Chương 47: Chapter 44:

Hopping to his feet, on guard once more, he glanced about, but if the creature that'd cut his vine was still around, he couldn't see it. Asking the nearby dandelions, they were as surprised as he that something had attacked him, saying they hadn't seen anything until just a moment before the attack.

Afterwards though, they mentioned seeing a distortion fleeing away, so he assumed the creature ran, but considering they'd missed it the first time, he couldn't be sure; for all he knew, it sent a distraction of sorts away, and his dandelions had taken the bait. But he couldn't just stand around and do nothing, waiting for the other shoe to drop. With one Whip damaged, his only option from here on out was to simply walk- which he likely would've anyway since he didn't want to risk falling into another mirror.

Their venture through the paned forest was much different from that point forward; having given up the pretense of being real reflections entirely, many of his fake selves just sat at the edge staring at him. The few times they behaved perfectly as normal reflections though, he still didn't trust them, and he wasn't sure he'd ever look at a mirror the same ever again.

When he was forced to pass within arms reach of one, he always stared warily at it, or made sure to never let it out of sight for more than a moment, glancing forward to be sure he wasn't walking into another. While he couldn't be sure, it felt like he was always just barely too slow to catch them moving or reaching from him. Yet, despite his paranoia, there weren't any further incidents, and soon, he was approaching the metal walls of the hilltop town, only about four hours since he set out.

'Using my Windwhips as stilts for a while really sped things up.' The dandelions in the area spoke of feeling vibrations in the air, indicating sound, and Aaron was pretty sure they saw him and were moving around like a hornets nest. Strangely, he didn't see anyone peeking over the edge of the wall to look at him, but they might have other ways to see- anything was possible in the Underworld.

Verifying that his second Windwhip was fixed- and that it was still his current maximum, despite his increase in potency with his Weight being 2. 22- his feet carried him out, stepping into a small clearing around the town, about eighty feet to the wall.

'So it is possible to clear out the mirrors, but I think this is a much smaller area than I'd have made it if I were in their shoes. Something's definitely up.'' From here, he actually could hear people talking in hushed tones, yet a bit too loud to be considered whispering. About halfway through the clearing, someone finally peeked over, making him stop in his tracks, squinting to make out any of their features.

"Targrin, Malimaci!" the person shouted in a tone that made him think of a greeting. From the voice alone, he could tell they were a woman. He blinked.

'Yea, probably not English.'

"Hello! I just got here, and I mean you no harm. Do you have anyone that speaks English?" They leaned down, hearing something from someone nearby. Standing up again, they said, "Err… Esn! Ess!"

"You mean… yes? Okay, can I talk to them?" They leaned down again, and he rolled his eyes.

"No! Aming dorn… caming… dorn… dowrn" another order, and the speaker started getting visibly frustrated, but held their tongue, though they did give a calm retort to whoever else was telling them what to say- in a tone Aaron pinned as"Speaking to your boss while they do something dumb and not wanting to get fired."

Eventually, the woman speaking let out a sigh and jumped off the two-story-tall wall, and for a moment he thought he'd come just in time to see a lady actually kill herself in frustration, but sighed in relief when an updraft caught on her yellow dress; rather than flip the skirt and reveal her indecently, it just slowed her descent- like Mary Poppins.

A thankfully human woman landed gently on the ground, and she walked towards him with the grace of a smooth grace, her steps never taking her so far as to rush, but not so slow that she barely moved; it was positively measured, and for some reason, he felt completely barbaric for his sloppy… walking. Not wanting to move anymore and perhaps further embarrass himself, he was given time to study them, and knew she was easily the prettiest woman he'd ever seen.

Golden hair and eyes that both seemed to sparkle, clear skin, and a head adorned with a flower crown of daisies. The very moment he thought that, though, a bearded man leaned over the metal wall so Aaron could see him, using the pointer and middle finger, motioning to their own eyes, then jabbing them at Aaron, in an"I'm watching you," motion. Some else instantly pulled them back, and there was a hushed murmur of exasperation, making Aaron laugh heartily.

'Seems she's spoken for.' Despite the town clearly shitting themselves at the idea of interacting with him, and sending out what could only be their most attractive member to dissuade him from attacking them immediately, there was at least one person willing to make it known that they'd go to bat for the lady- and Aaron imagined it was either a husband or boyfriend willing telling the sky person to not get any funny ideas.

The woman glanced behind herself curiously but, seeing nothing, continued her walk towards him, and Aaron couldn't help but wonder why they'd even sent out a solo, vulnerable individual to speak with him, rather than keep them behind th walls. What if he was a malicious person and attacked, or worse; if he was someone disgusting and tried to kidnap her?

'Well, at the very least, she has an Imprint, and so isn't exactly helpless… meaning they'd likely intervene if I showed any such thoughts, and she'd be able to fend me off for long enough that they could. Perhaps it's also a test? If I were someone who would try that, better to get it out of the way now so they know not to let me into the town- that way, even if I escape, they know definitively that I am a "Kill on sight" individual. Hmm, okay, maybe a bit smarter than I first gave them credit for.'

