Simo

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We didn't take long before departing from the colorful field of strange flowers, leaving their aromatic scent behind as we made our way past the hills. Along the way, grandmother appeared at ease, as if she was strolling in her backyard and not the land of the Gods. 

This made me reevaluate her strength levels in my mind. I always knew she was strong, seeing how she can easily handle my father and the fact that we stepped inside this continent of deities undisturbed by anyone was proof enough of her strength, I simply did not know how deep such strength extended. 

With such thoughts swirling through my mind, I slowly followed behind my grandmother, my eyes wondering about like a tourist in a faraway land. The scenery of multicolored hills was a fascinating one, each was different from the other causing me to b filled with wonder.

Surprisingly, however, none of the other hills that we passed by held any distinctive vegetations, nor any strange flowers making me feel a tad disappointed since besides their colorful hue, they felt rather desolate. 

Just as I thought about such a thing, my gaze was instantly drawn to my left where I saw a few elements suddenly gather around a particular spot. I slowed down my steps and turned to scan that place with interest trying to figure out what was so different about It that the elements flocked around it. 

Grandmother only turned her gaze for a second before a faint smile made its way to her face as she continued along the way, seemingly no longer interested in the matter, though she had purposely lowered her speed as if to wait for me. 

I gratefully nodded inwardly and was about to try and make my way to that particular spot, when all of the sudden, an abrupt quake rose causing me to stumble and fall on my buttocks in surprise. I didn't have the chance to get back to my feet when an abnormally large fish-like creature sprang out from the earth as If It was the sea instead, leaping into the sky as It flew off towards the distant fog. 

It was for but a moment, but I had still managed to see clearly what had occurred. The 'fish' had a face akin to that of a white-feathered bird with a body belonging to that of a koi fish. Its scales were a colorful blend of yellow and orange. The moment It appeared was as If It had jumped off an illusion, It did not destroy the ground, nor did It leave a single ripple, the only disturbance It had caused was the sudden tremors that made me fall that. 

What had left me feeling surprised was that I had seen it clearly jump out and 'swallow' the various elements that huddled around before It left off somewhere. 'A creature that preys on elements?' I wondered in surprise and curiosity, 'Wouldn't that be harmful to the mana stream?' 

I slowly stood off and subconsciously dusted off my buttocks before I turned around and hastily caught up to my grandmother intending to ask her about the strange phenomena that appeared and disappeared so swiftly. "Grandma, did that creature just swallow some elements?" I asked with uncertainty. 

Nodding calmly, grandmother slowly explained. "That's a Miru, or otherwise known as a cleaner," She said causing me to frown as I muttered after her. "Cleaner?" She nodded once again in confirmation before continuing, "Cleaners are also part of the balance, too much of one something is never too good, too little is the same, the key to balance is in the middle," She smiled gently before adding. "A Miru's job is to help clean up the excess mana in certain areas, hence why it's usually rare to stumble across one, though in the land of the Gods..." She shook her head and refrained from adding anything.

'Hmm, so does that mean there is an excess of mana in the land of gods?' I silently wondered, yet did not probe any further since grandmother didn't seem like she wanted to talk about this. Our journey resumed in silence, while I kept my eyes open in case of another strange phenomenon, or perhaps a bizarre creature. 

Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, we did not have any other odd encounter causing me to feel silently disappointed. The striking scenery of multicolored hills quickly grew monotonous making me subconsciously turn my attention to study the unfamiliar sky instead as we continued on our way. 

The mana stream was still vaguely visibly, yet beyond It was the countless celestial bodies and the vague purple cosmic color. The space seemed bright instead of what I imagined it to be, a more dark ominous color. 'Perhaps only this part is this colorful?' I wondered. 

My eyes were drawn to a particular planet that didn't seem very far away, its size looked to be the same as that of the moon I estimated, and It looked closer to us making It seem bigger and allowing me to study its details with relative ease. The planet's surface was a pale yellow color, almost like a dim sun of sorts, yet for some strange reason, looking at It didn't really hurt my eyes whatsoever. 

'A desert planet perhaps?' I guessed. Just then, my body immediately stiffened as I felt myself freeze in shock. I unconsciously gulped down as a feeling of terror washed over me. Just as I was studying that unfamiliar planet, an unexpected void tear suddenly opened, It was so large that I was easily able to see it. 

It looked like the entrance to the abyss, Its color was as dark as a starless night making me feel an abnormal sense of unease. Yet what truly caused my blood to freeze was the vague outline of a large figure struggling to push Its way out of whatever hell It was from. 

Just as the terror in my heart intensified, an enormous figure of an orange dragon appeared over the void tear. That area brightened for a second causing me to avert my gaze before I quickly brought It back only to find nothing.      

Everything felt like It was a dream, there was no dragon no void tear, and no abyssal creature trying to push Its way out of It. If not for my still uneasy heart and my back full of sweat, I would have almost thought what I saw was nothing but an illusion, yet I knew, I knew that It was all too real. 

I gulped down fearfully as I recalled that scene, 'Is that the real battlefield of the dragons? The frontlines?' I wondered as a shiver ran down my spine. Shaking my head, I hastily ran after my grandmother, still unable to shake off the uneasy feeling in my heart.