Chapter 17: Mother Spirit

Lucian

Last night’s sex hit the spot. I’d knocked out like a boar. I couldn’t say that I remember getting up after that first hour, sleeping with Cai in my arms throughout the entire night. And once the sun was out, Cai stirred me awake with a gentle kiss on my forehead, similar to the first one she gave me when we first met.

“Morning, Lucian,” she chimed, that smile on her sheer perfection.

“Morning, beautiful.” I smiled, before I took her by surprise, snatching her into my chest and play wrestling with her on the bed. She was giggling all over as we tumbled and rolled, Cai not even putting up a fight. She was too giddy, grabbing onto me instead, until I landed back on my back with her on top, filled with energy.

“You’re full of strength this morning,” she observed.

“I have you to thank for that. You knocked me out last night. Now I’m well rested.”

“Me too, but I’m also sticky,” she chuckled.

“You dirty little girl,” I growled. “Ready to take that shower together?”

“No,” she said. “I want to spend more time with you in bed.”

“Oh? Have enough energy for a round two now?”

“No, not that,” she purred, her eyes latched on my lips. “I just… want to spend time with you, Lucian,” she admitted. “I don’t want to leave…”

“Heh, while that sounds good, we have a mother spirit to visit.”

“I know…”

“We’d be putting lives at stake the longer we linger.”

“I know,” her voice sulked.

“Don’t worry. We can do this again once the storm clears out,” I whispered seductively, my hands selfishly kneading her butt. “Mmm, you have such a soft fat ass.”

She giggled. “And it’s all yours.”

“Yeah? Well I must be the luckiest guy in all of Ligera,” I purred. “Let me stop, I’m getting myself all hard again,” I panted.

“Please, don’t,” Cai sang, giving me lewd eyes.

I gasped. “Cai, since when were you an enabler?”

“Ever since you decided to stick your penis inside me.”

I laughed. “It sounds so dirty when you say that word… say it again.”

She smiled sweetly. “Penis.”

Oh, Cai…

We laughed, Cai giving me a sweet kiss on my lips. And then the mood in the room changed, Cai giving me a serious front. “So, where do we go from here, Lucian?”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t break the sun spirit’s rules.”

I sighed. “There weren’t any repercussions when we started having feelings for each other. Why worry? There’s nothing professional about it anymore.”

“But, it’s wrong. It’s against everything I stand for. I’d be breaking my oath.”

“So let’s not put a label on it,” I suggested. “It’s not going to change the fact that I care for you.”

“No… label?” she repeated, taking a seat on my crotch. “Meaning, we act as if nothing had happened?”

“Not exactly…”

“But how else will this work?”

I grunted, trying to find a solution that would satisfy her. “Well, how about this? How about if anyone asks, I’ll tell them you’re just obeying the law of the sun? You’ll be my cum pot.”

She gasped. “That sounds dirty.”

“Or breeder. Your only purpose in life is to make me babies,” I teased. “There, does that sound better?”

“Yes!” she beamed, but… I was just messing with her. Heck, I didn’t expect her to accept that title! Maybe I should have just stuck with my little cum pot instead and make her disagree with me.

Eh, either way, I guessed there was no making Cai see the ridiculousness of these stupid sun god rules. We wanted each other, and no amount of hiding that in front of people would change that fact. But as long as she was happy, and I could have her by my side, it really didn’t matter, did it?

We took that long-deserved shower, where I got to put my hands on wet Cai. No shame in having a little shower sex before we headed out, right? After that, we got dressed, ate some of Mira’s snacks, and prepared to hit the road again.

“Are you going to allocate your points?” Cai asked me as she slipped her quiver on.

“Oh, right.” I thought the words to open up my panel, trigger self-stats. I might have been a bit frivolous with the allocation, but I think my decisions were top notch:

Triggered Self-Stats:

Name: Lucian Reafe

Race: Human/Ligerian

Class: Kiran’s Heir

Role: N/A

Level: 5 - Experience: 64 / 5000 (next level)

Points to be allocated: 0

[] Agility: 23

[] Brawn: 23

[] Charisma: 88

[] Weapons Durability: 0

[] Core Range (Vessel’s Light Capacity): 0

 

Health: 500/500

Light Energy: 1

Innate Light Specialty: none

Weapon: Back Breaker-armed

Weapon EXP: 25

 

Skills

Light Classes Learned: none

Light Enabled Abilities: Weapon Infuse: Tethers weapon to user’s light energy, thus empowering it. Slowly draws energy with use.

