The Inner Odyssey-Chapter 181: Swallowed

A gentle breeze blew through the surrounding brush.

Celeste froze.

The soft rustle reverberated within her like a terrible screech.

Inhaling a deep, silent lungful of air, she gripped her short-sword, her posture absolutely still. Her gaze flitted through her immediate vicinity, every sense on high alert. Once the sense of oppressive danger passed, Celeste sensed the tension racking her frame fade.

In the next moment, her muscles loosened, allowing her to move.

The Chosen of the Divine Sovereign crept forward deftly, maintaining a steady hold on [Deceit] - a simple, low-level Skill designed to hide one’s features. The optical illusion was quite limited in several ways, but it still served her well... not the least because of the green combat attire she currently wore.

If anyone came across Celeste right now, all they would see was a sea of green, her form fusing with the verdant vista of Nature’s Grove.

At least, that was what she hoped.

’...It should be somewhere around here.’

Celeste shifted her attention to the peaceful meadow around her, her jade-green eyes on the hunt for anything amiss. For a region fraught with numerous disturbances, Oakia’s Meadow did not quite match the Keeper’s report.

The grass swayed soothingly, and the trees rustled occasionally as if responding to the former’s song. The numerous huts comprising the Outpost ahead appeared in good condition, if not slightly weathered from the mark of nature and the passage of time.

Celeste’s brows furrowed.

Had the Keeper sent her on a fool’s errand?

But that was impossible. Especially, since Celeste had embarked on this mission at the behest of the [Augur of Judgment], not the Keeper of the End. There was no way the nebulous and extremely mysterious Asteron would waste her time and send her somewhere just for the sake of it.

...Right?

After all, they had wished for her to stumble across the jade tablet and overflow with life. Not only had that peculiar flower increased her reserves of life energy by a truly startling amount, but as a consequence of ingesting it, she had been able to increase her mastery over her Magic Class, and later on, become a Disciple of Light.

Without it, Celeste was unsure whether she could have achieved both.

Grateful and at the same time suspicious of the [Augur of Judgment] - why were they so fixated on her? - , the young lady returned her attention towards Oakia’s Meadow.

The Keeper’s report, compiled by a seasoned Paladin, painted a grim story.

Apparently, numerous hunters and even several Guild Expeditions had vanished without a trace. It was Celeste’s job to try and figure out why. The Keeper had assured her the role was only investigatory; at the first hint of danger, she was more than free to run.

Still, that did not quite manage to quell Celeste’s unease.

In the end, though, she did not have much of a choice. For some strange reason, the Chosen of the Divine Sovereign felt inexplicably drawn to this mission.

She could not refuse, or rather, felt like she had no right to.

Celeste scanned the Outpost again, finding nothing amiss. The young woman carefully inched forward, surveying the peaceful landscape. She circled the huts and even stepped inside a couple after much deliberation, discovering that they were mostly empty.

Celeste’s gaze narrowed.

The sight wasn’t a strange one. It was quite common for an Outpost to remain depleted until a Paladin arrived to replenish it.

What was strange, though... was the timing of it all.

As far as Celeste knew, someone had just recently restocked this Outpost, based on the freshness of the leftover medicinal herbs and the Paladin’s Seal showing that they had indeed carried out their task.

The hunters and Guild Expeditions disappeared roughly two weeks ago, so it couldn’t have possibly been them. Perhaps, a wayward traveller had simply stumbled across the Outpost.

But then, why would they take so many resources with them?

It simply didn’t make sense, even if they were greedy and only sought to further their own aims.

An ominous feeling began to bubble within Celeste’s gut.

She activated another skill; this time, her whole figure disappeared, turning invisible.

Not a moment later, she sensed a presence rushing through the undergrowth.

The young healer instinctively held her breath.

Very soon, she let out a relieved sigh. It was only just a hare.

However, before Celeste could let her guard down, she saw the hare vanish, abruptly and without warning. The ground had somehow swallowed it whole.

Suddenly, Celeste sensed a slight vibration beneath her feet.

That was when a terrible premonition gripped her mind.

However, it was far too late.

Suddenly, a gaping darkness rushed up to meet Celeste.

...The earth had swallowed her, too.

***

Celeste plummeted.

Her heart violently lurched, a sense of weightlessness forming an anxious pit in her stomach. She hurtled through the darkness with no immediatte end in sight - it was as if she was descending a tunnel that reached the very foundation of Nature’s Grove.

Dismissing the unhelpful thought, the young healer screamed.

Her heart galloped like a spent horse. Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut.

Celeste swiftly sensed a headache begin to form. However, that was the least of her concerns.

For just then, she sensed an opening.

It was just a small pin-prick, but it rapidly expanded until it consumed her. Less than a heartbeat later, the Chosen of the Divine Sovereign’s feet met solid ground. She instinctively reinforced them at the last moment, but that did nothing to stop the pain.

The young lady gritted her teeth and opened her eyes.

Celeste gagged as an overwhelmingly putrid scent suddenly streamed into her senses. She pinched her nose, her brow twitching as she registered the thick scent of blood.

Channeling mana, she scanned her surroundings urgently. Celeste thought she made out the outline of a underground cavern; currently, she was at its edge, a wall of gnarled roots behind her back.

As she summoned the courage to explore further, a sinister voice suddenly stopped her in her tracks.

"What do we have here...? Another human? Excellent! Iriminsul has heard my prayers."