《Tree of Aeons (an Isekai Story)》 1. The Tree’s first years 1. The Tree¡¯s first years Death and reincarnation I am Matt, an indie game developer. I died in a bus ident on my way home. ¡°You died.¡± An old man says. He reminds me a little of Santa us. ¡°Oh, I did.¡± It is a in white space. Reminds me of the scene where Morgan Freeman ys a god, so I look at him and ask. ¡°Are you God, and is this the pearly gates?¡± ¡°Yes I am a god.. My name is Mozart, and I¡¯m the administrator of the soul transmission system.¡± Mozart. What a name. ¡°Uh soul transmission? Wait. Reincarnation?¡± ¡°Yes. Like all the isekai stories you¡¯ve been reading.¡± Oh that¡¯s a good way to exin it. Thinking about all the other reincarnation stories I could not help but feel a little excited. Would I get to build a harem? ¡°Oh nice. So, what am I reincarnated as? What special powers do I get?¡± ¡°Roll this.¡± A big disc appears with weird characters on them. It is like a giant wheel of fortune,plete with colors. ¡°Huh? What is this?¡± ¡°This is the race wheel. The result of your roll woll tells you what you get to be in your next life. You can be a mosquito, or a dragon, or maybe even a minor deity.¡± ¡°Hmm, why not a human? That¡¯s how it normally is for isekai stories.¡± ¡°You did not qualify.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Based on the kind of life you led, you do not qualify to be reincarnated as a human.¡± ¡°So¡­.¡± Oh that sucks. ¡°But why?¡± ¡°That''s just how the rules are. Roll the wheel. You will be randomly allocated a race to reincarnate as.¡± I could notprehend what are the words on the wheel, so I look at Mozart. More urately, I stare at him ¡°Seriously? Is this a trick?¡± ¡°Just roll. Or you can be a mosquito. That¡¯s permissible. Or a small gecko.¡± ¡°Fuck that. I will roll the wheel then.¡± I am just about to roll the wheel, then I stare at him again. I do recall having died in a bus ident, so there¡¯s quite a few other guys on the bus. Am I being singled out here? ¡°Erm.. how are the other guys in the bus?¡± ¡°Dead. They are going to be reincarnated as well. After you.¡± ¡°Oh. So, do they need to roll the wheel as well, like me?¡± ¡°Nope. They will be reincarnated as humans or elves.¡± Hey, I am being singled out! That¡¯s quite unfair! ¡°What. Howe?¡± ¡°They have been chosen by the gods, and those who pray for heroes. Selected as champions of the world they are going into, so they get special powers and stuff, to fight a big bad guy.¡± ¡°How about me?¡± ¡°You are not a champion. You just happen to get on the same bus as the kids.¡± Wait. I am coteral damage? That reminds me that there are quite a few teenagers on that bus. It¡¯s a route that passes by a mall, and it''ste so they probably are on their way home after an outing. ¡°Why them? Why do they get to be champions?¡± ¡°Because they are young, courageous, good hearted and have a desire to do good. Not yet tainted by the evils of society.¡± ¡°Wait. So you chose kids to bear the burdens of the world?¡± ¡°That''s the criteria the gods and the people look for, so that''s what they get.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± I roll the wheel. And it stops at some random word that I did not understand¡­ Wait. The word transforms now. ¡°A tree.¡± I understood what it said. ¡°What?!?!¡± Hey this is not going the way I thought it would. I am supposed to get super powers and get reincarnated. ¡°Yeah, trees have souls too.¡± Mozart seems rather nonchnt about it. ¡°Trees are not bad, actually.¡± ¡°How about grass?¡± ¡°Oh grasses of a critical mass have souls. Before that they don¡¯t. For trees it is their age. Once the trees reach about a certain size they get a soul. There are world or species specific exceptions of course.¡± ¡°Uh.¡± ¡°Anyway. Tree. Goodbye-¡± ckness. Darkness. Kind of like a TV screen gets turned off in the old CRT days. And then a menu. What is a reincarnation story without a menu, right? It shines against the dark backdrop, and reminds me of old DOS interfaces. Oh a clock. Year 1 Month 0 [Skills : [Hibernate], [Germinate], [Autopilot]] [Species : Normal Tree] [Level : 1] Oh wait. Skills and levels. Ah yes I get to do awesome shit! At first I thought it would take some loading time. Maybe this dark space is like a loading screen. But then a good two hourster I am still in this darkness. And I do not feel a damn thing. No sensation, no vision, no sound either. It''s still dark. Am I supposed to do something? I try to open my eyes but it is still dark. I kept waiting. I don¡¯t seem to tire physically, but I felt mentally exhausted. An Hour. A day. Two days. Three days. Four days. Five days. Six days. A week. The clock just keeps ticking and nothing freaking happens. Darkness. ck. ck. ck. Frustrated I tried using my skills. [Germinate] *Not the right season.*A pop up appears. What is the season then? Once I had that thought, next to the clock a seasonal calendar appears. Another DOS like menu, but with a slowly moving indicator that says ¡°winter¡±. Curious, I click [autopilot], and suddenly a popup appears. [Autopilot engaged. You have activated [hibernate]. And I recall falling into a sleep like state. And when I woke up, a good four months passed on the clock. But still darkness. At least the season menu says [spring]. [Autopilot has activated [germinate]]. Nothing happens. It is still darkness to me. And with autopilot active, time passes quickly. At first I thought I misunderstood the clock, but it soon became quite obvious that 1 second is actually 1 hour. Which is really convenient because there is absolutely nothing to do. And so time passes. A year passes. Another year passes. And another year. Year 4 In the fourth year, a string of notification appears, instantly kicking me out of autopilot. [Amber Lee has died. You received a fragment.] [Samantha Chandran has died. You received a fragment.] [Peter Varoufakis has died. You received a fragment.] [Hyuna Park has died. You received a fragment.] [Reed Constance has died. You received a fragment.] [Shah Rasul has died. You received a fragment.] [Mai has died. You received a fragment.] [Lee Kang Ho has died. You received a fragment.] [Shane Andrew Fillon has died. You received a fragment.] [Pink Fong has died. You received a fragment.] [The Demon King Asmodai has been defeated and sealed back to the demonic realm] Oh wow. At first, I do not recognise these names at all. But when the demon king¡¯s notification popped up, that is when I realise that the kids won. And nothing. Again. Darkness. I thought something would happen, perhaps it would prompt me that our mission isplete and we would move on to the next reincarnation, but nothing. A year passed. Another year. And another year. Year 8 A notification appeared. Simr to the others previously, it just says Saita Maru died. Year 9 Mark Antote died. Year 11 Samantha Charleston died. Year 14 Kim Possibru died. Year 15 A demon king appeared. [Demon King Astaroth has spawned.] Frankly I think I should panic, but somehow being trapped in this darkness I can do absolutely nothing. Year 17 A string of notifications again. Azares Fox, Sarah Cole, Pam Seis, Lucy Braveheart, Winston Chow, Donald Stump all died. Cumtively, a total of twenty fragments now. It seems to suggest that they have been defeated by the Demon King. Year 20 An interesting message appeared. [The Gods has summoned twenty new heroes from beyond to answer to the threat of Demon King Astaroth.] Oh god. More kids? Year 25 Indeed, 5 years after they were summoned, Demon King Astaroth is defeated. But in the process, another eleven kids died, and now I have all these 31 fragments with their names sitting in my menu. I get the feeling that this circle never quite ends. Demon Kings appear, and the gods summon heroes from beyond to answer them. In the next 10 years, another five died, and their death seems to be spread out, suggesting either they somehow fought and killed each other, or someone or something killed them. Year 45 Another demon king appeared. Demon King Dantalion. Somewhat predictably, on the 47th year, another four names died, and that brings my total to 40 fragments. Year 47 The gods summoned another fifteen heroes to this world. Year 50 Demon King Dantalion, and of the fifteen, ten of them died. And I have a total of 50 fragments. Thankfully it seems my menu has changed such that the fragments now have their own dedicated menu. It seems like if the world had another demon king attack, the gods will always summon heroes to answer them. Year 52 I am jolted out of the darkness by a spirit. A spirit that I can actually see. It is like he is a light in a sea of darkness. ¡°Hello.¡± A young boy, no older than ten. ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°Oh my god, did you just talk?!!!!¡± He shouts and then runs in circles for a while. ¡°Wait I think everyone else will think I am crazy if I say a tree can talk.¡± ¡°Yes of course.¡± Frankly I can only see his spirit, shining against the dark background. ¡°Erm.. do you have a name, o tree spirit?¡± At that point I wonder whether he sees me as a tree or as a person. ¡°My name is Matt. What is yours?¡± ¡°Indra. I am ten this year, and I am a druid.¡± ¡°Hello Indra.¡± He seems quite willing to talk. ¡°I see. Howe you can see me?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I think that is because I have a unique skill. It is called [Soul Communion].¡± ¡°Sounds really special.¡± ¡°It does not do much actually. Just allows me to see and talk to ghosts and stuff. Oh my, I think I better go back.¡± Looking at the time it is quitete at night. ¡°Well, drop by if you feel like it. It is nice to talk to someone.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Indra nods, and walks off. Indra wouldtere by every week, and we would talk. ¡°Can I ask for a favor?¡± He asks one day, after a few months talking. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Would you mind being my magicalpanion?¡± ¡°How does that work?¡± ¡°I get to summon you to aid me in battle.¡± ¡°I would love to, but I think I do not do much. I am not sure if I have anybat powers.¡± ¡°Its okay, nobody I know have a tree familiar. I think it should be quite cool.¡± ¡°Fine then.¡± Indra starts mumbling some things, and that is when I have a popup. [Indra has requests to enter into a familiar contract. Do you ept?] A menu to click yes or no appears, and I mentally choose yes. Indra smiles. ¡°Yay! I have a tree familiar. This is so awesome. I bet nobody else has a nature-aspect familiar.¡± Later that week he returns, and sits next to me. ¡°My teachers took a look at my tree familiar form and so I might be going away for a long time. It seems the druid council wants to see more of my tree familiar abilities, as it is fairly rare in the world.¡± ¡°Oh. Good luck then. Is it that special?¡± ¡°Yes. It is quite different from other forms as it has mostly defensive and healing skills.¡± Hmm I didn''t even realise he use my skills. Seems like once I agree to the familiar contract, I don¡¯t really need to do anything. At which point I wonder whether I could see what my tree familiar skills look like. *pop* A menu appears. [Tree Familiar] [Level 1] [Skills : Ironbark skin, Healing fruit, Minor Regeneration] Seems my familiar contracts skills are quite different from my own, or maybe the familiar form has its own skill tree? ¡°It is my first time going so far away from home.¡± ¡°Are you scared?¡± ¡°Yes. But I think it is also an adventure! My mom tells me not to worry though. I will be going with the town¡¯s lead druid to the capitol.¡± ¡°Sounds like fun. Spend more time with your parents before you go, okay? Never know when you will see them again.¡± Since the day I died, the people I miss the most are my parents, and then followed by my friends. ¡°You¡¯re right, I should spend more time with my family. I should go.¡± Indra nods, and gives me a small bow. ¡°Bye. Good luck with your trip. Stay safe.¡± Unfortunately, that is thest time I ever saw Indra. About three yearster (Year 55), I got a notification. [Indra Sinahalia has died. All the experience umted by Indra when using your familiar form. You have gained 13 levels. A fragment of Indra¡¯s unique skill has been bequeathed to you in ordance with the familiar contract. You have obtained unique skill : Lesser Spirit Vision] You have also received the skill [Limited Telepathic Communication] For the first time in forever, I can see. It is not the kind of sight that humans normally have, but I can now see spirits of people if they are really nearby, and the pitch ck background is now reced with a ck background with faint outlines. So that¡¯s how Ie to the realisation that I am in some kind of park. Or a garden. And people. They are all a distance away but every now and then they would pass me by. At a distance, they are all a blob, kind of like a wisp, but as they walk nearer, the details improve. It¡¯s kind of like shortsightedness, but for spirits. I attempt tomunicate, but so far all just run away. It felt like they all thought they are being disturbed by ghosts. Disappointed at how the people around refuse tomunicate, I went back and examine my levels. A tree with a skills,As a result of those levels, I gained skills thatupgrade the effects of my familiars, boosting my telepathic powers, gaining some other skills and some healing skills. I should have used my skills first before attempting tomunicate but hey, its hard to hide my excitement when I suddenly receive the ability to see and talk. But thanks to the higher levels in skills my visual range improved. Sadly, very few people actually walk near enough for me tomunicate with them. It seems I¡¯m ced quite deep in the park or garden so everyone seems to be quite a distance away. Even with some additional skills, they pretty much need to be next to me to hear anything. So¡­. nothing happens for quite some time again. Year 56. A fight breaks out. I could vaguely see lots of spirits in the distance fighting some soulless creatures (they appear as a rough moving shadow). The battle seems intense, as many of the spirits get extinguished, and the battle spills over into the park as well. One of the human fighters stands next to me, and excited, I took the chance tomunicate. Maybe he needs help, and I can get him to agree to a familiar contract. ¡°Ugh damned demons¡­¡± At this distance, I could hear what he says, and I could tell from my [inspect] skill that he is wounded. ¡°Need some help?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± He looks around, one hand still clutching his wounds. He then looks at the tree. ¡°Talking tree?¡± ¡°You need help?¡± ¡°Ah. Yes.¡± [Healing fruit] As a result of my skills I now have the skill to create a small fruit that gives some healing affect. [Familiar Contract]. The battle is still ongoing, so i figure that they do not have much time. ¡°Oh.¡± He epts, and munches down the fruit. His wound heals somewhat, and he nods. ¡°Thanks. I should go and help the rest now.¡± I did not see that guy again after that, and ten dayster I got a notification [Semara Falk has died. You gained 1 level] [Level 15] Oh that''s it eh. The soulless monsters appear every now and then since that day, and the people repeatedly try to fight them off. Some days I could see those monsters everywhere, even around me. Thankfully they did not indiscriminately destroy everything, so they did not attack me. I wonder what happens if they attacked me then, perhaps I would die. Then a few dayster the humans or whatever woulde back and chase them away. Thissted for a good two months, as the battles ebb and flow, and then eventually the humans won. A lull. And then a person approaches me. ¡°Is this the tree?¡± Hmm. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Ah. It is! I am Starric, Semara¡¯s squad leader, and he asks me on his death to thank you. Thanks to the power of your familiar he became quite the hero.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much, but he also asks me to bury his trusty sword next to you.¡± Starric digs a hole and then ces the sword inside. ¡°Would you like a familiar?¡± I ask. ¡°It is okay. I already have a familiar spirit of my own.¡± Ah damn. After he leaves, a few dayster, a spirit appears next to me. ¡°Hi.¡± It¡¯s that Semara guy. ¡°Huh? Why are you here?¡± ¡°Oh. I am just a part of Semara that is embedded in the sword. The real me died and passed on.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯splicated, but the sword has been by my side since my youth for the past thirty years. So a fragment of me is in it.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°So¡­ how long will you be here?¡± ¡°Maybe a few more months. I will eventually fade away with time..¡± With Semara next to me, we end up talking. A lot. Semara is a lot more knowledgeable about the worldpared to Indra, so he had more to share. That is how I learn a bit more about the world I am in. This world has many gods and religions, and magic ismonce. Demons and monsters appear frequently, as a result of the world¡¯s proximity to the demonic realm. And due to ster movements and astronomical forces, the barrier that protects the world from the demons asionally weakens, and that results in stronger demons entering the world. That sometimes leads to the entrance of Demon Kings. Gods and kings of the world, respond to this by summoning heroes from another world. The heroes rise to defeat the demons, and usually they do seed, at great cost. The world today has five remaining heroes. Arsene Emir, Valerian, Roana, Ashley Cole, and David Becks, and it seems after the defeat of Demon King Dantalion 5 years ago, they have since fallen out with each other, and are now fighting to be the most powerful ruler in the world. Demons and monsters still appear frequently, even if the demon king has fallen, demons and monsters are still a huge threat to the world. And demon kings are not the sole threat, though they are extremely powerful and seek to destroy the world and remake it in their homeworld, so in a way they are the most dangerous of them. Those 6 months pass a little easier with Semara to share his knowledge, but good times do notst very long, and so Semara fades away after those 6 months, disappearing back into his sword. Year 57, Month 1 On the first day of the year, a young elf kneels before me. ¡°Oh tree, I, Sda Stoppu of the elvish tribe, humbly request for the blessing of the tree spirit.¡± How did this random elf know of my existence? And his name is Sd? ¡°How did you know about me?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ erm..¡± He seems a little embarrassed, but then kneels. ¡°You have been listed in the register of benign spirits by the local council, following the reports of Captain Starric to the town council.¡± I am in a register of the town council. Seriously. I feel like a botanic garden exhibit. ¡°Fine. Familiar contract?¡± Thinking about how Semara¡¯s spirit apanied me for 6 months, I add a condition. ¡°You must leave an item with strong personal connection to yourself with me, and on your death, your weapon should be buried near me.¡± He nods, and buries a small wooden chain next to my roots. ¡°This is a small chain I made when I was a kid. Is this fine?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I frankly do not know what is the criteria to recreate Semara¡¯s case but I say yes. And then, I offer him the familiar contract. Maybe I¡¯ll gain a skill that lets me tell someday. He kneels and he leaves, feeling happy. I sigh, and I go back into my autopilot mode. Year 57, Month 8 Another elfes to find me. Another boy by the name Croissanta Fillings. Same deal with Sda I offer a familiar contract and he buries a small metal ring. Happy, he then walks away. I wonder how long do I have to live as a tree. Would I live longer than them? A popup appears. *Trees are eternal if they do not get killed.* No shit. Year 57, Month 11. I gain a level [Level 16]. But nobody died. Strange. Year 57, Month 12 Somebody visits. He does not respond to me but he seems to be trimming some of my branches. But since I do not feel any damage I let him be. He also then collects the trimmed branches, and leaves. Year 58, Month 1 I gain one level [Level 17]. And I acquire a skill called [self awareness]. Unlike what it says, for a tree, it means being able to look at myself. That is the first time I can see all my branches and my roots. I am actually pretty big, about the size of a small house. Being able to see myself, I also realise that guy trimming my branches are crushing them to make some kind of tea. Maybe that is why I am gaining levels? Year 58 Month 2 Another elf named Corna Corres and ask to be my familiar. Turns out elves have a thing for tree spirits (which is quite rare) and on discovery of a tree spirit in the town of Moton, quite a few migrate to live near me. Anyway, I agree to let Corna Corr have a familiar, so I give her the usual terms, but I also made a special request, which is I want her toe back every 6 months and tell me what happens. Year 58 month 6 I gained another level. Nothing in particr happened. [Level 18] Year 58 Month 7 A human kneels. He asks for blessing to heal his child of his disease. ¡°I am not sure whether I can, but I can try. Bring him to me.¡± A small baby, probably 8 months. He looks really sick. I create a magical healing fruit with all the nutrients I can gather. The man feeds it to his child. The child still is sick, and the man leaves with the child. Three dayster hees back with the child. The child¡¯s spirit looks better. Turns out due to the war against the demons, there are no more healers in this small town. Most of them died some time ago, and those that survive now serve in the royal army, on the King¡¯s army. Child is actually just having a very bad fever. I gain a level. [Level 19] The man returns a few dayster again with poop. Cow poop, and he mixes it into the dirt. Fertiliser? I feel nothing, and I thank my lucky stars I cannot smell cow poop. Year 58 Month 12 Winter. During this time I cannot create fruits. A man kneels and begs for help for his wife, but I cannot do it no matter how much I want to. I tell him to hang in there and return when springes around. Year 59 Month 1 The man returns and curses me. I guess she did not make it, so I do not respond. And after the exchange, I gain a level and a skill. [Level 20] [Minor winter-resistance] Yeah, that man is going to hate me. Year 59 Month 2 A youngdy drops by, and begs me to protect her husband. Her husband will be going to war soon, to defend the country from a demonic rift that appeared somewhere. Her voice sounds like she wants to cry, but I am a tree, so in my mind I can only empathise, and exin that I am not a god, I do not have the power to provide blessings. I am just a tree living here. ¡°Is there really nothing you can do?¡± ¡°Does he want a familiar?¡± ¡°Oh. I¡¯ll ask him.¡± The next day a young manes, along with the youngdy. ¡°Is this the tree you¡¯ve been visiting?¡± He nces up, and shrugs. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look very impressive.¡± ¡°Please Andy, a familiar might protect you.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Do you have no confidence in me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that, but if something can give you a bit more protection, will you not take it?¡± Andy sighs, and walks really near to me. ¡°This is so weird, talking to a tree, but hey, if you hear me, can I get a familiar? Just so that my wife feels safer?¡± I wonder whether having a familiar would offer any protection, as they might overestimate their own abilities and end up taking more risk, but I offer a familiar contract anyway. Andy seems a bit surprised, ¡°Oh wow. There really is a spirit here.¡± The wife smiles, ¡°Pleasee back to me, Andy.¡± ¡°Yes yes.¡± He epts, and the couple leaves. Year 59 Month 3 The man with the sick wife returns. With something in his hand. He scolds and shouts for a while, and starts hacking at me. I don¡¯t feel any pain however, and it is then I realise that my trunk is really really hard. After some time, he gives up and leaves. It is about that time I wonder how did that other guy manage to trim my branches. Year 59 Month 4 Corna Coro returns, and when she touches me I actually get the experience umted so far on the familiar. [I gain 3 levels. I am now level 23.] She tells me that there is some heavy fighting going on at the moment, and that the town of Moton may notst for very long, as the town is located near the border with the wastnds. Year 59 Month 9 A bad month, really. The month started with 3 deaths, the 3 elves all died within days of each other. [Corna Coro has died] [Sda Stoppu has died] [Croissonta Fillings has died] I gained 12 levels. I am now level 35, and my species transform from normal tree to spiritual tree. At this point my skills are still mostly things like healing, and defense, but I also gained a skill that is a sort of ¡°insurance¡±, called, [tree-rebirth]. Year 59 Month 10. Deathes to the town of Moton. I see monsters attacking the town every day, and as much as I want to help, nobody got near enough for me to grant a familiar contract. I see some fighting in the distance, but it looks like the defenders are losing. On thest day of the month, it seems the war is getting really bad. [Arsene Emir has died. You gain a fragment.] Oh. One of the reincarnators has fallen. Year 59 Month 11. [Demon King Baal has entered the world!] 9 years after the fall of Demon King Dantalion, another Demon King enters the battlefield. Is it me, or it seems to be getting more frequent? Moton at this point is deserted. There¡¯s absolutely not a single soul that I can see from my [spirit vision]. I hope it¡¯s more of a case of people fleeing, rather than killed, but the past month¡¯s battle makes that seem rather unlikely. Year 60 Month 2. My surrounding is absolutely barren. Monsters now wander everywhere, and a few tried to cut me down, but thankfully my bark is really strong, and these monsters give up once they realise it¡¯s pointless. Year 60 Month 9. The town of Moton is no more. The destruction of the past few days has been massive. And I think I see the Demon King. Oh shit. He¡¯s huge. A massive, massive presence, he looks like he is the height of a 3 story building. Even at a distance I could see his burning presence, and I could see a soul, but unlike human souls which normally appear faint white in color, the demon king¡¯s presence is a bright red one, and is surrounded by a reddish fire. [The Demon King Baal] A red name hovers right above his soul. Oh damn it really is him. He turns, notices me, and he walks towards me. ¡°Tree?!¡± He roars, and the earth shakes. Oh shit. I felt myself shiver and tingle, and I do not even know how I can feel the tingle when I got no sense other than vision! He raises his arm, and shes. ¡°Ughhhhhhh!¡± I yelp in pain. For someone who is a tree, I am amazed and frightened that I can feel pain. It felt like I got hit by a car, or a truck. The top has been chopped off. For a brief moment, I thought I see his burning soul smile, and then he walks off. I am in immense pain, feeling like I a. being pulled in multiple directions, but a short whileter, I am just thankful that I live. I live! I am just a tree stump now, but trees do not die so easily! He disappears into the distance, and once he is out of sight, I fall into some kind of sleep. Year 65 Month 2 Oh shit I¡¯ve been sleeping for the past 4 years?! I am still mostly a stump, but now a few small shoots emerge from the sides. There¡¯s a notification menu that thankfully records all the string of messages I missed. The four remaining reincarnators has been killed, but amazingly, they manage to y the Demon King Baal as well. Also, I gain a level [Level 36]. And an achievement. [Demon King Survivor] 2. Moving house 2. Moving house Year 65 Month 8 The shoots are not growing very well. In fact, they survive for no longer than a week, and then die off. And because the shoots as a result of ack of nutrients or sunlight (frankly I''m not sure what my body needs) my ability to stay conscious is really poor. Still, a randomelven druid visits. ¡°Oh tree, are you still there?¡± He touches the stump, carefully inspecting the damage from the demon king¡¯s ws. ¡°Yes I am.¡± I reply, but he doesn¡¯t seem to understand me. ¡°Ah¡­ the damage must have really weakened you.¡± He touches the stump, and seems to be using some kind of druid magic. I feel invigorated, but only temporarily. It seems that energy is quickly drained away. ¡°The demon king¡¯s presence has tainted these grounds, that is why you are unable to recover. To survive when the fire still burns and the grounds corrupted shows you must be a strong tree!¡± I do not sense the demon king¡¯s presence, but maybe my ability to see is impaired as well. As I still could not really keep myself awake for very long, I didn''t dwell on it. ¡°I will help you, and that will include moving you out of these taintednds.¡± He says, and leaves. I wonder how he ns to move me. Year 65 Month 9 A few men arrive, all of them appear quite old. Oh, and that druid fromst month. ¡°This is the tree I mentioned. It is amazing that is survives an attack by a demon king.¡± ¡°Indeed. I believe the druid council would like to examine it further.¡± Another man speaks, he seems to be holding some kind of wooden staff, and he kneels over me. "These fires are interesting." ¡°Should we move it back to the druid council garden?¡± ¡°Hmm, I rather not. I rather not have the others discover this. Druidhome already has another tree spirit. I would rather we keep this for ourselves.¡± ¡°True. Would be troublesome if the other group finds it. Where do you propose?¡± ¡°Am thinking either Sza¡¯s mansion or the Adventurer Guild¡¯s garden, or Temple of Gaya¡¯s garden.¡± ¡°The adventurer¡¯s guild. I think that won¡¯t be a ce they will expect.¡± ¡°I prefer the Temple of Gaya. Easier to exin why we are moving trees, especially with the reconstruction happening there. The Caretaker would want to have a look at this as well.¡±They vote, and eventually decide on the Temple of Gaya. I feel a little headache from following their conversation. The five of them spread out in a circle, surrounding me. And they start mumbling something, and then I feel the entire ground shake, and crack. Then, the entirety of the earth around e floats and one of the guys take out some kind of sack. And then it is just all ck for me. Maybe they somehow suck me into the sack or some kind of druid-tree moving magic, I''m not sure. Turns out once my roots no longer touch anynd, I just lose consciousness. Year 65 Month 10 ¡°How is it reacting to the transnting?¡± ¡°Better than expected. Color seems to be returning somewhat and the taint of the Demon King is fading. But the fires remain.¡± ¡°Did I say I am amazed it can resist the demon king¡¯s fire and attack and also its corruption?¡± "Yes you did. But I think most druids would be." ¡°That''s what makes it worth studying.¡± The guys are talking, and I could still hear them faintly. But I find my consciousness fade every now and then, so I could not catch everything.Theye over every other day to check on me, but some days I just cannot keep myself awake, though I do seem to be gradually recovering. Year 66 Month 2 I feel much better now and I can actually keep myself awake. Those guys stille over regrly and now I notice they have been casting some kind of spell on me.I think it sounds like some kind of [appraisal]. On top of that, they seem to be poking me with weird contraptions, and they seem very interested on my stump, mumbling about fires of hell and stuff like that. Still, I''m too sleepy to think too much, and everytime I do I get a headache. Year 66 Month 3 ¡°Is this the tree?¡± An old manes to visit. Seriously, I''m really popr with old men. Is it a thing in fantasy worlds for old men to constantly poke at interesting things? ¡°Yes.¡± He touches the stump, and seems to be rather deep in thought. ¡°From Moton, you say?¡± ¡°Yes. It survived a demon king¡¯s ws, the scars on the stump still char a little with the demon¡¯s fires.¡± ¡°A fascinating sight. To see the demon king''s fires still burn on the stump¡± Wait, the demon king¡¯s fire is still burning my stump? I took a good hard look at myself, and that''s when suddenly I feel a surge of pain. It seems [autopilot] cut off a portion of my senses, so I did not notice that I am still being burned. [Status : The Fire of Baal] Whoah. And oww. Oww oww oww. It feels like touching a hot kettle, for a long time. Pain. PAIN. [Autopilot]. [Autopilot] is suppressing the sensations from the burning surface. ¡°These fires¡­ we should learn more about them.¡± The old man says, seemingly touching the fire with a small stick. The younger man scratches his chin. ¡°The demon king will return someday. We can better defeat them if we know what we face.¡± ¡°What do you have in mind, Caretaker?¡± ¡°Can we defeat demons with their own power?¡± The Caretaker muses, twirling the stick in the fire. The question stuns the younger man. ¡°It must be possible, for demon kings must demand the obedience of their minions, so they must have a power to control or punish their minions. So the fires of a demon must be able to damage any other demon, or else they would have no way to keep order.¡± ¡°Caretaker, to channel the demon¡¯s powers, that¡­ that may be seen as witchcraft and perhaps sphemy. Best not to repeat it.¡± The younger man shakes his head. ¡°Perhaps you are right.¡± The Caretaker sighs. "Good reminder, Acolyte." "To stay the path of Gaya, is my duty, Caretaker." Year 66 Month 9 The past months is filled with people all investigating the endlessly burning fire on my stump. Usually it''s the same few old men with different contraptions or spells. The investigators and researchers would try things like dousing me on holy water, or trying to extract my stump surface. Still, the conclusion they seem to draw is that I am strong enough not to die from it, and not let it burn the rest of me, but not strong enough to extinguish the fire. The Fire of Baal also interfere with all my attempts to telepathicallymunicate. I suspect they seem to hear something, but they could not make out any details. The stump is actually constantly regenerating a sheet of fire-resistantyer, and thatyer gets reced by anotheryer once the firespletely consume the upperyer.¡± Ah, so it''s kind of like a zerg rush and a wall of turrets. Maybe that analogy doesn''t quite work. Year 67 Month 1 It happened in the middle of the night. A group of masked men sneaks into the temple grounds, they dress like typical cults, in dark hoodies and masks, and carry weird religious-like items. ¡°This is it. The tree that carries the Fires of Baal.¡± One points. ¡°So the rumours are true. The Temple of Gaya is really experimenting with demonfire.¡± "To find demonfire, the master will be pleased.¡± He takes out a kind of vase. I think it is a vase, because it looks like a vase from the outline. The cultists seem to mumble some kind of weird chant, as the one holding the vase leans close to me. Heopens the cork on top of the vase, and it seems to suck up all the fires into it. It has a cork, does it make it a whiskey bottle instead? I wish I could see properly. ¡°Harvest the fires and lets go.¡± ¡°Yes yes.¡± About ten minutester he is done, and strangely, at that point someone shouts. ¡°Stop! What are you doing!¡± Ohe on, why do guards always spot them only when they are done. ¡°Let''s split!¡± The cultists shout. And they all flee in different directions, and then into the distance. [The Fire of Baal removed. Negative effects on some of your passive recovery, skills, spells and abilities removed] Oh thank you cultists, andI hope I do not meet a demon king again. The next day. ¡°Who is behind this?¡± ¡°The fires are gone!¡± ¡°Did you hear me? Who is behind this!¡± ¡°Anyone able to collect the fires of Baal must be affiliated to the demons. Perhaps the demon cults.¡± No shit, genius, ¡°Ugh. No one spotted them?¡± ¡°The guards did. They are dead now. We found a few of them killed in the alleys.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± With the fires gone, I am not very interesting anymore. Nobody evenes over to visit, and quiet returns. I''m nothotanymore. Year 67 Month 3 A small boy sits on me. I offer a familiar contract, and he rejects. Damn. Year 67 Month 5 Without the Fires of baal, I am able to now regrow a proper trunk in the past 5 months, right next to my stump. With this, I feel a bit more energetic than before. Year 67 Month 8 ¡°This is the tree that has a seat!¡± With a the trunk growing rapidly, I am now like a small tree, with a stump stuck at the side. In a way I look like a chair. Or maybe a stump + stickbo. It seems quite a few people doe over and sit on me, but most seems to ignore all my familiar contracts. I wonder why, and then a popup exins ''Believers of Gaya cannot ept familiars of nature, and are naturally resistant to telepathy.''Ah that exins why everyone rejects me. An old man approaches me one day, on thest few days of the month. ¡°Hi tree.¡± He looks a little crazy. His soul looks really messed up. ¡°I am dying. And I am looking for a ce to be buried. Can I bury myself here?¡± I have no idea how to respond to such a question. Seriously. Should I say, yes, please bury yourself here, or should I say, no, don''t bury yourself here? He touches my growing trunk. ¡°Yes. I will bury myself here.¡± Uh. Okay. You made the decision, so I''m not saying a thing. Hey, maybe you''ll end up a spirit next to me like Semara. Year 67 Month 9 That same death-wish old man sits on me, and then falls asleep. He did not wake up, and I could see his soul fading. He is discoveredter in the evening by the temple guys. ¡°Oh dear. This crazy old man really died here.¡± A young temple initiateins. ¡°He been telling the Caretaker he wants to be buried here.¡± ¡°Call the Caretaker." I am guessing the Caretaker is some kind of position in the Temple of Gaya, but no one answers me. The Caretaker from before returns and kneels over the old man¡¯s corpse. ¡°Old friend, I will bury you here as you asked.¡± The two initiatesin. ¡°But Caretaker, he is not a believer. What gives him the right to be buried in the temple grounds?¡± ¡°Hewasa believer. His three sons fought valiantly against the Demons, a part of the warriors of Gaya. But their death made him curse us, curse the temple, for bringing doom to his family, so he stopped believing. In his dying days I believe he hase around.¡± ¡°Ah.. if you say so, Caretaker.¡± They dig a hole next to my roots a dayter, and buried him next to me. Strangely enough, it is not in a coffin. Perhaps they do not have such culture here. Come to think of it, I do not recall ever seeing coffins. I feel relieved that I won''t get chopped up to be made into coffins. I wonder whether he will end up being a spirit. Year 67 Month 10 ¡°Hello tree spirit.¡± ¡°Oh. Hello old man.¡± The old man really did be a spirit, even though it did take him a few weeks. I wonder why it takes him so long to transform from dead man to spirit. Is there like some kind of incubation period? ¡°Have you been here for long?¡± ¡°No. I just appeared today. I think your roots are in my body now, so now you can see me." Hmm, my roots? ¡°Oh. Did you know I am here?¡± ¡°No. I just liked the look of the tree and the location. It seems like a nice ce to be buried.¡± ¡°Uhuh. What a thing to think about. That sort of thought never crossed my mind.¡± ¡°You are a tree. Death must be a strange thing for you.¡± ¡°Hmm. Never mind. Why are you here and why are you not moving on?¡± ¡°I want to. But I have a lot of regrets. So much.. anger and hatred. Frustration for the temple of gaya. Anger at the gods and demons. Anger at how weak I was to let my children die.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± ¡°Must be a foreign concept for trees with no family.¡± I understand it quite well, but I choose not to interject. ¡°Life and death. To lose your children to monsters, to flee when your children are fighting. Do you know how much I regret it?¡± ¡°No. Why did you flee?¡± He wants to vent, so I let him. ¡°To protect my younger children. I ran with them. I ran with their wives, their kids, my grandchildren.¡± ¡°Then you did your part, no?¡± ¡°No. I felt I should have been the one fighting, while they fled. An old man like me, choosing to run instead of fighting. That torment, it burns me.¡± ¡°Is that called running? Sounds pretty honorable to me, and if you did stay and fight, would it have made a difference?¡± ¡°Maybe. I am much older, but when the demons attacked many years ago I still could hold a sword very well. I could have. I am much higher level and I have better skills. It is wrong for them to entrust the protection of their wives to me. I, the dying old man should have been the one fighting and holding off the demons while they make their way out.¡± ¡°They must have believed you can protect their wives and kids better than them. They wanted to stay back?¡± Hey I didn''t sign up for spirit-counselling. Is this guy going to vent at me for the next few months, because if he is, I am going to [hibernate] ¡°So what. I should have knocked some sense into them.¡± Ugh. I have to cut this guy off. ¡°You are dead. Let it go and move on.¡± ¡°No! I cannot. I must not. I spent thest fewyears thinking back to that day when we parted in Olbast. I should have stayed and they should have left. Thirteen years, every night I think about it. If I made a different choice. If.¡± ¡°You are dead.¡± ¡°I am a spirit. There must be something I can still do. Something I can still change. That is why I am still here and not in the underworld.¡± ¡°What would that be?¡± ¡°I don''t know!¡± ¡°Uh.¡± The old man, his name is Gewa, and he spends a lot of time being upset over the death of his three sons. I asionally humor him, but I mostly ignore him and go into hibernation. Year 67 Month 11 [Andy Schulon has died. You gained 9 levels.] [You are now level 45] Oh. I totally forgot about that guy. The guy who¡¯s wife came and beg for protection. He lived really long! ¡°Have you heard? Lieutenant Commander Schulon of the South Army died in battle against the demons.¡± Some initiates chatter in the garden, and with the levels my vision and range of hearing improves. Ah, wow that boy became quite high ranking. ¡°The demon must be really strong.¡± ¡°Indeed, and he is back at his peak with his power returning. This seems to suggest the demons gather strength out there, and they will only get more ferocious.¡± ¡°You seem to be interested in the conversation.¡± Gewa''s spirit sits next to me. ¡°Yeah I am. Have you heard of Andy Schulon?¡± ¡°Hmm.. Sounds familiar! Oh wait, I remember now. He got a bit famous a few years ago. He led the defense of Pars pass against arge demon attack.¡± ¡°What''s that?¡± ¡°A battle where the demons attacked one of the many passes that connects the humands to the rift, and are sessfully repelled, despite being outnumbered. It is human battle history, not surprised you never heard of it.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°He is known for his defensive skills, but his abilities somehow weakened a few years ago for some unknown reason, it returned recently, and he contributed quite significantly to a few battles with his healing and defensive skills. His front linebat support has saved many many lives and won many battles.¡± ¡°Don''t armies have mages and healers? What''s so special about him?¡± Seems strange that a familiar can make such a difference. ¡°Mainly because he is in the front line, providing active support and healing. Healers and mages can provide support but they do so from the back and there is always a dy. Mages and healers can be in front too of course, but theirck of closebat abilities make them really vulnerable. Schulon is like a fighter with some mage and healer''s abilities, so that makes him very versatile.¡± ¡°Oh. You seem to know how to fight.¡± I''m actually quite impressed by this Gewa''s analysis. ¡°Every generation has to fight multiple demon kings and lords throughout their lives. Combat ability is a necessity.¡± True, I seem to forget that multiple demon kings have appeared since I came into this world. What a cruel, harsh world. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°A mage can cast shield that provides a half reduction in damage as a passive enchantment, but someone like Schulon can create a wood barrier to counter specific attacks that reduces the damage by much higher amount.¡± ¡°Makes a lot of sense.¡± ¡°So¡­ why are you interested in Andy Schulon again?¡± ¡°Hmm. We used to have a familiar contract. I mean, I gave him a familiar a long time ago before he became famous.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Gewa¡¯s spirit paces around me, seems to be thinking. It seems that statement triggered some kind of eureka moment. ¡°So you and him have a familiar contract, are you the source of his defensive powers?¡± He looks at me with some hopeful, curious eyes. He never looked at me like that before, so it freaks me out a little. ¡°I¡­ am not sure. But if it is some wood based ability, I believe that is most likely from my familiar.¡± ¡°I see I see." Gewa walks in circles around my trunk, and it makes me a little dizzy. He stops. "Can you give your familiar contracts to more people?¡± That¡¯s a strange question. ¡°Where are you going with this?¡± Gewa gives me a kind of stare. Its weird for a spirit to stare. "What?" He stares somemore. "Seriously, what?" ¡°You. You have some power to reduce casualties in battle. Imagine if the world had hundreds of warriors with incredible defensive powers, we would see less death, and we would have higher leveled warriors all round because they all survive longer.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°What ¡®hmm?¡¯ Am I wrong?¡± No, Gewa does have a point, so I mentally wonder how many familiar contracts can I give. *You can presently grant 12 familiar contracts. There are no familiar contracts utilised at the moment.* ¡°What are your concerns, tree spirit? Or do you not care about human lives?¡± Gewa pushes. "Grant more familiar contracts, let those with your powers protect more people!" ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± Why should I? Okay, I guess giving familiar contracts make sense because I gain experience from it, but¡­ Frankly I do not know why I am hesitating, so I end up looking at Gewa. Feeling a little headache at having to make a decision, I decide to take a nap. Year 68 Month 1 ¡°Your naps are really long.¡± ¡°Time moves differently for trees like me.¡± I respond instinctively, but then I wonder why I did. Maybe reincarnation means an entirely new set of experiences in this world. ¡°So, familiars?¡± Gewa kept pushing and I ignore him. I still wanted to think, and he mumbles something about me and my absurd timeframes. A druid drops by. ¡°Ah, you are doing well.¡± The new part of my tree has reaches a reasonable size now, right next to the stump. The surface of the stump is still charred ck, but it is healing. ¡°Hi.¡± I reach out telepathically. The druid startles, and he looks around. ¡°Is.. is anybody there?¡± ¡°No one. Only me, the tree.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± He stares at me. ¡°You¡­ talk?¡± ¡°Yes. Do you want a familiar contract?¡± I am blunt like that. ¡°Uh¡­ no.¡± Okay I am a little too blunt. ¡°Are you a tree spirit?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The druid walks in circles. ¡°So, what kind of tree spirit are you?¡± What¡­ what kind of question is that? ¡°Uh...¡± The druid looks puzzled. ¡°Ah. I mean like are you looking for help with breeding or spreading your seeds, or the type that wants special nutrients or fertilizer, or like¡­ you want help with pests? Tree spirits are usually not chatty. And they only give familiars to those who has done a great deal of service for them, like after helping them through a difficult winter or battle a horrible disease.¡± Oh. ¡°So¡­ do you need help with something? That''s why you are offering familiars?¡± Hmm. The druid walks in circles a few more times. ¡°I heard you survived a demon king¡¯s attack, maybe you need help with your wound, is that it?¡± It seems he is caught in some kind of monologue with his own mind, and presuming that I need help.Why is this guy asking and presuming I need help? He kneels, hovering over the stump. ¡°Your wounds are fully healed though. Ah tree spirits, always being so vague and need us druids to guess what you need.¡± ¡°Wait.WAIT!" ¡°I know, I will give you some time and I wille back next month, okay? Trees need time to think, right?¡± The druid bows and walks off. ¡°WAIT!¡± Ohe on I am literally shouting and he just walks away. ¡°Are druids normally so dense?¡± I look at Gewa, a little frustrated. Gewa shrugs. ¡°Mages tend to be stuck in their own world. Magic is everything and it consumes them.¡± ¡°But for them to ignore me like that¡­¡± NOT A CHAPTER – NOTIFICATIONS COMPILATION – SKILLS AND LEVEL NOT A CHAPTER ¨C NOTIFICATIONS COMPILATION ¨C SKILLS AND LEVEL
Skill Category Skill Name and effects Dates skill learned or upgraded Notes
Alexis''s Hamadryad Body [Hamadryad Body - Developing]. The body is made from the nimble wood of a soul tree, and the soul that lives in this body derives energy and life support from the soul tree. So, the body will die when the soul tree does. Year 76 Month 7
ARTIFICIAL SOUL UPGRADES [Unlocked special tree type. Root-Brain Complex. Requires special minerals to grow. Special minerals required are 10 x Blood Crystals, and 50 x fresh animal heads] Year 75 Month 3
AURA - DEMONSUPPRESSION [Obtained skill : Lesser demon suppression aura] Year 72 Month 5
AURA - MAGIC SUPPRESSION [Skill obtained : Magic suppression : All hostile magic abilities below tier 3 are absorbed] Year 74 Month 8 Week 3
Autopilot Autopilot Year 1 Month 0
BIOLAB [Secret hideout - bib upgraded. Autopsy table and precision tools obtained. Pods increased to 10] Year 74 Month 2 Week 1
BIOLAB [Bib leveled up] [External Bib unlocked. Customisable Branches can now create bibs!] Year 75 Month 11 Week 2
BIOLAB [Bib upgraded. Additionalb tools obtained] Year 75 Month 3
BIOLAB [Bib upgraded three times! Bib resistance to attack increased. Bib modification options increased! Soul-forge-linked abilities increased!] Year 76 Month 4 Week 4
BIOLAB [Bib upgraded - post-mortem equipments, death sensors, death-dying equipment and body preservation added!] Year 77 Month 8
BIOLAB [Bib upgraded. Bib now has multiple extra rooms, functioning as a ''toilet'', ''bathroom'' and others for collection and harvesting of biological wastes] Year 80 Month 1
Bib / Secret Hideout [Secret hideout - Bib upgraded] Year 73 Month 1
Bib / Secret Hideout [Secret hideout - bib, upgraded. Additional pods now avable.] Year 73 Month 1 Week 3
Bib / Secret Hideout [Secret hideout - Bib upgraded] Year 73 Month 2 Week 4
Bib / Secret Hideout [Secret hideout : Bib upgraded. Pods increased to 5.] Year 73 Month 8 Week 3
Communication / Visual [Limited Telepathic Communication] Year 55 From Indra
Communication / Visual [spirit vision] Year 55 From Indra
Communication / Visual self awareness Year 58, Month 1
Communication / Visual [calming voice] and Year 70 Month 8
Communication / Visual [Local roo ess] Year 71 Month 5
Communication / Visual [Create Roo Node]]. Year 71 Month 6
Communication / Visual Local rootness ess upgraded Year 71 Month 8
Communication / Visual [Symbiotic extension unlocked] Year 72 Month 12 Week 4
Communication / Visual [Basic Tree-Eyes obtained. Limited to 10 ¡®selected¡¯ trees. ce on trees to obtain multidirectional vision. Can actively look through two sets of eyes at any one time, view limit can be increased with root-brainplexes.] Year 79 Month 5 RESEARCH SKILL
Communication / Visual [Skill upgraded : Symbiotic extension] Year 79 Month 5
CROPS & PRODUCE [Customisable branches : Harvestable Products obtained. Options are : Cotton, Maple Syrup, Oranges, Olives. Expanded options will be avable with higher levels, or when new types of fruits are studied in the bib] Year 73 Month 5 Week 2
CROPS & PRODUCE [Harvestable crops : Apples] Year 74 Month 12
CROPS & PRODUCE [Timber-farm] [Produce average quality timber, at a much faster speed] Year 74 Month 5 Week 3
CROPS & PRODUCE [Harvestable products upgraded. Papaya and grapes obtained]. Year 74 Month 6
CROPS & PRODUCE [winter resistant crops] Year 75 Month 11 Week 2
CROPS & PRODUCE [Warm Winter Fruit obtained. A fruit that helps to keep the body warm] Year 76 Month 1
CROPS & PRODUCE [New crop species unlocked - Wheat, Jackfruit, Light Corn, ckpotato, Rye, Red hops, Blueberry, Fireberry] Year 78 month 1
CROPS & PRODUCE [New Tree type unlocked : Common herbal bushes. Bushes containing a wide variety of herbs. Herb varieties appear at random] Year 78 month 1
CROPS & PRODUCE [Crop variety - Garlic] added. You can now produce essences of garlic and garlic vored woods, fruits and saps. Year 78 Month 12
CROPS & PRODUCE [Crop variety - Ginger] added. You can now produce essences of ginger and ginger vored woods, fruits and saps Year 78 Month 12
CROPS & PRODUCE [Milk coconut and brownwood gourds] Year 78 Month 5
CUSTOMISABLE BRANCH [Obtained skill : Customisable branches] Year 72 Month 10
CUSTOMISABLE BRANCH [Customisable branches options expanded] Year 73 Month 2 Week 4
CUSTOMISABLE BRANCH [Customisable branch option unlocked : Shield Generator] Year 73 Month 3 Week 2
CUSTOMISABLE BRANCH [New customisable branch option : Web-trap spider nests. Home to 3 web-building spiders.] Year 75 Month 10
DEFENSIVE [Ironbark], Year 55 (estimate) not specifically mentioned, but familiars have simr skills
DEFENSIVE [Defense], Year 55 (estimate) not specifically mentioned, but familiars have simr skills
DEFENSIVE [Wood shield] Year 55 (estimate) not specifically mentioned, but familiars have simr skills
DEFENSIVE [Wood shield upgraded. Year 73 Month 2 Week 4
DEFENSIVE Steelwood barrier obtained] Year 73 Month 2 Week 4
DEFENSIVE [Skill : Defensive dome obtained] Year 73 Month 3 Week 2
DEFENSIVE [Skill : Reinforce defensive structures obtained] Year 75 Month 5
DEFENSIVE [Shield generators upgraded] Year 77 Month 8
DEFENSIVE [Cactus defense system] Year 78 Month 5
ENCHANTMENT - HOLY [Obtained skill : Lesser Holy Enchantment] Year 73 Month 2 Week 1 From RAJJIV NUNG
ENERGY STORAGE [Tree ability : create tuberous storage] One tuber for every [customisable branch]. So for a total of 40 potatoes, given that my main body grown and has 10 customisable branches now, and 30 for each of the subsidiary trees. These standard sized potatoes is also now my standard unit for energy. Year 73 Month 4 Week 2
ENERGY STORAGE [High density tubers unlocked. Tubers will be naturally upgraded] Year 77 Month 1
ENERGY STORAGE [Tuberous storage upgraded.] Year 77 Month 1
ESSENCE [Essence harvesting obtained] Year 70 Month 11
ESSENCE [Essence collection upgraded. Essence mastery and generation obtained. Customisable branch options now include "Essence generator"] Year 72 Month 12 Week 4
ESSENCE [Essence collection upgraded] Year 73 Month 12 Week 1
ESSENCE [Essence infusion unlocked. Essence-infused fruits, leaves and barks now avable. Essence-infused subsidiary trees now avable] Year 73 Month 12 Week 1
ESSENCE [Essence collection upgraded. Extraction rate and speed improved.] Year 73 Month 8 Week 3
ESSENCE [Memory collection] [from Soul Forge - ck] [Using the dark arts, a small % of memories of the dead will be converted into skill essences] Year 75 Month 8
FAMILIAR [Familiar Contract]. Year 52
FAMILIAR [Tree Familiar abilities upgraded] Year 73 Month 3 Week 2
FAMILIAR [Familiar contracts upgraded - skill salvaging chance increase!] [You¡¯ve witnessed death as it happens in the inner realm] Year 77 Month 8
FAMILIAR [Special skill obtained - Possession of the devoted] [A special familiar contract with a chosen devoted believer. Limited to 5 at any time] [Lausanne has epted the special familiar contract. 50 star mana consumed. 1 star mana will be consumed per month]. Year 78 MOnth 4
FAMILIAR [Skill learned : Minder-Familiars. Maximum Minders, 20] Year 79 Month 5
FAMILIAR [Aspect contracts are limited to Level divided by 10. You are allowed up to 13 Aspects] Year 80 Month 4
FAMILIAR [Druidic Aspects can be awarded to druids, herbalists, farmers and gardeners (and variants). Can also be awarded to Treefolks, with no job ss requirements.] Year 80 Month 4
FAMILIAR [Four druids have each entered into a non-canceble Druidic Aspect contract with you] Year 80 Month 4
FAMILIAR [New familiar contract type obtained : Druidic Aspect Contract. Year 80 Month 4
Germinate Germinate Year 1 Month 0
Haunted Tree [haunted tree]] Year 70 Month 8
Haunted Tree [Skill : Haunted tree upgraded to haunted forests.] Year 74 Month 7 Week 4
Healing [Healing fruit] Year 56
Healing [Nourish] Year 69 Month 10
Healing [Healing powers upgraded] Year 72 Month 12 Week 4
Healing [Healing fruit upgraded] Year 72 Month 3
Healing [Healing vines upgraded] Year 72 Month 3
Healing [Sr-healing] Year 72 Month 3
Healing [Nourish upgraded. Year 72 Month 9
Healing Life support unlocked. Year 72 Month 9
Healing Suspended animation unlocked] Year 72 Month 9
Hibernate Hibernate Year 1 Month 0
Illusion [Camouge & illusions upgraded] Year 70 Month 11
Illusion / Defensive [Mist] Year 76 Month 9
Inspection [inspect] Year 56
LEVELS Level 14 (+13 level) (From Indra''s death) Year 55
LEVELS Level 15 (+1 level) Year 56
LEVELS Level 16 (+1 level) Year 57 Month 11
LEVELS Level 17 (+1 levels) Year 58 Month 1
LEVELS Level 18 (+1 level) Year 58 Month 6
LEVELS Level 19 (+1 level) Year 58 Month 7
LEVELS Level 20 (+1 levels) Year 59 Month 1
LEVELS Level 23 (+3 levels) Year 59 Month 4
LEVELS Level 35 (+12 levels) (from death of 3 familiar-contractees) Year 59 Month 9
LEVELS Level 36 (+1 level) Year 65 Month 2
LEVELS Level 45 (+9 levels) (from death of Andy Schulon) Year 67 Month 11
LEVELS Level 47 (+2 levels) Year 69 Month 10
LEVELS Level 48 (+1 level) Year 70 Month 1
LEVELS Level 63 (+13 levels) - Destruction of Freeka Vige Year 70 Month 11
LEVELS Level 64 (+1 level) Year 70 Month 11 (next few days)
LEVELS Level 50 (+2 level) Year 70 Month 8
LEVELS Level 65 (+1 level) Year 71 Month 3
LEVELS Level 66 (+1 level) Year 71 Month 4
LEVELS Level 71 (+5 level) Year 71 Month 5
LEVELS Level 86 (+15 levels) - Defeat of Demon Champion (assisted) Year 71 Month 8
LEVELS Level 92 (+3 level) Year 72 Month 10
LEVELS Level 100 (+8 levels) - defeating the demon giant centipede Year 72 Month 12 Week 4
LEVELS Level 87 (+1 level) Year 72 Month 3
LEVELS Level 89 (+2 level) Year 72 Month 9
LEVELS Level 101 (+1 level) Year 73 Month 1 Week 3
LEVELS Level 116 (+1 level) Year 73 Month 12 Week 1
LEVELS Level 104 (+3 level) Rajjiv Nung''s death Year 73 Month 2 Week 1
LEVELS Level 110 (+6 levels) vs 3 Demon Champion Year 73 Month 2 Week 4
LEVELS Level 114 (+4 levels) Death of Demon King Andraas + Familiar EXP of heroes Year 73 Month 3 Week 2
LEVELS Level 115 (+1 level) Year 73 Month 7 Week 1
LEVELS Level 117 Year 74 Month 5 Week 3
LEVELS Level 121 (+4 levels) (soul forge unlock) Year 74 Month 8 Week 3
LEVELS Level 122 (+1 level) Year 74 Month 9 Week 3
LEVELS Level 124 (+1 level) Year 75 Month 11 Week 2
LEVELS Level 123 (+1 level) Year 75 Month 5
LEVELS Level 129 (+1 level) Year 76 Month 12
LEVELS Level 128 (+4 level) (ying Alexis''s demon form) Year 76 Month 4 Week 4
LEVELS Level 130 (+1 level) Year 77 Month 4
LEVELS Level 132 (+2 level) Year 77 Month 8
MAGIC - WOOD [Bind] Year 71 Month 10
MAGIC - WOOD [Bloom] Year 71 Month 10
MAGIC - WOOD Wood magic & creation - A wheel pops up in my mind, at the center of it a leaf shape. There is a lot of greyed out skills and menus that grow out of that wheel. Year 71 Month 8
Materials Roots - Volcanic mineral harvesting - stage 2 - Year 79 Month 5 RESEARCH SKILL
Materials Roots - Volcanic mineral processing - stage 1 - Year 79 Month 5 RESEARCH SKILL
Materials Materials testing - stage 1 Year 79 Month 5 RESEARCH SKILL
MINERAL EXTRACTION [Mineral extraction upgraded.] Year 73 Month 8 Week 3
Offensive [Root strike]. Year 70 Month 1
Offensive [constrict] Year 71 Month 2
Offensive [Root strike range extended] Year 71 Month 4
Offensive [Poison field] Year 71 Month 5
Offensive [Rooting field] Year 71 Month 5
Offensive Root strike range and quantity upgraded Year 71 Month 8
Offensive [Obtained skill : Super anti-demon root-strike] Year 72 Month 10
Offensive [Fruit-attack] Year 72 Month 4
Offensive [Root Surge] Year 72 Month 5
Offensive [Constrict significantly upgraded] Year 73 Month 2 Week 4
Offensive [Absorption significantly upgraded] - via vines/bibs etc Year 73 Month 2 Week 4
Offensive Corrosive Fruits Year 73 Month 3 Week 3
Offensive [Skill upgraded : Root surge. Covers a wider area and use limit increased] Year 74 Month 8 Week 3
Offensive [Poison field upgraded] Year 74 Month 9 Week 3
Offensive [Constrict upgraded! Vines now are able to drain mana and lifeforce! Vines now able to ensnare magical creatures] Year 76 Month 4 Week 4
OFFENSIVE Fruit bombs - increased range and power -pleted Year 77 Month 12 RESEARCH SKILL
Offensive [Poison field and rooting field upgraded] Year 77 Month 8
Offensive [You gained a new skill : Serpentine Rootstrike] Year 77 Month 8
Passive [Mineral augmentation obtained. You may use the metals obtained to strengthen your [subsidiary trees], and [insect warriors]] Year 73 Month 8 Week 3
Passive - Environment Tree - volcanic adaptation stage 3 - Year 79 Month 5 RESEARCH SKILL
Passive - Tree [Minor winter-resistance] Year 59 Month 1
Passive - Tree Rhizofiltration - This is a passive skill. Will extract minerals and other items via roots, and automatically filter out negative effects in the ground. Year 71 Month 8
Passive - Tree [Winter resistance upgraded] Year 74 Month 12
Passive - Tree [Winter resistance upgraded] Year 75 Month 11 Week 2
Passive - Tree [Winter resistance upgraded] Year 76 Month 1
Passive - Tree [Winter-resistance aura obtained. All trees connected via roo are more resistant to the effects of cold and ice. Beetles and webspiders also gain some winter resistance] Year 76 Month 1
Passive - Tree / CONNECTION BASED [Gained a passive buff. Connected to an enchanted forest. Herb effectiveness increased by 50%.] Year 80 Connected to enchanted forest in Ransh
ROOTS [Achieved long distance connected roots. Unlocked new skill : Far-reaching roots] Year 75 Month 2
ROOTS [New ability obtained : Heat transmission root systems] Year 76 Month 4 Week 4
ROOTS [Skill upgraded : Local roo ess upgraded. Longer distance between subsidiary trees unlocked] Year 79 Month 7
ROOTS / SPECIAL TREE - ROOT RELAY [Special trees type obtained : Root Ry Trees] [Max Quantity of Ry is Level x 5] [Root Ry are special trees with the dedicated purpose of expanding your rootwork. A single root Ry can create a simple rootwork that extends 10 x the diameter of a regr subsidiary tree. Does not have other functions. Looks like any other tree. Appearance is customisable] Year 79 Month 7
Secret Hideout [Secret hideout] Year 69 Month 10
Secret Hideout [Secret hideout upgraded] Year 70 Month 11
Secret Hideout Secret hideout upgraded Year 71 Month 8
Secret Hideout [Skills upgraded : Secret hideout - healing chamber adaptation] Year 72 Month 10
Secret Hideout [Secret hideout upgraded. Extra rooms, special purpose rooms and hideouts unlocked. Customisable branches option now has "External room"] Year 72 Month 12 Week 4
Secret Hideout [Your following skills have been upgraded : Life support chamber] Year 72 Month 12 Week 4
Secret Hideout [Secret hideout upgraded : Childcare corner obtained] [Childcare corner produces a special infant friendly syrup, simr to baby and milk form. Infant-syrup can be further upgraded with various kinds of materials and minerals, if avable] Year 73 Month 11 Week 1
Secret Hideout [Skill upgraded - secret hideout has unlocked - Tree-asury] Year 73 Month 7 Week 1
Secret Hideout [Secret hideout upgraded! Hot water now avable] Year 76 Month 9
Soul & Spirit Collection [Spirit Collection upgraded] Year 70 Month 11
Soul & Spirit Collection [Soul absorption upgraded. Soul realm unlocked] Year 72 Month 12 Week 4
Soul & Spirit Collection [Obtained passive skill : soul grading] Year 73 Month 2
Soul & Spirit Collection [Soul Tree range greatly expanded] Year 73 Month 3 Week 2
Soul & Spirit Collection [Soul forge : Blue] is active. [The power to repair, mend souls. To strip souls apart, and put them back together. The ability to add souls to your abilities, familiars, items, trees. The ability to push souls to their limits, and beyond. The ability to rank up a soul. The ability to fuse soul fragments whole, and create artificial sub-souls from ordinary soul fragments] Year 74 Month 8 Week 3
Soul & Spirit Collection [Soul forge : ForgeTree. The physical realm¡¯s link to the soul forge] Year 74 Month 8 Week 3
Soul & Spirit Collection [Soul forge annex added : Mana soaking facility, andpatibility tester.] Year 75 Month 3
Soul & Spirit Collection [Additional repairs of damaged souls now possible] Year 75 Month 8
Soul & Spirit Collection [Creation of Soul Harvesters now possible] Year 75 Month 8
Soul & Spirit Collection [Nightmare collectors] [A special ghost type that steals nightmares] Due to the presence of two colors, the following fused abilities are now avable. Year 75 Month 8
Soul & Spirit Collection [Soul Forge - ck allows for the conversion of undead spirits back into regr soul, reversing the effects of necromancy, and the removal of the dark energies of a soul] Year 75 Month 8
Soul & Spirit Collection [Soul Harvesters] [Some call them the grim reaper, some refer to them as valkyries, these are travelling collectors of souls. They extend your soul harvesting reach, and can be directed to specific ces, such as battlefields, graveyards to collect souls. Souls collected are of a higher chance to contain ¡°transferable experience¡±] Year 75 Month 8
SOUL CONTRACTS [Spiritual Contract - Judgement]. It¡¯s essentially a soul contract, but in the form of a judgement. Demons, devils and the dark gods get a lopsided version known as [Unfair Contracts], which is¡­ unfair, but, less robust as a result. It has also sneaky abilities like concealing terms and conditions, but all of these result a reduction of the ability grade to a lower-tier (rtive, of course). Comes with Soul Forge
SPECIAL - MANA [Natural Mana Overwhelming] Year 73 Month 2 Week 2 used to capture woodhound
SPECIAL - MANA [Natural Mana Overwhelming upgraded!] Year 76 Month 4 Week 4
SPECIAL BUILDINGS - ROOT DUNGEON [New structure obtained : Root Dungeon] Year 75 Month 8
SPECIAL BUILDINGS - ROOT DUNGEON [Root dungeon, leftovers of a dungeon that happens to be stabilised by the roots of a tree spirit. Does not spawn monsters or loot.] Year 75 Month 8
SPECIAL PROJECTS - OUTSTANDING [The Grand Mind Tree - significantly boosts tree-rted research output, and grants wider understanding of soul magics. Gains additional psychic-type magical abilities] [Requires 10 x root brainplexes, and 1 ton of gold and 1 ton of quartz crystals. Once all prerequisites areplete, construction will take 1.5 years] Year 76 Month 11 OUTSTANDING
SPECIAL TREE - CLIFF BONSAI [Special Tree-type obtained : Cliff Bonsai] Year 79 Month 6
SPECIAL TREE - DREAMER''S TREEHOUSE [Special tree type obtained : Dreamer¡¯s Treehouses] Year 79 Month 5
SPECIAL TREE - GINSENG PLANT [Cultivating ginseng will slightly increase monster spawn rate] Year 73 Month 12 Week 1
SPECIAL TREE - GINSENG PLANT [Ginseng does not work on Trees] Year 73 Month 12 Week 1
SPECIAL TREE - GINSENG PLANT [Ginseng nt does not share any defensive or support buffs of the main tree.] Year 73 Month 12 Week 1
SPECIAL TREE - GINSENG PLANT [Magical ginseng nt] [Ginseng nt is limited to 3 growing nts at any one time (can be increased with level). The qualities of the ginseng depends on the age of the root, overall health throughout it¡¯s life, essences infused, mana infused, materials infused, the environment, astronomical conditions etc. Ginseng roots, when consumed, give permanent boosts to various stats, resistances, skills, mana or abilities. Permanent Effect diminishes with subsequent use.] Year 73 Month 12 Week 1
SPECIAL TREE - GINSENG PLANT [Specimen is Low-grade ginseng root, 2 years of age. No special enhancements. Provides small permanent boost to disease-resistance and stats] Year 73 Month 12 Week 1
SPECIAL TREE - TREE OF PRAYER [Special tree unlocked : Tree of Prayers] [Tree of Prayers has a calming, rxing effect on its surroundings. Has the ability to passively soothe andfort. Comes with a naturally calming background music of rustling leaves and wind] Year 75 Month 4
SPECIAL TREE - VOLCANIC BATH [Hot volcanic bath obtained!] Year 76 Month 9
SPECIAL TREES - THREETREE OF MANA [ThreeTrees of Mana] [Created when one subsidiary tree couldn¡¯t handle to energy of a leyline, so three of them merged. An artifact of the leyline, this structure serves as the ¡°conduit¡± of the leyline, so protect it, as it is your connection to the leyline, in ce of the dungeon core. Serves no other function] Year 75 Month 8
SPECIES UPGRADE - ANCIENT SOUL TREE [You have evolved into an Ancient Soul Tree. The next evolution rank up is at Leve 130, if conditions and materials are met. You can still gain levels without ranking up.] Year 72 Month 12 Week 4
SPECIES UPGRADE - ANCIENT SOUL TREE Level 100 and the rank up brings change, and a lot of benefits. One of the key changes is a UI change, as my interfaces be much more organised, and menus expanded. There are more tooltips as well, and information about my skills improved. Year 72 Month 12 Week 4
SPECIES UPGRADE - MAGICAL TREE [You have unlocked the next species change, upgraded from spiritual tree to magical tree] Year 70 Month 11
SPECIES UPGRADE - SPIRITUAL TREE Evolved from normal tree to Spiritual Tree Year 59 Month 9
SPECIES UPGRADE - STARSOUL [You have now transformed into the starsoul tree.] able to tap and ess to the wisdom of the past, from exposure to ancient bones and fossils Year 77 Month 4
SPECIES UPGRADE - STARSOUL gains ess to a special type of leaf able to collect starlight and produce star mana in small quantities (maximum amount of leaves capped), also gains ess to a star mana storing organ and special star-mana abilities Year 77 Month 4
SPECIES UPGRADE - STARSOUL Soul management and ess rights and restrictions unlocked Year 77 Month 4
SPECIES UPGRADE - STARSOUL stats improved, various collection, various skills upgraded Year 77 Month 4
STAR MANA Star mana. I have 300 star mana at the moment, that¡¯s the maximum number of star-mana storage organs I have, and with the current maximum number of star-leaves, I produce 30 star mana a month. Year 77 Month 4
SUBORDINATE [Obtained skill : Summon insect warriors] Year 72 Month 10
SUBORDINATE [Armored beetles upgraded to warbeetles] Year 73 Month 8 Week 1
SUBORDINATE [You obtained a beetlemander, each tree with [insect warriors] has expanded to 5 beetles per tree.] Year 74 Month 9 Week 3
SUBORDINATE [Insect warrior variation unlocked : Web-trap Spiders] [Web-building spiders have little directbat abilities except for their poisonous fangs, but are able to build webbings between your trees,ced with paralysing poisons and build trapping cocoons] Year 75 Month 10
SUBORDINATE Beetle winter adaptation stage I -pleted! Year 76 Month 8 RESEARCH SKILL
SUBORDINATE Large beetle pods -pleted Year 77 Month 12 RESEARCH SKILL
SUBORDINATE Enhanced interior structures -pleted Year 77 Month 12 RESEARCH SKILL
SUBORDINATE Beetle volcanic battleform -plete! Year 77 Month 3 RESEARCH SKILL
SUBORDINATE Beetle volcanic defensive armors-plete! Year 77 Month 3 RESEARCH SKILL
SUBORDINATE Beetle - basic magicalnces Year 77 Month 9 RESEARCH SKILL
SUBORDINATE Enhanced exoskeletons Year 77 Month 9 RESEARCH SKILL
SUBORDINATE [Carrier Drone. After a soul is merged with an object, skill or person, it can choose to be a ¡°deployable egg¡±. The carrier drone will then carry the egg within it to the desired location, where it will spawn into the merged structure! But beware, the carrier drone is vulnerable, and destruction means death to the cargo as well.] Year 79 Month 2
SUBORDINATE Beetle - anti-magma armors stage 3 Year 79 Month 5 RESEARCH SKILL
SUBORDINATE [New beetle species unlocked. Dungbeetle] Year 80 Month 1
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Subsidiary tree limit increased to 90] Year 73 Month 10 Week 1
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Some of your stored iron materials and essence of nature has been consumed. Six inner circle subsidiary trees upgraded. They are now able to support 3 external rooms each.] Year 73 Month 10 Week 1
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Obtained Tree ability : Subsidiary Tree] (30 trees) Year 73 Month 2 Week 4
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Subsidiary tree limit increased to 40] Year 73 Month 7 Week 1
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Subsidiary tree limit increased to 60] Year 73 Month 8 Week 1
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Subsidiary tree limit increased to 120] Year 74 Month 2 Week 1
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Subsidiary tree leveled up. You can now have 180 subsidiary trees] Year 74 Month 4 Week 1
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Skill upgraded : Subsidiary tree increased to 250] Year 74 Month 8 Week 3
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Subsidiary tree limit increased to 700] Year 75 Month 11 Week 2
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Subsidiary tree limit increased to 400] Year 75 Month 2
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Subsidiary tree limit increased to 1,500] Year 77 Month 3
SUBSIDIARY TREE Subsidiary Tree limit increased to 4,000 (During Starsoul evolution change) Year 77 Month 5
SUBSIDIARY TREE [Subsidiary tree limit increased to 6,000 Year 78 Month 5
TRAINING TREE TYPES Training Treehouse - Training treehouse improves experience gain, skill gain chances, and reduces injuries significantly Year 76 Month 12
TRAINING/LEVELLING/TEACHING [You obtained Learning Aura] Year 71 Month 3
TRAINING/LEVELLING/TEACHING Dream tutor - May use dreams to learn, and to teach. Requires a collection of spirits, memories and objects to unlock more ¡°Dreams¡±. Essences can be used to bestow certain skills via dreams. Target must be sleeping for the ability to kick in. If sleep is interrupted, learning may not be effective. Year 71 Month 8
TRAINING/LEVELLING/TEACHING : [Powerleveling I] Year 72 Month 1 Week 4
TREE ABILITIES [tree-rebirth]. Year 59 Month 9
TREE ABILITIES [Growth surge] [Creates patches of normal trees, shrubs and grasses. Affected by weather and seasons] Year 74 Month 6 Week 4
TREE ABILITIES / HEALING [Tree saps & extracts upgraded] Year 72 Month 10
TREE ABILITIES / HEALING [Tree extracts & saps ] Year 72 Month 9
TREE TYPE - LABS [Bib - Beetle unit research tree obtained] [This massive tree allows research and development of various beetle types, such as flying beetles, armored beetles, poison beetles, firebeetles, waterbeetles¡­] Year 76 Month 2 Week 1
TREE TYPE - LABS Magically attuned materials Stage 1 Year 79 Month 11 RESEARCH SKILL
TREE TYPE - LABS Treeb varieties - stage 1 Year 80 Month 3 RESEARCH SKILL
TREE TYPES [New tree variant obtained : Carnivorous nts] Year 76 Month 4 Week 4
TREE TYPES [New subsidiary tree type unlocked : Treefolk Incubation Pods. A subsidiary tree filled with multiple pods, used to incubate and nourish fertilised and germinating external seeds] Year 78 Month 2 Week 3
TREE TYPES [New subsidiary tree type unlocked : Treefolk Nursery. Makes sapling-friendly nutrient rich foods. Can also make special sap for pregnant treefolk mothers or females to boost quality and health of their fetus or eggs] Year 78 Month 2 Week 3
TREE TYPES [Tree Lodge] [A tree with a whole lot more space than it looks! Each tree lodge has 10 rooms, a restaurant, a cozy lounge, a reception, and a kitchen, all while looking no bigger than any other tree! Needs to hire workers to work] [Limited to 5, and each lodge must be a distance away from the other nearest lodge] Year 79 Month 2
TREE TYPES [Tree-type obtained : Cave Trees] Year 79 Month 6
TREE TYPES [nt-type obtained : Deep Moss] Year 79 Month 6
Tree Types - Root Tunnels [New skill obtained : Root-tunnels] Year 75 Month 8
Tree Types - Root Tunnels [Root tunnels, as what the name says, are tunnels made out of roots. Good for smuggling, transporting, and various tunnel things.] Year 75 Month 8
TREE-HEART ¡°[The Tree¡¯s Heart and Spirit-Lantern], this is the heart of the tree, adorned with the fragments of 67 heroes, it gives the tree 3350% increase in experience gain, 670% extra damage against midtier demons, 335% extra damage against elder demons, partial demon armor-negation, immunity to lesser demons, damage reduction against elder demons and significantly reduce damage from fire.¡± Year 72 Month 10 gets stronger when there are more fragments
WOODCRAFTING Wood creation Year 71 Month 8
WOODCRAFTING [Woodcrafting upgraded] Year 72 Month 1 Week 1
Announcement So one of the problems I ran into, is that TreeTree''s list of abilities are hard to keep track, unless you were willing to constantly go back to each and every chapter and hunt for it. (I totally concede that the system is very far from ideal) So, I started this project to build a "proper" list of skills, and when they were obtained, and also the when the levels were gained, so that I can move forward with a bit more certainty, else the house of cards gonna fall on me someday. So this is going to be a WORK IN PROGRESS, to be updated as it goes. I''m pretty sure I missed some too, since I didn''tb through each chapter line-by-line, and instead went by -search- Some realisations... TreeTree didn''t gain levels for the past 2-3 years XD I feel TreeTree''s skills are limited. Alot of it is... upgrades. And wood magic. I think I really somehow ignored that part. Tree ways to the End Tree ways to the End Year 191 (continued) The battle was over, and I rested for a few days. Lumoof, thankfully, recovered from the damage far faster than I did. It seemed that in ¡®avatar¡¯ mode, all the mana was transferred to my main body, so I bore the brunt of the mana intoxication. Patreeck and the rest of my artificial minds assisted to regte the excess mana, and stored them in the potato batteries. We wille back to it someday. I hope. Edna had to take a long, long nap and spent days doing nothing but sleep. Though her ability gave herbat immortality, once the one-day timer was up, she was pretty much a puppet whose strings were cut. She could barely walk or move. But it was worth it. She gained a lot of levels, and hit Level 165, and gained even more abilities with it. Her new ability [Regenerating Guardians] granted her the ability to create 5 guardians that shared her toughness. Lumoof too, gained some levels, but most of it only enhanced his connection with me such that he could withstand more of my power. But more importantly, was those that we wanted to groom. Roon, Johann, Alka, and Ste all gained levels from the victory for their contributions to thebat effort. Roon, Johann and Alka were now in the higher level 140s. It¡¯s likely that we could breach the level needed to obtain their domains by the time of the next demon king, No, more importantly, I returned to my notifications. I activated the menu and instantly a long list of notifications appeared. [You have gained 9 levels. You are now Level 208] [Level 200 grants Minor Pantheon Powers. Minor Pantheon Powers are dependent on subdomain choices.] [Further skills once a subdomain power has been chosen] [Subdomain Power Choices- you may choose one out of three choices below] [Subdomain choice - Tree of Life. This choice leads you down the path of regeneration, evolution, immortality and life creation. Each of your main body and your cloned bodies gains significant regenerative abilities, This choice allows the creation of cloned bodies under the Tree of Clones. Your trees gain the ability to adapt to all kinds of environments, and terraforming ability. ] [This subdomain choice will lead to creation of life, greater-monster minions, evolution-alteration, healing, endurance, regeneration, clones and multi-body skills in the future] [This subdomain grants the Pantheon Power - Immortal Tokens - Domain-level individuals who join your pantheon can be remade and regenerated even if they are killed. On death or destruction, their souls will return to you for ¡®respawn¡¯. The respawn time depends on how strong they are. Stronger deities require longer respawn times. However, choosing this ability will mean the death of these pantheon members will no longer grant Titan Souls, and you will not be able to gain any stored experience from their familiars. These domain holders can still die if all your tree of clones and your main body are destroyed.] [Choosing this subdomain also unlocks the Trees of Clones - You may now create clones in addition to your own. The number of main-body clones increases with level. You cannot die unless all cloned bodies are destroyed. You can regenerate any destroyed bodies after a small recovery time. Each clone body and your main body are magically intertwined and you may move items and people between them, subject to a distance-adjusted mana cost, with a discounted or minimal cost for Aeonic-rted items, sses and individuals and also familiar-holders. Clones initially take the form of a basketball sized seed that can be transported and nted elsewhere. Tree of Clones may be ced anywhere and naturally terraforms their environment. They do not need to be physically linked as their connection is through the system] [Subdomain choice - Will of the World. This choice takes the first step in merging with the world that you are in. This choice removes any distance or depth restrictions for roots and trees. You will thus be able to spread your roots anywhere in the world, through oceans and under them. You may also create underwater trees. This choice leads to terrain and elemental magics and abilities, significantly improved offense and damage for you and those touched by your powers, creation of elementals, weather control, terrain shaping, and wielding thend as your weapon.] [This subdomain grants the Pantheon Power - Strength of the World - this grants significant stats and strength boost (at least hero tier), improved elemental resistance and enhanced abilities with the four main elements. Pantheon members also gain the ability to terraform and gain ability to temporarily transform into elementals] [Choosing this subdomain unlocks - Elements of the World. This is a path where you gain ess to the controls of this world. This includes more urate astral maps, ability to move the world in the void sea, bend space and distance around the world and its neighbours.] [Subdomain choice - Crown of Magic. You gain the ability to use all kinds of spells without requiring skills or sses, and simultaneously generate star mana, void mana, blood mana and any other mana type you discover. This path leads to ¡®global¡¯ and ¡®multi-world¡¯ spells and abilities. You will also be able to override any hero-item restrictions and use them to their full potential. Your magicalboratories and sensors gain increased sensitivity and functionality. Your main tree can now learn magic just by sight, and certain types of hero-abilities. You can also grant magical abilities to a limited number of individuals] [This subdomain grants the Pantheon Power - A Land of Magic - Domain Members can ess and store their unique mana types in areas where your trees are present. They may also pre-cast and store skills and spells in thend itself, thus skipping any casting time and mana cost restrictions. Your trees will function as magical amplifiers for their abilities] [Tree of Magics - You may create Great Magical Trees. Each of these magical trees can generate a choice of star mana, void mana, blood mana, or any other mana type discovered. These Great Magical Trees can weave and cast multiple magical enchantments that apply over an area asrge as a continent. Magical Trees can significantly enhance existing ley lines, link distant ley lines together, cast wide scale protective spells and interfere with other magic.] [Crown of Magic also allows you to Forge Magical items without restrictions. These weapons and items can generate their own mana, act as the locus of area enchantments and amplify magical powers. You are also able to fuse Titan-Souls with deity-ss (or higher) magical items to create unlimited-ss weapons that can grow, gain their own levels and transform into weapons that can exceed even the gods] - I sat down and looked at the three choices. [Tree of Life] allowed me to bypass the Avatar limitation and free up Lumoof to truly be my mobile avatar. It also pretty much makes me functionally immortal, especially if I can get my seeds off world, to the other two worlds, or any uninhabited world. This was a good choice for expanding to the demon worlds and the other continents, and is essentially a step towards an intreedimensional empire. A true multi-world force. I could, through this ability, even take on demon kings on other worlds, thus speeding up our levelling speed. The pantheon ability also made it less risky to put any lesser domain holders like Lumoof, Roon, Alka right before the demon king. That said, this ability was quite useless with Edna, since she could already take all the damage. The second choice, Will of the World, had the main benefit of bypassing all distance restrictions all over the world. With this, I could invade all the continents at the same time. That said, this choice did not allow me to spread my roots to the other worlds, and my main body still remained the single point of failure. But the boosted stats to all my domain-wielders meant this ability synchronised really well with Edna¡¯s [Duty Beyond Life and Death]. She could endure all the hits the demon king could dish out and then keep dealing damage with her significantly improved offensive abilities. From the battle with the demon king, it was quite obvious that the heroes did a lot of the damage, if not most of it. Even my root strikes, which were generally super effective against demons, did not do exceptional damage against the demon king. If I wanted to kill a demon king with myself and the rest of my pantheon members quickly, this seemed like a decent choice. It also negated and weakened a range of the demon king¡¯s elemental attacks, so it wasn¡¯t a total tradeoff against survivability either. Thest choice, led us down the path of magic. It seemed to ovep with Ste¡¯s void magic, perhaps this meant I could amplify her power to actually deny the demon king, and the global magics suggested I could also use them to hide the world or redirect the demon kings. This choice enhanced survivability indirectly through the stored spells and skills, which felt like an exploitable mechanic. The growing weapons that had no limits also felt exploitable, though I needed more time to think about a good way to abuse it. The ability to ¡®grant¡¯ hero tier magical abilities was also an interesting choice, again, I didn¡¯t know what exactly that meant until I¡¯ve used it. Did it mean I can functionally create heroes? I could link ley lines together with the ability, so that was also a very good interaction with my dungeon ability, which would allow me to create even stronger dungeons for my Valthorns. This path had the most unknowns, because I didn¡¯t know what magic was capable of at that level. This choice potentially had the means to break the cycle through some kind of great magic, or perhaps, it¡¯s possible to ¡®seal¡¯ off the entire world from the demons, buying us some time to grow and recover. Alternatively, the enhanced magic could possibly interfere with the demon king¡¯s void magic. - All these choices were interesting, and I brought the matter to my senior Valthorns for their input. Edna was first to answer. ¡°Honestly, can we dy it until Ste, Roon, Johann and Alka all gain their Domains? If we could see what domain abilities they receive, we could choose what wecked.¡± Lumoof nodded at Edna¡¯s suggestion. ¡°I must say I agree with that assessment. We really don¡¯t know enough.¡± Kei and Ste, who were both present, stated their case. ¡°We can extrapte the powers from what they have now. It¡¯s likely Ste¡¯s domain will be some kind of void ability, so perhaps Ste can create even more powerful portals?¡± Johann nodded. ¡°I like the regenerating and immortal ability though. It meant we could pretty much fight the demon king with not a care in the world since we can¡¯t die. We can actually win the demon kings purely by attrition, a really interesting reversal of the situation. I believe this seems to be a long-term idea, and ys well with Ste¡¯s void powers. We could send a clone to the demon world!¡± ¡°The Will of the World is immediately more useful, though. It would functionally enhance our grip on the world.¡± Alka said. ¡°Theck of depth restrictions meant we could dig even deeper, and even below the heat. There must be treasures and more lost cities we have not seen.¡± Kei then added. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it mean Aeon¡¯s trees can be everywhere? That meant he could use his beetles everywhere!¡± Ste paused and then added. ¡°What if all of this is just an illusion of choice? That all these choices eventually result in the same thing, even if the journey to achieve those choices is different. Take how the tree of clones essentially extended Aeon¡¯s range, the same way the Will of the World does.¡± ¡°That does make some sense.¡± Alka nodded. ¡°If so, should we think of this as ¡®which ability we can¡¯t replicate or substitute with other abilities or spells¡¯? If a few of us will eventually reach and acquire our own domains, then some of our domains must be able to substitute these skills.¡± ¡°Is that an argument for Tree of Life? Since immortality is not easily replicated.¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°Eh. I thought it didn¡¯t really say anything. I think the immortality ability has substitutes, like my own.¡± Edna¡¯s [Duty Beyond Life and Death] was case in point. ¡°Then its¡¯ the underground ability.¡± Alka said. ¡°The Will of the World. We could find all sort of stuff! Maybe there¡¯s a secret even at the center of the!¡± Kei smacked her face. ¡°Given what I¡¯ve seen, I¡¯m actually afraid you might be right.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there are magical abilities for that. It is possible that your [Domain] ability as a scientist may grant you the ability to find such treasures hidden beneath the ground, regardless of what¡¯s in your way.¡± Edna quipped. ¡°That¡¯s certainly not the only use.¡± Alka protested. ¡°Merging with the world sounds like Aeon will be the itself.¡± ¡°The magical ability to cast global spells.¡± Ste then suggested. ¡°We should take that. It sounded like it worked well with my abilities and would improve my chances to dy or deny the demon king.¡± ¡°A mage with [domain] could possibly do such spells too. If we think of demon kings as domain-ss, we have seen demon kings use global abilities. No, actually, are you trying to wriggle out of having to get your own [domain]?¡± Kei looked at Ste. Ste shook her hands in protest. ¡°In the long run, all these choices probably make little difference.¡± Ste said. ¡°But looking at the medium term, over the next few decades, these choices would affect how we survive the demon kings.¡± Johann nodded. ¡°I think the Tree of Life makes good sense. If none of us can die, we can all aim and n.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that just trivialise death?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the regeneration time of a [domain] holder will be quite long. Maybe years or decades.¡± Kei said. ¡°This world does seem to take inspiration from games and ancient myths, and it¡¯s not unusual for ancient evils or great powers to recover from destruction over very long periods.¡± That reminded me of so many stories that started with the rebirth of the evil god. ¡°Oh, so we may not die, but we waste a lot of time.¡± ¡°Time that may save lives and other worlds.¡± ¡°I¡¯m against the magic route.¡± Roon said. ¡°I feel that once a sufficient number of us can take on the demon king, and with immortality, we can effectively continue fighting the demon king. No, fighting the demon king is even better since we be stronger with each fight. It¡¯s a risk free route. The earlier civilizations were destroyed after a long war of attrition.¡± ¡°Yes but we will have to keep fighting forever. The magical route essentially offers a chance to close this issue by blocking us. No. The magical route also means we may have spells that createrger, more sustainable portals. With that, we may be able to invade the demonic world.¡± ¡°That still sounds like ying defense.¡± Roon responded. ¡°Being immortal allows us to go on the offense.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know that.¡± Ste answered. ¡°What if we invade the other worlds and find that there¡¯s no solution there? The Gods clearly have tried something, but they too failed in destroying the demons. Hiding may well be the only true way to avoid this fight.¡± ¡°Until when?¡± The ranger responded. ¡°We cannot hide forever.¡± ¡°What if merging with the world allows both?¡± Alka wondered, as he tried to steer the conversation away. ¡°There must be something more to this ¡®merging to the world¡¯ thing. If Aeon bes the world, Aeon may also be unkible. With that solid foundation, we¡¯ll just need time to have Ste and the rest of the void mages gain their own domains.¡± ¡°A really long time, mind you.¡± Ste protested. ¡°Void magic isn¡¯t so easily taught.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a point. We have 20 void mages in your void school, and Aeon can give you upgraded sses.¡± Alka said. Kei paused and took the conversation in another direction. ¡°Aeon, is it possible that at Level 250, you may actually encounter these choices again?¡± I thought back to my Level 150 domain choices. [Nature], [Spirit], and [Astral]. I chose [Nature] then. As I thought about it, I thought it may be more urate that both Will of the World and Tree of Life are essentially paths that went deeper along the path of the [Nature] aspect. [Living Magic] seemed to take a detour through magic, taking a bit from both [Spirit] and [Astral]. So I answered Kei¡¯s question. ¡°Not exactly. These level 200 choices were not what I got for my level 150.¡± Edna circled back. ¡°I stand by the earlier suggestion. Hold on the choice until more of us get our domains. There¡¯s no time limit, right?¡± Everyone took a look at Lumoof who remained mostly silent. Lumoof shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, I¡¯m Aeon¡¯s number one faithful, and if it¡¯s me, I believe in Aeon¡¯s wisdom to choose.¡± 188. The Forbidden Fruit Bomb?? 188. The Forbidden Fruit Bomb?? Removed for amazon Next Stop, Treehome Next Stop, Treehome Removed for amazon Disembarked Disembarked Removed for amazon Operation Parasite FreeTreedom Operation Parasite FreeTreedom Removed for amazon Astral Geometree Astral Geometree Removed for amazon Variant Roots Variant Roots Removed for amazon Word blocks and trenches Word blocks and trenches Year 214 Lumoof¡¯s mana practice continued, while my other domainholders made regr trips to the parasite-world to set up the stage for an invasion. He had managed, over a period of two to three years, to increase his mana tolerance by about twice of what it was, buttely his progress has teaued. It still wasn¡¯t good enough, but Lumoof said he would just gain more levels, and hopefully those higher levels gave him extra stats and new skills that helped with his mana tolerance. I agreed, I did not want to subject him through pain, if there was not much progress. Since we had a roadblock in this particr direction, Lumoof went to the parasiteworld, to see what he could do there. My attempts to drain the pit of the demon king went quite sessfully, and the amount of water was then redirected to make actualkes and ponds in the areas we controlled. I¡¯ve reached about 3/4th to the core of the parasiteworld, and now, the walls of the pit are filled with vines and crawler-type nts. Down here, there were few demons, but nothing much of a threat. The demons continued to attack us throughout the world, but so far, we managed to hold on. They mounted multiple assaults to flush us out and fully retake the area around the pit, with champions and all that, but with Edna, Roon or Johann around to provide additional support and offset my ¡®distance-penalty¡¯, it wasn¡¯t hard. A champion was no king, and if they could not field kings, my domain holders had nothing to fear. Hytreerion, my converted walker, served as my ¡®champion¡¯ and fortified the area around the pit. Despite all this, there was no sign or signal that suggested this world was attempting to ¡®grow¡¯ another demon king. Not yet, anyway. The magical energy of this world was still low, despite all the recovery in the past few years. The path in the stars appeared to be faint. I wondered what kind of world it would invade, but for now we kept digging. It would be another year or two before we reached the core. *** ¡°Fancy seeing you here.¡± Kei said as she walked up one of Branchhold¡¯s highest trees, where there was an observation tower that looked out. Ste nodded at the crystal-golem when she walked in. I was told it¡¯s a gorgeous view of the vast demonds, still not reimed by the heroes. The two heroes, Adrian and Kelly did use their powers to retake some of the demonnds, but they didn¡¯t seem particrly enthused. ¡°I¡¯d say the same for you.¡± Ste responded as she worked with her tools. Over the decades, she had made some tools and equipment to help her with her task of observing the skies, and the Mountainworld¡¯s skies were filled with entirely new stars and worlds. ¡°Did Aeon send you here to give me a hand?¡± ¡°Nothing like that. I just asked for permission to visit another world, and got it. I just have to be escorted outside Branchhold.¡± ¡°Ah that does sound like something you would do. See anything you like, so far?¡± ¡°Not yet. The rangers told me the food choices are quite interesting, but my taste buds aren¡¯t exactly the best.¡± Ste smirked at the golem. ¡°Taste-buds.¡± ¡°Yeah. Eat. As if I needed that.¡± Kei shrugged, and then perched herself at the balcony. She took a moment to take in the view. ¡°But this ce does have a really good view. This city doesn¡¯t sprawl, not like Freshka.¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Eh sphemy!¡± Kei teased. ¡°Aeon already has an anti-sprawl n!¡± Ste didn¡¯t reply, and continued to work. She collected readings of various magical energy signatures, and she continued her work on her theory. She thought that each different world¡¯s ¡®magical key¡¯ that identified that world, so, if she could figure out what the ¡®alphabets¡¯ were, she could then figure out how to match the alphabets to the rift gates, and then, use it to call ces that we currently have no ess to. Magic was a lot of hard work. ¡°How many void mages did you bring with you?¡± Kei asked. Ste paused. ¡°Two of them are helping me with the research.¡± ¡°Do you find portals different here?¡± ¡°Not really. About the same. The only worlds where I felt my portals were nigh-unusable were thatetworld and the anti-magic world.¡± ¡°That was a waste. Aeon should¡¯ve kept that world.¡± Kei said. ¡°Now our supply of anti-magic sand is cut off.¡± Ste just smiled. ¡°Wait. What¡¯s that look?¡± ¡°We have the magical coordinates for that world. With a sufficiently high-powered amount of void mana, and if we can replicate a smaller version of that core-mana-void mana tunnel...¡± ¡°How far are we?¡± ¡°Honestly, the biggest roadblock we have right now is Aeon¡¯sck of core mana. Between what I¡¯ve seen and what we¡¯ve gathered from the demon king¡¯s core replica, we¡¯re halfway there with the tunnel.¡± ¡°Shit. We are just one mana-source away from being able to go wherever we want?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not jinx it and make it sound so easy. Core mana isn¡¯t the easiest thing to find, but if the parasite-world invasion goes well...¡± Ste smiled. ¡°There are still mountains to climb after this one. And this is still a really, really tall mountain.¡± ¡°How long have you known?¡± Kei asked once Ste took a break. ¡°Know what?¡± ¡°That we¡¯re going to be able to essentially connect all the worlds we¡¯ve been to.¡± ¡°Oh. It was always there. Each world has a signature, a ¡®phone number¡¯. Each rift gate Aeon stealses with it¡¯s own coordinates, mostly intact. I¡¯ve known how to ¡®lock¡¯ a rift gate to a past world, especially if we¡¯ve stolen the gate from that world. It¡¯s just, weck the power to make that connection. Void mana doesn¡¯t survive very well in the void forest. It gets swept away and disrupted by the smallest eddies.¡± ¡°Is Aeon nning to do that with this world too?¡± Kei looked up at the sky. The mountainworld would have their own demon king too, but their cycle was a little longer, ranging from 15 years to 20 years. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve discussed it before. We have to grab as many rift gates, from as many worlds, as far as possible. It¡¯s one of the easier ways to collect all the astral ¡®alphabets¡¯ or ¡®numbers¡¯. Next was to map that number to our observations of their location in space, and see whether we could make some sense of the numbers. I believe there is a logic or pattern inbuilt in thenguage of the rift gates, which brings me to my next task-¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°I need to get my domain. Within the demon king¡¯s core-replica, Aeon spoke of star-paths, and a massive map, but he said there is a ¡®guardian¡¯ within that map. He¡¯d only let me use it once I have a domain. I¡¯ve seen images, though, through the [dream academy], but I¡¯d really like to see it for myself, and feel what that thing is.¡± ¡°Do you think that¡¯s a creature of the void? Do you think there are things living in the void forest?¡± Kei asked randomly. ¡°Like... you know, hunters within the void forest that look for certain things?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s impossible. But I¡¯ve not seen any.¡± My void archmage rxed and took a sip of water. A Valthorn dropped in to just check in, and then left once they noticed both Kei and Ste were in there. Branchhold¡¯s security condition wasn¡¯t as robust as Freshka, but with my artificial minds constantly monitoring everything, I had the ability to react almost instantly. Still, I had the Valthorns patrol all the key instations. I didn¡¯t trust my detection abilities to get everything. Ste¡¯s levels were mostly through research, but in her earlier days she did some powerlevelling with the domain holders. As she reached her level 140s, her levels had slowed, and so she would also need to get somebat experience in, even if it¡¯s indirect. It was really quite irritating that the path to a domain seemed to requirebat experience. Was this world so battle crazy? Ste¡¯s time had to be split between her astral-alphabet and riftgate research, crafting andbat, and also her teaching duties at her void academy. Thankfully, these days she wasn¡¯t the only void archmage. We had a few promoted to [void archmage] over the years, and for risk-mitigation, we rotated them to other roles. One moved on to crafting and creation of void-mana sensitive artefacts that Ste used, and also taught the next generation of crafter-void mages. Sadly, the process of getting limatised to void mana was still horrible, and it was something I worked on. One of which was my breeding program. I had the ability to inject an inheritable skill, and I intend to stack the inheritable skills to create a naturally attuned [void mage]. The very first young treefolks just enrolled to the void academyst year since the breeding program started. Patreeck went a bit further and suggested that I limatise young lizardpeople eggs and treefolk seedlings to void mana, but the potential of killing these babies made me squirm. I wasn¡¯t willing to go that far. Maybe... not yet. *** < How is the search underwater? > I spoke to Reefy after a while. I spoke to him, or ¡®it¡¯, every few months, but our conversation was usually brief. Usually nothing of particr interests, though Reefy often brought trinkets and showed all the strange fishes that are found in the depths. Then, this time, he brought something else to my attention. > Dead giant found. Know? < Reefy shared, through our root-link, an image of a giant creature, submerged in the depths, it looked like it had died many, many years ago. From the depths, all I could see was a shadow-like image, but it was something simr. The shell was filled with scars, but I could tell what it was. A dead zaratan. < Yes. A zaratan Can you bring it up to the shore? > > Too big. Need help. Minions too small. Can send help? < Reefy¡¯s mental image shared a location of the dead giant, and I immediately had the Valthorns deploy ships and mages to the location. I also pinged Lilies, my old friend, to get in touch with Vasira, the zaratan, once more. If there was a dead zaratan, I thought I should let them know. Ste, Lumoof both returned from the other worlds, and they were joined by Edna, Alka, and arge contingent of mages. They boarded thergest vessels we have. The location was right in the middle of the ocean between the central continent and the Western isles, between two oceanic valleys. Over the years, someyers of ocean sand had covered most of it. ¡°It¡¯s down there, right at the bottom.¡± Alka said. His magical abilities and past experience as an asional archeologist meant he had some skills for this kind of event. ¡°We could use a portal and teleport it up, but we¡¯ll need to encase it in a bubble of magic to preserve it from further harm.¡± Bones. I could learn of itsst memories from its bones, but I would do so after I got the zaratan¡¯s views, if they allowed me to do so. ¡°But let¡¯s wait, and let me see what else I can learn through magic.¡± I recalled these zaratans loved water, and I wasn¡¯t sure if digging up zaratan bones from the ocean was potentially an offensive thing. If they loved water so much, an oceanic burial could be what they¡¯ve always wanted. Ste shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sadly unaware of their funeral rites or customs, despite being their apprentice. As far as I know, they don¡¯t have such customs, even though they do feel the loss of their fellow zaratans very, very strongly.¡± ¡°In that case, let us just do magical research for now, and wait for the zaratans to emerge.¡± As it turned out, we didn¡¯t need to wait long, as a thick mist soon emerged in the area, and two massive zaratans emerged, and one younger one that I¡¯ve met before. Their presence was thick and rippled outwards, their presence wasparable to any domainholder. > The tree¡¯spatriots have gained much strength. < Thergest of the zaratans spoke. Everyone just looked at Lumoof, and he entered avatar mode. I spoke through him then. < Greetings. We meet again, Vasira. > The younger zaratan¡¯s still-massive turtle head nodded. > Indeed, Aeon. Your actions have rippled through the worlds. We thank you, for the safety you¡¯ve provided us. < < It is what I must do. Let us get to the point, Reefy, my reef-friend, has found the bones of arge Zaratan in the depths. > > Indeed. < Thergest one spoke. > Vasira, as you have met them, you can host them in your shell. < At that moment, one of Vasira¡¯s shell-hexagons opened up to reveal a small box. > Hop on. We will dive to the depths together, and see our departed brother. < Ste was the first to go, a portal opened between her and the box in Vasira¡¯s shell. The rest of us followed, and all in, about twenty of us dived into the depths of the ocean. I had to admit, as a tree, I felt really, really ufortable being so deep underwater, and it took a lot of my willpower not to scream or shake. It was so bad that Lumoof had to use his calming powers on me. Yet, the depths of the ocean was wonderful, as Vasira¡¯s shell was incredibly magical. It was like a flexible screen that could turn transparent, and allowed us to see the ocean outside. It was like we were in a ss box in the depths of the ocean. The dive into the depths took just a moment, as all three zaratannded around the giant bones. > Our fallen brother. < The giant zaratan opened its mouth, and a jet of pressure blew all the sand away, revealing the rest of the shell and the bones. Massive scars along the side of the creature. > Another one for the demons. < The other giant zaratan touched the scars in the shell with its nose, and seemed to sniff. > It¡¯s been five centuries. < > Long it has been, but no longer. < The giant zaratan blew all the sand again, and this time, it swirled around the shell. The giant zaratan then bit at the skull of the dead zaratan, and at that moment, the giant zaratan seemed to glow. The other giant zaratan and Vasira also bit the bones of the zaratan, and I felt a sudden surge in magic around us. And then just as quickly, it was gone. > Do as you please with the bones. We have done what must be done. For providing this information, Vasira shall provide the reward < The giant said, and then, just as quickly, the two giant zaratans swam away, and then... vanished. > You may take the bones. < Vasira said. The small box we were in was then separated into twopartments, one with only Lumoof, and another with everyone else. Ste then opened a portal in front of Lumoof, and water immediately rushed in through the portal. But he was encased in an armor of wood, and he breathed through a vine. My roots surged outwards and through the portal, and then my roots wrapped around the bones of the ancient zaratan. Then, I moved everything to another part of my [secret hideout], where my preservation abilities would keep it safe for ourter studies. > It is safer for our bones to be in your hands, than anyone else. < < Thanks for the vote of confidence. > > All of us could see and feel your energies rippling through the multiverse. We hope our bones can push you a bit closer to your goal. But beware, they can sense it too. They¡¯ve begun to suspect something¡¯s gone wrong in this part of the world, and they would not react well to a nascent god. A new ¡®puppeteer¡¯ will only earn their ire. < < Do I seem like a puppeteer? > > They can¡¯t tell the difference. < Vasira said. Trees of the Abyss Trees of the Abyss Year 215 I am now in possession of two sets of bones from legendary creatures. One, the dragon bones, which I recovered from the moon before I withdrew the clone, and now, the bones of the Zaratan. Both of which were now safely stored in my [secret hideout], in their own little section. Thanks to the effect of my preservation abilities, they were untouched, almost the same as if they were on the moon, and in the depth of the sea. Since I wanted to now ¡®see¡¯ what happened to the Zaratan, I figured I might as well check the dragon¡¯s bones as well. I moved arge piece of the Zaratan¡¯s skull from one part of my secret hideout, right to the bib located within my body. The skull itself wasrge enough to be a truck, but this broken piece was about the size of arge door. It pulsed momentarily, as my bib began it¡¯s work. Ethereal vines from my soul forge-bib entered the bones, and I began to see images and little bursts of thoughts. Emotions. Ake, and then, a sensation of moving. A ck sun, then abruptly snapping. Forced off the path! Anotherke but then it¡¯s dried out. How? Then demons,rge demons. Champions. Running. Flee, and conjured water around itself. The championstch on, and then, the sensation of moving again. It¡¯s unstable, demons on its back. Ocean. A struggle. Pain. Sinking- The memories ended there, and I realised this zaratan had probably been ¡®yanked¡¯ out of its path across the stars. The demons could do that, or at least, that ck sun could. I feel that ck sun is the key to everything, and I proposed the idea of destroying or capturing the ck sun to the domainholders. They generally concurred that it may work, if it¡¯s the only one. I wanted to speak to Aiva again, ask them whether they¡¯ve ever tried assaulting the ck sun. If that would work? I tried a few more zaratan bones, but the memories of it¡¯sst moments were simr. So, I used the bones of the dragon from the moon that I¡¯ve kept for so long. It¡¯s a bad habit. I would keep things, and only check on them when I remember them. Patreeck gives me regr reminders, but I find it hard to focus until it really draws me. Anyway, I focused on the dragon¡¯s bones now. It¡¯s memories were far more hazy than the zaratan. The images I saw were faded, but I saw- Flight. Run! Fear! The sky. The stars, and then a really intense sensation of emptiness. Then the moon. The dragon looked back, and saw a world ame. A roar, and then, a long period of waiting. Hope. Hoping for others to join it. No one came. No one was strong enough. I needed some time to process my thoughts. These were thest moments of these great creatures. Both bones had power, and as I studied them, I felt I gained a better understanding of their nature. The study of their bones led to additional titan options. [Titan option unlocked : Dragon Replicant. A creature with the flight,bat and magical prowess of a lesser dragon.] [Titan option unlocked : Zaratan Replicant. A creature created based on the Zaratans of the void sea. Possessed ability to move between worlds, if there is an existing path. Comes with void mana as default and can use some void magic.] I have one titan soul left, but I looked at the six heroes allied to me, and realised, I wasn¡¯t in a rush. Not if this arrangement worked. I would get more fragments, sure, I was so close to 100 fragments, but, that¡¯s really a constion prize if I could direct the hero¡¯s actions. These dragons, and Zaratans were so powerful, surely they would have achieved a domain? What stopped them from stopping the demons? Or, that was the wrong question. The dragons stopped the demons many times, as seen from the memories in some of the ancient tree, but they were eventually overwhelmed. If so, what can we do to avoid their mistakes? If two or three demon kings invaded us at the same time, we would fall, just like the dragons. Even today, we don¡¯t really know whether that¡¯s a rule, or just a convenience of the demons. It is entirely possible that they assigned 1-to-1 worlds just to maximise the number of invaded worlds, but could easily focus on a single world. We needed to test this. Was there a ¡®physical¡¯ or ¡®magical¡¯ barrier that prevented simultaneous invasions? It¡¯s possible that a demon king¡¯s presence emitted something that interfered with the ¡®astral paths¡¯, thus preventing multiple invasions. Since we now had a ¡®demon king¡¯s core replica¡¯, we also needed to figure out how to confuse their ¡®targeting¡¯ system. We had seen the astral paths wobble when daemolite was removed from Treehome, and so, we¡¯ve seen that the creation of stable astral paths required core mana. Thus, I directed my attention to one of my potential sources of core mana. The core fragment of the anti mana world. Unlike the shard of theetworld, the rousing presence from a few years ago was still ¡®dormant¡¯. It was as if it slept. When I touched it again, this time, the presence was quite simr to the sensation from theetworld. The presence was still collecting itself, and it¡¯s core mana, however few it was, seemed to resist me. Without actually convincing that presence within the core to give me its mana, the core mana was far more bound to its presence. *** Ste was back on the Mountainworld after the Zaratan incident, and back to her magical research. She seemed to quite enjoy branchhold, and with our enhanced abilities, we noticed that Mountainworld was linked to two other worlds. One of those two worlds was a little further away, and we would likely need to redeploy some daemolite to reach it. It was strange how each world¡¯s ¡®astral path¡¯ was different, and how each world sees the void forest differently. This made me think that even the demon¡¯s starmaps may not be all that reliable, since they probably had their own frame of reference, or these maps were collected from their ¡®jumps¡¯. Even the souls, on their path to reincarnation, travelled to this ¡®void forest¡¯, where they would move and wobble their way to other worlds. I attempted to ess that ¡®view¡¯ again, even with my soul forge, but I¡¯ve yet to seed. Maybe I needed the right levels, but I also consulted my fellow domain holders on whether they¡¯ve seen such things. Lilies, for one, had no clue. This was way beyond their experience. Over time, I realised the process of learning is very often just repeatedly throwing something at a problem and seeing what sticks. I wonder whether the gods got to their current solution through the same process. *** ¡°Counting down to the invasion?¡± Ken asked the heroes when they met. They didn¡¯t meet that often, but they still made it a point to meet every other month. Everyone had their own things to do, some of the heroes had their own projects, like Chung and Hafiz, and the mountainworld heroes, Adrian and Kelly, also found their own ¡®passions¡¯ and ¡®hobbies¡¯. They did say they felt lost after the defeat of the demon king, but eventually they found something to do and upy their time. Prabu nodded. ¡°Kinda, but not really. We¡¯re just working on our own thing for now, while waiting for the cue.¡± Snek, the little snake spirit was the most eager of them all, which meant Ken had a little more ¡®stake¡¯ in this project than the heroes. Snek wanted this invasion to seed, for all the obvious reasons. After the zaratan¡¯s warning, I wonder whether this invasion may be the wrong move. What if I drew their attention, and be marked by the demons? What if we invited greater scrutiny? These were my worries, and so, for now, the best I could do was over prepare. If necessary, I¡¯d cover them and pull the rest of them back to Treehome. *** We¡¯ve finally drained the waters of the pit, and I finally got a glimpse of what was within those pits. It was simr to what we saw in the anti-mana world, the ¡®demon mother¡¯, around a core. The parasite world¡¯s core was smaller, and filled with holes, quite a bit like a ball-shaped swiss cheese. The area around the core itself had been hollowed out, and instead, there was this giant octopus creature with multiple tentacles. Those tentacles weaved through the holes of the core, and tied itself to it. [Inspection] didn¡¯t work, but I reckon it was the same type of creature. From what I could tell, it even had approximately the same level of strength as the demon mother, and I quickly shared my observations with the nned assault force. We do have a clear path that leads all the way to the core. We could guide a lot of bombs to the core and flush out the demon mother, but that came at the risk of destroying the core, which is so tied up with the demon mother. So, we needed a surgical approach. ¡°Send Lumoof. Capture the demon mother.¡± Edna said, and Lumoof gave Edna the stink-eye. ¡°Ohe on, don¡¯t kick me into the pits.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not kicking you in. I¡¯m asking you to go in with the heroes. Heroes weaken that creature, and then Aeon captures it.¡± ¡°Pause for a moment.¡± Chung asked. ¡°Can you rify what that was?¡± ¡°Aeon captures demons by flooding them with mana. Don¡¯t you know that already?¡± Prabu said. ¡°They¡¯ve attempted to capture the demon king too.¡± ¡°I know, but can it work on the demon mother? ¡± Edna shrugged. ¡°It should. We¡¯ve been prepping Lumoof for that possibility.¡± ¡°Can we supply you with star mana to do so?¡± Chung wondered. ¡°Could star mana do the same thing?¡± Actually, I never thought of it. That star mana was so toxic to demons that they die from exposure, but that was when we tested it against regr-type demons. We¡¯ve never attempted to ¡®infect¡¯ a demon king with star mana, though I didn¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a good idea, since they did have void mana within them and that was normally an explosive reaction. But it was worth trying. If one of the heroes functioned as a battery, I could channel the star mana through Lumoof and inject it into the demon. ¡°So, do we want to try it out with this demon within the core?¡± ¡°No.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure why, but I felt that using star mana to capture the demon mother in the core would not go well, especially if it interacted with the void mana within the demon mother. ¡°Just a normal attack will do. Our goal is to free the core and gain ess to the core mana. Not crack the in the process.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure ¡®scorched¡¯ even worked as a defense policy. Destroyed worlds did not form a ¡®wall¡¯ that prevented travel. If it did, it may be worthwhile to look into destroying uninhabiteds to form interster barriers. *** As part of the preparations for the invasion, we significantly increased the number of trees on Branchhold and soon made connections to more magical ley lines. I spread my trees, discreetly where I could, and ramped up my total mana output. Back on Treehome, we did the same, I added more trees, and extended my trees further out to the various inds closer to the Central Continent. Thanks to the skills earned before this, I was able to ¡®tunnel¡¯ to some of the inds, and this meant I now had some influence over the seas around the Central Continent. My minds suggested creating artificial inds, a point which I eventually came to agree to. The Valthorns quietly arranged for druids, earth mages and builders tomence the construction of these artificial inds. This was an incredibly lengthy process, as lifting sand and rock into a stable structure was actually quite difficult, and we honestly had to look for locations where the ¡®deep-sea¡¯ monsters didn¡¯t appear too much. Publicly, these artificial inds were to serve as my military ports, of course, with all that excuse of reducing piracy and facilitating trade. It¡¯s just a cover for my real intention to spread my roots across the ocean, and expand my total mana output. My expansion on Mountainworld went rtively easier. Mountainworld as a whole only had one single ocean that¡¯s rather deep, fed by hundreds and thousands of rivers. That meant there were very little ¡®physical¡¯ barriers to my expanding trees, and it was possible to go around anyrge habited areas. The cold peaks of the Mountainworld didn¡¯t do much to stop roots that could tunnel through mountains, though in the process, I discovered that Mountainworld has very interesting subterranean life and culture. There are entire parts of the world that resembled parts of the Eastern Continent, where cities and entire nations lived within mountains, and within many mountains, there were massive caverns that contained things from an older era. Many of these were in territories far from Branchhold, so I¡¯d probably need to cook up a usible excuse to send my Valthorns to investigate, or probably just have them fake it as adventurers. Yeah. That¡¯ll be something to do. I could have an initiative to set up Branchhold-sponsored adventurers, and send them in that direction. But I could indirectly stir up a gold-rush if that leak came from me, since these guys would suspect I know something. Anyway, as a result of my expansion on both my homeworld and Mountainworld, my total mana output increased by approximately half, and my total mana storage by that same amount. This was a massive increase, though most of that increase came from ¡®greenfield¡¯ expansion on the Mountainworld. This wasn¡¯t enough, obviously, but then again, the demon mother might be weaker. Time to set it in motion, whatever the consequences may be. *** ¡°We¡¯ve been working on this n for years.¡± Ste said at the edge of my clone tree on the parasite world. She set up multiple observation posts, and a few more of her students, other void mages, joined her. They would monitor the stars for any signs that something was wrong, or reinforcements were on their way. Lumoof, my domainholders and the heroes stood at the edge of the pit. Lumoof made a repeat of the mission statement. ¡°Down there is the demon mother. Our goal is to capture it, or defeat it, and free the core of the parasiteworld. The reason to capture this is simple. We want to test whether it is possible to recapture a world from the demons, and gain ess to core mana. If it¡¯s possible to free the world, it may mean we can have a new poption base, and more future heroes to rely on. With core mana, Ste and the void mages can start to establish ¡®stable¡¯ astral paths through the void forest, and mount a counter invasion.¡± The heroes gulped at the term, ¡®counter invasion.¡¯ Getting core mana was the equivalent of having the ¡®fuel¡¯ needed to make the journey. The counterinvasion was a ¡®deep-strike¡¯, meant to target the realmand center of the demons. ¡°Any questions?¡± Lumoof asked out of habit. It was just a procedure, they have discussed the issue at length over the years. Everyone shook their heads. The pit had been heavily reinforced over the past year. I have four seeds. One on Branchhold, One on the Cometworld, One here in the Parasiteworld, and one more in store, still serving it¡¯s ¡®cooldown¡¯. There¡¯s four more years to go. They thought of waiting, but then, I didn¡¯t feel like we needed to. We had made extensive preparations, and they all had a variety of weapons, the ice des of Aria, the death-staff of Lillies, Ste¡¯s void-weapons and their own hero items. ¡°Check equipment?¡± Everyone took a minute to recheck their list, and nodded. Lumoof nodded, and entered avatar mode. Vines branched out, and around him, the vines turned into a massive walking vine-creature. He looked at the pit, and thought of the many times he made a journey into the core. The pit itself was already filled with vines, and my beetles already patrolled the entire pit. The only area we¡¯ve yet to im was therge cavern around the core. Lumoof made a prayer, and the heroes nodded. Time to im the parasite¡¯s core, and free this. Void Sprout Void Sprout Removed for amazon A walk in the void forest A walk in the void forest Removed for amazon Altreenate Realities Altreenate Realities Removed for amazon The Tree Gazes into the Void The Tree Gazes into the Void Removed for amazon Skill Tree Update Skill Tree Update Removed for amazon Treeal by fire Treeal by fire Removed for amazon Infantreecide Infantreecide Removed for amazon BOOK ONE LAUNCHED ON AMAZON BOOK ONE LAUNCHED ON AMAZON Hello there! It''s my great pleasure (and much stress) to announce that the first book of my series, Tree of Aeons, is on Amazon Kindle Unlimited and also Audible. You can find them here: Amazon : Audible : PLEASE LEAVE A RATING, ADD TO YOUR LIBRARY, REVIEW. ANYTHING. TELL YOUR FRIENDS. TELL YOUR FAMILY. SHOUT IT IN YOUR GROUPS. 242. Cometh Tree (Start of Book 6) 242. Cometh Tree (Start of Book 6) Year 245 The Comet. It was a red glowing world from our view. We saw it only briefly, in the moment when Alka¡¯s explosions temporarily disrupted the barrier of the void. The disruption caused the null barrier to be so thin that we could see what was beyond it. A moving object in the void sea and it moved slowly, in the still extremelyrge void sea. During that short window we were able to see it move. It teleported, at least from our perspective, but yet, we were fairly certain it got closer. During that brief moment when the barrier was down, a transmission from theet itself got through, and we detected it as a momentary sh within the demon king¡¯s core-map, quite like when a software update was pushed out to all devices. Theet wasn¡¯t even hiding itself because it shouted its location to all the demon kings and In an act of utmost confidence, the update even came with its trajectory through the void sea. We just couldn¡¯t see it on this side of the barrier before, and now, Ste gazed at the core map. ¡°Looks like once it got to the other side of the barrier we¡¯d detect it anyway.¡± All in, It would take about another 25 years to reach us, if our estimates were correct. We now had a countdown to work with, and we actually went to two of the worlds close to its expected path. ¡°We have two chances to hop onto the Comet.¡± Ste repeated. One in eight years, another in fifteen. After that it¡¯s going to go through what appears to be arge patch of void sea with no known astral neighbors. ¡°If we want to hit it and destroy it before itnds, that¡¯s our two moments.¡± I cursed. I won¡¯t have a clone ready in eight years! ¡°Lumoof could just camp on theet for two years and deploy your clone once it¡¯s ready.¡± We devised a n to counter the dem before, in the off chance we get to face our own demonicet. The strategy essentially came down to - invade, manipte, destroy, evacuate. We would invade theet, if we could reach it, and attempt to manipte it. If we can¡¯t, we will destroy it. If we fail to destroy theet, we¡¯ll evacuate and attempt to reim the world after the demonicet makes impact and smashes into Treehome. Evacuate was my least desired option, since it essentially reset all the gains we had with Treehome. Invade, manipte, and/or destroy theet. That was my preferred option. My void mages were most excited, especially those who worked hard to manipte theetworld. Here was a world, traveling through the void sea! They immediately wanted to know how the demons did it, and if there was a secret on this Comet we could learn. If it was a device, we would steal it. That was obvious, of course. My entire institution was geared for this moment. To get ready for war with the demons. To prepare for an eventual counterattack. We knew it wasing in the days since the demon king was in on that other world. Eight years from now, it¡¯s expected path would take it really near to the demonic turtleworld. That was where we needed to be to engage in an attack on the Comet. We would have to give up on the Barrierworld and the Sun Rings for now. We would return to it someday, once we resolved ouret problem. *** ¡°Alright. We got eight years before it actually crosses path with the demonic turtleworld.¡± Lumoof announced to the group present. The announcement of theing Comet to the entire senior leadership, and effectively all of the Valthorns, made everyone panic. ¡°Some of you involved in the Margmarian Dwarves¡¯ City Ruins will find this extremely familiar, because we are essentially dealing with the same counterattack from the demons.¡± The crowd went wild as they talked with each others. ¡°Aeon and the domain holders have essentially outlined a few key strategies, and our goal is to intercept the demonicet. We will attempt to capture it, failing which, we will attempt to destroy it with as many bombs as we can.¡± ¡°Are we doomed, Lord Lumoof?¡± A Valthorn stood and asked in panic. ¡°I don¡¯t see why we are.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Once we reach that world, we have essentially about 13 to 15 years to destroy the Demon¡¯s Comet. It¡¯s certainly not as scary as I made it out to be.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a.¡± ¡°Our initial estimates based on whatever little data we have reveals that it is a world half the size of our current world. Still pretty big. Wergely don¡¯t know what¡¯s on the Comet, whether what we aplish is even possible, and all that. Our goal, therefore, over the next eight years, is we must be prepared to bomb this world to smithereens.¡± One of the void archmages stood to present their findings. The crowd quieted down when Lumoof raised his hand. ¡°We will be splitting the Valthorns into multiple task forces.¡± Alka took the stage. ¡°I will be leading the destruction force. The goal is to blow this Comet up if we can¡¯t capture it. The existing group that¡¯s making bombs will need to massively scale up it¡¯s work.¡± Edna, Roon and Johann led the invasion force. They need to build a massive base of operations on the demonic turtleworld, and also Lavaworld, and prepare for that day. They will need to get there to support the destruction force. One of the void archmages and a Lord from Tropicsworld would have to lead the evacuation force. We¡¯d n to evacuate everyone to Tropicsworld around 1 to 2 year from impact if we realize we have no way of avoiding that Comet. Ste and another archmage led the void maniption group, with the intention of redirecting theet towards somewhere else. This was the same group that worked on the Cometworld, and so, now they would have to take their failure, and hopefully turn it around. There was also a group that worked on ¡®shielding¡¯ and ¡®bunkering¡¯. Essentially, a repeat of what the Margmarian Dwarves did. This didn¡¯t end well for them, but unlike the Margmarian dwarves, we are now a multiary organization. We know exactly what everything is, and as long as my body stands on Treehome, bunkering could be a viable strategy. We just needed to be way better prepared than them. *** Aria and Aispeng naturally panicked. They were not here when theet came the first time. ¡°Can you move me? I mean, I know I¡¯m not normally helpful, but I don¡¯t want to die.¡± ¡°Your true body is deep underground, right? If so, you may not be that much of a risk.¡± ¡°We¡¯re talking about a-sized projectile. How are we not fucked? Everything on the surface is going to be destroyed. It¡¯s probably big enough to blow up half the and some. Even Lillies is going to be in trouble, but I guess they¡¯re not so much at risk since they can cocoon themselves.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see what we can do about it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to see. Get some of your guys here, dig my main body out and shift me to one of your other worlds. I have no intention of testing out your reincarnation ability.¡± < Can I blow up big rock? > Reefy said as I informed my fellow inanimate object located in the sea. Reefy¡¯s grown, and regrly sends me images of strange monsters from the deep. Leviathans, krakens and stuff like that. They¡¯re all fairly harmless though, creatures in the level of 60 to 80. > It¡¯s a little too big for you. < I responded as I tried to share the estimated size of the thing. < Just need lots of exploding fish. > Ah yes. Reefy had discovered bombs and used them to bomb his enemies. There are merpeople in the water that he doesn¡¯t like every much. I don¡¯t interact with them, and these merpeople don¡¯te to the surface either, so, our rtionship is one of mutual ignorance. Some of them did asionally travel to my shoreline trees and nts, and those kelp forests, but they didn¡¯t do me any harm. So, I was fairly content to leave them be. Lilies of the Lake took the news with resignation. < The demonse with their death ball of mes. We will hide, as we always have. > > Would you help? < < We will offer our assistance, but hiding is our preference. > Lilies dug deeper into the ground. I just wasn¡¯t sure whether that would actually help. *** Tropicsworld, Mountainworld both began to haverger sites for Valthorns, as we increased our diversification efforts. We needed to duplicate everything we had on Treehome, on Tropicsworld as well, and also prepare for the possibility of evacuation, and beyond evacuation, a war to reim Treehome from the demons after the Impact. The heroes were involved as well, and for them, they would be part of the invasion andet destruction team. If I could deploy my clone on the Comet, I¡¯d then send the heroes there to destroy the demon¡¯set. Their tremendous firepower was essential, and given what we¡¯ve seen on the Sun-Rings, we are also expecting defenders at the same level as the demon king. This buzz of activity was felt by the locals, as they saw my Valthorns gear up for a bigger war. The question that came soon after was simple. What were we preparing for? Do we tell people that they may die in 25 years? Should I tell therger poption about the existence of a demonicet headed our way? Do we want to scare the people and set offrge scale panic? What was the right thing to do? If we could prevent the demonicet from ever hitting us, then there¡¯s really no reason to set off a mad rush for safety. But if we told them, and theet really was still headed our way, their cooperation would make evacuation significantly easier. ¡°We need about five years to prepare for a total evacuation of Treehome. We can keep this program quiet for 20 years. There¡¯s really no reason to rm the people yet. If we fail during the two invasions of the Comet, then we start shouting. Let¡¯s keep this mainly to those in power.¡± Lumoof rmended. It wasn¡¯t an immediate problem to my people, but twenty years is very short to me. After much deliberation, there wasn¡¯t much these nobles could do to help, but if they set offrge scale panic, we¡¯d need to deploy people to suppress those issues. So informing them was a-negative. Most suspected something was up anyway, because we massively hired new members for the Valtrian Order, alchemists, cksmiths, crafters to hugely, hugely ramp up our weapons production, and also bunkers. For those on the other worlds like Branchhold and Threeworlds, they witnessed great amounts of crystals and simr others shipped. *** ¡°We need to revive our moonbase project. It¡¯s likely as the two worlds collide, the space between the worlds will first meet in space.¡± Ste said. ¡°Imagine each world as a bubble, the demon¡¯set is a bubble of it¡¯s own. If we want to interrupt or disrupt the demon¡¯set, there is likely a third opportunity or chance when it gets near to us, if we fail in the first two meeting points.¡± It¡¯s speed is likely significantly higher once the two different realms collide. Hell, I think that¡¯s probably the point where an evacuation is the only way forward. I doubt shields would do much against aoid-sized projectile. What else could we do? That was the question that hung on my mind. We still had at least a few years before we needed to deal with the demons on Mountainworld and Threeworlds. We could, theoretically invade the demon worlds and get at the demons in those worlds, but like Lavaworld, there was no connection. Lavaworld was cut off when the demon king was killed. If I ever felt like being pulled in so many directions at once, well, I always have. Prioritiespeted with each other. We always had a time limit, but knowing one¡¯s time limit does put a kind of pressure on everyone to get shit together. We needed to prepare for theet, but at the same time, I also needed my people to get stronger. For those who had not gotten their domains, they worked harder to get it. They attacked the dungeons with renewed vigor, because with the blessings of the pantheon, they knew they would be able to survive. *** The Crystal King¡¯s golems were getting stronger. The Crystal King didn¡¯t back down after the demon king was destroyed. Instead, he sent golems into Zhaanpu¡¯snds. Zhaanpu responded with golems of his own. Creatures that resembled sphinx made of sandstone. My spies and informants im such prolific use of these old war machines had not ured for centuries, and partly was due to the presence of Hytreerion on the battlefield. They had to shore up domestic support, to convince their own political vassals that they were on par. So, it made the two domainholders reveal their own gigantic creatures. Their own spies and people hyped up the strength of their own giant golems, but it was clear they all were nothing muchpared Hytreerion¡¯s incredible arsenal. In this big rod-waving contest, I have the biggest, best gun. Not much to be proud of, and honestly, an old war machine made from a demon walker reduced to military grandstanding was just sad. *** There were fragments of the materials from the Sun-rings in my bibs. Things that I needed to study. I didn¡¯t know what certain parts of them were. They had aponent part that was likely to be the anti-magic sand that had been processed into ss. But the steel was not a type of steel found on any of the worlds so far. That meant the demons had ess to a kind of unique metal we didn¡¯t have, and if we wanted topete with the demons on the same level of ability, we needed to have this metal too. I called one of the Void archmages. We still only had four, plus Ste, that made five. Ste¡¯s already busy, one of them worked on the invasion, one worked on the evacuation ns, one worked on the surveys and listening devices throughout all the demon worlds, and another one worked on the dem void-sea maniption ns. I needed him to hop worlds, and get this metal while the rest of them worked on their tasks. He would go with a small group of protectors. They were off. Those that were still here, they continued to study the metals. We are not sure whether they are engineered, or an alloy, or whether they are natural. My team worked on it anyway, because it was key to their Sun-Ring structure. If we could identify the weaknesses, perhaps some kind of magical frequency, or a specific breakpoint, we could tailor our explosives and magic for maximum impact. There were multiple Sun-Rings to destroy to gain ess to the inner worlds. *** ¡°Where¡¯s your [void explorer] now?¡± ¡°Still headed in the other direction.¡± Since her void explorer left ra, she went further in the other direction. The hope was that we could reach some of the God-inhabited worlds. ces where the influence of Aiva, Gaya or whatever was strong. I¡¯d want to speak to them, and then, get them to help us in our fight. They are strong. I am fairly certain Aiva in his or her homeworld would have incredible power that even a demon king is no threat. ¡°But nothing?¡± ¡°Nope. Not yet. I hope I get somewhere. Soon.¡± Interlude – Lizardfolk II Interlude ¨C Lizardfolk II Life for the migrated lizardpeople wasfortable, but different. The migrants enjoyed theforts and the outward safety, but in private, they argued and bickered over the tradeoff. Jaan suffered their pleas and whines, for he is chief. It is him, who they me for their situation, after all, he suggested this particr location. "This ce is not the way of the lizardpeople." Tradition, as it is, resisted change. Jaan felt tradition was helpful, it helped them make good decisions. But he was not beholden to them. They were not a rule. Tradition was not always the answer. Thus lies the first schism with tha matrons, as that was not how matrons saw it. The matrons believed that tradition was the only way for young lizardfolks to be lizardfolk. Veer away from that, and the lizardfolks are something else entirely. It was as if a lizardfolk, and the culture around being a lizardfolk was inseparable. That schism was at the heart of their dispute. Was traditionw, or just a rmendation? His ears, if he was human, would¡¯ve fallen off, and he could now recite their arguments by heart, the words imprinted into his mind. But he didn¡¯t believe it. Their culture was part of the problem. Even in their small n of lizardfolk there were the traditionalist, and the modernist who embraced the new way. He had hoped there was a bridge somewhere. Something to bring the two sides of the n together. It existed somewhere, but as of now, he did not see the way to it. *** "Aeon intends for the lizardfolk leaders to see what life is on Treehome. Ten of your most senior representatives are invited for a trip to the Treehome, this trip will take about three to four weeks." "A trip to Treehome? Where is that?" The matrons asked. "Aeon''s homeworld." Jaan gasped. In his day to day life, he had heard whispers and rumors that these people were ¡®otherworlders¡¯, but it was another thing to travel there. Naturally, they couldn¡¯t miss the opportunity. Jaan and nine others came, and there were many others. Lizardfolk, elves, and the other migrants had all selected their own representatives for the trip. Jaan recognised a few familiar faces, faces he met during the monthly migrant integration meetings. They gathered for the trip at the floor of the gigantic tree of Branchhold. They didn¡¯t like being here, just approaching it felt them with a sense of such overwhelming dread and he could see the same, pale faced expression on his other n members. They weren¡¯t exactly sure why. They brought some luggage along, stored in standardized bags provided by the Branchhold''s officials. On the ground, there was clearly some differentiation between the officials of Branchhold, and those of this ''Treehome''. They had a slightly different badge that pulsed and had a strange scent. "Please stand here. The transportation process will begin shortly." Jaan saw the first of the other groups vanish suddenly, and one of the matrons shouted in surprise. The officials quickly calmed her down, exining that it is a teleportation spell of some kind. The matrons shouted back, at first, iming that itcked the mana presence for a spell. "Chief Jaan, you''re next." The officers guided them to the location. He stood, and just as suddenly, he felt a vine touch him. It sent something through him, and at that point. [You will be sent to another world. Do you agree?] He could refuse, but he felt that the spell could send him through anyway. He knew by instinct it was powerful enough to overpower him. Jaan nodded, and it was instantaneous. In a sudden, he was elsewhere. The rest of the representatives from his n joined him just momentster. The eldest matron was amazed. She hadn¡¯t known of a skill that could send one through worlds. The air immediately felt different, the stench of the demonic presence gone, reced by the overwhelming presence in the air, a kind of natural magic. Branchhold was still surrounded by quite a lot of corrupted demonds, territories unimed, and that stench still drifted to Branchhold asionally. Here. nothing. "Wee." Everyone was here, and there were a hundred of them. They were located in a deep valley, though with all the bright lighting, it''s hard to tell. "Please, this way." They were guided to a convoy of tour beetles. The wide-eyes lizardfolks were led into protected beetles, where they witnessed the vast, sprawling metropolis of Freshka. Freshka¡¯s various districts were visible as the beetles crossed the little crest of a hill. Jaan¡¯s slitted lizard eyes scanned the metropolis from their vantage point. The segments of the academic district with the towers of the FTC, the military-magic district where the Valtrian Order and the mages trained, and the sprawling economic and residential segments that took up all the spaces in between. He had seenrge cities, but never sorge. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a city sorge.¡± One of the female matrons said, and the eldest matron was just silent. Jaan knew she had a lot to take in. Silence was how she processed information. After a short moment, the beetles ferried them through the streets on the dedicated branchways that crisscross the city. Traffic was hardly ideal in Freshka, even the dedicated branchways had to share traffic with many other beetles, among the other dedicated paths made from branches, and underground root paths that moved people from ce to ce. ¡°And so messy.¡± Another human, one of the leaders of the human-faction of Branchholdmented. ¡°Some refer to that as being alive. A city that lives.¡± Jaan began to tour the districts. Their first stop was the education district, and they were greeted by four young Lords of the central continent. A treefolk, a human, a centaur and a lizardfolk. He froze when he saw one of the Lords and Ladies was a lizardfolk, covered in all kinds of badges and dressed in a beautiful set of armor. Whoever nned this trip was clever, and he noticed the matrons themselves red enviously at the youngdy. ¡°Greetings, I am Lady Ghairen.¡± The lizardfolkdy spoke to them. ¡°It is my honor to greet our esteemed visitors from Branchhold. It is indeed a shock to me, to know that lizardfolks exist on other worlds too, and also a great honor, that I am tasked with introducing the ways of my fellow lizardfolk to the representatives of Branchhold. Greetings.¡± The matrons¡¯ res were a mix of both envy and pride. She was tall, and her body strength did not pale to any male. There was a deep sheen to her scales, a rity to her eyes, a glint to her teeth. Jaan himself was fairly bbergasted to beauty. It was an admiration not unlike seeing a goddess. He had to dig deep and to pull himself to react. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll be your guide during this process. For the lizardfolks, we will be touring some of the lizardfolk enves in Freshka, and also a dedicated tour of the lizardfolk viges in the outskirts. We will also be meeting a few elite lizardfolk Valthorns, the valiant warriors who protect us from the demons.¡± Everyone nodded, thedy had some kind of skill that seemed to just hold their attention, even if what she said was boring. A matron immediately ribbed Jaan. ¡°Why don¡¯t you speak like that?¡± Jaan snarled. ¡°Wrong ss.¡± *** The college of the nobility and themoners wasn¡¯t of much interest to the lizardfolk. The elves and humans, however, found it thoroughly fascinating, as they had some kind of schooling and academy system back home and so couldpare notes. Then, they went on to the military academy and that was when the matrons truly, truly revealed a thirst he had rarely seen in them. The Valthorns had an area where the lizardfolk Valthorns trained, and all of them were strong, powerful individuals. Their stares and nces were greedy, filled with desire, even the eldest matron. Lady Ghairen nodded, as if she expected the reaction, she was used to the scene so she didn¡¯t react to the sight of these powerful lizardfolks. ¡°The Valthorns will perform a demonstration of their levels of strength. The group here is part of the junior batch, at around level 60 to 80. The military of Treehome are organized around the Valtrian Order, which has the mass military forces, the Valthorns, whichprised the elite forces of Treehome. Within the Valthorns itself, there are further segregations into specialized units, with the junior batch of level 60 to 100, the senior batch of level 100 and above, and the elites, the best of the senior batch.¡± ¡°Level 60 to 80 is the junior batch?¡± One of the matrons wanted to faint. ¡°Of course.¡± Lady Ghairen smiled. ¡°The bar to enter the true Valthorn ranks is level 100.¡± ¡°Level 100!¡± ¡°To be able to challenge the demon champions single-handedly, level 80 is the minimum. You will meet a few level 100 lizardfolkster on.¡± ¡°How do they train till such levels?¡± Jaan was curious about the specifics. ¡°That¡¯s ssified. I do not know the full details of what the Valthorns go through. There are some guesses and rumors, of course, that Aeon has some secret dungeons for the Valthorns, but no one has ever found them.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Jaan admired the incredible build and strength of the lizardfolks, and felt proud that lizardfolk could stand toe to toe with the best of them. The humans and elves were less impressed with the high leveled elves, because they too had seen level 80 elves and humans, but rather, they were taken aback that lizardfolks, that they normally consider to be generally weaklings, even at the same levels, disy such exceptional strength. ¡°I don¡¯t want to paint the wrong picture, here.¡± Lady Ghairen rified. ¡°The Valthorns, even the lizardfolks, are trained from young. These lizardfolks are designed, and educated for the long war against the demons. They are selected for their exceptionalbat talents, and not all lizardfolks live such lives.¡± ¡°How many lizardfolk are there?¡± A matron asked. ¡°How many serve as tools of war?¡± ¡°From what publicly avable data revealed by the Valthorns, only less than three thousand lizardfolks serve in the Valthorns, though about hundred and seventy thousand serve in the Valtrian Order throughout the central continent. Our total poption, based on the estimates collected by the FFA, puts our lizardfolk at somewhere around eighty million.¡± ¡°Eighty million?!¡± ¡°Yes, one third of that number lives in the area of Wetport Lapule, which is the lizardfolk¡¯s de facto capital. The rest are scattered all over the continent, in smaller towns, swamp and marsnd cities, or in the various viges.¡± The matrons looked at each other, curious what a great lizardfolk city was like. ¡°Will we be able to visit that city?¡± Lady Ghairen wasn¡¯t sure, and looked at a Valthorn assistant. ¡°I¡¯ll get back to you on that.¡± The tour took them to the Treeology School, again, fairly boring to the lizardfolks, but fascinating to the elves, humans and others. Some timeter, Lady Ghairen came with splendid news. ¡°Yes. The Valthorns agreed to provide some free time to visit Wetport Lapule.¡± Lady Ghairen said with much joy. ¡°I won¡¯t be going with you, however as I have some tasks here. You will be received by a district chief of the city, instead.¡± *** Four days it took for the lizardfolks to make the trip to Wetport Lapule. Nestled along the Lap Bay area, where the once-pure waters of the Pule river met the great Eastern Oceans. Along the Eastern seaboard of the Central Continent, Wetport Lapule was and is the noisy hive of the lizardfolks. A stench foul to all but lizardfolk filled the air, the ce was once idyllic. Urbanization, and the massive influx and poption explosion of lizardfolks erased most of that purity. Over ten million lizardfolk lived across the many structures and lizard-made rivers along the coasts of the Lap Bay, and another ten to fifteen million more across the great metropolis. Here, it was where the Great Chiefs and Kings of the Lizardfolks would rule over the rest of their kind, though no lizard had dared call themselves King of the Lizardfolk since the great catastrophe of the Rottends. For all it took, was to look up and witness the great tree that loomed over Wetport Lapule, the twisted, swamp-adapted form of their guardian and patron, Aeon. A reminder of death, an obelisk of the great restoration and also a shining guiding me of the city. Many other gigantic trees loomed over the city and the bay, spawned over the generations by their patron, but it is to their Light of the Swamps, The beacon of the Wetport, the biggest of them. it was both a tree and lighthouse, on the tallest branches of that tree, there was a stairs that led to arge, forever burning me. They once wanted to rece the me of the ports with a bright magical crystal that did not require the careful tending of a group of specialist lizards, the [meguardians]. Yet, superstition prevailed, as rituals and beliefs emerged over the decades, and the n for the crystal light wildly resisted. What was Wetport Lapule without the ever burning mes on the highest of their trees? The lizardfolks believed, even if untrue, that the me was a remnant of the Rottends. In truth, it was just Aeon¡¯s copy of the crown of mes that once lit it¡¯s true body. The lizardfolks needed a lighthouse, and his giant tree could easily serve the purpose. Despite truth, symbolism. Faith. Prevailed. Aeon was perhaps wise enough to know that it was pointless to stop superstition. The races sought patterns, and symbols, so Aeon allowed it. It was the symbol of rebirth. A symbol of the way home. Rain or shine, whether storm or hurricane, the [meguardians] ensured the mes lit the skies, marking the Lizard¡¯s return. Next to service as one of the great Valthorns warriors, the [meguardians] was coveted. Among those lizardfolks who survived that fateful day, and lived, many privately worship the great tree as a variant, an image of some animistic deity of the Lizardfolk. Heresy. It was not what the Treeology priests taught, thus quietly said and whispered among the closest of lizardfolks. It was something a lizardfolk would only share when their scales touched, and their bodies intertwined with each other. Yet tolerated. As Jaan and the rest of them marveled at the great, foul, disgusting, and sprawling mass of their kind, they realized, at that moment. ¡°This is what we could be.¡± The matrons realized, if nothing else. A sight that they¡¯ve never realized possible, that their kind could have a great city of their own, so massive and sorge that the residents of the Wetport Lapule would need days of scrubbing and showering to wash off the stench of all the droppings. Jaan shook his head. Of all things, this was what the matrons wanted for their kind? A city of lizardfolks? It was true that lizardfolks did ascend to quite high and senior ranks back home, and there were lizardfolk kingdoms and nations in the past. But, the sheer nature of lizardfolk breeding habits and their weaker-than-average strength, on average, mean lizardfolk kingdoms rarelysted long. Civil war wasmon in lizardfolk kingdoms, as generations after the founding king, so many im to be descendants of the King. Theirmunal breeding nature did not help, and Jaan had always felt this was a w of their breeding practices. But he did not express his thoughts, as his eyes looked at the city around them. Their carrier beetles led them through the long, dedicated passageways, but they could see housing and shops that seemed to stretch as far as the eyes could see. Almost all lizardfolks, though some other races had chosen to live among them. The bay was pristine, once, but much has changed. Instead, it was filled with ships of all shapes and sizes, and massive, gigantic lizardfolks meant for war filled the docks. Pirates. Privateers. Sailors. Back home, Jaan had never known of lizardfolk sailors. They could swim quite well, but they were most familiar with the shores and seas. Not the deep oceans, but here, their kind adapted. Jaan¡¯s [inspect] quickly revealed that their levels were not much higher than his own, yet, their physique and health suggested a far better quality upbringing. Their scales all had at least some shimmer, unlike their own dull scales. ¡°Chief Jaan.¡± A Valtrian order assistant, an, had to wear some kind of mask. The stench was overpowering. ¡°We are arriving in another hour. I¡¯ll introduce you to District Chief Saraf, he runs District II of the Wetport, and he¡¯ll bring you all around.¡± The beetle convoy of lizardfolks stopped at the bottom of the great tree of the Wetport Lapule, and the location itself was grandly decorated. Arge, opulent receiving tform, and ornately carved walkways, lifts and handles. Statues made of valuable materials littered the location, and smaller but incredibly beautiful trees scattered all over. Their eyes drifted to the crowd waiting for their turn. There were lines of pilgrims and young lizardfolks, led by their teachers, minders and matrons. A faith and superstition reinforced. But to the matrons, they saw tradition. A tradition not their own. ¡°Greetings, Chief Jaan. must be a journey, toe from a faraway small vige to the big city.¡± Saraf was a tall, slender lizardman with spotted red scales. He was ornamented from head to toe, with gold studs and gold-ted scales to rece where some scales had dropped off, and gemstone rings on his scaled fingers. He had arge, thick ne simrly made of gold and silver. ¡°Greetings, Chief Saraf.¡± Jaan responded. ¡°Ah, I must correct you there. I will be referred to as District Chief. There are many chiefs in this city, I am but one of the thirty-four district chiefs of the central Wetport administration, and I would be in trouble if anyone heard you refer to me as anything else.¡± ¡°My apologies, District Chief.¡± Then heughed, and gently jabbed Jaan on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m joking, don¡¯t be a tense lizard. Your tail might drop off. We are not so uptight. We¡¯d die from stress,, if we¡¯re anal about things like naming. Come,e.¡± Jaan noticed there were guards, but just ordinary ones. Better equipped, and in better health, but noticeably ordinary. ¡°We¡¯ve arranged for a trip up to see the Light of the Wetport. That¡¯s the first touristy thing everyone does. Or religious, I suppose.¡± ¡°Touristy? What does that mean?¡± Jaan asked out of genuine curiosity. A concept unheard of, back on the Mountainworlds. ¡°What you happen to be doing now, Jaan. Visiting. Touring.¡± ¡°-Ah. It is a thing here. Pardon me.¡± ¡°No worries. Vige bum problems.¡± Sarafughed, as they waited. The matrons watched eager, cheerful young lizardfolks, escorted by their minders into specially made wooden lifts, so they didn¡¯t have to climb up the steps. Each lift had multiple ropes and anchors, and once filled, properly secured and then lifted up to the top. The work of lizardfolk [crafters] and [builders]. But not all took the lifts. There are those who took the hike up the great tree as a journey of their own, the fenced stairs anddders coiled around the twisted giant tree like a snake. It was soon their turn, but by now the Matrons¡¯ faces were visibly different. They had seen so many, old and young, visit. The light itself, a me that seemed to burn the tree itself was located on the tallest branch of the tree. It seemed to burn ravenously, and burned the branches, intentionally so. Yet it never seems to spread, specialized lizardfolks ensured it never did. Jaan felt the heat from the bright mes, and watched the [meguardians] go about their work. The tour group was safe, their vantage point was arge ring-shaped tform around the mes. They shared therge tform, the earlier groups were also admiring the mes. Jaan looked at little young children, with their still tiny scales and bright eyes, wobble and go gaga over the huge mes. A matron couldn¡¯t help herself, approached the guardians of the young lizardfolks, and struck up a conversation with the minders. The rest of the matrons swarmed in to join her, eager to learn about the locals. They were curious, and conversations between the matrons and the minders were juicy. Jaan just watched, and looked at the district chief. ¡°Everyone visits these mes?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a thing. We sell paintings and sculptures downstairs for lizardfolk visitors who wanted to take a bit of it home. Souvenirs.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Jaan didn¡¯t understand the concept. ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t get it either. Paintings and souvenirs just can¡¯tpare to actually being here, high above the city and being next to the mes that guide our raiding ships home. A painting or a sculpture just doesn¡¯t have that presence.¡± Most captains and sailors have some navigational skills, but [lighthouses] and [ports], are structures that act as beacons in their own minds. Like waypoints. Symbols. And if enough people believed in it, the system absorbed elements of the symbols. *** Jaan couldn¡¯t get the matrons to stop talking, but luckily, the minders and the children had to go back to their care centers. Yet, he could see it in some of the matrons, who realized that traditions changed. Yes, there is an argument to hold onto original traditions, to write them down, to remember why they were, and what they were for. Jaan knew that their own matrons understood the traditions, and their purpose. The beetle now led them to tour the rest of Wetport Lapule, which was different. There was a bustle, an energy in the docks that was palpable. Everyone did something, and wanted to do something. There was always a ship setting out, and even though the skies looked cloudy, no one seemed to mind. Just being here made Jaan feel like he was a cker. The eldest matron stood next to Jaan, and sighed. ¡°They are so strange.¡± ¡°Strange?¡± Jaan asked. ¡°Lizardfolks. Sailors.¡± ¡°Their world is different. They haverge oceans, while ours only has onerge one.¡± ¡°Their traditions, their ways. So different.¡± Jaan nodded. ¡°We may be simr in appearance, but their people changed over time.¡± A ship sailed in, battered, but the captain was arge, burly lizardman. A giant lizardperson with scars, and tattoos that glowed. Level 50 [Pirate War Captain]. Enchantments. He wore gloves made of some kind of unusual steel, thick with magical enchantments. ¡°But look at them.¡± The matron gave out a long sigh. ¡°That¡¯s the thing. I can¡¯t say they are wrong. They have life, they have dignity, their own city, their own culture. These lizardfolks belong here, unlike us, running and fleeing from the mes of war. Our kingdoms neverst more than a decade, and here-¡± ¡°They have the might to defend their im. We don¡¯t.¡± ¡°You know we usually fall to infighting.¡± The matron answered. Lizardfolks of mountainworld are segregated. Separated. Treated as disposable units deployed just to overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers. Thergest they had was just a city not even one tenth of this monstrous, sprawling agglomeration. They never gotrge enough, which was ironic, given their breeding patterns designed for volume. Even when they did, infighting broke their ns and viges apart, and they were back to square one. The poorer average quality of lizardfolks meant many just died along the way. Their poor skills and abilities meant they couldn¡¯t even feed that many, if they wanted to. Jaan nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t believe they are entirely right, Matron. But there are things to learn from their path. Something in between the two traditions.¡± The matron shook her head. ¡°Mixing traditions is even more dangerous.¡± Jaan shrugged, and saw what they liked. Lizardfolks of Wend Lapule were truly masters of herbs and potions, due topetition among the [herbalists], [witchdoctors] and [shamans], and far better record keeping and tracking of recipes by the central authority. There was tradition, but new traditions could also be made. *** ¡°District Chief Saraf, when we were back on Freshka, we saw some Valthorn lizardpersons. Are there any here?¡± Sarafughed like it was the most ridiculous statement ever. ¡°Is your vige so small that they didn¡¯t even put a Valthorn? The Great Tree has people everywhere. Everywhere.¡± He then pointed in a particr direction, where Jaan¡¯s eyes suddenly saw a giant tree, just asrge as the one with the mes, located slightly further ind, but still deep in the suburbs and districts of their city. ¡°Strange. Why didn¡¯t I see that before?¡± ¡°Tree-magic.¡± Sarafughed. ¡°I think. Or some godly shenanigans. But if you want to find Valthorns, that is where you go. That¡¯s also the super rich-district, and the administrative district of Wend Lapule.¡± ¡°Super rich?¡± ¡°Yup. If you¡¯re one of the Guild Lords or great Admirals, you¡¯ll have a home in District XII. It¡¯s a fancy, really upscale ce where they¡¯d kick you out, if you got a scale out of ce.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Jaan stared, and Saraf eventually shrugged. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m half joking. The Valtrian order doesn¡¯t do that. But the private establishments do. Uppity farts with half dropping tails between their legs.¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t tell me, I wouldn¡¯t think you look out of ce.¡± Jaan smiled. ¡°Meh.¡± Saraf cursed. ¡°They think I¡¯m a tryhard. Fools with too much money and too little brains. They¡¯ll be poor in a generation or two.¡± Jaan didn¡¯t get it, but he nodded. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s not bore you with ss dynamics in this swamphole.¡± Jaan saw through Saraf¡¯s fakeugh. All was not perfect here, and so, Jaan tried to poke a bit harder. ¡°What¡¯s life being... poor?¡± ¡°Fantastic. You just make your babies with some whore from the bar, and dump them at the Valtrian order¡¯s nurseries, and it¡¯s no longer your fucking problem, then you¡¯re back to serving on the decks and a deckhand, then at night you¡¯re pissed drunk somewhere, somehow, but never actually falling into the bay.¡± Saraf said. ¡°Then, you try to im every orphan lizardfolk who made it as somehow your descendant. One you don¡¯t have a hand in raising.¡± Jaan felt that sounded way too personal, as if he lived it. ¡°Hah. Didn¡¯t expect that, right? But anyway, I¡¯m kidding. I wouldn¡¯t want to be poor again. It¡¯s terrible. All that alcohol doesn¡¯t numb the fact that society sees you as worthless.¡± Another set of statements Jaan couldn¡¯t wrap around his head. ¡°But honestly, it¡¯s the middle ss who gets shoved. Mainly from stupid, ridiculous, absurd property prices. You know us lizardfolks, we don¡¯t like tall skyscrapers like humans or elves, we like our homes onnd, with some bits of flowing water and all that. That¡¯s why we¡¯ve kept building outwards and pretty much taken over the entire bay! The other races now call this ce the Bay of Lizards.¡± They were now back on the deck. ¡°Huh. It¡¯s almost entirely why they instituted production quotas. This ce essentially bore the faults of lizardfolk over-birthing in the earlier half century. Aeon wanted to repopte the lizardfolk poption, which was fine and all, had everyone listened to their directives and lived in the old lizardfolknds where there¡¯s still a lot of space, but every other damned lizardfolk wanted to be here.¡± The chief stared at the district chief again, and couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the biggest market for lizardfolks. Highest wages, goodpetitive roles, best employers, and thend where all the famous non-Valtrian lizardfolks live. If you want to work for a famous [baneer admiral], this is the ce to be.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t chiefs tell the young lizardfolks what to do?¡± Jaan asked, as if the idea was so ridiculous. Why were younglings not listening to orders? In his mind, there was room for discussions and all, but once the decision was made, everyone had to follow. That was the way. ¡°Oh lord you¡¯re one of those oldies that still want to dictate younglings, aren¡¯t cha?¡± Jaan paused, and felt like he too got pped in the face. Metaphorically. ¡°Haha, my bad. Don¡¯t mean to step on your old tail, but seriously, young lizardfolks these days are brought up with so many supplements and provided with suchrge amounts of knowledge and education, they¡¯re just different. You gotta adapt, or you won¡¯t keep your role for long.¡± ¡°Wha-¡± ¡°I can feel that youe from a ce unlike this, but reality is, the young will have their own thoughts, and they won¡¯t agree with you all the time. Time to let go. Let them experiment. This ce was an experiment, after all. Though, I suppose you could also say this damned ce is an experiment that went on for far too long and it¡¯s high time Aeon stepped in to revamp this damned bay.¡± Suddenly, he now understood the matrons¡¯ resistance. Tradition dictated that they defer to the matrons on matters of family and raising younglings, and he tried to change it. Here, his role was subject to change. He was old, and felt old. This was what it was like to feel like the world¡¯s changing too fast, and you can¡¯t keep up. He had been too selfish, and perhaps ignorant. He thought that his own position was safe from change. Was the matron¡¯s resistance arising out of insecurity over their own roles in the future lizardfolk society? Where do they go from here? *** 243. Bursting Peas 243. Bursting Peas Year 246 The Comet was still behind the veil. The barrier¡¯s thickness recovered, which suggested that the demons had reconstruction abilities. They could somehow repair the Sun-Rings so quickly even after Alka¡¯s ability blew up and shattered a chunk of the Sun-Rings. Yet the transmission the Comet emitted was sufficient. It¡¯ll cross the barrier in a year or two. We¡¯ll see it. This was a slow mo truck crash. And somehow, I felt nervous. *** ¡°Demon turtleworld.¡± Roon and Johann arrived at the location, along with the void mages. ¡°What a name.¡± ¡°You know Lumoof¡¯s never been one for names.¡± Roon chuckled and looked at the barren ins. As they explored the ce a little more, it soon turned out there were more areas in the world than they initially expected, and some of which actually had some kind of murky, quasi-acidic pools and seas. The demonic turtles were resistant to those acids and we observed them entering the acidic pools and seas. Johann shrugged as more and more Valthorns arrived. ¡°This is going to be home for a while.¡± Johann flicked a finger and out of nowhere, a small dragon emerged. The dragon finally hatched, and it was a golden dragon with absolutely beautiful scales. There were already Valthorns who asked to buy any excess scales, something which Johann rejected. He was going to keep all of them, and then turn them into armor. Dragonscale armor sounded absolutely amazing. The golden dragon hatchling breathed a golden me that was not seen anywhere else, and even the mages wanted to study it. Dragonbreath. True dragonbreath was something lost to time, and everyone wanted to see it. The little golden dragon wasn¡¯t big enough to carry Johann yet, but it ate voraciously. We shipped meat over by the truckloads, but honestly, we were not exactly sure what to feed it. In time, I wondered whether Johann would be able to control such a powerful dragon. Even with it¡¯s current size, I already estimated it to be something in the level 80s or 90s. In its full strength, it might even be able to deal as much damage as the heroes. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we just hit the Core of this world just to fuck with the demons?¡± Roonughed, his equipment strapped to his back. ¡°Think we can do that after we deal with theet.¡± Johann frowned. ¡°We¡¯re building a base in a ce with a quasi-demon-king underneath us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not very different from the Lavaworld.¡± ¡°You know the difference.¡± Johann arched his eyebrows. Roonughed. ¡°We¡¯re here. That¡¯s sufficientfort for the guys here.¡± Over the next two to three months, the Valthorns discovered that the Demonic Turtleworld experienced regr,rge amounts of tremors that shook the ground and moved some of therge barren sands. The tremors came from the core itself, as if something in the core of the kept moving. Our base on the Demonic Turtleworld therefore had to be built with magical securing artifacts that altered the ground around them, such that the forces of such tremors were diverted away. The turtles themselves were fairly easy foes, and despite being demons, they were surprisingly non-aggressive. They attacked when we got close, but these demons didn¡¯t seem to take the initiative tounch attacks. They were simr to the anti-magic giant lizards, they had high defenses, strong melee and close range attacks, and strong magic resistance. But ultimately, they had certain weak points, such as their underbelly. The void mages scanned the sky. The demonic turtleworld had some smaller ¡®asteroids¡¯ around it that floated in space. They were not immediately obvious, but once we found them, a group of them headed there immediately to set up a second position. The simple reason that the void mages had stronger power in space, and if we were not sure how close or far the dem will get when the paths actually cross. So, the wider our range, the better our chances of actually catching theet in its path. *** My two domainholders fanned out the demonworld, and began stealing rift gates. Along with the daemolite next to them. We neededrge quantities of daemolite to supply the void mana needed to open a portal to theetworld as it passed by. Normally, my potato storage units would be able to store the void mana, even with decay, but I didn¡¯t have enough clone seeds to deploy a clone on the Demon Turtleworld, and I also needed one clone seed to deploy on the Comet itself, if that¡¯s possible. There was a suspicion from my mages, that the demons have a way of ¡®controlling¡¯ worlds, andmanding them to move in the void sea. Just like how the Will of the World said that they could bemanded to do so. If this is the case, my clone will be required to ¡®reim¡¯ control of thiset¡¯s will of the world. That would allow us to then override the demon¡¯s instructions and steer it away from collision. In the meantime, we worked. Daemolite. We collected so much daemolite from across the entire demon turtleworld, and bit by bit, moved them to the nearby asteroids. The Valthorns quickly set up a base,plete with all the life-support supplies needed to operate on a rock without breathable air. We developed powerful earth magic, meant to moverge amount of dirt and ground in a short period of time. The idea was that we¡¯ll need these earth magic to dig into the Comet, it¡¯s likely not to have an open pit that we could just drop into. Powerful earth-escavation magic was created and stored on tens of thousands of magical scrolls. Demonic turtleworld transformed into warbase by the end of the year, with tens of thousands of bombs and various ordinances. Magic truly is amazing. Skills too. The demons attacked us, but so far, the demon mother refused to leave it¡¯s pits. So, we didn¡¯t have any reason to enter it. Not when I only have one clone left, and it¡¯s still in cooldown. *** Aria¡¯s avatar was ready. The wooden avatar was linked to her, and then, transformed into an icy tree resembling an evergreen pine. It had hair in the form of evergreen leaves¡¯, that meant, pins, and she said it was based on her original form. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t feel so bad for being born a scorpionoid.¡± Khefri chuckled as I introduced Aria¡¯s avatar to the heroes. ¡°I believe I would rather trade ces.¡± Ariaughed. ¡°Being a block of ice for centuries isn¡¯t fun. The only reason I have not gone insane is because magic and skills put me through hibernation.¡± The scorpiondy had lightened up significantly since a decade ago. Traveling multiple worlds and fighting demons across the worlds gave her confidence, and her new friendship with the fellow heroes gave her life a meaning she oncecked. Even though her rtionship with the archer hero Chung was fraught with the usual rtionship ups and downs. Then Prabu dropped the bomb on me one day. ¡°Aeon, I would like to try and have children with Colette.¡± Okay. Heroes mating with each other- that¡¯s that¡¯s normal, I suppose. ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for decades now, and for a while, it felt like fighting demons was our only purpose in this world. But as the ss¡¯s hold on our mind wavers, we- we want to have children.¡± ¡°Why now? You don¡¯t have the need before this?¡± ¡°It- it¡¯s just something we never thought about. The idea of having children as heroes fighting demons was so wild. I mean, I could imagine other people having children, or non-heroes having children, but having one with Colette- it¡¯s just different, somehow.¡± Hero-ss mind-fuckery? That¡¯s so- ¡°Do you think there will be side effects? I mean, right now, the strongest, most powerful healer in the entire multiverse is likely you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a problem, but given what we¡¯ve seen of other hero-offsprings, there¡¯s no special benefits. Hell, you might still be like you now, by the time your kids grow up. Is that something you want?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be like elves, then.¡± ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯m not saying it lightly, that it¡¯s going to be a huge mental block.¡± Having children is fine. A hero losing their children. That¡¯s when shit gets crazy. A mad, angry hero was probably going to be way more destructive. ¡°I know. Harris once said he was surprised how little he actually cared for his offspring. It took his conscious effort and reminder to ovee his innate urge to ignore them.¡± Prabu said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether a child of two heroes would be different. I feel it might be.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s not clear, the hero ss is clearly designed for you heroes to have a ¡®light¡¯ touch on the world. With as little attachment as possible.¡± ¡°That is fading, clearly.¡± Prabu repeated. ¡°It¡¯s been many, many years, and I¡¯m more- more in control of the ss. I feel I¡¯m getting better at spotting the ss¡¯s attempts to mess with my mind.¡± ¡°The fact that you can have this conversation is probably a sign that it¡¯s hold wanes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s dangerous, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It is. I cannot afford a runaway hero. Or a hero that is destructive. There is too much at stake. Not when there¡¯s aet headed our way. I don¡¯t even know if we can deploy a seed or a clone on the Comet. If we can¡¯t, then we really have a limited window to hop on the Comet.¡± Prabu looked sad. ¡°After the Comet, then. I¡¯d like to move to Tropicsworld. Permanently. That world doesn¡¯t get invaded.¡± ¡°For now.¡± I wondered briefly, what would happen if Treehome fell, but the heroes still lived. Would the mentalpulsions on the hero vanish if their homeworlds no longer existed? Was there even such a condition in the ss? It was a pointless thing. I chucked that thought into the back of my head. ¡°But yes, after the Comet.¡± ¡°You want us to wait a few more years. No, maybe two decades. My child could grow up till he or she is seven, or eight, or even in his teens.¡± Prabu said. ¡°Actually- maybe there¡¯s no good time after all.¡± At this point, I realized the hero¡¯s mind was made. He was going to have a child with Colette, and the best I could do was just support them through it. ¡°We won¡¯t wait.¡± Prabu said. ¡°We won¡¯t know if we die or not when we fight all the other demon kings, but we ask that my children be relocated to Tropicsworld should the daye.¡± The heroes continued to pay me in hero items, and I suppose there¡¯s no harm. Not anymore. ¡°Very well.¡± *** ¡°Aeon. I need to go on a demon king hunting spree.¡± Alka said. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I know I¡¯ve been tasked with thatet stuff, but I was thinking that the best way forward is to amplify my own destructive abilities. I need to obtain some kind of ability that meshes well with my [Always a Bomb]. If I could get a multiplier effect, I could fundamentally be a mobilend mine to soften any demon king, and theet.¡± That was quite true. Alka right now possessed the single strongest destructive ability that wasn¡¯t restricted by the void mana portals. I couldn¡¯t send certain types of superweapons through void mana, especially those loaded with way too much star mana. ¡°Working with Ste¡¯s portals, I am effectively a nuclear bomb. The goal, therefore, is to make me into a bomb capable of cracking theet. With our resources soon to be split, we will have a problem.¡± The demon king of the Mountainworld would arrive at the same time as when the Comet crossed the demon turtleworld, both estimated around Year 253. I believe the heroes could handle it with my support. But it did mean some of the bombs would not go. ¡°I could frontrun that invasion, and go to the demon world-¡± Alka said. ¡°If you die, and you have to be resurrected- we won¡¯t have you against theet for a while. We don¡¯t know how long the respawn mechanism takes. Sure, I can send you against the demon king but thates with risk.¡± ¡°It¡¯s worth it.¡± Alka insisted. ¡°The size of that thing is monstrous. We¡¯re not going to get gains without gaining some levels.¡± ¡°If you can get on it, you can use your ability repeatedly to chip off the Comet.¡± ¡°What if the explosion causes it to change direction in the void sea?¡± ¡°That''s the objective achieved.¡± I answered. ¡°Fair. But let me go chase some demon mothers in the heart of the demonics. We can start with the demonic houndworld. It seems like a fairly regr ce. We have good people in charge of all the departments, we can let them handle it while we try to find and field more firepower.¡± I thought for a while, and decided he had a point. We didn¡¯t need my domain holders in charge of the nitty gritty details and administrative matters. They should be gaining levels, and providing direction with their experience. Just like Ste¡¯s attempt to search for more resources. *** Aria¡¯s level 100 avatar joined Alka, Lumoof, Edna and Ste in his quest to gain levels. Sure, Aria was effectively level capped as a level 100 avatar, but they still gained experience from the battle. Also, just because the avatar was level 100, wasn¡¯t that big a restriction as I thought. Aria could make really powerful equipment, which could then be wielded by the avatar. This effectively added 10 to 20 levels ofbat power to the avatar. Their first destination was the demonic houndworld, and they headed straight for the pits. ¡°So we just nuke the demon mother and run?¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried we destroy the core while we¡¯re at it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re here. You need to flush it out. I need to gain levels. You chase it out, force it out of the core, and it wille this way. I will nuke it when it gets anywhere near me. That should defeat it.¡± ¡°If this works we could free multiple demon worlds at the same time.¡± ¡°But what if there is a growing demon king in there. The demon mother won¡¯t leave the growing demon king alone.¡± ¡°Then we nuke that too.¡± ¡°But we might blow up the core. That¡¯ll piss off the [system] and make us enemies of the world.¡± ¡°That- that doesn¡¯t sound good.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just go down there and see what we have? If it doesn¡¯t work out we can find another world. That world before the barrierworld is another good candidate.¡± ¡°We should¡¯ve done research.¡± ¡°No one¡¯s going to go into the pits without us domain holders being there.¡± Lumoof frowned. ¡°Ah. True. The things we do for the fate of the multiverse.¡± Alkaughed. Ste just rolled her eyes. ¡°Ohe on mister bomberman. We¡¯re getting close.¡± The core was simr to Parasiteworld. It was a hollow center filled with rocks, and just a gigantic sphere of rock that was theary core. It was a sphere with tunnels criss crossing its spherical structure, and a gigantic creature with it¡¯s tentacles everywhere. The demon mother. It wasn¡¯t growing a demon king. Maybe not yet. ¡°Well? Patriarch Lumoof, please do the honors?¡± Edna teased. 244. Outgrowth 244. Outgrowth Year 246 (continued) ¡°Well? What are we waiting for?¡± Alka said. ¡°We need to gain levels.¡± ¡°Are there better ways to do this?¡± Lumoof looked at the demon mother. ¡°Surely there are alternatives to luring it, just to gain levels.¡± ¡°The demon mother isn¡¯t as strong as the demon king. In the scheme of things, we should be capable of taking it on without much assistance.¡± Alka repeated. ¡°We either go hunt for demon kings to fight, or we go for these things.¡± In truth, they were venting. They knew this was one of the best ways. The dungeons no longer gave enough experience for domain holders to gain levels. Still, we didn¡¯t have that much ordnance ced on the surface. Edna and Lumoof shared a nce, before both headed for the core of the of the Demonic Houndworld Lumoof activated his avatar mode, and through it, my vines spread through the core. I hated how this was bing a familiar experience. The first time I did this was the anti-magic world. Then during the battle to reim the Parasiteworld. Ste¡¯s void mages was on the surface, ready with the void weapons. If the ck sun reappeared, we were going to shatter that droplet. Repetition. It still felt fresh and different to my domain holders. For Alka, this was his first battle, even if his role was just to nuke himself. For Lumoof, I could sense he shared my exhaustion. We were just so tired of all this shit, but we had to soldier on. I was tired. Exhaustion. I need a thousand years of no-demon kings to really properly rest, but the demons wouldn¡¯t let that. And it¡¯s unfair to the thousands of worlds out there that faced the demon kings. Like the rans. Like all the other habited worlds. My vines rushed into all the various holes throughout theary core and flooded them. The demon mother¡¯s energies met my own, and it turned back. It reoiled from contact, and at that moment, I knew quite surely I was stronger than the demon mother. I would like to capture a demon mother. I imagine the demon mother to just be a supersized version of the demon rod. It¡¯s ability to tap into magical leylines should therefore be superior to most magic, since a demon mother was able to capture a¡¯s core. Could it even capture a sun? My vines chased after the demon mother¡¯s body, as it darted within. It¡¯s tentacles battled my vines, and it lost every exchange. I was just stronger, even through Lumoof¡¯s avatar. I felt it emit some kind of magical energy. ¡°Uh- something weird is happening.