Chapter 394

“Are you sure? It might mess up my disguise.” Cain teases, petting the fluffy bunny ears.

“Yes. You make such an adorable bunny.” She insists and the Companions give Cain a confused look, not having been present for Cain’s trip to the past which the temple acolyte is basing her demands upon.

Cain activates [Malleable Form] while keeping [I Walk Among Them] active, shifting back into the mottled brown-furred form of  Daisy, the former Royal Consort that they rescued from the Soul Stone.

The companions understand now and the clergy members visible within the temple look shocked to the core. Not only does the demon look like a Bunny, but the system also says he IS one. That simply should not be possible. But they are seeing it with their own eyes. Not even the most advanced of detection skills can tell the difference between him and the real thing.

“Perfect, follow me, I will show you around the Temple.” The small acolyte insists, grabbing Cain and Vala by the hands and pulling them towards the doors.

“Looks like we have gained an eager new escort if you had other duties to attend to,” Cain tells the Guardians politely, and they wave him away, clearly used to such behavior.

“First, we will go to the Altar and say hello, and then I will show you the garden, and the shiny thing, and the pond.” Their short journey has attracted even more small bunnies and Cain realizes that the Clergy of the Temple are all Bunny Kin of some sort. 

The energy level in the building is a bit like a horde of Neffies loaded up on sugar and handed a new toy. How they get anything at all done is a mystery, but they must burn off that energy cleaning and tending the grounds at some point during the day because this place is beautiful.

It is all built of light pink colored local stone, a partially hollow pyramid with a large sacred site on top. This design is very familiar to Cain, the Eastern Continent has a Demon-filled dungeon with very similar temples, only the lower entrances to the ones in the dungeon are closed with stone and not open like these ones, and they lack all the windows and the bright pink ambiance. That might be a difference between deities, but it looks like the two sets of temples were either created by the same people or around the same era in history.

This one should be new though, or perhaps only the city around it is recently built. The stone of the floor is worn smooth from use, but with the frantic pace that the clerics keep, Cain can’t tell if that took a long time to accomplish or not.

Their ten bunny kin acolyte escort has reached the Altar in the center of the bottom level, the roof opens all the way to the top of the temple, letting natural light shine down on the altar, which looks suspiciously like a four-post bed, mattress and all, but made of stone.

“Oh blessed Bunny, we beseech you for the gift of health for the growing children of our new friend and fertility for all of his companions.” The clerics intone in unison, and Cain wonders if that might actually be properly called a blessing in the mind of some of his Guild Members. Certainly, Lickity is not quite ready for increased fertility at the moment.

The room bursts into bright lavender light, coming from a glowing orb over the altar, and all the acolytes cheer in victory.

“The Goddess has heard our prayers. You have her assurance that your children will be born healthy and strong. Very strong in fact, if the feeling I am getting is correct.” Their lead guide informs them.

“Thank you, my Misha will appreciate it. They are our first, and having twins between different species was causing her a lot of worries and concerns that nobody really has an answer for.” Cain thanks her.

“By the way, where are all the adult Clergy?” Evangeline asks, looking around and seeing only children gathered in the altar room to view the spectacle of the blessing.

“Oh, it is time for afternoon activities. All the adults will be busy for the next few hours, but after that, they will be coming out to check on the villagers and tend to the gardens. We can go visit the flowers now before they get crowded again.”

Nemu tries and fails to entirely hide her laughter at the explicit implications of that explanation. If that’s their daily routine, only the fertility goddess could keep the continent from being overrun with Bunny Kin. But there is no time to stop, the acolytes are all energy, leading them through the hallways, explaining every artifact and painting that they pass, until Cain catches sight of one with a familiar form.

“Wait, isn’t that an ancient? Why is it glowing purple like that, was it blessed by the Goddess?” Cain asks, indicating the fresco painted on the roof.

“Oh, I know that one!” A teenaged male acolyte exclaims. 

“That is a scene from the creation of the world before most of the living species were introduced. The legend says that the Ancients were pure magic given life before they had physical bodies. So they shaped themselves to better create at the will of the Gods.” He explains patiently, at a practiced pace, which Cain assumes is part of their training to give tours of the temple.

It makes sense. The other legends he has heard say that the Ancients made most of the species, not the world itself. If they were originally pure Mana Elementals that evolved into living beings it would explain the strange forms that they picked. Mana often reaches out in tendrils when uncontrolled, which would become tentacles when solidified. It would also explain their immense magical power and a wide variety of their natural abilities. Mana is the core of almost everything in this world after all.

There are many other living beings in the picture, but it isn’t clear if they existed at the start, or if they were created by the purple being in the picture. A camera would be a blessing on it right now, but since Cain doesn’t have any similar skill, that will have to wait.

No, on second thought, he can have a skill like that. Cain merges with one of the artists from the Guild that can create an instant painting of what they see. He doesn’t have a proper canvas, but he has a collection of paper for inscription and Spell Crafting, so he grabs one of the thickest sheets he has and creates an image of the scene on the roof.

The clerics are greatly interested in that ability, since copying texts and making paintings for the faithful is part of their duties.

“Once we have seen the Garden, I will make a book that contains the skill I just used, and then we can play a guessing game. Whoever wins can have the skill.” Cain informs them. The skill is usable by anyone that doesn’t already have a secondary skill tree, putting them on the artist’s path, or by those who already practice art-based skills.