Items

Light’s Core

-

“You had forty-six points, and you allocated twenty-three to both brawn and agility?” Cai asked me, obviously looking at my stats as well. “What about your Core Range?”

“Well, I figured I don’t really need to focus on that now, seeing as you mentioned my Light’s Core saved my ass back there from burning out from too much light output.”

“You still need your Core Range, in case you don’t have the pendant with you.”

“I’m not planning on losing it anytime soon.”

“Lucian, you passed out from that last output.”

“I thought I passed out from the lack of blood?”

“It was from both. Trust me, focus on building your range as well.”

I smiled. “All right. You know best, light warrior. The next time I get points, I’m going to feed that range. Deal?”

She nodded with a smile. “All right.”

++++

The band was back on the road again, in merrier spirits. I followed Cai down more forest land where the thick foliage practically blocked the sun with its tall, towering trees, the likes of which I’d never seen before on Earth. It was giving me near death experience vibes, but I wouldn’t let that deter me. I was over that, telling myself that I’d never let a shadow elp catch me off guard again.

“We are getting closer now. I expect maybe three more minutes,” Cai informed me.

“What do I tell the mother spirit?” I questioned with no context. “Like, I managed to trigger my mana, I mean, my light. Is she going to permanently awaken it or something?” I chuckled. “Do I ask her for enlightenment?”

“Well, unless you can do it again, you need her guidance. And hopefully, she will steer you the right way. As for what she will do exactly, I cannot say. It’s at her discretion.”

“Hmm, do it again, huh?” I scratched at my chin, thinking about how I could manage another light show. I wouldn’t even know where to start. It felt like a one-time thing, unless I found Cai in danger again. I wouldn’t want to even think about that extreme. I guess I would have to wait to see what she said. Hopefully she could see the same power in me that Mira had, so I could start saving the people of Ligera.

“We are here,” Cai said, making a sharp stop. I looked to my left and right, not much of anything to really see. I peeled my eyes wide, trying to see if I was missing something in plain sight, but I couldn’t decipher this code. Was she invisible?

“We head south.”

“South?” I asked, looking down at her.

“Yes.” Cai took an additional few steps forward and lined her hand with the dirt. All of a sudden, the grass started to melt, the waves of heat morphing the air between her hand and the turf. Her powers started scraping the ground, and a light breeze brushed all the debris away to reveal this huge engraved coin on the earth.

Once she was finished unmasking the coin, I walked to her, noticing that this coin was a lot bigger up close. It had the face of a round chubby-faced woman made out of stone and covered in moss. It was safe to assume that this was where the mother spirit was hiding, underneath the ground, closer to Ligera’s core.

Made sense.

“Only the pure of heart can open this seal. It will sense the presence of any living thing around it, and all must stand on the seal before it opens. We need its permission, Lucian. If it doesn’t find you worthy, none of us will be able to pass and visit the Zemia temple.”

“Heh, how pure are we talkin’?” I jested. Seriously though, I didn’t think I’d be granted access to this sub-temple. I wasn’t pure at heart, at least, not by the textbook definition. But I guess only she could decide who was worthy and who wasn’t.

So I took one big gulp and brushed the nerves away, following Cai onto that big coin door. I felt like an abra cadabra was in order! But I was too nervous to push out jokes, waiting on that huge piece of stone for some movement.

Annnnd nothing.

Shit.

“Just wait,” Cai replied.

“You think she will hold what we did last night against us?” I whispered over Cai’s shoulder cheekily. “There was nothing pure about that!”

“Lucian,” she cooed, cupping her red cheeks from my raunchy remark. “There is nothing wrong with the act of bringing life into our world.”

“Ah, you’re right,” I said, slipping my arms underneath hers and leaning my chin over her shoulder. “but you were pretty filthy in bed, Cai…”

“I only did what you told me, Lucian,” she countered coyly.

“So we are both in the wrong, huh?”

“Sun god, we must act professional before the eyes of Shinra,” she warned me.

“Oh, right. No PDA, because you’re just my breeder, right?” I snorted. “Well, guess what? No one’s watching.”

