"Hmmm, for a human you're quite slow on the uptake huh?
I felt her delicate fingers glide over my shoulders, their warmth contrasting with the coolness of the water. As they traced a slow path down my back, the sensation was reminiscent of a raccoon meticulously washing its food before savoring each bite.
The chill of the water had heightened my senses, making me hyper-aware of every movement. Each gentle caress of her fingertips against my skin sent electric pulses radiating throughout my body, igniting a tingling warmth that started at my head and spread to my toes.
"Uhm-" I was instantly cut off as her hands came to a halt at the center of my back and both of her palms rested upon my body's very core.
"Your mana pathways are quite lively, the improved purity has made your mana quite excited it seems." I could a tinge of excitement in her voice mixed with what seemed to be curiosity.
'Having so much mana with this level of purity and density, it's almost criminal the way his lack of control prevents proper usage.'
"Am going to channel my mana into your body, it'd be best if you grit your teeth."
"Grit my wha- Ahhhh ughhh!"
In an instant, my bones felt as if they torching through my flesh my asking was ripping apart and my entire body was screaming to take the flight response but i was unable to move.
All she did was rest both her palms on the center of my back and heat began to envelop that area and my body felt as if it was being hit by waves.
My throat ran dry and my body which had been made overly sensitive by the cold was now screaming from every cell.
My muscles began to contract and crack over time as my body began to bleed from its orifices.
I felt as if i would lose consciousness as seconds became minutes, I tried to plead for a break but along with my ability to move my speech became void as my eyes dimmed to a close.
…
I slowly blinked my eyes open, the familiar sensation of waking from a restless slumber washing over me as I sat up on the coarse hay sack beneath me. It felt akin to a child emerging from a nightmarish dream, the remnants of sleep clinging to my mind. The soft, golden light streaming through the cracks in the hut's wooden walls enveloped me, nudging me to adjust. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, allowing my senses to recalibrate before cautiously reopening them to the warm embrace of the midday sun filtering in.
As my gaze traveled down my body, I took in the sight before me: everything appeared to be in an almost remarkable state of health, save for the absence of my left arm. The smooth, runic text etched into my skin shimmered in the light, intricate patterns intertwined across my flesh like ancient vines.
"Well, this is nostalgic!" I mused to myself, a bittersweet smile creeping onto my lips as memories flooded back, the familiarity of the markings almost comforting amid the chaos I felt within.
My body had recovered from the battering it had endured at daybreak, whilst on the inside slight pains lingered momentarily reminding me not to make any sudden movements.
I looked beyond the small openings present in the hut trying to calculate the hours I'd missed passed out.
I rested my palm flat on the floor in an attempt to rise to my feet.
"Granny said you must for the day or you might slow the healing of your mana pathways."
A voice greeted me abruptly bringing to my attention another person in the room.
Sara bobbed up and down floating above the other hay sack as her small cloud-like appearance stared me down.
"Sara!?" my voice jolted from me momentarily and it seemed to have frightened her causing a retreat.
"Am sorry…" I raised my left hand and lowered my head slightly. Her reaction to me was a bit unexpected but i didn't want to seem like a bad person. After all, this had been my first time interacting with her directly.
~She always hid behind Madam Tsukio, i guess she had some kind of trauma dealing with humans or is it men?
I smiled gently as the cloud before me slowly came closer once again bobbing above the hay sack beside the one i was on.
~Now that i think about it I've only seen the two of them despite Madam Tsukio saying they are from a forgotten race or something like a forgotten clan.
"Uhm can I ask you a question?" I plopped myself back onto my hay sack in accordance with what she had said earlier and also because of the turmoil my body was facing.
"Hmm, am okay with it." her small voice entered my ears like a small symphony of an orchestra, it was like a teenage girl who was also a lead singer in a church choir from a church in the countryside. Someone who grew up with a beautiful voice and could be an amazing singer but because of their timid personality they remain unknown.
Now that i had heard her voice and I'd seen how beautiful Madam Tsukio was i also wished to see what Sara would look like outside of her cloud-like appearance.
"What are the forgotten races and are you and Madam Tsukio the only remaining two of the cloud people?" I was genuinely curious I lacked subsequent knowledge of this world but as I am now the more I learn the more I hungered for this knowledge.
I have always been one who cared less for gameplay and more for the lore and world-building of MMOs I've played, so I guess I was always like this but just not with people back in my old life.
~This world isn't black and white bland as Earth.
"Do you know about the gods of this world?" I was drawn from my thought as she spoke, her words had scratched and itch that I didn't know I have and now I didn't want her to stop.
"The look in your eyes goes to show how oblivious you are to the world around you… are all men the way you are?"