Thankfully, he had nothing to worry about, as he really didn't mean anyone harm. Stopping a short distance from him, she made a dignified curtsy and said "Eh snti et hti omi, ka Malimaci?" then held her hand, tapping her thumb and pointer pressed together, as if asking to pinch him. Shrugging, he said "Sure, go for it," then held his own hand out. She did exactly as motioned, pinching the tip of his middle finger for a few seconds, then pulling away and saying "To understand, Demigod?"

in a voice that came through clearly, barely any vocal glitching remaining at all, but very obviously not at all what she meant.

"I think I understand you- but what did you just call me?" he asked, befuddled. It was obvious that she'd utilized Corruption to sync herself to him, but her words were also much clearer than his experience with Squeaky's- or even the silver Nosferian's… yet, he didn't think those particular words were what she intended to say. She suddenly seemed a bit nervous.

"I am the apologies, refer to you unsure? Called Demigod, preferred title?" He bit his tongue, "No no, it's okay," While her words came through more clearly than the nosferian's, it was obvious there was a grammatical and contextual difference between what she said versus what she meant. For all he knew, "Demigod" was the term they used for everyone that fell from the sky, calling them half-gods as an idiom, more than a religious icon.

Like when someone said "I'm all ears," that didn't literally mean they were made of ears. Aaron wasn't the usual Floor 0 traveler though, and with how much destruction he'd wrought on arrival, it would make sense for them to be afraid, divine or not. He didn't want to scare them more than necessary and risk them lashing out in response. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Mentally accepting that there'd be mistranslations, he reassured the poor native.

"Sorry, the word demigod translates strangely, there isn't anything wrong with it, but just call me Aaron, that's my name. You are?" She relaxed, happy she hadn't offended him, and said "This understanding for thanks, Demigod Aaron, am See-person Aliata," she said, and he fought to keep his face from twitching at his moniker, and hers.

"Town of the like? What want?"

"Well, if at all possible, I'd like to spend the day here, and either find a way to earn money and buy clothes, food, maybe a place to sleep before going back up there," he said, pointing at the top of Bwurzix, then hesitated to come up with a reason why. Luckily, Aliata simply nodded knowingly, as if that explained everything.

"Yes, Demigod Aaron. Town Halisn, good help. No money need, free." He fought back a frown at that.

'We'll see. If everything is free and they're just communists or something, sure why not, I'll help out, but if other people are paying in a currency I'm not going to take advantage of their kindness.' Instead, he smiled, "Thank you. You said this town was called Halisn? Could you show me around and tell me more about it?'

"Yes, Demigod Aaron," she said happily, and led them back towards the wall.

'How are we even going to get in?' he wondered, but was soon answered as a hole large enough for three people to walk side-by-side opened at its base, the walls melting away to let them in. On his way through, he could see that they were multiple feet thick, making him wonder just what they were keeping out to build their base like this.

As they stepped through, two men on either side held their hands against the wall, nodding solemnly to Aaron as he passed by, and soon, Aaron found himself stepping into the town proper. It was… homely. Pleasant, almost scenic. The houses were all made from a combination of brown wood and gray bricks to give it a more medieval aesthetic, down to even the cobblestone roads; it felt like stepping into a renaissance fair, but with more effort and cleaner.

He was going to stop himself from staring wide-eyed at everything, but when he looked around and saw most of the people turning to stare at them, he mentally shrugged and looked back, studying it all, including the very much not-human, four armed, beastly looking folk that worked peacefully among his human brethren.

'Those are the type of aliens that saw me when I first got here.' In his ear, Aliata soon began to speak, giving him some context.

"Halisn bastion of a mirror, many grow shard to join the structure clean."

"Okay, hold on, I have no idea what that means," he said, trying not to laugh at the strange cadence. His humor instantly vanished when he remembered he likely sounded the same as her, from her perspective. He immediately felt the urge to stop talking, but tried brushing it off. She appeared to debate on a better way to explain, but eventually asked "How know do build? Build… in sky house?"

"Hm, where I'm from, in order to build a house, you get a bunch of materials together to construct it- such as planks, bricks, concrete and the like. You said 'Grow shard,' and 'Join the structure clean,' which are two terms I'm not familiar with."

"See indeed… maybe… missing sky words… Grow shard is… venture into blue way, find blank… piece… think think, then, ah! House! But… house odd different, and not same type. All grow shard, placed when; match with parent, friend, neighbor, which join the structure clean!" He scratched his chin,'So if I'm getting this right, they go into the floor, notably not the Place of Power, and in this floor, they find things called "Grow shards," which are used to grow houses.

These houses are reliant on memory, but usually wrong somehow, so they join up with the surrounding houses to smooth them out.' He wondered if they got everything from the blue place, and as they walked, he soon started to notice oddities that pointed towards there being limits to what they could find at all; namely the absolute lack of plants.