¡± ¡°It¡¯s calling for help.¡± Ste said and immediately barked instructions to the team on the surface. ¡°Surface team, prepare for possible ck droplet!¡± The team on the surface was armed, but with my vines everywhere, the demonic mother soon found itself with nowhere to go but outside. It tried to escape, but though it still had the tremendous ability of corrupting aary core,bat clearly wasn¡¯t it¡¯s strongest set of skills. My vines, guided by Lumoof, smashed into the demon¡¯s own tentacles, and forced it out of the core. ¡°You know, if Aeon could do this to the demon mother, we should be able to start freeing worlds fairly easily.¡± Ste said, but quickly regretted it. ¡°But I spoke too soon.¡± Edna cursed as one of her spears mmed into the demon mother¡¯s tentacles, and she tried to pull the demon mother back. The demon mother was still exceptionally fast and it shrunk dramatically as it realized it was under attack. It released another warning, something within it¡¯s body vibrated in a certain way, one that my surface level team also recorded with their array of magical sensors. My surface team was ready for the arrival of the ck Sun, the ¡®teardrop¡¯. Alka separated from us, and took position along the shaft to the surface. The idea was to detonate once the demon approached. Weaken it significantly, and then kill it. ¡°Alright.¡± Lumoof announced as my vines kept pushing the demon mother towards the shaft. ¡°Alka, get in position?¡± ¡°Already am.¡± Alka said, as he floated alone somewhere in the middle of the long pit into the core. We didn¡¯t want to detonate in the core. The risk of destroying the and the negative impacts from theary curse was something I didn¡¯t want to risk. There were magical bombs along the way. ¡°Ste, teleport us out.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t. Core interference.¡± Ste cursed. The turbulent energies within the¡¯s core wasmon with all the worlds we''ve been through. It made stable portals impossible. It was like trying to build something next to a swirling whirlpool with sand. ¡°We¡¯ll need to chase after it, once we get a bit out of range of the Core, I¡¯ll teleport you guys out to the surface.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Roon and Johann nodded and they all rushed ahead. Lumoof was the slowest of them all, mainly because my vines were all tangled up and had to be withdrawn from the core. At that moment, I vaguely sensed a slowly rousing presence from the Core of the Houndworld. The demon magic from the demon mother wasn¡¯t gone, though. It was still there, sticking around like oil and dirty grease. It¡¯s clogged. ¡°Lumoof. Stay.¡± Imanded. ¡°The core is reawakening. But it might take a while.¡± Lumoof looked at hispatriots, Ste, Roon, Johann and Edna rushed towards the demon mother, and the demon mother, as expected, ran up the shaft. ¡°Alka.¡± Edna notified, as they kept harassing the demon mother with attacks. The demon mother seemed to have eyes on it¡¯s back, dodging our attacks. Even so, not all missed, as some of Roon and Johann¡¯s abilities were homing, enemy-chasing projectiles. The demon mother seemed to recoil from every hit. ¡°You should¡¯ve brought your dragon.¡± Roon teased his fellow bow-wielder. ¡°It¡¯s too small, and I don¡¯t wanna risk it.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t die!¡± Yet, the demon mother was a demon king. Somehow, along the way of capturing a world, that energy was lost, or perhaps, converted? Or given to the next one as a seed? Or reimed, somehow? I haven¡¯t actually seen how a demon king fully conquered a world. Did the demon king actually leave a shadow of itself, which became the demon mother, and it went on to attack other worlds? Or did it just somehow decay into this form? Theoretical questions that weren''t worth pondering now, as the rousing senses of the Houndworld connected with my own through Lumoof¡¯s avatar ability. This wouldn¡¯t be a permanent link, since I didn¡¯t have a clone here. Alka felt the demon mother head his way. ¡°Alright, it¡¯sing up. I¡¯m going to explode.¡± At that moment, Roon, Johann, Ste and Edna looked at each other, and decided to stop chasing after the demon mother. They didn¡¯t want to be too near. Ste immediately pinged. ¡°Aeon, be ready to pull us back.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± The demon mother surged towards Alka, unaware of the trap. It was already weakened from our repeatedbat. The surface team began to detect void mana and demonic mana in the air, a sign that the demon sun wasing- Then right as the demon mother approached and almost ran past Alka, he exploded. This was the second time he used the ability, and like a nuclear bomb detonated underground, it sent a seismic shock throughout the entire surface, one that I could feel even through my vines in the core. The entire chamber and shaft from the surface to the core was lit with a sh of light. An explosion. Freedom. The echoes and the vibration was deafening, as rocks began to copse. In our world, it was impossible to have a chamber that led to the core. There¡¯s molten magma and mantle. But in this world, in some worlds, quite a fews were rock all the way through to the core, and the core itself was more like a magical dynamic than one made of molten rotating liquid iron. Gravity was magical. A form of magic drawn to the core. The rocks began to fall. The surface team was puzzled, as the void mana in the air dissipated. ¡°Oh. It¡¯s dead.¡± Alka cursed, as the demon mother was vaporised in the explosion. ¡°I was expecting a harder fight.¡± It never was stronger than the demon king. I didn¡¯t gain a level. But Alka did. Just two levels, and no new skill. He cursed. *** I felt the magical grease and oil in the Houndworld suddenly seem less heavy. As if I could push them out. So, through Lumoof, my mana began to flow into the core of the Houndworld. I had a feeling this would be something I will be doing more often, once the war with the demons moved to another stage. The core¡¯s consciousness was like a scattered foam, gradually but surely regrouping. It would take some time, just as the Tropicsworld did. Right now, I did what I could, and purged the demonic energies within the core. I drained them through my vines and roots, through Lumoof, and released them into potato storages back on the other worlds. Lumoof got better at dealing with such mana fluctuations. He practiced extensively, and gained some skills over the years that improved his tolerance to magical energies. He still wasn¡¯t a fantastic spellcaster, but he had eptablepetence. But he was a [domainholder], and expectations were different. It was a sore point, but my priest epted it. It is nothing more than the demands of our struggle. *** In a war against the demons, I¡¯d be retaking worlds from the demons, and I would need help. ¡°Ste, so no news from your [void explorer]?¡± ¡°Did you know a space probe took about 12 years to get from Earth to Neptune.¡± Ste quipped as she rested on the surface of the houseworld. I suppose she meant to say that space was exceedinglyrge. ¡°So yes, the void sea is this massive, massive ocean. It¡¯s like we¡¯re in this small paper boat, and we¡¯re paddling very slowly through it. We¡¯re moving, for sure, but there are also fluctuations in this sea.¡± ¡°Can you see anything, at least?¡± ¡°I could. Other worlds. But I¡¯m not near enough.¡± Ste waved her hand and a magical three dimensional projection of the void sea appeared. ¡°This isn¡¯t urate, by the way. The void sea clearly exists in more than these dimensional forms, but this is the one I¡¯m mostfortable with. Using the other types bends my mind and it¡¯s hard for me to demonstrate it in a projection.¡± She pointed to a glowing red arrow flying, at the tip of a long spear-like part of the projection. ¡°This is my explorer. As you can see. I¡¯m going super-super far. ra was far, but I¡¯m now even further.¡± I paused. ¡°How far do you think the gods are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they are not clumped together. If they were- that does seem to suggest some kind ofwork effect, or perhaps a creation-event.¡± Ste mused. ¡°But I did recall you exining what Aiva said. That the gods are far away from each other too.¡± If the gods were separated, the demons essentially could pick off one god at a time. I wonder, momentarily, if the demons have in gods, and if so, how many have they in? They have one in the demon sun. So- each sun contained one god? ¡°In any case, we can only try our luck.¡± Ste said. ¡°I hope to reach something. Somewhere.¡± ¡°Rather than keep searching with the void explorer, would it be better to stop on one of these worlds, and try hoping using conventional astral paths? After all, their paths may be linked to some other worlds?¡± It was the equivalent of stopping the use of wormholes or warp space, and using spacenes to visit their astral neighbors. ¡°I thought of that.¡± Ste said. ¡°I¡¯m going to stop then. Maybe there¡¯s something I¡¯m not seeing.¡± Year 247 This was a rtively quiet year, as everyone moved to do their part. Quiet, for me, of course, because there were wars raging on every world. On Threeworlds, Zhaanpu and the Sandpeople waged a terrible war against the Crystal King¡¯s golems. I had inadvertently caused an esction in the type of weapons used in the war, as both sides unleashed stronger units against the others. Even the Centaurs of Hoofhall felt this war was the most horrific in recent memories, as the magical golems of the Crystal King fought against the sandstone constructs. On Treehome, the vassal wars continued. The guilds did not stop invading and trying to imnd, and the defenders didn¡¯t relent or give up. The Emperors were strong, and with their enhanced abilities they were able to somewhat offset the technological advantages in areas where the Emperor¡¯s im was strong. The royal sses, as strange as it was, were somewhat linked to loyalty. The greater the loyalty of its ruled popce, the stronger the effects of the Emperor¡¯s power. A soldier¡¯s benefit from its king''s blessing was very much linked to the faith, trust and loyalty that soldier had to its royal institution. Not the King, even if it¡¯s often seen interchangeably, but the actual mechanics of it was actually linked to the royalty as an institution. Each member of royalty¡¯s actions and abilities fed into a ¡®royal institution¡¯ modifier in the System, and also the distance of a person to its king and royalty. This was unlike a General, where the benefit of a General¡¯s power was linked to a soldier¡¯s position in the army controlled by the General. A member of an army benefited from every skill a general had that affected his army. Royalty¡¯s power is more subtle, wider, more pervasive but also, can be resisted. These findings emerged from decades of observation of the royal families in Treehome, because we noticed there wasn¡¯t much change even when a King passes on. A King¡¯s blessings and powers lingers on after his death. A kingdom doesn¡¯t copse immediately, but a timer starts ticking in the system, and with each passing day, the dead king¡¯s blessings weaken, reced by the powers of the new king, or, if there are no new kings, nothing. Ceremonies affect this sort of timer. A powerful ceremony attended by many members of society affects how quickly a new king¡¯s powers and sses ripple through the nation. Nations that did not have kingdoms, instead, contributed to a body of rulers regardless. The high council, or parliament, or members of the city-states, membership in that body then gained the powers simr to a king, but one that is collective and shared. The constitution, if there is one, gains quasi-king-like powers, but it does so very slowly. In a world where justice and rule ofw is strictly obeyed, I specte that their constitution, through decades and centuries of political investment, grows into a demigod ofw. That opportunity was curtailed on Treehome, because gods and religion exist. The way faith is so intertwined with the political structure meant a constitution was tied to faith. It was for this reason that most non-royal institutions don¡¯tst that long, and this whole damned world is stuck in the feudal fantasy era. All this, tied into the powers of the vassal wars. Ultimately, with me and the Valthorns cleanly out of the picture, it is a contest between the financial, sociodemographic and technological of the trading-guild-nations, against the faith-empowered theocratic empires of defending nations. I designated areas where the forces of the four continents are allowed freending zones on the Central continent, so that the forces of the theocratic nations could attack the guild-nations at their home. It was much to the silent annoyance of the guilds and their backing nobility, but the guilds quickly reinforced those locations. Internally, the Valthorns understood our ambitions were beginning to outgrow the Central Continent. We were bing a multi-world organization, and we needed to exist above and beyond. We had duty to our home worlds, but we had to shed the shackles that tied us. Trees are often repotted once they outgrow their pots. 245. Chronometree 245. Chronometree Year 248 The time ticked. We had 5 years until theet intersected with the demon turtleworld, and Alka was in a rush to hunt more demon mothers. Alka got a title, but the rest of us didn¡¯t, simply because it was the same title as the one before when we liberated Tropicsworld. This demonic houndsworld was free. Lumoof stayed back, and made regr trips to this world, to get a sense of the world¡¯s mind. Each world had a will, and each will was probably slightly unique- Woof. I was flooded with sounds and images of dogs and hounds, and they came from the freed core instead. Dogs. Hounds. All kinds. I saw a field of grass and flowers, and dogs running through them, chasing afterrger animals. Sheeps. Cows. Animals. There were just dogs. They were a little like the Canari, but these were not truly sapient. It was just a world with dogs. I felt more images of dogs, and I briefly wondered whether the overwhelming presence of demonic hounds throughout the demonic worlds was due to worlds like this. Surely there are demonic cats as well. I should¡¯ve known that some of these Will of the Worlds have primal, feral minds. Just like how tropicsworldmunicated mainly with images and sensations. *** On Mountainworld, the local team prepared for theing demonic invasion. Five years was plenty of time, but with explosive crystals in rtive short supply, the forces on the Mountainworld had to find local alternatives. The heroes, in particr, led the charge, as they adopted some of our methods and used their [hero forges] to create star mana explosives. These were functionally unusable via the void portals as they can¡¯t be shipped and delivered as payload to theinget due to the void-star mana interactions. So, they deployed and made them on Mountainworld instead, and for now, everything was stored in my clone tree. These were incredibly powerful bombs made of pure star mana, and if I intended for any of my clones to go with a bang, teleporting these star mana bombs through my clones was probably one of the best ways. It¡¯s likely to destroy my own clone in the process, or severely injure and damage my clone. The demon king could be early orte, but for now the star paths through space were still rtively fuzzy. The path still wasn¡¯t robust enough, but if we wanted, a void archmage could open a path to explore the invader¡¯s world. But void archmages are in short supply. We have four, still only four, and they are all upied with their own projects. Despite that, the heroes are confident, and they have every reason to be. Even with our B-team deployed on Mountainworld to support the heroes, they should still have enough weapons at their disposal to weaken whatever came their way. We should be able to pin down the demon king¡¯s location closer to its arrival, perhaps in another four years. *** Tropicsworld was our primary backup location. Large and mostly uninhabited, we maintained multiple operation bases back in the days of the war, but since it¡¯s eventual remation, we granted the use of some of these bases to the pioneer migrants. But, with theinget, we had to prepare for evacuation of an entire, and a lot of my Valthorns came over and constructed a few cities out of locally avable materials. Along with it came everything the cities needed to be self-sufficient. The pioneers did well, with the few [Pioneer Lords] and [Pioneer Chiefs] leading the way, and the rtive safety provided by perpetual Valthorn presence meant there were already a few independent cities of their own. The great thing is that there¡¯s effectively an information embargo between Tropicsworld and other worlds, because almost no message got through without the void mages, or me knowing about it. [Message] spells didn¡¯t work across worlds, though there are some magical ability that allowedmunication across worlds. My Valthorns tested certainmunication abilities like [mind-link], which allowed two people to maintain a mental link, and it persisted even through other worlds, albeit at a high mana cost per message. In time we would probably need to figure out a way to tweak the riftgates such that they function as information routers and modems. Prior to our remation of the Tropicworld, there were already multiplerge forests due to my presence and the long war against the parasitic demons, and these days, the entire world was pretty much covered with trees, except for the areas where the terrain warped to suit the recovering core¡¯s preferences. The pioneers had to adapt to the new environment, and they did so with quite a bit of sess since the beginning of the remation projects. But so far, the core somehow knew where we were and no one had actually died when it did some unusual terrain adjustments. I estimate the core to be about a third of Treehome¡¯s strength since it¡¯s freedom three decades ago. The rate of recovery over the past three decades appear to be fairly erratic. I¡¯m not sure whether the rate of recovery of Tropicsworld would slow down or elerate. In any case, at the current strength it should be able to sustain the poption of Threehome. If barely. I do have a tinge of worry, whether overloading a world with too much people affected the core. *** ¡°Ste. A few decades ago you estimated that there are a certain set of core suns, and also themand nodes.¡± I asked Ste once more. She was on the Demonic Turtleworld, setting up more magical tforms on the asteroids. ¡°Has that changed? Are these Sun-Rings thesemand nodes?¡± ¡°It seems to match.¡± Ste said. For her, its a theory she worked on for thest few decades. ¡°We know there¡¯s the ck sun, and there¡¯s also the blob. The core has a single demonic blob that serves as the prison. I also know there are multiple ck suns, at least from the core, but the demonic blob is the one with the divine energy.¡± But we have only know of one demonic blob so far, at the center of our copy of the demon¡¯s star map. The demon suns were located further away, and only one was in the star map. In their star map, the demon sun and the demonic blob were not far away. Why would the demons need multiple demon suns if it¡¯s far away? Was there a purpose? Or perhaps, more demonic prisons at the heart of it all? I found the demon¡¯s structure entirely confusing, but in the end, to end the cycle, all of these things must be destroyed. As a tree, the demons have brought pointless destruction. If they could exist without resorting to nket destruction and world-draining, it would be much more ptable to tolerate their existence. Ste suspects it may be easier to destroy the demon sun and severely weaken the demon¡¯s ability to power it¡¯swork of riftgates. Doing so would take out the demon¡¯s ability to invade new worlds, and thus turn the tide of battle in our favor. A game of defense and where we are the attacking party. But, if the demon suns are linked somehow, then that wouldn¡¯t do us any good. ¡°Are we ready for the first pass?¡± I asked my domain holders. Alka shook his head. ¡°Based on the sizes estimated by the void mages, we currently don¡¯t have enough weapons to blow it up from the surface. But, if we could somehow ess the core of this Comet, we can teleport enough bombs into the depths such that this dem shatters from within. It¡¯s a shame we can¡¯t use the heroes¡¯ star mana bombs without Aeon¡¯s clone, and my ability doesn¡¯t work with their star-mana bombs.¡± A lot of our actions are constrained by this foul void-star mana elimination. My chief explosive researcher then further exined. ¡°That said, we don¡¯t really know whether we can use Aeon¡¯s clone. Based on what we¡¯ve seen on the Sun-Rings, the clone can only be used if there¡¯s an earth-like object. It¡¯s not possible to deploy a clone on steel, for example. So, depending on the materials of this Comet, there is a fairly remote chance that we have to count Aeon¡¯s clone out.¡± Ste said. ¡°Remote.¡± ¡°I know, but we have to prepare for it. Not being able to use Aeon¡¯s clone will be a significant problem.¡± ¡°Can we ram an asteroid with Aeon¡¯s clone into the demon¡¯set?¡± Roon asked. ¡°Is there a minimum size of asteroid that is needed for Aeon¡¯s clone to work?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even know if there¡¯s an asteroid near this dem. The best chance for that is when it¡¯s nearest to our world, when the bubble of existence of Treehome and thiset are theorized to collide.¡± Alka answered. ¡°I mean, can Ste send an asteroid through her void portal?¡± The ranger repeated and looked at the void archmage. ¡°That¡¯s just a mitigating step if the surface is hostile to Aeon¡¯s clone.¡± She frowned. ¡°A small one, probably. Not sure if it¡¯s big enough for Aeon.¡± ¡°Work on it?¡± Alka pushed the void archmage, and she frowned, but eventually epted. Edna chuckled. ¡°Ste already has a lot of things on her te.¡± ¡°Well, if there¡¯s some other alternative to void magic to move shit around, then we better get to it.¡± Alka said. ¡°If Aeon is willing to kidnap some angels, for example.¡± I rejected that idea. ¡°No kidnaps. I don¡¯t want to ruin a potentially sensitive rtionship with the angels. They appear to be the kind that remembers such transgressions, and petty enough to wage a war over it.¡± Alkaughed. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make some enemies, even with people we like, Aeon. We need their angelic powers. If we can breed some of our own-¡± Edna stepped in. ¡°Alka, I think that¡¯s probably not where we want to go.¡± The scientist paused as he realized he probably said too much. ¡°Ah, yes.¡± Year 249 There was nothing much to do beyond watching my folks prepare for the inevitable. My trees and research trees did their best to find ways to dig into the demon¡¯s. It took slightly longer than expected, but the demon¡¯set could now be seen on the demon king¡¯s core. Our magical sensors picked up it¡¯s transmission to each of the demon worlds. A group of my mages tried to figure out how the demon sent transmissions through the void sea, because if we could replicate that, we could have interworldmunication that¡¯s not entirely reliant on mywork of clones. My domain holders were busy, but with the Houndworld freed from the demon¡¯s hold, it was also another potential evacuation spot. But it was a lot less essible, because it required my void mages to multiple hops to reach the Houndworld. A smaller group went and set up an operating base anyway. *** The vassal wars had a small breather this year. Both sides grew weary and tired of the war, and the merchant guilds wanted to consolidate their positions. So, in an entirely unnned moment, most of the guilds and the defenders just stoppedunching new offensives, focused on their own defenses and shoring up their own economy. They will return to the wars eventually, but the breather gave the general popce a great chance to recover from damage. Until it all gets destroyed all over again. *** ¡°Do you feel we are increasingly bing irrelevant?¡± Chung asked the other heroes one day when they were on Mountainworld. The preparations were going well, and there was still leisure time. I didn¡¯t push the heroes very hard, as long as they fought the demon kings. What they did in their free time, I left it to them. Like Prabu and Colette¡¯s n to have a child. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Prabu said while stuffing himself some more. ¡°Not really.¡± Colette answered. ¡°We¡¯re still doing what we are meant to be doing.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re increasingly bing less- less important.¡± ¡°Did the [hero] ss suddenly trigger something, Chung?¡± Prabu looked at his friend with a strange look. They¡¯ve been together for decades, and the rtionship among heroes can be a little tense because even the smallest things trigger them after so long. Thankfully, they only need to be together when they prepare for the demon king, and the heroes frequently return to their own ¡®homes¡¯ to dpress. I¡¯m very torn on the nature of the [hero] ss. It certainly has an overwhelming influence on the heroes¡¯ mindset, and guides them towards fighting the demons. The best time to investigate the hero ss is when a hero is weak, when it¡¯s still growing and not fully matured. But that often involves capturing or letting a hero suffer some kind of injury such that I¡¯d be in the position to ess the hero ss and their soul spring. Just like Harris or Me. I remember being able to remove Me¡¯s ss at one point, but with the current generation of heroes I had never gotten that prompt. *** ¡°My [void explorer] reached a new world. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s near the gods, yet.¡± The gods could be hiding, and honestly we don¡¯t know how exactly to sense a god. I know that Aiva¡¯s presence could be keenly felt, but there¡¯s no certainty that it is repeated everywhere, or whether the other gods transmit their presence. Therefore, it fell on Lumoof to explore this new world. *** ¡°Is it a good idea to explore when we face the prospect of a demon¡¯set?¡± Lumoof asked me privately. Alka spent some time fighting more monsters in the dungeon, but since the demon mother only gave a few levels, it wasn¡¯t really worth it. Freeing an additional world was a risk, especially if it meant that world could be retaken by another invading demon king. Even the Houndworld, without my clone, I didn¡¯t have much confidence in my ability to secure that world if we were attacked by demon kings since the heroes wouldn¡¯t be there to deliver the final blow. ¡°There¡¯s nothing much we can do, beyond getting stronger, but the prospect of gaining allies from far away is worth it.¡± Lumoof shrugged. Alka was busy preparing weapons and checking on all the bombs on Turtleworld. Ste¡¯s still working on the void magic tforms on the Turtleworld¡¯s asteroids. Roon, Edna and Johann were preparing the invasion force. There were priests and other patriarchs to do the priestly stuff that Lumoof sometimes did. ¡°You¡¯re my avatar, if not you, then who?¡± Lumoofughed. ¡°I suppose so.¡± 246. Wayfinding for Trees 246. Wayfinding for Trees Year 249 ¡°Two months.¡± Lumoof said to himself. We would spend two months in this world, and no more. Ste shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. There are enough of us to cover you. Seriously, just go and explore this world and see what¡¯s there. It¡¯s really far away that I don¡¯t know what to expect.¡± Lumoof rolled his eyes at the human voidmage. ¡°How strange could it get?¡± ¡°Very. Each realm and world is it¡¯s own little cocoon.¡± ¡°Fine, let¡¯s take bets. I¡¯m betting we¡¯ll see humans.¡± Lumoof said. Steughed. ¡°What¡¯s the prize?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take your next assignment to wherever, and you¡¯ll take mine.¡± ¡°You know it doesn¡¯t work like that. But sure, I¡¯ll take the opposing bet. No humans. We¡¯ll add drinks to that, too.¡± Ste epted. ¡°From what I could, people seem to be living there.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Very well then.¡± ¡°Good luck, old man. Go forth and spread Aeon¡¯s gospel.¡± Lumoof choked. ¡°You know I won¡¯t do that in a strange new world.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Steughed. ¡°Have fun.¡± *** The link through the [void explorer] faded behind Lumoof, the aberration vanished like it never was. I could feel Lumoof¡¯s nagging guilt, even though we both knew we had time. Exploration was important, for growth, for learning, for allies. We pushed on anyway. At this point, it was up to my team to do their part, and for all of us to show up when it mattered. Lumoof, my priest and avatar,nded in what seems to be forestednd, with patches of greenish grass, and pine trees around us. The air had a faint citrusy scent, and as Lumoof¡¯s magical senses expanded, we detected the presence of wolves, rabbits, and foxes. Birds on the branches. Insects. Lumoof could feel the presence of the ground, and it spoke back to him. Or at least, it gave him a sense of where people were. ¡°As usual, let¡¯s just spy on the locals before we make contact,¡± I repeated, and Lumoof¡¯s magical ring cloaked his presence. Unless one actively tried, magical perception would fail. Forest. It was strangely calming to be in the presence of the woods, and Lumoof soon found himself taking a leisurely stroll through the woods. None of the animals approached us, though we could feel their eyes on Lumoof. Instead, they scurried away and ran as soon as we even approached. We couldn¡¯t see the presence of the demon¡¯s usual star paths in the skies of this world. Cautiously, I took it as a sign that this world was not invaded, and that was a good thing. The demon¡¯s taint has not spread to all worlds. It took about two hours of casual strolling before we arrived on what appeared to be a road. It was a muddy road, but a quick nce revealed the presence of unusual marks on the road itself. Large, gigantic w-shaped marks, and next to them, smaller, human-sized marks. But their feet were not humans. Or may not be humans. ¡°I might lose this bet,¡± Lumoof smirked as he examined the dried muddy road. ¡°Beastmen of some kind?¡± ¡°With lizard mounts,¡± I answered, or war animals. Lumoof followed the path, following the footsteps where they led. As we continued along the path of footsteps, or w marks, we eventually approached what appeared to be a camp of some kind. An army camp. I knew it was an army because there didn¡¯t appear to be young, small children. It was a group of beastmen, with the heads of either a lion or a tiger, and they wore heavy armor made of bones and weapons made of magical ivory. There were no young, here. Each of the beastmen radiated strengthparable to a soldier around level 30 to level 40, and the leader¡¯s presence was someone around level 50 to 60. Our first encounter with this world¡¯s civilization was a war party, so that was not a good sign. Lumoof nodded. ¡°Let us watch a bit more, and see who they fight.¡± They didn¡¯t detect us, and Lumoof followed the lion-tiger beastmen for three days until they were out of the forests. During this time, we listened into their conversation. The lion-tiger beastmen referred to themselves as the Sinmau, while their opponents appeared to be a group of Wolf-Fox beastmen referred to as the Mug. They had war mounts that were gigantic lizards with scaled armor, which they referred to as the Cheecaks. At first, we didn¡¯t notice it, but Lumoof began to notice something unusual about the Cheecaks. They had a strange strand of magic about them, as if all of them were linked to something far away. The day of the battle came, and Lumoof watched the Mug army approach. They were a small n of simr size, about thirty beastmen with wolf and fox heads, and their strengths wereparable to the Sinmau force. The leaders of both sides thumped their breasttes and faced each other for a duel. ¡°Foul cubs, did your ancestors not teach you of stupidity? Your foolish attempts to encroach on the ancestralnds of the Mug Whitewolf n will be the death of you.¡± The leader of the Mug war pack shouted to the Sinmau war leader. Lumoof inwardly groaned. Two months couldn¡¯t pass fast enough. The two leaders fought first, and to Lumoof, it was like watching two soldiers in the Valthorn academy fight to the death. They were all so weak that it really wasn¡¯t worth it. ¡°We could capture some of them,¡± Lumoof suggested, ¡°And use them to tell us more about the world.¡± ¡°No. Not yet. Let us watch a little longer.¡± The battle was frankly pathetic to watch and nothing much of interest, but my fascination with the Cheecaks used by both sides increased as the battle continued. We noticed the unusual strands of magic as if they were bound and tied to something else, really far away. The battle endedrgely with a tie, as both sides were severely injured and retreated. But Lumoof decided to trust our instincts and follow what was interesting to us. The strand of magic that linked their Cheecak mounts. *** My priest followed and traced the strands of magic in the air, and we noticed they came from everywhere. Lumoof, cocooned in his own enchantments and magic moved swiftly across thend. Having The terrain of this world was varied and had a high level of diversity and frankly reminded me of our own homeworld. There wererge forested areas, areas where it¡¯s just vast grasnds, high, soaring mountains, andrge rivers. But our interest in the Cheecaks only increased my suspicion that something was strange with these mounts. All those strands of magic could be felt like momentary flickers in the air. The presence of a connection, like a message, but more than that. We traced it for a week and arrived at what was arge mountain, the tallest mountain we have ever seen. It¡¯s a mountain that was covered in a kind of red snow, and clouds swirled around the peak. There were more beastmen here, clustered around the four cities around the mountain itself. We spent a day or two observing the cities from the distance. Each was home to a different type of beastmen. The lion-tigerfolks the Sinmau, the wolf-fox people the Mug, the bird-headed people, the Burung, and the rhino-headed beastmen, the Tanduk. The Cheecaks were used by all four different beast ns. This mountain was Mount Kina, the holynd of the four ns of beasts. ¡°We¡¯re not here to meddle with their politics. We are here to find allies, if any. If these people are not worth it, we will leave and return when we have the time to make a better stand. Our goal are the Powers, and anything strong enough to help us against theet.¡± Over a few days, as we continued our observation near that mountain, we realized those magical strands led to the mountain above. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I said, and Lumoof nodded. A mountain was nothing to worry about. As it turned out, the act of climbing the mountain was an act of pilgrimage. The mountain, which soared into the heavens above was separated into ten steps, and it is said that a beastman¡¯s prestige and rank among his n was determined by which of those ten steps he reached during one of the great climbs. Climbing outside of the scheduled ¡®Great Climbs¡¯ was frowned upon, there was no blessing in doing so. It mattered little. We¡¯ve roughly settled on the name ¡°Beastmen world¡± for the people here, though our spying soon revealed that they refer to their own world as the First Realm. I wonder whether they even know of the existence of a world beyond theirs. Lumoof stood at the edges of the mountain and frowned. ¡°I think we can just teleport up there- Ah. Nope. There¡¯s something interrupting the magic.¡± If there was anything worthwhile in this world, it¡¯s likely to be up there. Even now we could sense the minute strands of wills and thoughts, all from the various Cheecaks all over the world. Since we couldn¡¯t get up there by spatial magic, it was time to do it the old-fashioned way. Lumoof¡¯s body charged with blessings and magic, and he jumped. In a single bound he leaped up to the seventh step, where the mountain touched the misty crown of clouds. There was a weight from above, a presence not unlike the aura of a domain holder. It pressed onto Lumoof, and it bounced off like water on an oily surface. ¡°Well, a domain holder at the top.¡± Lumoof mused. Without the weight of that domain holder¡¯s aura dying our rise. He leaped up, through the clouds, and thennded on what was the tenth step. There was arge teau, but it was not the top. It went even further, it¡¯s presence masked and distorted by the powers of a fellow domain holder. There were arge group of heavily armed beastfolks on top, with representatives from each of the races, but they didn¡¯t notice Lumoof behind the veil of magic. But they looked visibly upset and uncertain, their weapons were drawn and edgy. ¡°His holiness ims there is an intruder on the Mountain.¡± They shouted, and each of them looked. The presence of another domain holder from the top, and Lumoof paused. ¡°Should we even bother?¡± There really was no good way to make contact with another domain holder without seemingly ¡®barging¡¯ in. It¡¯s not as if there are agents we can talk to, and those came with a set of risks too. I thought it was more effective, and more honest, to just go for the center and be blunt about it. Lumoof asked a question, then. ¡°How would you like to be approached, Aeon?¡± It actually stumped me. An earlier, more vulnerable version of myself would prefer for contact to be made through my Tree of Prayers, instead of my real body. Or through any of my subsidiary trees. More than anything, what more an immovable immortal, I felt vulnerable andpromised when approached. It¡¯s likely that any immortal that could not move didn¡¯t like anyone or anything to get near it¡¯s main body, and would go to great lengths for things to stay that way. Our location, truly, is a sore point. We cannot move, and thus, our attempts to hide are made harder because anyone who wants to find us already knows where to look. Maybe I should first try to respect that boundary, and actually try it. So, Lumoof stopped, instead of climbing further. ¡°Actually, let¡¯s catch one of those Cheecaks and use my mana on it. If our suspicions are correct, the Cheecaks are linked to this strange entity at the end.¡± ¡°Surely we should first try to talk to these seemingly mindless creatures?¡± I suppose that¡¯s the equivalent of someone talking to my beetles, and expecting me to notice it on my end- Wait. I actually would notice it. My artificial minds would notice it, for sure. *** Lumoof retreated back down the Mountain, and left the guards confused. The entire four cities remained fairly tense and on alert, as the guards departed from the high mountain down into the cities below. My priest retreated quickly, his moving speed likely outstripped what the locals could do, and arrived in one of the small towns outside a few dayster. Lumoof managed to find a group of Cheecaks stored in some kind of Cheecak stables. It was more of a mosh pit than anything for these giant lizards to roll around and pretend like they are still tiny lizards. There were just a few guards, and Lumoof tapped into my avatar powers and quickly put them to sleep. It was easy. Despite their different anatomy and body, the powers of a system still worked, and they all slept like any other. Logically, a sleep spell designed for humans should not work on someone not a human. But system shenanigans meant a generic sleep spell would work on all creatures, provided their immunities are low. With the Mug guards all asleep, Lumoof approached one of the Cheecaks. It looked like a nk, dumb animal. ¡°Hello.¡± Lumoof said on my behalf. I knew he felt somewhat silly, but we wanted to see whether we could call on the de facto god of this world. The Cheecak did not respond. ¡°I know you¡¯re there. Somewhere in there. Linked to the Mountain high above.¡± Therge lizard did not respond. Lumoof ced his hand on the dull giant lizard¡¯s head, and my mana flooded the lizard. My mana poured into it and searched for that little strand that tied the lizard back to whatever was up on the mountain- I felt it. A strand of energy. It snapped just as quickly as my mana twirled with it. It felt like a figment, a minor shadow of a soul. It shattered into pieces just as my mana reached into the lizard. The Cheecak reacted to it badly. It was already dull, but now it looked absolutely nk, as if there was no thought or will behind it at all. ¡°Failed.¡± Lumoof cursed, he felt my every move, every twitch and movement of mana. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next one.¡± I failed to touch that figment in the next three Cheecaks, I tried to be faster, slower, more gently, with a minor presence. But it didn¡¯t. Instead that figment just snapped. There were still a few more Cheecaks left, and then, one of them looked at Lumoof as if it had gained a few extra braincells. Lumoof looked back. ¡°Hello. Are you there?¡± Lumoof said. The Cheecak just looked at Lumoof nkly. Lumoof sighed. ¡°Or do we have to snap a few more of your fragmented souls to get your attention?¡± At that moment, that single Cheecak experienced a convulsion, as if it was in shock. Lumoof felt it, and I did too. I felt a growing presence within that Cheecak, gathering, and then the Cheecak had a third eye appear in between it¡¯s existing two, that glowed green. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to summon us-¡± [Domain has blocked attempted inspect] There was a moment of silence, before the giant Cheecak spoke once more. ¡°Who are we speaking to?¡± Lumoof smiled, at least our attempts to talk to a dull lizard did actually awaken the actual puppeteer behind it all. ¡°I am Lumoof, avatar of Aeon. We are outworlders, not from this world of yours.¡± It was a long silence, before the Cheecak spoke once more. ¡°From the divine-touched worlds?¡± ¡°I do not know what that means.¡± Another long pause, and once more our domain blocked a few more spells. ¡°Strange. It¡¯s been so long since we had a visitor from the stars.¡± I noticed the word, we. Is this another one of those hive minds, like Lillies? I wondered they¡¯ll be friendly, but then again, it matters little. From what I¡¯ve seen so far, theirbat abilities were not fantastic. Potential is there, but I believe there are a dime a dozen other simr worlds out there. Lumoof sensed it, and understood what we wanted. ¡°Greetings, then who are we speaking to?¡± ¡°We are the Great Beast Spirits, and collectively, we are referred to as the Bitu. Why have you called us outworlder?¡± ¡°Where are the divine touched worlds?¡± If there is nothing here, might as well ask for directions. ¡°We wish to reach and speak to the gods for their aid in our battle against the great demons.¡± There was a long, long silence as the Cheecak¡¯s third eye continued to stare. Lumoof was way too used to talking to domain-tier individuals that he was absolutely unbothered. ¡°The devourers.¡± Bitu answered. ¡°They still live?¡± ¡°They are everywhere.¡± Lumoof answered. ¡°Except here, somehow.¡± ¡°Thest we¡¯ve seen them was- I cannot remember how many sr cycles ago.¡± ¡°Perhaps your world somehow drifted to safety. Away from their reach.¡± Lumoof just spected. ¡°That would be sensible. But we do not know where the divine-touched worlds are. Thest of the divine¡¯s messengers came during the age of the devourers, and vanished with them.¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°If that is the truth, then we shall be on our way. Our war is not over.¡± ¡°And it seems, it is not over for us too.¡± 247. Tree-minus Two 247. Tree-minus Two Year 250 Three years till first alignment of the demon¡¯set. We see it bright and clear in the void sea, its transmission to the worlds were picked up by our sensors across all the demon-infested worlds. It taunts us with its presence. I wonder whether it¡¯s intentional, or it¡¯s just confidence that there¡¯s nothing we can do to stop aaryet barreling our way. Lumoof returned from the stint on the Beastworld, and Ste sent her [void explorer] further. I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯ll see them again, but what we shared with the Cheecak¡¯s hive mind was a story told a thousand times over. Instead, my attention was split on our preparations on the Demonic Turtleworld, and also Mountainworld where a demon king should be arriving any time. My void mages on the Mountainworld observed the path of the stars to the demon world grow in strength and form, almost enough for the void mages to activate the rift gates and send our own spies through to the other side. Preparations on both worlds were fairly intense but the preparations for the demon¡¯set truly stretched our forces and our resources, and caused wild swings in the economies of Treehome and Mountainworld. We sent resources to our bunkers and bases on Tropicsworld in huge batches, enough to build new cities outright. Steel, iron, metals. Stone. We bought so many for the weapons and bases we constructed on Tropicsworld and also the Demonic Turtleworld. To make bombs, we bought so many crystals, and materials for runes that we essentially caused a shortage of runguage liquids and ink. To set up the void tforms and amplifiers, we bought all types of precious gems and rare metals. Our craftsmen and builders were fully booked, some of them working extra hours. The resource demands to destroy a demon¡¯set was so high that as long as any matching resource or material hit the markets, we would bid for them. As strange as it sounded, the economic and resource demands for the Demon Comet essentially drained the fuel and fire out of the vassal wars. Soldiers couldn¡¯t fight without weapons. Warships couldn¡¯t be built without runic ink and liquids, formations or steel. Fortifications couldn¡¯t be built. Even magical scrolls were in short supply because we kept buying and ordering scrolls. In order to stockpile food, should we ever need to resort to arge-scale evacuation, we bought seeds and various longsting food types for storage on the other worlds. For merchants and for the kingdoms on the other continents, this wild purchase drove prices up, but to me, money is always just a means of exchange. There was always gold somewhere, in some other world where we can easily mine. Some of my [subsidiary trees] were even specialized resource harvesters, collecting gold and precious metals where they are easily found. Essentially, money was aplenty, and we could pretty much print as much as needed to pay our suppliers. Resources were not. Most nations, in the face of our massive buying spree, had to resort to export embargoes and export quotas, preventing merchants from selling too much, or only their excess supply. Some resorted to nationalization, where the Holy Emperor essentiallymanded that certain mines were temporarily Imperial Property, in order to continue their war effort. Ultimately, the strain on their resources ced an umon burden on their logisticswork. It was as if two warships sailed at each other, and both of them ran out of fuel. As the Valtrian Order, the central Fresnd authority,monly referred to by the folks as Central, we were the preferred customer for many resource producers simply due to the scale of our orders, the military protection we provided, and the bankingworks that we controlled. If we put in an order, most of them would prioritize our orders, simply to avoid offending us. It¡¯s a threat we rarely used, but my spies ensured that the propaganda and words spread out there ensured most merchants knew their ce and strongly believed we would. After the whole vassal wars, it was imperative as an organization that we were not seen as a me duck¡¯ authority. Our threats were real threats, and not just statements we didn¡¯t mean to act on. I think about that sometimes. For threats to be real threats, there had to be action. Seen, visible action. Actions done in my name, actions such as bribery, kidnapping, torture and assassinations. Threats. Actions. Blood on my hands. Blood on my roots. Blood on every single leaf and tree. I think about it, and remember that it must be done. *** For the heroes, they were taking things easy. They were well prepared and there didn¡¯t seem like any reason for them to panic. They traveled frequently between Mountainworld, Treehome and Threeworlds. Colette had a daughter, Rohana. She was perfectly normal, like what a human child was expected to be, and had no unusual or inherited abilities. Both Prabu and Colette were strangely relieved, and asked that she be cared for by us, directly. I wasn¡¯tfortable being the trustees and guardians of a hero¡¯s child, and it reminded me of that time when Roma was growing up. History sure loves to rhyme, and with enough time, there is always a rhyming pair. Ken naturally understood my position, and instead volunteered to arrange for other long lived persons to y the role. In this case, Ken actually asked Kei, Lausanne and Edna to y the role of Godmothers. It wasn¡¯t the first child. Hafiz had many children outside, with his little harem, but Hafiz always kept his harem separate from the rest of the heroes. Chung, prior to his infatuation with Khefri, also had a harem, with some children too. But as strange as it was, I was fairly sure the heroes didn¡¯t consider their children to be one of them. I¡¯ve observed Hafiz with his harem, and I could tell there was some genuine love for his harem. Yet, there was always a wall that these children didn¡¯t get through. Their children were not part of this little club of earthlings. Rohana was different. She was the first child born to two heroes I¡¯ve known so far, and it was actually quite difficult for Colette to conceive Prabu¡¯s child. It was a matter that strained the couple¡¯s rtionship, and was instructive to both Khefri and Chung. I learned something throughout Colette¡¯s challenges, even though I had to y the role of a voyeur, after Prabu came to me for assistance. The hero ss is incredibly fertile, and this was why the heroes could have a harem and get so manydies pregnant. It was why Harris had so many offsprings, and why every hero seemed to have some descendents scattered all over the world. There were written letters and books passed down by various royal families that recorded that a hero¡¯s discharge could fertilize and cause a princess to be pregnant even after a month. Essentially, the ss was really a [super breeder]. But this benefit did not apply, when the other party is another hero. The hero ss didn¡¯t like to give birth to another hero¡¯s child, and rather than promote it, it actively suppressed their bodies when they were in the act. But it was something they both wanted, and I had to find ways to augment both their fertility and align their cycles. It wasn¡¯t difficult to pull a few herbalists, healers and mages to help out on this project. The hero ss¡¯s resistance to fellow hero pregnancy wasn¡¯t extremely difficult to defeat. The ss actively discouraged pregnancies to other heroes, but with sufficient fertility boosting stuff, it was eventually a sess. Privately, I wondered what the purpose of such a restriction was. To prevent friction with a hero group? They already suppressed their mating instincts before they killed the hero. Or was the intention really to dilute the hero¡¯s bloodline with some native? Why? And why did the ss make them so fertile? Was there a purpose for that level of excessive fertility? I had no answer, even if there were many theories. Was there a function of why the hero¡¯s genes seems to be designed to mix in themon gic pool? A part of me wondered whether this is due to some kind of inherent w in the nature of the people. At some point, people must be created by the system. All these magical races didn¡¯t emerge out of nowhere. They must be created at some point far in the past, and perhaps the intention of mixing hero¡¯s gic data with the offsprings of created races was for some kind of gic resilience? Again. Many theories, no answers. *** The entire Treehome wanted to know what we were up to. Why did we buy so much stuff? I believed that most economies were self adjusting, that if prices were high enough, it would be so profitable that more people would do it, and that was true to a certain degree. But rare materials are rare for a reason. Even if one dumped more people at it, they wouldn¡¯t be made or found. My Valthorns thus considered the need to expand beyond the ¡®Clone Worlds¡¯, worlds where I had a clone, and set up mining and resource bases in the worlds such as the Angelworld, or the Beastworld, or many other smaller worlds. Mining and trading outposts, essentially, where we could learn from the locals and buy from them. Threeworlds, we couldn¡¯t do much trade, because only the Sandpeople and the Centaurs would trade with us, and with their own war ongoing, Zhaanpu didn¡¯t authorize any significant movement of materials or resources. The Centaurs followed Zhaanpu¡¯s decision. The human faction, beholden to their Immortal Crystal King, refused to interact with us in any substantive manner, even if we knew they were curious. Their criminal factions were willing to work with us, but only on a surface level. Their suspicions of us as outworlders was surprisingly high, and the Crystal King went all out on the Outworlder propaganda. To counter this Outworlder narrative, I did what we did elsewhere. Tours. For the Sandpeople and the Centaurs, we invited some of their leaders for a trip to Treehome. To see our world, and for them to learn. Over the past few years there were at least a hundred such trips granted to the people of Threeworlds, and Mountainworld. I hoped to pull these two worlds closer to us, in time, these three worlds should be our local group, where all three could easily support each other. *** Despite this, my artificial minds already began to observe the same sort of nativism espoused by the Crystal King. Those on Mountainworld would wonder why goods and resources were redirected to other worlds, instead of reinvestments. Even my Valthorns, a significantlyrge majority of them came from Treehome, and trying to bnce the viewpoints of those who came from Branchhold, or the other worlds was a problem that would only grow. Secretly, I thought of creating a voting system where each world could send representatives to Treehome to deliberate on matters pertaining the whole. After all, the kingdoms and nations of the Central Continent all have representatives in the Central¡¯s ruling council. Right now, although each of these worlds are somewhat self-administered, their position is quite like the Six Ports, where they are direct territories of the Valtrian Orders. It was a potential for dissatisfaction if the local citizens were not given a means to express some of their views and discontent, even if it¡¯s argely performative role. We are a growing internar empire, and thus, the political and administrative structure that rules the Empire cannot be the same one that ruled the Central Continent. It didn¡¯t matter for my military worlds, where the only ones who lived there were my military operators and were primarily a transient poption. My base on Threeworld, right now, is governed by an appointed governor from Treehome, a Valtrian administrator. Tropicsworld is also simrly governed by an appointed governor, but unlike Threeworld, Tropicsworld has a farrger civilian poption due to the settlement programs over the past decade. Branchhold, my nation located on the Mountainworld has arge number of refugees who then turned it into their home. Some day, if Lavaworld or Cometworld have their own poptions, it is likely they will ask for some means of self governance, at least in areas where it is relevant to them. Each of these worlds are in different levels of economic, political and structural development. The size of their poptions were different, so the level of administrative talent was therefore different. The expectations and degree of self management afforded to each of these locations cannot be the same. There were legitimate and valid concerns about standardization ofws. Especially if we n to have arge civilian group traveling between worlds in the future, formercial and social traffic. In the meantime, my lords suggested the creation of a second representative council, one called only when I desired their views, each with representatives from each of the ¡®Clone Worlds¡¯. Year 251 The Comet got closer, and my void mages actually tried to reach it from the asteroids of the Demon Turtleworld. It was still too far. Even Ste couldn¡¯t go so far. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you use your void explorer on the Comet?¡± Ednained, and it was an idea raised before. But the void explorer actually needs to travel back to Ste. It is not something that can just be ¡®dispelled¡¯. Perhaps some day, Ste would gain levels and unlock multiple Void Explorers. That would significantly improve our exploration speed. Still, all of this was not fruitless. We were getting better at detecting, scanning and figuring out the nature of the demonic world. Just like how scientists of Earth had many tools and scanners to detect theposition of a, our magical tools improved over the decades. Our tools suggested a high likelihood of crystals, and so it¡¯s likely to be a rocky filled with daemolite. I could tell there was an undercurrent of worry and anxiety among the Valthorns tasked to prepare for the alignment of the Demonic Turtleworld and the Cometworld, especially the void mages. Everything depended on the void mages actually sessfully opening a portal to the Cometworld. If there was some kind of core-defense, just like howary cores shredded void portals close to their core, then we would be in trouble. Infiltrate, Manipte, Redirect, Destroy, Evacuate. If infiltration failed, evacuation was the only way. *** On Mountainworld, the Star Path to the demon world solidified. We should be seeing the rifts soon, though so far, there was none spotted. My void mages on the Mountainworld, on average, were less experienced than the team on the Demonic Turtleworld, but they were still led by my experienced void archmage, and Ste still moved between the two worlds to provide some guidance and oversight. It¡¯s in our interest to settle this world¡¯s demon king as quickly as possible, so that we could redirect manpower to the dem. Alka, after a long and convoluted argument, decided that it was best that he supported the heroes on the Mountainworld. He needed the levels, and if he could blow the demon king up, or weaken it significantly, he could get stronger and use that strength to hack at theet. I didn¡¯t want to risk it with the demon king. Demon Kings can vary wildly in strength, and some have really unusual power sets, so I felt it was an unnecessary risk for Alka. Despite my disagreements with that approach, we put it to a vote with my domain holders. Edna, Roon and Johann all supported Alka¡¯s attempts to grow stronger. To the three, fighting demon kings was absolutely normal, so they didn¡¯t think it was a problem. Lumoof and Ste opposed, preferring the more conservative approach, and partly because we didn¡¯t know how long my respawn process was. Oh well. We¡¯ll just have to deal with the consequences, whatever they are. 248. Perplexitree 248. Perplexitree Year 252 One year to go till the first intersection and my void mages tried to cheat. Approach it. Extend their range. Find ways to get there and buy us more time. By my mages¡¯ estimates, we have a short window when we can deliver people and goods onto the Comet. After that window, it¡¯ll move out of range. It¡¯s critical that both Lumoof and Ste get there. My clone seed still has another three years to go, but if we can¡¯t deploy my clone, we¡¯d have to make do with all the equipment we can deliver during this somewhat short window. How we¡¯ll proceed will depend on what we discover. *** Mountainworld. The path in the skies above now glowed and the rifts arrived as predicted. Demonic spiders poured out of the rifts, but the Valthorns on Mountainworld ughtered these poison-users easily. Their gimmick seemed to be abination of poison and self-replication,rger demonic spiders exploded into smaller spiders, and smaller spiders exploded into even smaller spiders. The smaller one was norger than a basketball, but it meant that every gigantic demon spider was an actual army of spiders. It reminded me of tower-defense games where mobs had decay or devolution mechanics. ¡°Spiders.¡± These demonic spiders differed from their regr spiders by their bodyposition. The demonic spiders were made of the same kind of rocky, semi-crystalline material seen on other demons, and they had their signature reddish glow through their body. A few captured samples indicated that underlying it all, their nature was simr to the demonic hounds, and I was able to capture some to study their abilities. If my beetles could replicate that ability it would significantly enhance my beetle¡¯sbat powers. It didn¡¯t take too long to overwhelm them with my mana, just like the demonic hounds, but once I captured them, they lost that ability to break up into smaller pieces. It was soon clear that the ability came through linked energies, linked to the unborn demon king, just like the parasite-demons with their ties to their own demon king. Just as I dealt with the strands of faint energies seen in the Cheecak, I have be more aware of the faint threads and links that exist between these creatures, and their masters. With the same refinement and finesse I attempted to tap into these links, to trace the path of these faint lines of magic and control. To see what was behind it all. My mana got better at piercing behind the veils, and it followed the roots down to the sources of water. The demons copsed like puppets with their strings cut. Even the giant spiders copsed and disintegrated, rather than resist. All it took was for my root to pierce it, and for my mana to begin seeking the source. It was as if I was getting closer to the drone controller, and in panic, just as it always had, its first instinct was to cut off the connection. I didn¡¯t know whether it was fear. ¡°Aeon, you¡¯re making this too easy.¡± Alkaughed. ¡°If we still want demons to fight we¡¯ll have to jump to the other side.¡± Alka looked more than happy to dive headfirst into the demon world, and mess with the attackers. He needed the levels, and killing a lot of demons was one way to get them. Even if it¡¯s hardly worth it for him, it took forever for a creature of his strength to level. The rest of my demigods were on demonic turtleworld. *** The demon spider¡¯s homeworld was naturally named Spiderworld, because, well, it had to be. When we got to the other side, what we saw was a variant of the Rottends. A vast, towering world filled with huge demonic trees, and a lot of webs everywhere. I felt a sense of kinship immediately. These were trees, even if they were demon trees. I still keep a small amount of demonic trees, in specified orchards, just to continue studying these fascinating hybrid trees. Here, this was essentially a demonic ecosystem, geared to invade other worlds. The demonic trees were essentially vast spawning pods, each of them containingrge numbers of cocoons made of webs. Inside, were dormant demon spiders, by the hundreds and thousands. Still, they were trees. The hybrid trees were under my control, now. Their links to their foreign masters severed and now mine. They still produced small quantities of demonic mana, mana I used to fiddle with demonic equipment. The earthlings spected that the demons were the magical equivalent of self-replicating gray goo. The evidence, despite my skepticism, generally supports this view. They may feign intelligence, even possess it, but ultimately their base instinct was to assimte everything, and turn everything into demonic gray goo. Lumoof wasn¡¯t here, so all I could see was sent through Alka¡¯s magicalmunication devices and scrying. A group of Valthorns apanied Alka to the other side. ¡°Well.¡± Alka looked at his team. ¡°This world has demon trees, and our patron will want to study it.¡± Each of these Valthorns went through years of training to get here. These were the level 80s to 120s, and so they know the drill. Each of their squad leaders went through at least two demon-world raids, and knew what to do. ¡°Same stuff as thest time. Capture the rift gates for our voiddy, locate the pit, kill the demons that stop us, and report back.¡± The team of about three hundred fanned out. The spiders were no match to the well armed Valthorns, even if they were incredibly persistent. The entire world was filled with trees, and we soon found water. It wasn¡¯t regr water, though. It was purple andced with metals. Poisoned for normal people, but the demon trees of this world adapted to them. Eventually the Valthorn druids began shipping some of these demon trees, packed inside special containers, through the rift gates back to Mountainworld, for my studies. They were adapted to the metals of the Spiderworld, and the metals of the spiderworld had surprising self-reconstruction abilities. They were not very strong, but these metals, when stimted with small amounts of magic, could ¡®remember¡¯ their form, and would naturally reform that remembered form. A dose of magicter, the metals could then forget that form, as if it never happened. This metal immediately made me check the captured demon spiders. They were not made with this metal, and yet, the demons somehow manage to pass on the qualities of the metal to these spiders, which was why they could explode into smaller quantities. The demon¡¯s abilities often feel like borderline bullshit, because there shouldn¡¯t be a way to have such a wide array of abilities. The simpler exnation is that the demon king is a kind of adaptive virus that adopts all the abilities of its parents, and then all its minions essentially get a weakened version of those adopted abilities. If this is true, we can conclude that the demons only have a few abilities. The rest is just stolen shit. The ability to capture, absorb abilities and then pass it on to minions. The ability to self-replicate itself in smaller and weaker versions. The ability to build void portals, structures, and the ability to use void magic. The ability to create and summon these infesting superminion-controllers, the demon king. Based on this core set of demonic abilities, the ability to unmake or interfere with any of these abilities individually, would stop the demons in their tracks. Stopping the demon¡¯s ability to build void portals and void magic would stop the demon¡¯s ability to travel and reach new victims. Stopping the ability to create demon kings would essentially reduce the threat level of demons to the equivalent of an army of strong natural magical beasts. This was the medical equivalent of stopping the infection vectors, or mutating and turning the demon king into just a slightly strong influenza. Dangerous, but not undefeatable. Anyway, Alka eventually found the pit of the demon king, but it was so rigged with demonic spiders and webs, that it wasn¡¯t worth the risk. He wasn¡¯t a one-man army. He¡¯s essentially a ss nuke. The Valthorns captured the rifts, took some more samples of every single strange or unusual thing, rigged the pits with bombs, nted our magical sensor equipment and then, went back to the Mountainworld to await further instructions. *** My mages were more than happy to have new metal types to y with. The immediate uses were not clear, but with research and magical items, their usefulness often emerged after decades of tweaking, experimentation and happy little coincidences. Each small step enabled something further down the line. It was just how it is. We nt trees today, and only decadester do we know what they look like. Even if we have druids guiding their path, nature often surprises and takes unusual turns. *** We captured enough rift gates that the number of rifts on the Mountainworld was pretty much cut by two thirds. There were still some riftsing through, and the demons likely had even more rift gates in ces we didn¡¯t find, but the number of demons was manageable. The heroes waited. The location of the demon king¡¯s arrival was getting clearer, and then we realized something absolutely annoying. The spider demon king will arrive right in the center of one of the Dwarven capitals of the Mountainworld. *** ¡°This is ridiculous.¡± The king of the Dwarf mmed his table when my envoy from Branchhold arrived with the news. I didn¡¯t have the resources to send a strike team to the Spiderworld, not with the n to invade the dem, and I didn¡¯t want to do it anyway. Destroying the demon king on the Spiderworld could trigger another dem, and that was a risk I didn¡¯t want to take. Thus, the safest way was to evacuate the capital for a battle with the demon king. The capital could be rebuilt. ¡°My ancestors built this capital four thousand years ago. This pce was built three thousand years two hundred and eleven years ago. Do you know how many ancient structures remain in this city?¡± My envoy was apologetic, and tried his best to appeal to the distraught emotions of the Dwarf King. But he was stubborn, and his people stood by their king. They were not moving, and looking at the city of the dwarven king, I certainly could see why. They were prosperous, industrious, and the city super well fortified. There were enough magical weapons and defenses to stop a regr demon attack. The people would lose all they have built, all the resources and time they invested in building this city. All I saw was how it would burn like paper before the demon king. I couldn¡¯t nuke the demon king if it arrived here. Not without killing the locals. *** The void mages scrambled to find a solution, whether we could try to meddle with the demon king¡¯s path, just like how Lumoof meddled with the anti-magic demon king. But the answer was no. Unless Lumoof was willing to hitch a ride on the spider demon king again, but thest time we did it, Lumoof was out for weeks. I needed Lumoof for the Comet intersection. *** I called the heroes for a briefing, for a message that was going to be hard to swallow. ¡°The dwarven king refused to cooperate and will not evacuate. The entire city too.¡± The heroes cursed. Ken looked absolutely sad. I knew this day woulde one day. The demon king has so far avoided popted areas, but it was by sheer luck and the fact that the wilderness outnumbered cities by arge factor. There woulde a day that the demon king would strike a popted area. It just sucked that I had anothermitment. One that threatened our world. Adrian and Kelly, the two native heroes of the Mountainworld, looked absolutely devastated. Adrian volunteered to talk to the dwarven king again. ¡°He¡¯s killing his people, I will try to change his mind.¡± The dwarven capital was one of the most prosperous in Mountainworld, and there were screams of jealousy. They said this was a plot to destroy apetitor, despite our track record of predicting and dealing with the past demon king attacks. The heroes immediately asked to replicate what was done before. ¡°Can Lumoof-¡± ¡°No. He can¡¯t. I need him when the Demon¡¯s Comet intersects with the Demon Turtleworld. He cannot be at two ces at once, and I am not triggering another dem.¡± My reasoning was clear. But the unspoken truth hung in the room. I would let the dwarven capital die. If they refuse to heed a warning or our assistance, so be it. It is their choice, and their choice has consequences. If the other cities see the consequences, they will be more cooperative in the future. As for the heroes, they would have to face the Spider Demon King without the benefit of a softening blow. I have utmost confidence in their ability, they were all much higher level than they were before, and my Valthorns will still assist to provide bombardment support. In fact, I soon pulled Ken for a quiet discussion. ¡°I intend to rig the dwarven capital with bombs without their assistance or approval.¡± ¡°There are people there.¡± Ken thought. ¡°I will have the void mages teleport out who they can, by force. They won¡¯t be able to save everyone, but the demon king¡¯s arrival is a death sentence to the capital anyway. I am merely elerating their death.¡± ¡°Why not act by force?¡± ¡°I will make an enemy of the world.¡± ¡°Should you care?¡± Ken asked. ¡°It would greatly endanger my recruitment efforts if I¡¯m seen to forcefully take over another world. I can recruit good people because I am still perceived as doing the right thing. This-¡± Ken sighed. ¡°This is just all shades of gray. Someone dies, and no one will be happy.¡± ¡°I want you to talk to them, tell them don¡¯t do anything too crazy while we figure out some ways to deal with the dwarves.¡± ¡°I- I don¡¯t think they will.¡± Ken said with uncertainty. ¡°But I will see what I can do.¡± *** The heroes¡¯ attempts to persuade the dwarven king failed, and all they got was more curses and mugs flung their way. It was supposedly the highest of the dwarven insults, to have beer mugs filled with beer thrown at them. The heroes¡¯ morale took a dive. They liked what they were doing before this, and to some extent, they had life on easy mode since we were able to spawncamp. Now, the horrors of their assigned duties caught up with them again. They would fight in a city filled with the dead. People they could not save, and it massively triggered their hero sses¡¯ effects on their minds and thoughts. Chung took this time to talk to Ken on death. To talk him out of it. ¡°Ken, there will be a time when all of us need you to talk us out of this. More than ever, we need a friend who is with us.¡± Ken gave the archer hero the eye. He knew what this was all about. ¡°Chung. Let¡¯s leave that aside, and try to figure something out.¡± ¡°No. You know how broken we are. We need a guide. Aeon isn¡¯t that guide, but you are. You know us. You were one of us. You see the effects of the gods on us more than ever, and can talk us out of our failings.¡± Ken felt Chung trying to guilt trip him. Guilt. That he shouldn¡¯t abandon the cause. ¡°The heroes from all the worlds need someone to hold it together. We are all these broken, cracked ss cannons.¡± Chung admitted. ¡°We are all wed in some way,pelled by this power, this- this- curse. This duty. You can¡¯t just leave us and let us fight this war while you die peacefully of old age.¡± Guilt. Ken sighed and kicked the barrel down the road. ¡°I hear your concerns, old friend, but I¡¯m not dying.¡± ¡°Yet.¡± Chung didn¡¯t want to let him go. ¡°Tell Aeon to make you immortal like Kei. He can rip your soul out and ce you in some other vessel.¡± ¡°-let¡¯s leave that decision toter.¡± *** My pantheon on the demonic turtleworld heard the news, and Lumoof took a day to pray for things to go well. For Mountainworld. For the dwarven capital to be safe. I found it ironic that he chose to do so, even though he was praying to me. He was praying to me. I am his god, and this god¡¯s hands are tied. 249. Threading Twines 249. Threading Twines Year 252 (Part 2) The decisions of the dwarven rulers were taken badly by the Valthorns and Valtrian Order of Branchhold, and here, those native to the Mountainworld wanted a stronger reaction. The response of the Valthorns from Treehome was rtively muted. They didn¡¯t really have an emotional attachment to the cities of Mountainworld, but for the natives, some of them were immigrants, and some even had distant rtives in that dwarven city. Within these Mountainworld natives, there were those that understood why we couldn¡¯t force the dwarves to evacuate, and why they had to bear the burdens and consequences of their choices. There are also those who believe that it was our duty to save them from their stupidity. Even more extreme, were those that believed I wasn¡¯t doing enough. That Lumoof, my patreearch, should be able to be here and save the dwarf city. Their argument was that the dem didn¡¯t threaten anyone yet. Not until another eighteen years down the line. There was another chance since Lumoof could intercept the dem during it¡¯s 2nd passthrough near Lavaworld. The dwarves were under a much more present and immediate risk,pared to Treehome. Some supported this view. This view essentially created a rift between those of Treehome, and those of the Mountainworld. I predicted this, but facing it for real was a lot more troublesome than I expected. *** Lausanne walked back to her table, sipping the already cold tea. She finished her briefing. Her mother and Kei sat on a small table by the side, and waited. There were a few more Valthorns nearby as their bodyguards, in case anything happened. The crowd was small, but consisted of the former heroes, Me, Alexis, the few other idental summons, and the senior members of Me¡¯s institution of spies and informants, the Rosewood Hotels. Folks I did not pay much attention to, because they didn''t have the intention to participate in whatever schemes I worked on. They were victims of Alexis''s propaganda, and so we started on the wrong foot. Suspicion. Still, Lausanne remembered Me. Her mother did as well. Friends, at one point in their lives. The truth of their origins were something the elves realized muchter. Lies shrouded their rtionship since day one, even if they meant to be friends. We were the same. In a different world, where I didn¡¯t feel insecure. In a different world, where we could all be open and trusting, perhaps we all wouldn¡¯t have to be like this. But what is done is done, and I allowed thement of ¡®what-it-could-have-been¡¯ linger briefly, before it dissipated away. ¡°-there¡¯s time.¡± Me said. Slightly more than seventeen years before the Comet threatens to blow this world apart. ¡°Does TreeTree have a n?¡± ¡°Evacuate.¡± Lausanne answered without revealing too much. The fact that we can travel worlds was fairly well known since our attempts to educate the world of the multiverse. ¡°Only evacuate?¡± Me said. Lausanne was not privy to the full extent of our operations. She may be de-facto royalty, and I still consider her special, as one that I¡¯ve seen grow from a baby since my early days, but her actual role these days is ceremonial and diplomatic in nature. ¡°There are other worlds that are currently set as shelters. Dwellings and amodations are under construction. As part of the arrangements with former earthlings, Ken requested that we extend the evacuation offer to you, and those under your protection.¡± Alexis didn¡¯t buy it entirely, of course. I knew her well enough. She doubted my intentions, despite all the evidence to the contrary. All because things didn¡¯t start properly. Rtionships are like that. I think about how certain rtionships could be salvaged. Like the Crystal King. If only there were a way to unite all the domain holders. We¡¯d have strength equal to the heroes, or even more. ¡°This isn¡¯t all,¡± Me answered, saying the truth that was in to all but still needed to be said. ¡°Perhaps. I don¡¯t know the full extent of it.¡± Lausanne answered frankly. ¡°-when did Aeon first know about the presence of theet?¡± Lausanne paused for a moment and sighed. ¡°Eight years ago.¡± Alexis mmed the table with her beetle-like arm. It was made of armored carapace and had improved slightly since west met. But she was not stronger than Lausanne. I could feel it through my prying trees. ¡°Ridiculous! And you choose to tell us now? In fact, I even felt like she was weaker. They have lived in this world for decades, and strangely, teaued. Theycked the means to gain more levels, especially with the demon issue mostly sorted. I had taken away their stairways to ascension, gobbled up all the experience for ourselves to feed my little army of Valthorns. I would do so to all the worlds I establish a clone in. Thinking from an experience point of view, I am the invader, muscling in to rob the natives of their experience and future growth. Lausanne merely nodded. ¡°There is still an estimated fifteen or so years before the demon¡¯set approaches us, so, there is plenty of time to decide whether you want to evacuate, or stay put.¡± ¡°And face certain death?¡± Me rified. ¡°No- knowing TreeTree, there is a n in motion? Is it linked to the massive resource collection that- No. It has to be linked. Now everything fits.¡± ¡°Again, I don¡¯t know the details.¡± Lausanne answered, ignoring Me¡¯s attempt to gather more out of her. ¡°Ie to offer a chance to migrate to another world, at the behest of Ken, one of your former earthlings. You have ten or so years to decide.¡± ¡°-wait. When will this be made public?¡± Me asked. ¡°I was told, about six years before impact. The mass migrations will ur then.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t right. We have front ce tickets because we are earthlings?¡± Me answered. Lausanne thought for a moment before she realized Me had a point. ¡°That- that¡¯s frankly a good point. I will bring it up with Aeon.¡± ¡°-tell us more about this other world?¡± One of the reincarnated humans was just a tiny lizard. He hardly leveled, but remained under the care of Alexis. I wasn¡¯t sure when and how they managed to find him, but it seemed that the gods did have idents every now and then. Lausanne nodded and began to exin about the world that would host them. She has been there a few times. *** ¡°Am I wrong?¡± I asked Lumoof as he waited on the Turtleworld. The Comet remained stubbornly out of reach. ¡°Should I tell the truth to the whole world?¡± The consequences of telling the world that we are aware of an iing disaster we may not be able to stop. To tell the world that death ising for them, and the only sure way out is to leave. My Valthorns did not doubt my decision to keep it a secret. We know so little about it, so, why cause panic in the general poption by informing them of thising disaster? But I realize that was also selfish because we didn¡¯t want to trigger widespread chaos while we tried to prepare for theet. In a world where resources and man power were no constraint, I should inform the general public of the looming threats, and they should then decide to make their assessment and act ordingly. No. There was likely nothing they could do. The only choice the locals could make was to migrate to Tropicsworld, since Lavaworld, Mountainworld and Threeworlds were not suitable forrge-scale migration. There was no way these two existing worlds could absorb such arge immigrant poption without causing even more conflict and fighting, and it would massively wreck the rtionship we have with the existing local rulers. In theory, I could forcefully assume control of Mountainworld, and I do hear folks within the Valthorns who advocate that sort of view. Threeworlds still has the three hegemons that could potentially resist me, and as such, that¡¯s not within the picture. So, for the locals, the only effective choice they have is to migrate, or stay. Should I tell the world of their future death, one that they could do nothing about but wait until the timees? Not just that, the whole reason this Comet urred is because of a sequence of events that we triggered, because we defeated the demon king before it arrived our way. I couldn¡¯t help but briefly consider whether this was my fault. No. Defeating the demon king on their home world, before they could even damage our world is sensible, even if the consequence was retaliation. A sized retaliation. Whether the people living their lives deserve to know? How different is it from an oracle making a prophecy about aing doom? No. Yes. I wasn¡¯t sure. I decided to look at it from the lens of preparing for theet. Not telling the world would buy us time to make more preparations. It is not preparations they would desire. It is not what the locals will want. It even reeks of a nanny state. We will do preparations on their behalf because we don¡¯t expect them to be able to do better. It¡¯s certainly an elitist thought process, even if it feels true. No, we know it¡¯s true because of the levels. The system of levels, sses, and skills in this world legitimizes feudal behaviors and elitist behaviors. Quantified value, especially so at ater stage. We feel legitimized to act on their behalf because levels and our power tells us for a fact that we can do things they cannot. So-ing back to the topic, should I let the general popce know? No. I realized Me may be morally right, but I will not let the world know. Not with what we need to do. Not with what¡¯s at stake. If this is a sin, so be it. I ept it. *** The heroes gathered to discuss theing battle. Their attempts at diplomacy failed. Time was running out, and there was only a few months left to the next year. Even if they agreed to evacuate, it would be an iplete one. ¡°Let¡¯s force the dwarves out.¡± Adrian said. ¡°They cannot behave like this, not when a demon king¡¯s going tond on their heads.¡± Ken panicked. ¡°Please, don¡¯t do something hasty.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s hasty.¡± Adrian, the native mountainworld hero insisted. ¡°Our power was granted to us, our ss, to defeat demons. We are just getting coteral damage out of the way-¡± ¡°Coteral damage.¡± Ken repeated, and he felt his body ache. Age wore him down, even if he was augmented in many ways. The hero ss¡¯s effects are well documented. We know they behave like this when the demons are involved. ¡°Adrian- let¡¯s think for a moment.¡± ¡°We have been thinking since we knew about it. If the damned dwarves don¡¯t want to move, then we¡¯ll have to move them. Use some earth magic and move the entire city if we have to.¡± Adrian said. ¡°Wait- you mean- like Superman?¡± Ken interjected, realizing that Adrian might have a point. ¡°Well, yeah. Like Superman.¡± Adrian answered. Ken paused. ¡°It- It might work. If the reason why the dwarves resist the whole issue is because of the old buildings and history, moving it and relocating it elsewhere.¡± ¡°-actually- that might work?¡± Prabu said. ¡°We could try and move the city, a bit.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t we think of this shit?¡± Chungined. That was superhero-tier stuff, moving entire cities. There was a long moment before the answer everyone hated. It was Colette who sighed. ¡°-because we¡¯ve gottenzy. We¡¯ve been relying on Aeon and the Valthorns to solve all these kinds of problems.¡± Hafiz, the defender hero turned to face her and tapped her on the shoulder reassuringly. Colette looked back and smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. We¡¯ll just have to solve this with what limited time we have.¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll deal with ourzinesster. Let¡¯s think about this strategy.¡± Hafiz shrugged and looked back at Ken. ¡°We have to move them quite far for it to work.¡± Colette thought about it, and then briefly carried Rohana and ced her child on herp. ¡°It¡¯s a huge city, and we¡¯re dealing with the demon king. We need to move it quite far, a small diistance won¡¯t be enough to avoid the coteral damage.¡± Ken nodded. Chung frowned. ¡°We¡¯ll have to be selective with what we save- And get the rest to leave.¡± ¡°Has Aeon announced the details?¡± ¡°Mostly. The Valthorns began to spread news of the demon king¡¯s projected arrival on the capitol.¡± The demon king¡¯s detonation was usually enough to annihte a small region. They¡¯d have to move the city quite far just to be safe, which meant this was a far, farrger act. If they resist, the cost of magic would just increase. If they had a focused earth archmage instead of a general all-rounder like Prabu and Colette, it would be possible with the amount of Star Mana they have. Prabu did the calctions and quickly concluded the strategy. ¡°It¡¯s possible, but we¡¯ll need a lot of time. We¡¯re pretty much forcefully evicting the dwarven nation to another part of their country.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have enough time.¡± Ken answered. ¡°Better than destroying everything?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be able to save everything,¡± Prabu concluded. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I guess. I think we should do it.¡± Ken stared at his friends. He looked so much older than the rest and seemed like the grandpa among the young adults. Forcefully moving the city could be a recipe for disaster. ¡°Do we have enough time?¡± Prabu hesitated. ¡°-Let¡¯s just move what the dwarves care about, I think we cane to apromise. If- if we agree to move it back after the war.¡± *** ¡°-How many times do I have to throw all these perfectly good mugs of beer your way, until you understand that we are not moving?¡± The Dwarven King stubbornly insisted. But, as it turned out, the dwarven council was a lot more level-headed and understood that the heroes¡¯ solution of teleporting ancient parts of the city was the bestpromise they¡¯ll ever get. They stood by the King when there was no good option because they couldn¡¯t abandon the ancient structures their ancestors blessed and built for them. This was their heritage, and they might as well die with it. But moving the entire structure via hero¡¯s magic was different. The council of dwarven elders, in a strange moment of conflict with their King, stood and agreed. The dwarven king stared murderously at his council, but the dwarven society did not grant their King absolute power. There had been too many drunken berserkers and rampages by past kings for them to do so. The heroes got to work. They wouldn¡¯t be able to move everything. But they would be able to preserve some of the old structures and ancient buildings. Each building needed three-four days. Of the heroes, only Prabu and Colette could move the cities. The rest of them were not mages, so they couldn¡¯t help much. Ancient buildings, so they had to be careful. And because there were only two, the amount of structures they could save was limited. History. History, which the dwarves actually respect and do a pretty good job of safekeeping. It was incredibly taxing to move the city just fifty miles from it¡¯s original location. The void mages triplechecked all theputations, and reaffirmed the location of the demon king¡¯s arrival. The dwarves themselves were split into two groups. Those that resisted the heroes¡¯ idea, and tried their best to stay put, and those that worked with the heroes. I could see this decision taxed them. Forced to act without the native¡¯s approval pit the hero ss¡¯s own internal rules against each other. The dwarves were not happy about it. Some cursed the heroes, using them of bringing cmity to the city. Some of the dwarves tried to sabotage Prabu¡¯s attempts to move the ancient relics. There were usations that the heroes cared more for the powerful than the normal people. After all, they only saved the historical structures owned by the powerful. For the weak, all they could do was run, and lose all they had built. The heroes tried to ignore the naysayers, ignore the negativity. The heroes were designed to fight demons. Defeat the demon king. The ss, to a much lesser extent, asked them to protect locals. This was a much weaker mentalpulsion. Each hero was subtly told not to do too much harm. The gods didn¡¯t mean for the heroes to cause the world¡¯s death. They were meant to be medicine, not poison that killed both the disease and the patient. *** The heroes¡¯ idea of moving the city away made me ask the same question. Could we move our world out of the way? I tried to reach out to the Will of the World of Treehome, and felt it rouse from slumber. I sent it my message, and all I got was- No. Rejection. The world wouldn¡¯t move to preserve itself. Instead, it responded with eptance. I didn¡¯t get it. They curse the demons, and yet when the demonse their way, they do not act to preserve themselves? Why?! Ste had a theory, of course, that the act of deliberately moving through the void sea is an energy-consuming process. The sole data point is Cometworld. Moving through space consumes the core¡¯s energies, and thus, causes the world to copse. This is because in this world, the Core and it¡¯s suns appear to be a package. Each world doesn¡¯t exist beyond it¡¯s immediate sr system. Far away ¡®stars¡¯ that we see- they don¡¯t exist, or are perhaps reflections from the edges of the void sea. The world¡¯s constetions are artificial. Magic. We also have not seen ¡®twin¡¯ worlds. Worlds where there is more than one habited world. This leads to the idea that each ¡®realm¡¯ we visit is centered around the. The sun thus exists as an extension of the, not the other way round. Even the Sun-Rings had a single once-habitable. Void magic also guides itself to the, and not the sun as it¡¯s center. If people need to spend mana to travel through the void sea, it is therefore logical to assume, that worlds and realms spend mana to move through the void sea. Cometworld now moves entirely on pure momentum. But even so, looking back to that movement, or the speed of that movement, it is not hard to suspect that it¡¯s movement is likely detrimental to the core and the sun. That was why it eventually copsed, leaving the tiny bubble of darkness. It¡¯s even possible that if I withdrew my clone, the realm would copse forever, never to be seen ever again. Moving either spends energy or elerates the decay of a core¡¯s energy. It¡¯s possible that each of these worlds or realms maintains a barrier or bubble of reality, and movement in the void sea erodes this bubble of space. This ¡®resistance¡¯ in the void sea is what causes realms to stay clustered together with their astral partners. Moving quickly through the void sea results in a realm spending more energy to maintain that barrier, more than what it produces, resulting in these worlds losing its ability to hold its realm together, and thus triggering a copse. Their sun or suns would vanish. Again, this entire theory hinged on one sample size, ie, Cometworld. We do not know for certain whether moving quickly through the void sea has any such implications. It¡¯s also hard to test empirically because we are unable to view the worlds¡¯ respective moments in the void sea through all frames of reference. How does this even rte to the demon¡¯set? Because we wanted to know how it moves, and why worlds are reluctant to move. It was getting closer each day. If I took Will of the World long ago, that domain choice clearly led to the ability to move the world. Did that set of abilitiese without the usual ¡®costs¡¯ of moving worlds? Is there a price to pay normally? How are the demons doing it? I wanted to know. Because moving worlds seemed like the best way of attacking the demon sun on our terms. On an inteary scale, demons were pretty much cancer. Mutant cancer that hijacked each world to self-replicate. Moving through the void sea was how this cancer spread to different regions. Why are the worlds not defending themselves? Why are they not moving out of the way? What loophole were the demons abusing? No. The fact that the world refuses to move out of the way merely makes me ask the question that everyone didn¡¯t want to ask. Are demons a deliberate design feature of the system? Because if I wanted to end the demons by destroying the demon sun, in the event we actually seeded, how do we know it¡¯s permanent? This would lead to the question, how did the demonse about in the first ce? Are they creations of the [system] itself? If so, destroying the demon sun merely bought time, and eventually the system will create new demons to rece the old ones. My hope is that the demons are quirks, bugs, or a virus. Not a feature of the system. A haphazard but persistent anomaly that has somehow found itself as a regr urrence in thendscape of the multiverse, countered by injected medicine, heroes. Because there is no happy ending any other way. *** 250. Trimming Twines 250. Trimming Twines Year 253 The arrival of the demon king of Spiderworld and the moment when the Demon¡¯s Comet came within our range were no more than weeks apart. First, was the Demon King of the Spiderworld. The Dwarven city was cut up into pieces, and some of the old relics and ancient structures moved away. I was quite surprised at myself for not thinking about moving the city away. It only reminded me of how my approach to problems can still be influenced by my old realities, instead of my new ones. Most of the poption of the dwarven capital sensibly moved away at the advice of the heroes. Only the dwarven king¡¯s loyalists made a fuss. ¡°I¡¯m not moving-¡± The dwarven resistance, thest of them,ined as Prabu looked visibly annoyed. The heroes, from what I observed, tried to minimize their dealings with the locals. Disagreements and politics with the natives grated them. Even those who set up their own little fiefdoms, like Hafiz, Adrian and Kelly, employed well-paid ¡®managers¡¯ to handle the nitty-gritty stuff that they disliked. It¡¯s a good deal for their managers because they were often paid in hero-items, which granted them exceptional financial returns and often, a good deal of levels too. Even within the Valthorns, there were those who focused and built a career out of dealing with the heroes. Simr roles exist within the temples, too. Friction, due to cultural differences and the huge chasms in their mindsets. Prabu sighed, and a magical bubble emerged around the segment, along with everyone in it. Frustrated, he just vented and the dwarves cowered. ¡°Look. I¡¯m doing this to keep you guys safe.¡± And a flickerter, the entire bubble floated into the sky. Most parts of the dwarven city were now empty, houses that could be rebuilt at ater date. I volunteered to pay for my [builders] and [contractors] to participate in the reconstruction, since it was a good opportunity for them to gain levels. Prabu levitated the entire bubble the whole way. But there were those that remained. They were first to die. *** On the demon spiderworld, a small group of my Valthorns kept watch of the pits. They would warn the heroes that the demon was on their way, and we nted our magical sensors there, to keep watch of the fluctuations in the core. It should give the heroes a day or two of advance warning, before the demon king was on the way. For us to give the insane dwarves ast warning. Tell them that this is their final chance to keep their lives. But dwarven stubbornness was well known. The magical readings began to go nuts, and we all knew it was time. The Dwarven resistancest year already cost us a tremendous amount of time, and the preparations to set up the magical bombs and traps were not as robust as we¡¯d like them to be. The dwarves didn¡¯t like the idea of trapping what remained of their kingdom¡¯s city, even if it was mostly abandoned, and they protested the ns despite it. Some of the dwarves were logical, and they saw the logic in our ns. Another portion were the preservationists, who protested everything that tainted their ancient history. Fools. The star path glowed in the same manner as before, and we felt the demon king arrive on the Mountainworld. We waited for two weeks, and annoyingly, the dwarves didn¡¯t believe us. Then, the demon king was here. The rift ripped the sky above the dwarven capital apart as if the bluish sky was a piece of cloth, its threads came undone from the center. What came out of the ckness were two gigantic legs, each of them smashed into the grounds of the dwarven capital and left a small crater. Those who stayed died in that single instant. What a waste. ¡°Hold!¡± The Valthornmanders yelled. It was not yet time to set the bombs off. The heroes tensed, their magics ready to go. Alka stood next to the heroes and waited. He was a dwarf and high-speed movement wasn¡¯t his thing. He only had one shot to use his ability. Two more legs emerged. ¡°Should- should we just blow up the legs?¡± Khefri asked the question as they pinged the Valthornmander. Alka looked uncertain, trying to figure out what was for the right time. Unlike the heroes, my dwarven mad scientist was not a war genius. His sense of timing was average at best. ¡°The bombs should be used on the main body,¡± Prabu repeated. ¡°Don¡¯t waste our debuff.¡± ¡°How many legs do you think it has?¡± Chung wondered as the fifth leg emerged. ¡°Eight?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a demon king, it could have as many as it wants,¡± Colette said as she rolled her eyes. Her child was safely handled by a group of caretakers back on Treehome, an entire world away. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Hafiz, the defender hero, tapped the two archmages on their shoulders. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s get this over with. Shouldn¡¯t be that hard to squash a giant spider, and get both of you back to your kid.¡± Colette smiled at her fellow hero. ¡°We¡¯d like that a lot.¡± We felt a pulse of magic that came from the rift and we all knew it was time. [Demon King Rach arrived] Gigantic spider-jaws emerged from the rifts, and those multiple mouths released gigantic magical webs that spread out in every direction. I was fairly sure that was anatomically incorrect, but I guess the demons don¡¯t care. From the jaws of the Demon king, in a single explosion of sticky threads and webs, the entire dwarven city, what¡¯s left of it, was now covered in webs. Then it rained spiders. From the rifts. From the webs itself. ¡°Bombs!¡± The Valthorns yelled and scrambled to activate the bombs. Before our eyes, the demon king¡¯s legs seemingly vanished, and all my Valthorns felt panic. Was that a demon king¡¯s aura? I felt it brush against my own, and I wasn¡¯t sure why we were panicking. We¡¯ve done this many times. But my slightly less experienced forces, for some of them, this was their first encounter with the demon king. My forces ignited whatever bombs we managed to install. We worked overtime. The explosions detonated in a burst of light that could be felt miles away. Star mana bombs made by the heroes and my Valthorns vaporized the smaller demonic spiders, but the demon king spider was still invisible- Then, through my subsidiary trees, I felt the pressure from a high speed thrust. Khefri was first to react, and she pushed the rest of the heroes out of the way, and dodged the thrusts of the demon king¡¯s attacks. ¡°Switch to other forms of vision! It¡¯s only invisible to normal sight!¡± Chung then roared, his eyes glowing with a ranger¡¯s special vision. I swapped to spiritual vision and saw the Demon King clearly. I saw the physical outline of the demon king in my spirit vision, along with its partly charred body in the form of jagged outlines. The creature was a gigantic ten-legged monstrosity, a part of its body already burnt from the attack, and of its original ten legs, three were already partially destroyed, leaving just a stump. It was regenerating, but fairly slowly. The demon king¡¯s legs were its principal offensive weapon, each thrust was quick and came at unusual angles. ¡°Valthorns, retreat!¡± Themander yelled as more spiders emerged from the rift, and annoyingly, they were invisible as well. Not all of my Valthorns have the ability to use spirit-sight, though some of the archers have heat-sight or magic-sight. Without the ability to see our opponents, we would be sending Valthorns to their deaths, so we ordered them to retreat. At this point, our contribution would be to support from afar. Alka looked with uncertainty, the chaos of war still unnerved him. He may be a domain holder, but not all of them were suited for war. ¡°Wait.¡± I told him. ¡°There will be an opportunity.¡± Bombardment turrets and stations from further away nketed the area. They didn¡¯t deal much damage against the demon king, but helped clear the battlefield of the mobs. Alka waited, and I could sense his restlessness. For now, it was up to the seven heroes. *** The Dwarves watched the battle from afar, horrified. The Dwarven King himself looked pale, as the Council of Elders that vetoed his decision found themselves validated. Some of my Valthorns were nearby to provide support and deal with the demonic rifts. The demon spiders were everywhere, simr to past demon kings, demonic rifts experience a surge in activity whenever the demon king descends. Nations throughout Mountainworld battled the demon spiders and their champions, and it was a great relief that the invisibility effect granted by the demon king did not extend to those outside its massive wall of webs. We would likely face far higher fatality rates if we had to deal with invisible spiders all over Mountainworld. *** The dwarven capital turned into a field of craters, as each of the spider king¡¯s stabs and thrusts left massive craters in the ground. I decided to give the heroes some backup, as the volley of magic attacks dwindled. My horde of beetles and spider assassins joined the fray, to distract the demonic spiders and take some heat off the seven heroes. I spawned multiple giant attendant trees throughout the battlefield to help amplify my skills and spawn my army of spiders and beetles. I thought it was interesting to have my spiders fight against demon spiders. But that was a mistake. The demon spider ejected a st of goop that smashed into my beetles. I instantly felt my connection to the beetle snap, and then we witnessed the beetle explode and release more spiders. I cursed, and so did everyone else. The demon spider¡¯s goop-sts could possess other creatures and turn them into spawning pools. That meant I was just giving the demon king more flesh and hosts. Even my giant trees were more trouble than help, since the trees acted as anchors for the spiders¡¯ web, extending the range of the invisibility. ¡°Aeon, pull back your Giant Trees and just focus on cutting away the webs!¡± Chung roared as he sent out flying arrows that shed through the webs. The webs were surprisingly magically resistant, and so had to be cut through in ol¡¯ physical force. Then the demon king pulled out another trick. The demon king vanished again, this time, it was even invisible in my spiritual vision. But, it could still be sensed through movement, through its heat signature and its magical pulse. Khefri, of all the seven heroes, had the easiest time with this demon king. She was innately attuned to the shifting movements in the earth as if she could feel every single vibration on the strands of web, every single shift in the dirt. The web, ironically, just made Khefri¡¯s senses better. As a part scorpionoid, she was exceptionally resistant to poisons, and she survived a hit from the demon spider¡¯s poison head-on with very little damage. She was more physically attuned and coupled with her wide range of senses, she was the only one able to consistently approach the demon king¡¯s vanishing body andnd hits. The rest, except for Adrian and Chung, couldn¡¯t adapt to the demon spider¡¯s changing invisibility as quickly. Adrian, as a monk-hero, also had his own set of ¡®invisibility¡¯ detection, but it wasn¡¯t in the same tier as the scorpionoid. Chung¡¯s archer skills, luckily, came with some detection abilities. The webs grew, and that expanded the demon king¡¯s hiding spots. The battle now turned into a game of hide-and-seek and endurance. The heroes needed to constantly figure out where the demon king moved, while trying to cut down it¡¯s range of movements by destroying its massive wall of web. The massive webwork repaired itself constantly. The demon king itself would intermittently release sts that expanded the webwork, it was supported by the demon champions. Those champions were also able to grow the webwork, though at a slower rate. The demon spider king weakened from the initial sts and repeated attacks, even after its regeneration. The massive size meant it relied on its invisibility and webwork to maintain an edge. The webs also slowed the heroes, and would asionally catch them in its web. My artificial minds were able to conclude that the demon king¡¯s raw abilities were fairly average, but the variable invisibility was really quite effective against the heroes. Without the invisibility, and in its already weakened state, the demon king would struggle to hold its ground, what more counterattack so effectively. Therefore, removing the webs, the key to its invisibility and battlefield control seemed key. I recalled the heroes faced an invisible demon king once. Harris died to one. An assassin demon king that seemed to be able to turn invisible at will, and didn¡¯t rely on webs as a gimmick. It¡¯s a good thing demon kings never have thebined skill sets of all the demon kings. There likely is a finite amount of abilities that they can sustain at the same time. Since my trees and my beetles didn¡¯t help, I diverted to use my spiders, beetles and roots to cut off the webs or pull them underground, while the Valthorns continued to attack only with long range volleys. We exhausted most of our supply of magical bombs so they had to use them sparingly on the higher-value targets. The two archmages¡¯ area attacks were incredibly helpful in clearing the field of the smaller spiders. Without their magical infernos and energy explosions destroying most of the lesser spider spawns, the melee and mid-ranged focused heroes, Khefri, Hafiz, Adrian and Kelly wouldn¡¯t be able to focus on tracking the invisible demon king. But really, of these four heroes, only Khefri wasnding hits consistently. The rest were ying a guessing game half the time, and by the time they figured out where the demon king was, it would have moved. Even sticking close to Khefri and attacking where she attacked wasn¡¯t that great, because they couldn¡¯t see the attacks from the demon king, which just put them in danger. ¡°This isn¡¯t the right strategy! Hafiz, Kelly, both of you pull back and just focus on taking out the spider¡¯s webs and theser mobs. Once we remove the invisibility, Chung and the mages can blow it up!¡± Khefri said. Kelly, a knight-barbarian, Hafiz was a defense-focused fighter, and this wasn¡¯t the right matchup for the two. The two melee heroes split up and went on a cutting spree. The three ranged heroes tried to keep their distance, and coated the battlefield with area-of-attack spells. These attacks hurt the demon king slightly, but nothing like focused attacks. ¡°I didn¡¯t hate spiders. But I do now.¡± Chung cursed. The spiders moved really quickly, but somehow only where there were webs. His shots kept missing, then he saw a pattern- ¡°Hafiz, Kelly, clear the webs strategically, we can selectively use the webbed areas to funnel the demon king into a narrow space where we can attack. The demon king only sticks to the webbed areas to maintain invisibility!¡± I looked around the battlefield, trying to align my root strikes and attacks with the heroes. The dwarven city was transformed into a field of craters. There was not a single pristine building left. I focused my strikes on cutting down more webs. Cutting down webs is probably the best way to contribute, as my attacks hardly hurt the demon king. The heroes still had to repeatedly dodged the demon king¡¯s attacks, but with both Hafiz and Kelly focused on clearing the webs, the area with webs avable to mask the demon spider¡¯s presence quickly diminished, and the spider demon king¡¯s range of movement shrunk. Slowly, the tide shifted. They were hitting it more often, and harder, and I already felt the pulsing from the demon king. Weakness. ¡°It¡¯s weakening. Be prepared for anyst-minute oddities.¡± I warned the heroes. The demon¡¯s attacks grew more relentless, at times, iling with its multiple legs repeatedly. Yet it was getting slower. The attacks were not as fast. The thrusts didn¡¯t hurt as hard. The spider demon king took three more hits from Khefri, and then that pulse strengthened. The heroes recoiled, they were now familiar with that sensation, and all seven of them jumped backwards. The demon king reached is limit. ¡°Alka! Now¡¯s a good time to blow it up before it blows us up!¡± Chung shouted at the top of his lungs while he moved back at the highest speed he could. Alka nodded, downed a speed-enhancing potion, and zoomed towards the mass of webs where the demon king hid. He zoomed right to the center, and then immediately activated his detonation ability. Thanks to multiple parties clearing the webs, there was only a small area where it could hide. An explosion ripped through the remains of the capitol, and melted what was the outeryer of the demon king. The demon king managed to deliver an attack right when Alka was about to explode. It stabbed Alka and cut off his arm. He screamed, and I recalled my explosive scientist back home for treatment immediately. His wound was tainted by a demonic-curse-filled strike, not unlike what the demons did to the first few heroes I encountered. An earlier version of myself would not be able to fix it, but even so, Alka still needed at least a week of recuperation. **** The explosion triggered the next transformation of the demon king, and each of the legs cracked open. It had four legs left, the rest chopped off through the earlier fights. Its main body melted and then turned into dust. From those four legs, four significantly smaller demonic spiders emerged. Each of them is weaker but so much smaller and faster. They were also no longer invisible. The four split up, and these smaller spiders all had spear-like legs. To call them spiders was probably incorrect. They were like human-sized sea urchins that levitated and rolled. Khefri managed to intercept the one andnded a hit. It stopped in its tracks, and turned to face the scorpionoid head on. The second one fought with Adrian and Kelly and momentarily was on par with the two. The third one charged at Chung, and he managed to impale the smaller spider with magical arrows before it got close. It didn¡¯t die, even after all the attacks. The fourth one headed right at Colette and Prabu. They sted it with magic, but the demonic spider shrugged it off. These spiders were magically resistant. Prabu took out a staff made of my enchanted wood and smashed it into the spider. At that moment, I detected that familiar pulse again. It came from within the four spider-urchins and spoke to the heroes. ¡°Get some distance from the spiders! They are suicide bombers!¡± My roots emerged from the ground and tried to grab hold of these spider-urchins and hold them in ce. I didn¡¯t want the spider to chase after the heroes. My roots managed to catch three of them, and my roots immediately got to work and tried to drain the energy out- The fourth one dodged my roots, and went straight for Prabu. ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡± Hafiz, the defense-oriented knight, mmed into the self-destructing spider, allowing both Prabu and Colette to flee. My roots emerged as well and tried to protect Hafiz, while simultaneously trying to grab the fourth spider. The four spiders exploded. The earlier three spiders detonated weakly, their explosions didn¡¯t harm anyone. But the fourth one, pinned down by Hafiz, stabbed one of it¡¯s spears in Hafiz¡¯s arm, and exploded right in front of the knight. The defender hero was encased in his own protections, but that was no use. Not at this range. Not with a gap in his protection. The heroes watched in absolute horror, and I heard their voices yell out in fear. But their screams were for naught. Hafiz was burned alive in the demonic explosion. ck mes encased his body. [Demon King Rach has been defeated!] [Hafiz has died. You received one fragment] [You have 97 fragments!] [You gained one level!] [You are now level 241!] *** I checked on the rest of the heroes, but at that moment, I felt something strangeing from Colette. She looked upset, as she stewed in the aftermath. The rest of the heroes were upset and cried too, but Colette¡¯s spiritual reaction was unlike anything I¡¯ve seen. She didn¡¯t approach Hafiz¡¯s burnt corpse for hours, even though the lingering demonic mes couldn¡¯t really harm her. The body was charred ck from the mes. His hero-items were ck and would disintegrate at a single touch. But my senses were locked on the hero. This wasn¡¯t sorrow. It came from her soul, and I felt as if she was a person torn in two. Prabu walked and ced his hand on her shoulder. She buried her face in his chest and cried. But the crying did not remove that constant sensation she emitted. I allowed them some time to grieve, they watched as Hafiz¡¯s body turned into ash and dust, blown away by the wind and leaving nothing behind. I waited, while my consciousness shifted to Alka. He was stable. Injured, but stable. He had to nurse his injuries from the demonic curse, and I would need some time to regenerate his arm. I checked back on the heroes. They muttered curses, some said a prayer. It felt like they were ready to talk again. ¡°All of you, pleasee to my bib for healing and detailed checkup. I just want to make sure everything¡¯s fine because I detected something unusual.¡± I asked, as I still sensed the unusual sensation from Colette. Ken panicked. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I¡¯d like to check everyone just to be sure.¡± The former hero paused. ¡°I want to be there.¡± The heroes returned to Branchhold and straight to my clone body. Ken, along with many others, were there to receive the heroes. Chung walked to Ken, and then stabbed his finger in his chest. ¡°You. You could¡¯ve stopped this.¡± Ken stared at Chung, unsure what he¡¯s talking about. ¡°What-¡± ¡°You. You selfish bastard. You chose to give up your hero ss, and here we are now. With one less. He would¡¯ve lived if you were-¡± Ken red at Chung. I couldn¡¯t believe how Chung came to such a conclusion. ¡°Stop, Chung. You know this is bullshit. You don¡¯t get to me Hafiz¡¯s death on something I did so many years ago.¡± Chung wanted to say something, but Colette stopped him. ¡°Chung¡¯s right.¡± Ken¡¯s eyes turned to face Colette- ¡°You should¡¯ve told all of us to give up our hero ss.¡± Chung stared at Colette. ¡°-that¡¯s not-¡± ¡°Ken¡¯s right, too. This [hero] ss is a poisoned chalice. We¡¯ve known since we touched the journal. Let¡¯s go, Aeon awaits us.¡± Colette said firmly, and she walked ahead of the other heroes. I felt such a strong sensation in her soul that I really wanted to know what happened. Chung turned to face her partner, Prabu. ¡°-what happened to her?¡± Prabu sighed. ¡°Someone died. Read the room, Chung. Whatever you want to tell Ken, now is not the time.¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s me, now?¡± Prabu ignored the archer and walked past him. Khefri tapped Chung on the shoulder. ¡°I agree with Prabu. Just give it up for today.¡± ¡°What!¡± Chung protested. ¡°We could¡¯ve used more hands!¡± ¡°Not today.¡± Khefri repeated, and ignored her pursuer. Ken watched the exchange, and sighed. He couldn¡¯t help it. He walked to somewhere quiet and watched the heroes head to the bibs. He sighed as Snek sat next to him. ¡°Aeon, where did we all go wrong? Should we use the [hero] ss we¡¯ve been holding?¡± Snek wanted to keep it for ra, but I sensed he was also having second thoughts as well. *** My book 2 is out next week on 28 June 2023. Please preorder if you want. You can find it here: It covers chapters 40 to 81. Sadly my audible''s not doing so well so the narrator''s only able to work on it by Sep 2023. Hopefully it doesn''t get dyed even further. *sads* 251. Camping on the Comet 251. Camping on the Comet Year 253 (part 2) ¡°Hafiz died.¡± Ste said. There will be consequences, that I will have to deal with. Already I felt brewing discontent among the heroes, and some went to their hero¡¯s journal for sce. Ste got the notification on the fragments too, and she waited on the demonic turtleworld. Her eyes and magical senses was waiting for theet. It was almost within range. It was so very close. I had already regenerated Alka¡¯s destroyed limb, but he still needed some time to rest. He wasn¡¯t ready for the attack, yet. Lumoof added a prayer. ¡°May he find peace in his sacrifice.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°Peace, and hopefully the gods hold up their bargain.¡± The demon¡¯set entered the range of our void mages, and then we were immediately hit with the sensation of something pushing at our minds. ¡°Ste, you feel that?¡± Lumoof said. Edna, Roon and Johann gathered around Ste. It was now within our portal range, and their magical senses got to work. The void mages looked grim. ¡°We¡¯ve got to go first,¡± Ste said. ¡°Ready?¡± Lumoof shook his head. ¡°Never, but let¡¯s go.¡± I shared the feeling that we won¡¯t ever be ready for what awaited us, but there was no dying the inevitable. I could feel our collective resolve to get this shit over with. Ste nodded. ¡°Well, let¡¯s see whether our portals can get through-¡± They did, and Lumoof was first to go through, entirely encased in magical shields. *** Lumoof stepped through the magical portal, and we were immediately assaulted by the overwhelming presence of demonic magic. It was as if the entirely of the Rottends was amplified a thousandfold and distilled onto this Comet. The Comet¡¯s surface was filled with reddish spires, filled with spawning pools- A demon champion attacked us almost instantly, it¡¯s ws smashed into a wall of wood. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the weing party I was expecting.¡± Lumoof smirked, as his feet touched the crystalline floor. He scanned the surface to answer our key issue and cursed. ¡°There are ces here that Aeon can¡¯t deploy his clone. We¡¯ll need to look for it.¡± Edna, Roon, and Johann joined the fray soon after, only to find ourselves surrounded by more demon champions. ¡°Well.¡± Edna looked amused as she eyed the demon champions. ¡°Were we too early? We alsoe with gifts.¡± Her anti-demon spears rained down on the champions, and soon thending area was cleared of demons. *** ¡°There¡¯s strong magic holding this entire ce together.¡± Ste cursed. Her magical senses were the strongest of the domain holders, Lumoof¡¯s senses were instead constantly disturbed by the swirling demonic magic in theet. Roon and Johann looked around, only to find more demon champions throughout the ce. ¡°Should we call the rest of the team? We need to start bombing this ce.¡± Ste shook her head, as she examined the crystals. ¡°I think bombing this ce up from the surface won¡¯t work. These things are particrly magic-resistant. The effects of magical bombs would be reduced. We need to figure out what¡¯s holding it together.¡± ¡°Do we need to?¡± Roon shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a demon king. Or a core. Or both. Fairly sure that if we get to the core, kill the demon king, the Comet will then disintegrate. Whatever keeping this ball of rock and crystals together will break apart.¡± ¡°Kinda annoying that we prepped for so much explosions only to find out it¡¯s not as useful as we like.¡± ¡°We can use it on the core.¡± Roon said. ¡°Portal to the source-?¡± Ste shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s a core. The central area of thiset has some kind of magical winds shearing away my attempts to form a portal.¡± ¡°See?¡± Roon said smugly, much to the annoyance of the rest of them. ¡°I suppose we should be looking for a way to the core, then?¡± ¡°You think there will be a pit, just like the worlds?¡± Ste could only shrug. She had no answer, and her magical senses couldn¡¯t- There was a pulse of intense magical energy, and all my domain holders recoiled. Ste immediately created a magical shield around herself, and the rest of them were protected by Lumoof¡¯s wooden spherical shield Itsted for a good 30 minutes, and it felt like the entire surface was cooked. The dirt below us was incredibly hot, that it was almost burning, and the red crystals glowed like they were amp. Tthe core itself released a strong burst of heat and magical energy that burnt everything on the surface. Except, demon champions. Even lesser demons were destroyed by the burst of heat. ¡°That rules out the surface team.¡± Edna cursed, as she observed the heavy burns on the wooden spherical shield. ¡°Sounds like the demons had experience with people invading their Comets.¡± Roon mused. Ste didn¡¯t, instead, she seemed thoughtful for a while. ¡°The magical energies came from multiple areas underneath the surface, not really the core. There seems to be certain parts of this Comet that contain-¡± At that point, their conversation was interrupted. A group of demons emerged, and a quick read of their magical energies revealed they were likely to be formed from the merger of multiple demon champions. We¡¯ve known they could merge, just like how the demon walkers merged to form the demon supercannon. ¡°When did the demons have such powerful creatures?¡± Roon cursed, as the demons attacked. ¡°What do you mean, when?¡± Johann countered as the swarm of merged demon champions attacked. He deftly dodged the demon¡¯s attacks, and could easily counterattack. My domain holders were more than a match for these merged demon champions. Demon champions, on their own, were generally ssified as threats around levels 80 to 100. If someone had anti-demonic super-blessings, like myself, I could handle them at level 60. Many of my Valthorns had lesser anti-demonic blessings, and I¡¯ve seen my own Valthorns defeat a demon champion single-handedly at level 65. These merged creatures were stronger, around level 120 to 130, but my domain holders were in their level 160s to 170s. It wasn¡¯t much of a fight. Lumoof stood his ground, and my roots emerged to wrestle with these demon champions. My mana flowed through my avatar and my roots, then attempted to overwhelm these demon champions. We won easily, the demon champions suffered tremendous damage and victory was at hand- A pulse from the Comet¡¯s Core, and a sudden surge of demonic mana once more. It was so thick that it felt like I was absorbing demonic mana just by existing. The demon champions devoured the thick demonic mana like a parched man, and their wounds mended. We cursed as we watch our attacks were regenerated so quickly. ¡°We need to blow them up in one go, or this crazy demonic mana will just regenerate the whole thing!¡± Roon cursed. He was able to blow up one of the merged demon champions in a single magical shot, but it clearly took a lot of energy. I recalled that earlier incident with the separated demon king, and how their ¡®soul-imprints¡¯ served as the foundation of the regeneration. I wanted to search for simr- but then I quickly realized that the demons were not regenerating themselves, but reconstructing themselves. Just to be sure, I briefly activated spirit vision through my priest and found none that these demon champions were just hastily cobbled together, fueled by the abundant demonic mana released by the Comet itself. ¡°If they are indestructible like this,¡± Edna cursed, ¡°Can you imagine demon kings constantly regenerating?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a horrible prospect to imagine,¡± Roon responded while he blew up another of the demon champion, but he wasn¡¯t thorough enough. A part of it survived and began to quickly reassemble itself from the dirt and crystals around it. ¡°This entire damnedet is just fuel for the demons!¡± Lumoof realized this was going nowhere and decided the best way forward was to drain away the demonic mana. Roots and vines expanded everywhere. ¡°I¡¯m going to drain the demonic mana. Take that window to blow them uppletely!¡± ¡°Got it.¡± He sucked the demonic mana from the air itself and from the ground. It reduced the density of the demonic energies for a brief window which my champions quickly utilized to crush the demons. The demon champions couldn¡¯t regenerate, and for now, we had our victory. They were all destroyed. Then the pulse happened again. More demon champions emerged, and they repeated the strategy. It was exhausting. ¡°We¡¯ll have to stay here for the next two years until we can deploy Aeon¡¯s clone.¡± Roon cursed, as they fought through the demon champions. The Comet didn¡¯t have much of an atmosphere, so it was through magic that they could function. It drained them slightly, but it was a constant drain that detracted from their fighting strength. They leveled slightly after they fought through the tenth batch of demon champions. They moved and looked for the entrance. But this entire thing was a creation of the demons, and Ste suspected it was builtyer byyer. So, there was no entrance. ¡°We have to punch a way to the center.¡± Edna said as she remembered the various ns they created. We were prepared for that, in fact, one of the options was to use my Titan slot to create a digging-type Titan, but it¡¯s likely we¡¯ll need to provide it support while it dug to the center of this massive thing. ¡°Let¡¯s just find a ce where Aeon can ce his clone, secure the location, and wait until the clone is ready.¡± my avatar reiterated the strategy. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to endure until then.¡± ¡°The question is whether to bring the rest of the team over.¡± Ste asked. The Comet and Turtleworld will only share an intersection for only about a year. After that year, we¡¯ll only be able to reach the Comet once it intersects with Lavaworld many yearster. Edna, Roon and Johann looked at each other, then Johann said, ¡°We could use some support, Let¡¯s bring 30 of the strongest ones, to cover us while some of us rest. If we¡¯re going to be fighting constantly for the next two years, we¡¯ll need rest and rotation.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Ste said. *** About 30 Valthorns all ranging around Level 125 to 149 prepared themselves for the move to the Comet. They would bring resources and materials with them, to prepare for a long war. Two years of constant harassment by the endless demons before I would be able to deploy my clone. They bring with them anti-mana weapons, made from the same antimagic sand. It was effective in reducing the mana density of the surroundings, but only up to their absorption limit. This meant they could slow down the rate of the demon champion¡¯s regeneration, and increase the damage window avable for us to permanently destroy the demons. Lumoof naturally talked about whether it¡¯s possible to push back the demonic mana by converting the ground. ¡°I¡¯d use the [Forest Rod].¡± He suggested. ¡°But with the overwhelming demonic mana from the core, it might just get pushed back.¡± The core red again. The Valthorns were all equipped with magical shields and my familiars, and it activated to protect them from the char. The demon¡¯s core red intermittently, at least once a day. Every time it did, the force of five domainholders and thirty Valthorns had to brace for attacks. *** ¡°I¡¯m fine now.¡± Alka said and he felt healthy. My checks indicated he mostly recovered from the battle after three weeks of recovery. ¡°I need to join the rest of them.¡± My dwarven explosions expert stretched and equipped himself. The news of our discoveries were ryed to the local team, and we probably needed to activate my Titans on the Comet. Utility. That was the function of my titans. They can¡¯t deal the sort of damage needed to hurt demon kings, but their utility is where they excelled. Alka was generally receptive of the idea, a few earth mages together with my future digging Titan should do quite well. I rechecked my Titan options that I first encountered almost 80, no, 90 years ago, back when it was Year 163. In terms of digging utility, I have three main options. The Depth Worm was likely to be the best at digging since that was its specialization. [Depth Worm - Starts at Level 70. A creature of the subterranean world. Extremely good at digging and making tunnels. Has very good ¡®earth-sense¡¯ and is able to detect hidden features in the deep ground. Weak to magical attack. Also produces certain types of minerals and metals.] [Fusion with Horns. Starts at level 80. Transforms Horns into a Goliath Kingbeetle that¡¯s able to use earth magic and various other protective and offensive abilities. Goliath Kingbeetle can create Royal Warbeetles. Also produces very high-quality beetle-silk. Royal Warbeetles can improve crop output in the area] [Giant Tree Serpent, Nydus - A massive serpent. Able to use earth and wood magic. Starts at level 70. Gains powers to summon all sorts of serpents and poisons. Master of poisons and has the ability to brew multiple types of potent poisons and cures. Able to grant poison immunity.] Although theygged behind in terms of levelspared to my level 125-149 earth mages, Titans are very good at their narrow scope of tasks, just like how Patreeck is incredible at mind reading andputation. So, the depth worm, or earth magic Titan could be just aspetent at moving earth, or more. ¡°Think the depth worm¡¯s the best choice.¡± My advisors said. Horn was mostly bored out of his mind, but being an artificial mind, he wasn¡¯t the type toin all that much. I probably could disassemble Titan-souls now since it¡¯s been a long time since I meddled with them. Myprehension of the souls improved a lot. *** Alkanded on the Comet and smiled at the rest of the domainholders. He gave the rest of them a hug. The rest of them were taking a rest, in between the constant demonic harassment. ¡°We were wondering when you¡¯d join us,¡± Johann said while petting his pet dragon. ¡°Wee to Hell. I heard you lost a hand.¡± ¡°I thought that¡¯s Lavaworld.¡± Alkaughed and flexed his arm. ¡°Nothing Aeon couldn¡¯t fix.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just purgatory.¡± Ste smiled. ¡°This is the firstyer of the pits where we face endless evils.¡± ¡°Sounds like fun.¡± Everyone rolled their eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll change your mind soon enough.¡± There was at least one wave of demon attack per day, often two. ¡°This is like a dungeon that never quite ends.¡± ¡°Exactly what we¡¯ve been looking for?¡± Alkaughed as he eyed the rest of the Valthorns. He recognized most of them, most high-level 125 to 149s were friends of the domainholders and interacted with them a lot. ¡°A ce with high-level threats for Valthorns to level!¡± For the Valthorns, this was indeed a great leveling opportunity. Yet, after the constant harassment, it did feel tiring. ¡°I don¡¯t really see why we need to camp here.¡± One of the Valthorns said. ¡°Can¡¯t we just jump in a few days before the window closes? There is a year after all.¡± That was a valid point, but Ste answered frankly. ¡°We¡¯re not taking risks with portals. Our portals can be easily shredded by unusual magics, and this Comet is filled with surprises. If we are here, let¡¯s just wait it out.¡± ¡°Two years of constantly fighting demons. Man, it¡¯s like we¡¯re back to the old era again.¡± One of the Valthorns sounded nostalgic. ¡°Bet those battle-nuts on Mountainworld would love to be here.¡± Alka shrugged as he scanned the horizon of demonic spires. They were camped in a valleyish area surrounded by more demonic spires, and frankly, there was no safe space here. ¡°Well, I should start using my ability?¡± ¡°If you could draw the demons away from us, why not?¡± Edna smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t die, alright?¡± Ste called him over. ¡°Have a look at our records before you do.¡± Alka walked over, picked up a few of the crystals and rocks from the ground while he studied the data, ¡°and damn, these crystals are pretty much designed to absorb magical energies. It¡¯s like this wholeet is Daemolite.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°Yeah. Your bombs are going to be fairly ineffective on the terrain.¡± Fairly. It would still destroy it, but it would take more explosions to get to the core. Of the 30 Valthorns that joined Ste, about six of them worked on various observational equipment. Many were custom-built for this operation. They scanned the depths of theet, especially the daily charring pulses, and soon noticed there were eight nodes that released those bursts. Each of those nodes were located fairly deep, but not entirely to the core. The Comet itself was a blend of crystals, earth, and something in the center. It emitted a core-like energy that was heavily mixed with demonic energy but did not provide sufficient data for us to understand what exactly was in there. ¡°Would Aeon survive the pulse?¡± Alka asked. ¡°I bet he could,¡± Ste said. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about the overwhelming demonic mana, and what it means to be nted on theet.¡± I¡¯d be exposing myself to huge quantities of demonic mana. It could potentially overwhelm my clone. But at this point, risking demonic corruption is a risk I¡¯d have to take. BOOK 2 of TREE OF AEONS NOW ON AMAZON KINDLE UNLIMITED BOOK 2 of TREE OF AEONS NOW ON AMAZON KINDLE UNLIMITED So yes. It''s been three months, and now, it''s time for Book 2! It''s EDITED. I was told, TWICE! That should fix my clunky terrible grammar. You can find the book here on Amazon KU (so it''s FREE if you have a KU subscription)- Here''s the link time. Oh, and this is the COVER Add to your library. LEAVE A RATING. LEAVE A REVIEW. THose help. A lot. That dude on the cover? He''s a rando that''s gonna die. Interlude – Soul Realm Interlude ¨C Soul Realm Death. Colette has seen it a lot in their earlier days, buttely, it felt as if she already forgot how it felt like. Then Hafiz died. ¡°Why, Hafiz? Why do that for us?¡± Colette asked. The heroes were gathered all in the main tree on Branchhold, in a special part. A really thick vine wrapped each of their bodies. Hafiz was a glowing ball of light. A soul, and the space around them was filled with stars. [Soul realm]. Colette remembereding here once. Long ago- so long that she didn¡¯t even remember the time. But this felt familiar. Stars. Flickers. Lights. All the other souls. It felt bigger now. Wider. And she could see there were strands of light that illuminated the paths that went into other ces. Worlds. Each seemingly a link. She struggled to make sense of the space, it felt like the space bent into itself. ¡°Because what else is there to do?¡± Hafiz said, ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound so noble. I already epted that our lives in this world were just temporary, it was time. It was damned time.¡± ¡°You nned to do it?¡± Prabu asked. ¡°Yes. If it ever came to sacrificing one of us, I decided it would be me. I have the least to lose. I don¡¯t care about anything. I¡¯m losing the ability to care about anything at all.¡± Hafiz said, his frustration palpable. Colette had never seen him so animated in years. Colette looked across their magical-soul space. At Prabu. At Chung. She stopped, and then looked at Hafiz again. ¡°Hafiz. How do you feel? As a soul?¡± Hafiz was quiet, his glowing soul hovered and moved a little. Only the five of them were here. Four heroes of Treehome, and one former hero. Ken. Khefri was never that close to Hafiz. Adrian and Kelly were Mountainworld heroes and their rtionship was fairly cordial. In the end, everyone went back to do their own thing. Even Hafiz. He drifted away a bit. They would meet up once every month or so, he¡¯d teleport over to Freshka or one of the suburban cities and they¡¯d hang out. But the drift was there. If there was doubt about the long term sess of Ken¡¯s League of Heroes, theck of personal rapport was one of them. ¡°Honestly, do you guys really want the answer?¡± Hafiz asked. Chung didn¡¯t say a thing. Ken nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± Colette always thought it was just a sign of maturity. A sign of age. The weight of experience. They were aging, and she thought it was natural that they all began to quiet down. They were not young, and it would tone down their drive. Even Ken calmed down over the years. ¡°I feel light.¡± The dead hero answered. ¡°I feel liberated. I feel like I suddenly can remember all the things that I wasn¡¯t supposed to.¡± Ken was the only one that nodded. For him, he always remembered. ¡°I- I feel like I really want to see my family again.¡± Hafiz said. ¡°Will you?¡± Colette asked. She tried to remember her own family, before all of this. But it¡¯s been so long, and it felt hazy. She could remember snippets, but she forgot what her mother¡¯s voice was like. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I could feel a power calling me. One that¡¯s not Aeon. It¡¯s waiting for the time. I can linger here, maybe a few months.¡± ¡°Six.¡± Ken answered. ¡°Aeon said the waiting time is six months from your death.¡± Colette tried to remember her parents. She could hardly remember. Ste once said she took up painting, in her earlier days in this world, to paint her own memories before they fade away. There was no photo here, and the only way she could preserve her memories was to draw them. Paint them. She wished she did. She wished shemissioned someone to paint a portrait of her family when she could still find the words to describe them. Now, she wasn¡¯t sure she could even link the image if someone showed her a simr photo. Prabu sounded confident when they spoke one night about this. That they would certainly know. But she felt from the depth of her guts that they¡¯ve already lost it. Hafiz continued, ¡°Six months. I see. Then I must¡¯ve used up a month. How long has it been? The sense of time in this ce is- wonky.¡± ¡°One and a half.¡± Ken answered. ¡°I remember our lives back home vividly. Images and things I thought I forgot, now clear to me. I¡¯m afraid some of you will want to remember this. Remember the past.¡± Chung abruptly interjected. ¡°Ken. You knew this? Do you remember?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Colette wondered briefly whether Ken¡¯s memory of tropes was vivid, because he didn¡¯t have the hero ss trying to suppress his past. No, she was now sure it¡¯s linked. Not just that, it even felt like Ken talked about this before. But somehow it never stuck in her mind. As if- As if- As if- The connection should have been clear. Yet what was she trying to link? She looked at Ken, and Hafiz¡¯s floating soul. ¡°Hafiz. Repeat it again.¡± ¡°Everything in the journal?¡± Hafiz said. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Colette paused, and remembered her daughter. Unlike Khefri who bore many children with her toyboys, and ignored them afterward, she couldn¡¯t do that to Rohana. There was no one she could pass her to. No one she would pass her to. Why? Why couldn¡¯t she think like Khefri? Was a child made with half the blood of natives worth less? No. That shouldn¡¯t be the case. Was it because of pain? Suffering? Rohana was hers. Her child. She was a mother. A mother¡¯s duty. Suffering. Sacrifice. A mother¡¯s duty is first to her- A hero¡¯s duty is to y the Demon King. Colette felt her connection to the [Soul Realm] waver. Demon Kings. ¡°What-¡± She whispered it, as if her mind was splitting apart. As if the words seem to lose meaning. As if all was pointless. Sacrifice? What sacrifice? She raised her head, her spirit transported, Aeon¡¯s bridge to the soul realm. She looked at Hafiz and she saw death, at Ken and she saw age, at Chung and she saw anger, at Prabu and she saw her new family. What did she lose to get here? They¡¯ve done their share. Served their time. Now that she wanted to look back, why did it seem like its¡¯ so hard to remember things before all of this? She looked at Ken. He seemed to be the only one actually getting what Hafiz was saying. She felt jealous. Envy. She wanted to know, and she felt her soul cracking. 252. A Tree Plans for Starfall 252. A Tree ns for Starfall Year 253 (Part 3) Unlike Jura or Lovis, I couldn¡¯t hold onto Hafiz¡¯s soul. Not if he didn¡¯t want me to. A hero was a hero. Instead, I received a [Titan Frame]. I could deploy up to three Titans, now. Kei¡¯s, Hafiz, and one left from the three heroes of the earlier generation. Supporting three more titans, or five titans simultaneously wasn¡¯t a problem for me magically. Titans. Useful for Comet, if I could get them there. I would deal with thatter once I got my clone deployed. The hero, Hafiz wanted release from his heroic duties. Like all heroes that were no longer shackled by their worldly chains, they sought to return. He saw something. I could feel it, and so he didn¡¯t want to be here. I wanted to hold him here. With us, but he refused and vanished away. He was a hero, and he slipped through my grasp like a slippery eel, and back to nothingness. Where I hoped the Gods fulfilled their promise. Because back on Treehome, the survivors bear the cost of his sacrifice. And in Colette, I saw Hafiz¡¯s experience. There was a strange disquiet in her, and it manifested in her soul spring. I noticed cracks throughout the entirety of their normally pure white stone around their soul. Colette stood quietly, alone in the wooden room. The Hero¡¯s Journal glowed faintly on the table, infused with the will and magic of the heroes from times past. Here, in a Giant Attendant Tree created solely to house the Hero¡¯s Journal, she prayed. She wept. She injected memories into the journal, and it certainly felt like there was more unsaid than could ever be said. Her partner, Prabu was with their daughter, Rohana. Mother needed time alone. To mourn and to grieve for the dead. He told her. But even he could see the distance in his partner. Hafiz and Colette were friends. Colette felt that way, at least. Not close, but friends. I listened to her talk to herself, as if she was talking to him. Things she wished she could say. She thanked him, quietly. Before all of them drifted apart. That was how their rtionships were. They were allies of convenience and circumstances, brought together because they died together. It didn¡¯t mean much once the demon king died, and their different interests pulled them apart. The hero ss did nothing to keep the heroes together, beyond a shared purpose to y the demon king. In the same way, the Valthorns exist as protectors against the demons. Ken definitely had a point when he asked the question of me. ¡°What if you win? What if it really was the end, no more demons. What happens to all the things and structures that you and the Valthorns built?¡± Ken may havee around and epted the purpose and direction of our role, but his skepticism of whates after never faded. ¡°What do you do when your purpose is lost? That decides whether you are benevolent, or just a dictator. I hope that what I see is true, that you will let go.¡± I thought about it, and certainly, my role as a tree is to ensure nature exists. The demons must be removed because there is no coexistence. But without their existential threat, Ken is correct to say we would lose a big part of our purpose. Colette sat in the room. She was there the whole afternoon, sipping tea, thinking, and then checking the journal again. And again. And again. After a long while, she suddenly asked. ¡°Are you able to remove our hero sses?¡± Colette asked. ¡°The hero from a previous generation, Mirei, when you disabled her hero ss, she suddenly dreamt of home. She dreamt of family. Friends that she has long forgotten. Like Hafiz.¡± Life has a way ofing around in cycles. Events rhyme with those of an earlier time. I looked at Colette, and saw a weary young mother, trying to remember what life was like before all of this. Before death. Maybe Mirei would be like her, or she was like Mirei. I wasn¡¯t sure. They blend together, sometimes. I think about Lilies, about how all the people, all the personalities seem same-ish after a while. There were only so manybinations of character traits. I remember why even a hive-mind like Lillies couldn¡¯t find it in them totch and get close to individuals, to treat each individuals as unique. Is it because after enough time, people really do blend together and you notice how the character traits blend together in slightly different ratios to form a slightly different individual? Just variations of certain base temtes. ¡°Can you do it to me? Not remove it, but, just suppress it for a while? Just to see what was there, what was before all of this?¡± Colette said quietly. It was something Mirei would have said. I could imagine her saying it. I knew the answer to the question. I think I could. To suppress the effects of the hero ss for a rtively short moment is certainly not out of the picture with my current strength. But do I want to? I had a shback to Mirei from so many decades ago. She wanted death as a release from her duties as a hero. I looked at the mother of a growing baby girl and wondered whether I could impose this sin on myself. That feeling reemerged once more. That moment after Hafiz¡¯s death when I felt something brewing within Colette¡¯s soul. ¡°Is this something you really want?¡± I asked. Colette looked back at the journal, closed her eyes and seemed lost in thought for a moment. That feeling strengthened. Dissatisfaction. Discontent. Anger. It was as if Colette radiated chaotic energy. When she opened her eyes, she nodded. I thought I saw her resist some pain, or it was a wince. She quickly picked up the cup of tea and drank everything. She answered. ¡°-yes. It is.¡± ¡°Very well. There will be consequences. Consequences that extend beyond yourself, and I will do so only after you¡¯ve discussed this with your partner.¡± Colette paused as she digested my words. After a while, she nodded. ¡°I suppose he deserves to know what i¡¯m thinking.¡± It is her choice. But her choice has consequences for the sole offspring of two Earth heroes. Mirei went down a death spiral, and I wasn¡¯t sure I wanted to facilitate that for Colette. But, I understood the need to know, and so I only ask for her family to make that decision with her. Consequences for her, for her partner, for her child, Rohana. The young child seems normal so far, her soul spring turbulent and unformed. I wonder what blessings or curses await someone so special. With a parent like Colette, going through her own challenges, it would not be easy growing up. I looked at the child, and thought of Arlisa. Such wasted potential. I looked at the parents, Colette and Prabu and realized that they were going to be just as bad as Lausanne at parenting. Maybe worse. There was no one to humble them. They exist at the very top of society. What was life growing up like that, so detached from everything? Morbidly, Rohana would likely see her parents die. Her parents are heroes. Their fate was death. I briefly wonder whether the gods prevented hero-parents just to ensure that every child would likely have one non-hero parent still live. I doubt the system was so sympathetic. *** ¡°Call me a selfish bastard again.¡± Ken countered, and the rtionship between Chung and Ken was tense. ¡°You are a selfish bastard. I said it once. I will say it again, and I stand by my damned statement. You are a coward. You ran away from our joint duty to defeat the demons, and now you criticize us from the sidelines. Well, do you feel happy, do you feel smug watching the rest of us toil in misery?¡± Chung said. ¡°Do you feel validated in your decision?¡± I didn¡¯t understand why Chung vented his frustration on Ken. I suspected helplessness, and so he turned on the ¡®traitor¡¯. They were good friends. Yet even good friends disagree on things. Ken was silent before he nodded. ¡°Yes. I wanted no part in the schemes of greater powers.¡± ¡°And yet here you are, consorting with the greater powers. Hypocrite.¡± Ken sighed. ¡°Yes. I am a hypocrite. But I now know what I really wanted out of.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I wanted no part in schemes that I have no knowledge and control of. I hated how the Gods didn¡¯t inform us the full scope of our duties, our burdens, the chains that shackle us, both physically and mentally. I hate they treated us as tools, instead of partners that should work together. I hated we didn¡¯t have CHOICE, Chung.¡± ¡°And that hatred of you led to one of us dead.¡± ¡°Chung, you¡¯re making no sense. I have no way of preventing his death. Even if I was a hero, so what? Could I have stopped thatst part?¡± ¡°We- we-¡± I realized Chung¡¯s arguments were just frustrations. A bundle of emotions. Chung just stomped, and his magical stomp radiated through the ground. The floor cracked but wasn¡¯t destroyed because my roots quickly reinforced the ground. ¡°Look, my old friend.¡± Ken tried the soft approach. ¡°We¡¯ve been through years, decades together. We¡¯ve been apart, and we pursue different goals to satisfy the emptiness in our hearts. To fulfill what the gods robbed from us. Right now, I think the gods¡¯ influence is meddling with your mind. You are not thinking about it properly.¡± ¡°Then tell me why you want to die, while leaving the burden of the living to the rest of us. Leaving us to face the duty of fighting some other person¡¯s war. If you are my friend, I need you here. I need you alive and well to tell us that all over again. Because you know it¡¯s meddling with us, and because-¡± Chung took a deep breath before saying it. ¡°-I¡¯ll only listen to you.¡± Ken was stunned to hear it from his friend after so long. He suspected Chung was a little too attached, on that point, a fact I knew for quite a while. But it wasn¡¯t something to bring up. Chung sighed, admitting the truth. ¡°-I¡¯m not good with advice. I can¡¯t take it from the others, or Aeon or any of my servants. I tried. But I just couldn¡¯t. Please, friend. Stay and live along with us. Be themon sense we sorelyck. We will suffer from your absence.¡± Ken let out one of the longest sighs in his time here. His posture sagged as if he aged ten years after that conversation. ¡°You suffer from my absence. I suffer from my presence here in this world. I¡¯m weary, Chung. I¡¯m sick of this game. I didn¡¯t trust the gods, and I don¡¯t want to live to see my current faith rot into something else.¡± ¡°Selfish bastard,¡± Chung repeated. ¡°You know what, I guess I am,¡± Ken said. ¡°I¡¯m selfish because I want to die peacefully while the rest of you won¡¯t ever have that option.¡± Chung¡¯s fist almostnded on Ken¡¯s face. But it didn¡¯t. Because it would kill him if it did. ¡°Curse you.¡± Chung said. Ken felt his heart skip a beat. A hero¡¯s attack was still a hero¡¯s attack, and Ken was just a regr person with a fairly normal ss. *** The dwarven capitol was wrecked, but the location was not ready for the people. ¡°This is all that damned tree¡¯s fault. They must have nned this or in cahoots with the demons.¡± The Dwarven King wasn¡¯t quite happy about returning to what was a destroyedndscape. Most of the original dwarven citizens of the capitol cursed as they surveyed what remains of the home. Foul magic still lurked here, some of the demon spiders escaped, perhaps squashed or hidden underneath the rubble, waiting to strike anyone who discovered them. As with all prior demon king-deaths, the ce was filled with the remains of the demon. Daemolite. Ruins. There were craters everywhere. Old buildings, alll destroyed. The explosion at the end burned and left dark marks in the soil itself. The people were unhappy, and the King could sense it. Some kings gained skills that give them an innate sense of how loyal their people were, the rough tones of their popce¡¯s emotions. There was no good oue when a city is lost. ¡°Let us help to rebuild.¡± Some of my Valthorns from Branchhold reached out to offer assistance. The dwarves themselves got to work. It would be some time before the city would be a city once more. The general popce lived in tents. In temporary housing. Long-term temporary housing, at least for a few years until the city could be properly reconstructed. The wealthier dwarves moved to other cities. Even if the Capitol was rebuilt, the people who lived there would have changed, and a lot of their bustling energy and magic would have gone far away. The King, although he seemed d not to die in the battle with the demon king, the anger of his poption meant he had to find a target. Someone to me. Conveniently, the target of their frustration was the heroes. Indirectly, we were caught in the crossfire. *** Year 254 The heroes were trouble I didn¡¯t want to deal with. Instead, I focused on Lumoof on the Demon¡¯s Comet. Only one more year before my Clone was ready, and already, the Demon¡¯s Comet drifted out of range of demon turtleworld. We didn¡¯t even ship all the bombs we made, so that was a waste. My Valthorns relocated the bombs to Lavaworld, a process that would take a few months because we shipped so many. Shipping these bombs without proper storage could identally trigger the bombs, and we had some of our crystal bombs exploding during one of the Demon Comet¡¯s daily re ups. The next intersection in six years, by Year 260, and we really needed to make our time on this ce count. *** ¡°What¡¯d you get?¡± Ste looked as Alka ced another magical probe on the ground. It would be destroyed if the res activated, but it was one of the best ways of scanning the Comet¡¯s structure. They all looked exhausted, even if the rotating system meant they all managed to get some rest. ¡°Those eight nodes- there seems to be a chamber around it. There are rocky parts located throughout the Comet.¡± ¡°We know that.¡± Ste clicked her tongue, a little irritated. ¡°The rese from the nodes, but because they radiate outward like a fanning wave, these rocky parts are deep enough to be out of range of the nodes.¡± ¡°So we¡¯ll just have to dig down the rocks, deploy Aeon there?¡± ¡°Probably the best chance to get a somewhat safe ce.¡± His probes and scanners still couldn¡¯t figure out what was at the core. Until we could deploy my clone, I couldn¡¯t start creating my digging titan. ¡°It¡¯s still pretty damned deep.¡± ¡°Not all the way to the core, just a quarter of the way.¡± Alka thought as he looked at the team. ¡°We should start digging. A tunnel that far down should take us a year.¡± ¡°If the Comet doesn¡¯t copse on us.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t.¡± Alka said. ¡°These crystals are pretty damned solid.¡± The Comet was made from a magically resistant material, so the best way to dig down was to hit it physically. With pickaxes and hammers. It¡¯s a good thing some of the Valthorns were more physical in their talents. Dig. Based on whatever data we had, we built a model of what we thought was the most efficient way to reach the rocky areas beneath the crystallineet. We¡¯d have a year to dig. One of the ns developed by the Valthorns over the past year of data collection was essentially to dig deep, and nt the bombs there. Trigger an explosion from within, disrupt whatever magical bonds that held theet together. This should be one of the better ways of destroying theet without actually destroying the materials of theet. Once theet loses it¡¯s bulk, whatever damage it could deal would be survivable. Should. *** 253. Impact Gardening 253. Impact Gardening Year 254, Part 2 The Comet is big. It goes without saying that all the bombs we gathered so far, would not be enough if we tried to blow it up from the surface. My own scientists estimated the bombs we gathered would probably be enough to create a rtivelyrge tunnel to the core, but nowhere near enough to shatter this Comet. Therefore, the way we used our bombs needed to be quite strategic, and we really needed to hit certain parts of theet. ces where the magic from the core of theet holds the entire thing together. Gravity. It¡¯s not exactly gravity that holds this rock together, but magic. That is expected for objects such as this, it wasn¡¯t created naturally through- Actually, what is a normal process in this world of magic? Why shouldn¡¯t I consider things that are created by magic as natural? Anyway, my Valthorn observed that there are areas within the Comet that were ¡®weaker¡¯, and likely more vulnerable to our explosive devices. Based on their estimates, it should significantly weaken the structure of the Comet. Alternatively, my domain holders suggested weakening the structure of the Comet itself by taking out the eight nodes, or modifying them such that they destroy theet itself. I thought it was a genius idea. The Comet fed these eight nodes, and these eight nodes red on a daily basis to purge the surface of invaders like myself. It was clearly powerful, as it is able to create a re that covered the bulk of the surface. If we could turn the Comet Core¡¯s energy against itself, it would significantly elerate the process of destroying the Comet. This meant I needed to seize control of these nodes with my clone, or find ways to hijack the energy flowsing from the core, and through meddling with energy flows, alter how those nodes behave. *** ¡°Man, how much deeper do we have to go?¡± One of the Valthorns was a strength-focused barbarian-type. In order to protect him from the res, he constantly carried a set of magical artifacts that protected him from magical attacks. He, and about ten others were the tip of our small digging force. Each of them were level 125-140, so when they attacked, the ground gave way. Physical force was far more effective on the crystals than magic, and each m of their skill-enhanced pickaxes, the crystals crumbled. Another Valthorn looked at the data. ¡°Probably another two more months.¡± The barbarian rolled his eyes. ¡°This is just as bad as camping in the dungeons for months.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s worse.¡± The Valthorns chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no underground town to rx and unwind.¡± They¡¯ve been digging for months, and about three months in, we noticed the res were weaker, and less frequent. It¡¯s likely that the nodes were designed only to purge the surface, and not this deep into the Comet. It didn¡¯t get hotter underground. The core didn¡¯t release any heat, even if we felt stronger magical turbulence. ording to our sensors, there were subterranean tunnels that crisscrossed the Comet, not by design, but by ident. These were created likely due to how the entireet was cobbled together, and naturally there were ¡®pockets¡¯ of space that just didn¡¯t line up correctly. My Valthorns theorized that the Comet was essentially a bunch of different rocks stitched together through the magic from the core, because there were segments where the type of crystal, sand and rocks had slightly different mixture in them. If the demons have the ability to construct the Sun-Rings, it is not beyond them to construct something like a Comet. In every way the Sun-Rings were just bigger, more sophisticated and more powerful. On the other hand, the demonic energies found in this Comet clearly suggested this was meant to be a seeding pool. Perhaps there was a time when the demons just flung them in random distances and hoped they crashed into a world. Then, the remains from the Comet would act like a big re that marked the existence of a world. There¡¯s just a lot of daemolite on this damned rock. *** The drill mmed into the wall and it copsed. The group was instantly assaulted by a wave of heat and magic that rushed in. ¡°We hit another of those chambers.¡± On the surface, the spawning pools respawned even after we destroyed them. The demonic mana re-ups just regenerated everything we destroyed, and even created new spawning pools. At some point, it certainly felt like destroying the demons were pointless, because they just respawned. Down there, hundreds of miles below and months from the surface, some of the chambers were filled with demons in spawning pools, but here in the depths, the demons take a different form. They resembled more like golems made of crystals, rather than the normal, usual demonic form out on the surface. ¡°That¡¯s the sixth one. How big is this one?¡± Edna looked around, as Lumoof extended his senses. I felt it too. This one stretched quite wide. The Valthorns took out the golem-demons easily, and here, this deep in, there¡¯s no res to respawn the golem-demons. At least, not any we¡¯ve seen. It¡¯s entirely possible the core itself could release a re. Lumoof looked around. Here in the depths, the crystals released a strange faint glow. It would have been pitch ck without their reddish glow. Yet, it wasn¡¯t hot. There was no heat in this ce. No air, either. The only reason the Valthorns could exist was because of our equipment. The demons clearly did not expectpany. Not on their Comet. I suppose they should, since we invaded the Sun-Rings after all. Maybe the next Comet, if there is one, would have suitable countermeasures. This Comet was likelyunched before we even demonstrated the ability to find the Sun-Rings. ¡°This leads fairly close to one of the nodes.¡± Lumoof said, as he concluding his magical senses. Ste felt a range of mana swirling around her, drawn to the magical formation in front of her. It was her magical observation formation ¡°The density of void mana here is getting higher.¡± She paused momentarily. ¡°The core is a mix of void and demonic mana and I feel there¡¯s Core Mana too.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Lumoof looked back. ¡°How?¡± Ste shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to find out. Let¡¯s keep digging. The ce for Aeon¡¯s clone should be just a bit more to go.¡± The demons either have some means for storing Core Mana without it decaying into normal mana, or they have a way of generating Core mana. The location for my clone was not much further. *** ¡°This really is cobbled together.¡± Roon looked around and said as we reached another different chamber. They¡¯ve passed three more subterreanean chambers over the past month of digging, and now, we finally arrived deep enough. We were now on arge subterranean structure that was clearly once part of a muchrger rock. It even had a slightly different color, and it contrasted so heavily to the crystalline-mixture that we¡¯ve seen on our way down. ¡°Why do they do such a thing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone knows.¡± Steughed. ¡°But it¡¯s good that they do so. Imagine if it¡¯s crystals all the way down. Then we¡¯re really shit out of luck.¡± ¡°True.¡± Roon nodded. Soil. As Lumoof¡¯s legs touched this slightly different part of the Comet, I knew this was probably an asteroid at some point, and it fulfilled the conditions for my clone¡¯s deployment. ¡°Well, we¡¯re here. We might as well camp here and some of us start exploring what¡¯s around. Let¡¯s start digging tunnels to the various nodes?¡± My Valthorns estimated this was the best ce to ce my clone, at least, until we know more about what we faced in the Core. Our own theories generally assume that what¡¯s in the Core is likely to be a demon king equivalent. Ifs had demon mothers, something like the Comet with it¡¯s naturally invasive nature meant this Comet should have a demon king in it, that would deploy once it crashes into the. Records of the energy levels, calcted from the total energy needed to create the daily reups even suggests that we may have to face multiple demon kings. Not that crazy, if the Sun-Rings able to call on the protection of multiple demon kings. We would have to approach it carefully, and find ways to destabilize thiset without triggering such a thing. Or only approach the core once we were sure what we faced and prepared ordingly. We¡¯d also prefer to approach the Core of the Comet with the heroes present. With the heroes¡¯ exceptional star power, we could destroy the Comet, and deal with the demons in the Core with higher confidence. *** Lumoof touched the crystals that formed the walls. Now that we¡¯ve located the ce to deploy the clone, a group of Valthorns stayed back to build some structures. At that depth, the res from the nodes, which only released res upwards and outwards to the surface, didn¡¯t harm us at all. It was quite dangerous to approach the nodes from the surface, because the res were denser if we approached it. It was like a high pressure water jet, and the pressure was strongest at the top of the nozzle. But, now we were approaching it from the size, and it¡¯s like grabbing a water hose from the back. We were getting closer to the channels of energy from the core. ¡°I feel like I should¡¯ve gained a level after digging so many tunnels.¡± One of the Valthorns joked as they walked through the tunnels. My priest merely chuckled. ¡°If we could get answers from the System, it would¡¯ve been much, much easier.¡± ¡±True that.¡± The Valthorn Warrior, Ezar, sighed. He was Level 143, in total, from a mixture of Brawler and Ranger-type sses. Alka just chuckled. ¡°If the system gave answers, Aeon wouldn¡¯t need people like me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true.¡± Lumoof said as the Valthorns continued to dig closer. ¡°Aeon is always in need of someone to blow shit up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Alka countered in jest. ¡°I know.¡± The other Valthorns groaned. Most of the younger Valthorns didn¡¯t realize how much the domainholders ragged on each other for fun. They¡¯ve fought demons together so often that they could take each other¡¯s shit. The Valthorns extended the tunnel, and then magic rushed through. ¡°Well. We¡¯re here. Looks like we found the mana aqueducts.¡± Lumoof looked at what appeared to be a ley line in physical form. It was a massive, pir-like structure that extended from the core itself, and up to the node. Huge quantities of magic flowed through it, and transformed the rocks and crystals along it¡¯s path into a glowing, reddish, highly-dense crystal structure. Some of that mana leaked out, but most of it flowed through the pir. ¡°There should be seven other such pirs.¡± ¡°You think we¡¯ll shatter the Comet if we blow up all these pirs?¡± Lumoof asked. Alka shook his head. ¡°Not if we don¡¯t disrupt the magical flow. These pirs merely exist as a byproduct of the flow of energy from the core to the eight nodes. They are not the cause, and destroying them wouldn¡¯t change anything. I think it would even regenerate itself.¡± Alka said as he tried to chip away at the highly dense crystal structure. It was incredibly hard, and any chip seemingly repaired itself before their eyes. ¡°You know, it feels quite shit that we made all those bombs only for them to be useless.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Not exactly. We can use it to blow up the source.¡± The core. The demon kings. ¡°Anyway, boys, time to dig upwards. We need to get to the nodes.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The Valthorns answered. *** Back on Treehome, Snek looked at an upset Ken. ¡°Colette wants to suppress her hero ss, to see what was before all of this.¡± Ken answered. Unlike the rest of the heroes, Ken actually remembers what life was like before they were selected to be a hero vividly. He has seen how the rest forgot so much about their past, the effects of the hero ss meddling with their memory. Suppressed. Faded. The effects of it on the heroes were insidious, as if it was subtly molding the person into this person focused on the demons. It stripped out the memories over time, while trying its¡¯ best to retain the qualities it desired of the heroes. Yet, it couldn¡¯t just delete it. Was it because the gods protected the hero¡¯s memories while they were sent to another world, and the hero ss stood on top of it? Therefore, if the gods removed the memories, they essentially destroyed the foundation on which the hero ss stood on, and the heroes would develop in a way different from what they wanted? In Ken¡¯s case, once the hero ss was not there, he could freely ess that memory. But for the heroes, it was like there was a concrete floor that hid all that memory, and as the hero ss got stronger, that concrete floor got bigger and wider, and eventually, they couldn¡¯t even see what was underneath anymore. Prabu, naturally, was afraid. He wasn¡¯t sure what Colette would do if she could remember. But he couldn¡¯t tell her no. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to remember, Prabu? About life before all of this? About our parents, our family. Our old friends, all back home. Even if you don¡¯t want to remember, why don¡¯t you let me remember? We are notplete, Prabu. This is just a part of us. The part the gods want to keep, so that we serve as their tools. Hafiz is free. I want to be free, too.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°I want Rohana to see her motherpletely. Not just this aspect of us. She needs a mother, and increasingly, I fear that this ss prevents me from being a good one. Aplete person. I want to know.¡± Prabu had no answer for her, and all he could do was ask for some time. Time Colette dly gave, since there were still many things for them to do. *** ¡°Do you think we should use the hero ss?¡± Snek asked. ¡°I have it, and I initially intended to use it to save my world. But now I realized there are ways to achieve my true goals without it.¡± Ken looked at the little Snek. Snek held the [hero] ss, stored in his soul. The one Ken gave up. ¡°-wait. What¡¯s the catch?¡± Ken may have spent forever with his little Snekpanion, but the [hero] ss was always Snek¡¯s prize. ¡°I am willing to trade the [hero] ss for Aeon¡¯s clone. Convince Aeon to deploy a clone permanently on ra, and be our gateway. My people will benefit from ess to the wider world.¡± ¡°You know that he refused to do that before.¡± ¡°I know, which is why I¡¯m willing to trade the ss for it.¡± ¡°-we don¡¯t even know what¡¯s the conditions to use that [hero] ss.¡± No one has ever tried to create a hero from a hero ss seed. There may be conditions to that ss that we are not aware about. In fact, it¡¯s entirely possible for the [hero] ss to turn out to be a dud. I could therefore see why Snek would offer it in exchange for permanent ess and connection to the wider world. But, I may not want it either. What was I to do with a hero ss, anyway? Do I even want to create another hero? My clones are genuinely in short supply. It¡¯s already hard to level up, and even if I do gain more clones, each additional clone is further away. There are so many worlds, and I need to use them wisely. *** 254. Tough Nut 254. Tough Nut Year 255 My clone could finally be deployed, and the emotions among my Valthorns was a mixture of excitement and relief. They¡¯ve waited two plus years for this moment. Some of them just couldn¡¯t wait to finally head home for a rest. Some just couldn¡¯t wait to get started. My Valthorns double checked theirputations and ns. We had one good shot, and if we stretch it, maybe another shot. If the circumstances forced me to, I would withdraw my Lavaworld clone to deploy a second clone. Based on current projections, it¡¯ll still take fifteen years before it impacts Treehome, so if I withdraw any of the other clones now, I should be able to deploy them a few years before impact. If that makes a difference. I hope it doesn¡¯t get there. I felt the clone seed in my soul notify me of its readiness. Ready for deployment, and through Lumoof, I could summon the clone seed. It¡¯s finally time to nudge this Comet out of its path. *** ¡°Alright!¡± Lumoof said, as my clone seed emerged through the avatar form and sunk into the rock. This former-asteroid or former received my seed easily, and my roots emerged from the rock- Retaliation came instantly. A surge of demonic mana gushed in from the surroundings, and flooded my growing clone¡¯s roots. Luckily I was well prepared for this, and through the mana from the rest of my clones and bodies, I pushed back with mana of my own. My roots spread through the rocks, weaving through the gaps, or forcing through at times. The tree grew upward and outward. Scientifically it didn¡¯t make sense for a tree to exist here. There was no sun to guide the tree¡¯s growth upward, so in space, in an area with nothing but ambient magical light, the tree should just grow randomly in whatever direction it happens to be in. I wasn¡¯t sure why I was thinking about such a thing while I was drawing mana from all my clones, and pushing that mana against the demonic mana from the Comet¡¯s Core. My tree grew, as the flow of mana intensified. The demonic mana was strong, but I was really good at filtering the demonic mana. It¡¯s something I¡¯ve done for decades. Ever since the Rottends. It¡¯s as if the Comet tried to flood me with this dirty mana, only to find that I can clean it and expel the dirty mana faster than they could throw it at me. It¡¯s true that they are still arge ocean of mana, but I didn¡¯t need to clean all of it at once, just whatever that could reach me. The amount of demonic mana from the Comet¡¯s Core was less than a full grown, but it was still more than the smaller, recovering worlds. My clone tree grew, and reached it¡¯s full size. I felt my branches and vines push against the crevices of theet¡¯s rocks. There is no sun. A tree shouldn¡¯t exist here. Yet, despite the impossibilities, I do have a tree on the Cometworld, and now I have another one on the Demon¡¯s Comet. I felt like this was too much adventure for a tree. For a tree to boldly go where no Tree has gone before. I mentally pped myself at how ridiculous that was, and focused on the retaliation from the demons. We detected the presence of demons headed our way. Parts of the Comet itself shook, and the rocks transformed by the demonic mana. They turned into demonic golems, and tried to attack us. Demons made of rock, and crystals, and cobbled together from whatever that was present. It was as if the demonic mana possessed the earth itself to rise up against us. But this type of resistance was useless. The aura of my demonic suppression field weakened these lesser creatures, my vines and roots stabbed the demons, drained them of their mana and without their demonic mana, they had no ability to regenerate. The rest of my forces crushed the defenders easily. The demons foolishly repeated the attacks. The walls around us, those made of crystals and all that transformed into demons. That was actually quite helpful, because it meant that with each group of golems made from the crystalline walls, it just created more space. With my Clone effectively draining the demonic golems of their mana, Edna and my Valthorns made short work of them. *** ¡°The Clone is active.¡± I dered to the Valthorns eagerly waiting news on Treehome, Branchhold, and Lavaworld. The crowd cheered. ¡°It¡¯s time to move to the next stage of the n.¡± Titans. I reached out to the Titan Frames stored in my soul realm, and prepared them for use. ¡°Depth Worm.¡± I repeated to my Valthorns. My domain holders nodded. While waiting, my Valthorns constructed even more tunnels throughout the Demon¡¯s Comets, preparing for the bombs that would be everywhere. My roots spread. The demons resisted, their overwhelming quantities of mana put up a good fight and slowed the speed of my spread. I couldn¡¯t nt subsidiary trees here. They were too easily overwhelmed by the demonic mana, and would then die. Instead, only my Giant Attendant trees could be deployed in this sunless world. Back home, I abused my teleportation ability to ship truckloads of the Comet¡¯s crystals to Lavaworld, where a huge deployment of research trees and Valthorns worked on developing roots and nts adapted to the crystals. Just as how some nts learned how to grow and climb on concrete structures, I believe I can magically create nts able to work on these crystal structures. We already shipped some back during that one year ovep as it coasted close to the Demon Turtleworld. It¡¯ll still take some time to develop nts adapted to crystals. My roots spread. Demonic mana pushed back. Despite the presence of tremendous tranquility, the battle between the demonic mana and mine continued forever. My clone drained the demonic mana, and expelled them. The crown of my clone tree ignited in mes, as the demonic mana burned. I pushed towards the nodes. Giant Attendant trees, bit by bit. All while the demonic golems tried to attack us The pace of my expansion was slow. Slow. We were too damned slow. *** ¡°I need more mana.¡± I exined the progress to my Valthorns. Right now, the mana generation from all my worlds was used to sustain far too many different projects. In terms of mana, Cometworld, and Lavaworld are both mana-deficit worlds. Tropicsworld has finally approached breakeven, but it hadn¡¯t started to really generate mana to add to the pool. Treehome, Mountainworld and Threeworlds are the three mana-generating worlds. On top of that, each teleportation between worlds, through my clones, also consumed a little bit of mana. Immaterial individually, but in aggregate, they added up. I also spent mana sustaining two titans, Patreeck and Hytreerion, and now will add another one for the Depth Worm. I was rtively sure I¡¯d keep them, so turning them off was out of the picture. Patreeck got to work analyzing all my mana consumption. I spent a rtivelyrge amount of mana sustaining the whole beetle army that supported the Central Continent. These were pretty much the logistics backbone of Treehome, and again, out of the picture. So, I thought about it for a moment, and spoke to the heroes, and the other domain holders. ¡°Do you want to share your mana with me?¡± Due to the way my clones work, I can essentially move mana from ce to ce with hardly any loss between my clones. There¡¯s always some mana loss from transportation, when it¡¯s moved, but my clones are pretty much magically entangled that any movement between them is instantaneous. Between my lesser trees and through my roots, there is some energy loss. Just like how my attacks and my abilities are weaker far away. That said, my Giant Attendant Trees also act as amplifiers, and they also reduce energy loss from transmission, in the same manner that the Giant Attendant Trees also reduce the distance penalty to my skills. For heroes and for the other domain holders like Lillies and Aria, their mana was respectable too. The heroes just needed to drop by every few days to let me drain them off their mana, which I used to supercharge my expansion on the Comet. I could theoretically send them to the Comet, but without knowing what I faced, it seemed rather dangerous. With the additional mana, I burned through them to force the demon¡¯s mana back. But it stirred the Comet¡¯s defenses. The presence of star mana swirling against the demonic mana triggered the Comet to vibrate violently. ¡°What the hell is happening?¡± Edna looked around while the entirety of the Comet shook, and this time, I felt the mana flows that was previously sent to the nodes shifting and moving around us. The rivers of demonic mana that powered the nodes instead moved like it was a serpent, and the rocks around us, those that still carried the taint of the demon¡¯s energy transformed. ¡°Demons!¡± Edna said as gigantic demons charged at us. Golems that were made of so much demonic energy, and I immediately recognised the familiar feeling. ¡°Run.¡± Imanded. ¡°They¡¯re self-destructing golems.¡± Inwardly I cursed. The demons clearly didn¡¯t mind blowing themselves up. In a way, that would achieve the goal of destroying theets. But, why would they do something like that? Unless- ¡°The entire Comet is a crudely made golem.¡± Ste¡¯s observation came just as immediately as mine. ¡°We¡¯ve been lurking on the demon¡¯s body, and Aeon¡¯s a parasite on one of it¡¯s parts wrestling against it.¡± ¡°They could regenerate.¡± Alka mused. He¡¯s been itching to use his detonation ability, but so far, we didn¡¯t get such a violent reaction from the Comet. My roots attacked them, preventing them from getting close to my clone. The golems exploded in a sh of demonic mana, their explosion was made of highly dense demonic energy. Then I noticed something unusual. The golems were running towards where I injected the star mana into the ground. They stopped if engaged, but otherwise they seemed to be looking for something. I decided to test it out. I spawned one of my trees, and used some star mana to push back against the demonic mana all around it. The golems, as if alerted, swarmed and charged towards that tree, and detonated themselves. The subsidiary tree didn¡¯t stand a chance and exploded into smithereens. My initial n of hacking into the nodes now had to be scrapped, because the rivers or flows of mana in the Comet were now shifting violently, moving and spawning more of those explosive golems packed with demonic mana. The demons started spawning conventional defenders, but also packed with demonic mana. Serpents made of rock and sand. They attacked my clone, and together with the self-destructive golems. These golems, with the amount of mana they contained, could rip through my defensive shields. At a certain distance I could still block them, but it was hard to properly protect my Valthorns while fighting the demonic serpent. I had to ¡®pop¡¯ them before they got close and trigger their explosions. Their explosions at a distance still created shockwaves, and my forces immediately retreated into my clone. The multiple gigantic serpents. The demons, as much as I hated to admit it, was pushing me back and winning. They didn¡¯t mind blowing themselves up, because the immense magical energies they possessed meant they could regenerate easily. I needed to push back- I struck the demons with roots and vines. I drained them of demonic mana. Then, the demon core¡¯s river of mana moved around and all of them focused on my clone. *** If I had hands, this sensation was quite like putting my hand into a burning fire. The demonic mana, previously just distributed and scattered, now focused all on my clone. It overwhelmed my lesser trees easily, because this was the entirety of the Comet¡¯s mana. All of the rivers of mana that fueled the nodes redirected towards my clone. A part of me, my clone body struggled to push back, and maintain control. My clone body shook as if we were being uprooted. Parts of my peripheral roots were transformed by the demonic mana, turning into ck-reddish things, mixed with crystals. The mana tried to wrestle control of my body, but the main part of my body was protected by my domain. That was impervious. My domain was like an invisible screen that it couldn¡¯t pierce. This was a part it couldn¡¯t possess, it was a feature of the system. But everything outside that screen burned and transformed. All my smaller trees were torched and turned into crystallic rock by the overwhelming quantity of demonic energy. Like standing in a thunderstorm with an umbre, my soul and the main parts of my body were the only parts that were still dry. Everything else was soaked. The demon¡¯s mana poured and tried to overwhelm me, but it was useless against the domain. Instead, it tried to corrupt the ground around me. Again, my domain protected arge segment of the ground where my roots reached. *** It felt like we were imprisoned. With the overwhelming amount of mana the demons kept sending our way, and all the suicidal golems constantly blowing up around my tree, I couldn¡¯t even send any of my folks out there. My clone only survived because my main body¡¯s toughness is really high, and the explosions merely burn through a fewyers of my wooden shields, and just merely ckened my clone¡¯s barkskin. But for my Valthorns and domain holders, I don¡¯t think they could face the demonic mana head on. Maybe the domain holders, because their domains protect their souls and body- but with the overwhelming demonic mana severely restricting my range, we needed to rethink our approach. I constantly drained the demon¡¯s mana, trying to get better at dealing with them, and even with the entirety of the demonic mana focused on me, I still tried to push back. I tried to grab control. Corrupt it. How do I reverse this? Even with the hero¡¯s star mana, the Comet had way too much mana. I needed more. Or maybe, I needed something different. If I fail to regain control, the Comet will effectively destroy everything we¡¯ve built. But as much as I hate to say it, it seems like I¡¯ve bitten off more than I can chew. Evacuation. It was the option I hated the most. I¡¯d be giving up on Treehome, and I¡¯d have to rebuild from scratch. I needed to figure out what was the best way to fight against the demon¡¯s mana. There must be a way I can win. 255. Rotting Wood 255. Rotting Wood Year 256 I spoke to Lilies first, and Lilies understood. Our roots connected, and I shared the images and experiences on the demon¡¯set. There was a shared, mutual realization that evacuation should be our utmost focus. There had to be a way to achieve it without losing so much we¡¯ve built so far. I felt Lillies understanding, and more importantly, agreement. We would need to rethink our strategy, move our people. Will of the World. Lillies¡¯ first thoughts were to beg for aid. To move our world in the void sea. I promptly tried it, through my roots all over the world. I sent my thoughts through ley lines to the will deep beneath. Nothing. Refusal. I cursed. I tried it before, but even with new information nothing changed. The will would not move without the suitable authoritymanding it. My Valthorns and domain holders returned to Treehome, and they felt a little defeated. But it was not over yet. This battle against the Comet was not yet over. But our odds were slim, and Ste redirected a group of the void mages to other projects. Mainly, to find new worlds that we could spread our poption. The Central Continent has been incredibly prosperous over the past few decades, and that meant we are dealing with far higher levels of people than we¡¯ve ever had in the history of Treehome. It¡¯s likely there was never a time in history when there were this many living beings on this world, thanks to all the periodic disasters. I thought about teleportingrge quantities of star mana bombs over to my clone on the demon¡¯set. It might be enough to shatter it, if I could get enough. But Alka¡¯s immediateputations suggested it wouldn¡¯t be sufficient. Not at our current quantity, or strength. The heroes needed to make a far more powerful star mana bomb. Something capable of doing a lot more damage than anything we¡¯ve done before, but sadly, the heroes are not in the best shape for that assignment. *** Lumoof was happy to be back in morefortable dwellings, but even I could sense the nagging worry at the back of his mind. I could feel him asionally take moments just to calm himself, and to live in the present. There was no point thinking about whether this was all going to be gone soon. Life was on a timer. It was always on a timer, in different ways or forms. Change was inevitable. Ste dropped by to visit one of those days, with food from their favorite restaurant. ¡°How many worlds do you n to visit?