The Stargazing Witch & The Dungeon Planet
Chapter 52: Lost (Arc 3 – Puppets On Starlight Strings)

Chapter 52: Lost (Arc 3 - Puppets On Starlight Strings)

Everything hurt. Pain continued to vibrate through my body as I lay on the cold surface of a small cold rocky planet. A small part of my adversary's fleshy remains spread across the atmosphere of the planet so he wasn’t a worry anymore.

It only had been a couple of minutes since the fight with the Juptar commander ended.

I remembered everything in vivid detail from the moment the commander activated his final skill to my body crashing upon the planet.

Opening up like an eye, the final portal swallowed everything in sight. First himself, me, the asteroids, and then some amount of the remaining moon.

Once it grabbed me, I felt it trying to tear my body apart, and to that end, it tried its best. Numerous times in a matter of seconds, bits of my flesh and muscles were torn off and quickly regenerated back. Before finally the journey finished and I was launched out at high velocity into the void of space rocketing into this large rock.

The process of that and the fight left my body blood-stained and weak. 

Due to the lack of space rumble around I could only assume that everything that was taken by the portal’s grasp was teleported randomly around who knows where.

I wasn’t knocked out but I was very lightheaded for a moment, but soon I was able to recover myself.

Slowly I stood up, shifting my weight onto my knees. I coughed up blood and stones that entered my stomach from the impact.

My amour was severely damaged by the monster and the hostile portal travel and I could feel folds of it sticking into my skin.

I poured my mana into the suit and detached the helmet, it was extremely damaged but I hoped it could recover.

I had a space-breathing choker so I could still breathe once I deactivated my bonded skills.

I turned around and looked to the sky, my bloodied horns retracted into my head leaving behind two bruised lumps. 

I tried to focus on the space around me, my unfocused golden eyes stared into the void of space, but I became increasingly worried as I didn’t recognise the new stars in the sky.

Not again…

It can't be happening again.

I was alone in a place, lost again, with no path headed for home.

(“ I wouldn’t worry too much, you are still on this side of existence so it should be plenty possible to find your way home ”)

A happy Espoiramissa spoke in my head as I sat in emotional and physical pain. The dungeon planet that decided to make my life its entertainment gave some colourful commentary and advice.

(“ Also to clear the pain from the curses that have been applied to your body, I would recommend letting your mana reach zero. Then you should keep draining for about five hours without letting it settle in your body and it should go away. ”)

What lovely advice but I have to bloody wait until my mana recovers to charge my breather first. It will only last about an hour at this rate, and I have no idea how long it will take to fix the suit.

(“ Using Primal Guardian Lord would give you the space result ”)

I think I have already used that skill enough. Or was the showing before not good enough for you?

(“ I’m just giving suggestions ”)

If that’s the case do you have any for the pain I’ve been feeling in my soul since that projection monster crashed into me?

(“ Oh for that, yeah, you will just have to wait it out, it may take anywhere between one to fifty days. Depends on how quickly your soul can recover and that is something we can only measure by watching it happen ”)

I was very irritated but as time passed my emotions calmed down.

I was still angry, upset, and sad but those emotions weren’t going to help me right now–well angry might. 

The suit had an auto repair feature, but even once it was completed I doubted it would be up to the same level of toughness and durability it was before.

I took off the rest of the suit and cleared the wounds that were caused by its shards sticking in me. 

I connected the helmet back to the suit and left it alone for the auto repair to begin. I dumped the scraps of metal of the armour I found on it so it could hopefully use that. The auto repair was powered by my remaining mana in the suit which was low, so I would have to top it up when I got the chance.

Espr, we talked about this before but what’s the chance you can get me way off here?

(“ Now that’s an interesting predicament ”)

After the attack on the Hood’s base, I knew getting home would be an issue. Especially since I planned to blow up the moon which would destroy the teleportation pads.

So a deal with Espoiramissa was made. They would get something to pick me up, just like the first time when a Lestant station ‘just happened’ to go near its body.

I’m not sure how Espr did that, since from what I knew, Espoiramissa could only ‘see’ through me and anywhere on its body. I knew Espoiramissa kept certain things secret from me, not unexpectedly, it's not like we are best friends or anything close.

Let me guess, no one can reach me here.

(“ Not exactly, it’s more I have no idea where you are ”)

…

(“ I can feel your disappointment ”)

That doesn’t change the fact it is what I’m feeling.

I wanted to see my family. Knowing them, they would be worried sick. I hoped they knew I would be alive though, that something like this wouldn’t keep me down.

One day I knew I might never see my family again, but I at least wanted to say goodbye before that day.

(“ If you want to think about something positive, check your Soul Page, it should’ve changed with all the craziness that last battle was ”)

Espoiramissa was right, I could feel my soul had expanded again. Defeating that creature and surviving those frightening attacks must’ve given it the push to rapidly expand.

Name: Ceella Stella (Celestira Luxpoir) | Race: [Human?]

Level 305 | Awakened

Mana: 1% Starlight: 2%

Vocation: [Stargazer]

Skills:

- Blazing Solar (VI | IV)

- Starlight (V)

- Gazing Upon The Stars

- Disruptive Starlight

- Star Mapping

- Sleepless Nights

- Fortified Stomach

- Quiet Step

Bonded

- Primal Guardian Lord [Lv 191]

- Unleashed Awakening

Why has everything gone up so much?

My level jumped from 302 to 305 and Primal Guardian Lord increased by at least twenty more levels.

There were no new skills but I could feel the room in my soul open up more so I at least had or nearly had the room for a new one.

If I did get a new skill I hoped it wouldn't be a new magic skill, I had enough of them for the time being. 

(“ Your Soul Page is looking great, maybe Blazing Solar will reach double tier VI soon ”)

I would prefer if my starlight reached VI.

(“ Of course you would ”)

Espoiramissa expressed its disappointment.

I stopped picturing my Soul Page as it was giving me added pain. The effects that crimson creature attack had on me weren’t damaging but the pain it caused with my every action was enough misery to make a normal person go insane.

I summoned a weak fire that consumed me, controlled to only burn off the blood off my body.

The warmth from it was nice but I couldn’t enjoy it fully due to pain and my lack of mana.

I looked around me to the stars, again. I was a small planet that contained two tiny moons and nothing else nearby.

Nothing at all.

No signs of life.

No other nearby planets.

And in an unrecognised part of the universe.

Sighing, I knew I had to wait before I could try anything involving leaving this rock.

“Mum, Tyell, Mella, I will try to get back home soon. I promise.”