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“God is,” she said with a silly smile on her face. I couldn’t tell if she was serious or not, the sarcastic Cai card usually popping in at random times. So I rolled with it, with a greedy smile on my face. “Pull that ‘God is watching’ card on me again, and I won’t hesitate to smack that ass in public. Real public.”

She giggled, and then sure enough, the stone started to rotate!

Ah, I guess that collection under my bed back on Earth was overlooked…

It croaked and creaked, like gears ready to bring us down under. In no time, we started to descend, down into a dark cavern with the only light being the one from that gaping hole we just came from.

Once it laid flushed on the ground, we walked off, the path before us fading into the blackness of the cavern. The carved stone coin began to ascend again, like some magical push and pull device guiding it back and forth.

Right, I double checked, there were no cords or chains, no pulley or mechanism moving that thing. It’s what to expect in a land where people have light-based mana, right?

“We press forward,” Cai instructed, reaching her hand out to illuminate our darkness with a ball of her personal energy. The small ball managed to brighten up our path, stretching meters deep. It’d be the first time I saw Cai’s light raw, and it was impressive.

I sucked at my teeth, trying to trigger my own ball of light to hover over my hand. But nothing triggered as I followed behind her. Two minutes marched by, and I stopped embarrassing myself. Ugh, I guess Cai was right. As long as I couldn’t replicate what I did yesterday when I had saved her, then I needed the mother spirit to show me how.

That time was nearing us too, because as soon as I picked up my head I noticed the scene around us had changed.

It was… beautiful.

I mean, I hadn’t been in many underground shrines, but this had to definitely be one of the seven natural wonders of Ligera!

It looked like we’d just stepped into a turquoise paradise—hovering earth beds draped with flowers and moss, streams of perfect blue water along our path, and in the middle of it all, towers of stone laced with a heavenly aura of aqua and lime. The orange, violet, and blue flowers dressed the stone of Shinra sitting before the altar surrounded by still waters, our path to meet her laid out before us. But I was intimidated, slowly following behind Cai who took the lead.

Once I got closer, I noticed the unlit candles too, the smell in here definitely giving me temple vibes. The scent was natural and earthly, opening the pathways down my nostrils. And when we were only two feet away from the sitting statue of who I assumed was Shinra, I turned to my left and saw the reason for the colorful cool tones, those bright glowing coral beds swaying in the crystal-clear water below.

The sound of water drops echoed in my ear, making this nerve wracking silence more audible. I took to Cai’s side, waiting for the mother spirit to pop out somewhere and greet us. But after a few seconds of us just standing there, I had to ask, “Is she coming, or… is there a bell we need to ring?”

“No, Lucian. She is right here.”

“Right where?”

Then suddenly, Cai bowed in front of that statue that was sitting at about my height. I had no clue what was happening, so I followed Cai’s lead.

“A sacrifice must be given so she can present herself,” Cai instructed, lifting her head up from bowing. “Since there is two of us, we need two sources of light.”

“Pretty sure we’ve established that I can’t summon light willingly.”

“It’s okay, Lucian. I will double my sacrifice.”

“Cai—”

“It is the only way she will reveal herself. It is fine. This requirement is a failsafe,” she said, getting back on her feet. I followed her, my eyes glued to her summoning two balls of light in each open palm, her energy quickly dissipating and dispersing around us.

I jumped, falling on my ass once that stone statue in front of me started changing colors and moving!

It morphed out, growing fleshy colors and bearing realistic clothes. Before I knew it, the real mother spirit had manifested herself from a figure in stone to a figure in flesh, the gray dingy coating finishing to seep through her now glowing yellow eyes.

She suddenly spoke with a flinch, “Ohh, my knees!” her raspy voice begged when her body decompressed. From the looks of it, it seemed like she had been stuck in that same position for years. The old woman in grey clenched onto her folded lotus-style legs, rubbing vigorously at her knees. “My word…” she grunted, and I stared, and stared hard, like I’d just seen a magic trick.

She was fragile, but her face was glowing, those fine wrinkles and lines giving way to her incredible years. She sagged all over, but she wore these heavy draping clothes, much like a fortune teller would wear. Her ears were huge, with big coins on those shoulder-length lobes. She was ancient all right, yet, she reminded me so much of my feisty Nonna back at home.

“I’m getting too old for this sh—” she paused, looking up her height, finally acknowledging her visitors.

“Divine mother spirit Shinra,” Cai whispered, her face almost swollen with tears. “It’s been… too long.”

