I was lost. I looked all around me and all I saw was a white void where tiny lights kept streaking past me. It was everywhere around me. I couldn’t move my body. I couldn’t see around me. Everything was a hazy blur. At some point it felt like I was falling. The streaks of light were moving even faster. I was getting dizzy and scared.

“Thud” I hit something and my consciousness faded.

….

“Ju…” I hear something but I feel so much pain…

I don’t know what happened and I had a hard time remembering anything. Am I dead?

I feel pain but everything is dark.

“Ju…” I hear the voice again but the pain stops me from reacting. I don’t think I can move.

“JUPITER!” My eyes shoot open at the thunderous roar of my name.

Mellow green. Like a mix between verdant green and azure blue. That was what I was looking at with my back to the ground and my eyes pointed towards the sky. I shift my eyes slightly sideways and I see a large tree. The trunk was like a dark blue mixed with brown. The leaves were green but the somewhat more bright variety like emerald.

“Urghh” My body aches just about everywhere as I try to move.

“Finally awake I see.” The voice speaks again.

“Who is it?” I manage to get out of my dry throat.

“What? Don’t recognize my voice? It’s Phoenix!”

‘Phoenix? Whose phoenix? Wait… ‘ My thoughts are disorderly and the pain all over isn’t helping me remember. It takes a moment.

“PHOENIX!” I yell.

“Woah, don’t need to yell my name.” Phoenix replies seemingly happy at its name again.

“Where are we? Did we die? Why does everything hurt so much?” I start spewing questions like a fountain when I remembered that we fucking lit up the egg Phoenix fiddled with in a blast of blue fireworks.

“Hold on there. Did you really think I would still be talking to you if we had died?” Phoenix mumbles.

Tears slightly well up in my eyes as my mouth forms into a heartfelt smile, we didn’t die. We did not die at all. I was extremely relieved.

Space death 0, Jupiter 1.

I started the scoreboard with a mental victory pose as my body was closer to being a mush of pain rather than a functional one.

“We arrived safely at our destination, though you got a little bumped around on the landing but I don’t really know where we are. Good place though, energy levels are all very high though we don’t seem to be in my former civilizations territory or at least as far as my knowledge can tell. “

It explained that it didn’t recognize some of the stuff we were around. I finally managed to get a hold of my body and lifted myself to sit up while wincing in pain at every movement made in the process.

I finally managed to look around me noticing that we seem to be in some sort of spaced out forest with nothing but odd colored trees, plants, stones and the fucking green sky. Everything seemed a little sparse without the feel of a dense forest but more of a slightly forested region. I stare in amazement at all the new sights in front of me. The trees grew with dark blue brown trunks with odd shaped leaves that looked like perfect circles with three cuts on each of them. The plants bloomed in different varieties of mixed colors of yellow and red and the rocks were a weird purplish black though I did notice some white pebbles lying around. The grass as well was a slightly lighter shade of blue green like that sky.

“Wow, this place looks beautiful” I mutter in awe. This was real. I couldn’t even begin to believe it. The whole experience of leaving Earth was like a dream and arriving here even more so. I didn’t know what to do so I just stared at everything. The air felt fresh with an odd breezy smell that I didn’t recognize before I freak out.

“Wait! Phoenix won’t I die form like infections or something from being on a different planet?” My years of sci-fi movies struck down on the issue like a judge on a criminal.

“Well, possibly. Didn’t think first thing you would do would be to freak out but I guess I should have seen that coming.” Phoenix replies slightly amused.

That just annoyed me as my life was very much still alive and I did not want to erase the 1 from my victory over space death so soon but my concerns lessen as phoenix continues

“It isn’t so bad Jupiter. I naturally already started sharing some of my general resistances towards bacteria ever since we connected. You also got some slightly improved senses since that time didn’t you notice?”

‘No… well I guess maybe, remembering how I managed to get over my mental breakdown and just analyze everything better seemed to make sense with that explanation.’ I thought.

“Guess you’re right, wow slimes are so cool.”

“Of course we are. We are amazing.” Phoenix replied with clear cut pride in its tone.

“Haha, your English really improved too. It took you less than a day to get so good at bantering with me. I’m honestly a little jealous of the quick pace.” I mutter as I truly was jealous of its super learning. I could have been the president of a country with that kind of skill under my belt but oh well.

“Hehe, you finally see my greatness. Alright, we should probably try and get some material in us so we can help you heal your body pain away faster and I really want to see what this place has to offer. I can’t wait! Go find something!” Phoenix orders with childish glee at the prospect of all this new stuff which I totally did not mind considering that was our biggest reason to risk confronting space death for in coming here.

I slowly get up…scratch that, I slowly crawl my way in complete pain towards that emerald leafed tree I landed next to with all the strength left in me and finally manage to land coddled in between its roots and trunk. I see Phoenix barely containing its enthusiasm as it quickly spreads out some tentacles and plunges into the tree.

“Ouh! Oh! Ahhh!” I hear Phoenix making sounds of interest as I get a little impatient that I am being withheld from sharing in the experience.

“You going to share or am I just going to be left out, huh?”

“Oh sorry, got a little excited there. This stuff is amazing Jupiter! Your tree back home would be too poor to even be this trees fertilizer. It’s like a noble compared to a peasant!” Phoenix chirps happily talking smack about my home again.

‘Oh that poor, poor willow tree. Can’t even fertilize this thing. I really feel bad for my home now.’ A bitter smile as I think that.

“Well, cough it up. What’s so good about this tree then?” I ask a little offended though it was just a tree so I don’t see why I feel offended for it.

“Amazing stuff! This tree contains genes that could enhance your physical strength as well as help me with my cells that connect to you. Especially me, I could share some of the data I see with you after we absorb this thing which would really help us out in the future!” Almost yelling it all in my head causing my headache to slightly worsen.

“Okay, okay! Don’t need to yell like that. I did JUST come out from interplanetary travel okay?”

I couldn’t handle the string of pain my whole body was sending to my brain especially with slime god here yelling in my head. Though, I was satisfied that the first thing we found here could help me strengthen up a little and help Phoenix with whatever it said. Though how much strength?

“Hey Phoenix, how much physical strength we talking here?”

“Be quiet, you will find out after we are done absorbing this. I could just show you.” Phoenix was enraptured by this tree it seems so I just smiled bitterly at being shut up by the slime and wait.

‘Oh slimes? They are so weak and low level, why you even stressing about slimes noob! Psh, you’re so weak and low level, your whole family is weak and low level! Freaking liars!’ I just grumble internally at how wrong all rpg players are.

Phoenixes’ powers of absorption were really no joke. It almost killed the tree this time as the whole thing looked close to being but a husk of its former glory. The trunk cracking from lack of vitality and the emerald leaves losing their previous shine seeming to droop down as if too frail to even sway in the wind.

We finally get to the fun part.

I close my eyes and once again start my meditation as I do a once over to make sure we are alone. Phoenix was already working its magic as I calm my breath and steadily take it all in.

The flow of nutrients being spread into me from Phoenix this time seemed different. It flowed into me like a warm heat spreading from my head going down slowly. It wasn’t burning or anything but it could be said to be very warm bordering on hot but just not there yet. I feel my pain slowly receding as the warmth covers me and with every breath it spreads and sinks into me more and more.

The feeling was truly nice. I could tell it was helping my body as the pain went from a heavy ache to slightly numbed sore. Eventually settling down into my body as warmth I could still feel but to a lesser degree than originally.

I felt energized.