LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 238: The Truth
Back on Arcadia, only three seconds or so had passed since the System had last spoken to Lily.
Although time dilation affected the residents of the worlds, the System remained unaffected.
Time dilation did not affect it. Thus, it could speak to its Host and Lily normally.
In the room assigned to Lily, the pink-haired young girl patiently waited for the familiar mechanical voice, who had claimed to be her Big Brother Lucian's friend, to speak again.
However, if one took a closer look at her eyelids, they would be able to see them frantically fluttering.
All of a sudden, the mechanical voice resounded in her mind:
[Conditions have been met! Initiating transfer!]
Immediately after, Lily felt a sudden drowsiness engulf her. She instinctively tried to fight off the weird sensation. But the harder she fought against the impulse to sleep, the heavier her eyelids became.
The System sighed in awe as it watched her body's natural reaction to fight against foreign intrusion.
'Even though she has no idea what's happening, somehow, her body is fighting. No… it's incorrect to say somehow. But it's useless.'
Unknown to Lily, a complex set of Runic Symbols was encasing her Soul.
Simultaneously, the same Runic Symbols could be seen glowing on the forehead of the Ever-Changing Phantom Slime.
Soon, Lily's body gave way to sleep.
Everything became dark.
But then, amidst the darkness, a faint bright light appeared. It rapidly grew in size and brightness.
Instinctively, Lily closed her eyes, or at least attempted to, but she quickly realized her eyes were not listening to her.
'Why can't Lily close her eyes?'
It was then, a voice she could not forget even if her memories were erased, rang:
[Lily! Is that you!?]
Accompanied by the voice, Lily's vision cleared, but the person she saw was not her Big Brother Lucian. Looking down at her was a completely ordinary-looking young man. He was a far cry from her handsome Big Brother Lucian.
"Who are you, and what did you do to my Big Brother Lucian?" She spoke in rapid succession, but as soon as her voice died down, she stiffened. "Why does Lily's voice sound squeaky… and not cute at all!?"
There was a brief pause as the young man above her blinked his eyes before letting out a chuckle.
[Lily, of course, your voice sounds different. It's only natural your voice is high-pitched. After all, you're not speaking from your own body, but rather, from an Ever-Changing Phantom Slime.]
Then Lucian spoke again, this time using his mouth:
"The physical body can change with time, injuries, and life's wears and tears, but the Soul rarely changes. That's why my voice via Mana Transmission sounds familiar to you, but when I speak normally through my mouth, it sounds different. After all, I'm using a different person's vocal chords."
The voice was different. It was slightly rough and unpleasant to the ears.
The next moment, a voice Lily was familiar with left the young man's lips, "But if you want, I can use my normal voice."
"Is Big Brother Lucian using a voice changer?" Lily asked curiously. "Like the one you gave Lily?"
"No." Lucian shook his head. "You learn a thing or two with age."
Changing his voice was almost second nature to him. If he had such a skill back on Earth, he could have been a world-famous voice actor.
With her eyes fixated on the average-looking young man, Lily hesitantly asked, "So, is that you, Big Brother Lucian?"
"That's right." Lucian nodded his head.
It was at this time that curiosity took over Lily, and she finally looked at her surroundings. Strangely, everything around her seemed enormous and far away.
"Look down at your body," Lucian instructed her after noticing she was finally in the right state of mind to observe her surroundings.
'She needs more life experience.' A deep frown appeared on Lucian's face. 'A mysterious, mechanical voice sounded in her head, claiming to be her Big Brother Lucian's friend. Instead of questioning the voice, she accepted its words as the truth. Now, after being sent to an unknown place, her first reaction wasn't to frantically observe her surroundings. What's more, she doesn't even know that she's in a Slime's body. She has no sense of danger.'
Meanwhile, after a bit of apprehension, Lily looked down at herself, and her eyes widened in shock.
Her hands… or, rather, where her hands should have been was nothing. Even more shocking was that her physical body seemed to be nothing more than a small, gooey white mass.
"No… it… can't be… Lily's a Slime!?" At this point, tears where her eyes would have been, if she had them, began forming. "Lily's perfectly cute body… where is it!?"
Seeing her white goo-like tears, Lucian's heart ached. After gently wiping her tears away with his fingers, he placed his hand on Lily's squishy head and softly began rubbing it, as he spoke, "Don't worry, Lily. Your original body is safe. You're just borrowing this one while you're in Chaos Haven World."