“Cai? Cai, Is that you?”

Wait, they knew each other?

Shinra grinned ear to ear. “My, you haven’t aged one bit, have you? The sun spirit has blessed you well.”

“Thank you,” she bowed. “You look marvelous as well.”

“Oh stop it! I could barely get my ass off this ancient bed of rock let alone move about!” She chuckled, then her milk honey eyes turned to me, where that smile of hers waned down a few notches. “Well, that’s interesting…” she commented, stroking her chin at me.

“Mother Shinra, this is Lucian, son of Kiran,” Cai introduced, and I gave the mother spirit a solid and proud wave while I scooped myself off the ground.

“I know exactly who he is,” she interjected. “Yes, he’s the sun god’s son all right. Looks just like his father. But what I don’t understand is why I’m picking up a foreign essence from him.”

“That is because he is only half god, mother,” Cai confessed.

“And where is the other half from?”

“Earth.”

Her eyes grew three times wide, her head pivoting to Cai in shock. “Earth? As in, planet Earth?”

Cai nodded.

“He’s an Earthling?”

Cai nodded.

Crap, was I going to get hit with the rejection stick again?

She reacted in a way I didn’t expect, her hand flying over her forehead alarmed. “My, that Kiran needs to have a leash on him! Engaging with women from other galaxies and planets! That is strictly forbidden! Our lineage must start here and end here. By the sun god, he really doesn’t know when to push the brakes on that rebellious demeanor of his, does he?”

“Rebellious?” I repeated, trying to think of what else my father did other than have me against the sun spirit’s wishes.

She paused, Shinra fixing her disappointed glare at me. But then, she mellowed out a bit, giving me an exasperated sigh. “I am sorry, Lucian, none of this is your fault. No, blame your pathetic father.”

“Mother Shinra,” Cai retorted, quick to defend my father.

“Well, it is true, is it not? I see all things, Cai. Where is Kiran now? While our planet is suffering, he is out god knows where, doing god knows what. When he could be here, doing what he does best. And that is defending his people from The Void.”

“He left us for good reason,” Cai continued.

“Not a satisfactory enough reason for this embodiment of responsibility to escape his duties here. I understand that his absence seemed fit, but look around you. It resolved absolutely nothing, besides further chaos and madness. You’d think he’d drop by to check up on us! That Kiran!” she huffed, pinning her hands to her hips.

“I am sorry things haven’t been working the way he had planned it, but I’ve been doing my best trying to search for him. And in my search, I found his son, Lucian. While he isn’t full god, he is part god, and clearly pure enough to pay you a visit. So I humbly ask you, mother spirit, if you can give him guidance on how he can help our disturbed planet.”

“Guidance, huh?” she plotted in silence, an unsettling silence that made me gulp all those nerves down my throat. I hoped she didn’t hold my father’s parenting on Earth against me. I didn’t want to give her the same vibes as Kiran, even though Cai truly looked up to him.

“Yes. First, Lucian doesn’t—”

“Lucian can speak for himself, Cai,” she interjected, looking at Cai shrewdly at the corner of her eyes. “Let him speak what he desires from this old hen.”

I had cotton in my mouth the way she was looking at me! I didn’t want to offend her any, but I also needed her help. So I dropped my shoulders and unclenched my ass cheeks, clearing my throat before I finally addressed her, “Shinra, Cai and I traveled far for your help. I have been gifted by the light, but these powers are dormant, only once triggering when… um, well—”

“When he saved me,” Cai finished.

“Right.”

“Powers derived from deep emotion or intense stress. Yes, I could see how that would be a problem. So, are you saying that you have adopted your father’s duties here in Ligera?”

“Of course?”

She smiled. “How very kind of you. What’s the catch?”

My jaw dropped on the floor. “Eh, well, I can’t consider helping Ligera from the kindness of my heart?” I asked, with my fist at my chest and a proud heroic stance.

“No,” she said bluntly, taking shots at my ego.

Well, she wasn’t lying. I had made an agreement with Cai. But to be fair, I had already been leaning toward the idea of helping Ligera regardless.

“But, I am glad you’ve decided to take his place. You see what we are going through. Revealing myself up there won’t do anyone any good, and I am the next spirit ancestor below your father. Truthfully, I’ve been praying for a miracle, and I expect that you, this boy barely out of his teen years, would come and sweep us into a new age of prosperity, longevity, and eternal peace.”

