Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest - Chapter 1848: New Purpose

Chapter 1848: New Purpose

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“You used the bracelet I gave you as my catalyst, and that bracelet also became my body. That is my true body—that small piece of wood, leaves, and a withered flower now merged with your body,” Elayne explained. “And within you, you felt it, right dear? You awakened a deep, druidic power connected to Nature and the Forest. You have developed your Nature Soul even further and likely forged a Spiritual Heart of even greater power than before, as I now reside within it.”

“W-What?!” Elena gasped. “M-Mom… Wait! Then you’re my…! Eh?”

“You’re your mom’s vessel…!” Elisa said. “S-So is it really her?!”

“Miss Elayne?” Monica asked.

“You can call me mother if you want,” Elayne smiled warmly, spreading her arms. “I have missed you so dearly…” She began to cry. “Would you let me hug you?”

Tears streaming down their faces, Elisa and Monica ran to Elayne. She enveloped them in her long arms. She felt so warm and comforting, carrying the scent of wet soil and fragrant flower pollen. They sobbed against her shoulders, overwhelmed with joy at finally reuniting with her.

“I never thought I would see you again…” Monica cried, happiness flooding her heart at this impossible miracle with her adoptive mother.

“Uwaaahhh!” Elisa wailed even louder, like a baby. Elayne smiled gently, stroking her head and pressing a kiss on her forehead.

“You’re so precious… How long has it been since I died? You’ve all grown, you’re so different now…” Elayne said. “Your appearances are…”

“A glitch happened when you helped us escape, Mom,” Elena explained. “We landed in Arcadia with our true bodies, but our avatars… kind of overlapped with us. It was strange, but we technically merged with them. Once we logged out, we were like this, and we couldn’t log in again because they closed the game servers after the truth spread around the world. Your disappearance is now widely known, and so is our existence.”

“E-Eh? Brand New Life Online closed its servers?!” Elayne gasped. “N-No… This can’t be happening. How are we ever going to return there? I-I’m so worried about everyone else… the Demon King of Death! Just what sort of horrible things is he doing now?! And… even with my new power, I… I can’t do anything…”

“Mom…” Elena sighed.

“Please concentrate on what’s in front of you, mother-in-law,” Anna said firmly, refusing to break down like the others. “I know you’re worried about Arcadia—we all are… your son is there—but this world is also in a great crisis right now. The Demon King of Death is constantly opening enormous Gates around the globe. Hundreds of thousands, millions of Undead are invading entire areas… in a year they’ve already taken over a dozen cities. There’s even a country on the verge of becoming a complete Necropolis. He has become an unstoppable force. And yet many of the ancient powers and higher-ups in the Supernatural Underworld have done very little! It’s so frustrating how they sit back, not caring what happens in another country as long as theirs isn’t affected. Don’t they understand this is a world we all share?! Ugh…!”

“Anna…” Elayne realized Anna burned with rage and frustration at the state of the world, powerless to change it alone.

“All of you have fused with your Avatars… does that mean you possess all of their abilities?” Elayne wondered. “And the stats? That means you’re super strong…”

“Not exactly…” Elisa sighed. “We cannot channel all the powers. We can release and use at most… like ten percent.”

“W-What? But why?” Elayne asked.

“No idea. It feels like the power is sealed and we cannot access it normally. That’s why we’ve also been learning Magic at the Magus Academy,” Elena explained. “Auntie Olivia allowed us to study there. Although the bullies were the worst, we’ve been able to learn a lot and grow stronger.”

“And I mean, ten percent is still a lot considering how strong we were!” Elisa added. “We’re obviously much stronger than any Magus…”

“Plus we have our Magic Circles, Nature Souls, Spirit Hearts…” Monica nodded. “And the things you made for us, Mom… Um, but still. I guess… we cannot really help as much as we want. We’re always being sent somewhere else, always under the watchful eyes of the higher-ups and people of authority. They… they treat us like freaks, and dangerous creatures that shouldn’t exist.”

Elayne fell silent for a moment. Her golden and green eyes gleamed as she furrowed her brows. Her eyes twitched; she bit her lip in anger. “I see… perhaps I have to do more than just fight this war to obtain the Wish we need, Elena…”

“You mean you’re going to fight against the Demon King’s invasion?!” Elena asked. “Wait! No! What if you end up dying again?! Now that you’re back, you want to jump back into danger?! Are you crazy?!”

“E-Elena…” Elayne murmured. “Calm down… I am not going to die. As I said, you are my vessel… Even if my spirit form is destroyed, I can be summoned by you again.”

“Really? Still! They’re monsters that destroyed us all! They could find a way to destroy your spirit and soul permanently again…” Elena’s voice trembled with deep trauma. Now that her mother was right here, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing her again. “Don’t go… Please don’t go anywhere… Stay with me…” She hugged her mother tightly. Elayne felt heartbroken and shed a few tears.

“Oh dear… I-I understand…” Elayne let out a heavy sigh. “I will never leave your side… I’m sorry. I’ve always felt this deep sense of responsibility I must uphold. Now that I have been summoned as the representation of Gaia, I feel like I have a greater purpose as well… This world has been constantly suffering. I feel like… maybe I can do something to help.”

Elena sighed. “But… no, don’t do it… Be selfish, Mom! Stop caring so much about everyone and everything else! Stop trying to be a saint! You’re… you were a human being like us… Stop thinking you HAVE to save everyone when you can always choose not to!”

Elayne was stunned by the request. She tried to argue, but she noticed a red command seal within Elena activate from her words.

It was an Order given by her Master, and she could not refuse. Elena had done it without realizing.

“I understand…” she sighed. “I’ll try to be more selfish. I’m sorry if I worried you, dear. I’ll try not to do that again.

“Really?” Elena asked.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Elayne said. “However, my existence right now is tied to this war. Once it ends, I might have to leave…”

“No!” Elena cried. “Don’t!”

“It’s not something you can decide by just saying that,” Elayne explained. “My existence, even as an anomaly, is still bound deeply to the rules of the Holy War Ritual. My existence also requires vast amounts of Mana and Spirit Energy from the Ley Lines down here to sustain itself properly. So I would recommend you not leave this place for now.”

“I know,” Elena nodded. “I won’t… I guess. Not until this is over.”

After all these conversations, Matsuo—who had been unconscious on the floor—slowly began to wake up, groaning while rubbing his head. “Uugh… W-What was that?”

He sat up slowly, finding Elena and her friends sitting close by.

“Matsuo? Are you alright?” Elisa asked. “You… you passed out by… uh, you hit your head on the wall.”

“What? I did?” Matsuo wondered. “Is this why I’m nosebleeding?”

“I… yeah,” Anna nodded. “Yeah! That’s what happened.”

Elayne had completely vanished, as if she had never been there. Matsuo could swear he had seen a huge lady, but maybe that had been part of his hallucination.

Still, he could feel something immense within Elena—an enormous green and golden divine aura surging from her chest, vast and encompassing, though the girl herself didn’t seem to realize it.

“Wow…” Matsuo muttered. “Elena, were you hiding your Spiritual Aura before? It’s immense! Do you possess an Elemental Spirit Root by any chance?”

“Eh? What?” Elena asked, raising an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“You don’t know?” Matsuo wondered, standing up and brushing dust from his clothes. “They are powerful… well, sort of physiques? They are roots inside your body, magical and mystical, connected to elemental and spiritual power—which also explains the talent of certain individuals. Your Aura has so much Spiritual Energy it’s incredible. Do you have some kind of Spiritual Root you had no idea about?”

“Ahh… well, it’s complicated?” Elena muttered.

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