Not a single leaf or green in sight, it gave the entire town a very sterile feeling, utterly void of the nature he'd grown accustomed to seeing in developed areas- at least in the form of manicured lawns or saplings on the sides of the road. Another thing was the casual integration of magic in the form of glowing, sparkling letters bringing attention to signs, the way he watched someone throw bathwater onto the road and how it immediately vanished, and the notable exchange of black stones, a very familiar type.

Based on how they were treated, he believed these stones were used as currency- though he could also see that they were different; how, he wasn't sure, but he avoided staring too closely, lest his curiosity be confused for greed.

'Bwurzix you rat bastard you ate my gold,' he thought, though he was only amused by such a fact. Despite the obvious magical qualities to the town itself and its functions, not a single person appeared to cast anything of their own. If he had to guess, it was likely because if Imprints were allowed to be used inside the walls without supervision, it would lead to either a few falling to Corruption in a populated area or major collateral if something went awry while using their energy.

He considered it a good rule to set, and resolved to heed the laws of the land. The further they went, the more eyes Aaron found staring at him- and more notably, his hands, where he openly held a Mushki feather and his glasses case. Nobody tried to take them, yet, but their curiosity and surprise were clear. Aliata, either oblivious or choosing to ignore their observers, kept talking.

"Many of buying done with ebon coins," she said, pulling out her own from within a fold of her dress, and giving it to Aaron to study. He did so instantly, seeing that it was the same, polished crystalline surface- though the coin had a faint prismatic glow, right in the middle, that continuously shifted. It was an entrancing object, which she explained a bit about "Ebon coins made from ebon opal, you know much of.

Opal to refiner professional, they practice to make; ebon coins even used to gain significant energy in an emergency… don't use lots though, hurts over time."

'I see, I have to go to a professional to turn it from crude "Ebon opal" into coins.' She then went on to explain how currency worked, and he just nodded along. He supposed she was just explaining society in general, as she didn't know what was unusual to him versus a common- which is also why he didn't cut her off, in case she threw in something well-known here that he was oblivious to which, of course, halfway through, she did.

"... Much of what can bought be is summoned from sky, when either sky weaken or purge collapses it. Smiths and-""Wait, purge?" he asked, recognizing that word. The cannibal he'd killed back at the camp had desperately tried convincing him to spare his life by mentioning a purge. A flicker of surprise passed over her, but she was nothing if not professional.

"Yes, purge, know not of?" He shook his head.

"Purge when sky become too heavy, and ground is be too hungry. Many things fall, and some ground things comes up to meet the falling. Save what we can, hide when is chaotic. Sometimes, ground is pull the sky, accelerate when is up." He tried wrapping his head around what she considered such a mundane thing that she barely mentioned it.

"So the sky cracks, and everything from Floor 0 falls down, you all salvage or save people if you can, then hide away when… what… the ground opens to swallow the sky?" She gave a hesitant nod, but he could tell there was a lot lost in the translation.

"And… what do you do to hide from this… calamity?" She snorted the moment he said "Calamity," then blushed, covering her face, but the reaction helped relieve some of the tension; if she found the idea of calling it a calamity laughable, it couldn't be as bad as he was imagining.

"Purging festival!" she said happily, and he could only give her an incredulous look, making her laugh.

"Alright…" he said hesitantly, and they arrived at what he imagined was the city center. Almost completely clear, it was a wide circular space with only a water fountain in the middle, in which people walked, played… washed their clothes… and drank from…

'That can't be sanitary… unless it's magic?' The main attraction, though, was right at the top of the fountain. Stabbed into a stone platform like excalibur, a blue and purple Mushki feather glistened in the light, presiding over the entire space, drawing the eye as the brightest, most colorful object in the area. Glancing down at his brownish red and green Mushki feather, he suddenly felt like he was lacking, as his wasn't nearly as bright or spectacular-looking.

The few people close to them still stared at Aaron, some even gaping as they compared his feather to the one in the center, but for the most part, the hairy four-armed people and humans both didn't even realize someone strange was here. This particular place had too much hustle and bustle to have any one thing noted. It seemed that Aliata was afraid of causing a scene in a place like this, as she quickly led him around the outskirts of it and down another street, saying "To market, the important place of be.

I show must you the smith, he will wish for make sheath. Hide the feather." He was immediately interested, "That seems like a good idea- though I must ask, usually-" in stories I've seen"-the market is right at the entrance. Why make it all the way over here?" Aliata's face shifted through a dozen different forms of "Thinking" as she tried coming up with the right words to say it in a simple way without confusing him.

"... Zoning laws." He chucked, "Well, alright I guess." Before he could look around at any of the other shops, he was quickly shoved through the door of one place in particular- one made of bricks, with a tall chimney and several displays through glass windows showing finely made tools and weapons, some of which he couldn't identify at all.

As he entered, he half expected to hear clanging from the back, but the muscular four-armed alien standing behind the counter was the only other person in the building as far as he knew. Aliata turned the sign on the door, almost certainly marking it as "Closed" and the shopkeeper quirked an eyebrow for a moment. Eyes landing on Aaron's blade though, a wide grin split his face.