In the south of Fontaine's High Waters, upon a gentle slope. The knee-high green grass was exceptionally soft.
It had just rained, and many dewdrops still clung to the blades of grass.
Coppelia sat amongst the greenery, her gaze casting over the layers of emerald hills toward the distant sky. There, beneath heavy cloud masses, a faint rainbow hung indistinctly between heaven and earth.
Beside her, Columbina cradled the newborn creation from the previous night. Fortunately, the little fellow had not completely died; it trembled faintly within the crook of her arm. Unfortunately, its form was severely damaged: it had lost those two iconic, slender "braids," leaving only a silhouette where the head and torso could barely be distinguished. Its translucent body was covered in deep wrinkles due to energy loss and structural atrophy, appearing ugly and fragile.
Columbina lowered her head, her gaze locked tight on the disabled Moon Spirit in her arms, her lips pressed firmly together. She could sense the fear and pain surging within this tiny creation.
She gently swayed her body, raising her free hand to softly stroke the "crown" of the Moon Spirit's wrinkled head. As she continued to infiltrate it with Lunar Force, the disabled Moon Spirit seemed to sense safety, and the magnitude of its tremors truly lessened slightly.
"From the very beginning," Coppelia withdrew her gaze from the distance, "we were thinking in the wrong direction."
Columbina lifted her head, turning to her. "My method of creating the Moon Spirit was also wrong?"
"Wrong," Coppelia stated clearly. "Entities like Seelie, Oceanids, and Moon Spirits... their bodily structures are fundamentally different from the birds and beasts we observe. Oceanids do not have hearts, and Moon Spirits do not need livers or kidneys. Trying to shape them using the methods for creating ordinary life is a dead end."
She paused briefly to organize her thoughts, then continued, "You should recall that the Primordial Sea is the source of all life in this world. One could say that to 'create' a true lifeform—aside from relying on reproduction—one inevitably cannot bypass the power of the Primordial Sea, or the Authority of Life."
"However," she changed the subject, "many gods capable of creating kin control neither the Primordial Sea nor possess the Authority of Life. Take Greater Lord Rukkhadevata of Sumeru, for example. When she created the kin known as 'Aranara,' she certainly did not employ the waters of the Primordial Sea, nor did she rely on the Authority of Life."
Her gaze fell upon the disabled Moon Spirit in Columbina's arms. "You evidently do not possess those two authorities either. Yet, in the future, you successfully created a species like the Moon Spirits."
Columbina spoke softly, "Then I should go find Greater Lord Rukkhadevata?"
"Of course." Coppelia nodded. "She is the God of Wisdom; she would certainly know how a god should create their own kin. As it happens, our next destination is Sumeru."
This disabled Moon Spirit might still be saved... A flame of hope rose in the bottom of Columbina's heart. She tightened her embrace, and the disabled Moon Spirit in her arms seemed to sense the fluctuation of her emotions, its minute trembling pausing for a moment.
*
After tidying up briefly, Coppelia and Columbina set off, flying southward. They maintained an altitude not far from the ground, traveling while keeping a lookout for any special fluctuations emitted by moonstones below.
Sure enough, in the crevices of reefs at the bottom of certain clear waters in the south of Fontaine's High Waters, and beside several secluded streams on the northern side of the Sumeru Rainforest, they successively found a few more pieces.
Upon entering the range of the Sumeru Rainforest, the two switched to a combination of walking and low-altitude hovering, searching carefully through the dense woods.
Eventually, they stopped at the edge of a jungle area.
The land ahead presented an unnatural grayish-white color. Many nearby trees had completely withered and died, leaving only bare branches pointing toward the sky. A few withered yellow leaves, long drained of moisture, stubbornly clung to the tips of the branches, rustling dryly as the wind passed through the forest.
In the center of this patch of dead woods lay a conspicuous shallow crater. The soil on the crater walls showed traces of high-temperature scorching and violent impact. It was clearly a pit smashed open by a falling meteorite.
Columbina, cradling the disabled Moon Spirit, looked toward that area and shook her head. "I don't feel any attraction."
Coppelia wasn't entirely surprised; after all, they had encountered a similar situation in Fontaine. Last time it was picked up by a Vishap; what was it this time?
"Let's go take a look," she said.
Columbina carried her as they floated to the edge of the impact crater. The soil at the bottom of the pit bore obvious marks, seemingly dug out by some giant beast. On the relatively moist mud around the crater, a string of clear, massive footprints remained.
Coppelia walked up to a footprint and extended her right foot to compare. That footprint was more than twice the length of her foot. Even stranger, the edges of the imprint presented a squared-off angularity, and the depth of the tread was unusually uniform.
Columbina floated forward holding the disabled Moon Spirit, lowering her head to observe. "These footprints are so strange."
"This wasn't made by an ordinary living creature." Coppelia crouched down, touching the hard ridges at the edge of the print with her fingers. "It looks more like a very heavy machine. A giant machine that walks on feet... Could it be a creation of Khaenri'ah?"
"Who is Khaenri'ah?" Columbina asked.
It is a nation, located deep underground in Sumeru.
"Underground?" Columbina was somewhat surprised. "Then wouldn't they be unable to see the sun, or the moon? How do the people there survive? Can they find food in such a dark place?"
"Perhaps they synthesize food directly using alchemy?" Coppelia guessed, then immediately shook her head. "Well, actually, I'm not too sure either."
"Oh." Columbina's attention returned to the footprints. She pointed in the direction the tracks extended, deep into the rainforest. "Should we follow them and see?"
"Follow," Coppelia decided immediately, simultaneously retrieving Amos's Bow from her "backpack". "But be prepared. Those mechanical creations might attack people on sight."
"Mhm," Columbina responded, and a layer of ripples resembling water waves—moonlight—began to undulate around her.
*
Columbina took Coppelia and floated up, tracking the intermittent, peculiar footprints along the ground.
The footprints finally vanished before the entrance of a cave deep in the rainforest. The cave mouth was dark and deep, the tunnel sloping downward, its interior extending into darkness that led to who knew where.
Coppelia signaled for Columbina to stop at the entrance, then asked, "Can you sense the situation inside?"
Columbina probed the depths of the cave with her invisible perception. Within a considerable range, she only "saw" some vines and moss growing attached to the rock walls, and the traces of small burrowing animals occasionally darting past.
"No danger," she reported.
"Then we go in."
____
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