Entering the Spirit Realm (2)
The Earth Spirit King, Uluru, had the body of a seven-year-old child, just like Niagara. Her brown face still held some baby fat, and her matching short hair fell just to her shoulders. But Uluru didn't look like a child at all. It was because of her graceful steps, her gentle smile, and the depth in her eyes.
[Uluru!]
Aqua called out Uluru's name happily. Uluru gave a soft smile and nodded slightly. Aqua rushed over and hugged her. Her face was as bright as when the undines hugged her. Uluru, as if used to it, embraced Aqua and stroked her head.
[Hee hee hee!]
Watching Aqua laugh like she was in her mother's arms stirred a strange feeling in my chest. It was jealousy.
"Heh heh heh…."
A small laugh escaped me without realizing it. We were each that precious and special to one another.
[Shall we talk somewhere quiet?]
Uluru gazed at the massive tree with a serene smile on her face.
* * *
This enormous tree was called the Spirit Tree.
'I've seen that name a few times in the Spirit Shop.'
It was the largest tree in the Spirit Realm, located at its very center, and Uluru's main residence. The baby spirits hanging around here were influenced by her.
'Uluru is like a mother to all the baby spirits.'
With that thought, I climbed the stairs Uluru had formed, up onto the roots of the Spirit Tree. The baby spirits followed us from a distance after Uluru and Aqua promised to play with them later.
'So cute.'
It was like watching kids secretly peeking at their working parents from afar. As I looked at the baby spirits, the scenery behind them suddenly caught my eye. A cool, gentle breeze whooshed through my hair. Below me stretched the Spirit Realm. Seeing that pristine forest made my heart swell.
'To think I've come to the Spirit Realm.'
The Spirit Realm was the biggest topic among spirit users. The greatest secret of the pure spirits, who had no secrets—a sanctuary they allowed no human feet to tread.
'They say that when the Spirit Realm opens, all research on spirits up to now will become obsolete.'
The ecology of spirits, their lives, their culture, their history. What had been studied and uncovered so far was like a river compared to the Spirit Realm's vast ocean. That's why spirit users—especially spirit scholars—dreamed of visiting it. Who would get to go? When would the gates open? That was their life's work.
'And here I am, in that place.'
I never could have imagined it. The word "Spirit Realm" woven into my life. And with the glorious, honorable title of being the first.
I took a deep breath. The pure air of the Spirit Realm filled my lungs.
'This could even be my graduation thesis topic.'
The thought popped into my head, and I burst out laughing without meaning to. Thinking about my thesis in a moment like this—I really was an Academy student through and through.
'I should share what I learn about the Spirit Realm with the academic world anyway.'
Spirit scholars didn't research for themselves. The more they learned about spirits, the better they could help them stay comfortably in the human world. Countless scholars wrote papers every day for that reason. If my experience could help the spirits, I'd write dozens, hundreds of theses.
[Hee hee hee!]
Aqua's laughter drew my eyes downward. She was looking up at me with a smug expression. She seemed pleased that I was admiring her homeland.
"Heh heh heh…."
I laughed and rubbed my forehead against hers.
[Giggle giggle giggle!]
Aqua's joyful laughter tickled my ears.
* * *
Uluru led us to a basin-like area enclosed by the roots of the Spirit Tree. There were a few chairs and a table made of earth, suggesting this was where the Spirit Kings usually gathered.
[Please, sit.]
We sat at the table at Uluru's invitation. Aqua quickly squeezed between me and Uluru, while Mandu hopped up onto the table a beat later. I looked around. Massive roots walled us in on all sides, and the giant Spirit Tree loomed overhead. Pink birds perched on its branches, singing beautiful songs.
'You'd never see a sight like this on Earth.'
Baby spirits were even sitting on the roots like squirrels, peering down at us. A smile bloomed on my face.
[Humans serve drinks to guests, don't they?]
At Uluru's words, four earthen cups rose from the earthen table. They contained a clear, rippling liquid—groundwater from the Spirit Realm. I took a sip. It was incredibly pure and refreshing. Gulp. Uluru drank too.
'They really do look alike.'
Aqua sat right next to Uluru, making their similarities even more striking. Not just in appearance, but in their distinctive hairstyles and outfits.
'Spirits can freely change their hair or clothes.'
