After expressing her disappointment through silence, Astra had adjusted the bottom of her starry pink pajamas and composed herself.
"Okay, so I have to find another way to go to Atlantis…"
"Maybe the Dreamlanders can help me? Or rather, maybe there can be a mission there where they'd send our group?"
Astra shook her head as she shrugged, her fluctuating voice resonating throughout the hexagonal space.
"Ah, forget it. What are the chances that there would be an Anomaly in Atlantis that would warrant us to go. At best, we'd only get Anomalies in Luna, not in an entirely different civilization…" Slowing down her thoughts, she had completely dismissed those questions.
"I either need to request a departure to the planet or get enough money to afford going there."
Placing her hand on her chin, she raised an eyebrow as she stared at the ceiling.
"Even though the most straightforward way is to climb the ranks, and it would be easier given that I'm a Protector, it still doesn't seem like it'd be fast enough. Especially since the Demigoddess keeps trying to warn me, and I need to figure out some things from Kayla…"
She then casted her gaze back toward the violet holographic projection as she bit her thumb lightly.
"I'll just see if I can find the comet Helene right now."
As if responding to her thoughts, the projection immediately showed a screen that had pictures and videos of a comet.
And as if outer space itself had burst forth into her study, artificial projections of comets had flown through the violet projection, zooming past Astra and the pale blue light that was following her.
On these 'comets' were lines of text that contained information about the comet Helene.
They read:
The Comet Helene was first discovered in 9871 as it was venturing into the Solar System…
It is about a light year away from our sun, Siria, and will finally complete its orbit in the year 10798. At that time, it would only be about 600 million kilometers away from Earth!
Despite that, it is about as large as the dwarf planet Plutovia that rests on the outskirts of our Solar System, coming up to two thousand kilometers in diameter…
Because of this, its trail will be extremely visible in the night sky, and somewhat visible at day time…
That's because the material is made out of a special ice that is only found from the icy planets in the constellation Aquarius! This also means that Helene has been drifting for millions of years…
Did you know that you can visit the comet Helene? Sometimes a starship's warp tunnel path can get rather close to Helene, sometimes within a few hundred thousand kilometers. When this happens, some pilots stop their starships to let the passengers see the strange icy dwarf planet drift through space!
Astra read all of this information attentively as they began to zoom past her. She made sure to sort the information in chronological order in her mind.
When she finished reading, she closed the window, having happily absorbed all the information she needed to know.
"This one is still pretty hard," Astra said to herself with a rather dry voice. "While I could choose cheaper options for starships, it all comes down to luck in the end. And I don't have that much money to spend…"
"Then, it's also possible that the pilots who happen to let their passengers experience the comet are the more expensive ones anyway…"
Astra sulked as she used her mind to search for the last place that Kayla had mentioned.
But, as the holographic projection shifted once more, it did not give her the result she was hoping for.
"Huh? There's no Forest of Fairies coming up…" Raising an eyebrow, she continued to scroll through the digital screen, even going on multiple pages.
But nothing showed of a Forest of Fairies on Earth, or even on any other planet. The closest results were MMORPG games that had a place named something similar.
Astra crossed her arms as her eyes narrowed. Immediately, she tried to rationalize the situation.
"Could it be that the Forest of Fairies is closely connected to Ethereon?"
Suddenly, a light bulb lit up over her head as she thought of a solution.
"Yes, it could be a place made entirely of Ethereon! The only place that fits under that description is the higher realms! It could be a place in the higher realms!"
But immediately afterwards, the lightbulb over her head turned off as she came to another realization.
"Now, how in the world am I going to get there to get the leaves from those trees?"
The lightbulb began to light up again, albeit more faintly.
"Ah. This study that I'm in has books that contain information about Ethereon." Astra said as she turned off the violet holographic projections. "Certainly, one of these books must have information on this Forest of Fairies…"
Staring at a particular section of the wall, she darted her eyes across it to search for a book that had anything resembling the higher realms, or places made out of Ethereon.
"Ah, there is one." There, she saw a book held up on faintly illuminated metal.
It had multiple fantastical sceneries: forests, shattered lands, stars held up by pillars of light. These sceneries were separated by boundaries as the top of the book was called: 'Places that Reside in the Supernatural'.
Astra slowly walked towards the book.
Then, she picked up the book and held it in her hand, the cold covering of the soft leather book pressing against her skin. Her eyes softened as she recollected the memories of the paper books in her room, the novels that she used to read.
"It hasn't even been two weeks yet and I'm already feeling nostalgic…"
Curling her lips upwards, she gave a soft yet deep breath. She opened the book and read its contents.
She saw that it had roughly two hundred pages, so it was a rather small book for her standards.
Reading at a steady pace, she finished the book in a few minutes—however she found no mention of the Forest of Fairies or the Twilight Tree in the book.
