Rise of the Godking - Chapter 140

The experience of having his mind, his spirit, his very soul taken away from his body, leaving it with no protection whatsoever, no safety, no physical shall to rely on would have been daunting and terrifying…

… if Daneel already hadn't gone through it multiple times on Angaria.

On his home island, there had been many instances where such a thing had happened to him. Sometimes, it had happened by design and had always resulted in him emerging with a trump card that no one could have seen coming. In others, it happened without him anticipating it, and even then, he always returned with something he could use.

In short, what was happening hadn't taken him out of his element, at all, except for the fact that it had happened so abruptly. In just the few moments that it took for his consciousness to adjust to where it had been taken, he had pondered on the old man's words and realized that he was once again embroiled in a prophecy that he knew nothing about.

Slowly, he saw that this was unlike many of those experiences where he had existed only as a wisp, a formless being able to do nothing but move and watch. He had a body which had probably been allowed by whatever had brought him here, and as he opened his eyes, bright light filtered into them, making him blink and squint.

They adjusted in a few moments, during which he got to his feet. The ground was moist, as if rain had recently fallen, and beneath his feet, he could feel soft grass. He breathed in, deeply, smiling despite the situation when the familiar, lovely scent of earth kissed by rain reached his nose. Along with that, the smells of a forest, lush and vibrant, made him understand where he was before he could see it, and when he finally did, his eyebrows rose as it was even greener than he had imagined.

Towering trees, each dwarfing him to the extent that he was like an ant beside humans rose into the sky. Their branches created a canopy far above through with sunlight fell through in the form of bars of molten gold. There were a few bushes here and there, but for the most part, the ground was grassy except where those massive trunks arose, of course.

While enjoying the location he had come to without an ounce of worry, Daneel asked the system to repeat the message it had just given. The smile left him, finally, when he saw that all it had said was that the Will of the world had acted to trap his consciousness, and that the system was still looking for a way to leave.



Increasingly, he was seeing that the Wills of different worlds were quite different from the one he had connected to on Angaria. Still, what was happening here was far removed from everything he had observed so far, and a hint of suspicion came to him, making him think that everything might not be as it seemed.

Before he could ponder on this, though, the sound of tinkling laughter emerge from somewhere in front of him. It didn't scare him, not in the slightest bit…but it did intrigue him, and like someone wise who was going along with the tricks of youth despite being able to see through them, he ran forward, deciding to go along with what he had been brought here for.

He could already tell that there was going to be a test, or some sort. After all, the old man had said that he needed to be sure, so it was obvious that the test would somehow try to check either whether he was the Frelsar, or whether he was capable of being the one, at least.

Walking in the direction of that sound brought him to a grove with a small, pleasant waterfall. The sound of flowing water was so soothing that he felt himself relax once again, but he tensed, a bit, when he spotted a woman to his right, sitting in front of the stream formed by the water, her legs bent with her knees pointing up, her feet stretched forward so that her toes were submerged.

It was a small stream, barely the size of a hand, but it had some depth to it. Calmly, Daneel walked forward and took a seat beside her.

She had long, silky black hair that reminded him of the woman outside. Even the features were slightly similar, which was strange, but there was enough difference to convince him that they were not the same person, and that this was not a being who had plucked out that image in his mind and chosen to adopt it.

She was wearing a pink gown whose hem was in the stream, too, flowing in the direction of the water. Her hands were on her knees, and her eyes were out of focus.

With a start, she came to herself a few seconds later. Looking beside her and finding Daneel, she exclaimed, "Finally! Company! I've been waiting for this to happen…but now that it has, I don't know what to say! Well… first, welcome! I expect that you must be filled with questions, right?"

Her voice had an innocence to it, as if she was untouched by the darkness of mankind that was present on almost all the islands. With a gentle smile, he nodded, making her frown and say, "Well…that's different. All those who came here before were so confused and scared that everything on their mind flew out of their mouth the moment I said that. You're so calm and collected, as if you've been through this before…but that can't be possible! Well, you have my attention, young sir. May I ask what your name is?"

His smile broadened with amusement when he heard her mention those who had come before him. His own mind was filled with questions, of course, but in situations like these, he had already seen that only things that he should know would be told to him, and that would happen whether he voiced his doubts or not, so why waste his breath?

"Dan," he said, and a radiant smile came on her face.

"Dan! I like it! Welcome to my world, Dan. I control everything here… everything. With just a flick—" she flicked the fingers of her right hand, making a sound that was quiet, at first, then echoed again and again until it seemed to be coming from everywhere around them, "— I can change whatever I want, like this!"

The stream grew, its sides eating into the earth as if it was alive. It was soon a river, then an ocean. The water engulfed everything, swallowing up the trees, the grass, even the ground they were on, and in a few moments, they were on top of the ocean, with nothing else around them but the sky and the water.

Daneel raised one eyebrow, impressed. He was pretty sure that he already knew what was going on here, but he waited for a chance to confirm it. The woman seemed disappointed by his reaction, but with another flick, she made what had been present before reappear.

With a pout that was quite pretty, she said, "You're no fun! I don't know if this is a farce, but… no, it must be! Well, you won't be able to keep it up for long. You are here to be tested, and test you I shall. This is what you must know before we begin. You can die here. Don't doubt it…some have, and they did not even live long enough to regret it. What you are will perish, and your body will wither away even if on the outside, it might look as if you're in a deep sleep. Now that you know of the danger…let me tell you what awaits if you succeed. No one has, yet, but who knows? Maybe it'll happen now. What is at stake, here… is power. On the off chance that you're a mage, your power will directly increase by a level. I know how impossible that might seem, if you understand it, but it's true! Let me put in terms that someone practicing body conditioning would understand. Your strength will be boosted by two levels, at least, if all you train is the strength of your body. Oh, and you make a friend…so try your best, because I'm pretty lonely! Okay?"

Daniel nodded, calm on the outside, but as excited as a boy presented with something he had been asking for for ages on the inside. He had just broken through…and here was an opportunity to do so once again.

No matter what, he decided to not let it go. From the way things were going, there seemed no doubt that he would fail…but still, he told himself to be vigilant.

After his nod, she disappeared as if she had never been there in the first place. Only her voice echoed in the grove, and hearing it, Daniel got to his feet.

"When you're ready, walk forward. Good luck, Dan…but I hope you don't need it. See you soon!"