Chapter Text
Crimson Spring March couldn't remember the last time anyone came to the Fourth Floor of the Divine Spirit Tree. After her real self was sealed away in the Fifth Floor and creating the Fourth Floor as a sanctuary for her beloved familiars, she fell into a deep slumber to replenish her expended powers. This messed up her perception of time. There were human teenagers in uniform or elves entering the Fourth Floor occasionally, however they always lost their way in here, then fell to the residents of this floor or herself.
Her day was as usual, she was tending to her children, the familiars, in one of her real body's avatar, which was a white fox with black point colouration. Out of the blue, she sensed someone entering her realm again. One of her children, a deer familiar came to tell her that it was a young human holding a flower pot.
The familiars watched him afar from their positions with hostility at worst, neutrality at best. Though, he didn't make any attempt to approach them either. He just continued to walk further into the realm, and slayed monsters that tried to attack him with his sword. While she was intrigued by his weapon and strength since the monsters here were more powerful than those on the floors below...
'What is he here for, if not for making a familiar contract?'
Her question was soon answered.
Crimson Spring March realized that he was here to see her when she felt his presence heading straight towards her clearing. The moment the Divine Moon saw the brown-haired human emerging from the foliage, she conjured her humanoid form and enchantments to bewitch him. Her aura dyed her surroundings in bright pink hues, a magnificent castle materialised midair accompanied with fluttering flower petals. She hummed a tune, imbuing her voice with her power of charm. Her mental magic entered his body and took hold of his mana.
The boy's amber eyes widened slightly when he saw her. However, instead of being entranced and running towards her like other intruders before him, he steeled himself and took a deep breath. She could sense her mana being expelled from his body completely.
"Oh?"
Crimson Spring March was surprised, that was the highest level of enchantment magic she used, and yet this child could fully repel it. He was as calm as still water too, when she alighted from her perch and walked towards him with light graceful steps, trying to push her mana into him again. His clear eyes gazed into hers and resisted her enchantments.
"You are different from ordinary humans. If you were a normal human male, you would've run towards me already."
This human was fairly strong too, at least he was more powerful than those who wore a similar uniform that entered this floor, it was evident in the monsters he had slain. He placed his flower pot (a Unidirectional Flower, now that she could see it up close) on the ground.
"Thanks for the compliment, may I know your identity?"
The human was not being truthful, he already knew who she was. However, the Divine Moon humoured him as she hadn't seen a human like him before.
"I'm a youkai, familiar, deity, and Divine Moon. Is this answer sufficient?" The boy accepted the answer, so she got straight to the point.
"Tell me, what is your purpose here? Be truthful, or I will eat you." said the Divine Moon while smiling, her eyes wide open. He was taken aback and alarmed by her deceivingly playful tone.
'Quite a sharp human,' for sensing the killing intent behind her words. Finally, he answered.
"... I came to retrieve a familiar's heart."
She asked with an edge in her tone, "Oh? are you going to kill a familiar for that?"
"No, I am planning to take an ownerless heart from the 'Familiar's Tomb' that is deeper inside."
'Ah, so this human does know more than he lets on.' She wondered how did he know that.
"There is no such heart inside. Why are you looking for it?"
The young human frowned slightly, then rummaged through his backpack. He took out a ring-shaped item.
"I need to find a heart to save my friend, deity Iphanel."
"How did you...!" The boy was showing her a vine bracelet with blue flowers. It was a deity's token of friendship, which was something not easily obtained.
'To think that a human could have earned the trust of a deity...'
This human was an interesting conundrum, he had a strong mental fortitude that didn't match his physical age. Furthermore, he was friends with a deity, and they were close enough for him receive her token. Crimson Spring March was a bit inclined to bless this human.
"We talked quite a bit, she was lonely." The human said, with an empathetic expression.
(She was not being honest when she said that there was no heart that he sought after. It was with her, it belonged to her beloved familiar that died in her embrace. Should she give it to him?
However... )
"If that is the reason, then I could give you a heart," he looked hopeful. "But, truth to be told, I'm sick of it." The human's face went blank.
"What-"
"Humans can't be trusted, you are not the first person that sought after us. For the past millennia, many warriors had fought for us familiars, deities, and even... Divine Moons."
Even with most of her memories and knowledge sealed away along with her real body in the Fifth Floor, she remembered the horrible feeling of betrayal with clarity.
"Those humans all met a tragic end. We were betrayed by them in the end. We made deep connections with many humans before, yet they betrayed us too. I'm tired of listening to empty promises you humans make."
"I understand where you are coming from. If people are judged based on their intentions, then there would be no evil in this world. I can't promise anything, I know that you doubt my words. But please help my friend, she is dying."
'Quite persistent, isn't he? And for his deity friend too, not for my power.'
"Unless you can prove that you are willing to risk your life for the familiars, I can't be certain that you are qualified to be a familiar's friend."
The young human looked speechless and bewildered at her condition. That reaction was to be expected of humans.
'See? You don't believe that you could go to such lengths for familiars too.'
"I don't wish for familiars to bare their heart to humans, they are the ones that get hurt in the end."
He was deep in thought for a while, and finally he said.
"If you are not willing to give me a heart, do you mind telling me where else I could find one? Or any alternatives?"
"That I do not know."
He deflated at her answer. He then looked at the surroundings and said nonchalantly, "Don't mind if I ask, but how do you build this floor?"
She raised an eyebrow at his sudden change in subject. "Boy, aren't you upset that I refuse you?"
