Yuna look down at the somewhat dark withering mutated moonlit Orchid.
Although her master seems sloppy and unreliable, Yuna still believe that she won't let her keep thing that is dangerous. Without that dimension stone giving some horrendous energy maybe the moonlit orchid root will not expand and wriggle like a tentacles!
Even so, Yuna have no plan on feeding it blood so she just put it on her room cabinet and forget all about it until now when she decide to clean her room thoroughly and see the flower collecting dust, withering.
After explicitly pulling out again, should she let it dies?
Ermm...
Yuna felt conflicted.
She has been tending to herbs these days and grows quite fond of gardening per se.
Ugh… to just let it die after not taken care of for almost half a year and only show sign of an early stages of withering, Yuna admire its tenacity.
Though admiration is admiration and taking care is another whole matter… Its fine to take care of plants that need careful tending with good soil, water and enough sunlight, but a flower that needs blood….. yeah, she really is not into it.
Sighing, Yuna pour water on the flower and pull it towards her room window. Hopefully, she'll try tending on the normal way first.
And….
'I'll respect your strong will to survive'
For a week, Yuna took care of the flower albeit reluctantly but….the flower show no sign of recovery.
Ughh…
Did she really had to give it blood?
Bruh…
The evening, Yuna drain the blood of the game her grandfather caught, she carefully bring the small bowl and pour it on the flower. The flower that does not even want to exude vitality now at a speed visible to the naked eye started to straighten, although still look decadent, it is still in stark contrast with its dark withered appearance just a moment ago.
"This shit—" Yuna curse, anything that live and nurtured on blood does not look like a good thing. Indeed, it was not when she thought back of its terrible tentacles root wreaking havoc during the Moonlit expedition.
There are blood debts at the hand of the mutated thingy!
If she think it that way, Yuna does not feel too comfortable with it.
"I'll just pour animal blood from now on then" pursing her lips, Yuna was about to go and wash the bowl when the flower that stood upright suddenly get darker and wilt; its appearance worst than the previous withering looks!
"The heck!"
Yuna eyes opens wide, startled "Don't tell me it don't like animal blood and only like human blood, this play thing is not good at all"
Wanting to verify her conjecture and seriously let it die if its' true, Yuna prick her finger and drop it on the wilting flower.
If it really needs the nourishment of human blood, she didn't want to raise it.
Surprisingly or maybe not, the flower started to stand up straight, its dark appearance receding, even its previous red colour started to change and became a shade of green.
That was not all that has changed the flower stalk elongate and Yuna without a sense of crisis observe the change when suddenly, the flower at an unfathomable speed elongate and wrap itself around her hand.
"What the fuck!"
The roots of the flower separate into tiny thin folds and drills in a way Yuna could not makes head or tail of inside her hand! The roots wriggle in her veins and bloodstream.
Scared, Yuna roughly pull the flower that continues to drill. It doesn't matter whether she bleed or whether it hurts, she is not going to let some freaking unknown species invade her body and took root on her veins!
The flower however as if turn into a super glue could not be pried away from her hand at all. Yuna heart accelerated as cold sweat runs down her body. She tucks hard not giving up but the flower just won't budge; the stalk wove around her hand like a snake.
"Knife…I need a knife!"
Gritting her teeth, Yuna dash towards the kitchen and pull out the knife, she try to cut off the flower but it was as hard as steel. Yuna started to fret and get more anxious. Her heart thud; beating like a drum.
Suppressing her fearful and anxious heart, Yuna think of a way to get rid of it.
"Wait…shit!" As if suddenly getting a brilliant idea and admonishing for being a fool; Yuna slaps her forehead in chagrin
She conjures up a fire in hope that it will burn the flower into a crisp.
However…..
The flower as if resistant to Yuna element itself continues its manoeuvre.
Stunt at her failed attempt and having no other option, Yuna stood rooted on her spot. She closed her eyes, scared to further see the small roots taking root on her veins as she burst into a layer of cold sweat, tears forming in her eyes.
'This is such a stupid way to die'
Damn her human curiosity and damn her momentary pity!
Yuna does not forget the perpetrator who gives her the flower and for tragedy to befall on her 'Master! I'm going to haunt you!'
She should not have put trust on her master!
'Is her body going to be taken over?.....it hur— huh?, wait…it does not hurt at all!'
Surprised, Yuna feel the roots drilling her veins and once she pays attention to the flower, she seem to feel a faint bonding….something….something like the flower being part of her body…??
Opening her eyes, Yuna expression became hard to read "Not as a parasite but as part of my body?"
Yuna swear— she could even feel the flower communicating with her!
Not in language but in conscious sharing.
After another minute, the roots settle down and even the snake like green stalk wound tightly around her hand as if she is putting on vine shape jewellery. The flower part shrinks itself into a small bud as if not blooming unless command.
With a complicated mood, Yuna thought up a move and the vine like stalk elongate, she control and wave the stalk.
"....I guesses I am spider-woman…ugh..."
What is she going to do with it? Should she study it? Should she learn to wave whips?
Forget it. Her life is not in danger and she don't dare to study too deeply, the gory scene of the flower wiggling its root and drills on those human traumatized her and Yuna is afraid that the flower will have that same horrendous ability and that she be able to command it.
Just the thought of the flower drilling and sucking the blood of people and her being connected to the roots sickened her.
The flower tells her that she has an affinity with it because of the dimension stone that was in her chest. It tell…well not actually tell but share, conscious share that it like the stone and her pure blood that was constantly being refined by the elements. So it merges with her and they become like a one entity.
'Who wants to be one entity with you??!!!' Yuna roar in her head.
But she needs to know only that, she don't want to know more, she really is a coward. If she is the main protagonist, maybe she will be curious or boldly wants to study it and know about it deeper, something that will become part of their life. Once again, she is not the main protagonist, she is Yuna, an ordinary person; a coward.
Lets life take its course for the time being, she wants to live a leisure life, if she embark on the path of finding the truth, she is sure, there will be no peace but only a moment of anxiety and stress, she has read enough novels to know it.
Yuna lips twitch, right now, she feels less and less like a homo-sapiens.
"..Its fine, its' not being in a human body that makes a human being human" Yuna console herself and clean the mess she made because of panicking due to merging with mutated moonlit orchid.
Once again, she lives and that is all that matter.
This...this is a fantasy world so she should get used to it right??
Wrong!
Yuna really cannot get used to this!
If this is how fantasy world is going to play, she really has to thoroughly prepare her heart or one day she might die of heart attack.
She just hope that she will not go through this kind of stimulated experience the days to come. Seriously, her heart is weak. She cannot handle any more stimuli.
Maybe the heaven decided to take a pity on her, Yuna does not experience anymore 'Stimulated' thing.
She devotes herself on studying apothecary as well as practicing her wind elemental. She also save enough money and finally open a bank account in her name. Yuna also finally goes back spending time in the way she like the most i.e. Reading novels.
Although the novels that was written in an era of somewhat like medieval ages in which there is so much left for things to desire for, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.
Even if the genres are all kind of similar to one another, it was better than having nothing to read, it was about heroes slaying evil, or prince and commoner melodramatic love, noble and commoner love, sword master reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship, heroic tale of a knight....
….Uhm….its' better than having nothing to read.....
Sigh….