The slime walked as far as he could. After a few hours, he returned along the same path, eventually reaching Lucan.
Lucan examined his body, only to find out nothing had changed. He pondered for a while before saying, "Let's try digging underground!"
The slime agreed, and they both used their own moves to go deep under the ground, but the end never appeared, even after several hundreds of thousands of miles.
It was still empty, like a null void.
The slime stomped the ground as he frowned, "This is pointless! We are just wasting time. Lucan, trust me, this is just a myth!"
But Lucan did not get mad; he was still calm with no anger. He replied, "Myth? Maybe for you, but not for me. I have a doubt; let's verify."
The slime's expression turned pale and he was shaken. Had Lucan already found out the true mystery behind this place?
He agreed, "I will do anything."
Lucan said, "Convert your life energy into cosmic energy. Let me see if there are any changes."
The slime gulped down saliva and was taken aback.
This was quite a risky move; if not done properly, there was even a possibility of dying permanently.
But he asked, "Why don't you take this risk? Are you afraid to die?"
"Afraid to die? Me! Hahaha! You have got me wrong. It is just that I am a human with an average lifespan of 80 years.
But what about you? At least 300, right?"
The slime shook his head, "80! Haha, not three, but five hundred."
Lucan was amused. He thought, "Wow! 500 years are truly useful."
The slime decided to take the risk, as Lucan could not gamble with his short lifespan. However, while processing it, he still had a fear of death.
The process was painful. He gritted his teeth and endured it with full might, but as the pain intensified, he felt that he couldn't bear it anymore.
He sighed with regret. Turning hopeless, he said, "Well! It looks like I am really going to die now, huh! It is just a pity that I cannot meet her even in my final moments."
He fell down, slowly closing his eyes, as his life energy was depleting massively with no control.
But a memory surfaced in his mind.
One evening, during a sunset, he was sitting down facing the sea, which was green in color. It was not made of water, but of some other substance.
He lay down facing the sky, sighing as he gazed at the vast sea and huge sun.
He said, "The sun and the sea—what a beautiful couple.
When the sun gets too hot, the ocean helps him by devouring his heat and turning herself into steam.
When the ocean gets too cold, to the limit she couldn't bear, her teeth would clatter as she starts trembling into ocean waves.
The sun lets out his warm waves, which blanket her from the cold and comfort her.
The sun is tall and magnificent, bright and warm, glowing with the heat that symbolizes its might.
While the ocean is calm and tranquil, rising up and down the waves as she dances elegantly like a princess.
When will this sun get a sea? Sigh!"
As he finished speaking, a slime appeared in front of his face, standing with pearl-like eyes and a crystal-like glow.
She smiled mockingly; her beauty was peerless like the moon, instantly striking his mind, tearing down his thoughts, and making him fall into a daze.
She tied her hands behind her back as she walked ahead. Her hair was pale blue in color, resembling the ocean.
When he saw her and the ocean together, he was confused about whether there were two of her or two oceans.
He stood up. He was about to speak, but her finger pressed down on his lips. She tilted her head as she said, "Oh Sun! Do you want this sea?"
His face turned red as he gulped down saliva. Believing it was a dream, he hit himself for confirmation.
It wasn't a dream, but reality. He was rendered speechless.
She shook her head, "Seems like the sun doesn't want to meet the sea! What a pity. Alright, I will be waiting for you. If you wish, then come and meet me later."
He was still dazed. She waved her hand before his eyes, but his eyes were etched on her without even a blink.
She laughed at him as she walked away slowly.
But he was still standing there, as if his legs were pinned to the ground.
The sun went down, and his friend saw him. The temperature was so cold that he wasn't even able to stand there for a minute.
He was wearing some clothes to warm him, but they were still not enough.
He came near while rubbing his shoulders, "Hey! You idiot, why are you... standing in this coldness, that too near the ocean?"
He was still in the same daze. His friend sighed as he used cosmic energy to teleport him along with himself.
They were in a bar-like environment, filled with warm flames and a cozy blaze.
His friend said, "You have to compensate me, got it? I used my last portion of cosmic energy to teleport you."
But no response came.
His friend grabbed a burning log and placed it on his hand. He finally came back to his senses and said, "Ocean! I will come meet you."
But the one he spoke to was his friend, who said, "Eh! You turned crazy due to the cold? Damn it! How am I gonna get my compensation back?"
He shouted, "Ocean! Where is my ocean? The ocean of this sun!" While searching for her, the whole place was turned into chaos by him.
But he was calmed down by his other friends. He asked, "Where? Am I... Wasn't I lying down on the seashore? You guys, why did you destroy this place?!"
Although they calmed him down, it was too late; he had already caused a ruckus.
All of them split up and compensated the owner, who snorted, "Hmph! From now onward, you cannot come here and drink! Drunkard!"
He said, "What? I never drank anything! I was just sitting quietly at the seashore. Aren't these idiots the ones who destroyed it?"
All of them had dumbfounded expressions, but the others had the same thought as the owner: that he had drunk too much.
He was brought back home by his friend, who said, "I am sorry, dude. I was too dazed after seeing her!"
"OOOH! I don't want the apology! Tell me more about her, and what happened between you two," his friend replied.
After knowing the real truth, his friend laughed as he patted him, "Well, well, now tomorrow, the first thing you do is go and meet her."
He shook his head as he returned home.
These memories started to fade away as he was turning unconscious, while Lucan frowned, "Hmm! He will die in a few minutes. I wanted to play it safe by letting him try first, but he is just too weak!"
Lucan was still the same cold person, but he also had another side in his mind that contradicted his cold personality.
Which was the weakness he was trying to get rid of, but it couldn't be achieved in such a short time; he was just a mere 16-year-old.
The slime felt his lifespan draining;
he was falling into a dark, endless abyss.
He was dying, but he thought, "I have to meet her! I can't die yet! NO! NO! I WON'T LET MYSELF DIE UNTIL I MEET HER!"
Lucan sighed as he moved away, slowly watching his body grow older and older.
Lucan felt disappointed in two ways: first, he had lost a usable pawn, his test subject, with no gains.
Next, he was feeling guilty that the slime wasn't able to meet his ocean.
He spoke, "Hehe! Even on Earth, I hate such love stories with sad endings."
But a voice was heard, "Hahaha! But this ain't gonna be a sad ending, Lucan!"
He turned around instantly, seeing the following scene:
The aura surged as the slime stood up. His wrinkles vanished, his youth returned, and he was grinning.
He said, "I got it. I found out the real truth about this place."
Lucan replied, "You are alive? Interesting. So then tell me what you have found."
The slime moved forward, grabbed Lucan by his neck, and said, "My friend said, tomorrow the first thing I should do is go and meet her. Revive her first, fool!"