I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not…

She shrugged, with her hands helplessly in the air. “Eh, I’ll take what I can get.”

I gave her a wholesome smile. “Thank you.” Something about being accepted by Shinra lifted the burden hanging over my head.

“But I warn you, the journey won’t be easy. I suspect Cai informed you about all of your responsibilities, especially the very important part.”

“The very important part?” I repeated, lost.

“Yes, the very important part,” she emphasized, giving me a devious look.

“Oh, eh-ehem, right,” I said, flustered.

“And with the looks on you, sonnie, I’m sure you won’t have a problem fertilizing our land,” she laughed at my expense.

Ugh, and it didn’t help that she reminded me of my grandma.

I fretted hearing her talking about my dick getting around, my face getting redder by the second. Cai on the other hand was tickled, knowing I had already seeded her. It was something to be proud about even for a light warrior, and I should consider moving that side quest along as well, right after Shinra enlightened me.

“All right, young Lucian. Let’s see what you got.” Shinra held out her wrinkled hands, her skin dry yet clammy. I didn’t hesitate to give her mine, her thin, slender fingers soon folding around my hands, “I am going to channel your inner light, Lucian. Try to relax and grant me access to your godly spirit.”

“Hey, you can do whatever it is you need to do inside me.”

She gave me a dirty smile as she closed her eyes. “Trust me, young man, I intend to.”

And just like that, the ground under my feet started to tremble. A gold ring of light carved a path around me, putting me in the center. Suddenly, I felt like the gravity around me multiplied ten times over. My knees dropped, my shoulders did too. I gritted my teeth, trying to keep myself standing, while Shinra had my entire body glowing like a goddamn light bulb!

“Lucian?” Cai whimpered, but I couldn’t turn my eyes to her. I was too busy trying not to get crushed by this incredible invisible weight!

“I need complete silence, light warrior,” Shinra ordered Cai.

And then, blackness.

I felt like something had just slammed right into me, my body feeling weightless and torn as the force separated me from Shinra. My eyes were open, but I swear I couldn’t see anything. The muscles in my limbs started to shred, the burning in my chest making me clench up. It was a terrifying feeling, a mix of pain and power, once the light inside me started to claim my soul.

It was intense, and no part of me was ready for the awakening.

“Lucian!” Cai cried, and I couldn’t answer, this overwhelming transition nothing I could have expected.

Once my body collided with the stone underneath me, my heartbeat vanished for a second. Then two, three… My body couldn’t take it. I was dying, the pressure of the light making its way up to my head, where it felt like my brain was about to explode.

Just like my heart did.

From no beat, to a rhythm I couldn’t put any words to. It was hitting hard and fast, trying to compensate for the light breaching inside me. My body was confused, hanging in the limbo between life and death. I started to scream, my back arching up while my body stiffened like stone, helpless while the light tore through me.

“Please, Shinra, make it stop! The light, it’s killing him!” Cai begged.

“This is his own light, Cai,” she confessed. “We must wait and see how his body handles it.”

“Mother spirit, this is a man from Earth, only half god! It’s too much for him! We cannot just watch him suffer and die!”

“Have faith, light warrior,” she said calmly. “I believe in Lucian. He will make it through.”

I wasn’t so sure, this light literally breaking flesh. I felt the skin off my back snap open, stretching me beyond my limits. I heard Cai gasp as I curled up in a fetal position, my blood splashing out, the veins down my spine rippling.

“Lucian!” Cai called me, her voice broken. She was fuming, ready to take matters into her own hands. I heard her draw her weapon, pointing it at Ligera’s very own mother spirit. “I will not continue to watch this torture!” Cai cried. “I am ordering you to end this right now!”

“Don’t!” I whimpered, feeling all eyes turn to me.

“Lucian…” Cai’s voice softened.

“I… need to d-do this, Cai,” I fought, through the tears and the agony. “I need to do this f-for you, for my f-father, for all of… Ligera… Please, believe in me!” I cried out, suddenly feeling engulfed in light. I had the entire cavern glowing with the sun’s energy, my piercing scream triggering the apex of it all. I made the ground sink, the sensation of an earthquake rumbling beneath my knees.

I was going to push through this! This was my calling, and I was prepared to embrace it.

ALL OF IT!