¡± Lumoof looked back at Ste. ¡°Any good ideas?¡± ¡°-I think it wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡± We had reports from the Tropicsworld that it wouldn¡¯t be able to absorbrge quantities of refugees. Its production and resources still significantlygged behind Treehome due to its generally weaker levels of ambient mana. Even with my blessings and the presence of stronger druids, the soil itself was weak, and there was only so much one could squeeze out of a parched soil. Theary core¡¯s strength ultimately fuels everything about that world. Still, the druids tried their best to get the world ready. They used spells meant to massively restore thend¡¯s vitality, special nts that feed life back into the soil. Just like my trees. But we couldn¡¯t avoid the fact that if we moved everyone to Tropicsworld, our current estimates indicate that the food output of Tropicsworld would just be enough to provide subsistence for the entire world¡¯s poption. I wouldn¡¯t be able to feed the poption the way we do today. Not withoutrge scale food imports from both Mountainworld and Threeworlds. Maybe I should be happy with that, but no. It¡¯s not good enough. Not with our goal of freeing our world from the demons. The reality of creating an army at the strength of the Valthorns required a lot of resources, a lot of food. It is difficult to train strong warriors and maintain a powerful standing army with terrible food supplies. The soul nourishes the body, and the body nourishes the soul. It is a feedback loop. With a poor physical condition, it has effects on mana generation, mana capacity, healing, and mental faculties. That didn¡¯t even go into the issue of construction. The sheer numbers of the world¡¯s poption of at least a few hundreds of millions meant we¡¯d have to provide housing for that many people. This was an issue that would need thebined effort of multiple million workers. Even with the construction of multiple new cities on Tropicsworld, the scale still wasn¡¯t enough to adequately for that many people. It would truly test the theoretically with my upper limit of Subsidiary Trees, spawn a few million trees, and that would house that many, but still not enough. But, with the low levels of ambient energy, it¡¯s likely I would ultimately end up with a huge mana sink. If we lost Treehome, my currentrgest source of natural mana, the mana deficit would be even worse. We had to mitigate it. Not substantially, but at least a tenth or a fifth of the world¡¯s poption would have to move to Mountainworld and Threeworld. We looked at Branchhold, and my growing hidden city on Threeworlds. We¡¯ve been expanding them gradually over the past few years. Branchhold was a prime candidate for massive expansion, even if I¡¯d resisted it in the past. There was no choice, now. Circumstances forced my hand and I¡¯d have to make this world do their share and absorb some of the people. I would need to mitigate the political fallout afterward. As for Threeworld, I¡¯d need to have another talk with Zhaanpu. Lumoof and Ste sat in his fancy dining room. His residence was decorated in an understated style but had a fantastic view of the sprawling metropolis. He kept few trinkets or decorations, his wall filled with all his broken equipment. The food was decent, and Ste activated a small crystal gem that projected out a starmap. ¡°My void explorer continues to move to more worlds, and if we hit one that¡¯s habitable like the Beastworld, I think we should take it.¡± ¡°Take it?¡± Lumoof flinched. ¡°Invade.¡± Ste said. ¡°I¡¯m not mincing words here, but if we encounter a world that can support us, we should take it.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. You might as well advocate for an invasion of the Mountainworld or Threeworld. Those worlds can support us. Hell, let¡¯s invade the angels too, Angelworld surely can support our poption.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea. I came to the realization that invasion is ultimately a necessity.¡± Ste countered. ¡°I think you¡¯re not thinking straight. Why not the demonworlds?¡± Lumoof rebuked. ¡°The Valthorns can handle most demonic foes, and the demon king never actually attacks its¡¯ own world.¡± ¡°A waning world is not sustainable. The demon controlled worlds fade, eventually.¡± ¡°We can free multiple worlds.¡± Lumoof countered. ¡°We did it on Houndsworld. A few more free worlds and we spread the people around.¡± ¡°-do we have time for that?¡± Ste looked out of the balcony. I didn¡¯t need Patreeck¡¯s mind reading to know how tormented she felt. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lumoof shrugged. ¡°But they won¡¯t be linked by Aeon¡¯s clones. We will have to build riftgates. Those cities and worlds will have to find ways to recover without Treehome as the Core world.¡± Ste thought. ¡°What if they don¡¯t move? Like the dwarves.¡± ¡°All we can do is offer them a choice.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°There will be those who take the mantle and be pioneers. There always will be. We will support them, and they willy the foundations for the majority.¡± My void domainholder shut her eyes for a while, her eyes of eternal darkness swirling. ¡°I¡¯ll need to get started. Start looking.¡± ¡°Let me know if you need me.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re needed elsewhere, for now.¡± *** Kei sat next to the aging Ken. His age was increasingly more noticeabletely, partly due to the stresses of the Comet. It¡¯s been a few years since the fellow mber¡¯s death, but it still hangs over them. ¡°You alright?¡± Kei asked. Ken just frowned. ¡°Aeon still refuses to answer me about what to do with the hero ss.¡± ¡°Give him some time.¡± ¡°I asked him two years ago.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still not enough time.¡± Kei chuckled. She teaued in terms of levels, not more than level 110. It was partly because she stopped participating in the higher level battles, as well. Former heroes, Kei, and Ken, seem to still retain some leveling benefit, even if they didn¡¯t keep any of their heroic blessings. ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve called me?¡± ¡°Nah. I wouldn¡¯t bore you with my whining about Aeon¡¯s slow decisions.¡± Ken shrugged and offered her a ss of tea. She didn¡¯t need it. ¡°I want your views on the hero ss. What can we do about it, and- have you heard about our n for a League of Heroes?¡± ¡°Yeah I heard. It goes around. But with us not discovering new hero worlds-¡± ¡°-yet.¡± Ken coughed. ¡°But that¡¯s not the point. Long ago, they wanted me to lead it. I¡¯m beginning to think I¡¯m not the best suited for that role, and I want to pass it onto someone. Someone immortal, like the heroes.¡± Kei¡¯s artificial face still revealed a look of horror. ¡°Oh no- you want me-¡± ¡°Genius!¡± Kenughed. ¡°I¡¯ll die of old age, or someshit like that in a decade or maybe two if I get lucky. Look at these creaky old bones. Even with the blessings of high levels I¡¯m nowhere near my best shape.¡± Kei frowned. ¡°That¡¯s because you refuse to participate in battles. Without the battle experience-¡± ¡°-I know. You don¡¯t have to repeat it to me. I¡¯ve heard that nagging lecture a thousand times.¡± Ken said. There was a burst of de-aging at level 100, level 125 and level 150. Between and below that, the effects on aging were subtler. He was nearest to the level 100 threshold, but he refused to participate in any of the tasks needed to get there. Chung called it nned suicide. I couldn¡¯t disagree. ¡°I¡¯m beginning to think my approach was too- aggressive. Too- in your face. I see how you work with Lausanne and the heroes, and I think your gentle, less-intrusive approach may be the better one. I can¡¯t be the bridge, or the chain that holds the heroes together. But I think you can. You have the mostplete hero experience of all. You did your part as a hero, I didn¡¯t. I just ran when I could.¡± A long silence between the two, before Ken continued. ¡°Even now, I¡¯m running. I¡¯m leaving this shit to others to clean up.¡± Kei sighed. ¡°I- I can¡¯t do it. I couldn¡¯t even convince my two hero-mates to fight by my side, and I died to the demon king. You¡¯re asking for someone who has a bad track record to lead something much bigger.¡± Ken nodded. ¡°I believe dying-on-the-job still counts as work experience. A great testament to yourmitment.¡± The golemdy chuckled, and then turned serious. ¡°No.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one else. I don¡¯t know the two other former heroes, and from what I heard, we can¡¯t trust them. Just think about it. I hope when I die, the answer will be Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a maniptive piece of shit, putting it like that.¡± Kei just cursed. ¡°I know. I¡¯m a master of running away and leaving shit for others to clean up. I even thought long and hard about what to say.¡± ¡°I hate you.¡± Kei said. I knew she didn¡¯t mean it. *** On the demon¡¯set, I continued to experiment. Trapped. Surrounded in a sea of demonic mana, my domain was the only thing that kept me safe. I spawned trees and watched them turn into stone-and-crystal. My beetles, they sttered whenever the rivers of demonic mana entered them. It exploded. Most of my creations too, then I began to wonder- was it linked to the type of creature? Would people do better? I wanted to witness the effects ofrge amounts of demonic mana on people. I thought about sending my soldiers, and I knew some would volunteer to die a martyr, but ultimately that was suicide. I didn¡¯t want to do that. I didn¡¯t want to be an old man sending young people to their deaths, without knowing why or what they died for. I wouldn¡¯t do that who volunteered to serve in my army. So, curious, I looked back at my prisoners on Treehome. I have many prisoners, criminals on the death row who did things they were not supposed to. Murders, rapes and all that. Actually, if I was judged by an astral judge, maybe they¡¯d find me horrifying too. For a brief moment, I hesitated. Was I being cruel? Was this terrible? Yes. But my vines, roots and leaves were always bloody. We were executing these criminals one way or another. Death by drowning in demonic mana was just the means of execution. I decided I didn¡¯t cross a line. Maybe someone else would judge that I did. I pulled one of those convicts through my ability to teleport people, and pushed them out of my tree¡¯s domain projection. The criminal died. Instantly. It¡¯s as if they choked. Their bodies shriveled as all life was forced out of them. Sadly that wasn¡¯t the end of it. Then their bodies were transformed by the overwhelming demonic mana. Those human bodies, dead from the toxicity of too much demonic mana, began to warp and transform. I began to vaguely sense the demonic mana reaching into that man¡¯s soul, and felt as if that demonic mana was beginning to hijack the corrupted corpse. I had a really bad feeling, and immediately pushed against the wall of the demonic mana around me,unched a root strike and destroyed that body. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a good idea.¡± I cursed as I watched the remnants of the criminal. I thought about what I could do, and then remembered my hybrid nts dying slower than the rest. Could I use demonic mana, or creatures made of demonic mana that still remained under my control? Does the Comet know how to distinguish my demonic mana and its¡¯ demonic mana? The hybrids we used before still died and were destroyed by the overwhelming amounts of demonic mana. Ironic. This was us being on the other side of my ability, [Natural mana Overwhelming]. It seems to me that the demons have their own version, though their mana seemed to cause things to blow up. In my fields of demonic hybrid nts, I pulled their demonic energy to my clone, and was surprised by how effortlessly my mana slipped out. It went out untouched, as if the rivers of demonic mana around us were never there. It was clear. If I wanted to destroy the demon¡¯set, I¡¯d have to coat myself in demonic mana. I¡¯ll have to be a demon. 256. Libertree 256. Libertree Year 257 I collected demonic mana from all my demonic hybrid trees, and began manipting them. I¡¯ve practiced with demonic mana in the past, and even went as far as attempting to mold them. I once used demonic mana to coat my beetles, and made them appear as if they were demons, but inside they were still normal beetles. But I¡¯ve never tested creatures made with demonic mana against other demons. So, concurrently, on some secluded location on Lavaworld and Mountainworld, I began to shape one of my Giant Attendant Trees into a spawning pool from all my experiences taking over demonic spawning pools on all the various worlds. Lumoof, naturally, sensed and understood what I was doing. "Aeon, this is the path where we have to walk carefully, lest we be the monsters that we fight. A small step here could lead to depths we cannot foresee.¡± "I know." I was worried, but I had to push on. The fate of Treehome depends on it. "If I stray, my dearest Avatar, tell me. Let the domain holders know of my ns to create my own demons." I felt the risks were reasonable. The domain protected my soul, and the demons energy would change only the creatures I created. I wanted to create a puppet demon. The Giant Attendant Tree transformed as I allowed the demonic energies to transform it. Lillies was wary. ¡°The fury of the multiple worlds may descend on you. Transacting excessively in the demonic energies might create a curse.¡± The tree transformed slowly, as I replicated the forms I¡¯ve seen in the spawning pool. I had ideas about the spawning pool, because I always wanted to create a champion like the demons. I studied them excessively hoping to create champions of my own. Each time, I tried to use the concepts but made entirely out of my own mana. This time, I tried my best to stick as close as possible to the original recipe of the demonic spawning pools. With demonic ingredients. The demonic energy caused my tree to turn into this hard, rocky structure, with spikes and jagged edges quite like the demonic spires I¡¯ve seen. This was the natural form of the demonic energy, and suggested that the demonic energy itself came from a rocky world with such features. The tree was ready and then it died abruptly. Insufficient demonic mana. I tried again. Repeatedly, tweaking and tweaking the mana. As weird as it sounded, each demonic spawning pool was surprisingly specific about its energy requirements. It needed resources from the surroundings, the right intensity of mana throughout the spawning process, and the structures had to be formed carefully. I couldn¡¯t just y with one demonic giant attendant tree at a time. If I wanted this to work, I needed an entire farm of spawning pools, each with slightly different configurations. That would allow me to test what works, and what doesn¡¯t. So, on Lavaworld where it still overflows with demonic mana, and there are still local demonic spawning pools, I started arge-scale demonic experimentation facility. A thousand giant attendant trees, each a slightly different configuration. This would allow me to test which configuration worked better with demonic mana. I also tried using the demonic mana from the Comet itself, absorbing it through my roots. Mana of all forms carries the intent of its ¡®controller¡¯. It was this intent, embedded with mana, that allows mana to function and do things. Mana without will just floats around without purpose. Each mana absorbs or carries this intent when it emerges through the Soul Spring. It is why when my mana encounters another mana, whether it resists, passes it by, or absorbs each other, is because of the intent that is tied up with that mana. Intent, from the mage, shapes the mana into form. Into spells. Into abilities. Demonic mana that seeks to corrupt carries within it, the intention to corrupt. While, my mana, seeking to protect myself, will therefore sh and fight with the mana that resists. This is why it¡¯s often a battle of wills, because intention within the mana is the one that¡¯s driving the resistance, and refining how one¡¯s mana resists the intentions of other forms of mana is how I got better at fighting off demonic mana. This is why, intentless demonic mana, like those generated by my hybrid trees, can be possessed and manipted. My soul can impose my intention onto these nk motes of demonic mana, because there was nothing there to resist it. The ability to project intentiones from the Soul Spring. The Soul Spring is a printer, the device in which the code is injected into each mote of mana. However, if these two intentions do not conflict, they can coexist. This is how groups of people manage to work with each other, and ovep their spells, or even bless each other. But at the same time, this is also a vulnerability. Intentions can be changed, but luckily, a soul¡¯s ability to control the intention of mana usually ends once it leaves its body. In short, the mana¡¯s intention is usually fixed the moment it exits the body, as the soul can no longer interact or pass on its intention to the mana, or even if it could, the range of interaction is usually limited. It¡¯s the equivalent of programming codes going live, free to interact, coexist, or fight other codes. To change it, we¡¯d have to upload or send a new set of codes. Mana themselves have certain natural properties. Just like how star mana was the equivalent of coding with radioactive nuclear fuel, demonic mana felt quite like coding with poison, core mana felt like coding with stone and rocks, and void mana is like coding with some kind of thick ck oil. In its raw, base form, demonic mana and energy is naturally slightly corruptive and wanted to change everything into itself. It wanted everything to take its usual shape. It¡¯s a familiar sensation, my own mana has the tendency of warping things into trees or nts. Every soul changes the mana they produce slightly, even if it¡¯s not enough to be considered a whole category of its own. There are elemental biases even in the mana, just like how Aria¡¯s mana is tinged with ice, and Lillies¡¯ mana has both water and death¡¯s taint. Residual codes as a result of processing from each soul spring. This theory exins why, despite no real input from me, demons that I controlled were transformed into wood-forms. Like the first time I turned the demonic hounds into wood hounds so many decades ago. Or how the demonic walker transformed into the hulking mass of roots that is Hytreerion. Allowing the demonic mana to flourish is counterintuitive, but I had to rein in my own intentions. I pulled the demonic mana produced by my hybrid demon nts, and used them to produce demons. Gradually, I found a set of configurations that allowed my demonic-mana giant attendant trees to not only grow, but surprisingly, absorb the natural demonic mana of the demon worlds and convert them into a usable form. [Skill acquired : Demonic Mana Refinement. You are now able to refine and ¡®clean¡¯ demonic mana from certain worlds.] This ability did not work on mana from the Demon Comet. The intent to conquer from the Demon Comet was too strong, too violent. But this was a huge revtion for me. In a single skill, it changed the bnce of mana production altogether. *** ¡°With these demonic giant attendant trees, I can produce mana on the demon worlds. With this, I am no longer mana-negative.¡± I said the domain holders, much to their horror. ¡°But-¡± I didn¡¯t really need to say it. But for rity, I had to. ¡°It means I will be using a lot of demonic mana, and demonic mana will flow through my body inrge quantities.¡± ¡°Do we know what happens when you have too much demonic mana?¡± Ste countered. ¡°Void mana changed my body, and those of the void mages.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°No.¡± Ste said. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t go down this road. The demonic mana might gain control of you, and its effects-¡± The rest of them promptly agreed. They think this was a line that cannot be crossed. Small scale demonic mana was fine, but oncerge quantities of demonic mana flowed through my body, the effects on me- well, I don¡¯t know what the effects are. My soul should protect me, or it might not. Actually, no. It won¡¯t. This is MY demonic mana, and it¡¯s likely the domain would not step in. After all, the domain would not resist itself, and the domain is subservient to the soul. This was granting the demonic energies the equivalent of root ess to my programming. It could unmake me and there¡¯s nothing I could do. My domain holders were unanimous, and they voted no. Even if this would significantly elevate my mana constraints by turning Lavaworld from a mana-negative location into a mana-positive location. Lavaworld¡¯s demonic mana, which was controlled by it¡¯s demon mother, could be easily converted into usable demonic mana. But it is a risk. I realize I probably wasn¡¯t in the best mental state to make this decision, because it is entirely possible that the demonic mana had already affected me without me even noticing it. So, I decided it was wiser to agree with my council¡¯s thoughts, and did not expand the demonic mana harvesting. I didn¡¯t expand the demonic giant attendant trees¡¯ mana farm, and instead, focused on tweaking the spawning pools. Once the demonic giant attendant trees were functional, they could now begin to produce my new prototype demonic scouts. The first demonic beetle created from almost entirely demonic energies copsed on itself. It died. There were aspects of it¡¯s creation that reminded me of my earlier days when I first experimented with beetles. We learned a lot from those days, much of that knowledge is now handled by my small army of artificial minds. Still, we had to redesign the creature from the ground up. The structural elements of the demonic beetle body had to be different, due to the different strengths and flexibility inherent in the demon-organic materials, and we couldn¡¯t just reuse the old temtes. The one thousand demonic giant trees became arge experimental spawning pool, where I figured out the strengths and weaknesses of the demonic-material. One, they were naturally hard, and we¡¯ve known demons had a strong earth-fire element bias. But, unlike the beetles, they were significantly less flexible, and so, certain elements of the demonic beetle had to be reinforced, while certain parts could do with less. My first functional demonic beetle struggled to walk, but the data we gleaned soon allowed us to prototype newer models. *** Back on Treehome, I faced Colette, who could no longer put off her request. She waited long enough, and she finally insisted for it to happen. Prabu was there, and I could see a resigned eptance in his face. Her daughter, Rohana, understood it as ¡®Mother needs to find a missing piece of herself¡¯, and was thus naturally supportive of her mother. ¡°Suppress the hero ss.¡± Colette repeated. ¡°Very well.¡± After so long, everyone knew of it, but no one dared stop Colette. Despite her calm appearance, everyone could sense as if there was a maelstrom swirling within. It seemed as if the threat of her fury was enough. I gathered the energies from throughout Treehome. With my expansion on the Demon¡¯s Comet blocked by the rivers of demonic mana, there was nothing much else I could do. Colette dipped into my [Soul Forge], where I would apply the weight of my domain and my energies against her hero ss. I entered into her soul spring, and found the cracks on the vast marble spring had gotten muchrger. ¡°Your soul-¡± ¡°I feel as if my soul and the [hero] ss are at odds with each other.¡± She repeated, our minds linked through my vines wrapped around her body. ¡°Ever since the day Hafiz died, and that conversation we had, I felt as if something weighing down on me. It¡¯s holding me back from remembering and reaching into- into something.¡± Cracks. About a hundred and forty years ago, I tried to suppress the hero ss for Mirei, to lift the curse within. Today, I looked at the cracked hero ss around Colette¡¯s soul spring, and wondered whether the hero ss was the curse. Power flooded my soul-vines and appendages, and it wrapped around the stones that formed her soul¡¯s spring. I knew I could do it. The power I had in my disposal was no less than what Harris and Gerrard provided to me, and not just that, I was much more powerful. This entire thing was the [hero] ss. It is the means that trante their intent into power. It didn¡¯t even take much of my power to lift the white stones of her soul spring. Her very soul resisted it. It felt as if the ground itself pushed against the stones, and all I had to do was give it a hand. Her soul had grown stronger, the core part of her soul now wanted to shed the ss that sought to impose itself on her. It wouldn¡¯t be too far-fetched to think she might have been able to suppress her hero ss, with enough time. Unlike Mirei, who found it extremely painful, Colette¡¯s unconscious body rxed. As if she was in a long, peaceful sleep. She was in a dream. A long dream, as I held the hero ss as long as I could. With her soul itself resisting the hero ss, I- I didn¡¯t even have to spend much energy to do so. I took this chance to look closer at the stones that made a hero, a [hero]. There were severe damages into the structure of the hero ss itself. Parts of the stone were worn out, hollowed from below, likely from the soul¡¯s resistance. There was umted damage in the structure of the spring too. Gaps and holes where they probably should be none. Cracks and scars. Chips in the rocks. Was this caused by the natural weakening of the hero ss? Actually, could it be that due to the ¡®forced¡¯ nature of the hero ss, the soul itself struggles against the hero ss, and so inevitably it would decay over time? The symptoms we see might be just the side effect of prolonged wear and tear, as the soul grew stronger over time. I could mend the hero ss, but I realize it may not be what Colette wants. The floating vase of star mana in the sky continued to pour down into her soul, but nothing. Suddenly, I felt a rumbling. Her soul vibrated and yet she looked peaceful. The rumbling came from where the actual waters of the spring surged out. Like a wave, it sted outwards. Then, I felt Colette awaken after hours of sleep. I felt joy. ¡°You can stop.¡± She answered. ¡°The hero ss is damaged. Do you want me to fix it?¡± ¡°No. That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± I gently ced the stones back, and then just as suddenly, the rocks began to move and reshape itself. ¡°I can do it.¡± Just there and then, huge waters poured out of her soul, and flooded the [hero] stones. Encased in the waters of her soul, the rocks themselves vibrated and then glowed dimly, as if they were stones around a very hot firece. Thissted for an hour, while ripples of energy whipped through the valley. When it was done, her words answered all my questions. ¡°The gods control me no longer.¡± Colette said, as we all felt the change in her hero ss. ¡°I am now a [Liberated Hero].¡± 257. Tree Blight 257. Tree Blight Year 257 Part 2 Thirteen years till Impact ¡°Liberated hero?¡± I asked as Colette exited from the soul forge. ¡°What in the world-¡± ¡°I have gained control of my ss, and no longer will it inject me with its whims and desires.¡± ¡°How? What-¡± She smiled. ¡°I actually don¡¯t know. But I remember my family, and I remember a lot of love from everyone. I had a great, incredible dream, Aeon. A dream of a lot of suffering, but always a lot of care, and affection. And I remember that I desired to remember all those who cared for me, and really desired to return that care to those around me. Then when I felt the hero ss return- all I did was push that desire towards it.¡± She walked to Rohana, who looked at her mummy. ¡°Mommy, did you find it?¡± Colette squatted down, pulled her child for a hug, and nodded. ¡°Yes. Yes I did.¡± ¡°Can I look at it?¡± I spoke to the hero directly. ¡°Again?¡± ¡°Later. I want to spend some time with my family.¡± Prabu wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. He looked at her partner, unsure. So all he did was wait. She carried her daughter, and looked at him with a smile. ¡°When you are ready, you should ask Aeon for it too. It feels- It feels like I no longer forgot our childhood.¡± Rohana, the young child, merely tugged her mother¡¯s hand. ¡°Does it make you stronger, mommy?¡± ¡°Not really. But, I feel like I see things clearer. As if a veil was lifted.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, mommy. Can we go eat something now?¡± *** Ken stewed at the revtion that it was possible to escape the control of the gods, while still retaining the hero ss. He immediately looked at Snek¡¯s hero ss. ¡°Do you think there¡¯s a way to turn your hero ss into that? Whatever that was?¡± ¡°-do I look like I know?¡± Snek answered. ¡°Our knowledge of the Soul never got to that point. Hell, the moment we got a hero ss, we¡¯re frankly in uncharted waters!¡± Ken frowned. ¡°I still kick myself for falling for your scam.¡± ¡°It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. As far as I could remember, you wanted to get rid of it, at almost any cost.¡± ¡°-fair.¡± Honestly, no one knows, and I wasn¡¯t even sure whether I could replicate it. Thatst part, where her soul itself heated her hero ss, as if purifying it- I was sure that it came from her, and had nothing to do with me. I merely facilitated the moment, enabled the circumstances where she could then make it happen. It was something within her that gave her the strength to change the hero ss, and the heroes themselves wanted it. But I could try. Modifying hero sses was certainly not out of the picture. *** Time was ticking. The dem was thirteen years away from impact on Treehome, and three more years till the next internar intersection with Lavaworld. Time. I had all the time in the world, and none at all. The heroes were not willing to go on a suicide mission on the demon¡¯set. Not with the torrents of demonic mana flooding my tree. As much as I hated to admit it, the demons were learning and adapting to my methods, and trapping me in a heavy dose of demonic mana was way more effective than I liked. So, I focused on my experiments with the demonic mana, demonic trees and demonic beetles. The demons clearly had not adapted to my ability to use demonic mana, and I reckon that once they know I could use demonic mana, they would adapt ordingly. After countless more experiments with my demonic beetles, I was finallyfortable enough to test one out. I still retained control of the demonic beetles, my hold on them through the demonic mana was unaffected by how they moved. I wondered, briefly, about the nature of demonic mana, and its corruptive abilities, and thought about my choice so many decades ago. When I chose Tree of Life, instead of Crown of Magic. Could Crown of Magic absorb demonic mana with none of its drawbacks? I wondered briefly whether the Crown of Magic would¡¯ve solved the dem issue easily, due to it¡¯s natural mastery of magic. Ah. I quickly snapped myself out of my contemtion, and focused back to my demonic beetles. I could control them, but I couldn¡¯t see through them. My next problem was I needed the means to remain in contact with the scouting demon beetle as it explores the demon¡¯set, so I tested more variants of demonic nts and trees, just in case I needed them to explore the demon¡¯set and expand my beetle¡¯s range of operations. It was frustrating that the dem¡¯s rivers of mana continued to focus on my Clone¡¯s location. I had hoped that they would somehow realign themselves back to their original nodes, then I could use that opportunity to expand outwards, in some manner that wouldn¡¯t rouse the attention of the core. Now, with the swirling rivers of mana, it was dangerous even for the heroes, and the constant harassment from the demonic creatures never quite ended. Despite destroying so many of these demons, I have not gained a single level. My demonic beetles were now ready, and I sent them to Lavaworld to experiment on them. Amazingly, the demons of the Lavaworld did not immediately attack my demonic beetles. No- Not just that- The demons on Lavaworld were oblivious to it. It was an incredible sensation. It was one thing to be invisible, but another to be visible but clearly ignored. With this, I immediately worked on more demonic beetle variants, and then sent my first one through to the Demon¡¯s Comet. Unlike the other demonic controlled worlds, the beetles would need to dig, and I wondered whether I could create a titan filled with demonic mana. A digging demonic titan. It didn¡¯t take long for me to discover that I could- [Conditions fulfilled. Depth Worm Variants unlocked. Demonic Depth Worm Titan is now avable. Starts with high endurance, extensive digging abilities and extensive earth sense. Will also share vision and image]. It¡¯s been a long time since I felt like this, but thank you, System, foring in clutch and supplying me with exactly what I need. Still, this was a Titan Frame, and it was a fairly limited resource, even if it could be recycled. So, I decided to first try out digging with my roots. Anyway, back on the Demon¡¯s Comet, I sent my beetle, fresh from Lavaworld¡¯s sess, and right into the rivers of demonic mana. My beetle stepped through invisible line that separated my domain and the rivers of mana outside- I thought it was going to explode and stter into goo like the rest of the beetles, but watching my demonic beetle step into the sea of demonic mana unharmed was highly, highly amusing. My confidence replenished, I began to pump in demonic mana from my small farm of demonic trees and spawned them as demonic trees in the area around me. These trees and beetles are almost 99% demonic in it¡¯s structure, and once more, I watched in incredibly surprise how the demonic mana just moved around of my trees, and leaving them unharmed. The incredibly obvious question thus popped up. ¡°Lumoof, imagine a demonic warrior. Do you think they¡¯ll be immune to demon¡¯s attacks?¡± ¡°Aeon, I would have absolutely no confidence-¡± ¡°No- Imagine a demonic suit of armor. If an outer structure made of demonic matter-¡± ¡°Like a Golem Armor?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Lumoof frowned, but then nodded. ¡°It could work.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how long before the Demon¡¯s Comet would pick up that the presence of other demonic mana is unnatural, so I needed to work fast. I quickly spawned more demonic trees to expand my range, even as all this demonic mana moved about around me. Perhaps the rivers of demonic mana itself have no ability to tell friend from foe, because it was unreal to watch the huge demonic creatures spawned by the demonic mana just ignore my demonic trees as if it was just the background. It makes me think that these demonic creatures are just programmed to attack anything that doesn¡¯t feel or emit demonic energy. With demonic roots, I dug deeper into the demon¡¯set. I was finally making progress again. It was slow, but it was great to escape my cage of demonic mana. My demonic trees and roots dug deeper into the demon¡¯set. The rivers of mana was not everywhere, and once the roots reached parts of theet where there wasn¡¯t any river of demonic mana, we could act with much more freedom. *** Ste regained ess to the anti-magic sandworld, and one of the alternatives we wanted to consider was to use massive quantities of anti-mana gems to break free. We¡¯ve been building up more anti-magic mana crystals, and trying to use them to shatter the daemolite. We¡¯re also trying to find a good, easy, convenient way to destroy daemolite, since the entire Comet was pretty much some kind of daemolite. Mybs on Treehome were heavily experimenting on their structure, and eventually it was Edna¡¯s [Quest] ability that came to the rescue. She emerged from her quest with a ck hammer. ¡°Well, this is a [crystal crusher]. It should help the physical warriors destroy the crystals and allow us to dig. I¡¯ll keep trying for other type of quest rewards.¡± Which then led to the next project that I ran with utmost urgency. My Valthorns assembled arge group of master crafters and golem makers, and sent them over the Lavaworld. ¡°We need operational demonicttice armor able to deceive the dem¡¯s demons.¡± There were two real approaches. One, where we created a golem frame, and then ced demonic matter around it, and Two, where the crafters and golem-makers created a golem entirely out of demonic structure, growing it bit by bit. The crafters were already aware of the existence of the Comet, but working on demonic matter was an entirely different league. But we had no choice. *** The heroes had one big question. Was there a big difference in the power of the [Liberated Hero]? ¡°Not much- and it seems I am no longer blessed by the gods.¡± Colette said after a short trial. The power didn¡¯t increase. ¡°-But it¡¯s worth it.¡± But, not increasing in power ignored the fact that the hero¡¯s power experienced decay over time. The power of the [hero] ss was strongest right before they fought their demon king, and after their first demon king, it has been observed that some of their skills and abilities were downgraded to a lower version. With the [Liberated hero], there was none of that. No decay, no future weakness. Their strength was preserved, and they could act freely. ¡°I hope some of you will join me.¡± She said with certainty, and the other heroes merely stared, puzzled. Even her partner, Prabu, merely frowned. I reviewed the data from the incident, of how Colette broke free, and realized that her own soul must want it. Based on what I know, it¡¯s likely that if the hero¡¯s soul wasn¡¯t strong enough, the [hero] ss¡¯s hold on their mind may actually be enhanced. The very act of pushing against the hero ss drained the soul of its energy, so if it didn¡¯t have enough, it could be a mistake. I quickly rified the risks of attempting simr acts, and also exined that there were already tremendous cracks in her soul before she broke free. ¡°I would hesitate trying it again, until your souls reveal simr characteristics as Colette.¡± I said. In fact, my gut feeling told me that the hero themselves must have conviction, and a desire for it. I also don¡¯t know the consequences of a [liberated hero]. Does it affect how future heroes are summoned? Do we still receive fragments? *** Magical research focusing on the destruction of the Comet was in full swing, and by now, rumors of an impending disaster leaked out to the wider society. After all, Valthorns would tell their families of the Comet, as means of convincing them to make the move to Tropicsworld. Some of these families would speak of it to their friends. The rumors spread, and as time ticked, the nobility were first to panic. Some of them sent emissaries, demanding details of the rumors. Knowledge of the other worlds weremon, now. Everyone knows we have ess to other worlds, and so the fact that there was a Cometing our way didn¡¯t seem farfetched. Most didn¡¯t know the details, of course. Some thought it was just a super-demon-king, some thought the itself was cracking. Some thought it was just all the water on Treehome was evaporating. It was hrious and sad to watch how stories mutated as it passed on. But ultimately, emissaries began to visit Freshka in droves, demanding truth. My own diplomats initially tried their best to dy it, by denying the truth. I felt conflicted, as my diplomats and leaders denied the truth despite the evidence. Our official stance was this is a military preparation for theing demon king. I was a liar. We were all liars. But it wouldn¡¯t help my cause. No. I would expect resources will be needed just to satisfy their demands. In fact, some would demand to be sent over first. Panicking would not help and would lead to misaligned use of resources and time. *** ¡°The way to the demon world is opening in about two years. Maybe less.¡± Threeworlds would face the next demon king in another two years. Thest time we fought a demon king in their world was Year 238, and their world faced a demon king every fifteen to twenty years. Ste and Khefri pointed to a location on Threeworlds. The Centaurnds. Khefri merely cursed. ¡°They¡¯ve gotten hit hard, and now they¡¯re getting hit again.¡± There are times when I feel rich. When I feel we have enough resources to pursue anything we want to. Then there are times like this, where I have not done enough for the Demon¡¯s Comet, and I still need to dig into my reserves to resolve a demon king on Threeworlds. The heroes would be there. They have to be. We would need to properly rig the ce for war. *** ¡°Ridiculous.¡± Lumoof cursed as he heard the emissary. ¡°Absolutely ridiculous.¡± The dwarves of Mountainworld demanded us to reconstruct their capital, and move the structures back. The heroes, in their grief, were in no shape to immediately start work. Matters such as moving the dwarven city buildings back to their original location? Low priority. Colette and Prabu, the two mages, dragged their feet, because that location still reminded them too much about Hafiz¡¯s death. Lumoof mmed the table. ¡°This is very unreasonable of the dwarven king.¡± The dwarves had initially med the heroes for their capital¡¯s fall. Now, their discontent towards their new living conditions, despite our attempts to assist, were aimed at us. The Dwarven King was not wise. It was something I know, but I suppose, it wasn¡¯t important before. But now, the dwarven king, unable to do much to improve things, aimed that anger at us. I have sympathy for those who lost their homes. But if they dere war against us, that would be unreasonable. Reconstruction from a disaster, where reasonable, was already ongoing. Full restoration was not. What ensued was gutter politics. The dwarves sent letters to neighboring kingdoms, using us of deliberately destroying their capital. My spies intercepted them, and sent letters of our own. Most kingdoms were aware of our neutrality, and the nobility, privy to a wider range of news, were mostly on my side. But the dwarves were quite good at riling up the masses. Their rapport with themon folk was good. Politics and public rtions sapped resources and manpower. It was tiring, trying to deal with a Comet, while these gnawing things came my way, both on Treehome and Mountainworld. But I swallowed my frustrations, for now. I will deal with them. Later. 258. Obstructive Wilting 258. Obstructive Wilting Year 258 Khefri watched as the Valthorns began to pour into the Centaurnds with whatever weapons and bombs we could spare. After the incident on the Dwarven kingdom, the heroes seemed to suddenly regain their fear of demons, and devoted more time to prepare for the demon kings. Weapons shortage still caused issues across all the three worlds, but my mages were innovative folks, as some began harvesting crystals from the various demon worlds. Resource shortages had forced my mages and Valthorns to develop a dedicated exploratory mining and manufacturing expedition force, to take resources avable on the various demon worlds. We could not just work with our three habited worlds. Not without messing things up for those who lived there. Significant price intion for crystals, runic materials and magical crafting affected high society and culture in strange ways, even if we ensured that food and necessary supplies remained cheap and readily avable to almost all segments of our society. In a way, it really amplified ss divisions and messed with the education of young children. Those who could afford these materials could give them a head start in magic education, but the rest of them couldn¡¯t. Ste felt that personally, because as a former educator, she saw the effects of resource shortages happen back home. Watching how those with advantages and wealth, those who could afford private tutors, special materials and have practice with expensive materials get a head start in life really sucked. The Valtrian Order tries to mitigate this, but there is a bnce between quality, quantity and cost, and also our other priorities, such as war. Due to the rise in crystal-based equipment, such as crystalline bombs, crystalline magic storage devices, and crystal powered golems, crystals were the new ¡®gold¡¯. It¡¯s possible to create artificial crystals, and grow them through various means. Yet, these remain rtively slow processes, and the amount of crystal consumed by a society that depended on them to organize work, move money around, supply energy to various equipment and store important memories was huge. Prior to the era of peace, it didn¡¯t make sense to buildrge magical formations for mundane purposes. Magical formations were first and foremost for protection, and for war. That meant the use of crystals as a store of energy, or to supply heat, power cooling or lighting were fairly limited in scope. It didn¡¯t help thatmon crystals didn¡¯t store a lot of mana,pared to the demonic daemolite. It took significant development over the years, from the entire crystal-crafting industry and pretty much an army of other mages, craftsmen and even dedicated crystal growers, to create high-density crystals that could store more mana, and pack in more spells. Development of high-density mana crystals, in terms of total output and total capacity, remains an ongoing research subject, because of the expansive usage options. There were attempts to use anti-magic ss and crystals from the anti-magic world to create segmentation within mana crystals, to pack more magic. The mages called it [microcrystallization]. The craftsmen called it [crystalpartmentalization] or [crystal nesting]. Density was always important. Even back when we were trying to design bombs meant to kill demon kings in a single blow, Alka and his team have always tried to create high density bombs and crystals. The best way, currently, remains star mana, which sadly was corrosive. It meant the crystal-bombs, created by the heroes through their hero forge, packed with star mana, all had an expiry date. This was true for all [hero items]. After a while, they would decay, but bombs were exceptional because of their design. They were meant for explosive single use, so their nature was against endurance. The expected arrival ce of the demon king was on a vast field of grass. There were some habited areas nearby, but the centaurs were semi-nomadic. So asking them to move temporarily proved to be significantly easier. If the demon king arrived at Hoofhall, I¡¯d face more problems getting the centaurs to move. Khefri watched as more bombs were ced. I sensed magical disturbances as my trees spawned in the area in the form of small shrubs. Attempted scrying from the humans affiliated to the Crystal King. It didn¡¯t take long for agents of the Crystal King to start causing trouble. Khefri and the heroes were naturally furious, as the fifth attempted saboteur was caught. ¡°This is ridiculous. The crystal king wants me to die?¡± Khefri held up the man, her scorpionoid hands trembling. She was trying her best to hold her anger within. ¡°Yes!¡± The man was deathly afraid as the hero¡¯s fury rippled in the air. Magic made the world around them feel heavy. ¡°He wants a new generation of heroes to appear.¡± ¡°And he is willing to kill me to do it?¡± ¡°No! He said to just mess with the preparations-¡± Khefri was furious. ¡°That¡¯s just trying to kill me in another way. Does he want war? I have no issues marching into hisnds and sting that damned mountain to smithereens.¡± In truth, Khefri would be a fool to do so alone. Each of the rulers and deities of the Three forces were packed with ancient spells and artifacts. Khefri might as well kill herself. There were certain aspects of Khefri¡¯s hero power that were tied to an ancient pact between the Three, and that meant the Crystal King had countermeasures against her. But, if the entirety of the hero force, especially those from Mountainworld and Treehome headed there, there was nothing he could do. Those heroes were not shackled by the pacts of the Three. As the fourth force, I thus assisted the heroes in making a deration, and a warning. If the Crystal King messes with the anti-demon king preparations, I would apply the weight of my force against him. It was a controversial statement. One that Zhaanpu didn¡¯t like, but he didn¡¯t say much. He did g his concerns on the ancient pact, that should the Crystal King were to die, the ancient pact with the gods could be broken. Some worlds had pacts, some didn¡¯t. It didn¡¯t matter. If the Crystal King indirectly causes the death of the heroes, I consider that just cause for war. It would also help that I¡¯d be able to then use hisnds as home for potential refugees. The people of Treehome. It was convenient, even if I certainly came across as machiavellian. For his sake, I hope he didn¡¯t give me just cause. That said, not everyone was unhelpful. The Centaurs of Threehome themselves had a special request. As the war would be fought over theirnds, their ancient customs dictate that they must participate in the battle. Even if it was suicide, their ancient custom does not permit others to defend theirnd on their behalf. Someone from the Centaurs must fight. Their ancient honor system depended on martial prowess, and martial prowess did not allow hiding from a fight to protect their home. *** ¡°I have another world for you to visit, Lumoof.¡± Ste came over. ¡°The archmages found one of the worlds that could be of interest- the metals on that world are unusual, but we have not yet found-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we have the demons of Threeworld to prepare for?¡± ¡°Roon, Johann and Alka¡¯s headed there already. They can handle it. This one¡¯s for you.¡± ¡°Alright-¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°Another world to visit.¡± *** The way age works is well known, but its tendency to strike is still hard to pin down, even if we could chart its probabilities. Old age is like ying a game of chance. Each day, you¡¯re a little bit closer to death. Every day, the dice is weighed a little more. I¡¯ve studied death in old people many, many times, and often, the copse is sudden. There are many ways old age kills. One of the mostmon was when the soul¡¯s link to it¡¯s body somehow tears, as if a soul that no longer wanted its body. Then, the body would begin to malfunction. Organs that functioned normally the day before started exhibiting unusual behavior. It is as if a gear just decided to turn a different way. Or a key that went into the wrong hole. A door that didn¡¯t open properly. Organs and parts of the body begin to copse, and teath woulde soon after. Old age is a sneaky assassin, and behaved, in some ways, like stress. Or wear-and-tear. It¡¯s a ticking time bomb. It leaves its mark on every part of the body, for the right moment to trigger, and these markse in physical, magical, and spiritual form. I¡¯ve gotten quite good at removing the physical and magical elements of old age, and it is why I could extend some of my soldiers¡¯ lives, if they wanted me to. Even spiritual elements of old age, the marks left by the soul, could be removed. If I could find them. For old, dying mortals, if they were under observation and the signs of soul-misalignment arising from age were to strike, I could usually step in, and correct that misalignment of soul-body. Prolong one¡¯s life for a few more weeks, or months. Even years. I could do it, often consuming a little bit of my mountain of soul fragments. Patching a soul had a cost. A small one. And today, the specter of death came for the former hero. He was at home. Ken looked perfectly fine, and then without any reason but time, he began coughing like mad. He started to choke, and my vines wrapped him. Healing fluids help suppress the symptoms. I could save him, but he said. ¡°No.¡± I didn¡¯t listen. ¡°You have a lot to do that you¡¯ve left undone.¡±. ¡°The hell with that.¡± Ken coughed. Through my vines I could sense parts of his body imploding on itself. This was something I¡¯ve seen in many old folks, and I could rescue them. If I wanted to. He coughed a bit more, and I sensed parts of his liver and lungs starting to copse. My healing powers flowed through his body- ¡°Stop.¡± Ken said- choking half way. ¡°No.¡± I answered. ¡°I will not let you die without the other heroes being here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell them.¡± Ken said. ¡°Don¡¯t tell my friends.¡± ¡°Ken, selfish as it may be, I will keep you alive until your friends get here.¡± ¡°Fuck that.¡± He said. ¡°Fuck-¡± ¡°It¡¯s not all about you. It¡¯s about the optics of letting you die without your friends.¡± ¡°Fuck. Can¡¯t even die in peace. Just drug me, put me to sleep and let me go-¡± The former hero cursed. Old age was a battle against the soul, and one I¡¯m really good at winning. I could keep him alive indefinitely. But I know he doesn¡¯t want to. Snek spammed the magical crystals and sent alerts to all the heroes. I felt the local area shift as teleportation magic created a temporary warp, and the heroes ran in. Chung was naturally first to barge in. He came cursing. ¡°You fool!¡± ¡°Fuck you. Can¡¯t even die without seeing your stupid face.¡± Ken cursed back. ¡°You don¡¯t regret it? Come on. Just tell Aeon to fix your soul and make you live longer.¡± Chung said, cursing, but also pleading. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± ¡°No.¡± Ken said. ¡°I¡¯m not-¡± Prabu and Colette came next. Colette walked in, and she frowned. ¡°How¡¯re you feeling?¡± ¡°Dying. But Aeon¡¯s not letting me die.¡± Colette smirked. ¡°Smart ass is still putting up a fight on your deathbed.¡± Chung looked at Colette. ¡°-tell him to stay.¡± The liberated hero shrugged. ¡°Me? No. I like to believe in choices.¡± She looked at Ken. ¡°Is this your choice?¡± ¡°Colette- that¡¯s rubbish. Choice shouldn¡¯t matter when he¡¯s making an irreversible decision to kill himself.¡± Ken frowned. ¡°It¡¯s called euthanasia, Chung. Did you not pay attention in school?¡± ¡°I was young as fuck when I was sent here. Do you think I remember what I learned in school?¡± Colette looked at Prabu. Prabu didn¡¯t say anything, just nodded and held Ken¡¯s hand. His skin was quite wrinkly, but today, it¡¯s as if there was an extra fifty years added. Snek actually agreed with Chung. ¡°I agree with your friend, Ken. Live. You still need to convince Aeon to nt a clone on ra.¡± Kenughed-while-choking. ¡°You can negotiate with the Tree yourself.¡± He coughed some more, and couldn¡¯t seem to stop. I injected him with more of my healing energies, and helped patch him through. ¡°Aeon, can I die now?¡± I thought about it for a moment. I¡¯ve seen people die around me, usually suddenly. Most would not want to die, but suicide was not umon. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Fuck-¡± Ken cursed, and he iled against my vines, trying to rip them off like a medical patient trying to pull out all the medical tubes. Unlike medical tubes, my vines were much stronger, so I injected him with a sleeping drug. The heroes watched as Ken iled and then slept. ¡°I¡¯ve put him to sleep. For now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let him die.¡± ¡°He will. His soul is imploding.¡± ¡°You can fix it.¡± Chung said. ¡°I can, but if he doesn¡¯t want me to fix it, it¡¯ll make things harder.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Colette looked at Chung. She looked sympathetic, but in a way, he looked pathetic. Colette sighed. ¡°Chung, let him go.¡± ¡°No.¡± Chung turned to face Colette, his face was ugly. ¡°Are all of you murderers? Why are you aiding his suicide? This is insane.¡± ¡°Therees a time- and ce- when we must let our hands go.¡± Colette said, with a maturity I¡¯ve not seen before she became a [liberated hero]. She spoke from a ce of inner peace. ¡°-you must let go. The more you try to hold on to him, the more he will resist, and he will walk way. Death is not the end, Chung.¡± ¡°Death is not the end?¡± Chung repeated, furious. ¡°This is absurd, Colette. It is the end, in every way and form.¡± ¡°No. Not for us. We are promised a return home.¡± ¡°You believe that shit? Ken doesn¡¯t believe it.¡± Colette smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no evidence against it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no evidence for.¡± ¡°On the contrary, we know souls reincarnate in this world. Why is it so hard to believe that our souls will, too?¡± Chung stomped away, he didn¡¯t go far, just down the corner where there was a rtively new drinking ce. ¡°He better not die while I¡¯m away.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your choice to make, Chung.¡± In a way, it was mine. And I needed Chung''s help. Ken won''t die. Not yet. *** thanks for reading. did i mention i have a patreon with 4 chapters (+ many patreon exclusive interludes) ahead? -> be my patreon here-> also, buy my books book 1 -> book 2 -> book 3 ing end of September) -> 259. Tree heart-to-heart 259. Tree heart-to-heart Year 259 11 Years to Impact Some of the heroes wanted to let Ken go, but ultimately, I saw Ken as leverage. It was pathetic, and sad, but I could not afford the heroes to fracture at this time. I needed the heroes to help me get through my Comet problem. Chung absolutely refused to let him die, and insisted that I keep him alive. He threatened to quit from allbat engagements if I allowed Ken to die. I¡¯ve always had a rather tense rtionship with the archer hero, but this sort of ckmail only confirmed my feelings. Khefri, the woman that Chung had a crush on, found his threat so repulsive that the two had an argument. ¡°You¡¯re a dickhead.¡± Khefri cursed. ¡°Why do I only attract people that either want my power, or just outright horrible people.¡± Chung tried his best to downy the severity of the threat. ¡°Khefri,e on, I¡¯m just asking Aeon to keep Ken alive.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had idiots on Threeworlds trying to sabotage the demon king preparations, and here you are flinging threats like this around, threatening Aeon not to participate in battles against the demon king. What does that make me? I¡¯m an idiot for thinking this hero-league thing could work, if it¡¯sposed of selfish assholes like you. You immature foolish prick.¡± ¡°Khefri-¡± The scorpionoiddy refused to talk to him, and went back to Threeworlds to continue the preparations. After thinking about it, I decided I was in no position to refuse Chung¡¯s request, and it only made Ken mad as hell. He understood, but he was mad. ¡°You¡¯re a horrible person, Aeon.¡± Ken cursed. ¡°You said you¡¯d like to let me die.¡± I felt a little shit doing this to him, but at this point, I¡¯d rather offend Ken than the heroes. ¡°I will. Later.¡± He understood, of course. He wasn¡¯t stupid and saw the writing on the wall. ¡°You just want them to help you destroy the Comet.¡± My non-response was all the confirmation he needed. ¡°To think that at this point, I¡¯m fucking leverage. I hate you, Aeon. Don¡¯t do this to me.¡± ¡°There are sacrifices I need to make, to achieve the goals. Goals that your friends agree with. I will throw you under the bus, if I have to. Unfortunately, your friend has forced me to do so.¡± ¡°The demonic mana¡¯s gotten to you.¡± Ken cursed. I know it didn¡¯t, but it didn¡¯t change that some people would think that way. *** Demons. What is a demon? I believe I am at the point where it is important to differentiate between being a demon, and being made from demonic stuff. Or is this me trying to defend my own decisions? Has using demonic mana influenced me already? I asked Patreeck, and my artificial minds to give myself a scan, and wondered whether it was even possible to duplicate a copy of my thought process, such that I could remember who I was. THey could copy my memories, but my thought process was very much linked to my soul, and essentially, I¡¯d have to duplicate my soul. Not possible. Demons. What are they? It¡¯s actually quite hard to answer the question, but we know that they seek to assimte worlds, and have captured gods to do so. Or at least, their divine energy. They have advanced portal and void technologies, and have the capability to construct superstructures to make the most of them. It seems to me that the demons themselves can¡¯t really answer that question, because my roots, made of demonic-energy and materials, moved unobstructed through the Comet. My beetle moved unharmed. We walked and moved among demons, and they did not react to our presence. We don¡¯t know how long this wouldst, but we have to move quickly. Before the demons figure out there is a pretender among them. Digging deeper, and deeper, while the time continues to tick. Next year, the Comet will briefly approach Lavaworld. If there¡¯s an opportunity tounch an attack, that¡¯s one of my best chances. I could simultaneously attack from the surface, and from my clone, while trying to sneak some demonic-mana beetles, trees and roots into the very depths of the Comet. My roots were naturally sensitive to the rocky-crystalline structure around us, and it was easiest for my roots to push deeper through the gaps, where different types of rock-crystals meet. I had presumed that the rock-structure would get more coherent as we went deeper, but the presence of imperfections in theet¡¯s structure reinforced our earlier theory that this rock was a cobbled mess. *** ¡°Just assume for a moment. What if you could have your own demon swarm? One that you controlled?¡± The repulsive idea came from Alka. Despite his own reservations about the demonic mana earlier, as time went on, he somehow came out with a wild idea. It was the magical equivalent of creating a mutant supervirus, one where I already have the cure, and have a built in kill switch. The dangers of such a weapon was so off the charts that I couldn¡¯t even contemte the oue should it out-evolve its inbuilt kill switches. ¡°If we could reliably control it, it¡¯s no different from your swarm of beetles.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t.¡± I had no confidence we could control our own swarm. I wasn¡¯t so conceited as the Terrans to think we could manipte our own autonomous swarm. The beasts we seek to control could consume gods, and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it could some day turn against me. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even-¡± The hunger within the demon kings, that intent to corrupt and consume from the Comet was enough evidence that demonic creatures have an inbuilt bias towards consumption and assimtion. But my chief scientist was not one to shy away from dangerous thoughts. It was because of his crazy, outright dangerous thoughts that he could design oundish massive bombs. There are times, especially with Alka, that the line between genius and madness is incredibly, incredibly thin and so porous. Just a bit too far, and we¡¯d be making our own demons- ¡°You¡¯re already created your first demon, Aeon.¡± My beetles cracked through thest of theyers, We dug for an entire year, and eventually cracked through one of the deepestyers of the Comet. There, we found the heart of the Comet, wrapped in a tangle of demonic sludge and tentacles, and its many guardians. I witnessed, through my demonic roots, the full glory of the Demon Comet¡¯s Core, and felt the presence of power. One, a demon king, that took the form of a rocky octopus with way more than eight tentacles. Perhaps a multipus would be more appropriate. It didn¡¯t take much for me to realize this demon king was strong, because I could feel it¡¯s throbbing aura pressing around it. Then, a core. An actualary core covered in demonic structures and materials. I looked at this section again, through my magical vision and noticed the flow of demonic mana. The core was already mostly corrupted by the demons such that it generatedrge quantities of demonic mana. Was this how demons generate even more demonic mana? They could infest a core and make it do something else? Like a virus? They could repurpose cores into a womb for the demon king. They could repurpose cores to produce demonic mana. What else could they do with it? But- There was a weakness we immediately spotted. ¡°Can we blow up the core?¡± This was our initial n. Fracture the core, or disrupt the energy flows such that the magic that held such arge structure together crumbled. My domain holders rushed to make theputations. It took days, but we all gathered once more to go through the data. We met in a hall decorated with old, dried timber products. ¡°May not be enough.¡± Alka frowned. ¡°And we don¡¯t have a way to move such arge number of things without the demons noticing. It¡¯s likely that some of the bombs may trigger-¡± Alka had a strange epiphany, as he looked at the cracked shapes in some of the older wood. ¡°-Unless we could create fault lines in the core.¡± ¡°Aeon- do you think the beetle could excavate bits and pieces of the Core without the demons noticing? Create points of weaknesses along the core that would trigger a full fracture once we blow it up.¡± ¡°Possible.¡± It was the equivalent of termites biting away at a building¡¯s foundation for centuries- and then, all it took was a sudden shockwave to cause it alle crashing down. *** My demonic beetles set out to work, the demons did not notice our presence, and they even snuck around the Demon King Multipus without raising its¡¯ attention. It didn¡¯t seem awake, or alert, as if it was hibernating. We¡¯ve reengineered demonic beetles such that they were designed for digging and removing dirt, and set out to dig. We approached the demon-possessed core, and got to work. The core did not resist. Nor did it seem to mind beetles slowly moving bits and pieces of their hard rock. The Core was made of the same materials as the one I possessed from Cometworld, and also the other samples from Houndworld and Tropicsworld. Just that this one had a farrger ratio of demonic energy. We tweaked the materials a little, so that my beetles found it easier to dig. The Demon King continued to sleep, and my roots began to touch it- I immediately felt the presence of something within the Core. ¡°Shit.¡± I¡¯ve known that each Core contains a Will. ¡°-You are not these things. Youe from another world.¡± The Demon Comet¡¯s core spoke. ¡°Yet- you are coated in their energies. What are you?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure whether I should be honest, or should lie. If it was hostile and subservient to the demons, I¡¯d immediately lose my cover. If it was friendly, then I could help it. I wasn¡¯t sure how to answer, and immediately sought out help. I tried to contact the Will of Treehome, and the Will of Tropicsworld- Whether they could see- Nothing. I got nothing. I went to my domain holders, and at this point, it could go either way. I¡¯m not sure if waiting too long would- ¡°Let¡¯s go with honesty.¡± Lumoof suggested in the end. So, I transmitted my response through my demonic root. ¡°Someone trying to stop this rock from crashing into our world.¡± ¡°-Invaders.¡± I felt my heart drop. Shit. Immediately, I could feel contamination. The voice I was speaking with wasced with demonic energy. The entire demonic Comet¡¯s Core shook, as I felt the Demon King Multipus rouse from its slumber. Things have not been going well for me this time. There was really no point to hold back, at this time, so I spawned even more beetles- Here, in the depth of the Comet¡¯s Core, the mana from the core was extremely dense, but clearly, the demons have no way of separating demons from each other. ¡°What the fuck.¡± I cursed, as I watched the awakened Demon King crush their own demons as well as my demonic beetles. It didn¡¯t care. It began to destroy everything. Tentacles the size of buildings mmed into the ground with such force that the rocks cracked. ¡°This could be a strategy!¡± Lumoof shouted. ¡°It can¡¯t identify friend or foe. So it can only attack everything that isn¡¯t itself.¡± I realized that was true, and my demonic roots expanded as fast as I could push them. I drew even more demonic mana from everrger demonic Giant Attendant Tree farms. I know I shouldn¡¯t. But there was no choice. ¡°Watch me and stop me if I do anything strange.¡± I pulled even more demonic mana, felt a strange sensation nagging in my mind, and forces pushing back against it. Patreeck voiced his concern immediately. ¡°Master, we need more minds to watch for unusual behavior from the demonic mana. You¡¯re pulling too much mana from Lavaworld-¡± I spawned more. But I needed more demonic mana to sustain my expanded roots, as the demon king¡¯s gigantic tentacles smashed into the ground around us. The core itself was unharmed- ¡°Could we confuse the demon king?¡± Lumoof entered avatar mode, and I felt some of his thoughts . ¡°Make it seem as if the Core is part of us?¡± ¡°We- we could try.¡± I injected my demonic mana into the rocks and stones- my roots and vines constantly trying to spread further and deeper into the core, and I felt more of the Core¡¯s will make contact with mine. [Domain has blocked attempted intrusion] [Domain has blocked attempted intrusion] [Domain has blocked attempted intrusion] [Domain has blocked attempted intrusion] [...] I felt my domain block intrusions repeatedly, but at this point, all I could do was flood more demonic mana into the demon¡¯s core. The gigantic tentacle king mmed it¡¯s massive limbs on the core structure, and more of them cracked. It did so repeatedly, but the demon¡¯s core somehow caught on to my plot, as the core suddenly began to emit a constant wave of demonic mana, and it formed a shield around itself. I tried to inject my demonic mana through that barrier of demonic mana, and it didn¡¯t get through. My advance deeper into the core was halted. For now. I immediately tried to mimic the core¡¯s demonic mana signatures. It was still subtly different, but somehow, it seemed to have fooled the demon king. The demon king continued to smash everywhere for a bit more, and then it stopped. It just sat motionless for a few days, as if trying to pay attention to the mana flows around it. It was all demonic mana. Mine, and the dem¡¯s cores. But the damage was done. The dem¡¯s core was now littered with huge cracks from the demon king. I took that time to observe my surroundings. I¡¯ve gotten quite good at blending my demonic mana with that of the surroundings. ¡°Intruder.¡± But I had also gotten quite deep into the core. ¡°-destroy you.¡± ¡°-help me.¡± The voice that got through was distorted. A whisper. Is there a will underneath that, despite the control of the demon king? *** 260. Unsettled boundaries 260. Unsettled boundaries Year 259 Part 2 - (Chapter 260) Khefri¡¯s Threeworld battle ¡°How many saboteurs are we dealing with?¡± Khefri barked. More humans attempted to disturb our preparations, but by now I had the entire area filled with trees that it¡¯s fairly difficult for low level spies or assassins to sneak through. But the old crystal dude was relentless. I caught many of them, and made public executions. Public executions, along with magical broadcasts. ¡°Death.¡± I dered to the horror of those watching. I knew the mages of the humannds, and the Crystal King watched. Their scrying magics were easy to spot. ¡°To those who disturb our preparations.¡± At some point, I would have to start making enemies. No. I¡¯ve already made enemies. Could I crush them? I am struggling on whether I should just march an army into the depth of the Crystal King¡¯s fortress and blow it up. ¡°At some point, we should.¡± Chung said. ¡°At some point, we must.¡± My domainholders didn¡¯t think that was necessary. The crystal king was an annoyance we could deal with. It¡¯s just like flies. Edna thinks that if we scare them enough, they¡¯d go away. The centaurs¡¯ opinions of their human neighbors soured greatly. Centaurs and the crystal king¡¯s humans went to war a long time ago, but recent events seem to have undid a fair bit of the goodwill since then. The field where the battle would happen was properly rigged, and my Valthorns observed the demons on the other side. Roon and Johann returned from the demon world with a party of void mages. They¡¯ve done the usual set of procedures, where we nted our tracking devices, stole a few riftgates, and observed it¡¯s own astral pathways. ¡°We¡¯re dealing with bugs.¡± The first few rifts released only the stereotypical hellhounds, but theter rifts from the demon world confirmed something else Khefri cursed. There were just a few small rifts. ¡°We don''t have a good track record with bugs and insects.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Prabu, Colette were ready in my clone. My city in the northernnds of Threeworlds was a proper magical fortress. For Colette, this was her first real test. Well, after this we''d wage a full scale attack on the Comet. There wasn''t much time left, and though I had wanted the odds to be stacked in my favor, with the Comet, we didn''t have much of a choice. Preparations for the attack on the demon''set were in full swing. *** "Bugs." The rift of the demon king opened to the flood of locusts pouring out of them. The mages, Prabu and Colette, rained a burning inferno and the bugs burned into ashes. Side by side, it was easy to notice the subtle differences. She was clearer, and less affected by thepulsions of her ss. Even if her powers were not stronger, the rity of mind made her stronger. In a way that was less dependent on skills, but from a kind of elevated situational awareness. The demon king was a giant bug that spawned more bugs, in an ironic repeat of the Spider Demon King. But, without invisibility, and the bombs, the demon king would not have been worth a mention. We detonated the bombs the moment we sensed the demon king walked through the path across the stars. At the same time, the crystal king¡¯s attempted sabotage took a leap. An esction that would begin more conflict. The crystal king created a portal, a rift appeared in the skies above, one that was different from the demons. A hole in the sky appeared as if the sky was a piece of rock, and a shattered chunk emerged. A golem of crystal mmed down, and strangely, aimed for Khefri. ¡°What the hell!¡± Khefri cursed as the golem attempted to sabotage the battle. My vines quickly emerged and attempted to wrap itself around the golem, only to suddenly feel the golem releasing some kind of poisonous mana into my roots. My roots shriveled. At first. But I quickly adapted as I could purify the poisonous mana away. ¡°-that¡¯s new.¡± I cursed, while bug champions emerged from the demon¡¯s rift. Chung shot an explosive arrow that destroyed the golem instantly. Some of those shrapnels explode and identally smashes into Khefri¡¯s scorpion armor. ¡°Fucking distraction! I¡¯m gonna get that chunk of rock-¡± ¡°Dodge.¡± Colette said as she pushed Chung out of the way of an exploding bug with magical force. ¡°Do you forget to dodge when you fight demon kings?¡± ¡°Argh.¡± Chung cursed, as he unleashed a volley of magical arrows in fury. They mmed into the giant bug demon king Sectar. Khefri frowned. ¡°Chung, can you stop being an idiot?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not! I¡¯m attacking this damned bug.¡± Prabu and Colette¡¯sbined inferno continued to burn, turning the vast grasnds of the Centaurs into a swirling firestorm that destroyed the bugs. Thankfully, despite their own fiery origins, the demonic bugs were not fire resistant. Their base natures as bugs meant fire still hurt them pretty badly. The demon king itself, Sectar, a gigantic insectoid with wings. It was more like adybug, and released waves of attacks from colorful spots on its back. Regardless of its gimmicks, the heroes overpowered the demon king without major issues. The demon king was no match for the power of the heroes, and was swiftly defeated. My Valthorns supported the battle, and some levels were gained. None for me. Not that I devoted much resources to it. Everything I had will go towards theing invasion. When the Demon¡¯s Comet intersected with Lavaworld. *** ¡°What¡¯s happening to him?¡± Chung demanded as Ken looked even more frail than before. Age, decay, seemed to set in. ¡°Age.¡± Ken responded weakly. ¡°Heh. Aeon¡¯s keeping me alive just to make you happy. But hey, it seems if a soul wants to die, it will die.¡± Chung looked mad. ¡°You bastard. Don¡¯t do this to yourself. What¡¯s happening?¡± Lumoof sighed. ¡°What Aeon has been doing so far is fix the body. But the scope for reversing aging directly on the body is fairly restricted. If we want to really extend his life, we need to meddle with his soul. The soul is the heart, the engine of the body, the controller of how the body operates. If the soul is toxic or in decay, a perfectly healthy body will decay quickly.¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± Chung sat next to his friend. At this point. I wonder whether they are still friends. ¡°Aeon-¡± ¡°There¡¯s only so much we can do if he refuses to let us work on his soul.¡± Prabu and Colette looked at each other. "And he won''t let me." I could force my way through, but I left that part unsaid. It is better for most people to know that I prefer to use my powers with mutual agreement. *** ¡°Rare of you to return to your old home, Khefri.¡± Zhaanpu said as Khefri waltzed back into her old pce. There was nothing here now, the entire city abandoned. ¡°Looking for something, child?¡± Zhaanpu projected himself like a ghost, a power I knew he had. He could project himself anywhere in his territory. ¡°Yes. Peace. And you still call me child after so long." "Did you find it?" "No." Khefri said. "The pact that rules over me. What is it? Why does that chunk of shiny rock hate me so much?" Zhaanpuughed. "He doesn''t hate you as a person. He hates that he doesn''t have a hero he can control, while our new tree friends have heroes at his disposal. If it''s one thing that shiny rock dislikes, it''s ack of control. The tree is a wildcard he can''t predict." "So, the pact. What is it?" "The gods, in an era long ago, were all nearer. Closer. There was a time when the worlds were linked, by bridges of light made by the gods. At least, that is what my predecessor shared with me." "You have a predecessor?" Khefri could not believe it. "Hah. As funny as it sounds, even mummies like myself eventually tire. A suitable sessor is found among the Sandpeople, and we undergo what the people refer to as a merger." "Merger?!" Khefri stewed. "I undergo a refresh. We swap bodies and souls, such that I start anew." Zhaanpu said. "Naturally, sacrifices must be made for such an act." "That''s horrible." "There is a price for power. Each time we go through the merge, our older memories fade a bit more. We are the same but different, thus I refer to them as my predecessors. Semantics, really." Zhaanpu exined. The world wasn¡¯t a nice ce. "It always horrifies heroes when I tell them this. My predecessor told a hero and the hero almost attacked them. It is because of the pact that the hero could not. But back to the pact. There was a time when we were closer. When gods walked the worlds, and the bridges of light allowed those who want to go everywhere to do so. Somewhere, somehow, the first demons emerged, and the bridges of light were captured as their tools. Some worlds were closer, like ours and that of the Tree, that should a rare alignment of events ur, the bridges of light can emerge once more." Khefri frowned. ¡°You seem talkative today.¡± ¡°Well, you should know, because the pactes from that era, when gods used to walk on our world. Before many of them left. They promised they would help defend our world, lending their power to their chosen ones, while they fled from the demons.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Why flee? Are they not gods? Can¡¯t they crush the demons?¡± ¡°You are a human, and you can crush insects when you see them. But what if they live in the buildings, live in the walls? Would you tear everything down to crush them all? Even then, some would escape. Gods are affected by distance, more so over time as the worlds drift apart. They cannot crush the bugs in another person¡¯s home. Instead, they send someone over to do it.¡± ¡°But why not just- find the source?¡± Khefri said. ¡°The bugs have a source!¡± ¡°Do they?¡± Zhaanpu said. ¡°That ck blob, the prison, may not be the source. It¡¯s been millennia since the demons existed. How many worlds do you think they already control?¡± Khefri had seen Ste¡¯s maps, and they¡¯ve spoken to each other enough to know that the map in itself is iplete. It is perspective-led, and so, it¡¯s the equivalent of you can¡¯t crush the bug that you can¡¯t see. They could be hidden worlds where the demons continue to live in, where they breed and thenunch attacks on others. ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of this entire struggle?¡± Khefri sighed. ¡°If there is no end, and no victory!¡± ¡°Life. What else is there?¡± Zhaanpu chuckled. ¡°You create your own purpose, though I suppose that is an opportunity denied to heroes.¡± ¡°One of them freed herself. [Liberated hero].¡± Khefri said, and Zhaanpu had a look of absolute horror. ¡°Impossible. She would be a threat to the entire world. The powers of a god without the god¡¯s control is far too dangerous in a child¡¯s hand.¡± Khefri stopped talking. I reckon what went through her mind then, was whether Zhaanpu just distrusted heroes, or whether he was genuinely fearful for the world. ¡°-She must be in. She is an agent out of control¡± ¡°No!¡± Khefri¡¯s response was immediate. ¡°She- she¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°For now. Eventually, without the inhibitions of the gods, they will turn against everything.¡± Khefri countered. ¡°How do you know for sure?¡± That made Zhaanpu pause. His golden eyes flickered. ¡°-true. I am merely remembering the faint vites of the past. But be wary, child. Those unshackled from the controls are dangerous. The hero ss is a dangerous weapon, it can hurt as much as help, and it is for that reason the gods keep it tightly leashed.¡± The scorpionoid heroine frowned. ¡°Fucking scam of a ss.¡± *** Lavaworld was busy as hell, and my demonic trees were visible to all those who were there. I¡¯ve sent demonic beetles over to the demon¡¯set repeatedly, trying to explore and take control of more things. The demon king Multipus seemed to react particrly strongly to the presence of star mana, and I could use that as a distraction. Cause certain parts of my roots to inject star mana into it¡¯s surrounding, marking it as a target. The will of the Comet wasplex, as if multiple voices talking to each other. ¡°-intruder. Destroy.¡± ¡°Help!¡± ¡°Destroy!¡± Every time the willmanded destroy, the Demon King Multipus would rouse from it¡¯s slumber, but the Comet was unable to provide targeting information. So Multipus could only search for a target. Everything around them to be demons. I had somehow fooled it. I wanted to create more cracks on the demon¡¯s core, but with the barrier of demonic mana blocking my advance, I moved around, and continued to spread my demonic roots to more parts of the demon¡¯set. The use of so much demonic mana was beginning to strain, and I had to quicklypartmentalize the mana, and set up specific artificial minds to monitor the flow of this demonic mana. Even then, each time it moved from the clone to another clone, it had to pass through the clone¡¯s body. And I began to experience hallucinations. Visions. My artificial minds tried their best to block their influence, but even then they still creeped in. It was a familiar vision. That old sandy, deserted world filled with demonic spires. Home. Origin. Now though, I wonder whether they are looking for a ce, rather than just a memory of their homeworld. Are the demons looking for their homeworld? If I could shake my head, I would. Why was I thinking in sympathetic terms with a group of demons that clearly ughtered almost everything in its path? Still, I needed to prepare the Demon¡¯s Comet for the invasion. The Valthorns, and the heroes were prepping for battle. By injecting star mana in random locations throughout the Comet, I lured demon king Multipus tosh out at the surroundings, and it left huge cracks in the demon¡¯sets structure. Some of it would mend itself over time, as the demonic mana from the core reached it. But with most of the demonic mana curled up to shield the Core from my intrusion, the speed of this recovery was significantly weakened. Alka didn¡¯t look optimistic. All of hisputations suggested our weapons were not enough to destroy theet. But with ten years left on the clock, we had no choice. We needed to act, and we couldn¡¯t wait too long. The invasion team was ready. As much as we can be. The heroes were ready too. Even with their conflicts, they epted the task of battling the demon king Multipus while the rest of us tried to wreck the ce. It¡¯s time to roll the dice, and attack. May fortune be with us. *** 261. Dendropolemics 261. Dendropolemics Year 260 ¡°This is it.¡± Alka looked around. Ste was located on Lavaworld, waiting to open the void portals. There was a force there, waiting to strike. The surface team¡¯s goal was simple. There were already existing cracks in theet, left by the Demon King Multipus. Most of the dem¡¯s mana was upied by my constant intrusions. So, that prevented these cracks from healing. The surface team would spread out withrge quantities of bombs, and set up the bombs. The other half of the force would be from my clone. That force would reach out for the nodes, capture or destroy them, and then also nt more bombs. Thest force was the heroes and my domain holders. The heroes would attempt to engage in battle with Demon King Multipus, and also destroy the demonic presence around the Comet¡¯s Core, simultaneously with my clone¡¯s intrusions. The domain holders would split into groups. Edna, Alka and Lumoof would rush to the core, and attempt to destroy the demonic presence in the core, while Roon and Johann would assist the heroes. That was the rough n. We didn¡¯t know it¡¯ll work. There was no time to simte and test it out more. Alka¡¯sputation had no conclusive answers. It was an oue that wasn¡¯t good enough, but our window of opportunity was slipping away. We needed thevaworld intersection. Just as a means of escape, if our attack goes to hell. I¡¯ve seen Multipus¡¯s offensive abilities and am fairly sure my clone would be able to hold out against it. Ultimately, the real risk is if Multipus decides to destroy everything around my clone, thus denying my ess to the wideret. *** Ken was alive. I made sure he still was. Colette knew I was doing something to him, and for reasons she understood. I also knew she didn¡¯t agree with me, but at the same time, she also understood her friend, Chung, well enough that I had to. So, after a few harsh words from her, she did not protest much beyond that. Prabu and her were the more understanding ones. Adrian, Kelly and Khefri didn¡¯t care all that much for Ken. Given the situation, I had to just work with the cards I have. Maybe it was myck of will. Colette sat next to Ken, one day, before all of this, and spoke to him. ¡°Hang in there. He¡¯ll let you go. Aeon will let you pass.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s one, there will be again. I hate it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re old enough to know that we often have to give up on some of our values, in order to achieve far greater things. This is Aeon¡¯spromise.¡± ¡°Fuck that.¡± He cursed, as we prepared for the invasion. ¡°You want me to watch this.¡± Ken said, coughing. There was a bit of mana spent to supply vision and share what I see with him, and an entire army of other advisors. Live advisors. It was one of the ways we augment the assault team with advice and instructions from a group of support staff. My artificial minds coordinated the vision sharing, through [Dream Academy]. ¡°Yes. Chung and the heroes are going there because you live.¡± I spoke to the other heroes. They understood why I kept Ken alive despite his wishes. I needed the heroes to still work together, and Chung, as much as I hated him, still needed to do his part. The heroes, to some extent, understood this attack, on the spectrum of things, was quite suicidal. If the core exposes itself and releases its rivers of mana towards the heroes, the heroes would be in trouble. The only way I know, at the moment, the heroes could engage Multipus with a reasonable margin of safety was with my roots constantly poking the core. It was so conditional. Everyone knew it. ¡°You keep me alive, so that I can watch my friends die.¡± ¡°Friends who want you to live, Ken.¡± I answered. ¡°Will you let me die if this works?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± *** Multipus leftsting damage to various parts of the Comet over the year, and the Core continued to remain on the defensive. It was wary of my constant poking. ¡°Intruder!¡± It spoke, and only confused Multipus. In a case of the boy who cried wolf, all Multipus saw was more demonic mana, and I had somehow conned it into not-responding to the Core¡¯s constant yapping. ¡°Help!¡± I wasn¡¯t sure who was asking. It didn¡¯t matter. I was going to break this Comet apart. I need a window to act. To force myself through the Core¡¯s defenses while Multipus engaged the heroes. *** ¡°Alright. Ste, we¡¯re on your notice.¡± The rest of the domain holders were camped on the clone. ¡°What do you mean, on my notice?¡± Ste responded through our sharedmunication. The surface team was ready. The Comet was visible on Lavaworld. Within range. ¡°But fine. It¡¯s within range. Get ready!¡± She sent out a ping to the army, two thousand strong. Each squad of tenprised usually two void mage, two regr mage, and about sixbat units. Each of them would be tasked to destroy demons they encounter, and head to the specified locations with their payload of bombs. Another three thousand Valthorns waited within my clone. The heroes have not teleported in. The heroes, with their tremendous star mana, would shine like beacons in the night sky. Multipus would be drawn to them immediately. They would need to find a ce to engage somewhat distant from my clone. The group of three thousand could then charge out towards their own targets, and also n their own set of bombs. They would follow the various tunnels, holes or chasms we made over thest few years. Many of these chasms and cracks in theet were left by the demon king over thest year. Where my roots could fit, I made [Root Tunnels] for the Valthorns to walk through, but with most of my demonic mana focused on the Core and Clone, they¡¯d have to make thest mile themselves. It wouldn¡¯t befortable terrain. ¡°Alright- surface squad ready. We¡¯re going in.¡± Ste said, as we instantly felt the twisting of space. Void portals emerged on the surface of the Comet, and it immediately roused Multipus¡¯s interest. Edna, Alka, and Lumoof were next. They journeyed as close as possible to the core. ¡°The surface team is starting their part. Let¡¯s go. Heroes will arrivest to lure the Demon King away from us.¡± Roon and Johann said, as the doors to my clone opened. To give my forces an opening, I intensified my intrusion on the Core¡¯s mana shield. This forced the Core to draw more mana inward. I¡¯ve gotten better at understanding the nature of the Core¡¯s mana shield over thest year, it was rather simr to the way the demon¡¯s rift gates were modted by some kind of mana frequency. ¡°Leave.¡± I poked deeper. I didn¡¯t do it before, because I wondered whether Multipus would eventually find out. But now, with the heroesing to provide a distraction- ¡°Stop.¡± I said to it. ¡°Turn back.¡± ¡°Must do asmanded.¡± I pushed further. My roots was quite far from my clone, but once Lumoof got closer, I would try to push a lot more. *** The heroes were next. They prepped for transport. The heroes didn¡¯t say much. ¡°Let¡¯s go skewer a giant octopus.¡± Chung said. ¡°Make some takoyaki.¡± ¡°It¡¯s got way more than eight legs. An Octopus is incorrect.¡± ¡°Octopi.¡± ¡°-and you don¡¯t want to eat this dude¡¯s meat. It looks like a stone-tentacle monster.¡± Colette retorted. ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Well. Let¡¯s go kick someet ass, and buy our friends some space.¡± Ken looked at one of the Valthorn attendants. ¡°It¡¯s all for this moment. I¡¯m alive for this. Go. Get this shit over with.¡± The heroes were pulled through my body to my clone, and the mere presence of the heroes in my clone caused the entireet to shiver. Multipus already sensed them. ¡°Well, our greetings are on the way.¡± The heroes sted out of the clone tree like superheroes leaving their base. Multipus red up, and seemed to fly. *** ¡°Okay okay okay! Let¡¯s go!¡± Lumoof ran as fast as he could towards the core, activating magical teleports to get as close as possible. The core emitted a pulse of magic that shredded teleportation spells, but close range teleports, where the magic itself is reinforced, was still possible. Ednaughed. ¡°You¡¯re awfully enthusiastic on this day.¡± ¡°This is a great day!¡± Lumoof countered. ¡°We¡¯ve waited for this for decades!¡± Throughout the Comet, whatever residual mana swirling within the crystals all awakened from their slumber, and transformed into demons. Golems. More golems. The entire Comet itself was probably a golem, linked through the energies of Core. And the entireet transformed into a battlefield. *** ¡°Surface team, report in.¡± Ste said as she opened void portals. The crystal bombs they¡¯ve made were deployed, ready to be triggered. ¡°We¡¯ve set the bomb.¡± One by one each of the teams reported that they¡¯ve deployed the bomb. The bomb would go off once a magical pulse sted outward. In theory, a magical pulse of the right frequency should cause all the bombs throughout But the presence of the heroes reawakened the sleeping demons. ¡°Enemies inbound!¡± The golems were an irritant. The self destructing demons too. My Valthorns essentially had to y dodge, and luckily, they were good at that game. *** The Demon King Multipus found the heroes, and engaged. Their attacks began to cause tremors throughout the Comet. It was still toorge to crumble or shatter. But the already existing cracks widened. *** With the demon king upied, Lumoof managed to reach the very edge of the Comet¡¯s Core. Through Lumoof, I felt the presence of the Comet¡¯s swirling will, as if multiple waves were trying to exist in a single body. ¡°The Core itself is stitched together.¡± Alka said, as hended next to him. ¡°I could blow myself up here- should break up the power supply of this giant golem.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s try something else, first?¡± Lumoof said, as my [avatar] form descended right next to the core. In my avatar form, I linked with the existing demonic roots, and pushed against the defenses of the Comet¡¯s Core. It was distracted. Bothered. It¡¯s mana was affected by the presence of heroes on the world, and it couldn¡¯t help but be drawn to it. This meant there were gaps. Fluctuations in its shield of demonic mana. Alka looked at the golem while my roots and vines spread, pushing deeper into theet¡¯s will. If there were different parts of it, I want to talk to them all. My roots pushed against the cracks in the core, widening them. The cracks spread, as my roots kept forcing through the gaps. ¡°Intruder!¡± It said the same thing. My roots pushed deeper into the core. I¡¯ve known from my roots that spread around the core that certain parts of it seemed different. Those gaps were weaknesses. Cobbled. And the person best to exploit those weaknesses was now here. ¡°Edna. Use that rock crushing weapon.¡± Her shining rock-crushing de shone with magic. Magic that came from the system. It smashed into the core, and the weaknesses cracked. She frowned, held up the sword again. And swung again. And again. Each time, the cracks got far wider, and deeper. ¡°iNt-ru-deR-!¡± ¡°HeLp-uS¡± The words became a jumbled mess, and the erratic mana of the core scrambled to react. But Edna¡¯s de cut through the rocks as if they were paper. At the same time, my roots also pushed through the other gaps, and my own mana began to mix in the core mana of the Comet¡¯s Core. As Edna¡¯s rock-shing de kept hacking away, I began to notice prities in the core mana. There were areas of the Core that had higher concentrations, and each of them were subtly different. They were normally mixed together. It¡¯s like a mixing bowl with multiple taps pouring slightly different colored water into it. They would normally mix together, but because the bowl of water was getting emptied quickly, we could see the slight variations in the different taps. We cut, and my roots pushed against the different parts of the stone- *** The heroes battled the demon king through the various tunnels and chasms. In a way, it was an odd battle, because the heroes had to create their own paths, a task that fell mostly to Khefri and Adrian. I tried to support them, through a group of demonic trees, but with most of my mana and energies concentrated on the core, my ability was mostly useless. Yet, it was what I was doing in the core that caused Multipus to pause. As I pushed deeper into the core, attempting to reach those different parts of the Will, Multipus stopped attacking, and started to retreat. ¡°Aeon!¡± The heroes roared as Multipus suddenly stopped and darted away. ¡°Multipus is retreating! Watch out!¡± Edna and Lumoof panicked. ¡°Fuck. We don¡¯t have much time if it¡¯s headed this way.¡± Alka grinned. ¡°On the contrary, I believe this is exactly what we need to do. Edna. Keep digging. We need to get deeper into the core.¡± Edna¡¯s constant attacks dug a fairly deep hole into the core, one that my roots quickly infested and reinforced. Edna stared at the dwarf, as a realization got into her. Her rock-sher de glowed. ¡°Well, I suppose that is one way to take out a giant golem.¡± We all felt theet shaking violently. *** ¡°Aeon!¡± Ste said. ¡°The cracks and gaps in the structure of theet! They are the areas where the giant golem is supposed to separate itself!¡± Like a transforming robot, theet was essentially one giant golem that was curled up. If it survived impact, it would unfurl itself like a rock transforming into a robot. The gaps were not weaknesses, they were there because they were meant to be! Alka naturally understood the implications. ¡°Wait- doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯re just putting bombs at the surface?¡± Ednaughed. ¡°Well, I suppose amateur mistakes happen to even the best of us. Let¡¯s just hit this core as deep as we can. If we can take out the central power source-¡± The dwarf nodded. ¡°There is no choice, then.¡± *** ¡°Try to hold Multipus back.¡± Imanded the heroes, and they tried. Multipus was trying to flee towards the core. Chung fired a magical arrow with a chain made of magic, like a harpoon, and the arrow pierced into Multipus¡¯s limb. The mages cast spells of ice. I tried to use my own roots and assist in entangling the demon king. But it was strong. It punched through the spells, and it sacrificed a limb. The limb broke apart, while it¡¯s main body continued to rush towards the core. ¡°Fuck.¡± Chung cursed, as he still rushed ahead. He fired a few more arrows that pierced Multipus throughout its¡¯ body, and through that magic, yanked the gigantic demon king backwards. ¡°Help!¡± Roon and Johann too,unched attacks at the demon king, and also harpoons of their own. They needed to pin the demon king down. The heroes quickly came to Chung¡¯s aid as they helped pull those chains. *** ¡°Is this enough?¡± Edna asked, but she kept cutting. She was in the zone, hacking like a machine. The three domain holders were quite deep now. ¡°HeLp- InTrUdERRRR!¡± The Will of the Comet roared. I was fairly certain this Will of the World was mostly corrupted by the demons. I could feel Multipus struggling against the heroes. My mind instantly felt the hammering, as the Comet¡¯s Core assaulted me with it¡¯s presence. Lumoof winced, as he too shared my burden of facing the Comet¡¯s Will. ¡°We need to keep going.¡± Lumoof repeated. ¡°We must be doing something right. *** Multipus twisted its tentacles, and doing so, dragged the heroes along. It sted attacks their way, and it spread demonic magic into the crystals around it. Each time it does so, more of the Comet¡¯swork of tunnels copsed and crumbled. Each of the demon king¡¯s attack, a creature made of tremendous demonic mana, and in Multipus¡¯s case, also void and core mana, began to leave tangible ripples in the Comet¡¯s bubble of space. The Comet, an object traveling through the sea of void, started to experience turbulence. The Comet¡¯s reality began to tear apart. *** 262. Rock and Log Roll 262. Rock and Log Roll Chapter 262 Year 260. Comet Invasion Part II As the bubble of space was ripped apart by the Demon King¡¯s struggles, Ste immediately sounded the rm. The domain holder of void was most sensitive to the weakening bubble of reality. ¡°I¡¯m evacuating the team-¡± Ste yelled, as the void mages began to bail out, back to Lavaworld. ¡°-All this disturbance is making it harder for us to escape!¡± Void mages began to open magic- but the turbulence sucked them in, and some of them vanished. Literally. Consumed by the void sea, or perhaps flung somewhere. It¡¯s like jumping off an airne while it¡¯s flying through a hurricane. The little tunnel of void energy between the worlds that a void mage forms had very little chance to survive the teleportation. ¡°Scratch that! Do not attempt teleportation back to Lavaworld! Team- teleport to the Clone! Aeon will have to send us out!¡± I wasn¡¯t sure whether that was a good idea, as my massive clone body was also beginning to feel the effects of reality crumbling apart. It felt like some parts of my roots seemed to have vanished, along with whatever rocks it held onto. Magic was going to be wonky in this sort of situation. The entireet¡¯s vibrations grew in intensity. My demonic roots and the connections to my spawned demonic trees shook, and parts of theet began to shift. ¡°-uh.¡± Ste stopped. ¡°I think the golem might be waking up?¡± ¡°Really?¡± There were parts of theet, where my roots were, it felt as if the Golem wasn¡¯t waking up, but instead was forced by the ripples of space. More and more of my Valthorns began teleporting to my clone, and I quickly sent them back. But Ste remained. She held the button to trigger the explosives. Around the same time, the Comet¡¯s Core itself tried to reassert it¡¯s hold on reality. The flow of the rivers of demonic mana went nuts, while more of it tried to block my intrusion into the core. It wasn¡¯t working. The domain holders were immune to the effects of the demonic mana. The core¡¯s attempt to overwhelm my three domainholders hacking deeper into the core was ineffective. *** ¡°How much deeper do we need to go?¡± Edna asked, but not once her attacks stopped. She seemed to be able to wield the rock cutter de as if it weighed nothing. Alka frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but from the magical energies around us, I think much deeper.¡± The tunnel was also covered with my demonic roots, but the core¡¯s frantic attempts to throw all their mana at the domainholders was just like it¡¯s attempts to overwhelm my clone. Blocked. If it was anyone else, they¡¯d be overwhelmed by demonic mana and corrupted. ¡°-SToP-¡± Lumoof, and myself, was bombarded with the voices and screams of the demon¡¯s core. My senses, through the roots connected to Lumoof, told me this was the right path. I was getting closer to the core. ¡°TuRn-BaCk!¡± ¡°TrUCE¡± The voices of the Demon¡¯s Core got louder. We kept going anyway. Because the cracks kept growing. With each hit, the stability of the Comet''s reality bubble weakened. *** ¡°Are you guys alright?¡± Ste asked from the surface. Her team protected her, while the demons tried to attack the surface team. Even as reality seemed to be falling apart, the demons were relentless. Spurred and empowered by the chaotic mess of demonic energy, demons attacked Ste repeatedly. Roon and Johann pinged back. ¡°We¡¯re fine- but the demon king¡¯s still getting closer! You should get yourself back to safety too!¡± Ste mmed that idea. ¡°I¡¯ll do that once I get everyone back to the clone safely.¡± Even then, some of the teleportation failed, and some Valthorns vanished into the nothingness. If that was an end, it was a cruel one, because consumed by the void meant I didn¡¯t even manage to hold their soul. The demon king Multipus made progress towards the core. All the heroes and their repeated attacks, and somehow Multipus was just built to a different level of toughness and strength. Roon and Johann¡¯s repeated strikes did nothing. Johann even summoned his dragon to attack the demon king, but it¡¯s wounds healed as quickly as they were made. ¡°This guy is incredibly tough. Even after hitting with all the shit we have it¡¯s still going! Edna, how are you holding down there?" Edna responded. ¡°We¡¯re deep in the core. I¡¯m feeling a huge amount of mana swirling around us. We seem to be breaking reality up." Alka touched the rock around him, and felt the swirling energies. He gave Lumoof a look. He''ll have to use his ability soon. ¡°Will you be able to get out?¡± Ste was worried that the Core¡¯s huge blob of mana and it¡¯s existence would mess with my teleportation ability. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it would.¡± Edna countered. ¡°But no matter, we¡¯ll be fine. Send the rest of them back.¡± ¡°Trying!¡± Ste said. ¡°I¡¯m trying to paint in a storm, here!¡± The three domainholdersughed. ¡°Well, we¡¯re in the eye of the storm, and we don¡¯t feel a thing.¡± ¡°Come on.¡± Ste sent more of the Valthorns back to my tree. But even more vanished, seemingly eaten by the ripples of the decaying void bubble. ¡°-shit.¡± I didn¡¯t feel them die, but I suddenly could not sense them anymore. I tried to pull them back through the system, but I couldn¡¯t. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± I asked. ¡°The void¡¯s decay is creating very unstable areas between the Comet¡¯s reality and the greater void sea, and those unstable areas- well, I¡¯ve no idea what the hell is happening.¡± Theet, or theet-golem, shifted. An entire chunk of theet vanished. If our goal was to break theet, it seems we¡¯re almost there. Even if it felt like we were not winning. ¡°Should we just start the bomb?¡± Ste said. *** But what was the golem? Was it the core? Or was it the demon king Multipus? Or is there a part that I¡¯m missing? Or is it all three together, and they fuse together like somebination robot transformation? What exactly are we targeting, when we bomb this piece of rock? Just destroying the rocks? *** The heroes attacked the demon king constantly. Multipus¡¯s severed tentacles attacked the heroes like automatons, but its attacks were like the wild iling of a separated lizard¡¯s tail. All it did was leave more cracks and marks on the demon¡¯set. More chunks of theet vanished. ¡°Why won¡¯t you die!¡± Chung cursed as he bombarded Multipus with even more attacks. But the dem¡¯s core redirected its mana flow to Multipus, and doing so significantly amplified its regeneration. ¡°Aeon! Can you shut down the flow of mana? It¡¯s regenerating from all our hits!¡± The mages, Prabu and Colette said. I tried. I attempted to mess with the mana flow of the dem¡¯s core. The mana of the demon¡¯set core pretty muchshed out erratically, yet the nature of demonic mana meant it still couldn¡¯t corrupt something that was already corrupted. ¡°CrAcK!¡± The Comet¡¯s Core then released a strange pulse- Ste¡¯s eyes widened. The Comet¡¯s structure made huge, loud cracks. Theet was cracking apart, like a golem unfurling itself- ¡°Aeon- I¡¯m triggering the bomb now. I don¡¯t think we can wait anymore-¡± She pressed it, and a magical signal sted outwards, out to all our crystal bombs throughout theet. Each of them vibrated, and the magic stored within them was instantaneously released. *** The magical ripple from the explosion could be felt throughout the Comet. On its own, the bombs wouldn¡¯t have destroyed the Comet. But there were cracks, and tears already present in the Comet, many created by the same demon king. The cracks and weaknesses in the structure copsed, and the sudden explosion of magic only amplified the chaos of the already chaotic bubble of reality around the Comet. Parts of the Comet vanished, along with everything on it. ¡°Bail bail bail!¡± Roon and Johannmanded, as the cavern chamber they were in began to copse. ¡°Let¡¯s st the demon king with the strongest thing we have and bail!¡± The fraying fabric of space could be felt even in the depth of theet, not just on the surface. The heroes could feel it too, as if the rifts itself were twisting. The heroes attacked with their most powerful attacks, trying to weaken the demon king. It took the hit, and then released a magical pulse quite like the self-destruct sequence. ¡°Shit.¡± I cursed. Roon and Johann both yelled in unison. ¡°Teleport back to Aeon¡¯s clone. Now!¡± But the magical ripples in theet¡¯s reality made teleportation messy. Both Prabu and Colette, being the masters of magic, managed to teleport back safely to the Clone. The heroes did not expect the other heroes to have difficulty. Khefri, Adrian, Chung and Kelly were left behind. Their first attempt to teleport failed as their magic was torn by the copsing fabric of space and reality. ¡°Shit. I can¡¯t get a clean teleport! Prabu, Colette! Help!¡± Chung yelled. ¡°Wait. Trying!¡± Prabu and Colette rushed to create a portal from their end, while Roon and Johann both rushed towards the demon king, with a slew of special anti magical and anti mana weapons. These were made as part of the anti-explosion countermeasures, because we noticed that they seemed to reduce the potency of the demon king¡¯s explosions. A portal opened, and Adrian, Chung and Khefri got through- Roon and Johann¡¯s anti-magical weapons smashed into the demon king, and one of the demon king¡¯s tentacle limbs exploded. The explosion, however, was lopsided, the st radius curved and bent by the ripples of space. It destroyed Kelly instantly. My two domain holders, despite being nearer, escaped the st radius. [Kelly has died][You received one fragment] ¡°Kelly, dammit.¡± Adrian cursed, but now in the safety of the clone, there was nothing he could do. ¡°-Let¡¯s go.¡± I spoke to the heroes. ¡°Let¡¯s send you back before reality crumbles around us.¡± ¡°But-¡± Adrian frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll retrieve what¡¯s left of Kelly, if there¡¯s any.¡± There was a charred body. I felt her soul enter my own. *** The st radius from the demon king¡¯s exploded tentacle left a huge tunnel along its st radius. The Comet¡¯s crumbling was almost certain, as the cracks in theet were now everywhere. More chunks of the Comet seemingly disappeared into the void sea. But the demon king wasn¡¯t dead. The Multpus then multiplied, it¡¯s body bubbled like a strange boiling pot. ¡°Wait what.¡± Johann was bewildered that it couldunch such an attack. ¡°That wasn¡¯t it¡¯s suicide move?¡± ¡°Uh.¡± Roon looked at the demon king, they kept attacking, but without the heroes, they didn¡¯t have the firepower needed. Multipus was easily the strongest demon king they ever fought in terms of durability. Never have they seen a demon king take so many hits, and could still counterattack. Then- Back in the core. Lumoof was the first to sense the unusual magical movements in the Core¡¯s mana. ¡°The Core¡¯s behaving strangely.¡± The manna of the demon¡¯set began spread throughout theet, instead of trying to defend itself. My mana pierced through it¡¯s defenses. I took in some of that demonic mana, and pulled it through my vines and roots- Only to immediately see a vision of a world. Then a direction. An explosion. Impact. There were coordinates transmitted through the demonic mana and core mana, and I sent it to Ste immediately. ¡°Treehome.¡± She deciphered it. THe mana fanned out, and the Core itself started to crack intentionally. It was splitting apart- ¡°Wait. I thought the Comet¡¯s a golem?¡± Edna said, wondering as the cracks and the tunnel we made started to get a lot bigger suddenly. Even more chunks of those Comet parts vanished, as if swallowed by the void sea. But theet¡¯s mana touched every single piece of rock it could, as if giving each and every chunk instructions, core mana and demonic mana, and a destination. My mana tried to steal more of these mana away, removing the mana from the crystals and rocks. ¡°The Comet¡¯s turning into a barrage of missiles.¡± Ste realized. Alka frowned. ¡°Lumoof- you might want to bail. Edna, you should probably activate your [Duty] now. I think we need to blow this core up before it gets even further.¡± *** Multipus multiplied, splitting itself into many smaller tentacle demons, and then, each of those demons split up. Only one headed for the core. ¡°Uh- you guys seeing this?¡± Roon and Johann tried to attack repeatedly, but Multipus, still powered by the core¡¯s tremendous mana, continued to regenerate. The fact that they could hack the core to produce demonic mana, and then use an infinite regeneration source clearly meant the demons actually had some defensive advantages too. This was something we needed to prepare for. I tracked the movement of the smaller demon kings, and noticed they entrenched themselves in different parts of theet, as if preparing to hitch a ride. ¡°Great.¡± I cursed. If these smaller rocks hit Treehome, it will also deliver Multipus to Treehome like an orbital pod. ¡°There¡¯s no time to waste, Aeon. Let¡¯s nuke this shit apart before we lose our window.¡± Edna nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with you.¡± As ast ditch effort, through Lumoof, I tried to seize control of the core. I had already broke through it¡¯s defenses earlier. But getting an entry wasn¡¯t the same as taking over. My mana pushed against the Core.. Even with my significantly improved control over demonic mana and core mana, I still didn¡¯t have enough. A core¡¯s mana still outstripped mine. *** Chunks of the Comet began to break off, but these chunks did not vanish into the void sea. Instead, we could see them turn into smaller, much smaller bubbles of space. Their own little bit of reality. Like smallerets emerging from thergerets, they separated, somehow, from the ma. Then, some sped off, out of reach, and some drifted slower. Some vanished. But most of these much, much smaller chunks, they moved in the same direction, towards Treehome. Faster. And out of reach. I was impressed. With the mana and instructions provided by the demonic core, the chunks of Comet could somehow maintain its own bubble of reality. So I tried to steal more of the mana. I wanted to know how the Comet did that. All that did was give me more visions of Treehome, and coordinates. Coordinates that the demons used for their riftgates. Ste teleported to my clone and pretty much told Lumoof, Alka and Edna to get out. ¡°Get your ass out of there.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Alka said. ¡°I need to nuke this thing.¡± ¡°Not when the demon king¡¯s headed your way.¡± Multipus, at least, thergest remaining segment of the multi-body demon king that is Multipus, continued to head towards the core. More parts of the Comet were breaking up. Alkaughed. ¡°I happen to enjoy living dangerously. There¡¯s no time to wait. Lumoof? Edna?¡± Ste frowned. ¡°There¡¯s no need to risk it. Theet¡¯s smaller. We¡¯ll have to prepare for impact.¡± Alka disagreed. ¡°On the contrary, this is the perfect chance for me to destroy thergest remaining part.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay with you.¡± Edna said. ¡°Someone needs to hold the demon king off.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Alkaughed. ¡°My ability was meant for this.¡± All my domain holders carried my special familiar. Edna waited, and realized. ¡°Teleport out once you¡¯re able.¡± ¡°There¡¯s absolutely nothing to worry about.¡± Alka assured her. ¡°Go.¡± Edna nodded. ¡°Very well.¡± The rest of the domain holders were sent back to the temporary safety of Freshka. By now, everyone who could get out, was out. What¡¯s left were those that were swallowed by the void. ¡°Just me- and you, Aeon.¡± Alka said as we felt the demon king rush towards us. By now, the core was cracked in many, many ways. The Demon King Multipus somehow could sense Alka¡¯s presence. With most of theet broken up, there was no need for me to disguise my mana. The sea of demonic mana around us was weakened. The core itself had lost multiple chunks to the void sea. Fragments. Like an onion, the entire outeryer of theet was already gone. What¡¯s left was the inner part, an egg shaped inner core that was filled with holes. Even my Clone struggled to hold on, as all the rock around my clone began to vanish, swallowed by the void. The bubble of reality was shrinking quickly. The Demon King charged through the gaps of the hole, and Alka grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to be a pioneer.¡± He waited as long as he could, and just as the Demon King was about to strike, he activated his explosion ability. In a single explosion, it cracked the significantly weakened inner sphere, and it crumbled into hundreds of chunks. This included the rock that held my Clone. I held onto the rocks around me, and I floated in the void sea once more like the Cometworld. I tried to grab whatever rocks I could that flew close. Alka naturally noticed, but he frowned. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s not over.¡± The hundreds of chunks each were their own bubble of reality, many with their own little Demon Kings on them. Thergest of the Comet¡¯s remnants was the hollowed Core. There was a carapace of sorts, an outer frame that defined the Core. Fractured from all the strike, it was thergest single remaining object, and on it, were Alka and Multipus. It looked like a car that went through a nuclear explosion, with only its charred frame left. The explosion destroyed three of the Demon King¡¯s tentacles, but it was not enough. I saw a tentacle pierced through my dwarven domain holder. Multipus somehow lived, holding on to the remnant of the hollowed Core. ¡°Alka?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine. We can resurrect, remember?¡± Alkaughed, blood sttering out of his mouth, and in his dying breath. ¡°I shall be the pioneer for the resurrection ability.¡± Then, even the remnant frame of the egg shaped Comet¡¯s Core shattered like ss. With theet¡¯s core effectively fractured into hundreds of parts, the bubble of reality around us copsed, like a big giant soap bubble exploding into hundreds of smaller soap bubbles. Each of those small bubbles represented a tiny chunk of the Comet. My clone vanished with the copse of thest bubble of reality, shredded by the void sea. Thergest chunk of the Comet¡¯s Core vanished with us. Some devolved into crumbs. Little chunks that continued the journey. [Alka has died. His soul has returned to your main body, and will now begin resurrection. Resurrection will take 17 years. You may consume excess hero fragments (in excess of a hundred hero fragments) to elerate the resurrection time. Each Hero fragment will reduce time needed by 5 years ] [You¡¯ve shattered the Demon¡¯s Comet! You¡¯ve gained 18 levels You are now Level 259!] [You can now deploy three (3) more additional clones!] [New [Domain] ability obtained : Panspermia. In addition to your clones, you may now control up to ten (10) Node Trees. Node Trees take the form of Space Seeds that you may now shoot across the void sea like a minoret of your own or deliver normally by your assistants. Once theynd on a particr world, they will transform into Node Trees, which will function like a teleportation gate to any of your clone trees. You may also convert any Node Tree into a Clone, if you have a Clone slot avable. Doing so will free up a Node Tree slot. While the space seeds travel through space, they have some vision. Note that Space Seeds can be destroyed if they encounter void barriers or unusual events, or are attacked by the creatures of the void] [New [Domain] passive ability obtained :ary Symbiosis. Each of your clones now generate significantly higher mana and energy. Additionally, some of these energies will be shared with the Will of the Worlds, and expand the bubble of reality. This will allow for the existence of secondary livables in the same realm, and also sr systems. Note, removing your clone will cause the eventual copse of these secondarys.] [New [Domain] passive ability obtained :Titan Substitution / Titan Supercharge : Due to the significant increase in power and energies of your clones, each of your clone bodies can power One (1) Titan each. For Titans powered by Clones, you do not require a Titan Frame from Champions or Heroes. With Titan Supercharge,bining a Titan Frame with a Clone Substitution will immediately increase their power levels.] [New Title awarded : Cometbreaker] *** Alka¡¯s soul nestled quietly within a special chamber deep inside my main body. He was asleep, his soul damaged by travel. The reconstruction of his body happened through some kind of system shenanigans that I did not understand. But I wasn¡¯t the only one that gained levels, and two of the Valthorns that fought with us were elevated into new [domain] holders. One of the physically-focused Valthorns who did a lot of excavating, his name was Ezar, a brawler-ranger. He was level 143 just six years ago, but the entire Comet campaign somehow pushed him over the edge, and now he was a Level 150 [Domain of the Fist]. It was a funny thing, of course, because everyone joked that he should¡¯ve been a shovel-domain, since all he used during thosest few years were shovels and mining pickaxes. His first ability [Fist of the Rising Star], allowed him to essentially punch stuff super hard. The other was Kafa, and he became the first Lizardfolk, [Domain of the w]. His first ability was also anotherbat ability with some parallels to Edna¡¯s. [Tooth and w] made Kafa a temporary hero-tierbatant, but didn¡¯t grant him invulnerability. In terms of utility, I suppose both their abilities were kindame, but additional hero-tierbatants were always useful. Edna too, reached Level 190 , but her new domain ability was instead an expansion of her [Duty Beyond Life and Death]. It now protected her for a week, and also, cast a healing presence on all allies around her. Roon and Johann gained levels too. Johann gained the ability to have a second super-pet. His dragon, also experienced a sudden growth and became much bigger. Personally, I found Johann¡¯s pet somewhat underwhelming, since it didn¡¯t do much on the Comet. But I suppose it wasn¡¯t the right tool for that sort of situation. Roon¡¯s [Sniper] domain granted him a power that ovepped with mine. [Domain Awareness], and granted him full knowledge and awareness of everything around him. In short, he was a super spy. In some cases this would be useful, especially when we¡¯re exploring new worlds, but on the Core-Clone worlds, this ability¡¯s use would be fairly limited since my trees effectively covered most practical uses. There was also the issue of how [domain] abilities spied on other [domain] abilities, and in Roon¡¯s case, it didn¡¯t work. Ste also reached Level 170, and so gained two additional [Void Explorers]. In addition, she gained the ability [Void Shadow], where she could sense all use of [Void magic], and reopen any recently closed portals or tunnels. Lumoof, my domainholder, was now the second highest leveled person around, as he reached almost Level 197. His new [domain] ability was [Fury of the Avatar]. In a weird twist of how skills and abilities stacked, [Fury of the Avatar] made Lumoof a strongerbatant than my main body, because there was some kind of multiplier applied when fighting through Lumoof¡¯s avatar mode. I¡¯d have to wait till Alka woke up to see what he got, if he got anything after all. *** Ste looked into the skies, as we prepared for the next phase of our battle. ¡°There will be smallerets and meteors.¡± These rocks wouldn¡¯t destroy the world. . But it could destroy cities and countries, and there¡¯s the demon king¡¯s body that¡¯s hitchhiking on these objects. There was no way to intercept them. It was just emptiness after the Lavaworld, but they were all still headed our way. Objects from space would likely appear at the very edge of Treehome¡¯s bubble of reality. One that was much bigger thanks to my new ability. They were much smaller, these fragments of the Comet. Babyets. Ste¡¯s data indicate that thergest of them could still be destroyed conventionally. But there¡¯s a lot more to destroy. So, taking a note out of missile and projectile warfare, we nned to build weapons to shoot down the smallerets and meteors, the moment they entered the range of our reality. We¡¯d have to build moon-based Weapons tforms, and prepare to shoot those meteors andets down. We¡¯ve destroyed the biggest Comet. Somehow. Now, we¡¯d have to shoot down some meteors. What remains of the Comet would not wipe us out, even if it would rain death on our world. A problem a few years down the road. But first- With the focus on the Comet world lifted, there were a few annoyances I wanted to solve. I have another annoying shiny rock to crush. Book Three of TreeTree is out on Amazon KU. Pls check it out Book Three of TreeTree is out on Amazon KU. Pls check it out
263.1 Penaltrees [DOUBLE CHAPTER DAY 1/2] 263.1 Penaltrees [DOUBLE CHAPTER DAY 1/2] Year 261 (Chapter 263) Estimated 8-9 more years to impact The heroes mourned the death of their own, the Valthorns mourned the disappearance of so many Valthorns. About three hundred Valthorns vanished when their attempts to teleport back to my Clone were interrupted by the fluctuations in the fabric of reality. Death. But we had to prepare for the next stage. There were now smaller Meteors headed our way. Demonic Meteors that we have to destroy. My council summoned the builders and mages, to prepare our countermeasures. Our countermeasuresrgely fell into three groups. . The first, would be our void mages. These void mages would essentially jump to these meteors once they are detected, nt bombs, and leave. With their smaller size, we could knock them out fairly easily. The next defense would be our ¡®space¡¯ based defenses. We need to shoot them down the moment they cross into Treehome¡¯s bubble of reality. The main anchor of this would be the moon base and the various asteroids around Treehome. I¡¯d need to reactivate the moon base, and then transform it into a space-based weapons and projectile array. ording to our trackers, some of those meteors will be faster than others, so we should be seeing some of these space rocks a lot sooner than the rest. Some of them will carry the smaller Demon King Multipus on them, which means we need a way to destroy the demon king in space. Our initial ns for this is to construct weapons tforms in space, redirect these smaller rocks to them, where we can then engage the demon king inbat. My builders all sketched out multiple wild ideas. Space based ballistas, guns, cannons. Space ships and tugboats. At this point, we decided to go with all of them. Some of these meteors are uninhabited, without the presence of Multipus, and are essentially moving on momentum. Magical ships could then apply an opposing force to bring them to a halt, and then guide them into a safe ¡®orbit¡¯ around the sun. Those where we detect the presence of Multipus have to be destroyed, because Multipus would attack our ships, and these ships are unlikely to be hardy enough to withstand a demon king¡¯s strike. We would also like to construct special suits for the heroes. The ranged heroes like Prabu, Colette and Chung should be able to destroy these smaller rocks. All they need is the ability to fight in space. Because this remains solely within Treehome¡¯s bubble of reality, we don¡¯t have to cross the void sea, and use void magic portals, so conventional magical portals will be sufficient. The thirdyer of defense would be our Treehome-based defenses. Shields, more cannons, magical weapons. These should catch those missed by our first two forces. Most of our efforts will be focused on the first twoyers, because once they enter Treehome, that¡¯s already a little toote to prevent destruction. Instead, it¡¯ll be just damage mitigation. For these, we would need to construct massive shields and barriers in all our major cities, along with magical weapons to destroy these space rocks, or deflect them away fromrge inhabited areas. *** There was a small little funeral for Kelly, the Mountainworld heroine. She stuck around in my soul realm for a bit, and then vanished when it was time. Death seems frequent,tely. ** ¡°Happy?¡± Ken asked, coughing. He sat in a chair filled with my vines, those vines ensured that he lived. I had to intervene frequently over the past few months, his condition worsening. In a way, he was chained to his chair, and it was a miserable existence. I was ready to let him go. Chung was next to him. ¡°Fuck it, Ken. No.¡± ¡°Theet¡¯s done. Let it go already.¡± The former hero said. ¡°It¡¯s time I go.¡± ¡°Aeon- don¡¯t you-¡± ¡°Goodbye. I can feel it.¡± Ken smiled. He knew I wasn¡¯t nning on letting him live even longer. This was it. Prabu and Colette stood nearby, and held his hand. ¡°Aeon, save him!¡± Chung roared. Angry. Frustrated. ¡°There¡¯s not much I can do, if he doesn''t allow me to meddle with his soul.¡± I could force it, but I wouldn¡¯t say that part out loud. In a way, I was allowing him to die. I could keep him alive. I could undo it, with far more intrusive procedures. But there was no point. Ken smiled, and I reckon he had fun. ¡°You weren¡¯t this mad when Hafiz died.¡± Chung fumed, as Ken closed his eyes for thest time. Ken¡¯s body gave way. His hero friends watched him die, and I felt his soul slip out of his body. I tried to catch it. just like Hafiz, he appeared briefly in my soul realm. ¡°It¡¯s this ce again.¡± Now, it was his turn to be a soul, a floating ball of light. ¡°Well, this is the middle ground, before you go to where you are meant to go.¡± I told him. ¡°This is the final station, before the unknown.¡± ¡°Is it really the unknown, or you just won¡¯t tell me?¡± Ken asked. ¡°I really don¡¯t know, but goodbye, Ken. You¡¯ve been helpful.¡± ¡°Thanks. I wish you well, and I hope you do not stray too far from your goals.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± I answered. ¡°Try harder. The myriad worlds suffer from your neglect.¡± I felt that sting a little. ¡°That¡¯s harsh. Neglect is-¡± ¡°It is only true.¡± Ken said. ¡°There is always more to be done, and that weighs on you, far more than anyone else.¡± It was hypocriticaling from him. ¡°Says the one who fled from his duties.¡± ¡°I¡¯m weak. Fragile.¡± Ken admitted. ¡°I only hope that you, and those around you, can be way stronger than we ever were.¡± *** At this point, we had a few years where there¡¯s nothing we could do. The smaller meteors are now in the depth of the void sea, and they are mostly invisible to us. At most, we could hit some of them once they enter within 1 year of Treehome, but that¡¯s a fairly small sphere of influence to destroy hundreds of meteors. So, there was an annoyance that I wanted to deal with. One that I¡¯ve tolerated for a while. ¡°Let it go.¡± Zhaanpu said, as Khefri soon informed him of what I intended to do. ¡°No.¡± I answered. Khefri herself seemed pleased. In every world, in everynd, if there is a gun, it must be fired at least once. Not because it has a target, but to show the world that it is real, and that it can be fired. *** The magic city of man, Maelga. Seat of the Immortal Crystal King¡¯s power. An immortal. A domain holder. An irritation. Four of my domain holders volunteered to deliver the message. Lumoof, Edna, Roon and Johann. We made a statement, as we appeared in a highly visible portal of magic. My fournded on a vast open field on the outskirts of the city. The army of Maelga scrambled to action, as a scout immediately rode towards the four. ¡°Stop. State your business.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here to settle a score with your Crystal King.¡± Lumoof answered, as our aura of power radiated outwards. Lumoof¡¯s presence was like a tsunami of magic that propagated outwards, and smashed into the city¡¯s own little sphere of influence. Everyone in that city immediately felt a strong difort. The air turned tense, charged with our aura pushing against the Mountain¡¯s own. He would know we are here. I found it ironic to think that he was right, really. How unfortunate. It is a beautiful city. ¡°I once stood right there to look at the city below.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°And now I¡¯vee again to break it.¡± The four were soon at the edge of the city. There were soldiers at the gate. All armed to the teeth. They were prepared to fight. A brave captain shouted. ¡°Leave! You are not wee here.¡± ¡°We do not need your wee.¡± Lumoof countered. ¡°We¡¯ll find our way easily enough.¡± The captain shouted back. Even from a distance I could see him quivering in his ce. ¡°Leave!¡± ¡°Consequences.¡± Lumoof dered, ignoring the captain¡¯s statement. His voice wasn¡¯t loud, he didn¡¯t shout, but the entire mountain shook. ¡°Did you believe your actions had no consequence?¡± The forces of the Crystal King marched out to face my domain holders One of the Crystal King¡¯s officials wore armor made of crystals. It was powerful, and definitely would have cowed any lesser foe. But today their enemies are not lesser foes, because they were the ones shaking. ¡°YOU DARE CHALLENGE ONE OF THE THREE?!¡± The leader of the defenders said, clearly juiced on some kind of potion. Lumoof stood forth, as my avatar form descended on the city of magic. The entire earth shook, and people began to flee. There was panic all around, but we waited. There was no need to begin the attack yet. We wanted them to remember this. We wanted the survivors to remember the cost of raising their arms against our goal. We want this tale to be spoken for all of eternity. When the Tree broke the Crystal Mountain. Lumoof smiled, and gently responded to the man. ¡°Yes. We dare.¡± Through Lumoof our roots cracked the earth, ripped the grounds, the crystals cracked. The mountain glowed. Magic- And it met my own aura of anti-magic. The weaker magics crumbled. Gigantic roots and vines emerged throughout the city¡¯s walls, and it met with crystals. The citizens of Maelga seemed in shock, but soon discovered that we didn¡¯t intend to harm them. My quarrel was with the Crystal King, and those who stood with him. The people fled, as my roots climbed over their magical walls, and pierced their magical shields. My roots poked through their shields easily, it wasn¡¯t hard to coat my roots with a bit of anti-magic sand. Lumoof stepped closer, the three others followed closely behind. ¡°Aeon always wanted to know what the Crystal King really looked like, underneath all that rock.¡± The defenders of the Crystal King raised their weapons. Fully equipped warriors, in the best armor and weapons they have. Power flowed through them, but they fainted the moment the weight of my presence pressed on them. And it was foolish. The Crystal King will be punished. And nothing will stop me. 263.2. When Roots Crack the Mountain [DOUBLE CHAPTER DAY 2/2] 263.2. When Roots Crack the Mountain [DOUBLE CHAPTER DAY 2/2] Interlude - The Crystal Defenders Maelga. Pride of the humannds, home of their lord and protector, the Crystal King. One of the Three Hegemons of thend, there was never a time where the Captain Onyx of the Crystal Guard ever felt that Maelga would be attacked outside of a demonic event. Even when demons spawned in their world, when the demons invaded, Maelga stood. Maelga was home to so many magical enchantments and defenses, that in the era of legends, it once withstood the might of even a demon king, and had enough firepower to counterattack, and injure it significantly. In Captain Onyx¡¯s mind, that was the truth, even if it was untested. Because that was what it felt to live in Maelga. To walk the city streets was to walk near the power that lived within the Great Crystal Mountain. To live under the overwhelming presence of the Lord of Crystal. In the minds of Maelga¡¯s defenders, an attack on Maelga was impossible. No one ever tried to attack Maelga. Even the other two forces never ever managed to march forces beyond their inner ring of defenses. Even when this new force, this- this upstart pretender called Aeon sent an army burning through their defensive lines, just to help the heroes destroy the demon king, it never ever urred to them that Maelga would be attacked. After all, who dares attack a deity? Well- Other deities, naturally. *** Onyx ran, as the defensive bells rang. It has never rang in a real emergency, not once in the past fifty years. All previous ringing of the bells were all for drills. Entirely for practice purposes, and publicly dered. ¡°Is it a drill?¡± One of the civilians asked as Onyx ran towards the tower. He shook his head. There really was no need to answer when they all felt the air feel heavy, as if the heavens itself pressed on them. Their mountain pulsed, and they felt a familiar force rise from below to resist it. The soldiers were not sure what to do, either. In truth, only the elite guard would be able to stand against whatever dared attack the Crystal King. The lesser soldiers are nothing more than flies, if such a hypothetical enemy existed. There must be some great illusion. An army somehow snuck past thosezy defenders and scouts. Onyx climbed up the stairs and reached the walls, expecting an army outside. All he saw was four individuals and a terrain he did not recognise. A man with a wooden staff, a woman in knight¡¯s armor, and two archers. In normal cases, he¡¯dugh them off, but all of them emitted an aura not unlike their own deity. Their ripples of power caused the air itself to seemingly churn in defiance. The grass seemed to sway violently. The ground trembled. The entirety of Maelga¡¯s surroundings were almost entirely dusty, rockynd. When did it all turn into grasnds? ¡°Crystal King.¡± The voice was soft, and came from an older man with a beard and wrinkled face. He sounded older than he looked. ¡°We have found your attempts to sabotage our preparations against the demon king appalling.¡± Onyx frowned. He wasn¡¯t aware such a thing happened, but if it did, it must be one of the high crystal priests¡¯ plots. The elite forces of the King, and magical golems, all emerged from their barracks and waiting areas, ready to fight. He looked and saw one of the Elite Guards, Commander General Somun, take the stand and shouted something. Despite the Commander General yelling at the top of his lungs, he heard nothing. Instead, all he heard was the voice of the older man. ¡°Consequence.¡± Huge towering roots shot out of the ground around the city, akin to the tentacles of a kraken pulling down a giant ship. There were so many roots that emerged out of nowhere, they emerged outside of all the walls, and they mmed into the defensive shields. The shields wobbled. Onyx prayed the shields would hold, but they didn¡¯t. The roots didn¡¯t even have to try very hard. He watched the roots cut through the shields as if it was like soft butter. The citizens panicked, and screamed. The Commander General yelled, activating some kind of ability. The walls of the city glowed. Magical sts of all kinds looked ready to be fired, and as they activated- Then half of them were snuffed out instantly, like a fire that ran out of oxygen or fuel. Even Onyx felt the effects of the anti-magical aura. ¡°-anti-magic?¡± He cursed, as he watched the enchanted weapon in his hand flicker, as if magic was drained out of it. ¡°-how?¡± He could even sense it in the air, as the air itself felt as if mana was sucked out of it. The other half, the higher tier spells mmed into gigantic wooden shields. It didn¡¯t do any damage. The soldiers panicked. One of them, horrified, and then begun to run. The rest of them realized the same, as did so. ¡°Wait- what are you doing?¡± Onyx shouted at the soldiers, some of them clearly weren''t ready to fight them. ¡°We are the guards of the Great Crystal City. We do not run!¡± ¡°Captain! This is madness! We¡¯re not fighting them. No way!¡± The soldier countered. ¡°Not those gigantic roots, and not without magic-¡± Onyx looked at the soldiers. They stood unmoved. ¡°But-¡± ¡°Captain. There is a time to be brave. Now, is not that time. Can you not feel their power pressing down on us-¡± He couldn¡¯t continue the sentence, as the entire magical defensivework of Maelga shattered like ss. Not from an attack, but from the weight of the enemy¡¯s presence. Onyx looked back, and his eyes gazed on the gigantic silhouette of a dark, shadowy tree. It was big, as if he was looking up a tree the size of a mountain, and some. A shadow. A silhouette. A distortion in the air in the form of a tree. Just merely ncing at the strange apparition in the air made Onyx feel as if he was looking at a thousand forests, and somehow, a single tree. His fingers trembled. The soldiers couldn¡¯t even run. Their knees went weak. ¡°-what in the mountains-¡± He felt his legs buckle. Not just them. All of the soldiers felt a weight of fear that suddenly crashed into the entire city. The panicked citizens turn even more panicked and delirious. Chaos turned into insanity, as they screamed and shouted. Only the Crystal Guards managed to stand in defiance. Onyx couldn¡¯t see who, but it was one of the great Generals of the Crystal King shouted. ¡°[General¡¯s Rally]!¡± A wave of relief flooded the entire city, and Onyx felt his legs regain just a wee bit of strength. Then, came the word of the enemy. ¡°Run.¡± The old priest spoke, his voice seemed to be carried by thend itself. The wind seemed to carry his message, that it felt to Onyx like the priest said those words beside him, whispering into his ears. ¡°Run or feel our wrath.¡± The roots surrounding the Crystal City suddenly opened to reveal two openings. ¡°Flee.¡± The citizens ran. The soldiers ran. The servants ran. The lesser priests fled. Onyx ran, and he looked back at the mountain. Would the Crystal King answer their slight? Then the Crystal Mountain cracked. ¡°YOU HAVE A LOT OF GUTS COMING HERE!¡± A gigantic crystal golem emerged from the Mountain, as they felt the King¡¯s crystal presence push back against the four. It certainly tried. ¡°YOU DIE TODAY.¡± Onyx thought that they were saved, but the feeling didn¡¯tst. The Crystal King¡¯s presence was overshadowed. The old man smiled, as the shadow of the tree that seemed to be around the man grew evenrger. The buildings of the city trembled and cracked. Onyx couldn¡¯t believe it, but he saw segments of the magically enchanted walls crumble, not from an attack, but from the weight of the Tree¡¯s presence. Even the Giant Crystal King staggered. ¡°-YOU!¡± The voice that followed was thoroughly alien. It was not the old man, even if it was spoken through him. The voice that emerged, that all of them heard clearly in their minds, was spoken as if it passed through the rustling of leaves and the whispers of thend. A million ancient trees spoke at once, it¡¯s voice echoed in every one of their minds. ¡°-you once said we woulde as invaders.¡± The crystal king raised a spear of crystal sorge that it could have been a tower of crystal. ¡°Your prediction is correct.¡± The towering spear of crystals was thrown towards the old man. With it, the weight of the Crystal King¡¯s history. Everyone could feel the immense magic of the Crystal King, condensed into a single strike. But roots emerged from the ground, and the roots intercepted the spear midair, entangled it with its roots. ¡°I was keen to let you be. But here we are. Do you feel delighted that you predicted correctly?¡± The Giant Crystal King rushed ahead, stepped on the buildings and crumbled walls, and pushed at the spear. Even more magic was channeled into the spear, but the wall of roots that held the spear did not move. The Crystal King struggled. ¡°I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU THERE AND THEN!¡± The old man¡¯s chuckle could be heard throughout thend. Thend itselfughed with him. Little rocks, bits of sand, the grass, all shook as ifughing together. ¡°Killing my avatar does nothing but enrage me. My fury arrives eventually.¡± It was a sh of power, all in a single move. The king¡¯s spear, and the wall of roots. ¡°INVADER- I WILL NOT SUBMIT.¡± The crystal king roared, the crystal¡¯s magic glowed. Yet, Onyx swore it looked like the spear¡¯s magic was sucked about by the roots. ¡°So be it.¡± The roots emerged from all over the city. It broke through the rocky tiles, it broke through the ground. They wrapped around the Giant Crystal King. The lesser golems, the elite guards all wanted to attack- But the two archers fired a rain of paralysis arrows that stunned all of them. Those that managed to dodge the arrows were wrapped by the roots, and those roots paralysed them as well. The Crystal King¡¯s power wobbled. ¡°MY DEATH WILL SHATTER THE PACT.¡± ¡°Death is too easy for a hardheaded fool.¡± The roots wrapped around the Crystal King¡¯s arms, and everyone screamed when they saw those roots ripped the left crystal arm off the body. Onyx couldn¡¯t believe it. It wasn¡¯t possible- Then the roots wrapped itself around the right arm, and it ripped it off as well. It flung the crystal arms to the side, throwing them away as if it was trash. ¡°YOU-¡± The crystal king¡¯s energies glowed, as it regenerated both arms. ¡°-YOU THINK THIS WILL HURT ME?¡± The roots wrapped around the entire body of the Crystal King. ¡°Then this will.¡± The entire city shook as they felt a huge amount of magic was sucked out of the world around them. The roots drained magic, even from the crystal king. Yet the King was defiant. Onyx watched, as a root emerged from the ground, farrger than any others. The root transformed into a spear embodying the world, and in a single, loud thrust, it pierced the Crystal King¡¯s golem body. The sound that followed was as if the entire world had cracked in half. ¡°May this pain be eternal.¡± Onyx wasn¡¯t sure what happened, but there was a huge amount of mana flooding the Crystal King. It wasn¡¯t demonic, but instead- It reminded Onyx of the dark nights. ¡°Your domain protects your soul. But your body remains vulnerable. How ironic. I was just in your position not too long ago.¡± The gigantic golem of the Crystal King crumbled. The citizens and soldiers of Maelga watched, dumbfounded and in horror. Many have fainted. Onyx stared at what remained, held by the roots. A spherical crystal no bigger than a basketball. ¡°So this is your true form. A spherical crystal that gained a will.¡± A wall of roots that emerged, and encased the spherical crystal. ¡°For the crimes of tampering with our preparations and attempting to assassinate a hero, I, Aeon of Treehome, imprison you for the next hundred years. You shall remain a watcher of the world, while your empire copses around you.¡± A giant tree grew on their mountain of crystals, and this giant tree held a single object in it¡¯s canopy, surrounded by vines and roots. A tree, made into a prison, to hold the spherical crystal core of the Crystal King. A beautiful prison for the King, on what was once their Crystal Mountain, and turned the rocky, crystallinend of Maelga into a verdant, blooming hill. 264. Penal Colony 264. Penal Colony Year 262 (Chapter 264) The giant tree that stood in the city of Maelga. A prison. The system recognised my attempts to imprison another domain holder, and warped the Giant Attendant Tree into a special tree. The [Crystal Prison Tree]. From a distance, it was poetic. It was as if nature rose to defy the magics of the Crystal King. The once crystalline city of Maelga was now overrun with trees. The very act of imposing my will on another [domain holder] was exhausting, but he was weakened. Keeping an injured domainholder imprisoned was significantly easier, because most of its powers are used to heal itself. He was smug, at first. The domain protected his soul from normal things, but I could hurt everything outside of that domain. ¡°If you don¡¯t intend to kill me, then you can¡¯t hurt me.¡± He bragged. His crystal core was like a dungeon¡¯s core. It stood imprisoned. He said, as I destroyed everything outside of it. Then, I discovered that a [soul tree] was indeed a special thing in the multiverse. After all, it¡¯s not every day that I had the opportunity to mess with another domainholder. So I did. I tapped the power of my [soul forge], and with its unique power, attempted to pierce his domain. He was smug. He thought it wouldn¡¯t work like all my earlier attempts to deal damage without killing him. Then my roots made a hole in the crystal tforms of his soul. I could chip away at his domain! It would heal, in time. But at that very moment, the Crystal King¡¯s horror was palpable. ¡°Impossible!¡± He cursed. But the domain could be cracked by my roots, when they were empowered by the energies of my [soul forge]. This told me one thing. My domain was not a perfect defense. It had worked against the demons so far because their attempts to corrupt my soul were not properly tailored to damage my soul. Even mana was just a bludgeon. Unfocused, even rivers of mana couldn¡¯t harm it. The domain is still an object of the soul, a creation of the soul, and a weapon attuned to the soul¡¯s nature could still hurt me. In fact, there may be a domain holder, made from some kind of [soul] or [spirit], that could possess the ability to deal soul damage. The ability to hurt the soul directly. This sort of ability would be this multiverse¡¯s equivalent of destroying one¡¯s meridians and crushing one¡¯s energy cores. This was a dangerous power, and the cracking of the Crystal King¡¯s domain silenced the smug Crystal King. It released a pulse of energy that spread through the pact of the Tree. A warning. *** ¡°How.¡± Zhaanpu asked my little tree in his garden. ¡°How did you hurt him? Our souls are well protected and should not be damaged, yet I felt you crack his soul at that moment.¡± In the same way I fixed a hero¡¯s soul. The [Soul Forge]. I told him, and the old pharaoh thought. ¡°You freed a [hero], and now, you just soul-damaged one of the Three. That makes you a very dangerous existence. Some gods will not consider you a friend.¡± ¡°Then I will have to avoid them.¡± ¡°Easier said.¡± Zhaanpu countered. *** ¡°You¡¯re doing some pretty dangerous things.¡± Aria and Aispeng¡¯s golem spoke her will. ¡°You¡¯re not afraid how this appears to the rest of us domain holders?¡± ¡°It is what it is. He ordered his people to sabotage our actions, there are consequences.¡± The golem of Lillies nodded. ¡°Such consequences are mild. 100 years is but a fluttering of the eye. Heroese and go.¡± Yet, as I brought the two golems to Maelga, the Crystal King¡¯s senses were not dulled. I felt it¡¯s attention, it looked in surprise as his senses brushed over the two golems. ¡°-you¡¯ve seen more existences like us.¡± ¡°Of course. Which made you a fool.¡± I spoke back. ¡°I offered you friendship, but you chose hostility. These are friends, both from my world.¡± ¡°You seek to rule.¡± He argued. ¡°I would prefer not to rule if I have to.¡± In this situation, where he was imprisoned, I realized it was probably a good time to ¡®educate¡¯ him, just like how I shared my experiences and visions with Zhaanpu, Lilies and Aria. It made the three of them see what I see, and gave them understanding. ¡°I would have preferred not to do this.¡± ¡°Matter of time.¡± He still argued as I bombarded his will with my thoughts. ¡°Over time, you seek dominion over me. Even if I offered friendship. The nature of our rtionship will not change. The weak will submit to the strong.¡± He blocked it with his [domain]. Stubborn piece of rock. *** Ste looked at the special chamber in the depths of my main tree, where Alka¡¯s body was being reconstructed. It was magic. It was the [system] at work. ¡°Wonderful, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said. I tried to understand what was happening, but this was the [system] on autopilot. I had no input here, because he would be rebuilt exactly as he was. ¡°It is.¡± Ste said. ¡°I stare and stare and have no idea what¡¯s happening.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to stare at something dumbfounding and not have to worry about whether it¡¯s trying to kill me.¡± Ste added. ¡°It¡¯s a great- how do I say this, relief.¡± ¡°That is true. Every unusual or mind boggling thing we¡¯ve seen seems to be trying to kill us, one way or another.¡± The Sun-Rings, the Demon Comet, Multipus were all strange, wild things. ¡°And this is great insurance.¡± ¡°If I have one of my trees survive.¡± ¡°With your additional clones, you will.¡± ¡°After seeing my recent abilities, I¡¯m not convinced it¡¯s that great a security.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried there¡¯s some demon that deals [soul] damage, that could hurt your soul directly, regardless of how many clones you have.¡± Ste said. ¡°If that is the case- none of us are safe.¡± I doubt it¡¯ll be that bad. Perhaps my domainholders would still remain, so long as I existed. My ability allowed regeneration of my domainholders. The [System] says they can regenerate, and I trust it. *** Threeworlds reeled from the consequences of the Crystal King¡¯s defeat. The once difficult human cities became instantly subservient. We would have a need for theirnds and their supplies. Ste¡¯s eyes watched the stars, and noticed that the remnant Comets decayed into even smaller Meteors. Without a singr Core to hold it all together, even the smaller rocks fragmented. But they were undoubtedly still headed towards Treehome. It would be the equivalent of earth passing through a cloud of asteroids. A rain of meteors would be likely, and in the thousands, it would be hard to destroy them all. Still, if they came in waves, it was theoretically possible. So, after therge bomb building exercise, we redirected our efforts towards a series of construction work. Anti-projectile cannons, magical shields, and one of thergest bunker construction projects. The construction of bunkers brought back memories. ¡°Aeon, do you really need the bunkers? Thest time we built bunkers was decades ago, and it didn¡¯t help.¡± Lausanne joked, as he reminded me of the time when we built the bunkers, then Rottends happened. That didn¡¯t help. ¡°But what else is there to do?¡± I countered. We could also perform emergency evacuation once we get the trajectory of the meteors. Lausanneughed. ¡°Build a wall?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just bunkers without the roof.¡± ¡°The evacuation idea seems to work.¡± *** Chung went into a spiral of self doubt and avoidance. He refused to speak to us, but at this point, I expected it. He knew, of course. He wasn¡¯t stupid. I watched him try to drown himself in alcohol, but annoyed by alcohol being mostly useless to him. He needed something that could offset the hero ss, in order to get drunk, but he refused to drink anything made with my leaves. Colette, Prabu, Adrian and Khefri. Survivors. Adrian retreated back to Mountainworld. Kelly left some things for him. Unlike the other heroes, Kelly didn¡¯t set up her own little kingdom. Instead, her ambitions were smaller, and she ran an elite adventurer¡¯s guild, where the elites received hero items from her. Naturally, she was sessful, and now responsibility for the guild passed to Adrian. A guild was a lot easier to manage. Politics present in nations were less so, with guilds, especially small, focused guilds that just attacked dungeons on Mountainworld. ¡°You think he¡¯ll kill himself?¡± Prabu asked his partner as they rested back on Freshka. ¡°Nah.¡± Colette said. ¡°Just give him time. A few years. He¡¯ll get over it. Find someone to love or something.¡± The two mages worked on creating magical shields, as a contingency for theing meteor shower. Their hero items were very powerful, and an array of space-based shields should deflect most of the smaller meteors. They had arge mansion with multiple workshops, for them to build all their stuff. [Hero Forge] did most of the work, but it¡¯s better with materials, ns and space for extra stuff. ¡°Yeah.¡± Prabu hoped. ¡°I hope he doesn¡¯t do anything stupid.¡± ¡°You know he will. Just not overly stupid.¡± ¡°-good point.¡± Khefri refused to talk to him, and returned to Threeworlds. After long periods of being away from Threeworlds, there was something about the deserts of the Scorpionoidnds that felt like home. Kei, the designated sessor, refused to get her hands involved. ¡°This is a rtionship problem between the two. Not something I can fix. I¡¯m staying out of it. I¡¯d rather be recruiting new heroes.¡± Chung was stupid. I just hoped he didn¡¯t walk down a path where he became stupid and dangerous. I¡¯ve never killed a hero. But if I have to, I believe I can. *** Ste sent more [Void Explorers] out into the void sea, each in a different direction. There were some unspoken passive effects, such as the higher speed of void explorers, and how the void explorers also moved faster across ¡®familiar¡¯ paths. In short, void explorers moved almost instantly when traveling on existing paths. We have to continue exploring new worlds, only through getting more worlds, we could knit some kind of alliance together. *** My two new domainholders were on Lavaworld where they tested out their new abilities. Kafa and Ezar were briefed, in totality, of our history, and why we do what we do. It was a recap of things they knew, and an affirmation of loyalty to the cause. To end the demons. Both were Valthorns, they joined us in our fight in their earlier years, rising through the ranks. Now they have reached the top, and we have to ask them to give even more. Domain holders. It made them demigods. They know it. They saw how I imprisoned the Crystal King, and I knew, even if they never said it, that my domainholders would think that they could be on the receiving end of that same treatment. The next phase of our n, other than to survive the meteor shower, was to mount a second attack on the Sun-Rings. Our intention, this time, is to either capture it, or destroy it. Unlike the Demon¡¯s Comet, this was a stationary object, and this time, we would be at the advantage. After the Comet, and the Meteors, we would be the invaders of the Sun-Rings. I wouldn¡¯t know when we will be ready, but we will be. *** Mountainworld. Threeworld. Lavaworld. Tropicworld. It was time to consolidate power. The demands for surviving theing meteor shower was less intense than the first push towards destroying the Comet. We still had leftover weaponry, and the bulk of the builders focused on space based defenses. The significantly smaller size of each meteor also meant the odds of an existential crisis for Treehome was fairly remote. At best, we¡¯d be dealing with tsunamis. So, it was time to do what I couldn¡¯t do before. To redirect my attention to domestic affairs, to test out my new abilities, and also, to prepare for the future. With my newfound abilities, I felt the bubble of reality around these worlds slowly expand outwards, and in doing so, it also extended my range through the void sea. My Valthorn builders finished the reconstruction of the dwarven kingdom¡¯s capital. They continued toin about me, but rather than engage them, I decided to pull all my men out. I still had spies, of course, but if the dwarven king continued on his path of hostility, he would soon find himself in an unfortunate ident. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Once again, I regret being so soft, when I should¡¯ve been more forceful. Choice. There is an important line somewhere. When do we allow others to make stupid choices? From my point of view, there is always a stupid choice. I can see it, but that¡¯s because I have a perspective they don¡¯t. Or maybe, it¡¯s the other way, they have a perspective I do not share. One day, a demon king will spawn on another city. When that timees, I will give them a taste of Lavaworld, and remind them why they should obey. If they don¡¯t, I¡¯m going to force them out. I will drag them out of their homes, screaming and struggling. I was wrong to allow them to waste my time. To waste the time of my soldiers, and put those who fight for me at risk. If given a choice between the life of those who fight for me, and the happiness of these citizens, I know I would choose to save the lives of my soldiers. Just like with the stubborn Crystal King, I was wrong. There are times when force is necessary. The world is a cruel ce, and the demons would not hesitate to destroy us. I cannot allow these people to stop our fight. So, my Valthorns streamed into the humannds of the Crystal King. As he predicted, we came as invaders. We would collect their information. Harvest their knowledge. Learn their magic. They would not be happy. But time will undo most wounds, and mortal memories are short indeed. 265. Looping Branches (with Poll) 265. Looping Branches (with Poll) C265 - year 263 The year began with a rare congrattions from the system. [Domain assessmentpleted. Faithputationpleted. Congrattions on reaching Level 250. Thank you for waiting, the system needed to coordinate avability of administrators. We will now start the the special event. ] Then, I was brought into a strange room, where I met a very familiar old man. I wasn¡¯t entirely human anymore, I took the form of a tree, more than a man, even if there was a man at the center of it all. ¡°Matt.¡± The voice sounded exactly the same as it was when I started. ¡°Mozart.¡± I didn¡¯t know why, but his name was imprinted in my head. At that moment, another different old man appeared. Mozart raised his hand, and presented his friend. He was just as old. ¡°This is Bach, my superior.¡± I nodded. It felt weird to nod after so long, but it came as naturally as breathing. ¡°It must be important for me to face two of the system¡¯s administrators.¡± ¡°Wee offering you a pact, as required by the System.¡± Bach said frankly. ¡°It is a choice, first and foremost. I want to be clear that this is a choice.¡± I nodded once more. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°For every soul that reaches level 250, and meeting relevant faith requirements, hero or otherwise, we offer a pact with the System. In this pact, you will no longer gain experience, but instead, your soul will be moved from the [Experience System] to the [World Faith System].¡± Of course. I once wondered what the gods were. ¡°If you ept, under this system, you will gain various powers, such as the power to summon your own [Heroes], subject to your annual faith point avability. Each world you rule generates a certain faith value, and worlds marked as your Core Worlds generate more value. The Faith points can also be used to open portals, bless your minions and followers, or spy on other worlds. You will also gain a spectral form that allows you to move between worlds where your faith is strong.¡± But I remembered that conversation with Aiva. There was a catch. ¡°Tell me more. What are my duties?¡± ¡°You will defend worlds with your followers. You will summon heroes when there is a demon king.¡± ¡°Define defend worlds. Tell me the details. What happens to me, if I say yes?¡± Bach nodded. ¡°You are required to contribute faith points to the hero summoning pool, which will be used to summon heroes. Each world is measured in distance to you, and the further those worlds are, the higher the faith point consumptions will be.¡± ¡°What if I have no followers at all?¡± ¡°As a god, you die.¡± ¡°How many followers do I need?¡± ¡°It¡¯s- arbitrary. The system calctes a sustenance value and if you drop below that, you will weaken over time and then die.¡± ¡°Damn. Even with my protections and clones?¡± ¡°Yes. Some of your abilities will be remade in order to fit under the World Faith System.¡± Bach exined. ¡°Some benefits will be lost, but some gained.¡± I paused. ¡°Why do the other gods ept this system?¡± ¡°Because it allows them to be everywhere, instead of just one ce. Most of the old gods were from the first living beings, in an era where magic was turbulent, and the myriad worlds were much smaller. Yet, over time, the worlds expanded, and the old gods struggled to protect their people from the incursions of the other gods, andter, the demons. So, together, the [World Faith System] was made, a pact between the [system] and the old [gods], to allow them to continue functioning in an expanding world.¡± I realized that since this man was willing to give a history lesson, this was the best time to ask. ¡°What are the demons? How were they made?¡± Bach mmed up immediately. ¡°I cannot answer that.¡± But if they were around since the era of the old gods, that meant they were a long time ago. ¡°Can they be defeated?¡± ¡°I cannot answer that.¡± ¡°Can you tell me about history. Why is the world expanding?¡± ¡°System momentum.¡± Bach answered. ¡°The expansion is driven by subtle repulsive energies of the void. This will continue until the void can expand no more.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± I paused. ¡°How did the gods ask the system to create a new [system]. How does that make sense? Can it still be done today?¡± Bach paused, before nodding. ¡°Yes. But it requires significant and majority control of all popted worlds.¡± ¡°Exin.¡± Bach paused, before exining. ¡°In Earth terms, eachary Core is a node, and a vote. A right-to-vote. A right-to-petition. Control of the majority Will of the Worlds allows the gods to subconsciously, or consciously, submit changes to the system, and change how things operate. The bigger the changes, the more votes from all the cores will be needed. Most changes, racial creations and so on, will not require significant votes. But creating new systems, creating entirely new rules on how powers work? Forking the system? That needs significant control and influence over multiple worlds.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t recall ever- voting?¡± ¡°The cores collect your responses subconsciously.¡± ¡°Wait- can¡¯t we delete the demons this way?¡± I asked. If each is essentially how the [System] responds to changes, it should be used offensively. ¡°I cannot answer that question.¡± ¡°Alright, I get it. I can reach multiple worlds with my current abilities, why don¡¯t the gods do it..¡± ¡°They couldn¡¯t. They were not trees or corals that could clone themselves, and so, they changed their forms to amodate.¡± ¡°The [World Faith System] cameter?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And most gods are on it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Bach answered. ¡°Are all gods on it?¡± A long pauseter, Bach answered. ¡°-no.¡± I paused. If there were gods in the old system, they would be Powers in their world. Incredibly, incredibly powerful, but likely, constrained to a single world. ¡°What happens to all my powers?¡± ¡°They will change.¡± ¡°What are the other benefits?¡± ¡°Quasi-immortality. Just as you die when you have no believers after a certain period of time, you cannot be killed as long as you have enough believers. Faith points will allow you to attain immortality, and regenerate any lost or destroyed body.¡± I could see why some gods took it, especially if they had no means of immortality prior to this. But that was of no value to me. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Power of the World Faith System. It is a very powerful system that harvests the emotions, faith and beliefs of those who believe in you. Each temple, each faithful generates these faith points, and you can spend them to generate miracles, summon heroes, create worlds, open paths across the stars, and even permanently link worlds together. The power to create more sses, awaken more powers-¡± Again, powers that the current system could offer. But, if there are other systems, then surely there are more. ¡°Are there other systems- other than these two?¡± ¡°-yes. The Demon¡¯s system. They grow in strength over time.¡± Shit. If the demons have their own system, it meant they were significantly more powerful than I expected. I didn¡¯t realize when I said it out audibly, much to the chagrin of the two system administrator¡¯s present. ¡°Well, some wouldn¡¯t consider them to be an entirely new system- but they exist on top of the existing Experience system.¡± That¡¯s why their souls are different. Their system has modified it. ¡°But with each additional world they control, they get a bit closer to making more profound changes to the system.¡± Bach said. It exined why they captured worlds. ¡°And so- what do you think?¡± No. It was clear to me since the day I met Aiva, that whatever they had didn¡¯t give them a path out of this. I could seek their help, but their hands were tied. But they could offer it to my domainholders, when they reached Level 250. They could be new gods. Bach paused, somehow reading my mind and then was quick to exin. ¡°They will wither and die. They must create their own faith, and grow it to a critical size. This option is not avable to those without their own faith, even if they reached level 250.¡± ¡°-I see.¡± If Lillies reached Level 250, they could be one. Or Zhaanpu. ¡°Must I decide immediately?¡± ¡°Yes. The system only offers this choice once.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem fair. I can¡¯t even discuss it with my team?¡± I asked. ¡°The old gods, those old powers were not the kind that kept a council.¡± Bach smirked. ¡°It never urred to them to do so, when they petitioned the system to create this subsystem many eons ago.¡± ¡°Then- is there an option to revert back to the old system?¡± ¡°The old gods were not the kind to believe that they make mistakes.¡± Bach¡¯s grin was frankly unmistakable. ¡°I believe they still don¡¯t think they made a mistake.¡± That sealed it for me. ¡°Well, no. I don¡¯t like it.¡± And I didn¡¯t need the immortality benefit. Not when I already had it. The fact that it was a created system, instead of the original system, suggested that it probably wasn¡¯t as well made, either. ¡°Confirm rejection?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good. The old pact of the Old gods has room for improvement. Too bad those in it are no longer able to influence how the system developed. The basic Experience System continued to evolve over time as each node submitted and petitioned for changes, while the World Faith System remainedrgely the same system as it was made eons ago.¡± Bach smiled. ¡°You will be receiving your level 250 [Subdomain] choices now.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve just said so.¡± I said. ¡°The Pact required me to offer it as a choice.¡± *** I was brought back, and the choices appeared immediately. [World Faith System migration has been rejected. We will now disy Level 250 [Subdomain] choices] [Subdomain : The Dark Void] [You gain the ability to see worlds that are shrouded by the voids, and also void worlds, and nt your clones on them. Your clones will not be consumed by the void. Your mana potatoes will now be able to store void mana with no loss or decay. Clones on the Void Worlds can harvest void mana. You are also now able to ess the Void Layers, which are different ways the void appears, and can share it with your void mages. The special ss [Voids of Aeon] will be created, and [void mages] can unlock them. Voids of Aeon can travel in the voidyers] [Void worlds can only be safely explored by those with void magic protection.] [The Dark Void will link with your fellow Void domainholder, amplifying her abilities and allowing her ess to all your new Void abilities] [Subdomain : Treenopticon] [You gain the ability to see through your familiar, your beetles, and anyone with an aeonic ss. In addition, you can also now see through your flows of mana. You can nowmunicate telepathically with anyone in the world, wherever they are in that world, regardless of distance, so long as your clone or avatar is present in that world. Your mind reading tree¡¯s range will now cover the entire world. Each of your Clones will also now function as the enhanced equivalent of a Grand Mind Tree, granting significant automation, andputational power.] [Mages, domainholder linked through your Treenopticon will able to leverage on your range, granting them ability to cast spells through yourwork of trees as if they were there personally. They will be able to see and cast spells through your avatar, clones, or trees. Domainholders may not use domain tier abilities through Treenopticon.] [Subdomain : Unity of the Pantheon] [You gain the ability to form links with your fellow pantheon members, and express yourbined powers as though you are one. The effects of all the levels and base stats of the pantheon members will bebined additively. This power will require a willing mortal host. The host¡¯s endurance depends on his level, and the amount of power used. Domain holders that serve as the host will be significantly empowered by thebined powers, but will need to undergo intensive regeneration after each use] [At level 275 and level 300, you will be able to select one of the unchosen choices. Choices avable at level 300 will be deferred to Level 325 if you elected one of the earlier subdomain choices. Choices are cumtive, and earlier subdomain choices are not removed] *** ¡°Shit. I want all of them.¡± Ste said. ¡°The question is, which first? Which helps us get ourselves across the line faster.¡± Lumoof thought. ¡°Can we first talk about that World Faith System?¡± Kei immediately stepped in to speak about it. ¡°There is an entire system out there that¡¯s only avable to gods?!¡± Lumoof frowned. ¡°I believe turning it down was the right choice. We¡¯ve seen the consequences of the old Gods¡¯ method of work, and it¡¯s not great.¡± ¡°But- think about it for a moment. Functional immortality!¡± ¡°A power Aeon grants to us.¡± ¡°Not every society of gods has an Aeon.¡± Kei countered. ¡°But seriously- are we seriously getting power of friendship with thatst one?¡± Lumoof chuckled. ¡°I suppose my prayers dide true.¡± ¡°You¡¯re hacking.¡± Ste smiled. ¡°But it would be amusing to raise one of us to be one of them. It also implies that it is possible to alter the system, if we control sufficient worlds.¡± Lumood nodded. ¡°I cannot recall ever seeing the system change, but the fact that it has, it might be something that urred so slowly over time that no one ever noticed.¡± ¡°I agree. If subtle changes are applied over a long period of time, we wouldn¡¯t even feel it. We¡¯d confuse any changes to our abilities to our higher levels, age, or just upgrades to our skills or our ss.¡± It was the equivalent of environmental changes. It urred so slowly that natives would adapt. The system must have been different, many, many years ago, the core principles unchanged, but the nitty gritty aspects may have changed. Those outside the system, such as the Gods who are on the [World Faith System], may not notice such changes. Technology¡¯s effect would bleed in slowly, as the [System] absorbs such changes. Lumoof sat, and thought about it for a while. ¡°Bitu may be the candidate closest to achieving conversion to the World Faith System. He has an entire world that worships them. Even more than Lillies.¡± I soon shared this knowledge with Zhaanpu, Lillies, Aria and Aispeng, and even the Crystal King. I figured there was no harm. The Crystal King listened. ¡°Lies.¡± Zhaanpu merely mulled it over. ¡°It seems we have been yed with.¡± I suppose he meant the fact that the WFS requires the Gods to protect their worlds anyway, so the pact was unnecessary, even if it gave some natives power over the heroes. Khefri mused. ¡°Nice feeling, isn¡¯t it?¡± Zhaanpu¡¯s golden eyes red at the scorpionoid heroine. She smirked back at him. ¡°What? Doesn''t your own medicine taste great? Or it must feel like shit, to be manipted?¡± Zhaanpu stewed. 266. Twined Serpents 266. Twined Serpents Year 264 The first of the Earth Mages from ra reached Level 70 two decades ago. Now, the first of them, that same Earth Mage, reached Level 90. The limits of their soul. Anything beyond here, would require the [Soul Strengthening Seed]. rans, despite their tinier size, seemed to have a far higher level limit than humans who capped at around level 80-85. I suspect it was the nature of their souls. Level 90. I offered the not-so-young ra, Kapakrtajam, or Kobra, as his Valthorn ssmates referred to him, a Soul Strengthening Seed. He epted, but requested for a return to ra before he took it. With my new abilities, there wasn¡¯t much to think about. I could easily ce a [node tree] on ra, while keeping my clone trees for more strategic locations. Still, I tried to wrangle some benefits out of Snek. ¡°So- that [hero] ss. Will you trade it for a [node tree]?¡± I offered, in in and simple terms. There was no need to oveplicate it. If he epted, I will ce the node. If not, I wouldn¡¯t. Snek paused, thinking it seriously. There was some movement of rans between Treehome and ra, facilitated by the rift gate, but there were times when the rift gates were inoperational, due to unknown reasons. The void mages call them ¡®void storms¡¯. It doesn¡¯t do much, other than make teleportation impossible, and frankly quite predictable. The vibrations tend to start small, and slowly grow in intensity over a few months, beforeing down again. Snek, initially, hoped to consult with those on ra, whether he had the right to give it away. After all, his mission was performed at the instruction of the old lords of the dens. But centuriester, most of the rans refused to even consider it theirs. It made him feel a little abandoned, and a little bitter towards the whole [hero] ss. All that sacrifice, for nothing. ¡°At this point, it¡¯s your choice.¡± I said frankly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯ll do with the [hero] ss, either. If you want, you could use it yourself.¡± It was an idea Snek opposed. ¡°I¡¯m not worthy.¡± ¡°Then no one is.¡± I answered. Snek sacrificed his physical body to save his world, endured the void sea, and seeded when many others failed. If he wasn¡¯t worthy of the ss, who is? Even the kids who received the [hero] ss were not the kind that would sacrifice themselves for the cause. It¡¯s only because of the [hero] ss¡¯s intervention that warped their minds into this demon killing machine. He couldn¡¯t decide. Not yet. But, through one of the Rift Gates, we sent one of the rans back anyway. Snek and Lumoof followed along. ¡°The first of our offspring to return to ra as a warrior.¡± rsawabesars, or Snek, watched, as the first of the ran children, taken from their home decades ago. Lumoof smiled. ¡°Do you feel proud?¡± The little Snek nodded. ¡°A little. But our world is not free. My hope is by fostering contact with the widerwork of worlds, my people would once again regain the pride that they lost. I want to remind them that they were once surface dwellers, that we once built our dens under the sun, instead of the depths.¡± ¡°There is pride in enduring even the harshest of oppression.¡± Lumoof countered. ¡°For my people, it is not enduring oppression. It is epting their ce, and that is just sad.¡± Kobra looked at Snek, ¡°Old one, what do you think our people will think of me?¡± He had spent a long time on Treehome. ¡°They would not know what to think. But once you show them that we can stand up to our demon dragon upiers, I like to believe their minds will begin to change.¡± The party of three returned, and first thing was for Kobra to visit his old family. Unlike Snek, Kobra went with them as a child about four decades ago. When he returned, his family, still living in dens, were shocked to see him. But rans had something inmon with Lizardfolks in terms of biology. Their scales corrted to their power. Powerful lizardfolks have shiny, healthy scales, and the same applies to the rans. ran scales manifested the elements of their ss, which meant that rans pretty much announced the type of ss they had on their scales, by color and shape. An Earth Mage like Kobra had shiny, brown and bronze scales that flickered with magic. Snek and Lumoof allowed Kobra his space, but eventually, the den lord approached Snek. ¡°Old one.¡± ¡°Den Lord rlicintenduk.¡± Snek answered. ¡°I¡¯ll cut to the chase. What happened to the rest of them?¡± ¡°Still not ready to return. But they will.¡± ¡°Kapakrtajam says some of them are not doing well.¡± ¡°Not all were as talented as I hoped.¡± Snek countered. ¡°The world on the other side is-¡± ¡°Highly advanced.¡± The Den Lord answered. Snek nodded. ¡°I¡¯d like to invite more to travel over, if I may.¡± ¡°And return them like Kapakrtajam? Glistening with power?¡± At that point, Kobra joined the two. He greeted the Den Lord in the ran way, which was some kind of strange hiss of their forked tongues. ¡°Den Lord. Old one.¡± The Den Lord looked at Kobra. ¡°Would you choose to stay permanently in ra, or with these- travelers?¡± Kobra paused, and then answered honestly. ¡°I would like to stay with them. If I may, I¡¯d like to request permission to bring my entire family over.¡± The Den Lord stared. ¡°-what.¡± ¡°Den Lord, I do not mean to challenge your authority.¡± Kobra answered. ¡°And, unlike the Old One, who still hopes of reiming our homnd from the demons, I believe I¡¯d like to give my siblings and future offsprings the opportunity I received outside of ra.¡± Snek stared at Kobra, feeling betrayed. ¡°Kapakrtajam!¡± ¡°Those who chose the old ways can stay, Old One. Why create conflict? Why upset the bnce?¡± Kobra countered. ¡°It is better to just move. The protection, security, opportunities and facilities are just so far ahead, and having lived there for the past three decades and some, I cannot imagineing back to ra.¡± Snek wanted his people to return as heroes. As liberators. ¡°You! We are supposed to rebuild ra!¡± ¡°There is nothing left for us here, old one. Not when we¡¯ve seen what¡¯s back there. My friends, they feel the same way. Having tasted the fruit of prosperity, how could we ever return to the harsh life of the tunnels?¡± The little snake spirit felt heartbroken. Yet, it was the exact answer the Den Lord wanted to hear. ¡°I see. I happen to have a list of individuals I¡¯d rather get rid of. Feel free to take them.¡± Snek stared at the Den Lord, equally furious. Was he using this facility as a means of removing people opposed to his rule? To some extent, we treated the rans with kid gloves, especially much earlier on. There was always a Valthorn on standby, to step in if things ever got too dangerous. Snek said we could not afford to lose any of the rans. I thought one or two deaths were expected, especially after all these years. After all, livespans, and idents are a thing. So, kid gloves. Valthorns watched them like hawks, but as time went on, the Valthorn presence was just insurance. The once young rans adapted well, though they are still an incredible rarity on Treehome. After all, there¡¯s less than a hundred of them on Treehome. We would like a permanent settlement for them, somewhere. Not Treehome, because it¡¯s way too crowded and too high risk. If there wererge scale ran migrations, it would be to Tropicworld. It remains the single, safest ce of all. With no demons. The only downside was generally weaker ambient mana, but that was a problem that I could fix with my new [Subdomain] ability. I was now nourishing the world¡¯s health. A healer of worlds, literally. *** Kobra and Snek exchanged some rather unpleasant words, but ultimately, Snek couldn¡¯t force them to do what he wanted. ¡°This was what you wanted.¡± I reminded him. ¡°Not at the price of abandoning ra. And not splitting our society into two.¡± Snek answered. ¡°I did not envision this. I hoped to restore ra to a single united ra of the past, with the aid of knowledge, technology and weapons of the wider world.¡± The little Snek went through much. ¡°Your people have minds of their own.¡± He sighed, in a way a little snake creature could. By pping his head about. ¡°I spoke about my dreams, but it seemed my fellow rans have their own.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t see how they could change their world.¡± I answered. ¡°I believe this could be a good thing. If there is an alternative ran society, the original ra could be convinced to change. This is just like training rans, but at arger scale. Build an ran nation far bigger, far more prosperous, with far more poption. Then, let them retake ra.¡± Snek paused. ¡°That would take decades or centuries- time that I¡¯m not sure my world has.¡± ¡°I think it does.¡± I answered, as Lumoof spread my roots through the ran dirt. I¡¯ve gotten better at sensing a world¡¯s health, and I was fairly certain ran wouldst at least four to five centuries. Aary core wasn¡¯t a weak thing that would crumble so easily. It¡¯s a node, a key to the wider system. The right to vote. Now that I know what roles the world yed in the bigger picture, it made sense that demons would prefer to ¡®upy¡¯ than ¡®destroy¡¯. They just needed the core, everything on the surface was ultimately expendable. It was for this reason they didn¡¯t hesitate to destroy us, because we¡¯re useless to them. But, as long as they don¡¯t destroy the core, the core could be healed, and then, the world rebuilt through the powers only a Core has. Lumoof turned to face the little Snek head on. ¡°We will assign [Administrators], [Builders]. Take the rans to Tropicworld. Rebuild the old society of ra from those willing to follow. There is no other way.¡± ¡°There is.¡± ¡°None that would work, not in the short term. y the long game, just like you used to.¡± Snek paused, and realized Lumoof had a point. ¡°Very well.¡± *** Snek¡¯s announcement of his intentions to the not-so-young pioneers like Kobra and his peers, actually won support. Most of them were a lot more optimistic than the idea of retaking their old world from the demons, and so, the pioneer rans agreed to be Snek¡¯s messenger. To take the message back to ra, and collect those willing to go. It was true that the den lords had rans they didn¡¯t like anyway, but ultimately, there was little risk. With the Valtrian Order ultimately underwriting their security and providing the basic infrastructure, they would not have to start from scratch. And so, about fifteen thousand rans, from the various dens throughout ra, went to Tropicworld and set up their first city and nation, from unimednds of the Tropicworld. They named their fledgling nation New ra, and their first city, Newden. I hope they made something better, and don¡¯t constrain themselves to what Snek had in mind. What their old society used to be like, should be a reference point, but not it is not dogma. *** ¡°We should be taking out these demon mothers as much as we can.