So, their resemblance wasn't coincidence. Aqua watched Uluru drink intently, then gulped her own drink in the exact same pose. It was so similar it made me chuckle softly.
'I think I know who's imitating whom.'
Whenever Aqua talked about Uluru, I'd wondered if Niagara was like her dad and Uluru her mom figure. Aqua's trust and love for Uluru were that profound.
'Like a child taking after her parents.'
They say you come to resemble those you love. Aqua must have consciously or unconsciously taken after Uluru a lot.
'But why does her speech pattern take after Niagara?'
[Heh heh heh….]
Uluru, aware of Aqua's adoration, smiled with her eyes and stroked her head.
[Hee hee hee!]
Aqua's eyes melted like a child praised by her mom.
[This little one is new to me.]
[Ssiit!]
Uluru turned warm attention to Mandu too.
[Her name is Mandu!]
[What a cute name.]
Uluru gently stroked Mandu's forehead. Mandu's face relaxed under the touch.
Uluru, the Earth Spirit King, was unique among spirits. Unlike most who rarely left the human world after contracting, she spent more time in the Spirit Realm despite her contract with an Australian spirit user.
'She only appears in the human world when massive gates open and the government requests help.'
And she always cleared them just with her contractor. No matter the rank, the two of them handled it effortlessly. That's why, despite rare appearances, she was treated like Australia's guardian deity. The nickname Australians gave her and her contractor—GOTA, "Guardians of the Australia"—said it all.
[My apologies. I've been neglecting our precious guest.]
After sufficient greetings with Aqua, Uluru smiled at me.
"It's fine. It's Aqua's homecoming after so long."
[Heh heh heh…. I can see why Aqua chose you as her spirit user.]
Spirits could sense good and evil in people. She'd probably read my aura while talking to Aqua.
[Niagara said the same! Hyunwoo is a good human!]
Aqua beamed, delighted that I'd been acknowledged.
[Now, I should explain why I called you all to the Spirit Realm.]
Uluru got to the point. The first reason we'd come was the "proof of Aqua's Spirit King qualification" that Uluru had proposed. Without that invitation, we wouldn't be here.
'There's the Pompeii issue and the Spirit Realm tour quest too, but this was the starting point.'
Aqua listened intently with a serious face. Uluru met each of our eyes—mine, Aqua's, Mandu's—and spoke slowly.
[Please purify Pompeii.]
The two events connected into one.
* * *
[Purify?]
Aqua tilted her head.
[Pompeii has fallen to an evil power.]
Uluru continued calmly.
[For the past few years, he's insisted to me and Niagara that humans are poison, a threat to the Spirit Realm, and that we must cut off all contact with them.]
We knew that much.
[Only to the Spirit Kings?]
[I told him not to speak of it to the other spirits. I didn't want to taint their purity with such thoughts.]
That was why Aqua had never heard it from Pompeii—Uluru had blocked it. Uluru continued with a slightly wistful expression.
[Niagara agreed with him to some extent. After that, Pompeii spent years trying to convince me. But when I wouldn't yield… it seems he reached out to something.]
"That something being the corruption?"
Uluru looked up, meeting my eyes. Her gaze, deep and unwavering despite her childlike form, felt like peering into the earth's depths.
[Spirits are pure beings. It's natural for our forms to change based on our inclinations or thoughts.]
Just as Aqua resembled Uluru. Uluru was saying Pompeii's dragon-like form was the same—tainted by something evil.
[And lately, even his words and actions have grown extreme and radical. Perhaps… Pompeii has given up persuading me and plans to take action.]
"Is that why you called us? You think we can handle it?"
[The greatest power of water spirits is purification. I believed Aqua could do it.]
We were Spirit Kings in name only. Niagara would have been better suited.
'If he hadn't poured all his energy into fighting us.'
That must be why Uluru called us instead.
'Purify Pompeii….'
Uluru seemed convinced something had corrupted him. I thought of Pompeii.
'Black dragon. Demonic wings. Even threatening fellow spirits.'
Definitely changes unfit for a pure, kind spirit. But….
'Black flame dragon. Demon. Heterochromia. A lineup of edgy words.'
It felt familiar.
'Isn't that just chuunibyou?'
But I kept that thought to myself. No Spirit King would put the entire realm on high alert over a middle-school syndrome phase.