76 Tala of the Sovereign Nation (1/2)
Tala continued to be wrapped by the roots until it looked as if she was in an actual cocoon.
Meanwhile, during Luna's absence, the troops to the North focused on exploration and consolidate their current hold on Panay Island.
24 hours later, the roots finally settled down. If before they looked as if they were throbbing, now they were completely still, save for the pair of roots holding them up.
Slowly, they settled down the ”cocoon” and released the person inside. After that, they returned to their original positions.
Luna took out some a soldier's outfit from his inventory and walked towards Tala. She had lost the ethereal aura that she gave off earlier. What was in front of him now felt more real. Like a regular human being, but of course, her beauty stayed the same. One particular detail that he noticed was that the tattoos she had on before were still there.
While she was still unconscious, Luna put the clothes on her. There was no malice in this, despite that fact that he was a bit moved by how perfect her body was, he didn't attempt or think about doing anything.
This showed that Luna was, at least, still a man. He could and would acknowledge if someone was a beauty, but that didn't mean he would go after every single attractive woman. His affection was only towards Sura. A woman that had his back even when he was at his weakest.
Tala soon regained consciousness. She was sleeping inside the same bamboo cabin Boni was in but in a different room.
The first thing that came to her mind was the undeniable joy of being alive. Although she felt weaker, the fact that she had a second chance far surpassed that feeling of loss.
”I'M ALIVE! YES! IT WORKED! IT ACTUALLY WORKED!” She jumped for joy and started hollering her emotions out, tears of joy ran down her face. She opened the door to her room and ran outside.
On her way out, the smell of food being cooked that she smelled earlier grew stronger. Sure enough, as soon as she got out, Luna was in the middle of cooking a meal. It was one of the weaker Mutant Beasts that got injured and had little chances of survival.
Instead of letting it suffer, he opted to give it a merciful death instead. This was a much better option than having to head to Mount Kanlaon to hunt.
”Luna!” She shouted. Her good mood evident in her tone. The fact that she called Luna by his name alone, showed that her rebirth had humbled her indeed. She was no longer the Goddess that she was before. Right now, her body was just like any other human. Although, her knowledge and potential in the Anito of the Stars alone was anything but normal.
”Come, get some food. Your body will need the nourishment.” There was no surprise in his voice. He already heard her the moment she started celebrating.
”Mn! Thank you!” She sat down and started chowing down, eating happily as if she was having the best meal of her life.
”Haaaa! That was the best meal I've ever had in my life! Even better than the feast we had when those Nobles were forced to accept me and my siblings in Kaluwalhatian!” She said as she rubbed her full belly.
”I'm glad it worked out.” Luna smiled. Regardless of the fact that she needed to relinquish her the inheritance to Boni before she could even attempt rebirth, the fact of the matter is, she still helped them out greatly by doing so.
”Mn! Now, this is the part where we get down to business, right? You want me to join the Sovereign Nation, no?”
”Only if you count yourself as one of us and work towards the same goal, yes. If you're worried about your current level, you don't have to worry. I'll have Boni and some of his men personally power-level you. You can treat it as his way of thanking you. Once you reach a high enough level to survive on your own, you can either choose to join us or go off on your own. Being a former Goddess, I can understand if serving under a human feels a little off-putting for you.” Luna understood this well. If he as a human had his pride, what more someone who was a Goddess before?
”Oh? You're too kind for your own good.”
”I'm reasonable.” Luna quickly replied. He wasn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He was doing it because it was what he deemed as the right thing to do. It was also out of his gratitude towards Tala, not just for the inheritance, but for the talk they had last night.
”Goddess this, Goddess that, just a Goddess of the past. Do I feel a sense of loss? Sure I do. But what I am now, has the potential to become far greater than before. In my perspective, this is a gift more precious than the inheritance I gave to Bonifacio.” Tala stood up and walked towards Luna, then bowed her head slightly. ”What I'm trying to say is that it would be an honor for me to join the Sovereign Nation.”