¡± Ste¡¯s next focus was to reim the demon worlds. Each demon world ultimately supported the demon¡¯s ¡®voting bloc¡¯ in the system. ¡°There is no need to act hastily.¡± I countered. ¡°The system moves slowly, changes happen over decades. Let¡¯s take worlds that we can hold.¡± We had to take stock of where we were. After my clone vanished on the demon¡¯set, it now sits in my reset timer. I¡¯d have that clone back by Year 271. Where are we now? I took a moment with my artificial minds to review the status of everything that¡¯s in y. We faced a wave of meteors, and there were alreadyrge scale constructions throughout Treehome. The void mages have restarted the moon base, without my Clone, but they didn¡¯t need it. It was good for them to practice setting up a base of operations without my involvement, even if that meant they were totally away from my observation area. Once the moon base was operational, they would start construction of the ¡®space-mounted¡¯ weapon arrays, and the n was to move those weapon arrays into location from the moon. Mountainworld is doing fine, and would face a new demon king muchter, only by Year 268. That¡¯s another 4 or 5 years to go. My spies and agents are actively working the message into the general popce that we will not tolerate another Dwarven King-like incident. We were still recruiting well, so luckily, the incident didn¡¯t really dent how we were received. Threeworlds recently had their demon king, and they wouldn¡¯t need to deal with one up until year 278. With the Crystal King imprisoned, my forces quickly began to set up shop in Maelga, effectively iming it as my own. It was surprising that a [Giant Attendant Tree] could hold the domain holder, but then again, all I did was destroying it¡¯s outer shells and attempts to regenerate its limbs. I left it¡¯s core untouched. I was fairly certain it had magical ways ofmunicating, which I could not block. But a message was sent, and the world was a mess. One thing was clear, I was going to make changes, changes that the insr Crystal King didn¡¯t like. First, I wanted trade, and so Imanded that the war with the Sandpeople to cease immediately, and next, that new trade routes opened. The sandpeople had robust tradeworks within their own cities, and the same applied to the humans and centaurs. But trade between the three was tense and dangerous, and so it didn¡¯t ur all that often. There were, as always, those who tread those sensitive lines, but they were clever enough to stay out of the limelight, and never transact in anything too high risk. After all, when it came to demigods like the Three Hegemons, no argument would ever really pass muster. Zhaanpu was both relieved and worried, and I could tell. Open trade andmunication between the three races of Threeworld had never urred in the recent centuries. Thest time it happened was many, many millennia ago, in a time when the gods¡¯ touch was strong. The Centaurs couldn¡¯t even muster a response, as their own centaur leaders scrambled meeting after meeting whether to oppose us, out of respect for the old pact, or to side with us. But trade was something they epted. They were still recovering from the consequences of earlier demon king attacks, and they needed all the advantage they could get to restore theirnd. Then, there¡¯s Tropicworld. This was the brave new world, the world restored. Canari, humans, and dwarves imed most of thend, but there was more than enoughnd for me to carve out arge area for the new ran Nation. The Canari reacted to their presence generally well. These dog-people had enoughnd, more than enough that the Canarinds fractured into four nations about five years ago. Still, not much fighting broke out, since everyone was busy building up their own level of strength. The fact that Tropicworld¡¯s terrain continued to change, as the Core¡¯s strength recovered, meant most of these settlers have enough environmental issues to deal with. I thought of sending them to the Houndworld. Canari, after all, seemed like a natural fit for that sort of core. But I chose not to reveal it¡¯s existence just yet. From my experience with the Canari, who are generally territorial, they would likely demand the Houndworld entirely for themselves. They may even view it as their promisednd. Or perhaps I could dangle it as a reward, position myself as some kind of guide to their promisednd. Would that win their loyalty? Regardless, the new generation of Canari were friendly, and in time, once we were ready to properly repopte the Houndworld, I would allow them first cut. Then, there¡¯s Lavaworld, my ¡®Hell¡¯, and also where I conduct my demonic experimentations. And now filled with demonic trees. Other than the now improved mana situation, I wasn¡¯t sure what to do with this world. I could attempt to free it from the hands of the demons, by mounting an offensive to the core. With my stronger forces, it shouldn¡¯t be much of a risk. Still, for now we hold this world as it is. Cometworld remains traveling into the far distance. *** ¡°I think I¡¯ve gotten my trajectory wrong.¡± Ste said. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked my void holder. ¡°I should¡¯ve thought about it, but when we arrived at that Beastworld, where the native deity imed that they are out of range of both the gods and demons?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have missed that datapoint. I think that I should be sending my [void explorers] in the other direction instead. Looking at the data I have now heavily suggests that the gods are on the other side of the demon sun.¡± ¡°-shit. Can you get there?¡± I had hoped that reaching the gods would be the equivalent of getting the cavalry. If they are on the other side- ¡°I mean, I¡¯m going to start redirecting two of my new void explorers in that direction. It¡¯s also likely not all gods are in that direction anyway-¡± ¡°There might be some that we can reach.¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to do but try.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what I thought. But the one that¡¯s still going, I¡¯ll let it keep going?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± We probably need to n how to use my node trees. I can fire my node trees like little seeds, but we¡¯ll have to find a suitable ce. If the gods a really are on the other side, I could fire my nodes in that direction- Oh wait. I can¡¯t. They¡¯ll m into the demon¡¯s barrier and burn. I¡¯ll have to hop around the barrier to reach the other side. ¡°As for the void archmages close to a domain, it¡¯s time they start doing more risky stuff, along with our new domain holders. Kafa and Ezar can help explore our new worlds.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± *** 267.1 Interlude – Gathering of The Domain Holders 267.1 Interlude ¨C Gathering of The Domain Holders Lumoof assembled the group that now forms the inner circle of Aeon. In a ce not far from Freshka. Lumoof looked around the quiet room in one of many secret Valthorn fortresses around the Central Continent. Edna was the first of them, and Lumoof the second. Then came Ste, Roon and Johann. Alka. Now Ezar and Kafa. Eight of them, lifted from mere mortals, and now transformed into demigods. Alka was still asleep, waiting for his revival. So, the seven gathered. The air in the room was thick with power, that anyone else would feel as if their air was suffocating. But each of them felt nothing. Their domains protected them. There was a sense ofradeship that they shared in the great struggle of their kind. Aeon¡¯s words. Revtions, really, of what the greater system was, only amplified the urgency and importance of their cause. The demons could essentially unravel the entire system, once they conquered enough worlds. The gods, elevated to a different system, are resisting, but have handicapped themselves. ¡°Should Aria or Lillies¡¯ avatar be here?¡± Roon asked. ¡°No. They would not understand.¡± Edna said. ¡°Our power was gained through war. Through Aeon¡¯s assistance. Theirs from a longer period, from things outside war. How do you two feel?¡± Kafa nced at Ezar, both peers. ¡°Incredible, and yet, overwhelmed.¡± Roon just gave the two a pat on the shoulder. No words were said, but they¡¯ve all been there. ¡°I will not spare you the niceties. At this point, there¡¯s really no point. The scale of this war is far, farrger than even what we first expected. Each time Aeon pushes a little further, we¡¯ve only see this war¡¯s scope expand.¡± Edna said. ¡°When Aeon first spoke of his goal, he only sought to end the demon¡¯s invasion of Treehome.¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°And yet, it only set us on a path of even more invasions. We are still not safe.¡± The two new domainholders gulped. Ste nodded, and then she spoke up. ¡°I asked Lumoof to gather us here for a few reasons. Aeon believes we have time.¡± Ste said. The new domainholders looked at each other. ¡°But my sense now, it is a risky gamble. We don¡¯t know how much time we have, and what is the current bnce of power between the demons and the gods. My models suggest that the demons already control around one fifth of the known realms, and they continue to expand. We need to start invading demon worlds, and free them from their demon mothers.¡± Kafa and Ezar looked at each other. This wasn¡¯t too bad. ¡°So we need to start retaking demon worlds.¡± They¡¯ve seen the demon mothers. They¡¯ve fought simtions in Aeon¡¯s [Dream Academy]. They could do it. Edna looked at Ste, and then at Lumoof. "Is Aeon listening?" Lumoof paused. "At the moment, no." "Good. That¡¯s just the battle part. There''s something Ste isn''t saying." The domain holders present gulped. Lumoof looked at Edna, and sighed. ¡°Edna, let me handle this.¡± Edna just smiled. ¡°Sure.¡± "Aeon relies on us, to ensure he doesn''t stray." Lumoof answered. ¡°More specifically, he needs our presence to tell him where he has gone wrong. As someone who has shared minds with Aeon- it is an overwhelming sensation. To see time as if it¡¯s just weeks, to see all the worlds at once, to feel all the things altogether. It¡¯s absolutely overwhelming. Even with all my expanded and borrowed mental abilities, it is still too much to take in.¡± Roon and Johann looked at each other. So did Ezar and Kafa. ¡°So, Aeon tunes it out. Aeon delegates certain thoughts to his mental assistants. Some of them, to us, to the Valthorns. I¡¯ve shared those thoughts, and at times, I tremble at the power and knowledge I have at my hands.¡± All the domainholders gulped. The bomb wasing. Edna only sighed. ¡°I alone cannot be Aeon¡¯s moral guide. I share too much in his thoughts. I lean too close to his power.¡± Lumoof answered. ¡°I try, but there are days when I blend into that avatar mode, and I feel his thoughts, his senses, his ideas, and I feel like I am him, and he is me. Though I believe in Aeon¡¯s divinity, I do not believe in his perfection.¡± "Aeon doesn''t make very good choices." Edna said. "Perhaps he has be too focused on the demons, or perhaps our lives are too short that what seems like a short moment of suffering doesn''t matter, if the goals are achieved. When years are just weeks, a year of suffering feels like nothing.¡± Lumoof looked torn, but nodded. ¡°That¡¯s where I need all of you toe in.¡± "We, the domain holders, and his inner circle, are the only ones that can steer him back. To remind him that there are other perspectives. To bnce the needs of those present, and those of the future. To take things back to the small, instead of the big picture. Because, from Aeon¡¯s zoomed out perspective, it¡¯s all just little bumps in the sand." Ezar spoke up. "Aeon would not listen to me." "No. You¡¯re wrong. He will. Because you are now a domain holder and a member of his pantheon, and believe it or not, he trusts all of you." Lumoof said. "We are the ones that can apany him on this quest. We are the ones that will be there for the day we put an end to the scourge. Do not sell yourself short, Ezar. We must speak, because Aeon, unchecked and out of touch with time, will be-." Ednapleted what Lumoof couldn¡¯t put the words to. ¡°Horrifying.¡± "Horrific?" Kafa gulped. "That seems a little- harsh." Edna looked at Lumoof. "The stakes have only increased with time, and Aeon prioritizes our survival. The difficult choices, such as that whole incident with Ken, that hero-friend, we will just see more of them in the future.¡± The priest and Avatar nodded reluctantly. "Aeon is a creature of nature. And its sole unwavering ethos is survival. Above ethics. Above values. Above morals. All these things are that can be discarded, if the circumstances deserve it. He would sacrifice thousands. Millions. If it ensured the rest survived." "And there lies the clear issue. It¡¯s all up to us in the end." Edna said. ¡°Us?¡± "You may feel overwhelmed, Ezar and Kafa. You may feel this power is immense. It will feel terrible that I am pouring cold water on your achievements. But it is our reality. Even as we stepped into the realm of the gods, we were just at the first step. We are still too weak. Aeon was ckmailed by Chung into keeping Ken alive against his will. The reason that can happen is simply because we were too weak. We needed that selfish hero.¡± The domainholders nced at each other. ¡°We must achievebat power equal to or above the heroes." ¡°I spoke to him before Aeon allowed him to pass.¡± Ste borated. ¡°To Aeon, keeping him alive was like a doctor putting a man on a horrific medical treatment for a week or two. It¡¯s nothing. He doesn''t think it¡¯s a big deal. Maybe to us, extending one¡¯s life by a week or two through painful medical procedures isn¡¯t suffering. But that is Aeon, on arger scale, with longer timescales. Very few things are a big deal.¡± Very few things are a big deal. ¡°But Ken lived it. Years, he endured Aeons¡¯ energies swirled in his body, forcing him to live against his will.¡± The void mage continued. ¡°It was intense. It is suffering, even if most of it was asleep.¡± Ste looked ufortable. "We understood the circumstances. The Demon''s Comet was too dangerous, and Aeon needed all hands and all the tools. But it is a terrible choice, and in the future, we will only have more such choices. This time, it was Ken¡¯s life. Some day, it will be someone else." ¡°Worse, some day, it¡¯ll be more than the life and suffering of one person. All because we are weak." Edna repeated. "Strength, is the answer. Aeon doesn''t think so, and would not say it so bluntly that we are weak, but in therger scheme of things, our contributions have been limited." "What do you have in mind, Edna?" Roon said. "The hurdle we need to cross is simple. We must be able to take on a demon king without assistance. That will ay the bargaining power of the heroes, and prevent future ckmails from less friendly heroes. The present group of heroes are generally on good terms with us, with the Order, but someday we will face heroes that turn against us. I even suspect that Chung would turn against Aeon very, very soon." Edna exined. The remaining domain holders are quiet. Ezar and Kafa have secretly practiced battle against heroes, and generally came out to a loss, or at best, a stalemate under perfect conditions. The sheer firepower of a hero was insane, and inbat simtions, only Lumoof, Alka and Edna managed to win in specific circumstances. Alka mainly wins by taking the heroes down with him. "If we can do so, it would allow us to fully move away from the fading gods and the need to support heroes, because we can do so ourselves. It will also give Aeon better options, and we can then steer Aeon towards better decisions." Ezar asked. "How far are we from that?" "For you two, at least 50 more levels.¡± Edna answered. ¡°For me- I¡¯m not that far. Lumoof and Ste too. If each of us can reach level 200, my current knowledge indicates that is the point when we are on par with the heroes. In a straight fight, we can hold our ground, and depending on what powers we receive, even produce the damage and destruction we need.¡± ¡°Oh Aeons.¡± Roon looked at Edna. ¡°So when¡¯s the next demon king? I didn¡¯t need a pep talk, but now that I got it, I want to go kill some demon kings.¡± ¡°The one on Mountainworld.¡± ¡°Yes. But that¡¯s not all. We will go and free up more worlds, take on the demon king, and collect a loose alliance of allies. Aeon needs new worlds, and he takes too darned long to decide.¡± Edna exined. ¡°Ste-¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Aeon already wants more void domainholders. We¡¯re getting there.¡± Ste said. ¡°Void mages don¡¯t grow on trees.¡± ¡°I wish they did.¡± Ednaughed. ¡°I really wish they did.¡± Edna smirked. ¡°No matter. The issue of the other worlds is important to us. Us domainholders will be Aeon¡¯s emissaries to the new world. Aeon- I sense a growing resolve to handle things more decisively, but I fear for those worlds.¡± Kafa sat, and sipped his thick tea ufortably. ¡°These other worlds, worlds that do not have domainholders, or have weak ones, their fate is an eventual doom. The gods will fade, and they will fend for themselves. Ultimately, our decision on how and what to do with these worlds, determines the lives and fate of those who live on them. If we ignore them, they may live on, but some day, they will be destroyed. If we establish rtions and decide to maintain a position, we can support their defense, and hopefully, train some of them up into future domainholders.¡± Edna stopped just to drink her cup of water. ¡°I know Aeon believes that each world deserves a choice on what they want to do, and if they want to fend for themselves, they should be allowed to do so. But that¡¯s Aeon¡¯s thoughts. If you are asked to choose to establish a presence on a world, deal with all the troubles thate with it, for that remote chance of saving them in the future, would you do it?¡± Roon looked at Edna like she was an alien. ¡°Shit Edna, I didn¡¯t think it¡¯s that-¡± ¡°It¡¯s just the harsh truth. Aeon¡¯s presence is like giving an orphan child an opportunity to train to be a Valthorn. Most of it turns out to be average. But some of us are here today.¡± ¡°-man- If only-¡± ¡°Aeon doesn¡¯t have clone seeds for all the worlds. Even with the node trees, there are more worlds out there than we can count. We will be visiting more worlds with Ste¡¯s powers, and that is the weight of our choice. If we feel strongly about something, we must speak to Aeon, because those are lives that will fade away unnoticed.¡± Edna exined. Lumoof nced at everyone, and chuckled. ¡±With Aeon¡¯s Level 250 choice, he would only be assaulted with more information, more decisions, more worlds. I hope there are more of us here, eventually. Because this duty weighs heavily, and I¡¯ll need all of you to help scout the path ahead. I don¡¯t mean just Ezar and Kafa. I mean all of us. Because we need all of us to act as a stabilizing force for Aeon. Combined, Aeon will definitely listen.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°This meeting wasn¡¯t meant to put you two on the spot. I generally echo Edna and Lumoof¡¯s thoughts. Only together, we can bnce this ship. Because there¡¯s nothing else.¡± Kafa tapped his chest. ¡°-I may not know whether I am up for it, but I will try.¡± Ezar nodded along. Roon and Johann looked at each other. ¡°You three should really tell us more about all that shit that goes on in your heads. You can¡¯t just unload this on us suddenly.¡± Lumoof smiled. ¡°I apologize. But after tapping into Aeon¡¯s avatar mode a little too often, I realize I cannot be trusted to be objective. I need all of you.¡± Roon and Johann gulped. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll tell you for sure if you fucked up.¡± ¡°Please do. Worlds get fucked if we fuck up.¡± Lumoof said, mimicking theirnguage. ¡°It¡¯s a burden too heavy for me to bear.¡± 267.2 Interlude – Lizardfolks 3 267.2 Interlude ¨C Lizardfolks 3 Ever since they returned to Branchhold, Wetport Lapule never faded from his mind. Chief Jaan dreamed of the ce, and there are times he daydreamed of it. He could it little glimmers of it in Branchhold. There were many other lizardfolks in the world of Mountainworld that did the old ways. Jaan saw it, when he saw new groups of migrants. He wanted to try it, but his heart was unsure whether the matrons would support him. He summoned the matrons, and asked them for their views. He didn¡¯t conduct a vote. He wasn¡¯t that daring. He still couldn¡¯t let go of his role as Chief, and as Chief, his role was to decide. Perhaps one day, where the next generation of lizardfolks were all strong, powerful lizards, he would have to relinquish his role and decide by vote. But for now, he asked for views. And he listened. To his surprise, it was the eldest of the matrons, the oldest one that found Wetport Lapule to be a model worth following. She was most enamored with the idea of a great Lizardfolk city. A lizardfolk nation that even the greatest of humans or the other races would fear. It was ego. Pride. She had pride in lizardfolk. They wanted that. They wanted to have pride. There was a saying lizardfolks heard too often. ¡°In battle, one man is worth many lizardfolk.¡± It was true, of course. But it was also an insult that gnawed at them personally. That each of them was worth less than a man. But now they know that this was not the only way. ¡°No one in our world tried to walk the path of the strong lizardfolk.¡± The eldest matron dered. ¡°If the gods grant us the vision of how it was done, then it must have been for a reason.¡± Jaan thought that was a little on the nose. Aeon guided them there for a reason. Education. In fact, he even felt maybe this was what they wanted. So he challenged the matron then. Even if he would have epted it normally. ¡°What if this is what the Great Tree wants us to do. We¡¯re falling into its trap. It wants us to be like the lizards of Wetport Lapule.¡± The matron nodded. ¡°But if we are strong, who cares whether what the Great Tree wants? Do you not forget why we moved away from our old home? Because we couldn¡¯t protect ourselves from the demons or the old kings. Every war, we send our younglings away to war, where only a few out of hundreds return. Why? What for? What mother would do that to their child, if it is not a necessity?¡± ¡°Younglings are younglings. They live, and they die. Those were your words, matron. They are not true Lizardfolk until they return from war.¡± Jaan called out the matron then. It was hypocritical of her too. She wasn¡¯t one to care about younglings. In fact, she was the cruelest of them all. The other matrons looked at the eldest, a little surprised. But she answered. ¡°We do what we need to do to survive, Chief Jaan. Our hearts cannot take it to lose so many of our own for wars fought by others. So we respond with cruelty. We kill ourselves to allow it to happen. But do you not see that the other way is better? We could be like the other races. We could have strong children.¡± ¡°And this price- you will pay for it?¡± Jaan remembered her words. ¡°We will lose our traditions. We will stop being the lizardfolks of Mountainworld, but more like the lizardfolks of Wetport Lapule.¡± ¡°Yes. I rather have one child who can step into the heavens, than a hundred who will die in the wars. The traditions can burn in the depths of the hellfire swamps if they don¡¯t work.¡± ¡°matron!¡± It was another matron who rebuked the old matron. ¡°That is too much. Our traditions brought us where we are today.¡± ¡°And they will be inherited by the millions of lizardfolk rotting away in their viges all over Mountainworld.¡± The matron countered. ¡°How many times have you met a famous lizardfolk, only to find themcking?¡± The unspoken answer was all the time. Famous lizardfolk on Mountainworld was at most level 70, and even at level 70, they were weaker than their peers. ¡°Remember that dy]?¡± The matron looked at Jaan. ¡°The ss one?¡± Of course he remembered. She was a living goddess. Just like that Lizard Valthorn. Kafa. Now that was a living god walking amongst the lizardfolk. ¡°I will trade her for any famous person. No. All of them.¡± The matron said. ¡°If we had someone like her, we¡¯d finally be able to build the foundations for a proper lizardfolk nation.¡± ¡°But we don¡¯t.¡± Jaan countered. ¡°s.¡± The matron said. ¡°We have you.¡± Jaan frowned. ¡°I¡¯m still the Chief, matron. I¡¯ll let that insult slide, this time.¡± ¡°But the foundation must be built. We must try. The first generation of new lizardfolks will set the path for generationster. Then, Mountainworld will witness the rise of a new kind.¡± Jaan sighed. ¡°It sounds like you agree with it.¡± The matron nodded. The rest of them were a mix. Jaan closed his eyes, and decided to go for a walk. After a while, he felt he needed more evidence. This was such an upheaval for the lizardfolk way that he needed to be sure. So, he asked for another trip to Wetport Lapule. *** The Valthorn guardian of Branchhold repeated , and then he checked the travel approvals. ¡°We have a travel vacancy in two months. Come back and arrange your move. You will only be able to return after six weeks.¡± ¡°Six weeks!¡± Jaan said. But ultimately, he arranged for another of the matrons to be in charge. In the safety of Branchhold, there really was nothing much for Jaan to do. Branchhold was no vige at the threat of monster attacks. Branchhold was in many ways, a fortified supercity. One of the matronsughed. ¡°Go, Chief. We¡¯ll be free of your meddling for six weeks. Stay longer if you want.¡± The matron teased. Without the existential threat of monsters or demons, Jaan had to admit he spent most of his time being a busybody, poking into the affairs of every other lizardfolk. He called it being ¡®informed¡¯ and ¡®concerned¡¯, but his matrons just said he was a busybody. ¡°Fine!¡± He frowned. *** The day came. He nodded at the officer, and felt himself warp over. Treehome. The air. The stench orck thereof. It was beautiful. It was the first time he traveled alone, and this time, all he got was a single Valthorn chaperon. The chaperon was a lizardfolk from Treehome. ¡°Greetings. I¡¯m Solvis. Your assistant for the duration of your trip. Please, do as you please, my task is mainly to ensure your safety while you remain on Treehome.¡± Jaan and Solvis¡¯s ws met briefly. ¡°Well met, Solvis. I¡¯ll be headed to Wetport Lapule, and if I can, visit the other lizardfolk nations.¡± Solvis nodded. ¡°Certainly. Let me guide you to the beetle stations.¡± ¡°Please.¡± *** Wetport Lapule once more, and Jaan rubbed his nose. The stench of the city had pretty much marked itself on his nose ever since the beetle entered one of the main freeways that led to the heart of the city. He wouldn¡¯t have a fancy rich man to guide him, this time. This, in many ways, was a personal trip. He wanted to see the city for himself. Whether it really was what he wanted to create back home. Solvis merely grinned, when Jaan exined his quest. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you are looking to find, Chief Jaan. This city- well, it¡¯s quite like diving into the belly of a giant swamp monster. It stinks. If you want what lizardfolks could be, this isn¡¯t it.¡± Jaan chuckled, of course. The some lizardfolks of Treehome, themselves aspired for a different kind of life. Solvis spoke of those who migrated out of the Wetport and back to the small viges, where they tried to blend both the city and the old vige ways of the lizardfolks. The irony was not lost on him. Even if it was baffling. And hrious. There was an old saying among lizardfolks. Be happy with the tail you have. Not that anyone follows it anymore. ¡°Well, your quest starts here. District VI. The ports of the Wetport.¡± True to its name, the piers, the floors. Everything was wet. And slimy. The ships¡¯ waves caused the slimy liquids of the sea to wash up and stick to the piers and the docks. There were groups of lizardfolks wiping and cleaning, but only in one or two piers. ¡°Those are the more exclusive piers.¡± Solvisughed. ¡°When you¡¯re rich, you can afford cleaning services and magical spells for yournding docks.¡± Jaan frowned. ¡°Are you able to help me- I don¡¯t know- get in touch with some pirates? I want to speak to them, just to find out what¡¯s life like here.¡± Solvis shrugged. ¡°Just go to a bar or a tavern, Chief Jaan. Pirates and scum aplenty. But, let me hold your money for you.¡± ¡°-what.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to get pickpocketed in a bar. Especially with your kind of money.¡± Jaan had gotten used to the rtive tameness of Branchhold, and realized he may have had a bit more than he expected. He decided Solvis¡¯ advice was wise, and handed his pouch over, except for a little bit of coin. At that point, another Valthorn agent appeared. He took the coin, and then vanished. He gulped. ¡°Who-¡± ¡°The city general assistant for Valthorns. We have folks like that in every city to help us out with mundane stuff like banking.¡± ¡°That- that was more like a spy.¡± ¡°You can call him that.¡± Solvisughed. ¡°Come. Let¡¯s get you to the inn, and the innkeeper will have rmendations for the best bars for lowliest scums of the swamps.¡± Jaan paused. ¡°You- you don¡¯t like the pirates very much?¡± ¡°They are a nuisance we tolerate.¡± Solvis said. ¡°Much like every other nuisance on this damned.¡± ¡°Are we a nuisance?¡± Solvis paused andughed. ¡°To be fair, everyone¡¯s a potential nuisance. Aeon believes in the principle that nuisances promote growth. That¡¯s why he tolerates it. The challenges created by nuisances are obstacles that others ovee, and so we gain levels. It¡¯s- it¡¯s part of a cycle. Without an adversary, we can¡¯t improve and gain levels.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Jaan said. The innkeeper was more than happy to rmend a few famous taverns, but apparently some of them wouldn¡¯t have an empty seat. Not for a nobody like Chief Jaan. High level Valthorns don¡¯t usually participate in taverns, though most of these taverns would happily make space for them if needed. Unable to decide where to go, Jaan sat in the inn¡¯s dining area. It was quiet. Most lizardfolks used the inn as a ce to sleep. Daytime was time for business. Evening was time for drinks and mingling with powerful lizards. He looked around. The inn itself was rather well decorated, if dated. But Jaan nced at the innkeeper, a lovely old lizardfolkdy, and realized, maybe he should start somewhere nearby. ¡°Actually- Madam, I¡¯ll buy you a drink if you¡¯d talk to me.¡± The innkeeper, madam Squama, dly obliged. ¡°Why, I don¡¯t really need an excuse to drink with my guests.¡± Sheughed. ¡°How long have you been here, Madam Squama?¡± ¡°Call me Miss Squama. I refuse to believe I¡¯m 70.¡± The madam of the innughed. ¡°You¡¯re 70! Wow?¡± Jaan was surprised. He was old himself, having seen wars and death of his own. But Miss Squama was older than the matron. He sighed. ¡°I¡¯m Jaan. Tell me, were you here from the beginning?¡± Sheughed. ¡°No. No one alive is still here when the Wetport began. It¡¯s been here for as long as it has, but it was still a city. There were many kings and old lizard lords that ruled from this city.¡± ¡°-really?¡± ¡°The Wetport used to be home to three separate lizard kingdoms. On this side with the old lizard city of- I can¡¯t remember the name, I believe it¡¯s Lapa or something. Then there¡¯s the P n of lizards on that size. Then there¡¯s the Mirrin n somewhere further upstream, along the river that meets the Lap bay. Ancient history. They all died.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Jaan said. That sounded very much like their own lizard kingdoms. ¡°What changed- do you know how this ce became- well, this?¡± ¡°Rottends incident.¡± Miss Squama exined. ¡°And the subsequent lizardfolk repoption program. I was one of them. So that answers your question. I wasn¡¯t here. I was brought here by the repoptors.¡± Jaan soon got a rather extensive overview of the history of Wetport Lapule. The city went through many ups and downs. Mostly downs, due to typical lizardfolk infighting. Then, the Rottends urred, and vast amounts of Lizardfolks died overnight. The Order decided that they wanted to restore lizardfolk poption through vast breeding programs, and selected Wetport Lapule, then the cities of P and Lapa, as one of the suitable habitation grounds of the new lizardfolks. The Order was way too strong for the local lizard kings to resist, and those that attempted to resist were swiftly killed. In the end, the Order gave the old royal families noble titles simr to the other nations, a cut of the bay¡¯s taxes, and in exchange, the old families relinquished the management of the entire bay. It made those old families rich. But as with all typical lizardfolk families, that money was squandered away in internecine struggle, and within the past hundred years, only one or two heirs of the original three royal families remained. The vast repoption program, the privateer project, Aeon¡¯s swamp expansions, and the one of the Valthorn¡¯s naval academy, somehow caused the stars to align, and the Wetport Lapule¡¯s status as the de facto capital of the lizardfolk was sealed around four decades ago. Jaan stared, realizing that the city came to be due to luck. ¡°How much of this bay is our choice?¡± ¡°All?¡± Madam Squamaughed. ¡°Many chose to move here. The Repoption Program ended decades ago, and the Wetport has tripled since! Most of those who are here, came here on their own will. People like me, we¡¯re the minority.¡± Solvis, who was happily listening. ¡°It means Madam Squama is filthy rich. The old pioneers still receive Order stipends.¡± Squama frowned. ¡°Shh. Don¡¯t say that part out loud!¡± Jaan appreciated the lesson, of course. It was context. It exined how it all came to be. But it didn¡¯t answer the doubt in his heart. ¡°-do you think- do you think this Wetport made lizardfolks better?¡± It was Madam Squama¡¯s turn to stare at the middle-aged Chief of the Branchhold¡¯s lizardfolk. ¡°Better? I don¡¯t know about better. If you ask the youth, they¡¯ll tell you it''s better here than the viges. Here, they have opportunities. They have jobs. They have a chance to make something in arger market. But if you ask those like me, some of us miss the quiet life of the viges.¡± Jaan frowned. He remembered his nomadic life in the viges. ¡°I¡¯ll say none of my matrons miss the viges much. It¡¯s a life of constantly fearing for demons or the human kingdoms, and breeding younglings for other people¡¯s wars.¡± The innkeeper looked horrified. ¡°Which part of the Central Continent are you from? Lizardfolk viges were officially direct protectorates of the Order since- since eight decades ago, and lizardfolk youngling forced drafts by non-lizardfolk nations were banned around the same time.¡± Solvis rified. ¡°He¡¯s a visitor from the other world, maam.¡± Squama¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Oh the burning Aeons! So that¡¯s why you have a Valthorn bodyguard! You¡¯re an actual otherworld lizardperson! I must call my friends! They will want to meet you!¡± Jaan instantly felt like he had outed himself as a circus freak. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, Madam Squama. I¡¯d like to visit in peace.¡± ¡°Nonono- I have a friend. He¡¯s been curious since forever, and he¡¯s been waiting in line for a ticket to visit. He¡¯s been cursing those damned tour quotas every year.¡± Jaan nced at Solvis. ¡°Tour quotas?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a limited number of travel slots between worlds. It¡¯s a lottery. But there are different schemes-¡± ¡°But I got it-¡± ¡°Outbound travel from Treehome¡¯s really popr with the nobility.¡± Solvis said. ¡°Inbound travel- less so. Eventually it¡¯ll be a lottery on both ends.¡± Squama ran to a crystalline rock and tapped in some things. ¡°Hey old Vurvis! Come to my inn now! There¡¯s an actual lizardfolk from the other world here!¡± ¡°-what! Really? I¡¯ll be there!¡± Squama walked to the magical shelf, and took out two more bottles of wines. ¡°Since old Vurvis ising, gotta open up the old swamp wines. Made from real Snake blood!¡± Solvis squirmed. ¡°Not my thing.¡± Squama offered it to Jaan. Jaan took a sniff and it smelled absolutely like vomit. ¡°No thanks.¡± Old Vurvis walked in barely ten minutester. He looked like a war hero, with scars throughout his body, and some of his ws were missing. ¡°Old Vurvis! This is Jaan! He came from Mountainworld!¡± Vurvis¡¯s eyes looked at Jaan, examining every part, absolutely bewildered. ¡°Holy cow. It really is a Mountainworld lizardperson! You even have distinct bumps in your shoulders.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a bump in his shoulders?!¡± Both Solvis and Squama asked at the same time. Jaan didn¡¯t realize it, but now that he did, the bone structures of the lizardfolks were slightly different. Hidden under armor and shoulder tes, it wasn¡¯t an easily visible difference. ¡°Huh.¡± Vurvis stared. ¡°Have you ever tried breeding or mating with our world¡¯s lizardfolk? Do you know whether it¡¯s possible to mate?¡± Jaan couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°-wha- no. I have not tried.¡± Squama gave Vurvis a re. ¡°Old Vurvis! So that¡¯s why you wanted a trip to the other world! You wanted to touch scales with some damned alien lizard folks?!¡± Vurvis immediately looked offended. ¡°Nonono! It¡¯s truly an academic question!¡± ¡°Then why is it your first damned question?!¡± Jaan and Solvis just nced at each other while the two bickered for a bit. The two old lizards were clearly very old friends. The two eventually calmed down. ¡°I apologize. It was something that¡¯s on my mind ever since the Order revealed the presence of the other worlds. I¡¯ve been curious to meet other lizardfolks. You see, I used to be a Pirate, but then, along the way, I realized I was fascinated by all these old remains and lizard bones, and so I left piracy and joined one of the Magical Research Institutes as an independent research assistant, focusing on lizard bones.¡± Squama rified. ¡°It means he¡¯s the mage¡¯s bodyguard, most of the time, even though he tries to do his own research as well.¡± ¡°Hey! I¡¯m a Level 26 [Lizard Bone Analyst] and a Level 34 [Pirate Warrior]!¡± Jaan paused, and asked. ¡°You are allowed to take two main sses?¡± The three lizardfolks present now gave Jaan the judgy stare. But it was Vurvis who intervened. ¡°Ah! That makes sense. Pre-Rottends, vige Lizardfolks also didn¡¯t have role flexibility. To answer your question, Chief Jaan, yes. We do. City lizardfolks can change jobs and roles.¡± ¡°But- how do the viges ensure their needs are met?¡± ¡°We pay.¡± Vurvis exined. ¡°There¡¯s a lizardfolk merchant¡¯s guild that helps to match [sses] to jobs, and so lizardfolks move around to fill the role, and if the pay¡¯s no good, they leave.¡± Jaan was surprised, but then, realized, there was no vige chief to stop them. In Mountainworld, every viger reported their ss to the vige chief. The vige chief would then assign tasks in ordance with their ss, and if they developed new sses, the vige chief could reassign them. But that hardly happens. The idea of lizardfolks moving from vige to vige to work? That was even more wild. Lizardfolks of Mountainworld stuck to their own cities, and when the vige moved, almost all moved together. Those that didn¡¯t, would find a new vige. ¡°In that kind of world- what do vige [chiefs] do?¡± Jaan asked, wondering how his own job would change. Vurvis drank the old snake wine like water. He burped. The stench almost made Jaan vomit. ¡°I believe they just coordinate jobs, hirings, resources. As long as everything runs, who cares, right?¡± ¡°But there¡¯s no- that sounds as if there¡¯s no rtionship between the chief and the vige-¡± ¡°That is a drawback.¡± Vurvis acknowledged. Jaan didn¡¯t like that. That was power taken away from him. If every lizardfolk had no loyalty to the vige- then- who were they loyal to? 268. Bilatreeral Engagement 268. Btreeral Engagement 268 Year 265 More Lumoof¡¯s Travels ¡°Another one.¡± Lumoof nodded, as he checked his equipment. ¡°Where¡¯s Kafa?¡± ¡°On the way.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°Though I¡¯m sure you will be enough, we do want to increase our team¡¯s experience.¡± The voiddy smiled. Kafa and Edna both walked in. ¡°Both of you?¡± Edna shook his head, but Kafa nodded. The new lizardfolk domainholder was ready. An exploratory trip to a new world. Most of the time, it was Ste, Edna and Lumoof that did the visits. But Ste found more than one world, and so, there would be another team. Roon, Ezar and Edna would go to the other one. Ste had to be on standby for the demon meteor shower. Ste¡¯s [void explorers], now three of them, moved faster. There woulde a time where they¡¯d most likely discover more worlds than they could explore safely. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Never.¡± Lumoof chuckled. ¡°Off you go anyway.¡± Steughed, and the void portal sucked them through. *** Theynded in what appeared to be a lush field of greenery, teeming with life. Bugs. Insects. Kafa looked around, and sniffed. ¡°I sense a great disturbance in the fabric of reality.¡± Lumoof nodded, as he felt it too. He expanded his senses, tapping into the grass and the bushes, and felt it instantly. It was very far away. Reality. Both of them experienced how it felt to have reality tear apart before their eyes. There were ripples everywhere. Something is wrong. And they both know it. But this world shouldn¡¯t be like that. Lumoof reached out and sensed the world¡¯s core, and felt it intact. Lumoof briefly looked up to get a sense of their location. This world, discovered by the [void explorer], was not linked to any others they know. But it was linked to three other worlds. There were paths they could see. Kafa tensed, sharing Lumoof¡¯s vision of the stars. ¡°But there are no demons?¡± ¡°Then what could it be?¡± Lumoof looked back, as a cloak of magic appeared around him. To most people, he was as good as invisible. Kafa¡¯s scales transformed, it¡¯s lustrous scales functioned as if they were the scales of a chameleon, shifting color to match its surroundings. Camouge. The pair rushed through vast forests and fields of animals- They moved, sensing the unusual disturbance in the reality of space. But as they got closer, they began to sense the source of it. It felt like powers simr to the void. ¡°A native void mage?¡± Lumoof said. It was not impossible. Void mages can ur naturally. If there was some kind of people like the Zaratans- Lumoof¡¯s eyes widened. The information was ryed through the artificial mindwork and they returned with a confirmation. It matched most signatures. ¡°Zaratan.¡± It was and of life, but as they sped up, they heard the roar of battle. ¡°Attack the creature!¡± Themand came from a dwarven warlord of somekind, surrounded by an army. There was a gigantic Zaratan in a half-driedke, attacked by the natives. The natives were dwarves, and they had cannons. Those weapons bombarded the Zaratan, and the Zaratan attempted to defend itself with the use of void magic. But it was clearly injured, there were multiple deep cuts that had rotted throughout its body and signaled the presence ofbat some time ago. It¡¯s use of void magic was different from Ste. It twisted reality in order to deflect the shells. Lumoofnded nearby and quickly tapped into mywork of minds to figure out what was happening. We connected with all the leaves and surviving nts in the battlefield, and listened to the dwarven attackers. ¡°How long before we can cut this turtle up and make weapons out of its shell?¡± One of the dwarvesined to the other. ¡°A bit more. Its magic is waning. This is it iling at itsst breaths.¡± Another of the dwarven attackers said. The lordmanded. ¡°Keep attacking. We must not let this opportunity go!¡± The connected grass focused on the aides and sycophants around the Dwarf Lord. It¡¯s always lucky that aides and shoepolishers exist to recite the n to everyone present. ¡°With the [Void] turtle¡¯s body, we would be able to attack the [void] creatures in the depths and reach the ores. We¡¯ll finally be able to match the other Dwarven Lords in power!¡± Lumoof looked at Kafa. ¡°I¡¯ll provide aid to the Zaratan. Hold them off.¡± Kafa nodded, and in a blink, he was gone. The dwarves¡¯ cannons attempted another volley of attacks, but they all smashed into a magical shield. The lizard warrior activated a magical item that contained [shield] spells, andnded in front of the Dwarven army. ¡°Cease this attack at once, and I¡¯ll let you live. Continue, and I will not be merciful.¡± Kafa said with practised arrogance. His domainholder¡¯s aura radiated outward- Lumoofnded right next to the surprised Zaratan. ¡°Careful, Kafa. The weight of your domain can hurt this injured Zaratan.¡± The dwarves froze in fear. ¡°Old Zaratan, allow me.¡± It¡¯s throat and neck was injured, but the moment Lumoof¡¯s hands touched it¡¯s body, a link in the mind was established. It sent an exnation. This ce was a trap. A ce with just enough surface water for Zaratans to warp in, but not enough to provide cover or protection from their foes. Through Lumoof, my healing energy spread into the Zaratan¡¯s injured body. I felt his memory, and he shared attacks. We recognised some of them, and it soon exined through it¡¯s thoughts. Demons, men, dwarves, mermaids and the trogs. This Zaratan has been attacked many times. I shared thoughts of our own. Vasira, the first Zaratan we met, and the old giant zaratans. Ste, and the void mages. I felt it¡¯s relief, and instantly, it¡¯s resistance to my healing energies faded. My healing powers now moved unrestricted, and began to mend it¡¯s old wounds. Healing injured old giants from old wounds would prove tough for even level 100 healers. But I¡¯m almost a god, and so, this was easy. The dwarves stared dumbfounded, as they watched the injured flesh of the Zaratan heal before their very eyes. Regenerated. The Dwarven Lord couldn¡¯t move. Kafa¡¯s presence made them freeze. Though Kafa was one, he had an ability to create little shadow copies of himself, and now those shadow copies were at the necks of the leaders. The Zaratan healed in about twenty minutes, and its voice regained. Its telepathic voice was linked to its throat, as if the means of projecting its message was in the throat. ¡°This Sundhi thanks the Tree¡¯s avatar. A friend of my fellow Zaratans is a friend of mine.¡± Sundhi spoke, fully healed. No longer injured, it no longer needed to warp reality around itself, and could resort to regr defenses. ¡°Our paths were enabled by your brethren. Without their guidance, we wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the stars.¡± Lumoof answered. ¡°It is nothing.¡± ¡°Such is the eternal cycle.¡± Sundhi spoke. ¡°Avatar of the Tree, please touch my head again. I shall transmit a gift for your aid.¡± Lumoof did, and instantly, I felt it transmit a copy of its memory of the local star system. A star map of the local area, with notations. I shared it with Ste instantly. ¡°Much appreciated.¡± Lumoof responded. ¡°May it lead you closer to the goals you seek.¡± The Zaratan said. ¡°I shall now take my leave.¡± The Dwarven Lord struggled. ¡°No! You must not let it leave! We need it¡¯s body! Without it, we cannot deal with the dark creatures beneath us!¡± The Zaratan shrouded itself in a cloud of mist, and in a blink, it vanished. Lumoofnded back on the driedke. Lumoof walked to the Dwarven Lord, and this time, Lumoof didn¡¯t bother hiding his aura. The entire driedke shook, as water seemed to pop out of the driedke. ¡°-I¡¯m saving an old friend. Do you have objections?¡± The entire dwarven army paled. The lord answered, his muscr legs wobbly. He whispered. In response. ¡°-no, great one.¡± ¡°Good. Now you will take me to your city, and tell me everything.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°And show me these dark creatures you speak of.¡± ¡°-what?¡± The dwarven lord shrunk. This was going to be hard to exin. This was a world of dwarves. There were no one other than dwarves in this world, and so, Kafa horrified them. Kafa, a lizardman, in their eyes, was a monster. Lumoof, with his tall height, looked like a giant dwarf. The dwarven lord reluctantly led them to the city of Greyhold. Not only did they return empty handed, they had to bring the potential enemy back home. *** ¡°Who are these people?¡± The Dwarven Lord¡¯s court was filled with hushed whispers. ¡°That man is so tall, but hispanion- he is a monster?¡± Lumoof didn¡¯t need much help to spy on those around him. The Dwarven City was built into the mountain, and there were remains of old tree roots that he could easily tap into. ¡°Creatures- guests.¡± The Dwarven Lord of House Greyhold rified. ¡°Of the other worlds. They were able to speak to the Void Tortoises.¡± Zaratans. Void Tortoise. There were different names for the same things. We¡¯ve called this world Dwarfworld, but we soon discovered they called it Delvegard, home of the delvers. ¡°And you bring them back?¡± One of the ministers of the Lord said. ¡°They will kill us if we don¡¯t.¡± One of the aides defended the Lord. ¡°And risk the life of all who live on Greyhold?¡± But we didn¡¯t need interactions to learn about these people. With roots, with trees, we stalked the city and soon learned of the existences of magical mineral veins in Delvegard. The mineral veins all produced unusual types of metals, but they were also protected by the creatures known as the Darklings. Void weaponry, made from the body of the Void Tortoises, was one means of defeating the Darklings. The other was the use of the Hero weapons. Heroes. There were heroes here, but thest demon king came to this world about 70 years ago. Lumoof chuckled to himself. ¡°If Ste was here, perhaps she¡¯d be a goddess.¡± ¡°Or any of our void mages.¡± Kafa nodded. They were given the most beautiful guestrooms, and they were escorted into an area. Thankfully, these dwarves of Delvegard were quite straightforward in their dealings. The actual meeting with the Dwarven Lord went as expected, at least, they didn¡¯t tell a lie, just an omission of truth. Darklings were creatures twisted by the void, and that was because in the depths of the Core. The magical minerals came in a few variants. First, was Sunsteel. These were the most rare ones, and they could only be found in the deepest of the magical mineral veins, where the presence of the darklings was highest. They didn¡¯t know how it was made, but when Lumoof held the sample in his hand, it felt familiar. ¡°-this looks like the baseponent of the Sunrings.¡± Lumoof repeated. It wasn¡¯t in it¡¯s processed form. Next, was Sunmetal. It was an inferior form of the Sunsteel, where the ratio of those unusual metals had not been properly formed. They were found on the outer areas of the magic veins. Then thest one was the Dark Ore. These were often found around Sunsteel and Sunmetal, and they had intense light absorption abilities. Sunsteel and Sunmetal were excellent weapons, incredibly magically conducive, durable and could store way more magical enchantments per size. But they had a downside. Once formed, they were not very easily recycled or remade. The magical enchantments were baked into their structure. Melting Sunsteel turns them back to Sunmetal, and melting Sunmetal turns them back to ordinary metals. With each process, they turned into lesser, more mundane variants. Even the purity of Sunsteel varied. Because even making them into an equipment required a bit of processing, and each additional process weakened the natural qualities of Sunsteel. Most crafters that work on Sunsteel, essentially did it through a process called Cold Forging, where the metals are cut using a type of ice crystals. Kafa looked at Lumoof. ¡°I believe we needdy Ste here.¡± ¡°I believe we do.¡± Lumoof said. The dwarven lord proceeded to narrate why these metals were important. This, in many ways, was a typical dwarven society, with a heavy emphasis on crafting, technology, and equipment. Sunmetal and Sunsteel, were critical for their prosperity, because it allowed creation of equipments capable of delivering more for less. Most crucially, they allowed the creation of the strongest of the Dwarven War Machines. The Giant Spiders. Lumoof frowned at the mention of war machines, and asked to see one. The Dwarven Lord gulped. ¡°We only possess two.¡± ¡°I will not harm them.¡± Lumoof said. The War Machines were gigantic weapons. They were smaller than the Demon Walkers, but big enough that they were easily one of thergest weapons. But their design was surprisingly elegant and slender. It reminded Lumoof of one of Aeon¡¯s memories. A Protoss Colossus from Starcraft. ¡°We pack as much Sunsteel as we can onto these things.¡± The Dwarven Lord of Greyhold exined. There was a Dwarven Engineer who walked over. ¡°And these are your most powerful weapons of war?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lumoof once remembered Ste and the heroes spoke of a world that ran on steam and pipes. Of machines made of steel. But looking at the machine in front of him, it¡¯s slender legs and small body, it didn¡¯t match what Ste told him. Lumoof knew that Alka could¡¯ve made something better. Easily. Inbat ability. Or design. But to achieve the same power to weight ratio, it would require a fair bit of high level craftsmanship that only those in the level 100s could achieve. ¡°Do you all not have crystal weapons and crystal equipment?¡± Lumoof asked, curious. The dwarves look at each other. ¡°We do- but we mostly use them as a magical storage to power the Sunsteel¡¯s Enchantments.¡± Lumoof¡¯s eyes watched, and the artificial minds quickly analyzed the data. It was likely that they needed Sunsteel for the hinges, because the Sunsteel offered significant performance without weight. The legs and hinges of the War Machines were slender structures, only possible because of Sunsteel. My priest looked back at dwarves. ¡°And why do you need these weapons of war?¡± ¡°Well, other dwarves, of course!¡± The dwarves of Delvegard were territorial, and frequently fought brutal wars. They tried their best to negotiate, but once war broke out, allbatants would pull out all their stops. In short, when they went to war, it¡¯s all or nothing. Kafa was shocked to hear that the dwarves were so brutal and ruthless. ¡°They are nothing like the Mountainworld¡¯s dwarves.¡± ¡°A different history.¡± Lumoofmented. ¡°History is a shadow, forever looming over the psyche of society.¡± Kafa nodded. The two sat in a room. ¡°What do you think of this world, Kafa?¡± Lumoof asked. The lizardfolk closed his eyes. ¡°Hungry for war.¡± ¡°Not that. How is this world valuable to us? Or it is not? That ultimately depends whether we intervene or not.¡± Kafa¡¯s eyes opened. ¡°-Patriarch Lumoof, that is a question that is worth-¡± ¡°A million lives. Probably more.¡± Lumoof smiled. ¡°Our type of engagement is vast. Ignore and do nothing, which is the least engagement. Then, there¡¯s a trading rtionship. Then, as a colony or vassal state of some kind. And at the end, full domination.¡± ¡°There¡¯s also the friendliness of that engagement. Do we engage the locals? Do we ignore them? Do we send our own people because we can¡¯t trust these guys? Do we- enve them?¡± ¡°Surely not.¡± Kafa reacted at thest word. ¡°I know. But the range of engagement remains present. It is a choice, even if a choice we do not like.¡± Kafa thought of that conversation with Edna. This was truly the weight of their task. They were now the eyes and ears of the Order, and the Order was a machine that would consume worlds. ¡°We need more information.¡± ¡°That is also an option.¡± Lumoof smiled at the younger domainholder. ¡°What- what would you do, Patriarch Lumoof?¡± ¡°I will first propose a friendly rtionship. A trading rtionship to buy these Sunmetals and Sunsteels from these dwarves.¡± Kafa paused. ¡°Given how critical it is to their war-¡± ¡°They are unlikely to agree. If the Sunsteel proves critical to our war, they will therefore need to be conquered. Or at least, we will need to establish our own presence, and start mining these Sunsteel using our own forces.¡± ¡°-Is the Sunsteel that important?¡± Kafa interjected. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it would be.¡± Lumoof waited. Kafa was right. It¡¯s not critical, but good to have. ¡°No. We have alternatives. But let us propose a trade, and we¡¯ll see how these dwarves react.¡± 269. The Divine Traces 269. The Divine Traces Year 265 (Part 2) Edna¡¯s visits the world of Satrya ¡°No. I¡¯ve had it with god''s control over me, and I¡¯m not keen on it. All of this sounds like it¡¯ll take away time from me.¡± Colette objected to the idea. Well, what was the idea? I rejected the offer to adopt the World Faith System, but I realize, the ability to have an audience with both Bach and Mozart, was way more powerful. Through them, I could gain knowledge of the past. Of history and of how things came to be. Sure, they were not willing to share a lot, but even if they refused to tell us that, the mere act of asking questions about the system, and understanding the mechanics of the system would allow us to make projections and ns. So, among the senior leaders, we thought of creating even more people like me- Level 250. It¡¯s a crazy, crazy number. Of course, by telling this, I reveal my power level to everyone around me. It¡¯s an act of trust, of course. But at the same time, I believe it is also an act of intimidation. The rest of the domain holders didn¡¯t even reach level 200. My fellow domainholders of the other worlds refuse to share their levels, but from the weight of our presence, I was fairly sure they didn¡¯t exceed my levels. We approached the heroes first. I remember Bach¡¯s words that even heroes who meet the necessary thresholds could get it. I wonder how this is so, and whether- perhaps, are heroes robbing the gods of the faith values, therefore they decide to remove the heroes once their usefulness is over? At some level, faith values make their control over the world a zero-sum game. Heroes, who, given a certain level of independence, could create their own faith with their god given powers, and at level 250, rise to the point where they ascend. Their followers wouldpete in the same pool as the old gods. ¡°That¡¯s a horrible way to look at things.¡± Kei acknowledged. Prabu looked at Colette. ¡°Sure you don¡¯t want to do it?¡± Colette looked at the growing child sitting on herp. ¡°No. Not at all.¡± Kei sighed and spoke to me. To everyone looking, it seemed like she was talking to the air. ¡°Who else?¡± ¡°We need someone who could have a religion built around her.¡± Roon, Johann and Ezar rejected it. All three of them didn¡¯t want to be a god of any sort. Ste thought it over, and decided that her void abilities seemed more useful than whatever divine shenanigans this system was up to. ¡°This WFS enables an old god to do everything alone, all that matters is the faith cost.¡± Ste said. ¡°Because the old gods are solitary existences, they exist above and beyond their old societies.¡± As I mulled it over, I realized Ste¡¯s observation is true. The old gods gained immortality, the means to open pathways through the stars, summon heroes, and tremendousbat ability. Whereas the experience system is intricately tied to the [ss], andter, the [domain]. This allows for a far higher peak, but much more narrow scope of abilities. In short, the gods chose width and breadth of abilities, over depth and focus. A pantheon, essentially, a team of domainholders with a wide variety of [domains], should outperform the WFS. But if there was only a single person, the World Faith System was truly the best choice forward. ¡°I believe the WFS is a good choice, in situations where we need a ¡®backup¡¯ Aeon.¡± Ste answered. ¡°A lot of what we achieved today is because of the society change created by the Valtrian Order, backed by Aeon. If we want to n for a situation where we may have to survive without Aeon for a while- one of us would need to take on the WFS, to bridge that gap.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an insane idea, to raise someone up just to be a temporary Aeon.¡± Kei countered. ¡°A level 250 warrior domainholder- per Edna¡¯s calction, should be very- very strong. We¡¯re talking about a literal god able to deliver as much power as a full team of level 100+ heroes .¡± ¡°Edna.¡± Ste suggested. ¡°She may not need it, but I believe if there¡¯s anyone worthy of a religion, or at least a mini one, it should be Edna.¡± My void domainholder wanted Edna¡¯s Order of Knights to be a quasi-religious institution with faith in Edna¡¯s powers. Edna would be elevated into a patron deity of the Knight Order, and a group of Valthorn priests would have to start the process of making her into a saint or a goddess. An order of Temr knights, in worship of a Martial Goddess. Edna squirmed at being made into a goddess, but ultimately agreed. On one condition. ¡°Let¡¯s do it outside of Treehome. I- I¡¯d like to be a mere mortal at home.¡± ¡°You stopped being a mortal decades ago.¡± Ste countered. ¡°I mean, you understand.¡± Edna red. Ste chuckled. Alternatively, the other possibility was to elevate Kafa into some kind of lizardfolk god. Or god of the swamps. Or something of that sort. It was a long way to go, for someone like Kafa. He was barely level 150, while Edna was already close to level 200. It was a lot more sensible to try it with Edna, but, in many ways, we could do both. We would start to include both of them, as minor deities of our pantheon of gods. *** ¡°First was Aeon, the great tree sheltered all that came after. To nourish thend, for them to grow. Then came Edna, our guardian protector, defender of the weak, and the shield of the Tree. She waster joined by Kafa, warrior protector of the lizardfolks.¡± Edna squirmed. Everyone did. But the drafted story, the tale of a god, would be weaved. ¡°I really don¡¯t want this to spread on Treehome.¡± Edna said with her hands in her face. It was incredibly embarrassing. I didn¡¯t like religious talk. It¡¯s cringeworthy. I hope they made better, less cringeworthy versions of the mythos in the future. Edna sighed. ¡°We should just add all the domainholders to the myth. That way all of us get a chance to gain faith.¡± It was a fair assessment, and so the priests went back to the drawing board. *** ¡°Well, rather than dwell on that stuff, time for you to go visiting.¡± ¡°My turn, I suppose.¡± Edna smiled at Ste, then at the two men that would apany her on their visit to the other worlds. ¡°Ready, boys?¡± Roon and Ezar shrugged. Ezar tried to joke. ¡°It¡¯s my first time! Be gentle!¡± It wasn¡¯t. He made many trips to other worlds, but it¡¯s their first time as the ¡®lead¡¯ explorer. Ednaughed. ¡°When you¡¯re on the other side, no one can hear you scream.¡± Ezar paled. Roon just tapped him on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ste smiled. ¡°Off you go.¡± *** The world they visited was immediately filled with the stench of blood and war. Edna could feel it in the ground, in the air, and feel the presence of battle. Roon and Ezar nced at each other. Roon¡¯s senses were the strongest of the three, but if Edna could feel it, it must be quite near. ¡°Why not scout it out?¡± Edna proposed. Roon nodded, as his body turned into a shadow, and then vanished. Edna looked at Ezar, and smiled at the new domain holder. ¡°Any thoughts about your first trip as an explorer and representative of Aeon?¡± ¡°Horrified.¡± Ezar answered. ¡°You should be. How we act, and what we do, shapes the native¡¯s impression, and vice versa.¡± The brawler nodded, as they walked. There were trees here. There were markings left by des and swords. Arrowheads were embedded into the trunk of trees. The trees have been used for practice. Edna took out a ck helmet from her magical storage, and wore it. It gave her the ability to see the astral paths in space. This world was also connected to a few others. Ste or the Void archmages would need to be here to investigate. Edna frowned, as there was the clear tale of demonic invasion. There was a bright path in the sky. The demon king should be arriving on this world any time soon. Roon was back. ¡°Demons. As usual. There are local defenders. Pretty rough fighting, from what I can see. Demons appear to be the Sabnoc-variant. I¡¯ve already spotted a few demonic encampments. The variant appears to have taken up Demon Knights as their form.¡± ¡°Oh. Demon armies again.¡± Edna frowned. ¡°That¡¯s a tough one, generally.¡± ¡°Smaller, demon armies, actually. More like demon knight packs.¡± Edna¡¯s eyebrow arched. ¡°-packs?! That¡¯s somewhat unusual behavioring from the demons-¡± Ezar sat and frowned. ¡°That should make it easier, isn¡¯t it. Small packs means less bodies to punch, it¡¯s a lot easier to just get rid of them. ¡± Roon nodded. ¡°They seem to have fairly highbat strength- for demons. Each pack seems to be at least a champion-level threat. The demonic leader looks to be somewhere around level 80 to 100.¡± Edna¡¯s eyebrow arched again. ¡°So this is a Sabnoc that only spawns champion-level packs of armies?¡± It wasn¡¯t entirely unusual, Edna thought. There was a time when the demons only spawned dragons, and those packs of flying demon-dragons could easily be considered champion level threats. Ezarughed. ¡°They won¡¯tst very long. A few punches and we¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just go visit some and see. Keep our domains hidden.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Ezar said. ¡°I don¡¯t have much practice!¡± *** The group of three arrived in what looked to be a fortress city defending itself against the demons. The fortress looked fairly battered, with it¡¯s massive stone walls that looked like they¡¯ve taken damage for some time. ¡°There¡¯s like six thousand people in that city.¡± Roonmented. ¡°Almost all humans.¡± Edna smirked. ¡°I¡¯ve won the bet, then. Well, what else are we seeing?¡± Ezar looked at the battlefield. On one side, there was a group of thirty demonic knights. They rode onrge demonic horses that had no face or eyes, but had sharp fangs. It¡¯s hooves were massive, and in some way, they looked more like bulls than horses. All of them looked to be waiting for a sign. On the other side, were a group of human defenders, dressed in simrly heavy armor. A few of them looked heavily injured. One of them rode to the front, and stood holding arge steel sword. There were about a hundred of them, and yet, in a straight battle, it was fairly clear that they would lose. The demons were more powerful. ¡°Come get me, foul beasts of the dark.¡± The knight roared, and charged alone. Edna, Ezar and Roon collectively squirmed. ¡°He¡¯s going to kill himself charging alone like that-¡± Then, only one of the demons rode to meet him in battle. ¡°-what.¡± The three domain holders could not believe what they were seeing. The demon brandished its dark de, and that same de shed against the steel sword of the knight. They fought each other, and yet, it was clear that the human knight was losing. They exchanged about twenty blows, and the human knight retreated back, injured. The demon had somehownded a few hits on the knight. Yet, the demon didn¡¯t chase. Instead, it returned back to it¡¯s pack, and waited. This scene repeated itself as the second knight confronted the demons. ¡°-what in the hell is going on here?¡± Roon looked, and tried to sense- ¡°There¡¯s great magic at work in this world.¡± The three didn¡¯t feel it, because their domains had protected them. But once Roon mentioned the presence of magic in the air, Edna and Ezar easily found it woven into thend itself. She looked at Roon and concluded the magic at work was out of their understanding. Not just that, it even felt like divine intervention. ¡°We need a mage here, asap.¡± Edna pinged back home. Ste responded. ¡°All archmages on duty. WIll get back to you in a week.¡± Edna rolled her eyes. ¡°Since when I couldn¡¯t override their duties!¡± ¡°Treehome defense.¡± Ste countered. ¡°Is it really that urgent?¡± ¡°It¡¯s some divine shenanigans in this world. I want it looked at.¡± Ste¡¯s eyes brightened somewhere on Treehome. ¡°That means we are close to the gods! And no- if it¡¯s divine shenanigans, I¡¯m not sending any non-domain holders over.¡± Edna paused, contemted Ste¡¯s reasoning and then sighed. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll ask the natives.¡± Roon looked at the city. ¡°I can sneak us in. Easy! But let me just check who should we disguise as-¡± The ranger activated some kind of surveince skill before concluding that there are merchants in this world, and immediately altered the disguises to match. ¡°Alright- let¡¯s get in.¡± The three snuck into the fortress city easily, even as the battle against the demons went on outside. Inside, it was very quiet, as if most of the citizens had evacuated. Roon quickly approached one of the soldiers who walked alone, and asked. ¡°Hey there, soldier.¡± ¡°Yes? Eh? There¡¯s a merchant? All merchants should evacuate the city. The Combat Procedures will end soon.¡± Roon pretended to be blur, and took out a little bit of coin. He had taken a look at the coinage used by the city folk, and managed to pilfer a few for use. ¡°Yes- about that, can you tell me what¡¯s happening? Like- it¡¯s my first time encountering this Combat Procedures, what- what¡¯s going on?¡± Edna and Ezar hid nearby, but their eyes listened in. The soldierughed. ¡°Oh. I thought everyone knew by now, but in any battle, the attackers and defenders must first have ten rounds of knightly one-on-onebat, known as the Combat Procedures, or some people call it the Ten Jousts. If the attackers win less than three battles, they cannot proceed with the attack. If they win more than three, they may proceed to the next phase of the battle, known as the Assault. That¡¯s where the attackers may attack the city.¡± The three domain holders couldn¡¯t believe what they were hearing. It was absolute nonsense. ¡°But- but why do we stick to it? Can¡¯t- can¡¯t the demons just march in without care?¡± The soldier looked at the merchant named Roon like he was an idiot. ¡°Is your vige not protected by the Great Hawa¡¯s Divine mes, or the Divine Protection of Proper Combat? Even the dark demons are bound to it.¡± Edna nced at Ezar. They were close to the god Hawa. ¡°What- what happens when they break it?¡± ¡°They get weakened by divine curses, and burned by the divine mes. Weaker creatures will die.¡± ¡°-but, why does god not just crush the demons?¡± The soldier stared at the merchant. ¡°That is sphemy. The Hawa church will have you skewered if that ever gets out.¡± Roon acted horrified. ¡°Ah, my apologies. Another coin for your silence?¡± The soldier looked at the coin, andughed. ¡°Very well, very well. I heard nothing. But you should leave. Most of us are leaving before thest of the ten Combat Procedures are over.¡± *** Edna, Roon and Ezar nced at each other, wondering how the rules of this world operated. Most of the citizens fled, but Edna noticed there was a group of knights tasked to defend, rather than escape. They all had the resignation that they will die today. ¡°Do we just watch?¡± Roon nced at Edna. He was fairly alright just letting the natives die. She gulped, closed her eyes. ¡°No. We¡¯ll step in.¡± The group of thirty demon knights charged against the walls of the city, and the walls held, for a while. The demons took a while and destroyed the fortified gates, and then charged into the city where the knights waited. ¡°But let us watch where we can. At thest minute.¡± ¡°At thest minute.¡± Roon and Ezar said collectively. *** It was going to be a bloodbath- Then a burst of arrows and the group of 30 demons were in. Roon, Ezar and Edna arrived before the group of shaking soldiers, who were all prepared to die. They were shocked, but not immediately thankful. Instead, they asked. ¡°Who do we owe the favor to, and what do you need for saving us?¡± The three realized this was the best time to extort the knowledge, and demanded it. *** The world was bound by a great divine magic of Hawa, known as the Bindings of Hawa. Each city with a temple of Hawa, a lord or ruler of suitable rank, and sufficient number of knights may activate the [Combat Procedures]. Thesebat procedures apply for a period of a week, and can be activated once a month, per city. The Combat Procedures force allbatants to engage in a multi-stage battle, first with the Ten Jousts, then the Assault on the city. [Knights], [Priests] and [Lords] who do not obey thebat procedures after activating them will be inflicted with a divine curse. Also, in order to fulfill the rules of the [Assault on the City], there must be defenders. Otherwise, the [Combat Procedures] will be canceled, and the [Lord] and also [Priests] that cast them will suffer another divine curse. This was how cities throughout the world slow the demons¡¯ attack, because the Bindings of Hawa could be used on the demons as well, and during bat procedures], interfering parties will be punished by divine magic. Because of this, the demons were forced to y by the gods¡¯ rules. In this world, [Knights] are essentially Hawa¡¯s warriors. The knights of this world are an order of warriors who believe in Hawa, and as a martial group, they believe in strong fortified cities, stone temples. [Priests] of Hawa bless each and every city, and the Hawa priests of this world are particrly good at blessing stone walls, and knights. [Knights] who survive multiple Jousts are awarded special skills by the system. The [Lords] of this world are naturally knight-priest focused as well. Many are either promoted Knights or Priests, so most Lords eventually set up knight branches of their own, and build fortified cities. *** ¡°There must be a source for such powerful divine magic.¡± Edna mused, resting in the home of the defenders. They were clearly d not to die, so were more than happy to host the three. A few left the city to deliver the message that they have been saved. After interrogating the surviving soldiers, they eventually realized that they needed to visit the cities of the world. ¡°There are divine relics in this world.¡± Roon concluded after summarizing all the interviews. ¡°A few of the kings control powerful divine relics, but the soldiers have no idea whether they are linked to this Divine Law.¡± ¡°If the gods could do this, why don¡¯t they do it everywhere? They could essentially force the demons to obey certainws of engagement-¡± ¡°There might be some kind of Faith-Point cost to maintain such a system, and it¡¯s only realistic solution if it¡¯s not too far from the actual god.¡± Roon answered. ¡°-We should just ask Ste to send us closer. Skip this world and find where the gods are.¡± Ezar countered. ¡°I think we should talk to the most senior priest in this world. If they can put us in an audience with Hawa, that would significantly help our cause.¡± The knight concluded while she looked over a map of their region. This world was filled with many small kingdoms, with just a collection of a fewrge kingdoms. Thend seemed fairly hostile, with multiple monsters, and there were even living dragons on this world. Roon paused. ¡°We should have Lumoof here, if we want an audience. Aeon should be the one facing this Hawa.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Edna answered. ¡°But we should get information before we get to that stage. Ste will make the preparations back home, we need to get things ready. Let¡¯s fan out, and infiltrate more ces. There¡¯s at least six different kingdoms with these divine relics.¡± ¡°-are we stealing them?¡± Ezar looked unsure. ¡°No, right?¡± ¡°No. Just investigate, send information back. We¡¯ll match it to what knowledge we have.¡± The Order collected information on Hawa, Gaya, Aiva and Neira over the decades. If there were some matching information on the Hawa faith of this world, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to line them up. After some interrogation of the locals, the three also found that the locals referred to the world as Satrya. Edna initially wanted to call it Hawaworld, but then decided against it. It¡¯s likely this wasn¡¯t Hawa¡¯s main world, because Hawa¡¯s presence should destroy whatever demons. This wasn¡¯t Hawa¡¯s homeworld, but we were close. Then, just as Edna thought they were done with the unusual affairs, one of the soldiers revealed a strange piece of information. Sometimes, the heroes of this world were selected from the locals directly by Hawa, instead of summoned from another world. The immediate implication of this was that the gods could select [heroes] directly! They didn¡¯t need to go through theplicated summon mechanism! The Hawa locals referred to the chosen champions as [Hawa¡¯s Champions], and would receive a selection of Hawa¡¯s Battle Relics to battle against the demon king. ¡°We must see the relics, and speak to Hawa.¡± *** It wasn¡¯t hard for someone like Edna to get enough money, and collecting it from the dead was even easier. As she traveled across the kingdoms of Satrya, she witnessed even more demons. In cases where the local defenders did not invoke the Combat Procedures, or ran out of the relevant materials to invoke it, the demons could easily assault the city. As a result, the demons were incredibly fond of night strikes, and especially strikes on cities that should have been safe. Then as she entered one of the more heavily defended cities, she saw warriors that probably could give the demon knights a good fight, and some. Knights equipped with divine relics. They were not stronger than Edna, that was for sure. A quick survey of their abilities suggested they were in the level 80s, but Edna felt the presence of divine blessing. ¡°Those are the Hawa Knight Temrs. They are blessed by the High Priests and granted divine powers.¡± The traveler next to Edna exined to her. It seemed those who believe in Hawa generally have a high level of faith in the god, and thus appeared to do so. Edna¡¯s eyes noticed that the individuals themselves didn¡¯t appear to manifest divine powers, but this was the first time she had ever encountered someone with divine relics, so didn¡¯t have a good idea of how they stacked up in battle. But if this world had [Hawa¡¯s Chosen]- ¡°They have not selected the candidates for this century¡¯s chosen.¡± The traveler answered as Edna probed for more information. ¡°The war with this generation¡¯s demon only started two years ago, and it¡¯ll be some time before the five or six chosens are awarded an audience with Hawa itself.¡± ¡°Five or six?¡± ¡°Sometimes.¡± The traveler shrugged. He seemed to be a fairly knowledgeable merchant, so Edna kept him talking. ¡°The demons wille and linger for five to six years. Even the King of the Demons has not descended yet.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t.¡± Edna paused, as the pieces came together. Back on the worlds where heroes were summoned, the gods summon them after the demon king arrives. If the demon king hasn¡¯t arrived on Satrya, it naturally follows that Hawa wouldn¡¯t bother to choose its champions. But the gods clearly have a choice of adopting a different set of procedures for its ¡®closer¡¯ worlds. What everyone thought was a ¡®normal¡¯ procedure may just be something they had to do for faraway worlds where they had little information. *** Edna arrived in one of the supposedlyrgest cities on Satrya after two months of travel. In truth, she would have covered the distance within a few days, but she did the long way to learn from the locals. Hawa¡¯s faith was ridiculously powerful in this world. Each city had Hawa temples, almost everyone believed in it, at least nominally, and many truly believed in Hawa¡¯s blessings. The priests themselves also appear more powerful here, with high ranking Hawa priests wielding powers not normally seen in priests, as if borrowing them from somewhere. ¡°Mdy, wee to Museo, home of the royal family of Museo, and one of the seven Relic cities of Satrya.¡± Relic Cities were names given to the seven cities that hosted the Seven Great Hawa Relics. The one on Museo was home to an item known as the Chalice of Eternity. Edna could feel it in the air itself, the sensation of divine presence. From the intelligence that she gathered so far, the Hawa Temple of Museo was an institution that had power not inferior to the royal family, and the Chief Priest of Museo was a man of incredible faith. It would be difficult to gain ess to the Chief Priest via normal means, since he was busy, and would not normally entertain guests. ¡°What would Lumoof do, if he was here on this case?¡± Edna sat in her inn, thinking to herself. She considered her options. She could barge in. In terms or raw levels, nothing she saw so far even came close to her, but the presence of divine relics meant she didn¡¯t have 100% certainty. That would probably cause offense, and she would rather not do so, especially if she wanted to maintain a working rtionship. After thinking for a while, she decided the best way was to visit the temple, and ask for an audience directly. 270. The Bloody Forest 270. The Bloody Forest Those that can¡¯t see in the darkness often remark how it is all ck, but those who could see, often see in colors that couldn¡¯t quite be described to man. I would be able to unlock all three choices in time, and I thought to myself that the [Dark Void] seemed to be the power I needed the most. I¡¯ve struggled with the void for all this while. Our pace of expansion is dictated by the void, our travels through the void is the clear limiting factor of how we could visit new worlds, and eventually, the conclusion of the council was fairly decisive. I would select the void. [The Dark Void]. The selection itself was immediate, and quiet, but what immediately happened soon after, was the appearance of ck lightning over the skies of Freshka. Void Lightning. A single st to my first body. I wonder whether this was heavenly retribution. I felt my soul, already separated across my clones, began to change, and the view of the void came instantly. One moment it wasn¡¯t, and the other, I suddenly saw the different shades of darkness in the skies above, in colors I couldn¡¯t quite see. My immediate description of the voidyers was- Magical photo filters. This was like looking at photos of the stars with infra-red or ultraviolet light. They revealed things that were not there before, or in different ces. Each of these filters revealed a different version of the stars, with different locations. As I shared it with Ste, she immediately understood what this was. ¡°This is the different perspective we¡¯ve been looking for all this while. It¡¯s hidden behind a domain ability?!¡± I thought about it, and perhaps, it could be a domain ability for me, but there may be certain races or species who could see the different voidyers themselves. Ste immediately began to experiment on her newfound ess to the [voidyers]. We were all very excited to see the new worlds hidden within the voidyers, but we had to be prepared. We were not sure what exactly lurked on the other side. *** ¡°Aeon finally has mechs.¡± Prabu said, amazed, as he watched the magical construction emerge from it¡¯s hangar on the moon. My Valthorns outdid themselves when they built the first moon base, and they outdid themselves again when they constructed what was the first orbital battle tform. We were expected the first of the remnant meteors to enter our void teleportation range soon, but given that they were such small objects with hardly any bubble of reality, we felt the risk of engagement in such a situation was too high. With such small bubbles of reality, even if we seeded in destroying them, we wouldn¡¯t be able to flee in time. It¡¯s likely that their ¡®reality¡¯ was very fragile to begin with, and so, my void archmages rmended against attacking them in the void sea itself. The best area of engagement was once they entered Treehome¡¯s now-expanded sphere of reality. This was, in a way, the equivalent of letting the meteor enter our sr system. The means of engagement were these orbital battle tforms, the first few usable space warships, and these mechs. The mechs were not really mechs, but instead, to facilitate the heroes in their movements and survival in space. They were only made possible due to abination of clever crystalwork from our crafters. ¡°I wish we could make [mechs] with our [hero forges].¡± Kei, on their sharedmunicationwork, responded. ¡°I could. You guys just need to work around your limitations.¡± Each hero¡¯s hero forge was different, tailored by their assigned powersets. Kei, being the shipgirl that she once was, could make mech suits. Basic ones, but mech suits nheless. For Prabu and Colette, their weapons were smaller. Khefri- didn¡¯t want to participate in the defense of Treehome. She said she had things to do back on Threeworlds, so, we didn¡¯t force her. Simrly, Adrian had his own set of tasks back on Mountainworld. Chung- well, being Chung, he decided to ignore us altogether. I wasn¡¯t bothered. But Prabu and Colette tested out our first mechs. They struggled, and we had to send the mechs back to the workshop to work on the synchronization. In theory, mechs and golems are pretty much the same thing. But golems ultimately were controlled by their masters, and so the [system] facilitated the control and maniption of the golem¡¯s many parts. However, a mech, in our case, is piloted by heroes, and these heroes don¡¯t have the relevant skills and sses. Sure, they could still be manipted and moved about rtively well, but not at the operating level expected of heroes. Certainly, not a level of performance where these mechs can see battle against the demon kings, even if it should still be quite sufficient for lower levels of demons. *** Most conventional weapons continue to work, as long as they were within the boundaries of Treehome¡¯s reality bubble. Now that we were able to move in ¡®space¡¯, we attempted to reach the very edges of this reality bubble, and realize it was more like a rubber ball, than actually a soap bubble. As we move closer to that edge, we are pushed closer towards the center of that reality bubble. So, it¡¯ll feel as if we are moving forward, but in reality we were not going anywhere. In other words, it was like there was a ¡®treadmill¡¯ at edges of reality that pushed inwards. With enough force, and a high enough speed, it should be possible to ovee this ¡®force¡¯, and pierce the reality bubble directly. Still, day by day, I could sense the bubble of reality continued to expand. My domain ability was gradually pushing the world wider, and soon, it would berge enough to amodate a secondary world. I wonder what it¡¯ll be like. Does the world just pop out of thin air? Or like a world drifting out of the void? Would ite with an inbuilt poption, or would it be empty? *** Threeworlds. With the Crystal King imprisoned, the first moments of war began to emerge. The human kingdoms and nations struggled to realign in what was a tectonic shift in power. We sent diplomats everywhere, apanied by our Valthorns. We had to show force, even if I didn¡¯t want to use the stick all the time. But I had to. There was a point of no return. When the Crystal King attempted to sabotage our preparations, that was the point of no return for me. They put my people at risk. Now, I put them at risk again, by making them force these human nations to bend their knee. Bloody or not. As with anyrge group of people, some were loyalists, and despite my deration, they were not convinced. They fought. And what began was an unfortunately brutal upation by my forces. Old leaders had to be expelled, especially those that sought to fight against me. Those that didn¡¯t, were actively and openly monitored. It was the noble ss that opposed me most, and it was them that I had to remove. I tried a mix of carrot and stick. I enticed those willing to bend the knee with food supplies, resource assistance, and protection. Those that didn¡¯t were punished. I assisted family struggles, using those willing to work with me to overthrow those that didn¡¯t. The human nations, some attempted to attack us with their military. Johann, became my enforcer. He traveled thend with his dragon, and struck fear into the kings and queens. Yet, they were attacked frequently, and in response, they were punished. Jailed. And at times- ughtered. It made me churn. A little. But then I remembered that there are times that we have to make an example of a few, to scare the masses. I had imprisoned the Crystal King. What was done, was done. Now, I deal with the consequences. *** It was a scene that was repeated across the kingdoms of the Crystal King¡¯snd. ¡°Youe into my kingdom, and demand I bend the knee?¡± The King roared, surrounded by his soldiers and knights. Golems. Johann was nked by six elite Valthorns, all level 100s, and his golden dragon. The dragon grew day by day, feasting on the meat of thend. Heughed, and flexed his domain easily. The soldiers buckled. The King trembled in his seat, even though he stood. He held his scepter tightly, using it to support himself. It would not do for a King to cower in his throne. Johann smirked. ¡°No. I demand you work with us under the old arrangements with the Crystal King. You either ept, or you will be removed, and reced with those who will. I¡¯d rather not invite the brutality of Aeon¡¯s Mercy onto yournd, or let you experience a little of Aeon¡¯s Perspective.¡± ¡°-You!¡± The King held his scepter, and called on the strength of his ss to withstand the weight of Johann¡¯s domain. One Minister tried to speak up. ¡°Your Majesty, please - we should discuss this further.¡± The King stared at the minister- but another minister spoke up for him. ¡°Your majesty, the minister is wise. We- we¡¯re dealing with a god-¡± We had sent our spies and agents into the many kingdoms, to bribe, to talk, to convince those who could be convinced. This urred before Johann¡¯s visit, to ¡®prepare-the-field¡¯ for the agreement. *** The same King agreedter on, convinced by his council of ministers. We bribed half of them, and attempted to bribe the other half. But they were wise enough to remain silent. They have seen our beetle armies. Many had used magic to look at what happened to Maelga, and were made speechless. But ultimately, we used the stick. There was an unfortunate King that opposed us to the end. He evoked war. And Johann made him into an example. We announced our intention to remove him as King, using charges collected by my spies. Then we killed him there and then, publicly before his own citizens and subjects. Death was a scythe we threatened on every noble. *** About two thirds of the kingdoms eventually capitted to our rule, even if we had to reward them with wealth. Wealth was no big deal, after all, it is a resource I can always create. One third of them saw the writing on the wall, and realized I was stronger than their crystal king. They agreed out of fear. The other third agreed with bribes. As for the remaining one third, we had to engage in power struggles. My agents helped those in favor of our new regime to overthrow their existing rulers, and functionally, install our people as the puppeteers of their new ruling state. Naturally, there was blood spilled. Kidnappings, murders and assassinations. All to prevent a bloodier war. The next one was to deal with the priests, and simr to the kings, we bribed them. Those that we couldn¡¯t bribe, we removed. My spies and assassins were busier than ever. idents. Visits to another world. I offered exile to those who wish to resist. I granted them the chance to live in Lavaworld. The priests of the Crystal King¡¯snd were granted the right to operate as normal, so long as they did not incite riots or attacks against us. Themoners and citizens of the Crystal King¡¯snds, most of them couldn¡¯t be arsed, and in the era where high speedmunication is only avable to the rich, most farmers and peasants didn¡¯t even know there was a change in power. They would learn of such changes over a longer period of time, through the stories spoken by merchants and bards. Again, bribes. It was honestly because I had the wealth of Treehome, that I could engage in such outright bribery of the masses. My spies fed these folks coin, and made them tell more pleasant versions of the story. We asked them to speak out how the Crystal King attempted to sabotage the hero Khefri¡¯s battle against the demon king. We were the Crystal King¡¯s divine punishment. It was an angle that worked well, and helped pacify themoners. Many didn¡¯t really feel strong loyalties to the Crystal King. He was too distant, too aloof. His empire was more of a ragtag coalition of vassal states, rather than a proper federal structure. The improved farming yields from my druids and trees that came after soon cated themoners who usually dealt with hunger and heavy taxation. Naturally, among themoners, not all epted the change of regime. This was most unfortunate. We tried to reeducate them. Expose them to what happened. But ultimately, some were violent. And death is the only way to deal with them. It is unfortunate that regime change must ur this way. But I ept the blood on my hands. I will pay the price for my brutality, when my dayes. With blood on my roots and leaves, I will transform the world and the humannds into an economy that can support this war against the demons. *** Dwarfworld My mages and crafters analysed the Sunsteel and we believe it should be one of theponents of what the demons use for the Sun Rings. At least, we believe the Sun Rings to be some kind of metallic alloy. It¡¯s this Sunsteel mixed with something else altogether. So, Lumoof went with the first proposal. Trade. The Dwarven Lord rejected the offer, but Lumoof wasn¡¯t bothered. There were many dwarven cities, and we would be able to find a smaller dwarven city that we could support. ¡°Trade?¡± The Dwarven Lord looked absolutely shocked. ¡°You want half of the Sunsteel? You might as well rob us.¡± Lumoof frowned. ¡°Half is fair. I will be doing the work. I really rather work this out on friendly terms rather than invade.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are threatening-¡± The Dwarven Lord didn¡¯t understand. Naturally, in front of him was just a man. A powerful man, but he didn¡¯t grasp exactly what he was faced with. Lumoof waited for a bit, and realized he might have a point. Though the dwarven lord rejected Lumoof¡¯s trade deal, Lumoof decided to explore the world some more, and realized this world, despite the constant brutal wars between the dwarven cities, was also filled with many rtively high leveled dwarven craftsmen. Many were level 50-60, and they were avable in veryrge quantities. There were multiple dwarven craft academies throughout the world that produced the smiths, crafters and engineers needed to construct their gigantic war machines. And they lovedrge scale construction projects. He pinged Ste. ¡°Ste, do you think you¡¯re keen on sending some dwarves from and to our homeworld?¡± ¡°-sure- but why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of some good ol¡¯ Perspective. I think Alka would love this world, he could turn this world into one of those Forgeworlds.¡± Ste paused. ¡°If they are a bunch of war hungry dwarves, why not give them war?¡± Lumoof paused as he digested Ste¡¯s message. ¡°You know what- you¡¯re right. We should give them war.¡± ¡°Oh. Do you want an invasion force? We¡¯re a little tight with half of our folks dealing with the Comet remnants and the other half upying Threeworld-¡± ¡°No. I think I have something else in mind.¡± ¡°Really? Will this world be worth it?¡± Ste challenged. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°Get me a group of dwarven lords from the academy willing to rule over some alien dwarves?¡± Lumoof said. ¡°I believe this world has potential to assist our war efforts. A node should be sufficient, since we should be able to im somend as our city-¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Steughed. The dwarfworld was filled with many small dwarven towns and cities. Not all werepetent, and not all have war machines. There were smaller towns, led by less powerful lords that we could depose. High-leveled, well-trained [Lords] trained by the FTC could sweep in with Valthorn support, take over these smaller towns, and effectively cobble the smaller towns together into a coalition. Then, we could effectively convert the cities into our dwarven workshops. Rather than fight each other, it was time to channel the dwarven crafts towards a more productive war. We would turn this world into a forgeworld, and those war machines will find themselves battlefields where they can do some good. 271. Intreetwined Hearts 271. Intreetwined Hearts Satrya - Edna, Roon and Ezar. Edna spent days in the Relic City, observing how the temples and the people worked. With her advanced surveince tools, it was fairly easy for her to soon get a sense of where everything was, and how it worked. It was a beautiful city. Especially the temple of Hawa. It was incredibly grand, and made with an opulence unmatched in any world Edna seen before. It¡¯s structure was made with a kind of shimmering marble, and the arches were decorated with gems and a kind of gold paint that looked more gold-like than gold. It was magic, and the presence of divine magic in the area was unmistakable. The relic in the deepest part of the temple bubbled, twisting the fabric of reality in a way only domainholders like Edna could feel. Here, they were close to the gods, and Edna was sure of it. She hoped that she would be able to arrange an audience with the gods. That would help the war effort, and figure out what the hell went wrong with the demons. So, the time to make a scene finally arrived. ¡°I¡¯d like to see the head priest.¡± Edna dered frankly in the temple. She had been watching the ce for a while, and noticed that the head priest was present for a meeting with the city¡¯s King. He was frequently away, but this was one of the days when she saw him enter. The priest stared at Edna like she was an alien. ¡°Who do you think you are? No one sees the head priest-¡± ¡°I insist.¡± Edna¡¯s aura red, and the priest felt his hands tremble. She thought of more discreet methods, but decided against it. It was better to just hit it directly. If they were unfriendly, then she¡¯d deal with it that way. ¡°-I- I will let him know. Who- he will want to know who wants to see him.¡± ¡°Tell him I¡¯m a warrior from another world, and representative of another god.¡± Edna repeated, and the priest¡¯s trembling looked even more intense. His eyes met Edna¡¯s burning gaze briefly, and he ran. ¡°-At once, mdy.¡± *** Edna expected an army of temrs to charge down at her, and so, when an army of temrs armed with divine weapons did in fact emerge, she wasn¡¯t shocked. ¡°This way, mdy.¡± One of the priests said, escorted by what appeared to be a decent army of temrs. They were all about level 70 to 80, which made them very strong by most measures. With their divine equipment, they could stand a chance even with the higher level Valthorns. Edna was escorted into the depths of the temple, and she could sense people moving throughout the temple. There was a huge guard force appearing around the relic, as if worried that the relic would be attacked. She just smiled, and walked past the corridors of paintings and tapestries all speaking praises of their god, Hawa. Eventually, she was led to a chamber far from the relic, and was clearly not the actual chamber of the head priest. But the head priest was there, decked from head to toe for war. Divine armaments, rings, armors. They would take a hit. ¡°Greetings, mdy. Of all the oundish attempts to get an audience with me, yours is the most ludicrous. A visitor from another world, and representative from another god?¡± The head priest said. He was smug. ¡°So ridiculous. So, you seeded. What do you want?¡± Edna didn¡¯t feel the need to answer it with words, and merely allowed her domain to ripple outwards. It shook the cloth and tapestries. The magical defenses in the room vibrated. The head priest felt his rings tremble, as if begging to be activated. It caused the Head Priest¡¯s face to contort from smugness, into horror, and then, to fear. He then stood. ¡°-you¡¯re not lying.¡± Edna shrugged. ¡°Why would I? Ie from another world, a world that also has Hawa as one of our people¡¯s faith.¡± She looked around, and withdrew her domain. The trembling in the room vanished. ¡°I will cut to the point. I want an audience with Hawa.¡± The head priest stared at Edna as if she was mad. ¡°An audience with our god? Are you insane?¡± ¡°No. We found the demon¡¯s sun, and we need your god¡¯s help. Only gods can hope to strike at the demon¡¯s power.¡± The Head Priest frowned. ¡°You¡¯re insane- how do you hope to-¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the first time we spoke to a god.¡± Edna countered. ¡°If it helps, let your god know we have spoken to Aiva.¡± The Head Priest shook his head. ¡°Communion with our god is a costly, resource-intensive process-¡± ¡°And it happens whenever you select your champions for this world. I know Hawa can be reached from this world.¡± ¡°-and why should we do it?¡± ¡°Because we will get it eventually.¡± Edna answered. ¡°All the dys merely add time, but do not prevent the inevitable. We will find the Gods, one way or another. Be it Aiva, Hawa, Gaya, Neira or whoever other gods out there that we have not seen. AND-¡± The head priest stared. ¡°We can help. We have the ability to breach distances through the system. Our patron god can create permanent pathways between worlds, allowing your god to extend power further than ever.¡± He paused and closed his eyes. ¡°You mean it? Proof that you are from another world?¡± ¡°I would dly send you to our world if you want to, but I ask that you trust me, and consult whoever you need to consult.¡± Edna repeated. The Hawa Temples of Satrya were a coalition of Hawa churches, each with a relic, each with it¡¯s own head priests. Collectively, they operate as a council of equals, though each branch of the Hawa church were functionally independent. They often do not intervene with each other, outside for the rare moments when Hawa descends and transmits a message. Divine Communion. Edna heard that it was possible since a long time ago. Some priests and priestesses hear the voices of their gods in their mind, through dreams. It is unmistakable, because the god¡¯s presence is extremely difficult to fake. The Head Priest looked at Edna ufortably, before letting out a long- long sigh. ¡°Can you show me that aura of yours? Again. At full strength.¡± The head priest answered. ¡°I¡¯ll take it as proof of your ims. To initiate a conversation with our god requires agreement of all the Head Priests- this is a matter far more serious than what I can do alone.¡± Edna sighed, and let it rip. This time, the walls cracked, as the full weight of her close-to-level-200 aura rippled through the entire city. The entire city would have felt it, as if something pressed on them. A weight of power. The Head Priest and all the divine guards clenched their weapons. Edna smiled. They were strong enough to resist, because Hawa¡¯s blessing was exceptionally strong in this world. But even the weaker few felt their legs buckle. If Lumoof was here, they would all be kneeling. ¡°That is unmistakable indeed.¡± ¡°Tell the rest of the Head Priests that we offer a return trip to our world, to have an audience with my patron, Aeon. I believe once you meet Aeon, you will find that our request to meet Hawa to be not unreasonable.¡± The Head Priest nodded. ¡°I will need some time to speak to the rest of my peers. The Hawa¡¯s Circle don¡¯t meet often, and the next meet is in a few months. I will bring this matter up then.¡± Edna nodded. ¡°We can wait. I have plenty else to do.¡± *** ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± Roon and Ezar asked over their sharedmunication. ¡°The Head Priest said they will bring it up to the Hawa¡¯s Circle meet in a few months. How are things on your side?¡± Edna said as she retreated to an inn. ¡°Went as well as expected. I popped into the Head Priestess¡¯s room, and I got misunderstood as a suitor and apparently, if a single man appears in a single woman¡¯s room at night, I¡¯m supposed to take her as my wife.¡± Roon said. Ezar facepalmed from his part of the city. Edna chuckled. ¡°I think this is the second time you did something like that.¡± Roon just shrugged. ¡°I seem to attract the wrong kind of people.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be popping up in people¡¯s rooms at night.¡± Edna said. ¡°She is heavily guarded as hell, and I really don¡¯t want to knock people out just to talk to her. My attempts to get in through the front door got shut off because the head priestess gets too many people trying to meet her that way.¡± ¡°She sounds cute.¡± The knight smirked. ¡°Oh please.¡± Roon said. ¡°How¡¯d she take your confession?¡± ¡°-she asks me to call the rest of you here.¡± Roon said. ¡°And she still wants me to marry her.¡± Ednaughed. ¡°She takes that pretty seriously.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a faith thing. Some religious mumbo jumbo. I didn¡¯t see such a rule in the Hawa documents we have back home!¡± ¡°Tell her you are married.¡± ¡°I n to. Next time, we should insist on same-sex night visits.¡± Roon countered. ¡°I¡¯m not visiting a woman at night ever again. Never seems to go well, not with my kind of shit luck.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it shit luck.¡± The other two domain holdersughed. Edna smirked. ¡°Alright, alright. Ezar, what¡¯s your situation?¡± ¡°The Head Priestess is an old woman. She listened, but she thought I¡¯m a madman, so chased me out. I think we¡¯ll need Lumoof here to speak to her kind of person. It¡¯s just a vibe I¡¯m getting. Think she respects someone like Lumoof.¡± ¡°Darn. Very well, I think we should make ourselves seen during theing meeting of the Hawa¡¯s Circle.¡± Edna added. ¡°That should be our best ce to make our case to Hawa.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t even say where it is- It¡¯s one of those super secretive meetings.¡± Roon countered. ¡°Ask your fiance where it is, then?¡± Edna asked. ¡°She¡¯s not- and I¡¯m not manipting a woman¡¯s love for that.¡± Roon countered. ¡°There¡¯s some red lines in my life, and that¡¯s one of them.¡± Edna chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re pretty chivalrous, despite your fondness forte night visits.¡± ¡°-ugh stop it. Edna, Ezar, juste over to my side of the world and visit this woman with me. And Edna, you¡¯re going to pretend to be my wife.¡± Ednaughed. ¡°You really want an old woman like me as your pretend wife instead of a beautiful young priestess? Why not tell her you have a wife somewhere else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not marrying some priestess I barely know. So shut it and y along.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Ednaughed. *** Edna realized all the relic cities were t out beautiful. They were so well protected and covered with divine magic that it didn¡¯t seem likely that the demons would be able to attack them. The relic city of Olpash was located along a gentle slope along the hills, and the temple upied a central location, surrounded by walls. There was a beautiful silver statue that was fifteen stories tall of a man with a sword, a shield, and wearing a knight¡¯s helmet. There were five castles throughout the city, each located along the walls, and each home to one of the ducal families of Olpash. Among the five, one would be King at one time, and the role of king rotated among the five families. But Olpash was also home to a relic, and it was a gigantic divine shield too big for any man to wield. Still, even from afar, Edna could feel the divine energies stored within. Should a demon king attack, it was likely they could hold the city. Just like the other relic city, the presence of Hawa was strong. Divine magics rippled in the air, the shield¡¯s presence warped reality. Edna briefly wondered what it¡¯ll be like to move all the divine relics together. ¡°So your prospective wife is located there?¡± Edna said. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay. Remember, our goal is really to get an audience with Hawa. This priestess is one of the Circle, so she can help facilitate that objective.¡± Edna repeated. ¡°Ready?¡± Roon shrugged. ¡°-I don¡¯t really want to see her again. Can you just go?¡± ¡°Please, you¡¯re a domain holder and you don¡¯t want to see a woman again. Come on.¡± Edna countered. Ezar just grinned. ¡°I must say, Roon, I don¡¯t recall ever seeing you this flustered.¡± ¡°Look, Ezar, you go visit a woman at night.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done it!¡± Ezarughed. ¡°They don¡¯t mistake me as a suitor. Maybe I just have a punchable face that women hate. You, on the other hand, look like the pretty boys that woman absolutely adore.¡± Roon flushed. ¡°Oh I¡¯m never gonna let that slide.¡± Ezar chuckled. Roon red. ¡°I hate you.¡± Edna just rolled her eyes. ¡°Boys, focus. We got a priestess waiting for us. Let¡¯s convince her to side with our cause.¡± ¡°Yes, maam.¡± *** The priestess¡¯s room was located in a magically protected sphere, in one of the inner buildings of the temple. It was heavily protected, that most mages wouldn¡¯t even be able to get in, but for domain holders, the restraints and magical protections just washed off their bodies. She was half asleep in her sleeping gown when she noticed the window was open, and felt the presence of others in her room. Despite her seemingly youthful experience, Edna was fairly sure she was a high-leveled priestess, in the same league as the other High Priest she met. She was likely to be around level 70 to 80, and she wore a special ne around her neck filled with divine magic all the time. ¡°-oh, you¡¯re here again. With guests?¡± The priestess spoke. As Edna expected, she was a beautiful woman, well equipped in all the right ces, and blessed by Hawa. Edna could feel the presence of Hawa¡¯s blessing, just like in the High Priest. It¡¯s likely they have a [Hawa High Priest] ss or something simr. ¡°Are they the suitor¡¯s party?¡± Roon frowned. ¡°-I am not marrying you.¡± The priestess frowned. ¡°Am I that unattractive? So many men desire me, and here you are, I offer you my hand in marriage and you reject me.¡± Roon¡¯s frustration was palpable. ¡°-Woman, I am here to continue that conversation. We need an audience with your god, Hawa.¡± She frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll raise your cause during the Hawa¡¯s circle if you agree to take me as your wife.¡± ¡°I¡¯m married!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me. I don¡¯t sense a woman¡¯s presence on you. ¡± The priestess countered. In truth, that was because the priestess couldn¡¯t sense anything on Roon, who was protected by his own domain. ¡°I don¡¯t believe in your god.¡± Roon countered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Hawa will forgive you.¡± Edna inwardly felt sorry for her fellow domain holder. He seemed to attract a certain type of crazy. Edna decided to breach the topic. ¡°Mdy, we wish to have an audience with Hawa, what else can we offer to get your support during the Hawa¡¯s Circle meeting?¡± She thought about it for a moment, and stared at Edna briefly. Then she frowned. ¡°Nothing. I want this man to take me as his wife.¡± Edna countered. ¡°Priestess, we really do not wish to mix personal matters into affairs involving the fate of worlds. There are worlds that could benefit from our mutual cooperation.¡± ¡°I know. But as head priestess, I have full prerogative and discretion in my decisions, as granted to me by Hawa. And so my condition remains. He takes me as his wife.¡± Edna realized this woman was nuts, and looked at her two colleagues. ¡°Well, I believe we have nothing more to add. Let¡¯s go.¡± Edna would rather take the chance and convince the other Head Priests and Priestesses. This woman was probably a little messed up in the head. But as Edna, Roon and Ezar was about to vanish through the door again, the Priestess realized her ways was probably too aggressive. ¡°-wait.¡± Roon and Edna stood. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°You im to be from another world, correct?¡± The priestess spoke. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Take me on a trip together. Just the two of us, to your world. I don¡¯t believe I can¡¯t convince you to take me as your wife. If you remain unmoved, fine, I¡¯ll support your cause anyway.¡± The priestess said to Roon. Edna looked at Roon, and Roon made a long sigh. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll take you on a trip to our world. Later.¡± The priestess smiled beautifully. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see you again, husband~¡± Roon rolled his eyes and vanished through the window. They would visit the other head priests, and attempt to convince them of their cause. 272. Revitalizing Old Seeds 272. Revitalizing Old Seeds C272 Year 266 The first of theet fragments emerged from the void. We have been tracking it the moment it appeared within our vision, and we watched with great interest for the moment it entered our bubble of reality. The first few meteors popped out of the darkness, like a cluster of rocks that suddenly shed its cloak of invisibility. A quick scan revealed that we didn¡¯t detect Multipus¡¯s presence, but among the rocks was a slightlyrger chunk of the Comet¡¯s core, and that rock maintained a small bubble of reality. ¡°Engage!¡± My mages ordered as the meteors entered our range. Mages, in our tree-based environmentally controlled battlesuits, attacked the rocks. They were much smaller, and it seemed the very act of travelling through the void had ¡®eroded¡¯ them one way or another. It was a good sign. It meant that without a strong bubble of reality, the rocks we expect to face should be smaller than the main Comet. The distant dark skies, not visible from Treehome, erupted in explosions of magic. With extremely powerful telescopes it would be possible to see some small sparks and explosions, but we destroyed the smaller remnant meteors. For the Core remnant, a few of our mages hopped onto the rock and tried to steer it. Core material was valuable. I have it in such little quantities that if there was a core chunk from the Demon¡¯s Comet, we wanted to see whether we could process it, and learn from it. But like Core Mana, it degrades quite quickly, especially when exposed to the light of the sun. Which was strange. One of the quirks of Core mana. For now, with magical propulsion, we guided this remnant rock from the core of the demon¡¯set, and directed it into a somewhat stable orbit. My Valthorn mages then quickly set up a basic maniption system, just a few magical patterns and formations that created some propulsion to steer the core away from Treehome. This would allow it to maintain that stable orbit. It wasn¡¯t big, but we wanted to examine this core remnant in greater detail. I was fairly impressed that we now had our first space-based research station. My Valthorns¡¯ first space-based research station consisted of portable living quarters from our almost century-long experience of building underground bunkers, andter on our developments on the Demon¡¯s Comet, Lavaworld, Cometworld and our moon. Travel to and from the research station in our world was a lot simpler, since we had ess to magical portals and teleportation spells. We didn¡¯t need rockets. Even deploying our new wood-based mechs involved teleportation to the closest undisturbed space. *** Ste watched as the first engagements with the meteor remnants proceeded as nned, and as my forces exert itself on Threeworld, on Mountainworld, on Dwarfworld, and now, even this world of Satrya. ¡°-And so begins the Imperial Era of Aeon.¡± Ste said as she arrived in Threeworld, and watched my Valthorns crawling all over the city of Maelga. ¡°You speak of it as if it¡¯s new.¡± I chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s just an observation, really.¡± My void domainholder watched. Within a year, we had to quell dissent in the humannds. In many ways, an era of great political change for the Threeworld¡¯s humans. In normal times, the sandpeople and the centaurs would capitalize on this to wage an attack and try to im some fringe territories from the human kingdoms. But with the presence of my overwhelming beetles, they know better. The centaurs have seen my warriors in theirnds, and know that we have far stronger warriors than them. Zhaanpu, of them all, seemed to have most to think about. The nature of our rtionship was perhaps an ally of convenience, but my upation of Maelga had made him feel a little- Queasy. As if he invited evil into his home. Perhaps it was a sensation to have power challenged. I thought it might be a sense of vulnerability. Or perhaps it was how rtively easy it was to suppress the Crystal King, even with the Crystal King¡¯s huge array of hero items. He didn¡¯t manage to use them, and I also discovered they were primarily designed for use against heroes that turned rogue. The hero item¡¯s effectiveness against Lumoof was suspect, and this was something that I saw Zhaanpu thinking about keenly. I noticed because he began asking Khefri for more general-purpose hero items, instead of human-killers. ¡°So this Empire-¡± Ste looked at the humannds. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°The war to free ourselves from the demons will not end. Not with how they bend the system to its will. We will need warriors. We will need equipment. The myriad worlds will supply them.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Ste said. ¡°It is like that.¡± Maelga¡¯s priests of Mas adapted surprisingly easily. I still wondered who Mas was, whether Mas corresponded to any of the religions of Treehome. Gaya, Neira, Hawa, Aiva. Those are the main four of Treehome. There were a few smaller ones, but their presence has been minor, and it¡¯s hard to tell whether they are real gods, or just fake ones. Then on the Satrya, there¡¯s Hawa¡¯s gods. Then, on Delvegard, the dwarfworld, the dwarves, so far, didn¡¯t seem to believe in any of the gods we know of. Looking at the trend, there may be more than ten gods, scattered over a vast area. The gods may be able to exert significant power over a set of Core worlds, but a much more reduced presence over the rest. ¡°An Empire gearing up for a war, but I can¡¯t help but think about the day after.¡± ¡°You make it sound like we will win.¡± ¡°We will.¡± Ste said, unsure of herself. ¡°But I hope there is something for the people, after all of this. That- you know, we be a post-scarcity society, where everyone lives at peace, and can decide to live the lives they want.¡± ¡°That will happen after-¡± ¡°Will you let go?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I said. I was sure I would. I¡¯d be more than happy to shed the mantle. If life was no longer at risk of extinction. If forests and my trees are allowed to prosper, why do I want to meddle in all this shit? It¡¯s pointless. The squabbles of life against each other. Pointless. I don¡¯t care for it. But I have to, because I need them to win this fight. Ste looked at the growing empire, and sighed. It was a mess. ¡°You know, I¡¯m torn whether that¡¯s a good thing.¡± *** Kei watched as the city of Freshka fell asleep that night. It was getting dark and the skies were clear. There were lights that littered the city, it is said that Freshka could be seen from miles away, the sprawling mess of Freshka¡¯s city, at times, never seemed to sleep. The streets glowed from the colorful lights. Magical stones, not fully formed crystals, were somehow converted into magical lights through the inventive manufacturing processes of crafters and enchanters. The crystal shortfall due to the manufacturing of bombs significantly drained the traditional supply of crystal based lights, so cities such as Freshka and many others found alternatives. Some cities used a type of glowing bug that is specifically bred to provide lighting. Some cities found glowing trees and nts, which provided much needed lighting. Others reverted back to fires. With the huge variety of woods these days, there are a certain variety of slow-burning woods that give enough light. Some just embed a [light] spell into various types of magical material, to cause them to emit light. But this required a [mage] to constantly maintain lights throughout the city, instead of materials that could draw in ambient energy. Freshka was still busy at night, but traffic was less heavy than daytime. The city¡¯s resource demands were so high that logistics guilds resorted to moving goods at odd times to maximize efficiency. Kei dodged a convoy of beetles. The Valtrian Order leased cargo-ferry beetles to the various merchants guilds formercial use, and they were arge source of ie for the Order. Cheap, magically sustained, and hardy, they significantly reduced the need for horses for goods, but most kingdoms, especially those that fear Aeon¡¯s retribution, still maintained their own stables and horses. Just in case. Dinner was over, and there were streets filled with bars and clubs. It was a scene that sometimes reminded her of home. People everywhere still have a need for entertainment, especially those of the flesh. Taverns were noisy at this time. Past the noisymercial streets, she walked into one of the quietest, most privileged corners of Freshka. She arrived at her destination. It was arge mansion. Quiet. She knocked on the gate, the gate opened magically. ¡°Lady Kei.¡± An Order guard stood at the guardhouse. There was also a maid waiting for her. ¡°You arrived earlier than expected. She¡¯ll take you in.¡± She was escorted into a quiet waiting room. Tea was served, along with some fruits. The walls had paintings. Of ces. ¡°Kei!¡± Lausanne walked into the room. ¡°Thanks for dropping by.¡± The crystal golem smiled at the master of the house. Laufen and Lausanne didn¡¯t live together. Her mother lived a few doors down the street. They talked about Arlisa, how Arlisa¡¯s still spending her time with adventurer stuff. About Lausanne¡¯s son, Lauda. Both Arlisa and Lauda are more than 100 years old now, and both as half-elves, their lifespans were going to be shorter than Lausanne, unless they gained a lot of levels. Still, they should live until at least their 200-300s if all goes well, unlike Ardi who died so much younger. Despite being a quasi-royalty of Freshka, Lauda founded his own small magical entity that focused on research and ruins. He didn¡¯t want to be too closely associated with the Order, even if they still received Order¡¯s funding. Unlike his mother and grandmother, who were still Order members till this day. Partly because he saw how Arlisa went through a rebellious phase and essentially burned bridges with many of her old friends. ¡°What about you- what¡¯ve you been up to?¡± Kei asked. ¡°I visited the Northern Inds recently, you know, to meet Me and Alexis-¡± ¡°Oh. Them. How are they?¡± Kei said with subtle contempt. She still struggled to fit them into the ns. Even Ken didn¡¯t really want to include them, given theirplicated past with Aeon. ¡°They are fine. They took my advice to bunker up well. The North¡¯s growing well, the cities feel a lot more prosperous since Ist saw them a few years ago. The vassal and guild wars didn¡¯t hurt them as badly as the rest.¡± The vassal wars have mostlye to a standstill. The resource demands of the great Comet attack drained much of the fire out of the war, and now that it has ¡®de-facto¡¯ ended, both sides settled into afortable ceasefire and status quo that neither wanted to restart. There might be an incident or re up that causes it to resurface, but for now, both sides are focused on licking their wounds and preparing for the eventual resumption of hostilities. Crystals also began to trickle back into the market. Kei looked at Lausanne, and then dropped the question on her mind. ¡°Lausanne. Would you be willing to take up arms again?¡± She paused, realizing Kei¡¯s question was serious. ¡°-why?¡± ¡°-Your children are old now. You no longer have to care for them like you used to. You have free time, and now, more than ever, we need you to do what Jura once did. Be on the front lines once more, and be one of the Pirs of our world.¡± Lausanne closed her eyes briefly. ¡°Is this request from Patriarch Lumoof or Edna?¡± ¡°No. Me- and maybe Ste.¡± Kei answered. ¡°Of all the elves from the first days of Freeka, only you remain. Well- and your mother, but she is not a warrior.¡± ¡°Roma¡¯s around.¡± Kei grinned. ¡°You know it¡¯s not the same. You are the first. The First true Valthorn.¡± ¡°That should be Jura.¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± Kei said. ¡°I believe Aeon would still give you a [soul strengthening seed] if you ask for it. For decades you are at level 85, there¡¯s probably some overflow experience in you that would-¡± Lausanne looked at her room. ¡°You want me to abandon theforts of my beautiful home, and head back out there in the wilderness, battling demons and monsters.¡± ¡°Yes. Because you are special, Lausanne. Till this day there is no one with your tier blessings. Sure, there are many, many others with the lesser variants of [Blessed by the Soul Tree], but knowing the system, there is an unspoken value as the first Blessed One of Aeon. You are the first, and that grants you a weight you can wield.¡± Lausanne closed her eyes. ¡°-tell me what¡¯s really on your mind.¡± Kei sipped her tea, and allowed the question to linger a bit before she spoke her mind. ¡°Aeon needs moral guidance. There are the domain holders, but we know he needs more than that. He needs a bit of your presence. You have history and a past. A bond few others can im to have.¡± ¡°A bond that has turned distant.¡± ¡°All I see are your internal struggles, Lausanne.¡± Kei answered. ¡°You¡¯re doing nothing with the rest of your life and you know it. You had just reason when you wanted to care for Lauda, but those days are over. Long over.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t live up to that? There are so many with far better innate talent. The domain holders are all incredible people in their own ways.¡± ¡°Is that what you fear, Lausanne? To try once more and find yourself not worthy?¡± Lausanne closed her eyes. In many ways, it was a crisis of self confidence. She didn¡¯t answer. Kei continued. ¡°You once said to Aeon that you wanted to be a hero. We now know that the path to power exists. Edna is close to that point. It is no longer an impossibility. Not like your earlier days. Aeon¡¯s ess to the other realms enables opportunities for growth we never had before. Lausanne, please. It¡¯s time to give that old dream of yours another chance. Jura once said your dream was foolish. But even he didn¡¯t see how things developed.¡± Lausanne listened, her heart swirling. A part of her was convinced. ¡°What¡¯s- what¡¯s your interest in this?¡± The golemughed. ¡°Must everything be about interests?¡± ¡°-But you have an interest in this.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see an end to this. Properly. I feel sorry for those like me, that we are on this treadmill of endless fighting, summoned to fight in worlds that don¡¯t know us.¡± ¡°Lies.¡± Lausanne countered. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit.¡± The golem smirked. Kei closed her eyes, and then spilled the beans. ¡°I- I look at Arlisa and you, and see different versions of wasted potential. Arlisa is one where she couldn¡¯t take the expectations and crumbled. You could and some, but you chose to walk away. We¡¯ve known each other for years, decades, centuries! Lausanne, ever since the day you trained us, protected us and got us to level, back when we first met in that dwarven city, in the Eastern Continent. That day, almost 130 years ago, in my eyes, you were always a hero. You can still be one. With Aeon¡¯s resources, I have no doubt about it.¡± Lausanne stared at Kei. Both of them looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, Lausanne let out a long sigh. ¡°I have- I have a lot of catching up to do.¡± 273. Watching Plants Grow 273. Watching nts Grow Voidyers. Ste felt it immediately, as Aeon said he would select the Dark Void. The world twisted and distorted ever so slightly, as if the entire world was an old cathode ray tube television that just experienced an interruption to its signal. The world was the same but different. There were nowyers to things. Aeon immediately mentioned the term ¡®filters¡¯, as if everything was photography filters. That was an eptable way of looking at things- but Ste wondered whether it was more appropriate to see things at different levels of magnification and zoom. That this was the world at different levels of zoom and magnify. Even Treehome looked different once Ste applied the voidyers. It was just in nothingness in some, and some others- something else. Ste wondered whether this was some kind of magical version of seeing quantum entanglement. That objects here are tied to some other objects far away, and the voidyers merely rearrange the world in ordance with how things are entangled together. The voidyers shifted things about. Eachyer moved the position of the different worlds in wildly different positions, and incredibly, they are all true at the same time. If teleportation was possible, in short, an ability to cross vast distances through linking two locations together, why wouldn¡¯t it be possible to have naturally urring variants? This was the worlds and realms cut up and pasted again in different ces. A puzzle with multiple possible answers. Each world is a puzzle piece, and eachyer a different eptable variation of how the puzzle was solved. Depending on whichyer, a world could be infinitely far away, or just next door. Ste stared as her mind flipped through the differentyers, and watched she could only process about 15, no, about 20yers. She may have ess to them, but her mind could not process those that were still too different. It hurt just trying to look at them, and she didn¡¯t even know why. ¡°Your nose is bleeding, Lady Ste.¡± One of the void archmages, Veter,mented. Veter too, had gained ess to the voidyers, and he only managed to see six of theyers before his mind began to feel the strain. ¡°I need Patreeck¡¯s help.¡± Stemanded, as she walked into the special brain augmentation tree designed to expand her mental processing capacity. The minds linked with hers, as she attempted to push the edges of the [Void Layers]. Incredibly, the moment she could see it, it didn¡¯t take her more mental energy to see it again. Once she got it, she got it. 23yers. ¡°Darn it.¡± Ste emerged exhausted, and sipped on a fruit punch filled with nutrients prepared right outside. The archmage, Veter, nodded. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t push it too hard, Lady Ste. A few of the lesser void mages had bad nosebleeds and had to be under [healer]¡¯s watch.¡± Ste shrugged. ¡°The [Void] worlds. Do you see it?¡± ¡°One of them.¡± Veter nodded. The order had about seven void archmages now, though none of them close enough to get to the domains, yet. They would have to participate inbat- perhaps intentionally triggering demonic mothers and use their void energies on the ck sun¡¯s shards. ¡°I can see two differentyers with them-¡± Ste frowned. In some versions of the voidyers, the world was entirely of a different color. As if these were special worlds, and they contained worlds entirely unseen on any otheryers. These were hidden in the gaps of the void sea. The equivalent of folders and files that were hidden from view through some administrative rights, and no matter how the files get shuffled around, these hidden files remain hidden. Veter nodded. ¡°Preparations to visit is underway- though our collective view is that we should get over the meteor remnants-¡± Ste understood. ¡°I agree. Tempting as it may be, it is not the right time to jump to these void worlds now.¡± Veter breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Aeon¡¯s node seeds. They could be sent to these void worlds.¡± The void domain holder paused. It was true. But right now, they were spoilt for choice. With the expanded starmap provided by the rescued Zaratan, they could see even more worlds that were linked to Delvegard. Then, on the other side of Satrya, there¡¯s the Hawa-controlled worlds. Ste knew they were close to the gods, because of how Hawa¡¯s power permeated through the world of Satrya. That- was also another front for exploration. They really didn¡¯t have enough void mages to go around. Not just that. They didn¡¯t have enough domain holders to explore the worlds safely. *** Year 267 Delvegard. ¡°What do you think?¡± Lumoof asked as he guided the dwarven lord Sundus through the small town. It was a rtively run down, undeveloped ce, but the local dwarves still built a small town here. Here, in this small dwarven town of Odeos, with no resources of worth, they were not worth the attention of the nearby dwarven nations. Sundus, a rtively young dwarven lord from the Fresnds Treetiary College, nodded. ¡°Can be done. But I will require assistance. There¡¯s a lot of construction to do, and I will need the Treeology priests to back me up. I¡¯ll need some time to convince the dwarves to ept our rule.¡± Lumoof nced at Kafa. Kafa nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll handle it, Patriarch.¡± My avatar nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the responsibilities for this world to you, Kafa. It appears I am needed elsewhere.¡± The lizardperson gave a salute. ¡°I won¡¯t let you down.¡± ¡°I know you won¡¯t. But do not fear failure. We will inevitably fail somewhere. Even Aeon fails.¡± Lumoof smiled and looked back at Sundus. ¡°Lord Sundus, I¡¯ll return to Treehome and arrange the resources.¡± The Delvegard force was not a full invasion army, unlike Threeworlds. We deployed almost thirty thousand Valthorns and Valtrian Order operatives throughout the human kingdoms, in order to manage the transition period and enforce our rule. At about one hundred people, it was pretty much a small, but elite reconnaissance force. But with Kafa around, the likelihood of threats that could threaten them was fairly miniscule. Sundus was one of five dwarven lords recruited from Treehome for the task, each of them will be assisted by about twenty others elites, as bodyguards, spies, and also to act on their instructions. They would each im one of these smaller dwarven towns, as these towns do not have a high ranked [lord] leading them. The five would then form a shadow alliance, acting in concert with the rest of the Valthorns. Once a certain scale was achieved, the n was that I would deploy one of my Node Trees in Sundus¡¯s town. As the situation on Threeworlds and the human kingdoms stabilizes over the next few years, we would then have more resources to redirect to Delvegard, and properly begin our colonization process. Of what we know of Delvegard so far, we have two actual goals, and one optional goal The main one, in my brief assessment of Delvegard, was to properly capture the dwarven academies of Delvegard. These craftsmen and smithing academies train a lot of the crafters that worked on their War Machines, and if we could maneuver our FTC-trained dwarven lords into a position where they controlled these academies, that would be ideal. The second one, was to gain ess to a stable supply of these Sunsteels and Sunmetals, and conduct experiments on how to better use these new materials for our war against the demons. The third one was to recruit the dwarves for our war. I would like to channel their thirst for war towards the demons. That should bring about some semnce of peace and unity to the Delvegard Dwarves. If not, we would like to convert the dwarves into our war suppliers, providing assistance to our forces. Right now, the Valthorn¡¯s manufacturing processes are strong, but some variety of goods, and an expansion of our total military industrialplex would allow us to mount more attacks and reduce ourg time between attacks. We felt this keenly with the demon¡¯set, where we had to tap into all our crafters and manufacturers to make sufficient bombs. Even then, it felt insufficient. It took us too long to ramp up our production, and our bombs were still not good enough. As an institution, we will learn from our mistakes, and get better in the art of fighting demons. We will roll with the punches, and hit back as hard as we can. *** Treehome Back on Treehome, the situation was calm. More fragments emerged from the void, and during this time the heroes got some additional practice with the meteors and their tree-mechs. Then we finally had one that carried a part of the demon king Multipus. It was fairly small, and the heroes annihted the creature easily. So far, so good. None of the meteors have gotten past our firstyer of defenses. But the bulk of the meteors should only reach us in about three years time. Our space based defenses would be truly tested then. *** ¡°Here.¡± Kei held out the strange seed in her hand. Lausanne trembled slightly as she touched it, and consumed it. I remember when Jura ate it for the first time, and felt like his soul was on fire. Lausanne immediately went and rested on a bed. ¡°-I feel queasy.¡± ¡°I was told it¡¯s amon urrence.¡± She slept for a day, and when she woke up, her soul weighed more. ¡°So how many levels did you gain?¡± Kei asked as she came to check on her friend. ¡°I was told some folks have overflow levels.¡± ¡°Level 98.¡± Lausanne said, trembling slightly. ¡°I seem to have done a lot since I hit my peak.¡± ¡°Darn. 13 levels is pretty good. I hit Level 100 some time ago but it¡¯s getting pretty damn hard to level outside of the dungeons. I¡¯ll take you with me.¡± Lausanne paused. ¡°When I was sleeping, I was thinking about this- about what I¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°What?¡± Kei looked back. ¡°What if- what if one day we have to fight him?¡± Kei shook her head. ¡°I¡¯d rather not get to that point. We bend it, we mend it, but I¡¯d rather not end it. That¡¯s an ending we¡¯ll regret.¡± Lausanne looked out of her home, and into the streets. She wore Valthorn armor, custom made. Her position in the society meant many gave her special rights and ess, even when she didn¡¯t ask for it. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve visited dungeons.¡± Kei smirked. ¡°Well, it¡¯ll get easier with time.¡± *** Throughout Treehome, with the winds of the vassal wars behind us, trade and mostly normal life resumed. Piracy, a problem we¡¯ve pretty much allowed to ur due to the leveling it generated, came back in full swing, this time putting the pirates against their former clients. This time, adventurers participated in the defense of the guilds. Adventurers generally tried to stay out of the war between the guilds and Empires of the other continents, simply because their nature of work wasn¡¯t designed for regrbat, even if their high levels made them valuable irregr units. Most empires and guilds dangled huge amounts of money in the past, during the heated years of the vassal wars, and hoped to entice adventurers to support their war. It worked, to some degree, but some adventurers didn¡¯t want to offend either the guilds or the empires and decided to stay out of it. ¡°Once more, nothing from you. Why do you endure these pirates?¡± It¡¯s been two decades since the day Emperor Erranuel ascended to the throne of his Holy Empire, but we still asionally spoke. With my reach, it was not impossible for me to contact him even in the safety of his pce. The range of my telepathic abilities has increased, a result of the cumtive increase in levels over the years. ¡°Why not? It is only the natural course of mortals to attempt to subvert known ways of achieving wealth. Why do you expect me to do something?¡± ¡°True. Sometimes, I think nothing is exactly what you want to do.¡± Erranuel chuckled in his throne room. There was no one present, he had chased them out whenever we spoke. But I know some of the Emperor¡¯s aides are secretly listening, and he knows about it too. But a semnce of privacy is better than none. By most measures, his Holy Empire prospered since his ascension. His elevated powers brought prosperity, as the average health improved, farming yields improved, and somehow, the earth itself rewarded them with new mineral discoveries. A King or an Emperor bends the luck and destiny of his nation. Earthly minerals and resources are certainly not finite in the traditional, earthly sense. System shenanigans can trigger the creation of new mineral veins, just as how the flow of magical ley lines changes the mineral structure and qualities of the rocks it passed through. To a certain extent, there is a friendlypetition between us. Erranuel wants his empire to catch up with the Central Continent, and for most part, I don¡¯t get in the way. With our domain holders, we remain so far ahead that it would be difficult for them to even think ofpeting. I believe it is the openmunication between the two of us that allowed this to happen. As the Order expands into a multinar institution, our capacity to monitor and to truly control all the minutiae of local policies and politics is limited. Already, Ste informed the council of the presence of at least 15 more worlds that could be essed directly from Treehome, due to the newly unlocked [Void Layers]. ¡°Fifteen worlds. Just from us directly through the new voidyers.¡± My council gathered, and I wondered whether we should just send spies to them directly. But with domain holders at a shortage, using my level 100s was an elevated risk because theycked the protections a domainholder had. In a way, it was ironic that I didn¡¯t hesitate a full army to demonworlds, but I hesitated with these alien worlds. This was partly because demonworlds, for most part, felt like a known quantity. We were expecting demons, not other domain holders or gods. The range of possible enemies were somewhat predictable. If there was a domain holder hiding in the world of demons, they would be hiding really well. Gods, well, we don¡¯t expect them in the world of demons, because gods could easily defeat demons on their own homeworlds. ¡°I hear from the grapevine that you¡¯re exploring more worlds.¡± Erranuel said. It wasn¡¯t that much of a secret. We explored worlds, and we publicly announced that we want to explore more worlds. It was a recruitment pitch, really. People who have that exploratory streak would join us. The curiosity and desire to learn was a valuable quality to have. What I am truly afraid of, with all these new worlds, is the discovery of a potentially hostile civilization with the ability to travel through the multiverse. If they possessed mind reading abilities, that meant only my [domain holders] were the only ones that could interact with them with high certainty that their minds are notpromised. ¡°I am always exploring. There are many worlds out there, and we hope to find allies among them.¡± ¡°If you find our god, let him know I¡¯d like to speak to him.¡± Ironically, we were. The Holy Emperor Erranuel was blessed, by thebined blessings of Gaya and Hawa¡¯s archpriests, to create a King above Kings. ¡°We are close to one of them. When we do speak to him-¡± ¡°I want to be there.¡± Erranuel said. ¡°I am a Holy Emperor of an Empire, created in Gaya and Hawa¡¯s name. But in the end, I want to know whether they care. Whether there is purpose in this foolish conflict that we inherited from the earlier set of Divine Communions. Whether we can end this long standing conflict, and work together.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure. I didn¡¯t know whether Hawa would be friendly, or hostile. Of all the four major gods of Treehome, personally, I think it¡¯s most likely that Gaya was hostile. Gaya didn¡¯t even like spirit trees in his temple grounds. I still remember their priests kicking me out of their temple¡¯s garden. ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t want to speak to you?¡± I asked. ¡°Then there is no point for this faithful one to be faithful, is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Holy Emperor, surely your faith goes beyond such interaction. Is your faith so weak that it crumbles from being spurned?¡± I countered. I didn¡¯t know why I was testing his faith, either, but I suspect I didn¡¯t like how transactional it all sounded. There are those that believe all the frills of our society¡¯s interactions are stripped out, ites down to our expectations. Each transaction leads to current or future benefit, or fear of retaliation. Many people behave well, because they know being nice has future payback. If there were no future consequences, only a select few will be nice just to be nice. Emperor Erranuel chuckled. ¡°Praise Hawa and Gaya, for I am a fool that can¡¯t see their greatness. If a god doesn¡¯t speak to me, even as a Holy Emperor, what more do I expect of my subjects? What more do I expect of the men who I send to their deaths in his name? I continue to believe in him, for their ways are as mystical as the darkness of the skies above, but a Holy Emperor is Holy only because he is the conduit. He is the link between the Heavens and the Earth. If he doesn¡¯t speak to me, then I must abdicate my throne and choose someone who will be granted an audience with our god.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± That was a sensible angle. He is a Holy Emperor, because he must speak for his god. Without the ability to speak to his god, he is nothing but a normal Emperor. It is a fairlymon expectation in medieval societies that the Emperor is the gods¡¯ incarnate. ¡°What is God¡¯s Hand, if the hand cannot see God? I see your avatar, the Patriarch and the Voice of Aeon, and wonder where I stand.¡± I suppose even Emperors experience impostor syndrome. *** Satrya, The Home of the Seven Hawa Relics ¡°I doubt Hawa would actually refuse to see you.¡± The High Priest said. It was the sixth High Priest they met so far, and of the ones they met, two had refused to entertain them. The High Priest of Museo was willing to speak for them, as was the High Priestess of Olpash. Two in favor, three against. This High priest shook his head. ¡°I will not oppose it. But I will not support you. It is His Eminence¡¯s choice.¡± ¡°We merely request for the delivery of the message to Hawa.¡± The sixth one abstained. He frowned. ¡°Sorry. This is as much as I am willing to do. It is the matters of our God, and a mere mortal as myself would not step in.¡± It is amon stance. Those that opposed generally had the same stance, that with the matter of God, Edna would be the one to seek out an audience herself. The priests have no say, and should not be seen as working for another god. Even if it was just the act of delivering a message, all matters around their God was dealt with velvet gloves, and they would not dare to even consider modifying old customs and processes. Faith. It did so much good to their world. It gave them protection and gave them structure. But there are times Edna hated dealing with them. ¡°Can you imagine our own priests turning out this way?¡± Ezar said with a scowl. ¡°They could.¡± Edna responded earnestly. ¡°We better remind the patriarchs and matriarchs not to be such stubborn fools.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bnce between essibility and mysticism.¡± Roon said with a sigh. The ranger-archer was surprisingly knowledgeable. ¡°With more ess, god loses mysticism.¡± Edna frowned. ¡°That¡¯s so stupid. A god¡¯s presence is self-evident. Anyone standing in front of Aeon knows that.¡± Edna remembered the day when Aiva descended for an audience, and she remembered how it felt. It was truly an unmistakable experience. Those who were there know who they saw, and no words can exin it. A god is a god, and there was no need for all this pomp and process. Before divinity, there really was nothing else topare to. ¡°But Aeon is not in front of everyone.¡± Roon countered. ¡°Think of it this way, if Hawa is so freely essible, then it so happens that one can no longer speak to Hawa, will Hawa suffer from a loss of faith? Therefore, the base assumption for a faith is that speaking to a god is only in very, very special situations.¡± Edna realized Roon had a point. If the god was always seen as there, then suddenly disappearing would be bad for them. But if he is always unseen, then whether he is or not, is of no consequence to the faith. ¡°But we are asking for an audience-¡± ¡°And I bet kings and emperors have asked for an audience too. That two of six are willing to speak for us is actually pretty good.¡± The Council of Hawa High Priests numbered Seven in all. Seven Relics, and Seven High Priests. ¡°But this means we don¡¯t have a majority.¡± Edna frowned. ¡°We need Lumoof here to convince that old woman to change her mind.¡± 274. Food for Thought 274. Food for Thought Year 267, Part 2 Delvegard Sundus found it quite easy to bribe the existing Dwarven Lord to resign from his post, and hand it over to him. After all, he was the lord of a small town worth nothing, a bit of money and high quality equipment did more for him than his position ever did. So, Sundus soon found himself lord of the small dwarven town of 2,000 dwarves. They worked at a mine that produced regr iron, and they had forges to make high quality steel, which they sold to the other dwarven cities. For food, some of the dwarves farmed. It was a matter of great reluctance for the Delvegard dwarves, since they didn¡¯t like farming all that much. On Treehome or on ces like the Eastern Continent where the dwarves had their hidden underground cities, they loved to fund the other races to produce all their food and wheat or buy their food from others. It was for this reason dwarven cities are rarely mono-racial cities, because they needed some people to be farmers, and would treat them well to do what they were meant to do. It was a productive, symbiotic business transaction. The dwarves supplied high quality equipment and ale, and the humans supplied the wheat, barley, and rye. The dwarves were also stockier, sturdier, and generally, better brawlers than the humans, so they often provided protection to the human farmers, who also enjoyed how the dwarves generally stuck to their word. On Delvegard, there are no humans. And so the dwarves had to do their own farming. In most dwarven towns, most dwarves do their own small-scale farming, where their produce is enough for themselves, and for the brews they make. Dwarven homes in Delvegard usually came with a small patch ofnd next to their existing homes where they cultivated some of their farms, or in more structured cities, there were designated sharednds where the irrigation was centralized. But in most cases,rge scale farms were extremely rare, except in certain dwarven cities where there is a functional ¡®ve¡¯ ss or ¡®underss¡¯ of dwarves. This was an underss of dwarves that were forced to do farming. ¡°There¡¯s an opportunity here.¡± Kafa said to Sundus, and Sundus readily agreed. A monocultural dwarven society isn¡¯t able to do what they need to do well. The dwarves farmed, and they tried their very best to automate the process throughrge magical machines meant to run their farms. This was an option avable to the strongest of towns, because automated farming golems were fairly difficult to make, because for dwarves who were so picky with the quality of their wheats, the unskilled [golem]¡¯s output was still pretty bad. A [farmer] with skills and levels produced high quality food. Materials for brews. But dwarves didn¡¯t like being [farmers], and those that did, are few and far between, and so, they be rather precious folks. Despite this, their society looked poorly on them. A dwarven [farmer]¡¯s social status in Delvegard was shit, so most of them doubled up as [brewers], which was a better ¡®ranked¡¯ position. Still, the split focus, and the micro scale meant farming output in Delvegard was low. Despite farming being an absolute necessity for survival, dwarves in Delvegard generally avoided taking up too many farming skills. They would take 1 or 2 just to ensure that they had some viable crops, but no more. In fact, most of them prefer to subsist on a diet of hunted meats, foraged berries and fruits. So Delvegard dwarves tend to base their cities and towns nearrge hunting grounds,rge forests with a decent amount of berries and fruits, or near rivers where they could engage in fishing. ¡°But the options are fairly limited. If we bring in an entirely new race of people to serve as farmers, that is a risk of its own.¡± The two discussed their options. Disease, environment, and we would essentially alter the racialposition of Delvegard. In some ways, we were already altering it with our actions, butrge scale import of an alien race to a world like Delvegard did feel a little wrong. It felt like we were introducing a potentially invasive species, even though we already are an invasive species. The alternative was to engage in import of themon necessities of the Delvegard dwarves. We had the ability to producerge quantities of high quality food on Treehome. In short, we could be the remote breadbasket of Delvegard, and pretty much throw the economic bnce of Delvegard upside down. In a way, we really had three main options, though our ultimate solution was likely abination of them. We could start introducing a migrant race to do farming. We also could use my trees and my blessing abilities to boost natural food sources. We could import. ¡°Actually-¡± Sundus asked. ¡°What¡¯s Aeon¡¯s time horizon for Delvegard? Do we want to take over this world in 2 years, 10 years, 50 years, or a hundred?¡± ¡°Fifty. But within 10 years we want a solid foothold with at least two to three cities.¡± Kafa said. ¡°The things we want in Delvegard are people, skills, academies. Things that would be destroyed if we acquired them by force. Our preferred strategy here is to trade and win over, simr to how Aeon won over the rest of the Central Continent with trade and pretty much overwhelming power during Freshka¡¯s first Century.¡± Sundus looked at the domain holder, and scratched his head. ¡°You need to make yourself into a scary person, if that¡¯s the case. Are you going to be the stick that looms over us all?¡± The lizardfolk frowned. ¡°That¡¯s- that¡¯s still a strategy that we¡¯ll need to shape over time.¡± Sundus countered. ¡°Lord Kafa, I hope you don¡¯t find this offensive, but, I believe you are ill suited for this assignment. If Alchemist Alka is here, we should have a significantly better time. His sheer presence as a domain-tier dwarven Alchemist should convince many to join us.¡± The lizardfolk actually froze momentarily. But he was willing to entertain the idea, and as the thought swirled in his mind, he eventually nodded. ¡°You are right. But Alka¡¯s resurrection is still a decade away. For now, I will have to suffice.¡± The dwarven [Lord] could only sigh. ¡°I guess so.¡± All the other Dwarven [Lords] sessfully took control of their new towns. There was hardly any resistance, not when the right amount of money was paid. These towns were ¡®worthless¡¯, but with the Valthorn presence, all of them dwarves selected from our own academies, our work began. In some ways, we gave dwarves huge options. With ess to the wider Valtrian Orderwork, the dwarves of Treehome could select duties that they were most suited for, and with arge enough, we could have dwarven [druids], [alchemists], [cksmiths], and [builders]. We deployed them in these five towns, and used their skills to give our new towns advantages. New walls, improved yields from the foraged berries. As the year reached it¡¯s end on Delvegard, Sundus finally said his town was ready for the node. And so, I deployed my first [Node Tree] on Delvegard. *** Mountainworld Adrian, thest hero of Mountainworld prepared for battle. In a year, another demon king would arrive. Fifteen years seemed too short, or too long, depending on how you see it. Fifteen years was enough for a human child to be a war ready soldier. Because on this war obsessed Mountainworld, a life of war starts early. Fifteen. Ten. Child soldiers aplenty. ¡°Will you be calling them back?¡± Lumoof looked at Mountainworld. He was ted to visit Satrya too, but that was a risk. I thought about it. It was a suboptimal choice, and the exploration of Satrya took longer than I expected. Partly because I wasn¡¯t expecting to find a world touched by the gods. ¡°I should.¡± We¡¯ve scouted out the connected demonworld, and found it to be some kind of wolf-world. The demons took the form of gigantic wolves, but with elemental powers. Each of the slightly different variants of the horned demonic wolves controlled either fire, earth or lightning. The demonic champions were shapeshifting demonic wolves that possessed a demonic form. They were either wolf form or demon form, where they were the stereotypical winged demons with horns. It was amusing to witness the demons with shapeshifting ability, so I captured some of them for research. Lumoof would¡¯ve balked at this assignment decades ago, but now, capturing a demon champion and overwhelming it with mana? This assignment was no sweat. It was nothing next to being stuck in a dem. We hauled three demon champions back to Treehome through the void gates, and sent them into my gigantic bibs. *** ¡°That way.¡± Lumoof looked as the group of Valthorns carried the pacified demon champion. The wolves have been trapped in magical stasis, in a kind of crystalline prison invented by Alka a few years before theet. It was meant as an anti-hero countermeasure. As a prison for heroes, it¡¯s still insufficient, but it proved effective in weakening demons too, because thebination of anti-mana ss used throughout its structure and magical formations drained the demons of their magical energies. Once upon a time, this amount of demonic mana would prove too much. But we have changed since then. Advancements, all the little steps along the way added up, and now we have prisons able to subdue a weakened demon champion. The Valthorns walked through the tunnel. Here, the Valley of the Unrotten, the presence of magic was sometimes suffocating. The Valthorns gripped their equipment, and their breaths were heavy. Aeon could have opened the valley up long ago. But it remained the way it was, with only a small opening where Aeon¡¯s canopy reached into the skies. The rest of the valley remained hidden under the hardened, root-reinforced walls. The sludge was long gone, transformed into regr dirt and soil. But here in the valley, it was and of magic. Each tree here was slightly different, and anyone with magical sight would instantly notice the huge cacophony of signals throughout the valley. This was Aeon¡¯s extended mind,rge numbers of Aeon¡¯s assistant trees whose sole purpose is to augment Aeon¡¯s sight over the worlds. There are smaller versions of these orchards of Artificial Minds around each of Aeon¡¯s clones. But here lies the greatest of them all. Lumoof stopped, and looked at a grotesque existence that looked like human brains cut out and piled into the shape of a tree. Patreeck, the Titan Grand Mind Tree. And there were two of them. There were crystals and gems in them, turned into strange shapes. The crystals and gems were used as connective tissue. Precious metals turned into a web of links throughout the strange tree. Lumoof didn¡¯t remember the other one¡¯s name. But Aeon nned for more of them. It hummed, and for someone with Lumoof¡¯s senses, he could hear a constant buzz as Patreeck thinks. But this was not where they would be. There was a section where Aeon conducted demonic experiments. Deeper. There were massive trees here, but to say they are trees would be a stretch of definition. There were all a massive hollow log that could be covered, filled with Aeon¡¯s vines. They would thoroughly examine any creature thrown inside, though it¡¯s ability to study materials was significantly weaker. Here, in the depths of Aeon¡¯s valley, there were no concerns that the weakened demon champion could cause damage. Aeon¡¯s presence alone petrified the demonic creature, and his vines pulled the struggling wolf-demon into the log. It would be torn apart, and eventually, transformed with Aeon¡¯s mana. Such is normal. One of them was already transformed in the field. But for those that are still purely demonic, Aeon wanted to peek into them. Aeon would learn from them, and often, new discoveries are reflected in the beetles. Shapeshifting beetles would be a wee addition to Aeon¡¯s arsenal. Lumoof stood, and watched. No. He could feel it as Aeon¡¯s vines began to work on the wolf-demon. He could feel the vines pierce the skin and hide of the creature, and felt it crawl through it¡¯s body and grab what¡¯s left of the demon champion¡¯s dried soul. It was vivid, and Aeon loved studying creatures that it never encountered. Across all worlds, Valthorn and Valtrian Order operatives continue to harvest and collect new specimens for studies, a tradition that started long ago during the days of New Freeka. Aeon had reached the wolf-demon¡¯s body, and Lumoof knew Aeon had just made a copy of the creature¡¯s dried soul spring. He would attempt to rebuild it on Lavaworldter on. Lumoof noticed the other Valthorn operatives¡¯ trembling hands as they pushed the second crystal prison close to the log. They¡¯ve done this many times, but for non-domain holders, they know this is face to face with the jaw of the beast. They know it is safe. They know what to do. But fear is primal. Lumoof merely gave them a knowing nod. They have to face their struggles. It is safe. Aeon would not hurt them. As Aeon finished digesting what was left of the third demon champion, he concluded his research. Bibs were one of Aeon¡¯s favorite tools, and he loved experiments. He was also eager to study the Delvegard dwarves and the humans of Satrya, but it¡¯ll have to wait for a while. *** ¡°Silver weapons will be needed.¡± I remarked. This message was delivered to the Mountainworld hero, Adrian. He visibly facepalmed. ¡°Oh great. I¡¯m facing Werewolves. Are the othersing to help me?¡± ¡°Only Prabu, Colette and Khefri. Chung-¡± Adrian shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t have to exin. I get it.¡± Werewolf demons were surprisingly hardy, resistant to magic and also blunt weapons. But like their nature, silver somehow pierced through those defenses fairly easily. It wasn¡¯t too hard to modify some of our existing weapons to incorporate a bit of silver, and many of our existing weapons already have some silver element within them. My void mages triangted the location of arrival, and prepared for the battle. In our usual way. The surplus weaponry from the Demon¡¯s Comet were redirected for this purpose. Lumoof and the other domain holders would return for this. Their adventures on those new worlds would have to wait for a while. *** Satrya Edna, Roon and Ezar explored all the relic cities, but they eventually concluded that Patriarch Lumoof would have to be present in order to convince the other two Head Priests to switch sides. The head priests of the seven relic cities met once a year for what is known as the Hawa¡¯s Circle. Hawa himself only selected the Hawa¡¯s Champions after the demon king arrived, and that was a few years more. In short, they have at least a few more year before Hawa woulde. If they have to, they¡¯d have to crash a meeting with Hawa¡¯s Champion. ¡°Well, let¡¯s head back.¡± Edna concluded. ¡°We need to be there for the fight with the wolf-demon.¡± Ste would open the portal from the other side- ¡°You don¡¯t want to say goodbye to the priestess?¡± Ezar teased. ¡°I bet she¡¯s going to hate you if you just disappear without telling her.¡± Roon was about to roll his eyes. ¡°You promised her you¡¯d take her on a trip.¡± He gulped. ¡°Ah man-e on, I can¡¯t be taking a woman on a trip. Not when we¡¯re going back to fight demons-¡± Ednaughed but nodded. ¡°Ezar has a point. I think you need to be more sensitive to how a woman of her age thinks. Let¡¯s take her with us.¡± ¡°What if she¡¯s a security risk?¡± Roon countered. ¡°She¡¯s a high priestess of Hawa. We¡¯re revealing information about ourselves!¡± ¡°Agree on that too. But at least, tell her you¡¯re going away. I know she¡¯s trying to observe you even now-¡± Roon flinched. It was true he was notified that his [domain] blocked attempted scrying. But there were ways around it. She attempted to scry locations close to them, and it was possible to do so when their locations were not secret. He frowned, but nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll send her a message.¡± ¡°I¡¯m leaving your world.¡± Roon said via a magical message. He activated an item that allowed him to have a magical conversation. ¡°Also, you can stop scrying now.¡± The spell only facilitated a voice conversation, partly because Roon didn¡¯t really want to see her. ¡°-you know?¡± ¡°Of course. I keep getting notified it¡¯s blocked!¡± ¡°If you¡¯re leaving, can you take me with you?¡± ¡°No.¡± The unspoken reason was clear. She was a risk, and they didn¡¯t want to cannot expose our location. ¡°My God is not a threat.¡± She answered, clearly sensing the cause of her rejection. ¡°We don¡¯t know about that.¡± Roon said. Edna and Ezar listened nearby. There really was not much point for privacy in such situations. ¡°I¡¯m certain of it. We have amon foe.¡± ¡°I hope so. But until we are sure, we¡¯re not taking the risk.¡± Roon countered. ¡°If you¡¯d arrange for the audience-¡± ¡°It¡¯s all about the audience.¡± The priestess repeated. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll tell Hawa! But if you get to speak to him, I want you to take me to your world.¡± The ranger sighed. He wondered why he had this type of trouble. ¡°Look. It¡¯s not my decision. It¡¯s a collective decision as an organization. I cannot promise you that. Goodbye.¡± The magical spell was cut off. ¡°There.¡± Ednaughed. ¡°Well done, but I do think you need some rtionship coach. The way you spoke to her was quite harsh.¡± Roon shook his head. ¡°Why are you trying to matchmake me with a foreign priestess? Can¡¯t you just let me date Aeon¡¯s priestesses instead?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. It¡¯s your personal choice in the end.¡± Edna nodded. ¡°Come. Let¡¯s get back and deal with a giant pup.¡± *** 275. Securitree Concerns 275. Securitree Concerns C275 Year 268 Delvegard The security situation in most of the newly controlled towns were stable. The dwarves were fairly respectful of power, and they voiced their disagreements and dissatisfactions in a straightforward manner. In the face of strength, they respected and epted that, and so didn¡¯t make much of a fuss. These small towns didn¡¯t have much concept of pride and it¡¯s identity as a town or nation state wasn¡¯t fully formed. This was due to the rtively short history, and theck of unique selling point. As a result, the five lords from Treehome were generally free to consolidate their power and make changes. It¡¯s likely things would be trickier, with older dwarven nation-states. These states and cities would have longer history, more pride, and generally, a stronger desire to keep control within itself. But for now, nothing much urred. The void creatures found in the mines of the other dwarven cities were nowhere near the five towns we now controlled. But it wasn¡¯t that difficult to find them. The dwarves, incredibly, had a special ss for it. [Sunmetal Prospector]. These dwarves seemed to have an inbuilt radar that detected the presence of these Sunmetals whenever they approached a newnd, and stronger, higher leveled prospectors could even sense their presence just by standing on top of them. From our informants, it seems that the Dwarven Lords themselves usually have some [Prospecting] or [Mining] sses, because of how valuable the sunmetal was to their war efforts. Sunmetal, in other words, was Delvegard¡¯s gold. The void creatures were the dragons that guarded them. Large veins somehow generated and caused the creation of particrly strong void creatures, and in Delvegard mythology, there were stories of the Void creatures as the spirit of the Sunmetal, expelled from their flesh due to their crimes. In those stories, the void creatures guarded the sunmetal veins like an obsessive spouse, and would fight tooth and nail to protect their bodies. In other regions of Delvegard, another version of the story ces the veins as the remains of an old dwarven god, the void creatures were the poisons that killed the old god, and now feasted on its remains. Kafa found the stories fascinating, and traveled to learn more about Delvegard. His levels and domain made his physique exemry, and he used it to his full advantage, moving from ce and ce. We wanted to visit all therge kingdoms of Delvegard, and improve our knowledge. One of the key concerns the Lumoof had was whether there was divine presence in this world. We wanted to find out who these dwarves worshiped, and whether there are other domain tier individuals. Most of the dwarves we met so far seemed to believe and worshiped a god called Eras. But Eras was more like a craft god, and it was a familiar name. We had records of Eras, as mentioned in the Margmarian recordings. But unlike the records in the Margmarian city, Eras¡¯s faith in the world of Delvegard was more casual and unregted. Here, the teachings of Eras were passed down from parents to children, and so were twisted in bits and pieces. What¡¯s left of the original Eras scriptures were scattered across the dwarven nations, but no one actually attempted to piece them together. In some ways, the dwarves didn¡¯t take Eras all that seriously, and the pious was a real minority. It is a blend of an old faith with dwarven superstition. *** One of thergest dwarven factory-academies on Delvegard was an institution called the Delvegardian Yards. It was arge mountain that was hollowed out over the centuries, and home to the thirdrgest war machines and factories on all of Delvegard. It was, politically, a subordinate of the nearby Dwarven Kingdom of Ruthfyord, but in substance, the Factory master of the Delvegardian Yards was the true king of Ruthfyord. Even today, it is the Ruthfyord King¡¯s father that controlled the Delvegardian Yards. Kafa tapped the illusionary device, and it cloaked his presence. He could do so with his scales, too, so the illusionary device was made not to interfere with the functionality of his colorful scales. Colossal War Machines stood motionless in the yards. Here, hundreds if not thousands of dwarven crafters worked on separate parts of the war machines. Some worked on their legs, some worked on their body, some worked on the weapons that would soon. Kafa walked about untouched. In this factory-academy where masters taught their apprentices, the sound of metals banging and hammers hitting steel was the background music. No one noticed the invisible lizard. He snuck through the vast academy, and then into the hangers located on another side of the hollowed out mountain. They had at least thirty war machines just under maintenance, and another ten more that seemed ready for use at any time. They had pilots. Dwarven [Machine operators], each forming a bond with their gigantic war machines. The war machines had to be charged. They hadrge crystal power units, and the [Operators] themselves supplied some of the war machine¡¯s power requirements. Just as sunmetals were used for joints, they also used some kind of Sunmetal-Crystal mixture for batteries. I was tempted to steal one and even suggested it. I was fascinated. Such equipment and design were unseen on Treehome, and I believe Alka would love it. But I was interrupted. ¡°But what if this leaves a bad mark? Do we really want to start a rtionship with these dwarves on the wrong foot?¡± Some of my dwarven diplomats advised otherwise. ¡°I believe we can obtain this above board, through trades.¡± ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s try trades, then.¡± We could easily trade void weapons for it. My void mages produced enough void weaponry, but that¡¯s something we wouldn¡¯t reveal. Not yet. Kafa soon learned that the kingdom of Ruthfyord controlled about seventy war machines. There were a few other kingdoms with such simr size. Most smaller kingdoms and city states controlled two to three such war machines, and even those were of a lower quality than the giants. The war machines themselves had surprisingly powerful beam weapons, and the legs were pretty much stabbing weapons. By my own estimates, two of these war machines could take down a demon walker. ¡°Their protections are rather weak.¡± Kafa noticed, as they mainly relied on the natural endurance qualities of the Sunmetal and Sunsteel. ¡°Most of them were focused on energy reflection spells.¡± Kafa¡¯s espionage continued, and he snuck through the Delvegardian Yards easily. He quickly detected the presence of a hidden chamber, and entered it. The factory master worked on a super-colossus. Ten legs and enough weapons to match ten colossus, it was engineered for the Factory master. It wasn¡¯t that unique. Kafa¡¯s exploration of the otherrge factories and academies revealed that most kingdoms worked on some superweapon. Bigger. Stronger. Each Factory Master wanted to go above and beyond a war machine. It seemed even dwarven kingdoms needed a trump card. His visit would be cut short. For now. He would return for another visit. ¡°Kafa. Time to go back. Demon Kinging.¡± *** ¡°Rift emerging. The demon king is departing from the Core of the werewolf world.¡± The void mages on the demon world now linked to Mountainworld sent the message. I wonder how hte Canari would react to another canine world, but the wolves of Werewolf-World were shapeshifters. I wondered what sort of people they had, when they were still popted. ¡°Well. Moment we¡¯ve been waiting for.¡± Ednaughed as she took out a gleaming de of silver. Everyone was armed with enough enchanted silver to properly stock a jeweler, but in many ways, it was a shame. We even modified our bombs to embed little bits of silver beads and alloys, in order to amplify their effectiveness. In theory, it should work. But every demon king¡¯s skillset is unknown. Demon Kings could be resistant to things their demons were weak to. Adrian, the lead defender, prayed. He prayed to his friend. Even his older friends, those that passed away long ago. [Demon King Marchosias has arrived]. The ce of battle on Mountainworld was arge forest. We¡¯ve rigged the ce with bombs. The werewolf champions emerged from the rifts, and were swiftly shot down. Then we all felt the demon king¡¯s presence, it emerged from the rift, its fur was like a living liquid. Once we detected it, the bombs exploded. Edna and the domain holders prepared for battle. I was partly expecting the fight with Multipus first. The pulse of the chained explosions sted upwards, and I knew it was slightly weaker. Without Alka¡¯s presence, some of his skills were inactive, and that impacted the strength of the bombs. Therge forest was instantly transformed into a crater. It was a pity. I felt pain in my soul when such arge forest was leveled. But I would restore this forestter. I made a note to my artificial souls to do so. ¡°The wolf ising.¡± Marchosias, the wolf-shaped demon king lunged for Adrian like a furious war god. It was wolf shaped, but not a wolf, because that was when we saw a few more magical ws and limbs emerged out of nowhere. ¡°Stay back!¡± Edna charged ahead, and her silver de shone like a glorious full moon. She shed, and the demon king recoiled. Her power was fully activated then, and she tanked the demon king¡¯s powerful ws. Each w strike contained the power of a demon king, and though Edna took it like it was nothing more than a pillow strike, the aftershocks from each strike still left small craters around the domain holder. Shended a few shes, her silver de left magical wounds on the demon king, but it was clear those wounds mended. The heroes continued to bombard the demon king with spells, and immediately noticed howckluster their attacks were. ¡°It¡¯s magical resistance is astronomical.¡± Prabu frowned. ¡°Switching to blended magical spells.¡± If magic didn¡¯t work, the heroes were each given a nation¡¯s arsenal of physical spears and projectiles. They would wrap these projectiles in their magic, and use them as bullets, empowered by their hero weapons. The heroes¡¯ magical attacks bombarded the wolf-demon, and impaled it. It¡¯s fur was magically resistant, but physical weapons still hurt it quite a bit. I don¡¯t really get why silver weakened it, but I suppose it¡¯s some [system] shenanigans. The demon pulsed. We thought it was going to blow. But it didn¡¯t. Instead, it merely shapeshifted, and transformed into a different form. A smaller, much smaller demon. Faster. Smaller. Edna tried to step in the way, and shed it. Edna traded a few blows, but the demon king wasn¡¯t keen on fighting the domain holder. Instead, it looked around, and aimed at the four heroes present. It tried to battle Khefri, and soon realized Khefri¡¯s armor was too strong. Khefri, the scorpionoid heroine, was quite good at close rangebat, and her natural carapace could take more hits than most heroes. She traded blows with the second form, and the demon king immediately realized it didn¡¯t want to engage Khefri inbat. It shifted, and tried to target the mages instead. But Prabu and Colette were too close, and they were also protected by my domain holders, Lumoof, Kafa and Ezar. No go. I watched it try to attack Roon and Johann, but my rangers¡¯ move speed meant they were able to maintain a distance. Marchosias was trying to pick off the weakest member of the party, and domain holders were not it¡¯s priority. It wanted heroes, and so, it¡¯s sightsnded back on Adrian. Edna immediately retreated. ¡°I don¡¯t like how it¡¯s looking at you.¡± Adrianughed. ¡°You think it¡¯ll get me?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know. It tried everyone and couldn¡¯t get far.¡± Prabu and Colette¡¯sbined bombardments meant they could sufficiently prevent the demon king from getting close, and so that meant only Khefri and Adrian were in the ¡®melee¡¯ range. ¡°Lumoof¡¯s with the mages, so I¡¯ll be with you.¡± It also seemed quite afraid of Lumoof, and my avatar mode. So long as Lumoof was there, Marchosias seemed to understand it wouldn¡¯t be able to get near the two mage heroes. Khefri immediately leapt over. ¡°Well, it¡¯s weakened, and looking to pick the weakest of us off. Who wants to be the bait?¡± Adrian frowned. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s me, since it didn¡¯t seem to like fighting with you.¡± They watched the demon king dodge attacks from my ranged heroes, and my roots. It was surprisingly still speedy, and the rift above continued to release smaller wolves. ¡°Is that necessary?¡± Lumoof asked, as he activated his [fury of the avatar]. ¡°I¡¯ll try to restrain it.¡± The entire terrain was surrounded by roots, and for once, the gigantic wolf seemed tiny. It was a wolf trapped in what seemed to be a mess of vines and woody tentacles. Marchosias immediately emitted an aura, ayer of ck energy that formed around it¡¯s body like a protective barrier. It briefly protected itself from all attacks, and my vines. ¡°A demon king with shields.¡± Lumoof smirked. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen a demon king with shields. Well, let¡¯s go for it.¡± Immobilized, despite it¡¯s shields, the demon king was sitting ducks. We charged our weapons, and waited for that protectiveyer to fade. Once it faded, we blew up the demon king. [Demon King Marchosias has been in] There was no explosive destruction. The demon king left a core that was tainted by star mana, but that was no matter. The entire crater was seeded with crystals, as the remnants of the demon king¡¯s corpse transformed into daemolite. ¡°Well. Time to clean shit up.¡± Lumoof dered. The Valthorns quickly descended on the forest to mop up the residual energies. Adrian looked at Khefri. ¡°You know, I had the strange feeling like I was supposed to die today.¡± Khefriughed. ¡°You think too much. With so many otherbatants present, you think you¡¯d die today?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s just a weird feeling. Like it was written in the stars, but it did not happen.¡± Khefri frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t say such inauspicious things. There¡¯s still Multipus.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s inevitable that we will die.¡± Adrianughed. ¡°I just wonder when.¡± *** The Cometworld floated through the vastness of the void sea. It¡¯s bubble of reality expanded slightly, very slightly. This was a world with no core remaining, and so it¡¯s bubble of reality is maintained by my existence. I wonder whether only domain holders emit a bubble of reality, or whether it is something that all living creatures have. It floated by ces. Darkness. It¡¯s movement in the void sea brought us even further away from the demons, and I wondered where it was headed. We¡¯ve been working on manipting an object¡¯s trajectory through the void sea for ages, and even now, we¡¯ve not seeded. With the voidyers, we wonder whether this is even necessary. Perhaps, in one version of the voidyers, the Cometworld was headed in the right direction after all. ¡°That¡¯s so optimistic.¡± Steughed. ¡°But true.¡± I countered. ¡°It¡¯s like falling upwards.¡± ¡°The void sea defies all normal types of logic. The void sea is pretty much whatever your mind thinks it is. It¡¯s like a painting on a canvas.¡± My void domain holder chuckled. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to start exploring the voidyers. We need to hunt Multipus down and be done with this meteor storm.¡± The demon king is out there somewhere, on one of the meteor remnants. I doubt it was consumed by the void. It just didn¡¯t seem like a thing for demon kings. *** Chung was alone in his part of the world. He trembled, as his mind weighed on him. It wasn¡¯t the demon king of his world. And yet, when he heard that a demon king came for Mountainworld, his mind seemed to strain. A hero waspelled to fight demon kings. It wasn¡¯t that strong, if the demon king was of another world. But it tugged at his mind, and heshed out. He abandoned his puppet state, and found a ce in the mountains. There were no sapient beings here, only animals and monsters. Heshed out, his arrows sted the surroundings. Everyone knew the area was off limits. It was where the Archer Hero went to blow off steam. The ce was filled with craters and holes. I¡¯ve not bothered to repair it, and left the mountainous region riddled with all the scars of his attacks. It happened more and more. Especially in recent years. I spied on him, and realized that he was slowly losing it. Conflict with this hero seemed inevitable, and the only one left on talking terms with him doesn¡¯t want anything to do with him. Internally, we prepared for conflict. We ran simtions of battle against the hero Chung. If he actually turned on us, the ideal state was a surprise attack. I didn¡¯t want to kill a hero. Yet, as his erraticism grew, I knew that it was inevitable. I only hoped that there wouldn¡¯t be too much coteral damage. 276. Interlude – Patching Up 276. Interlude ¨C Patching Up Interlude : It¡¯s been decades since she saw active duty, but Kei was right all along. A part of her wanted to go back, now that her kids have all grown up. It wasn¡¯t hard. It was only hard in her mind. What¡¯s worse, was that she knew it was her own mind working against her. Aeon said once, apparently, from an old philosopher, that the mind is its own unmaking. It was true, and yet it still happened to her. There were things that were so clearly headed their way, and yet, the mind would refuse to do anything. She stretched, her elven muscles and bones regained its old flexibility. It was magic. She¡¯d even say it got stronger. Since she took the Soul Strengthening Seed, she felt she was moreplete. More whole. Matters of the soul were hard to exin. The concept of being more whole, moreplete, when the soul was alreadyplete, seemed counterintuitive. But the soul can grow. The soul¡¯s density. It¡¯s weight. It¡¯s presence. More. When she was a child, Aeon spoke to her at length about the nature of the soul. Of everyone in this city today, she remembered many small talks between her and TreeTree. Even now, she could feel him there, at the very edges of her mind. A door she could open at any time. A voice she could reach out and talk to. She remembered that Lumoof once said that if the mind was a house, Aeon was like one of the rooms in his mind. It was there, and she felt it was apt. For her, it was a door. At times, it was like an invisible limb. It was that door that allowed her to sense Aeon¡¯s return from the Rottends. Long ago, during the days of her travels in the Eastern Continent, she remembered how the door wasn¡¯t even there. But these days, even in the Northern Inds, or the mountainous underground cities of the Eastern Continent, that door was still there. She knew what it meant. Aeon¡¯s reach had covered the entire realm. She could speak to him anywhere, and felt the rest of her soul. She wondered why she could sense herself. A rare ability, the priests and other mages imed. She wondered whether it was something she inherited from Aeon. The soul grows. It grows when nourished. Each act of ¡®gaining experience¡¯ is forming a brick that grows the spring of the soul. She picked up the spear. When she mentioned she wanted a new weapon, multiple high level craftsmen volunteered to make her something customized. Lausanne swung it around, as she practiced with her sparring partner, Kei. Her golem opponent used her golem-abilities to her benefit. She could create shields of crystal, a temporary ¡®growth¡¯ from her limbs, and block her spear strikes. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be in the zone, today.¡± Kei said. Lausanneughed, as her spear thrust mmed into Kei¡¯s shield, then followed with a rapid series of jabs. ¡°No. I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± ¡°What¡¯s on yours?¡± Lausanne countered. Kei didn¡¯t like the idea of the League of Heroes all that much, despite being ¡®forced¡¯ to ept the task, and Kei believed a volunteer group,posed of people like Lausanne, would work better in the long term. Kei wanted a mix of summoned heroes, and native champions because she saw the ws of the summoned heroes, and believed that native champions could augment the gaps. The summoned heroes were too unstable, despite their power, and strong native champions could serve as their anchors. Lausanne, therefore, served two purposes. Kei wanted Lausanne to be a counterweight to Aeon¡¯s increasingly expansionist ways. It was impossible to stop an expansionist Aeon, and given the state of the world, some worlds definitely needed an expansionist Aeon to make up for theirck of support. Along that path, Kei hoped that Lausanne would also support Kei as the ¡®anchor¡¯ of the mixed group of heroes. Of course, Edna, or Roon or Johann would have worked as well, but Kei knew that group was part of the exploratory force that visited all the new worlds. Eventually, there needed to be some kind of specialization. A defense-focused force of domain holders and heroes, and an offense and exploration focused force of domain holders. The worlds out there was toorge, and they needed more pieces on the field. But despite all that, Lausanne told herself she was doing this for the right reason. She didn¡¯t do it because she was selfish. She was not here to satisfy the hole in her heart. She lied. She knew it was there. A gnawing sensation. She liked this. She enjoyed it. Far more than being at home. *** ¡°Mom, you¡¯re really going back to the military?¡± Lauda asked. She had gone through six dungeon tours by then, and this was the fifteenth time he asked. They were not young anymore. Lauda was an adult, and would soon have a family of his own. She would be a grandmother in due time. A grandmother back in the military. Laufen, her own mother, once said it is rare for elven grandmothers to serve in battle, but not so for grandfathers. But she wasn¡¯t just any grandmother. She looked at her own mother, and knew the life of a doting grandmother filled with social work and societal duties was not a role for her. In her heart, her calling was still out there. She suppressed it during Lauda and Arlisa¡¯s younger years. Tried her best to dedicate her life to her growing children. But the joy and lightness in her heart when she sparred with Kei was all she needed. She knew it when she went back to the dungeons and ughtered monsters. She could feel it in her limbs. