The river was changing.
Dot didn't know how to explain it. The current hadn't shifted. The moss still blinked with sleepy light. Wigglenoodle was still trying to teach Steve how to dance. But underneath it all, something deeper had moved.
Not the water.
The world.
Ever since the hidden ruin opened, Dot's senses had sharpened. He could feel mana more clearly. Not just its presence—but its flow, its rhythm, its weight. He didn't just float in the river anymore.
He listened to it.
And now, it whispered back.
---
It started with the moss.
He'd passed by it hundreds of times. Brushed against it. Shared mana with it. But today, when he pulsed lightly, it pulsed back. Deliberately.
Like a handshake.
[Connection established: Mana Flora – Glowmoss Cluster.]
[Passive Link Created. Limited influence granted over moss behavior.]
Dot blinked.
"Wait, I can talk to moss now?"
[Not verbally. But energetically, yes. You've built a relationship.]
"...I have a pet rock, a shrimp dojo, and now I'm friends with plants. Amazing."
Seek didn't answer. It probably agreed.
Dot tried again—this time directing a bit of his mana like a suggestion.
The moss wiggled.
Not wildly. Just enough to sway toward a pebble. Like it was saying, This? You want this?
He pulsed affirmatively.
The moss curled around the pebble.
Dot buzzed with excitement.
[Domain Seed Recognized – Passive Influence Area Forming.]
[New Title Acquired: Budding Sovereign.]
[Effect: Slowly gain control over local environment. Radius expands with mana core growth.]
He paused.
"I got a kingdom. Of moss."
[Technically a proto-domain. But yes, this is how it starts.]
He turned to Wigglenoodle.
"Congratulations, you're now royal guard."
Wigglenoodle posed dramatically, then promptly got tangled in Steve.
With the domain seed growing, new things began to shift.
The fish didn't run from him anymore. The shrimp came closer. Even Grandma, the massive algae-beast, pulsed more warmly when he passed.
He didn't command them.
But they trusted him.
That felt heavier than power. It felt important.
He started organizing.
Dot gathered the shinier pebbles into a little spiral near his moss patch. Wigglenoodle helped by sorting pebbles based on taste. Steve just rolled over everything. That seemed fair.
Dot called it the "center."
The place where he'd rest. Where energy would gather. A dot-shaped nest.
The river hummed with approval.
[Proto-Domain Node Formed. Influence Radius: 3 meters.]
[Passive Buff: River Rest – faster mana recovery within domain.]
He buzzed with satisfaction.
He was still a dot.
But he was a dot with vibes.
One day, the water shimmered strangely.
Not danger.
A ripple.
Something new entering the river.
Dot pulsed outward.
The reply came delayed, distorted… but intelligent.
"...ello? Anyone there? I lost my stone. It had notes in it."
Dot blinked.
A voice.
Not from Seek. Not from a relic. Just… someone.
He focused harder.
A glimmer appeared in the distance. A faint, flickering sphere. Smaller than him. Weak. But definitely alive.
Another core.
"Hi? Please don't explode me. I'm really, really lost."
Dot pulsed softly.
"Hello."
Her name was Pip.
Or at least, that's what she thought it was.
She was a floating spark. Pale blue. Nervous. Chattery. Liked rocks.
"I was part of a summoning. They said I was too small and threw me in a barrel. Then I fell in a river. Then a fish tried to eat me. I don't know what's going on."
Dot didn't understand half of it.
But he liked her.
She reminded him of himself.
Confused. Curious. A little spark in a big world.
He brought her back to his domain.
Showed her the moss. The shrine-stone. The center spiral.
She was amazed.
"You built this?"
"Well. Sort of. The moss helped."
"I can barely keep my glow steady."
"You'll get there."
Pip flickered a little brighter.
Wigglenoodle circled her once. Approved.
Steve rolled into her. Also approved.
Dot smiled. Or at least pulsed the feeling of smiling.
He had a guest now.
Maybe a friend.
Maybe more than that.
A fellow spark in the stream.
[Passive Triggered: Proto-Domain Expansion – Additional Core Detected.]
[Effect: Bonded Presence – increased mana resonance and recovery when near compatible entities.]
[Domain Radius Increased: 3.4 meters.]
[New Tag: Sanctuary Node.]
Dot didn't understand all of it.
But he understood this:
His little corner of the world had grown.
Not because he took it.
Because he shared it.
And somehow, that made everything hum a little sweeter.