NOVPUB
Chapter 99: 99
"I don’t have a tastebud Ikem so it doesn’t count as enjoying, but it most certainly is different from the normal water I am used to" Osisi immediately answered to defend himself.
The two continued to drink in silence, until Ikem spoke up, "so feeling an different Osisi, have you made progress in understanding your power and its nature"
Osisi a stayed silent for a while before sighing l, " quite the opposite Ikem, I am even more confused on what I am and what I thought I was meant to be"
Ikem halted his hand as he looked towards Osisi to see if there had been any difference but he picked up nothing, "What happened?" Ikem asked.
"After the rain of fire, my roots acted up and penetrated into another space pulling out souls of apelings before now hosting them inside of me" Osisi explained in the best way he could.
"You roots managed to get into Father’s sister realm, and still managed to pull souls out of it, how?" Ikem asked, dropping the cup he was holding.
"The creator’s sister, so that’s where that was. Hope i didn’t offend her" Osisi also retracted his roots as he said worriedly.
"Forget about that, If she was offended you will know, tell me how your roots got into the underworld and what was special about the apelings you pulled out" Ikem asked dismissing Osisi worries.
"I have no idea on how the roots was able to get to the space but if I was to be more specific, it was like the roots were summoned to the underworld to grab hold of the apelings, before it began I felt like I was supposed to be doing something and after the souls were recovered the feelings went away"
"As for what was special about these apelings, it was that they bore the curse from the five cursed clans," Osisi answered Ikem.
Ikem instinctively spoke out, "you are cursed then"
"Looks like you think the same as well," Osisi said with relief in his voice.
"I mean, your action showed you were not in control and the event of the dead Apelings souls triggered the activation of the curse which you have to do subconsciously or not, now the question is when did you become cursed" Ikem asked as he started walking up and down.
"What do you mean when I became cursed, hasn’t it been this way since my birth" Osisi asked confused.
"I might not really understand Curses well but I can say for certain you were never cursed from the beginning, you may have someone contacted with father’s cursed energy which became a characteristic of yours, if it was that way then you should have no business with the curse beared by the five clans as nothing connected you to them"
"Which means, you were cursed at the same time my children became cursed and your curse has something to do with retrieving their cursed souls" Ikem said out loud to himself but enough for Osisi to hear him.
"What is the creators’ plan in doing that then?" Osisi asked with more confusion in his voice.
"I don’t know, but I am guessing that this will be something that will be happening to you from now on, as more apelings from the cursed clans die" Ikem said as he touched Osisi bark trying to see if he could see or feel something with his connections with woods.
Frowning Ikem shook his head as he felt nothing, looking at Osisi Ikem asked " what are the souls doing after you absorbed them back"
"Nothing, they all just went into a fetal state like a baby" Osisi said as he looked inside of himself to still see the souls sleeping.
Ikem scratched his head, deep in thought. "This curse is complex. If the souls are in a dormant state, it might mean they’re awaiting some trigger or condition to awaken. We might need to figure out what that is."
Osisi nodded in agreement. "But how do we even begin to unravel this mystery? It’s not like I have a manual for being a cursed entity."
Ikem chuckled, "Unfortunately, that manual doesn’t exist. We’ll have to rely on observation and experimentation. Maybe we can understand things better if you can gain control of the act next time the conditions are triggered rather than let the curse act passively try to engage in the process actively yourself, it might help us understand things better and perhaps find a way to fulfill whatever purpose these cursed souls serve"
Osisi sighed, "But what if doing it causes more harm than good? What if it leads to something catastrophic? Like me actively interfering messes up the process"
Ikem leaned back, looking pensive. "That’s a risk we might have to take. If we don’t act, we won’t learn anything. Besides, if father has a plan in all of this, we need to uncover it and aid him in it if we can"
As the two continued to exchange ideas, the air grew tense. The weight of the unknown burdened them both. "I can’t even comprehend why this is happening but I have a friend who might" Ikem said as he remembered Red who was curious about Osisi.
"Friend, what other friends do you have apart from Brix, Aqua, Tweet and Boros, I am sure all of them don’t know more than we do" Osisi asked curiously wanting to hear about this new friend.
"His name is Red, I would call him Uncle rather than friend as he more of a friend to father"
"I didn’t tell you about him because I forgot about him but I saw him when I visited a land kept for me by dad incase of emergency which the kingdom was in need of after the rain of Fire" Ikem stopped to reaffirm his words.
"I don’t know how to describe this friend of dad, he was creature i have never seen before and weirdly before dad fell asleep he specifically warned me on asking anything related to the creature like its origin and what not" Ikem said as he once again down while picking up the cup.
Downing the wine, he scooped up, "Ikem said, " I don’t know how to describe him Osisi but he is strong, almost as strong as dad before he went to sleep"
Osisi’s tone turned serious, "He really is that strong?"
"Maybe not as I don’t even know how strong dad was before his sleep but the comparison shouldn’t be far behind" Ikem said.
"So how is this friend of the creator able to help us understand the situation?" Osisi asked.
"Well for one, when we were talking and your name came up he called you a Cursed tree just from my description of you, i wonder if he will still consider you the same after your new change" Ikem said as he looked down at the wine in his hand.
"You mean he has knowledge of trees like myself, How?" Osisi asked, confused.
"And that my friend is one thing father said about his friend, never ask why. But yea he indeed has knowledge about trees such as yourself not only that but knowledge about things which i am sure will be great help to if he manages to share them" Ikem said with a smirk on his face.
A root slapped the back of Ikem head, Ikem only laughed at that "It seems the knowledge is what you are truly after, me being a cursed tree and him being curious about me presents you the perfect opportunity to gain some new knowledge" Osisi said blandly as his root retracted.
"You are not mad, are you?" Ikem asked, peeking at Osisi from the side of his eyes.
"Mad? You seem to forget Ikem that learning and discovering new things is one of my favorite things to do. Also my new changes mean we get to preview more information, well done"Osisi said as a branch tapped Ikem shoulders.
"Happy to hear you are not angry, just as i am your friend, I am also a leader who has to think for the best of his people, which brings us to the next thing Osisi" Ikem said the first part in his mind and the last part out.
"What is that Ikem?" Osisi asked.
"This friend of my father is called Red and he shared something concerning which i want to discuss with you as I can’t share the news yet because no proof has been found yet and I don’t want to raise false alarm or panic among my people and children"
"First is the Origin of the rain of fire, apparently it came from a being called the Child of Koas who was the one to cast a shadow over our world, supposedly these bring as referred to enrichers of world and destroyer of world" Ikem said as he drank another cup, he was really starting to like this new juice, he might need to bring some with him on his way back.