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s where I should be.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Arlisa asked. ¡°Because I enjoy it.¡± She was good at it. She still is good at it. She may be a long way from being the best, but she was pretty damned good at it. Lauda understood. ¡°Stay safe, mother.¡± But he would ask her again. Her son couldn¡¯t help but worry. Because doubt never faded. However remote, there was a chance she would not return. That was life on the battlefield. Arlisa looked at her mother like she was insane. ¡°You¡¯re already so old.¡± Lausanne nodded. It was a response from her human half. For elves, and especially Lausanne with the [soul strengthening seed], she felt fitter than ever. ¡°I know. But I still want to do this.¡± Level 100 came a few weeks ago after one of the Level 90 dungeons, and her ss transformed into [Aeonic Phantom of War]. A fairly unique ss, despite it being an upgrade from the [Aeonic Weaponmaster], though Kei said there were about twelve others with the same ss in the entirety of the Order. Her [blessings] also mutated at level 100, turning into the only one in the entirety of the Valtrian Order, [First Sentinel of the Tree] She didn¡¯t like the name. She wondered whether Jura had it first, and a part of her felt a little torn, for taking what should have been someone else¡¯s. That door in her mind felt wider, and the way it linked to her familiar felt stronger. Aeon¡¯s familiars had been able to replicate some of Aeon¡¯s powers, and it is often capped at their own levels. Someone at level 80 could ess a variant of Aeon¡¯s level 80 ability through the familiar. It was usually weaker. Much weaker. It didn¡¯te from Aeon directly, of course. The ess of power came through the [system]. The system replicated Aeon as a temte, and granted ess to variants of that temte. It was simr to how the [Court of the Deitree] retained the skills of its predecessors. She looked at her children. Arlisa disagreed. ¡°I must do this.¡± Arlisa frowned. She knew her daughter opposed it. Her son didn¡¯t look at her. *** Two yearster Lausanne sweated it out in the final room of the secret dungeon. She heard of its existence, but it¡¯s been a long time since she delved into the Level 100 plus dungeons, located deep in the subterranean chambers of Treehome. Kei smiled. ¡°That went well.¡± Lausanne nodded, the boss of the level 110 dungeon was some kind of gigantic thorny lizard. The materials harvested from the lizard would be given to the Order, and they would usually make some weapons or potions out of the remnants. She formed a small team. Kei, Lausanne, and two other younger Valthorns that were in the early level 100s. They were surprisingly stressed out. Kei and Lausanne were famously known as members of Aeon¡¯s inner circle. Royalty. Elite. Whatever they called it, the two of them had Aeon¡¯s ears, and almost everyone treated them carefully. After the dungeon, they went to that secret town in the underground chambers. The nomadic dungeon town. Every building here was movable, and when the dungeons moved, the buildings moved with it. They had to, because the dungeons expire after a while, the ley lines energy dwindled over time. Their goal was Level 125. They could get there with the experience seeds, but there was a w to it. Someone who worked hard to get to Level 125 was going to be a little bit stronger than someone who got there through consumption of experience seeds. Long ago, Edna and the first generation of domain holders needed to move every other month, because the dungeons¡¯ energies would be exhausted. These days, they didn¡¯t have to move as much, and the dungeons¡¯ energies recharged faster. The domain holders imed that it¡¯s Aeon¡¯s enhanced vitality after Aeon hit Level 250. Lumoof imed it was abination of factors, such as the enhanced energy of Treehome that meant stronger leylines, and also the higher levels and skill. Kei stretched, and asked. Kei asked the same question many times, and Lausanne realized the golem had a tendency to repeat herself. ¡°How long is it going to take for you to hit Level 125?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know how long it¡¯ll take.¡± Lausanne said, but Kei said her leveling speed was extraordinary. In many ways, it was. Lausanne gained 3 levels when others gained 2. Even next to Kei, with her fragmented hero¡¯s blessing, Lausanne¡¯s levels were still faster. But to Kei, it was absolutely normal. ¡°Aeon¡¯s been watching you since forever, and you¡¯ve got all of Aeon¡¯s blessings. If you can¡¯t gain levels, I doubt anyone else can.¡± She remembered Lumoof¡¯s exnations. Level 125 was where things got harder. They had to earn the right to be a domain holder. The system didn¡¯t like power levelers much at that point, and it is well known that most ¡®blessings¡¯ begin to dwindle in effectiveness. Except for the [hero shards]. Those divine objects worked at all levels, and were so thoroughly broken, Lausanne wondered how the system even allowed the hero shards to exist. It upended all the principles that everyone else followed. *** ¡°Mother, how¡¯ve you been?¡± Lausanne asked as she visited Laufen in her home some distance away. ¡°Well. Better, now that you¡¯ve decided to take up arms.¡± Laufen smiled at her daughter. The two don¡¯t look far apart in terms of age, for humans, they¡¯d be mistaken as sisters. Lausanne said nothing. She remembered her mother¡¯s emotions when it came to her service fluctuated from eptance, support, to sometimes disagreement and objection. It often depended on the mood she was in, and the news she heard from her social circle. So, nothing was said. Sometimes, it was better that way. Laufen looked at her. ¡°Do you remember when Jura died?¡± Lausanne remembered taking Arlisa to visit the ce that eventually became the city of Tigashfall. It was a vivid sensation, to speak to Jura through spiritualmunion, facilitated by Aeon. Something she didn¡¯t wish to do, ever. But sadly, death forever remains more frequent than she hoped, and she knew Aeon¡¯s priests facilitated that service for the spirits that managed to linger for a bit. So she nodded. Laufen smiled. ¡°Good. I don¡¯t intend to speak to you that way, ever. I hope to see you as one of the domain holders.¡± Lausanne let out a long sigh. The path isid out, but it is not an easy one. ¡°I will try, mother.¡± Laufen held her daughter¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s one thing to see our children die in battle. It¡¯s another thing entirely to see our children die inside, hollowed out like a husk. If this is what you want, go.¡± The younger elf nodded. ¡°Was it that bad? I didn¡¯t feel it was.¡± ¡°I could smell the fetid stench from my mansion.¡± ¡°No you couldn¡¯t.¡± Lausanneughed. *** Lavaworld was different. It¡¯s been a long, long time since she visited this hellhole, and she was instantly disturbed by how peaceful it seemed. There were demonic trees right around Aeon¡¯s clone tree. Here, she looked at the gigantic tree, and understood why Kei and the domain holders had concerns. Aeon¡¯s clones were infinitely adaptable. They would adjust themselves to fit its natural environment, and here, Aeon¡¯s tree took a hybrid form, a blend of a tree and the demonic energies of Lavaworld. ¡°I thought Aeon limited its use of demonic energy.¡± Lausanne gazed at the titanic tree, its presence on Lavaworld was a testament, a monolith of nature¡¯s defiance. Its tree was both green and red, its trunks glowed, and filled with streaks of red, blue and green. Its leaves were mixed, some bright, vividly green, some in a shade of demonic red, and some others, withered and dead. She could feel it here, the throbbing blend of natural energy, demonic energy, and something else. ¡°This is the testing ground.¡± Kei countered. ¡°It seems on arger scale than I expected. I was expecting just a small farm of demonic trees, not an entire forest.¡± Lausanne looked, and in her heart, understood the domain holder¡¯s concerns. In her mind, maybe it was just their scale of things that didn¡¯t line up. To Aeon, a forest really was tiny. If its trees covered multiple worlds, rtively, what was an entire forest of demonic trees? It could be just 1%. No, less than that. But seeing it for itself, it did make her feel a sense of disturbance she couldn¡¯t quite exin. Lavaworld was and of magma andva. If any, what little original vegetation here consumed the minerals and gasses of the vents. The demonic trees didn¡¯t attack her at all. No. As someone who could feel a connection to Aeon, it disturbed her that she felt that same connection with these demonic trees. Aeon was the master of these demonic trees. She saw the demonic beetles crawling between the branches of the demonic trees, jumping, stumbling, falling. ¡°The demon champion is around here?¡± Lausanne asked. ¡°No. It¡¯s far ahead.¡± ¡°Why are we not teleporting?¡± Kei looked around. ¡°I thought you needed to see this. What Aeon tries to do with the demons. Learning. Absorbing. Assimting. Studying our opponents to be better. But the humans once said, just as one gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into them. I fear Aeon learns more than he bargained for.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve be really good at propaganda.¡± Lausanne countered. She felt shaken. ¡°It¡¯s standard espionage and insurgency training. The spies talk about instilling fear. They speak of the gravity of the offense. To show proof, to spin small realities into great horrors. To show darkness such that they drown out the light. To rig the scales by ying with the emotions and expectations within ourselves.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re still doing it.¡± Lausanne frowned. ¡°You¡¯re scaring me about the spy operation¡¯s insidious nature.¡± Keiughed. ¡°I¡¯ve spent too much time with Spymaster Intip. But the best propaganda all starts with a little grain of truth. By showing angles to the truth. By showing how the same fact can be interpreted wildly differently, just by taking a different position. It¡¯s like the void sea.¡± The elvendy and the golem walked past even more demonic trees, and into an area where Aeon bred and experimented onrge amounts of demonic beetles. The entire spawning area was filled with purpose-built demonic trees. ¡°The truth is whatever you think it is.¡± Keiughed. ¡°You don¡¯t believe that sort of flimsy statement.¡± Lausanne countered. Keiughed some more. ¡°I don¡¯t. I do believe there is some objective truth out there. I believe there is right and wrong, good and evil. I¡¯d like to believe I¡¯m still innocent and naive.¡± Lausanne nodded. That sounded a bit more like the Kei she knew. They stood there and watched the demonic beetles emerge from theirrge tree-sacs. These were experiments, and they noticed each beetle was slightly different. Very slightly. It was essentially evolution by sheer quantity and brute force. The demonic trees all spawned little beetles. Some copsed, and their bodies were reabsorbed by the trees. She felt a bond with them. She could feel them through that door in her soul. These were Aeon¡¯s. She knew it. And she wondered, as her eyes gazed at the strange, alien creatures, whether what Aeon needs is really a moral guide. ¡°Kei.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think my role is to be Aeon¡¯s moral guide.¡± There were others to guide the ship. ¡°Oh?¡± She thought about her own history. From the very first days of Freeka, to New Freeka, and then to Freshka. She held faith that their tree was there to protect them. Even when it seemed like TreeTree was overwhelmed by the demonic sludge, the entire valley overflowing with demonic energy, it tried its best to protect them. ¡°Then what do you think it is?¡± ¡°To be his first believer.¡± Lausanne looked at the demons, and felt her connection to the world around her. It was not malice. It was curiosity. A desire to learn. ¡°Despite how dark and grim Aeon¡¯s actions may seem, it is guided by a desire to save us all. Even if all else fails, I want to believe in it. I¡¯ve seen him in weaker times, and his desire to resist has not failed. Even when he converted demons, even when the demon kings threatened to overwhelm us all, I believe.¡± Kei looked around. Lausanne guessed Kei knew people a lot better than she let on. Kei seemed to have a sense of how to press buttons. ¡°Progress does note instantly. Progress does not always take a straight line.¡± Lausanne recited it, but her heart trembled at how it felt so relevant to herself. ¡°Progress often requires us to gaze into the depths, and discover where we should not go. When a cave explorer dives into the deep dark caves to find what¡¯s down there, our role is to keep the faith, and ensure that the ropes for the diver remain secure. We protect the path, for them to climb back out of the darkness.¡± Lesser beings cannot even try to explore the depths of the demon¡¯s corruption. The demons would overwhelm them. There truly is no one she knows that could even hope to venture into the darkness and live to tell the tale. If it is not Aeon, then who? Someone has to be foolish, insane, and a bit twisted, to venture into the dark, and create the first light. To touch the unspeakable, to understand the taint of their corrupt energies, and master the means to reverse them. Kei smiled. ¡°You have more faith in Aeon, than you have in yourself.¡± Lausanne felt that. ¡°That is true.¡± ¡°And I¡¯d like to say you are born from pretty much the same cloth. Or patch.¡± Lausanne shook her head. Her mind thought of Uncle Jura. She wished for many things, but ultimately, she epted his decision to die a hero. He died a hero, and left a set of shoes that was always too big for her. It wouldn¡¯t be possible to fit into his shoes. But she hoped her shoes would walk the path he once did. To continue the journey that ended for him. It just took her more than a century to realize it. Aeon would¡¯ve said she wasn¡¯t ready, back then. She probably wasn¡¯t. Now, with lesser worries behind her, she will be. *** 277. The Tree Reaches for the Heavens 277. The Tree Reaches for the Heavens 276.2 Year 269 Satrya The world of Satrya thrummed with the power of the divine. To the others, they were faint strings that required some work to notice. For Lumoof, a man of faith, they shone in his eyes, like markings made of wispy lights. They were the signs of the presence of a god¡¯s touch. Divinity, at some point, was how the system gged the presence of an administrator. Hawa¡¯s power was a lot more noticeable in a world like this. The way it threaded in thend itself, and how the Core of the world was even intertwined with it. This was Hawa¡¯s world. Whether it was a ¡®core¡¯ world, that was not immediately clear to Lumoof, but it didn¡¯t matter. And now, they would crash a meeting of the high priests. The high priests, or Hawa¡¯s Circle, as they were called, were having a secret meeting in a mountain far from society. It was one of those secret temples that only the High Priests knew about. For those who were not a man of God, it would be difficult to find it, with the illusion magics and even the presence of strong illusions. But for Lumoof, the presence of Hawa¡¯s energies made the location as obvious as the suns, and even easier for him to trace it. All they needed to do was follow it, like the threads left behind by a hero as they ventured in thebyrinths. The Circle Priests were blessed by Hawa. They said Hawa rarely descended. The priest of Aeon knew that exceptions could be made, and the group followed them to the secret mountain temple. Lumoof wondered whether he¡¯ll meet another god, just like how they met Aiva. The ce was hardly popted, though the presence of the Hawa Circle¡¯s Divine Guards should be enough to deal with most enemies. They were decked in divine-touched equipment from head to toe. ¡°What is it with priests and their secret enves?¡± Roonined, as my domain holders stalked the priests. It wasn¡¯t the first time they¡¯ve seen secret enves. Even back on Treehome, all the temples had secret bases. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t beining.¡± Edna countered with a grin. ¡°We have enough secret bases to rival them.¡± Roon wanted to respond, but realized Edna was right. Valthorns and Valtrians really had a lot of secret bases all over the realms. It would be the pot calling the kettle ck. They watched, and their own senses stretched. The secret enve of the Hawa was protected by magic, but they were not prepared for trees. Our trees and grasses grew through the magical defenses easily, and through them, we knew what happened within. *** The Circle conducted their secret meetings in an indoor, fairly covered garden with arge airwell. The reason it had an airwell was to allow for Hawa to ¡®visit¡¯, should the divine being decide to grace them with his presence. That was exceptionally rare, of course, but it is tradition, and so every generation of Hawa¡¯s circle continued its meeting in this beautiful garden. The entire garden was the very picture of serenity, and as a ce Hawa once visited, the touch of Hawa¡¯s divinity could still be felt even in the ground and the rocks of the indoor garden¡¯s walls and pirs. The nts here were radiant and magical, as they were touched by the gods. The flowers here are exceptionally beautiful and flowered without withering. The single sun-beam through the air well was somehow at the exact level of strength, neither too harsh, nor too soft, and the small man-made pond shimmered. It was a ce perfect for a tea party. But instead, it was the venue of the priests¡¯ secret meeting. ¡°The demon king will arrive in about two years. How many warriors have you shortlisted for Hawa¡¯s consideration?¡± They were a council of equals, but it was often led by the oldest priest in the circle. Each of them started to name a number. Hawa¡¯s champions were nominated candidates, chosen from the strongest warriors of the priests. The divine guards were often candidates, as the divine guards themselves, selected by each of the High Priests, were all incredible warriors. But Hawa often required warriors of a certain youth and strength, so older, more experienced guards were omitted. They needed to constantly replenish the Divine Guards with talented young warriors, and each of the Relic cities created dedicated academies and institutions for such purposes, or co-opted existing military structures to function as the feeder institution. The Relic City of Museo had two feeder orders, the Order of Museo¡¯s Knights, and the Museo High Guards. The Relic City of Olpash relied on the Olpash¡¯s Hawa Temrs to select it¡¯s Divine Guards, and the Olpash¡¯s Hawa Temrs recruits from the General Army. All in, the Hawa¡¯s Circle named about forty names, and by tradition, Hawa would select between five to fifteen to be blessed with the powers of [Hawa¡¯s Champion], and each receive a special set of [Champion¡¯s Armaments]. The forty, naturally, would have to face Hawa¡¯s divine presence. Fainting before Hawa was naturally a rejection. After the shortlisting of names for the Hawa¡¯s Champions, what followed was mundane administrative matters, such as theing Hawa Celebrations, and other smaller conflicts. This was part and parcel of their yearly priestly affairs, and Lumoof inwardly chuckled at how familiar it all sounded. The patriarchs and matriarchs of the Treeology had very simr meetings, with even simr topics. The Hawa¡¯s circle spoke briefly about the demons, and from our understanding, they were not worried. The demons may win certain battles, but when the Divine-blessed take the field, victory was all but assured. The divine guards, armed with divine blessed weapons, could take on demon champions and the demon knights. The only reason why they were not deployed was because there were not many of them, and most of them were in the Relic Cities. ording to Roon¡¯s scouting reports, only 20% of the ¡®divine-blessed¡¯ guards were deployed outside of the territory of the Relic Cities. The rest of them didn¡¯t go very far. In other words, the suffering of the other cities can be partially attributed to the relic cities¡¯ refusal to deploy more people outside. The relics were infinitely more important than the life of the cities. It was a case quite simr to how the Valthorns are mostly deployed on the Central continent and our alliednds. Eventually, after what felt like half a day, the meeting neared its end. The eldest of them said, and then ¡°Anything else to discuss?¡± ¡°There¡¯s the matter of the otherworlders.¡± The priestess of Olpash asked suddenly. ¡°Visitors from the other world-¡± ¡°Ah. They visited you too-¡± Another head priest frowned. ¡°What did you tell them?¡± ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t tell them anything. Who would believe liars like that?¡± ¡°But they are real. They really are from other worlds.¡± The priestess of Olpash defended.. ¡°Do you truly believe there are people outside of Hawa¡¯s greatness?¡± The other priest countered. The priest of Museo sat quietly. ¡°The power they disy is real, at least.¡± ¡°It must be some kind of stolen relic.¡± The priestess of Olpash spoke up. ¡°I did not detect such things, and Hawa would have informed us-¡± Then the unexpected happened. The skies twisted, as if a portal opened in the skies above them. The once blue skies turned dark, and then, from the darkness, a golden beam of light that pierced through the swirling ck clouds. Here, in and far from the rest of humanity, the skies parted. The Hawa¡¯s Circle knew immediately. Their eyes widened in shock, their jaws ckened. The eldest of them immediately prostrated on the floor, and the rest of them followed. The Divine Guards quickly followed. Hawa came. *** I felt it through Lumoof. The twisting of divine threads, the distortions of reality. The presence of divinity. Familiar, like Aiva, but different. Just slightly different. The entire world felt it too. The beam of golden light shone from the skies above, and in a sudden increase of intensity, it shot what seemed like a golden burst of light. Lumoof looked up, and with our senses, it was easy for us to pierce it. The light came through a divine portal. Hawa was somewhere else, and I believe we would be seeing a representative. Edna, Roon and Ezar looked at each other, and the newer domain holder trembled. Edna looked at Lumoof. ¡°This is a familiar sensation.¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°I suppose it knows we are here. We will be fine.¡± *** Hawa appeared in the middle of the garden courtyard, in the form of a golden shadow. It was as if light itself took the shape of a warrior knight, with a golden tail on it¡¯s helmet. The golden shadow glowed faintly, and it was possible to see the outline of swords and spears in its¡¯ figure. A million swords and a million spears. It was as if gazing into a world filled with fights and battle. ¡°Greetings, my faithful.¡± The Hawa Circle knelt, and did not speak. Their heads were on the ground. Their arms were as well. They waited. ¡°You may speak.¡± The eldest of them spoke. His forehead was on the stone floor. ¡°Lord Hawa. It- it is not yet time for you to select your champions. Is there something else we can assist you with?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. The demons. They areing soon. But I am not here for them.¡± The group present didn¡¯t dare assume anything. So the eldest asked. ¡°What can we assist you with? Say the word and we will do it with all our might.¡± The golden shadow shifted, and walked towards the eldest priest. ¡°It is not something for my faithful to do. Instead, we have visitors. Eavesdroppers, it¡¯s time you make yourself known.¡± I didn¡¯t know how, but the Golden Shadow looked at us. I instantly felt my [domain] spam me with notifications. This was Hawa¡¯s realm, and that meant Hawa should monitor this world with far greater attention than the rest. In a way, this was expected. We saved time, and resources. A part of me was pleased that this went as how I thought it would, even if it did ur a little earlier than expected. Lumoof, Edna and my domainholders were nearby, but not so nearby. So it was a surprise when their own domains were hit with the flood of notification. Lumoof gulped, but nodded. ¡°Looks like I must face the god.¡± Edna gulped. ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡± At the same time, the priests of Hawa were incredibly surprised, and looked around, wondering who their God referred to. ¡°Lord Hawa, do we call the guards?¡± The golden shadowughed. ¡°Guards? You face visitors who would soon be my peers. A thousand guards would not hurt them.¡± Lumoofnded right in the garden, and the three domain holdersnded behind him. The priests of Hawa all yelped. ¡°You!¡± The golden shadow raised his hand. Hawa¡¯s energies were so thick that it was oppressive ¡°Be silent, my faithful. This is a conversation with those a few steps into the divine. Listen well, and learn.¡± Lumoof sped his hand in respect, Hawa¡¯s energies bounced off his body. I felt a strong force push against my own, but it wasn¡¯t enough to push me back. ¡°Lord Hawa, I am Lumoof, avatar of Aeon. Ie representing Aeon, and wee to seek an audience. For guidance, and assistance.¡± The golden shadow was faceless, and yet it felt like our eyes met. ¡°I shall now call upon Aeon.¡± Lumoof said, and instantly, the avatar form¡¯s energies rippled outwards. The priests, already suppressed by Hawa¡¯s powers, now felt my own power flooding the space. ¡°A newly ascended one.¡± Hawa¡¯s shadow spoke. ¡°Greetings, Aeon.¡± ¡°Greetings, Hawa.¡± I answered in response, my voice spoken through Lumoof. The priests around us trembled. The divine guards froze in their ce. ¡°We¡¯ve been traveling the other worlds, in search of the old gods.¡± ¡°I see. Have you met my peers?¡± ¡°I have only spoken to Aiva.¡± ¡°Ah. The one of the Great Lakes. How is he?¡± ¡°Drifting far away.¡± ¡°We all are.¡± Hawa said with what felt like a sigh. ¡°I felt your request to meet through my priests, and decided to cut the fats. Let us get to it. What do you wish to tell me.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve found the demon sun, and there is a barrier that stops us from getting close. We ask for your assistance to help us.¡± Hawa looked at one of his priests. His eyes were like a beam of light, and it shone on the priest, marking him. ¡°Priest Szar. Present yourself before Aeon. He will show you what he has seen.¡± Szar was the eldest one of the priests, and he trembled. He walked over to Lumoof, and knelt before him. ¡°I am at your disposal.¡± Through Lumoof, I touched his head. In an instant, through my [Dream Academy], I injected Szar with our memories of the Sun-Rings, the Demon Sun, the ck Blob, and our detected divine energies within the Demon Sun. Szar¡¯s widened, as if he had gone insane. But he was brought back to the world when Hawa spoke. ¡°Nowe to me.¡± Szar walked over as if he was a puppet, and the Golden Shadow touched his head. A ball of light emerged from his forehead, and was instantly absorbed by Hawa¡¯s Shadow. ¡°Such memories should not be seen by mortals. My apologies, Priest Szar. It is best if my people do not see the great darkness that festers outside of my worlds.¡± We waited, as the golden shadow seemed to study the memories. ¡°This Sun-Ring is unfortunately too far from me. I am centered around my core worlds, my existence weighed around my believers.¡± ¡°I can bridge worlds with my clones. I can send your champions there.¡± I countered. ¡°ess does not change my weighted core, and my resources are limited.¡± ¡°Then can you help us, summon heroes and equip my men with divine equipment? Or fight with us.¡± ¡°My champions pale before the foul spawn of the corrupted cores. What they send to invade our worlds are not what they have to defend their own.¡± The golden shadow said. ¡°This foe of ours fought us since the earliest days of the realms, and even now it holds one of my peers as its prisoner. It defeats us by attrition over the eons, flooding us with its foul spawn, wearing us down over the millennia, until we are unable to bless enough champions to resist. If youe to request for me to fight with you, I cannot do so. I am weakened by distance from my core worlds.¡± I offered an alternative. ¡°If you are too distant, surely there will be some others that are closer. If you know where they are, I will seek them out.¡± ¡°I do not, and I suspect my peers would be the same. We cannot take the field with you. If we could, we would have done so long ago. But that does not mean I cannot help.¡± I suspected a task wasing. ¡°You were offered the pact.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then you know that each of us has a duty to protect the peripheral worlds. These distant worlds where we summon the raw souls from the Immagical worlds, to serve as our champions.¡± The source worlds. Earth. ¡°Distance. It is a strange thing. We have a duty to them, and yet, each of these worlds consume so much of our energy. So much that I have little to spare for other matters. I hear your request, Aeon, and I am willing to aid you. I will forge a weapon powerful enough to shatter the Sun-Ring¡¯s barrier, but to do so, I will need to reduce my energy expenditure.¡± If the gods constantly spent their faith points protecting the far away worlds, they likely didn¡¯t have much left. However, if the far away worlds could be ¡®saved¡¯ without requiring the use of heroes, the gods would be able to have a ¡®faith point surplus¡¯, and could do something with it. ¡°Help me protect the peripheral worlds. You will have to defeat about fifteen of them, and hold it for some time. I will transmit their locations, through Szar. These are the worlds that drained most of my energies. Freeing them will give me the capacity I need to build something for you.¡± Fifteen worlds. ¡°But, exercise caution. Even if you shattered the Sun-rings, that same power isn¡¯t enough to break through the demon¡¯s foul prison. To take the battle to the demon¡¯s sun, you will need more than just my power. Seek out the other gods, and convince them to lend you their power. I will lend you mine, when the timees. Perhaps together, we could remove this foul sun, and free my peer from its grasp.¡± ¡°Do you know who is trapped within?¡± I asked. Hawa paused, as if examining my memory. ¡°I do not know for sure, but I suspect it is one of the ancient steel worlds, the engineer, Eras. That is Eras¡¯s true body, and though it is captured, and it¡¯s energies used by the demons, it is not yet dead.¡± Not yet dead. ¡°So long as his corpse remains, Eras can regain his presence. He still has believers in multiple worlds.¡± Through Szar, I received bright locations located in the void sea. These were worlds under Hawa rule, but we''re so far away from them. ¡°What are the demons?¡± I asked. ¡°I do not know. They fought me ever since the day I gained awareness in this world. Perhaps the ancient one, Gaya, or the First of the Suns, Shura, would know. Once youplete your task, you can return here, and I will see you then.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t help me speak to the other gods?¡± ¡°I do not know where they are, we agreed not to pry into each other¡¯s affairs eons ago. We agreed to leave each other¡¯s Core and Outer Core worlds alone. The war amongst the stars did no one any favors.¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. Instead, I looked around at the trembling priests and priestesses. ¡°And yet, you have believers even in my world.¡± The golden shadow paused, and as if a realization dawned on him, spoke. ¡°Ah! Your world is a peripheral world too. I am amused that your world spawns something like yourself. In many ways, this audience is indirectly the fruit of your efforts. Did they send an invasive world your way?¡± He must be referring to theet. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The golden shadow nced at the priests and the divine guards. Then back at the papers listing the champion candidates. ¡°Actually, let us not bless the champions. I wish to see your powers in battle.¡± ¡°My powers are fairly limited.¡± I frowned. I did feel a little set up. ¡°And we fight unfairly.¡± ¡°A victory is a victory, regardless of the means. The demon¡¯s spawn will descend in two years. Help my priests with the demon spawn, and I will redirect my resources where it can help you.¡± I looked at my forces. Edna shrugged. Roon and Ezar looked ufortable in the presence of a god. But a demon king is a demon king. Valuable experience to be gained. I wondered whether this is a trap to lure my domain holders here. But somehow, I didn¡¯t feel that Hawa needed to trap me. I recalled that they fought us long ago. ¡°Why did you order your faithful to wage a crusade against us?¡± Hawa paused. ¡°I did?¡± It took a second before the Golden Shadow realized what I meant. ¡°Then I must apologize. Peripheral worlds are always under attack, and I can¡¯t spare the energy to scry so far away, and study in great detail.¡± A war. So many deaths. And all I got was an apology. I couldn¡¯t help but feel that the gods are callous. But then again, so am I. If I am in that same situation, would I have done things differently, given the limited information? What if it really was an evil force, and I chose to do nothing? Actually, that¡¯s what I did all the time. I usually chose to do nothing until I am sure. But some gods think differently. ¡°We will meet again, Aeon. Till then, my priests will extend their warmest wee for our distinguished guests from the other worlds.¡± Hawa vanished. And the world could breathe once again. Lumoof looked at his fellow people of faith. They were of a different religion, but people of faith just the same. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to help you prepare for a demon king.¡± 278. Remnant Roots 278. Remnant Roots 278 Year 270 ¡°How many damned rocks are we expecting?¡± Prabu cursed as his biomechanical suit augmented his movement in space. He darted from rock to rock, propelled by his own magic and the vines from the suit, which functioned as extendable limbs, in the way Doc Ock would move about in space. Rocks popped out of the void by the hundreds, as part of clumps or clouds of rock, usually anchored around a singlerger chunk of rock. On another side of the vastness of space, Colette fired magical spells repeatedly, sting the rocks. Despite the seemingly mundane nature of the act, I was nervous. We, were nervous. This was about the time the Comet should have reached treehome in one piece, and there was a demon king that we didn¡¯t kill. We were waiting for Multipus. It¡¯s on one of the rocks, and we expected it to appear. I suspected it¡¯s alive. We didn¡¯t get notifications, but it¡¯s likely we won¡¯t get notified if it vanished midway? I wasn¡¯t sure when the system gave notifications. Maybe only when we shared the same ¡®world¡¯, and so if I wasn¡¯t there when it vanished, I wouldn¡¯t even know? ¡°More rocksing it-¡± The edges of the reality bubble bent, as if the skies and the stars was a tke that suddenly bulged upwards. It burst, and a gigantic rock was here. ¡°Alright, alright, volleys away!¡± Ste and the void mages coordinated the defenses. The space-based ballistas and magical cannons were already aimed at the expected entry point of the rocks. More rocks popped up, this batch was evenrger than the one before. [Demon King Multipus has arrived] ¡°Oh fuck.¡± I cursed, and the heroes did too. Right now, only Prabu and Colette were in space, dealing with the rocks. Chung was back on Treehome doing whatever shit he was doing. Khefri was in Threeworlds, doing stuff in her little queendom. Adrian was still busy with cleanup of the remnant wolf-demons. My domainholders were scattered too. Lumoof, Roon and Edna were still on Satrya, Kafa was back in Delvegard, and Johann was still enforcing order in Threeworld. Even though we knew Multipus wasing, we had too manypeting priorities that we couldn¡¯t just camp on Treehome and wait. I immediately sent out a ping, and summoned them through my [Court of the Deitree], and they were all immediately pulled back from their current worlds. ¡°We need to support Prabu and Colette against Multipus now.¡± I dered, and prepared to deploy another clone, if needed. I still have a few slots avable and having seen what Multipus could do on the demon¡¯set, I was fairly concerned about what Multipus could do here. A ¡®swarm¡¯ of smaller multi-limbed octopus-like demons exited from therger rocks. They were hiding within the rocks, and their limbs or spines shot out like really long spears and javelins. But this was space, and space was huge. ¡°Keep your distance and bombard it from afar.¡± Ste advised through our shared magicalwork. With the huge distances of space, every attack from the demon king took longer, and so, for Prabu and Colette, they were able to maintain their distance and maintain their attacks. ¡°Aye.¡± Colette said, as she sted magical projectiles towards the demon king. ¡°Which one¡¯s the true body?¡± There were about fifteen smaller demon kings, and each of them contained fairly simr levels of power. ¡°None.¡± I responded, as Lumoof teleported onto the nearest space-based tform. ¡°Would it be better to force a battle on one of the rocks?¡± ¡°No.¡± Edna arrived soon after. ¡°That sounds like fighting on the demon¡¯s home ground. Fighting in space is effective against it.¡± ¡°But that means we can¡¯t get near.¡± Lumoof countered. It was harder to reach the floating, moving bodies of Multipus in space. ¡°But we have the advantage. We have enough bombardment weapons to take it out.¡± Roon and Johann arrived next on the space tform. They wore a kind of wooden suit simr to the heroes. ¡°How far can you make roots?¡± ¡°These days? Very far.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°But space is big.¡± ¡°We just need tforms to stand. Just support us and we¡¯ll shoot it out of the skies.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Prabu and Colette were both relieved to see the rest of the domain holders arrive. ¡°Took you guys a damn while.¡± ¡°We were out on other worlds.¡± Lumoof countered. ¡°It is only natural that we will take some time.¡± The Multiple Multipus bodies attacked, rolling like gigantic space urchins through space. It¡¯s tentacles hardened into spears and spines, and attempted to smash into the heroes and my domain holders. But once more, space is big. We found it hard to hit each other, but we outnumbered the demon king here. ¡°You know, we should¡¯ve called it a sea urchin, instead of an octopus. It¡¯s more like a sea urchin.¡± Ste quipped while she helped use her magic to move some of the floating tforms around. Multipus attacked with abination of piercing strikes, using it¡¯s spines to try and hit the heroes and my domain holders from afar. In space, we traded projectiles. Lumoof summoned gigantic roots and trees that reached into space. The domain holders would then hop on them, and use them as tforms to get into better firing positions. The tforms, made from rocks such that trees could still be summoned on them, were transformed into living tforms. A few of the void mages maintained open portals, such that my roots could sustain the trees on these tforms, and allow them to give the fighters extra mobility. ¡°Wait. Multipus is here?¡± Khefrimented as the news arrived on Threeworld. ¡°Well, send me there?¡± Khefri teleported to my main body, and then, she arrived soon after. The space began to bend some more. ¡°More rocks iing!¡± Another gigantic cloud of rocks appeared out of the edges of reality. ¡°Well, shit.¡± Prabu cursed. ¡°We can¡¯t destroy rocks AND fight Multipus!¡± As the heroes and my domain holders concentrated on the demon king, most of the rocks drifted past the first line of defenses, and flew towards Treehome. Flying towards Treehome does imply some intentional movement, but these rocks were ¡®guided¡¯ to Treehome. They fell towards Treehome, tugged there by Treehome¡¯s magical gravity. Our bombardment weapons were concentrated on the multiple Multipus bodies. ¡°More Multipus bodies inbound!¡± Ste watched as more gigantic space urchins popped out of the newly arrived rocks. ¡°Keep firing the bombardment weapons! Aim the rocks too!¡± It was a hard decision, whether to aim the rocks or Multipus. ¡°Khefri, you should just target the rocks!¡± Roon suggested. ¡°No, I won¡¯t. Not the best use of my skills!¡± There were some additional space-based weapons tforms spread throughout our space, and they began firing weapons at the clouds of rocks. They were very effective on the smaller rocks. Most of them crumbled and turned into space dust within two to three shots. The bigger ones were hardy. Still, the impact from the projectiles slowed them down, buying time for us to deliver more attacks on the rocks. Meanwhile, Khefri suited up in a full suit of hero¡¯s armor, and charged directly at the Multipus body. We were weakening some of these giant space-urchins. The spines throughout its body absorbed some of the attacks, preventing some of our spells from reaching the softer inner body. The wall of spines around the body functioned like modern active tank defenses, theyunched spines that met with the iing attacks. So, spells like fireballs and conventional explosive spells were diverted, and triggered slightly outside the body. The spells still injured it, but not as much as a direct hit on the inner soft body. ¡°We need to impale this damn thing.¡± Lumoof said, and we can only do so if we charge right into that wall of spines. It was hard enough trying to catch the giant urchins barrelling across space. Thankfully, it¡¯s trajectory was somewhat predictable thanks to the sparseness of space, and it clearly wasn¡¯t that good at moving in space. ¡°I thought we¡¯re supposed to fight damned rock golems!¡± Roon asked Ste. Roon and Johann¡¯s magical arrows were extremely effective, and after a while, they took out two of the demon king¡¯s bodies. The heroes themselves also changed their attacks to enchanted javelins, coated in magical power. These were more effective at hitting the body through its thick wall of spines. Still, Multipus used the spines on its body as anti-missile missiles, andunched them to meet their javelins. Despite this, we made progress. We were slowly taking out the demon king, but the rocks drifted past our initial defensive lines, and headed towards Treehome. *** On Treehome, my Valthorns immediately activated our early warning system, as our defenses swung into action. ¡°This is a warning from the Central Authority. There are meteors expected to collide and crash into our world in a few days.. Please ensure that your underground bunkers are adequately stocked for 1 to 2 months of hiding. Please ensure that your bunkers are registered with the central authority so that our forces will be able to find you.¡± Sky-gazing observatories were able to spot the little streaks of light that were headed to the surface of our world. It was beautiful. And a little scary. We deployed our secondyer of defenses, as mages, armed with bombs and teleportation spells, teleported onto the surfaces of therger rocks and began to nt bombs. We also had cannons and various weapons stationed on our moons and nearby asteroids that started to bombard the nearby meteors. We whittled the meteors bit by bit. The skies were filled with streaks of light, and little bursts in the sky, some asionally as bright as the sun. Our weapons, firing as frequently, and as fast as they could, bombarded theing rocks. Our mages worked tirelessly to redirect them away. The locals wondered what it was. Was it the day when the skies were lit ame? The locals called it the days of Starspark. Some called it the day of the falling stars. For some, safely protected by magical barriers and walls, it was beautiful. Romantic. But it was not all beauty. There were the smaller fragments that were missed, and most of them burned up as they approached Treehome¡¯s atmosphere and magisphere. In areas closer to the Central Continent, our ground based defenses did its best to intercept the meteors before they crashed. We¡¯ve started construction of these ground-based anti-meteor defenses the moment we seeded in cracking theet. They came in all shapes and forms. Some wererge cannon arrays powered by leylines. Some were beam weapons, simrly powered by ley lines. Some were shields, since some mages didn¡¯t like the idea of hitting rocks midair. The variety of defenses performed reasonably well. Throughout Treehome, not all of these meteors were caught, there were slightly bigger ones smashed into the ground, leaving craters. Thankfully, the world was mostly ocean, so the bulk of the missing meteors fell into the seas and oceans. A few caused big waves and tsunamis, but well within our expectations. *** Meanwhile, the heroes and my domainholders battled it out, slowly, we destroyed Multipus¡¯s multiple bodies. Piercing weapons were more effective, since explosions and blunt weapons were diverted by it¡¯s gigantic spines. We used teleportation spells extensively, but Multipus itself generated a small sphere of magical disruption that messed with our teleportation. We really could use Chung¡¯s arrows at this moment, but he didn¡¯t care. He was still too engrossed in his grief and frustrations to entertain us. In fact, I suspected he was fighting the hero ss inside his head, because the hero sspelled him to fight the demon king. This was his duty. And he didn¡¯t want to do it. The two forces in his soul battled. For us, we kept at it. Multipus¡¯s gimmicks were fairly limited in the vastness of space, and it looked like it had things it wanted to do, but couldn¡¯t. Both sides fought in an ufortable environment, and it was quite amusing that the demon king struggled with it more than we did. Multipus might be optimized for battle onnd. As our attacks continued, the demon king seemed to have realized it was running out of options. The multiple giant demonic urchins began to escape, and roll towards Treehome. Our weapons and defenses caught up. ¡°Stop it!¡± Roon and Johann said. We had harpoon-like projectiles from our earlier days, and we used it to great effect. We attempted to ensnare the multiple bodies of Multipus, to some sess. We caught some, and with a heavy bombardment, destroyed a few of them. ¡°Some rocks are slipping through!¡± A void mage almost shouted through our sharedmunicationswork. The skies were lit in beams of light and magic. The heroes themselves went all out, as the two archmage-heroes fired spell after spell at Multipus and the rocks. ¡°It¡¯s gaining speed!¡± Roon and Johann said as everyone chased after the urchins. Our weapons and spells tried our best to catch the urchins, and we managed to hit a few of the urchins with really strong attacks, and destroyed them. But of the ten to twenty smaller bodies, we only managed to destroy slightly over half of them. The remaining half were all injured to some extent, but they flew towards Treehome at high speed. ¡°Surface team, intercept, intercept!¡± Ste roared as her own set of void weaponsunched towards the demon king. ¡°But there are rocks headed our way?¡± The mages manning the various defensive structures countered. ¡°We can¡¯t target both at the same time.¡± There was no point hitting the demon king with weak attacks. It didn¡¯t hurt the demon, and our energies are better used dealing with other threats such as the meteors. ¡°Focus on the rocks.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with Multipus once itnds.¡± *** The starry skies were lit ame, as six gigantic streaks of light burned through the outer sphere. Our weapons and magical attacks chased after the remnant bodies of Multipus. Each world has an atmosphere, and to some extent, a magisphere that protected the world. Stronger worlds have stronger protections from such incursions, though the demons have clearly mastered the art of circumventing these protections through their rift gates. ¡°Multipus iing.¡± I dered, as Freshka entered a rare emergency siren. We found Multipus somehow charging towards Freshka directly, which I found amusing. It must have felt my presence and determined that I was the threat they needed to eliminate. Out on the streets, there was panic as the sirens red. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± The folks asked. ¡°Demon King iing. Expected tond somewhere around Freshka. Please seek shelter or teleport out immediately.¡± Freshka quickly emptied out, as I used my teleportation abilities to send people out of Freshka and towards the rest of the city. My domain holders and mages continued to attack Multipus¡¯ body, as it spins through space and pierces through Treehome¡¯s atmosphere. Around this point, I created a huge wall of shields around Freshka, as the six injured bodies of Multipus crashed in thends around us. Its impact on thend around them caused huge shockwaves that smashed into my wall of shields. The bodies did not move for a moment, and that was the opportunity we needed. Lumoof teleported down, and immediately charged into one of the Multipus¡¯s bodies. His body glowed with the [Fury of the Avatar], as huge magically empowered roots pierced one of the bodies. It died instantly. Ednanded right next to the another Multipus¡¯s bodies. She took the spines to her flesh unharmed, and shed right into it¡¯s actual body. My roots attacked the remaining four bodies, and though I injured them, it felt like they still lived. I Immediately wrapped my vines and roots around the remaining four bodies, and I felt it struggle against my vines. I attempted to drain Multipus of it¡¯s power, my vines immediately sucked the familiar demonic energies of demon kings. Hate. All I felt was hate. We destroyed two of Multipus¡¯s bodies, and the remaining four were not in good shape. Lumoof quickly teleported to the third body, and once more, with his Fury, crushed the third body with an empowered piercing root-spear. The three remaining bodies melted through my cocoon of roots, and immediately tried to merge. I battered the remaining bodies with my roots, and weakened it some more. The melted bodies reformed, and then, reshaped itself into something resembling a golem. Only to die. The heroes and the rest of my domain holders arrived, and they came with the heaviest barrage of magic and weapons. It died before it turned into it¡¯s golem form. [Demon King Multipus has been in] [You¡¯ve gained 6 levels. You are now Level 265] [Your abilities and skills have been strengthened, range decay for abilities and skills reduced] 279. Psychotropics 279. Psychotropics Chapter 279 Year 270 (Later half) Multipus was defeated, after what felt like a prolonged campaign. Even if the final battle on Treehome was anticlimactic, I was relieved that it was finally, finally over. There were still some remnant rocks to destroy, and the skies will continue to be filled with momentarily sparks of light from our magical attacks. Some will streak across the skies and burn in the atmosphere of Treehome, creating beautiful meteors. Now, we could redirect our attention to the other issues. Chung. I watched him from afar, and through my vines and trees. His situation eroded. What seemed like insanity, began to set in. Madness. Prabu and Colette seemed upset, they didn¡¯t want to be the one to kill him. Prabu and Colette did visit, and did try to talk to him. But it went nowhere. Madness creeped his mind, as he seemed to hallucinate that everything around him had somehow transformed into demons. ¡°Demons!¡± He screamed, sting trees the moment he saw them. Grass and trees seemed to be demons. Even people seemed to be demons. I summoned the rest of the sane heroes, and updated them on the situation. I didn¡¯t know why. I didn¡¯t hurt him. I¡¯ve treated him fairly, as far as I could. Even from this distance, my [Soul Forge] could feel an intense disquiet in his heart. The energies of a soul that struggled against the demands of his ss. A god¡¯s curse. I wondered whether Hawa could remove his ss. ¡°Try not to kill him.¡± Prabu said. ¡°I would, if you¡¯d help me.¡± I said. ¡°This madness is caused by the [hero] ss.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not mad.¡± Prabu countered. Adrian and Khefri listened quietly. ¡°Not all heroes take the effects and chains of the [Hero] ss equally. Madness is the oue for some.¡± I countered. ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough to conclude madness is likely the oue of the [hero] ss and his personality.¡± At this point, the only usible solution, at least, the only non-lethal one, was to do something like what I did to Colette. Remove the [hero] ss from Chung. He would be mortal. Or I¡¯d kill him in the process. Or kill him, if he used his powers to hurt more than it is worth. ¡°If you¡¯d help me knock him out, I will try to remove the hero ss from his soul.¡± I offered the heroes a way out. I know they don¡¯t want to kill their fellow hero. ¡°Bloody hell.¡± Prabu cursed. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how effective our powers are.¡± ¡°The alternative is death.¡± I countered. My domain holders would assist. It was a valuable chance to deal with a hero that¡¯s not at full strength. Chung was mad. His magical powers and abilities are still insanely destructive, but with his mental state a wreck, he is likely unable to strategize and fight us properly. ¡°Must it be now?¡± ¡°If not now, then when? Chung¡¯s mental state deteriorates, and he seems to be suffering from some kind of imbnce in his soul. I don¡¯t know the effects of long term internal struggles, and whether it can be fixed, if it¡¯s toote.¡± I was being a little maniptive, but it was true. A soul, as I understood it, can get damaged. It happened with the first generation of heroes I encountered, Alexis and Me. Their souls suffered damage. I¡¯ve seen soul damage in many ways or forms, and I expect Chung¡¯s situation to be simr. ¡°There is a rot in Chung¡¯s soul, quite simr to Colette¡¯s feeling. While Colette understood it, Chung denies it.¡± Partly because he doesn¡¯t want anything to do with me anymore. Partly because he feels, and still feels I am responsible for Ken¡¯s death. In his eyes, I am a murderer. I killed his friend. Prabu and Colette looked at each other. Somehow, the burden of this decision was with them. They were the same generation, the same batch. If they decided to help, then it was possible. ¡°If I have to step in, I cannot guarantee he will live. He is a hero, while we are not. We will have to go all out to take him out.¡± I answered. To be fair, I was excited at the thought of finally taking on a hero. I¡¯ve known, since the Sun-Rings, that I could take damage really well. Now I wanted to see how I stood against a hero like Chung, with his destructive piercing arrows. Is Level 250 enough? I think it is. At least, Patreeck puts the chance of me winning to be fairly high, though the level of destruction we will cause was catastrophic. Prabu and Colette looked at each other. ¡°Khefri, Adrian, what do you two think?¡± Khefri shrugged. ¡°He needs some sense beaten into him, but as much as I hate to say it, I think he¡¯s higher level than me.¡± Adrian nodded as well. ¡°I¡¯ll help, but- yeah. We can¡¯t let him destroy and kill like this. I think he might get emunicated, like-¡± It didn¡¯t need to be said. It was kinda sad. I¡¯ve watched Chung over the years, and he¡¯s always been suspicious of me. But I did think we had some level of professional respect for each other¡¯s abilities. He knew I could do certain things, and I respected his power. But in a long enough time frame, even friends can be enemies. Then I wondered whether this was how paranoia starts. Day by day, Chung¡¯s descent into madness worsened. He sted more ces, destroyed more mountains. He began seeing demons where there were none, and it felt like some kind of suppressed rage. ¡°You can¡¯t postpone this decision forever.¡± I spoke to both Colette and Prabu. Colette epted the decision was necessary. Prabu struggled a little harder, but ultimately, the [hero] ss did not oppose such matters. There were no restrictions on heroes fighting each other. They fought each other in the past. We had records that heroes went to war with other over petty things. Colette agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± The n was the heroes engaged first. They would take the lead, since it is their friend. Lumoof and myself would only emerge in the final minutes, to use our disabling abilities on Chung. Edna and the rest would only step in, if any of the heroes were in trouble. But otherwise, as Colette puts it, ¡°Chung is our friend, and well, let us do it.¡± Honestly, I think the chance of my domain holders dying was quite high, especially for my softer members like Roon, Johann, Ste, Ezar and Kafa. We exempted Ste from the battle, since she wasn¡¯t really abatant, and we highly needed her, even if we had other void mages. ¡°Think he¡¯ll kill us?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°He might be mad enough to do it.¡± Colette said, and after a long pause. Chung¡¯s senses are incredible, and it is for this reason we have not attempted to set up traps nearby. We¡¯ve seen him attack things for tens of miles away, as if augmented by the [hero] ss. I remembered the very first generation of heroes I met, using super long range attacks against the demon king. Chung being able to do as much was entirely a surprise, but meant our ability to trap him was fairly limited. As a hero, he was also blessed with all sorts of protections that most of our restraining powers would likely fail. Except mine. If there was any way we could restrain him, it¡¯ll have to be Lumoof and me. Together, I think I could do it. *** There was no need to alert Chung immediately, because with our teleportation abilities, the rest of the fighting force can arrive immediately. The domain holders¡¯ presence would alert him, and that was not something we wanted to do. Not yet. Prabu, Colette, Khefri and Adrian approached him first. Colette spoke. She spoke softly, but with the hero¡¯s senses, it was clear he heard it. ¡°Chung.¡± ¡°What?¡± Chung stood on the remnants of a mountain, sted and riddled with holes. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Alright?¡± Chungughed. ¡°Alright?! Is that what you came to ask, Colette?¡± Colette nodded. ¡°Yes. We wanted to see why you¡¯re doing this.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Chung answered and thenughed some more. Theughter turned manic, and for us listening from afar, this was unsettling. After that long, manicughter, he stopped abruptly, and then stared at Colette. ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± Colette didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why are you working with the murderers? We were friends, Colette. We were teammates. We came from the same world! And you chose to side with the murderer!¡± Colette¡¯s eyes furrowed. ¡°I was there. There was no murder. Ken died, as he always wished to.¡± ¡°Murderer!¡± Chung mmed the rock next to him with heroic force, the force of the impact left a huge explosion in the ground. ¡°So much for being on the same team, Colette. All of you¡¯ve decided to work with the evil creature that¡¯s clearly using us to achieve its own goals.¡± Colette stared at the archer hero, and asked. ¡°So what should we do?¡± ¡°Destroy the tree, of course. An eye for an eye, a life for a life.¡± Chungughed. ¡°Were you waiting for me to say that?¡± Colette frowned, as Prabu held her arm. ¡°Chung, doing that solves nothing!¡± ¡°It does. It solves the knot in my heart. The fury in my soul. I want to destroy this tree, and everything it created.¡± Chung answered. ¡°This theocratic empire is evil, Colette. It is a heartless existence that¡¯s only goal is to win. We are just chess pieces in it¡¯s game!¡± ¡°Then why not?¡± Colette asked. ¡°Would you join me?¡± Chungughed. ¡°If you do, we can get started right now.¡± Colette sighed. ¡°No.¡± Chung frowned, but there was insanity in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s your baby, isn¡¯t it. He has your baby under control, so you¡¯repromised. He bought you when he gave you that baby.¡± Colette¡¯s patience instantly vanished. ¡°Chung, not a single word more on my child. There are some things-¡± ¡°How do you know your baby is real, and not a puppet created by the evil creature?¡± Chung pressed her buttons. I had the feeling even though he knew that was not true, but the things people say in moments of madness. ¡°Of course I know she¡¯s real!¡± Colette countered, as magic swirled in her hands. The rest of the heroes took the hint. ¡°I hoped it didn¡¯t have toe to this.¡± Chung¡¯s manicughter was his response. He stood from the rock, and then, the skies were filled with arrows. Prabu and Colette retaliated with shields that deftly blocked the magical arrows. ¡°We¡¯ve sparred a lot.¡± Chung countered. ¡°But I bet you¡¯ve never seen this!¡± Chung manifested a magical arrow unlike any other, and fired it across the barrenndscape. It resembled an arrow that was tied up with chains, and it was wrapped in anti-magical energies. It easily pierced through the two mages¡¯ shields, but it was blocked by a heavy barrier from Khefri, and then exploded. When the dust settled there was a deep mark on Khefri¡¯s carapace. But the archer was already shooting more arrows. Colette retaliated with an area magical spell that turned the entire area into a raging inferno. Against the demon king and its¡¯ incredibly high armor and health, the heroes generally stuck to high damage, focused spells. These raging infernos were not individually powerful, but they covered wide areas and were likely more effective against Chung. ¡°Do you n to kill me?¡± Chungughed, as he deftly dodged magical projectiles from the heroes. Khefri and Adrian both charged ahead, trying to get him into melee. They were stronger there, but because Chung was the higher-leveled hero, the two melee heroes stuck together. Khefri immediately countered. ¡°No. I hope I don¡¯t have to.¡± A magical scorpionoid tail appeared from her back and attempted to stab the archer. But the archer was already gone. Chung frowned. ¡°Why do you believe in that murderous tree?¡± Khefri and Adriannded. ¡°Because it is the best choice.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s evil? Even if it kills other heroes? Even if it makes us fight against each other?!¡± Chung countered. ¡°Look what it has done! It rules over the worlds like an iron fisted dictator!¡± He somehow dodged a wave of magically enchanted icicles, shot an arrow that created a small shield and blocked some of the spells headed his way. The two melee heroes charged in, trying to make use of the space created by the mages. ¡°Yes. It is still the best choice. Because the alternative is demons.¡± Chung countered. ¡°Wrong! That¡¯s what the tree wants you to believe! The alternative could be us! Us heroes, as rulers!¡± Khefri frowned but wasn¡¯t affected by the archer¡¯s words. She was encased in a golden carapace and attempted to step close. Chung created mirror images of himself, phantom clones that vanished. ¡°You told me long ago you didn¡¯t like ruling.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Chung replied. ¡°But some of us can do a better job!¡± Khefri¡¯s ws barely grazed Chung¡¯s skin before he somehow vanished. ¡°No. We can¡¯t. We¡¯ve seen it in the journals.¡± Chung countered. ¡°That¡¯s also the Tree¡¯s doing! How can you believe it!¡± At that moment, thousands of magical spikes emerged around Chung, and trapped him. Chung panicked, and attempted to smash into the magical spikes. It hurt him. Khefri watched, as more spikes emerged. There were spells from both Prabu and Colette. The two were the only heroes who were closer in levels. ¡°Free me! You¡¯re under his influence!¡± Colette frowned. ¡°Maybe. But what you¡¯re doing is not right, either.¡± Prabu added. ¡°Chung, we didn¡¯t want to do this. But we can¡¯t let you go mad.¡± Lumoof then appeared, and in my avatar form, we entered the trap. Chung struggled in madness, as Lumoof¡¯s magical vines quickly grabbed hold of the archer hero. ¡°Let go!¡± Lumoof didn¡¯t reply, but continued to focus on disabling him. My energies began to flood his body, and we began to forcefully drain his mana. His soul attempted to fight mine, but this was a sensation familiar to me. I remember Alvin struggling in the same manner. Chung was quickly immobilized and paralysed, as my own energies took hold of the hero¡¯s body. He struggled. ¡°Let go!¡± But eventually, my spiritual energies overwhelmed him, and he was knocked out. I teleported Chung into the depths of the valley, and we would begin the ursed process of stripping a hero of his ss. *** Chung¡¯s soul spring was encased in the same type of shining marble stone. But, on closer inspection, the shape of the rocks had turned intorge, thorny structures that surrounded the sparkling, star-filled waters. ¡°Get out.¡± I felt Chung¡¯s thoughts here. ¡°GET OUT.¡± It was the soul¡¯s resistance, trying to force me out. It was like a wave, pushing back at my presence. But this wouldn¡¯t kick me out. Not now. My presence was like a tree, and my energies, like roots, grabbed the soul spring, and pierced the soil of his spirit. I would rip the hero ss out of his soul, and I would do so in the way a tree would. My roots pierced the gaps of the marble stones, and forced my way in. ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!¡± Chung roared. ¡°Stripping you of your powers.¡± I answered inly, as my spiritual roots drew power from the worlds. ¡°NO!¡± The rocks cracked, as I pushed. It was harder, because Chung wasn¡¯t cooperating. But I am now Level 250, and the hero ss wasn¡¯t going to stop me. ¡°EVIL! YOU WORK FOR THE DEMONS!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°YOU WILL BE THE NEXT DEMON.¡± Chung used. My roots pierced the foundations of his soul spring, and slowly, I lifted. The rocks felt heavy. They always were. I felt his soul spring try it¡¯s best to hold on to the rocks. But I pushed. My roots grew, and his soul spring buckled like a road with roots growing underneath it. ¡°Maybe.¡± I answered, as I kept working. ¡°But I posit life is better than death. So better alive than dead.¡± ¡°I RATHER DIE WITH PRIDE AND DIGNITY THAN TO SERVE.¡± I didn¡¯t bother answering that. His soul buckled. *** The entire valley trembled with the turbulent powers of a hero¡¯s energies. The four heroes were nearby, near my main tree, and they could feel it. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Colette asked Lumoof. Lumoof shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s going well. The hero ss is loose.¡± Khefri had a mischievous grin. ¡°Zhaanpu¡¯s going to have a good time once he knows you can do this.¡± Lumoof looked at Khefri, and shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s been having a good time for a while now. We still owe him an apology. Aeon promised he¡¯d get an audience with a god.¡± Khefri then looked at Lumoof. ¡°Wait. I wasn¡¯t briefed on that.¡± ¡°Ah. Yes. Priorities.¡± Lumoofughed. ¡°We did intend to inform him about Hawa and the things that were discussed, but, things happened.¡± Khefri squinted. ¡°Fill me in.¡± ¡°Later,ter. Aeon¡¯s getting there.¡± The valley swirled with turbulent magic. Lightning and bursts of magic seemed to manifest out of nowhere, and briefly, everyone felt divine magic. ¡°Huh.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°That was unexpected-¡± They were instantly hit with notification that their domain had blocked attempted scrying. For the heroes, they were all instantly hit with a headache, except Colette, who felt as if something attempted to touch her. Lumoof looked at the heroes, and immediately encased them in a barrier of roots and vines. ¡°Something¡¯s trying to look through your souls.¡± Adrian, Khefri and Prabu struggled for a little, before the sensation vanished. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Lumoof frowned. ¡°A god¡¯s trying to spy on us.¡± *** Chung¡¯s spirit was in turmoil, as my roots and vines separated the marble rocks that made up the hero ss from the soul spring. The hero was in intense pain, the act of ripping out one¡¯s ss is quite like removing a central pir of his identity. I spent quite a bit of my energies trying to hold him, as the rest of my energies pushed the hero ss out of the way, further, and further. My spiritual vines grabbed the stones of his hero ss, and bit by bit, I pulled it further and further away from his soul spring. A full dayter, the hero ss was finally out of the reach of his soul spring, and then- [You¡¯ve removed the [Archer Hero] ss] [You¡¯ve gained the [Archer Hero] ss Seed] [Warning : This ss Seed is highly unstable and may cause death during attempted merger] Chung was alive, but suddenly, the young man strapped into the soul forge began to age rapidly. ¡°Uh. Shit¡± 280. And So the Begins the War of the Clones 280. And So the Begins the War of the Clones Chapter 280 Year 270 (Part 3) ¡°I cannot de-age him.¡± I said. No. If I said I could, and I did it against his will, I would just prove Chung¡¯s point that I could have saved Ken but chose not to. If I didn¡¯t do it for Ken, there¡¯s certainly no reason to do it for Chung. I had to keep the story straight. ¡°But- doesn¡¯t this mean we just killed him?¡± Prabu and Colette both looked horrified. Chung¡¯s soul just had his ss ripped out of him, and even as I tried my best to soften the edges, it is still a traumatic incident and would cause aging. Khefri frowned. ¡°How many years does he have left?¡± ¡°Five?¡± I guessed, based on the rate of aging. ¡°His body was under a lot of stress, and he didn¡¯t trade his hero ss for the other sses.¡± ¡°Wait. Does that mean he could keep his immortality if he traded his hero sses for other sses?¡± ¡°To some extent.¡± There is a limit, just like how there is a limit with the Experience Seeds. As far as I could tell, only domain holders are immortal, as the rest of them still age, albeit slowly. In that sense, this was a unique advantage afforded to us non-humanoids. Even a lich, or a mummified corpse, like Zhaanpu, experienced decay over the years and had to go through a process of rejuvenation. The heroes didn¡¯t like this development, of course. Why would they? They thought they just merely stopped him. They didn¡¯t think they just gave him a death sentence. Over the days and months, as Chung regained his consciousness, heughed maniacally. ¡°Well done! Well done, all of you!¡± Prabu was the only one there when Chungughed. ¡°Chung. You were being destructive.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Chungughed. ¡°And you did it. Well done, Prabu, Well done. You¡¯ve worked with evil, and decided to kill me.¡± ¡°I- I didn¡¯t know it was going to go this way.¡± ¡°And you trust that crazy tree anyway, don''t you? You knew, and yet you trusted him.¡± I was tempted to just kill him anyway, but I didn¡¯t care. Chung now posed no harm, and I thought it was useful to have him around, as a test for the heroes¡¯ nature. Prabu shook his head. ¡°We didn¡¯t expect it either.¡± ¡°You think the damned tree didn¡¯t know this was going to happen?¡± ¡°It never removed a hero ss ever.¡± Prabu countered. ¡°And you were a danger to everyone. It was the only way.¡± ¡°Was it?¡± ¡°You were not listening to us.¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± Prabu frowned. ¡°You¡¯re being difficult.¡± Chung frowned as well. ¡°Is that what you call standing up for myself and what¡¯s right?¡± ¡°No. You¡¯re being destructive, and you wrecked the ce in the Southern Continent. I don¡¯t call that standing up for yourself.¡± ¡°I did that, didn¡¯t it?¡± Chung said, as if feigning forgetfulness. ¡°Why not just kill me? That¡¯s what the tree would want.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what we want.¡± Prabu countered. ¡°For the greater good, this is the best way forward.¡± ¡°For the greater good.¡± The former, now powerless hero said. ¡°That¡¯s how we justify it all.¡± ¡°Yes. It is.¡± Prabu somehow snapped. ¡°And it is the greater good if you¡¯re not destroying shit.¡± ¡°Fuck you.¡± Prabu stared at the shell of a man. ¡°I thought I would be sad to see you die. As it turns out, it¡¯s just me holding on to someone who I thought was my friend. Someone who was with us for the fight against the demons.¡± ¡°Not for-¡± ¡°No. You were always looking for excuses. I had it. We¡¯ve been in this world way longer than Earth, or wherever they call it. These worlds are our homes, now, and I¡¯d be damned if I don¡¯t protect it.¡± ¡°All because you have a daughter-¡± ¡°Fuck you, Chung.¡± Prabu said. ¡°So what it¡¯s because I have a daughter. I want to protect the world she lives in. At least I have something worth fighting for, unlike you just wrecking shit up because you think you¡¯re better.¡± ¡°I did. Ken was-¡± ¡°Ken was always our friend.¡± Prabu countered. ¡°Even when he vanished and hid away, ditching his responsibilities as a hero. You, on the other hand, used him as a fucking crutch. You me all your mistakes on Ken¡¯s death, and it fucking tires me.¡± ¡°I liked you better when all you did was eat snacks.¡± Chung somehow aged in that moment, while he looked at the hero that usually seemed quiet. Prabu was not a person of many emotions. But he snapped today, and Chung wasn¡¯t sure why. Maybe the gods tried to ensure the heroes stuck together, so with each other, they were forgiving of each other¡¯s faults. Now that Chung didn¡¯t have the hero ss, those effects vanished? I wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°Guess I ate something too spicy and I just had to vent it. Enjoy your final days, Chung. I hoped we could be friends like we used to, but I realize all I¡¯m talking to is a shadow of the person I once knew. A rotten shadow.¡± ¡°Go to hell, Prabu. Go fight for the evil tree and I hope you realize the mistakes you made in your final days.¡± Prabu walked to the door of the fortified bib. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the spirits of the heroes that died before us, and I know we are on the right path. It¡¯s a shame you refuse to see the cruel reality. We will go to the demon¡¯s hell, and we will destroy them.¡± ¡°Fuck you.¡± ¡°Oh, did I tell you Aeon spoke to a god?¡± Prabu smirked. Chung stared, his eyes a mix of confusion and betrayal. ¡°-what.¡± ¡°The Order finally found a god-protected world.¡± ¡°Wait- don¡¯t go!¡± Prabu shook his head. ¡°I¡¯lle back if I feel like it. Bye.¡± Chung yelled, while his body was strapped to all the vines and roots that tracked his every bodily readings. *** *** Lumoof, Roon and Edna were back on Satrya, where the demon king would arrive, this time, escorted with an actual Valthorn contingent of our own, mainly to set up the n. Our void mages quickly triangted the location, and since we were expecting a demon king simr to Sabnoc, our approach was the same. Nuke the shit out of it once it spawns. Once the n was ready, we had to brief the locals. The meeting location was the city of Olpash, the home of the priestess. The full Hawa¡¯s Circle was present for Lumoof¡¯s presentation of our n. The usual way. Bombs and explosions, then followed by direct engagement should the demon king survive. Our n also involved the deployment of one of my [node trees], in order to transport the heroes from our world to Satrya, and all the bombs we needed for this purpose. The priests didn¡¯t see the necessity for such ¡®crude¡¯ methods. In fact, they were horrified. On worlds such as Satrya, the demons were not the endlessly consuming gue. Here, they had to obey the intensely powerful rules woven into the fabric of this world¡¯s reality. So, in the Core worlds of the Gods, the demons were not an existential threat. They couldn¡¯t be, because the Gods who watched over them would intervene. It didn¡¯t cost them much to intervene. But since Hawa himself dered that we would deal with it, who was the Hawa¡¯s Circle to oppose our n? None of them wanted to speak up against Lumoof, because he was my avatar. Our presence distorted reality, and warped the environment around us. Just like when I ascended to be a domain holder, my presence rippled throughout the world of Treehome, that even Lillies could sense it, Lumoof¡¯s presence on Satrya had a simr effect. Our threads mixed into the divine presence of this world, and it made the priests ufortable. They have never felt their Lord¡¯s authority challenged this way. The presence of another god in a world that never had the presence of another was unnerving, and it shattered a long held belief. The primacy of their god¡¯s ce in the multiverse. Their god was only one of the many. Eventually, the Hawa¡¯s Circle themselves appointed two to attend to our needs. They would act as facilitators, and ease our conduct with the rest of Satrya. The head priestess of Olpash, and the head priest of Museo. Roon had an eyeroll, like the fates were ying some kind of divine prank on him. Maybe she volunteered herself for the role. ¡°It is time we are formally introduced, then. My given name is Olivia of Olpash.¡± The head priestess said. ¡°And I am Michael of Museo.¡± We wouldter find out that they are named that way because once they ascended as Hawa¡¯s Circle, they are supposed to consider the entire city that is their ¡®home-state¡¯ as their home, and as such they are given the city¡¯s name as their normal family names. Thend where the demon king would arrive was located deep in the uninhabited territories, and it seemed that the magics of Hawa had somehow twisted their magical rifts such that they could onlynd in a few specified locations throughout Satrya. These areas became known as the demonnds to the Satryan popce. Uninhabited, and perfect for a node tree. Or a clone. Our forces easily pierced the depths of the demonnds. Demon champions were frankly nothing at this point, Edna and Lumoof could handle multiple simultaneously. I thought about what was the right level of force to apply, and briefly weighed the risk. From what I could see so far, Hawa offered to help, but we would have to help free up resources. With a node tree, I didn¡¯t show my true strength. But why? Why hold back? Should I be fearful of Hawa¡¯s retaliation by cing one of my clone body on it¡¯s outer core worlds, or betrayal? I briefly considered the experiences so far. I would have the clone I lost in year 261 back in my reserves soon, and Alka would be back in business in about two to three years. Lumoof understood my concerns, and then asked Olivia and Michael. ¡°How trustworthy is your god?¡± I saw the silliness of the question. How could their own priests know their god¡¯s character? But even so, what their answers helped. ¡°If Hawa is not worthy of trust, no one is.¡± Michael of Museo answered in confidence. Hawa¡¯s decisions in its peripheral worlds do not inspire that sort of confidence. Yet, I suppose to those who live in privilege, what would they know? Olivia¡¯s response was simr. ¡°There is no one we trust more than Hawa.¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°Is Hawa¡¯s promises reliable?¡± Olivia and Michael¡¯s facial expression was one of genuine disbelief. ¡°Of course!¡± They countered, as if appalled that their god¡¯s character should ever be questioned. But the dealings between Gods are all a matter of trust, is it not? The system could ensure contracts and agreements are followed, but it would take a pact, a pact with the same level of power like the [World Faith System]. In short, it would be a [constitution] formed from thebined votes of the multiverse. But right now, my dealings with Hawa will entirely be based on trust. The belief system, in its design, should be one of trust. One where the Gods act in ordance to their myth, and Hawa was never seen as a deceitful god. After all, actions contrary to the Gods character will cause the gods to lose believers. It is an incentive to encourage consistent behavior. ¡°Very well.¡± Lumoof made the two priests of Hawa speak of their god¡¯s character, to describe his greatness. They preached. They were trained to do so from a young age. Hawa in their eyes was the god of Laws, Honorable Battle and Honor. Of battlefield excellence and the purity of skill. To the Satryans, Hawa was the only god in their eyes, naturally their own creation myths exined how the primordial egg created Hawa, and the remnants of the primordial egg formed the rejected parts of the world. The demons. It was totally untrue. Hawa¡¯s faith on Satrya didn¡¯t speak of the others at all, unlike how Hawa¡¯s faith on Treehome was a blended creation myth. Perhaps, the gods created a few versions of their own creation myths. A set for the peripheral worlds, that includes the other gods, and a set for their core worlds where they would not encounter the other gods. In that sense, the existence of the other gods meant Hawa lied to themon popce. I could see the reason for it, after all, Hawa wanted believers, and for its¡¯ core worlds, it was best not to give its believers options. Here, he was supreme, and the only alternative wasn¡¯t one. Only the inner circle, the Hawa¡¯s Circle, knew of the other worlds. But even they didn¡¯t know the full picture. There was no reason to know. Despite this obvious lie, I didn¡¯t think it invalidated Hawa¡¯s trustworthiness. The variation in creation myths didn¡¯t seem malicious. I also had value that I brought to the table. I could offer the Hawa a way to gain more faith points, by transporting his priests and believers to ces that would cost too much [faith points] for him to reach. I could defend worlds where it cost too much for him to act. So, I decided it was worth it to give this rtionship between two powers a shot. If they wanted to see us in action, well, I¡¯d do so with a clone. I had three to spare, and one more on the way, anyway. *** 281. Logged and Loaded 281. Logged and Loaded
Year 271 Satrya My clone was ced close to the demon king¡¯s predicted arrival slot. The actual location of arrival would be rigged with enough ordinances to nuke the ce to ashes, so my clone was located a little further away. The rifts swirled. Ste sighed from the safety of my clone. ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel that we¡¯ve just signed up to fight someone else¡¯s war.¡± ¡°It is true. But some concessions have to be made, for trust.¡± In an agreement between powers, what else could there be but trust? ¡°We still have the voidyers to explore.¡± Ste frowned, I felt her eagerness to see the voidyers for herself. There was something that we wanted to see, there, and yet here we are, torn by all these other obligations. We were stretched. And we will be stretched even more. The scale of the Valtrian Order needed to match our ambitions. I needed to expand on arger scale, and to some extent, these peripheral worlds seemed like the perfect ce for it. They were exposed to enough demonic attacks that their people should have a reason to take up arms against the demons. ¡°I know.¡± I consoled the void mage, but she was here anyway. She monitored the subtle shifts in the void paths of the demon king, making sure we got the right spot. She merely grunted at my response, and after a while, asked. ¡°You n to send someone over to the other side?¡± The rift gates hummed in the distance. The Valthorns present ced our bombs, as the two officials of Hawa, Olivia of Olpash and Michael of Museo, watched as bombs were carried out of my clone tree by the beetle-trucks. They watched with what seemed to be a mix of horror and amazement. We¡¯ve gotten better at the logistics of remote mining demon king¡¯s spawn points, and my n involved designing standard deployment packages, each with enough to deal sufficient damage 2 x over, and deliver them to each of our attacked territories. We needed to transform each fight with the demon king into a routine process that we could repeat everywhere. We would be a well-oiled war machine. ¡°If only to get the coordinates.¡± I answered. Ste nodded. ¡°A world that creates a demon king like Sabnoc would be of much interest. What sort of natural terrain they possess, or features, that caused the creation of such demon kings.¡± ¡°You sound personally invested. Do you want to go?¡± I wondered. ¡°It is. I volunteer to go.¡± ¡°Take Edna and Roon with you.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Ste said. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a better reading on where *** The Valthorns were in full swing as they set up the bombs. Lumoof watched, and the team was familiar with our usualyout that they worked with hardly any intervention from the senior team. There were set formations that determined how the bombs were arranged throughout the arrival area. ¡°Impressive work.¡± Michael said to Lumoof. Lumoof merely chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s not enough, though.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°We¡¯d probably have to step in for the finishing touches.¡± ¡°Is it? I would¡¯ve thought this amount of magical weapons would be sufficient to cause an explosion.¡± MIchael countered. The priest grinned at the priest of the other faith. ¡°You underestimate how hardy the is.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°We have miners that use explosives for their underground mines.¡± Michael rified. ¡°I had the impression such explosive weapons would be enough.¡± ¡°The demon king isn¡¯t a creature that dies easily.¡± Michael paused. ¡°I noticed it¡¯s mostly ordinary explosives, but since the opponent is the demon king, why not use [holy] explosives?¡± Lumoof stared at Michael, and realized that Hawa may have ess to divine-tier bombs, created with Hawa¡¯s magical energies. ¡°The demon king isn¡¯t vulnerable to [holy] weapons. Most anti-demonic spells and abilities do not apply to the demon king.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Michael paused. ¡°Our divine [champions] would always im it is the Hawa Armaments that made them so powerful and use it to defeat the demon king.¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°Weapons made by your god must be truly powerful. I¡¯d like to see them, if we have the chance.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Sure.¡± Olivia, meanwhile, looked around. ¡°Lord Lumoof, have you seen my husband around?¡± Lumoof paused, a little annoyed that she referred to Roon so casually. ¡°No.¡± *** Demon Conquered World - Orion The riftgate wobbled. Ste¡¯s bubble of void magic touched the riftgates, and easily resonated with the frequency. And so, the trio was now on the other side. They immediately realize this was an unusual world among unusual worlds. ¡°There¡¯s some kind of magical hexagonal grid in the sky and thends.¡± Ste looked around in both amazement and horror, as she felt the same forces of divinew trying to apply on them. Luckily, it bounced off their domains. Roon breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°I don¡¯t remember ever being so relieved.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°What sort of god created this world-¡± A world that has fallen to the demons. The world that created Sabnoc came from a world twisted by divine energies! ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± Roon said, as he looked around the environment. It was incredibly eerie to observe the demonic warriors stop after moving across a certain number of hex grids and stop. The magical grid, imposed by divinew, caused creatures that caused those grid barriers to feel exhausted. The void domain holder watched and immediately made the connection. This entire world was designed as if it was a board game yed on a hexagonal grid, and the rules were imposed on regr creatures by way of divinew. ¡°I can see why it fell.¡± Edna said. ¡°Those board games have to follow rules, but the demons and their imported army will feel limitless, even if the demons have to obey the rules¡± The grids tried to impose their will on them repeatedly, but as domain holders they were spared. The terrain itself was also shaped by this magical grid. Temperature, terrain, features, vegetation all changed just by crossing the grid. Edna joked. ¡°You know, of all the worlds to be summoned to, at least you were not summoned to this world.¡± ¡°Heroes should have some really lopsided powers, no?¡± Roon countered. ¡°Something to offset the disadvantages of this system.¡± ¡°It may not matter if the way you fight has to follow the stupid rules ofbat like Satrya.¡± Edna said. Ste nodded. In a world like this, where the divinew imposed grid-dictated movement, stamina and attack time limits, a million demonic hounds could deliver death by a million tiny scratches. But the divinew was woven into the creation of this world, and so, it¡¯s core, ordingly- Roon led the ground, moving through the grids as if they didn¡¯t exist. The terrain was beautiful in a strange way. With the aid of magic, they flew across the hexagonal terrain and soon found arge hexagonal hole in the ground that led to the core. ¡°Well- that¡¯s the core.¡± The divinew in this world also served other functions. As they approached iit spawned a screen that all could see. It was likely to be a feature unique to this world, perhaps as an experimental world by one of the earliest gods? [The Tunnel to Demon Corrupted Core of Orion] [Long ago, Orion fell to the demons, and ever since then, it has birthed demon kings to fuel the demon¡¯s ceaseless invasion to the other worlds] [Countdown to Demon Kingpletion : 14 days] ¡°You know, life would be much nicer if we had tooltips like that all the time.¡± Roon countered. Ste looked at the sun, which initially seemed normal. But, as it turned out, the divinew also created an interface on the sun and the sky itself, and had a clock oveid on the sun itself. ¡°We don¡¯t need clocks in this world.¡± Ste said in amazement. ¡°That¡¯s both incredibly useful, and annoying.¡± Roon frowned. ¡°I¡¯m going to be scolded for waking upte if this was a thing.¡± ¡°Hah!¡± Ste smirked. ¡°Who dares scold the archer-god?¡± ¡°You?¡± Roonughed. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s find the rift gates. We need to rob a few, right?¡± Ste nodded. They found four rift gates, and sent them back to Treehome, and then decided it was time to head back for the battle. *** Back on Satrya The way the demonic world¡¯s path glowed was the same, as my men prepared. The bombs were ready. The two priests of Museo and Olpash were unnerved, they were so near to the demon king! ¡°We- we have never been asked to be so close.¡± The priest of Museo said, but in the safety of my newly ced clone, there really was nothing to be afraid of. My clone¡¯s presence on Satrya had been unusual, I felt like I was exerting power over and that resisted me, and my influence on thend bounced off like water on an oily te. I suspected this was how Hawa controlled the world of Satrya. Edna was nearest to the battlefield. She would be the first to stand against the demon king from the hexagonal origin world, her magical quest-swords floated around her like her guardians. Ste smiled. ¡°After this, can we explore the void worlds?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Both will have to happen at the same time. The path twisted with the foul energies of a demon king leaving their original world, and then, the Demon King Ur arrived. It was a six headed Hydra, each with a different face, but it¡¯s power level wasparable to the variant we faced on Mountainworld. ¡°Bombs.¡± The bombs detonated, and reality itself warped around the intense magical explosion. Edna, Lumoof, and my domain holders charged in. I¡¯d call on the heroes if we need to. But for now, with our focus on growing our own strength, I decided to prioritize this battle for my domainholders. The bombs left the Demon King Ur with four of its¡¯ heads burnt, and it was beginning to regenerate. It was amon gimmick amongst demon kings to have regenerating parts. Lumoof entered avatar mode and my root spears pierced it¡¯s gigantic armored by, and more lesser demons appeared, I suddenly realized- This was easy. My spiritual energies messed with the regeneration. Unlike heroes who had to keep figuring out how to destroy the demon king¡¯s heads repeatedly. I could tamper with regeneration by messing on the mechanism at a spiritual level. The ability to block spiritual ess also prevented [healing]. A body heals based on a biological code, provided by the spirit. Magic has a reference point. I¡¯ve done this before. Easy. Edna¡¯s magical des chopped off one of the heads. Roon and Johann¡¯s arrows blew off the other. Then the demon king attempted to transform. But it was interrupted. My roots, through Lumoof, pierced its body. We¡¯ve faced Multipus, and Multipus was way tougher. My roots crawled and snuck through its inner parts, and wrapped around it¡¯s demonic core. And then Lumoof ripped it out of the body. It¡¯s fluids shot out of it¡¯s body, magical energy and demonic mana leaked, as the muscr roots ripped the heart of the Demon King Ur out of the body. I felt it attempted to reshape, transform. It won¡¯t. I do not allow it to. My energies prated the demonic king¡¯s core and the demon king found its¡¯ shapeshifting abilities disabled. My roots drained it of mana. Itsrge, massive mana pool attempted to coalesce, as if to trigger a detonation of some kind. As it always did. But no. This time it failed. I drained its mana quickly, as Lumoof winced in pain. It felt like minutes. It probably was. But the demon king¡¯s core struggled like a machine going through its¡¯st moments. It was like a spinning machine, it whined and whirled in it¡¯sst moments. But, fueled by the [Fury of the Avatar], Lumoof could take it. The demon king¡¯s body, now separated from its body, froze as if petrified. Without the ¡®heart¡¯ of the Demon King, it was no more than a puppet with its strings cut. As more demonic mana was drained out of the demon king¡¯s core, the body itself began to copse. It soon melted into goo. Lumoof stood close at the center of the goo, two gigantic muscr masses of roots and vines emerging from his body held the demonic king¡¯s core. Drained of its mana, it was like a machine that ran out of juice and shut down. ¡°We¡¯ll take this.¡± Lumoof dered, as the demon king¡¯s core vanished, sent back to Treehome for further investigation. This was getting easier. The locals got a notification. We didn¡¯t. The Will of Satrya¡¯s refusal to acknowledge my presence in this world meant none of us did. But the two priests of Museo and Olpash received the notification, and they were stunned beyond words. Ednanded next to Lumoof. ¡°Good job, Lumoof.¡± [You¡¯ve gained a level. You are now level 266] ¡°Only one level.¡± I said. But it didn¡¯t matter. Both Lumoof and Edna benefited from this battle, because both of them experienced arge surge in power. Power we will need for the next phase of our internar war. The two domainholders were now Level 200. *** ¡°Well, what did you get?¡± Edna looked at Lumoof, and asked him first. ¡°I thought you should say it. I thought your choice would be more interesting.¡± Edna smiled, ¡°I suppose so. But I¡¯m more curious about your choice, Lumoof.¡± ¡°As weird as it sounds, I only have two choices, instead of three like Aeon.¡± My avatar grinned. Lumoof then exined his choices. Lumoof¡¯s first option was [The High Altar of Faith] [The High Altar of Faith granted the Avatar of Aeon the ability to select non-domain faithful believers, and admit them into the Altar. Up to twenty people will be allowed to join the High altar. Aeon may activate [Avatar mode] through the Members of the High Altar, though the expressed power is limited to three times their level. Only two full [Avatar Mode] can be active among the High Altar Members at any one point, though all High Altar members can activate a lesser version of the Avatar form. Members of the High Altar stop aging while they are members, and will share sights, senses, and knowledge with the Avatar and also Aeon. High Altar Members can be resurrected by Aeon at a negligible cost. In addition, High Altar Members can teleport items to each other, and can summon each other to their location. However, they cannot bring others with them. Aeon and Lumoof will also gain control of each of the High Altar Members]. [Selecting this option will also enhance Aeon¡¯s Lesser Wooden Avatars, and increase the Pantheon¡¯s Lesser Wooden Avatar power Limits to Level 150]. ¡°That¡¯s like a weird mix of [Court of the Deitree] and [Avatar] mode.¡± Edna immediately thought. ¡°Not that useful, though. What¡¯s the other one?¡± Lumoof¡¯s second choice is [The Towering Avatar]. [The Towering Avatar elevates the Avatar into the total reincarnation of their origin gods. Lumoof will now be able to function and support all of Aeon¡¯s abilities, including [Soul Forge], the clone¡¯s [teleportation], and so on. In addition, under this form, the Towering Avatar is able to summon [Aeon¡¯s Spirit]. Aeon¡¯s Spirit functions as a temporary butplete incarnation of the patron god. Destruction of Aeon¡¯s Spirit does not result in any penalties or drawbacks. Aeon¡¯s Spirit is usable once a month.] [Selecting this option will slightly upgrade Aeon¡¯sbat abilities, and also, doubles Aeon¡¯s mana pool.] ¡°Wait, is that it?¡± Edna said. ¡°Yeah. It just means we no longer need to deploy Aeon¡¯s clone for battle, and the clone can now be reserved for permanent establishments.¡± ¡°Oh. Ooooooh.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s like we have two Aeon¡¯s in battle. Myself and the clone. And the mana pool will double.¡± ¡°The earlier option allows us to have mini-Aeons all over the ce.¡± ¡°But we already have clones and nodes.¡± ¡°Correction, mini-Avatars all over the worlds that can be revived. In short, zero-risk explorers.¡± Ste added. ¡°Zero-risk explorers suddenly make that option a lot more appealing, for the void worlds.¡± Edna realized. Lumoof nodded. ¡°I think the choice is whether to go wide or to go tall. Both have their own legitimate use case, especially as Ste said, explorers. Teleportable explorers and envoys. Or a portable summon of Aeon that we can use in ce of clones, so that we can reserve clones as home bases. This could be tremendously useful if we¡¯re faced with a lot of fighting on the peripheral worlds. We wouldn¡¯t need to lock up clone slots to secure the frontier.¡± The question sat in the room for a while. ¡°What¡¯s more useful?¡± ¡°I say tall. A portable Aeon without locking up clones is way more useful than mini-Aeons everywhere.¡± ¡°What if we encounter dangerous threats?¡± ¡°The likelihood of threats-¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about hostile gods.¡± Ste said. ¡°The High Altar can function as high-power, but zero-risk explorers, while having a decent fraction of Aeon¡¯s power.¡± Lumoof then looked at Edna. ¡°What about yours?¡± Ednaughed. 282. Into the Void 282. Into the Void Year 272 We didn¡¯t see the need to rush into Lumoof¡¯s choice. After all, we could figure out what¡¯s happening on the peripheralnds, before choosing the better fit. That was the thought with Edna¡¯s choice, too. *** ¡°So what did you get?¡± Lumoof¡¯s turn to rib the knight. The knight didn¡¯t seem too enthusiastic. ¡°I could summarise them into three main directions. The first choice of my Level 200 domain is the Martial Paragon. In this form, I would achieve what we longed for. Combat ability not only on par, and even more than the heroes. Martial Paragon would allow my [Duty] tost longer, and my overallbat abilities would rise significantly. Some of my abilities would also gain upgrades, such as my [Quest Swords] would gain even more power. I gain the ability to teleport to any of the fellow domainholders who are members of the Pantheon, at my choice. I am also able to leave a [shadow knight] with members of the pantheon, to provide some protection.¡± I found it underwhelming. She sighed. ¡°I think, aside from power, the utility aspects of this choice isckluster.¡± Lumoof frowned. ¡°Edna, I think you shouldn¡¯t worry about the utility issue. The rest of us will deal with it.¡± Edna nodded. ¡°That is true.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the next?¡± ¡°The Divine Herald of Knights. I gain the ability to sense the presence of all [knight] sses all over the world, and more. The Herald of Knights gains the ability to speak and grant [quests] to all knight sses all over the world directly, grant blessings, rewards, and also, bestow [knight] sses of different tiers. I am also able to form [Knight Orders] out of a group of knights, which grants them some kind of group-wide ability. I am also able to teleport to any knight that requests for my aid, or send magical assistants and spiritual knights. Pantheon members also gain an ability to set up a [Lesser Knight Order].¡± ¡°This is more in line with a goddess of knights-¡± Ste chewed on a sweet of some kind. With the defense of Satryapleted, the next phase was the void worlds, the peripheral worlds, and also the assimtion of Delvegard. ¡°In short, the first choice is to go tall-in the direction ofbat. This second choice goes wider, just like how Lumoof¡¯s one did.¡± ¡°I must say I¡¯m starting to see a pattern.¡± Ste wondered. ¡°It¡¯s just how the system creates these domains. It¡¯s a choice of focus, or breadth.¡± Roon said as if he knew it all along. Johann poked his fellow domain holder. ¡°And you know what¡¯s yours going to be?¡± ¡°I bet mine¡¯s going to be some kind of super-archer upgrade, or some kind of split-archer form.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, Edna, what¡¯s the third choice?¡± ¡°The third choice is the wildcard choice. [Sword of the Void Forest]. It is the domain that takes me closer to Aeon, Lumoof, and Ste.¡± Edna looked at Lumoof in a way that made Lumoof squirm ufortably. ¡°What in the world-¡± ¡°I can also be an avatar of Aeon.¡± Edna repeated. ¡°And you can be an avatar of me.¡± Lumoof¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Ste shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s a clear no. That¡¯s too much-¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even hear the details.¡± Edna said. ¡°Ste, the system clearly considers you as part of this arrangement. The primary power of this domain choice is the ability to have spiritual equivalents, or as the system calls it, ¡®Manifestations'', and tag along with Aeon¡¯s Node Trees, Clones, Ste¡¯s Void Explorer, and Lumoof¡¯s avatar form. In this form, I essentially be a person with multiple bodies, like Aeon¡¯s clone. These Manifestations are [Void] in nature, and I can travel in the [void sea] with your void explorers.¡± ¡°You create them?¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°No. Strangely enough, this domain binds the Manifestation to the abilities of Ste and Aeon. My manifestations appear whenever there is a Clone or a Void Explorer, or your avatar form. It¡¯s a package.¡± ¡°A form of subdomain, but not totally subservient.¡± Lumoof thought about it. ¡°In a way, it¡¯s more of a pantheon-support type of role.¡± Edna countered. ¡°Though the choice mentioned Lumoof, Aeon and Ste specifically, it¡¯s not actually limited to them. It extends to all pantheon members.¡± The rest of the domain holders were in thought, but then Johannughed. ¡°Roon, you might get a mixed-choice. Think about it, what if you got an Aeon¡¯s Archer type of ability.¡± Roon rolled his eyes. ¡°At least you won¡¯t get one linked to your prospective partner!¡± Ezar, the brawler, chuckled. ¡°Imagine that!¡± Roon had a look of genuine horror. ¡°Oh no way.¡± ¡°It is a wildcard choice.¡± Ste decided it was a fun topic and added fuel to the me. ¡°A wildcard romance-linked domain choice would be a supreme troll-move from the system.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to opt for the World Faith System if the system does that to me.¡± Roon countered. ¡°You¡¯re taunting the system?!¡± Ste feigned horror. Roon realized Ste had a point and decided it was best to just shut up. We didn¡¯t decide that day. We had worlds to visit, and we wanted Alka to join us in the choice. We would prefer to optimise our abilities. Choices that would get us through the next hurdle. It also helped that Alka would have a level up of his own, and we wanted to hear from him. What was it like, being dead? *** Lumoof, Ste and Edna gathered for a trip. The three were often the first to visit dangerous ces, and this time, they would visit the void worlds together. The void worlds exist only in the voidyers, and it would be the first time my people ventured there. We wondered what it was like, but after all the wondering, it was time to visit. ¡°Well.¡± Ste summoned the void mana in her body, and tapped into the voidyers. The voidyers required a few additional extra steps of locational information, and the cost of opening a rift to the voidyers was a little bit higher than normal, but other than the extra ring of magical glow around the rift itself, it seemed pretty normal. ¡°To the first void world.¡± Lumoofughed, and walked through without hesitation. Ste stared. ¡°Hey wait!¡± She called out, but Lumoof was already through. ¡°I thought it wasn¡¯t ready-¡± Edna smiled at the void mage, and then, she walked through too. ¡°Dammit.¡± Ste ran through. *** The path through the voidyers was as if one slipped through the gaps of reality. They existed on a differentyer of the void sea, upying the same ce, but on a different ne. ¡°Well, took you long enough.¡± Lumoof smiled as Ste finally stepped through. We looked around, and saw a world with a burning ck sun, and a surface made of darkened rock. ¡°Uh. So where are we?¡± Ste said, but just as she said that, her own magic expanded into the world. Void world- Our magical senses rang, as a strange creature appeared before us. It emerged from the same type of rift gates that we used, but the shape was different. It was some kind of worm, and it immediately judged us. It stared at us. It has fifteen eyes, and tentacles that looked like they were made of the void sea itself. It radiated void mana through it¡¯s body. The eyes, each of them were as if they were made of starry skies, dark, and yet, somehow deep. The three spoke telepathically. ¡°This is a void creature.¡± Ste said. It was a familiar feeling, she sensed creatures like this in the void sea, but to encounter them in the voidyers was somewhat expected. Standing before us was a creature that didn¡¯t look like any living being, and through Lumoof, I sensed it wasn¡¯t even a creature with a normal soul. It was as if it was cobbled together from something that belonged in the void sea. It reminded me of a jellyfish, it¡¯s mind distributed throughout its limbs. It stared at us for a while, and just as suddenly, the rift gates emerged again. It then vanished. ¡°Well, what was that?¡± Edna said. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It looked like it was curious, but not altogether hostile.¡± Ste countered. The void world itself had a dark sun, the world had a glow that was quite simr to the reflected lights of the moon. Faint. There were clouds in this world, made of ck dust of some sort, and when they covered the sun, the world around us twisted. Thews of reality worked differently here. A world wasn¡¯t a fixed object, but a flexible one that transformed ording to the sun¡¯s light. The terrain warped, and somehow the way it warped was always rtive to our position. It only warped when the three of them were not there, in the distance, visible. ¡°The stars lead to different ces.¡± Ste stared, as she watched the position of the world shifted. It was as if the voidyers were rolling a wheel, and the stars spun, slowly, and slowly settling into position. Edna nodded. ¡°Useful?¡± ¡°Potentially.¡± Ste countered, as we continued to explore the void world. It was a world that was bare. There was no vegetation of any sort. The terrain was all rock and sand, all ckened rock and sand, all imbued with void mana to some degree. We searched. And searched. Then we came across arge rocky in that finally had something unusual. A crater with a skeleton at the center. It was a human of some kind, but a little taller than the normal human. The body had long been eroded by the sandy winds. What was left was just the bones, perfectly preserved, made of something resistant to the wind¡¯s corrosion. ¡°A body.¡± I could probably use the bones to search its memories, just like with the dragons. How did it get here? ¡°It¡¯s been here for a long time.¡± Lumoof said, judging from theyers of sand and the condition of the crater. The edges of what would have been the impact crater, were all smoothed out. Eroded by the winds. The wind carried the same ck dust everywhere. The wind was created by magic, the swirling energies of the void. This world should not have winds, but it did, because the rifts created low and high pressure areas throughout the world. Each time a rift opened, opened by the strange rift monsters that sometimes visited, it created a pressure zone. Winds. There was nothing else, but the voidyers contained many worlds. Many more that Ste could see. We would have more to visit. *** Satrya Lumoof and Roon returned to Satrya, to find the two priests waiting for them. ¡°Hawa wishes to speak to you, Lord Lumoof.¡± Michael said with a bow. They¡¯ve been exceptionally polite, and since the defeat of the demon king, they have treated Lumoof with the full benefits of a foreign dignitary, and some. It was a treatment that the lesser ranked priests found strange, but those in the Divine Guards silenced them, iming that it was Hawa''smand. The Hawa¡¯s Circle rarely devoted full attention to any one person, but Lumoof, as avatar of a ¡®peer¡¯, was leagues above. It made Lumoof feel a little strange, of course. The entire courtyard waited, as Michael and Olivia sat at the side. Lumoof sat, while Roon stood behind him. The world twisted, and Hawa arrived once more. Here, in Museo, most mortal men never felt the presence of god so close. It would be something they remember for the rest of their lives. To be in the same city as Hawa arrived would be a mark on their souls. ¡°Well done, and most impressive.¡± Hawa spoke, his golden form shone. ¡°You¡¯ve saved me precious points. Each of us spends every point we can spare, especially in defense of the faraway realms.¡± I waited for him to speak, as Lumoof glowed. The avatar form rippled in the air, and the entire temple structure wobbled as my own energies rubbed against the energies of Hawa. A golden pendant emerged from nowhere, as if it popped out of space itself. ¡°This contains my will, and you may use this to sway my faithful followers in the peripheral worlds. Those who possess my rted sses would know that you represent me, and you can im to act on my behalf.¡± Useful. ¡°Change the bnce of power, Aeon.¡± ¡°I do admit feeling like I¡¯m being used.¡± I responded. Both priests present paled at my statement, and feared Hawa¡¯s retribution. They didn¡¯t know how their god would react to such a rebuke. ¡°You can im the peripheral worlds as your own. I have no need for them, and many of us lose points holding on to them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it, of course. But I¡¯d like your knowledge. Of the demons, of the other gods. Of how the system works. Of the worlds you have ess to.¡± I countered. I didn¡¯t mind working, and expanding my influence in new worlds was a win, even if it was contested territory, but I wanted knowledge. There was a moment of silence, as the air around us wobbled. Eventually, Hawa agreed. ¡°I will share what I know.¡± Another golden gem appeared, a quick nce of it is clearly a divine item. ¡°This will allow you to ask me questions. I will reply to them when I am able. I will inform you of what I can tell you. Some things are restricted by our pact. I will let you know if it is.¡± Both Michael and Olivia¡¯s eyes were filled with greed. Two new divine items appearing in a single day would cause the priests to go insane. Armies would fight to get hold of them. But no one would dare snatch it from Lumoof¡¯s hand. ¡°Very well. This is more like it.¡± I answered. ¡°I will begin to reach out to the peripheral worlds, and will need to travel through some of your outer worlds.¡± ¡°Understood. But move quietly. Some of my worlds know no other god but me, and it is in my interest to keep it that way. You may take my two priests with you to the Peripheral Worlds. I hear my priestess has found one of your minions attractive, and would like to be married.¡± It made Roon and Olivia blush. I merely brushed it off. ¡°Their own private affairs are their own. But thank you for the offer. I will keep it in mind.¡± *** Maelga, home of the imprisoned Crystal, Threeworlds, The human kingdoms of Threeworlds bent the knee, as they were expected to. The Valthorns havepleted the assimtion of the Crystal King¡¯s power structure, and reced them. To the nations and kingdoms of the human-dominatednds, they stopped challenging our authority. It was a peace brought about by blood, and a lot of captured men. We sent a few thousand of them to Lavaworld, where a quarter of them died, and the remaining too horrified to ever raise their arms against us. Blood on my roots and leaves, and so be it. Peace is here, and it was time to milk the industries of this world into the war machine. My Valthorns quickly identified locations where we could set up manufacturing facilities for crystal bombs, weaponry, and tools. We also began setting up training and recruitment institutes, where the recruits of the Centaur-rulednds and the humans of the Human-controllednds would train. The humans found the presence of the Centaurs in theirnds unsettling, at first. They were enemies, but under the watchful eyes of the Valthorns, they were in no position to attempt anything. Trade and mutual learning happened more frequently. Human merchants, mages and schrs were sent to the Centaurnds to learn from them, and vice versa. Centaurpatible inns and institutions were set up in the humannds, and the opposite was also true in the centaurnds. It was an ufortable change. But both sides knew that they were now parts of an intergctic war. It was an ufortable realization, that the peace of their world was merely an illusion. For many, they chose to believe in the lie. It was a lie that their world was still peaceful. It was also a lie that the three hegemons maintained a fragile peace. Many chose to believe the lie. It was easy. To those who didn¡¯t, they were guided into our propaganda machine. Through arge recruitment program, talented soldiers from all sides, drafted and recruited. We wanted those who sought more from themselves. To those who didn¡¯t like the fake peace, they saw our greater purpose appealing. I liked it that way. They would join soldiers from Treehome, Mountainworld, Tropicsworld and soon, Delvegard. A coalition of forces from all over the multiverse. *** ¡°Your ambitions are great.¡± Zhaanpu said, his mummified body floated in what was a quiet, private oasis meant only for him, and his guests. It was rarely used, from what I understand, but these days, it is where we meet and talk. ¡°You knew that.¡± I responded. ¡°I did. But even an immortal like myself cannot truly fathom the scale of what you want to achieve.¡± I told him about my intention of constructing a multiversal force a long time ago. A force to take the battle back to the demons. But as with many others all over the multiverse, it is one thing to have information. It is an entire thing altogether to turn that information into understanding and knowledge. So, my tree, the vessel of my will, wobbled in his little green oasis. There was a small pond, perfectly clear. Beautiful, white sands, more crystalline than dirt. There were tiny insects crawling all over the ground. ¡°You have something you want to say.¡± Zhaanpu mused for a moment, before he went for the strange question. ¡°What do you have nned for me?¡± I paused, before I decided it was best to be honest. ¡°I intend to honor our old agreements, look for a suitable world of sand as you requested, and nothing more. This question arises because of the Crystal King?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Zhaanpu admitted. ¡°It is unnerving to see how you humbled my peer, and now I am uncertain of the nature of our rtionship.¡± I decided to reiterate my old stance. Perhaps in politics, as the power bnces shift, there are times when I need to speak to those who are my friends, and remind them that they are friends, and not minions. When one party is much stronger than the other, it is only natural that this causes feelings of insecurity. ¡°I ask for nothing but mutual cooperation. I do not ask for you to fight for me, and I would like to continue being friends.¡± ¡°Friends.¡± Zhaanpu said. As if the word was meaningless. In some ways, what meaning did it have? What does it mean to be friends, when we are immortal creatures that lived forever? ¡°I would not impose, Zhaanpu. I do not intend to. As we expand, our needs will be spread over a wider set of worlds.¡± Zhaanpu breathed a long sigh of relief. ¡°Very well. I shall take your word for it.¡± *** 283. Reclamation Process 283. Remation Process Year 273 The Emperor had aged, when I sent Lumoof to see him. The Holy Emperor¡¯s hair had turned white, even though his power and ss should have kept him a lot more youthful. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since west met, Emperor Erranuel. I hope you¡¯ve been well.¡± ¡°As well as I could be.¡± He waved his hand. His aides and guards left the room. There really was no point to have them here. ¡°Really?¡± Lumoof nodded, and decided to joke. It was inappropriate, but no one dared correct him. ¡°Your hair seems whiter.¡± ¡°Age and the weight of managing an empire, Lord Lumoof. In time my hair will soon fall off.¡± The Emperor rxed. ¡°It¡¯s certainly too soon for hair to start falling off.¡± Lumoof countered. The Emperor wasn¡¯t that old, was he? He was perhaps eighty, or ny. He ascended to his Imperial Throne around forty years ago. Heughed. ¡°If I lived a leisurely life without worries, I¡¯m fairly certain my hair would still be beautifully golden. But s, I struggle to understand how an empire actually manages to stick together, with all the bickering nobles and lords.¡± Lumoof chuckled, and sat on a chair next to him. A tea set was already prepared. The Emperor was more of a coffee person, a relic of the earlier parasite years, but diplomatic channels had data on Lumoof, and indicated he was a tea person. ¡°Would you like me to find some ointments and potions for your hair, then? It should be a fairly easy issue to solve.¡± The Emperor smiled at Lumoof¡¯s offer. ¡°That would not be necessary, my whitened hair is quite useful. It¡¯s a good reminder to my nobles that I am an aging man. My mortality helps bring out the schemers amongst the ducal families, and misleads them into thinking that I am a frail, weakened man.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Lumoofughed. To feign weakness when one is strong, and lure out the schemers is amon tactic. Somehow nobles still fall for it. Their greed and desire for power often overwhelms the warning signs. ¡°So, are you here to just taste my tea?¡± ¡°Nothing like that. We met Hawa. Twice, actually.¡± Emperor Erranuel sagged. ¡°I heard rumors from my informants. It felt so imusible that I¡¯m certain it¡¯s an intentional leak.¡± ¡°It is.¡± Lumoof chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s good to see how news travels. It helps us know who¡¯s talking to who.¡± Erranuel looked in the distance. All of us y the game. His throne room was necessarily grand, the act of being invited to this room was a spectacle, a ceremony. Something for mere mortals to remember. But to the Holy Emperor, this is no more than a ritual meant to enhance his mysticism. The priests said the regr citizens must be reminded that they stand before the representative of god. A Holy Emperor. So the throne room was filled with enchantment. For regr soldiers and citizens, they would feel a tremendous weight as they entered. A set of spells and items, meant to enhance the Holy Emperor¡¯s presence. It was exhausting, and Lumoof could see it. He had a role to y, as a symbol of sorts for his Empire. His powers as an Emperor were strong. It is for this reason his lesser nobles have not tried to assassinate him. The empire would copse without his presence, and lesser nobles were not prepared to deal with the aftermath and power vacuum. He was not the only Holy Emperor, and the rtionship with the other Holy Empires were cordial at best, and outright hostile in less pleasant times. Not just that, the threat of the guilds still remained in the background. Though the era of merchant warfare was mostly over, there were still small skirmishes and battles. Little reminders that there are greedy guilds waiting to pounce. So the nobles, despite their greed, dared not shatter the Emperor¡¯s presence that supported their empire¡¯s strength. His skills, and his blessings, endowed his people with strength. It is a country-wide blessing, and worked in some ways, simr to those of my own priests and trees. Harvests are bountiful, mines are more productive, people are healthier, and levels increase a little bit faster. Erranuel sipped the tea. He wasn¡¯t a big fan, and Lumoof could tell. ¡°Would you like to visit the world where we met Hawa?¡± ¡°Yes. Though I suppose my nobles will curse my absence. My blessings fade over time. But I want to go. To see the God I im to represent.¡± We¡¯ve known this since the Emperor¡¯s visit to the Lavaworld, andter on, a week-long tour through the Threeworlds and Mountainworld. The other Emperors were not so keen on visiting, they bought their church¡¯s propaganda to a stronger degree than we ever did. A missing King is therefore bad for the country, even if the effects are not felt immediately. That said, there are [assassin], [spy] and [conspirator] abilities that could mess with a King¡¯s abilities. It is often said that it is better for a King to die in battle, than to die assassinated in his sleep, because the [assassin] ss passively erodes the King¡¯s country-wide blessing, while an honorable death in battle is often rewarded by some other form of blessings. Lumoof thought about showing the divine item, but we decided we would keep it. Not now. We didn¡¯t want to ruin his first experience of divinity. ¡°I will make the arrangements and let you know.¡± ¡°Do you not fear your long absence?¡± Erranuel asked abruptly. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lumoof paused. The tea was perfectly warm. The cup was some kind of enchanted cup, that emitted a soft, gentle heat that kept the tea warm. ¡°You travel to other worlds, on long missions. Do you not fear for the safety of your homes when you are away?¡± Lumoof found the question amusing. ¡°Why? I trust my fellow warriors to keep things safe.¡± Erranuel sighed. ¡°I admire that. I can¡¯t trust my nobles, well, except two, but they have their tes full keeping the empire together. It would¡¯ve been easier if we had a structure that¡¯s so immensely loyal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s something you must build, Emperor.¡± Lumoof advised. ¡°This structure was constructed over centuries,yers byyers, built on the backs of many veterans.¡± ¡°Only for it to copse when I die.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t.¡± Lumoof smiled. Emperor Erranuel stared at Lumoof as if it was the most ridiculous thing ever. After a while heughed. ¡°I sometimes forget I¡¯m speaking with an avatar.¡± ¡°You just need to gain levels. There are worlds out there where you can gain levels.¡± Erranuel paused and looked at Lumoof. ¡°Are you suggesting I expand the Empire to other worlds?¡± For others it is as close to impossible. The Valtrian Order hasplete monopoly over void mages. Void mages is a ss that dabbles in the void mana, and for younger void mages in training, idental void mana corruption and curses still ur somewhat regrly, and so most void mages still need to get ¡®treated¡¯ for curses. Even void archmages experience mishaps, though their souls are so well attuned to void mana that the mishaps are usually minor. So, a senior level void archmage wouldn¡¯t even think of working for others, due to the sheer gap in resources. Perhaps the Angels could entice some of my void archmages, but we keep a thorough inventory of who and where each of my void mages are. Well, except those that vanished into the void during the Demon¡¯s Comet. My avatar looked at Erranuel, and knew that deploying him on other worlds would be a good way to use his talents. His talents were stagnant here. His powers were used to fight and resist my influence. Here, we werepetitors, even if it isn¡¯t much of apetition. I would prefer to have his abilities used against the demons or other forces in the peripheral worlds. It¡¯d be a good time to also use my [anointed king] ss, and see its¡¯ effects on the peripheral worlds. So Lumoof doubled down. ¡°Yes. I¡¯d be happy to facilitate your move, and even provide you with a suitable protective force. We will help get your new Empire in the faraway worlds up and running.¡± Erranuel stared at Lumoof as if it was totally ridiculous. ¡°You¡¯re asking an Emperor to leave his Empire, and start a new one somewhere else in what¡¯s likely to be a war-torn, demon infested world.¡± Lumoof grinned. ¡°Absolutely. It¡¯s exciting, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Erranuel closed his eyes. It felt like minutes. His lips curled into a mischievous grin. ¡°Well, can¡¯t say I¡¯m not swayed. When do we start? And I¡¯d like to see the look on my nobles when I¡¯m appointing an Imperial Regent.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have scribes, painters and mages for the moment.¡± Lumoofughed. *** All of them were in full suits of armor, as they prepared for the rift gate. It was a small group, only about six of them, mainly just to protect Ste as we made the journey to the peripheral worlds. Ste, Edna, Ezar, a druid warhealer, a ranger, and an elemental mage. The peripheral worlds required six hops, mostly through Hawa¡¯s regional worlds. It was likely to be safe, since these were Hawa controlled worlds, but Edna was with her, just in case. We were not allowed to linger, and though it was a bit of a pity, I understood Hawa¡¯s reasoning, and epted it. So, the goal was to keep moving until we reached one of the peripheral worlds, and because the peripheral worlds were all rtively close to each other, I would then deploy either a clone or a node tree. From there, we¡¯d use that clone and node tree as the ¡®base¡¯ to make further travel, skipping the Hawa¡¯s outer worlds entirely. These peripheral worlds were pretty much a cluster of unloved worlds. Worlds too far from the gods, not that far they are out of reach, but far enough that it wasn¡¯t sustainable. Still, the pact forced them to protect it. ¡°Well, let¡¯s start hopping.¡± The first Hawa world was simr to Satrya, the presence of divine energies was strong. Just as we arrived we could feel the strands of divine energy trying to exert itself over us. This was another Outer Core World. But the five worlds after the first world only had a faint, divine presence. There were no ws¡¯ like the Outer Core Worlds, and per the data shared by Hawa, these were the Regional Worlds of Hawa. Then, we were finally at the frontier of Hawa¡¯s power bubble. The peripheral worlds. *** The First Peripheral World - Landas Stended first, and we were immediately assaulted by the presence of demons. The astral space of the peripheral world glowed with the demon king¡¯s path, and when we looked to the skies, we saw were filled with flying demons. ¡°The weing party is here.¡± Ste quipped as the rest of the six arrived. Edna was just a short few seconds behind her. ¡°Exactly what I was expecting, though.¡± Edna smiled. The flying demons were not that powerful. Perhaps about level 30. She could take them on single handedly. ¡°Node tree?¡± ¡°Too early.¡± Ste¡¯s senses fanned out, and Edna¡¯s own magical senses followed. ¡°Divine presence here is minimal. Comparable to Treehome and Mountainworld.¡± Of the first three worlds, I would rank Threeworld¡¯s divine presence to be a little bit stronger. There is a pact of sorts that governs the three hegemons, and there must have been three gods that agreed to it, a long long time ago. Their presence may have faded due to the distance, but the pact sustains a certain level of divine presence in the world. Edna looked at the demons, and activated a small defensive, illusionary object. It immediately masked her presence. The rest of the crew followed. The first peripheral world seemed fairly war torn, the terrain around us was charred. There were burnt trees and burnt rocks. Corpses that had long rotten. Bodies. One of the Valthorns, a Level 140 [Warhealer], squatted down and examined the bones. ¡°Elven, or at least some kind of elven variant. Dead for at least four years. But these burn marks look younger.¡± Ste nced at Edna, and back. ¡°Well, I suppose there should be some surviving civilizations here. Let¡¯s go look for them.¡± One of the Valthorns immediately wondered. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll be like the rans. Cowered and hiding in their tunnels.¡± The void mage nodded, but one of the [rangers] began using his scouting abilities. ¡°There seems to be some kind of habited location further away. I detect new smoke and the faint smell of cooked food in that direction.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°Distance?¡± The ranger immediately shared the distance, coordinates, and Ste opened a magical portal. The group stepped through, their presence hidden by their illusion items, and on the other side was a fortress that was under attack. They were hidden. There was a group of flying demons above them, about two hundred demons and a single demonic champion among them. They attacked the fortress, but for now, their progress was hindered by a decently powerful protective barrier. ¡°Well.¡± Edna looked at her fellow teammates. ¡°There are living people on the other side, and we have demons attacking it. What is there to do but stop it?¡± The army of flying demons wasn¡¯t very strong, and so Ezar stood. ¡°Let me.¡± He stretched, twisted briefly. Then, his fists glowed, and he began to punch the flying demons with his energy punches. *** Native POV - Novorosk Landas was not always a world infested with demons. But for survivors, like Novorosk, that sort of history didn¡¯t matter. They fought the demons for decades, and a life of fighting demons was the only one they knew. Ancient history imed there was a time when the five different elven tribes, the blood elves, the high elves, the night elves, the white elves and the riverine elves, all had multiple empires, all incredibly powerful. It was a time when the five tribes fought each other for supremacy. It was ancient, and a dream told from the great matriarchs and lorekeepers to the young. There were demons, back then. But each of the five empires would have [heroes]. Elven champions, each of them, and they would fight the demons and destroy them. No lorekeeper remembered when, but there was a time, a few thousand years ago, or perhaps tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago, the [heroes] began to dwindle. For five, to four. Some elves believed that this was divine punishment. The five sub-races, all those elven empires were all reckless. The demon¡¯s supremacy and the loss of the heroes was due to the other empire¡¯s foul behavior. It was an era where elves, already hostile to each other, med each other, instead of banding together as one. After all, it was the other empire and elves'' fault that the gods abandoned them. The era of war came, and just as the wars between the elven tribes intensified, the heroes vanished. Four, to three. No matter what the elven tribes did. They fought. They made sacrifices to the gods. They offered worship and prayers. But it was all for naught. The world of Landas drifted further away, unknown to them all. Their gods, faraway and silent, did nothing to tell them of the truth. It costs them too much to even send a message. The Gods were stretched, and limited faith points were used to support more worlds. The gods supported thousands of worlds each, but to each of these worlds, they know only a single one. Their own. Then three heroes became just two. The demons¡¯ presence in the world of Landas became almost permanent. Somewhere along the way, the demons established a foothold in the world of Landas. They im the vast sands as their home. And hostile to the elven tribes, and what was once a vast ocean of sands became twisted by the demonic energies that took root. It transformed the sand oceans into the Landasian demonds. The demonnds spawned demons forever, and what was once-in-a-decade incident became a never ending nightmare. Then two heroes became only one. The world of Landas only received a single hero. A single hero to hold off against the powerful demons. A single hero who couldn¡¯t be strong enough to kill the demon king and live to tell the tale. A single hero that didn¡¯t benefit from the blessings of the [hero shards]. Because there were no other heroes to give him that shard. And it felt like the gods took forever before they sent a hero. The world of Landas was now in an eternal war against the demons. It¡¯s been many many years since then The old feuds for the elves gradually faded away, as their inter-tribal enemies paled before their existential threats. Novorosk prepared for battle. Their home, the Fortress of Roskor, was protected by old magics. There were relics left from the earlier era that still gave their Fortress City its shields and protections. Their people were ready to die. Novorosk, the leader of the defenders, prepared his bow, his spear, his harpoons. The flying demons were difficult enemies. He could kill a few single handedly, but there were hundreds in the skies above. It was hard to talk, each time the ws and fangs of the flying demons mmed into the magical shield, there was a loud humming sound. A life of war meant Novorosk was already level 80. Many in his squad were level 60 to 80, and each of them could kill multiple flying demons. In full strength, this army of demons would not have been a problem for them. But the demons were relentless. They had flying armies by the tens of thousands, and this was the sixth attack in thest week. His men were all injured, wounded by a thousand tiny cuts, poisoned by tiny droplets in each strike. Even Novorosk himself felt the demon¡¯s foul poison in his left thigh. There was a ckened stain that was slowly fading. It would heal in a few days, but the demons didn¡¯t give him the time. He¡¯d have to fight without his full mobility. Novorosk, blood elven warleader, watched as a healer tried to soften the effects of the poison. The healers tried to patch up the defenders, as much as they could, but none of them will be at their best today. The shamans drew blood-colored lines, enchantments, on their skin. The leader of the demonic army was a flying demon with arge battleaxe. The blood elves referred to it as the Axe Leader. Novorosk beat it before. He killed three of them in thest year alone. But he wasn¡¯t sure he could do it with the poison in his leg. He cursed. ¡°Aturk. You¡¯ll need to support me.¡± Aturk, his third-inmand, looked at what Novorosk was looking at and frowned. His face was one of fear. But he wasn¡¯t going to let his leader down. ¡°Yes, Warleader.¡± Aturk was level 65, and in better times, he would¡¯ve been a good warleader. The shield wobbled. Novorosk waved his hand, and signaled for the squad to be ready. There were about seventy warriors in his detachment, and another thirty would be supporting from the back. If they could take down the Axe Leader, they should win this. It would be at great cost, and Novorosk himself may not survive it. But the Fortress of Roskor would live another day. ¡°-Warleader Novorosk! There are civilians outside of the fortress!¡± Novorosk stared at the shouting scout, absolutely baffled. He tried to run, but his poisoned leg made it painful. The shaman¡¯s pain suppressing lines glowed, and suppressed the pain. But it still hurt. There was a group of six adults, and from a distance, Novorosk thought they looked like the white elves of the snonds. ¡°Where did theye from?¡± Novorosk shouted. ¡°Didn¡¯t our magical detectors spot them?¡± THe scout looked embarrassed. ¡°No, warleader. We did not notice them at all.¡± ¡°Is our equipment faulty? Who¡¯s in charge of maintenance?¡± Novorosk frowned. The scout shook his head. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be-¡± ¡°Something is wrong-¡± The second inmand walked to the scouting tower. The shields continued to wobble. It likely won¡¯t hold for long. ¡°Warleader, let¡¯s deal with the civilianster. The defenders are ready. At yourmand.¡± Novorosk sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right. Civilians who take such risks will have to be responsible for it.¡± The blood elven warleader surveyed the fortress walls. His men were all in position. They were all deathly afraid, but they would not let it affect the fight. Novorosk looked at the second-inmand. He would be in charge if Novorosk fell in battle. He¡¯s a good man, and Roskor would be in good hands. Novorosk tapped the shoulders of the deputy warleader. ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± The deputy shook his head, he was armed to the teeth. ¡°We¡¯ll cover you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± Novorosk countered, and then stood on the battlements. ¡°Get ready! Supporting fire-¡± But they all felt it then. A sudden surge of power that wasn¡¯t demonic. A pressure so intense that Novorosk felt the blood in his face drain away. ¡°-what-¡± They heard sounds. It sounded like a really loud punch. A single ¡®swish¡¯, and a ¡®st¡¯. In the constant humming from the magical shields, and in the noise of demonic fangs and ws rattlings and attacking, they didn¡¯t know why the punch sounded so loud. It was as if the only sound that mattered, and all the other sounds were somehow silenced in its presence. The demons exploded. They watched the flying demons felt in the skies above. The Axe Leader of the demons turned, as if looking for its enemies. But it too, sttered into smithereens. Novorosk watched as the strongest of the demonic flying horde turned into mush. The demons were all gone, their bodies sttered all outside of the ground. The deputy turned to face Warleader Novorosk, unable to understand the changing tides. ¡°Warleader, what just happened?¡± [AN : I''m taking next week off] 284. Greenfield Expansion 284. Greenfield Expansion Chapter 284 Year 273 (part 2) - Landas, The Peripheral Worlds I Novorosk The six strangers were foreign. Everything about them was foreign. Visitors from beyond the stars. Their weapons were made of wood Novorosk did not recognise, the carvings on their armor and the texture of their steel unknown to them. The way their magic seemed like an endlessly deepke made the entire army tense up. Everyone knew they were different. The way their ears looked. The scent of their hair. ¡°Hello.¡± The woman in armor said first. ¡°I¡¯m Edna, and these are my fellow warriors. We are the envoys of Aeon, and we¡¯vee to help. ¡± Novorosk looked at the rest of his team. Traditionally,munication would be made in the receiving rooms of the elven cities, but most of the receiving rooms have been repurposed. As amodation, as a warehouse, as a ce for healers. Novorosk cursed and immediately whispered to his second-inmand. ¡°Do we still have a receiving room?¡± The second-inmand shook his head, he naturally paled at the question. ¡°No, warleader.¡± ¡°Quickly, get some men and go clean one of the rooms up. I¡¯ll hold them here. Move quickly.¡± The second-inmand nodded, and ran for it. He hauled at least ten of his soldiers. Novorosk hobbled closer. ¡°My apologies, visitor Edna. I am Novorosk, Warleader of Roskor, I will have my warriors prepare a receiving room. May we know what you need from us?¡± The visitor Edna paused, and looked around. The Fortress of Roskor was battered, its¡¯ shields weakened from the assault. There were about two thousand elves living in this ce, about half of them working the farms within the fortress walls, there were about a quarter that looked to be children, and a smaller group, about two hundred or so that looked to be much older. Their farms were unique, the nts and vegetables were on stacked tforms. Novorosk¡¯s eyes noticed how the visitors seemed to look at the stacked tforms. Did they want food? Novorosk quickly did mental calctions. Their druid-farmers produced enough food, but their supply would normally be enough for a week. If they asked for too much, they wouldn¡¯t have enough- Edna turned to another woman with jet ck hair and a scent of the night. Novorosk wondered whether she was a night elf, but she didn¡¯t share any of their features. ¡°You¡¯ve seen something like this, Ste?¡± The woman nodded. ¡°It reminds me of vertical farms back on earth. It¡¯s interesting that they resorted to this, because ofnd constraints.¡± Novorosk immediately cut in. ¡°Visitors, our food condition isn¡¯t great, but once the receiving room is ready we can arrange for some food-¡± Novorosk felt the visitor Edna¡¯s stare, as if she was judging him. She answered. ¡°Very well, Warleader Novorosk.¡± *** The receiving room was ready, it was hastily cleaned, and still had the faint scent of dried blood in some of the old, ancient carpets. Novorosk wished they kept a single receiving room proper, but centuries of war meant all space had to be reused. The six didn¡¯t seem hostile, but the way they looked at things was intense, and made the entire force feel tense. ¡°Are you the ultimate leader of this Fortress?¡± Edna asked. Warleader Novorosk shook his head, as the second-inmand brought three old elves to the receiving room. Each of the three wore a set of robes that looked like they were never worn in hundreds of years. The dust on the robes were hastily cleaned. Novorosk nodded, as he bowed. He struggled to remember the words, ¡°Presenting the Elder Council of Roskor, Elder Ruzus, Elder Muzur and Elder Noroskor.¡± The three elders nodded, the elder in the center, an old man, took the lead. ¡°Greetings, visitors. I am Elder Muzur, and wee to Roskor. It- it¡¯s been ages since we used the Receiving Rooms, so we apologise for the poor condition.¡± Edna looked around, and Novorosk wondered what she¡¯ll say. But she shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ve seen worse. So, we are new to this world, so we want to know everything. Do you have a map?¡± Novorosk thought he misheard that. What did she mean by ¡®new-to-this-world¡¯? But the elders were moreposed. ¡°Bring thetest maps. All of them.¡± Two of the elven crafters that doubled as assistants hurried out. The Fortress of Roskor had few administrative workers left, most of their popce were warriors and the military supporters like shamans and druids, farmers, healers or crafters. The maps they brought were old and stained, but they depicted a set of cities and ¡®areas¡¯ that were still upied by elves. The six stared at it intently, then one of them took out arge piece of paper. At first, Novorosk thought he¡¯d start to make a copy. But he didn¡¯t take out a pen. ¡°[Map Replication].¡± The map was then immediately copied over to the paper. The elders stared, unable to believe the spell that just happened. Novorosk paused, and didn¡¯t know there was such a spell. ¡°Alright.¡± The woman, Edna, said. ¡°Thanks for that. Of these cities, how many survive?¡± The elders looked at each other. It¡¯s been months since they received letters from the other towns. Novorosk watched as the elder pointed to a set of neighboring cities, and then a set of outer cities. ¡°We spoke to some of these neighboring cities about four to five months ago. We have notmunicated with these other cities in thest few years.¡± Edna, the woman, looked at one of her team. Novorosk wondered whether they are the woman¡¯s subordinates, because they seemed deferential. ¡°What do you know about the greater world?¡± There wasn¡¯t much to share. Roskor¡¯s focus has been to survive day by day, week by week. For most part, the city mostly managed to remain stagnant. There were periods of time in Roskor¡¯s history when they had multiple level 80 individuals, and they were able to expand a bit. They even sent out expeditions, but they never came back. ¡°Don¡¯t you have [message]works?¡± The woman asked. One of the elders paused, as if surprised that the woman knew of such a thing. ¡°It- it¡¯s not reliable. There are demonic energy storms that frequently interrupt those [message]works.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The woman in front of them said. Novorosk watched as the woman began to interrogate them on the history of the world, as if they knew absolutely nothing. They asked about the gods of the world of Landas, and about the different gods, then its history, and its heroes. It really was as if they knew nothing. Eventually, the two women, the one that felt like a soldier, and the other one that felt like the night, looked at each other. ¡°Well, thank you for your hospitality. We will be leaving now.¡± ¡°Leaving?¡± One of the elders, Elder Noroskor, said. ¡°It¡¯s- it¡¯s dangerous out there, with all the demons.¡± But the two other elders immediately looked at Elder Noroskor, and he immediately shut up. ¡°My apologies, distinguished visitors, we do not mean offense. We doubt the demons would pose a threat.¡± Edna grinned. ¡°It is fine. On behalf of our leader, Aeon, this world will be under our protection. You will be hearing of us soon enough.¡± Novorosk¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t leave the woman, and in that small, cramped room, felt as if the world shifted around him. There was something about that supreme confidence, a swagger and weight that truly gave that ridiculous sentence credibility. He had long believed that their life in this world was one of endless struggle for survival. But his heart pounded. The world was going to change. He could feel it in his soul. *** Treehome Lausanne Lausanne was in the crowd when Roon and Johann stood before them. There were about five hundred Valthorns present, many recalled from a recent tour of service in Threeworlds. With the human kingdomsrgely stable, the number of active personnel was reduced and reshuffled. There were many newer, recently ¡®promoted¡¯ Valthorns. Those previously in the lower level 80s to 100s, and now that they reached Level 100, they were ready to join the higher tier of the Valthorns. There were more from Mountainworld, too. What was once a really small group of soldiers now grew, thanks to therge recruitment process over at Branchhold over the past few decades. It¡¯s been almost 70 years since Branchhold was established, and now the force from Branchhold was a respectable quarter of the total present. In time, Lausanne believed that Threeworld¡¯s human and centaur recruits, and also the new Tropicsworld soldiers would join the ranks. They would have to prepare for another tour of service. The Valthorns were expected to support multiple locations. Delvegard, and up to fifteen peripheral worlds, as identified by Hawa. ¡°So, ready for a trip to faraway worlds?¡± Kei smiled. The briefing was over, and what came next was for each of the Valthorns to sign up, or abstain. Kei once said that this process was a little like howpanies would ask for volunteers to go on faraway outstation assignments, and how it was amon thing in the merchant guilds of Earth. Lausanne found the concept amusing, and nodded. ¡°Sounds like there¡¯s a lot to do there. If we can make a difference to the lives of the locals, yeah, I¡¯m up for it.¡± The golem nodded. ¡°Ever the hero at heart.¡± Lausanne immediately red at the female golem. She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m joking.¡± Lausanne poked her yfully. ¡°You¡¯re not.¡± At that point, Kei looked at the counter. They were allowed to sign up immediately, or go back and think about it. Most of the Valthorns would mull on it for a few days. ¡°Which world looks good to you?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know yet, do we?¡± Lausanneughed. ¡°But the peripheral worlds would be a ce where I think I can contribute. At least there should be more demons to destroy. Delvegard doesn¡¯t seem particrly interesting to me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the safer option, and more suitable for those fond of more subtle types of moves.¡± Another Valthorn spoke, and Lausanne nodded. Not all Valthorns were the warrior types, some were spies, like Spymaster Intip, and many others were diplomats. Each of them had worlds and situations that best made use of their talents. For Lausanne, she felt she belonged in the battlefields. She longed to fight against demons, an experience now mostly missing from Treehome. Roon and Johann also spoke of the void worlds, but the void worlds would remain off limits for non-domain holders. The presence of unusual creatures and strange rules meant the void worlds were a significantly higher risk to the elite Valthorns, while the peripheral worlds, as unloved, soon-to-be-godless worlds, are likely to be free of more obstructive and invasive divine meddling. Lausanne listened as Roon and Johann narrated that the meeting was more to assess the level of interest amongst the Valthorns. The exploration team of Ste, Edna and Ezar was still surveying the faraway worlds, and the Valthorn presence woulde in once they¡¯ve established the general details. The initial reports were not encouraging. The earliest departure to the peripheral worlds would happen within days, because the peripheral worlds were all under heavy attack. The elven warrior listened, and wondered whether she¡¯d be able to join the exploration team like Edna. That sounded interesting, and she remembered how she used to explore the other continents of Treehome. She would like to be there. Exploration was one of her other interests. She heard tales of how Valthorns were involved in exploring the various tunnels and caves of Mountainworld, and her heart wished she was a part of it. ¡°You look like you have unanswered questions, mdy. Something on your mind?¡± At that point, Johann was the one that approached Kei and Lausanne. Lausanne smiled back, and spoke her mind. ¡°I was thinking about the explorers, and wonder what it¡¯ll be like to be one.¡± Johann nodded. ¡°If you are interested, I believe Aeon would be happy to rotate you to the exploration team.¡± Lausanne agreed. ¡°Ah, I will raise it the next time I speak to him.¡± Johann grinned. Few people could answer that way. ¡°We look forward to having you with us on the field, Lausanne. From what I know, we¡¯ll need almost all our people.¡± Lausanne nodded. It was horrifying. The peripheral worlds were pretty much demon-infested, at different stages of destruction. Yet, she found herself excited at the prospects. *** Treehome Aeon. ¡°Are we involved in the peripheral worlds?¡± Colette and Prabu asked. They were briefed, naturally, as were Adrian and Khefri. The presence of heroes in these worlds rekindled the idea of a League of Heroes, one that would be managed by Kei. ¡°Yes. The number of worlds involved would require all of you to be deployed, at least to help remove the threat of the demon kings.¡± I responded directly. ¡°The Valthorns would thene in to sweep up the rest and help rebuild these worlds. I will need you all to step in, if there are any heroes surviving.¡± ¡°You will be doing this in your own name?¡± Colette wondered. ¡°Or on behalf of Hawa?¡± ¡°My own. If Hawa wishes to spread his presence, he can send some of his forces over, we¡¯d be happy to facilitate, but since it¡¯s our lives on the line, I¡¯ve got no intention of letting him get the credit.¡± Colette paused before answering. ¡°I see.¡± I¡¯d like to minimize the role of the heroes, simply because their strength is inconsistent. My domain holders all appear much more stable and centered, while the heroes feel like they could snap. Well, maybe except for Colette. Colette¡¯s [liberated hero] gave her a sense of calm and assuredness that the rest of them didn¡¯t have. Even her partner had strange outbursts, like when he interacted with Chung. It was a strange thing to feel, even though I personally like talking to Prabu more than the rest. The heroes all have a switch in them that could trigger without notice and suddenly alter their reactions and behavior. It is for this reason that they are unreliable, even if interacting with them on a day to day basis can be pleasant and friendly. They were trustworthy, until they suddenly were not. I didn¡¯t want to work with these sorts of requirements. Not in the peripheral worlds, and not when we took the battle to the demon sun. So, I intended that the peripheral worlds be a farming location for my Valthorns, and hoped we could elevate a few more of my Valthorns. Once we stabilized the demon situation, I intended to deploy at least two clones, in thergest, most populous worlds, and use that presence to transform those worlds. I would like these peripheral worlds as future ¡®core¡¯ worlds, just like Treehome, Branchhold, and what I was doing with the world of Delvegard. The data that came back from Edna and Ste was rather depressing. The first world they were in, Landas, was almost conquered by the demon king. The demon king that attacked Landas was some kind of flying demon king, and Landas itself faced demons with high regrity, apparently records, whatever little that they have left, imed that the demon kings attacked almost every ten years. They also used to have heroes, but the amount of heroes shrunk quite quickly, and so the condition in their world deteriorated rapidly. It only held on due to the many, many historical relics left behind by all the different heroes, and the high leveled warriors that protected their cities. In short, they were perfect as our first base. From Ste''s surveys, they really needed help. *** Hey there, check out this story! It''s already 80k words long and growing! Don''t miss this story about adventure! What you can expect: Epic, climactic battles LitRPG Leveling system with Elemental Abilities Character growth, changes from arc to arc Some light humor here and there Rare Magic Artifacts NO profanity/swearing Schedule: M/W/F with 1-week breaks between arcs 285. Interludes – Greenfield Expansion II 285. Interludes ¨C Greenfield Expansion II
  1. Peripheral Landas 3
Edna Edna and team arrived at the next location on the map, only to find it was already an open air cemetery. The bodies of elves torn by the flying demons were everywhere. Blood and the smell of rotting bodies filled the air. The elves probably died no more than a few days ago, because the bodies were only beginning to rot. ¡°We¡¯re toote.¡± Edna said. Ezar¡¯s shock was brief, because he quickly steeled himself, and nodded. There were things that needed to be done. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. We don¡¯t want to bete for the next one.¡± Edna looked at the two rangers and druids. ¡°Wait. Toote to save the cities, but there may still be survivors. Let¡¯s search underneath all of this. We should help them before we leave. Just in case anyone¡¯s left.¡± The knight¡¯s words made the Valthorn druid regain hisposure, and spread out his senses. The ranger used a kind of calming ability on himself, and searched. Ezar looked at Ste. ¡°Lady Ste, send me over to the other locations first. If there are demons, I want to be there.¡± Ste nodded, and the portal whirled open. As expected, there were demons. Ezar nodded, and he stepped to the other side. About that time, the druid shouted. ¡°There¡¯s a small group of them hidden underneath this rubble. They¡¯re very weak!¡± After stating that, roots and vines immediately emerged from the druid and pierced into the rubble, and began to lift the copsed structure. A set of roots reached for the semi-unconscious elves hidden underneath. They were injured, hungry, and almost dying. Only three. But three was better than none. Edna got to them, and immediately used a set of potions on them. Their wounds healed, and soon their eyes opened to the sight of Edna¡¯s glimmering form. ¡°Are we dead?¡± They asked. ¡°No.¡± Edna said gently. ¡°You¡¯re not.¡± The ranger then shouted. ¡°There¡¯s another few hidden here. They¡¯re in bad shape too.¡± The druid and the mage immediately went over, while Ste checked on the first group. From his pocket space, they took out more potions. They continued to search and soon found, in total, twenty survivors. Mostly children and their mothers, hidden underneath the rubble. Many were delirious, but the potions helped with the physical wounds and the shot of food helped with their hunger. Ste immediately opened a portal, and sent them back to the Fortress of Roskor. Novorosk was there when the portal opened before his eyes. ¡°Warleader Novorosk. These are the survivors from the nearby city. Take care of them.¡± The ranger guided the survivors through the portal. Novorosk stared. ¡°-what-¡± ¡°Just take care of them. Feed them and house them somewhere. We wille back and check.¡± Novorosk panicked, but nodded. Once all of them were over, the portal closed. At that point, Edna then looked back at Ste. ¡°Ezar¡¯s right. If there are other cities, we should go and get to them quickly. The more survivors we can save, the faster we can get this world back on it¡¯s feet. Aeon needs to send more people over, and to all of the fifteen worlds.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t scout that many worlds at the same time.¡± Ste countered. The domain holders must be first to go. The druid¡¯s roots immediately rescued another few more elves hidden under the buried rubble. The demons killed indiscriminately. To the demons, the mortals were just obstructions. What the demons wanted was the¡¯s core. Everything else was unnecessary. Edna looked around. ¡°I think we can leave this world to the rest of the Valthorns. Leave Ezar here just in case. We must start moving. We don¡¯t know what condition we¡¯ll find in the other fourteen worlds. Each day we waste, is another day for the demons to ughter more of these folks. Many of them do not have our advantages. We need full mobilization now.¡± ¡°-but.¡± ¡°Us domainholders will need to start hopping. Let¡¯s deploy the [node] here, and we¡¯ll use this ce as ourunchpad.¡± Edna said. ¡°We need all the domainholders, in all the peripheral worlds.¡± Ste pointed to the immediate problem. ¡°There¡¯s not enough of us to cover all the worlds.¡± There were eight domain holders, excluding Aeon, and there were fifteen worlds. There were only four heroes. ¡°We¡¯ll have to leave node trees there, and use that to support those worlds where we can¡¯t. The [heroes] will have to step in. We will need to hop extensively.¡± Ste nodded. That wasn¡¯t ideal, but it was the best n they could do with their current resources. Fifteen worlds also meant some worlds wouldn¡¯t have a [node] tree. Aeon only had nine node tree slots left, after the first one was used on Delvegard. ¡°Kafa will have to leave Delvegard.¡± ¡°Delvegard¡¯s priority should be lower.¡± Edna countered. ¡°Lives are at stake. Let¡¯s make haste. We can afford to patch it up as we go.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°Very well. Let me do so.¡± *** Ezar The portal led to a horde of demons attacking what was probably a city. It was one, once. There was already crazy fighting when he arrived, the demons have stained thends with blood and corpses. Flying demons loomed, as arrows zoomed. The defenders were fighting with their lives on the line. Everyone was fighting. There were children, old elves, all doing their best with sticks and whatever weapons they had. He looked around, and immediately spotted the demon champion in charge. It was one of those axe champions. Arge bulky demon with four giant wings, tworge wed legs, and two arms, each with arge burning battleax. He fought demons across the worlds, many times and always found them to be emotionless creatures. If anything, he always thought the demons looked afraid. But it was ridiculous. The demons didn¡¯t feel fear. So, he didn¡¯t believe it either when he thought the demon champion looked smug. Demons had no feelings. Ezar¡¯s enchanted gauntlets glowed, as he channeled his domain ability. In an instant, the burst of energy from his fist smashed into the champion, and it sttered to death, unaware what hit him. The death of the demon champion sent the demon army into a wild frenzy, but that was intentional. Ezar activated the rings on his fingers, and released it¡¯s stored ability. They summoned five gigantic beasts. Two lions, and three gray wolves, each about level 80 in power. ¡°Go and y the demons.¡± The presence of the five giant animals instantly drew the attention of the demons. Without the demon champion, the rest of the flying demons were torn apart by the five powerful magical beasts. Ezar hopped, and in a single leap hended right next to the breaking lines. He spoke, his voice carried by the weight of his [domain]. ¡°Stand back.¡± To the defenders fighting for their lives, they did. Ezar¡¯s gauntlet glowed, and he punched with such weight that all the demons in front of him were crushed in a single energy punch. There was no need to use his domain ability here. He watched as his five summoned beasts tore through the demons, and the flying demons fled. Any demon that got close was crushed. ¡°-mommy, are we saved?¡± There was an elven boy, who looked absolutely in awe. He was dirty, covered in blood, but her mother was injured. Her mother, an elf, held a sharp, pointy wooden stick as a weapon. Her mother looked around. Everyone did. There was a feeling amongst all of the elves. Disbelief. Hope. Relief. Ezar turned. ¡°Is this it? Any more demons?¡± The elves didn¡¯t know what to answer. So no one answered. Ezar realized they probably wasn¡¯t in any condition to know. The ce was probably a fortification of some kind, but the walls were already destroyed. The elves were fighting theirst stand within the city itself, because they couldn¡¯t outrun the flying demons. Not that there was anywhere else to go, anyway. The elves looked amongst themselves. There were no leaders left, all that was supposed to lead them died during the battle. The five beasts walked closer to Ezar, now that their target have been destroyed, and the elves stared in fear. Ezar looked back at them. They were creatures tagged to his enchanted summoning ring. One of his many equipments. There was no need to speak themand, high-tier summons are mentally linked to their masters, but Ezar said it to assure the elves. ¡°Patrol the perimeter. Roar if there are any demons.¡± The lions and wolves roared in acknowledgement, and they ran to secure the perimeter. The elves were relieved to see the creatures move. ¡°Bring all the wounded here. I¡¯ll help them where I can. Those that can¡¯t move call me.¡± Ezar said, as the rest of the elves scrambled to sort everything out. But at that point, they obeyed. Ezar looked around, and frowned. This wasn¡¯t the only world. ¡°Ezar to Ste, Ezar to Ste. This location is safe, but we need to keep moving and hit the rest of the cities. Can you open a portal?¡± ¡°Portal iing. We n to deploy a node soon to bring more forces over. Domain holders will need to visit all the peripheral worlds as soon as possible to deploy nodes.¡± Ezar smiled. It was nice having teammates that he could count on. ¡°Acknowledged. Let me know.¡± *** Ezar turned back to face the elves, as Ezar checked his inventory. At that point, the portal swirled open, and both Ste and the druid stepped out. ¡°Ezar, you¡¯re needed elsewhere. Falin will handle the healing and fixing the security.¡± Falin, the level 130 Valthorn druid, got to work. ¡°There are other locations with demons.¡± Ste said, as she prepared to open a portal again. Ezar nodded, as Falin looked at the location. The druid¡¯s arms glowed briefly, as roots shot out of his arms. At that moment, a wall of bramble emerged around what¡¯s left of the elven encampment. ¡°This should protect the location for now.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Edna?¡± ¡°There¡¯s another location. A proper city. It may be under siege.¡± ¡°Is it our timing? Why are cities under siege at this time?¡± Ezar found it terribly unusual. It ismon knowledge that most reinforcements arrive either too early or toote, though in some ways, they are toote. Somehow, so many cities are under siege. Ste smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with thatter. Portal open. Go go go. I¡¯ll deploy the node once Aeon acknowledges our request.¡± *** Ezar didn¡¯t know where and how far he was from Ste, but it didn¡¯t matter. He trusted she¡¯lle back for him once it was over. The portal opened and he arrived to immediately see three demon champions in the air. Three! How cute. The demons actually saw him this time, and they roared at him. He punched through them. Two died instantly, and then he dashed towards the third with such speed that the third demon champion briefly looked horrified. He was fairly sure it wasn¡¯t horror. Perhaps it was just a survival reaction. It died. The elven city of this location was protected by a magical shield that felt like [star mana]. A quick nce suggested that this was a fairly prosperous city at one point in it¡¯s life. But it had a breach. There were two more demon champions there, battling the defenders. The defenders here was actually fairlypetent. There were two level 80 plus elven warriors battling against the demon champions, and they looked like they had special equipment from a much earlier time. ¡°Ste, I don¡¯t think this location needs help. They have [hero items].¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ste responded through the [message]. ¡°Uh, give me a couple of minutes, I¡¯ll send you elsewhere.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll make myself useful for a bit.¡± He looked around, and decided to just help their odds for a bit. His domain spread out. Everyone saw Ezar glowing midair like a god of war, his fists shimmered with power like the fists of furious heavens. Lightning, fire and the elements each in a single punch. The demons charged at him. Mindlessly. The two demon champions trying to break the gates turned to face him, as they soon decided he was therger threat. They all were nothing before a [domain holder]. His domain was oppressive to these lesser demons. They died in a stter of magic. The elven defenders stared at Ezar in horror. Ezar merely smiled, and decided it was worth it to pitch his presence. He scrambled to recall the name in the map. ¡°Greetings, Elves of Shorodosk. Ie in the name of Aeon. You will hear from us soon.¡± The elves looked like they had more questions, but Ste¡¯s portal opened. ¡°Deal with the remnants.¡± Ezarmanded. ¡°Stay safe. We will contact you.¡± And he stepped through the portal, and left the elven defenders wondering what happened. *** Edna This was supposed to be the biggest city known to Roskor Elves, at least, for a few centuries ago. This ce was supposed to be the old capital of the White Elves, Nunarnusk. When Edna arrived, what she found was a fortified city that was battered in many, many ces. It reminded her of Mountainworld. The same scrappiness in the eyes of the people. The same ruthless desire to protect themselves. Everyone here fought wars. Generations lived to fight, and so their people turned hardy. Tough. They made do with what they have. Because they had no choice. They deserved better, of course. This kind of society destroyed those who didn¡¯t adapt to this kind of life. Who couldn¡¯t adapt, because they were talented in a field that this world didn¡¯t need. A sad thing, but societies like this have to make do. The city of Nunarnusk was protected, just like the other city. There was a magical shield that stopped attacks and blocked demons. But they were also selective, and allowed for the elves to move in and out freely. So, the shields that protected the city didn¡¯t work on Edna. She felt it¡¯s energy wobble. It was weak. It weakened a lot over the years, but the fact that it still held for so long was testament to the incredible power of [star mana]. Immediately within Nunarnusk¡¯s shield bubble was ayer of battered walls made of stone, wood, and whatever rubble they got their hands on. There were guards on all the towers, and everyone looked tense. There were demons, but the demons were not attacking. Instead, Nunarnusk was under siege. There were five to six demon champions, all seemingly waiting. Edna thought of helping, but realized it was better to figure out what was happening. Edna cloaked her presence even before she went through the portal and so as she walked through the tired crowds, it was clear everyone was preparing for the next fight. It¡¯ll be hard for anyone to see her here. ¡°Have we patched the left walls?¡± Edna eventually found someone that looked like a leader, and he was barking orders to the worker men. The elf had armor, and exuded power equal to someone at the very limit of their strength. Most likely level 85. Some of the workers were injured. A lost limb, a limp. They did the repairs, because in a fight, they¡¯d be useless. It was very rare to see amputees and folks with lost limbs in the Valthorns and Valtrian Order. Ever since Aeon healed Jura¡¯s limbs many, many decades ago, Aeon made it a point to restore everyone¡¯s limbs. Aeon even extended the treatment to the general popce, though there was a lottery that was always oversubscribed. The leader turned to face another set of workers. ¡°All the folks that can fight are waiting for you, Commander Argo.¡± The man known as Commander Argo nodded. Edna quietly followed. Argo nced briefly in her direction, but he was unable to pierce her illusion items. There were about a thousand fighters there, all armed with weapons and armor. Edna¡¯s quick nce told her all she needed to know. Half of them were injured in some way, and only about three hundred were in full fighting form. Commander Argo soon borated on what seemed to bemon knowledge to those present. The demons have been waiting outside for thest one week after their earlier failed assault. There were more demonsing, and the demons had the city of Nunarnusk surrounded. Commander Argo opted for a defensive strategy. Stay put and keep waiting. Edna listened, and surveyed those present. There were about seven or so that had a power aura simr to Commander Argo. Level 80 to 85 meant they could take on the demon champions and win. They¡¯d survive this battle. There were enough strong warriors here to survive the siege. Then, as the group was dismissed, Commander Argo was surrounded by that same group of strong warriors. And internal divisions emerged. There were whispers of going against the Commander¡¯s n, and the high powered folks were split in half. Together, they¡¯d survive. Three of them had enough. ¡°We¡¯re tired of waiting. We charge out there and break this siege. We need the resources outside our walls, Commander. We cannot hold up like this forever.¡± Argo countered. ¡°We don¡¯t even know if those resources are still there. The demons could have destroyed it.¡± ¡°Then what? We keep waiting and let them destroy those resources? We need the iron quarries and the white-iron stones. Our weapons need repairs. Our healers need the white-iron stones to make some of our healing tools. We¡¯re dying if we keep holding here.¡± Edna thought the conversation was slightly pointless. If she acted, they wouldn¡¯t have this issue. But she listened. It was good to know what was going on. Argo frowned. ¡°There are five ax champions out there. The four of you rushing out there is a death sentence. The demons will get us separately.¡± The equipment used by the four elves were in pretty bad shape. They were battled and scarred, and some of its old magic lost. ¡°Thene with us.¡± ¡°The city is defenseless! We cannot leave the city defenseless!¡± Argo countered. ¡°The shield will hold.¡± ¡°The shield will not.¡± Argo said, frustrated. ¡°It¡¯s energies are weak, and won¡¯tst if the demons attack. It¡¯ll need time to recharge.¡± ¡°Then why are we waiting? We must charge out there and defeat them before they overwhelm us. You¡¯re being too careful, Argo. It¡¯s time to go out there and defeat them.¡± Argo paused. ¡°Can you give me half a day to think about this?¡± The other elves looked at each other, they shrugged. ¡°Fine. Commander Argo, we¡¯ll charge out there, whether you areing or not.¡± Argo frowned. ¡°Please- don¡¯t do anything stupid.¡± *** Edna trailed Commander Argo to his own office. There was a small office filled with resources scattered everywhere, and he sat on the only chair in the cramped room. He was talking to himself then. ¡°It¡¯s always like this-¡± Edna then appeared at the door, as she disabled her cloak. ¡°Commander Argo.¡± Argo turned, and his weapon of choice, a kind of dagger, was immediately pointed at Edna. ¡°Who are you?¡± Edna smiled. ¡°An ally. Well, a potential ally.¡± ¡°An ally?¡± Argo looked around. ¡°Are you alone?¡± ¡°Sort of, yes. But I¡¯d like to talk. About your city, and everything.¡± ¡°And what makes you think I¡¯ll talk to a stranger. How did you even get here?¡± Argo said, totally unused to the fact that there was a stranger. ¡°Because, Commander Argo, I can help.¡± ¡°You can? You, alone?¡± ¡°Of course not. I am here on behalf of Aeon and the Valtrian Order, and we are here to destroy the demons.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never heard of anyone outside your city.¡± Edna corrected. Mostmunication between cities copsed due to the constant demonic attacks, as cities turned insr. ¡°That¡¯s not true. There was a period of peace after the hero Junmark defeated the demon king 59 years ago-¡± ¡°Is it? But how many demon kings since then?¡± Edna asked. ¡°Every hero that came after is weaker, and fighting against tougher odds as the demons established stronger footholds. Every hero weakened, since they couldn¡¯t level quickly with the loss of the low level habitatsmonly used for farming.¡± Heroes could spar to gain levels, but given their situation, he wondered whether the kingdoms would just immediately force the heroes out to the battlefield. Argo looked at Edna like she was an alien. ¡°So, what do you want?¡± ¡°Tell me the history of Nunarnusk in an hour, and tell me everything. I assure you, I will deal with your demon siege once this is over. You can even watch.¡± Argo had never seen a stranger, but Edna¡¯s presence overwhelmed him. His eyes looked at the knight, and thought she was mad. Confident, but mad. ¡°-very well.¡± *** The demons came in huge waves every ten years. The past few decades, the hero was able to defeat the demon king, but they did so at great cost. Thest attack left the previous hero without one of his arms, and cursed by a dark magic that no one in the entire world could break. Thanks to the curse, the hero couldn¡¯t go on and destroy the remaining demons. Instead, he was like a weakened, semi-dying man wishing he could die, but the [hero] ss was too strong. Even severely weakened, no one could kill him. His soul and blessings were still too strong. So, the hero rested in a city of the Night Elves called Chursky. That was thestmunication Nunarnusk received from Chursky about six years ago. For Nunarnusk, the demons never really stopped. The great deserts, of which there were seven great deserts, each turned into demonds and continued to spit out demons by the hundreds and thousands, and so travel between cities became a matter of great risk. Only cities that were really close together could stillmunicate regrly. There were no gigantic oceans in Landas. Instead, there were six greatkes, and at the center of those greatkes were the few bastions of the old elven empires. Nunarnusk lost touch with those old bastions a few years ago. *** Edna listened, andughed. ¡°Very well, call your men. Call them all to the walls. I, on behalf of Aeon, would like to demonstrate our intentions.¡± Commander Argo thought it was rather embarrassing, but when he left his office, the six other level 80s were waiting for him. He looked back at Edna, and then towards the walls. ¡°To the walls.¡± The four that supported the push outwards looked surprised. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The seven gathered up on the walls, and Edna followed quietly behind. The rest of them didn¡¯t notice her, they were busy preparing for the charge out. The four immediately called their own supporters to prepare for the charge. Once they were at the walls, Argo looked at Edna. ¡°So, what is it that you want to demonstrate?¡± It was at this moment that everyone noticed Edna¡¯s presence. Edna nodded, her cloak vanished to reveal her in shining armor. Two anti-demon swords appeared magically, and there and then, her domain flooded the city. Everyone felt it, Argo as well. ¡°[Regenerating Guardians].¡± Five glowing magical knights appeared, and they flew. They were ephemeral objects, and they shared Edna¡¯s toughness. They zoomed across the skies, creatures of magic. Creatures made from Edna¡¯s [Domain]. Edna looked around. ¡°There are demons on the other side, as well?¡± Argo nodded, his white hair seemed whiter, his fair face a slightly greenish pale. Edna¡¯s energies wobbled outwards, as more magical knights appeared. Edna¡¯s lesser magical summons swarmed outwards, a hundred magical knights now took the field. It was a short battle, because none of the demons could even harm Edna¡¯s guardians. The seven leading defenders of Nunarnusk looked at Edna, with both a mix of awe and fear. ¡°Well, Commander Argo of Nunarnusk, I am Edna of the Valtrian Order, and we are here to recruit allies. If you agree to join us, you will have our protection, but in turn, we will require you to support our war against the demons.¡± Argo nodded. There was no other word to say. *** ¡°Okay. Nunarnusk is secure, we¡¯ve added it to the fold. Has Aeon approved the node tree¡¯s cement?¡± Edna said as the elves of Nunarnusk breathed a rare moment of relief. Ste responded. ¡°Yes. Node deployment approved. But we need to decide on a location.¡± Ezar, also on the same discussion, added. ¡°Just pick a location and start sending Valthorns over. Is there a hero in this world?¡± ¡°Yes. Want to arrange a visit?¡± Edna countered. Ezarughed. ¡°Let¡¯s bet. A hundred gold that it¡¯s under siege.¡± Edna chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s a stupid bet. The hero is there, the demons must be drawn to him like moths to a me. Also, the hero seems to be cursed.¡± Ste frowned. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, the decision¡¯s made for us. Let¡¯s ce the node tree where the hero is. Send the hero back to Treehome, let Aeon work on him, and send him back here to fight.¡± Edna had a feeling what happened on Landas would be a tale simr across all the worlds. 286. Greenfields III 286. Greenfields III
  1. The node and the hero