"Really?" Hope filled Lily's heart.
"Did the System not tell you that you would be occupying a different body, while in Chaos Haven World?" Lucian curiously asked her as he eyed the Nine-Tailed Fox out of the corner of his eye.
"The weird mechanical voice?" Lily asked more to herself as she thought back to the conversation.
Soon, she recalled.
"It did tell Lily… sort of," Lily replied in a low voice, before throwing a small tantrum. "But Lily doesn't want to borrow this body. It's squishy and sticky, and not as cute as Lily!"
Lucian nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with her words before explaining, "This body has its own advantages, believe me."
"Really?"
"When has your Big Brother Lucian ever lied to you?"
Lily snorted. "Where should Lily start? Big Brother Lucian said he would take Lily everywhere but here he left without Lily or the fact that Big Brother Lucian is a Mana Condensation Realm Mage, not someone super strong?"
"But aren't you here with me?" Lucian awkwardly spoke. "As for… my Mage Rank, I never said I was 'super strong'."
Lily pondered for a few moments… and realized it was the truth. Her Big Brother Lucian never said he was an expert Mage.
Even so, Lily was not going to let her Big Brother Lucian off the hook that easily. "Then what about that mechanical voice? Who is he… or it?"
"Then… let me to you… about the System and about me."
Lucian spent the next hour explaining about the mechanical voice Lily heard and about him. In doing so, he naturally disclosed that his current Soul was comprised of three other Souls.
Of course, he wisely chose not to talk about Luna, Sylvia, and Isabella.
If anime, manga, and web novels taught him anything, it would be to never talk about other women to a Yandere.
Yanderes were dangerous creatures!
The entire time, Lily listened silently, until Lucian finished speaking.
"So, Big Brother Lucian is a powerful God, Immortal, and the best chef?" Lily shouted in surprise and awe.
In response, Lucian arrogantly raised his chin, "That's right… well, was… Anyways, your Big Brother Lucian is amazing, isn't he?"
"Lily knew it! My Big Brother Lucian is the strongest! No one can compare to him!" Lily said in a fierce, almost possessive tone.
Realizing he had created another Yandere, Lucian could not help but chuckle.
Meanwhile, the System in its Nine-Tailed Fox form, strode toward a table that was directly in front of Lily.
"It's good to meet you in person… Lily." The System said.
"Beautiful," Lily exclaimed, feeling slightly jealous. "Your tails look so fluffy, even though they're made out of metal."
"My tails are my pride and joy." The System said. Although its voice remained mechanical, its sharp and smug tone did not go unnoticed by Lily and Lucian.
Lily snorted.
"So what if you have tails!? Lily has beautiful pink wings!"
"I can have wings too!" The System yawned as two metallic wings sprouted out from its back.
"You!"
Suddenly, a cough rang in the room.
Lucian changed the subject, "Now, how about we test out that new Slime body of yours? The Ever-Changing Phantom Slime is perfect for you."
Lily perked up immediately.
"Ah. That's right. Lily can also transform! Humph! What does Lily have to do?"
"First, let's start off easy. Imagine a flower. Focus on the image and think of using the Thousand-Faces Skill."
"Okay, Big Brother Lucian!" Lily's translucent, gooey form trembled in excitement.
'What flower does Lily want to transform into?' Lily wondered. 'Lily likes pink… so, hmmm. Ah! That's right! The Pink Bagonia!'
Now that Lily had a flower in mind, she imagined the Pink Begonia she had once seen in a painting.
'Soft, bright pink petals.'
'Layers upon layers of slightly rounded bright pink petals.'
'Thousand-Faces'
Slowly, her gooey, white body began to quiver and stretch. Soft, rounded shapes emerged from the top of her head. One petal after the other unfurled.
A moment later, her body began flashing between pink and white.
"You can do it, Lily!" Lucian encouraged her.
As if that was what she needed, she was able to concentrate, and soon her body remained pink.
Lucian looked at the flower on his lap and nodded. "Good job, Lily. For your first try, it was not bad at all."
Lily shivered in joy at his praise.
"Does that mean Lily did well?"
"More than well." Lucian praised her again and then continued with a thoughtful expression. "Now, let's take it up a notch. Try something a bit trickier. Hmm, imagine a butterfly — color, wings, legs, antenna, and all."