We advanced going around the pond. The waters were muddy and probably hid some nasty animal, insect, or plant beneath the surface waiting for an afternoon snack that would probably fight back and destroy the surrounding environment.

Jumping over the pond wasn't a sound plan since swamps are treacherous and what might look like solid ground could be a clump of leaves floating on deep waters. The dim lighting wasn't helpful, giving the surroundings a gloomy atmosphere often associated with swamp witches.

There was also the fact swampy water is gross, smells like a rotting corpse, and probably has parasites. The reasons to go in it were practically none.

Our mounts moved quickly but carefully. Lapia's Vulupitas, the large donkey-sized fox she bought in Paarjo and named Delazh, moved with both certainty and care. Looking ahead and to the sides, the animal sniffed the air and moved its ears around.

Sonya didn't really care. She just stomped while advancing and looking ahead. The Ratnak moved with confidence, taking short sniffs of the air and huffing in what seemed like disapproval. Perhaps the lack of metals in the environment brought her immense disappointment.

Despite being in a gloomy, moist, cold, and silent swamp, the expected sensation of fear wasn't there at all. There was no shadow looming over my mind making me think a vodyanoy was going to jump out of the still water and grab my legs to pull me underwater and drown me. Instead, it felt serene and a little cozy. Any shadow that would make a lesser person paranoid was cleared by my glow and Lapia's fire, revealing the corners between crooked trees and exposed roots that would trick someone into seeing the shape of some beyond-the-wall being.

“This is boring,” I sighed, breaking the silence.

“I'll take boring,” Lapia whispered back, chuckling.

I shook my head. “Where are the monsters I was promised? Where is the ambush by undeads, venting their anger of the living, betrayers, murderers, and more?” I complained.

Lapia looked around, then replied in an amused tone, “Probably scared of the apex predator. I don't think we'll see any undead, though. Probably cursed ones if we go deeper into the swamp.”

I clicked my tongue. “What do you mean? Swamps are definitely home to undead. Where else would such gloomy creatures live?” I countered.

Lapia turned to me with confusion on her face. “Swamps are full of active life, Natasha. Undead creatures usually live underground, where death gathers,” she told me with a smile, then added. “It takes a very long time for undead to appear, too.”

I hummed while nodding. “I see. So that's how it works here.”

The Elf nodded and looked ahead.

We continued moving in silence.

The environment got darker the closer we got to the large tree, resulting in my glow and Lapia's fire becoming brighter.

The wet soil was slowly replaced by shallow waters, turning the squelch of the mounts' footsteps into a constant but low splashing. The smell got worse, too.

While looking around to make sure nothing nasty got close, I spotted a large skull on our path. It was the size of a moose's, covered in moss and fungi. I got my spear out and stretched my arm forward to get it out of Sonya's way.

The moment my weapon touched the skull, it moaned loudly like a kid that hit its chin with a scooter.

I kicked Sonya's flank and the Ratnak got between the monster and Lapia. My eyes were glued to the thing and my eyebrows climbed my forehead while I aimed with my spear.

“Natasha, wait!” Lapia whispered with apprehension. “Don't kill it!”

The skull moved, raising from the water and revealing a deathly skinny body covered in mud. After a moment of stillness, the thing turned around and walked away from us while letting out a nightmarish screech that reminded me of a truck hitting the breaks at full speed with many loud clicks.

[Freegcho, lvl 429]

Sonya and Delazh growled at it, but they made no move to attack.

When the creature got some ten meters away from us, it slowly descended back into the water, then went completely quiet and still.

“What was that?” I inquired, confused by Lapia's words.

“They filter swamp water,” she replied in a whisper. “Scary, but they don't do much. It's actually a parasitic fungi that sneaks into the brain and takes control of the animal that eats it, then move to the closest body of water to filter it.”

“Gross,” I muttered and sighed. “I thought it was dangerous by the looks of it.”

“They're very beneficial to the environment, so killing them is discouraged. Also, the fungi might get in your bloodstream if people fight them and be done for without immediate assistance,” Lapia informed me. “Nasty thing.”

I clicked my tongue. “So it's a plant, then,” I lamented with a sigh.

“Pretty much,” the Elf chuckled. “A noisy and ugly plant.”

I frowned at the skull and shrugged. “Let's go, then,” I concluded and urged Sonya to move forward.

An hour and no encounters of interest later, we reached the base of the tree.

Sitting on a root, Lapia and I had lunch.

Fortunately, the swamp gave way to dry, barren land a few meters from the large tree, giving us a nice break of the stench of still water.

I swallowed the last spoonful of food and drank a bit of juice. “Hey, Lapia,” I started, changing topics from the little chat we had going on. “Do you know what Eternalism is?” I asked, choosing to go for the Wizard and her knowledge.

She nodded while chewing.

“Shorvanna told me to meditate on it,” I revealed. “And I have no clue what it is, so I haven't seen any progress.”

The Elf swallowed and her eyebrows went up. “That's pretty normal,” she commented. “We've been here for a short while.”

“True,” I conceded with a nod. “Do you have any tips?”

My girlfriend drank juice and finished her food, then scooted closer to me and rested her head on my lap. “Well, it's about understanding time.”

“Go on,” I nodded and caressed her face.

Lapia took a deep breath. “First, we need to understand that there are many ways to see time. You have presentism and eternalism as the main chosen views on time,” she told me and fixed her ears to comfortably fit her posture. “These views have conflicting conclusions when it comes to the amount of influence the individual has on outer reality, on the self, and on the greater goal of life. Presentism is the view that only the present is real and time moves forward in a linear direction. The past no longer exists and the future doesn't exist yet. Only the now exists. This monotemporal progression consigns the past to unreality, discarding it from the very fabric of what we understand as existence. This, naturally, means that Presentism is a prison of linear time that views the future as something that already is, but we haven't gotten there yet... like a routine you already decided on, without deviation at all. This... Present Absolute moves constantly forward to an even less real future. If we take this view on time as the absolute truth, we are surrendering our free will since the future is decided, and there is no such thing as the past. People who believe in the fates stick to this view.”

I blinked a few times. “Right...” I muttered.

“Eternalism, however,” Lapia continued, a smile forming on her face. “Implies choices. Under Eternalism, there exists a Lapia that never met Natasha, which makes you helping me not a Heaven-ordained fact of irrefutable reality, but a personal choice brought upon by free will. Also, under Eternalism, there exists a Natasha that did not die in her home at a young age and instead went on to live to be ninety years old. This view on time treats the present and the future as equals, as opposed to Presentism, liberating the individual from a preordained fate and into a autonomous existence where choices make future itself.”

I tilted my head and joined my eyebrows. “So... Eternalism means there are multiple timelines?”

“Exactly,” Lapia nodded. “The way to prove it beyond doubt would be to go to one and bring yourself back. No two Lapias exist on Galeia, after all.”

I pinched my lips and gave it a thought. “Would it also mean that, consequence... or effect, would only exist when observed? I ask because you say it's a very individual-centric view of time.”

“In a way, yes,” she confirmed. “But that's a stretch.”

I hummed. The Gods mentioned a Time. “I can see it,” I concluded. “I guess that's how I see things? There is this Eternal Now view I am familiar with, but it's different from the Presentism you mention, and not quite like Eternalism.”

Lapia chuckled. “Time is complicated.”

“It is,” I agreed with a nod. “Maybe I'll understand more... in time,” I added and giggled.

Lapia sighed and shook her head. “I hope that helps you a bit with meditation,” she told me with a smile.

“Me too,” I replied and pinched her cheeks. “Let's get this tree down,” I suggested.