“I believe you may not have anything to be concerned about,” I rushed out before sucking in a quick deep breath from the sudden sensation of his vines tracing up along my legs, swirling lazily around them as if they were seedlings reaching for the sun—but their sun was my pussy instead.
“Why is that?” Zyre cocked his head, pressing his nose against my hair, his mouth hovering next to my exposed ear, his breaths long and deep. Was I having the same effect on him as well?
“I was the captain of my eSports team, so connecting toAltU felt as natural as breathing.” I leaned back, pressing against him, and heat poured into my chest from the strength of his body, which held me in place. “Allowing my consciousness to fall into the vortex and abandoning the present. It can’t be that different from what you’ve described, except that instead of communicating through a headpiece connected to the neural network, you communicate through your hand touching the glowing runes of the hometree.”
“Living veins,” he softly corrected, directing my hand along the pulsating marking. “Even though you don’t have a strong connection to the land, your skill description suggests that there aren’t many differences between a hometree’s matrix and your AltU system.”
“Have members of other species been able to make a connection?” My gaze was drawn to our clasped hands as he continued to trace the living veins with my fingers. “Can other Calyzis communicate with our hometree as well?”
“You will be the first species outside of our own to be able to, but since our hometree has already spoken with you once, you should have no problem,” he replied, pausing our hand movement. “Any Calyzis can communicate with other hometrees through their own or through touch, as we are doing. Because we are self-sufficient, we usually only reach out when there is a problem or we require assistance that is beyond our own abilities.”
“Do you ever get together?”
“We do,” he huffed. “However, by doing so, we risk leaving our own land unprotected.”
“Unprotected by what?”
“Pafeldae.” He gently squeezed my hands as if to reassure me. “Among other things... but most of us are too depressed about our species’ current situation to risk leaving our homeland for fear of missing out on meeting ourluwaeripassing by.”
He was more lonely than I’d imagined. I had a team and a gaming house to lean on, whereas he only had his hometree and the land where it grew.
“I can see how someone could become addicted to connecting to their hometree if they are afraid to leave their land for fear of becoming alone forever.”
“But now that you’re here, I don’t have to worry about that,” he said in a deep voice filled with a reverence that rocked my soul.
He ran his nose along my neck, sucking in a deep breath and inhaling my scent. His vines twisted around my waist, drawing me closer, as if he were afraid I would vanish while communicating with the hometree.
Zyra desired me, as evidenced by the way he held me and the hardness forming against my buttocks. And yet, I wasn’t afraid of him, not even in our current situation, where he was holding me in place with no way out.
Something about him, and his promises to fulfill any desire or need I had, made me reconsider everything I had left at home.
I wanted this to be real, not a simulation that would leave me withouthim.
We had only just met, but despite our differences and the fact that I had teleported to another planet, he was everything I desired.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I swore, closing my eyes, hoping that my wish for the world around me wasn’t a simulation that would come true for the first time in my life. “Let’s talk to our hometree about getting me some clothes and possibly a weapon to aid in my defense.”
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
VIOLA - VIOLENTVIOLET
Breathing deeply, I centered myself, calming my nerves as I pushed my consciousness forward to initiate the drift and allow the hometree to take me.
Without hesitation, a powerful presence gripped me and yanked my consciousness, transporting me to another plane of existence.
A white light flashed in front of my eyes, revealing a familiar scene.
And certainly not anything resembling Earth as I had left it.
My gaze was fixed on the fluorescent, glowing display on the black ground—which was almost like walking in space with the darkness of the void from the lack of stars and galaxies—sitting before a massive tree in the center, towering over everything.
Looking down at the raised display and its surroundings, it was clear that the tangled web of tiny lights shining in the darkness—each one a different shape and size, shining with different faint colors and frequencies, almost like stars in the abyss—had been meticulously mapped out, revealing a neon forest encircling a large, pulsating tree.
“Welcome, child,” said the familiar soothing voice from before. “I’ve been expecting your return.”
“Greetings, ah!”
I landed on the void-colored floor, stunned by its softness, and bowed my head. Averting my gaze, I kneeled on my hands and knees in a deep bow, hoping I wasn’t inadvertently being disrespectful.
