In a certain area; somewhere unobtrusively in distant from the World Tree.
The day remains the same as the former; when there is no day or night time in the world where he resides now. The scarlet light in the bright sky remains everlasting, while the ground on the other hand; there is a small little thing slowly begin to change.
Prinz Heilig, who has long been sheltered himself in the trunk of a World Tree; is finally coming out from his seclusion. Being cooped up has driven him to boredom and indolence; therefore he decides to break out.
All this while he has moved to and fro from the near shrubberies to gather foods and bring them inside – to where he lives. There is also a small irrigation channel where the tree saps flow into it and reach into a small quarry. Knowing that he would need fluid rations, Prinz covers the burrowed irrigation with tree skins. Therefore any fluids' that seep out from the channel and into the soil, would be greatly reduced.
There is also another reason, why he decides to break out right away:
"I have gotten enough at reading those manuscripts! Up to here is where my limit is."
Prinz reflects on his inner upheaval with a stern look.
All the while he has spent too much of time to conclude everything he read. The manuscripts and those records are all written on its own merits. Meaning, there are hundred on symbols and meanings that he has to decipher and infer them one after another. Prinz decides to leave the World Tree to go for an extended journey. This time, he has resolved to accomplish four essential goals.
To begin with, Prinz wants to collect more manuscripts and records; so that he can comprehend more information, and therefore gains further insights especially about the world he lives now. In fact, he now has a list of pre-requisites and a few conditions he sets to achieve. Among them includes the effort to memorize those new languages from their symbolical meanings. At first, those letters that he learns are foreign to him. Through hard work and patience, he now grasps almost what has been deciphered by their meaning. All these are only possible because they were accompanied by translations. Yet, among those written symbols; written by the dead civilizations of this world are challenging to him – since they are symbols that have no inferred connotations.
In the past, Prinz has collected a few scores of manuscripts and records; but now he desires for more. At this point, he realizes their true values. While diligently comprehending the information, he has also learnt one remarkable detail about the use of Manna energy.
"It seems like I would have to extend my stay here. Even if I said that right now there is no way to leave this place." Prinz laments inside.
The world he lives in has been devoid of another being; at least that is what he knows – for now.
'When there is no place to ask and you are lost, just ensure your own survival; until help arrives. Unless it is too late, and there is no one to help; make your own egress – to the outmost of your own ability.'
"Yuki, I remembered she told me those words before. Now I feel a little optimist!" Prinz comforts himself.
He finds a solace just by remembering her words; unlike what Hikki has told him once:
'You are lost and alone. What else do you need for, when you can be the king of your own kingdom. Just forget about everyone and move one! Make do of what you can outmost do for you – the new king.'
Prinz face-palms himself for remembering those words.
It has also become a habit; wherever he goes, Prinz will neither speak nor deliberately making any sound. To him, be that as it may, seems safe; it is still unclear whether the current world that he lives is inhibiting another living sentient. Thus, he feels the need to let his guard up while keeping extreme cautiousness to the surroundings.
Prinz has also discovered something novel about those countless remains:
"All the dead bodies are just strange. Most of them have had their limbs broken and flesh torn apart; only a minority of the dead remains that I found in one piece; such as the World Eater. Perhaps due to its huge size, that nothing can hurt it. However, it is just eerie to think that there is something can kill the World Eater. In short, if there is another living being; heck even if there is only a medium-sized beastly creature still living in this world; I wouldn't even think about interacting with either of them."
Phil once said these words to him:
'Humans are born with both courage and cowardice. Most with the courage strive to turn their life over for the better. On the other hand, those with the cowardice persevere to live in silence.'
"Would everyone agree with him?" Prinz asks.
However, there is no one else to answer; other than his self.
He, in truth, agrees to a certain degree. With the surroundings, enclosed by countless remains that are left in gruesome states; if Prinz is about to encounter the native living existence that survives in this world, what would they then think and feel about his presence?
Thus, prioritizing for his safety is the ultimate choice. Prinz has never once, let his guard down.
Aside from collecting, Prinz also needs to look for alternatives. The current plants that he has stockpiled would not be able to sustain him for a very long time. He must diversify; as the growth rate of the vegetation that flourishes in the surroundings of World Tree are inefficient and time-consuming. In fact, Prinz has failed from a simple replanting test.
For the test, he would take many of the vegetation roots and plant them under the soil. At random, these roots would grow from the sheer surface of the fertile white soils. Unfortunately, the results are not the same in a different place.
He digs the ground with his two hands, not too deep, and looks underneath. Surprisingly, the soils under are dark-greyish in colour. The sheer amount of white soils forms only a small height of an upper layer with a depth of no less than tens of centimetres.
