When J'baki reached the giant tree it was as if he stumbled upon an entirely different environment. The tree was gargantuan, as he got closer, he noticed the tree was not made of wood, he touched one of the giant roots and felt its smooth exterior. Marble maybe? Wrapped around the tree were three balconies stretching for what must have been miles. The leaves that dropped off its curly branches were orange, opaque, and squishy, lines that ran through them were intricate and mA large group of people were gathered at the base of the tree, J'baki made his way over.
Now I don't know if she saw that J'baki was alone, or if she was contemplating her own loneliness, maybe a little of both. At any rate, a beautiful woman with Sky blue skin and golden ivy dancing across her body approached J'baki from behind.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" J'baki turned to meet her crimson eyes. "The tree, I mean."
"Oh. Yea. It's beautifully designed. I've been thinking about it for a while, is it stone or metal? Also, the squishy leaves, what kind of tree is it?"
"Woah slow down, don't you want to know my name?" The young woman looked at him with disdain. And then chuckled. "It's wood I can assure you. The strongest wood in the universe, this is a Vivabor tree."
"A Vivabor tree?" J'baki was learning new things everywhere he turned. "You know what, don't answer that, I want to find it out myself."
The young lady let out a laugh. "I like you, what is your name?"
"J'baki. What is yours?"
"Isadora." She smiled a friendly smile. "So what are you going into the tree for?"
"You know I don't know. My friend brought me here and dropped me off, I've just been walking around and everyone I meet has lead me here." He pulled his bat from his waist. "I even got this cool bat!"
"A bat? That definitely is unique." Isadora smiled. "That's an interesting way to be called to the tree, most people hear it, you were just led here."
"That's me, always ending up somewhere." J'baki let out a chuckle "Where's your weapon? You don't plan on going in without one are you?"
"My weapon is conceptual," Isadora put her index finger to her head "it's all up here."
"Oh. Okay, at least you have something I guess." Cutting through their voices a booming "Hello!" Came from above.
A young woman with Dragonfly wings soared above the crowd from the middle balcony. Atop her head was a tiara of jewels that perfectly matched her golden battle armor. She let out a few more hellos until everyone was paying attention to her.
"Where is that voice coming from?" J'baki asked.
"You can't see her?! She's right there!" Isadora pointed up as she yelled through the crowd.
"I can't see anything!" J'baki said squinting his eyes.
"Welcome to The Root Down!!" The crowd erupted as the woman addressed them. She sat perfectly at the center of the middle balcony rail. "This year's game is simple."
"Game?! What game?!" J'baki yelled to Isadora.
"Just listen!" Isadora yelled back. "You said not to tell you right!"
"After I was crowned I promised we would reach the depths of The Sulcis and today is the day we do it!" The Empress was being theatrical while making the introduction "I do believe that this day, we will rid our tree of the petyan virus!"
J'baki started to get excited as the crowd grew with thunderous applause.
"Don't get so excited J'baki." Isadora looked serious. "This isn't a game, this isn't something to play around with."
"The game, my friends is to reach the bottom of the Sulcis. There are ten levels, each more infectious than the last. " The Empress flew over the crowd, letting out a shower of spores with every wing beat. Images flashed through the spores like a screen. "While surveying The Sulcis, we discovered a creature we've named Augens." A tall slender five-eyed image appeared. "They appear below level 6. To access the levels below, the eyes of the Augen are needed. Reach the bottom of The Sulcis. Purify the Petyans you find on the way, and return here."
"What's with the spore shower?" J'baki asked as the Empress continued showing images.
"Seriously, you can't see that either? What the hell is wrong with you?" Isadora was concerned. "Well you don't need to see, you can hear her though, right?"
"Yes, I can hear!" J'baki insisted. "She sounds familiar. What was her name again?"
"They call her The Empress, she connected with The tree five years ago, something no ones been able to do."
"How'd she do that?" J'baki questioned.
"No one knows. She was called to the tree for this purpose specifically it seems."
"What a lady. The Empress, that sounds familiar too." J'baki rubbed his chin, the empress continued speaking.
The crowd murmured as the slideshow ended and The Empress addressed them one last time.
"I know how you all must be feeling about the threat of being infected. Let me remind you that you all are brave enough to answer the call for such a difficult task, I believe there is no other group capable and willing to take it on. Good luck, and may the spores guide you."
The Empress receded into the middle balcony. The crowd sat silently in anticipation, suddenly J'baki saw everyone holding their neck just behind their ear. He followed suit to attempt to fit in. After about 2 minutes of this, everyone put their arms down.
"Alright perfect, did you get the map?" Isadora asked.
"What map? No." J'bakis confusion was becoming him.
Isadora let out a frustrated sigh and reached in her cloak and pulled out a large face watch. "Take this, it should help you out a bit." She fastened the watch to J'bakis wrist and it immediately turned on.
"This is Isshi, an intelligent being able to tap into the Mycelia Network, that's how we communicate here," Isadora explained. "For some reason, you can't see anything so think of it as a translator."
J'baki looked at the device in his arm. It felt alive although it was clearly digital.
"Go on, ask it to show you the map."
"Show me the root map, please." The watch immediately opened up a map showing the intricate system of roots below him. Ten very large roots with a countless number of smaller roots connecting them.
"This root here." Isadora pointed at a root that spiraled down from the center of the Vivabor tree. "Is the Sulcis. It's the main system of the tree, there's a lot of unpacking in here. We will enter from this root here." She pointed to a smaller root to the right, "and go through the veins of Sasha to reach the Sulcis. We shouldn't have any problems there, it was cleared out when the Empress came to power."
J'baki took everything in. What the hell has he gotten himself into? Found himself in, rather. No matter how much he tries he always finds himself in these predicaments.
How was he going to make this situation different, he was already here in this place, he assumed for a reason. Yet his thoughts went back to his siblings, he really should find them, this place was so much like home he started to believe something in this tree would help him get home to his siblings.
"Isadora, can I ask you a question?" J'baki asked as the two made their way into the tree.
"Yes of course."
"Do you know anything about Kenryu City?"
Isadora smirked and looked at J'baki.
"Wow I haven't been to that place since it was created." J'baki didn't know how to take this, a sense of chills ran through this entire body.
J'baki stood still as his thoughts formed an uncontrollable cloud in his head.
"Hello," Isadora asked, waving her hand in his face. "What are you doing? Come on the entrance is over here."
Isadora led J'baki to a marble white room filled with ten holes set in a hexagonal shape. She went to the hole where the fewest of the group had chosen to enter.
"Here. We just have to jump down and we'll be in the veins of Sasha." J'baki was still reeling a bit. Isadora grabbed his arm and stood at the edge of the hole. "Do you want to go first or should I?"
"Uhm" J'baki cleared his throat. "You, you go first I'll follow."
Without hesitation, Isadora jumped through the hole into the root below. J'baki stayed above for a while, thinking about what Isadora just told him. He was determined and used the tools available to him.
"Isshi, give me information on Kenryu." J'baki asked in a serious tone.
"Information not available here"
"Okay." J'baki rolled his eyes at the answer "Information about this tree."
"This is the Vivabor tree, giver of the spores, the source of life." Isshi's answer was vague but J'baki took it.
"How did it get here?"
"Unknown." How annoying.
"Why can't you tell me about Kenryu."
"No Authority."
"What do you mean authority? Whose authority." J'baki was making a bit of a scene. People started watching the boy yelling into his watch.
"Information unavailable."
J'baki felt defeated and frustrated, but this was just the start of his journey. Answers would come eventually, he thought. As he plunged into the root, he tried to remember his time in Kenryu, maybe his memories would serve him in the depths of the roots.