Edna, on Landas, the Elven Peripheral World The portal whirled open to the old location, supposed to be where the hero was. Nunarnusk was once the great capital of the White Elves, and so, they retained many old records, stored, luckily, in their underground vaults. The locals dly gave her a tour of the ce, and indeed, there was a time long, long ago when they rivaled even the great empires of Threeworld or Mountainworld. Great empires are but materials to be turned into sawdust in the hands of the demon¡¯s ever persistent grinding machine. The old vaults were sealed magically. The White Elves hoped that if they fell, the city¡¯s history would still somehow remain within these vaults. There were no weapons here, instead, it was all books and records. Paintings. And most importantly, detailed maps. Maps, that made it easy for Ste to roughly locate it¡¯s location. An old White Elf, apparently almost 600 years old, volunteered to help them verify the location of the Hero¡¯s resting ce. There was a time, a few centuries ago, when there was a lull in the demon¡¯s push. When they lucked out with a hero with the right mix of talent, capability and luck to help beat back the demons and push the bnce of power in their favor. During the fleeting era of peace, there was travel between the cities. There was trade that has long vanished. Magical travel was possible during the period, instead of the constant, perpetual disruptions today. ¡°Portal disruptions seem prettymon.¡± Ste said. A lot of the [messaging] and [teleportation] failure was entirely due to the demon¡¯s magical disruption, and for someone like Ste, it wasn¡¯t even hard to tell where those disruptive energies came from. The demon¡¯s nests in the deserts of Landas were all sources of that disruption. Ste almost didn¡¯t notice them, but Ste¡¯s portals, that survived the shredding of reality and teleportation on far more chaotic environments like the Demon¡¯s Comet, easily overpowered the disruptions. If they had capable mages, they might have managed to maintain some semnce of amunicationwork even in spite of the disruptions, but Edna knew that those odds were unlikely. Talent needed the right circumstances to flourish, and even today, even with the huge talent infrastructure of the Valthorns, mage training remains slow. Faster than before, but still, slow. And so the portal opened, to a field of destruction and burnt wood. Ash. It was ake, once upon a time, but it has long since dried up. There were bodies filled with the corpses of the dead, though demons rarely left corpses. They decayed way too quickly. There were champions in the distance, hammering at what appeared to be a magical shield. The shield protected a cherry tree that has long since withered and without a single leaf or flower. There is an injured hero within that tree¡¯s little space. All around the shield was just endless, endless destruction. The White Elf copsed on the ground and wailed. ¡°This entire ce- it- it used to be arge city. One hundred thousand High Elves once walked thisnd, and now, all that remains is the Sacred Cherry of the First Estate?!¡± Edna and Ste¡¯s eyes both scanned the demon-filled surroundings, there certainly didn¡¯t seem to be anything resembling a city here. It was just a series of craters, whatever civilization didn¡¯t leave any structures or infrastructure that survived the demon¡¯s attack. The champions all hammered away at the shield. The shield did not break. The shield did not bend. But they both could sense the attacks chipping away at it¡¯s strength. Slowly. The shield couldst a few more years. ¡°Since I am here.¡± Edna said, as she jumped andnded not far away from the flood of demons. ¡°I might as well y.¡± Her [Quest Swords] appeared by the tens, and the knight¡¯s magical summons soon appeared to apany her. What were champions before a domain holder? Ste created a shield around herself and her guide, the old white elf. Edna¡¯s de shone like the fury of the stars. In thend that was once the First Estate, light returned, and ended centuries of darkness brought about by the demons¡¯ champions. In what was no more than ten series of shing lights, the army of demon champions crumbled. The pounding of the shield ended, and an eerie silence returned to thend. Even the wind seemed to stop. Edna¡¯s footsteps felt like the marches of a million soldiers. She walked to the gigantic Cherry tree that¡¯s all withered, and felt the presence of a heroic shield. ¡°Aeon would be pleased to find another spirit tree out here.¡± Edna said, her [quest swords] vanished into their own magical space. Ste looked at the White Elf guide, ¡°Please return to Nunarnusk.¡± The White Elf wanted to stay, but he dared no object. ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt the Sacred Cherry. It is one of the most sacred ces for all of the High Elves. Our ancestors have offended the gods enough, I do not wish to offend them further.¡± Ste found that amusing. All the briefings they received suggested they were all enemies. ¡°Rest assured, if the Sacred Cherry is not our enemy, it would not find us a threat.¡± The white elf went back through the portal, and Ste teleported up to Edna. With not a single demon in sight, the withered Cherry Tree stood before them. ¡°So, do we talk to it?¡± Ste asked. ¡°Or do we require Lumoof¡¯s presence? Connect roots and stuff.¡± ¡°I thought you said we¡¯d just deploy Aeon¡¯s clone here and be done with it.¡± Edna teased, but the nature of their work meant most ns had to be adjusted. Reality and ns were not good friends. A root emerged from Edna¡¯s body, an ability of Aeon¡¯s familiar. It pierced the dirt around them, and made contact with the roots of the Cherry Tree. The sensation was immediate, like two minds touching. But her domain protected her, while the counterpart was unprotected. [Domain blocked attempted intrusion] But they could still speak through the connection of roots. ¡°Greetings.¡± Edna¡¯s words were transmitted through the roots from her body. All she felt was a weak whimper from the other side. Its thoughts were slurred and weak. Edna could feel the vulnerability, the frailness in its energies, and so she tapped into the familiar¡¯s healing powers. Though nothing like the real thing, the effects were immediate, as the flow of healing energies into the Cherry Tree reinvigorated the withered nt, it¡¯s branches and trunk gained color that was lost, and small cherry buds began to emerge from the tips of it¡¯s branches. New leaves spawned from the tips of the tree. It took about ten or fifteen minutes, but the Cherry Tree no longer withered. Ste smiled. ¡°Well?¡± This time, the reply from the Cherry Tree had strength that was once lost. ¡°I greet our rescuers. Our gratitude knows no bounds.¡± The Cherry Tree¡¯s voice was like the whisper of a gentle old man. Edna looked around. ¡°I was told the hero is here.¡± ¡°The hero lies within. Nursing his curse.¡± ¡°The hero is cursed.¡± Edna recited from experience. ¡°His soul feels as if he¡¯s wrestling against the darkness. There is demonic poisoning within his soul. A curse that tainted his soul, a mark that blemished his once pristine soul spring. He may even have voices in his mind, whispering demonic words.¡± ¡°You have seen this sickness.¡± Edna felt the Cherry Tree¡¯s surprise through their root connection. The knight grinned in amusement. Things repeated. She understood why Aeon once said that what was possible, is pretty much a certainty to ur. Once they visited enough worlds, it was inevitable that they would meet those with simr circumstances. ¡°We have someone that can heal the curse.¡± Edna looked at Ste. ¡°We need Lumoof here.¡± Ste caught on. ¡°On it.¡± The rift gate opened, though momentarily Edna detected the Cherry Tree¡¯s defensiveness. It must have suspected this was the demon¡¯s work. The priest stepped through the rift gate, and the earth itself around them seemed to spring forth with life. nts, grass spawned as if spurred on by the world itself, and the Cherry Tree¡¯s buds bloomed. What was a destroyed field turned into a field of young grass. ¡°Well, where is the patient?¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°Within.¡± The Cherry Tree answered, and Lumoof nodded. The Cherry Tree¡¯s bark bent magically, and a door opened. ¡°[Secret Hideout].¡± Lumoof said as he approached the room. It was a tiny space, much smaller than thebyrinth within Aeon¡¯s true body. Edna followed closely behind and saw an elvish man strapped to tree vines. One side of his arm turned ck from the effects of the curse, a familiar old rot from a far older time. She saw something simr in Aeon¡¯s [dream academy]. Lumoof touched the elvish man, and he felt Lumoof¡¯s [domain] focus. It was instantaneous, because Lumoof¡¯s energies grabbed something within the elf hero, and pulled. The demon¡¯s curse was ejected forcefully, a festering parasite that Lumoof grabbed and pulled out of his soul. It immediately transformed and attempted to take the form of some kind of demonic spawn. Edna¡¯s de was through the spawn¡¯s body, and her shining de destroyed it instantly. The removal of the demon¡¯s curse restored health to the elven hero instantly, as the darkened skin on the hero¡¯s body regained color. His face that was once in pain instantly rxed. Lumoof, Edna and Ste stood, and allowed the hero to sleep. ¡°Well, I was told there are many other worlds like this.¡± Lumoof looked at Ste as the three domain holders rested outside the Cherry Tree. ¡°Should you start moving?¡± Ste shrugged. ¡°Well, yes, but we couldn¡¯t leave things in their current state here. And since we are familiar with this ce already, we might as well finish what we started.¡± ¡°You are like us.¡± The Cherry Tree spoke abruptly. Lumoof stopped. ¡°Ah yes, I did not introduce ourselves. We are from the Valtrian Order, and we are an organization that aims to defeat the demons across the multiverse. We were asked toe here, to shore up the local¡¯s defenses, as the old gods¡¯ presence fades.¡± ¡°You are a tree.¡± The Cherry Tree emphasized. Edna and Ste chuckled. Lumoof shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not a tree, I am merely the avatar of one.¡± ¡°There is no difference.¡± ¡°Oh, there is a huge difference.¡± Lumoof countered. *** ¡°We have authorization for deployment.¡± Lausanne sat quietly in the vast meeting room when themander and strategist presented theyout. ¡°Our destination is Landas, and based on the map retrieved these are the identified settlements. Each team of ten will visit thirty locations, defeat demons, rescue survivors, help restore some basic semnce of civilization, and report back.¡± Lausanne nodded, as the teams of ten were formed. All in all there were twenty teams. ¡°Nice to see you again, Ebon.¡± Lausanne smiled. Ebon, the [aeonic battle knight], shook her hand. ¡°d to serve with you. It¡¯s been a long time.¡± Ebon served as a knight for many decades, though he did take a break. But he was also one of those who was stuck in the high level 130s to 140s, unable to push on. Then, a centaur approached. ¡°Arjan. You¡¯re on our team too?¡± Arjan nodded. ¡°Hallowedpany indeed. Aeon¡¯s princess and the old ck knight.¡± The centaur peeked behind Lausanne to find another woman. ¡°And a matreearch.¡± Lausanne turned and bowed before Matreearch Hoyia. ¡°I was not aware you are participating in this round of exploration.¡± Hoyia smiled gently. ¡°There are younger priests to handle affairs on Treehome, and things are stable here. How could I resist diving into the deep end and see what it is like? I would have to trouble the rest of you to be my bodyguard.¡± Lausanne chuckled. Hoyia was a Treeology Matreearch that served for decades and she doubted the woman needed protection. Not with her own natural set of blessings. Six other Valthorns joined the four, and they were all in the level 125 and above. It wasn¡¯t the first run for most of them. The announcement came immediately that evening. ¡°Alright, the [node tree] was deployed, get ready for transport. Equipment ready! Final checks!¡± Lausanne checked her own backpack, and her spears. Her group would be led by Ebon, he was technically the most experienced one here with a long history of deployments to strange new worlds. Ebon nced at his team, and they all indicated their readiness. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go.¡± About 250 will be teleported over to Landas, but 50 of them will be around the [node tree]. ¡°The node tree in the outskirts of Nunarnusk.¡± ¡°Good luck.¡± *** ¡°Another survivor here.¡± Hoyia said, as she helped a young boy out of the hole. There was something about visiting a world where death is somonce, that survivors seem like a miracle. Lausanne wondered how the boy survived in that hole, but such perilous circumstances often seemed to create miracles. ¡°Are you angels sent by the gods?¡± The young boy asked when he was much better. It almost seemed like all of them were surrounded by a halo. Lausanne shook her head, even though she could see why the boy thought so. ¡°No.¡± She remembered that conversation with Kei, how she was a hero in her eyes. She looked around, at her team, and saw they too had simr emotions. No matter what they said, in the eyes of these survivors, the team were heroes. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s send them to Roskor. We need to keep moving. More ces to go.¡± Ebonmanded. This was their sixth location, and almost all of them were just ruins. Most survivors lucked out, somehow trapped under rubble but not yet dead. The others hid and ran. The rangers found many survivors this way, hiding in what remains of the forests, in caves or holes throughout thend. Of the marked locations, they found a few somewhat intact cities. These cities and towns were all lucky, because long ago, the heroes left defensive items for them. Some ruins were just filled with dead people, dead for years, if not decades. The seventh location was a field of death. Destruction imed thend from long ago that nts began to grow from the ashes. ¡°This is what our world could be like.¡± Hoyia said quietly. Arjan merely tapped the matriarch¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it for too long, priestess. Our focus is on rescuing survivors, if any remain.¡± Lausanne remembered a simr scene on the Eastern Continent. The demons didn¡¯t get a chance to destroy freely, because Aeon existed. If the locals could not defend themselves, the solution was obvious. Aeon needed to be everywhere. They needed to be everywhere. Lausanne realizedter that day that being everywhere was a lot harder than they expected. *** They covered eleven locations that day, and gave themselves four hours to rest. They would need to keep moving. ¡°The domainholders will be moving to another world.¡± Ebon spoke when they woke from their rest. ¡°New orders. They expect that only four or five teams will remain in this world to support the natives by the week¡¯s end. We need to start making substantive improvement¡¯s to this world¡¯s defenses, as soon as possible.¡± ¡°-what?¡± Hoyia said. ¡°But we just came here.¡± ¡°There are fifteen worlds to reinforce. Treehome expects to send lower leveled Valthorns over to support those that remain.¡± Ebon said. ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving. We won¡¯t be able to rest much.¡± *** The seven surviving domainholders had to split up, and formed three teams. Edna and Ste left Landas behind, and arrived in the next world. Lumoof and Kafa were sent to another one. Johann, Roon and Ezar to the fourth peripheral world. All three teams found more worlds at stake. All these worlds were under attack by the demon kings. Some were almost all lost, and in others, the heroes were significantly less and weaker from their earlier days. They were weakened, because the demons employed demonic curses extensively in all these worlds. Demonic parasites, demonic curses were found even in lesser beings, but these lesser beings died quickly. ¡°They are pulling the teams there already?¡± Hoyia¡¯s exasperation was immediate. ¡°Don¡¯t we have people on Treehome?¡± ¡°Too low leveled.¡± Ebon countered. The Valtrian Order as a whole had about 3,000 level 100 and above individuals. A huge amount that meant the Valtrian Order far outssed the powers of every other party in Treehome, Mountainworld, and Threeworldsbined. It was, in every sense of the world, a monumental sum. A fighting force to fear. But, about one third of these are nonbat sses. Crafters, enchanters, builders. Merchants and Lords. Mage-researchers. Trainers and teachers.. So, effectively, only 2,000 level 100 individuals that were ready for deployment. There was also a need to maintain standing forces on Threeworld, Mountainworld, and Tropicsworld. These three worlds¡¯ security situation required arger staff strength. That eliminated another 1,000 or so level 100 individuals from deployment. If they stretched it, they could reduce the number to 500. So, at any one point, only about 1,000 to 1,500 or so Level 100s could be deployed as an expeditionary or peacekeeping force, supported by arger poption of lower leveled Valthorns. The high level math was obvious. ¡°If there are 15 worlds like this, we can only deploy about 70 to 100 level 100 individuals per world.¡± It seemed like a big number, but each of these worlds wererge ces. These 70 Valthorns would definitely turn the tide and trivialize all lesser threats wherever they went, but they couldn¡¯t be everywhere. It wasn¡¯trge enough to cover all the ces that needed help. ¡°It will have to do.¡± Ebon said. The support force of those below level 100 would have to fill up the gaps. The team sat and processed Ebon¡¯s update. Lausanne looked around them, and wondered whether there were enough of them to reach these worlds in time. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. We might have to depart for another world once we¡¯re done here too.¡± They visited location after location in a rush, and finally, when they stopped at thest marked location, Lausanne stood over a corpse that was still warm. A young elven woman gored to death by demons. Maybe if they reached the ce an hour earlier, she would¡¯ve lived. ¡°No use thinking about it.¡± Ebon sat next to Lausanne as they ate some of their rations. There were few animals or wild creatures to hunt for food, and most forests were destroyed. The surviving cities all had their own specialized farms, supported by their local [druids] and [farmers]. ¡°We just have to keep going.¡± Lausanne didn¡¯t like the feeling of helplessness. What price would she pay if she could save more people? No, what would she sacrifice to end this war? Maybe that was Aeon¡¯s question. She knew Aeon sensed it all. Aeon could see this. He absorbs the spirits of the dead by the hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions. Why would he not make a deal with the devil to end this ughter? ¡°How many of us are left on Landas?¡± Lausanne asked. ¡°Six teams remaining. The other fourteen have been summoned to leave for the other worlds. More are getting ready.¡± Lausanne looked around them. Hoyia helped some of the injured with her healing powers. Her blend of priestly and familiar powers meant she could fix most injuries instantaneously. Thanks to thebined efforts of all their teams, they¡¯ve constructed a revised map of Landas, indicating all the surviving cities. Of the six great capitals of the elves, only three remained. The other three were razed into the ground by the demons. Nunarnusk, Atarusk and Sorokor were the threest elven capitals that stood in some way or form. ¡°Alright, Lumoof and Kafa have left the world.¡± Ebon said suddenly. It was a matter-of-fact update. ¡°Wait. It¡¯s been barely a few days?¡± Lausanne thought. ¡°Their world was in such terrible shape that there wasn¡¯t much left to help.¡± Ebon recited themunications that came through thework. Updates on the peripheral worlds were given regrly to each of the team leaders, along with updates on the domainholder movements. ¡°Did they deploy a node?¡± ¡°No. Not yet.¡± Ebon countered. ¡°What are our orders now?¡± Lausanne wondered as one of the druids helped create a reinforced wooden rampart for the survivors. They would survive. They¡¯ve eliminated almost all the demons they could find. ¡°None yet. At this point, Treehome Command¡¯s leaving it up to the rest of us team leaders to decide what to do. ¡± Lausanne¡¯s instincts were simple. If the overarching goal was to reinforce the natives, then they could also aplish that by weakening the demons. ¡°We have two main choices that maximize our presence. We strike the demon¡¯s bases in the deserts. Clean up the shit that was left behind, and reduce the frequency of demonic raids on the surviving natives. Or we support the elf hero¡¯s retaliation.¡± Ebon nodded. ¡°The elf hero¡¯s in Treehome for now. So the hero¡¯s retaliation will have to wait until he returns. Let me talk to the rest of them and build a strike force.¡± 287. Greenfields IV 287. Greenfields IV 287 - THe elven hero on treehome Novorosk, in Freshka, Treehome Everything about the ce was surreal. Novorosk looked around, and had never seen a city like it. It was massive and filled with creatures. Talking lizards and horse-people! But more importantly, were the people that came along with him. People he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever see. Novorosk of Roskor couldn¡¯t believe the people he met. ¡°You- you¡¯re the [hero]?¡± The elf man was gorgeous. He had features of the High elves, long light blonde hair that was till his waist, elvish ears, and handsome features that made the females present stare. He sighed, and somehow he managed to look good while sighing. ¡°Yes. Not a good one. I am Samuel, or since I¡¯vee here, I go by the name Samahiro.¡± ¡°This way.¡± There were chauffeurs, attendants that led the group of twenty or so leaders of Landas to arge tunnel. The city was overwhelming to them, and all of them were dazed. Novorosk looked at the mass of people and immediately wondered how they were fed and housed. Except Samuel, who looked at the city wistfully, as if remembering a life before his current one. Novorosk was next to ady with pale gray skin and equally gray hair. Among the elves, they were sometimes referred to as the Drow, but they referred to themselves as the elves of the night. The woman and Novorosk exchanged nces, as if sizing each other up. Commander Argo, the leader of the White Elves of Nunarnusk greeted the rest of them. The fact that so many senior members of the various elven cities could gather made the Commander look as if he wanted to cry. ¡°Are you alright, Commander Argo?¡± Novorosk asked out of concern. He rubbed his eyes. ¡°I, I just cannot help but feel a little teary, that the leaders of the various elven cities are allowed to meet under much gentler circumstances. This moment should be recorded. The first gathering of the elven leaders after a period of darkness.¡± The woman was surprised. ¡°I believe it is too hasty to consider it the end of darkness.¡± That statement made the rest of them freeze. It was true that they now have hope, but they were not out of the darkness yet. Samuel, the elven hero,ughed. ¡°Look around us,dy. We are in an entirely different world, and we face a force clearly geared for war. If this is not the end of the darkness, then what evidence do you need?¡± At that moment, a woman in a dark green uniform stepped out of a gigantic door. ¡°Greetings. Aeon is ready to see you now. Hero Samuel, you will have an additional, separate session after the meeting.¡± *** The beetle led them underground, through tunnels and vines, but strangely, it felt as if the earth¡¯s pulse gained strength. The blood elves of Roskor were particrly sensitive to energy flows, particrly spiritual energy. It is spiritual energies that powered their blood-runes and blood-marks, and so the overwhelming presence of spiritual energy in the tunnels was a strange surprise. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen?¡± The night elven woman asked the uniformeddy. ¡°You will meet our God, the leader of the Aeonic Pantheon.¡± The night elf frowned, as if there was disbelief. They then saw the valley, with the pulsing trees and the flowing energies. The ce pulsed, as if each of the trees possessed a heartbeat. There were streaks of light, as if the stars and meteors were trapped in the trees themselves. ¡°We are here.¡± The beetle stopped in a gigantic courtyard, and in front of them was the biggest tree they have ever seen- Then he felt it. His attempts to look at the tree was met with a sensation as if a million eyes were upon him. His mind was immediately sucked into a maze of trees, and he felt lost. Novorosk didn¡¯t know how long he was in there, but then- ¡°You alright?¡± Samuel asked. Novorosk suddenly felt himself pulled out of the maze, but what reced it was immediately a sense of scale. He looked at the tree, and thought for a moment like he was looking at trees in other ces, and the more he tried to look at it, the more he felt like his mind was being pulled apart. His knees buckled, and quickly, he averted his gaze. The rest of them stared at the tree, and only to all kneel, their heads unable to look at the tree anymore. ¡°Greetings.¡± The voice was in their head, and Novorosk felt his skin tremble. His hair stood on it¡¯s end, as if that voice whispered right next to him, from both his ears at the same time. No, it was as if a choir spoke to him all at once. Samuel the hero heard the voice too, and looked around, as if searching. ¡°Greetings? Who- who are we speaking to?¡± ¡°I am Aeon, the gigantic tree right in front of you. Wee to my Valley. I have asked my people to bring you here for many reasons. Mainly, I ask for your cooperation.¡± Samuel was the only one who could look back at the Tree. Novorosk¡¯s attempts to even nce at its roots immediately awakened that feeling from before. How? Why? Thedy mentioned that the Tree was everywhere, and yet in this valley, why was the sensation so intense? ¡°Anything youmand.¡± Novorosk answered, as if his soulpelled himself to answer. Just being here imprinted the Tree¡¯s presence in his soul. He would never forget. ¡°What is it?¡± Samuel asked. ¡°I will establish the Valtrian Order, on your world of Landas. We will help you rebuild, if you let us. But, we will also ask some among you to fight for us, and we will choose those willing and talented among you, to take this fight beyond your world, and further into the stars.¡± Novorosk realized then that this was a conscription. Aeon intended to turn their world into one that supplied soldiers- ¡°Who are we fighting?¡± Samuel asked. ¡°The demons, of course.¡± The night elven woman asked. ¡°Are- are you sent by the gods?¡± There was a moment of silence, before the Tree answered into their minds. ¡°Your old gods are drifting away. I am here to take their ce.¡± Samuel was the only one standing. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Time, and expansion of the multiverse.¡± Novorosk didn¡¯t understand it, but Samuel did. He looked at the Tree and sighed. ¡°Can you send me back home?¡± ¡°No. I am not the one that brought you here, and so, I cannot send you back.¡± ¡°Then who did?¡± Samuel asked. ¡°Hero Samuel. You will have another sessionter to speak to me privately, and with some other individuals that you will work with, if you choose to cooperate with us. To the rest of you, do you agree to assist my people as we settle in your world?¡± The night elvendy answered. ¡°I cannot decide on the behalf of the rest of my people but I will try my best to convince them to agree.¡± Commander Argo answered with a firmness he never exhibited back in Nunarnusk. ¡°Yes. We will support your people with all our might.¡± The rest of them nodded without hesitation. ¡°Yes.¡± Novorosk wondered how much of their answer was fear. They were ants, and the tree in front of them was the finger of god and could crush them if it so wished. It was a sensation he couldn¡¯t shake. A savior hase to their world, but their world will be reshaped in their savior¡¯s image. The guide helped the rest of them out, and they were all relieved to be brought far, far away from the gigantic tree. Novorosk sat, and thought. His world will change. It will change into a world made to support this God¡¯s war. For once, they were no longer helpless victims of war. This will be a better life for his people. For most of them, as the beetle brought them out of the valley and into therger city, he realized that they now have a hope to live a life like they once did, and better. The various elven empires would be remade from what was left behind. For most of them, this will lead them to prosperity. But, he also noticed the soldiers of Tree. The short eared men and women, lizard-people and horse-people, all draped in weapons. They were strong, but he saw in their eyes a look he recognised. These were people who lived a life of war. Never ending war. Some of his own people will have to make the sacrifice for the rest of them. They will be transformed into pawns, to be deployed where the Tree saw fit. Some of them will be expendable pieces. It is a sacrifice. The few will have to bear the burdens of the many. Novorosk looked at the prosperity outside of the beetle-carriage¡¯s windows, and felt the imprint in his soul. If asked, he will be the first to raise his hand. *** Aeon The elven hero fidgeted quietly. He was nervous, and he had a lot of questions. But I decided to ask mine first. I wanted to hear from him directly. ¡°How did your first battle with the demon king go?¡± Samuel paused, and shook his head. ¡°Bad. The demon king was some kind of Flying Demon, while I¡¯m an Archer. It should¡¯ve been a decent matchup, but the demon king¡¯s armor was so strong, and he possessed so many poisoned axes.¡± ¡°All demon king¡¯s attacks are poisoned to some degree. It is the nature of their energy. The Demonic Curse infects all that survive their attacks.¡± I briefly remembered that I was even poisoned by the demon¡¯s curse in the first few decades in this world, and it took years to remove it. The second time I was cursed, it was from the demonic mana, and that required my [domain] to free myself from its effects. Samuel didn¡¯t know that. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Are there no surviving records in Landas?¡± Samuel shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, and I also didn¡¯t think about it. There were no one left to man their stores or archives. The elven nation was battered when I came, and the demon king struck when I was only around level 90. I was not ready.¡± That was usible. If the gods summoned teenagers, they mightck life experience. If they summoned teenagers who didn¡¯t have much agency and mostly went along with the flow, they likely would not think too much about their strategy, and would not seek out information. At that point, I introduced the four heroes. I teleported them in via my ability. ¡°Samuel, let me introduce the four that will now assist you. Adrian, from Mountainworld, Khefri, from Threeworld, and Colette and Prabu. They are fellow heroes.¡± Samuel¡¯s eyes brightened, and his own senses immediately detected that they were like him. Colette stared at Samuel, and immediately said. ¡°Wow you¡¯re so pretty! You¡¯re even more pretty than all the other elves I¡¯ve seen. You- you¡¯re like what I imagine an elf should look like.¡± Khefri nodded furiously. ¡°You look like a doll.¡± Samuel blushed. ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry. This is the look they gave me. I- I didn¡¯t look like this originally, but-¡± Khefri cursed. Her annoyance at her appearance never faded. ¡°You lucky bastard. They made you a beautiful elf. They made me into this scorpion shit.¡± Samuel sighed. ¡°Mdy, I wish we could¡¯ve traded ces. This form did nothing but harm to me. The unwanted attention from the native elves just made life hard.¡± ¡°I know we just met, but to me, suffering from this ugly ass shit form, that sounds like ughh!¡± Khefri countered. ¡°These four are heroes, just like you, and they will help you with the battle against the demon king in Landas. I will have one of my domain holders support you.¡± ¡°One?¡± At that point, Khefri asked. ¡°The rest of them are exploring.¡± ¡°Can theye back after they¡¯ve done the initial exploring? I think this pretty boy still needs to gain some levels. He feels kinda low level.¡± Khefri countered. ¡°eptable. We may choose to liberate Landas once the rest of my domain holders visit all the fifteen worlds.¡± At that point, Samuel interjected. ¡°Sorry, what- what is this about fifteen worlds?¡± Colette answered. ¡°The gods intend to abandon fifteen worlds, so Aeon¡¯s tasked with taking over. In short, there¡¯s been a big ass mess that¡¯s got out of control, and these guys are the professional cleaning crew sent in to take over.¡± ¡°Shit, how can they do that?¡± ¡°Apparently, not much of a choice.¡± Colette said. ¡°Gods have a limited range.¡± Samuel sat there and looked at the other four. ¡°If the four of you are here, it means there¡¯s no way back, isn¡¯t it?¡± Colette shook her head. ¡°Death. The spirits of the dead heroes tell us death leads us back home.¡± The elf hero stared. ¡°How?¡± At that point, a Valthorn centaur guide appeared. The centaur spoke. ¡°The Journal Room awaits.¡± The elf hero touched the journal as expected, and for a moment, all was well once more. *** Lausanne, Landas ¡°Found them.¡± Lausanne spoke over [message]. She was high up on a tree that she made, and she saw the flying demons in the distance. The operatives, spread all over the world of Landas, reached most of the known cities over the past two months. Death in demon form came to two thirds of them, and only one third of the known cities remain as actual, habited locations. The rest were ruins. Dead. Destroyed. It was sobering, but it steeled her determination. No, it steeled everyone¡¯s determination. Sights of thoroughly ruined cities, cities where survivors died because no one came to help them, reminded them of a state possible if they fell. The devastation brought back memories of all her earlier campaigns. The Order is ruthless. The Order is sometimes cruel. The Order can be callous. There were sacrifices made for power, but all this merely reminded them that their cause is true. This was an enemy they must defeat. Team Leader Ebonnded next to her, then a mage followed. The mage created spears of ice that flew towards the flying demons, and they died instantly. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s move. The desert¡¯s not going to clean them up themselves.¡± Ebon answered, as the Valthorn forcended closer. The Valthorns¡¯ extensive counterattack brought a moment of quiet to the cities, while Valthorn druids and operatives constructed new defensive formations. The now-destroyed city of Chursky, and home of the Sacred Cherry, became the new home of Aeon¡¯s node. There was already a small force of builders constructing fortifications. An army of beetles and spiders marched behind them. Beetles outfitted with projectile weapons, fired from the abdomen. They have quite a few deserts to clear, before the heroes attempted to battle the demon king, now hidden deep within the tunnel to the core. The demon king¡¯s journey to the Core would take a few years. *** Edna, and Ste, The Second Peripheral World of Sarlpi Edna and Ste arrived in a world of Fire and Ice. Plumes of smoke from volcanoes poured into the sky above. Demons were everywhere. The first habitation they found was a group of Lavapeople. They were humanoids, but with skin resembling freshva, they built their homes in a cave where rivers ofva flowed. The demons were of the traditional kind. Fiery, with horns of me, wings of me, and axes of mes, apanied their fire breathing cerberus and hellhounds. They were a terrible matchup for the Lavapeople. The Lavapeople¡¯s fire weapons were resisted by the demons, while the demons overpowered the Lavapeople with sheer brute force. From the Lavapeople, or as they called themselves, the Arpik. Edna and Ste then learned of the Snowpeople, the Sarljuk. The people who were once the Lavapeople¡¯s mortal enemies, but they¡¯ve found peace with each other after a while. It significantly helped that the two races of the world of Sarlpi did not really contest the same territories. The Snowpeople live in the cold poles of the world, while the Lavapeople live in the warm central bands, and the areas where they intersected were popted by the Mixed Bloods, known as the Cham. The Cham were sort of pariahs to the two sides, who preferred the purity of their own race. The Cham were people that resembled humans, and unlike the Snowpeople who retained some innate control over the powers of ice, or the Lavapeople who had innate control over fire, the Cham had none. Still, as Edna and Ste surveyed thend, they eventually visited the Snowpeople, and found that many of the Snowpeople¡¯s great cities and nations remain unscathed. The fire demons that so easily overpowered the Lavapeople were weakened by the hail storms and blizzards of the colnds, and were easy pickings for the Sarljuk defenders. Even the demon champions were battered by the strong blizzards, and the strong natural coldness severely hampered their ability to expand into the cold north and south. The demon king didn¡¯t care. There were no heroes in the world of Sarlpi. Thest two heroes died about four years ago. Thest two heroes were born to the Chams, and sadly, due to their pariah status, did not receive much support from the Sarljuk. Even their death did not affect the Sarljuk or the remnant Arpiks. Instead, after the victory, the demon king dug into the depths. It had not seeded in iming the world, yet, but it would happen eventually. Prosperous Sarljuks, and a battered, impoverished Arpiks. The Sarljuks saw no reason to help the Arpiks in their warm, volcano fillednds. It was also and that was disadvantageous, they were weakened by the heat of the centralnds. ¡°Life is unfair.¡± Ste said at the end of their visits. ¡°It always is.¡± Edna said. ¡°Let¡¯s help the Lavapeople and the Cham, and we¡¯ll end it there. The Sarljuks don¡¯t need us.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°Selfishness.¡± Ste said. ¡°It seems it is amon thing throughout society everywhere.¡± Edna nodded, but the Sarljuk had their own reasons. The warmnds of the Apriks were not friendly to the Sarljuk. ¡°It won¡¯t be thest we see.¡± Edna said. ¡°But let us keep moving to the others.¡± They didn¡¯t have much time to spend here. Not yet, anyway. They needed toplete a quick reconnaissance of the remaining worlds. Only then, the Order can form a coherent strategy on how and where to ce the rest of Aeon¡¯s nodes, clones, and the rest of the Valtrian forces. 288. Greenfields V 288. Greenfields V The Third Peripheral World - The Deadworld Lumoofnded in the third peripheral world only to find a world without survivors. This was a dead world, there was no one here, and as far as he extended his senses, it was all demons. It was a world at the very edge of full conversion into a demon world. Not a whiff of mortals. He sighed, and spoke to Ste. ¡°Send me elsewhere.¡± ¡°Already?¡± ¡°This world is dying. I sense no survivors.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ste said through their sharedmunicationwork. Lumoof spent another few days scouring the world and found nothing. Ruins. Death. Corpses that were easily a decade old. There were some trees, some vegetation that survived the destruction wrought by the flying fire demons. ¡°Is it me, or are there a lot of flying and fire-type demons?¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°Ste, are you going to investigate the originating demon worlds?¡± ¡°Later-¡± Ste said. ¡°Still moving.¡± Lumoof looked at his partner for this mission. ¡°How was your stint on Delvegard?¡± Kafa shrugged. ¡°Nothing much. I am d to be reassigned to the front lines.¡± ¡°Delvegard is the front lines.¡± Lumoofughed. ¡°Not for me. It is for the Dwarven Lords, and perhaps alchemist Alka.¡± ¡°A pity. Alka would¡¯ve loved the ce. Or hated it because it has too many damned dwarves.¡± Kafa rted with the response, and chuckled along. ¡°I feel that way whenever I¡¯m in Wetport Lapule.¡± ¡°That¡¯s racism against your own kind.¡± The priest teased. ¡°I didn¡¯t say our kind is without ws.¡± Kafa smiled. There wasn¡¯t much to do in this world except destroying demons, so the two domainholders took the time to catch up and chat. Nothing threatened them. Ten demon champions were nothing before a level 200 avatar. ¡°My people are still changing, and it¡¯ll take a few generations.¡± The priest understood it keenly. The hearts of the people are often hard to change. He could preach the truth, show the evidence, and some of their hearts would still deny it. The heart believes in what it believes, and it is a primal thing. It is why the Central Continent¡¯s priests and the Order tried very hard to reach the young children and embed their values as soon as possible. It is something the parents resisted, after all, some of them believed the children should be free to make their own minds. But Lumoof, as an avatar of a rising god, saw it differently. The truth in the heart of the people needed to fit reality. The beliefs they hold must match the society¡¯s needs and wants. They tried to step in where possible, and it is why orphans were so often roped into their circle of influence. It¡¯s an area where Lumoof frequently disagreed with Ste, who believed in the independence of mind. Thankfully, Ste was a void mage, and her views did not affect how the Treeology approached the issue of education and shaping society¡¯s cultural zeitgeist. They had to. The society needed to be ready to fight wars. The society of Treehome must ept and believe in the cause. The society as a whole must possess the industrial and military capacity to support a war throughout the multiple worlds. Perhaps someday, Ste¡¯s view of the world coulde true. A world where beliefs develop organically. A wartime government has no choice but to make choices differently,pared to the government of a world with no existential threats. Lumoof believed in it wholeheartedly, and that all of them, even Ste, are wartime leaders. Of all the races on the three Core worlds, the lizardfolks, treefolks and elves have a very high level of support of the Central government. Dwarves and humans were generally split between Centrists or Order-believers, the noble-royal groups and the guildsmen. Aeon once remarked how ironic that the human groups could be summed up to the stereotypical trio of the priests, the nobles, and the merchants. ¡°Do you think the Delvegard Dwarves will fold obediently, or will it be violent?¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°Generally, I expect it to be violent.¡± Kafa countered. The craft-kings of Delvegard won¡¯t give up their supremacy so easily. ¡°Should we just kidnap them and spare the world of Delvegard from an unnecessary war?¡± Lumoof proposed. Kafa stared back at the priest. He was unable to answer. Lumoof could feel the lizard warrior weighing the odds. A war would have tremendous casualties, and in most cases, unnecessary. A kidnapping in the background by a sneaky, hidden group like them would truly enable them to get around and avoid such conflicts, especially if a transfer of power could happen peacefully, or if these craft kings realize where they stand along the true scales of power. The lizard warrior sighed. ¡°I admit kidnapping the leaders and forcing them to bend the knee may be the wiser choice, but I cannot help but feel extremely ufortable with it.¡± Maybe it was his ss. A warrior ss did not sit well with such ndestine methods. Their ethos is excellence throughbat. But a priest is a type of subversive ss. The natural state of the priest-ss is to change minds without violence. To convert others. The avatar patted the lizardman¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s hard to make such choices, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lumoof pointed to the world around them, and then, the portal whirled open before them. There was nothing else to do on this world, other than to destroy the demon king. With that knowledge, it was time to move on. ¡°Time to go.¡± *** The Fourth World The Drakeworld Capra-Terban Roon, Johann and Ezar arrived in a world and felt the simr presence of demons in the air. The environment around them was filled with rocky spires and deep valleys, and the energy levels in the air seemed to match the shape of the terrain. At the bottom of the valleys were usually fields of dark rocks filled with bugs that survived off the things that fell down or raging rivers. It was and meant for flying creatures, and it just so happened that the demons responded with flying demons of their own. They were the type of flying demons also found on ra. ¡°Well, we¡¯re bumping into more of these buggers.¡± ¡°Well, fuck. I dislike flyers.¡± Ezar cursed as he immediately sensed the presence of demons in the air. Without Ste around, they have to rely on their movement abilities, but the mountainous terrain was not meant for sprinting. They would be hopping from spire to spire, since their levitation and flight artifacts would notst that long. The spires were everywhere, as if the earth itself protruded out of the ground like thorns, covered in small vegetation and bushes. ¡°Demon king.¡± Roon frowned, and they spotted the demon king quite a distance away. ¡°Let¡¯s get some distance between us!¡± The demon king of Terban was a gigantic flying dragon with tworge heads, both sting the terrain with its energy attacks. The three quickly fled the confrontation with the demon king. It wasn¡¯t time yet, not with theirck of knowledge. As they explored the rest of the mountainous world, the three eventually discovered the natives of the world. The natives were a type of goat-people that rode drakes of their own. These goat people lived along the cliffs and made homes in caves and crevices along the cliff walls. Their society was simr to viges and towns, stuck in the standardized medieval era. Capra. The Goat People, and they rode the domesticated Drakes. Drakes, or the domesticated variants, were friendly smaller drakes that have grown used to the goat people¡¯s lives. ¡°The more worlds we see, the more I wonder why everyone¡¯s weapons and development seem to be stuck in this particr era.¡± Johann said as he rode his own flying dragon. His flying dragon was hugely interesting to the Capra. The first sight of Johann, they immediately bowed to him as if he was the next incarnation of their hero. The heroes of the Capra were legendary drake riders, and the old gods granted the heroes an ability to supercharge their ¡®partner¡¯ drakes, that even allowed those flying drakes to transform intorger dragons, and also strangely, into humanoid forms. For male heroes, apparently the drakes would take on a female form, while the opposite was true. Roon thought the god¡¯s meddling with the sexes of their partner dragons to be rather disgusting, and even wondered if this was a form of honey trap or honeypot. The heroes of the Capra world could also take on human forms, on top of their Capran forms. Theynded on what looked to be one of therger popted cliffs, and immediately noticed the huge magical protections covering the cliff. There was also a massive illusionary magical formation that hid the cliffs from the demons, powered by hero items. *** ¡°So there were no heroes in thest thirty years?¡± Johann, Ezar and Roon stood as they were weed to the Capran Cliff Lord¡¯s home. It was a fairly small ce, but the lush decorations of the room made it feel much bigger. ¡°No.¡± The Capran Cliff Lord answered. ¡°Our god and benefactor, Hawa, has not responded to our prayers since two decades ago. But we cling faithfully, and continue to pour our prayers into these ancient items left behind by the heroes that came since time immemorial.¡± Roon heard the updates from Lumoof and Edna. This was amon urrence for the peripheral worlds. They are peripheral worlds for a reason, and the distance from their protector-gods meant they didn¡¯t get much protection. At this distance, it must¡¯ve cost too much to inform the Caprans of their doomed fate. The flying demon-drakes of Capran, the same type as those on ra, found Capran to be incredibly suitable and made those same cliffs into the demon nests. The magical energies of Capran seemed to be corrted to the height of the cliffs, the tallest mountains seemed to have stronger leylines, and so the demons were naturally drawn to them. In the same manner, the old Caprans also found these tall mountains to be ces where they could grow and breed strong Drakes. The Caprans thus fought against the demons for control of their strongest cliffs, though that war was mostly lost over thest three decades. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the demon king dig underneath the earth after these thirty years?¡± Johann asked. The Caprans didn¡¯t know the demon king did that, so they had no answer. But the three domain holders nced at each other and thought about it. ¡°Maybe it wasn¡¯t ready?¡± Roon wondered. ¡°Or is it searching for something?¡± ¡°Or it needs more hero-souls.¡± Ezar countered. ¡°You know, like what¡¯s written and recorded during the Rottends incident. The demon king killed the heroes, collected the hero souls, and used it to poison the earth.¡± Roon and Johann nced at each other. ¡°So you¡¯re saying the demon king has not killed enough heroes to start digging?¡± ¡°Maybe, if the Core¡¯s resistance is strong enough.¡± Ezar proposed. ¡°There seems to be some kind of resistance from the Core, maybe not super strong, but enough that a demon king won¡¯t attempt a dig to the core until it possesses sufficient kills.¡± ¡°I want to say it doesn¡¯t make sense, but at the same time, maybe there is some variability in the demon king¡¯s range of abilities.¡± Johann frowned. ¡°If that¡¯s true that is a good sign, and may exin why the demons sometimes seem to just wait it out.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s true, it does feel a bit too good to be true.¡± Ezar countered. ¡°There is probably a limited number of abilities the demons could cram into the normal sized demon kings. Think about it, these demon kings are immensely powerful, and from what we know of the powers of creatures, there has to be a tradeoff somewhere. Abat focused demon king or a corruption focused demon king may not be as well equipped as a demon king designed to ¡®take over¡¯ a core.¡± ¡°It would be a sensible tradeoff to make, too.¡± Johann went along with Ezar¡¯s thought process. ¡°If demon kings could capture hero souls and use their own energies to power theary corruption-¡± ¡°It exins why both Adrian and Kelly were not killed but rather captured when we found them back on Mountainworld.¡± ¡°Sorry, may I know what you three are talking about?¡± The Capran Cliff Lord interjected. ¡°Ah, our apologies, we were merely lost in thought.¡± Ezar politely apologized. ¡°We mean no offense.¡± The Capran Cliff Lord didn¡¯t dare to be offended. Johann¡¯s beautiful dragon was a powerful beast that signified the rider¡¯s immense position. Such a unique beast could only have an equally powerful master. So, he was polite in response. ¡°It is nothing. It must be important if it merits the great master of the beast to think about it so seriously.¡± *** The three domainholders epted the hospitality offered by the Caprans, though they found their choice of food mostly unappealing. The Caprans seemed to pride themselves on all different sorts of cultivated grasses, weeds, and nts as delicacies. They did not eat meat at all. They were pure vegetarians, and Capran cooking was mainly through seasoning the various types of grasses, weeds and nts with sauces derived from fruits. It was odd, but they ate a little anyway, if only not to insult their hosts. But they did find something amusing. Their drakes were fed on special types of fruit. ¡°Aeon would love this.¡± Roon said as he picked up the strange fruits. They were ¡®meaty¡¯ fruits, they had a tough, stringy texture that looked, felt and tasted like meat. It was as if nature created its own natural nt-based meat. ¡°We should ask for one for the [Bib].¡± Johann¡¯s dragon tried one, and seemed to enjoy the taste. He was given seconds. And thirds. ¡°The ce that youe front, there is no Drakefruit Tree?¡± The Caprans were very amused, because the Drakefruit¡¯s sole purpose was to feed the Drakes. There were sub variants to the Drakefruits, such as those infused with more magic so that the drakes gained additional magical properties, or those that gave the drakes extra armor, stronger ws and so on, In the good old days, the cliffs¡¯ drake breederspeted on training the best drakes, with the bestbination of magical properties. ¡°It would please us if you could give us a small sapling of these Drakefruits.¡± Johann asked, and given his status as a dragon rider, his request was as good as amand. They gave Johann three saplings, each a different subvariant. They would be sent back to Treehome where they would be properly studied, Johann wanted to ask for some drake eggs, too, but he knew his own dragon seemed fairly possessive and like a jealous pet, would show some attitude. With nothing else to do in this cliff town, the trio went on their way. The trio soon visited a few more cliff-towns, and rescued a few of them from champion-ss attacks. The Demon King was just roaming about, as if the presence of the natives were nothing. It was puzzling behavior. Why did it not eradicate the natives? Was it to farm more hero souls? If so, it would be risky to deploy heroes on worlds where the demon king wanted to find heroes. *** Landas Lausanne watched as the rest of the eighth demonic nest was destroyed by the army of beetles. They¡¯veunched attacks relentlessly, and the mages worked tirelessly to send them from battlefield to battlefield. Portals were extremely powerful. They invalidated traditional limitations of space and expanded the operating range. For warriors like the Valthorns and their augmented bodies, they could fight as if their stamina was almost limitless. ¡°Six more nests and all that¡¯s left is the demon king.¡± There were still smaller pockets of demonic nests, but with the major nests removed, the frequency of the demonic raids on the surviving cities reduced tremendously. Yet, the demon king¡¯s behavior on Landas was strange. The demon king ignored the cursed hero. Lausanne wondered why, perhaps it either concluded that the elven hero was not a threat, and so decided to bury underground. But the data contradicted how certain demon kings on other worlds seemed to wait forever before starting its ¡®dig¡¯. But their presence brought a huge sense of relief to the five elven races of Landas. Almost all of them were sent to Treehome to meet with Aeon, and when they returned they found a world not at war. Mostly. It took another three months, but Lausanne and the rest of them finally crushed all the major demonic nests, and all that was left was the demon king. The hero still needed time to prepare, but for the rest of Landas, an era of peace had finallye. The magical interference vanished, and with it, the ancient magicalmunicationworks between the various elven cities could be restored. The surviving elven cities began to reconnect with other nearby settlements. But fear still permeated the elves¡¯ lives. Many grew up being told not to venture too far. It would take some time for this foul memory to fade, but Lausanne felt joy. It made her happy to see the elves rxing. A fuzzy feeling when the injured elves didn¡¯t have to rush back to the front line, and were allowed to heal. She came to help the peripheral worlds heal, and was eager to move to the next one. ¡°Well, where to?¡± ¡°The 5th.¡± 289. Greenfields VI 289. Greenfields VI Magisar, The Fifth Peripheral World Metteria Hudrot, Gorfort Tower Mage Metteria Hudrot watched as the magical shields were battered by the attacks from the demons. The fists and arms of the rock demons were strong, but she was a Level 42 Stone Mage, and her shields would hold. This generation of demons had been a good matchup for her, and she gained many, many levels in the numerous skirmishes since then. ¡°Metteria! Duck!¡± Metteria pulled back, her movement was propelled by manipting the stones embedded within her robe and a fireball barely grazed her hair and mmed into what appeared to be a rock golem. But at that moment, she thought she saw a man, with short white hair and wearing some kind of greenish robe. The fireball exploded, and Metteria panicked. ¡°Wait! I saw someone!¡± ¡°Saw what?¡± The rock demons came for them, but then, there was not a trace of the man that she saw. Was she hallucinating? ¡°Pay attention!¡± Metteria¡¯s captain screamed as another fireball mmed into the rock demons, this destroyed the rock demon entirely. ¡°Metteria! Defense!¡± ¡°Got it, got it!¡± Metteria shook her head briefly and her stone shields reappeared. She once again repositioned herself using the stones within her robe. Her [Stone Levitation] allowed her to drag her entire body along as she moved to help her teammates. A few more fireballs, and a few stone bullets and slowly, Metteria and her ten teammates brought down the small squadron of rock demons. ¡°Good job, good job.¡± The Captain said, relieved that none of this team died. Metteria looked back at the battlefield, and she swore that she saw that old man. She walked into the location where she thought the man was, but found nothing. There was absolutely no trace of the man, as if he was never there. ¡°Something on your mind, Metteria?¡± The captain asked. ¡°I thought I saw a man during the battle. But he vanished just as quickly.¡± The Captain walked closer to her, and then grabbed her hand. ¡°That sounds like mana exhaustion. But no sign of mana exhaustion.¡± ¡°Was I the only one that saw the man?¡± Metteria nced around. No one else did. The only reason she saw it was it was exactly in front of her, but he vanished just as quickly. Where did hee from? No one answered her. The Captain frowned. ¡°Metteria, report back to the infirmary and have yourself subjected to tests by the life mage.¡± She wanted to protest, but then she knew how this all looked like. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± *** Lumoof Lumoofnded on the fifth world and immediately had a fireball m into his shield. It wasn¡¯t intentional, because the fireball hit the edges of the shield. There were demons everywhere, and there were strange mages fighting against them. The demons around Lumoof were gigantic rocky creatures made of a kind of sandstone rock. The demonic golems of brimstone and fire attempted to punch something in Lumoof¡¯s direction, but he vanished before they got him. ¡°Ste, can you avoid live battlefields when opening portals?¡± Lumoofined through their linked messaging system once he got out of his short-distance teleportation andnded a good distance away in what seemed to be arge valley filled with demons, and a group of mages defending against them. The defenders were humans, but they all seemed pale. Lumoof briefly wondered if they were malnourished, but his senses soon realized this was their natural state. The humans, for once, were not exactly helpless. They all seemed like a decently experienced group ofbatants and they hurled magic freely. Magical fireballs and sts of energy mmed into the demonic golems, and the explosions ripped the golem demons apart. The group of skinny humans huddled together. Lumoof watched as they shredded thest of the golem demons, and then checked their surroundings for more enemies. Lumoof¡¯s presence was shrouded in enough protective items and illusions that he was fairly certain they didn¡¯t see him. Kafa popped out of the portal a few minutester. ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte- Did I miss something?¡± Thankfully, he was also protected by his protections that most likely would not have noticed him. *** Lumoof and Kafa continued to follow the group of mages back that eventually led to a steep mountain. At the peak of that mountain was a magical structure that floated above the skies, a magical creation. The mountain wasn¡¯t totally bare. It was filled with some small trees and vegetation, though Lumoof immediately noticed the encroaching presence of demonic hybrids in small patches all over the ce. He would have to investigate thatter, and get a better read on the world¡¯s state. But for now, he directed his attention towards the floating structure, a city suspended midair by magic. ¡°That is quite impressive.¡± Lumoof said. He activated his spiritual sight and immediately noticed the presence of magical energies from the ground below. There was a faint taste of the hero¡¯s presence in the magical structures beneath the floating castle, and multiple magical protections. ¡°Seems like they used ley lines to power a levitation formation, and kept their city protected from the demons.¡± Ley lines that were fading. The group of magicians regrouped somewhere near the bottom of the castle, and then Lumoof heard them curse. ¡°What¡¯s taking them so long to activate the teleportation formation?¡± One of the humans that appeared to be the leader of the group began to talk. One of the other mages then teased. ¡°Probably one of the mages sleeping on the job.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯ll give that guy a good sounding once I get back-¡± Lumoof looked at Kafa, and then back at the flying castle. ¡°Think we can get in?¡± Kafa shrugged, but knew it was a rhetorical question. The real question wasn¡¯t whether they could, but which method would serve their interest best. So, Kafa responded with a silly question of his own. ¡°Do you want to jump in, or do you want me to throw you in?¡± Lumoofughed, and then pointed. ¡°Let¡¯s just watch. They are not the only group.¡± Lumoof said as he felt the presence of more people through the nts and trees around them. ¡°I sense more peopleing here.¡± Kafa turned around and tried to focus his own senses ¡°That nt-sense of yours is overpowered as hell.¡± ¡°You can be a tree man if you want.¡± Lumoof smiled. ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly nice to have Aeon right next to me all the time.¡± Kafa shook his head in horror. ¡°I¡¯ll take that back.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s see what these guys are up to.¡± There were six other small groups, all mages just like the first group. They felt like mages, because of how their mana poured out of their spirit, and the spiritual lines that facilitated magic use were most pronounced. Amon feature when mana use was high, and something Lumoof seen often in their own mages and wizards. ¡°Still waiting for the teleport?¡± The other groups arrived and quickly asked. They were all slender looking mages, and all wore some kind uniform, made of knitted leather and wool. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s taking a damn while.¡± ¡°Are the charge crystals malfunctioning again?¡± One of the other mages from the 3rd party asked. ¡°How¡¯d I know? But that would exin why we¡¯re stuck here.¡± ¡°d to see you guys all in one piece.¡± The mage-leader from the very first party smiled. ¡°Eh. Just usual rock demons, we¡¯d live.¡± A fourth party returned, and Lumoof noticed this party carrying far more things. He continued to observe their interactions. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Our usual forage run is interrupted by rock demons, and one of my guys is an idiot.¡± The 4th party leader exined. There was a corpse. ¡°He¡¯s dead, but we hauled his body back for his family.¡± The rest sighed. ¡°Young ones should know better than to charge into a party of demons.¡± Lumoof watched and he felt it. The thread of magic in the air was something he could sense innately, and so, he activated his invisibility, and walked closer to the group. The teleportation formation activated, and the group all vanished, pulled into the floating fortress above the mountain. *** Metteria ¡°You¡¯re fine. Eyes appear normal, and there¡¯s no unusual mana presence along your mind or your spirit.¡± The healer said. Healer, Life mage. The distinction hardly existed in the Gorfort Tower. The rest of her team was already in the barracks dropping off their harvest for the day. ¡°I am?¡± Metteria muttered, but a secondter she realized how ridiculous it all sounded. ¡°Of course. Of course I am fine.¡± The healer and life mage promptly discharged her, and Metteria decided it was time to go visit her own master. Her master¡¯s tower wasn¡¯t far from the ce, so she stepped out of the infirmary and into the streets of Gorfort Tower¡¯s 4th floor. She nced around, her feet sensed the vibrations of the stone used around Gorfort Tower, and noticed- ¡°Am I being followed?¡± It can¡¯t be. She looked again and there¡¯s nothing there. Her stone sense was a strange skill, but it saved her life a few times. But why? Who would follow her? She walked anyway and went into her master¡¯s research tower. It was a small, cramped space. Space was very expensive in all the safe havens of Magisar. ¡°Did you manage to find what I asked?¡± An older voice said once Metteria stepped into the third floor of the tiny tower. It belonged to a small, petite woman with not much muscles. Her appearance was tired, wrinkles were all over her body. ¡°-yes. I did.¡± Metteria checked her pouch and took out a piece of rock with stripes. ¡°The vein remains untouched for now.¡± The older woman frowned as she also picked up the same rock, and then she began to examine it with a strange copper-colored contraption. ¡°This is no good.¡° ¡°No good? It looks fine to me.¡± Metteria didn¡¯t want to believe it. ¡°Stupid disciple. Come closer. Look at the stripes. It¡¯s starting to show dark-reddish spots.¡± Metteria¡¯s face was one of horror once she too noticed the presence of the tiny spots in the stripes, made visible through the copper contraption. ¡°The demons¡¯ magic is seeping into our usual mineral veins. The Tower Masters must-¡± ¡°They know.¡± Metteria was about to protest but then she stopped. ¡°What? They know?¡± ¡°They know, disciple. They¡¯re just trying to figure out how bad it is and what can be done. They are not fools, despite all the arrogance they portray around the rest of you.¡± The younger mage frowned. ¡°-how much time do we have?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I sent you.¡± The older woman pulled down a paper map suspended off a ceiling. The map was one of the wider surroundings, with the tower in the center. Around the tower were marked locations, each with a date. She snapped a finger and a wooden five steppeddder came over, and she climbed up to the map. She began to write dates, and then, with a wooden abacus, began to calcte. It was a rtively simple mathematical extraption based on the distance and dates of corruption based on thest corrupted vein and the newest corruption vein, and the extrapted to their current location. ¡°Think we have somewhere around seventeen to twenty five years before the ley lines underneath Gorfort experience the demonic taint.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a lot of time.¡± Metteria countered. ¡°Not much, but not little either.¡± The old woman sat down, and then took out another copper bowl. She ced the rock into the copper bowl and then set it down. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go see Ol¡¯ Junker and see whether he¡¯s got a different data set.¡± Metteria stared at the old woman. ¡°He¡¯s also looking into this?¡± ¡°Of course he is. You think he spends his time flirting with his two beautiful disciples? No! He works them like hell!¡± Metteria chuckled lightly. ¡°Do you need me to go with you, master?¡± ¡°Come. Magister Junker would spill a lot more secrets if you are around. He¡¯s not interested in old hags like me anymore.¡± The younger disciple watched as her master climbed down the stairs. It still made her marvel every time she saw her move about as if she was still a spry young woman. The two of them moved down, but then Metteria paused and looked back. She thought she saw one of the books on the floor move. The vibrations on the rock and wooden floor seemed strange, as if there was someone else in the room with them. Invisibility was impossible. Metteria was not aware of such magic. She looked around, tried to feel for the presence of magic, but the entire ce was filled with so many little magical trinkets that it was hard to be sure. She turned back, and followed her master out of the door. The alleys and streets of Gorfort were all tiny. Space was expensive in a ¡®safe haven¡¯ like Gorfort, and every inch mattered. It was someone¡¯s home. An extra few bits of space could fit a shelf, or a cab, or even a tiny bed for their skinny bodies. They were not fat. Not at all. *** Lumoof Lumoof and Kafa looked around and immediately felt it was hard to move about. The entire ce was so tiny that they were bound to bump into things. The humans of this world were skinny, thin. Not a single one of them had bulky muscles, and instead, they all seemed more attuned to magic. The entire structure was a series of floors, built on top of one another. Eachyer wasrgely self sufficient, and movement between theyers were regted by the guards and mages that controlled the tower. It wasn¡¯t hard for Lumoof to notice that those located in the middle were all the unwanted, lower ss people, while those who had some skills and talents were located along the sides of the floating castle, where there¡¯s sunlight and some fresh air. They followed the two mages through the small streets, trying their best to dodge where they could, and eventually, they passed through what was an actual, really crowded market. There were not actually that many people, they passed through the tiny stalls, packed with all the goods they tried to sell. Kafa looked at the stalls. It was separated into segments, andbeled with signs. Equipment. Tools. And Food. ¡°They use a lot of wood, gems and copper for tools.¡± Kafa spoke telepathically as they observed the crowd. The two mages were still walking up ahead. ¡°Do they not have mines?¡± Lumoof wondered as they then passed the tools and equipment section. It was so cramped that it was just a few steps away, and they reached the food section. There were only three stalls, one with vegetables, another with baked breads, and another with fruits. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for me to eat here.¡± Kafa said as a joke. ¡°Seems like a good ce for the non-meat eaters though.¡± Lumoof felt like a candle lit up in his mind. ¡°Is their skinny build due to ack of meat?¡± Kafa shrugged. ¡°Sounds like it¡¯s worth exploring. Let¡¯s follow these two. They seem to be talking about important stuff.¡± *** Metteria ¡°Ol Junker!¡± Her master shouted as she pushed the wooden door open and stepped into a small workshop on one of the corners of Gorfort Tower¡¯s many, many floors. The old man inside was tinkering with some contraption while his two female assistants were also trying to replicate his contraption. Her voice shocked all three of them, and the old man immediately looked up. ¡°What brings the grumpy old Kerifa to my workshop? Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m trying to teach these two girls how to tune a magical seeker¡¯spass?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a stupid thing to learn in this time and age! I got mytest data on the taint. I want topare notes.¡± Her master, Kerifa Gundhert shouted. Metteria wasn¡¯t sure when her master wrote the scroll in her hands, but somehow she did. ¡°First, no magic is stupid.¡± Junker Quartz, one of the leading bronzemages, immediately red at Kerifa hatefully. ¡°Second, if you are here to depress me, I¡¯ll kick you out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s depressing all right.¡± Kerifa said. ¡°Do you want to know or not? Or should I take it to the older farts upstairs?¡± ¡°Fine. Disciples. Let¡¯s head upstairs and see what this ol woman has for us.¡± The two girls bowed *** Above the workshop was a rtively airy room, with a view of the skies. The corner units of the Gorfort Tower were highly prized, and it was only with Junker Quartz¡¯s ster record as a master bronzemage that he won the right to use them. On one set of walls were three empty boards. Kerifa tapped her scroll and the scroll¡¯s contents were transferred to one of the magical boards. Junker stared at it, and looked at his two disciples. ¡°Bring our set of reports.¡± One of the girls nodded, ran down and back up again in a minute and he tapped the scroll. Kerifa frowned. ¡°Looks like yours is more optimistic.¡± ¡°Our samples were collected-¡± One of the girls ran to the board and pointed. ¡°There.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know which of the taint would reach us first.¡± ¡°Our usual copper mines would be under threat and farms would be under threat.¡± ¡°The Tower Masters should be calling for a culling of the demonic vegetation.¡± Kerifa said. Junker shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think that would work. Ninefort tried that with their surroundings, and their ley lines were still corrupted.¡± Kerifa frowned. ¡°Is that supposed to be a secret?¡± ¡°Yes. But I¡¯m telling you anyway. Are you going to report me?¡± ¡°No. So it won¡¯t. What¡¯s our solution?¡± Junker looked at the map, took a deep breath, and then said. ¡°Energy filtration. We need to purify the demonic taint so that we can continue to use the energy. Our entire existence depends on it.¡± This made both Metteria and Kerifa re at the old man suspiciously. ¡°Use of demonic mana from harvested demonic trees has caused mutations. Do you have a workaround?¡± ¡°-no.¡± *** Lumoof and Kafa listened in the room, and the rest of the conversation shifted to politics. At that point, the two retreated to a quiet area, and looked at each other. ¡°Our goal is to fully survey all fifteen worlds before we decide how to and what to deploy.¡± Kafa repeated. ¡°But I cannot help but feel we should help all of them. All of these worlds are in trouble in one way or form.¡± The very reason Hawa asked for assistance was simply because these worlds were in trouble. ¡°Fifteen worlds. Even if one of us is in each of these peripheral worlds, and Aeon leaves a clone on the rest, that still leaves us four short.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°And Aeon will not risk all the clones.¡± ¡°We have node trees.¡± ¡°Or if we select one of the options you are given.¡± Kafa said. ¡°That should help. But look beyond their immediate troubles, and think beyond it. Aeon¡¯s goal is to bring these worlds into our wider campaign. Which of these worlds will contribute the most to our war effort? Which of these worlds will be strategically useful, and contribute to our war.¡± Kafa looked away and sighed. ¡°I wish we could just help them all.¡± ¡°We will help them all. But there is a choice for us to make, beyond the immediate assistance. A question of permanence. A question of adding strength to our whole. Which of these worlds is worth an investment? Which of these worlds can be made into a Core world?¡± ¡°Landas has it easy. They have a node.¡± ¡°A node doesn¡¯t mean we will invest our resources there. The Valthorn¡¯s ability to invest on aary scale is limited. Even now we can only fully upy one world at a time.¡± Just the mere act of controlling the human kingdoms on Threeworlds took a significant amount of Valthorn personnel. Rebuilding Tropicsworld still continued to require a significant amount of imported resources. ¡°The choice we make adds to our overall resources.¡± Lumoof said, as he recalled how Aeon once described the problem as an optimisation issue. Clones were limited, but clones bestowed benefits on their host worlds. The various auras of Aeon enhanced their citizens¡¯ health, development, productivity and even made them level up faster. Each of these worlds would benefit from Aeon¡¯s aura, but which one would benefit the most? Lumoof looked back at the Gorfort Tower. They¡¯ve visited five worlds. There were ten more to go. 290. Greenfields VII 290. Greenfields VII 290 Sixth World - The Great Steppes Edna and Stended together on a field. Vast, and the fields of green and gold seemed to go on forever, over the rolling hills to the horizon. ¡°This is quite the view.¡± Ste smiled, and stretched. It reminded her of the farnds back home, or the great open ins where horses and wild bulls used to roam. She took in the air. It was windy. The grass was colorful, and on closer observation, it is as if someone made a field of grass and added a palette of colors just for variety. There were spots of red, pink, and even purple grasses. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say I dislike this.¡± They were likely slightly magical, but at this point, all the void holder wanted to do was take the view in and appreciate a rare moment of peace. The wind blew, and the des of grass rustled. It was pleasant. Edna tapped the woman on her shoulder. ¡°A nice wee, and I believe this world has potential to be a tourist spot some day.¡± Ste shook her head, she probably imagined beetlebuses of tourists, shuffled from viewing point to viewing point. ¡°The tourists would probably ruin it.¡± Ednaughed. Ste once warned extensively on the problems of overtourism, though none of her fears actually yed out in the Central Continent. For now, tourism remainedrgely the realm of the wealthy, and even though middle ie folks could afford to travel regionally, it was still not inrge enough numbers that ces experienced overtourism. It helped Aeon¡¯s natural energies meant damage to nature was fairly easy to mend. It didn¡¯t take hundreds of years to restore a damaged forest. ¡°Well, let¡¯s look for the natives, and find out what kind of demons gue this world.¡± They found a group of traveling centaurs a rtivelyrge distance away. *** ¡°Greetings.¡± Both Edna and Ste arrived and the centaurs immediately kneeled once they arrived in front of them. ¡°Oh the holy ones blessed us! The two-legged heroes have arrived!¡± Ste from a few decades ago would have blushed, but she was now quitefortable in her position of authority that she didn¡¯t flinch. Up close, they noticed the sheen of natural armor around the centaurs chest, as if they were some blend of a suit of armor and a horse, rather than the usual centaur form of a man and a horse. Edna and Ste looked at each other and regretted their approach. Ste pinged Edna through magic. ¡°Did we just fuck it up?¡± ¡°I think we did. We should know better. Remind me to use invisibility and spy on the natives before we even attempt to talk to them. I suppose we should exploit this opportunity to learn what we can. After all, if they think we are heroes, we should be able to get information.¡± Edna nodded at the centaurs. ¡°Hello. Can you tell us about this world?¡± The centaurs rose from their awkward kneeling position. Centaurs were not really designed for kneeling, their four legs more suited for running. ¡°Certainly, blessed ones. We will guide you to the nearest encampment.¡± *** The world was known as the Great Steppes, and is and filled with mostly rolling hills and vast grasnds. The Great Steppes didn¡¯t have much vegetation beyond bushes and grasses, andrge trees were almost altogether non-existent. Still, Great Steppes was mainly popted by two types of ¡®centaurs¡¯, that are so different that they might as well be entirely different races. One was the Armored Centaurs, and they are referred to as the Armataurs. These were centaurs with naturally built armor and helmets. Their bodies somehow ¡®created¡¯ hard tes over their chest, arms, shoulders, and body,. The other centaur race are the Lancias. They are centaurs, but with natural weapons and retractable spears,nces and spikes throughout their body. Despite an ancient tradition where both of the two centaur races lived apart, the two centaurian races were generally cordial with each other, and frequently cooperated with each other for special asions. The Armataurs worshiped Hawa, while the Lancias worshiped a god called Zulfa. The demons were the usual fire breathing demons wielding a ming weapon of some kind, and their elites were a variant of the demon knights. The demon king were in about eleven years ago, and the previous hero died with it. The new demon king just arrived not long ago, and seemed to be waiting for the hero¡¯s arrival. It was a world that seemed rtively stable now. In the vast grasnds and shrunds of the Great Steppes, there were now areas that were regrly known as the Demonic Hignds. For Edna and Ste, the contact went fairly standard. The two centaurian subspecies waited for the blessed ones, and the blessed ones would y the demon king. With enough data collected, it was time to get moving. *** Aeon Roon, Johann and Ezar returned home briefly, and then they were off again to visit the Seventh World. In the meantime, I was given their collected samples from the world of Capra. ¡°Drakefruit.¡± The nts went into my bibs, and I immediately unlocked the ability to replicate the drakefruits at scale. I noticed that they were also surprisinglypatible with my existing ss seeds and skill seeds, and in short, it would be possible to fuse the drakefruit with my skill seeds and ss seeds, to create skill fruits for drakes. This was a fascinating thing, and I didn¡¯t know why it never urred to me to create powerful skills for various pets and mounts. I watched, and from my central vantage point, Landas had mostly stabilized. Landas was the first world where I truly tested what were the limits of the Node Tree. My node tree didn¡¯t have my aura, and although I could still spawn subsidiary trees through my node trees, trees that were linked through my node trees did not share my higher tier abilities. So, node trees had some constraints. One, I couldn¡¯t use my giant attendant trees through them. Everything that was connected through the Node Tree was restricted. I could see through them, but only at a basic level, not my full breath of spiritual sight. Even my listening and observational abilities were severely limited. The mana output and extraction at each of these worlds were also a fraction of my tree. Node trees also didn¡¯t share any of my auras, and the subsidiary trees of Landas were the ¡®basic¡¯ version. This meant the number of beetles they could host per subsidiary tree was three beetles per subsidiary tree, and the beetles were inferior to those spawned by subsidiary trees linked through my clones or main body. Still, the teleportation ability of the Node Tree meant it was possible to ¡®send¡¯ my titans like Hytreerion to Landas. Ste, while traveling through Landas and thenter to the Sarlpi, began hammering on the need to use my titans, especially given my new expanded limits. I could deploy up to ten additional titans, and each of these Titans would be a strong supporting force in any of these peripheral worlds, or even Delvegard. Or I could use them to augment my resource restrictions back home. In many ways, my high level 100s were a ¡®limited¡¯ resource. Especially when distributed over the nned 15 worlds. So, they needed a force multiplier, and titans should be that sort of force multiplier. ¡°Let¡¯s see what sort of Titan choices I have now.¡± With my clone¡¯s new ability to support titans, I could now support up to 15 titans, and a total of 13 additional. I currently have 2 active titans in service. Hytreerion and Patreeck¡¯s presence in Threeworlds was likely to be unnecessary soon, and I would like to redeploy him to one of the other worlds soon. So as my domain holders gathered data on the peripheral worlds, I began to consider the tools I had at our disposal to enhance my Valthorn¡¯s performance in these peripheral worlds. Ever since my [Greater Titans] upgrade, my choices changed. They started with a base power level of about Level 125, a decent increase from their prior level 70 to 90 power levels. [The Great Storm Bird- A greater storm titan that takes the form of a flying thunderbird, and has the ability to summon up to 3,000 flying eagles of rtively strongbat power. Has shared vision and senses, and many lesser abilities.] [Carapace Demonhunter Worm - A greater variant of the depth worm, with immense earth abilities and very high resistance to demonic damage. Has the ability to summon 2,000 worms with simr resistances and abilities. Can significantly improve ground fertility and nt yields, and also undo demonic corruption for earth] [The Greater Leveling Dungeon - Dungeon with higher levels and more rewards. Will cause it¡¯s surroundings to be tainted by pollution and magical miasma, and the spawn rate of high level monsters outside of the dungeon¡¯s vicinity will be significantly increased. Certain blessings and auras will be nullified in the Greater Leveling Dungeon¡¯s presence, but experience gain will be significantly increased. Skills gained below Level 149 will likely be of a stronger variant.] [Fusion with any Court of the Deitree - The Treant King. Significantly improve the host''s abilities and endurance. Host will no longer age, and will be immune to non-divine sickness and poisons. Host will also now enjoy [domain]-level mental protections, and will be able to resist divinews. Also grants the ability to summon and control up to 300 treants.] [Gantreethor Beetle Carrier - A flying beetlemander transformed into a Greater Titan. Each Gantreethor functions as a mobilemand center for beetles, allowing all beetles to operate significantly further from an existing subsidiary tree. Each Gantreethor also carries within it¡¯s spatial body an army of 8,000 greater beetles. Each greater beetle is around level 30 to 35, and possesses flight abilities. Each Gantreethor can also self-destruct to deal explosive damage] [The Void Treant - Fusion with a familiar granted to a void-attuned treefolk - A treant meant to thrive in the voidyers. Resistant to void turbulence and can move about. Can use void mana, use void magic and also open void portals.] [Fusion with Treechikomas - The Gigantic Spidertree - A Giant Walking Laboratory and Hospital with the ability to deploy smaller about 1,000 treechikomas, treants and beetles. Provides a strong mobile blessing aura and healing presence to restore friendly parties. Living beings in it¡¯s presence will not grow hungry or thirsty.] [Fusion with hamadryad body (only one avable) - The Primordial Elemental - A significantly powerful dryad mage specializing in elemental spells of around Level 140. Can regenerate even after destruction, and is able to summon 500 fire, water or earth elementals.] [Fusion with Underground Living Crystal Labs - The Primordial Foundry - A tree that attached itself to a ley line and converts magical energy into crystals or metals. Produces arge quantity of crystals or metals based on a system-defined ratio.] ¡°That¡¯s a fairly good selection.¡± Lumoofmented while he was elsewhere. A world away, but we were always together. That was life as an avatar. ¡°But I think what you need is utility in these peripheral worlds. The ability to provide low level suppressing force while the Valthorns deal with any stronger threats.¡± ¡°We could pick one of each and send them-¡± Ednamented, also in a different world. ¡°But I suppose there is a matching problem, since not all titans are designed for each of the worlds.¡± But I thought about the titans as a second-best choice, for worlds without my clone. I have three clones, one on cooldown after I used one on Hawa¡¯s world of Satrya, but ultimately I was only prepared to deploy two clones. I¡¯d like to keep one, or perhaps two in reserve, if we do stumble on more worlds. The peripheral worlds are not the only worlds. Beyond these fifteen worlds there will be many more worlds that need our help, and so, to artificially limit my choices to these fifteen worlds because of Hawa¡¯s request would be silly. I did not make a choice. Not yet. I thought it¡¯d be fairer to optimize once the domain holders came back with the detailed reports. There were still a few more worlds to go. *** The Fifth World, Magisar ¡°Eighteen surviving magical academies, all conveniently located in levitating cities.¡± Lumoof said as he surveyed the documents stolen from one of the mages. Unlike the mages of Magisar who did not stray far from their homes, Lumoof and Kafa found the world no threat at all, and so they camped in the wilderness, in a cocoon of roots. Despite the initially impressive veneer of the levitating cities, what they saw did not impress them. The levitating cities of Magisar were pretty much something copied out of a despotic magical universe, with the tower masters ruling as oppressive kings, while the lower sses were all just nothing more than flesh that was thrown away once they were not useful. Because the tower masters controlled the levitating cities, everyone else were pretty much at their mercy. There were a few fortresses onnd that were made by those who didn¡¯t want to endure the Tower Master¡¯s oppression, but these fortresses did not have better living conditions. In fact, because of theck of generational resources and legacy magical items, these fortresses are often at a subsistence level, and their rulers are also pretty much dictatorial, if for no reason beyond maintaining order. It is hard to be happy and well behaved when everyone is perpetually underfed and in a terrible living environment. ¡°I must say this doesn¡¯t seem to be the worst world.¡± Kafa said. ¡°They still have functional governments, even if it¡¯s teetering on copse.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought this is one of the worst ones.¡± ¡°Worst than Landas that is holed up in their artifact cities with much smaller poptions?¡± Kafa countered. ¡°Or the world of Sarlpi where almost nine out of tenvapeople have died? Or the deadworld with no one left?¡± Lumoof looked back at the map. ¡°Well, I suppose on a sheer numerical survivor basis- this is pretty decent.¡± ¡°It is.¡± Kafa repeated. ¡°I would rank this in a simr capacity to the world of Capra-Terban.¡± ¡°Would you save them?¡± ¡°Yes. That doesn¡¯t need to be asked.¡± Kafa said. ¡°It is our duty.¡± Lumoof chuckled at the term ¡®duty¡¯. Some of them viewed helping these worlds as a duty of those with strength. As wardens, we were here to reset the damage caused by an extraordinary force. Something outside of the normal nature of these worlds. Should a warden also engage in repoption? Ecosystem restoration? Is there a line between restoration, and meddling with natural selection? It was a thought I entertained briefly. It¡¯s a dangerous loop to go down, and I decided to prioritize life. Save lives, and deal with bncing issuester. It was a good thing to do, politically. It enhanced our reputation, it gave reason and purpose to maintain arge Valthorn army and infrastructure, and the Valthorns often truly believed in it. Only Lumoof felt my own inner conflict, with the duty of safeguarding the world¡¯s natural state, and whether we would go too far, and believe in ourselves as ¡®saviors¡¯. A ¡®savior¡¯plex would be troublesome, and that made me ufortable. Then, Lumoof looked at Kafa. ¡°From what you¡¯ve seen of the mage-societies, would you want to bring them into the fold?¡± That was a tough one. I didn¡¯t have the answer for it either. A magically proficient species would be a great help to offset our magical needs, but we would have to significantly usurp the ruling mages in order to gain ess to the talent we need. ¡°I would rank them the best of the worlds we¡¯ve seen so far, in terms of potential contribution to theing days.¡± Kafa said. Lumoof smiled. ¡°Fair. But let¡¯s keep it aside, because it¡¯s time to go. We have more worlds to see. Let¡¯s leave the demons for now, we¡¯ll leave it to the Valthorns toe in and sweep.¡± The demon king of Magisar appeared to be some kind of demonic golem, and even now, more demons appeared through the demonic rifts overhead. One of the key problems faced by Magisar was the demonic corruption. The demon champions of this world were simr to the corrupting demons of Sabnoc. They were gigantic demonic walkers that nted themselves near sources of magic such as leylines, and then used that demonic energy to spawn more demonic golems. In the process of doing so, they corrupt their environment and also cause the demon¡¯s energies to spread into the world around them. This created the demonic hybrids that we saw across the terrain, and incredibly, the demonic hybrids themselves carried demonic spores that spread even more demonic corruption. What we learned of the demon¡¯s methods did not really surprise it. It was just some variation of existing demon tactics, and should be fairly easy to deal with. *** Weter deployed a small batch of Valthorns on Magisar, mainly to support the information gathering once Lumoof and Kafa ensured that there was minimal divine-level meddling, and my Valthorns began scouring the terrain looking for refugees and those not living in the giant towers. There were more than we expected. We rescued a few groups of small refugees fleeing theirnd based encampments, and it exined most of their unusual behavior One, they did not have iron tools or hard metals inrge quantities. Instead, all their people primarily used variants of some kind of copper or tin element, or in the more powerful mages, gold or silver. Iron was truly a rarity, and it reflected in the nature of the humans themselves. They resemble humans in many ways, but their blood is made of a different elemental metal altogether. Unlike our knowledge of humans that had iron in our blood, the humans of Magisar instead had something else that we have not encountered in the rest of the peripheral worlds. A quasi-iron, and it was something I would like to examine in greater detail. It was likely Magisar humans could not interbreed with regr humans due to blood-ipatibility. The blood samples and biological samples we collected through aiding some of the refugees suggested that this elemental difference in their blood resulted in Magisarian Humans being biased to magic, as their bodies did not ¡®bulk¡¯ and did not gain much muscle. Overall, we did have a rtively high rating for the world of Magisar, but we needed more time to shape the form of our contact. We have not yet decided on how to engage with these magical towers, whether we would take over, or whether we would be a little more diplomatic. Outside of the natural magical talents of the natives, the world itself was of no use, and I wondered whether we could offer a choice to the locals, and then relocate the natives to a safer world, once we verified that their physique could survive on otherworld foods. A massive breeding program could offset our challenges in training wizards and mages. With a high level understanding of the world of Magisar, it was time to move to the next world. *** Seventh World ¡°Now this is something.¡± Lumoof sat as he watched the winds blow from top to bottom, and there was no horizon. Instead. The horizon curved upwards, as if the world was looped. ¡°Another ringworld, but not one of the demons.¡± ¡°Mayhaps the inspiration source of the demon¡¯s Sun-Rings?¡± Kafa looked in another direction, and then up into the sky to see two gigantic rings that rotated around the sun. That ment there were a total of three rings, and they were on the outermost ring. ¡°There seems to be multiple rings.¡± Lumoof nodded, and noticed this world was physically quite big. ¡°I do wonder, where is the ¡®Core¡¯ of a ringworld?¡± ¡°Core?¡± Kafaughed and pointed into the skies. Theyered rings around the surprisingly small sun seemed strange. ¡°Maybe that moon? That¡¯s the only thing that resembles a core from this distance.¡± The avatar shrugged as his eyes traced the demonic rifts above them. Strangely enough, this world had two active demonic rift paths. Kafa couldn¡¯t see it, but the news made Ste curious, and so both Ste and Edna left the Great Steppes to join them in the Layered Ringworlds. There were three rings surrounding their small sun, and the innermost ring was the smallest and thinnest. The middle ring was a bit wider, while the furthest ring was the widest. Closest to the sun was a strange glowing purple moon that overlooked all of the three rings. The three rings orbited around the sun like the three axes of a gyroscope, each moving in its own direction. The demonic rift paths through the void sea were then each connected to outermost and middleyers. ¡°Well, we have evidence 101 that the demons can actually attack with two demon kings at the same time.¡± Ste said as she studied the demonic rifts. ¡°There¡¯s no actual rule against it, merely a convenience from the way the demons arrange their attack pattern.¡± ¡°Two demon kings doesn¡¯t mean we have to face both of them together.¡± Edna shrugged. ¡°Some operational difficulties, but if the two don¡¯t stick together, it isn¡¯t that different.¡± ¡°Agreed, but it does lend credence to Hawa¡¯s im that the demons have measures we don¡¯t see yet.¡± Lumoof then looked around. ¡°Maybe we should ask Hawa about this world. Make use of that artifact he gave us.¡± ¡°First, we should find the natives?¡± Ste countered. So far in the few days they were busy studying the magical energies of the world that they have not located any natives. It was not hard to find them once the four started to look. They were hibernating humans living in underground caves, and it seemed the world experienced what was called, the regr weeks of ¡®darkness¡¯. There was no concept of a day-night cycle in this world, because the sun was always overhead in a ringworld. Instead, they had a period when the sun dimmed significantly, for two weeks at a stretch. The ¡®purple darkness¡¯. The domainholders were on the surface when the darkness happened. The sun abruptly transformed and changed color. As if the bright yellow sun itself was turned into a dim, dark blue sun. The light vanished. The sun in the sky was still there, but was difficult to see with regr sight, because now the dominant object was the purple moon. Everything turned purple, and then the monsters appeared. They were no threat. But the monsters were powerful. Level 60 to 80 monsters, seemingly empowered by the purple moon. It was this world¡¯s natural defenses, and the domain holders saw these monsters ying the demonic beasts as well. Only the demon champions could hold ¡°Huh.¡± Lumoof realized. ¡°Who do they need heroes if the native beasts are so powerful?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ask the natives.¡± *** The native humans were few, but they created entire societies underground. Their underground tunnels were fortifications,yers ofyers of walls, and none of them wanted to be outside during the Purple Darkness. They were very good at constructing defenses, simply because the monsters were all really powerful, and so they concentrated their resources on building multipleyers of walls. The domain holders continued to spy on the natives for a bit, using invisibility to sneak through their defenses and into their underground societies. There, we saw the natives living fairly decent lives. They grew crops under the glow of unique light emitting metals, and we watched their society operate. There were two main activities for their society, the Wall Builders, and the nters. The Wall Builders were just the overarching title given to those who constructed their fortifications, and structures. They dug new rooms underground. There were a subgroup, called the venturers, that traveled along the surface to find new ces to build a home. Each of thesebyrinthian homes were called a ¡®Chamber.¡¯ This one was called the White Ringed Chamber. Each of these chambers could be home to 5,000 to 20,000 people, and throughout the Three Rings, there were at least thousands of these chambers. Each of the rings, in terms of actual surface area, was likely much, much bigger than the surface area of the Threeworlds or Treehome. In some ways, these three rings potentially had the highest poption potential. If the threat of the Purple Darkness was nullified, and the demons solved, each of these three rings could house 10 billion, maybe even 20 billion for the outer rings due to the sheer size of the surface area. So, after two to three weeks of observation, we finally made the move to contact the natives.The humans were surprised to see us, but ultimately they were all very weing of guests. Because in this world, all humans fought against the demons and the monsters outside. The surface of the ringworlds was a dangerous ce at the wrong ce and the wrong time, and the odds of surviving in the Purple Darkness was thoroughly low. So, the world developed a norm to house guests in their outer rooms. For venturers who ventured too far. For harvesters and herbal collectors that lost their way. ¡°Youe from the world of the heroes? Those summoned by the Three Ringed God¡¯s will?¡± Lumoof, Kafa, Ste and Edna stood as they approached one of these native fortifications. They only exited their fortifications once the Purple Darkness came to an end. Still, as a wary kind, they created special holding zones near the entrances of their underground societies. Their fortifications were simr to theirs of an evil mastermind, andprisedyers andyers of doors, each fortified to keep unwanted people out. ¡°I can¡¯t help but wonder how this society even developed.¡± Kafa said, as the humans escorted Lumoof and Kafa to their guest zones. ¡°How did a societye from nothing to this?¡± Luckily, the natives were more than happy to exin their own origin story. It seemed to be a story that each child learns when they turn two or three years old. ¡°We were created by the three ringed gods.¡± The human¡¯s spiritual leader exined. ¡°Each of the rings are the bodies of our god, the Three Ringed God, and the god fought against the devourer of the sun. The battle ended in a stalemate, with both sides dying. The evil god became the remnant moon, while the Three Ringed God became the rings that we live on.¡± Lumoof and Kafa looked at each other and knew their creation myths were probably wrong, but they didn¡¯t want to correct them. It would be highly improper to correct their hosts. It was not yet the time. Such things had to be handled gently. ¡°We came to this world as refugees, brought over by the Three Ringed God from an older world. The Three Ringed God¡¯s voice sent us into the underground homes, and gave us talents to thrive in this world.¡± The native spiritual leader then demonstrated the ability. The seemingly normal humans then created fists made of steel, as if their flesh had the ability to transform into steel. We¡¯ve seen it in operation, but still we feigned surprise. Internally, the Valthorns ssified these humans as the Steelblooded. They were naturally tougher and more resistant, but even that wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°We use our gifts to build these steel walls, form our homes out of the body of the Three Ringed Gods, and manipte the Ringsteel into these fortified doors. They keep the demons out.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Lumoof answered. ¡°Your Three Ringed God is wise.¡± ¡°Kind.¡± The native human answered. At this point, they were not really ¡®native¡¯ humans, but some of us wanted to call them the ¡®Ringmen¡¯. ¡°Are the strongest among you able to defeat the monsters during the Purple Darkness?¡± Kafa asked. ¡°A few of us, yes.¡± The Ring-leader answered. ¡°But there are more beasts out in the purple darkness than we ever could. Only those blessed by the Three Ringed God can walk under the Purple Darkness and face the darkness.¡± The interactions and discussions over the next few weeks with the natives went fairly well. We learned that the locals were not the type to battle the demons or the monsters of the purple darkness. They only engaged and hunted monsters during the Months of Sun, as they needed their flesh and parts for tools. Under the influence of the Purple Moon, they avoided contact and focused on hiding in their bunkers. The domain holders learned what they could, but there were no true bombshells. Things that the rest of the Valthorns can gather, in due time. So, Ste¡¯s attention turned skywards. They all looked at the thing that floated so close to the sun. A massive celestial object that was the true master of this realm. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the purple moon.¡± [I''m taking a break next week] 291. The Tainted Greenfields I 291. The Tainted Greenfields I 291 - Greenfields VIII The Purple Moon of the Three Ringed World The four domain holdersnded on the purple moon, and the sensation was immediate. ¡°Core.¡± Lumoof said, but he didn¡¯t really need to say it. All the domain holders knew, it was simr to the time when they reached the Core of Tropicsworld. There was no doubt, no uncertainty. Just merely stepping on it they felt the core attempt to make a connection. For the rest of them, their domains blocked it. but Lumoof allowed it through, so that I could speak to it. The feeling of a million thoughts seeping through his feet, and somehow the million voices coalesced into three distinct voices, yet they speak as one. The mere contact flooded me with visions of the Three Rings, of a world once without the gue of the demons. Of a world when the Purple Moon did not release bursts of energy to cause the monsters to run amok. Visitors. How- strange. The voice spoke through my mind immediately, and by now, I was quite used to the presence of such ancient things. ¡°Hello. I am Aeon, from another world.¡± We have not had visitors since the long drift apart. There was a long pause, but I said nothing, because I felt it¡¯s probing senses. Cores, from what I could tell, were not evil. It was looking for things around me, and its energies moved. I can sense the vague remnants of my fellow Cores in your being, their power subsumed into yours. I wondered then whether those were my clones. Are you here to im us? Like the foul constructs? ¡°No.¡± I answered through the avatar form. With things like the Core, I decided honesty was the best policy. They were in some ways, sentient machines. ¡°Ie to destroy them, as requested by one of the gods.¡± So you are a imant either way. A less destructive one. I could feel Lumoof¡¯s intention to respond negatively, but again, I¡¯ve talked to enough cores to understand that their statements tend to be more pointed. ¡°If that counts as iming, then yes. I will establish a presence in your ringworlds, and then use it to mount a counterattack on the demons.¡± I said inly through our mental link. The domain holders stood on the purple rock, and the entirety of the rock was this realm¡¯sary core. It just didn¡¯t take the form of aary core, but instead ced itself out of reach of the demons by existing as a moon. What will you do to our children? The cores created and took care of each of their inhabitants. In that way, each native is a ¡®child¡¯ of their core. Still, I was not sure how to answer them. ¡°They will live. Prosper, perhaps. But live.¡± I felt a probing sense, as if it tried to understand where and what I had done. It somehow traced my flesh across all the worlds, yet not through me, but as if it were droplets of rain flowing down the leaves and barks of a tree. Yet. Protectiveness. This was a protective core. A world that wanted to keep its children alive. Altered forever, but alive. Our voice, if our children believe. I felt a sense of eptance, that my presence would be tolerable. eptable. The core¡¯s voice vanished. We were still standing on the core. The core refused to entertain us further, as I felt the Will retreat back into the depths of the Core. I could force it if I nt a clone here. But would I be better than the demons that way? I think of cores, or actually, these ¡®realm cores¡¯ as the center of each world. It is not the ¡®sun¡¯ like our old worlds, but instead, these worlds are as if medieval beliefs where Earth was the center of the universe was true. Well, almost every one, except for this one. I had many questions about the design and creation of this world. We looked back at the Three Rings. From this vantage point, it was as if the three rings moved around us. We nced at the sections where the three rings intersected one another. There were six intersection points, and at each of these intersection points were beams of light that connected one ring to another, a ce referred to as the dder¡±. It allowed the natives to move from one ring to another, and it was how all three rings are connected, even if one didn¡¯t have magic. ¡°I suppose we should just move on.¡± Ste said. ¡°Or step into the demon worlds linked through the rift gates.¡± ¡°This world has two demon kings.¡± Edna countered. From the purple moon it was surprisingly easy to find the demon king, because it¡¯s presence was not obstructed by other things, and there was a straight line from the purple moon to the sun-facing side of the rings. ¡°And this world is a long way from being captured.¡± Ste countered. ¡°It¡¯s only issue is that Hawa can¡¯t send anyone over anymore, and anyone Hawa sends need to send enough to deal with two demon kings.¡± Lumoof looked at the rifts, and the paths through the stars. ¡°Let us hit the other worlds. We have a mission. This world can wait. The locals look very cozy and the demon kings seem content to wait.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we just take a tour, pay a visit to the demon kings and just see what it was up to?¡± Edna smirked, and it made all the other three domain holders stare at her. ¡°You¡¯re serious.¡± ¡°Yes. Why is it not doing anything? Don¡¯t you want to get more data points?¡± And it was strange. We stood near it and watched the demon king remain as if it was in a hibernating state, or at least, in a state where all it did was reproduce. The demon king did not move as if waiting for something to happen. ¡°Does this count as a stable state?¡± Edna asked. We were wary that there are ¡®vulnerabilities¡¯, like what happened to Kei¡¯s demon king. If we attacked a living but ultimately harmless demon king, we could invite the presence of a far stronger demon king that would not just sit idly around. As weird as it sounded, when demon kings didn¡¯t act and remained passive, our immediate thought was to consider whether it would be less harmful overall to just suppress the rest of the demons, and leave the demon king as it is. A sort of ¡®fantasy¡¯ version of ¡®harm mitigation¡¯. ¡°I think we should ask Hawa. This sounds like something Hawa would know.¡± Edna said. Lumoof nodded. ¡°Well, another thing to add to our growing list of questions.¡± ¡°Probably easier to just visit Satrya again.¡± Edna said, but she knew we could not do so. Our mere presence creates doubt, and shakes the faith of their followers. In a world where god is present and that god says it is the only god, the mere presence of someone outside that god¡¯s rule is heretical. ¡°I bet there¡¯s more to ask after this.¡± Kafa said. ¡°Every single one of these peripheral worlds is about to be abandoned by Hawa. Might as well just move ahead and get on with it. We canpile our questionster.¡± ¡°Is that artifact time limited or with limited use?¡± ¡°Not really, it just takes a long time to charge between uses. The divine energies contained within it takes a while to umte.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Then let¡¯s keep going. Let¡¯s split up again. You are with me, this time.¡± Lumoof pointed at Ste. Ste grinned. ¡°Sure, old man.¡± This time, Edna would go with Kafa to the Ninth, while Ste and Lumoof would go together to the Eighth. *** Eight World - Triotuga The eighth world started with Lumoofnding on what seemed like an alley. That was a good sign. Ste followed a brief moment after, since she did have to open the portals for everyone. ¡°An alley. A narrow street. A good sign.¡± Lumoof said as his senses fanned out into the surroundings. There were people. Humans, just the typical humans. They were both cloaked in illusions made to hide their presence, and so, they walked out of the alley to find a vibrant market. For once, this human city was not at war. Not yet, at least. This world¡¯s human society resembled the typical human-magical medieval society. There are kings, knights in armor, guards in chainmail and mages in robes walking around the main street. ¡°This is one of those copy-pasted worlds.¡± Ste said. ¡°Kindazy when they designed worlds like that.¡± Lumoof chuckled. ¡°You make it sound like creating worlds and societies to be an easy thing.¡± ¡°I would think the natural evolution of-¡± ¡°One of those ¡°the heroes cause the spread of humans across the worlds¡± theory?.¡± Lumoof looked around and felt calm. Rxed. ¡°At least, for one, I like how familiar everything is.¡± ¡°Familiar yet different?¡± Steughed as the humans argued. As with all medieval societies, there exists a noble ss, a priest ss, a tradesmen ss, the soldier ss and then the peasant ss. A priest wearing typical Hawa outfits walked by, but he looked like the most corrupt, fat priest she had ever seen. ¡°Correction. Familiar, and extremely disgusting.¡± ¡°From one priest to another, let us not judge too hastily.¡± My avatar smiled, and walked about. The pair explored the human kingdoms, and found that this world was a tripartite state simr to Threeworlds. The humans, the forestfolks, and the demon-users. Humanity and corruption are almost inseparable. The humans were incredibly typical. It was a wide number of small and medium sized human-dominant monarchies that were spread over one third of thend. Unlike Threehome, they didn¡¯t have dominant bodies, and so, the alliance of the human nations were motivated by a need to stick together to counter the incursions of the others. There was no set of central authority, and overtaking it would be fairly easy. The forest folks were made of two great subspecies, the winged faeries, and the earthbound dryads. Unlike the myth of our own world, these faeries were allrge, almost human seized and possessed sharp ws and teeth. In some ways, these winged fairies were more like winged goblins than actual faeries, and the faeries were more like the lower ss, and seemed to be bred in gigantic hives that looked like an oversized bee¡¯s nest. The dryads were the usual rulers, twice the size of humans and thergest were the size of full trees. They took the form of humans with bark skin, but could shapeshift into trees, or even animals. They also possessed a variety of earth magic. It reminded me of the dryad body I once possessed, and wondered whether that would be one way to infiltrate them. Or I could use my parasite, Ally, the former demon champion. From what we gathered, the forestfolks were also made for a collection of kingdoms, each a gigantic forest of its own. With the existence of such a ce, naturally I wondered whether their kingdoms were anchored by spiritual trees, but despite therge amount of magic coursing through their forests, Lumoof did not detect any spiritual trees. The forest folks used a kind of light [camouge] and [illusion] ability, simr to my [dark forest] in order to hide their presence from others, but around domain holders, it was fairly easy to unmask. The border areas between the forest folks and the humans were outright battlegrounds. The forest folks tolerated no humans, and killed them with their control over the trees. The humans of the border practised extensive culling of trees, and permitted no shrub or bush higher than a child. Every singlerge nt along the border and arge buffer zone was effectively purged of allrge nts. The humans were just as brutal, and the humans of the border used magicals and harpoons with a kind of iron string. The priests of Hawa, despite their corruption, also possessed a set of [Purge] and [Banish] abilities that seemed extensively effective against the forest folks. The forest folks, on the other hand, were able to regenerate and recover from damage by draining their nearby trees of it¡¯s life force. Their weakness was iron, and so, in a defensive battle, the forest folks could fight with extremely high toughness. The dryads, on top of their passives also had good ranged abilities and had the ability to control their environment. I suspected that the dryads had a hostile rtionship with spirit trees, and potentially, given the forest folks¡¯ ability to drain life force from spirit trees, it¡¯s likely that any spirit trees that spawned in their magical forests were sucked to death. The third faction, the demon users, were a kind of boar-faced people with strong hides, and it was walking into theirnds that we realized what was wrong with them. They controlled demons, and I could feel their spiritual tendrils extend beyond their body. Young boarfolk could extend one or two spiritual tendrils out of their bodies, and they would link this to the demons. This would allow the boarfolk to control them. But this link was not a one-way link, and in older boarfolk that controlled more demons, the demons¡¯ influence also corrupted them, and turned them into almost-demon like creatures. ¡°This is like Aeon¡¯s mana overwhelming, but far more specific.¡± Lumoof observed them from our hidden location. The tendrils were visible to me because of our spiritual vision, but to normal mana sensitive folk, they would feel as if there is a haze of magic emitted out of the boarfolk. The boarfolk created a society of sorts, small cities made of boarfolk and their enthralled demons. They were able to control weaker demons, but from what I could see, not a single demon champion. Instead, we followed the footsteps of the stronger boarfolk and observed that their ¡®base¡¯ abilities were simr to animal tamers. They controlled the demons as their pets, and empowered their ¡®pets¡¯ to do the fighting. Maybe they even were beast tamers at one point, but then turned their talents towards the demons. Unfortunately, this link would be supercharged whenever there is a demon king present. A link that would corrupt them. In short, when a demon king arrives into this world, the entirety of the Boarfolk suffers from demonic corruption, and transforms into a demon. This process would strangely reverse itself once the demon king dies. Not all boarfolk transformed into the demons, like the children, and the boarfolk constructed special locations to house their young boarlings during the demon years, supported by a group of boarfolk that did not control any single demon. They essentially sold themselves to the demons. The demons spared the boarfolk, because of the demonic corruption through their mental link. I would love to capture them and study how their mental link worked. It should be possible for me to create more powerful versions of the boarfolk¡¯s demonic control, and turn the demons against itself. Though, looking at how the demons¡¯ mana worked, it¡¯s likely such a thing would be outright rejected by my domain holders, unless the circumstances truly demanded it. As of now, the world is still rtively stable. The rifts have not yet opened, but there was a glowing path in the skies above. The demon king wasing soon, and war would break out. The boarfolk always invaded the rest of them, and so the other two races erected massive fortifications along the border. But we¡¯ve seen enough. We would send Valthorns here to understand them in detail. It was time for the domainholders to keep moving. *** Ninth Peripheral World The Tale of the Two Continents The portals opened, and Ednanded on the roof of what seemed to be a heavily popted city. Kafa followed. Crowds. They saw crowds, and everyone lived their lives. It almost seemed like none of them worried about the demons. ¡°Well. This doesn¡¯t look like a demon world.¡± Kafaughed after a week of traveling. It was just more and more people. It was just a world with a lot of humanoids. Humans, lizardfolk, dwarves, elves, centaurs. It had most of the types of people, and yet they were all trapped on this massive continent-sized ind. An ind that clearly didn¡¯t have enough resources to meet everyone¡¯s desires, and so they fought each other over what little they had. Thend was mediocre, the metals were mediocre, and the magic in the air was thin. It was a massive continental ind, home to hundreds of millions, and not a single demon in sight. There were few forests in this world, instead, everyone lived in cities, or in the case of the elves and dwarves, turned forests into cities. Farnd was also plenty, but unlike the other worlds, the farms here were heavily worked. They could feel the presence of many effects and abilities trying to force more output out of their limited farnds. Arge, heavily popted world with a scarcity issue. But only on this continent. Edna and Kafa knew the world was much bigger, and so they used magic, and traveled. Then they discovered a few more inds, with more resources, but infested with monsters. And even further away, another full sized continent overrun with demons. It was as if imagining Treehome, in a situation where a demon king stuck to one continent and never left it. The humanoids imed one continent for themselves, and the demons imed another. The continent of demons was densely covered with demons of varying strength, and the demon king was a gigantic three headed demonic elephant that was already digging into the ground. In a decade or two, it wouldpletely dig into the core, and this world¡¯s way of life would change forever. The rest of the smaller inds were just overrun with magical creatures, and this was where the humanoids ventured for wealth and resources. But the great demon continent remained forever and none dared touch. And of death and destruction. They referred to it as the cursed continent. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a tinge affected. That was what they called the Central Continent, once. ¡°Well.¡± Kafa and Ednanded on the ind, and Kafa looked at his fellow warrior. ¡°This world¡¯s not in trouble. Not yet, anyway.¡± ¡°Seen enough?¡± Edna smiled after about a month of travel. Kafa sighed. They¡¯vergely formed an assessment in that month. ¡°The great part of this world is its poption. If our goal as an institution is to truly collect talent, then a significantlyrger surviving poption is more likely to produce the talent we need.¡± ¡°Outside of the poption, I suppose you are right. Let¡¯s go to the next.¡± Each world had their own demon kings, and each had their own ticking timer. Some had more time, some had less. We would likely need to do a full sweep of all the worlds, clean it up for demon kings, and then decide where to properly set up base. There were six more worlds to go. 292. Tainted Fields II 292. Tainted Fields II
  1. Tenth
Tenth - The Human Kingdom Lands of Caval And of knights. And of warriors. Edna¡¯s stint on the ninth world was short, so she and Kafanded in the tenth world to find one filled with knights, and demons. It was something like Satrya, and yet not. It was too familiar, and yet that familiarity also evoked a sensation within the lizardfolk. ¡°I¡¯m starting to feel a little sick of traveling.¡± Kafa mused as a joke. It was only partly one. Edna agreed. ¡°Traveling too much does weigh on one¡¯s soul.¡± ¡°I think I understand why Hawa¡¯s just eager to let go of worlds. At some point, I think I wouldn¡¯t be able to care.¡± Edna stared, and wondered how that escted quickly. The lines between a stare and a re were so thin. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be like that. That will be our slow death.¡± Kafa looked back. ¡°You¡¯re made of stronger stuff that I am, Lady Edna. I see these new worlds, and I realize at some point, why should I care? A part of me speaks to return to my familiarnds. Lands that are safe. As long as our homes are safe-¡± ¡°Death.¡± Edna answered. ¡°We cannot be the only ind in a sea flooded with demons. Deathes to us eventually. Together, with a coalition of the living, we can create a wall.¡± Kafa sighed. That was true. ¡°I know. I know. But this has been a lot more tiring than I expected. I thought the worlds would be interesting, but now we are in the tenth peripheral world and even if they are interesting, I wonder to myself whether I should care anymore.¡± Edna tapped the lizard warrior on his armored scales. ¡°Because we must. Because we are the only ones that can care for these worlds that are no longer cared for.¡± ¡°I know you are right.¡± Kafa said but he looked at the world and felt a little nk. ¡°This is the burden of our existence, and we may have traveled a little too much.¡± Edna nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s get a break. We can return home and rest. I suppose we do need it. I will continue on with the others.¡± Kafa nodded. ¡°I certainly do need some time back home.¡± It was so tempting to relegate the world to just something of a copy paste of another world. Even when none of the worlds they¡¯ve been to were actually proper mono-human societies. This was a world with only humans, and they fought demons. Naturally, in mono-race societies, anything or anyone that doesn¡¯t resemble that mono-race is automatically assumed to be a monster. Or a demon. Both, if the demons had possession and corruption abilities, and that race had inherited trauma from past parasitic demons. We still see this in the Southern Continent where some humans still experience micro-flinches at the sight of non-humans. Perhaps not outright hostile, but a reaction nheless. ¡°Well, to be fair this human world fits your powers like a glove.¡± Kafaughed a few dayster as they explored the world of Caval. ¡°On the other hand, I could think of about a hundred or two other Valthorns and allies that would benefit from this world.¡± Edna countered. There were also many others who could exploit a world of multiple city states. ¡°Maybe the next one is a sandworld.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like sand.¡± ¡°I know. Some lizardfolks im it gets between our scales and makes everything nasty.¡± Kafa answered, and so Edna chuckled. ¡°I thought some lizardfolks are native to the sands.¡± ¡°Some.¡± Kafa said. ¡°I¡¯m not one of those. I¡¯m the swamp kind, and sand irritates me.¡± ¡°Then we should visit a swampworld. I bet there¡¯s one. Maybe not the peripheral worlds, but beyond that.¡± The tenth peripheral world of Caval was one of not many gimmicks. It was just humans and demons. It¡¯s poption was fairlyrge, and in the past, the city states that received heroes from the old gods prospered. But somehow, the cities never quite formed up intorge empires. It¡¯s social structure was also fairly simr to the humans of the eighth peripheral world, and even the old human empires of Treehome. The feudal aspects naturally reurred throughout the multiverse, and that was a fairly sad thing to think about. I believe it¡¯s a product of the power andbat based systems. Societies where the powerful can exert power much more easily over the weak would naturally be more feudal, simply because there is no check or bnce on the authority of the strong. ¡°Well? Any views?¡± Edna asked. Kafa just sighed. ¡°If what we want is gaming the odds of getting talent, I suppose this isn¡¯t a bad ce. It has most of the basic resources and resources, and with Aeon¡¯s influence, it should be possible to turn this world into a farm for soldiers over a few decades.¡± ¡°Overall, where would you ce it?¡± ¡°Below the mageworld, and that overpopted world. Or even the Three-Ringed world. Hell, at least Landas has a magic tree. This world of humans is a little ordinary to be worth a clone.¡± ¡°Ordinary could be good. Mountainworld is fairly ordinary as it goes, and it is now our core world.¡± ¡°Then why choose? We could just roll the dice.¡± Kafa said. ¡°Each world has a ceiling for poption size it canfortably absorb, a ceiling to its mana output. I suppose given this world¡¯s ordinary design, it should have a fairly bnced mix of resources, so that¡¯s one thing going for it.¡± Ednaughed. ¡°You¡¯re perfectly right. Alright, I¡¯m not going to tease you more. We should keep going.¡± *** The seemingly ordinary world of Caval wasn¡¯t totally ordinary, once they started to investigate the heroes and defenses of the various city states of Caval. There were segments of uniqueness to it, such as the many magical swords on the world of Caval. The heroes of Caval, when they were summoned long ago, would also arrive with something called the [Seed of the Hero Sword]. Each hero would then, through their own growth journey, grow this Sword Seed into a magical weapon worthy of them, and throughout the world of Caval, there were hundreds of remnant hero swords, left by earlier heroes. Completed hero swords were extremely powerful, they contained arge fragment of the hero¡¯s power that grew as the hero developed over time. Even iplete hero swords, left by the heroes that died too young or early, were still decently powerful artifacts. Interestingly, the journey of the heroes of Caval also takes them through the path of gathering the swords made by previous heroes, to add the power of the old hero swords to their arsenal of abilities. Naturally, I began to wonder why these worlds were this way. Did theary core influence how a world¡¯s heroes worked? *** Lumoof held up the strange object in his hands, and willed it to activate. We could feel the power of a divine artifact, it twisted the world so viscerally that anyone nearby would¡¯ve felt as if the world itself was torn apart to create the small tunnel. It linked the world, and Hawa, if only momentarily, for us to speak. It felt like a sheer waste of divine energy, but then again, what could be more important than the exchange of information between two multiworld powers? A part of me was repulsed by that sort of overbearing thoughts, but arge part of me embraced the reality long ago. ¡°I was wondering when you would have more questions?¡± ¡°Well, then I finally have them. Why do heroes seem different from world to world? How exactly does the hero ss work?¡± ¡°It is not too much of a stretch to say that it is a trade made with the system. We petition the [system] for heroes that are adapted to defeat the demon kings. The hero sses themselves are created through the system. Think of it as visiting a merchant, and you tell the merchant that you wish to purchase a weapon with a certain set of attributes, and a certain set of skills. The merchant would then go to the back of it''s room, and after searching and cobbling things together, it would then offer you a selection.¡± I paused. ¡°Then the mental controls on the heroes?¡± ¡°Our earliest attempts to summon heroes cost us too much of our faith points, we gave heroes all the power at the very start, only to find that they misused our gifts. Rather than deal with the demons, the heroes summoned did everything else. In quite a few worlds, the heroes ended up destroying everything. They were a medicine that killed its patients. A cure worse than the disease.¡± This was something I long suspected. ¡°So, as a whole, we imposed conditions on the heroes. Many of the gods came together, back when the world was much smaller, to collectively control heroes. The heroes were a very sharp knife, and we wanted it directed specifically at the demons.¡± ¡°Then the worlds-¡± ¡°Each hero ss, offered to us to choose, is abination of our parameters, and the restrictions imposed by each ¡®world¡¯. We cannot summon a dragonling hero to a world without dragonlings. We cannot summon a lizardman hero to a world with only humans. These conditions are within each world¡¯s inherent conditions. In worlds where everyone uses magic, working with the world¡¯s restrictions and conditions reduces our faith point cost. Think of each core as a micro world with it¡¯s own rules. Oveing the rules costs faith points. Working with the rules reduces our faith points. It already costs us too much to pluck heroes from the source worlds and then send them over to these demon-attacked worlds¡± We listened. ¡°But- why do the core worlds have these rules? Where do theye from?¡± ¡°At the heart of that question, is a question of our origin. That is something I do not know the answer for. Even we wonder what truly is our origin story. Where we came from remains a mystery to even the most ancient of us.¡± ¡°But surely worlds and rulese from- somewhere?¡± ¡°In the early years, there was an idea that we are all creations of dreams. The unused radiant thoughts of the source worlds. It remains to be proven. But I digressed. Each world has its own rules. Oveing them has a price. ¡± There were questions. ¡°For my core worlds, I am able to alter the core¡¯s rules directly, because I exert control over their core. I can weave my divinews into them, and change how each of these different worlds function. There are limitations imposed by the system, but ultimately, it is all a matter of faith points.¡± ¡°Then, can the heroes gain divinity?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. It is an inherent restriction of the hero ss. The hero ss is a borrowed power. A god cannot borrow its power from another.¡± ¡°Even those freed?¡± ¡°Freed?¡± ¡°Those that escaped from the mental restrictions and altered the hero ss.¡± ¡°That is not supposed to happen. But no. The power remains borrowed. The hero ss is linked to a store of divine power from the system.¡± I see. Colette¡¯s chances of having a domain is nil. Unless she gives it up for- ¡°But they can trade their hero ss for other sses-¡± ¡°Yes. But there is a cap. There is a distance they will have to climb on their own merit.¡± I see. But then, I look at the heroes, and remembered there was a question I really wanted to ask. ¡°Why the heroes? Why pick them from the source worlds?¡± ¡°Because they have the best souls.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I found that hard to believe. ¡°What you see is after the system¡¯s meddling. But the souls of those from the source worlds are most suited for the perils of interdimensional travel.¡± I thought about the question that the heroes asked. ¡°Do they- do they really return to their source worlds after they die? Can they go home?¡± ¡°I have no ability to send them back, so I am not certain. But the system ims they will, so they will.¡± ¡°How? Is it really a lie? What is the system?¡± ¡°I have no answer to that. Know that what is created across many worlds are often random. Worlds that cannot self sustain simply copse, and those that can are all that remain. Unusual and different, but they have reached a point where they can function as self-sufficient worlds. At least, until the demons threatened to consume us all.¡± At this point, I felt the powers of the divine artifact wane. It would need some time to recharge. ¡°There is no need to worry, we will speak again.¡± We had answers, but we still had more to do. *** Fifth world - Magisar Lausanne and Ebon looked at each other during a short break. Just a while ago, they helped the Magisarian humans out of the rubble. Some of these humans, who didn¡¯t want to live under the rule of the Tower Masters, left the tower and decided to strike it out in the vast wilderness. The wilderness, filled with monsters and the demon golems, nts and demonic hybrid nts, was a hostile environment, but these refugees decided rolling the dice was worth it, at leastpared to the cramped and slum-like living standards of the Towers. This group of refugees were not that big. Just about one hundred people. ¡°Are you really from another world?¡± The leader of the refugees was a rtively strong mage at about level 52. He was supported by a group of thirteen level 40 mages. ¡°Yes.¡± Hoyia¡¯s calming presence worked like a charm. To the refugees, she was the presence of the divine itself, a woman of tremendous holiness that even the mages cannot help but believe. The man stared. ¡°But I am not the hero.¡± The heroes of Magisar, at least, some time ago, used to arrive once every two to three decades. Not enough to quell the demon king¡¯s reign, but enough to buy time. The hundred or so were fed, and given food. The food provided had to be nt based, because the differences in blood type were then immediately noticeable. They vomited when given meat from other worlds. It was alien meat to them, and their bodies, though simr in appearance, were not able to tolerate the meats from the other worlds. At least they responded to the healing energies, and that sort of energy transfer still worked. There would be a lot of things to study. The interactions of the Magisarian humans with all the different types of materials avable would be something they needed to check. Despite the natural magical aptitude of the Magisarians, if the side effects of their body were serious, it may seriously hinder their ability to operate offworld. *** Lausanne snuck into Gorfort Tower. It wasn¡¯t difficult, aligning one¡¯s mana to the frequencies of the teleportation spell was fairly simple,pared to the mana attunement required to travel through demonic rifts. Every single Level 125 Valthorn is familiar with the basics, even advanced versions of a few other major disciplines. They had to be, because out in the fields, it was really hard to know what the other worlds could throw at them. Even if they didn¡¯t receive a ss in those unrted ss trees, the skills and knowledge still helped their overall performance. ¡°How is it in there?¡± Ebon asked via their messagework. He was located a distance away, clearing out the demonic hives. It was quite easy to locate more refugees, once they figured the patterns. The refugees generally preferred wide open spaces where it¡¯s hard for the golems to surprise them. So, rather than look for easily defended ces, the mages exploited wide open spaces where they have range and it is easy for them to use spells. ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly sad.¡± Lausanne found the living conditions terrible. Due to the space scarcity in the Towers, everyone was crammed into a small space. Ultimately, Lumoof¡¯s information guided them to one of the mages they stalked. The mage Metteria Hudrot lived in a small room, just big enough for a bed, and four shelves. There were no bathrooms, and instead, for their level, the bathrooms were shared by a few units together, simr to a dorm. She lived in a less pleasing ce when she was lower leveled. Under level 30, a mage was pretty much just a peon, and would only have a bed and a small box as their personal living space. Even children were centrally managed. For the low level mage-parents, they were pretty much living in tiny rooms with stacked beds. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Metteria Hudrot looked around, and Lausanne smiled. ¡°Who- who are you?¡± It was easy to tell they were different. Their skin tones were different. Their build was different. Lausanne had dense, lean muscles throughout her body, while Metteria was thin, almost boney. Unlike Lausanne¡¯s rounded joints, the Magisarian humanscked the muscle mass and their joints protruded from their skinny frames. Lausanne knew it wasn¡¯t the diet. She knew of humans that strictly consumed vegetables that still had muscle mass. This difference was in their blood and genes. Their stick thin appearance is a norm. ¡°Hello. I¡¯d like to talk.¡± ¡°-what?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sent by the man you saw during your mission a few weeks ago. The man that vanished.¡± Metteria¡¯s eyes immediately widened. ¡°It wasn¡¯t an illusion!¡± ¡°Of course. Now, will youe with me?¡± Lausanne approached her, and suddenly a magical portal appeared right next to Lausanne. Metteria gulped. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Somewhere we can talk in greater detail.¡± There were probably a million questions going through the mage¡¯s mind, but it was important to learn more about the Tower Masters of the various Towers, before making contact. So, they had to infiltrate and learn about their society from the middle, where they had enough knowledge and ess to see the bigger picture. Lausanne would try to contact Metteria¡¯s master, next. It would be easier if Metteria could do the introductions. They would slowly find potential allies, learn about the various Tower Master¡¯s pain points and weaknesses, and see how they could absorb these Towers into the fold peacefully. By Lausanne¡¯s own estimates, Aeon had much to offer these Magisarians. She only hoped that they were wise enough to ept the deal. Announcement Oh look, Avitue''s book is on Amazon! Unliving Book 1! For the longest time, Aideen Fiachna had only one prescient wish; to be the daughter her parents could take pride in. The idea was a tall order, especially as her father stood at the head of the Temr order, and her grandfather asthePope. However, she endeavored to try nheless. Yet fate had a different path in store for her. For all her efforts, all her bestid ns, were but the broken off crumbs of ''one day''. That day, she was brutally in by a vile, ursed undead being. Though, not even restful eternity awaited her in death. She awakened inside a coffin. Her coffin. During her own funeral wake. Discovering, to her horror, that she had risen. Notsomehowresurrected, no, but back in the form of that most hated of beings--the curse of undeath. 293. Floodplains 293. Floodins 293 Year 274 Aeon It¡¯s been a year since we started exploring the peripheral worlds, and we were now in our 11th world. I began to feel the strain of the expanding world. The Valtrian Order now stretched across more worlds, and each of them required resources. Shipment of goods. Even mana. Ste and her growing team of void mages worked overtime to send people over, but ultimately, we had to decide on the cement on the node trees. Without node trees, the void mages would be fully tasked with the movement of people and resources, and this strained our void mages. Our void mages were a fairly limited group in the first ce. There were about two thousand void mages, but most of them were rtively mid levels around level 60 to 90. Then, there¡¯s about one to two hundred void mages that we considered to be ¡®deployable¡¯, a decent number, but for movements to these faraway ces, it is mainly the void archmages and their peers that did the work. With my domainholders leading the exploration, I directed my own attention on the industry growth. I needed the ¡®drain¡¯ on resources by some of the worlds in repair, such as Tropicsworld, to taper off. But luckily, it was not bad news. Because for the world of Treehome, the reality bubble expanded, and then, I felt something exceptional happen. In the faraway distance, at the edge of space itself, I could somehow see past the bubble that separated Treehome¡¯s reality, and the endless void sea. Using the vision of the voidyers granted and shared with me, it was as if there was a world birthed within the void itself. At that moment, I saw thousands of worlds, floating as if suspended in a dormant state. Each world was encased in a package of void energies. The void sea is the spawning pool of the world. It is the primordial soup, and from my point of view, I believe, it was only something I could see. Because through my domain, through my empowerment of Treehome¡¯s core, I could see the energy of the Core stretch into the void itself, and then, it searched. I didn¡¯t know how, or what it did. But it searched through the void sea, as if looking for something that matched. Then it found one, a world somehow withnd and water encased in a strange liquid sac within the void sea. I felt the Core¡¯s authority spread into that liquid sac, and it pulled. It pulled, and pulled. It felt like forever, it felt like just a moment, and the reality bubble of Treehome suddenly bulged as that new world in the sac made contact with the wall. It was as if arger soap bubble joined with a smaller soap bubble, and then, a new world entered into Treehome¡¯s reality. It drifted, then drifted and settled in an outer orbit around Treehome¡¯s sun. And so, Treehome now has a sister. *** My forces arrived on the sister to find it already popted and with nts and people. A dream from the Core of Treehome filled in the nks. A world that existed entirely within the void sea in a state of limbo. It exists, but imperfectly. The void sea is the cradle of worlds. I strangely found it simr to something from my past life. This new world was as if a program that was in development, but never went ¡®live¡¯. It ran in a test environment all this while, but when it was pushed to the ¡®live¡¯ environment, it inherited all the history it created during the test environment. The sister world of Treehome, which I now called Shrubhome, shared the same racial mix as Treehome, and it came already present with a decently sized poption. ¡°How?¡± Most of my forces didn¡¯t understand. Or maybe they did, but it was a reality that was hard to swallow. For us from Earth or the source worlds, it was hard to grasp whether we were dealing with reality. How was a world that didn¡¯t exist before, suddenly exist with its own history in what felt like a few days. In a way, it was simpler to think of this new world as one that exists in a realm separate from ours, and now it moved across the realms to join us. Because the implications of a world created out of scratch meant we were all simtions. That our existence could be created out of the blue by the void sea. The mages were surprisingly more willing to ept it. To them, if summons were real, then creations of a world with its own history could be real. For me personally, I found it easier to think of this sister world as a world that was teleported in, to be our celestial neighbor. *** Shrubhome was a smaller world. Smaller, but still had seas and continents, simr to Treehome. It had threerge continents, and my forces arrived to find existing kingdoms and nations already squabbling. There were no domain holders here. Not a single one, and the strongest person we sensed, as only in the level 50s. We spoke to some of the leaders of Shrubhome, and it seems, from their point of view, they were always there, and when they looked up to the skies and the sun, Treehome was always in their star maps. Again, if magic can do so much, creating worlds out of thin air should be doable. But damn it was hard to truly ept. Somehow. The flow of energies on Shrubhome was also the same as Treehome. This was a world where the Core is actually linked to Treehome¡¯s core. I sensed the same energy from Shrubhome¡¯s core. The core was a physical object, but in Treehome¡¯s case, now it was split into two. I wondered whether this was a form of defense mechanism. A demon king needed to capture both cores in order to fully control the world. *** Eleventh World - Shasan [Land of Sands and Floods - Demons are Gigantic Fire Demons But Expansion Curtailed by the Sands] ¡°Sand.¡± Johann picked up a handful of sand, and the sand was blown away by the wind. It was fine sand, high quality, even. But sand. The sun was bright, and there was not a single cloud in the sky. The sand, the heat, the cloudless sky all reminded them of the Scorpionoidnds of Zhaanpu. ¡°Well, looks like we found the world to fulfill our promise to Zhaanpu.¡± Roon smiled. ¡°Khefri would enjoy this ce.¡± ¡°Is something going on with you and Khefri?¡± Ezar asked. Roon shook his head. ¡°Nothing. There was nothing, and there¡¯s still nothing. At one point, Chung was pursuing her.¡± ¡°He¡¯s dying soon. You have a chance.¡± Roon made an exaggerated retching expression. ¡°Please. At some point I¡¯m going to prefer to be partnerless.¡± ¡°I have a partner.¡± Ezar admitted. ¡°And she¡¯s cute. I hope to have many babies with her.¡± Roon paused as he looked into the distance. There was a very faint scent of some kind of human presence. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that. Is it a fairly recent thing?¡± Ezar nodded. ¡°Yeah. We got together recently. At least, before this whole peripheral worlds thing. I kinda miss her already.¡± The ranger pointed in a direction, and the three began to move. ¡°Well, maybe you should head back and go make some babies. I think there¡¯s really no need for three of us in a single world.¡± Ezar shrugged. ¡°The three of us are meant to offset Lumoof and Edna¡¯s significantly higher levels. But yeah, I should make babies.¡± ¡°I know I know.¡± Roonughed. ¡°But yeah- look, humans. Again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Johann joined in and the three activated their illusionary spells. They needed to stalk the natives and learn more about them before making the first contact. ¡°Aeon would love to have a look at your kids.¡± Ezar nodded. ¡°Aeon¡¯s medical care would be indispensable.¡± ¡°I mean-¡± ¡°I know what you mean.¡± Ezar said. ¡°I¡¯m curious too. I just hope there¡¯s noplications for the mother.¡± ¡°Is she human? Where¡¯s she from?¡± Roon asked. ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s an enchanter working for the Valthorns. She helped make one of the pieces of my gauntlets.¡± ¡°Oh. Sweet. At least she isn¡¯t an outsider. That hardly works well.¡± Roon said. ¡°There¡¯s Valthorns married to folks outside the Order, and that can get a little messy if things get leaked.¡± Ezar squirmed. ¡°That-¡± ¡°What usually happens is the outsider gets absorbed in, but that can be a little traumatic for the partner.¡± Roon exined. There were information ess tiers to the Order, and for domainholders, they pretty much had full ess. As one goes down the Order¡¯s ranks, the ess tiers decreased. It¡¯s monitored by the artificial minds, to ensure key information remains secure. There wasn¡¯t 100% security. Not with the various kinds of espionage skills and surveince spells, but we have been fairly sessful in controlling data leakages with a hugework of artificial minds and Patreeck¡¯s perpetual mind scanning abilities. ¡°You need to tell me more. Later.¡± Ezar said as the three snuck close and followed the human caravan traveling through the sands. *** The trio didn¡¯t take long to start noticing the unusual creatures of this desert world. One, there were sandbirds. They were part sand-part spiritual creatures that were more like elementals, than actual animals. There were many otherrger creatures, like a gigantic sandfish that resembled a transparent fish but with sand as its skin. They were just native animals made of sand. Then, the vegetation was also different. Despite the strong sunlight, the nts they have were skinny, brown colored things. Instead, these nts were drawn to magic, and seemed to derive sustenance from the natural magical energies. As a result, they tend to be brownish or sand-colored, and were mostly camouged in order to hide from the animals that prey on them. The nts were also able to move to an extent, because their roots seemed to be able to extend to reach the magical ley lines. In a way, they were pretty much some kind of nt-animal blend that didn¡¯t need water or sunlight, and instead used sand and magic for its¡¯ sustenance. ¡°The great rain is in fifteen days.¡± The trio listened to the local humans talk. ¡°The sands will flood and we must reach Norgan. Make haste, everyone.¡± They whipped the strange armored beasts, and they roared. The armored beasts were also sand-like creatures simr to the sandbirds and the sandworms. They were fed a collection of brown nt leaves harvested from the various magical nt patches. The locals called them the Brown Trees. The trio followed the human caravans and reached it in thirteen. Norgan was the first human settlement they encountered in the world of Shasan, and it was located on a rare rock outcropping. A mesa in what appeared to be a sea of sand. *** The people of Shasan made things out of sand and rock, and they did so through a ss known as the [Sand Sculptors]. We also soon noticed the presence of an Altar made of Sand that we were pretty sure was a magical object. It granted the ss [Sand Sculptor] to anyone who prayed to it. All cities have one of these Sand Altars. They were magical existences, a kind of spiritual object simr to a spiritual tree, but one of sand. It reminded me of Zhaanpu, and wondered what Zhaanpu would¡¯ve done to a world like this. *** Then we experienced Shasan¡¯s unique weather. The Great Flood. A seasonal rain that happens almost like clockwork. The skies were charged with a kind of magic, simr to ley lines, but different. The people of Shasan were ready. Their homes, all located on top of the mesas, were built withrge walkways, and then it poured. The skies poured more water than we¡¯ve ever seen anywhere. It was just a constant torrent of rain that flooded everything. The sea of sands became an actual sea,plete with monsters and creatures. The sand creatures we saw previously now took new forms, and they shed their body of sand for a body of water. The actual constant rainsted for two weeks, but the Great Flood itself wouldst for about two more months, followed by two weeks of ¡®the great draining¡¯. The world alternated between sand and water in about three month cycles. During the great rain the Shasan humans would fish and harvest the various creatures that spawn in the sea. During the great sands, they would hunt certain types of nts and beasts, such as the magically sustained Sandnts. Yet, so far, the demon¡¯s presence were minimal. There was a demon king here, so it was strange to us. Eventually, my domain holders spent months moving through the vast sands and seas and eventually found it. We soon found the demon king in a flooded pit. It wasn¡¯t dead. Water wouldn¡¯t kill the creature that didn¡¯t need to breathe. Instead, it was headed towards the depths of the Core. We also learned there were no surviving heroes. Thest of the demon yers died about twenty years ago. Despite this, the demons did not take over the world. The environment significantly hindered the demon¡¯s ability to expand, just as how the oceans of Treehome often constrained the demons to a particr continent. Even when the demons did attack, The demons were also clustered around a few corrupted mesas, inds of demonic forces. The lesser demons didn¡¯t take well to water, and the sand creatures were brutal. In some ways, this wasn¡¯t a horrible state. The demons hardly bothered the locals. This world didn¡¯t really need us. *** Metteria Hudrot, The Stone Mage of Magisar There were only three of them, and three of these visitors. They were not the strange person she saw, but she trembled. Her senses screamed to take at least a few step backs, so they did. It was the man in armor. Ebon. He emitted a keen, cutting presence that made her feel as if her skin and head would be sliced open. Next to him was Lausanne, the woman that invited her and spoke to her a few days ago. Then, next to her was another man that felt every bit like a Tower master, and more. ¡°Greetings. Thank you foring.¡± Lausanne said with a smile. Metteria¡¯s brief meetup with her was punctuated by teleportation portals, skills that only Tower Masters could use. Junker Quartz, and Kerifa Gundhert were both master mages and were in the high level 60s. The true masters were in the level 80s, and yet Metteria watched the two of them sweat. Magisarians all had a keen sense of magic and mana, and some magisarians could even see magic flows in the air around them. Junker Quartz was one of those unique individuals with the power to see magic in the air, and it was why he became a great bronze mage. Lausanne led them to a meeting area carved out of the rocks of the ground. The entire area should¡¯ve been infested with demonic golems, and yet, Metteria¡¯s senses were clear. There wasn¡¯t any. Kerifa sat first, and she naturally took the position as if she was in charge. ¡°Who are you three, and what do you want?¡± Lausanne smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s start with what we want. I was told that the Tower Masters¡¯ position as the Tower Masters can be challenged directly through a magical duel.¡± Kerifa, Junker and Metteria stared at each other. Her immediate suspicion was the other Towers. During an earlier, much less demon infested time, Tower Masters frequently sent mages to other Towers, and tried to usurp power and im the Other Towers by way of a duel. ¡°Who- who do you work for? Which Tower?¡± Kerifa asked. ¡°None of that.¡± Lausanneughed. ¡°But can it be done, and is it still recognized today?¡± ¡°I doubt it. The Tower masters won¡¯t let go of their positions. Not in our current environment.¡± Kerifa frowned, but at that point, a portal opened and a man Kerifa and Metteria recognized stepped out. Metteria¡¯s fellow disciple. ¡°Good to see you again, Master Kerifa.¡± Lezzan was one of the refugee mages rescued in the Valthorn¡¯s recent tour of the Magisariannds. ¡°It¡¯s been- eight years?¡± Kerifa rubbed her eyes. ¡°Have I gone blind? I thought you were dead!¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite hard for a bug like me to die.¡± The refugee mage was one of the assistants. ¡°Well, we had enough of the Tower Master¡¯s selfishness!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a death sentence.¡± ¡°Now, we have enough to finally think of challenging the Tower¡¯s whims.¡± Lezzan said proudly. Lausanne coughed. Lezzan immediately paled and changed his words. ¡°My apologies. I certainly wouldn¡¯t dare to im credit for the visitors¡¯ achievements.¡± Ebon¡¯s helmet turned and stared. At that moment, they all felt the man¡¯s overwhelming presence on their shoulders. Metteria didn¡¯t notice it before, but now that she did, she noticed the man¡¯s armor and helmet were not made with theirmon bronze alloys. Instead, it looked like a metal that¡¯s exceptionally rare on Magisar. So much so that Metteria blurted it out. ¡°Is that a suit of armor made of steel?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ebon said, and then turned to face Lezzan. His voice was heavy, and strong, and Lezzan cowered in his presence. ¡°And you. We invited you to repeat what you said to us.¡± Lezzan gulped. ¡°I- I- said that it is possible to formally take the position as a Tower Master if a challenger is endorsed by at least three resident Level 50 mages.¡± Kerifa and Junker then looked at each other. Kerifa scratched her chin once she recovered from Ebon¡¯s presence. ¡°The old Tower¡¯s Challenge remains within the Gorfort Tower¡¯s code, but it has not been invoked in the past forty or so years. Will the challenger be one of you, Lezzan? Your leader?¡± Lezzan shook his head. ¡°I- I doubt our leader could evenst against the great Tower Masters.¡± ¡°Can it be done?¡± Lausanne asked. Metteria noticed she was already a little annoyed with the mages'' constant diversions. Kerifa nodded. ¡°Possible.¡± Junker looked at Kerifa, and then at the man standing next to Lausanne. ¡°Will it be you?¡± Metteria¡¯s eyes and senses focused on the man with a strange hat, and he shrugged. ¡°Much depends on our central Command.¡± Lausanne frowned. ¡°The two of you, can you find someone willing to endorse a foreign mage for the position.¡± The two shook their heads. ¡°We won¡¯t endorse an outsider.¡± The woman sighed. ¡°Well, this has been a waste of time. What level is the Tower Master?¡± ¡°They say the few tower masters are all level 80 or so.¡± ¡°Should we really y their political games just to ¡®formally¡¯ im to rule? Let¡¯s just abduct them and haul them back here.¡± The man who was clearly a mage sighed. ¡°I bet we can make them see reason with some good ol¡¯ Aeon¡¯s Perspective.¡± Ebon nodded. ¡°We will discuss this further. What is the current formal way to be epted back into the Tower?¡± ¡°A written endorsement and sponsorship by a Resident Mage.¡± Kerifa said. ¡°Issue one.¡± Lausanne dered. ¡°No, issue three.¡± ¡°Why should we-¡± Lausanne then took out a small crystal of tremendous luster. It was soaked in mana, and seemed to shine. Metteria¡¯s eyes stared at it greedily, and she noticed her two senior mages making a simr expression. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal.¡± Kerifa straightened up and her posture changed into one Metteria knew. It was the one when she wanted to do business. ¡°Well, I would¡¯ve preferred if we started off this way. What are we dealing in, and is that thing for trade?¡± Lausanne smiled. ¡°Why, yes.¡± Metteria stared at the crystal, and realized she couldn¡¯t miss out too. ¡°Can I be part of the deal, as well?¡± Lausanne nodded, and took out two more equally sized crystals. ¡°Would you be interested, Junker?¡± The old man¡¯s posture transformed in the same manner as Kerifa. ¡°What do you want us to part with?¡± Lezzan looked betrayed. ¡°Why wasn¡¯t that-¡± Ebon stared at him, and he instantly realize he had no ce here. The mage flicked a finger, and portal opened. ¡°Please leave. This part of the discussion does not involve you. But if you behave and cooperate, there may be other deals we can make with you.¡± Lezzan nodded and ran through the portal Lausanneughed. Metteria¡¯s eyes never left the shining crystal of magic. Greed truly was universal. *** 294. Floodplains II 294. Floodins II Year 274 (part 2) There were still a few more worlds to explore, but back home, I tried to consider my options with the eleven worlds we have visited so far. I decided it was a good idea to pool all my domain holders and get some preliminary assessments. It¡¯s likely that the four worlds wouldn¡¯t be too far off. A group back home started to work on our expected response to the demons. Some of these worlds were in a stable state. It made me wonder, of course. Despite the peripheral world¡¯s distance to the demon king, not all of them have folded. So, why? So, I¡¯ve been thinking about the nature of the peripheral worlds, and concluded that the peripheral worlds usually have some kind of ¡®defensibility¡¯. It is this defensibility that makes them into contested zones. Worlds that are hard for the demons to fully capture. Worlds that are also hard for the gods to properly reinforce. In short, peripheral worlds are not peripheral worlds by distance, even if it was one of the factors, but by sheer survivorship bias. Faraway worlds that cannot be defended, andcked inherent defensibility meant they would easily fold to the demons. That meant they were not the gods¡¯ problem any more, since they are then demon worlds. Worlds that are close to the gods can be easily defended and reinforced, so they remain as normal worlds. So, peripheral worlds are those that are in limbo. Worlds that are hard for the demons to conquer due to their design, and those that the gods find it hard to reinforce. If these two were true, it was likely that these sorts of worlds would be ¡®peripheral¡¯ worlds, because they would survive the drift. ¡°Could it just be a fluke, that the heroes¡¯ old artifacts and items give the natives some fighting chance to hang on?¡± Lumoof countered. ¡°Of course. But it¡¯s just something I¡¯ve been thinking about.¡± It was just a hypothesis, that peripheral worlds be battlegrounds, because they experience longer periods of struggle against the demons. Worlds that can¡¯t put up a fight die, or fall to the demons, and thus drift out of the god¡¯s influence anyway. *** *** Lavaworld ¡°How do you feel?¡± Khefri said as Samuel, or Samahiro the elf hero, gained levels battling the demons of Lavaworld. ¡°Better. Stronger.¡± Samuel said while he rested. He gained a level that day. The demon champion was hardly a threat. With more power, they would have the ability to retake Landas from the demon king. The goal was to get Samuel at least into the level 100s, one they achieved fairly easily. But each new hero had their own style of battle, and Kei, as the new hero-manager, decided that all the heroes needed to have ¡®practice¡¯ sessions. It was something copied from the Valthorns, since the Valthorns had battle simtions in order to form their battle tactics. The heroes, even with their natural gifts, still needed practice. Samuel also needed to get used to his new abilities, even if the divine gifts of the hero ss helped tremendously. But the demon champions were too weak to be a challenge. Without really pushing it, it was hard for the heroes to really know how well they worked together. Teamwork was one of the few things that the hero ss wasn¡¯t very good at. ¡°It is good to have another closebat fighter in our team.¡± Adrian said. Colette, Prabu, Adrian, Khefri. Four heroes. And now they were five once more. ¡°I¡¯m just happy there¡¯s more of us.¡± Prabu sighed. ¡°I hope they find more heroes on the other worlds.¡± Samuel looked around. It was better than being alone, for sure. ¡°I hope so too.¡± The Valthorns concluded it was best to decide which world to clear out its demon king, only after we¡¯ve explored all fifteen worlds. In some states it¡¯s likely there were ¡®stable¡¯ worlds. So for now, Samuel and the other heroes prepared for war. They repaired old hero items, restored magical defenses. *** Twelveth Gigantadragon - Theary Dragon Ste and Lumoof opened the portal and instantly knew this was one of those unusual worlds. A world that existed on the surface of a giganticary dragon, that¡¯s forever chasing a sun. The world was constantly moving, it wasn¡¯t moving in the void sea, but after staring at the edge of its reality bubble for a moment, we concluded it was likely to only ¡®appear¡¯ as if it was always moving. Maybe, it was like a marble spinning in ce as water flowed around it. ¡°Well. A giant dragon.¡± Lumoof looked around. Theynded on what appeared to be the middle part of the dragon¡¯s body. The part that looked like the head was the brightest, and yet, even on the surface of this giganticary dragon¡¯s body, there was running water, nts, trees, and mountains. ¡°That¡¯s a first.¡± ¡°I wonder whether Aeon¡¯s clone could link to the dragon¡¯s will, then we could possibly gain control, ormunicate with it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re concluding that aary sized world¡¯s core is a sentient dragon.¡± ¡°Yes. I suppose.¡± Ste said. ¡°A creature of this size-¡± ¡°I think we have to let go of some of our assumptions. It may only possess the physical form of a dragon, but nothing actually requires it to be sentient. It¡¯s movements, it¡¯s mannerisms may just be a set of instructions imprinted to its being.¡± ¡°A machine.¡± Ste sighed, as she scanned around. ¡°I suppose in a world of magic, nothing really requiress to be, well,s.¡± Lumoof nodded, and through him, our senses expanded. I could feel it, and they could too. Heroes. There were still heroes here. And at the same time, we also felt the presence of a demon king. A strong one. We knew because it¡¯s demonic energies were intense, as if amplified by the natural energies of thend itself- ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± Ste said, as her hands got to work. A portal whirled open, the two stepped through and found a battlefield with strong demons. Demons that glowed with lines of magic, and they were strong. Champions littered the skies as if they didn¡¯t cost energy. Because they didn¡¯t. Ste¡¯s magical senses expanded, as she sent magical probes all around. But here, around the ¡®waist¡¯ of the sized dragon, was a battleground between thend controlled by the demons, and thends controlled by the natives. Two heroes, two humans with magical wings, surrounded by smaller drakes, fought back against the demons. They were strong, but the demon king, a giant two headed armored lizard breathed magic glowed with the same strange lines. ¡°I¡¯m not totally certain, but it seems this demon king left parts of itself on ley lines and that ley line energy fed the demon king.¡± Ste said as shended behind Lumoof. It seemed like the demon king was going to fire a weapon their way as well. One of the heads opened fire, and a magical st smashed into Lumoof¡¯s shields. It burned through threeyers of shields, but didn¡¯t reach Lumoof. It did make him sweat a little, and so he prepared to activate his shields again. ¡°Well, that¡¯s something.¡± The other head of the demon king fired, and the heroes dodged the energy st. It was considerably more powerful than the average demon king, and it¡¯s energies were a blend of demonic energy and the unusual ley lines¡¯ energies. They couldn¡¯t take the hit directly. ¡°Think we should help them?¡± Lumoof looked at Ste, but that question was partly directed at me. I could feel Lumoof¡¯s presence. The demon king charged at the heroes at a surreal speed, and the two heroes countered with attacks of their own. They were fairly powerful, and their own energy attacks leftrge scars on the demon king, but those wounds regenerated quickly, it¡¯s health supported by the ley lines. Ste could feel the demon king¡¯s energies were linked to other ces. There were fragments of the demon king spread throughout the tail of thisary sized dragon. ¡°We should help to destroy those ley line sources, if we want that to happen.¡± But we couldn¡¯t do that. The demon king closed in on the heroes, and fired an energy st at point nk. A shot that would¡¯ve killed the heroes. Lumoof seemingly blinked in front of the two humanoid heroes, and created a massive wooden shield and blocked the attack from the demon king. The st tore throughyers of wooden shields, and the shockwave of the attack sent Lumoof and the two heroes backward. I could feel the two heroes were tired, and had not much strength to continue this fight. ¡°Let¡¯s rescue the heroes and we can talk strategyter. Taking out the demon¡¯s fragments on the ley lines should be quite easy.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll have to carry them out. My void portals won¡¯t work with the heroes.¡± Lumoof approached the two humanoid heroes. They were battered. They didn¡¯t have much wounds on them, but they spent quite a lot of their energy on the demon king. ¡°Hello, heroes. I think this battle is lost. Let us retreat and we can discuss detailster?¡± The two looked at each other, and back at Lumoof. ¡°Sure.¡± *** The demon king didn¡¯t give chase, while we followed the heroes away from the battlefield and arrived at a dragonling city, filled with flying drakes and the humanoid dragonlings. It was a border town, one closest to the creeping demonic corruption, and the home base of the two heroes, for now. They¡¯ve been trying to push back against the demon king for a while, but with just the two of them, they¡¯ve not been able to overwhelm the demon king. ¡°I¡¯m Lumoof, and this is my friend, Ste.¡± The two heroes, Rajah and Wira, were summoned about a year ago. But the demon king and the demons arrived about six years before that, and so they got a five years head start. ¡°The demon king advances slowly.¡± The two heroes exined. ¡°Each time it creeps forward, it tries to capture the ley lines within the ground, and it goes stronger with each captured magical ley line. The two of us couldn¡¯t really beat it, even though we gained levels after each battle. It almost seems as if we¡¯re fighting against a monster we can¡¯t win. Each time we hurt it, it just regenerates.¡± ¡°Demon kings have exceptional regeneration ability.¡± Ste said. ¡°What you experienced isn¡¯t unusual. Does it have minions? I didn¡¯t see any lesser demons beyond the usual hellhounds and critters.¡± ¡°A few. They¡¯re not that weak, though.¡± The heroes said. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you sneak past it and attack the leylines?¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t let us.¡± Rajah countered. ¡°You know how this world is like one long dragon. Any time we try to get past that line it knows we areing. It can tell we are headed there.¡± Ah. The demons have hero-vision. So for the heroes, they would not be able to sneak past the demon king. Ste looked at Lumoof. ¡°But we could.¡± The two heroes looked at each other. ¡°Yes. Yes you totally can.¡± ¡°Teleportation?¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°Jammed.¡± Rajah added. ¡°The demon king¡¯s energies spread throughout the demonnds and any teleportation spell into that area gets shredded. We can¡¯t maintain a stable portal.¡± ¡°But what defenses do they have?¡± ¡°Mostly the demon lords.¡± Rajah added ¡°Demon lords?¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°Demons empowered by the ley lines. They are quite powerful, but nothing like the demon king. We could take one down, but the ley lines are all protected by these demon lords.¡± ¡°Ah. Demon champions. Just terminology differences.¡± Lumoof breathed a sigh of relief. At least it wasn¡¯t an unusual ss of demon, most likely just a demon champion that has a simr energy-absorption mechanism as its parent demon king. This demon king seemed to rely on capturing ley lines to make itself stronger, and also spawn more powerful demons. ¡°So, actually, we kinda got ahead of ourselves by diving right into the demon problem. What is this world?¡± Lumoof said. The dragonlings of this world, Giganta, looked at us with interest, but ultimately left us alone. The heroes were more than happy to exin it to us. The world of Gigantadragon is a long-dragon shaped that is perpetually chasing the golden sun. The day-night cycle is determined by the position of the dragon¡¯s head, and the long shadow the head casts over the rest of its body as it moves through in a rotational pattern through space, blocking out the sun. It twirls and moves, as the stars around the world warped and shifted, as if it is forever chasing the sun, but we knew this was an illusion. Nothing was moving. Thend itself is separated into fifteenrge segments, each representing like a chunk or segment of the body, as if the body of the dragon is some sort of gigantic centipede of stone and earth, and on those segments are rather normal features such as mountains, seas,kes, farnds and so on. Between the segments is a part called the dragon¡¯s skin, essentially an unstable part of thend that frequently experiences fissures due to how two linked segments of the-sized dragon moves about as it rotates around the sun. The tail end is significantly colder than the parts closer to the head, where it is warmer. The magical energies of the ley lines are also stronger closer to the dragon¡¯s head, but there are ley lines throughout Giganta¡¯s body. The locals refer to the ley lines as the ¡®dragon¡¯s veins¡¯, because they were the energies of the gigantic dragon. It is inhabited by a mixture of dragonlings, drakes, and humanoids, and the dragonlings worship a mix of Hawa and Gaya. The dragonlings and drakes have elemental biases that were reflected in their skin. The green-shaded dragonlings and drakes generally had powers of the wood and earth, the reddish, orange dragonlings were fire, and the blue-white dragonlings and drakes were of the water, ice and wind elements. These three were the main subgroups of dragonlings, and the fire element dragonlings were clustered closer to the head of Giganta and the areas where there were volcanoes and rivers ofva, while the water and earth element dragonlings were more spread out. Rajah and Wira, as heroes, were the union of the three dragonling subgroups, and they had powers of all three dragonlings, and could empower their drakes. The drakes of Capra or Johann¡¯s Dragon would be fascinating to introduce to the dragonlings of this world, and vice versa, but that would be ater problem. For now, it is the heroes that would do the moving. ¡°So, when are you two going to sneak past the gates? Are you two like world travelers? Like some hero that finished their quest and now could travel from world to world?¡± Ste shook her head. ¡°Nothing like that. We¡¯re not even heroes, but let¡¯s say we have an organization behind us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see it. Is it like some kind of starship flying overhead?¡± Rajah and Wira looked overhead. The sky was somehow filled with stars, even if it¡¯s not a real thing, and the stars looked like they moved in a particr direction. ¡°No. I suppose if we deploy a node here, we can introduce you to the rest of us.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait. What about defenses? We¡¯ll have to hold the demon king back. If it senses us disappearing, it may decide to attack! We¡¯re what stands between the demon king and total annihtion of the dragonlings!¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t always happen.¡± Lumoof countered. ¡°It doesn¡¯t? No. We can¡¯t desert our post here. Not even for a bit.¡± The two heroes said with certainty. Their reaction made Lumoof pause for a while, before he said. ¡°I see. Then we need to discuss our ns before we go ahead.¡± The two domain holders left the heroes to their own affairs. ¡°What¡¯d you think?¡± Ste and Lumoof met somewhere away from the heroes. ¡°Their hero sspulsions seem a little strong there.¡± ¡°They are fairly high level, that sort of meddling is expected.¡± Lumoof frowned. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be able to move them, and we¡¯ll have to bring the rest of the heroes here.¡± Ste merely nodded, and waited for Lumoof to continue. ¡°Or we do what¡¯s sensible. We sneak past the demon¡¯s battle lines and hit the ley lines. That would ensure that the heroes can survive the next conflict with the demon king. Then we bring the heroes. If we leave as it is, it¡¯s likely they won¡¯t survive an encounter with the demon king. I think we should call for some reinforcement, give them some breathing room then decideter.¡± The void domain holder nodded. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s probably our best choice. We should figure out what¡¯s up with this demon king anyway.¡± 295. Interlude – Peripheral Consequences 295. Interlude ¨C Peripheral Consequences 295 - Interlude - The Aeonic Landas Era Landas Commander Argo looked and noticed unusual expressions in his fellow elves. They didn¡¯t have the old expressions of exhaustion, or anger, or joy. Stress. His fellow elves struggled to keep up with the demands of their new rulers. Fortifications were constructed at breakneck pace, the old farms rebuilt so quickly. The visitors. The divine guides. Argo, in his heart, thought of them as the messengers of heaven. It was hard. His people were so used to subsistence. So used to existing scraping by, that the messengers of the Tree God had to teach and reintroduce many new skills. Even the art of building better homes, or processing tools, or recording information. Landas lost so much of its old administrative abilities and knowledge. But, the change brought by the messengers had been swift, so swift that his people, now no longer existing under the threat of the demons, struggled to adapt. Stress. They were all listening to the centaur, talking about recording information, city design, and city administration. Things they never thought about. It didn¡¯t matter when things could get destroyed. But now, they had to design for permanence. They had to rebuild their military ability, and they were all, truly, stressed. The old elven soldiers were now trained by the messengers. They were veterans of war. Many of them were old too, and survivors of many demonic attacks. But they survived without regimented training. They gained their levels, often learning from the older soldiers, and from each other. Their methods and styles all contained habits that didn¡¯t always work. Now the Valthorns came, and truly, they were a thorn in their backside. Yet it was not defiance. His people were not defiant. They knew how different the power level were. Every single messenger Argo met was level 100 and more. They were stronger, their equipment and tactics were well honed. In some ways, they were truly anti-demonic specialists, and they wanted to train them to be like them. The Valthorn Lord present came with a small army of expertly built golems. A [Golem Master] of some sort, and somehow, theborers worked to rebuild the city. ¡°Nunarnusk must be rebuilt quickly and better.¡± The man said. ¡°And unfortunately, many of you lost the skills to do it. We will have to bridge the gap. But first, we need all the old designs out of your old archives!¡± Nunarnusk was an ancient city, and the druids¡¯ magical roots pierced the ground and revealed many such old structures hidden after centuries of war. Many of them were hidden under debris, and over time, forgotten. Their people were too busy surviving war after war that the brief periods of peace didn¡¯t grant them much respite to even think of archaeology. Stress. The elders squinted and cracked their heads trying to decipher text from the old days that they struggled. Some of them were written in old White Elven that none of them truly could say they still understood. Even though the [system] naturally bridged the speakingnguage, and often granted knowledge of the current lingua franca, the written system drifted over the centuries, and that drift meant old text started to lose legibility after sufficient amount of drift. But the messengers insisted that they dig anyway. The messengers were not all warriors. Some were clearly mage-schrs, fascinated to pour over new text and subjects never before seen by their kind. Commander Argo was nearby when he saw a group of them discuss. They spoke fairly audibly that Argo heard them loud and clear. ¡°Our goals for the excavation are to locate old maps and find old spells. From those old maps, we then locate ces of magical study. If we are lucky, we may be able to learn new spells that were previously unique to the White Elves. We will have to leave the originals here with the White Elves as per our caretaking agreement, but what we learn, we take and add to our library of spells. We will also extend our coverage outside of Nunarnusk, if there are any strong leads. Understood?¡± The rest of them nodded. Old spells. Argo wondered to himself what old spells did the White Elves know. A part of him wondered whether he should consider it sacred and sacrilegious to let these neers go through their history.. But the locals had no strength to resist them. Nunarnusk and the many capitals were all home to great elven mages during the pre-demonic age. Though the messengers clearly came to help, it seemed that they also had ulterior motives of their own. *** Roskor was a hive of activity, as new areas for housing were built seemingly overnight. Gigantic trees turned into homes littered the outer ring of Roskor¡¯s original fort, all meant to house the tens of thousands of refugees that now called Roskor home. Refugees. ¡°How much food do we have? Do we have enough to feed everyone?¡± Novorosk stared at crowds waiting outside their newly constructed canteens. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± One of the blood elves nodded with a bit of frustration. ¡°Warleader, don¡¯t worry about us. Food will take some time, but there is enough.¡± ¡°Enough? Sure?¡± It was so strange that the word ¡®enough¡¯ still seemed weird to him. It was hard to change from a mindset of scarcity. For some, it was easier. For Novorosk, it was hard. He didn¡¯t know what to say. He felt a little lost. The refugees all came to collect and eat food. The Valthorn druids blessed their farms and spawned new fruit trees. There were many new farms, and with more new produce there should be enough for everyone to keep their hunger away. It wouldn¡¯t be enough for luxury. Not yet. The druids and builders that came to Roskor focused on the staple foods, and together with the refugees, constructed new farms and ntations that would feed them all. It was enough to feed twice their current poption, but the variety was still almost non-existent. They would have to develop more farms with more interesting food varieties in the future. Novorosk watched, and wondered what he¡¯ll miss in Roskor if he blinked. *** ¡°I¡¯ve summoned everyone here to discuss a key topic for the future of Landas.¡± Druid Falin of the Valthorns stated, as a treefolk man appeared. They¡¯ve never seen a man made out of a tree, and wondered whether he was some kind of mythical creature written in their ancient text. ¡°This is Lord Kraveik, a senior noble lord from our world. He is visiting temporarily to assist with the economic aspects of Landas.¡± There were old elves from every surviving city of Landas. Many of the surviving towns quickly consolidated, as most were barely surviving and eager to rejoin arger society. In time, some will wander out again, but for now, the centuries of war left most elves eager to reconnect with their fellow elves. ¡°Coinage was lost from your old era.¡± Kraveik dered after what appeared to be weeks and months of pouring through ancient text with a small army of assistants and trantors. ¡°Most cities and Landasian settlements now function without coinage, everything through a pooled set of resources allocated by the elders. This is familiar to all of you, but that was not how things were in the old era, and your current favors and allocation system will not work once you be proper nation-states.¡± What followed was Kraveik¡¯s highly summarized brief on the economic history of the old elven empire era. ¡°On behalf of the Valthorns, we intend to restore the coinage system, and for now, we hope that all the different elves adopt a single-coin system until your world regains sufficient scale and industrial output. We will then use this coinage to trade with your cities for the resources each of your cities will then produce.¡± The elders nced at each other. They would have to produce something to trade with each other, because the Valthorn force concentrated on defenses, and basic needs. The Valthorns expansion also quickly gged many potential resource sites, some containing the usual metals, some containing magical resources such as crystals and gems. There were some rather basic questions from the elders. They asked why trade was needed when each of them were currently self-sufficient. ¡°Two main reasons. Quality, and levels. Specialization allows the creation of higher tier goods, which improves quality. It also raises levels, which allow for an individual to create even better tools and equipment. Trade is necessary, to allow each individual to have sufficient production volume. With sufficient production volume, the system recognizes their specialization and awards levels. Trade creates volume, volume creates improvements and experience, and the maker then gains levels. This is how our world¡¯s industrial base gained power. We hope to replicate it to yours.¡± Kraviek naturally omitted the part where this was only applicable to the lower level 100s, because the level gains from nonbat activities quickly teau past level 70 to 90, depending on the type of nonbat ss. They weren¡¯t there yet. Not with their current subsistence level industry. It would take a decade or two to restore some decent level of trade. It was as much a ¡®mindset¡¯ and ¡®habit¡¯ issue, than just knowing the means. *** ¡°Warleader Novorosk, please, show me the old shield structures.¡± The hero Samahiro or Samuel finally visited their home. He was healthy, handsome as hell, and all the elven females watched him walk by. Novorosk nodded, pleased to be useful. Novorosk hardly recognised Roskor now, with all the new structures added and old structures cleaned up. ¡°How are things?¡± Samuel asked. ¡°Thest time I saw you was on Treehome, my apologies for not visiting sooner. I had to gain some levels.¡± ¡°It is nothing. It¡¯s not like the shields were used at all.¡± Novorosk said. Samuel nodded, as they finally reached the shield structure. There used to be at least three to four mages here, all feeding their magical energies to support the shield structure. It was an ornate, historical object, made with a blend of metals and crystals, and left by a hero many, many centuries ago. It was once their lifeline, and Novorosk swore to protect it with his life. Little did he expect to ever see a day that here it stood, unattended, unprotected. He sighed. ¡°If this erasts, this thing will no longer be needed.¡± Samuel shook his head, as he touched it. His star mana pool wasrger now, much, muchrger than it originally was. He easily fed his star mana to the thirsty object, and the two felt the energies of the shield regain strength. ¡°The wider world is an unforgiving ce. Very, unforgiving ce.¡± ¡°It is.¡± Novorosk said. ¡°How many such structures have you fixed?¡± ¡°A lot. I lost count. I was told to create new ones, just in case.¡± Samuel sat. ¡°So, will you keep mepany, Warleader?¡± Novorosk nodded. ¡°There is nothing much for a warleader like me to do. Other than train and spar with my fellow soldiers.¡± For a moment, the two sat in peace. ¡°You should join them.¡± Samuel spoke after working for a bit, and a magical ball emerged before him. Samuel¡¯s [Hero Forge] would create an additional set of defensive equipment,plete with instructions of use. Most defensive equipment also had a passive charging ability, but often the ambient energies are so thin that they take a while to charge. Novorosk looked out of a small door. It was normally closed, but these days, there was no risk. The view was of a Roskor that was changing. A warrior would have no ce in a time of peace. ¡°I want to.¡± Novorosk said. Samuel nodded. ¡°You worry for your team.¡± Novorosk wanted to say no, but then nodded. ¡°Yes. I- I still wonder whether my ce is here or there. Or whether I should even-¡± ¡°You should join the Valthorns. I¡¯ve seen what they want to do, and they still need more soldiers. They need far more than you can fathom.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Samuel looked up, there was a ceiling on top. There were fading paintings made by the old White Elves from an older time. ¡°There are thousands of worlds out there, many of them like ours, struggling to hold on. They all need help. You received help, Warleader Novorosk. It is time to do your part, and help those who are in need.¡± Novorosk looked at Samuel. He heard of the same briefing, and understood what it meant. ¡°I know. I- I just need some time to tell my team.¡± ¡°They will understand, just as how the rest of the heroes understood I needed time. I, too, was not ready to face the demon king again.¡± The two exchanged nces, and Novorosk understood that Samuel was still afraid of the demon king. The demon king cursed him in their first confrontation, and even though he sessfully fled, the curse deteriorated and left him in a nearatose state, with the Cherry spirit tree trying its best to keep him alive. The warleader sighed. To the hero, the hero must think his own fears as just something small. ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯m done. I will have to speak to the mages. Can you call them?¡± Samuel took out a crystal spherical object that quickly made itself at home. Novorosk felt its magical energies spread out, and another magical protectiveyer emerged over their Fortress. It wouldn¡¯t be enough to cover all of Roskor. Not with all the new settlements outside its old walls. But it was just an additionalyer of security. An insurance. ¡°I¡¯ll call them in, Hero Samahiro. Please wait.¡± ¡°Good. I hope the next time I see you, it¡¯s when you are in a different set of uniforms.¡± Novorosk chuckled at how quickly the elven hero switched allegiances. But he was right. The world is much bigger than he thought. He¡¯d speak to the Druid Falinter, and see whether he could be a new member of the Valthorns. *** ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering when you would ask.¡± Druid Falin had a schedule where he visited each of the different elven cities. There were only about thirtyrge surviving elven cities, and Roskor was one of them. ¡°You know?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the first, Warleader Novorosk. The Valthorns are already vetting those who wish to join.¡± ¡°How- how many asked?¡± ¡°About a hundred for now. We expect more to join, eventually.¡± Falin patted Novorosk on the shoulder. ¡°I can¡¯t give you any special benefits, but you¡¯ll have to join the training system. Once you¡¯re sufficiently trained, you will be sent to where Aeon sees fit.¡± Novorosk shuddered. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Many will fail. Being around Aeon is a difficult thing, and minds need to be made of sterner stuff.¡± Novorosk remembered the sensation of having his mind assaulted. It was something that still lingered until today. ¡°But many of you are warriors who lived a life of protecting your homes. If you do it for the right reasons, and so, I think you will find it easier.¡± Falin said. ¡°I do?¡± ¡°Those that put themselves out there must be willing to burn a bit of themselves.¡± The druid said. Novorosk didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Why?¡± Falin smiled. ¡°Because you will be digging deeper into yourself, all the time. You will try to be more, do more. We burn a little bit of ourselves so that together, we shine brighter.¡± Novorosk thought that sounded familiar. It was a sensation he remembered. He nodded. ¡°I look forward to it.¡± Falin tapped him on the shoulder again. ¡°I hope to see you soon, Warleader Novorosk. Be prepared for transport.¡± 296. Braided branches 296. Braided branches 296. Treehome ¡°It is damned good to be back.¡± Kafa was happy to be back in Freshka. He took a shower, followed by a long, long dip in a slimy tub filled with fragrances that most humans would find appalling. But lizardfolks enjoyed certain types of scents, scents that reminded them of the vige, or city they came from. The rivers they yed in. Non-lizardfolks visiting their homes often have to use some scent-nullification artifact, to mitigate the nausea it tends to create. It was time to hit Gigantadragon soon, and Johann¡¯s party also took a short break. The domain holders decided it was a good idea to meet up to discuss strategy and tactics. ¡°Well, I think given it¡¯s stronger magical nature, it should be somewhat vulnerable to anti-magical attacks. At least, the stronger anti-magical weapons could disrupt the ley lines enough to temporarily weaken the demon king.¡± ¡°We could test it out.¡± Edna said. They would have to draw up a revised list of equipment and inventory for theing battle. ¡°But taking that many anti-magic weapons will drain our store.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been using them a lot.¡± Ezar noted. ¡°Production¡¯s not keeping up.¡± Kafa shook his head, and sipped his drink. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°ess to that world is seasonal. We don¡¯t have a clone or a node on it.¡± Johann quickly looked up some reports. ¡°You think, I think we should put a node there, at least.¡± The five domain holders looked at each other. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s do that.¡± Roon frowned, and then looked at Kafa. ¡°I think our thinking about these sets of worlds need to be adjusted. I think the anti-magic sand worlds needs to be turned into one of our Core Worlds.¡± ¡°It has no poption. If the entire idea is to strip mine that world for the anti-magic sands, a node tree will be sufficient.¡± Kafa countered. ¡°I¡¯d rather put a clone on this dragon-world. Or that heavily popted world.¡± ¡°Does Aeon want to ce a clone on this dragon world?¡± Johann asked. ¡°We seem to be encountering a streak of dragon-type worlds.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good for you, isn¡¯t it?¡± Kafa countered cheerfully, in a much better mood. He had a ss of his favorite juice. ¡°In some convoluted way, not really. My dragon seems easily jealous, and I¡¯m not exactly sure how it¡¯ll react to it.¡± ¡°There should be some kind of group-benefit from controlling all the dragon-drake worlds together.¡± Edna countered. ¡°The drakefruits of Capra could be used to help the drakes of Gigantadragon. This mutual assistance could result in a powerful force.¡± ¡°Does he want the dragonlings?¡± Kafa shrugged. ¡°I think all the differences between the world and their special qualities is just a distraction. I think it¡¯s all a little silly in the end.¡± ¡°Why?¡± That made Roon and Johann turned. ¡°In the end, there¡¯s only three things that really matter, at least when we try to fit them in the way we work. Domainholders, crystals, and the craftsmen that produce the equipment and items tos support us. Worlds that can create domainholders, worlds that help produce crystals so we can blow the demons up, and the worlds that can create all the craftsmen we need, so that we can turn resources into weapons.¡± ¡°That relies on the assumption that our bombs continue to work on demon kings. There will be demon kings resistant to bombs.¡± ¡°Resistant, but not immune.¡± Kafa countered, and took a big sip of his juice. ¡°Now, really, if we look at the bigger picture, creating domain holders is really a game of numbers. If the odds of finding someone who can be a domain holder is one in a billion, then we need to get billions on our side. Aeon should therefore im the worlds that have the highest poptions, convert them to our side, and from thisrge pool, there will be some talents.¡± That made Edna shift a little ufortably. ¡°I don¡¯t generally view it as a game of numbers. Domainholders can emerge from anywhere, and what matters more is the institution designed to support that growth.¡± Edna, in her heart, believed that the ability to reach the domain is actually a lot moremon, but it is the institutions around them that encourage that sort of excellence. ¡°But they must have the talent. The special thing that pushes them beyond thatst step.¡± Kafa said. ¡°We have it, somehow. But, we need more domain holders, and I say it is not something that can be manufactured. Yes, the infrastructure is important, but we are ultimately looking for gems in a wheatfield.¡± Edna and Kafa nced at each other. ¡°So you advocate for the heavily popted worlds?