"Food and fluids are necessary for my survival. Right now, the plenty amount of liquid from the tree trunk is not sufficient, probably by current estimation – definitely; but only able to quench my thirst. If I reduce my consumption rate, I could last a little longer. However, without food, I will rapidly lose my energy. Without energy, I might as well lose my concentration. And I am supposed to cram through all the new-found manuscripts and records!" Prinz deeply laments inside.
He will not survive for much longer. Even if he manages to learn all the foreign letters and languages, they are not matters. If he dies, comprehending the civilizations of this world would be no of use. Therefore, Prinz has determined to find a new liquid source and to obtain sufficient food. These two would last him for as long as he can until he finds the way; out from this world.
He needs to persistently stay cautious. All civilizations and life developments begin from places where water is abundant and the soils are fertile for agriculture. Prinz accepts as true that as soon as he found the new place he has to retreat at once or prepare for a direct confrontation. He would rather carry out the former; although he could not retreat forever.
Once he retreats though, Prinz then has to perform scouting. The new place would pose not as much risk if it is currently in-occupant. Therefore, he can reassure himself that the new place is yet to be civilised and cultivated.
A memory regarding the unique ability he possesses has also crossed his mind. The ability is called 'Nurturing Growth'; which he has not more than once, used it. Despite this, Prinz remembers that he was only capable to use this ability due to the occurrence of Manna energy. Now there are not any visible signs of energy around him.
Prinz wonders if he can use the same ability again seeing that there is energy in the Imperial Elf's status.
"I strongly believe that I would not be able to utilize Manna energy instantly; though the possibilities are just unknown. Besides, the knowledge that I gained from those manuscripts and records does not physically describe Manna. What is this Manna energy and where it comes from? Neither of these questions is explained. Also, those records do not even teach me the wielding basis. I expect something like; 'Manna energy 101' or 'Manna for dummies' from those. There is some useless info as well, but they are what I determined to be long incantations. For what purpose? A 'magic' spell!? This is not a phantasy M***** series! But, but, at the time I might somehow use my ability as a fluke I guess. That is a one-time chance of occurrence that I have fortuitously managed to use Manna energy. Can't I rely on the occurrence chance again?"
Prinz grieves over on his inability to wield Manna energy. Nonetheless, he is not giving up completely. If he slowly learns and practices to use energy; by chanting the incantations and 'feel the flow' he might succeed. For that very reason, he might understand the essential key to energy and try it out later.
Prinz needs to accomplish this. But why is it important, that he has to do it at the same time while he is on a journey?
All along, there are countless creature remains; not including the humanoid corpses, stranding all over the place. They can be as an intended object, where Prinz could practice his unique ability. While he does not know how to properly wield the energy, the dead carcasses still possess theirs. If he could try out controlling the energy within them, he will learn something new and gains on-hand experience. Thus, Prinz possibly will wield Manna energy with ease soon and circumvent the risk of detriment in case of failure.
All in all, Prinz's aim has always been to look for a way to escape his current predicament. He is not sure if the other worlds are in the same states, or maybe only Earth has been completely destroyed. However, the former has the highest possibility to turn out. After all, the land and the sky that Prinz sees from the beginning until now has constantly unchanged.
The greyish soils and scarlet skies that stretch afar, with limitless boundaries, have ultimately affected his sense in distinguishing directions and referencing time.
"Perhaps too many days, months or even years have long past. Most importantly, I'm still well and alive."
Prinz turns his eyes toward his physical self but disparagingly change the course. He instead considers:
"Regardless of all risks, I refuse to stop; given that, I have persisted and taken all steps to survive. My efforts until now shall not be wasted!"
He consoles and encourages himself from giving up. As a person who realizes that living brings greater values than dead, Prinz justifies his present sole self-interest, as the end motive of all the conscious actions he shall henceforth undertake.
----
Time passed by quickly.
Prinz is on his journey still, and at this point, he has collected a whole lot of manuscripts and logged them into his memory as assurance. Upon a stroke of luck, Prinz also found an object that glows with rich translucent colours on the inside. At the same time, an opaque-like material is flexibly protecting it from the outside. The fist-sized object looks like a tiny pouch; that can be tightened when he pulls the two threads around the cover. The threads bound the brown pouch from disclosure. He happens to found this pouch from a tall humanoid that appears considerably different from anything he has seen before – ever.
The dead humanoid has fair green skin with no signs of flawlessness all over its body. The silvery-white hair that it possesses is silky and has waving curls that reach down to its knees. The two pointing ears that it has, gives Prinz the impression of an otherworldly being - never seen before on Earth. Not even anything from the folklores can explain its stature and appearance. An air of tranquil is felt whenever Prinz he stands near the dead humanoid.
To not let the chance to identify the humanoid, Prinz touches its crown before a notification immediately is given to him.
[Imperial Elf]
A creature bore by nature and possesses great affinities with the energy of life. All imperial elf kin are born with purity in their soul and share a noble connection with the World Tree. The Imperial Elf's sole purpose is to sanctify the land and nurture plant life.
