Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

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“…Huh?”

Elayne slowly opened her eyes, hoping to find herself back in her room within the Domain. Instead, she found herself floating in the middle of a sea of shifting colors.

This sea of colors exuded countless elemental energies, flowing constantly in every direction at once. It felt deeply connected to her, as if it were part of her very soul.

And it was.

“Am I… inside my own soul?”

She noticed over a hundred gigantic nails made of white light piercing the ocean, dividing what seemed like chaotic energy into more than a hundred different roots.

“This must be some kind of Inner Mind Soul world… Huh, have I been here before?”

Elayne quickly figured it out. She had been in similar situations too many times not to recognize it. She gazed around, amazed by the view, her lips curling into a calm smile.

“Oh?”

She noticed something—a huge bubble of white light above her. Curiosity sparked, and she swam toward it.

Moving through the endless sea of bright light wasn’t as easy as it looked. With each stroke of her arms and legs, she felt as though the soul sea might wash her away.

“Oof… Is this what Yaga experienced when she looked inside my soul back then?”

Although Elayne hadn’t said anything at the time, she knew the old granny had examined her soul a little too deeply. Apparently, Yaga had been frightened by what she saw, though Elayne herself couldn’t find anything scary here—aside from the new ghostly energy shaped like spirits.

“Hello!”

“Hi!”

“I like cooking!”

“Spirits, spirits, spirits…”

“I miss my daughter…”

“Is it really going to be okay?”

“I don’t remember what pooping felt like anymore.”

“Hey, what’s up dawg.”

“Where’s Rita?!”

“I need to make the biggest farm in the world.”

“Ah… Weird.” Elayne looked at the countless “ghosts” that now made up a large part of her soul. Unlike the traditional ghosts she knew, these were very much like her. They had good manners—mostly—and spoke of mundane things, her inner thoughts, emotions, and… well, Elayne decided to ignore the last one. Though, indeed, it had been a lingering thought from time to time.

Undead Souls gain ghostly power when they form within the Netherworld, absorbing energy from the environment. The combination of Ghostly Energy and Nether is also called Yin Energy, something Elayne had learned recently. That was why she now saw countless tiny ghosts making up the ghostly part of her soul, like cells.

“It’s crazy how each one is me…”

She moved closer to the bubble of light, realizing it was enormous. Elayne thought this was a rare opportunity. She seldom visited her “Inner Mind Soul World Thingy,” so she was glad she had managed to reach it.

“This bubble is likely where the rest of my spiritual stuff is! If I pop it, can’t I get it all immediately? Or maybe… it doesn’t work like that? Gardenia, are you there?”

There was no response.

“I guess not… She’s more like in my Spiritual Heart now.”

Elayne touched the bubble with her hand. Her eyes widened as she began to slip inside.

“Woah, what’s this?!”

FLASH!

Bright light engulfed her, revealing something else—a world of its own.

Beautiful blue skies, endless seas of white clouds, a giant floating continent covered in lush forests, jungles, and grasslands, gardens of colorful flowers, snow-covered mountains, and a radiant sun above.

“Wow, this looks like heaven…”

She walked across the grassland, touching it and feeling the essence of nature. It was so refreshing it made her sigh in relief.

“Ah… it reminds me of when I was in the Forest of Beginnings, or… oh right, that time we visited the Dream Forest. It was so chill… I wonder if I could bring Mark here.”

As Elayne pondered, she picked plants and flowers, analyzing them. Somehow, even though this was a mind world, they felt real.

“Weird… what is this place anyway? I don’t remember imagining it… is it a dream world? Damn it, I wish Morpheus was here.”

Although she had managed to save Irene, Elayne had lost Morpheus—and even her connection to him—which made her deeply sad. The same had happened with the other Demon Weapons she had obtained, which was equally frustrating.

“I hope you’re alright, Morpheus, wherever you are…”

She sighed, closed her eyes, and kept walking.

She walked.

And walked.

And walked some more.

Until she stopped, realizing something.

“Wait, why am I moving so much toward a certain direction?”

She looked into the distance. A large grass-covered mountain stood before her.

“Huh?”

The mountain had the faint shape of a person—a woman of great beauty, a mother of the earth and nature.

As she drew closer, she heard the giant mountain murmuring to itself.

“Haaa… Uhhh… my son is dead…”

She saw her crying, waterfalls streaming from her eyes, turning into rivers that gave even more life to the world.

“Um… Hello?”

Elayne spoke, but the giantess didn’t seem to notice.

So she climbed closer and closer.

“Hello? Hi?”

“Ahhh… Uuh… Hm?”

At last, she saw her.

The giantess met Elayne’s gaze, and they stared at one another.

They were so different, so incredibly apart, and yet… it felt like staring into a mirror.

“Hi… um, why are you crying? Ah no, who are you? Yeah, that’s the question.”

“I… received such sad news… my son died… And I didn’t even know…”

“Eh? What son?”

“Oh… I don’t know… I don’t remember well.”

“Ah…”

“It’s so sad!”

“I’m sorry… I’ve suffered a lot myself. I was wandering inside my soul and wondered why you were inside this bubble; it’s supposed to contain important stuff…”

“Bubble? This world, what you see… it is my own Inner Soul Realm.”

“I have this inside my soul?!”

“No? Wait… who are you again?”

“I am Elayne, nice to meet you… Um, so what’s your name?”

“My name… I don’t know, I forgot. I think… it had something to do with… um, ah. It started with the letter G.”

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