Zöe continued to walk around the Life Oasis, observing the way they lived their lives away from their home worlds. At least… that's what he believed.
Anyways.
His carefree stroll eventually led him to a floating book. A small, fairy-like existence was standing on the open book's pages, seemingly deep in thought.
"Oh dear\~ Is that a new face?" A crisp, chime-like voice sung through the air.
Zöe's glance had been fleeting, yet his gaze was noticed nonetheless. Even from afar.
He recognized this existence as one of the long-lived races existing here in this oasis. Their statue was composed of 80% her book, and 20% her body.
"Hello," Zöe bowed and asked out of politeness, "Might you be the Knowledge Sprite I saw upon descending?"
"Mhm, your observation is correct, my dear Lesser Human. I was actually looking for you."
A giggle burst out of her dainty form, blonde hair fluttering as she winked at him.
"Please address me as Fi," She said, floating closer to Zöe's face. "As a being born from and for knowledge, I've sensed the aura of unknown from you. Your world is not one of the \[Tower\]'s. Is it alright if I ask of you a singular question?"
Fi tapped on her book with her feet.
"Of course, it won't be for free. I can give you a week's worth of food if you simply satisfy this restless curiosity of mine."
Zöe blinked.
That sounded like a bargain.
"Sure,"
\*\*\*\*
At a random park bench in the Life Oasis.
The garden, which was grotesque yet seemingly full of life in this desolate desert, seemed to breathe with blood flowing throughout its stems.
Flowing from its roots and into its leaves, absorbing the diffused crimson haze.
In a way, there was tranquility here, and not the eerie kind. Somehow, one could find themselves ready to absorb knowledge and exchange it in the process.
Thus,
Fi and Zöe found themselves sitting side-by-side, one with a floating book and the other staring into the distance. There was indeed a peaceful air about them, separate from the festivities that currently thundered throughout the oasis.
Truly, this was an interaction between a giver of knowledge and a seeker of it. It wasn't much of a surprise.
After all, Zöe had been surprised by the first question that Fi had proposed to him:
"Would it be all right to give me your favorite piece of knowledge about your home world?"
Fi giggled and continued, "Of course, it doesn't have to be too personal. You can tell me about your legends or your gods. Who do you believe in? What kind of life have you seen? What kind of life have others been living?"
Clearly, Fi's curiosities were pretty broad, spanning a lot of different possibilities and a lot of different niches in knowledge.
Thus, Zöe had fallen into deep thought, and he now stared into the distance.
Pondering.
His thoughts browsed through the memories of those he once possessed, trying to find which part of his home world would delight the Knowledge Sprite.
Enough to give him the best food that she could give.
Why? Well, he wanted to taste the delicacies of the Life Oasis. To see for himself which ones were better than the ones he had tasted in his old world.
The joy of new flavors was alluring. This was what freedom was for.
And so Zöe would answer:
"The most interesting part of my world would be the endless wastelands it possessed, filled with death and nothingness, just like this ocean of bones."
He pursed his lips.
"Although it was filled with nothingness, us Lesser Humans were able to survive. We weren't even aware that we were Lesser Humans. We only had ourselves there. No other intelligent species roamed those lands."
No matter which body Zöe had possessed, they all painted the same desolate yet vast image of a wasteland.
Which always made Zöe very curious…
"The most notable people there were always the priests… and I always wondered what kind of god those priests believed in: a god who granted life in exchange for faith is what they seemed to be. To those unfaithful, death would all be what was waiting for them."
Zöe shook his head wryly.
"Perhaps it is the grace of this god that there was even life at all, now that I think about it."
Hearing this, Fi fell into deep thought.
None of the gods she knew had this trait of life. Furthermore, no god could have existed on Zöe's world. After all, the only reason why a world could be connected to the \[Tower\] is because it is governed by a god.
Thus, she could not help but doubt whether or not these priests that Zöe spoke of indeed believed in a deity.
However, it was not Fi's place to speak of her doubts. Instead, she simply flipped to a page on the book beneath her feet and began jotting everything down, treasuring this piece of information that no one else in the Tower had except for her and Zöe.
This was the meaning of a Knowledge Sprite's existence.
\*\*\*\*
When Zöe and Fi parted ways, Zöe found himself at a slight loss. Somehow, he had answered more than a single question.
He also noticed how Fi's reaction was pretty suspicious… in a certain sense. The way her eyes flickered in thought and how her brow scrunched up in confusion.
Zöe had picked up on Fi's doubts and was about ninety percent sure it was about his world's religion.
How did the gods function in the \[Tower\]? Were they greater than the \[Tower\] or were they less than it?
Suddenly, the world as Zöe knew it seemed to have turned on its head.
Eventually, however, he calmed down.
Although there was a lot that he did not know, all of these things would reveal themselves to him in time. And perhaps one day, he could borrow the book beneath the Knowledge Sprite's feet.
Then, he could browse it and learn of everything the sprite ever recorded.
Zöe's eyes flashed with a cold glint of light. He wondered if he could target and perhaps steal the books of every Knowledge Sprite he met.
'Perhaps not…'
On second thought, he was a little doubtful of such a task's success. From Irmak's description, the book of a Knowledge Sprite was bound to their soul.
If a Knowledge Sprite died, maybe the book would disappear with them. Conversely, if he took the book away from a living sprite, he wasn't sure what would happen.
Would he be tracked down and killed? Or would the book lose its functionality?
He'd have to figure out the logistics of it all before he acted.
Though Zöe had his suspicions, perhaps Knowledge Sprites were excellent targets for kidnapping, just like himself… and all of the people he once possessed were.
Before being thrown into isolated cells, awaiting their doom beneath the scalpel.
[]=[]=[]=[]
I've released a few Grey Polls for the public to participate in.
If anyone wishes to support the novel, Common Polls and above will now begin appearing.
Become a Supporter to influence the story at [ Ko-fi . com/ubemantou ] and [ discord . gg/SnNg5G9qrt ]
[]=[]=[]=[]