The Questioning Being

Without warning, you feel as though someone is watching you.

You look around, but no one is there.

Then you glance down the cliff and see a mass of strangely shaped shadows writhing below.

As though possessed of a will of its own, the mass curls into an uncanny smile directed at you.

"What lies at the foundation of this world?"

You try to look away, but some inexplicable force refuses to let you.

"Is it the surging wave? The flame that burns all things? Or nature, the cradle of life?"

The first answer that enters your mind spills unbidden from your lips.

At your answer, the entity ripples gently and whispers as though smiling.

"Then... may the wave enfold you."

In that instant, a transparent current washes over you and the expedition members.

It is not a violent force, but a warmth like a gentle embrace sinks deep into your bodies.

When you come to your senses, the entity has already vanished.

At your answer, the entity surges violently and cries out in a voice like roaring flame.

"Good... Burn everything!"

In that instant, small flames spring to life across your body and those of the expedition members.

Strangely, the fire does not burn your flesh, yet it flickers ceaselessly as though eager to spread to everything nearby.

When you come to your senses, the entity has already vanished.

At your answer, the entity seems to smile with satisfaction.

"Good... Life must bloom by its own power."

In that instant, warm life energy envelops you and the expedition members.

Gentle warmth seeps into every wound, and you feel your withered vitality slowly returning.

When you come to your senses, the entity has already vanished.