Hearing Faen's words, Xayah wanted to retort, but after a long silence, she ultimately just let out a cold snort and said no more.
Undoubtedly, the current situation was exactly as Faen described; things had reached rock bottom. If the primal magic in Oovi-Kat and other northeastern Ionian regions also regressed, then all Vastaya would have nowhere left to go. They might survive, but having lost their connection to nature itself, to many Vastaya, it would be no different from being dead.
Seeing Xayah fall silent, Faen didn't push her. Instead, he offered the horse Sona had previously been riding to Xayah and said, "If there are no problems, let's head out. It's fine if you don't want to talk. Once we reach the avian tribe, I will personally ask your elders."
Hearing this, Xayah raised an eyebrow. Although she still harbored strong suspicions about Faen's appearance and motives, the current Xayah had calmed down somewhat. Weighing her words, she said, "What makes you think the elders will believe you?"
"Because of this." Faen displayed the Mark of the Twin Dragons on the back of his hand again, saying peacefully, "This is the mark from the Enlightened One, Karma, and also the mark of the Spirit of Ionia. Once they see this mark, your elders will naturally understand my identity and mission."
Hearing Faen's statement, Xayah cast a suspicious glance at the Mark of the Twin Dragons on Faen's hand. Although she already believed him quite a bit in her heart, considering she had just rejected him so decisively, she couldn't easily set aside her pride. After a moment of silence, she merely snorted coldly and said, "You're the only one saying what this mark is. Who knows if you're telling the truth? I certainly don't believe it."
"Then try asking and communicating with the spirits of nature," Faen said. "If you cannot discern it yourself and do not believe my words, then the spirits of nature will give you the answer you need."
If she had heard this before, Xayah wouldn't have paid it any mind. But things were different now. With the continuous intake of the Joy Factor, although Xayah remained vigilant internally, she had unwittingly lost that initial personality-level and ideological disgust and rejection toward Faen. The remaining vigilance was simply a normal emotion one would feel when facing a stranger.
Precisely because of this, hearing Faen's words now, Xayah fell into a momentary daze. Noticing this, Faen turned his gaze to Xayah once again. Seeing this, Xayah instinctively turned her head away, a flash of shame crossing her brow.
Observing Xayah's current state, Faen hesitated for a moment before saying, "You... don't happen to still not know how to communicate with nature, do you?"
"...Ah." Hearing the hesitation in Faen's voice, the corner of Xayah's mouth twitched a few times. She clearly sensed the astonishment and confusion in Faen's tone. Although there was no malice, and Faen was genuinely just surprised by it, Xayah's heart was not as calm as she appeared on the surface. What do you mean, "I don't happen to still not know how to communicate with nature"? Is this supposed to be some incredibly common ability? Even among the tribe's elders, only the Great Elder, who is over seventy, can communicate with nature to a certain extent with ample ritual preparation! Why do you make it sound like it's a skill any random person can master? Just hearing you say that is infuriating enough!
Sensing Xayah's inner annoyance churning, Faen rubbed his chin and said, "I suppose that makes sense. After all, you're still in your growing phase. Even if your connection to natural magic is tighter, you haven't yet attained the spiritual power required to directly perceive its existence."
"Hah, are you trying to take this opportunity to mock me?" Xayah shot Faen a cold glare, a disdainful smile appearing on her lips.
It wasn't specifically directed at Faen, but in a place like Ionia, scenarios where elders and seniors used their status to reprimand the younger generation were simply too common. After all, Ionia's setting was essentially an amalgamation of Asian regions, so it was only natural that the stereotype of an East Asian child would surface.
To this, Faen simply shook his head and said, "No, I am just stating the facts. However, if you need it, I can help you perceive the consciousness of natural magic faster and communicate with it."
Hearing this, Xayah almost instinctively locked eyes with Faen. Upon snapping back to reality, she quickly withdrew her gaze, then snorted coldly and said, "That sounds nice, but in reality, you're going to want me to pay some sort of price, aren't you?"
"I don't require you to pay anything," Faen answered.
"Then why are you helping me?!" Xayah asked coldly.
"Because what I need to do is restore the natural magic here to its former flourishing and untamed state," Faen said peacefully. "And I am not a Vastaya. If you can perceive it yourself, you will undoubtedly be better able to convey the true will of the natural magic. Therefore, rather than saying I'm helping you, it's more accurate to say I'm helping myself."
Hearing this, Xayah secretly mulled over Faen's words in her heart. Although Xayah didn't say anything more about it, considering her vigilant personality—like a wild bird—facing a stranger and outsider like Faen, simply remaining silent was undoubtedly an indirect expression of inner acceptance.
After saying this, Faen paused, then shook his head and added, "However, this will indeed have some negative side effects."
"...What negative side effects?" If previously Xayah had paid no mind to Faen's proposal, now, seeing Faen proactively state the reasons, she relaxed her guard slightly and asked, "Or is your fox tail finally showing?"
Faen didn't refute her, simply saying peacefully, "The method to help you establish a connection with the consciousness of nature faster is by vitalizing your spirit and perception. This allows you to compensate with physiological perception when your accumulation in the Spirit Realm is still not solid enough, thereby perceiving the consciousness of nature itself."
"And the substance that vitalizes your body and spirit is manufactured by me. Naturally, it will contain some residue from my manufacturing process. In other words, this will also make your perception of me much more sensitive and acute."
Before Faen could even finish, Xayah couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. "Hah, and here I thought what these side effects you mentioned would be. Turns out it'll just make me more vigilant against you."