“Okay…” I sighed. I will still process everything, and I knew there was a lot more I needed to hear, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. Not in any semblance of an idea was it a part of my plan to ‘level up’ what kind of being I was. “How did I even become one? It can’t be as simple as having a large battery as a power source.”

“One of the requirements of Spiritual beings is that they can generate their own energy, not simply absorb it from Existence itself like you humans do. This is why the majority of beings who are Spiritual either were created as one, or consumed one to gain that position.”

“Outside of that, a certain degree of soul manipulation is required… There are some other minor requirements, but if you really wish, you can learn those yourself.”

“That’s fine by me; I’ve learned enough.” After a while, I had finally gotten the hang of moving my body. Thankfully, my form hadn’t changed much… Though I didn’t know if that was because it simply hadn’t or my mind was telling it to stay in a human shape. I felt my body’s organs doing their job like humans, but part of it felt fake, as it was just being done for the show. 

My hand reached up towards my personal star… It was beautiful. The more I stared at it, the more I loved it. The heat that radiated off, the movement of the energies within, how the light sparkled—all of it.

“I wish there was more…”

“That can be done. This is your world. Until the day the planes of Existence fully merge, every non-dungeon Spiritual being has a domain it rules. This domain is their home, their contribution to the future of creation.”

I let Espr’s words sit in my mind.

“So, what do you wish to do with it?”