Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster

Chapter 666 666: Gaia [ 1 ]

As Rael lay in bed beside Lilith, he couldn't help but recall the dinner he had just had.

It was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten.

The tomato sauce had the texture and flavor of every single thing he liked.

It was just... so good.

Lilith was the first to fall asleep, though, since she ate really quickly and got tired.

It was a bit funny.

He did all the fighting.

Perhaps she got tired from cheering him on?

Either way, Rael soon snuggled Lilith into his arms and, before long, drifted off to sleep.

Or rather, instead of sleep, he went straight into his Mind Realm.

He was immediately met with an overgrown forest.

It was a little... strange.

Usually, Gaia would take care of the forest as though it were her child.

She would never leave it so overgrown and abandoned like this.

Rael walked around, and eventually, he spotted Anna.

She was butchering a rabbit, but after noticing him, she simply nodded.

"Rael. It has been a while."

Mhm.

"It has. Though... what's up with the... you know, normal get-up?"

She wore a black skirt.

Definitely not something he had expected from a fighter, and someone who was supposedly Solenne's shadow.

"Ah. I decided to try it out after Gaia mentioned it a few times," Anna said, then met Rael's gaze. "Also, I saw Lilith wearing it. It looked very beautiful when she took it off while in bed, so I decided to try it out as well."

Right...

These girls had a front row seat whenever he slept with his wives.

Of course, he hadn't actually had sex with Lilith yet... but Zafira, on the other hand...

Rael shook his head and got rid of those thoughts quickly.

Anna did change a little.

At a glance, her expression was more lively.

It was as if she was finally becoming human, and abandoning her shadow self.

But even so, he had talked with Anna every now and again.

The one he was actually curious about was Gaia.

"Where's Gaia? I haven't seen her in a while."

Anna froze, then let out a sigh.

She pointed in the distance, and as it so happened, she was pointing to the core of the forest.

It was where she had planted her very first tree, and also where she had built her own hut.

It wasn't a place he visited a lot, since Gaia tended to be a bit more private about how she lived her life.

But now, he felt as though it was an emergency.

So after bidding farewell to Anna and letting her continue her butchering, he slowly made his way through the forest until, finally, he reached the hut.

The door was open.

But... he could also feel someone inside.

That certain someone was none other than Gaia, of course.

He took a few deep breaths, and then walked into her hut.

It seemed cozy.

There was a small kitchen, a bathroom, and even a spacious bedroom.

Gaia was in her bedroom.

He knocked on the door a few times, but after not getting an answer, Rael simply opened the door.

To his surprise, Gaia was just lying there with her eyes closed.

She was cuddled up in the sheets, and she was also not moving.

Rael got closer to her, and then sat beside her.

He leaned in slightly, and after hearing her breaths, he exhaled a relieved breath.

At least she wasn't dead.

Though, it did also look like she was in some sort of coma.

Was she possibly hibernating?

Rael wracked his head around it for a few moments before deciding to place his hand on her forehead to check the temperature.

Yet the moment his hand made contact with her forehead, his vision suddenly faded.

He found himself in a completely dark void, surrounded by nothing but black tendrils from top to bottom.

It was a little creepy.

Nah.

Definitely very creepy.

Rael glanced around for a few moments, and soon enough, he spotted a path that was slightly more lit up than the others.

Not only that, but in that path, the black tendrils were moved aside, which meant that someone had gone through this path.

And since Gaia was possibly the only person capable of doing that, Rael soon began moving his body in that direction.

He felt very heavy for some reason.

Every step only increased that heaviness.

But he didn't give up and continued going forward.

One step at a time, of course.

The path was long and narrow.

He felt like if he were to take a step to the side, he would fall off whatever place he was standing on.

So he carefully continued walking.

And walking.

And... walking.

Eventually, though, the black tendrils began to fade, and what replaced them were tree roots.

A lot of tree roots.

They seemed to tangle over and over again, making it hard for anyone to get closer.

However, when Rael approached the roots, they suddenly parted, revealing yet another path for him.

Though he did also notice someone else.

The roots were trembling.

...Was the one controlling them also trembling?

Just what was Gaia doing in this place anyway?

Rael shook his head at those thoughts.

It sucked not knowing much about the different realms.

But this definitely was some other realm.

Maybe a realm in between the Mind Realm and the Dream Realm.

Kind of like the Ancient Mindweaver's realm.

"..."

He continued ahead.

This time, the path seemed endless.

Minutes passed quickly, then hours, and then days.

He honestly thought he was getting closer.

At least, a little bit closer.

But as the days turned into weeks, then months... and eventually years... Rael wasn't sure what to do.

He couldn't just teleport through this realm.

He also couldn't feel Gaia's presence anywhere.

But since there was a lot of time dilation, and he hadn't checked in on Gaia for a while... she definitely traversed this place longer than a few years.

Sometimes, sacrifices were bound to be made.