Everstream forest

"Their dangerous." the admiral finished the statement for Alex with a dark expression. 'Yeah , I won't go looking for fights but if Whatever lives there is territorial I may need to.' Alex said honestly. ' That said if I don't think I can take whatever I find I can still just retreat without much issue.' he said confidently. "Alright , but if you find out what drew zorah to the everstream you return immediately Am I clear?" the commander asked sternly and Alex nodded. "Good , then if you have nothing else I wish you luck on your expedition." the commander said and Alex left astera.

It wasn't particularly hard to get to the mouth of the everstream since Alex merely needed to follow the coast to the east until the same cove that zorah had been pushed out of came into view. The everstream's mouth was still wide enough for Alex to fly through despite the muddy crystals along the walls there. The further into the everstream Alex went however the narrower the passage became above the water as well as the purer the crystals. Soon enough Alex was forced to dive into the water if he wanted to keep going since the crystals growing from the ceiling reached just above the water.

The difference between the air above the everstream and within it's waters was totally different as the crystal completely didn't grow below the surface due to the fast moving waters eroding them before they could take hold. Strangely despite the moving water Alex could see far into the distance since the water was completely clear without any sand or dirt at all. The biggest difference however was the intensity of the energy flowing up from the veins below the stream that had started to soak into Alex's body passively strengthening it.

'This definitely proves that I need to keep my eyes peeled , something definitely lives here with such favorable conditions.' Alex thought seriously as he swam forward. He could feel the energy strengthening his body and energy pool as he went at a staggering rate. The only reason he wasn't in agony from the rapid improvements was because of his [enhanced healing] trait that fixed the damage at the same rate it occurred. Alex was slightly surprised that he didn't get a trait from this exposure but quickly realized that it was because the everstream's influence on him fell into the gray area of the system.

It was both very good for him while also being harmful for the exact same reason as it improved his body far too rapidly causing backlash. Without his trait working to repair his bodies damage Alex would literally be killed by too much of a good thing. Alex couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful the everstream was with a pearlescent rainbow hue coating everything in sight as he traveled. Once he was about halfway up the stream however Alex discovered something amazing , an underground forest.

Alex was very surprised when he suddenly found that the low hanging crystal ceiling vanished letting him surface for the first time in nearly two hours. This forest was nothing like the one that made up the ancient forest as it was completely contained in this sort of huge underground cavern. The ceiling of the cavern was so high up that Alex could even see clouds drifting about near the top like a false sky. The crystals at the ceiling also produced a dim yellow light that illuminated the entire forest below. (A/N: Journey to the center of the earth vibes anyone?)

The plant life was equally unique as unlike most plants up on the surface of the planet these ones were mainly blue instead of green. Not even the trees were spared this strange coloration as Alex recognized that most of the trees seemed to be some sort of palm with large gently glowing fruits growing in the fronds at the top. Alex climbed onto the shore of the forest while carefully examining everything to keep himself from getting ambushed upon arrival. 'If there was ever a place that held another animal along the stream , this is definitely the place.' Alex thought in awe while observing his surroundings.

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