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kafa stated. ¡°There will be talent. They can be trained into craftsmen. I would choose worlds withrge existing poptions which can be redirected into other causes. Either as potential domain holders, or as the craftsmen and all that needed for the rest of us. Gimmicks like drakes are unnecessary. I don¡¯t see how they can contribute against the demon king, even if they were stronger. They¡¯d have to be domain holders to even have the right to stand up there with us.¡± The rest of the four waited for him to continue. ¡°So, if it was up to me, I¡¯d take Delvegard, Magisar, Twin-Continents as my three clone locations. Delvegard because it fits with the second and third goal of supplying equipment. Magisar because it also provides a supply of craftsmen and Twin-Continents because it has the numbers to create domainholders and also craftsmen. The rest can be nodes.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even have enough nodes.¡± Edna countered. ¡°Let me flip the question around. Which world would you give up on?¡± ¡°How many do we need to give up on?¡± ¡°Three. We have fifteen.¡± Edna said. ¡°Three clone slots, and ten node trees. Two of them are already on Delvegard and Landas, but we can count the one deployed on Landas as something we can move around. If we deploy a node on the anti-magic sand world to boost our anti-magical weaponry, we¡¯d be down to nine nodes, so, we have to leave four worlds.¡± ¡°Deadworld¡¯s a clear choice for the first world to give up on.¡± Kafa continued, but he hesitated with the remaining two. ¡°Maybe- Maybe Landas.¡± ¡°What.¡± That made Roon squirm. ¡°I thought Landas was a good world. Elves!¡± Kafa stretched, his views colored by his little stint on Delvegard. He wasn¡¯t impressed by the giant colossus fielded by the Delvegardian Dwarves. In his mind, he could crush them single handedly. What use were these things before the demon kings? ¡°The huge mountains we have to climb to repopte it means it wouldn¡¯t be useful to us so soon. Elves also take a lot longer to reproducepared to the other races. In a game of numbers, we must churn through recruits to find the gems.¡± So, even lesser dragons, Or unique types of races. Sure, they have some value, but in the end, it is the domain holders that make the difference. Edna shook her head slightly, as she remembered their own talks much earlier. The domain holders had to advocate for their worlds, and this was Kafa doing his part. ¡°Talking about Delvegard is a good point.¡± Johann touched his chin. ¡°Does Aeon intend to keep one of his nodes as a spare? Nodes can be thrown across the void sea, and that has some value. Let¡¯s assume Aeon keeps one as a spare. So there will be five worlds where we wouldn¡¯t have Aeon¡¯s direct presence, and our presence there will depend on the void mages.¡± The knight stated her view then. ¡°These five worlds without Aeon¡¯s presence should be those that are still the strongest. Worlds that are in least need of our assistance. They can somewhat fend for themselves.¡± ¡°That means the Three-Ringed World and the hero-sword world of Caval?¡± Kafa thought. ¡°Maybe this new Gigantadragon world too, once we y the demon king.¡± ¡°The rest of them are in pretty bad shape.¡± Edna said. There were pockets of resistance in all worlds, but there were not many structural factors in their favor. Only Caval with all their scattered anti-demon hero-swords, the Three Ringed World with their Purple Darkness, and maybe Shasan, the flooded world had some natural anti-demon advantages. Roon then asked. ¡°The world of Twin-Continents appears to be stable.¡± ¡°For now.¡± The lizardfolk countered. ¡°To achieve Hawa¡¯s objective, we still have to free up the demon continent. I doubt they actually have the strength to do anything if the demon kingnds on their continent, instead of where it currently is.¡± ¡°We need a full dossier on the strength of these worlds.¡± Johann said. ¡°Something we can only conclude once the rest of the Valthorns enter them and start gathering information.¡± ¡°I quite like Delvegard, and I do agree with Kafa¡¯s assessment partially. Our goal for doing this really is to build strength quickly, and yes, numbers help. But we don¡¯t have to ¡®dominate¡¯ worlds like the Twin-Continents. If what we need is resources and talent, that can be through a strong recruitment presence.¡± ¡°I think a clone is a damned good statement to their poption.¡± Kafa said. Roon shook his head. ¡°We are not sure if that¡¯s what impresses them. Arge show of force may be counterproductive. Some races are like that.¡± That made Kafa pause. ¡°I guess that is fair.¡± ¡°But the Three-Ringed world is unique. Maybe Aeon would unlock something unique through his presence there?¡± Ezar suddenly asked. ¡°He does get unique blessings and [soul forge] abilities when he has ess to unique worlds.¡± The other four domain holders looked at each other. ¡°I kinda forgot he got that.¡± ¡°It happens so rarely.¡± Ednaughed as recalling some old facts. ¡°But yes. Aeon also needs a clone presence on a particr world, to get hero fragments when their heroes die.¡± ¡°So if we want fragments, then Aeon must ce a clone on Gigantadragon.¡± ¡°Snek¡¯s also petitioning for a node to be ced on ra.¡± Ezar added. ¡°So six worlds without Aeon¡¯s presence.¡± Edna said. ¡°Can our void mages support that much troop movements?¡± ¡°People, probably. Resources, no. Our forces there will have to source a lot of native resources. I¡¯ll need to get Central to do the numbers.¡± Roon rified as it dawned on the five domain holders that they would all be working with fairly limited resources. Void mages spend days to recharge their void mana, and opening portals through the void sea from one world to another consumes arge amount. ¡°By my guess, we¡¯d have to deploy almost all our void mages if we want to maintain near-constantmunication and troop movement.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be hard.¡± ¡°Do we have information on their demon king¡¯s invasion frequency?¡± Edna asked. ¡°I think that should also be something we need to consider for our next battle. We¡¯ve known for a while that it¡¯s exceptionally hard to moverge quantities of weaponry through void magic alone. Our experiences on the Demon¡¯s Comet-¡± ¡°Fifteen world¡¯s demonic invasion frequency- I thought we were supposed to collect htat somewhere!¡± ¡°On everyone. Again, suitable for a recruitment-type presence where we don¡¯t have to exert control or continuous presence.¡± Roon said, while rubbing his head. ¡°Alright, alright. Maybe we stop this for a bit and prepare for our next trip.¡± *** 12th World, Gigantadragon Ste¡¯s void portals brought both Lumoof and Ste to the furthest end of the gigantic dragon¡¯s tail. There were areas that experienced massive magical interference, which Ste soon concluded to be rted to the magical ley lines that flowed through this odd shaped world. The ley line took the form of a massive demonic spire, and it thrummed loudly, as if it was a mountain-sized demonic factory, churning out demons by the hundreds. Each of the demons that appeared wererge demonic creatures, some resembling regr demons, some looked as if they were cobbled together from a pile of unwanted designs. ¡°Well.¡± Lumoof¡¯s spiritual eyes zoomed into the mountain, and we saw the way magic of the ley lines were entangled with the demonic energies seen throughout the mountain. At the very heart of the artificial demonic mountain, there was a glowing fragment that we knew immediately what it was. A fragment of the demon king, in both flesh and spirit. Lumoof nced at Ste, and shook his head. ¡°The demon king left a part of him here to tap into the ley line.¡± ¡°Well, then let¡¯s destroy it.¡± Lumoof nodded, and he activated avatar mode. Power surged through him, as his [Fury] brought a torrent of magically empowered roots through the mountain. I felt it as the roots he summoned mmed through the demonic spires, it crushed everything in it¡¯s path, and then abruptly mmed into something hard. We focused and saw a gigantic floating scale of a dragon, but with demonic features. It was charged with demonic energy, simr to that of the demon king. ¡°We gotpany.¡± Ste said. ¡°Look up.¡± The skies above us seemed as if it was torn apart by the void, and within it, the head of the twin-headed demon king popped out. ¡°Teleportation. The ley lines are also markers.¡± Steughed. ¡°It seems the demons are learning from us.¡± Lumoof rolled his eyes, as the demon king¡¯s two heads charged with magical energy. ¡°A coincidence. Think we should bail?¡± Ste nodded. ¡°We should hit the demons with numbers. The demon king certainly can¡¯t be everywhere.¡± The demon king¡¯s energy st poured out of its two mouths like water from a powerful fountain. It mmed right into a wall of wood, and like a powerful jet of water, it cut through the wall of wood. But the wall of wood was much thicker, and regenerated. ¡°Well, get us out of here?¡± Lumoof said, as his energies charged his shields. The demon king¡¯s second energy st also mmed into the shields. We were fairly certain that this demon king¡¯s power was up there, because of it¡¯s energy draining mechanic. Once weakened, it¡¯s likely fairly weak. Ste shook her head. ¡°Think we¡¯ll have to run. The demon king¡¯s presence is bending void space.¡± ¡°Was that supposed to happen?¡± Lumoof looked at the void domain holder, even though there were two magical jets of energy mming into the shield. ¡°Well, the demon king¡¯s distortion of the void wasn¡¯t that pronounced normally. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s simply because this demon king has a higher power level. I can manage short ranged teleportation, though. Think this is the strongest demon king we¡¯ve seen on the peripheral worlds so far.¡± ¡°A part of me actually wants to see how much stronger it could get, if it has control of even more ley lines.¡± Lumoof mused idly. A little of my tendency to consider wild oues infected my avatar. ¡°Well, can you push back with your shields, and we¡¯ll buy some room to run? Once we¡¯re back with the cavalry, we can hit it with a multi-pronged attack.¡± ¡°What makes you think it doesn¡¯t have countermeasures?¡± Lumoofughed, as he channeled more of his mana into the multipleyers of [wooden shields]. The wooden shields regenerated rapidly, and then, the floating wooden shields pushed in the direction of the demon king¡¯s two jets of power. Ste shrugged at his question, but she charged up arge spear imbued with void energies anyway. ¡°I¡¯ll hit it with this, and then we run, got it?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The two-headed demon kingnded on the ground, and Lumoof began to sweat. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since we had a workout.¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing great! Now push that attack back and let me stun it for a bit.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Lumoof called on the full power of the avatar, and amplified by the [fury of the avatar] state. The shields grew massively, even as the demon king¡¯s two heads poured its magical power into the st. Bit by bit, the wall of wood pushed back. A small moment of vulnerability opened, and Ste¡¯s spear of void energies flew towards the demon king like a reality distorting bullet. It mmed into the body of the demon king, its explosion sent a messy mix of void energies through the demon king¡¯s body. For a moment, the demon king staggered from the blow. Lumoof followed with his own attack, as gigantic roots just asrge as the demon king appeared from the ground and wrapped around the demon king. It wouldn¡¯t be enough to hold the demon king for long, but the few seconds was enough for the two domain holders to flee far enough and activate a portal. *** ¡°We knew that didn¡¯t work.¡± Wira and Rajah listened as we updated them on our attempt to attack the ley line. ¡°The demon king has some kind of teleportation or beacon ability that allows it to move to its captured ley lines.¡± ¡°Oh. Then we will have to split up and attack together?¡± The heroes were now in a much better state of health, and in the small moment of peace, they worked to repair the hero items scattered throughout Gigantadragon¡¯s defensive lines. ¡°Well, yes. But let¡¯s wait for the cavalry.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Cavalry?¡± 297. The Tree Towers 297. The Tree Towers Year 274 (part 3) Gigantadragon Lumoof stopped at an uninhabited part of the ¡®frontier¡¯. Gigantadragon¡¯s frontier are all battle-scarred battlegrounds, the slender, twisting cylindrical nature of the long serpent dragon¡¯s meant the demons¡¯ path, in some ways, were fairly constrained. The demons controlled from the middle half onwards, all the way down to the end, or as the locals called it, the tail of the dragon. All this while, the heroes held the line in the middle. They tried to stop the demon king from gaining control of more ley lines. It did, but the heroes also leveled, so the two forces were in a fairly fragile stalemate. It¡¯s been over a year since we started the exploration of the peripheral worlds, and as we drew closer to the end of the peripheral scouting campaign, it was also time to flex our strength. Partly, that desire was also our own self interest. Gigantadragon was home to two living heroes, and we wanted to add them into our fold. Two additional heroes would bring the total to seven, and that was a really respectable strength. Lumoof looked around, kneeled, and his palm touched the ground. A magical seed emerged from it, and immediately sunk into the ground below. It was a deep greenish object that shone even though there wasnd and soil. The node tree emerged out of the basketball sized seed, and spawned outwards into a giant tree. Even though it was just a node, this was the moment when my roots connected with the soil of Gigantadragon. It knew, and so, I saw visions. And of dragons and monsters. Giants. A rough, untamednd with powerful terrain. Volcanoes, and huge tsunamis. Towering mountains. Raw fury. Creation, and destruction. Power. It was a relief to me. Gigantadragon only took the form of a dragon, but not the mind of one. Through the node tree, the rest of my domain holders, and the rest of the heroes came over. ¡°I feel a little bad for Alka. He¡¯s missing out on so much.¡± Edna said as she stepped through. ¡°He¡¯ll catch up.¡± Lumoof shrugged. ¡°But you know, Edna. I made up my mind.¡± ¡°Oh? Let me guess, [Towering Avatar]?¡± Edna smiled, as if she already predicted it. ¡°Exactly.¡± Lumoof agreed, as we felt the attention of the demon king on us. The presence of so many heroes must have drawn it¡¯s attention. The demon king could ¡®see¡¯ heroes. It has a mental link to sense those with star mana. Edna stretched, as she prepared for what¡¯s next. ¡°I too, intend to go for [Martial Paragon]. We¡¯ve seen twelve worlds, and from what I¡¯ve seen in these worlds, our job is to go tall, not wide. The Valthorns and future new domain holders can cover andpensate for the weaknesses of not selecting the ¡®wide¡¯ option, but they cannotpensate for what only we can do. They cannotpensate for raw power against the demon kings. For us two, I believe tall is the way.¡± ¡°Unless you¡¯re Aeon, or maybe Ste.¡± Lumoof smiled. For utility-type domain holders, wide has its advantages. But at this point, both Level 200s stretched, and made their choice. ¡°Well, then let¡¯s greet our demonic foe with our new powers.¡± ¡°dly. I¡±d love to see how I fare.¡± The entirety of Gigantadragon felt it, as if the air itself thrummed with power. Their choice was like a shockwave that rippled throughout the fabric of reality. Edna¡¯s physique form did not change, but from then on we knew she was on par with a hero. In some ways, maybe she was even more. I suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia. This has been a really long journey, and I thought of the little elven girl that grew up with me, and Jura, who died in my service. Edna was living proof that the people too, can match the heroes. Lumoof¡¯s choice, the [Towering Avatar] was an experience for me, as well as for him. We were already connected, but there is always an opportunity to be even more connected. ¡°Do you not fear for your sense of self, Lumoof?¡± I asked. I feared for the man. Lumoof stood on that hill, his eyes staring into the demon-controlled half of Gigantadragon. ¡°That choice was gone the day I chose your subdomain. Aeon, it is time to go.¡± The rest of them could feel the tangible difference in Edna and Lumoof. Roon pped his hand. ¡°Well, Edna, leave some scraps for us, will ya?¡± Edna smiled. ¡°Each of us will split up. I¡¯ll be the bait, and handle one spot by myself. Lumoof too. The rest of you will strike other ley lines in pairs. Ste will stay back to give us a path out, just in case.¡± Kafa, Ezar, Roon, Johann nodded. ¡°I kinda wish Alka¡¯s here. His self-detonation would make things pretty easy.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll have his chance.¡± Edna said. ¡°There are many, many more demon kings to go.¡± ¡°True.¡± Edna went first. ¡°Send me to the demon king.¡± Ste smiled. ¡°Got it.¡± *** Edna stepped through the portal, as close as Ste could send her. She arrived at another part of the frontier, where the two heroes waited. The demon king was just over the hill. It was getting closer. ¡°You¡¯re the cavalry?¡± Rajah and Wira looked at the female knight. ¡°Part of it. Now, my two heroes, I think you better spend your time destroying whatever demonic structures the demon King put on the ley lines. Get out of here.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep the demon king upied.¡± ¡°You? Alone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Edna¡¯s [Quest Swords] emerged, and her summoned magical knights appeared around her. ¡°I am enough to keep him upied. Make haste, heroes. There are ley lines to be destroyed, and we don¡¯t know how long the demon king will fall for the trick.¡± Edna and Lumoof¡¯s role were to be the ¡®bait¡¯. Edna would first attempt to hold the demon king and prevent it from hitting the other locations. With her [Duty beyond life and death], and her various buffs, she would be able to frustrate the demon king significantly. Lumoof would be the second ¡®bait¡¯ or ¡®harpoon¡¯. If the demon king moved elsewhere, Ste would move Lumoof to that location, where if needed, he would summon my image, and I¡¯d then hold the demon king back with my abilities. That, in theory, should also buy quite a bit of time for the rest of them to destroy even more ley lines. Between us, we were fairly confident we could destroy multiple ley lines. If it the n went well, the demon king should be significantly weakened, we would then have everyone converge on the demon king, and destroy it together. Or, if we were confident, Edna, myself, and Lumoof would take on the demon king ourselves. I hoped we could replicate that first victory on Lavaworld against the demon king, this time with only domainholders without the spawn bombs. We wanted this strategy to work. We wanted to know that we were ready. A sess would be all the evidence we need. *** And it went swimmingly. There was something beautiful about watching a n work perfectly well. The battle scarrednds saw battle once more, as the fury of a war goddess descended on the empowered demon king. Edna struck first, she attacked with multiple anti-magical spears that disrupted teleportation, and left a few [quest weapons] that created some kind of [anti-teleportation] field. Her [quest weapons] were all incredibly powerful weapons, collected over her many journeys into her strange pocket dimensions. The demon king staggered as Edna¡¯s weapons now packed a punchparable to the heroes, and it was something I could feel in her presence. Joy. She was always frustrated that shecked the ability to deal substantive, ¡®real¡¯ damage. Not anymore. Her quest weapons shimmered with her domain¡¯s power, the aura of a de that was no longer in the mortal realms. The demon king was torn, it clearly sensed something was wrong elsewhere as the rest of my domain holders and heroes swept through the demon controllednds and easily destroyed the demon¡¯s structures. The demon king¡¯s other head kept looking elsewhere, as if trying to pull it towards other things. It knew it was needed elsewhere. It wanted to leave, while it¡¯s first head bombarded Edna with attacks. But Edna¡¯s series of anti magical weapons prevented it from going too far, and the army of magical summons created by the knight ensured its every movement was not without obstacles. ¡°Your opponent is here.¡± Edna roared, as the demon king attempted to create a portal. It crumbled when Edna¡¯s anti-magical spear mmed into the rift and interfered with the demon king¡¯s attempt to open a portal. Her spears and swords struck the demon king, and pierced through its regenerating skin. The creature was confused for a moment. A few strikes from Ednater, the demon king realized it wouldn¡¯t be able to reinforce its back lines, and now both heads focused on the knight. It rained a set of attacks we¡¯ve seen it use against the heroes. The demon king¡¯s attacks were intensely powerful, but she shrugged them off. Its attacks were useless before [Duty before Life and Death]. She traded blows with the demon king, and came out ahead every time. ¡°Is that all you got?¡± Edna said with augh. The st vaporized some of her summons, but they respawned soon enough. ¡°Come on.¡± Fun. And slowly, we felt the demon king¡¯s connection to its supporting ley lines fade. *** ¡°I feel like we¡¯re cheating.¡± Roon said as the ley lines were crushed without much resistance. There were demon champions, and even champions that had additional power from the ley lines that put them as ¡®stronger¡¯ champions. But stronger toys were still toys. We crushed them. Each of the domain holders swept through ley lines and destroyed them easily. Tens of ley line spires. Hundreds within half a day. The two heroes could not believe how they managed to waltz through the demon¡¯s battlelines without the demon king¡¯s disturbance. ¡°Will, will your friend be alright?¡± The hero powers worked really well against the demonic spires, but the heroes were worried. Lumoof shrugged. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine. Come, let¡¯s keep going. It¡¯ll help her too.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s alone.¡± ¡°Oh she¡¯s not alone. How much time does she have left?¡± Ste, who was far away and facilitating the movement of people, nodded. ¡°About six days left.¡± ¡°See?¡± Lumoof. ¡°She¡¯dst a battle of endurance and attrition for a week. We¡¯ll get back to her in time.¡± ¡°What are you guys?¡± Rajah said with utmost disbelief. Lumoof said. ¡°It¡¯s kind of hard to exin while we¡¯re destroying demons. It¡¯s much, much easier if you visit us. You¡¯ll know once we kick this demon king¡¯s backside. After that, you two will go with us to our homeworld. And right now, your vacation ticket is held by that two headed giant lizard.¡± *** Edna and the demon king traded blows, and progressively, the demon king weakened. Edna [Duty] nowsted for a week thanks to her Level 190 upgrade, and now with her Level 200 power up, her ability to dish damage. A full day passed, and yet, Edna wasn¡¯t done. She was tired, and her stored magical abilities were spent. It was not the first time she fought without rest or sleep, but fatigue was still ever present. ¡°You know.¡± Ste said from a far. ¡°It almost seems like you can win this alone.¡± ¡°Not really.¡± Edna said. ¡°It¡¯s regenerating almost as fast as I can deal damage. I think I¡¯ve barely cut through half of it¡¯s current form.¡± ¡°You think there¡¯s a second form?¡± ¡°I expect it to.¡± Edna said. ¡°There¡¯s a reason why solo heroes rarely win against the demon king.¡± ¡°True, true.¡± Ste said, as she coordinated the magical portals for the domain holders. Unfortunately, Rajah and Wira had to run really quickly since they couldn¡¯t use her portals. ¡°Now if Lumoof gets his ass here, we¡¯d have a chance.¡± Edna said with a grunt. Her sword just made a deep gash in the demon king¡¯s neck, but it was already regenerating. ¡°I could use Aeon¡¯s spiritual interference.¡± ¡°Hang in there for a bit. We¡¯re getting rid of the demonic spires.¡± Lumoof countered through the shared messagingwork. Gigantadragon is arge ce, and even if it was just a constant set of explosions and battles at every single location, there were still a lot of spires and corrupted ley lines that it would still take a while. ¡°Oh well.¡± On average, it took the team just about half an hour, per team, to fully destroy one single corrupted ley line. There were hundreds of these corrupted ley lines all over Gigantadragon. Just locating the ley lines without the demonic interruptions took some time too. ¡°Well, we missed it.¡± Lumoof said, as Edna retreated on the sixth day. The demon king was weakened considerably, as we¡¯ve managed to remove about two thirds of the ley lines. It was enough that the demon king lost a third of its strength. ¡°But I think we¡¯ve achieved what we needed. All we need to do is recharge for a week or two, then this time, we hit it with everything we got.¡± Edna shrugged, but it truly impressed the two heroes. ¡°You were t out amazing, mdy.¡± Wira said, his eyes seemed to outright shine in admiration as they returned to see. ¡°I need to rest for a bit.¡± ¡°How many times can you do that?¡± ¡°Five times a year. Which is a little too much, I think.¡± ¡°Which is plenty.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°It¡¯s so damned overpowered.¡± ¡°Not as overpowered as being able to respawn and split yourself where I can¡¯t find you.¡± Edna smiled. *** After the attack on the ley lines, there was finally time to properly introduce the two heroes to the rest of them. We introduced the two heroes to their new peers. The heroes met, and mingled. What happened was simr to what used to happen. Surprise, joy, and a sense ofradeship. It helped Samuel to feel like he wasn¡¯t alone. From five heroes, now there are seven. Seven heroes would definitely help. So, while the heroes rested, mingled, and swapped war stories, the domainholders readied for a second strike at the twin-headed dragon demon king. Edna and Lumoof wanted a shot at the demon king by ourselves. A battle, only with all the domain holders. A chance to prove that we could do it without the heroes, even without the beneficial terrain. The seven domain holders gathered, and prepared to strike. The demon king lost a third of it¡¯s strength, and with my domain holders fully healed, it was time to put our strength to the test. Were we ready to fight a demon king without our beneficial advantages? *** The two headed demon king stood waiting, and Lumoof grinned at the already weakening king. ¡°Aeon, are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I¡¯ve fought demon kings over the years, and just like my domain holders, it is now a chore. With Lumoof¡¯s new powers, I expect the creature to be fairly easy to defeat. As it was now, it was not much stronger than an average demon king. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lumoof moved first.. His first act was close in, as close as he could get, and immediately summon my presence. I emerged almost instantaneously, an experience simr to a [clone]. [Aeon¡¯s Spirit]. But I wasn¡¯t real. Not the way a clone is, instead, it was a magical replica, and my form was clearly magical, because it was somewhat transparent. An outline of magic, like a shadow. Despite the appearance, it carried the full weight of my presence, as my all of my aura spread throughout thend. My presence was like a heavy nket that coated everything around us, all the lesser demons were rendered immobile. But my attention was on the demon king, and instead, I felt pity. It didn¡¯t feel that strong. Not with its weakened state. One of its heads sted a beam of energy at my trunk, but my wooden shields blocked it easily. My powers were stronger thanks to all my levels and Lumoof¡¯s newer buffs, and my roots surged out of the ground. My roots were massive things, as if a gigantic tree farrger than the demon king had somehow transformed into the tentacled limbs of a wooden kraken. So, my roots wrapped around the demon king, and drained its mana. The demon king struggled, and found itself losing the exchange of both strength and magic. At that point, Lumoof looked at Edna. ¡°I think we¡¯re probably going to be unnecessary very soon.¡± But Edna¡¯s face was one of utmost happiness. She was delighted to see how my spiritual roots easily overpowered the demon king, and how I drained the demon king of it¡¯s energies. ¡°I consider this a part of the journey. If Aeon can¡¯t even do this, how do the rest of us hope to face what¡¯s on the demon sun? Come, let¡¯s make this swift. We got more worlds to clear.¡± I felt the demon king attempt various things to free itself, but I knew for certain now that I was strong. My spiritual energies tampered with its ability to regenerate. My roots drained it of its mana. My roots punched holes in its flesh. And my domain holders killed the helpless demon king without much of a scratch. It was easy. So, incredibly easy. We won. I gained two levels. [You are now Level 267] But I didn¡¯t mind. Trivializing demon kings is what I should do as the leading God of my growing pantheon. It would be a battle we¡¯d have to fight on more worlds. But this was a boost of confidence. We now know we can do it ourselves. [Announcement : First Week of July I''ll be on Break. We''re organizing a birthday party for my kid, so that''s gonna take up a lot of my time] 298. Contemporary Considerations 298. Contemporary Considerations Gigantadragon Gigantadragon was freed from it¡¯s demon king, and it was the beginning of our ¡®upation¡¯ of the peripheral worlds. We would need to hold off the demon kings until Hawa could fulfill his end of the bargain, and so Lumoof wanted to take our battle to the demon kings. We would now n to remove the rest of the demon kings, and gain levels in the process. From this battle, Lumoof and Edna gained one or two levels too. Their experience gain was slow, and at this point, they needed the hero fragments. The subject of hero fragments did feel a little sensitive. I didn¡¯t want the heroes to die, they were a force I could deploy quite easily with Lumoof functioning as a mobile warp gate. ¡°Y¡¯know, I never quite realized how overpowered you two are.¡± Roon said. His contribution in the final battle against the demon king was decent, butrgely, the battle was fought by myself, Lumoof, and Edna. Lumoofughed. ¡°It was the right set of enemies. Aeon did the bulk of the work.¡± ¡°I genuinely thought the demon king looked quite pitiful, when it struggled against Aeon¡¯s big ass roots. It felt like the demon king was a whale struggling against a gigantic kraken.¡± Ste quipped, easily amused. ¡°But boys, let¡¯s clean this up, and we have more to do.¡± With the demon king out of the way, the domain holders and heroes quickly swept through the rest of Gigantadragon and eliminated all the remnant demons. There were still demonic spires all over the ce and this process took them about six weeks. But, the demons were gone, and we saw the pathway through the void sea linked to a demon world crumble. These days, with Ste¡¯s upgraded abilities, she could get a ¡®code¡¯ on the demon¡¯s rift, so we could still locate these worlds. ¡°How many more levels before you get your level 200 ability?¡± Lumoof looked at Ste. ¡°A lot more. I¡¯m about to hit level 180. Hopefully I will get a decently strong [domain ability] then.¡± The void mage continued. I knew we needed her at level 200. Given how strong Level 200 abilities are, it¡¯s likely some of the drawbacks of the void mage sses could be mitigated with her higher levels. Gigantadragon was beautiful. Without the demon¡¯s presence, the natural weather of the tail-half of theary dragon returned. The demonic spires no longer drained away the magical ley lines, and instead, those ley lines returned to their natural state, and transformed into gigantic magical sculptures. The ground beneath them transformed just as quickly, as the space around the ley lines were warped into doorways that led into dungeons. The tail half was the ¡®frontier¡¯ for the dragonlings of Gigantadragon, at least, before the demons conquered it. Now, there were a few ancient cities buried under the demonic sludge from a time long before the demons. The domainholders had to keep moving. There were three more worlds to go. *** A switch flipped in the minds of both Wira and Rajah when the demon king died, and suddenly, they seemed normal. What was an almost crazy obsession with the demons vanished, and instead, both of them looked thoroughly exhausted. As if their minds were forced to maintain a high level of performance for too long that now, the sudden emptiness just made them unsure what to do. In a way, we contributed to that. We defeated the demon king, not the heroes, and so, theycked the sense of achievement. They were now willing to travel with us back to Treehome, to visit the old hero journals, and for once, have a normal life. They actually seemed keen. So, now that Lumoof could function as a mobile teleportation pad, all he needed to do was touch them, and I could send them to Treehome. *** Their visit went pretty much as expected. The heroes experienced a little culture shock to see Treehome now resembling a srpunk version of their human cities. It made me feel happy to see how excited the existing heroes were, to introduce the two neers to Freshka. Freshka was pretty much the most advanced city we know of, with many magical equivalents of facilities known to man. Freshka is the central node for transport between the worlds, and also the political headquarters of everything rted to the Valtrian Order. Naturally, this meant a need for embassies, and various support staff associated with such diplomatic events. The confluence of diplomacy, and the high amounts of youths receiving education in the multiple colleges throughout the greater Freshka region led to the rise in entertainment and consumer options simr to the heroes¡¯ own homeworlds, and a vicework that we controlled. It was a guided development, primarily driven by our intelligence department. Such entertainment and vices meant these officials and embassies were lulled into a sense of familiarity andfort. It loosened up their guards. It was easier to obtain a favorable agreement when it was whispered to their ears by a charmingpanion. Theaters, ys, concerts, bars and clubs, forums. Nobles everywhere were mortal after all, and we used both carrot and stick to get what we wanted. The heroes were wined-and-dined, and treated to entertainment options that reminded them of home. The change happened so slowly over the years that the existing heroes didn¡¯t notice how they were now sucked into the entertainment culture and lifestyle. Even Kei didn¡¯t notice, until Rajah and Wira both looked at her and asked. ¡°Is this- is this all really okay? It¡¯s fine for us to get free entry and reserved seats at these entertainment areas?¡± Since most of the entertainment options in Freshka were indirectly controlled by the Valtrian Order, we set up special rooms meant for ¡®unique situations¡¯. This meant private viewing balconies, special guestrooms and all that sort of thing, for my domain holders and also for the heroes. Kei paused, and that was when it hit her that we were now doing what the churches did to her peer, Alvin. She gulped. ¡°Yes. It is.¡± *** Thirteenth - Khubor The World where the Dead Do Not Move On Roon, Johann and Ezar frowned when the portal ced them right in the center of a mountain of bones. ¡°Man.¡± There were bones everywhere, and they watched as the magical gray clouds rained bones of different shapes and sizes around them. Roon stared at Johann, and Johann stared at Ezar. ¡°Who was it that said worlds can¡¯t get any weirder after Lumoof¡¯s giant dragon? Here, exhibit one. A world that rained bones.¡± ¡°Where do theye from?¡± Ezar looked at the rain of bones smashed into his magical artifact. The bones were surprisingly hard and smashed into the ground. The ground itself was covered in bones. ¡°Magic, I bet. Or some Core shenanigans.¡± Roon said. The ranger picked up some of the bones that rained, and noticed they weren¡¯t actually animal bones. They were just shaped like bones, and made of the same stuff. There was a kind of magical cloud above them that produced these ¡®bones¡¯. ¡°It is probably more appropriate to call them bone-stones, than actual bones, since they are just bone-like, but not actually the bones of an animal or monster.¡± Roon said, as he examined them in greater detail. ¡°Fair, fair. That¡¯s probably a better way to wrap our heads around it.¡± His fellow domain holder said, as they kept exploring. The clouds of the world were a storm of magic, they could feel the intense magicsing from their bonestone-creating-clouds. ¡°Well, think we have living beings to see-¡± That was when a spirit, a wight, appeared before our very eyes. ¡°You three are far from thends of the living. Return to thends of the living, the deatnds are not for you.¡± The spirit¡¯s voice was like the whisper of the wind. Roon looked at the wight. There were a million things he wanted to ask, but decided not to. ¡°Could you point us the way?¡± The spirit pointed. ¡°That way, if you walk at the normal living pace, you will reach the Kingdom of Murnds in six days.¡± ¡°Very well. What lies in the deatnds?¡± Roon continued with his question. ¡°The nations of the departed spirits. It is thend where creatures like me form our nation.¡± ¡°Heck.¡± Roon said, a little surprised. ¡°Well, I suppose we should go that way, though, I think this world would probably interest Lumoof.¡± *** Roon, Johann and Ezar eventually did encounter the Kingdom of Murnds, which was not a special kingdom. It was only one of many humanoid kingdoms, and throughout the area, all the ¡®living¡¯ kingdoms came to be known as the Kingdoms of the Living. Thend of the living were kingdoms of faith, where the priests of Hawa and Gaya roamed. When the folks of the livingnds die, they ship their corpses over to the deatnds. This was organized by a group that existed with the support of the Hawa and Gaya temples, the Deathmen. The Deathmen would ship the corpses to the Deatnds, and the Deatnds would pay for their services in goods from the Deatnds. ¡°They trade with the dead.¡± Roon exined over ourmunicationwork. ¡°I¡¯m headed there now.¡± We both had a million and one questions, and so, my avatar quickly headed over. The Living kingdoms were fairly normal, they were mainly humans, but there were some slightly longer lived dwarves and halflings, organized around kings and supported by priesthoods. But as Lumoof arrived, he could see something different about this world. It was something only obvious to Lumoof, and yet, he wondered whether the local priests knew. ¡°Not all souls escape this world. Instead, for the corpses that were shipped to the Deatnds, their souls, still partly bound to their flesh, are turned into these spirits.¡± Lumoof theorized. Their corpses are linked to their souls. Though the soul may have ¡®separated¡¯, if someone meddles, it is possible to pull the soul back into the corpse. It¡¯s a feature that worked both ways, just like how we were able to restore souls from old personal items of a person, because there were fragments of that person¡¯s soul in them. ¡°I believe there is a domain-level individual deep in the Deatnds.¡± Lumoof said, and so, for once, our suspicions were true. Once we paid attention, we could sense it, the small ripples of space of a domain holder. Deep in the Deatnds, there¡¯s clearly something, or someone, that could tamper with souls to create these wights and deathlings. ¡°Could it be friendly?¡± Roon said. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°The only way to know is to go and see it. And I¡¯ll only do so when I am at full strength. Just in case.¡± Fighting another domain holder is an iffy thing, and we are not exactly sure what kind of powers this other domain holder had. Domain holders, at least those we¡¯ve met, were all slightly entric existences that didn¡¯t like to be surprised. So, we knew from experience that I couldn¡¯t just barge into the depth of the Deatnds and be well received. So, we needed to figure out a way to send a message, one that would be favorably received by the other side, and we could then meet to truly understand them. ¡°Okay, I¡¯lle back in a while.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°I¡¯ve got other ces to go, but for now, the three of you, maybe help to figure out what¡¯s up with the heroes, and do research on past alliances, discussions andmunications with the Kingdoms of the Dead. The goal is to establishmunication. Peacefully. Without scaring them.¡± ¡°Got it, boss.¡± Roon said. My avatar rolled his eyes, but we knew it was in jest. The kingdom of the living upied two thirds of this world, while the remaining third, was the kingdoms of the dead. The demon king, asionally, would spawn in the deatnds, and those in the Deatnds would band together to destroy it. When this happened, it was called the ¡®Week of the Waking Nightmares¡¯. For a week, people all over the world would have nightmares, and it almost seemed as if spirits appeared all over the world. This was a fact that worried me, because it suggested that the Deatnds had a weapon powerful enough to destroy demon kings, though, from what we¡¯ve seen so far, the Deatnds stuck to itself. If it could take on demon kings, then it could definitely take on domain holders. Maybe it was something like the blood sacrifices and the hex bombs of the blood mages, because whatever was in the Deatnds clearly knew how to manipte souls and turn them into wandering spirits that couldn¡¯t move on in their cycle of reincarnation. It was possible this domain holder got further along the path of weaponizing the incredible powers of the soul. If so, maybe the power of the soul is what we need to destroy the demon sun. Anyway, information from the living nations was scarce. They didn¡¯t have insights into the nature of the deatnds, and all their interactions with the Dead Spirits were for trade andmerce. The Dead Spirits didn¡¯t reveal about the intricacies and inner workings of the Deatnds, thoughmunication was clearly possible with these Dead Spirits. The heroes, if summoned, would arrive at the kingdoms of the Living, and the Dead Spirits are usually not hostile. Their first instinct is to chase the living out of the deands, and only raise their weapons if such actions were repeated and their attempts to remove the living were stopped. There was, to our surprise, still one hero surviving and living in this world. He defeated thest demon king that arrived about twenty years ago with the aid of the Deatnds, and since then retired to the countryside. A man who clearly wanted to live and have a family. *** Roon, Johann and Ezar discovered the hero living in a quiet, picture-perfect valley surrounded by a farm. There were cows, chickens, fields of vegetables and wheat. There were three beautiful children running about. The oldest one looked like he was in his teens. When they knocked on the door, a tall, well built man greeted them. He was dressed like a farmer. ¡°Greetings. You are the hero, Gideon?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Gideon, yes.¡± The hero and the three exchanged looks, and the hero eventually added. ¡°but no, I¡¯m no longer an active hero.¡± ¡°No longer?¡± ¡°Well, no.¡± Roon looked around. ¡°Can wee in and talk? We don¡¯t mean your family any harm.¡± Gideon looked around, and back at them, and shrugged. ¡°Well. No weapons, but sure. Come on in.¡± *** The home was fairly simple as hero-homes went. It didn¡¯t have themon features of hero homes seen elsewhere. It was something Roon immediately noticed, at leastpared to the homes of Colette and Prabu, or Khefri or Adrian. Instead, it was clearly designed to resemble a picturesque farmhouse. It hadrge ss windows that allowed plenty of sunlight in, and a view of the valleys. It was functional, and almost entirely made of wood. ¡°A beautiful ce.¡± Roon said. ¡°Certainly unlike the homes of the other heroes.¡± ¡°Thank you. Come, there isn¡¯t much, but you can sit.¡± Gideon¡¯s kids noticed, and looked worried. They came over, but the hero patted their head. ¡°Go to your rooms, kids. Daddy gotta talk to some visitors.¡± The three nodded, and Gideon¡¯s wife, a beautiful maturedy with golden blonde hair, followed their kids into their room. ¡°You¡¯re not from here, are you?¡± Gideon said frankly. ¡°Yes.¡± Roon sat and nodded. ¡°There¡¯s sort of two reasons why we came, so we¡¯ll get right down to it.¡± Gideon sipped his mug of water. ¡°Well, sure.¡± ¡°One, we¡¯re recruiting heroes. We¡¯ve formed a coalition of heroes to fight the demon kings across worlds, and we¡¯d like you to join us.¡± Gideon stared at Roon, and sipped his mug again. ¡°So there are worlds other than this one that also have demon kings?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How many have you recruited?¡± ¡°Seven. Well, five, but two¡¯s new and maybe they¡¯ll join us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of power in one team.¡± Gideon said. ¡°True. But there are even more worlds.¡± Roon said. Gideon paused, and then sighed. ¡°Honestly, you came a little bit toote. I¡¯ll tell you why, but what¡¯s the other one?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been to the deatnds?¡± The hero stared at Roon, this time seriously. As if judging him. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°What¡¯s in the deatnds?¡± Gideon paused and shook his head. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We sense something unusual in the deatnds. It is as if souls were captured and unable to move on. There¡¯s a strange emptiness in theirnds.¡± ¡°I see you already have an inkling. What is in there, is an undead demigod. The Osroids.¡± Roon leaned forward. Both Johann and Ezar looked around, as if anticipating a sudden strike. ¡°What else do you know about them? We hear some really fascinating tales about the deatnds, and we want to know what we are dealing with, and whether it is friendly.¡± Gideon frowned. ¡°Friendly? It¡¯s an undead god that turns corpses into spirits, vampires and zombies.¡± ¡°And yet it¡¯s undead seems well behaved.¡± Roon asked, a little puzzled. ¡°The dead need the living to replenish its souls and spirits. This is the bnce of the world. If they didn¡¯t need the living they would have invaded us and killed us all. This peace exists entirely due to the ancient agreement by the church and the deatnds to sell corpses to the deatnds.¡± The hero said with a sigh. ¡°What about the demons?¡± ¡°Just an enemy of my enemy.¡± Roon, Ezar and Johann nced at each other. ¡°Well, I suppose only Lumoof can handle such a thing.¡± Roon then turned back to face the hero. ¡°Well,st question, why won¡¯t you join us?¡± ¡°Simple. The Osroids gave a simple way to destroy the demon king. It ripped a portion of the [hero] ss out of my spirit, and used it to make a bomb.¡± All three domainholders were stunned. It took a good thirty seconds before Roon¡¯s shocked face turned into a smirk. ¡°Oh boy, Lumoof¡¯s gonna have a field day with this one.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I think our patreon god probably has a lot of simrities to these Osroids. And so- you have an iplete [hero] ss?¡¯ ¡°Yes.¡± *** The three met outside. ¡°What the fuck¡¯s going on here?¡± Ezar cursed. ¡°That dude¡¯s a half-hero or some shit?¡± Roon nodded. ¡°Not what I expected, but I suppose so.¡± Johann looked around. ¡°I think, what¡¯s really important to know, is whether the Osroids are some kind of threat to us.¡± Ezar looked a bit bewildered. ¡°I am guessing it¡¯ll be yes. It¡¯s some death-manipting domainholder with some soul-type shenanigans.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s- let¡¯s not pass judgement so quickly. Just because it¡¯s using death power doesn¡¯t make it bad. What it¡¯s doing now seems fairly proper. It trades for corpses, uses souls from corpses to create it¡¯s people, and used the hero¡¯s ss somehow as a weapon.¡± Roon countered. ¡°I- I think we should let Aeon decide on this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Hawa clearly considers this world to be a peripheral world, and it ¡®loses¡¯ faith points sustaining this world. Yet it clearly doesn¡¯t seem like it needs help, if this Osroid can use the hero ss to destroy demons.¡± ¡°It still needs the hero ss to make the weapon, and that costs faith points. I reckon the act of summoning is what drains most of the faith points.¡± Roon countered. ¡°So, the way to ¡®save¡¯ Hawa¡¯s faith points is to blow up demon kings before new heroes are summoned.¡± ¡°Yea. Pretty much.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll need to make an agreement with this death-god in the deatnds.¡± 299. Second to last 299. Second tost 299. The Fourteenth World - The Floating Inds - Terras Thend of the floating inds immediately evoked a sense of wonder when both Ste and Lumoof arrived. It was a world where it was a set of massive floating inds, and thend below was an infinitely dense and thickyer of white fluffy clouds. ¡°You know, when I was a child, I used to imagine worlds like this where everything is a floating ind, and it¡¯s just a sea of white clouds. Each of us have our own inds, and we¡¯d visit each other on flying ships.¡± Ste said. Lumoof didn¡¯t rte. His childhood wasn¡¯t that vibrant. As a native of Treehome, his childhood was mainly trying to be useful to his parents. When they still lived. ¡°I can¡¯t say I understand, but it is quite beautiful.¡± The sun was bright, and somehow floated overhead, and they noticed a strange contraption around the sun. It was always visible, arge gigantic screen that orbited around the sun. Strangely, there was a gigantic steel like structure that connected the screen to the sun. When I saw it, my first thoughts were thoseary modelsmonly found in schools. Ste stared at it, as if trying to make sense of it. ¡°In a way that¡¯s somewhat simr to the Three-Ringed World, this world¡¯s day-night cycle is controlled by that screen thing. It moves to block the sun. Lumoof found it funny. ¡°As if this world is a toy.¡± ¡°I mean- I suppose you could say that.¡± Ste looked around and found bridges made of clouds that linked the ind to other inds. Magical clouds. ¡°Man, this world is a fairytale.¡± I felt my avatar¡¯s sense expand, but because as a tree, our senses mostly propagate through the ground, and so it ends where the ind itself ends. I tried to grapple with what I felt, and studied how therge inds floated, only to discover they were not exactly floating. They were suspended. I felt a strange, divinew type of string, and they bound each at every single ind. They weremanded to float where they are, so they did. In short, [divine] powermanded the inds to float in the sky, and the world obeyed. ¡°Could you do something like that someday?¡± Ste asked, once she realized the presence of divine power. ¡°I think it¡¯s not that simple. Such amand must have been woven into the world when it was created.¡± The idea ofmanding the inds to do so now seemed silly, and wasteful. It¡¯s likely that there was some kind of ¡®foundationalw¡¯ that made it happen, which is why it persists even when these worlds theoretically drifted away from the range of gods. ¡°So, that sounds like there¡¯s a godmanded divinews, such as thosemanded by Hawa, and a set of ¡®neutral¡¯ or ¡®core-bound¡¯ divinews, that are specific to each world¡¯s creation. Right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my guess.¡± Ste nodded. ¡°And I found living folk.¡± *** Humans. Regr, normal humans living almost idyllic, peaceful lives. They were farmers, farming on incredibly fertilends. The crops they nted were familiar, though it was more of a mixed farm, with small patches of everything. There was magic in thend itself, it almost seemed as if the nts were growing before our very eyes, as if they were spurred on by the blessings of a level 70 to 80 druid. ¡°Oh hey there, it¡¯s been a while since we had visitors, but how did you arrive? I didn¡¯t see any flying ships or balloons.¡± ¡°We walked.¡± Ste answered. ¡°Oh, through the cloud bridges? I¡¯m surprised people still do that.¡± The farmer said. ¡°So, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°We¡¯re lost. Could you help us out?¡± There were thousands, or even tens of thousands of floating inds, somerger, some much smaller. There were a set ofrger floating inds known as the ¡®Main Inds¡¯, and these housed most of the humans in this world. The main inds were rich in all sorts of magical resources and metals, whilends further awaycked most natural resources and metals. Humans were the only poption, but there were monsters on some of the inds, and these inds became known as the magic inds or dungeon inds, because these inds were the locations that spawned monsters. Monsters generally stuck to their own inds, though asionally, flying monsters did attack their surrounding inds. The main inds were home to a series of kingdoms and empires, and wars were frequently fought between them. The further inds, like the one that they visited, were generally those that escaped the constant warfare of the main inds. Farming was somehow easy in all the inds, and each ind usually had a series of naturally urring springs that createdkes and rivers. ¡°Some of these worlds just absolutely defy understanding. How does the water cycle work in a world where everything¡¯s on floating inds?¡± Ste rubbed her hair in her guestroom. The farmers were friendly, and were more than happy to let them use the guestroom once it was clear they were not hostile. Lumoof didn¡¯t answer her. He knew her long enough to know that she just needed to vent when things just didn¡¯t match how she understood reality. Ste pped herself gently. ¡°Alright, alright, I know, each world has their own rules. Each world, own magic. Got it. Quirks of their reality. This is just how this world works.¡± My avatar nodded. ¡°I do foresee all these different rules of different worlds will make it hard for the Valthorns to swiftly adapt to each world. They will have to spend some time to limatize themselves to how each world behaved. I might forget, if I¡¯m suddenly sent back to say Landas, or say Gigantadragon. Or that hex-grid world where everything is controlled by divinews.¡± ¡°So, cultural familiarity is going to be a big issue?¡± ¡°Not just that, I could easily imagine representatives from each of these worlds are unfamiliar with the quirks of other worlds, and their well-meaning suggestions thuse off as weird or unhelpful to others.¡± Ste paused. ¡°Oh. So you¡¯re talking about the Order¡¯s structure across all these peripheral worlds.¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s been on my mind. Knowing Aeon, the structure of how the Order will function is highly likely to be delegated to a person that will be based long term in that world. That warps our preferences, our understanding, especially non-domainholders who are not protected from the divinews of each world. I imagine that anyone who spends a few years full time at any of these peripheral worlds will get used to the localws, that they lose touch with how things work elsewhere.¡± ¡°So the Order expansion is dead underwater.¡± ¡°Not exactly. I mean, not all of these changes are that dramatic. The system and our powers still work on them. Just- I suppose there will be some expectation and cultural differences that will emerge.¡± ¡°We already have those differences.¡± Ste said. ¡°That¡¯s why Branchhold recruits and Treehome recruits have slightly different attitudes.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be worse with these peripheral worlds.¡± ¡°Eh. It¡¯s just the urban-rural gap with even more skin. I¡¯m sure it can be solved. We¡¯ll just need our own internal diplomats.¡± Lumoof gave Ste a look of disapproval, and she eventually sighed. She rolled on her own little bed. ¡°I know, we¡¯re building even more bureaucracy into the system. We¡¯ll use Aeon¡¯s [dream academy] and work around it. Frequent trips to Treehome to soak up our culture. That¡¯s whatrge guilds, corporations and governments do. I think it¡¯s too early to tell. Branchhold seems to integrate well, so far.¡± ¡°So far.¡± Lumoof said as he looked out the window of the guestroom. The gigantic screen was starting to cover a part of the sun, creating a strange dimming of the world. ¡°Which is why I fear for worlds that won¡¯t be linked via a node or a clone. They will stray from Treehome¡¯s supervision. Even with us present, we can¡¯t hope to match Aeon¡¯s trees.¡± Ste decided to hop off the bed and walked to the window. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s quite a view.¡± ¡°It is. It¡¯s like an eclipse.¡± The seemingly white clouds now glowed, as if the world around us turned into darkness. Yet, it wasn¡¯t total darkness. The clouds themselves glowed. ¡°Imagine it happening every day.¡± Ste said in a rare moment of wonder. ¡°Must feel pretty normal to the people here. The clouds are pretty.¡± ¡°A sea of clouds that glowed.¡± My avatar also took the time to bask in the beauty. ¡°I think I¡¯d like to see it from the edge.¡± *** The farmers didn¡¯t stop them, but the two walked uninterrupted to the edge. Demon kings, at least in the past, used tond in special inds. It seemed that every time the demon king was about to arrive, a new ind would appear. That ind was known as the ¡®demon¡¯s ind¡¯, and it was a magical creation. A dark red glowing ind that floated above all the other inds. Then, when the hero arrived, a chain of smaller inds would appear that allowed the hero to go and meet the demons. The demons were unable to use the cloud bridges, so they were often trapped on their own inds. It is only when flying demons appeared that they could expand to the other inds. When that happened, it was a huge disaster that caused a lot of deaths. ¡°These inds protect them.¡± ¡°In the same way the oceans protected us.¡± Ste said. ¡°Look at these clouds. They feel like they are partly magic.¡± ¡°They probably are.¡± Lumoof nodded, as he observed the clouds floating from ce to ce. Some of them were fluffy, some took the shape of streaks. ¡°The winds are pretty constant. They have a defined direction.¡± Ste suddenly noticed. ¡°They all move in the same direction, at the same speed.¡± ¡°Worldly magic.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°I wonder what thest world would be like.¡± Ste decided to just sit down at the edge. She wasn¡¯t afraid of heights, and somehow, she knew she wouldn¡¯t fall. There was a fundamental divinew that operated in this world, a kind of specific force unique to this world. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d actually see a sight like this.¡± ¡°There was the stormworld with a floating ind, remember?¡± Lumoof said. ¡°That one- that one wasn¡¯t this beautiful.¡± ¡°Is it? I thought the turbulent storms were quite beautiful. They had so much energy, the shes of lightning, the seemingly gigantic rivers of magic that turned into a cloud river.¡± ¡°This is peaceful. Calm.¡± Ste said. ¡°I can see myself retiring somewhere like this. Some day, when all of this is over, I¡¯d like a farmhouse too. I¡¯d probably need a bit more necessities and stuff from Freshka, but one of these faraway inds would be nice. I¡¯ll nt some fruits and stuff.¡± ¡°You could pick an ind. The inds along the Eastern Oceans are still beautiful and untouched.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have this view.¡± Ste smiled, and Lumoof stretched. He too decided to sit along the edge. It was a sensation I didn¡¯t enjoy. I didn¡¯t like my feet dangling midair. I very much preferred to be rooted down on something solid. Even these floating inds were a little too much for my liking. Lumoof took a deep breath. The air was clean. The two domain holders sat quietly, and both enjoyed the beauty. There were other inds in the distance, but the clouds obscured most of them from view. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the main inds tomorrow.¡± *** Airships were everywhere, and they were armed to the teeth. The peace of the distant inds were soon reced by the constant threat of war. Human kingdoms hated each other. Lumoof and Ste found the main inds of this world to be in a state of constant warfare. Large airships were built out of unique floating materials, and weapons mounted on them. Then they fought each other. There were five main inds, split into three main empires. The three human empires all maintainedrge fleets of airships of their own. War in these main inds were brutal, because the main inds were incredibly resource rich. The inds itself were magical, divine and seemed to produce resources indefinitely. All that potential used to fuel a war against each other. ¡°A sickening testament to humanity.¡± Ste cursed. ¡°It is in our nature.¡± Lumoof said as we arrived in the capital of one of theserge empires. Fleets of airships floated overhead, each of them filled with magical weapons. Their array of magical weapons were slightly more advanced than those found on the other worlds, though still quite behind those of the dwarves of Delvegard. The capital was fairly advanced, in therger scale of things. Only the dwarven cities of Delvegard and the dragonling cities of Gigantadragon couldpare. But of all things, it was the inds themselves that truly got my attention. Just walking on the main inds I felt our souls, both mine and Lumoof, resonate with the ground below. The touch of divinity was woven into the ground, and it was simr to how a [druid] encouraged trees to grow. Here, some force caused the ground itself to ¡®spawn¡¯ metals and crystals. Control of these main inds could significantly alleviate our resource problems. ¡°You can¡¯t be-¡± Ste said. ¡°Wait. You¡¯re thinking about it.¡± ¡°They use a lot of crystals and metals for their airships. They fight a lot of wars with each other. I see value here, just like Delvegard. Though, it would be simrly hard to get them to bend the knee. They already hate each other, and unlike the dwarves of Delvegard that generally respect and obey technical superiority, these humans would not be so cooperative.¡± Ste and Lumoof were seen as travelers, farmers from afar that came to see the big city. So, it wasn¡¯t entirely problematic. Most of their gear were also hidden elsewhere, so they passed through security fairly easily, though some of their items failed in their presence. ¡°So much for peace.¡± Ste said, as we walked through the city. The city was heavily militarised and there were constant recruitments for soldiers, and a massive industrial system built around supporting the war. It was like a more advanced version of Mountainworld. ¡°I can see why the humans moved to the outer inds.¡± Three empires of humans, Aire, Argin and Taufang, each with their airships, and there were frequent wars between them. Even now there were smaller skirmishes where their empires met. All three of the human empires worshiped Hawa, yet somehow, the church itself splintered into three sub-branches of Hawa. The demon king wasn¡¯t here yet. Thest demon king came 15 years ago and after that, there was a brutal war that saw the demon king defeated. The stories spoke of how the demon king died when the hero ascended into the demon¡¯s floating ind and slew them. The ind was destroyed, together with the demon king. It¡¯ll be at least five or six years before the demons start appearing again. And so, the Empires descended into war. ¡°I¡¯m putting this world under the good for resources pile.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Just like Delvegard.¡± ¡°Got it. I wonder what Edna sees in the fifteenth world.¡± Ste said. ¡°We¡¯re finally done exploring, and we can then move on to the next stage.¡± The void mage looked at the world at war. ¡°Do you think we can convince these three empires toy down their arms?¡± Lumoofughed. ¡°If they do not listen to words, they¡¯ll have to listen to a very big swarm of beetles.¡± 300. The Scramble for the Peripheral Worlds 300. The Scramble for the Peripheral Worlds 300 Fifteenth Peripheral World The Empire of The White Statue ¡°Emerald waters, and white sandy beaches. Mountains of white stone and marble, and cities that shine.¡± Edna said as she looked at a city so white and beautiful it could be seen as she crossed the hill. Humans, strong, muscr lived there. An honest life, of farming, of craft, and of fighting. Things were simple, but functional. Clean. Organized but not overly so. ¡°A ce I cannot quite admire.¡± Kafa smiled, but the stresses of travel were temporarily gone. Lizardfolks like Kafa were so used to a state of organized chaos that the overly orderly scenes of this ce reminded them of the world of Angels. Still, he was in a cheery mood, hidden in in sight that none of the humans of this world saw him. As we approached the city, we began to see towering white marble columns in the distance. The temples on the top of the hill looked transnted out of an ancient civilization. They walked and explored for days, and found a world strangely ancient, and yet advanced in its own way. ¡°Wee to Raeko, traveler. Your attire is foreign, so you must¡¯vee from a ce far, far away. Come,e, our code dictates that our foreign visitor¡¯s first meal and board is free. Let us lead you to ourmunal guesthouses.¡± A man in white tunic greeted Edna as she approached the gates. The walls were white, and beautiful as if they¡¯ve never seen battle in ages, and yet the guards took their work seriously. Edna nodded, as they were ushered into a fairly basic but functional guesthouse. Food was warm, though there was a particrly pungent taste that the locals seemed to love. Before long, the host and the guest began to trade stories, and the host¡¯s pride in their nation was clear. He was eager to impress on the greatness of their nation, and Edna soaked it in. Edna gave a generally vague description of and far away, which the host presumed to be thend beyond the White Shores,monly referred to as the Untamednds. This was a fairly small world, and home to arge nation called the White Shores. It was ruled by a really old white statue that stood as the guardian of the birthce, and administered by a council of the wise men, who would routinely elect one amongst them to be the decade¡¯s Philosopher King. The Philosopher King would then shape the White Shore¡¯s policy for that decade, though changes were often incremental rather than revolutionary. Eventually, the host spoke of the home city, the White Capital, and home of the White Statue. The host spoke at length about how every citizen of the White Shores would make a pilgrimage when they came of age, to the White Capital to receive their calling. ¡°I should go there.¡± Edna said, realizing that there was something about it that hinted to the presence of a domainholder, or some kind of immortal guardian spirit. The host, naturally, was more than happy to assist. It was fairly easy for Edna to change into the local¡¯s attire, though Kafa would then y off as her attendant. Raeko was one of the many cities of the White Shores located closer to the fringes than the center, and so, the pair set of on a leisurely journey towards the heart of the White Shores. They traveled with themon means of transport, which mainly consisted of horse-drawn carriages that went on well maintained pebblestone and cobblestone paths. It was on these cobblestone paths outside of the small town of Raeko, where the smaller road joined with arger one, an intersection, that stood a replica of a giant white statue. There were smaller statues all over the ce, but Edna felt drawn. Shemanded the driver to stop, for them to take a look at the statue. The small clearing around the giant white statue was covered in marble flooring, and there were a few guards standing about, mainly to supervise traffic. Yet, as Edna looked at it, she felt there was something here. ¡°I didn¡¯t sense a thing.¡± Kafa said, at first. ¡°You were not there when we visited the beast deity Bitu. I sensed a faint link from these statues elsewhere. Once you get used to it, you¡¯ll even see it in Aeon¡¯s trees.¡± Edna said as she stood in front of the statue. Faint strands of divine influence. ¡°Really?¡± Kafa walked closer to the White Statue. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s my level.¡± A guard immediately walked over, gave a warning, and walked away. ¡°Citizens. You are permitted to remain here but do not conduct any unsavory activities. I would like to remind you that touching the White Statue is not permitted. Have a good day.¡± ¡°Takes his work seriously.¡± Kafa looked at the guy. Edna nodded. ¡°That is good. They are quite strong. Do you not notice the way they are blessed?¡± Kafa frowned. ¡°I¡¯m a warrior. Sensing such auras is harder for me.¡± But he squinted just to try and see, and when it clicked, it clicked. His eyes widened, as he looked around. ¡°No way. It¡¯s everywhere.¡± ¡°It is, and it swirls around us like a subtle fog that¡¯s almost invisible to see.¡± Edna¡¯s eyes looked at the Statue. ¡°I wonder what it¡¯ll take to get its attention.¡± Kafa looked about. ¡°I think that can wait?¡± Edna looked back at the lizard warrior, and after a second. ¡°You are right. Let¡¯s see this world for a bit.¡± *** Aeon We have seen fifteen worlds, and now back home, I was fairly clear on my first course of action. I would flush out all the demon kings with all my domain holders, and let them level up. This was the easy part. The one I had trouble with, was whates after. Do I even bother establishing a position here? Should I force a presence on all of them, or just don¡¯t bother? The demons are not ying games, and so, I need to grow. I need to grow faster, and quickly. Good, high quality growth. Growth that will bring us to the next level. I decided to pull in my domain holders for their views. Kafa went first. ¡°I believe that talent is key, and talent exists where the poption is biggest. We should have a bigger presence in a world like Twinspace, where it¡¯s overpopted and people are eager for a better life. That¡¯s my first pic. Second pick, I¡¯ll pick Capra.¡± ¡°Capra?¡± Edna responded telepathically. ¡°Why Capra?¡± ¡°Because the Caprans seemed to gel well with us.¡± Kafa countered. Edna decided to reframe the question. ¡°Okay, i think let¡¯s work through this by elimination. Which world do we don¡¯t want?¡± Lumoof thought for a moment. ¡°I kinda want all of them.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not helping with that! We have to eliminate some of these worlds. Worlds where we just maintain a casual presence.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to understand that as worlds that have their shit figured out and we¡¯re not necessary. And worlds that are already wrecked. So that¡¯s Deadworld, Three Ringed World, Caval and Khubur. All these three worlds are strong, and have people designed to sort out their own shit. Khubur even has a domain holder of some kind. I say we leave them alone. We visit asionally just to check in, but otherwise, we leave it as it is.¡± Roon nodded. ¡°I¡¯m generally with you there. I think we should just be insurance, just in case this domainholder acts unnaturally, but yeah, I think we can leave the Osroids alone, whether they are friendly or not.¡± ¡°Edna should im the world of Caval. That world just meshes super well with her set of abilities. If we wanted to arrange for someone to speak to the administrators when they are offered the Faith System, Edna should set up a significant presence on Caval.¡± Ezar countered. ¡°It¡¯s human, it has a strong knightly tradition due to the presence of historical hero-swords.¡± ¡°Alright. Caval¡¯s contentious. Let¡¯s put that aside.¡± ¡°I like Gigantadragon. If we take Capra, we should take Gigantadragon. The two dragons and drakeworlds have some value together.¡± Johann advocated. ¡°Synergy effects and all that.¡± ¡°If so, Magisar and Caval as a set. Swords and magic.¡± ¡°Are we pairing up worlds?¡± Ste asked. ¡°I say we take Twinspace and move the heavily popted folks to the Deadworld, since that world¡¯s dead. That can happen with just nodes, so we don¡¯t really need Aeon¡¯s clones there to boost everything else.¡± ¡°Are you sure we need the Deadworld? It¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°I think Landas is a node-only world. The hot and cold world of Sarlpi, the Centaur world of the Great steppes and Shasan, the flood and desert world, I rank them in the middle. Not a priority.¡± ¡°Magisar?¡± ¡°Magisar is an upper tier world.¡± Edna said. ¡°They are naturally magically talented. There¡¯s some things we can use to offset our current magical shortfall- Together with the world of the floating inds.¡± ¡°You like the floating inds?¡± Ste asked. ¡°I thought you did.¡± ¡°I did like the world, personally. But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that great for the Valtrian Order. Would Aeon¡¯s abilities work well in a world where thends are fragmented. Where each piece ofnd is cut off from othernds? I think Aeon¡¯s clones would be functionally weaker in such a world.¡± Ste countered. Lumoof nodded. ¡°I could test it out by using [Aeon¡¯s Spirit], but my intuition agrees with Ste¡¯s conclusion. Aeon¡¯s clone would be suboptimal in a world where each ind is separated from others by magic. Aeon would not be able to fully exert his benefits across the entire world. This also applies to the Three Ringed World.¡± ¡°Wildcard idea here. Aeon should be on the Deadworld. Like, perfect world to reconstruct from scratch. We¡¯ll offer the people of the overpopted worlds a ce to move to.¡± ¡°Too long. We¡¯ve seen Tropicsworld, and it takes forever to rebuild. If we want to scale quickly, we should hit ces with thergest existing poption and supercharge them. That means that twin continent world. We could even sell it, by starting an expedition to the Cursed Continent and clean it up.¡± Kafa suggested. ¡°We¡¯ll call it Aeon¡¯s Crusade. Imagine the impact it¡¯ll give to the poption that someone sessfully cleaned up the Cursed Continent.¡± ¡°You¡¯re mad, but I like it.¡± Ezarughed. ¡°That does sound like a good idea.¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°Seems sensible. That means Twinspace pushed up a notch.¡± ¡°Our key resource shortfall is crystals, and that¡¯s aplenty in the Floating Inds world.¡± Edna said. ¡°Along with Delvegard.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we need clones. We could use nodes.¡± ¡°Aeon has a crystal-producing titan. Those titans will work better with a clone¡¯s blessings. Production titans must be linked to Aeon since they are pretty much unique trees. So we¡¯ll need a clone.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be on any of these worlds. These Crystal Titan could be based out of our existing worlds.¡± Roon countered. ¡°It¡¯ll be closer to where the crafters are, anyway.¡± ¡°Fair. So where does that put the Floating Inds world. What¡¯s with the drawbacks of the Floating Ind world?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how it¡¯ll y out. But just like Delvegard, our presence can force them to change. Aeon¡¯s clone has a ten year cooldown. We could test it out, build a presence, and if it doesn''t work as well, Aeon could swap it for a node.¡± ¡°Or if Aeon gains levels, we¡¯d have more clones.¡± Roon countered. ¡°I think let¡¯s just summarize a little. A node on Twinspace, Capra, Magisar, Gigantadragon, Deadworld? Clones currently proposed to be on Twinspace and Deadworld?¡± ¡°Why not Capra or Gigantadragon?¡± Johann countered, in rare disagreement with his fellow partner. ¡°Aeon¡¯s ability to meddle with fruits and supercharge breeding of drakefruits could be beneficial to the drakes and dragons of these two worlds. Done properly, we¡¯d have a really powerful flying force.¡± Kafa shook his head. ¡°Only domain holders matter, Johann. Against the demon kings, everyone else falls short.¡± ¡°I disagree with that.¡± Johann didn¡¯t think so. ¡°Our organization is built upon the support of thousands of support staff. Someone makes our equipment, keeps our supplies stocked, and does our nning.¡± ¡°Yes. But ultimately, the organization must be designed around producing domainholders as it¡¯s core objective.¡± Kafa defended. ¡°So, poption, thus talent, matters more. Aeon has 3 clone slots. With Lumoof¡¯s [Aeon¡¯s Spirit], we technically don¡¯t need to keep any as spare. Or at least, we need to choose two worlds. Twinspace should be one of them by virtue of its poption size. Blessing such a world to produce even more potential talent will supercharge our talent pipeline.¡± Ste paused. ¡°What if we don¡¯t bother with clones at all? Let¡¯s just go with [node trees]. Aeon has 7 node trees left after the ones on Landas, Delvegard and Gigantadragon. Let¡¯s use all of them. Twinspace, Magisar, Capra, Caval.. Those Four have the most potential. We can add in Triotuga and maybe Shasan or the Floating Inds just to round it out. The rest of them, we¡¯ll leave it as portal-only worlds.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Johann paused. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We cannot be relying on Aeon¡¯s clones forever as a crutch. We need the Valthorns to outgrow its current abilities, and to do so, it must first gain the ability to function and prosper without Aeon¡¯s clone presence. [Lords] and [Kings] grow faster in times of peril, and the Order will learn to be better with the challenge.¡± Kafa paused. ¡°A clone would make a big statement.¡± Ste countered. ¡°Agree. But, the people of Twinspace don¡¯t know that.¡± A story emerged in Lumoof¡¯s mind. ¡°The story of winning over Twinspace will be simple. We create a small node tree with limited abilities, and sell the Cursed Continent as a promisednd. Then, weunch that crusade as Kafa suggested, then once we seed, a clone gets deployed and then we can create a new great nation in that resource rich continent.¡± That made my void mage freeze for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s kind of unnerving, even if I know how it¡¯ll work.¡± ¡°As priests, our jobs often involve crafting mythos. We will need to create one for each of these worlds. A story. We need the people to buy in. To hope. A reason for them to join in our journey, to take part in a tale we create together.¡± ¡°I think to venture into the heart of the demon¡¯s territory and y the source is a prettypelling story.¡± Roon said. ¡°For some. But again, variations. We could craft smaller tales about our journey in each of these worlds. Like how we have the venture to the Cursed Continent to create a promisednd, on Gigantadragon, Landas and so forth, our story will be one of restoration and revival.¡± ¡°But what if what we are reviving is terrible.¡± Ste countered. ¡°Not all of these old civilizations are great.¡± ¡°Renewal.¡± Kafa frowned. ¡°I think to just say that these worlds will now be part of amunity of wider worlds could work, though that doesn¡¯t actually inspire loyalty.¡± ¡°The generation that saw the most change and improvements will be loyal by virtue of our actions.¡± Edna stated. ¡°It is the sessor generations that would see the need for a finely crafted narrative. Something to convince them to be a part of our crusade.¡± ¡°Will Lumoof take the lead on the narratives?¡± Ezar asked. ¡°A bit. But I¡¯ll likely leave it to the other Decarches.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°It ties into our mythos, of a tree expanding its roots and branches into the other worlds, to purge them of the demons and spread the fruits of growth.¡± ¡°And the roots to suck up talent.¡± Kafa chuckled. ¡°But Ste¡¯s [node] idea is logical. A clone is a decision that has a long term impact. A test case with nodes would work.¡± ¡°Speaking of the myths, we should just call this whole thing the Fifteen Revivals.¡± Roonughed. ¡°Or the Aeonic Expedition.¡± Ste rolled her eyes. A part of her disagreed with the colonial, imperialist methods of our Order, but unfortunately, it¡¯s part of the developmental stages these worlds have to go through. ¡°Eh. We shouldn¡¯t be touching the worlds with the domain holders. It¡¯s pretty dangerous unless we want to fight another domainholder. That means Khubur, and the world of the White Statue.¡± Edna said. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯d lose.¡± Ezar said. ¡°I don¡¯t think so either. But the battle is the easy part, recing the power vacuum it creates is what¡¯s hard. Unlike the Crystal King, these two worlds have fairly intertwined domain holders that run what seems to be fairly well put together.¡± Edna countered. ¡°If these worlds are working well, we don¡¯t have to mess with it. We can just drop in, deal with the demon kings, and go out. Let things remain as they are. That¡¯s all we need to tell the existing domain holders, strike a non-interference treaty, say our whole job is just to deal with the demon kings, do it, and go. If they are willing to help us, it¡¯s a win.¡± The consequences of betrayals were self exnatory. They could test us, but if we made the statement with Lumoof and my own avatar form, the difference in power should be clear. ¡°Okay, wait, Seven nodes. We are choosing to ignore the Deadworld, Sarlpi, Great Steppes, the Three Ringed World, Shasan, Khubur and White Shores?¡± Roon decided to repeat the conversation. ¡°Wait, that still leaves one spare.¡± ¡°Wait. Why Triotuga over Shasan?¡± Ste asked, out of curiosity. ¡°Shasan seems like they got things figured out, while winning over one of the three factions of Triotuga seems a lot easier.¡± Kafa countered. ¡°The dryads there have something against spirit trees.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Or at least, they¡¯d find our trees a target. I think I¡¯d go against Triotuga out of principle.¡± ¡°But the human poption there is fairly healthy.¡± Kafa added, once again taking the point of view that poptions matter more. ¡°That world sort of resembles Threeworlds.¡± ¡°Shasan¡¯s wider skill set and unique creatures is more interesting to absorb into our fold.¡± Roon jumped in. ¡°Though I suppose Shasan is not exactly friendly to trees. That ce is either too dry or too wet.¡± ¡°Actually, let¡¯s skip both and go for the Great Steppes.¡± Edna said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the two centaur ns and I think their strength could be a wee addition. It¡¯s also decently well popted.¡± ¡°Or the Floating Inds. A node tree on a floating ind, ideally one of therge ones. Just to gain ess to the resources.¡± Lumoof suggested, and recalled the resources of the Floating Inds. Control over any of the main inds could improve our resource situation, at the expense of the locals. ¡°Do we really want Capra over these four choices?¡± The lizard domain holder didn¡¯t strongly buy the dragon argument. ¡°Or Landas.¡± ¡°Landas isrgely settling in its ce.¡± Edna said. ¡°Our infrastructure is built. The poption is lower than we like, but they wee us.¡± In the end, I wasn¡¯t sure the Valtrian Order wasrge enough to sessfully build new branch establishments across nine new worlds. We would have to recruit as we go, and augment our strength. Therger nativeponent would be key to our sess. There was no need to rush on the nodes, and to me, [node trees] with their fairly short cooldown times meant we could change our minds. ¡°It is fine. Let¡¯s go with it and respond to what happens.¡± And so, a decisionrgely made, thousands more left theforts and safety of Treehome, and spread out across the stars. I thought it fitting, this was the moment where we consciously tried to move up to the next level. Our scale would have to increase to match our growing ambitions. 301. Border Control I 301. Border Control I 301 Year 276 Magisar ¡°We yield.¡± The group of mages were battered, their leader unable to believe what happened. Half of the upper dome of the tower was sted apart, exposing the top to the whims of the weather. A dwarven mage stood standing, in his hand a wooden stick made from one of Aeon¡¯s many branches. A fragment of divinity, as a conduit for magic. Lausanne looked at the Magisarian mages and wizards. Their shields shattered. Their staffs cracked. A group of them, defeated by one of Valthorn archmages, a level 145 [Grand Archmage] named ckmoore, a rare dwarven mage. It wasn¡¯t hard at all to bribe enough of the mid-ranked mages of the Tower to support an unusual challenge for the tower. It was even easier once these bribed mages saw who exactly they were consorting with. Those whose eyes could still see, knew the winds were changing. Mages were generally smart, a certain level of intellectual prowess was generally necessary to understand the tomes and scrolls of earlier mages, though there were always those who intuited magic as if it was the back of their hands. Those were geniuses, and those were incredibly rare. Spectators, there were about two hundred or so mages who belonged to the upper sses of the Tower, unsure whether to p or cheer. It was just pure silence. Lausanne smiled, and decided to set off the cheers. She pped, and soon, those that she bribed took the cue to p as well. ckmoore stood in the center, with his level, he easily dwarfed every other mage present. In their eyes, he must seem like a prodigy, and they are not wrong. ckmoore could be called one of those prodigies. Blessed with a gift for the higher magics that was really hard to trante, in the old dwarven societies he would have been forced into some kind of magical cksmith, or alchemist. Instead, through the Valtrian Order¡¯s many academies, he escaped the constraints of the dwarven social order, and dabbled in more pure forms of magic. Lausanne knew how hard it was to train magic. She was there when the old Wizard Madeus tried to train the new students. It¡¯s a shame that so many with talents were often educated in fields that did not exploit their strengths. She shook her head. Here they were, and so, the first of the Towers. ckmoore dered, as he nced about. ¡°Any more wishes to dispute our im?¡± The Tower Lords frowned. The female elf could see the disbelief in their eyes. All their lives they¡¯ve worked towards higher magics. They dedicated their resources and efforts to their goals, and reached the level that couldn¡¯t go anymore. The cursed level cap. For Magisarians, it was also around Level 85. For mages who reached that level, it must¡¯ve felt like they¡¯ve reached the end. They could not go higher. ¡°How?¡± The Tower Lords asked. Maybe the question they should have asked was why. ckmoore was not protected by a domain, and thus, a high level version of [inspect] could give a Level estimate. So they knew his levels must be very high. They could conclude it was some kind of [inspect-confusion] type of spell or ability, thus the number shown was a lie. But the strength he disyed was clear, and no one could deny the hole in their tower. The spectators were stunned to see a mage overpower so many of them so clearly. ckmoore nodded, as he turned to face the spectators. ¡°Aeon¡¯s gift. I ask the crowd again. Does anyone wish to state their opposition to our demands?¡± The Tower Lords could not believe it. ¡°What- what do you want?¡± ¡°As is often said in our circles. Nothing for now, but eventually, everything. But I jest.¡± ckmoore grinned. ¡°Our first goal will be a coalition of the Towers. As of this day, and until the day the demons are driven back, we will now have full control of your military. Together, we will drive the demons back.¡± Everywhere, the Tower Lords fought tooth and nail against the mages of Order, but the gaps in strength between someone in the level 80s and someone in the level 140s was immense. The Valthorns won everywhere, but we did not be the new Tower Masters. If anything, thebined military forces of the Towers would still palepared to whatever we could field. But, it would deliver an impact. It was our moment of strength. A chance for thebined mages to see how high the tree grew, and where they stood beneath it. The Order would not be able to administer this world. It just didn¡¯t have the size or scale. It would be harder still to do with those entrenched in the current system resisting us at every step. The Valthorns concluded that the existing process and ruling system of the Magisarians were notpatible with our ways. We would not be able to fully capitalize on their strengths if we maintained their system. Thus, we would have to redo it our way. A statement of strength would lend credence to our legitimacy and ideas. This statement would win over allies. This statement is our way of telling the local military that there is another way. Aplicated power dance to tell those watching that we have the power to protect them. That their tower masters were going to rot away in their towers. Ultimately, we were not bound by the rules of Magisar. The Order would create new cites, one of them with a Node Tree at its heart. Unlike the Towers of Magisar that were all in various states of decay, a new city would be built in one of the reimednds. Somewhere that would be fertile enough. A new city, and volunteers from the Towers could then move to. With our strength, we would even set up a city right where the demon king was. From the volunteers and those willing, the Order would form a new organizational structure of both these Tower Refugees, and the Order. The young mages would be directly trained and supervised by the Order. Those entrenched in the old system would stay back, and they would bear witness to the gaps between us. *** ¡°How¡¯s things, Lausanne?¡± Ebon came over from Landas, and visited one of the newly constructed cities on Magisar. It was located in a valley, in a space that was reimed from the demonic corruption. Lausanne was made the temporary leader of the new city, as she was technically the most experienced person in the field. Given how thinly the Valthorns were spread across the worlds, it¡¯s not like they had that much of a choice. Other than the Dwarven Archmage ckmoore who was slightly higher level than her, everyone else was in the level 100s to 120s, while Lausanne was already firmly in the Level 140s. It was a pace she didn¡¯t expect, yet somehow, everyone else seemed to think it was normal. Lausanne stood, and smiled at her teammate from their Landas tour. Hoyia followed behind, as she too, appeared through the makeshift door. The elven temporary leader answered the dark knight. ¡°Slow. But moving.¡± ¡°As is on Landas. People remain the hardestponent of our struggle. Give them time. I see you¡¯ve gotten all these built, at least.¡± Ebon pointed to the structures around them. Lausanne shrugged. ¡°The physical objects are easier to build. The Magisarians remain unnerved by thesend-based cities. They¡¯ve lived so long in their floating towers that they are still mentally scarred by life living so close to thends. That¡¯s a problem that will take some time.¡± Hoyia looked around, and after a while, tapped Lausanne on her shoulder. ¡°Little to worry. A passive blessing from the aura of a [Prayer Tree] should fix that.¡± Lausanne looked outside. There wasn¡¯t much of a view, much of the Magisarian terrain was rocky and rugged. ¡°What of Landas?¡± ¡°The [Lords] are moving in to set things up, and the locals are generallypliant with what was asked of them. Have they assigned a [Lord] to Magisar, yet?¡± The elf shook her head. ¡°Central ims they are not yet ready.¡± ¡°Strange. Delvegard has seven lords.¡± Hoyia frowned. ¡°Wonder what¡¯s happening on the field that¡¯s causing this.¡± ¡°I was told that they¡¯re trying to get a [Mage Lord].¡± Lausanne regurgitated the answer frommand. She would likely transfer that control to one of the dedicated [Lords] or dies] once they arrived. ¡°Ah.¡± Hoyia and Ebon clicked in acknowledgement. Specialized sses were harder to prepare for deployment. Certain ruling sses were harder to deal with. ¡°So for now, I¡¯m the temporary leader trying to smooth things over. I do have some good assistants, and nners, though.¡± Lausanne answered, though she did have her share of difficulties. Frustrations with the locals were mainly on the little microaggressions and resistances. ¡°The Magisarians have many quirks, and I initially hoped that they¡¯d be smart enough to just ept us. I am sadly proven wrong.¡± Though some of the mages epted the deal, they were not going to ept all of the Valtrian requests. ¡°Their cities are not charred fields. Their viges were not burnt and destroyed.¡± Ebon said. ¡°It is only normal that they will fight for it. Those who lost almost everything will think of a chance to rebuild differently, than those who are asked to tear down what exists.¡± Lausanne didn¡¯t speak of the time when the vige was ashes. A faint memory of a time when she and her mother were standing in what was a charred field of ash shed before her eyes, and she nced away. The Tower Masters thought of ckmoore as powerful, but yet, still reachable. To them, if they worked together, maybe they had a chance. They schemed much a little too obviously. The Valthorns present were from a spread of disciplines, it wasn¡¯t hard to pick up on what they were trying. Even if they lost in a battle, they would not give up their posts without an attempt to wrestle it back in the dark. This was part of the process. They tried to speak to the Tower Masters. Yet somehow, all of the Tower Masters seemed cut from the same cloth. They were cunning, but not very wise. Even in the face of power, they¡¯d rather control what little they have. They would not be the first to change how things were. Resistance came in many forms. For many of these Magisarians, there was a strong cultural undercurrent. Even in their new city, she noticed their subtle disapprovals. The clicks, the sighs, the subtle headshakes as they observed how things will be in the new city. In their minds, the Towers are still the ideal to strive for. It was a cultural relic in their mind that they will need a few generations to change. This was the part of her tasks that was hard. Lausanne sighed. They were there to help, but it did irritate her that those who need help seem to think they don¡¯t. Hoyia gave the elf a long, warm motherly smile. The matriarch ced both of her hands on both sides of Lausanne¡¯s shoulders, and tapped her reassuringly. ¡°A problem that will be solved in time. Those who have not felt the touch of divinity often doubt its existence. Such is the way of mortals. The mind is hard to change, and it takes overwhelming force to ovee one¡¯s mental inertia. Let us not dwell on the difficulties, but instead, let¡¯s celebrate sesses. Show us what you¡¯ve done.¡± *** Lausanne led the group through a makeshift city built for the refugees and those who agreed to join them. ckmoore, as the dedicated mage champion, went about and challenged all the Towers, and after hepleted the tour, there were refugees and those who wanted to join them. All in, about ten to eleven thousand Magisarians came to join the new city. Some were spies, but ultimately, the Valthorns had enough firepower and about thirty level 100s, more than enough to maintain a strong level of control over a single town. The Valthorns also brought in about two hundred Valtrian Order support operatives from Treehome to handle construction and development of the new city. ¡°We¡¯ve got these new wells, with these filtration trees that cleans the water.¡± Lausanne pointed. Ebon and the crew were fairly familiar with most of the things. Clean water was a surprisingly rare thing on Magisar, and the locals developed quite sophisticated rainwater collection systems in their magical towers to supplement the missing natural water sources. ¡°One of the tweaks we had to make to the [rhizofiltration trees] was that the water content needed to be separated to remove some of the minerals that seemed toxic to the Magisarians. They have a zero-iron diet, and their bodies adapted to it so well that iron is now fairly harmful to them.¡± Ebon nodded. ¡°Huh. The Landas elves seemed fairly normal. I wonder whether there is other stuff we¡¯d have to look out for on the other worlds. Maybe the Caprans and the Dragonlings will have some unique quirks.¡± Lausanne agreed as she recalled what happened during the first few days. ¡°We only realized it after a few of them got sick. The water is fine now, but that was a rather careless blunder on our end. A proper biological study through one of Aeon¡¯s bibs should help.¡± ¡°True.¡± Ebon walked about and noticed the homes built everywhere. There were magical shields constructed. They passed by arge farm, where the druids were in discussion with some locals over the nts. ¡°Food¡¯s a pain at first but we¡¯re getting better. We can¡¯t use the food from our world because of their diet, so we¡¯d have to restrict it to native nts. But their local nts all have low yields, because they are mostly a nation of harvesters and hunters, where their cities exist as areas to protect themselves from the demons, so their local nts were not selectively bred for yields. It¡¯ll take a generation or two to change it.¡± Lausanne narrated. ¡°Even if I see these Magisarian mages as useful, I wonder whether the Order would eventually be overwhelmed with all the custom supply choices for each of these world¡¯s recruits. Standard rations that are not standard will lead to arge surge in logistic overheads.¡± ¡°That does limit their external deployment options, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ebon thought about it, he rubbed his chin as he thought about the difficulties of keeping a Magisarian force fully supplied in remote locations. ¡°Unless they could use familiars.¡± ¡°That¡¯s something we¡¯d like to try.¡± Lausanne borated. ¡°We¡¯ve not had a Magisarian with Aeon¡¯s familiars, so we don¡¯t know whether those familiars can produce Magisarianpatible foods when they are operating out of the other worlds.¡± Food. Water. Amodations from Magisarians were simple, though they were initially unused to all the space they now possessed. On a spiritual level, the Treeology priests provided a sort of calming effect on the popce using a mix of their various abilities. It is not an entirely new situation. Valthorns faced some difficulties a few decades ago when the Order started including Lizardfolk and Treefolk field agents, but over time, the logistics system absorbed their culture and it became second nature to cater for their unique needs. That said, lizardfolks were generally able to consume and tolerate a vast amount of foods and so, they were not hard to integrate. In time, it may be the Magisarians that will change, or the Order as a whole figured out how to better support them. Lausanne eventually led them to the walls. There were threeyers of walls, and though it was quite unnecessary given the Order¡¯s strength, it was the locals that needed convincing. For an added sense of security, there wererge magical barriers erected to give the newly settled natives a perception of security. It was partly performative, since the shields were only strong enough to protect against enemies of the demon champions level. Ultimately, their real defense force was the deployed Valtrian Order, and the local militia. ¡°Are there native monsters?¡± Ebon looked about, and across the horizon. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen demons since we¡¯ve arrived.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lausanne said. ¡°But they are rare for now. They should start spawning once the druids get to work and push back the corruption. Also, since you guys are here, wanna help me get some fresh air?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Lausanne grinned, and stretched. They went on a demon hunting spree. *** Delvegard It was a quiet time in the dwarven towns of Delvegard. The appeal of small towns was always its rtive obscurity, and that was what drew the dwarves to live in such ces. Peace. Free from the usual tussles for Sunsteel and the mines. Free from the rough, chaotic warfare that are the machine wars. So, the recent changes were met with mixed reactions. Not everyone wanted the attention, because it affected their peace. Yet, the Valtrian presence brought much needed food security. It was a tradeoff that the dwarves begrudgingly epted, because food was a pain. Security was something that could be fixed. The strange dwarves from beyond brought a tree that magically grew within their town, and the locals now had to produce equipment to trade for food. It was at a very good rate, and so that was highly appealing to the local dwarves, but it was a strange, unusual practice to trade with a ¡®tree¡¯. The central equipment purchasing hall was located right next to the [Node Tree], a dark-brown colored tree that¡¯s six stories tall and its trunk was the size of two houses across. There was a cavity in the center, the ce where everything appeared, and vanished. Even people. The ruling [Lord] Sundus found it amusing that the rumors are so crazy. It was a rumor. A curiosity. It was often whispered that people could be eaten by the tree, though they would then see those people reappear some timeter. For now, it seemed as if it was a magical tree that traded food for crafts. If only they could see where they lead to, or the links that tree represented. He tried exining it to the local craftsmen that it led to other worlds, but all the local dwarves did was stare at him like he was mad. He¡¯d love to see their reaction when he¡¯d send them away for the first time. It would be something he¡¯d carve to his memories. For now, to the locals, it was a tree that traded food for crafts. Crafts and goods went in, food came out the other side. Of course, the locals didn¡¯t trade with the tree directly. They traded with Sundus¡¯s men, but the locals were curious, and they saw how his people moved the goods to that cavity, and then it just vanished. So, it is known to the locals as a ¡®Magical Trading Tree¡¯. A few locals even tried sneaking in, perhaps the result of being a little too intoxicated at the local tavern, and tried trading with the tree directly. One of them imed to have heard a voice in his head. The rest of them justughed it off as drunken hallucinations. Aeon would speak to them one day. Then they would know the truth. For now, they waited. Sundus knew the n for Delvegard mainly hinged on Alka¡¯s return. The return of the alchemist of bombs would then shift their ns on Delvegard forward. For now, the Lord focused on shoring up their position, and setting the field. News, especially amusing news like the Magical Trading Tree, spread quickly. It attracted the presence of neighbors, and faraway travelers. Sundus could see them, many of them were obviously not traders, but these so-called traders pretended to visit the local market. But they tried the ¡°Magic Trading Tree¡± anyway, and his men were willing to trade anyway. Maybe it was paranoia. Maybe it was curiosity. Dwarves were proud, but they were not stupid. Curiosities could mutate into a bigger problem. The Dwarven Lords from the nearby nations were curious, they¡¯ve all heard of the alliance of dwarven towns. The so-called ¡°Small Group¡±, backed by strange tall folks and their unusual equipment. Sometimes, Sundus wondered what they discovered. But so far, Valthorn¡¯s presence remained fairly small, and spread across all the smaller towns, and they were all shrouded in a fairly thickyer of disguises to throw off most onlookers. After watching these spies try the trading tree and furiously write notes, Sundus decided to go and chat. They were clearly not very good spies, and their disdain leaked through their words. They were curious, but from what Sundus could tell, they were mostly not worried. For now, they are unusual, but nothing to be worried about. None of therge dwarven groups have set their sights on them. They held norge Sunsteel or Sunmetal veins. They were not aware of the Valthorn¡¯s secret mines nearby. They didn¡¯t have any of the Colossus war machines. Why should they be worried? Nothing they¡¯ve seen so far threatened to upset the status quo. Would they react differently once they met someone like Alka? Sundus tried his best not to grin. He liked this feeling. He thoroughly enjoyed it when people looked down on them, only to be proven wrong. He totally couldn¡¯t wait for the day for the domain holder to visit Delvegard. *** Landas Lumoof stood at the entrance to the pit, as all the domain holders gathered to purge the first visited peripheral world of its demon king. The Demon King was down there, and he could feel its presence. It wasn¡¯t digging. It was still digging a few weeks ago. But not anymore. It stopped once it sensed the heroes all reappearing nearby. It had some intelligence to know the heroes came for it. The hero, Samuel, stood nearby, along with the rest of the heroes. Wira, and Rajah, surprisingly, decided to join them. ¡°It¡¯s down there.¡± Samuel, or as the locals called him, Samahiro said, his finger pointed to the pit. ¡°I hear it calling.¡± He was stronger, but somehow, it didn¡¯t matter. The fear was real. The impact of the demonic curse was so strong that it messed with some of the [hero] ss¡¯s usual mental protections. Lumoof nodded anyway. ¡°Have no fear, Samuel.¡± Colette said. ¡°You are not alone, this time.¡± Somehow, those words made Samuel tear up a little. His eyes seemed a little reddish, and he rubbed it away. It was not the time to show weakness, as he tried his best to show an expression of determination. ¡°Shall we lure it out, or does it want us to go down there to it?¡± Colette then looked at Lumoof. He shrugged. ¡°Edna?¡± ¡°I think let¡¯s lure it out. We¡¯ll have better escape options fighting out here.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± Lumoof nodded, as he walked over the edge, and fell into the pit. ¡°Alright then. You guys wait here.¡± The heroes looked at each other, and Samuel looked worried. He didn¡¯t need to be. The demon king wasn¡¯t that strong, and in avatar mode, fighting underground where a tree¡¯s roots could grow and gain control of the environment was thoroughly advantageous to Lumoof, so the demon king, predictably, chose to escape from the depths. The demon king came out to meet its death. It was fast. It was undramatic. It was just a flurry of colors and lights, as so many heroes and domain holders worked together to destroy a single demon king. It died so quickly that the battlested no more than an hour. For that hour, the world momentarily shook as a huge surge of magic crushed the demon king, and so Landas became another peripheral world freed of its demon king. Just like Rajah and Wira, a strange sensation vanished from Samuel¡¯s heart. Everyone still had ces to go. The domain holders had tasks to do. With Landas freed, the demonic riftgates copsed, and the demonic invasion ended. Reconstruction could now go full throttle. *** 302. Border Control II 302. Border Control II 302 White Shore The White Capital city of the White Statue was, in many ways, an aspiration for the entire Empire. Edna watched, as the wagon that carried her crested the hill, and the city was in full view. The main city,monly referred to as the White Capital, but formally called ritas of the White Statue, was eye-catching and beautiful. Itprised a central conical hill, and at its peak stood arge white temple, thergest temple of any Edna¡¯s seen in any of the cities so far. But the city itself wasn¡¯t massive. Instead, Edna thought it looked fairlypact for a capital city. It was what appeared to be a nned, properly organized structure where not a single piece was out of ce. In some ways, it reminded her of the angels. It was as if an array of marble structures was built to decorate a single hill. Every building was made out of a kind of white, shiny marble that never seemed to umte dust or wear. It was apparently an ability of many stonemasons, though it originated from the White Statue itself. There were white statues all over the city. Edna was alone this time, and she felt it the moment she walked through the city, and entered the city guard¡¯s checkpoint. [Domain has blocked an ability] ¡°Well. What is this?¡± Edna mused to herself, and just about instantly, a siren blew. At that point, the guards had an unusual reaction. Then, the guards at the gates immediately stopped her. ¡°Mdy, pleasee with us?¡± Edna smiled at the four guards, all d in full body armor. Their weapon of choice was a double sided shortsword, and a set of spears. They were all of a decent level, maybe level 50 or so. They were tense as hell, and prepared to fight. In their eyes, she could see their readiness to die at the moment. Was this her turn to go through what Lumoof did back when he first visited the Crystal King? Would this White Statue be friendly, or hostile? But she saw enough of the White Statue¡¯s impact, and realized that it was probably worth talking to this entity. ¡°Sure.¡± They were relieved when she did not resist, and at least, they did not chain her. They seemed to understand how different their powers were. The four began to lead her through the path. Those along the road looked, and she could hear them whisper. But the guards paid them no mind, and none of the busy citizens blocked their path. ¡°So, where are you taking me?¡± ¡°To the hill, the White Statue.¡± The guard answered. Edna could feel the throbbing presence of another domain holder. It was as if the air itself wasyered with a kind of invisible white dust. She was escorted through the city, and so, she took the chance to see the lives of those living here. Streets were clean, and beautiful. Each and everyone looked healthy, and they were doing business with each other. Everyone, as weird as it sounded, looked good. Men were tall, muscr, and healthy, the old people looked wise and still fit with none of the patchy featuresmon in older people. ¡°Are there poor people in this city?¡± Edna asked. ¡°No.¡± The guards answered. ¡°No one whoes to ritas will be poor. The White Statue guides, and the citizens follow. Their poverty is but their starting point.¡± Her eyes squinted, and tried to sense it in the presence of the four guards around her. She blinked. ¡°He touched all your minds.¡± ¡°The Virtues of the White Statue is imprinted in our souls, mdy. No one who obeys the Virtues will be a poor citizen. The State will ensure a role appropriate to you is created, and a fair remuneration is paid.¡± ¡°What of the sick?¡± ¡°The White Statue heals those it can, and those who can¡¯t be healed are sacrificed at the altar.¡± Edna paused, but her feet kept walking. It was a centrally nned economy, but to an extent stronger than even that of Freshka. A city controlled by a god, and where everyone did what it was told to do. She blinked. This was not far from an ant colony. Yet, as she looked at how everyone looked happy. Everyone had a purpose. A task from God itself. It mattered, because their god told it to their soul it did. She blinked again, when she realized Aeon could do this too, and wondered briefly whether it should happen. Everyone seemed to take their work seriously. ¡°Virtue.¡± She repeated. ¡°It¡¯s a fascinating thing.¡± The guards naturally agreed. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡± The guards looked at each other and didn¡¯t say a word. ¡°It is not for us to say.¡± The guards answered. ¡°Only the White Statue has the right to reveal what is one¡¯s virtue.¡± Edna nodded, as they passed even more buildings. There were administrators here. People who coted reports. This was the heart of the Empire, and she felt the touch of the domain holder in every single one. It was like a magical familiar, but more pervasive. The knight refocused her attention on the four guards around her. They were calm. Prepared. She wondered how strong this domain holder had to be. Perhaps in the same tier as the Osroids. ¡°Do they still summon heroes?¡± Edna asked. When she asked about heroes back in the other cities, they¡¯ve gotten nothing. Instead, all they got were nk stares. When she probed about the demons, strangely, all she got was also just nk stares, before one of them said they would be handled by the White Statue¡¯s elite forces. The guards looked at her, three of them said nothing. But one of them turned, and walked close to her. He whispered. ¡°Those who im to be representatives of the Pagan Gods? The visitors from the stained well. That is something only the White Guards know. If you wish to know more, you must ask the question to the White Statue yourself.¡± Edna paused, and felt strangely unnerved. This was the first time they mentioned the term, ¡®Pagan Gods¡¯. Much of what happens in the regional towns of the White Shore is so normal, so perfectly manicured that Edna kept wondering whether there were unusual things. There must be secret things only the special people know. The touch of this domain holder kept most things secret, as the pieces began toe together. It is not that they don¡¯t know, it is that they were not allowed to know. There was a vast, white building filled with windows, in it were men in white tunics all walking about. They looked busy, going over papers and reports. Edna¡¯s long nce was answered by one of the guards. ¡°That¡¯s the main office of the Philosopher King and the Council of Elders. All matters of the Empire travel through that office.¡± Edna nodded, and wondered how much of it was for show. Though the Philosopher King supposedly rules the nation, it is truly the White Statue that holds the puppet strings. In some ways, Edna thought that was simr to Aeon, though, each domain holder and society found their own stable position in the spectrum between ¡®control¡¯ and ¡®freedom¡¯. By now, she was almost at the peak, and the grand temple stood before her. At this distance, she looked up, and couldn¡¯t quite admire the temple. She felt the aura of another domain holder from outside, and it was trying its best to press against hers. It didn¡¯t work. The guards stopped, they were unaffected by the domain holder¡¯s aura. It was focused. ¡°Mdy, you¡¯ll have to step inside yourself.¡± The knight looked about, took a good look at their city, and then back at the door. She gently pushed it, and the heavy painted steel door opened without a sound. It was perfectly oiled and maintained, and though it was pitch dark inside, she could feel that it was just a single, gigantic chamber. The door closed behind her, and here, she sensed no unusual magic. There was no need for little toys in the presence of an existence that likely considers itself a god. In it, was a giant statue of a man, and she felt the emanating power of a fellow domain holder. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Edna.¡± Edna answered, as she walked towards the White Statue. Here, in thisrge, ethereal chamber, her footsteps echoed. ¡°Pleased to meet the White Statue.¡± The Statue¡¯s eyes glowed white, and it went directly to a question. ¡°Are you sent by the pagan gods?¡± Edna¡¯s eyes squinted. ¡°Who are these pagan gods?¡± ¡°Those that deserted us long ago. The old ones.¡± The White Statue answered. Edna frowned, and then looked at the White Statue. There was no facial expression to read in an object like the White Statue. It¡¯s carved face was that of an old man, but yet, she wondered what she was dealing with. ¡°We encountered them, but no, they didn¡¯t send us here.¡± ¡°Then why have youe? Have youe to represent them? To retake thends that were once theirs?¡± Edna shook her head. ¡°Not at all. I represent the Valtrian Order, led by our tree god, Aeon. I am one of those in Aeon¡¯s pantheon. We have been asked by Hawa, to deal with the demons in these faraway worlds.¡± There was so much history scrubbed from the memory of those present. The people of the White Shore do not remember the past. To them, their creation myth started from the White Statue. It was a lie, naturally. There was a moment of silence. ¡°Like the souls that they lied to?¡± The White Statue asked. Edna paused as she realized. ¡°The [heroes]? No. We are not summoned like them.¡± ¡°Then what do you want? If you seek to upset the structure I have created in their absence, then we will be enemies. I will y you here and now.¡± The White Statue dered. Edna was fairly certain she would survive any conflict. The knight felt the probing energies of the White Statue¡¯s domain, but again, it was ineffective. She couldn¡¯t quite sense what the White Statue was, though the founding myths she heard so far imed the White Statue always existed, and he held the light of wisdom that brought the men of the White Shore wisdom. It is so that they exist as productive members of society, instead of living as barbaric creatures in the farawaynds. ¡°We merely want permission to deal with the demons.¡± ¡°And deny us the experience we need?¡± The White Statue countered. ¡°We do not need help dealing with those creatures from beyond, or the lostmbs the old gods send our way.¡± Edna frowned, as she realized the White Statue probably has some means of dealing with the demon king. Briefly, was this something she needed to feed back to Hawa? This world didn¡¯t need help. So, why did Hawa still mark this world as a drain on their faith points? Something didn¡¯t add up. What happened to the heroes? ¡°I see. ¡± Edna said. ¡°Who do you do with those summoned by the old gods?¡± For a moment, the two just stood in silence, as both took a sense of each other¡¯s power. She roughly estimated the White Statue to be around Level 200ish, and probably had some means of dealing with the demons. Perhaps a collection of ancient weapons, or some unique power. The White Statue folded. ¡°We will send them back, of course. A swift death.¡± The White Statue dered. ¡°Death.¡± Edna repeated. ¡°You killed them?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°May we propose that you send them to us, instead? That we take them away from you?¡± Edna countered. ¡°For them to return one day and exact the old god¡¯s vengeance? No. My White Guards hunt them down.¡± The knight stared at the White Statue and for a moment, felt a sense of injustice. She tried her best to hold herself back, and took a deep breath. ¡°Are you dissatisfied with our conduct?¡± The White Statue asked. ¡°I¡¯d rather not kill them.¡± ¡°They are a potentially rogue agent and a poorly constructed weapon of the old gods. Their presence only serves to create chaos, as their incredible potential is turned into the tools of their whims.¡± The White Statue dered. ¡°Such poor tools do not deserve to exist.¡± ¡°You could rip the ss out of them.¡± Edna countered, as she recalled what the Osroids or the rans did to the heroes. ¡°They be regr mortals, and at least, they get to live normally.¡± ¡°Even without their powers, their whims and thoughts are tainted by a world unlike ours. Ours possess a structure that is fundamentally ipatible with their world, and now, I realize your world has a structure ipatible with ours too.¡± The White Statue dered, and for a moment, the two auras shed once more. The entire city of ritas experienced a rare tremor, as the two domain holder¡¯s weight of existence mmed into each other. ¡°Have you spoken to the administrators?¡± Edna asked, and in an instant, the sh of aura stopped. The White Statue¡¯s white eyes glowed brightly. ¡°You speak of something I do not know. borate.¡± Edna realized that the White Statue must have not yet reached Level 250. Because if it had, it too, should be offered the choice. It possessed a religion centered around the White Statue. It was strong. By both counts, it met the criteria. Her mind thought of the angels of Angelworld, and that moment when they hosted the eight-winged angel, Raph. Would their presence here set off another chain of potentially hostile power? She closed her eyes. ¡°It seems you have not reached that level of power. It is not my ce to tell.¡± ¡°What?¡± The white marbles of the temple moved, but stopped just as quickly, as if the White Statue realized it was useless. It thought quickly, and then, suddenly proposed. ¡°If you want me to spare the lives of the future summons of the old gods, then you will borate on this ¡®choice¡¯.¡± ¡°It is not my ce to decide. We will discuss your offer.¡± Edna said. *** ¡°I have a bad feeling if we tell them.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°From what you described, he gives me vibes like the angels. Do we really want to let him know about that future?¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t, we don¡¯t get to save the heroes.¡± Roon countered, and asked a rhetorical question that didn¡¯t really need to be answered. ¡°Is that important to us? Should we have to weigh what we want to do here?¡± ¡°Of course we do! They are heroes. Alright, let¡¯s look at our options. Let¡¯s start with the obvious. Should we go in there and fight that White Statue?¡± Ste asked, and it was met with silence. Lumoof waited, and frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea in the short term. At our stretched levels, we cannot deploy enough personnel to fill the power vacuum or maintain order. It¡¯s also going to be pretty hard to predict how these folks will behave should the White Statue suddenly disappear. The imprints on their mind sounds like it could go either way. I think we leave that option for muchter. It should be a nuclear option, once we conclude that the White Statue really is hostile.¡± It was an ufortable reality that fighting is often the easy part. Maintaining order, and advancing society were significantly harder. Was it worth it, just to save some heroes? It was a line of thought that Kafa raised. ¡°What makes a hero¡¯s life worth more?¡± Kafa countered. ¡°We¡¯re at the point where they are more of a liability. A rogue element, and I would even go as far as saying that the White Statue is right to consider them as erratic. Like we all remember what happened to Chung.¡± ¡°We need them because heroes can help defend the existing worlds. They can move around freely with nodes, and through Lumoof. They are our defensive pieces, and their situation can be managed. The more heroes we have, it bes less risky for us as a whole to rely on them.¡± Roon exined. ¡°And as much as I hate to admit it, heroes are worth more than normal people. Their potential to save lives is so much higher.¡± Ste squirmed ufortably. Discussions of the value of lives made her react this way. She knew how I thought about it. ¡°So we¡¯re going to tolerate this White Statue¡¯s murder of mostly innocent fresh heroes.¡± Lumoof sighed before he exined. ¡°We all make sacrifices, and I am cognizant that even Aeon¡¯s branches are stained with more blood than the White Statue. We¡¯re in no ce toment on the sort of sacrifices the White Statue made to achieve a stable, prosperous society.¡± ¡°I mean, that¡¯s fine with me. We¡¯ve all killed, some way or another, so, I think we¡¯re not really innocent. We just think that it¡¯s the right thing to do. But more importantly, can we actually trust this White Statue¡¯s offer? Is it an offer in good faith? What if it reneges on the deal?¡± Ezar, the brawler, then asked. ¡°I mean, there¡¯s really nothing other than our word and theirs to hold this agreement together. We¡¯re giving special knowledge, in exchange for a promise.¡± ¡°What does Aeon think?¡± I reviewed Edna¡¯s exnation, and personally, I thought it was a matter of time. ¡°If it has been defeating demon kings, it may be a matter of time before it reaches Level 250 anyway. By then, it will meet the administrators. The very fact we have informed him of the existence of these administrators is already revealing much.¡± ¡°My bad.¡± Edna said. There were sacrifices made in every society, and from what Edna saw on the White Shores, they made some too. I had my share of brutal experiments and demonic touches. If I could save these heroes in exchange for knowledge, it seemed like a fair position to take. ¡°Letting it know beforehand could be advantageous. Maybe it¡¯ll be a future god we can work with, or at least, reason with. Or it might be a threat. But for now, I don¡¯t think we need to see it as one.¡± I saw the heroes as useful, even if they¡¯re increasingly less so rtively speaking. If anything, saving these high potential individuals was worth it, even if we¡¯re sharing information with a potentially risky individual. Maybe it¡¯ll be like the angels, a force for order in a chaotic world. Maybe Raph was right after all. The world does need some agents for structure and peace. My approach may work for some, but I do not think it is the perfect one. In a world where the system grants so much power on individuals, maybe we do need gods that y a more pervasive role to mitigate the potential chaos of errant individuals with system-granted power. Anyway, that was a side thought. ¡°I think we can agree on this.¡± I proposed. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t deliver, then we know it can¡¯t be trusted. We¡¯ll deal with it when it happens.¡± 303. The White Statue 303. The White Statue 303 Year 276 (Part II) ¡°You know, I think our interaction with Osroids is gonna be pretty messed up too.¡± Edna said as she rested on a corner sofa. She stretched, and felt her muscles turn. They were all very happy to be home, even if there¡¯s a lot more to discuss. ¡°With creatures of that level of power, I¡¯m not surprised.¡± Ste sighed. The two female domainholders frequently spent time with each other, somehow, they both saw each other as a bit of a kindred spirit. ¡°Few things grow to that level of power without a little bit of madness. We all are mad in our own way.¡± ¡°Hah.¡± Edna said. ¡°You think that¡¯s the key missing thing to be a domain holder?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ste picked up a ss and poured herself some fermented fruit juice. ¡°But at the rate we¡¯re going, every domain holder we meet is going to be unusual in their own way. They don¡¯t be domain holders by being normal.¡± ¡°What are the odds there¡¯s someone like you out there?¡± Edna countered. ¡°If you mean whether there¡¯s bound to be someone who can travel worlds? I think the chances are very high. But also, if you¡¯re like me and we have the ability to run whenever things get dangerous, all we¡¯ll be doing is to keep running.¡± The knight paused for a long, long time. ¡°You know, that¡¯s a very valid point of view. There really might be a domain holder that¡¯s only running from world to world and hiding constantly. Or a void mage.¡± ¡°Yeah. Why bother staying and fighting when running is so easy?¡± She drank the fruit juice and barfed. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea why I drink such things.¡± ¡°You enjoy a little bit of misery.¡± Edna chuckled, as she suddenly jumped up. ¡°Did you personally agree with our choices?¡± ¡°Which ones?¡± Ste said, and somehow, took a second big mouthful of the fermented fruit juice. ¡°The node worlds, or the subdomain?¡± ¡°The one about the node worlds?¡± ¡°Eh. Could be worse. Nodes are disposable, I think it¡¯s fine to just correct as we go. I¡¯m nning to bug Aeon to continue our tour of the Void Layers.¡± Ste said, barfing again, and then walked over to one of her bookshelves. It was a magical contraption that unlocked only with her magical signature. ¡°I think we¡¯ll waste a few years, but we can afford that.¡± ¡°We could, eh.¡± Edna said. ¡°Alka¡¯s waking up next year. I wonder what he¡¯ll think.¡± ¡°I think he¡¯ll think like us.¡± Ste said matter-of-factly. She chose a book written by one of the Valthorns on strategic expansions. The two women shared a longfortable silence. Ste sat down and began to read on one of her finely polished wooden tables, and Edna continued to just look out the window. The view of Freshka from Ste¡¯s mansion was quite good. ¡°Do you think we all think alike? That we¡¯re having a bit of a groupthink going on?¡± That made Ste pause, and turn to look at the Knight. ¡°Is that something that¡¯s bothering you?¡± ¡°A little. I was actually fairly ufortable at how the White Statue marked everyone¡¯s soul and injected them with a ¡®life mission¡¯. But then, I realized not a single one of their denizens thought that way. To them, having a life goal was good. It gave their life purpose, meaning, and it shaped how they directed their time.¡± Ste wanted to say something, only to stop midway and seemed to think for a long time. Eventually, she continued the conversation. ¡°And I think they have a point. I would¡¯ve loved to know what I was meant to do. Having to figure shit out for ourselves is a pain.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Ednaughed, at first, and then stopped when she realized Ste was serious. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s not that bad?¡± ¡°I mean, in hindsight, sure it seems that way, but back during the early days when I¡¯m still a lost, sad, depressed painter? Not at all. Those rose tinted sses are hell of a thing.¡± Ste said. ¡°I would¡¯ve given a lot to have a purpose thrust into my soul, and not just that, it¡¯s something I¡¯d even wholeheartedly believe in.¡± ¡°Do you think Aeon should do that?¡± The knight asked, suddenly. ¡°I mean, hypotheticals, of course. It¡¯s just something I thought about when I saw the fellow people of the White Shore, and I saw purpose.¡± ¡°What? No!¡± Ste said. ¡°It¡¯s crazy. I know that motivation and morale is a big problem over the longer term, but I still think spiritual tampering is still a step too far.¡± Edna nodded. ¡°I guess so.¡± *** Lumoof looked at the city of ritas, and the beautiful white marbled city. He sighed. ¡°Reminds me a little too much of the Magic City, and the prison of the Crystal King.¡± ¡°But a deal is a deal.¡± I countered, and through Lumoof, I could sense the White Statue¡¯s pulsing presence. He was at the heart of aplex web of spiritual connections that was then linked to almost every single citizen of the White Shore. More than anything, I thought that was a level of control even beyond what I was willing to do. It was simr to Bitu, only, more direct. It was impressive. In a way, though the people around us resembled humans in every way, their actions were guided, and so, they were more like autonomous ants than actual independent people. Only the people from the faraway wilnds were spared of the White Statue¡¯s spiritual meddling. Lumoof was right at the gates when the guards paused. Our presence didn¡¯t need an introduction, the White Statue must have known we wereing, because a full battalion of highly decorated soldiers stood waiting for us, armed with enough weapons to match the angels, and even Hawa¡¯s elite guards. The elite White Guards escorted Lumoof through the city. ¡°This way, distinguished guests.¡± The walk was brief, and somehow, the streets were empty. Not a single one of ritas¡¯s citizens were on the street when we walked.Somehow, they clearly marked this as a sensitive event. Unlike Edna¡¯s visit, this time, two of the strongest White Guards escorted Lumoof through the door, and the White Statue¡¯s domain pushed against ours. ¡°I see where yourpatriot¡¯s confidence came from. It is rare to see one that bests me in power.¡± Lumoof nodded as it felt as if two winds swirled around us. A hurricane against a tornado. ¡°Level 200 is still a very respectable power, White one.¡± ¡°Let us get to the matter at hand. I agree that we will spare the pagan god¡¯s summons from a quick death, you agree to tell me what yourpatriot hinted at. Everything of these administrators, and the gods you have met.¡± My priest reacted quickly, unsurprised by how quickly the White Statue got down to business. ¡°In return, we ask that all of the heroes are kept safely. We will take them away from your world when they arrive. I ask that they are fed, in a physically good state and kept healthy until we can retrieve them.¡± ¡°Agreed. You have my promise as the current master of the White Shore. Now for your end of the bargain. Exin.¡± Lumoof took a moment to pause, catch his breath, and then began his exnation. On our end, we saw no risk to the decision. Not an immediate one where we couldn¡¯t correct. So, he spoke about the Level 250 choice, the existence of the World Faith System, gave an overview of the faith system, and why their ¡®drift¡¯ meant they were fading from some worlds. It was a fairly peaceful process, where Lumoof exined, and the White Statue answered with a nod. ¡°And that is why we are here, and we still want to rescue the heroes.¡± Lumoof ended. The White Statue did not respond, but the fluctuation in the spiritual energies around us made it clear that it was deep in thought. The temple only had small windows, but somehow, the winds within were strong. There was a really long silence, Lumoof was used to it. He was around me so often that he seemed used to the hours I normally took to reply. The winds then gradually softened, as the White Statue calmed down. ¡°If what you say is true, my earlier punishment of the old gods as pagans was misguided. It truly seems that wecked context.¡± I was a little surprised, but then again, I suppose not all gods and domainholders are hostile. ¡°It is easy to assume so when the old gods don¡¯tmunicate.¡± Lumoof said with a sigh. ¡°Perhaps it is their arrogance. After all, in their eyes, mere mortals are still way beneath them. Informing us costs faith points, and there¡¯s nothing much that could be done even if we knew.¡± The White Statue clearly wanted to correct, because the statue¡¯s hand moved, but then, it stopped. Again, after a few minutes of silence, it continued. ¡°To think that even lesser deities like us remain insignificant.¡± Lesser deities. ¡°Less so. Less so.¡± Lumoof said, and he decided to go on the charm offensive. The rare moment of vulnerability suggested the White Statue was open to negotiations. ¡°But I see you have built a great world here, and you have a way of defeating the demon king.¡± ¡°We do. More specifically, I do.¡± The White Statue answered. ¡°As a statue, I can shift my being and presence to any of my other statues, and with that statue, I fight the demon king. I leave a little fragment of me behind, hidden amongst my other statues, so that I can regenerate if defeated. But we¡¯ve gotten better at fighting the demon kings, though in my earlier centuries I still had to borrow the powers of the pagan summons. This was long before this drift, and back when my world resembled yours very much.¡± ¡°It is an impressive thing to do. It¡¯s a feat few worlds can im to have achieved.¡± Lumoof answered. For a Level 200 plus to defeat a demon king isn¡¯t thoroughly impossible. Maybe it¡¯s power set was better suited tobat than mine. ¡°It is so. But we must look forward. If there is this option at Level 250, then I must now prepare for it.¡± The White Statue answered. ¡°It will take a few centuries to get the levels needed, since the demon kings only arrive once every 20 to 25 years. Unfortunately, nothing else provides experience like them.¡± Lumoof didn¡¯t want to suggest the obvious. He could also defeat the demon kings on other worlds. The White Statue was likely smart enough to know that was an option, but unless he mentioned it, he wasn¡¯t going to suggest it. There was no track record to justify continued trust, but its exnation of how the White Statue¡¯s soul was spread across all the statues revealed a key point if one day we were enemies. It was able to separate its spirit and spread it to all of its statues. It wasn¡¯t a full clone like mine, but still, a decent failsafe. Once again, the two stood as the White Statue continued to be in thought. After a while, it asked. ¡°Long ago, this world had two of the old gods. Hawa, and Neira. Have you encountered them?¡± ¡°Only Hawa.¡± ¡°I see. If you meet Neira, I ask that I be informed. I have some ancient grudges to settle. My existence today can be traced to a Neiran blood ceremony. A ceremony to bless a statue to serve as a guardian for this city, and our old pagan ways involved blood sacrifices. I was once a doctor, I forgot how many thousand years ago, and I was sacrificed against my will and my spirit was thrust into the Statue.¡± Lumoof looked, but off my head, without any special intervention, moving a soul from one body to another was such a traumatic process that only hero-souls survived. Our own experiences on our death row prisoners informed us that it is fairly difficult to encase a person¡¯s soul in a new host, unless special powers like mine were involved. Blood magic and sacrifices rarely met the conditions needed for it to happen sessfully. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t work. The soul usually doesn¡¯t survive such traumatic damage.¡± ¡°Yes. But I was no ordinary mortal. My soul was stronger. Much stronger, and so my spirit lived when thousands of sacrifices before me failed. It is a cruel irony that they were right to do so. I did protect my world from the demons for tens of thousands of years.¡± ¡°You purged all belief in the old gods?¡± ¡°Almost. I cursed them for creating me, but in time, I¡¯vee to a state of peace. Now, the wildfolks still carry on their weird beliefs, but there must be some chaos to give my men a concept of order and purpose, so I tolerate their existence.¡± At that moment, I thought that we were quite simr. The system encouraged conflict. Rewarded struggles, challenges. So, for Order to be, there must be a state of Disorder. ¡°The old dungeons too. We needed their special resources and the monsters, so I left them as they are. As controlled opponents.¡± In the end, the two domain holders looked at each other once more. Lumoof thought it was mostly over, and so. ¡°I believe that is all. If there is nothing else, we will return.¡± Again, another wait. It was not too long. ¡°It is most unusual to meet someone that I could finally im to be an equal. We will honor the agreement, I will spare those summoned by the drifting gods. And there is one more thing.¡± My avatar stopped, turned and looked at the statue once more. ¡°I wish to join your pantheon and this fight against the demons.¡± I was stunned, and Lumoof was too. We couldn¡¯t answer immediately. *** Treehome There was a quietness on Treehome. With so many of my level 100s deployed on the other worlds, the city¡¯s ultra high end market was significantly quieter. The merchants especially felt it, because many of their regr customers, those who belonged to my elites, were all away for long stretches, and that had a knock on impact. They still worked with my mid-tier Valthorns, many of them were busy preparing for their own trips to the other worlds. We didn¡¯t have much of a choice. The order may be a massive, and very powerful institution, but the very nature of how levels are gained and the exponential nature of the experience requirement meant it was a lot slimmer at the top. Those that provided ¡®lifestyle goods¡¯ to the elites instead have to redirect their production to provide portable goods. Goods that my elites could take to their faraway deployment. Even though a few years honestly just felt like a few weeks to me, for my elites and for the businesses, they still had to make adjustments. The crafters, those directly under our employ, and indirectly as subcontractors or outsourced manufacturers, continued to experience huge quantities of orders, though the nature of production now shifted towards infrastructure goods. Now that Lumoof, Edna and myself could handle demon kings, my central nners anticipated a slowdown in crystal bomb production requirements. This was a resource requirement that choked the world¡¯s economies, such that the past ten to twenty years were periods of ultra high crystal prices. Strategically, we would continue to rebuild our crystal weapons stockpile consumed during the Demon¡¯s Comet incident, but as a whole, the pace of this replenishment could be reduced. This would have a knock on effect on the prices and profitability of crystal mines everywhere if we suddenly reduced our purchases, so the Order as a whole continued to buy, though at a reducing trend. Instead, I¡¯d like to figure out a better use of the magical storage properties of crystals for the war effort, not as weapons, but as some form of utility tool. We already have crystals capable of doingputations, recording images, storing bits of memory, and we have also used crystals as temporary spell cores, where they created an area of effect that enhanced or weakened things and people in their immediate vicinity. I didn¡¯t have many ideas of my own, so I put it to the Valthorns for ideas. There was feedback on the ground for some kind of deployable protective spheres, so that the Valthorns could quickly protect injured nonbatants from attacks, from our experience with the natives. Alternatively, a mobile food and healing kit, stored as spells within a set of crystals. Maybe Alka would have some ideas when he finally reawakened. Deep within my main tree, Alka floated in a pod that dabbled with powers that made no sense to me. His body was reconstructed by an automated will that could only be the system, his flesh reconstructed in bits and pieces in a way that is more as if a perfect replica was being built. I tried my best to understand it, but truly the system understood Alka¡¯s existence at a level of depth that I couldn¡¯t capture. When I looked at Alka¡¯s reconstruction, I saw parallels with the voidyers and Shrubhome. Maybe the system had a mirrorworld where Alka still lived, and what happened was a perfect copy. It is times like this where I question the fundamental nature of the system, because when a world popped out of nowhere is hard to grasp for those without the mental flexibility to contemte how the state of existence could just flip from nothing into something. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. Just ept it.¡± Ste once said. ¡°The void sea is many things, and it¡¯s quite hard to pin down what it is. The Zaratan I met once said it is a state of all that is not existence, and more. It is a state of possibility. When we carve a path through the void sea, the Zaratans once described it as walking in a type of dream-like space, where things exist if you imagine it to exist, and could supply the void energy to motivate the void sea to respond to your imagination.¡± Even that didn¡¯t grasp the full scale of the void. Increasingly, I felt that staring into the void was like going into the inner workings of this world. I wondered if we ventured deep enough, did the voidyers lead to Earth? Or perhaps, an Earth-like world? *** 304. Border Control III 304. Border Control III Year 276 (III) Even though the interaction with the White Shore went decently well, it made us curious of the intricacies of the World Faith System, specifically, how the entire hero summoning system worked. So, Lumoof decided it was important enough to travel back to Hawa¡¯s core world to figure it out. Lumoofnded back in the world of Satrya, and the little relic in his hand whirled. Here, closer to Hawa, the item itself recharged faster. There was already divine energy in the world itself, and all the relic had to do was tap into it. Ste¡¯s ability to move through the void space is overpowered in it¡¯s own way. For one, it made it easier for us to speak. ¡°I have more questions.¡± I asked through Lumoof. ¡°Some of the worlds we encountered have powerful domain holders that have taken hold of those worlds, and protected them from the demon kings. Interfering with what they do to the heroes may cause a confrontation. How does the hero summoning work in detail? In such situations, can you stop summoning heroes?¡± ¡°Which worlds?¡± ¡°The 13th world, Khubor, and the 15th one, White Shore.¡± I answered. The relic hummed, and then. ¡°Wait a moment-¡± I thought that was weird. But a split secondter. ¡°Interesting. The system allowed me to cancel future hero summons for White Shore.¡± ¡°Wait. You can do that?¡± ¡°I am obligated to summon heroes if I do not have information, or if situations change. But, if I receive reliable information that those worlds are self-sufficient, as gods, I can raise a dispute on my faith point spending for these worlds. The intention of the system is to bind the gods together for mutual protection. If there¡¯s no need for protection, I can raise an objection. The System permeates everything, it knows whether the information is legitimate or not.¡± That made both myself and Lumoof wonder whether we could trick the World Faith System into verifying information on our behalf. ¡°But, why doesn¡¯t the World Faith System cancel it automatically?¡± ¡°The Gods prefer that everyone participates in an arrangement, rather than everyone opting out. There are also factors that the System may not be able to foresee. But for Khubor- It seems that my information is not yet sufficient. Did you meet said domain holder?¡± ¡°-No. Not yet.¡± ¡°Perhaps that is how the System verifies whether you know, or not.¡± ¡°Is this because you can¡¯t see those worlds?¡± I countered. ¡°Why can¡¯t you spend faith points to verify it yourself?¡± ¡°I could, yes. My information on these peripheral worlds is scarce, and all I could tell is that my heroes die. I feel the link of magic to the heroes fade, and that a demon king died. I do not know who participated in the battle, or how it died. It also does not help that there¡¯s a hugeck of followers on these worlds, so they do not transmit fragments of their knowledge to me on death.¡± ¡°And you won¡¯t?¡± ¡°If you will meet this existence anyway, I may as well save on the faith points.¡± ¡°True. You learn from people dying?¡± In hindsight, that seemed obvious. ¡°I learn from prayers. I learn from the death of my followers. I learn from those who have faith, and offer me sacrifices. It is the power of the World Faith System. Their Faith in me provides the knowledge I need to act.¡± It is simr to my ability to collect souls, but the World Faith System does work on arger scale. ¡°Does this work if the soul gets stolen?¡± ¡°No. When the spirit of a dead person enters the void, that is when the fragment of their identity merges with the system, where I would then collect it. If the soul fails to reach the void sea, then I do not gain it.¡± Ah. So Khubor has been indirectly cutting information off by stealing the souls of the dead. ¡°Why does the system force you to protect these worlds?¡± ¡°It is the old gods, each unable to trust each other, but need each other¡¯s faith to collectively protect the worlds from the system. So, the old gods weaved this requirement into the World Faith System in its nascent stage, topel all of us to do our part. A mutual defense pact.¡± Trust, orck thereof. I saw parallels of this in so many things, where collective action is needed to get out of problems, but when each acted selfishly, it led to the worst type of oues. It¡¯s unfortunately just game theory ying out on arge scale. ¡°Naturally, the old gods didn¡¯t think the lesser deities needed to y a role.¡± ¡°That does not seem like a glowing testimony of the other god¡¯s personalities.¡± ¡°Those who have power are often a little bit paranoid, even when they don¡¯t need to be. If you have a visit to the domain holder of Khubor, that will help my ability to dispute the hero summon.¡± On some level, I felt it ratherical that gods still have to engage in information gathering to argue their own case. It¡¯s as if the system was this irritating system of governance that didn¡¯t want to move unless prodded. Year 277 Alka¡¯s revival happened without much warning. It just happened one moment when his eyes opened, and the pod naturally unfurled to release him from his long sleep. Then, his domain expanded, reasserting its presence on the world around him. ¡°It¡¯s good to be awake. I was in a really, really long dream.¡± He said, as he realized where he was. Somehow, he knew I was there watching. Maybe it was my presence. ¡°Good to have you back, friend.¡± I said, as I alerted the rest of the domain holders. They were all on their way back. He blinked, stretched, and picked up a robe that was already gathering dust. ¡°You¡¯ve waited a long time.¡± ¡°A little. Seventeen years is a long time, and much has happened.¡± Alka looked outside, and he could feel it. ¡°I know I just came out of a pod, but I¡¯m already eager to head back and have a [dream academy] reying the years I¡¯ve missed.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll have to wait. The rest of them are on their way here.¡± ¡°Ah. Fine. I guess they¡¯ll miss me after- seventeen years? Man, that long dream is so misleading, I thought I was asleep for only a few years.¡± ¡°Did you get anything for your sacrifice?¡± I asked, curious whether he leveled. ¡°Any new abilities?¡± ¡°Surprisingly, yes. I¡¯m now Level 171, and I¡¯ve gotten the ability [Physical Mana Manifestation]. It¡¯s the ability to turn raw mana, both mine and others, into a kind of physical object which can then be used as a bomb. In a way, it¡¯s pure mana as a bomb, no intermediaries, no need for crystals and all that sort of stuff. Right now, we store mana in crystals and various potato storages spread throughout the world, but this physical mana manifestation pretty much leaps through them and turns the mana emitted from our souls into a physical object that can be used as a bomb, and maybe a battery.¡± ¡°Wait. Wait. Doesn¡¯t that mean you could use my mana to create a very big bomb?¡± I said, realizing how this power interacted with my own extensivelyrge mana pool. Of all the domain holders, I had thergest mana pool by multiple orders of magnitude. ¡°Well- yes. There¡¯s got to be some downside to it-¡± Alka said, and after a few seconds, he figured it out. ¡°Ah. Handling. It¡¯s kinda fragile and could easily blow up. Because it¡¯s like pure mana in physical form, anyone not strong enough could easily get mana overload and mana poisoning. And it also decays over time, though rtively negligible whenpared to how frequently we use crystal bombs.¡± ¡°The bombs may be obsolete, though. We¡¯re at the level where we can handle demon kings.¡± I had to correct him, though I could see such a physical bomb as a powerful tool on the Sun-Rings. If we could blow it up, we didn¡¯t even need to rely on Hawa¡¯s divine weapon, whatever that was. Alka paused as the bombshell just hung in the air. After a few seconds, he spoke again. ¡°I really do need to get to that [dream academy] and have a recap of what happened in the past seventeen years. I missed out on a lot.¡± ¡°Yeah. In a way.¡± At about that time, the door to the pod opened and the rest of the domainholders gave Alka a big group hug. It was a strangely nice feeling to see my domain holders give Alka a hug. ¡°It¡¯s really you, isn¡¯t it?¡± Steughed. Alka rolled his eyes as if it was obvious. ¡°Maybe. Maybe the real me died that day and what you see now is a perfect replica.¡± ¡°It is a perfect replica, physically.¡± I answered. ¡°But his soul is the same one.¡± Ste grinned. ¡°Good enough, I guess.¡± I allowed my domain holders to have a half a day to catch up, and then Alka, as he requested, had a long few days digesting the events of the past seventeen years in my [dream academy]. *** We needed to hold the worlds, for a period of time. At least for one or even two demon king cycles. Alka had a lot of ideas in his mind after he reviewed the data, and one of the first things he did was calcte whether we could blow up the Sun-Rings with his new ability. Our initial information was fairly encouraging. It would leave a rather big hole, and the Sun-Rings are such a massive object that it would likely survive. If we could make bombs equal to ten times my current mana, it should leave arge crack. With Edna and Lumoof¡¯s ability to fend off the demon kings, we could potentially destroy the Sun-Rings if we hit it multiple times. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯ll be enough to destroy the strange demonic barrier that blocked our view of the inner demon realms, but we will have to try. ¡°So, now that you know what¡¯s up, what do you n to do?¡± The dwarven master alchemistughed. ¡°Let¡¯s just say, I have some dreams I suddenly feel like fulfilling.¡± ¡°Oh, alright, what will it be?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make a trip to Delvegard.¡± Alka said with a stereotypical dwarven grin. ¡°That seems like the best ce to get me up to speed and relive some of my fantasies.¡± *** Lausanne, the world of Magisar. Lausanne stood on the edge of their newly built city. There were few demons these days, in the past few months, even more demons were in, and increasingly, their once skeptical refugees and escapees from the towers began to see the merit of their ways. There truly was nothing like power. Sadly, not everyone saw it that way. ¡°There¡¯s a nned rebellion to push us out, mdy.¡± One of her subordinates reported during a regr weekly meeting. The actual Valthorn force deployed on Magisar wasn¡¯trge, only a hundred to two hundred. The Valthorn¡¯s extensive weakening of the demons, together with an alliance of the mages that supported the battles, gave the local Tower Masters the wrong idea. The Tower Masters presumed that the Valthorns onlyprised two hundred to three hundred or so mages, and they were thinking of overwhelming the entire Valthorn force during one of the battles against the demons. In some ways, the Valthorns supplied the ingredients for the Tower masters to n the rebellion. The destruction of various demonic hives meant the disruptions were removed, and the old [message]works were restored. So, the Tower Masters, eager to regain control over the entire world and ce as the rulers of the world, quickly plotted with their peers. In their minds, 10,000 mages across the ten or twenty or so towers would be enough to take on two hundred or so Valthorns. In order to make it happen, the Tower Masters would all deploy some secret teleportation scrolls tounch the attack together. ¡°Why do people do things like this?¡± Lausanne sighed, as she heard the full scope of what the Valthorn spies discovered. ¡°Do they truly think they¡¯ll win?¡± ¡°They might, if the Tower Masters themselves arrive.¡± One of Lausanne¡¯s assistants answered. ¡°They don¡¯t quite understand the full scope of our strength.¡± Both Ebon and Hoyia were redeployed to other worlds, and she looked at the report again. ¡°At least half of their mages will die if we let this attack happen. That¡¯s a massive waste of magical talent.¡± Lausanne said with a sigh. ¡°I think we should haul up the Tower Masters. Let them know what exactly they are facing.¡± Lausanne paused, as she thought about it. ¡°Is that the best course of action? I mean, how can we truly solidify our impression on the Magisarians that we truly mean to help them.¡± Each of them suggested different ideas, but was there really a way to stop the conflict in such a way that would show them the gap between the two forces? Something that would truly show the Magisarians that in a real ¡®war¡¯, there really is a huge gap? Something that would truly spare them the enemies? In the end, Lausanne thought of a few different ways to solve the problem, but ultimately, the solution was some variant of Aeon¡¯s Perspective. Fear. She hated using fear to convince others, but there are times there is no choice. Fear was a survival tool, and for those scheming against them, it would save their lives. There are those who didn¡¯t think it through. Perhaps the hold of their old system was too strong. It was hard for people to change overnight, what more such arge, cultural change. Fear was a fence. It would keep them safe. Conflict was inevitable, sometimes, this conflict was peaceful, sometimes, it was deadly. As Aeon¡¯s envoy to these worlds, they had an incentive to keep things peaceful. It was kind. She knew and spoke to some of the Magisarians that would rebel. They even fought together briefly during one of the earlier attacks on the demons. She tried her best for the charm offensive. To convince their minds that choosing Aeon was the right choice. But in the end, the presence of the domain holders on Magisar was fairly temporary, and only a few felt what is like to stand before what She double checked, and together with her team, came up with a n. One that would allow the archmages to go all the way, only for it to fail at thest moment. *** The Tower Masters wanted to strike during one of therger offensives against the demon hives. They saw that as theirst window of opportunity where quite a few of the Valthorns would be gathered in the same ce. 3,000 mages of the various Magisarian Towers were supporting the attack, and at the same time, about 6,000 more mages from across the field. Lausanne was there, as were ny of the other Valthorns deployed to Magisar prepared for the battle. Only about half of them knew of theing betrayal, so the other half that didn¡¯t would be updated at thest minute, and sent into the demonic hives first. ¡°Lady Lausanne.¡± A Magisarian mage came over, there was a trembling in his hands. ¡°Will weunch the attack on the demons soon?¡± Lausanne looked at the hive, as a Magisarian mage walked over. He was one of those who joined the refugee camps. Yet somehow, the Tower Masters promised him great titles, positions and wealth if he cooperated with their schemes. She would¡¯ve understood if it was someone like Lezzan, the old leader of the refugees that decided to side with the Tower Masters. Some of those left not because they were against the structure of society, but merely because they did not benefit from it. The Valthorns yed the political game of Magisar, and won the right to rule through their magical prowess. s, the game was there only when it benefited them. Already, the Tower masters whispered how it wasn¡¯t meant to allow foreigners toe and im the Towers, even if it was never formally written down. Lausanne looked at the demonic hives. It was quite far away, and the mage¡¯s pulse was ragged. He didn¡¯t have much sleep. The demonic golem hives were crowded, there were therge demonic golem champions. ¡°Yes. Soon. This is thest demonic hive. What¡¯s left is only the King, and we will get to that soon. Are you ready?¡± The mage gave a nod, but his bodynguage was unnatural. He knew today would be the day the natives would try to flush out these ¡®invaders¡¯. ¡°It will be a glorious day. The day of thest hive purged from Magisar.¡± Lausanne exined. ¡°Maybe it¡¯ll be recorded as the Battle of Nothlend¡¯s Valley.¡± The native mage could only nod. ¡°Maybe you have another name for today?¡± Lausanne teased, and she felt the native mage tremble. There was something he wanted to say, but he couldn¡¯t. ¡°Rx, it¡¯s just a joke. It¡¯s just the first step. Rebuilding your world is going to take a while.¡± Lausanne sighed, and tapped the Magisarian mage on the shoulder. ¡°Change is hard. Removing threats doesn¡¯t mean Magisar is ready to be a member of the wider world, and the society must be ready to contribute, just as it will receive aid and rewards for doing so.¡± She wondered whether he would hesitate at thest moment. The archmage ckmoore led the charge into the demonic hive, as the Valthorns struck first. They always did. The native army¡¯s role was just to support the Valthorns¡¯ assault. She nced at a corner, and sighed. The mage bowed as he tried his best not to expose their plot. ¡°I must go prepare, Lady Lausanne.¡± He didn¡¯t. It was a shame that someone she thought would be receptive to change still wanted the old order. Lausanne sighed, and felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. ¡°A good try, Lausanne. But do not worry, they won¡¯t be harmed in the little demonstration.¡± The elf nodded. She led the rest of the deployed Valthorns. ¡°Valthorns!¡± She shouted, as the rest of the Valthorn force gathered around her. ¡°Let us destroy thest demonic hive!¡± The small group of high level Valthorns roared, and they all charged into the demonic hives. Only Lausanne and another Valthorn stayed back. The scheme had begun, as she felt the activation of teleportation spells. The army of the local Magisarian mages grew, as hundreds more mages joined the existing army, and then, the Tower Masters appeared. She had to focus to feel them moving around. They didn¡¯t shine like the Valthorns. ¡°Attack!¡± The shout came from behind the lines, and Lausanne closed her eyes. She turned and saw a trembling mage. The same mage that spoke to her, and their eyes met. The magesunched a volley at the demonic hives. The hives were done for, anyway. ¡°Attack the invaders.¡± The second volley was the key signal. The mage steeled himself, and yet, Lausanne stared into his eyes and said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this.¡± He did, anyway. He raised his magical staff, as did many others, and they allunched a spell, this time aimed at the Valthorns. The spells were fired, and smashed into Lausanne¡¯s protective wooden shields. The Tower Masters flew overhead, they were armed in all their best weapons, and a battering of spells smashed into Lausanne¡¯s shields. ¡°Die, invaders!¡± They said. Lausanne¡¯s shield held. They underestimated the sheer gap of power between them. ¡°No one is hurt, yet.¡± Lausanne heard the same familiar voice in her head. She nodded. The Valthorns that knew of the betrayal quickly moved to protect their peers that didn¡¯t. Lausanne emerged at the center of a heavily damaged crater, and looked at the Tower Masters. ¡°So this is what you¡¯ve elected, Tower Masters?¡± Lausanne said with a smile that terrified the Tower masters. One of them had a look at the grin on her face and knew they had fucked up. ¡°You¡¯ve brought quite an army to support this attack, and yet your attacks fail to even get past my shields.¡± Lausanne dered. In truth, very few in the world could. Her shields came with Aeon¡¯s special blessings, and that meant her shields were always above and beyond everyone else, only those in the domain could match her. Lausanne walked towards the group of thirty or so Tower Masters, many of these floating Towers had a few Tower Masters, not all of them were here. They were wise to do so. ¡°All you¡¯ve brought is an audience for your execution.¡± Lausanne dered, as the Tower Masters panicked. The second wave of spells smashed into her shields and did nothing. The mood in the thousands of mages present changed. ¡°You must wonder why we are strong.¡± Lausanne dered. Lumoof¡¯s invisibility vanished right next to her, but his presence was zero. He hid his powers. ¡°Tower Masters,e.¡± Lausanne dered. ¡°Show me the nerve of your resistance. The fire that possessed you to fight us.¡± The Tower Masters did, a few of the ringleaders shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t fear her! She¡¯s just taunting us!¡± Their spells gathered, and just then, a wave of anti-magic spread throughout the entire valley. Lausanne nodded at Lumoof briefly, the [anti magic aura] meant not many would be hurt. ¡°Come.¡± Lausanne said, as the army of mages realized quite a few of their magical equipment and spells were not functioning. ¡°What- what¡¯s happening?¡± The disbelief in the army. Lausanne withdrew a spear of anti-magic, a pure ss weapon. To the magic-sensitive Magisarians, it was akin to staring into a whirlpool that drained magic from around it. The Tower Masters had to use higher tier spells that were unaffected by the anti-magic aura. They all smashed helplessly into Lausanne¡¯s anti-magic spear. She walked towards them menacingly, while the lower level mages were rendered not much more than regr, magic-less foot soldiers. Her physicality meant she reached them, and she gave them a punch. Their shields were useless, all it took was a light poke by her spear and its magical energies were sapped. They were not built for rigor. . The army of mages watched helplessly. ¡°These are your tower masters.¡± Lausanne dered, as she flung the bloodied tower masters on the floor. ¡°They led you, and told all of you that made you believe you had a chance.¡± She red. ¡°All of you are just fodder. They are more than prepared to see three quarters of you die, just so that they can stand atop of your world once more.¡± The army of mages of Magisar were generally below Level 60. And yet, to Lausanne¡¯s bewilderment, they raised their weapons. She saw in their eyes those who dared to fight them. If only they used that daring against the demons instead of them. ¡°Even before those who are twice your levels, do you really want to do this?¡± Lausanne asked, and those present were shocked. ¡°You might still think you have a chance against me?¡± She looked at the group of Tower Masters, and they were still somehow defiant. Their spells sted into her wall of wooden shields. Those who followed them attacked with their own weapons. Some of them held hero-items. A waste of such good weapons in the hands of lesser mages for the purpose of a power struggle. Why? Were they unfair to them? All they did was round up their army, and cobbled them together into a unified fighting force. And yet, they used that opportunity to rebel against them instead. She red at the Tower masters, and they did not relent. She saw courage. Misced courage, in the heart of the mages who believed they were fighting an upier. Were they upiers? Lausanne knew they were not. Yet somehow, despite their spies and allies, the Tower Masters managed to convince so many mages that they were. That these mages and wizards were freedom fighters. Courage. They were driven into a frenzy as the Tower Masters continued their attack. She could feel them use some kind of magic that blessed the mages under their banner, and raise their spirits. Words would not do now. Lausanne¡¯s eyes looked into those mages that stood against them, despite being so outssed. They believed her reluctance to hurt them as a sign that they had a chance. So brave and yet so foolish. She felt sad for them, because she did not really want to use Aeon¡¯s presence to crush their spirits. She had seen those broken by Aeon¡¯s presence, and it was hard for them to find their courage again. Yet the alternative was death. The alternative was a spell that would hurt them. Or a perpetual gueri rebellion as these mages continued to believe their chances. Lumoof waited. It would be her call as the temporary leader of the Valtrian Magisar Division. She weighed the odds in her heart, and finally relented. ¡°Lumoof, let us show them who stands at the heart of our organization.¡± Aeon¡¯s Avatar descended, and the air instantly turned oppressive, and the Tower Masters gazed at the sky, only to see darkness. The sun was blocked, as the towering presence loomed over the entire army. ¡°With each rebellion, and each resistance, the perceived value of your world to us diminishes.¡± Lausanne dered. ¡°Those of us here are trying to prove that your world still has value, and thus should be trained to be a part of the bigger war.¡± In the face of something like Aeon, somehow everything just stopped. The mages looked in foolish courage only to find an abyss of stars looking back at them. In Aeon¡¯s Avatar they saw the cruel reality that they never stood a chance. In that moment, Lausanne rushed ahead, and grabbed one of the mastermind¡¯s robes, and pulled him up. They were vulnerable. The Magisarians were never a physical kind, and next to Lausanne, this much was clear. Lausanne was a slim elven woman, but her limbs were all strong, dense, and flexible. ¡°We¡¯ve known of your schemes for a while.¡± Lausanne dered loudly to the man¡¯s face, but its intended audience was everyone else. ¡°It is quite convenient that you¡¯ve identified those with rebellious tendencies for us.¡± The army of mages all panicked, but they had no words. They were unable to. The pressure that pressed on them was now too strong. ¡°I had such high hopes.¡± The elvendy sighed, she spotted the traitorous mage hiding in the crowd. ¡°All of you will live, but your loyalties were tested today, and foundcking. Return to your home cities and towers, mages. All of you are now barred from all preference trades and all benefits with the Order are suspended until you¡¯ve atoned for your rebellion.¡± Through Lumoof, a group of three hundred or so Valthorns appeared. It was a temporary deployment, a force that was meant for the other worlds, but Lausanne borrowed them to control the rebellion. The Tower Masters could not resist, as Aeon¡¯s vines wrapped around them. Lausanne sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with youter. The rest of them, please send them home.¡± There was no need to imprison them. The fear will haunt them for the rest of the month. The power of [Haunted Forest] at Aeon¡¯s level is an imprint on their psyche. The Tower Masters knew they were doomed. Some of them expected death. Lausanne sighed, and still, she didn¡¯t want to kill them. There was no need for death when there are demons to kill. ¡°I believe these Tower Masters are in need of some perspective.¡± They were whisked away for a good year-long trip on Lavaworld. Thus, one of the most peaceful failed rebellions on Magisar, where the only injuries are some bloodied faces and bruises. But the scar on the minds of Magisar¡¯s mages will take an eternity to heal. 305. Border Control IV 305. Border Control IV Chapter 305 Year 277 (Part II) I couldn¡¯t immediately decide on the White Statue¡¯s offer, and at this point, there was not enough trust between us to even begin offering it a position. In short, we barely knew each other, and we would have to wait for a few rounds of safe ¡®hero-returns¡¯ before we could seriously consider his offer. So, that was what Lumoof did. A simple visit, where we remarked that we appreciated the offer, but we were unable to decide on it, until we had built up a history of cooperation and trust. We would like to see it deliver on its promises to spare the heroes, and from there, decide how to move forward. The White Statue understood, and didn¡¯t seem hostile. A part of me feared whether it would retaliate for rejection, but then, if it did retaliate, then that solved whether it was someone we could work with, since it did not respond to what was a reasonable request. The problem was, Hawa had removed the World Faith System¡¯s future hero summons, and thus, there was no real way of testing whether the White Statue would hold up it¡¯s end of the bargain. On some level, the White Statue was not yet a threat. It had hero-levelbat strength, which made it very powerful, but it didn¡¯t have the means to move to worlds. If it did, then it had all theponents necessary to establish an entity like the Valtrian Order. Other than its past records of killing heroes, in aggregate, a White Statue-like empire throughout the multiverse would be a benefit, just like Raph¡¯s angels. There are forces within the Valtrian Order ufortable supporting an entity that could one day grow into a force that rivaled our own. But that is nature, isn¡¯t it? There will always bepetition, and those unable topete have to find their own niche. For me, I wasfortable letting these existences grow. I saw them as good, and it was not as if we were the only power around. There are still the old gods, and though the old gods are more ¡®clustered¡¯ in nature, they still formed a powerful force that would hinder the expansion of potentially expansionist empires. I believe it may be a good idea to send the White Statue to one of the demon worlds, let it experience what are the types of foes we face, and the lines of our war. Eventually, I would let it have it¡¯s first expansion, to one of the many new worlds that we encounter. I thought about Raph, and the angels, and wondered whether it was wrong for us to just avoid them altogether. Maybe I should revisit them someday, because by just ignoring them, did I just sweep the problem under the rug? Maybe I did. Maybe we all did. Knowing that, I thought about the White Statue and Raph. Raph and the Angelworld leaned strongly authoritarian, and in hindsight, that may be what is needed during a period of chaos, especially dealing with a popce that is not familiar or able to operate within more coborative methods. From those experiences, and having seen the White Statue¡¯s Empire, my previous action of ignoring them is unlikely to be fruitful. Instead, engagement and guiding them towards a peaceful coexistence would be better for the world as a whole. I believed that the multiverse was big enough for everyone, and even if it wanted to grow, there¡¯s the demon worlds that could be reimed to feed all their ambitions. Ignoring them and letting them sit in their own worlds may be a solution. Destroying them was also one. But I didn¡¯t think destruction was a good idea. Would I be better than the demons if I destroyed other races that could¡¯ve helped against the demons? So, we should do what civilizations do. Diplomacy and engagement. We should engage with both Raph and the angels of angelworld and also the White Statue and his empire. They could still be enemies. But at least we¡¯ve given them and their societies a chance to prove themselves. *** Meanwhile, the Valtrian order¡¯s priorities shifted to the rest of the peripheral worlds. The Valtrian Order deployed my nodes on the chosen worlds, and so we began our expansion. I watched with great amusement as the mages of Magisar attempted to rebel against us, and was quite happy with how Lausanne dealt with it. But it did quite suck that many of the interactions eventually ended with, ¡°We have the big guns.¡± Lumoof didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°If we have the divine on our side, it is best we show it. Power must be known, and must be seen used. Only then, will the people remember it.¡± But Lausanne didn¡¯t. It was not her ideal oue. *** Lausanne, Magisar The single event reshaped the thoughts among the Magisarians. The mages that survived that event went back with their views of the Valthorns thoroughly changed. She could see it in their face, the mix of horror, awe, and strangely, hope. It was partly why she hoped to avoid that card. But she knew she couldn¡¯t. The mages were still eager to fight. She saw, even in spite of the strength she disyed. Even if she swimmingly overwhelmed the Tower masters, some people would die that day. Unnecessarily, because of lies from their old leaders. It was why she ultimately asked Lumoof to activate Aeon¡¯s Avatar. But it has consequences. It was not the first time she met people with such a reaction. She saw this same reaction in those subjected to Aeon¡¯s Perspective. The nobles were all unable to fathom an existence so much greater than themselves that they lost their ability to fathom it. Gods. Lausanne sighed. She was privileged in a way different from others. She grew up watching the big tree in her vige grow into the ginormous existence that protected their world. To those around her, Aeon was always a god, and they couldn¡¯t see Aeon as anything else. She too, believed in Aeon, but unlike others, she had seen Aeon¡¯s failings, and knew that even gods have ws. She saw how it was done, for most parts of the way, and thus she could see even a powerful existence like Aeon wasn¡¯t unreachable. A part of her wondered to herself whether this was the difference between those who could be domain holders, and those who couldn¡¯t. Somehow, she believed she could be one. No. She saw how it was done, and knew it was entirely possible. Those who aspire to be domain holders must make it a part of them. An innate belief that the gods aren''t something that cannot be reached. Yet, as she looked at the now subservient mages, she wondered whether such an act would cut off their ability to rise. The Magisarian mages would be sycophants. The new ¡®zealots¡¯. She heard of the news through their Valthorn informationwork. The White Statue imprinted a mission on those it met, woven into their souls. Lausanne knew that Aeon¡¯s Perspective, and using Aeon¡¯s presence on low-leveled existences was pretty much the same thing. It was an equivalent of a blunt smash into their soul. It was the equivalent of a battering ram breaking down the seemingly impervious castle gates. No one forgets something so clear. Even the Tower Masters. The slight trembling in their hand. The awkward jerks when she approached. They remember that moment. An imprint. It was no different to the actions of the White Statue. The presence of a domain holder affects all those who encounter them. Everyone felt the way their existence warped and influenced the world. Because they do. Lausanne feared that there woulde a time where Lumoof and Aeon were so powerful that the mere sight of them would turn those with weaker wills and minds into golems, and so, it is important that the use of Aeon¡¯s Avatar be limited. ¡°Lady Lausanne.¡± The mage knelt in front of her, and there were ten others behind the mage. He didn¡¯t kneel before this, but he was there during the day of the crushed rebellion. All of them were ¡°I- I wish to atone for my sins. We were fools for believing the Tower Master¡¯s lies.¡± Fear. Worship. Lausanne had seen so many mages who probably went back to their homes and realized that they would have died that day. It was pathetic. She shook her head. Her goal was to save lives, and she did so. There was no pointing to the peripheral worlds to save them from the demons, andter on kill the natives due to infighting and rebellion. It defeated their purpose. The peripheral worlds were not theirs to ¡®im¡¯. Yet, as she looked at the sorry mages who came, maybe they were already dead. She didn¡¯t believe those who had their wills broken had the capacity in them to be one of them. Not with what their task called them. In her eyes, Aeon¡¯s goal of extracting talent from the people of this world would have to wait for the next generation. ¡°If you wish to atone for your mistakes, do your job well, and teach your children well.¡± Lausanne answered, feeling a little resigned. It was a little sad, but for Magisarians with their human-like lifespans, it would just be a few decades. The mages nodded, and thanked her profusely. She had to resist a sigh. She wondered when Central would finally send over a [Mage Lord] to run the ce. She shook her head. No. She shouldn¡¯t think of her escape. She¡¯ll do her job well, until her part is done. *** Alka finally walked on thends of Delvegard. ¡°This is nice.¡± Alka said as he watched the chaos that unfurled in the valleys below. [Lord] Sundus apanied him, as were a few other dwarves, and they sat at the vantage point. The vantage point was protected by magic, and so the group saw it fit to bring wine, food, and tables. They all had binocrs or other sort of viewing tools, and watched from theirfortable location, while eating. There was a war between two of the dwarven nations, and they brought out a few of their big guns. Both factions deployed their gigantic war machine. ¡°But it¡¯s so impractical.¡± Sundus shrugged. ¡°The dwarves fight their wars this way. They don¡¯t do much covert warfare. It¡¯s pure mechanical weaponry and power.¡± ¡°Perhaps no one with other ideas would get sufficient funding and resources.¡± Alka said. The way resources were allocated in Delvegard favored those who preferred to build big war machines. It made them gain levels, and their craftsmen could then go on to build even bigger, better war machines. ¡°Most likely. I¡¯ve met a few low leveled crafters and they were fairly amused when asked to build other things.¡± ¡°If we could show them other ways to fight this war, they¡¯d quickly adopt and copy the new designs.¡± Alka said as he activated some kind of spying skill. Sundus paused. ¡°Should we really introduce new ways of killing each other to the dwarves?¡± Alkaughed. ¡°Fair. Have you wondered what it¡¯ll be like if one of Aeon¡¯s carriers came here?¡± ¡°You think- With all due respect, it¡¯s not a good fit, sir.¡± The Dwarven Lord stopped, a little surprised. ¡°It isn¡¯t. It¡¯s a joke.¡± Alka smiled. ¡°But now, have you ever wondered what the dwarves will do?¡± Sundus realized the question was serious, and momentarily sat there. ¡°They would naturally turn their weapons against us.¡± ¡°But the beetle carriers fly high above these dwarven contraptions.¡± Alka said. ¡°Barring the crystal weapons of the dwarves, there is hardly anything that could hurt them. Now, beyond that, these carriers are expendable. Consider what will happen to the politics of this world.¡± ¡°They will band together. But, we¡¯ll be like demons.¡± Alka said. ¡°And that¡¯s the problem. How do we stop people from fighting each other? In almost every world we¡¯ve been to, it is always a powerful force enforcing social order, because fighting is advantageous to the rebels. The one who cooperates and exists peacefully with their fellow men takes longer to get what they want, while the rebel who fights just takes and gets it now.¡± A ssic prisoner¡¯s dilemma. If everyone cooperates and coexists peacefully, there is potential to have even more than the spoils of war. And yet, because there is no way to enforce trust and peace without weapons, and the one who behaves peacefully is almost always at a disadvantage, everyone is then forced to prepare for war, which diverts resources away from a ce of wealth. ¡°So, we can do what Aeon did on Threeworlds and Mountainworld. Establish a colony and recruit people. Then, the natives turn on us because they fear our rising power, and then, they remember to keep their distance for a while. Is there a better way?¡± Alka asked. ¡°Would it be better if we came in with overwhelming force, so that we are seen as invaders, and force the locals to obey?¡± Sundus frowned. It was true what they did now on Delvegard was more of the same. Slow expansion by establishing a small base of operations. ¡°Or, we take what we want. The talents. The resources. How do we undermine what sustains the war on this world?¡± Sundus paused as he realized it was simr to how the Order drained the vassal wars of its fire. By taking out the winds. ¡°We steal all the void weapons. That would absolutely cut off all the supply of Sunsteel and Sunmetal, and the existing nations would have to resort to old weapons.¡± ¡°That is one. Two, we begin a wide scale collection of the talented crafters. Recruitments. Spies. We need to give the talented crafters of these dwarven worlds reason to leave, and also a damned good reason to join us. The academies are valuable, but its contents can be stolen. It is the people that we need. People who we can redeploy to build new types of weapons for use against the demons, instead of fighting these repetitive wars.¡± Sundus nodded. ¡°So, first, we need to engage in wide scale theft of weapons, and a good amount of private visits.¡± ¡°Great. d you see it my way.¡± Alka tapped the Lord. ¡°Can I count on you to make it happen?¡± Sundus shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll treat my best.¡± ¡°Good. As for me, I¡¯ll infiltrate one of these craft academies, build up a dossier of talented individuals, learn their secrets, and then, when we are ready, we¡¯ll convince those we can, and rebuild a version of the dwarven academies somewhere secure.¡± *** 306. Border Control V 306. Border Control V Year 278 ¡°For the worlds that we don¡¯t intend to spend much time on, let¡¯s just go in, destroy the demons and the demon king. The locals wouldn¡¯t realize anything¡¯s different, and we fulfill our end of the bargain with Hawa.¡± Lumoof repeated. ¡°For those where we intended to deploy a node, we¡¯ll work out a more detailed n.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The heroes and the domain holders nodded. ¡°Okay,e. Now let¡¯s go-¡± Sarlpi Lumoof and Ste led the way, and theynded on the world of Sarlpi. Once Lumoof went through, the rest of the heroes and domain holders followed, transported through my clone-teleportation ability. The demon king of Sarlpi was a fire demon, and it waited. The world of Sarlpi was heavily battered, though the few Order operatives on Sarlpi managed to create a safe space for the fire people that still lived. A few of them would stay back to protect the fire people, in the event that the ice people of the north and south decided to expand, though the unfavorable terrain meant it was unlikely that the ice people would be interested in thends. It was fairly easy to find the demon king, and the battle was now trivial. Sarlpi¡¯s Demon King died in a fairly quick battle. The might of nine domain holders and seven heroes meant what was a formidable challenge for a single hero was thoroughly trivial. The heroes could not believe how easy the battle was over. ¡°I like that this is easy.¡± Samuel breathed a sigh of relief. Prabu and Colette nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll be great if all demon kings are like this, but we have to prepare for demon kings that are like the one on Gigantadragon or Multipus.¡± The heroes gained a level or two each, and the lower leveled domain holders did as well. But for the three of us that reached Level 200, we didn¡¯t gain a thing. It was fine. We had to keep moving. *** Capra The forcended on the world of Capra, through one of my node trees. The Node Tree was safely ced in one of the Capran Mountaintop Cities. The Caprans were hospitable, and they were more than happy to send a party with us to witness the battle. The agreeableness of the Capran rulers made it easy for us to work with them, though a part of me wondered whether there was something we didn¡¯t see or realize. On some level, I suppose it didn¡¯t matter. As long as the Caprans cooperated, provided resources and talent towards our end goal, I didn¡¯t see a need to expect more from them. This was their world, I was just their temporary protector. Just like on Sarlpi, the battle against the flying demon king of Capra ended quickly. The moment both Lumoof and Edna got on top of the flying demon king, and properly locked it into the ground, the battle was mostly over. Without the incredible mobility of the flying demon king, the rest of the heroes and domain holders hammered the demon king to death. It was a very different style of battlepared to what the Capran literature depicted. ording to their old legends, the battles between demon kings and heroes often brought them acrossrge areas, as their battle crisscrossed the valleys and the towering mountains. As Capran attracted flying demon kings, and the heroes have flight abilities of their own, the old legends were pretty much aerial dogfights and chases through the valleys. The brutal, up close and personal nature of our forces were a shock, but victory was victory, and we were ready to move. Capra was free, and we would shift our direction here. On Capra, it was a time for recruitment and reconstruction. *** Magisar Lausanne requested that the battle against the demon king be a fairly quiet affair. The quelling of the rebellion left a visible mark on the way the mages conducted themselves. It was as if the fire in their mage society was suddenly robbed of their fuel. Depression and a sense of sadness seemed to permeate the towers. Those that didn¡¯t participate in it thanked their lucky stars, and the stories of how the rebellion was quelled turned more oundish at each subsequent revision. It¡¯ll take some time for this sensation to fade. ¡°Join us, Lausanne. As well as ckmoore. Those level 140 and above should join the final battle.¡± Lumoof offered the Valthorns. It was voluntary, but in the end everyone who was Level 140 epted. We knew from experience that those close to the domain needed it. Edna, Roon and Johann fought in numerous battles against the demon kings before they broke through that unknown barrier. The battle against Magisar¡¯s golem demon king also went smoothly, and quite a few participants gained a level or two, but sadly, it wasn¡¯t enough to make anyone a domain holder. It was disappointing, but it made sense. ¡°Our presence is making it too easy.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°But I don¡¯t see why we should stop doing it. There will be many other worlds to take more risks.