"I'd be lying if I say that I'm not disappointed, but since I'm here anyways might as well sate my curiousity about Divine Moons, which is you right now, Crimson Spring March."
"... I lured in familiars with my power of charm, my children are highly susceptible to dark magic, so I created this safe haven with my powers to protect them from it. I'm surprised that you could find me in here, since this space changes at my whim." This space was still unfinished, so she erected a barrier to ward off dark magic, but she was not going to tell the boy about it.
"I couldn't help but notice that the familiars I saw on this floor are of higher grade than the ones below, at least their bodies are solid instead of translucent. Does that mean that familiars of lower grade could not handle your enchantment?"
"It is simply because of proximity, human. The closer they are to me, the more power they could have to cultivate to a higher grade." He nodded at her reply.
This went on for some time until the boy grew quiet.
"... I guess that you are not going to help me with the heart, aren't you?"
"I could help her myself after you are gone, human. You humans are short lived while deities are eternal."
"But you couldn't leave this floor, right? You used up a vast amount of your power to create this dimension."
He took his flower pot and bowed at her.
"I shall take my leave then. See you again, Crimson Spring March."
The peculiar human left. The Divine Moon had a feeling that he would be back soon, his last farewell with her and the determined glint in his eyes said as much.
'It has been a while since the last time I interacted with someone outside of my familiars.'
The Fourth Floor regained its usual ambience with the departure of the human, and she resumed caring for her children.
'No... how could this be? I don't have my full power...'
Somehow, a dark mage, whose dark magic caused her children to go berserk or writhe in agony, had infiltrated the Fourth Floor. The culprit already moved towards the lower floors. Crimson Spring March used her powers to purify the dark energy that consumed her familiars, turning the dark miasma into pink. However, the Divine Moon grew panicked as her purification couldn't keep up the corruption. All she could do was to ease their pain.
'The dark mage that caused this must be very powerful for this scale of corruption. At this rate, all the familiars in the entire realm will be corrupted and cause havoc!'
She gave her blessing to the Elf Monarch, Florin a very long time ago. The Divine Moon already sent her a distress signal of the disaster inside the Divine Spirit Tree, but she feared that by the time the elves arrived the damage would be too great.
(A part of herself wondered if the Elf Monarch remembered about their meeting centuries ago. She blessed Florin, who was then a young elf tested for her qualities as a ruler by the High Elders, by throwing her into her dimension. She saw potential in the child to build the perfect sanctuary for her cherished familiars and revive the wilting Divine Spirit Tree.
However, in retrospect, the exhaustion from creating the Fourth Floor had caused Crimson Spring March's control to slip and gave Florin too much of her blessing, to point that it would greatly burden her instead. The Divine Moon wondered if the elf resented her for that. The fact that Florin never came to find her at the Fourth Floor meant that this was extremely likely.)
As time passed and the situation did not improve, the despair in Crimson Spring March's heart grew, regardless of her iron control over emotions. Suddenly, the Divine Moon could feel that the oppressive darkness had waned. The dark energy that tainted and tormented her familiars were dissipating.
'What happened?'
Just then, a large whale familiar came to notify her that a group of humans fought the dark mage behind her children's suffering at the Third Floor, with the human earlier leading them. They were victorious. With the dark mage gone, the fragmented dark energy was purified on its own, and her familiars were free from its influence.
Feeling a strong urge to check on the situation herself, she left her domain for the first time in ages. She passed through the barrier between the floors and shook off her dizziness from the action.
Arriving at the Third Floor, she saw the group of humans sprawled around the clearing some distance away from the barrier. The lovely purple scenery of this floor were ruined by the felled trees and burnt patches on the ground; it spoke of the intense battle that took place earlier. The familiars were recovering from their erosion too. The humans were badly injured and unconscious, though she could perceive that some of them would wake up soon. A dark mana core laid in a dark puddle, and two severely injured humans on the verge of losing consciousness were collapsed near it. One of them was an unfamiliar raven-haired boy, while the other one was the familiar brown-haired boy from earlier.
'Despite being faced with overwhelming power, he still fought the dark mage and stopped the corruption from spreading further with all he had. He saved my children despite my refusal to help him and the risk of losing his life.'
'How could a human like him exist?'
She couldn't comprehend how he could be this selfless, especially since her memories and knowledge were sealed away. Heart filled with gratitude and guilt, she cradled the brown-haired boy gently, and imbued him with her energy. He stirred and looked at her through half-lidded eyes.
"I'm sorry for being stubborn."
To prove that he was willing to risk his life for the familiars and worthy of her trust...
"You did it, in the end."
The Divine Moon placed her beloved familiar's heart in his jacket. The heart of his deity friend would beat again with this.
"This should suffice as recompense, for protecting my familiars."
Crimson Spring March bestowed her blessing by kissing his forehead, and his body was enveloped in pink aura. The human shivered and fell unconscious. In her weakened state from purifying her children earlier, her current blessing was a mere fraction of the one Florin received. Nevertheless, her blessing was still too much for him in this condition.
'He will overcome it, he has shown his resilience in the face of adversity.'
She leaned him against a rock and straightened her body. The Divine Moon could sense a large group of elves at the lower floors of this realm, and they were swiftly approaching this area. She glanced at the dark-haired human and a few of his allies that regained their consciousness. They were staring at her, flabbergasted.
Playfully, she gestured for them to keep her appearance a secret and disappeared. Leaving them to wonder if she was just their imagination.