The next day. Nai woke up quite late today. After leaving the bed, he washed his face before he started the fire. Cleaning the pot before putting in two cups of rice. and then cleaning it afterwards.
When the rice was submerged in the clear water, he put it on top of the three stones where the fire burned in between them.
A rustling sound came from behind as the wooden door of the house opened. Acacia, in her long wool skirt and sweater, walked out barefoot.
She seems a bit sad with her head down, looking at him. The morning wind was always a bit chilly and damp. Even if there's the tall wall that stands around them.
The breeze would follow the walls and dove straight below, thus bringing fresh air and carrying the foul breath away. The hot air surrounded by the castle's foundation would never accumulate like this.
Nai, who was just about to continue with the meat, turned around as he looked at her peacefully. "You can cook the meat; make sure to have more potatoes for breakfast. Preferably, boiled, oiled, and in soup."
Without waiting for a response, Nai walked away, wanting to take a bath. Although he seldom bathed in the morning, he would still do it every two to three days.
Such a habit cannot be forgotten. Acacia smiled happily at Nai's order. If she can't do what a housewife should do, let her husband do it.
She might feel as though she was worth nothing more and had been abandoned. That's why she felt sad and blamed herself inwardly for not waking up earlier than her husband.
"I'm such a failure of a wife. Come on, Acacia! This must not happen again!" After all, where can she find such a kind husband?
All the men in the previous village, even now are all brutes with no gentlemanliness at all. If her thoughts were to be heard by the men in the Agah Village far away.
They would surely curse her with their spit and shout. "How would we know if you didn't say it?" Of course, would the wife tell what they were currently feeling to their husband?
If they weren't afraid of being thrown out of the house, then they could. After all, in this world, men reign as they work and provide food while in danger.
Women only need to give birth and stay at home to take care of the children and the house chores. Although both have their importance in this dangerous world,
Those who had food and muscles were the masters. Others can only kneel and stick to their thick thighs.
With all clothing taken off.
Nai slowly submerged in the pond water. He closed his eyes and let himself be immersed in the sounds of the ocean. The cool feeling of being caressed by the flow
This feeling is by no means always present. Only underwater would his world present the only sound he wanted to hear. The sound of waves, peace, and frequency that calms the mind
I love this feeling. I love peace. I hate war. I don't like death; I want to live forever, free from sickness and age. I don't want to be limited by my lifespan; there are more things I haven't done and enjoy.
How can I let myself die? Why do we need to die? Why must we get hurt? It's always for the balance! How I care for the balance anyway?!
All I care about is peace and eternal life. I don't want challenges, I hate competition, and I don't like problems or creating issues. If someone wants it, give it to them.
In the end, my existence, no matter how humanly reasoned with psychology and faith, would still return to dust.
Are bodies important? Is the soul important? Do memories matter? Ah, I should stop; I'm getting emotional again.
Must not, must not. I should stop questioning life and death, as well as the way of the world, right now. In the end, I'm just a mortal.
A lucky mortal human is transported to another world and gains back his youth through coincidence and miracle. With the pond water in hand, I can always regain my youth.
Though it was just a guess and not 100 percent proven, Still, such is the best proof that eternal life can be achieved.
Nai can already see the future, where he will live as long as the universe.
Someday, if I do miss my deceased family members, I hoped I already had enough strength and ability to make all my wishes come true.
Going as far as making another reality or traversing time itself. I'll make it happen. But that will be impossible back on earth. But here, I wonder if it was.
After a while, he opened his eyes as he returned to the surface. He didn't count it, but he seems to have stayed underwater for several tens of minutes.
The strengthening of his body isn't just about muscle strength but an overall capacity where the different parts of the body get their own upgrade.
Just like how his eyes can see more clearly and farther. His nose can smell more minute scents. The ears are where he can hear farther and differentiate between noise.
The heart became more tough and flexible, as well as pumping more vigorously. His blood became much redder, with vitality oozing out of it.
Even his bones seem to be covered by some kind of film that makes them look dense and purer. One looked, and he knew how sturdy it was compared to its old self.
There are more, but he can't surely say it all, right? He can just omit the other part and just say that he, Viridescent Nai, has entered a brand new state as a human.
"I'm no ordinary mortal anymore. Accepter is the name of those who passed the acceptance phenomenon trial. However, what should we call the stage we are in?"
Seeing Acacia waiting for him, he walked forward and took the towel from her hand, not caring about the redness and cheeky glances in her eyes.
"Since we've been growing this strong with time, Being nurtured by our respective sources. Why not call the stages we are in by years?"
"That's right; why not call it the Hundred Years State? And starting in the first year, we received our first nurturing. We can call each subsequent stage by its number of years."
"In the Hundred Years State, it will have stages subdivided into one hundred years. So it will be like, One Year Stage, then Two Year Stage, Three Year Stage, and so on."
"That's it! I'll just need to disseminate the information and let it become the foundation of the world's accepter path."
The world is fantasy, but he felt it more in reality. If not for the picturesque sky every night, that battle between him and the monsters invading kind or slimes and what not, as well as that missing underground land dragon Browny's existence,
He might have really thought that there was nothing supernatural in this world. Of course, the effects of the miracle water can be omitted. After all, it was already half fantasy and half reality to him.
Fantasy is also a reality. "There's a thin line in between. Everything one can think of can happen, but in another time and place, where we called it a parallel world, or in another term, dreams."
"My understanding is like that. If someone wants to correct that, then that means we are not on the same page. And I had no intention of correcting others, as that would only lead to fighting."
Nai kept on talking to himself, unaware or, more like, not caring about Acacia, who was following him and listening. In his heart, nothing can question him, for he wasn't affecting others with his action.
He did no harm, and he was walking away. No one said they could follow him and criticize his thinking. If he ever finds someone doing that behind his back, see if they can survive the onslaught of his fury.
In my territory, in this vast grassland, I hadn't fully explored and understood. I self-proclaimed myself as the "ruler" of this territory. I stand above my people, those below me is at my beck and call.
Who dares to badmouth me? Nai harrumphed. Although it might look like he was crazy for acting like that. In Acacia's eyes, her husband seems to be much cuter this way.
She found it easy to look him in the eyes and get near him without being nervous. Relax and feel the warmth of a company. She led him to the dining table, where the breakfast preparations lay.
"Husband, how is it? Does it taste good?" Her question were quiet cute too.
Should I kneel down and build a shrine to my creator back on earth? Just how lucky can I be after living in this dangerously world for so long? Still, the three year invisible protection back then.
Nai remember it in his heart, if his existence became permanent in the universe. Can he meet...nope, better not.
After all, I'm a mortal— a sinner.