I've Turned Into A Fox Girl?

Chapter 275  Meeting Myself?

<Shaman POV>

As I plunged into the darkness of my own mind, time seemed to lose all meaning. I couldn't tell whether there would ever be an end to my fall, or if I was even still falling at all. I didn't have any sense of direction, and the only indicator I was moving was the occasional white spec that would fly past me.

Eventually, those white specs grew in number until my vision was completely engulfed in a white light. I shut my eyes from the blinding light, and after a few moments, I felt my feet land on solid ground.

Slowly opening my eyes to let them adjust to the light, I saw that I was in a field of flowers. It was the exact same flowers that adorned my domain, with them representing Elysia, Clara, and Silver. Red Dahlias are Elysia, Purple Roses are Clara, and Clematis are Silver.

I presumed Elanor hadn't made an appearance in the domain yet since she is still quite new to the group.

However, what caught my attention was a tree off in the distance, surrounded by white flowers. Walking up to the tree, it appeared to be right next to a cliff that led right into the abyss.

"I wouldn't want to fall down there." I didn't know what would happen if I fell down such a pit since this is a dreamscape, but I wasn't going to risk it.

"I know right." Suddenly, my own voice came from the tree. It sounded slightly younger, but it was certainly my own voice.

"Huh?" Turning to the tree, I spotted a younger version of myself in a plain white dress sitting up against the tree, hugging her knees. I instantly recognised that this is what my body looked like when I first arrived in this world. The rather short stature and lack of assets were very much present.

"Hey, other me." The other me looked up and down my body, seemingly taking in how much had changed.

"Hey? This is extremely weird, I didn't think I would be physically talking to you." It was weird to be talking to someone who is fundamentally you, and I didn't really know how to speak to them.

"Haha, that's understandable, but don't worry so much about how to talk to me. We are the same person after all." My other self stood up, now really showing how much I have grown.

"I see, but I still feel like I have to apologise for hijacking your body." Seeing the other me that used to inhabit this body, a sense of guilt washed over me as I took over her life, essentially.

"No need to be sorry, I have long stopped caring about my body anymore. After watching you, there hasn't been a time where I would do something differently. If anything, you are much more confident than I was. Like, who the hell dates two people at once? I definitely would have chickened out even if I loved both Elysia and Clara." Going into detail about how she felt about the situation relieved some of the guilt.

"I'm glad you don't mind, but are you really okay with that?" I approached myself, grabbing onto her hands and trying to pull out any hidden emotions. After all, this was me, so I knew how to pull at the heartstrings.

"Ha, we really are the same." Tears formed in her eyes, showing that I am still as emotional as ever.

"Don't cry. I am here to see what we can do." Pulling myself in for a hug, I found that her height was right at chest level, which was perfect.

"At thish rathe I will keepth crying." A muffled voice came from my chest with a hint of enjoyment in her voice, but it also made her more emotional.

"Oh, you love it; now come on, tell me what you really want. Would you like to have control again?" I knew she couldn't resist, and even though I wouldn't really give control, knowing what she wants will make it easier to decide.

*Sigh* "It would be nice if I could... Just look at me now! I am so goddamn hot now that I'm jealous! I never age here! However, I know it won't be a good idea since there is no way I can pick up where you left off." Having been able to hold her tears back, she pulled her head out of my chest and began talking about how she truly felt.

"I would have done the same thing, but it doesn't have to be like this. You don't have to stay in this empty flower field. As pretty as it is, it must have gotten pretty boring seeing the same scene all the time." I quickly glanced back to the abyss, and knowing myself, she probably considered jumping off in order to stop being a burden.

"Hmmm? Do you have a way? I haven't been able to peek outside for ages, so I don't even know how you got here in the first place." A glimmer of hope shone in her eyes, but there was still some reservation left within them, waiting for the bad news.

"Well, the whole reason I'm here is not to say hello but to actually merge our souls together. The person who is facilitating this deals with souls and thus was able to make this meeting possible." I doubted that I would reject this idea, but I still felt anxious waiting for her to process the information.

"O-oh…" Seeing her fall silent, I could imagine she was debating whether it was worth throwing away her consciousness. We will be merging, so realistically, she isn't disappearing but becoming one with herself.

'Damn, this feels so weird to think about.' The whole situation was already confusing while also making sense.

"Alright, I'll do it. I have nothing to lose, plus we are the same, so what reason is there to decline? If anything, it makes me happy that I will be out of this place." A smile spread across her face, which warmed my heart to see.

"You're such a cutie; I kind of miss this young version of myself." I grabbed her cheeks, teasing her as if I were a grandma. I then got to see her pout, which only melted my heart even further, making me almost want to keep her around. Although it had only been about a year since I had come to this world, it still felt nostalgic.

"Grrr, I may be stuck in this version of myself, but once we merge, I will finally have the same body!" Other me revealed what's most likely her main motivation for agreeing to merge, but I didn't blame her.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop playing around. Now I don't exactly know how we merge, but it has something to do with assimilating." It was time for the part where I had no clue what to do. Tyso was right about knowing what I have to do once I'm inside, but I had no clue what to do after connecting with my other self.

'Maybe this is when the whole 3-day journey begins.' Things were going a little too smoothly, which made me question that time frame. I wondered if there was a trial that needed to be done, but where would we even begin?

"Great, of course, we don't know. Did that person not tell you anything?" In typical Shaman attitude, she reminded me of Tyso's instructions. Once we've reached a consensus about the way forward we were supposed to continue our conversation, but how are we meant to converse when I'm in this state?

"Uhhh, he said he would explain further, but it would seem he can't contact me right now. Maybe there is some hidden area here you are unaware of?" It was a stretch, but it's not like I had any other ideas… A verbal agreement did not seem enough to start the assimilation.

"I don't know. I never really left this spot since I could never spot anything in the distance." It makes sense since this tree is the only landmark in sight, but now is probably a good chance to explore.

"Hmm, okay, let's see if I can use my magic here, or maybe access the system." I hadn't noticed it until now, but my body felt free, like some chains had been undone.

"Rea?... I guess there's no system." Could the system be holding me back? This is a dreamlike state, so it's hard to tell.

Putting the system in the back of my mind, I let go of my other self and took a few steps forwards. Raising my hand, I tried to conjure up some ice to mediocre success. My magic seemed to be not all there, but then suddenly my other self did the same.

"Woah!" However, her magic was a lot stronger, almost to the same level as mine outside. This almost made her fall back, as she was not expecting such a strong reaction.

"Ohhh I see now. Tyso mentioned that mana is linked with the soul. You must be the one with actual magic affinity, so the amount I can use is dependent on the level of our assimilation!" The situation clicked in my head, which also spurred an idea.

"It just sounded like a bunch of words to me, so I trust you are correct."

"I hope I am, but hey, I have an idea of how we might be able to merge."