Day 1
Hours went by with me perpetually invaded in my core form and nothing happened. The forest was quiet, as it normally was.
I could hear birds sing happily in the trees as if mocking my current state. With nothing to keep me occupied, I simply observed my surroundings.
In the crater lay my clothes with hundreds of muddy hoof prints staining their fabric. The seed I had been given by Eblyss was trampled into the earth; only a little piece of it was visible. The branch was thankfully unharmed.
'It must be extraordinarily durable to survive that ordeal.'
The sun shone brightly onto my view, the trees shielding the forest floor flattened from the stampede. It seemed to move unbearably slow from my perspective.
Haaaa.
'Why must this happen to me? Have I not suffered enough?'
The question hung in suspense waiting for a reply to arrive; however, it never came.
'How long is this going to take?'
Inquisition.
"Physical Body Restoration: 0.029%"
I let out a sound that was a cross between a gag and a pout.
'I'm not even close to one percent...'
'This is my core form?'
How fitting. A seed. A stone. A heart removed from its body and placed in a glass jar. The most fundamental structure of my being.
'I wonder if there are other creatures in this world that have a core. Food for thought, I suppose.'
I cannot feel my hands. Cannot feel my feet, my tail, the weight of the halo above my head. I cannot even feel the absence of these things, only the certainty that they are elsewhere, and I am here.
A whole day went by with not much progress. The sun set on my second day in this world.
---
Day 2
Today I tried everything in my power to see what I was capable of in this form.
'Conclusion... Absolutely NOTHING!'
No matter how hard I tried, all my efforts were in vain. Moving my body through sheer force of will yielded no results.
My pitiful attempts to scream were met with silence and gentle forest sounds.
I wondered how anyone could go extended periods of time isolated from the physical world itself.
Thinking about it, my Solitude aspect related to my current situation. Could this be its capabilities?
'Which ever god thought it hysterical to give me such a thing will be dealt with accordingly one day, I swear it!'
'I love being by myself as much as the next person, but this is absurd. Especially when you consider the fact I was very much social in my past life!'
'Sure I lived at the edge of the village, sure people only conversed with me when they needed a medical professional, and sure I avoided town gatherings as if they were a plague, however that does not constitute me being solitary!'
After that I may or may not have gone on a verbal rampage simply to feel something I had clearly lost. I had to scream yet I had no mouth.
---
Day 3
I had given up.
Nothing more, nothing less.
I simply existed doing nothing with my time, occasionally distracting myself with the various insects crawling on the floor.
I saw one of those carnivorous bees again.
Using Inquisition I was able to learn that they are:
『Glimmer Stingers:
Large Carnivorous bee type monsters that flash their prey with bright lights, putting them in a hypnotic state before they sting. Their stings contain powerful neurotoxins that can paralyze even the largest prey.
Rarity: A』
I dread the day I run into one of those things.
---
Day 6
"Physical Body Restoration: 0.503%"
'What sort of cruel and unusual punishment is this?'
In six days and the percentage still had not reached one. With each passing day I felt my anger bubble to a boiling point.
---
Day 8
The trampled path had begun regrowing. Small and impatient shoots and stems sprang up from the earth, returning the forest floor to its original verdant hue.
I could only think of how naive they were to the destruction that came before them. It reminded me of the village's children in their ignorant bliss of the struggles we adults had to face.
Even if those adults were as mature as their children.
'Lousy good for nothing idiots!'
Although what had me baffled was the rate at which these shoots grew. In just a few days they grew significantly; some were over what I estimated was thirty centimeters in height.
From Inquisition I deduced that they experience a heightened growth period.
This could have been caused by the natural high density of energy within the forest, which was a very plausible explanation given the plants in this area thrive in high energy environments. However, I also thought it could have been the boars' doing.
'If it was the boars, that would explain why they simply charge through the forest with reckless abandon.'
The only areas that didn't produce vegetation were the crater and the patch where my blood had landed. It was as if my blood prevented growth.
That was not completely out of the realm of possibility as I was a Nephilim. Toxic blood could be within my capabilities.