Status: Dead
Life: 0
Energy: ????
????: ????(grayed)
????: ????(grayed)
????: ????(grayed)
????: ????(grayed)
{You are not in any form of association with the Imperial Elf, therefore restricting your proficiency at acquiring particular information.}
"An Imperial Elf? An Elf, from the many tales on Earth; exists?"
The limited information that he discovers from the notification gives him quite the shock. He still believes inside that the humanoid has nothing in common from all elf depictions in the folklores. This humanoid has more allure than everything he discerns – from all kinds of fiction elf characters imagined on Earth. Just that something about this humanoid is mysteriously enchanting. He or she is a perfectly beautiful creation.
Near where Prinz comes across the humanoid, he looks through everything that it has. Upon searching through the Imperial Elf clothes, Prinz uncovers a sizeable pouch that fits his fist. It is carefully kept hidden in the clothes and firmly wrapped under his external garment. Because of this, he also discovers the masculinity of the humanoid. When opens inside, he unearths many astounding contents. However, those are not all:
"This pouch that I have looted from him has a secret that is more shocking than just knowing the contents. It has boundless of space with many different items orderly store inside. Inside, I can see there are many kinds of herbs and possibly liquid; those are safe for consumption. Just this tiny pouch is hiding so many mysteries. Yes, I've found a treasure!"
As a man who lives for hundreds of year, his states of mind should have been fully matured; yet Prinz cannot conceals his delight.
"It would be bad if I'm not giving my gratitude to this Imperial Elf. Should I bring his body back with me? After all, he is naturally bonded to the World Tree."
Prinz contemplates for a while; whether deciding to bury the Imperial Elf's remain somewhere near to the World Tree or to not do so. Both choices are morally conflicting to him. On one hand, the former implies him a respectful action, therefore, justifies his intention; while the latter means, he is being ungrateful. After a while, he stops contemplating and grabs the humanoid arms. But, it is physically impossible for him to bring the humanoid back – because he is awfully heavy.
Prinz uses his two arms to pull the humanoid out, yet there is not any effect.
"Ahh, this is difficult. The humanoid is substantially hefty; as if I am trying to lift a gigantic boulder," he sighs inside.
As Prinz is gasping for air while at rest, his weary eyes turn to the pouch. An idea comes to his mind:
"Would it be possible if I use it?"
He is curious whether the pouch can store the Imperial Elf's remain inside. Without delay, Prinz quickly pulls the two threads and opens the pouch – half-closed. He even brings the pouch near to the humanoid body; alas nothing happened.
"How am I supposed to use this thing?"
Prinz grips the pouch on his right hand and inspects the aperture. He does not know how to operate it. To begin with, he has only looked at the pouch as a resource and not as a cause. Frustration overwhelms him as he thinks carefully:
"How am I supposed to bring the Imperial Elf inside this pouch then?"
Prinz thrusts his left arm into the pouch on purpose; to grab something from the inside. His hand seems too short to even reach anything within the vast expanse of space inside the pouch.
"I have a theory. What if the pouch relies on the usage of energy? I don't know if I can use energy. Worst of all, I don't even know what is energy. It's just a fluke that I somehow managed to wield it once!"
Prinz grieves over his lack of ability. Despite that, he feels the need to try. He has to once again attempt to use Manna energy.
"I saw on the Imperial Elf's status; that it possesses energy. Just for practice, should I try controlling the energy within him? Who might know, if it works; or not."
Prinz remembers that he has only a single ability and he has experienced the energy control on one occasion. After that, he forgets relatively everything about it. After all, he does not understand the true risk of trying to rely on Manna energy. Thus, he has decided not to do it. It is somehow a different story; should he can control the energy from another being or an object. Right in front of him is a chance to carry out the trial.
"I'm putting behind my morality for a moment and express my regret for using you as an experiment. But to exploit this chance, I must put my self-interest above all. You would definitely understand that I am prioritizing my own survival. The contents inside this pouch would guarantee it. Now that I think about it carefully, this experiment is crucial."
Prinz starts to give all his focus. On multiples occasions, he tries to reiterate the same situation that he once felt before. He unexpectedly remembers:
"In the past, isn't it that I have been thinking about creation? I visualize emergence protection by using Manna in the surroundings. This statement should be true. At the same time, I've been cultivating layers of protection around my head – my consciousness specifically. It succeeded not because of my own energy. The abundant energy that gathers around me; they are somehow assisting but I remembered more about that the dark-coloured Manna energy in the surroundings. The dark energy has greatly boosted my ability. Isn't it that, I am nurturing the Manna energy" Nurturing and cultivating; isn't my granted ability is called Nurturing Growth?"
A sudden realization strikes Prinz deep into his mind.