In fact, all of the information that was in it was only regarding places in the Solar System, not of the higher realms. Despite this, she still got some interesting information by finding Ethereon-infused places, like the depths of the Aetheris Archipelagos or the naturally mutating monsters roaming the poles of Earth and on the moon.
She also found some history on the hybrids and mutants, and how they live in specialized 'zones' made out of Ethereon in the vast landscapes of the planet. There was plenty of space—after all, the Earth is about as big as the previous Sun.
After sighing in disappointment for not finding what she wanted, she put the book back on the metal; it automatically retracted back.
"Let's see if there are other books here that have something similar."
Thirty minutes later…
In trying to read other books to find something similar, she had learnt and absorbed various information about the history of Ethereon in this world—how Earth was always a place where Ethereon was abundant. She had learnt the way how various kingdoms and clans had risen to the top, but also fell ceremoniously—leaving only ruined Ethereon anomalies.
She had also found and learnt about floating kingdoms in the Transitional Eon and how they prevented attacks from the creatures of outer space…
And then, she had found an abundance of different humanoid creatures fighting for dominance in the galaxy during the Chaotic Eon, causing dimensional anomalies in various lands, oceans and even in outer space…
But still…nothing about the Forest of Fairies. The same story held true for the Twilight Tree.
Additionally, there was no mention of the word 'Fairies' anywhere.
Astra sat on the floor as the coldness of the study and the floor reflected her inner state.
She put both of her hands on her face as she slid them down slowly, slightly pulling her skin in the process.
"Geez…there's 187 books here, but only five actually have anything to do with places that naturally have Ethereon?" Expressing her frustration, she raised her voice as it echoed in the study.
"But the worst part is, somehow…NONE of them have anything on the higher realms or the Forest of Fairies!" Astra made sure to drag out the word 'none'.
"Seriously, I don't care about the history of the Elven Kingdom and how they did magic in the Transitional Eon, and I don't care about the underground Giants in Sentaia!"
After she said that, a short silence ensued, as if she was reflecting on her words.
"No, I shouldn't say that," Astra said as she shook her head slightly. "All of that information can be useful later…"
"But it's still frustrating how I can't find anything about this place. A part of me wants to think that the 'Forest of Fairies' is some sort of code for something, but there is no benefit for Kayla by giving me code. Unless it's only information I can understand when I get stronger…"
Using her newfound balance, Astra immediately propelled herself up as she spun backwards, landing on her two feet. The pale blue ball of light followed the same motion as she did.
"I guess it makes sense that the information in this study is so limited. After all, it's supposed to be for a newbie Celestial."
Astra then put her hand to her chin as she thought of another possibility.
"Perhaps I'm thinking about this the wrong way. Maybe the Forest of Fairies and the Twilight Tree is on Earth, but it's hidden very well…"
"The only place on Earth that fits that description is the mysterious Westoria. I still don't know any relevant information about it."
"If that's the case, then perhaps I can use Loken to help me go to Westoria, if it's safe. After all, he does have Westorian ties."
"If I'm not strong enough to know about the place or Westoria, or if the place truly is hidden in the higher realms, I would again have to be patient."
"Maybe if I become stronger and ascend the ranks, my study will also be improved! Heh, I wouldn't have to go through all of that trouble…!" Astra sulked inwardly as she prepared to exit the study.
Her steps were soundless as they were overshadowed by the slight hum of air conditioning. But then, her steps had stopped moving.
The violet barrier that had permitted her exit by sliding open was denied by this sudden cease of her movements.
Astra had noticed something in the corner of her eye, something that she had intentionally ignored completely for quite some time now—thinking it was an hallucination.
Having a slight chill run down her spine, she slowly looked towards the direction of a soft, blue light.
She had locked her eyes on it—on the pale blue ball of light.
"Why is this still here?" Narrowing her eyes, she thought curiously.
"My hallucinations don't last this long. Is it because I broke my seal?" As if she was asking the ball of light a question, she suddenly spoke up.
But there was only silence.
Then, she thought about a likely possibility to her.
"Does this represent my ethereal connection with the Demigoddess? For example, I broke one seal, so a singular ball of light accompanies me…"
"That means if I break another seal, another ball of light will appear before me."
After thinking those thoughts, she held her hand up towards it.
"The scientist's urge in me wants to touch it…"
She chuckled as she shook her head.
"Hehe, I can't do that. If this truly represents an ethereal connection, then by touching it I'd probably be brought back to that space again."
"I just hope others can't see it, hehe."
Finally accepting the blue light, she walked out of the study and prepared to head to her bedroom to sleep further.
After all, a scientist needs her sleep! Fitting for Morpheus, a Republic of Dreams!
As she lay on her bed, she had a lampooning thought as she closed her eyes.
"Unraveling the mysteries of the first dimension is such a pain! No matter how exciting it is…"
Smiling, she muttered the words:
"Kayla, it's so hard to message you!"