---
Day 10
It was a cloudy day. The wind blew through the forest with a bit of force.
A storm was coming.
I was initially worried my clothing and staff would be blown away by the wind, however that was stopped as I saw the wind having little to no effect on my vicinity.
'Could this also be related to Solitude?'
At first I thought it had erected a barrier around me, however if that were true wouldn't that mean the air would not pass through it?
The air cut straight through me and my items yet nothing moved, as if the force of the wind was rendered useless within my domain. I speculated that Solitude may have separated the natural effects of the physical world from my general area.
I also theorized that this applied to other effects such as heat from fire, cold from ice, and weight from gravity.
'When I get out of this state I must find out how to use this power; it could be useful at some point in time.'
Thunder roared loudly in the sky as rain descended, nourishing the ground. The rain ran down my smooth surface, glistening with the light I emitted.
Within a few minutes the crater was full of water, yet probably due to Solitude I did not float, nor did the staff, my clothing, or the seed.
'A curious power indeed.'
Half an hour went by and all I could see above me was the water that had filled up the crater. My vision blurred and what lay beyond was unknown to me at the current moment.
---
Day 12
The water in the crater dried up, restoring my vision.
However on this day I did not rejoice, as I felt a shroud of gloom settle near me.
Even though I could not see it, I could feel something was approaching my vicinity.
Looking around, a strange black mist settled in, creeping its way around me.
At first it clung to the floor, crawling further towards me, then it erupted, creating a thick cloud around me. All the light around me was blocked, absorbed by the mist. I could not see through it, however one thing was certain.
Something was watching me.
I couldn't see it yet I could feel it. A presence roaming in the undergrowth, a patient and hungry predator. It had circled me three times now, waiting.
Then, seeing no movement, it revealed itself.
The creature emerged from the mist on six legs, each ending in a sharp claw. Its body was segmented, armored in violet chitin that shimmered from my light. Mandibles clicked, dripping with a green viscous fluid.
And it was fast.
Before I could react—not that I could—it was upon me. Mandibles closed around my sphere, and I felt pressure for the first time since the trampling. Not pain exactly, but a deep, tense stress, as if my existence was being tested.
『Alert! Core Form Under Semi-Spiritual Attack!』
Warnings blurred in my vision as I struggled.
The creature's mandibles strained. I could see inside its mouth: rows of smaller teeth, a pulsing throat, and deeper still, a glow that spoke of spiritual energy.
'It's trying to eat me.'
The absurdity would have made me laugh if I'd had lungs. A creature consuming my soul. Would I become part of it? Experience existence from inside a beast's stomach for eternity?
'Am I so lowly even an insect preys upon me?'
『Warning: Sustained assault may breach spiritual defenses in 3...』
'Is this it?'
『2...』
'Will I vanish, barely leaving my mark on this world?'
『1...』
'No.'
Something inside me snapped.
'I refuse that notion! I will not be treated as a mere snack for some pitiful insect!'
A thread emerged from my core; not a physical one, but a spiritual thread.
It pierced the creature like a needle through silk, and I felt connection. Deep within the beast, something warm and luminous pulsed.
I pulled.
The creature froze. Its mandibles went slack. And golden light flowed along that thread like wax toward flame.
It tried to recoil. Too late.
I drank.
The light poured into me, and with each drop, I felt my reconstruction accelerate. Days of progress compressed into moments. The process that had crawled now surged forward.
The creature collapsed, its body unmoving and lifeless. Whatever spirit had animated it was gone, consumed entirely.
"Physical Body Restoration: 16.184%"
I hung there, stunned.
I ate its soul.
The thought should have horrified me, yet I felt indifferent. In my old life, I'd tended the dying, eased their passing with gentle words. I'd hunted small creatures in the forest for food and even large ones for ingredients. Death was a concept I had long grown accustomed to, yet even that was not unsettling to me.
'Demons devour souls. I am part demon. Perhaps this is simply what I am now.'
That realization was cold, but not unwelcome. Better to understand than to deceive myself.
'I am not the man I was before. Hell, I'm not even sure I am a man anymore. However I do know one thing: I am not human anymore.'