¡± With Magisar¡¯s demon king defeated, the group moved on to the next world. *** Great Steppes The Armataurs and Lancias were incredibly helpful, and the way they treated the heroes were as if they were the walking embodiment of god itself. The priests of the two centaur subspecies were gifted with a way of noticing the presence of those who bore the touch of their gods, and so the presence of so many heroes created a controversy among the faithful. The treehome heroes were not summoned by Hawa, and neither was Khefri or the other heroes. In the first ce, their ability to locate ¡®their¡¯ hero only worked specifically to the hero summoned to the Great Steppes, and not elsewhere, but this was a matter that still confused them. The Armataurs, which worshipped Hawa, and the Lancias who worshipped a god I¡¯ve not met named Zulfa, and in both their religions, they only received two heroes during each and every hero summoning. One by Hawa, one by Zulfa. Thus, the presence of seven heroes meant the existence of many gods beyond what their creation myths stated. It was a cause of great debate among the priests and faithful. Some of these priests tried to exin it by some kind of exceptional summoning. Some of them spoke about theing of a third god, which only made these bunch seem sphemous to those who believed in the primacy of the twin centaurian gods of Hawa and Zulfa. In the end, the great leaders of the two centaurs decided to order an embargo on all information about the presence of so many heroes, in order to prevent any widescale consequences, and restrict the knowledge only to the small group of leaders from both sides. On our end, it didn¡¯t matter. Their decision came from the desire to maintain peace, prevent unnecessary discord, and protect the current social order of the world. The Hawa and Zulfa faith didn¡¯t need their followers questioning them, and since we¡¯ve decided to let them be, we allowed them to do what they wanted. We fought the demon king and won swimmingly, and the Great Steppes returned to a time of peace. *** Treehome ¡°How many demon kings are we nning to fight this year?¡± Samuel asked, slightly unprepared for how frequently he was moved from world to world. The few heroes met in a massive, luxurious lounge set in a mansion, and it was Prabu and Colette¡¯s family home in Freshka. The heroes. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Colette answered, while she briefly nced out of therge ss windows. Prabu was chasing their daughter Rohana in the fields. Rohana invited some of her school friends over to y, most of them were children of the Valthorn elites that decided to have kids. ¡°But we should be moving soon.¡± ¡°Is it always like this?¡± The hero from Landas asked. ¡°Like- can we have some breaks in between?¡± ¡°Not really. We¡¯ve not had so many demon king battles in a single year, but the peripheral worlds are a rtively new phenomenon.¡± Colette rified. ¡°But if you want to rify the schedule, I think you should just ask Kei- and speak of the devil, she¡¯s here.¡± Kei walked in and waved. ¡°Oh, hello. I¡¯mte, apologies for that. I¡¯ve got the details on the next battle-¡± Colette cut in. ¡°Samuel¡¯s getting tired of the demon king battles. Could you suggest a way we can build a schedule, that way we get enough advance notice, and I can still arrange time for my kid¡¯s parties?¡± The crystal golem girl stopped and looked at the mage Colette a little bewildered. ¡°Seriously? You want me to schedule an appointment for each demon king battle?¡± Samuel stared at Colette. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± Maybe he was a little annoyed that Colette just used his question as an excuse to advance her own interests. Colette shrugged. ¡°I do think schedules are a good thing. For the peripheral worlds we pretty much have all the information we need, and with both Lumoof and Edna- hell, can we suggest that the domain holders take the battles on their own?¡± The former hero couldn¡¯t quite believe the words she heard, but then again, Colette as a [Liberated hero] is probably the only one who could say such things. The idea of not fighting demon kings is something that gives all the other heroes a great big headache. Kei looked at Colette, no, she stared at the hero, and the mage smiled. ¡°I mean, I get that Aeon wants to spread the levels around, but I kinda think it¡¯s experience that¡¯s wasted on us heroes? It¡¯s not like more levels for us actually help the greater cause.¡± Colette said, once again something only she could say. Kei rubbed her temple, unsure why her golem body still gave her the same kind of migraines a biological body would experience. Maybe it was a shadow of her soul, a headache felt in her spirit so it is then replicated in her body, whatever it was. ¡°I will bring it up.¡± ¡°Great! I think a good ratio would be one-in-three. We¡¯ll participate in one third of all demon king battles, and the domain holders can take the rest.¡± Colette suggested, more than happy to get out of demon king battles. ¡°Wait!¡± Samuel cut in, his face looked partially in pain. ¡°Why are you suggesting such a thing-¡± ¡°Because I can.¡± Colette smiled. ¡°Live a little, Samuel. You should find a wife, too. Maybe Khefri.¡± Khefri rolled her eyes, somehow a little more resistant to the hero ss¡¯s effects. ¡°No thanks. I¡¯m gonna head back to Threeworlds once we¡¯re done with the demon kings.¡± The two newer heroes, Wira and Rajah, still adopted Gigantadragon as their home, but they too asionally visited Freshka for a taste of modern life. All in, seven heroes. Prabu, Colette, Khefri, Adrian, Samuel, Wira and Rajah, all would have to work harder. Kei frowned. ¡°Well, there¡¯s two demon kings to hit in the Three Ringed World next. I suppose you want a break?¡± Samuel clearly looked torn, the effects of the hero ss trying to exert itself. So Colette answered for him. ¡°Yes. A break. Let¡¯s battle the rest of the demon kings next year. The domain holders can handle it.¡± Kei nodded. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll see what can be done, there¡¯s only the demon kings on Three Ringed World, Twinspace and Shasan left, a total of four demon kings. The rest are all freed.¡± Colette nodded. ¡°Great!¡± *** Three Ringed World ¡°And so we are here after all.¡± Lumoof smiled as the Valthorns followed. There were at least fifty level 140s, Lausanne and Ebon among them. ¡°Since the heroes opted to sit out the next demon king battles, it is thus appropriate for us to try and get some of you to be domain holders.¡± Everyone knew that already, and yet, it still frightened them. As level 140s, they were decently strong, and could generally survive lesser wounds. Their attacks were also fairly powerful, since they came well equipped with powerful weapons created over the decades. But death was a possibility, even with Edna¡¯s [Three Strikes] and various protective abilities mitigated quite a few of the risks. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go. Enough models and simtions, it¡¯s time to test out our abilities.¡± Lumoof said, and my forces descended on the demon king. In Avatar mode, through Lumoof, we could single handedly wrestle with the demon king¡¯s strength, and together we drained the demon king of its magic. With Lumoof around, we pretty much pacified the demon king Edna, Alka, and all the others went all out and the demon king died fairly easily, even without the heroes. It took us way longer, though. Instead of a battle that finished in two hours or less, fighting the demon king without the heroes now took us a full day. But we still saw that as a win, since we achieved this without using bombs. With one of the demon kings defeated, we rested for a few days, and then replicated it with the second demon king. It was quite a relief that the two demon kings did not assist each other, and instead, somehow operated independently. If we had to face two demon kings at the same time, that would make our battle slightly harder. So, we freed the Three Ringed World from it¡¯s demon kings. My Valthorns mostly gained a few levels here and there, and yet, sadly no new domain holders just yet. Maybe a few more. *** Treehome The Holy Empire of the Southern Continent ¡°You¡¯ve got quite the ce for me to go to.¡± Emperor Erranuel said as Lumoof arrived in his main chambers. The news of Erranuel¡¯s intention to expand to the other worlds made the nobles that had been eying for more power confused. Erranuel¡¯s holy empire was politically fractured. It always was, even though he tried his best to hold them together. But there were far too many vested interests, and Erranuel still felt like he had too much to lose by taking action. It was something Lumoof found pitiful. Maybe he didn¡¯t have confidence in the support he had amongst his own nobles. The Holy Empire¡¯s origins were the cause, the Empire in itself is a cobbled nation, forcefully fused together by the acts of the churches in order to resist the merchant guilds and also the Order¡¯s power. Thisplicated history merely papered over old faults and grudges among its member states, and so, Erranuel¡¯s role was chiefly as the mediator. He hated it all. Or maybe he was just tired of it, and desired something new. So, when Lumoof returned with a destination, we could see it spurred him into action. He nominated one of his trusted senior dukes as Regent, and then quickly rounded up a group of nobles, both loyalists and traitors, for the mission. ¡°Shasan is one of the worlds that didn¡¯t quite fit our needs, but it is a fractured world with desert and part oasis type of terrain that you should be fairly familiar with.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°It¡¯s one of your leftovers.¡± Erranuel countered tly, there were a few nobles seated around the Emperor. ¡°You could put it that way.¡± Lumoof continued without stopping. ¡°But it is a world that doesn¡¯t have a unified nation, and each of it¡¯s nations are fractured. They also follow Hawa, even if only at a limited level. With the right motivations and resources, I think you could do a great deal.¡± ¡°Hah.¡± Erranuel chuckled. ¡°Since you put it that way, then I must live up to my reputation. But first-¡± Erranuel nced at Lumoof and back at his own people. ¡°First, will you lead me to Hawa? My people wish to meet their god. I too, have many questions.¡± ¡°If you ept, we¡¯ll drop by one of Hawa¡¯s core world of Satrya. Whether Hawa graces you with his presence is between you and him.¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°Your men and priests cane with you, though the very presence of your god would likely be overwhelming for most of them.¡± Erranuel shook his head. ¡°I believe my men¡¯s faith is stronger than that, but I¡¯ll take the challenge. Maybe, it is just what they needed.¡± ¡°Well, then get ready, we¡¯ll arrange for all of you to be sent to one of the weaker, chaotic towns after that on Shasan.¡± The Emperor would not be starting from scratch, because he would make the journey with a decent sized selection of soldiers and leaders. Maybe he was getting bored, and so the prospect of building a new nation thoroughly excited him. I wanted to see what others could do, on other worlds. 307. Alka’s Delvegardian Journey 307. Alka¡¯s Delvegardian Journey Alka and the Delvegardian Yards The dwarven kingdom of Ruthfyord was one of the powerhouses of Delvegard, and they were also the home of the legendary Delvegardian Yards,monly referred to as the Yards. Next to the Yards was the official capital of Ruthfyord, Kingsholds. To the locals, it is where the Dwarven King reigned, and the political, trade and administrative capital. But not military and magic, because the capital of that is the Yards. At this point, Alka had seen so many capitals and cities that it didn¡¯t impress him much. He nced at the map provided by the spies, and then, double checked his documents. It is incredibly easy to get the right dwarven merchants to provide a rmendation letter, when the right amount of money exchanged hands. Dwarves were not incorruptible, though their price tags were often a wee bit higher than humans generally who would often sell out their friends and allies for less. Alka¡¯s appearance was one of a much, much more youthful version of himself. A change in their appearance didn¡¯t take all that much of his strength, but worked wonders for espionage. He would infiltrate the Yards as a craftsman. ording to records and information gleaned by the spies, it would take about five to six years to rise through the ranks of the Yards, though, given his exceptional abilities, it¡¯s likely to be shorter. Alka¡¯s goal for the next few years was simple. Weave himself into the Yards structure, get ess or identify a range of ssified documents and information, identify and recruit potentially talented craftsmen for the Order and if possible, usurp the Yards from within. He wouldn¡¯t be alone. The Order¡¯s spies assigned a few other dwarves who would join over the few years at various levels, through different channels. There were also agents that would enter the other famous yards and workshops. Together, they¡¯d form a hiddenwork of agents that would then work to redirect the Yard¡¯s leadership. One of the challenges and learning points from the Magisarian rebellion, in Alka¡¯s point of view, was theck of discretion. The Order was too public, and moved a little too quickly. On one hand, Alka understood why. They had no choice. The world wasn¡¯t a stable ce, and Lausanne¡¯s goals were to save lives. For Delvegard, which is currently stable, their involvement could be more discreet, and they could keep themselves hidden for longer. An advantage he intended to maximize. The guard nced at Alka, back at his paper, and bowed respectfully. ¡°Wee, Craftsman Alka.¡± Craftsman. A title given to promising cksmiths and crafters who were then given a chance to join the famed Delvegardian Yards as a working apprentice. The passing mark was Level 30 as a craftsman, where they could be trained by the level 60 to 80 craftsmen of the Yards. The Yard itself had two main paths. The first path was the Craftsmen, which referred to those that would work with metals and build the war machines. The second path was the magic path, where alchemists, enchanters and mages, who would create runic formations, inscriptions, enchantments, all the other magical liquids andponents that went into the war machines. Alka was first and foremost an alchemist, but as the Yards generally treated its craftsmen better, he decided it was better to infiltrate the Yards as a craftsman. It would make it easier for him to get close to those who had talent, and sway them towards the Order. The two sides worked, studied and lived together to build the war machine, though they were separated in some of the sses and learning sessions. It was a fairly elite set up that worked well for the Dwarven Kingdom of Ruthfyord. Over centuries they umted military strength, and so they solidified their position as the best weapons and war machine academy in the world of Delvegard. The only such academy that could even challenge them, the nation of Airan¡¯s Delvegard Workshops, was on the other side of the world. He nced at his documents again. His assigned room was somewhere on one of the corner buildings. The Delvegardian Yards was arranged into long rows of buildings, with wide open spaces in between the buildings. The buildings themselves were each individually self sufficient, it had its own residential section, its own set of workshop areas, its own canteens and its own study areas. The wide open spaces were meant to facilitate movement of the war machines produced from the gigantic workshops. Even from afar, the first thing he noticed on each of the buildings were their giant hangar doors. It was quite impressive that these dwarves got to the point of developing their own walkers to counter the old demons. The information Sundus¡¯s spies gathered from the nearby towns and cities were fairly thorough, but it was quite hard for the spies to get hold of good quality historical documents. There were some basic documents and books, but history for most part only documented the great battles and victories of each nation. Only the King and perhaps its closed advisors had ess to the true history of the world, and the Yards reputedly had one of the best archives and records of documents from earlier days. Again, Alka understood. History is written by its victors, and so, the less the popce knew about the truth, the easier it was to shape the mindset of its people. Alka looked at the open spaces between each of the blocks, and along some of those empty fields, smaller war machines battling it out. Their means of battle were mainly physical attacks, where the war machines attacked each other using their legs and arms. Magical weapons and energy weapons would only be activated when battles were fought in the special areas located in a different block. Alka looked around and saw about twenty other new craftsmen walk through the door. They all stared and looked around equally bewildered and happy. One of the new dwarven students walked a few steps, and suddenly got down and kissed the stone floor. He could hear the dwarf student making a prayer to Eras for guiding him here. The others just groaned. ¡°Ohe on, don¡¯t embarrass our year.¡± It made him think of Freshka Treetiary College. There were simr reactions in young recruits when they visited the FTC for the first time. There were supposed to be about thirty new craftsmen this year, and they would be split to each of the five main blocks. Each of the blocks were rivals, so most of these would be his rivals. Alka chuckled, and checked his document again. The five blocks were named after the five past kings of Ruthfyord. Ruthen, Arden, Melden, Furden and Carden. Alka didn¡¯t know why Ste chuckled when she heard the names, but it was probably one of those Earth things Alka didn¡¯t get. Maybe it was the rhyming names. ¡°Block Arden.¡± Alright. Alka nodded, got himself settled into a fairly cozy room, and quickly met his supposed ¡®batchmates¡¯. In the first two weeks, he generally kept a low profile, and focused on understanding how the entire system worked. Using tools from the Order, he installed additional surveince tools to keep tabs on the inner workings of the institution. One of the first things he deployed were tiny surveince golems, made by the golem masters of Treehome. They would spread out and nt themselves throughout different parts of the Delvegardian Yards, and report the interactions back to him. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Alka heard Aeon check in through the familiar. ¡°Yeah. All settled in.¡± Alka responded. He didn¡¯t have to do this, but the situation on the peripheral worlds was stable, and Alka wanted to do something different, just to satisfy his curiosity. Maybe it was one of those things that he wanted to do, since his temporary death. Alka remembered a feeling of floating about, and when he reemerged from Aeon¡¯s pod, he felt like he was born again. He felt he missed out. So now, he sought out these experiences. To do something different. Going to an academy and taking over it seemed like a fun thing to do. *** A monthter ¡°Alka! Come, join us! We are meeting some seniors and the head of the Arden block!¡± One of Alka¡¯s fellow blockmates mmed on his bedroom door. Alka groaned as he climbed out of bed. The bed wasn¡¯tfortable, so he had it secretly reced. A shadow emerged right next to his bed and Alka¡¯s sleepy eyes opened to stare at an absolute lookalike of himself. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Ally, I¡¯ll go for this one.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Ally answered, in the form of Alka¡¯s lookalike. A body created to look like him vanished into the shadows, and the domain holder walked to the door. ¡°Okay!¡± Alka smiled. Acting wasn¡¯t his strongest suit, but it was fairly easy to get used to an environment where there¡¯s a lot of work to be done. As new recruits of the Yards, they began by making supplementary equipment for the various war machines. These were things like weapon mounts, recement ws and arms, recement shields, or just gears and parts for all the variousponents of the Delvegardian war machines. War machines came in tiers, thergest were the King Spiders, and those were the biggest at about the size of arge building and were about the size of the demon walkers. Below that were the Prince Spiders, which were about the size of arger room. Then, there were the Lord-Spiders, which were generally the size of a bed. The definition, per the Yards¡¯ rules, were governed by the size of their workshop doors. War machines were simr to golems and warships in many ways. Just like warships, they came with inbuilt abilities bestowed by their creators, which could then be amplified by the abilities of their pilots or controllers. Mages and enchanters could inscribe runic formations and patterns to give war machines even more power. Sunsteel was thus the perfect material for these war machines. Strong, light and magicallypatible, though they needed to be forged with Ice Crystals, a process then known as cold forging. Ste remarked it sounded quite like the mythical mythril, though we didn¡¯t know whether it was even simr. The yards wanted Craftsmen to be trained to a high level, since stronger craftsmen gave their war machines stronger skills, which was then amplified by the enchantments that went into the war machines, and also the pilot¡¯s own skills. It was for this reason that theserge things are so dangerous. Each of them represented the skills and powers of multiple people that coalesced into a single tool for destruction, though the Sunsteel was a big part of why they took this direction. On Treehome, Aeon¡¯s crafters and golem builders constructed golems and other such structures to fairly good results, but ultimately, the materials had limitations on how much innate strength they had, and how much magic power can be worked into them. This meant there was a cap on how much stronger Treehome¡¯s machines got, even if their crafters were better. On Treehome, it was warships with theirrge sizes, multiple skilled crews, that went crazy with their outfits and equipment. ¡°Everything alright, Craftsman Alka?¡± A supervising crafter, around level 60 or so walked past Alka, and noticed him staring nkly. He then quickly took a peek at Alka¡¯s work, and answered before Alka could respond. ¡°Everything looks good. Amazing, even. Keep up the good work.¡± Alka nodded. In the Yards, the craftsmen worked with and trained with other budding dwarven alchemists and enchanters, who were also students going through their own set of challenges. On top of that, they spent quite a bit of time testing out designs, and to a limited degree, work on the Sunsteel and Sunmetalponents, mainly as assistants to more senior craftsmen. As the construction of the giant King Spiders took almost a full year, the chief engineer¡¯s ns were stered right at the top, and thenponents of it were then distributed to each of the different groups. It was familiar. The golem factories and golem magic schools that emerged in the past few decades on Treehome had a simr vibe. Those institutions had a hard time recently due to the crystal shortages, but the golems have been a fairly reliable workforce that supported industrial work. Alka stood, and watched the group of eager fellow craftsmen trying to learn from the more senior dwarven craftsmen. Dwarves by their nature were more direct, and so, he was fairly pleased to find some of the more insidious forms of politicking were notmon in the Delvegardian Yards. There really was a fairly genuine desire to learn and be actual better craftsmen. But rivalries weremon, and that manifested in duels. It was apparently such amon thing that the heroesughed when he reported it. ¡°So, Alka, I heard you¡¯re the best one in your batch.¡± The senior then walked over to Alka and taunted him. Alka merely shrugged. Another challenge. ¡°Yes. What of it?¡± Humility wasn¡¯t a strong suit for dwarves, either. Alka didn¡¯t get to where he was without being proud of what he¡¯s done. If he¡¯s good, he¡¯s good. ¡°Oh. Confident! You think you can make a better war machine than me?¡± Alka looked at the senior. He was supposedly in his 3rd year, and due to the adversarial,petitive nature of the Delvegardian Yards, the craftsmen and builders would gain levels from challenging each other. ¡°Is that a challenge, senior?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The senior grinned. His batch smiled, eager to watch another fight. ¡°Oh, our Alka¡¯s actually challenging the senior!¡± Alka nodded. What kind of domain holder would he be if he couldn¡¯t even face a challenge even if he¡¯s here with different intentions. ¡°So, what should we do?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it the old fashioned way.¡± The senior smiled. ¡°Two-on-two, Lord-ss war machines fight till the other gives up or the war machine¡¯s core is destroyed.¡± Alka shrugged. ¡°Two-on-two? Sure.¡± ¡°You may pick one of your friends to help.¡± Alkaughed. ¡°That will not be necessary.¡± ¡°You may be skilled, but don¡¯t be too cocky.¡± The senior countered. *** War machines. The people of Delvegard were beholden to certain ways of battle. Big towering machines, big frightening weapons and powerful beam weapons. It was due to the types of the battles they frequently fought, and the power levels of therge war machines. Or maybe it was the sense of security and armor ting therger war machines had. But Alka had many advantages as an alchemist of his level. One area where Alka excelled is in the use of alchemical lubricants and greases, and the use of various oils and greases to improve performance was still quite primitive among the Delvegardian engineers. ¡°Such a small machine?¡± The senior taunted Alka. ¡°And only one?¡± Alkaughed, as he climbed into his small war machine. It was a small,pact war machine with small arms but engineered to attack and move with far greater speed than what most war machines were capable of. ¡°I only need one to win, seniors.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The senior and his friend¡¯s war machine charged. ¡°Then don¡¯t say we are too rough on you.¡± Alka grinned, and his war machine moved faster than the other two. The lubrication in the joints meant they moved far faster than his foes. He was able to strike with pinpoint precision. He knew exactly where each of the war machine¡¯s weaknesses were, and was able to destroy their joints with his small but powerful strikes. The small crowd of other craftsmen watched in awe as Alka somehow systematically disassembled the tworger war machines. It would not be thest time when Alka was challenged by other craftsmen of the Yard. It was intentional. This would get him the attention of even more talented craftsmen who would love to battle a rising star. Dwarves respected ability, and just like that, the two seniors couldn¡¯t help but be in awe of Alka, amazed. ¡°Where- where¡¯d you learn how to build war machines like that?¡± Alka smiled, and ced his bait. ¡°Somewhere far, far away. Would you all like to visit, someday?¡± If they are worth anything, they will be recruited. Predictably, they nodded. In fact, some of the other craftsmen in Alka¡¯s batch even joined in. ¡°Can we visit too, Alka?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± *** ¡°Why do dwarves fight each other?¡± Alka asked during one of the regr beer gatherings in their block. Everyone was fairly happily drunk by then, and Alka made it a point to attend them regrly. So much so that he did feel quite close to these fellow students, and hoped they did well in the future. ¡°Because we¡¯re idiots.¡± One of the seniors answered. ¡°Craftsman Alka, if you¡¯re trying to get us to say something that¡¯ll get us in trouble, don¡¯t.¡± One of his batch countered. Alkaughed. ¡°Seriously.¡± Alka said. ¡°You¡¯ve never thought about it? Craftsmen, alchemists, enchanters. The weapons we build will be used on people just like you. Other workshops build things like this, and the dwarves fight to the death with them. It would be better if conflict could be resolved in more peaceful ways.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± One of the seniors said, as he drank his seventh mug of beer. ¡°But what can we do about it? Those in power are not going to change. So long as there are kings, territories and politics, conflict is inevitable. Those who are strong do not see the problem when they exert their power over others.¡± ¡°What if there is a way out?¡± Alka said. ¡°What if you don¡¯t have to fight each other, but you can use it on the demons?¡± ¡°Demons?¡± The seniors looked at each other. ¡°Wait, the demons areing in a decade or so? Maybe two?¡± ¡°No. Now. Look outside, and look at the night sky. There are other worlds out there, all with demons. There are people fighting them everywhere.¡± Those present stared at him like he was half insane. ¡°Craftsman Alka, how many beers did you drink to say this sort of thing?¡± One of the alchemist-students in the drinking sessionughed. ¡°Have you been snorting some kind of dreaming herb, Alka?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s very real, my fellow friends. I¡¯d love to show them to you someday. The war against the demons rage on in thousands of worlds.¡± ¡°Hah. I¡¯ll chop up my leather belt and make soup with it if it¡¯s real.¡± A senior taunted, yet Alka could tell some of them felt inspired by it. Alka chuckled. ¡°Oh, my good senior, I¡¯ll take that bet.¡± ¡°When will you show us?¡± Alka touched his beard. ¡°I promise you then, within the next two years.¡± ¡°You¡¯re on.¡± He could tell that the rest of his batch were looking at him as if he was insane. But Alka had to nt the seed. Let such thoughts fester in their minds. One day, when he finally open the door and show them what exists beyond Delvegard, it will all make sense. *** Time passed quickly, and just like that, it¡¯s been nine months since Alka joined the Delvegardian Yards. Throughout this time, he made copies of various schematics. Their different origins meant they had design ideas that were worth looking into at great detail. They were also a significantly older institution, the Delvegardian Yards had a history of over a thousand years, which made them older than Freshka. Generations of craftsmen and dwarven engineers incrementally improved their workings, and Alka found that it was in small things where Treehome¡¯s craftsmen could learn from. The slightly different ways screws and bolts were made, or how they were all welded together. Treehome generally had a rapid development of magical equipment, but there were minor efficiency differences that the Delvegardian engineers made to their tools, defensive tings and war machines that Treehome could learn from. Alka, within that nine months, had risen the ranks. Within the Yards, most newbies were craftsmen, but they could be promoted to be senior if they were good enough. Usually, this happened after the 2nd year, because the constant honing and battles amongst the craftsmen and their war machines improved their skills. The craftsmen and seniors of the Yards were initially skeptical, but they couldn¡¯t match Alka¡¯s capabilities, which were much more sophisticated than them. This eventually caught the attention of someone higher up in the chain. Someone knocked on the door. Ally took the door. It was one of the Yard¡¯s senior craftsmen. He spoke to him a few times. ¡°Craftsmen Alka, the Block Master wishes to see you.¡± Ally nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡± The door closed, and Ally looked at Alka. ¡°Should I go? He¡¯s been spying on us and looking into what you¡¯ve made.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll handle it. Let¡¯s see what the Block Master wants from me.¡± Alka said. ¡°I expected this confrontation for a while. I may need you to shapeshift and be his body double.¡± Ally nodded, as its body transformed to resemble that of the Block Master. As a parasite spy, it was able to reconfigure the body to match its appearance, and even copy a certain set of abilities. As a Titan of Aeon, Ally¡¯s level 80ish presence meant no one would even doubt it was the block master. Then, Alka activated hismunication ability. ¡°Ste, I might need a portal soon. Got someone I might have to kidnap.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± *** The Block Master was one of the five middle masters of the Yards, one for each of the Blocks, and they reported to the Forge Master, who was the former King of the kingdom. Each block master is individually powerful rtive to the rest of Delvegard, and Alka estimated they were likely close to their level cap, at about Level 80 to 85. ¡°Beer, Craftsman Alka?¡± The Block master offered as Alka walked into his study. Alka nodded. There was no one here except the two. ¡°I normally don¡¯t drink, but if it is the block master, I will.¡± The drink was spiked. A rare move from the dwarves that preferred more direct means, but Alka was immune to such weak poisons. Aeon¡¯s familiar purged it instantly. The Block Master stared at him. ¡°So tell me, Alka, who are you? Your record and innovations is unmatched from anyone in our history, and you clearly have knowledge of something that¡¯s not from the Yards¡¯ repository of knowledge.¡± Alka smiled at the Block Master. ¡°You clearly have some idea already, block master. Why not tell me what¡¯s your theory, and I¡¯ll tell you whether it¡¯s right.¡± The Block Master stared at Alka. ¡°That¡¯s not a way to talk to someone that is your Block Master.¡± ¡°Maybe. But I¡¯d love to hear your thoughts.¡± Alka countered. The block master stared at Alka, and Alka didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°Fine. My first suspicion is that you are an agent of the Airan Workshops trying to destabilize us. But I¡¯ve looked at your war machines and realized they don¡¯t match anything the Airan Workshops are capable of. So, if you are not from the Airan Workshops, then the only other entity able to train a genius of your level would be the highly secretive Shadow Hangars.¡± Shadow Hangars. That was something Alka wasn¡¯t aware of. It was clearly intel that Sundus was unable to obtain, because it only lingered in the very small circle of senior members of the Yards, and not frequently discussed. ¡°Oh? And what is it about the Shadow Hangars?¡± The Block Master stared. ¡°We destroyed the Hangars thirty years ago. Are you here for vengeance? Infiltration is the sort of tactics these foul corrupted dwarves believe in.¡± Alka smiled, a little amused how wrong he was. ¡°Really? And you think I¡¯d be here for something like vengeance?¡± ¡°Why else did youe and humiliate the rest of our craftsmen like this? Is this how the Hangars want to exert superiority? Are you here to recruit the students?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not.¡± Alka countered. ¡°However, I am here to recruit your students.¡± The Block master stared. ¡°-what-¡± ¡°In fact, Block Master, I think you¡¯re a fairly talented craftsman too. Would you like a tour of what we have to offer?¡± The Block Master was horrified. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Is that a no?¡± The Block Master and Alka exchanged nces, as if he was trying to gauge Alka¡¯s statement. ¡°Would you like to see where I learned how to do what I do? I¡¯ll take you on a trip, it wouldn¡¯t even take long.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± The Block Master seemed fairly surprised, but decided to y along. ¡°Then, yes. Show me where you learned how to do what you did.¡± The Block Master said, probably thinking Alka was just going to reveal his secret. Alka somehow blinked right next to the Block Master. ¡°Good. Let¡¯s go on a little trip.¡± The two vanished through a void portal. *** Alka and the block master arrived in Treehome, inside one of the many industrial buildings within the wider Freshkan area, and the block master stared. ¡°What- what did you do?¡± ¡°What do you think about the state of Delvegard, and how the dwarven nations constantly fight each other?¡± Alka ignored his question. The Block Master looked around, and noticed the far more busy city around him. ¡°-what- where am I?¡± ¡°Another world, Block Master. The air feels different here, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It does.¡± The Block Master kept looking around, and was trying his hardest to stop it. ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± ¡°To where my people create weapons used to fight against our real foes. So I ask again, Block master, what do you think about the state of Delvegard? Do you think your beautiful weapons are wasted on ughtering the lives of your fellow dwarves in your brutal battles?¡± ¡°It- it is what we have to do. The Lords and Kings do not want to bow to others. Our kings, they are proud dwarves.¡± ¡°Pride. It¡¯s led to such a waste of life.¡± Alka sighed, and the door swung open to reveal a vast industrial factory where crystal weapons were made by the thousands. The block master stared in disbelief. ¡°I have a proposition to make to the dwarves of Delvegard, Block Master. The war between dwarves is unnecessary. Useless. Wasteful. Instead, I ask the dwarves, talented ones like yourself, to devote your efforts against the real enemies of the wider world.¡± The Block Master looked at the crystal weapons. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Demons, Block master. Delvegard has been a lucky world, a world where the demons onlye once a century. But the other worlds are not so lucky. This world once faced demons every decade.¡± The block master blinked, unable to fathom it. He was a rtively old dwarf, at about 160 to 180 years old, and he saw the demons once when they arrived about 80 to 90 years ago. It was a horrible time, but the dwarves banded together and with the help of the Dwarven Hero, pushed the demons back. The thought of such monstrosities invading the world once a decade was hard. ¡°Imagine for a moment, what we could achieve if Delvegardian war machines were paired with the magical equipment of my world?¡± The Block Master watched for a moment, even at this distance he knew enough to get a rough sense of the sort of equipment that was being made. ¡°You really are recruiting me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Alka said. ¡°I will recruit everyone I can, Block master, and I want you to help me.¡± ¡°Why do you think we would join you?¡± ¡°Because now you use your weapons on your fellow dwarves while I offer to use your weapons on demons. Because now you are capped behind your levels, stuck at level 85 to 90 unable to reach beyond, while we have our ways of reaching in the steps of divinity. Because now, your people¡¯s purpose is no more than to satisfy the whims of your kings, while we offer the chance to serve a power and purpose that would save many from these demons, and also elevate many more to join us.¡± The block master stared, as Alka led him through the factories and intorger barracks made up of Valthorns preparing for their next deployment on the peripheral worlds. ¡°Look around you, Block Master. These are mypatriots. They will serve in battles against the demons. We have taken the battles beyond our homes and reached into the shores of the demon worlds. The dwarven blood thirsts for war, Block Master. It is why dwarves are only able to unite during the demon king crisis, but after that, the dwarves cannot help but fight each other.¡± A void portal whirled in front of him, and Alka led the Block master through to the peripheral world of Sarlpi. Here, they witnessed Valthorn warriors hunt down the rest of the fire-elemental demons that still remained on Salrpi. ¡°I offer to take your nation¡¯s warriors and war machines, and I offer them the glory, destruction and war of the demonnds. So, Block master. I am recruiting. Death. Blood. Destruction and Suffering awaits the warriors who join our cause, but my fellow dwarves aspire to more than just beer, politicking, and building war machines to ughter their fellow dwarves.¡± It was a long, long silence. Alka allowed his words to sink in, as they followed the destruction left by the Valthorns. The fire demons were torn from the skies. The Block Master looked around the chaos of Sarlpi, and saw people he had never known existed. ¡°They will not thank you.¡± Alka said. ¡°But if your men itch for war, if your men are eager to show the glory of your war machines, I ask that they show them against the demons. There are hundreds, thousands of demon worlds out there to satiate your lust for war.¡± ¡°Take me to one. Show me.¡± The Block Master was clearly shaken, his hands trembled. His heart pounded furiously. Alka nodded, as another portal whirled open. Theynded in front of a rift gate. A void mage nearby nodded. ¡°Opening portal to the demon world connected to Landas-¡± The rift gate activated, and they were both sent to a demon world. Untouched. Landas was freed of its demon king, but the Valthorn had robbed it of its rift gates and locked it to its void coordinates. The demons were everywhere. Yet, Alka draped a cloak over the block master. It immediately hid him from detection. The domain holder led the block master through the still mostly unexplored demon world. Towering demon hatcheries were everywhere, and the stench of demonic energies was still thick. The Block master could feel it, and looked ufortable. After a few hours, they stopped. ¡°Bring me back. I¡¯ve seen enough. Send me back to the Yards.¡± And they did. The Block master was back in his own office. The first thing he did was walk to his big,fortable chair, and sat on it. He poured himself a beer, and downed the entire mug in a single gulp. As the beer¡¯s effects kicked in, the Block Master looked around his room. Medals from the King were pinned there. As were certain paintings of the glories of their war machines. After a long while, he turned to face Alka. ¡°You really want to recruit me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You do realize this is treachery and betrayal of the King, and the Forge Master of the Yards.¡± Alkaughed. ¡°Yes. If they don¡¯t join us too, that is.¡± But the face of the Block Master was one of eptance. Maybe it was bloodlust. Maybe it was a desire to escape from mundane politicking and back into the fires of war. ¡°The hell with all of this. Yes. Yes I will. Who else do you need?¡± Alka smiled. ¡°Everyone.¡± 308. Dealings I 308. Dealings I Year 279 Landas The Valthorns recruited a sizable group of soldiers and warriors from Landas, many of them from the ranks of survivors during the earlier harsher periods and went on to be fairly high leveled soldiers and defenders of the elven cities were eager to take their skills to other ces. Many of these have known a lifetime of fighting and so the sudden end of wars meant they were feeling out of ce in a world where there was going to be peace. Thus they joined the call to serve and fight on other worlds. Not all, though. There was also those that were more than happy to see the end of the fighting. Strong warriors who finally relished the chance to return to normalcy, and to do what they always wanted to do. Many finally settled down and restarted what they¡¯ve long dyed. Family. Their old family workshops. Rebuilding cities and pursuing tasks their parents or grandparents abandoned when things got bad. Now, Landas is doing well. The demon king has been in, and the world began to turn a corner. Things wereing around. The old cherry tree that once guarded Samuel regained its old strength, and since it didn¡¯t have to store energy to deal with the demons, Cherry redirected their powers towards the rebuilding effort. The old cherry tree had a wide range of forestry rted powers, and so used it extensively to rebuild. Despite these positives, I still expect a few decades before Landas regains some level of normalcy. The world¡¯s poption declined far too much. In terms of poption, we estimated it lost 70 to 80% of its poption due to the prolonged demon war. But with heavy intervention from the Valthorns, we were helping the repoption. Children were born, and we ensured they were well supported. The Treeology priests went about blessing many of the surviving youths and even slightly more mature elvishdies with fertility potions. It may seem a little heavy handed, but as a society, they needed the poption to restore all their heavily battered society. The social wing of the Order came in to support many young families with caring for young children. Most of their material needs were catered for, with the presence of the Order¡¯s craftsmen and workers that set up new factories and workshops, and helped retrain the Landasian elves in crafts, to revive Landas¡¯s lost industrial capacity. In two to three decades from now, Landas¡¯s babies of today will be the warriors of the future, and these growing workshops would grow intorger establishments that would help support the war of the future. It will be a long process, but the first few steps have already taken ce. *** The first batch of Landas-origin soldiers, such as Novorosk, were given elerated Valtrian Order training, though we had to supplement their knowledge with a good helping of teachers and tutors from Treehome. Theirbat capabilities and instincts were quite good, due to years of battle experience under defensive conditions. That said, we also felt the need to widen their skillset to cover some of the other things they would encounter in the demon worlds. Rescuing survivors, constructing makeshift structures, knowledge of the various demon types and monster types, andbat tactics. Most of them were defenders, their focus was always in protecting their home cities. Large scale offensive tactics was an area they needed work on. From defenders, they would now have to be attackers. It¡¯s likely that Novorosk and their batch would be demon-world focused operatives, since that was the environment they excelled at. Constant battles, destroying demons and surviving with little on the fields came naturally to them. In fact, we generally observed that these survivors were able to tolerate the stresses of long term battle quite well. I figured it was some kind of survivorship bias at y. Those that couldn¡¯t died. What¡¯s left were battle hardened veterans. That said, unlike our homeworlds, it wasn¡¯t entirely in the mind. There were [skills] that helped, and from these battle hardened veterans we were able to collect a few skill fragments that I happily replicated with my skill-fruit growing trees. These yielded fruits that contained skills such as [battle hardened], and [survivor¡¯s heart]. Those who consumed fruits with these skills tolerated stress better, and made better warriors out in the battlefield. Many of my Valthorns didn¡¯t need these skills, because they acquired itter on in their higher levels. I¡¯ve always wanted a simr skill for mages. If there was something like a [mage¡¯s instinct], I would¡¯ve pounced and tried to replicate it by the thousands, but sadly, most of a mage¡¯s set of skills were things like [magical memory], or rge mana pool], though we did notice more specific type of abilities like [void sensitivity], or [elemental instinct]. My hopes for the Magisarians were something that could help improve our magical training process. My hope was that the Magisarians had some kind of unique [skill] I could replicate, and then turn them into skill fruits. As it is, we produced thousands of these skill fruits each year, and we distributed these across all our academies, training schools and institutions. Some were given out to students as rewards, some for my Valtrian Order recruits to round up their own set of skills. My domain holders often imed that the skill fruits saved each and every one of them hundreds of days of work, because they could shore up their weak points with a skill fruit, and is partly why the Valtrian Order and Valthorns are so feared. Very few institutions could im to produce strong soldiers with such consistency, though the ability to grant skill isn¡¯t unique. [Priests] and [trainers] could actually grant [skills], through some of their own skills. Even [teachers] were able to grant skills, but in most cases, these [skills] were often in the basic-intermediate level, and there was some element of randomness in how they worked. A teacher teaching [mana maniption] may have students acquiring weaker variants like [mana shaping] or [basic mana flow]. For the Landas warriors, we also realized that most of them acquired a range of survival skills over their decades, and in some ways, that made them suboptimal for independent operation. This was because my Valtrian Order folks trained with the presence of my [familiars], and so they often rejected the acquisitions of survival skills since that could be outsourced to the familiars, in order to better focus onbat abilities. My familiars came with a range of food generation, healing, and supplementary abilities. I believed this problem to be transitional, a consequence of recruiting experienced soldiers from a war torn Landas. Future Landas soldiers that went through our usual regime would not have these drawbacks. Whatever it is, talent is hard to find. We¡¯ll take it, and we would just have to find ways to best exploit their strengths. *** Shasan The domain holders and the heroes gathered for another round of demonic attack. Alka decided to sit this round out, as he was busy infiltrating the Delvegardian Yards. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be going to a sand world.¡± Khefri was fairly excited when shended. Her biology found the dry sand to be mostfortable, and unlike the rest of them, sand didn¡¯t get stuck in her joints. There was just something about the hot sand, a burning sun overhead, and white-orange sands as far as she could see that appealed to her. ¡°I think you¡¯re partly brainwashed by your body.¡± Colette countered. ¡°I know.¡± Khefri shrugged, and rubbed her head slightly. Despite a different biology, she wasn¡¯t spared from headaches. ¡°But it is what it is. The body likes this kind of environment, and so I like it.¡± Colette said nothing, and looked at Prabu. Prabu was decked out in gear. A little overkill, but at this point, they¡¯d rather not take many risks. Rajah and Wira, the two dragonling heroes, felt their wings warm up from the heat of the sun. They didn¡¯t like it the dry heat or the harsh sun all that much. Gigantadragon was still far morefortable to them than any of the other worlds so far, with the only exception being the magimodern facilities of Treehome and Branchhold. Samuel shared their struggles. The elven hero didn¡¯t like the heat or the sun. The domain holders and heroes chatted, as they prepared for the start of the operation. Edna pped her hands. ¡°Alright, alright, Shasan should be a fairly simple mop up operation. Shasan¡¯s a fairly strong world, with strong natural defenses. We don¡¯t really expect much opposition other than the demon king. As usual, Lumoof will fish out the demon king, and we¡¯ll engage it on the surface. Hit it with all we can, and then we¡¯ll only be left with Twinspace. Clear?¡± Everyone nodded. There were about thirty level 140s Valthorns present as well, and they were the ones that were most visibly nervous. Lumoof smiled. ¡°Alright. Comeee. Shouldn¡¯t be too hard. Rx, it¡¯ll be fine. Check your protective equipment?¡± Samuel still looked a little lost. ¡°Is- is that it?¡± Adrian, the hero of Mountainworld, tapped Samuel, the hero of Landas, on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it. Took me about five or six demon kings before I was able to get over how casual this whole thing feels.¡± Samuel paused, and after a while, he sighed. Both of them knew each other faced their own trauma from the past. Adrian spent quite some time under the corruption of the demons, and Samuel nursed a demonic curse. The idea of facing the demon king still asionally pulled out that trauma, and the whole thing being just a regr trip to the doctors was hard to reconcile. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head in first.¡± Lumoof looked at the flooded pit that led to the core, and dived right in. The demon king was a kind of boney, half-shark, half-demonic creature that was still digging at the rocks. Lumoof, unaffected by the water, easily interrupted it¡¯s constant digging, and engaged it in battle. Somehow, water numbed the demon king¡¯s senses, because it was only then it reacted to our presence. That was a surprise to us. Lumoof got a good, powerful root strike through its body. Not enough to kill it, but enough for me to get a rough sense of its strength. It wasn¡¯t going to be a problem. The shark-demon king soared out of the flooded pit, again, it¡¯s senses seemed dull. The moment it exited the flooded pit, it was battered with a range of attacks. The demon king, weakened by the st, shapeshifted, and then summoned more demons. But those extra small fries died like flies. The heroes and domain holdersunched more attacks. It was no match. The demon king of Shasan died. The heroes gained some levels, the domain holders gained none, and some of the Valthorn level 140s gained a level or two. Not enough to push them to a domain. But now, there was only one demon king left. The demon king on Twinspace. We wanted to make it a spectacle. So, I redirected my attention elsewhere. I wanted to visit Hawa again. *** Satrya Lumoof went through the portal first, andnded in arge receiving hall filled with people. Hawa¡¯s priests and an entourage fit for a king. ¡°Greetings. Patriarch Lumoof.¡± Olivia of Olpash stood there, waiting. She still asked about Roon asionally, but this time, she was in her priestess mode, and spoke with all the gentleness and grace of a high priestess. ¡°Are the rest of the entourageing?¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°They¡¯ll be here in a second.¡± Emperor Erranuel and the rest of the Emperor¡¯s escorts warped in. They appeared around Lumoof through my teleportation ability. Erranuel brought about a hundred people to Satrya, and this same party would then be deployed to Shasan tounch Erranuel¡¯s new world program. But the fact that Lumoofnded here so specifically seemed to trigger some rm bells. Hawa seemed able to guide how and where Ste¡¯s portals opened, and ensured that arge, luxurious weing party was present. Ste was fairly surprised that a god could do that, but this was Hawa¡¯s core world, guiding portals and specifying specifding zones should be well within its range of abilities. However, it did highlight that this was a very clear vulnerability. Ste could teleport us right into a trap, especially if a god was hostile to us. Essentially, we could be on the receiving end on a spawn-camp attack. That was an ufortable thought to entertain. Lumoof grinned at the sight of the two high priests of Hawa. ¡°Well, nice to see you again, priestess Olivia and Priest Michael.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to wee you and your party, Patriarch Lumoof. It is especially blessed for us to finally meet those who are faithful to the teachings of Hawa from other worlds. Our God Hawa¡¯s blessings and wisdom reaches even to the furthest of worlds, and from one Hawa¡¯s servant to another, we sincerely wee you.¡± Olivia spoke, and Lumoof grinned at her heartfelt praise of her god. Her words were genuine. Though her words were sweet, it was somehow lost on the Emperor. ¡°So this is what it feels like where Hawa¡¯s presence is strong.¡± Emperor Erranuel¡¯s heart pounded. Lumoof could sense the trembling in his fingers, and we spected that his ss, the [Holy Emperor], was instinctively linked to Hawa. Therefore, it was possible that here, in this world, that ss was stronger than even on Treehome. The Emperor looked around for a few seconds, took a few deep breaths, and then finally, turned to face the hosts. ¡°My apologies to the very generous and hospitable priests and priestess. I am just suddenly overwhelmed by the presence of our god Hawa that I cannot but take a few moments to take it in. Patriarch Lumoof promised me a visit to a world where Hawa¡¯s reach was still strong, and it is truly a unique feeling.¡± The priestess could sense it too. A sense ofradeship in those that share the faith. ¡°Yes, your majesty. Satrya did not face the need to create a [holy emperor], but I do agree it is most interesting for us as well to meet those who triumphed against great odds. It is the foul demons that cause Hawa¡¯s influence to be weak on your world, but your people persevered.¡± Erranuel nodded, and then turned to face Lumoof. ¡°Patriarch Lumoof, thank you for sending us here. I¡¯ll be able to handle it from here. What happens next, I believe, mainly concerns discussions about our faith, and so, it would most likely be uninteresting to you. So, thank you, I wish not to upy your time any more.¡± We expected that Erranuel would want to have some private words with the other Hawa-believers, so this went as nned. Lumoof nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it. I¡¯ll return in approximately three months.¡± ¡°Three months is plenty of time, Patriarch Lumoof. We will be ready when the timees.¡± Erranuel was a man with his own ns, and I didn¡¯t mind it. The world wasrge, and right now, there was enough for everyone. Even if he turned against me, it was fairly easy to cordon off certain worlds. We nned on sending Erranuel to Shasan because it wasn¡¯t a world where we had much interest in. They could have it on a silver tter if they so desired. I expect that as we discover more worlds, my resources and manpower would not be able to keep up to maintain a decent level of control, and so, rather than let certain worlds suffer because Icked the resources to deal with them, I was willing to pass some of these worlds to other forces. From my point of view, I didn¡¯t want to let these other worlds suffer from the demons just because I couldn¡¯t help them and refuse to share the portals with others. People like Erranuel were rtively low risk, since theycked the means to travel through worlds. In time, maybe Lillies, or Aria and Aispeng, or the White Statue could be roped in to take control of certain worlds, though given the White Statue¡¯s strength, it was a matter of time before he achieved travel between the worlds. But now we stand at a position of growing strength, and we no longer need extensive paranoia. We have the weapons and strength to punish all those who break our trust. 309. Dealings II 309. Dealings II Year 297 Part 2 Treehome Treehome. Our home base, and the long peace led to a decent growth in terms of poption. Our measures to soften the blow of parenthood and supplying the central continent¡¯s families with a high level of support meant we continued to see good growth in terms of poption, and so, our recruiting pipeline is healthy. Freshka, the capital and heart of the Valtrian Order, buzzed with energy. Politically, the mood in the poption was fairly upbeat. Progress was made on many fronts, and the world entered an unusual era of peace. It was this peace that partly enabled Emperor Erranuel¡¯s expansion n to the world of Shasan. It was going to bergely a one way trip for the first five years, and we intended to deploy a few Valtrian Order agents just to apany them, and void mages would drop in once a year to help them move people or resources, as needed. The news of the Emperor Erranuel¡¯s travels to the other worlds wasrgely kept quiet, mainly because of fear for the merchant guilds and merchant kings¡¯ attack. However, no one was really in the mood for attack. The Valtrian Order¡¯s consumption of crystals has reduced gradually, but the world¡¯s smaller forces are still not ready and have not rebuilt their stockpiles of war. The consequences of the past war, and the fear of my punishment for now continued to deter the prospect of wider war. Instead, the guilds came to us with a proposition. They too would like to expand to the wider worlds. I immediately thought about Raph and the White Statue, and the risks. I was willing to let them try expanding, though a part of me felt a little disturbed at allowing corporate forces to have a stake in expanding into other worlds. Right now, we had a monopoly on travel due to our void mages, but it¡¯s likely that my monopoly over my void mages would eventually be broken. It may not happen in ten years, or twenty years, but at some point, it could happen. Some void mages would eventually agree to join these other folks, or maybe, they figured out how to independently train void mages. Of all people, the White Statue could discover how it¡¯s done on its own. As a domain holder of his level of strength, if he had seen the powers of a void mage, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard for him to start figuring out how to create one. After all, we learned how to create void mages through heavy exposure to void mana and constantly healing the individual from the effects of the curse. Eventually, they were able to gain the [void mage] ss. If the White Statue learned how to do the same, it¡¯s likely they would be able to do it too. We have a technological head start, and the White Statue would figure out how to create void mages if it tried. That would allow it to expand to other worlds. Simrly, my void mages are not prevented from mingling and talking to other mages and people, so, those of Treehome have some inkling of how a void mage is trained from scratch, even though the process of actually creating a void mage still remains elusive thanks to the various sicknesses and curses in the soul caused by exposure to the void mana. However, as medical and healing abilities of the general popce catch up, or if any of my level 100 and above healers joined one of these guilds, they would have the ingredients needed to experiment on void magic. What would they do with it? Was this power something we should release to the world? What if the power to travel to other worlds that only destroy others? But we are not the fairest judge of that. We¡¯ve used our power to reach the other worlds, we¡¯ve saved lives, but in the long run, we also harvest their societies for their brightest children to fight this war. We should intervene if they used it to harm more than good, or when our trust is broken. The ability to travel worlds in itself is not a bad thing, even if it may lead to bad consequences. I also didn¡¯t see myself as intentionally policing their behavior. It felt like this was one of my usual dilemmas again. Do I allow people to do bad things with neutral powers? It¡¯s like preventing people from flying because some people could just use flight to fight wars. Worlds that had this power would have an advantage over worlds that didn¡¯t. Just because they gained ess to void magic doesn¡¯t make them more powerful over those that didn¡¯t. If the defending worlds were like Khubor where there are existences like the Osroids, it may not be that clear cut. Thinking that way, maybe it wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing to actually release knowledge of void magic to the wider world. Yes. It¡¯s potentially dangerous. But right now, only the old gods and the demons have figured out how to travel between worlds, and both have left quite a fair bit of the multiverse in a terrible state. But, Ste was quite against it. ¡°No. I cannot allow that. Yes, maybe some people can be saved. But as far as I can see, void magic is as good as a nuclear weapon. The longer they stay away from it, the more we can save people. We should be the ones saving them, because I won¡¯t trust anyone else with this power. I currently cannot imagine how any other institution can handle this power carefully, not with where these other people are now.¡± ¡°Not even Raph or the White Statue?¡± I countered. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you being biased?¡± From a gain to the world, linking the others worlds should lead to savings of life. It means demon-attacked worlds have an exit path. That in itself should save many lives. ¡°Have you not seen the people? Everyone¡¯s a warmonger. People will be killed, and I cannot trust any of them to treat those beneath them with more care than the Order. Not yet. Maybe someday there will be a truly good society that is worthy of this, but right now, no. The angels and the White Statue have potential, but I want to see how they behave, without our threat before I¡¯d even trust them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something you can hide forever.¡± I countered. Void magic can be learned. ¡°I know, but I will stop it as long as I can. I want to be able to pull the plug on this experiment if they misbehave. As the void domainholder, let me have this right.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± *** Lumoofnded on the world of Khubor. We knew that we were the ones that should face it. We walked to the very edges of the Khubor¡¯snd, and wondered whether this was a hostile domain holder. Even at this distance, we could subtly feel it¡¯s presence/ I hoped that we coulde to an agreement, like Lillies. At the border between thend of the living and thend of the dead, there was a trading post. This was where the humans of Khubor traded with the undead. So, we approached the undead, and requested an audience with the Osroids. We dered we wereing. The undead at the border didn¡¯t respond to us immediately, but eventually, one of the undead actually spoke with magic. ¡°Please wait.¡± We did. A wraith appeared about half a dayter, it probably flew from really far away. It nced at Lumoof with its glowing yellow eyes, and nodded. ¡°Follow me.¡± We followed the wraith on a path that headed for the center of thend of the dead. Thend of the dead was surprisingly productive, filled with mines and quarries, and factories. The undead worked, and they worked with only a little bit of rest. As we escorted deeper into thend of the dead, we noticed the presence ofrge ck crystalline towers that radiated magical energy. It was familiar. It reminded me of that dungeon core that spawned undead from my earlier days. Lumoof¡¯s magical senses focused, and we realized these were magical ley lines that were corrupted by the ck crystal. These crystals then drew on that energy to create some kind of ¡®undead nourishing aura¡¯. The undead consumed magical energy in their day to day activities, and the aura replenished the undead¡¯s magical energy. In short, these was what kept dead going. As we moved deeper into the deatnds, we noticed more of these ck crystals, clustered around where the undead worked. We did notice some undead were different from others, there wererge, heavily armed ck knights that had a series of magical gems within their bodies. They drew from that undead aura, but likely were able to operate without it. It was around that time that we began to sense the eyes of a domainholder. It was just a sensation of someone looking back at us, whenever we looked or passed by one of those ck crystals. The wraith that escorted us clearly noticed that we noticed, but it said nothing. I still found them fascinating. They were, in a somewhat twisted way, a post-death society. People whose souls were given a second chance to live again here, even if they were just doing more work. But they do not tire or feel pain, and they are permitted to interact with themselves. Even from afar we could listen to them talk to each other. Some of the undead talked to each other about their day to day life, or talked about their past. Some missed their families, but some of these undeads were family when they lived. I wondered whether they gained levels and skills. Or they lose the ability to gain levels. We traveled for about a day and then we stopped in one of the ¡®cities¡¯ of the dead. A city for the undead, built around one of these ck crystal obelisks. This was a city of crafts, where undead and wraiths worked in workshops to build tools and weapons. Things that they used, but also things they traded with the humans. ¡°You will rest here tonight. We will continue our journey tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I could feel the Osroid¡¯s presence in the gigantic ck crystal at the heart of the city. We were getting quite good and experienced at sensing the presence of these domain holders. Bitu, White Statue, and now the Osroids all employed tools to maintain control and oversight of their territories. The city was clearly built to amodate human visitors. Maybe the heroes, like the hero Gideon. We didn¡¯t need sleep, and it was easy to notice how the undead didn¡¯t need sleep either. The workshops continued to work even at night, though the rarely used inn had really thick walls to drown out the noise. On the next day, a gigantic bone dragon arrived in this undead city, and the wraith waited next to it. ¡°Visitor, we will now take you to meet the Osroids.¡± ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go.¡± The bone dragon flew quickly, and I rated it¡¯s power somewhere in the high level 80s. A creature able to give even demon champions a run for their money. Amazingly, it wasn¡¯t a reanimated bone construct, but instead, also possessed the soul. Multiple souls that were linked together. The wraith stood next to us, and observed us. Lumoof grinned. ¡°We should be there quickly with this dragon. Perhaps a day.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The wraith answered. We flew over surprisingly fertile fields, mines, workshops, cities, and barrennd. In parts of thend of the dead, bones rained. Magic woven into thend itself caused bone-like materials to appear out of nowhere. As we flew closer, I could feel it, the familiar presence of another domain holder. The Osroids¡¯s home was an easily fortified valley, with a small gap. The dragonnded at the door to the valley, and the wraith led us along the road. The valley walls on both sides were filled with carvings. People. Creatures. Artwork made of gray stone, all intricately made from the valley¡¯s natural gray colors. It was a temple, and the whole journey walking through the carvings felt serene, quiet, and even holy. Maybe it was once a holy ce. There were many small doors that were carved into the valley¡¯s walls, and they all led to underground passageways and rooms. The wraith eventually stopped at one of the doors, where another undead awaited us. The undead was a heavy knight, it¡¯s bones wererger and magically reinforced to be stronger, covered in enough magical armor and weaponry to be on par with the elite White Guards of the White Statue. It was the right direction. The presence of the Osroids all over the valley at first, but as we focused, I could triangte its location. The knight pointed at the door, and walked it first. We followed. We walked on a path covered with magical traps and weapons, but somehow, not a single one of them activated. Eventually, after we went through multiple passageways and underground rooms, I saw three creatures, all physically separate yet magically intertwined. I knew they were a single being. ¡°Greetings.¡± I answered on Lumoof¡¯s behalf, and I felt the presence of a being pushed back against us. The three undead bodies spoke at once, and it felt like I was talking to a magical twin of Lillies. Lillies¡¯ underground roots and had the same sensation. ¡°Greetings. Why have you asked for an audience with us?¡± It clearly knew we were something. Our aura and presence as a domain holder was clear, and at this distance, I knew the Osroids was a peer of simr strength as the White Statue, though it¡¯s power set was likely lessbat focused. Just seeing it and being here answered 90% of the questions we had, but we asked the two main questions on my mind. ¡°We are travelers, expanding through other worlds and are here to help deal with the demon kings. Are you willing to coexist peacefully with us?¡± The three Osroids answered differently. ¡°No. Maybe. Yes.¡± Lumoof smiled, and answered sternly. ¡°We would appreciate honesty, Osroids. You three are one, your soul is to one, even if you share three flesh. There is no need to y such tricks on us.¡± The Osroid at the center paused, and then, the other two merged into it. The three boney bodies fused together into a singlerger bone creature, with three faces. ¡°Greetings, my fellow Soul Shaper.¡± It spoke as one. Lumoof nodded. ¡°Greetings. I¡¯vee for two real purposes, and one goal. One, to know whether we can coexist with you, and two, to inform you of the fading hero summons. The hero¡¯s summons will end soon.¡± The Osroids paused. ¡°We are as we always were. If you leave me be, I will leave you be.¡± ¡°Great. That solves the first problem. Two, the demon king is a continuing problem, but the hero summons will be over soon. Are you able to deal with it?¡± In my mind, I believe the answer is yes. The Osroids stopped, and it¡¯s undead face transformed into one of displeasure. ¡°Yes. But not without a great sacrifice. Without the heroes, we would have to rely on the powers of shaping the soul into a weapon. We would need many sacrifices from the living to create a weapon strong enough to defeat it.¡± I had a sense that the Osroids could win without it, but it is unlikely to sacrifice itself to do so. It would prefer to win the easy way. Lumoof frowned. ¡°I see. What would you do if itnded in the deatnds?¡± It¡¯s answer was also unappealing. ¡°I would chase it to thends of the living, until I collected enough sacrifices for the weapon. That would be our n.¡± The end of the hero summon would greatly destabilize the current bnce and prosperity of Khubor. So, in my mind, I considered offering a deal. We would deal with the demon king in exchange for continued peace and non-interference. We gain the experience, the world stays as it is. ¡°When will the heroes¡¯ summons end?¡± It asked. ¡°Soon. I am not certain. We were asked by Hawa to deliver the message.¡± I was fairly certain it¡¯ll end the moment we inform Hawa. But I could hold it off, but that would dy my ess into the inner demon worlds. y off the time difference and Hawa¡¯s limited information. There was silence, but I felt the buzz of the Osroids¡¯ mind. Its presence fluctuated like a turbulent ocean. It was in thought. ¡°You are strong. Stronger.¡± The Osroids said. ¡°You seem familiar with the ways of the invaders, and can fight them. We have no interest in the invaders, they are something with deal with because we have to.¡± Lumoof listened. The room was fairly small. Constrained. It was quite different from most of therge, airy chambers favored by other domain holders. ¡°So, we will trade weapons and magic for security. Knowledge of necromancy. We are interested in maintaining the status quo, and will trade for it.¡± The Osroids offered. ¡°Thend of the dead will remain off limits, but we can construct a new undead city to amodate your people. If you wish to have undead servants, we are happy to supply it. We are also capable of constructing custom souls that meet any of your more exotic desires.¡± Lumoof squirmed at thest item, but decided not to dwell on it. Instead, he redirected the question. ¡°What did you do with the heroes?¡± ¡°If the heroes are willing to fight the demons, we let them. If they are not, we use what is in their soul to make a powerful creature to battle the demon king instead. If that fails, we use the power of the hero¡¯s soul as a weapon.¡± Lumoof frowned. ¡°In the past, have you ever harmed a hero?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Osroids answered, as if exining itself. ¡°Those who are aggressive get what they deserve.¡± At that moment, I felt the Osroids split a portion of itself, and that portion of itself snuck away. Maybe it anticipated a fight. Lumoof merely smiled. ¡°It is not necessary to do so. We mean no harm.¡± Lumoof and the Osroids didn¡¯t move, and yet at that moment, we felt our two domains graze each other. The Osroids may have realized we could sense it¡¯s soul movement, but it decided the risk was worth it. ¡°We will ept your offer, Osroids, with two exceptions. We will require full ess to your deatnds to do battle with the demon king. Two, we do not know for certain how long the hero summons will remain, but we ask that if you find these heroes, you send them to thend of the living.¡± The Osroids didn¡¯t move, but I felt the chattering shifts of bone. I wondered whether I emit such a sensation when I was deep in thought. It spoke. ¡°eptable, but my wraiths will apany your forces.¡± ¡°Fair. That is all. We will be in touch, and we hope our peace remains.¡± The Osroids seemed suspicious, but ultimately, answered diplomatically. ¡°The peace will hold as long as it is upheld.¡± Lumoof smiled, and said some nice words to end it. ¡°It is good to meet a necromancer that isn¡¯t immediately hostile. This has been pleasant. We will be in touch, Osroids, hopefully, in more cordial terms.¡± The Osroids didn¡¯t respond immediately, and instead, just watched us leave. The wraith escorted us back to the valley¡¯s entrance where the bone dragon waited for us, and we left the world of Khubor. A deal was made. 310. Edna on Caval 310. Edna on Caval Caval. Edna returned this time to Caval with a purpose to ce a node tree, preferably somewhere friendly. Caval was and of knights, and and of small feudal kingdoms. These feudal kingdomsid im to [hero sword], and that served as the foundation of that kingdom¡¯s power. How this actually worked was an interesting mechanic at y in this world, and it was something she wanted to see more of. The descendant swords. ¡°So, Ebon. How many more levels?¡± Edna asked as they both approached the small fortified town. They could feel the magic that leaked out of the city, but Caval was a fairly safe world, and so, they were both in rather ordinary vige wear. A tough outer tunic and pants, though they both had much morefortable inner clothing. ¡°One.¡± Ebon said. ¡°Level 149.¡± Edna nodded. She knew he¡¯s been at the very edge of the path for a long time, though the exact details often eluded her. Ebon¡¯s service to the Order was probably a hundred years long. Edna nodded, she remembered many years ago, he was just a young [Aeonic Battle Knight]. ¡°You¡¯vee a long way, my disciple. There¡¯s but a few more steps to take.¡± Ebon nodded with a brief sigh, a mix of frustration and exhaustion. Ebon was not the only one. Many Valthorns reach Level 149 and never move for years, even decades, like Ebon, his service is almost a century long, even with all the breaks he took in between service. Even Roon and Johann stared at that final level for years before they made it. ¡°Thisst step feels a lot further than all the ones before.¡± Edna tapped the man that was once her disciple on the shoulder. ¡°Keep at it. We¡¯re almost there.¡± It was a small fortified town, and six guards stood at the gates, decked out in polished steel armor. They wore the liveries of a nearby Lord. [Knights] and [Squires], perhaps with the ability [Clean Armor] or some variant thereof. Edna¡¯s eyes, in particr, noticed one of the guards who stood nearby wielding a magical de. A de that has a faint presence of the hero sword. ¡°Visitors?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Edna and Ebon both smiled. ¡°Can wee in?¡± ¡°Bags?¡± Edna and Ebon both handed over their bags and just briefly checked them. One of the knights whispered to the other. ¡°I keep getting nothing.¡± The other knightguard replied. ¡°Really? Let me try. [Security Inspection].¡± Edna and Ebon nced at each other and immediately, they both activated small rings on their hands. An illusionary object meant to throw off [Inspect]. ¡°What are you talking about? I get [Viger] and [Traveller] for both of them.¡± The other knight tapped the man. ¡°You must¡¯ve drained your magical energy.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Anyway, you two are free to go. If you¡¯re here to live permanently, you¡¯ll need to speak to the Town Lord, but other than that thews of our town are simr to all others. Don¡¯t cause trouble. If you¡¯re here to watch the Seed Drawing Ceremony, it¡¯ll be in four days.¡± They were exactly here for the Seed Drawing Ceremony, and entered the fortified town. At first nce it seemed just like any other town. In fact, that was what the scouts thought at first. They didn¡¯t have much time to dive deep into how they worked back then, but now that there was only one real demon-king infested world to deal with, time was quite plentiful. This town had one hero sword, and unlike most other towns, it had its hero sword out in full disy. It stood at the town¡¯s center, a gleaming golden sword that stood embedded into arge stone. It¡¯s presence wasn¡¯t really that great, for both Edna and Ebon, it didn¡¯t seem particrly interesting. They built a small water fountain around it, and there were at least two knights present, standing guard. The sword itself had a massive steel chain that tied it to the ground. At this distance, they could feel the subtle pulse of the hero swords, and strangely enough, a voice. Well, only Ebon could, and was partly why she brought him along. ¡°You could hear it?¡± Edna asked. Edna as a domain holder couldn¡¯t interact with this aspect of the hero sword. Strangely enough, Edna didn¡¯t detect her domain blocking anything. It was as if whatever ¡®feelers¡¯ the sword had knew it couldn¡¯t reach her. Ebon paused as he focused, and then, he nodded. ¡°It¡¯s- it¡¯s whispering. It¡¯s saying something, I can¡¯t quite make out what it is.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Edna nodded. The Valthorn agents imed they¡¯ve heard strange voices when they were around the cities and towns, but most of the hero swords are hidden in secluded courtyards and spaces. Edna checked her dates again. ¡°Well, don¡¯t think too much about it, we still have time. Let¡¯s rest.¡± The fortified town didn¡¯t get many visitors normally, but there were slightly more than normal. So, at the inn, the two managed to talk to some other slightly drunk vigers to find out more about the Seed Drawing Ceremony. ¡°I¡¯m still amused that every year or two there¡¯s still visitors that want to see the ceremony. It¡¯s nothing much, really.¡± The visitor said. ¡°Nothing much for us to see, at least, but it¡¯s a lot of work for the swordsmiths.¡± ¡°We¡¯re travelers, and we¡¯ve not seen a seed drawing ceremony. What is it about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s when the swordsmiths offer their des to the divine des, and the divine des share fragments with the des. It happens every year or so, when the divine de is ready. The swordsmith with the best des gets to work with the fragment.¡± Ebon couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°How is it judged?¡± ¡°Judged? It¡¯s no eating contest! The divine de chooses whichever de it wants. Sometimes it chooses none at all and the swordsmiths will be in trouble with the town lord.¡± ¡°The sword chooses?¡± Edna found that strange. ¡°Do the swordsmiths hear the sword talk?¡± ¡°Oh! Those that hear the sword¡¯s words are the sword whisperers! They have a destiny to be great swordsmiths!¡± Ebon frowned. He was nowhere near a swordsmith, but he knew he heard the sword. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it just say weird things?¡± ¡°No one knows. Swordsmiths are very secretive about that sort of thing.¡± The slightly drunk viger said. The town was a little more crowded as the day of ceremony got closer, and Ebon noticed the voices from the sword began to sound more like a chaotic mess. There just wasn¡¯t much in the townfolk¡¯s lives that even supposedly boring Seed Drawing Ceremonies be an event. The town square was converted into a podium, as the fountain¡¯s water was drained, and reced with temporary wooden floors. A priest appeared, but he was different from the normal priests. He looked like a priest, and yet, also a swordsmith. He wasrge, muscr and filled with scars from years of work in the workshops. Even though he wore the deep brown robes of the priesthood, they could tell he was once a swordsmith. The priest seemed like a fairly mid-level individual. He was likely around level 60 to 70. In one cordoned off area, a group of swordsmiths looked nervous, and they all held a set of weapons wrapped in thick cloth. All of them have done it before. So, Edna focused her observation on the gossip and rumors from the travelers. Merchants who had seen more ces. ¡°I heard this isn¡¯t a powerful hero sword.¡± One of those in the crowd whispered to the others. ¡°It¡¯s not, that¡¯s why the town lord¡¯s only a town lord.¡± Another one whispered back. The priest-smith walked to the hero sword, and began to chant. Edna felt him channel priestly powers. Holy powersmon in priests and those who had a leg in these sort of sses. The sword glowed and emitted a powerful magical presence, as if it was a sword in its prime, as if it¡¯s original creator still lived. For a moment, this was a hero sword as if a hero still held it. The priest turned and roared at the swordsmiths. ¡°Present your seedling candidates to the Holy Sword.¡± The swordsmiths were ready, each of them held a finely crafted sword in their hand, and they all walked towards the tform. Once they approached, the hero sword seemed to glow, and it had wisps of light that reached out. The wisps touched the swords presented by the swordsmiths briefly. The priest continued to chant, as if continuing to supply magical energy to the hero sword, and then, the hero sword pulsed. ¡°The Sword has chosen.¡± The priest said. The hero sword pulsed once more, and then, two of the swordsmiths¡¯ creations floated up. The hero sword shot a beam of light into each of them, and those swords glowed. ¡°Two of the crafted des are worthy!¡± The priest said, and the crowd cheered. Those that failed looked dejected, but some looked relieved. The floating glowing swordsnded back in the hands of the swordsmith, and they looked nervous. The priest said a prayer, and then turned to face the crowd. ¡°And so, it is now the duty of the swordsmith to forge the greatest des with the seedlings granted to them.¡± Ebon looked at Edna. ¡°Isn¡¯t the sword already done?¡± ¡°I thought so too.¡± Edna nodded, as she then tried to ask a viger. ¡°What happens now?¡± ¡°Oh? The swordsmiths are supposed to refine the des some more, usually they do some polishing, some engraving and all that kind of stuff to make the sword worthy of a hero-descended sword.¡± The viger said, clearly faking a level of expertise. Edna didn¡¯t buy it. The details of what exactly happened with the hero swords and these ¡®descendant¡¯ swords is unclear, though Edna and Ebon both knew that most of these weapons were in the hands of the town lords and his chosen knights. So, the two decided to watch. Secretly. *** They infiltrated one of the victorious swordsmith¡¯s workshops that very day. The swordsmith, a rtively middle aged man, probably around levels 40 to 50 in some [cksmith] rted ss was greeted by his apprentice, a younger boy that was about level 15 to 20. Edna and Ebon, both shrouded by magic, hid in the corners and watched how the Swordsmith did their work. From what Edna knew, it was exceptionally hard to work on hero items, due to the presence of star mana within them. Only Aeon could attempt to replicate and work with them, but the powers of the [Hero¡¯s Forge] were in a league of its own. ¡°Master, I have the things ready.¡± The apprentice said nervously. The apprentice looked nervous, but from what Edna understood, this swordsmith made a few descendant swords in the past few years, so this wasn¡¯t their first run. ¡°Good.¡± The swordsmith said, ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡± The actual space where the sword would be forged wasn¡¯t like any other part of the workshop. It was clean, and almost seemed like an altar, rather than a workshop. The swordsmith ced the sword with the hero sword¡¯s seed on the altar, and then, the smith knelt before it. He started to pray. The glow of the sword began to spread, and then, touched the swordsmith itself. The glow spread, and for a moment, both the swordsmith and the sword were connected by a glow of light. Holy power allowed the smith to reach into the sword, and change it. The swordsmith began muttering some prayers, and the apprentice ced a tray of items next to the swordsmith. The tray contained a rather random selection of items. A few types of metals, a few types of wood, flowers, pens, paper, some food, some drinks, a small cup of blood, and a cup of water. He picked up some metals, some items, and then, somehow offered it to the sword. The sword seemed to change ever so slightly. The swordsmith offered some more steel, but some of the items were then suddenly rejected and flung far away. ¡°Okay, not that one.¡± The swordsmith said, ¡°Something else. Faster.¡± The apprentice quickly offered some flowers. The flowers were strangely taken, as they vanished into the sword. The apprentice handed a pen to the swordsmith, but then he stopped. ¡°Wait. It¡¯s saying something. Wait. It¡¯s ready. Apprentice, wait.¡± The swordsmith turned to face the sword and bowed to it. He began to mutter certain words of prayer, and the glowing between the two brightened slightly. At that moment, the swordsmith picked up a hammer that was on his belt. ¡°I am ready.¡± Edna and Ebon watched, as the swordsmith¡¯s eyes began to glow, as if he was having an out of body experience. They felt some magic flow between the swordsmith and the descendant sword, and the swordsmith just knelt for the rest of the evening, his eyes glowing but his mind clearly not present. The apprentice held the swordsmith, and kept him supported during the rest of the evening. Edna and Ebon watched, and Edna felt the subtle shifts in the sword during this entire time. Sometimes it got stronger, sometimes it turned weaker. Maybe it wasn¡¯t the perfect oue, but in the depths of night, the glow between the two vanished, and the swordsmith returned to his body thoroughly exhausted. The swordnded back on the altar. ¡°Water.¡± The apprentice ran with tworge mugs which the swordsmith finished in two big gulps. At that point, the apprentice asked. ¡°How did it go, master?¡± ¡°I- I think I did decently. Let¡¯s check the sword. Help me up.¡± The swordsmith¡¯s body was kneeling the entire evening, and so, the apprentice helped him up. The two walked to the sword to inspect it. The swordsmith looked at it a little frustrated. ¡°Ah. It¡¯s not much different from what it was. I thought I did better.¡± The man took a deep breath, and prayed anyway. ¡°Let¡¯s make a scabbard for the sword tomorrow.¡± The man left the de on the altar and took a good rest. *** The next few days, the man made a rtively borate scabbard, and then, Edna and Ebon watched the two swordsmiths present theirpleted weapons to the Town Lord. The Town Lord inspected the weapons, and didn¡¯t seem too impressed. Despite that, he said nothing of it, and just thanked the two swordsmith for their work. One of the Lord¡¯s treasurers paid the two for their services, and sent them away. The two infiltrators didn¡¯t just leave it as that, and stayed back to listen to their honest assessment. ¡°It¡¯s average. Good enough for knights, but not something that could rece this.¡± The town lord tapped a sword on his belt, also a hero-descendant sword. Edna noticed almost everyone in the lord¡¯s personal knights possessed a sword of simr category. The Lord¡¯s knightmander nodded, as it was now his turn to inspect the weapon. ¡°It¡¯ll be good enough for the newly promoted knights, but this does mean we can only promote two new knights this year.¡± ¡°Two will have to do, then.¡± The Lord dered to his men, ¡°Let the remaining squirespete for the post.¡± *** Ebon and Edna left the two to explore another bigger town. Caval¡¯s towns were all spread far apart, and the farms were fairly clustered. One of the primary causes of the high density and clustering was because of the hero swords. A town without a hero sword is no town. There were smaller viges, but these were often linked to arger town that regrly sent knights to protect them from the monsters. In between all the towns and cities were plenty of untamed forests and mountains, and monsterirs. On a macro level, this fed into the myth of the Knights of Caval. Knight would set out to y the monsters, defend their cities from the dark creatures. ording to the reports, thergest towns generally corrted to the strength of their hero swords. Stronger hero swords attracted more people to live under its protection, since the powerful hero swords created stronger descendant swords, and stronger knights. The hero swords are like fruit trees. Each hero summoned to Caval starts with a sword seed, which grows into his personal sword. It is this sword that bes a hero sword when he dies, or when he gives it away. It is said that a hero could create a new hero sword if he gives one away, but there is some kind of price to be paid. Details were fairly scarce, since most of the drunk knights only regurgitated tales from their travels, the stories brought by travelers and merchants or whatever their lords told them. The next city they arrived at didn¡¯t disy the hero sword out in the open. Instead, it was hidden deep in the city¡¯s keep. The city lord styled himself a King, though it seemed that no one dared to speak up to the King, since he didn¡¯t have the [King] ss, and instead only had a [Lord] ss. The city never had a [King] in its history, but at some point, the system could recognize it as true, and would convert the city lord¡¯s title into a [King]. Edna and Ebon weren''t particrly interested in the city¡¯s politics, as their focus was learning about the details of the hero sword, and how they worked. The world of knights and their glorious aplishments didn¡¯t spread on their own and instead, it was the traveling bards and songstresses who amplified the knight¡¯s glories. The rtive ratio of armed warriors to non-warriors was quite lowpared to the other worlds, simply because a knight that had a descendant sword could do the work of ten soldiers against the monsters. Due to the limited nature of these swords, Caval¡¯s towns and cities valued quality over quantity. Thergest amount in any city were the squires. Squires who were soldiers in training but have yet to receive their descendant swords. Even in a city with 20,000 to 50,000 people, there were only about 2,000 actual squires, and about 100 to 200 knights. On the other worlds, the military¡¯s strength was at least three to five times the number. High leveled knights who were level 60 to 80, and outfitted with the descendant swords could y demon champions. It¡¯s a virtuous feedback loop, where a small number of strong warriors ying demons and monsters meant less sharing of experience, which created even stronger warriors. This specialization also meant there was more resources and manpower for more artistic pursuits and specializations. Bards, woodworkers who made a range of instruments, farmers, brewers, the priest-smiths, and many other kinds of frivolous entertainment. Here in one suchrger city, that was in full disy. Taverns with beers, dancers, singers and bards were all over the main street. It wasmon in Caval that the temples and the workshops were often located next to each other. The priests of this world prayed to a range of gods, and unlike the other worlds, Caval¡¯s temples worshiped a pantheon of gods. Hawa, Neira, and Gaya. The Cavalians referred to these gods as the Three Swords of Gods, and they often pray to all three together as Three. ¡°She¡¯s around here.¡± Ebon reached a quiet home located in the workshop district of the city. It was a small, slender home that was probably once a workshop, but the workshop was now reced with a small garden of flowers. Walls reced with open windows for the sun. Their goal was an old priestess and a great sword whisperer. In her youth, the rumors imed she made powerful descendant swords. But mainly, because she was really old, and thus knew things many didn¡¯t. Ebon checked. ¡°She¡¯s inside.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Edna knocked on the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Hello, we¡¯re looking for Priestess Shuwan.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a priestess anymore.¡± The old woman responded. Edna grinned. ¡°Then we¡¯re looking for Shuwan, we wish to speak to her.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± The former priestess¡¯s home was clean, and well lit with ample sunlight from therge windows. The living room was fairly narrow, but it didn¡¯t feel that way. Two of the walls were decorated with scabbards, their swords nowhere to be found. ¡°Sit, sit. Do you want some tea? What can this old woman do for you?¡± Edna and Ebon smiled, and so Edna started. ¡°That would be nice, but we¡¯re here to learn about the past, and the hero swords that are all over our world.¡± Shuwan smiled, brewed a pot of hot tea and sat down on the table with three cups. Ebon quickly helped her pour the tea. ¡°Oh? You want my story?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Edna said. ¡°That¡¯s probably the third time someone ever asked, and in the first two times, it was a hero. Are you a hero?¡± Shuwan smiled. Edna smiled back, and shook her head. ¡°No.¡± Most of these worlds didn¡¯t have an appreciation of the truth and history. They were busy surviving year on year, and even when they did create documents about history, it often spoke about the glories and achievements of their cities, kings, lords and knights. Things about the nature of hero swords would be mentioned in passing, but not much attention was given to them. The swords were how things are, and how things were, and how things will be. Someone like Shuwan with her long history, knew and seen a lot of things, and interestingly, it was only people like heroes that would think about speaking to someone like her. The woman was old, and at almost three hundred years old, it was probably the limit of her level-extended lifespan. ¡°And if you¡¯re not the hero, why should I tell you?¡± Shuwan said. Edna smiled. ¡°What would it take for us to hear the truth?¡± Shuwan found that funny, and nodded. ¡°I jest. I¡¯m an old woman happy to talk about my past. Too bad few want to listen and many have long forgotten who I once was. Where should we start?¡± ¡°What are the hero swords?¡± ¡°It is what you know. They are the remains of the heroes¡¯ journey. Each hero arrives in our world with a seed, which with their nurturing, grows into a powerful weapon. Depending on the Three Sword¡¯s blessings, the swords gain different types of powers. When I traveled with the hero Yoru so many, many years ago, he would visit each old hero sword and he would then imprint a memory of that hero sword into his own. The old heroes gain a wide variety of powers, because they can summon the swords they have met during their journey to aid them.¡± ¡°You traveled with the hero?¡± Edna asked. ¡°Yes! I traveled with two heroes, actually. Yoru, when I was a young woman, andter Zahar, when I was an older priestess of the sword.¡± Shuwan said proudly. ¡°But it¡¯s an old story, that was- maybe two hundred years ago. Back when the three or four heroes arrived and I was the one chosen by the Lord to apany the hero and provide my wisdom.¡± ¡°But why?¡± Edna asked. She knew why, but she wanted to hear it from her. ¡°Heroes need knowledge. They needpany. They need someone to be there for them, care for them, and love them.¡± Shuwan said frankly. ¡°They are fragile men and women, and even if they have strong powers, the temples know they must be cared for, and the temple- well, the temple wanted children from the heroes.¡± ¡°Oh. Did you have any?¡± Shuwan smiled. ¡°Yes! My grandson¡¯s now the Knight Commander of the city! Of course, the hero¡¯s blood is a little diluted, but still!¡± ¡°But, why?¡± The former priestessughed. ¡°Why else? Our children can draw more out of the hero¡¯s descendant swords.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Edna chuckled. ¡°So, these hero swords, what else do you know about them? What¡¯s something we don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Hah. Such a hero-way of asking questions, I¡¯d almost think you came from their world.¡± Shuwanughed, but talked anyway. ¡°Well, the heroes- well, Zahar gave away one of his hero swords when he was level 90 or so, just because he saw a vige that was really vulnerable and wanted to protect them. So he nted his hero sword there and then.¡± ¡°Must a hero nt the sword?¡± ¡°Not always. That¡¯s what I¡¯m for, as well. If the hero falls in battle, I¡¯ll retrieve his hero sword. The hero swords actually contain a fragment of their being, a part of their soul, and it resonates better with me than anyone else because I was theirpanion on the journey. Thepanion is always a priest-smith, because we can work with the sword he left behind. We can speak to it, better than anyone else.¡± But eventually, they too die, and so lesser smiths must learn to pick up the ck. ¡°Is it always a girl?¡± Edna wondered. ¡°Not always. A man is fine, as long as the two have a strong friendship. Sending a woman to be a hero¡¯spanion has its challenges, since a woman may find the hero less appealing and there¡¯s a lot ofplicated feelings that don''t make us a goodpanion. I was lucky that I liked the two heroes I was assigned to, but it¡¯s not always the case. Romance and love isn¡¯t necessary, all that is needed is a strong connection that the hero sword inherits. Are you two trying to be the next heropanion? There should be a demon king in another five or so years, but it¡¯s hard to say whether there will be a hero.¡± Edna just nodded. ¡°You can say that.¡± ¡°Ah. Hopefully they send more than one. It rarely ends well with only one hero.¡± Shuwan said with a sigh. ¡°So, a hero can create a second hero sword?¡± Edna tried to redirect the question back to the earlier question. ¡°Why not create more? The world clearly has space for many more.¡± ¡°Each new hero seed costs levels. Five to ten levels of the hero¡¯s [Hero] ss, and the new hero sword starts from scratch.¡± Shuwan said. ¡°Starting from scratch?¡± Edna asked. ¡°Do the hero swords have levels?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The old woman smiled. ¡°They are special like that. They are a part of the hero, and so, each hero gains two sets of levels. One for himself, and one for his sword. Once given away they stopped growing, the swords transformed into the objects you see out there, but they gained some other abilities to protect their new home.¡± Edna¡¯s mind immediately thought of Aeon¡¯s idea of creating a living weapon. That was possible with a titan soul, but here, the hero¡¯s sword was doing something else altogether. *** ¡°Do you think we can do something simr? A living weapon that¡¯s so powerful that we could use it on the demon Sun-Rings?¡± Edna asked. ¡°Something that ousts even the heroes.¡± If the hero swords were living weapons, then the natural idea was for a hero from Caval to gain power across many, many worlds to create a super-hero sword. Or whether they could make something with a titan soul, and push the living aspect to it¡¯s limits by cobbling multiple titan soul-like weapons together. ¡°This makes this world a dilemma for us. If we stop hero summons, we¡¯re fulfilling our end of the bargain, but we wouldn¡¯t be able to experiment with the heroes.¡± Edna said. ¡°I¡¯m being a little selfish, but I really want to see what it¡¯s like to have these living swords pushed to the limits. Could they be more powerful than the heroes themselves?¡± ¡°Then we should let Aeon know to just hold off on this world. I think we could afford a dy to our ns?¡± Ebon wondered. ¡°Skipping one cycle is what, ten or twenty years? Aeon could wait that long, no problem.¡± Edna agreed. ¡°Aeon won¡¯t be the problem. Time is hardly a concern for him, and waiting a decade more or two is indeed nothing. I am more concerned with my peers. Would my peers be willing to hold off for twice as long? Alka may be on my side, since he¡¯s willing to experiment, but will Ste let me do this? Are we ying with the lives of my fellow warriors?¡± ¡°We could let the demon king appear but don¡¯t kill it? Leave it incapacitated and allow the summoning of heroes to trigger?¡± ¡°Agreed. That¡¯s possible with Lumoof¡¯s powers and my swords. Now, I¡¯ll have to convince the rest of my domain holders to hold on for a little longer.¡± Tree of Aeons Book 6 launches on Amazon! Tree of Aeons Book 6unches on Amazon! Greetings my dearest readers. Tree of Aeons Book 6 invades Amazon today. Do check it out here : If you do have a KU, add it to your library, do give it a read, and leave a rating/review. THANKS! Man, book 6. That''s crazy, don''t you think so? I think so. It''s wild that I''ve written so much. Goes to show that even writing just 3,000 words a week over almost 6 years did finally get me to this point. Anyway. please read, leave rating. Thanks :) 311. Faith 311. Faith 311 Year 280 ¡°Hawa, how long do we have to wait if we n to hold off on rescuing one of the worlds?¡± Lumoof asked the object in his hand. Edna¡¯s encounters with the hero swords made me wonder whether we could rece it with another world. There was silence, at first. ¡°If it¡¯s one world, perhaps another 5 years, so all in you may have to wait and hold these worlds for up to 35 years before I gather enough faith points.¡± Thirty five years. In a way, that wasn¡¯t a bad amount of time, since we could reinforce our hold on these peripheral worlds, and replenish the strength of the Valtrian Order and Valthorns. 35 years was enough for one to two generations of new warriors to join our ranks. Though a part of me wondered whether it is enough to attack the demons, I realize that at this moment, it didn¡¯t matter. We¡¯ll just have to get ready. If we are not, we will take a step back and rebuild. ¡°Do you have domain holders under you?¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°Yes. A few, they care for some of my Core Worlds. They serve as my voice to my people.¡± ¡°What do you do if they get too strong?¡± ¡°Why would they? It gets progressively harder to get stronger under the old system, and they would have to constantly seek out battles. My core worlds are safe, they do not get invaded by the demons frequently.¡± Ah. It¡¯s so easy to teau, and I noticed this too, even in my domain holders. There¡¯s always a point where progress seems incredibly slow. Years pass by without a level gained. Even for me, my level gains have been so slow that I¡¯ve not expected more levels unless I did something big. Thest significant gain I had was during the demon¡¯set. So far, our expeditions to the peripheral worlds didn¡¯t lead to many levels for me. ¡°Have you started to save up some faith points?¡± ¡°Yes. It will take some time, but faith points umte slowly over the years.¡± ¡°Yet you do not want to send your priests and prophets to these worlds to convert them to your faith?¡± ¡°Distant worlds generate the least amount of faith points. I much prefer to create news in my core realms and popte them with even more believers. There is more progress that way.¡± ¡°Wait. How big are your core worlds?¡± ¡°Compared to some of the peripheral worlds, perhaps ten, or twenty timesrger? Some of my realms have thirtys filled with my believers, in the billions.¡± That exined the sheer scale and why the gods are so unwilling to entertain distant worlds. It¡¯s core worlds are so big, and just managing that should take up most of its time. ¡°Ah. But how does the Will of the World work in such a situation?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t one. I have merged with the old Will of the Worlds for those where I have imed as my Core Worlds. These worlds and me are one and the same, and it is why my existence is calcted as a blend of the worlds where I rule.¡± ¡°But- wait, don¡¯t you die if you lose your followers?¡± ¡°Yes, but the worlds will have to die first, and so long as I rule them, I won¡¯t.¡± Ah. Interesting. So since the World Faith System allows them to supnt the world¡¯s existing will and made it their own- ¡°Wait. Then how do the demons capture a god if you are merged with your core world?¡± ¡°They must have defeated all of that god¡¯s worlds, and forced it to itsst controlled world. And there, it captured itsst controlled world, effectively iming control over its faith.¡± ¡°But a god can draw power from further away than its core world.¡± ¡°Yes. But the core worlds are where we tie our presence. Call it an anchor of our reality.¡± ¡°But, why don¡¯t the gods just keep merging with the Will of the Worlds?¡± ¡°Each merger costs Faith Points, and the less world we control, the harder it is to generate the necessary faith points.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you keep merging with more worlds? At some point you control so many worlds that you can keep merging with more?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a distance penalty for each merger, each merger shifts my center of faith ever slightly, making some worlds further away from that center and dilutes the faith point generated from that world. In other words, there is an optimal arrangement of worlds based on the current density of worlds in the void.¡± ¡°But you can move worlds as the Will of the World. Can you not just move it closer to the center of your mass such that each world is optimally arranged within your center of faith?¡± There was an odd silence. A really, really long odd silence. ¡°It can be done, at some faith point cost, but there is a size restriction of the number of realms in the same space in the void sea, but no real limit on the number of worlds within a single realm, but-¡± Again, a weird, long silence, as if it was in thought. ¡°Maybe that belief is also wed. I will experiment on this.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Even the old gods work with fairly constrained information. The System works the way it does, but not all the tricks to optimize it¡¯s performance are known. At that point, I wondered how my clones interacted with the Will of the World. ¡°What sort of powers do you get with the Will of the World? I mean, other than the power to move worlds.¡± ¡°Fairly wide. I can create and alter racepositions, alter species, create divine and magicalws that permeate the world, move worlds, alter its core concepts, subject to the [System]¡¯s limits.¡± ¡°Can you shape portals?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I wondered. ¡°Are you able to block people froming, then?¡± ¡°I have not tried, but maybe. At least, I can block a world¡¯s core from interacting with a person. Like, I can weave rules into the world to prevent certain things from happening, such as dragons can¡¯t fly, or trees can¡¯t grow bigger than a certain size. Some rules will need to go through the System¡¯s implied voting process, and can take a while.¡± Could it even stop me from deploying my clones? ¡°Can you stop the movement of souls, too?¡± ¡°A limited yes. I can create mechanisms that slow the movement of souls and recycle them, but over a long period of time, no.¡± This lends credence to the idea that souls are one of the foundational forces of the world, but I wondered what the demons could do with worlds where it has fully ¡®possessed¡¯ the will of the world, and weaponized that ability. It has not done so with the demon worlds we¡¯ve seen so far, but there is no reason to believe the demon worlds within the bubble are simr. ¡°Are you able to prepare a force to fight with us, as we make our way to the demon¡¯s sun?¡± I asked. ¡°Join us, support us in our fight.¡± A long silenceter, it agreed. ¡°Very well. I will have 1,000 high quality warriors ready within forty years.¡± ¡°Any domainholders?¡± ¡°No. My domain holders are far too precious.¡± *** Three decades of rtive peace should be achievable, though we are left with a few more worlds where we intended to see a little more happen. ¡°We arergely ready for the next phase of our movements. The rest of the Valthorns will focus their efforts on restoring the health of the peripheral worlds, but for us, we have other things to do.¡± Lumoof gathered the domain holders for a talk. They were connected through [dream academy]. The dream version of Alka nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll spend another few years here in Delvegard. I think I can get a deeper grip into their society, but we¡¯ll need a big deployment of staff to build a new space for these guys. In a safer world. Do we intend to use the world next to the Sun-Rings as a staging post? If so, that¡¯s where we should go. It¡¯ll make it much easier to send over the war machines to the Sun-Rings.¡± ¡°Is attacking the Sun-Rings with war machines even necessary?¡± ¡°Well, maybe not, but the Sun-Rings is where we are closest to the demon¡¯s barrier. Once it breaks, it will lead to the inner worlds, and I expect a lot of war.¡± ¡°Fair.¡± ¡°What sort of crack are we expecting in the demon¡¯s barrier?¡± Johann asked. Ste then borated. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure of what sort of power Hawa¡¯s weapon has, but let¡¯s assume the barrier will either have a hole in it, or fallpletely. We should be able to move closer towards the demonic worlds that are on the other side. I believe we should be seeing demon worlds.¡± ¡°So a whole lot of battle.¡± ¡°Yes, and the domain holders will be the tip of the spear.¡± Alka exined. The rest of the Valthorns will need to hold on to a set of worlds that form a path for us to retreat, if needed. ¡°The likelihood of that sort of path being necessary probably isn¡¯t high if we can have Aeon¡¯s clone deployed somewhere along the way, but we don¡¯t really know whether there are restrictions of Aeon¡¯s deployment. We know so far during our first attack on the Sun-Rings that Aeon cannot deploy on ces without sufficient soil. We are highly likely entering worlds that have been heavily warped by the demon¡¯s presence, quite like the core worlds of the old gods.¡± ¡°So more divinew stuff.¡± ¡°Yes, exactly. Which is why we are the tip of the spear.¡± Alka said. ¡°We¡¯ll need more firepower. Way more firepower.¡± Somehow, Johann, Roon, Kafa and Ezar looked at Lumoof at the same time. Lumoof blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need to get more allies.¡± ¡°Ah yes.¡± ¡°It is the avatar¡¯s role as the primary representative.¡± Johann said. ¡°If we need more domain holders, we¡¯ll have to recruit some of these others to fight on our side.¡± ¡°Or we find more allies.¡± Ste said. ¡°We should resume the Void Layers exploration.¡± ¡°Or reach for the other gods.¡± Roon poked in, and this time, he looked at Ste. ¡°If we can get Hawa to give us some guys, Aiva probably could too. We should reach Aiva, somehow.¡± Ste frowned. ¡°Aww man. I already have two void explorers headed in different directions. If we find something, we¡¯ll know.¡± Roon and Johann looked at each other. ¡°But if we¡¯re venturing to worlds where there are divinews, we¡¯ll need a void domain holder.¡± ¡°Unless if, we can somehow share the protections of a domainholder with any of five other void archmages.¡± Alka said. ¡°Is there?¡± Ste asked. ¡°Not that I know of.¡± Lumoof shook his head. ¡°If we can locate more gods that is ideal. But our efforts should be on the basis that we don¡¯t find any more gods, and so we need to improve the strength of our forces. The peripheral worlds are mostly connected to a demon world, we should make use of that.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°That¡¯s a good way to give our new recruits some additional knowledge and experience.¡± Then Edna brought up her observations on the hero mechanic on Caval. The matter was circted to the domain holders earlier, so most of them knew about it on a rtively high level basis. ¡°I¡¯d like to experiment on the hero ss.¡± That made Ste squirm slightly. ¡°The rest of the heroes won¡¯t agree on that.¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t they? They have another friend to fight with.¡± Johann asked. ¡°It¡¯s taking people away from their homes. Away from their current lives. It¡¯s allowing the gods to kidnap them.¡± Ste countered. ¡°Not if you believe what happens to heroes when they die.¡± Alka said. ¡°They get ced back as if it never happened. Nothing really was lost. It¡¯s like a dream.¡± ¡°We have no way of proving whether that is true.¡± Ste countered. ¡°I don¡¯t like this. We¡¯re allowing the system to take one.¡± Alka looked at Ste, and frowned. ¡°Just one, Ste. Think of the lives we can save, if there¡¯s a way to make a super powerful living weapon. Something that we can then use on other worlds as well.¡± ¡°There¡¯s ways to do that without the heroes.¡± Ste insisted. ¡°Edna already has her quest swords, why can¡¯t her quest swords do something simr once she gains more levels?¡± ¡°Ste, it will end on it¡¯s own. It¡¯s a matter of time.¡± Alka countered. ¡°The more we can learn how the world works and how some worlds integrate the hero summons into it¡¯s natural ecosystem, the better equipped we are to deal with the consequences. Caval will have its end of summons eventually, and I think Edna has a point. One hero. One summons. That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Do you want some time to think about this?¡± Alka tried to brush off her rejection. ¡°Aeon, we have to stop this cycle of pulling people from our worlds.¡± Ste said. ¡°Stopping hero summons is a good thing!¡± But I wasn¡¯t so sure. *** Twinspace Land of the plenty. Land of the overpopted. Kafa, Roon and Johann arrived and found the chaos even more overwhelming than the overpopted cities of the Central Continent. Somehow, the poption here was just bigger. People here just had more children, and children grew up faster. Fertility levels were high in every race, and it seemed the minds of the people were very much inclined to have children, and we discovered they were indeed wired differently. The souls of humans, lizardpeople, elves, dwarves. All slightly different. Their minds favored children, even though as a society, they don¡¯t seem to treat their young very well. Instead, they generally were left to fend for themselves, though crimes on young hungry children were rarely punished, unless severe. But there was a price to such a different mindset. A price paid, in another form. The level caps on everyone were lower. No one got above level 75 in this world. Ten levels of difference, and in return, and slightly smaller than the Central Continent housed ten, if not fifteen times as many individuals. Maybe even twenty. Kafa found the ce pleasant. He was always fond of crowds. Lizardfolks generally werefortable with crowds. It didn¡¯t bother them, and their minds were able to shut out the unnecessary noise. *** ¡°The demon continent is the promisednd!¡± Matriarch Hoyia stood on top of the podium. A crowd surrounded her. ¡°Our divine God Aeon has a vision, a task for us all. Once we reim the demon continent, it will be transformed into and of plenty. Enough to feed your family. Your friends. Everyone!¡± The crowd listened, as Hoyia¡¯s [A Seed for the Masses] spread throughout the entire za. ¡°Aeon¡¯s warriors await us on our journey. Our path, my fellow brethren. Our divine god calls on us to prepare for this journey. A crusade of our own to purge the unholy from our world! The reward is a new promisednd. And that is fertile, where minerals and resources are plentiful, and our god¡¯s men will be there to help us. So, my brethren. We must make the journey. Our crusade awaits!¡± Roon and Johann kept watch, just in case anyone tried something. But Hoyia had enough artifacts on her to block a demon king¡¯s attack. ¡°The crowd¡¯s buying it.¡± ¡°A lot more than I expected.¡± Johann said, and realized a lot were nodding. Some were swayed. A few walked up. Hoyia bought a buildingter that day, and officially set up the first Temple of Aeon on the world of Twinspace. A total of three matriarchs and patriarchs of the Treeology came to Twinspace. The act of converting these masses into believers, zealots, was the first step. Once they gained scale, they would convert even the nobles, and from there, the preparations for the crusades would be on the way. The first Twinspace Temple of Aeon was located on a harbor city, it was ruled by a local King. There were soldiers, but anyone could tell that they were hardly loyal. They were only doing it because the King paid them. How easy it was to sway the hearts of these lost sheep. An offering of food, a blessing from a priestess, and a light touch of borrowed divinity, and Hoyia turned a group ofzy, unmotivated guards into her own private army of eager zealots. ¡°It¡¯s quite scary what she¡¯s doing.¡± Roon said, as each of the matriarch and patriarch somehow converted hundreds and thousands of regr civilians into believers of the Aeonic faith. Simr to Alka, Hoyia and the priesthood went down to the people, and converted them first. The ruling institutions will fall on their own, once the legs they stood on copse. The powerful may have higher levels, and are stronger, but in the end, the benefits of that level only matter if they have someone to lord it over. With the Temple of Aeon, and the power of the matriarchs, it would be easy to resist their attempts. In two months, the Temple of Aeon on the shoreline cities had grown to thousands, winning over soldiers and citizens alike. The nobility began to notice, but by then the Temple of Aeon was already sizable, and some began to whisper directly into the noble¡¯s ears. In that shoreline city itself, the fire now reached the city¡¯s lord. ¡°The demon¡¯s continent is actually our promisednd.¡± A zealous converted officer exined to that very town¡¯s lord. The Lord was furious. ¡°We must join the Temple of Aeon on the crusade to the demonic continent! Our suffering all this while was because we allowed the demonic continent to remain corrupted!¡± ¡°What ridiculous im is this? How are the other temples not crushing this fake priestess?¡± The Lord stared at the converted officer. The rest of the guards looked tense. They were friends, but the officer had been thoroughly mesmerized. The zealous converted officer stood, and drew his sword. ¡°City Lord, the powers of the matriarch are real, and her divine blessing is true. You doubt it, but see this.¡± His entire body radiated power for a matriarch¡¯s blessing. ¡°Are you dabbling in demonic energy?¡± The Lord didn¡¯t believe it, incredulous. ¡°Haul him up and throw him in prison.¡± ¡°City Lord, you may throw me in prison, but I beg you, go see the priestess for yourself. Matriarch Hoyia¡¯s faith is true, and her vision of god is real!¡± The Lord looked at his guards. ¡°Throw the man in jail, and summon this false priestess to my office. I¡¯ll see what this subus is doing to my officers!¡± *** 312. Rooted In One’s Mind 312. Rooted In One¡¯s Mind 312 Year 280 (continued) Hoyia was not a young woman. She took the appearance of a regal, mature woman, and the very moment she walked into the Lord¡¯s mansion it was clear to everyone. Maids, butlers, soldiers, guards. They all could feel it in their souls when someone who possessed the air of holiness, and for the Lord of that Town, his opinions shifted the moment she walked through her door. Holy. A thousand words could not describe standing before one who speaks with the weight of divinity. Hoyia and the priests were normal for the rest of the Valthorns. But for these folks of Twinspace, they cannot even begin to exin how unique the sensation was. The local [Lord] stood in the presence of a high leveled priestess with her powers in full swing. Though fleeting, or momentary, a priest is an extension of their god. A priest is the conduit between reality and the powers of god as written in the system. The Lord blinked, as the sensation hit him. For a Lord who had never met a true holy man in a world with few holy existences, it was akin to seeing for the first time. ¡°-how?¡± Hoyia did not bow or kneel, her words divine, but she may as well have been a subus. There really was no difference at their level of power. The [Lord] wasn¡¯t very strong, likely only level 30 to 40, and so, his resistance crumbled. ¡°Greetings, Town Lord. It seems Aeon saw it fit to arrange an opportunity for me to convince you of our truth. Would you like to join us in our crusade? There is a promisednd for us, but it is not free. It is one that we have to earn ourselves.¡± The lord was enraptured, and in a single meeting, converted. Hoyia made it look easy, and some [Lords] were ever weaker than others. One Lord done. Hundreds more to go. A crusade for the demonic continent would now stir the world into a frenzy. New ships would be constructed, aided by the Valtrian Order¡¯s craftsmen. Perhaps, Magisar should¡¯ve used the priests to speak to the mages. The faith was far more potent and infectious than they expected. Year 281 The Order purged all of Magisar¡¯s demonic hives. What¡¯s left are just small patches of demons and corruptednd. A matter of time before the world is truly devoid of demons. The Magisarian economy hinged on food harvesting and mineral collection. Due to ack of hard metals in their world, most of their goods were constructed and reinforced with magic. The hero-created floating towers were the primary exception. With peace, that meant old harvesting locations and mining spots could be restored, and trade routes resurrected. Most of this didn¡¯t need her involvement. A great thing, and so, the Order focused its efforts on recruitment. Training mages for the next batch. New schools. Lausanne and the Order recruited some of the friendly mages, thankfully not all were stupid enough to side with the Tower Masters, and a few new schools were constructed. Children of Magisar did not have the old biases of their parents, and they did not inherit a ¡®fear¡¯ of thend. Like the lizardfolk, the children would experience a world so different from their parents that it was hard for them to understand. The Order¡¯s priests would have to heavily step in to manage this generational transition. The Order set up a total of ten new magic schools across Magisar, and unlike the Tower, the new schools wererge academy style buildings replicated after the various magic schools of Treehome, but staffed with a joint team from both the Order and also the local mages. The Order didn¡¯t have that many mages to spare, so each of the schools could only have about five to ten level 70 to 80 mages, and the rest would be Magisarian local mages. The Magisarians used to have magical carnivals, tournaments as recorded in their historical documents, so she revived old tournaments and events between the Towers, and added these new academies into the mix aspetitors. Now that the demons are exterminated, in theory, the Order should gradually cut off the Towers and let them return to their old ways, simr to Treehome. But Aeon¡¯s mercy left a mark on the old leadership, and none of the sessors dared toy im to the respective leadership roles. So the Order¡¯s mages continued to rule in ce of the Tower Masters. To make the best of what was already done, Lausanne and ckthorn replicated the council of representatives of the Central Continent, and made each of the Towers nominate a group of five representatives, to represent their interests to the newly established Magisar Council, housed in the new city. *** Delvegard Crafters vanished. Tens. Hundreds. Entire workshops somehow robbed overnight with not a sound or witness. Vaults filled with Sunsteel, Sunmetal and void weapons are all gone somehow. A great theft of people, weapons and resources. The Kings and rulers of Delvegard were in panic. Many wanted toprehend what in the world happened to their nations. Even in the greatest of Delvegard¡¯s war machine academies, multiple masters just vanished overnight, along with all their gear. There was a noticeable sense of dread in the Yards, that even the Forge Master of the Yards, the former King, patrolled the ce extensively, along with his best warriors. But even full security didn¡¯t help when powerful Order operatives ced everyone in the yard to sleep. Those that vanished were housed in a series of secret new homes in new cities, in a series of new cities throughout Delvegard. Built into old Sunmetal and Sunsteel Mines, the crafters and builders from the Order had quickly constructed new, fortified and heavily magically reinforced cities hidden from view, and in ces normally inessible. We called these the New Delvegardian Cities. Carved out of old mines or dead mines. An underground path was constructed that connected these New Delvegardian Cities to the regr dwarven towns ruled and managed by Lord Sundus and his peers. These cities were basic but functional, but what truly made them realize that they were now working with crafters who were from other worlds were the singr object ced in their heart, along with the strange crystals that surrounded them. The Rift Gates at the heart of the Delvegardian Cities. These oval-shaped gates were massive objects of otherworldly origin, and the dwarves could tell these were not made by dwarves. ¡°Stolen.¡± The void mages exined to the dwarves. ¡°We took them from the demon worlds. The demons used them to invade our worlds,¡± An object of tremendous void magic. It was something all the Delvegardians admired. Many of the crafters often walk around it and keep trying to figure out how it¡¯s made. Even my crafters had not figured it out, and actually, it made me wonder how did the demons even reach the point of having such powerful technology. Were the demons some kind of technological creation by a powerful being from the past, and the rift gates were also one of their creations? If so, their creator must have been some kind of truly powerful crafting god. But no matter, the reason why we ced the rift gate at the heart of these cities was simple. Alka promised them the glory of war, and we intended to deliver. Delvegard would face its own demonic attack in a decade or so, but the pathways between the two worlds grew stronger day by day. Our void mages could amplify that connection and travel to the other side. And so, as a small battalion of the dwarven war machines prepared, the void mages activated the rift gates. ¡°You will be the first Delvegardian dwarves to ever set foot on demonic worlds.¡± Alka encouraged them. ¡°Now, go and fight the demons!¡± There was a roar from the first dwarven force, and they walked through the rift gates riding their war machines. The demons on the other side were small, and resembled the hellhounds and dog-headed monsters, and therger creatures were gigantic versions of these hellhounds and had three heads. They breathed fire, and that fire smashed into the magical shields of the war machines. Alka watched, a little amused how out of shape they were. The dwarves panicked, unsure how to fight the demons. The Order stepped in to help calm their nerves briefly, while a few of the Order folks quickly reminded them what they needed to do. This was the first trip, of many, many more toe. They fought for a while, for what was half a day, and then, the rift gates opened again, this time to bring them back. Alka gave them a mission to establish a foothold on the demonic world, and the dwarves epted. Groups of Delvegardian Dwarves from all over the world came together, and somehow formed into cliques, and rather than fight each other for real, Alka merely gave out rewards for those who ughtered the most demons. *** ¡°Had a good time?¡± Alka smiled at the block master. He was among the first group that rode their war machines to the other side. ¡°No. Not really. It was bad.¡± The Block master conceded, as he reviewed his own performance. ¡°We were out of shape.¡± Alka nodded. ¡°A lot of room for improvement. Fighting demons is quite different from fighting each other. It¡¯s quite chaotic, and there are many types of demons.¡± ¡°Hah.¡± The former block master looked at Alka. ¡°You seem exceptionally used to this.¡± ¡°Me? Not really. I spent most of my years in a workshop building stuff. It¡¯s only in the recent decades I¡¯ve ventured onto the battlefield.¡± ¡°Recent decades?¡± The Delvegardian looked at Alka, and then Alka undid his disguise, and transformed into his older, usual self. ¡°I¡¯m much older, block master.¡± The domain holder sat with the dwarves as they rested back in their home. ¡°Ah. That exins it. And here I was wondering whether the new generation are truly so impressive.¡± ¡°They are.¡± Alkaughed. ¡°With the regime we put my fellow warriors through, theye out as strong as you within a decade or less.¡± That was something that was met with an ufortable silence. ¡°How are things back in the Yards?¡± The block master asked, as he too decided to redirect the topic of conversation. ¡°Tense. The King and the Yardmaster are still trying to hunt down the culprits. That¡¯s not going so well for them.¡± ¡°Have you not been able to sway them?¡± ¡°No. They tried to kill me.¡± Alka said, andughed. ¡°At some point, it¡¯s not worth it. I¡¯ve got most of the good people I wanted, and we¡¯ve stolen quite a few of their war machines.¡± *** Throughout the entire Delvegard, there was a rumor of what¡¯s known as a ¡®mass disappearance¡¯ of alchemists, crafters and mages, along with multiple war machines. Even the Delvegardian Yards saw half of theirrgest war machines stolen, and most of their void weapons as well. Most of them were swayed by Alka and the Valthorn¡¯s appeal to fight for a better cause. They referred to it as The Delvegardian Disappearance. Alka did make an attempt to convince the Forge Master. The disguised form of Alka offered the deal to the Forge Master, and the proud dwarven man attacked him instead for lying. Somehow, he was too proud, or perhaps, he was too high up the pole to see the drawbacks of the society he ruled over. The order didn¡¯t see the need to continue engaging the kings that refused. Instead, he would continue stealing talent and resources from the Delvegardian nations, and so, the kidnapping would continue. It caused the entire war economy of Delvegard to grind to a halt. Lords didn¡¯t want to invest in new war machines only for it to be stolen. *** Alka returned to Delvegardian Yards discreetly, and found it exceptionally quiet. The ce once hummed with the hammering of Sunsteel, the ttering of war machines in battle now seemed like it was abandoned. There were patrols. Actual, heavy patrols, and many of them started to look at each student as if they were a suspect. The King himself was almost delirious, but the news that almost all workshops were targeted made them feel better. War machines were rigged with spells and artifacts to ensure they could be located. But it was trivially easy to remove them. Across Delvegard, some cities were badly hit. They lost almost all their war machines and crafters. These were usually towns and cities that had wars in their recent history. War didn¡¯t leave people happy, and dwarves were often torn between pride, loyalty, and a sense of duty to family and friends. So, the Order now provided a real alternative. A possibility to live a different way, there was no reason to hold onto that cause, so many of these crafters decided to leave. The Order took everyone who joined them, and their family, and set them up in the various New Delvegardian Cities. Back in the Yards, Alka¡¯s little spy machines were everywhere, and he found ways to sneak into the doors of many craftsmen and talented men to speak to them. Each day, Alka convinced a little more to leave. ¡°Another three disappeared today?¡± As the King turned mad and paranoid, that only pushed more of their valuable crafters towards Alka¡¯s offer. Not every approach was sessful, but Alka got better at understanding the types that would fold. For those where he felt it was a little risky, he approached with a disguise. There were those he approached that did not join him. Instead, they all confessed to the authorities, and said how they were approached by a strange man, who spoke of joining a war on other worlds, where dwarves do not fight each other, but fight demons. The King was furious. The King knew, of course. Alka already approached the dwarven royal, but the King ignored his approach. But his citizens were fascinated. Kings and royalty rarely faced the consequences of their pointless wars. They had the best war machines. The best equipment. The best healers and potions. Fighting for their country was thus seen as a must. A proud thing, a duty. Fights were the dwarven way of proving their strength. No Delvegardian King earned their ce on the throne without war, and expansions were glorious things. An achievement in their rule, turned into stories to be told in taverns and sung around as hymns by drunk dwarves. The middle and lower ss didn¡¯t see it that way, but the world wouldn¡¯t change just because they disagreed. Theycked the means to cause that change, and so the cycle of war perpetuated. But as the dwarves who rejected the Order¡¯s offer shared their experiences, and exined what was said, rather than inspire horror, instead, it only amplified them. The promise of the big war came to be known as the ¡®Great War¡¯. An inspiration. A part of me wondered whether this was a rehashed version of Valha and Ragnarok. Maybe that was why the tales seemed to sell so well. Stories of wars that spanned worlds inspired grandeur and glory in the minds of young impressionable dwarves. Alka¡¯s attempts to kidnap and sway crafters, pilots and alchemists to join the real ¡®Great War¡¯ was like the song and purpose many waited for, and so, throughout Delvegard, many smaller independent movements emerged in support of the disappeared dwarves. *** ¡°The tales grow more crazy by the week.¡± Lord Sundus exined as the tales spread far and wide, and to the smaller Delvegardian towns. Thus far, Alka and the Order¡¯s great kidnapping mainly targeted therge workshops, academies and crafting institutions. Then, Lord Sundus¡¯s spies reported of a nned execution of a crafter. The tales of one such craftsman spread so much among the popce that it caused great distress and fear to the ruling ss of one of these affected Dwarven City. The craftsman was decently talented, at around level 50, and because of family concerns he rejected the offer. But somehow, rather than rewarding the crafter for remaining loyal and rejecting the offer, the town¡¯s lord grew increasingly suspicious of his exnations. ¡°This fool is spreading false stories!¡± The Town Lord hauled the crafter dwarf to the Town¡¯s square, and intended to publicly execute him. ¡°There is no Great War out there. These are lies spread by those who deserted their post and town.¡± The crowd watched in horror as the Town Lord picked up the executioner¡¯s ax. The craftsdwarf was chained to a tform, his dwarven body trapped. ¡°I didn¡¯t lie, town lord! It was real! I really met a man and he told me about this story! He really wanted me to join him!¡± The Dwarven Lord was frustrated, and turned to his people. ¡°Shut your lying mouth. Now, I intend to set an example for all dwarven crafters everywhere! There is no Great War, and there is no war in the heavens. All these people who joined them are being sold a lie. They are liars! These people were consumed by the very demons that seek to destroy us!¡± The people listened in fear. The crafter struggled and wept. ¡°My lord! I did not lie! I have chosen to remain in the town out of loyalty to you, my lord! Please, do not punish me for my loyalty!¡± But the Dwarven Lord did not buy it. ¡°Speak no more, liar. These evil words merely convinced the town folks of your lie. There is no great war. This is all a plot to weaken us all!¡± He lifted the ax, and then, a voice boomed in the entire town za. Somehow, the Town Lord found himself unable to move. A kind of paralysis or stasis magic had locked everyone in ce. ¡°Crafter. If you are given a choice again, would you choose differently?¡± The voice asked. The crafter stared at the Town Lord¡¯s ax. There, on the execution tform, surrounded by a crowd of spectators, the choice was clear. Anything else was death. In the Dwarven Lord¡¯s eyes was madness. Paranoia. Fear. His loyalty was not rewarded. And so he chose differently. ¡°Yes. Yes! I will join the great war!¡± The Dwarven Lord struggled against the magic that bound him, and by sheer will, the dwarven lord broke free of the magical bindings He quickly swung his ax downwards, towards the crafter¡¯s neck. ¡°Shut your lying mouth!¡± The ax came down with force, a dwarven lord¡¯s strength behind it, and instead it smashed into the wooden tform. But the crafter had vanished. Instead, they saw the remnant swirl of a teleportation portal. The Town Lord looked around in shock. He blinked, before he screamed. ¡°Guards! They must be around here! Find them!¡± A roar erupted in the za. The Dwarven Lord¡¯s guards and soldiers scrambled and searched the za. They found nothing. The spectating crowd were frozen, but they talked. The rumors raged like an inferno, and throughout the world, more Delvegardians saw how the ruling ss was weakened by the severe disappearance of their crafters and their war machines. *** Delvegard¡¯s Demonic World - Darkgard One of the great benefits of the dwarven crafters was that they were all skilled builders, and they could easily work with whatever materials avable to them. On the demonic world that was linked to Delvegard, which we now referred to as Darkgard, the dwarves were quick to build fortifications from natural rocks, stone and steel. Darkgard¡¯s demons would invade Delvegard in a decade or two, and they were sold on a dream. A mission to stop the demons before they reach Delvegard. The Order could handle it for them, but the dwarves would not learn. An easy win would not satisfy their inherent need for challenge and a well-earned victory. Materials were shipped through the rift gates, and it was hard work. But the Delvegardian dwarves were an industrial bunch, and found joy in work. There was a palpable sense of excitement in them, as dwarves from all over Delvegard now united to attack the demon world. Once the loyalties and capabilities of these war machines are decently tested, we would start incorporating the weapons of Treehome. We have a range of weapons such as our anti-magic weaponry, our own set of crystal based weapons and wood-based weapons that could enhance their anti-demonic capabilities. 313. The Dangers of Zealotree 313. The Dangers of Zealotree 313 Year 282 Shasan. The Land of Switching Sands and Seas Lumoof dropped in and watched Emperor Erranuel¡¯s men work. The Emperor and his group of followers had quickly fought with some local rulers, taken control of one of the towns, and dered it as the new Hawa Capital of Shasan. He had even styled it the Holy City of Hawa. They¡¯d worked quickly to gain one town. It was their first year on a foreign world, and for them, they did not have the systems or processes on how to set up a new outpost on another world. Interestingly, we found both Michael of Museo and Olivia of Olpash, both on Shasan. ¡°It¡¯s interesting that both of you are here.¡± Lumoof smiled as he visited the Emperor¡¯s new office. The void mage that helped send them here did provide a list of people he had transported over, but Lumoof thought it strange and wanted to see for himself. ¡°It is only right that we stand to support our fellow brother in faith in his quest to expand Hawa¡¯s reach.¡± Michael answered. ¡°That is so, that is so. How have you found the experience so far?¡± ¡°Different.¡± Olivia answered. ¡°The people of this world seem unsure of their faith, as if Hawa does not exist to them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t me them. Hawa really doesn¡¯t exist here. I¡¯m sure you have noticed when you attempt to tap into your god¡¯s power.¡± Olivia frowned. There is an imprint that exists in the system, and priests can tap into that. But that connection is stronger in worlds where the god¡¯s presence is stronger. By the same measure, Hoyia and my other priest¡¯s connection to me is stronger in worlds where I have a node, and weaker in worlds where I have none. But not defenseless, because they can also tap into the system, and the system is everywhere. It was quite like connecting through a roo, versus speaking through [message]. ¡°We both intend to spread Hawa¡¯s faith, and strengthen Hawa¡¯s presence. In time, this drawback will fade.¡± Michael supported hispatriot. ¡°Then good luck with that.¡± I wondered whether Michael and Olivia would find a weakness in the Shasanian¡¯s psyche and tap into a vulnerability in their hearts. If they could, maybe they would be able to sweep through Shasan like Hoyia as well. *** Twinspace The new converts were zealots. Those new to the faith were driven and eager to prove their faith, and it was frightening. Did I really want to use this power? That was something I asked myself as I watched the Treeology priests whip the poption of about ten towns into something not too different from a passionate bunch of looters. The promise of a bountifulnd, salvation from their current suffering, and the gospel of prosperity made me think of my own interactions of simr religious institutions. Was this what I had in mind? The town lord stood obediently as Matriarch Hoyia took the stand, and she swayed even more nobles to her side. ¡°Matriarch Hoyia, the King now wants to raise an army against us!¡± A passionate zealot reported. A convert. Spies. It was surreal that Hoyia had built an entirely new structure of zealots centered around her and her closest advisors. Johann and Roon stared at each other and even asked her. ¡°You sure you didn¡¯t use some kind of mind control on them?¡± Hoyia chuckled at the domain holder¡¯s suggestion, but Twinspace¡¯s expansion would be led by Hoyia, just like how Lausanne controlled Magisar. We needed to give the level 140s greater responsibilities and hopefully push them towards a domain. ¡°Oh not at all. They believe in the promise. A crusade. A cause. Now this is the moment we must guide the fire.¡± ¡°We¡¯re ying with fire.¡± Johann observed. ¡°This could very easily turn against us.¡± ¡°Oh, it can. Which is why we must tend to it carefully, feed it. And mp down on those who do not fit in our faith.¡± Hoyia said as she heard the reports from the various zealots. ¡°If the King wants an army to fight us, then we will have one. Now, my fellow faithful of Aeon, we have nothing to fear! What do we, those gifted and blessed by Aeon itself, have to fear from these faithless men?¡± Johann and Roon were a little ufortable. ¡°I think using priests offensively might be a mistake.¡± But it¡¯s effectiveness was incredible. The various nations of Twinspace were dumbfounded by how quickly the Temple of Aeon spread, and how these priests of Aeon appeared out of nowhere and converted thousands in mere weeks. Some Kings immediatelyunched purges against Aeonic believers, which somehow only emboldened those faithful that they were right. ¡°They fear us because we are right!¡± Hoyia roared in a fiery sermon to the new zealots, as she recited a verse from an invented book of Aeon. ¡°Even in Aeon¡¯s homeworld, there are those who do not believe. And just like us today, those faithless men waged not one, but two crusades against Aeon! But we do not fear them, because just like Aeon, we will prevail. They attacked us. They will stop us from trading. But they will eventually give in. Because theyck faith!¡± The crowds everywhere bought it, and the fires of zealotry formed into an army, an army Hoyia called ¡®The Defenders of the Faith.¡¯ Twinspace was no stranger to ult faiths. Over the centuries, there had been many charismatic individuals, who had used their powers of persuasion to create a cult. The difference between a cult and a faith was thin, and the only difference was whether a faith had a link to real power. ¡°I feel bad that we are manipting them into this shit.¡± Johann admitted to Hoyia after the sermon. ¡°But what is the alternative? A status quo where they are aimless, purposeless, and do not contribute to the security of the realm?¡± Hoyia said. ¡°Not all people have the same potential to rise and think for themselves. But that doesn¡¯t mean they cannot contribute. With faith, we can tell them what to do.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t far off from what the White Statue is doing.¡± Johann said. ¡°Oh. I was actually inspired by what the White Statue did and believe that Aeon can do it too. It is why we should. The masses of Twinspace and its massive poption are wasted in their current state. Reproducing inrge quantities but not amounting to much. The wider worlds would benefit from their increased productivity. It isn¡¯t really that different from what Alka did on Delvegard. I am giving them a purpose, packaged in the form of faith, and they have epted it into their hearts and minds.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± Johann said. ¡°I still think it¡¯ll bite us in the back someday.¡± ¡°Consequences that Aeon can deal with.¡± Hoyia smiled sweetly. ¡°You should head over to your dragonworlds and get back to work. We¡¯ll need an army of drakes and dragons.¡± *** Religious ceremonies weremon throughout Treehome and Branchhold, and often they were used to provide small scale blessings thatsted a long time. A blessing to a young child to grow up healthy, a blessing to somehow recover from injuries, a blessing for rity when studying, and so on. The power of a priest was mainly manifested through [blessings]. They could replicate the blessings of their patron god, often to a lesser degree. A power of the [system]. It was the equivalent of tapping into the system¡¯s concept, that an entity like Aeon exists. My general conceptual understanding is that a person¡¯s faith, a person¡¯s soul, these are the two things that power the [system] as a whole. The World Faith System, this offshoot and variant of the existing system, merely tapped into that faith directly, rather than through the entire system as an intermediary. An army, raised by a threatened neighboring King, marched on the converted Towns, and the Towns raised an army to match them. Though there were actual soldiers among them, in the end, it was mainly an army of peasants armed with sticks and simple tools that walked to the field of battle. Hoyia could¡¯ve called on the Order to act. But she didn¡¯t. A part of me thought this was crazy, but then, Matriarch Hoyia, as the lead Valthorn member of the Twinspace expedition, had full decision making authority. As the worlds grow, I must delegate. And I must allow them to make mistakes. I could feel Hoyia¡¯s loyalty, and I knew she did not doubt. ¡°Sacrifice. Participation. They are all necessary for real faith. To experience fear, and to be saved.¡± She said gently, as there were about ten other lower leveled priests around her. She held in her hand, a broken branch that she collected from my main body. The opposing army was thirty thousand strong andprised mainly of actual soldiers. The converted zealot army was about the same size, but only a third of it were actual soldiers. Hoyia watched and prepared a ritual. Over the decades, the Treeology priests developed rituals and abilities, and they were most effective on the weakest segments of society. A blessing was an additional wind of strength behind an already strong warrior, but for the weakest soldiers, it was transformative. The priests began to sing. A hymn. A chant. A call on me. A call on the system. A prayer to me. A prayer to Edna. If Edna was here to witness it, maybe she would feel crazy embarrassed about it. Yet Hoyia could say it with a straight face. With full faith. Commitment. Seriousness. Perhaps it is the nature of priests in our world, that they must believe in those that are their friends. Their reporting officers. And the stick vibrated with holy power. A priest tapped into the system, and through the system, it channeled a memory of my power. ¡°Charge!¡± The enemy general roared. ¡°y these heretics! y those who seek to venture to the demon continent and go against our old traditions!¡± The generals activated a range of abilities that supported their army. The peasant army looked afraid, but there were a few generals who converted over to Hoyia¡¯s faith, and they too activated skills to counter the enemy general¡¯s abilities. But Hoyia had nned this. The priests wanted this. In a way, maniptive. ¡°Don¡¯t let them get too close.¡± Hoyia said to the generals. She could¡¯ve started the blessing earlier. ¡°Protect us as we call on the powers of Aeon.¡± The zealots immediately shouted in defiance. ¡°Protect the matriarch!¡± It was not necessary. An army of 30,000 couldn¡¯t get past Matriarch Hoyia¡¯s shields even if they all attacked together. The two armies met. Blood stained the fields as the peasant army struggled to hold back the forces of the enemy. She wanted this. She was prepared to let some of them die. She wanted the peasants to feel they contributed. She wanted their devotion. She wanted them to truly buy in. She wanted them to put their lives on the line, and feel rewarded for it. She dragged it on slightly, fully aware of what was happening. Was it really necessary to convert people to the faith this way? But I must trust my generals. She waited, as the enemy army, a group of heavily armed cavalry, forced through the zealot¡¯s defensive lines. They were getting nearer. ¡°Matriarch Hoyia, you must retreat. They are getting nearer!¡± The zealot general said, eager to protect the leader of the faith. ¡°No.¡± Hoyia said. She feared nothing, her acting perfectly on point. ¡°There is nothing to fear when we are right.¡± At this distance, the enemy cavalry roared. They could even hear them curse her. ¡°Charge! Let¡¯s grab that subus¡¯s head! Kill her and destroy this heretic cult!¡± Hoyia smiled. The zealots on her side tried their best to protect her. ¡°Protect the matriarch!¡± They roared, and a few of her loyalists died, as the enemy¡¯s spear pierced through their flesh. ¡°Let it be known that I do not fear them.¡± Hoyiamanded, her voice somehow could be heard everywhere. It was a priestly ability to give sermons even to arge army. ¡°Zealots of Aeon! Your faith will be rewarded!¡± She finally triggered the blessings she dragged forever. It was a form of dramatic timing. To make it seem as if it was a perilous battle with real danger. The enemy¡¯s army wanted to punch through the defending zealots, and im their heads. Then, arge-scale blessing spread throughout the army of peasants and soldiers. The zealots suddenly felt a surge of strength. For those under level 30, this surge felt like it added a good fifteen levels to their strength. For those under level 50, it still was a respectable ten levels of extra strength. The enemy cavalry¡¯s charge mmed into a wall of magic. ¡°There is nothing to fear.¡± Hoyia roared. ¡°Our god has answered our prayers! Crush them all!¡± The blessed army turned into a frenzy, as the sudden surge in strength heavily flipped the bnce. The war that the zealots should¡¯ve lost on paper, turned into a decisive victory. Then Hoyia fanned the mes of fear as she held the heads of the in enemy generals and dered to a listening army of peasants and soldiers. ¡°My fellow zealots, our cause is true. They will im we are heretics. They will im we are evil. They will im everything is wrong. But are we afraid?¡± Amplified by the moment. The death. The ughter. The adrenaline and high of a victory. They roared and answered their shepherd. The peasants and soldiers present all roared ¡°NO!¡± as I somehow sensed many of them experienced a conversion of their sses. At least a thousand of those present gained an [Aeonic] ss variant that day, because I could suddenly feel the presence of many new believers. Hoyia turned the army of zealots into an army that would put their life on the line for her. They would cut their flesh off, sever their limbs and kill their family if she asked. I watched in equal parts awe and horror. The Order, traditionally, used faith defensively. On Treehome, on Branchhold, and on Threeworlds, my faith had so far been to maintain order in my controlled territories, to ensure loyalty among my subjects, and to support our domestic policies. This was because of the faith¡¯s origins. We initially used the faith to counter the four temples of Hawa, Gaya, Neira and Aiva¡¯s crusade, so we needed agents on our side. Hoyia turned that faith into a weapon. A tool to turn the masses into my subjects. She crafted a bloody war where thousands died, to convert those who survived into an army of true zealots. *** ¡°Can we reconcile this?¡± Centrally, on Treehome, my Lords and administrators wondered how to reconcile the different directions taken by various arms of the Order. On Delvegard, we went through appealing to the dwarven pride, loyalty to their kind, and a desire for war. On Magisar, we inadvertently used fear and overwhelming power. On Landas, we rescued the people and won their loyalty. Now, on Twinspace, Hoyia¡¯s direction took them towards religious fervor. These were all different ways of creating loyalty, and my followers from each of this world would view me differently. The strength we need to take the war back to the demons will need all kinds of strength, from all over the multiple worlds. A part of me suspects that this cobbled order will fracture when the demons are finally destroyed. At least, at the lower parts of society. But another part of me found it beautiful. It is the part that found beauty in chaos. That it is only normal for loyalty and faith to take many different forms. This messy, ipatible nature of everything is perfectly natural. 314. Divinitree 314. Divinitree 314 Year 283 Hoyia was the voice of god in the eyes of men, and when she spoke the people listened, entranced. It was as if she held their hearts and wielded the masses as her limbs. The first victory sparked fear. An army that gained levels from battle, even if it was from the blessings of a higher power, was a threat. Each victory added to their strength, and the nations of Twinspace feared her rise. Assassins were sent her way, but just as if to prove her divinity, she allowed an assassin to stab her with poisons while she gave a sermon to the masses. The power of Aeon flowed through her, and through it, there was no poison that could match the Tree God¡¯s restorative powers. Each attempt on her life only magnified her position amongst the eager believers. Miracles entrenched her ce, and her powers, even if they were executed through the might of the Order¡¯s machinery, only made her seem more godly. Hoyia and her group of priests traveled from city to city, preaching along the way. An army walked with her, but cities that received her had already lost the moment she was allowed through the doors. It meant their propaganda had spread so strongly that a city wanted her there. It meant the popce wanted to see god in the flesh, merely to confirm what already lingered in their minds. Faith was insidious as the stories spread they turned into a thought in the hearts of regr folk. And when that thought was confirmed with acts that seemed miraculous, that thought turned into faith. Loyalty. Zealotry. Armies rose at the sound of her voice. Hoyia spoke with the weight of the Order. ¡°I feel like we as domain holders are thoroughly outssed by how Hoyia¡¯s just bulldozing through the resistance.¡± Roon watched in a fair bit of amusement. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. The power of priests is more effective in such ces. Dense and unhappy. Radicalization is often a response to a perceived oppression, and this world has always had the ingredients for such a cultish explosion.¡± The reason why Treehome hadn¡¯t experienced a surge in cultish behavior was because the old [Lords] and [Kings] had powers that tipped the bnce of power. A world with a [system] was inherently unequal, and it was in favor of those on top. A cult movement from the grassroots,prising a mass of peasants and serfs, would never be able to overpower the might of even mid-leveled [Lords] and [Kings] and their higher leveled soldiers. It is why feudalism persisted despite centuries or millennia of civilization. I wondered whether Lumoof and Kafa felt it subconsciously, that this world was ready and that¡¯s why they felt so strongly about it. Just like Delvegard was receptive to a Ragnarok-type mythology, Twinspace¡¯s poption was sold on the promisednd. *** The nearby nations raised four more armies, but as expected, Hoyia crushed them, and her army of zealots gained levels along the way. Her stronger army of loyalists was good for us. They added to our strength. Yet, a part of me felt it was so wasteful. Unlike Delvegard where the amount of blood actually shed was minimal, Hoyia decided to use the other nations refusal to join and convert to the faith, and their subsequent derations of war, as a way to hone her men and solidify their loyalty. There was camaraderie in fighting together. Friendship forged on the battlefield. Loyalty and awe earned by achieving greatness together. It was her tool, her weapon, and she took the ybook straight out of our own history. Our past. Freshka¡¯s expansion became the inspiration for her war, and her small council of priests worked extra hard to produce propaganda. That era, when we came to take over the Central Continent about one to two centuries ago came to be referred to as the First Aeonic Revolution. Propaganda was the whip, the masses her workhorses. This was Hoyia¡¯s moment. *** Her army of zealots came to be known as the Undefeated Army as more and more zealots were sucked into the cult of the tree. Merchants carried the propaganda far and wide, and the constant string of victories amplified the insecurities of even faraway nations. In just two years, she had managed to gain control of a quarter of the overpopted continent. Kings and Lords surrendered quickly, many overwhelmed by her zealots. Some Kings and Lords were dragged out to the streets by bloodthirsty zealots, captured and treated as criminals. The strength of Hoyia¡¯s followers grew with each sessful expedition, and soon she was surrounded and supported by a fairlyrge number of level 50 to 60 individuals native to Twinspace. Hoyia doled out special blessings to those who acted as her champions. Generals, Captains, Administrators, Lords, and even Kings. Further away, Hoyia was referred to by those against their expansion as the Temptress of Aeon. Seductress. Subus. The false prophet of a false god. It was really familiar. I remember being used in a simr manner, and it was partly why Treeology priests emerged. Back then, I did it out of spite. If the four temples used me as a false god, I might as well live up to my name and build a faith around me. Parallels. In life. In time. My past struggles with the first crusades was now her inspiration to start a new crusade. Life is surely fond of rhymes, even if the verses and words change. *** Caval Ebon and Edna decided to take a leaf out of Alka¡¯s experience, and both decided to try a hand at the art of making swords, the Caval way. The creation of these descendant swords on Caval was a spiritual affair, and surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t really that hard to walk up to one of these swordsmiths and ask. Though the actual ess to the hero swords itself was heavily guarded and the actual master sword smiths were treated as a member of the faiths of Caval, most individuals were granted fairly easy ess to learn the basics. ¡°They teach everyone.¡± Ebon listened to a fairly drunk apprentice. ¡°They say they never know who actually has the art of whispering to the sword, to create weapons that the world hasn¡¯t seen before.¡± In therger cities of Caval, the great hero swords and the knights were given titles, and they were often known as the inheritors of the descendant des. The swords themselves did not choose their masters and so the best weapons were in the hands of the Kings and Lords. But descendant swords ultimately lost their blessings, and so, the great Kings and Lords perpetually needed to replenish their treasury with new des. But the priest-smiths struggled to forge better des than what they¡¯d already made. For Edna and Ebon, the basic courses in making these descendant des were pretty much standard steelworking, but with an additional step of prayers. The temples and all the priest-smiths advocated praying extensively and creating altars in the workspace itself to encourage ¡®holy¡¯ weapons. It was an affair so deeply intertwined with superstition and unusual traditions that didn¡¯t really lead anywhere, that the two generally concluded that the Caval swordsmiths were pretty much attacking the issue with mainly luck. Each city essentially built their own superstitions on what worked, but because there was no attempt to share how descendant weapons were made, the locals didn¡¯t really know what worked and what didn¡¯t. Most assumed their current methods worked well. For Ebon and Edna, they were both already highly leveled, but making weapons was not their strength. So, Edna approached the former heropanion of Caval, Shuwan, and asked her to apany them in their journey throughout Caval. The former heropanion Shuwan had a whole list of superstitions of what to do and copying them didn¡¯t seem to work. Edna wanted to somehow replicate arge quantity of these hero descendant swords and hopefully use it as an alternative means of creating strong weapons. The knights of Caval were also a decently leveled force. ¡°Actually.¡± Ebon stopped Edna about a year into their exploration. ¡°I¡¯m starting to have second thoughts about the merits of this world.¡± ¡°Really? borate them.¡± Edna said. Edna believed that having a wider variety of weapons was helpful. ¡°Caval is a strong world thanks to the presence of the descendant swords and highly leveled knights, but outside of the growing hero weapon, I think I¡¯ve exhausted any potential avenues to any improvements here.¡± Ebon said. ¡°I rmend swapping for a group of high level cksmiths to learn the local¡¯s way of making these hero descendant weapons and then opening a recruitment center to recruit talented squires who were passed on from receiving their hero swords.¡± Edna thought about it for a few days and realized Ebon was right. Caval¡¯s knights had ovep with Edna¡¯s own knight-boosting abilities, but ultimately, it wasn¡¯t all that different. Then the demonic invasion urred. Demonic rifts opened by the hundreds across the vast uninhabitednds around Caval, and we saw the various Caval¡¯s knights in action. They handled it well, with the senior knights all about level 80 or so,and augmented with powerful descendant swords, it gave the senior knights the ability to match up with the demon champions and win. We did notice one area where they were weak. Armor. The hero swords and their descendant swords gave their users tremendous offensive power, but the knights were frail, relying solely on their levels and what little armor they had. Even the swordsmith-priests focused primarily on creating new swords, and so, the development of physical armor for their knights was still fairly basic. They had metal armor, te armor, and all that sort, sufficient for regr non-magicbat, but once their opponents were demonic champions with elemental abilities, the knights died very quickly. This meant the knights themselves and squires would often run into the battlefield itself and try to get hold of the fallen descendant des. For Cavalians, there was a myth that descendant des significantly boost their level gains. But for Edna and Ebon, the demonic attack was the best time to get their hands on a descendant de for their own studies. They retrieved two such descendant des from fallen knights and brought it to ab for studies. *** ¡°Took you guys long enough to get one.¡± The mages and smiths joked as they quickly got hold of one. The two descendant des were brought to a makeshiftboratory located in the mountains. Caval was a rtivelyrge world with vast uninhabitednds, as the cities¡¯ clustered around old hero swords. So, there was plenty of space for a temporary site or even a node tree. ¡°We don¡¯t steal. Not where we can help it.¡± The Aeonic knight answered. ¡°Should¡¯ve just sent some spies or thieves and be done with it. But never mind, let¡¯s look at this.¡± With a descendant de in our hands, we were finally able to dissect theirponents. It took the mages and smiths a few weeks, but eventually we had a single point of reference. The descendant des were actually simr to my [familiars]. They were offshoots of the main hero sword, and each of the des contained a single mote that linked the descendant des to their main de. In fact, it was even possible for someone with star mana to trace the connection to its parent de. Like familiars, they could gain strength over time, because even my familiars were able to umte levels, though they were capped at a fairly low level. For my Valtrian Order operatives, this meant my familiars were always this additional source of strength since each familiar had skills they could tap into. The discovery of the Artificial Souls andter the Titans, had increased the level cap much further. That partly exined the spiritual and ceremonial aspects of the creation of the descendant des. It needed a ceremony. A ¡®contract¡¯. It was also likely that each city had their own different superstition because familiar contracts varied widely. A familiar from Aeon had different requirements aspared to a familiar from the Lillies of the Lake or Aria and Aispeng of the frozen inds. ¡°So how do we exploit this?¡± The mages wondered to himself as they tinkered with the descendant de. ¡°We should get a hero from our world here and see what it does. A hero should be able to form a direct connection with the hero swords, even if they are not from Caval.¡± It could also mess with the current native city¡¯s defenses. Right now, every town and city relied on their hero swords to ensure that they were protected. ¡°Everything is finely bnced at this point.¡± Ebon said. ¡°I believe we should leave it as it is. Just keep recruiting, while we independently figure out how to exploit these descendant swords. It does make me wonder whether we could have multiple such swords at the same time.¡± ¡°I believe not. Ten level 30 to 50 familiars are still not much usepared to a single level 100.¡± Edna said, ¡°For the Order, at its current state, it is likely not too useful.¡± The mage interjected. ¡°But there are Titan-ss familiars, even if Aeon hasn¡¯t used it yet. These hero swords are an alternative path to achieve that. That said, its heroic origin may mean there are differences in its level cap that we do not yet fully understand.¡± ¡°But can we tell what level these weapons are? Or are they user specific?¡± Edna asked. ¡°Conventional [appraise] and [inspect] doesn¡¯t seem to indicate much information, but perhaps something powered by star mana could pierce through its heroic origins to tell us what it is.¡± The mage-researcher spected. ¡°So we need the heroes here.¡± Edna frowned. ¡°Let me get this cleared with the rest of the domain holders, and we¡¯ll revisit this issue. For now, let¡¯s do as Ebon intended and have some cksmiths and recruitment offices set up.¡± *** ¡°Aeon, there are two things I¡¯d like to have to improve our expansion on Twinspace. One, please bestow on us a special weapon. A divine relic, so to speak. One that contains your presence and aura to the extent possible. A staff, or a weapon that feels as if it is divinity encased in a weapon. Two, I¡¯d like to request for a Titan to be deployed on Twinspace, as part of a ritual spectacle. Make it seem as if it is a summon.¡± Hoyia made a request. ¡°Is there a need for that?¡± I countered. ¡°Just say it is your petition to me, and I answered your call.¡± ¡°Spectacle and ceremony is important, Aeon. It is rituals to cement faith as something real, something part of their lives, something that they can then say they are a part of.¡± ¡°Very well. Which Titan?¡± *** Forging an item that represented my being was a harder task than I initially expected, as the first few items I made through my normal growing process were decent, but not at the level that my operatives wanted. Hoyia¡¯s request required an item that would be a relic. A holy object that is revered, and prayed to. So, with Patreeck¡¯s help, I went through all the items I¡¯ve seen so far, and narrowed it down to only the ones from Hawa on his core world of Satrya and Lillies¡¯ death staff, felt like divine items, or close to divine items. ¡°[Soul Forge] feels like a good ce to start. Or the Titans.¡± A titan in a weapon was a little bit strange and even if the titan-in-a-weapon would be very powerful, I doubt it would be a ¡®holy¡¯ object. I still felt titans and artificial souls as lessplete souls, and it didn¡¯t fit the idea of a holy object. So, [soul forge] it is. I then spoke to Lillies on how to create such an object. ¡°It is not hard. One merely needs to cut off one¡¯s self, and shape it into something else.¡± Lilies answered. ¡°It is like making seedlings. You should soak it, tie up its loose ends. Our bodies all contain a little bit of us. Our things, too. When they are separated from us, what¡¯s left of us within those things decay, but you can stop it.¡± Lilies¡¯ answer was not too clear, but I suppose that was a way to start. Lumoof naturally walked to one of my big branches and snapped one of myrger branches. It was a gigantic segment, and I felt a tiny bit of pain when he broke it off. He then immediately carried it over to my [soul forge], and threw it into the gigantic lightning-struck tree. My broken branch was somehow transported into that soul space, where then, I could see what Lillies spoke of. Fraying ends, strands within the branch that were quickly decaying. It was as if I stared at a bundle of rope, and now, the little threads that made up the rope were rapidly untangling. Left alone, there will be nothing left of my soul. With my [soul forge], it was fairly easy for me to reach out into the branch and meddle with it. It was then that I realized the branch was malleable. As long as I reshaped the remnants of my soul within, here in the spiritual paste of the soul forge, the wood would follow whatever shape its ¡®spirit¡¯ took. Over long periods of time, the soul is like a slow flowing liquid and takes the shape of its container. It remembers an image of its body. But in the short term, the body takes after and is guided by the soul. Healing, growth, all of that is the will of the soul and its soul spring. I reached into the store of soul remnants I¡¯ve collected over the centuries and stitched some of that soul remnants into the freshly broken branch. I meddled into the remaining spirit, and I could insert ¡®skill seeds¡¯ just like how crafter¡¯s blessed their weapons. Interestingly enough, because this was forged from a broken piece of me, the spirit of the branch could hold a few of my own non-domain skills. A true copy linked to my power, a bit like a crystal that¡¯s used to store spells and abilities. Since Hoyia intended for this to be a weapon of some sort, I added my root strike ability, [Fields of Death], [Demonic Suppression Aura] and some poison abilities. I could feel this branch as if it was still a part of me, and realized I probably could not make too many. These ¡®isted¡¯ spiritual fragments of me were linked to me, and overuse would be a possible drain on my own existence. After what felt like two to three months of experimenting, Hoyia finally had an object worthy of a holy relic. The [Greatstaff of Aeon¡¯s Fury] was finally ready to be wielded, and next year, it was finally time tounch the first sea expedition to the demonic continent of Twinspace. 315. The Onion Layers 315. The Onion Layers Year 284 Twinspace. The shipyards and drydocks of Port Tarfa were almost entirely new, and yet in the past six months, the twenty new shipyards each made a new warship every month. Each warship was able to ferry 100 to 150 battle ready warriors, along with all the new supplies. The warships were modifications of an existing design, aided by a few of the Order¡¯s shipwrights. The new yards, piers, drydocks, and structures made Port Tarfa the singlergest port on this side of the main inhabited continent of Twinspace. The first of many more toe, but the first 30 or so warships would set sail for the inds located along the path would form the First Exploratory Fleet, while the remaining ships would undergo more preparations. They would set sail for the string of smaller inds that existed between the two continents and reim the string of volcanic inds from their native monsters. The fleet would then spend some time there and build those inds up, if they found a suitable location, and transform them into one of Aeon¡¯s outposts. The sea-facing frontage of the port city was crowded, as tens of thousands wanted to watch the great sendoff. Three seamanders would receive blessings today, from Hoyia herself, and through Hoyia, they would all receive a [ss Seed]. The [War Admiral] ss would elevate their existing [Captain] variant sses and make them more effective for their assigned mission. On thergest pier Hoyia stood on a tform specially constructed for her, as she revealed her relic for the first time. Even if it was just a fragment, a fragment of god was still a fragment of god. The entire city could feel it as Hoyia channeled her priestly powers and stood in front of the three seafarers. Shemanded them to consume the ss seed, encased and fused into a fruit. The priests began to sing, and the three dug in and ate the fruit, unsure of why they were told to do so. But it was then that all three of them felt their sses change. The surprise in their eyes was all the answer anyone needed. They were chosen as they were part of the loyalists. One of them was probably a skeptical believer, while the other two were zealots. The true zealots wept openly as they felt their [Captain] sses evolve, and they openly praised their god. They screamed, and one of them turned to face his ship. ¡°Sailors, warriors! Today we are blessed. Today he has made me an [Admiral]. And today, we set sail for the cursed continent and drive away the demons!¡± The crowds went wild, and the rumors flew. ¡°Did you hear that? The Captain has an [Admiral] ss!¡± Merchants said as the stories spread. ¡°This god ims to have the ability to evolve our sses?¡± The tales began to spread. They were whispered in the taverns and crowded inns of Twinspace. Rumors regurgitated by merchants as they walked the busy trading routes. ¡°I saw it happen!¡± The merchant answered. ¡°I was there at Port Tarfa, and I couldn¡¯t believe it! It¡¯s real!¡± ¡°You know there are abilities that can deceive your eyes!¡± The other merchant was skeptical. ¡°But the Saintess Hoyia, I cannot imagine it. If you¡¯ve seen her you will know!¡± ¡°You¡¯re really smitten with that woman.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve just never seen her.¡± *** Back on the main continent of Twinspace, Hoyia continued to add more cities and nations into her growing Holy Empire, where she and her high council of priests existed as a ruling cabal. A holy empire, and again, in another year, she now controlled half of the Continent. The other half raised an army against her and promised to brutally ughter anyone who spread her dangerous ideology. But they couldn¡¯t stop ideas whispered secretly. Kings and Lords themselves met Hoyia and found themselves impressed by her presence, some charmed, some smitten. Thepetition for her attention only drove up the desire to prove their use. Her army grew, and her priests continued to spread. Hoyia had to call on a few of her peers back from the School of Treeology to set up a small school in Twinspace to train the next generation of priests and to continue carrying the ideology to even more ces. *** Meanwhile, the journey to the inds took about three months, and the ships were about a third of the way to the cursed continent. The three newly promoted [Admirals] crushed the monsters along the path easily. The sailors and soldiers they brought were all around level 25 to 40, but the presence of a few Order operatives and priests ensured that victory was all but ensured. The archipgo was located somewhere close to the middle of the ocean. The ocean that separated the tworge continents was generally known as the middle Ocean. The inds of the archipgo emerged from the oceans fromyers andyers of underwater vegetation and corals. So, the surface of the ind itself wasn¡¯t sand, but instead, small, disintegrated chunks of corals and other forms of decayed vegetation. Thergest of these had risen over the years into a small hill. It didn¡¯t have regr trees found on the main continent, instead, and-adapted variant of the underwater corals were the primary form of vegetation on thergest inds. An actual forest ofnd-based corals made for an ind filled with bright colors and unusual shapes. It was fascinating, and the few priests quickly ordered that samples be collected for further study. The ce itself was magically quite dense, and so the monsters that spawned in the area were magically strong. In a different world, this unique ce would likely be preserved as some kind of national park or ce of interest. ¡°We could raise the earth and create artificial inds, like we did on Treehome.¡± One of the priests suggested to Hoyia. ¡°It may not be necessary to tamper with the surreal beauty of this ind just yet. Aeon would prefer to have such beauty remain untouched, as we did on the other worlds.¡± Hoyia thought about it and realized raising the earth in a ce where the seabed isn¡¯t so deep was feasible. So, a few Valthorn Earth mages warped in and found a patch that wasn¡¯t that deep. The unique corals were quite spread out, untouched for centuries if not millennia because no one actually came here, and so, we selected a patch of soil and raised it up to serve as an outpost. We would need it in the future to supply ships and patrol the seas. The artificial ind amazed the sailors, but they had to quickly get to work. The druids and mages quickly used magic to form structures, and the few builders also got to work setting up housing. The artificial ind would be sufficient to house about 10,000 people once fully developed, but for now, all it needed to do was to provide anchor and shelter for the 30 ships. *** Void Layers Ste and Lumoof Meanwhile, Ste and Lumoof took the opportunity to revisit the voidyers, and we returned to find a ce different from what we visited originally ¡°This ce looks different.¡± ¡°I thought we went to the same ce.¡± Ste double checked her magical calctions. ¡°Strange.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing our rules and magic don¡¯t apply anymore?¡± Lumoofughed as the pair wandered around the different ces. The realm around us twisted before our eyes. The skies twisted, as if changing to be thend, and thend became the skies. There were rivers of color that seemed to stretch, and thenterpress into veins that flowed in the sky. Ste looked around. ¡°Was it like this thest time we¡¯re here?¡± Lumoof shrugged, as he began to walk. Though he walked forward, somehow he went upwards, as if the reality itself shifted him higher. Ste blinked, a little amused to watch Lumoof float upwards entirely caused by the world itself reacting to his movements. But just as suddenly, it stopped, and then he walked forward normally again. That made Lumoof stop, take a step forward and find himself moving normally. ¡°Wild.¡± Lumoof said. Through our senses, it was hard to know what was changing, but we could feel it was. Our domains could assert our hold on the realm, but it was like trying to hold sand. A wave would just wash it away. Lesser beings, those who were not protected by the domain, or close to it, might experience rapid deconstruction. Thest time we came to the voidyers, we left a small artifact here, which we hoped to use to measure the voidyers and what it was. The small artifact would collect magical readings and record it within a set of crystals located within. We couldn¡¯t find it at first, until we suddenly recognized a massive, unusual object that was warped beyond its original shape. It was twisted, and transformed into a gigantic crystal filled with strange twists and turns to its shape. It was as if the crystal was a living octopus. The only thing that made us realize it was the artifact we left behind, was the small logo carved onto its being. The twisted object lunged at him, clearly corrupted and twisted by the powers of the voidyers. Lumoof could easily still activate his abilities, but then we immediately noticed something. Our attacks changed when they interacted with the energies of the voidyers. Our roots turned into something else, and then crumbled. We felt it again, a sudden shift in the voidyers, as if a new set ofmands or rules swept through thend. The crystalline octopus froze, and exploded. It transformed into a frog, and jumped. ¡°You know.¡± Ste said. ¡°I recognize this sort of thing. It¡¯s like those cartoons where things get deconstructed.¡± ¡°I do not understand-¡± Lumoof said briefly, before he took in a bit of my memories and understood. ¡°Oh. Ooooh. This ce is the factory of worlds and so it is anything and everything, but nothing is permanent.¡± ¡°Unless our domains exert our will over it.¡± Ste said. Our objects resisted the effects of the voidyer slightly, but the longer they remained here, the more they changed. ¡°It is wise that we erred on the side of caution.¡± It was a different form of divinew. Just as some worlds had divinews weaved into their entire world and forced things to operate in a certain way, the voidyers were the primordial soup and those without domains could not walk this space. Lumoof paused and looked at Ste. There were weird puffs of smoke and clouds. They popped out of nowhere. ¡°Aeon theorized there could be a way back home, through these voidyers.¡± ¡°Ah. Yes. I thought about that as well.¡± Ste looked at the crystal frog, which suddenly transformed again, as if agitated by our presence. ¡°But I don¡¯t really want to go back.¡± Lumoof said nothing, and merely just nodded. How deep did this ce go? ¡°Well, let¡¯s keep exploring.¡± ¡°There should be a way to use these voidyers as a way to skip the regr distances of the void sea.¡± She tried to meddle with the space, as if trying tomand the environment to change for her. It didn¡¯t work. Or more like, there were too many other things for it to work. The voidyers wereyered with multiple changing energies. Different strands of fundamentalws of reality that imposed itself on the voidyers. Some of thosews vanished, and new ones took their ce. There was no air to breathe. The two could walk the space because they were domain holders, and their existences could be sustained by magic. Both knew that their abilities allowed them to operate without air or water. ¡°Let¡¯s just follow the pulses.¡± Ste pointed, but even that direction was not a good guide. Direction was strange in the voidyers, they could walk left and move right. The pulses came from the front, and suddenly they¡¯d walk into each other. It felt like months. But it was only for a few days. The voidyers. My senses through Lumoof were strained when he was in the voidyers. It was as if I was dipped in a dark, pitch-ck pool and I could sense nothing beyond the thin barrier created by our domains. We arrived at a gaping hole, where the only thing we could sense was more unusual energies. It wasn¡¯t really a hole. Not always. It looked like a rift in space, and then its shape kept changing. But in all forms, it took the shape of a door. A hole. A gate. A crack in space. A small valley. Even the size changed all the time. From that gap, I could feel something constantly pushing against us. It sought to impose its will on us, but it couldn¡¯t. Strangely enough, the system gave us a title. [They who Saw The Void Layer Gates] ¡°You got that?¡± Ste said. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going in.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not worried you¡¯ll be sent back home?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Come with me, Lumoof.¡± Ste said, and we went in. *** We were in another ce, but it was the same. Well, different, same. For reasons I couldn¡¯t understand, it felt like it was both at the same time. The Void Layer Gates sent us through instantly. We were now in a ce with strands, strings made of things I do not understand everywhere, and we were floating. It felt like being in the middle of a constant flow of strings flowing around us. Though there was no light around us whatsoever and our senses were limited, somehow, we just knew they were there. We floated, and here, we moved with thought. Strands. It¡¯s as if they spoke of their presence to our souls directly, and thus their appearance took this strange form. These strands were everywhere. Ste used a small [light] glowing from her hands, because the spell copsed the moment it left outside the protection of her domain. But the light from her hand allowed us to see, and the strands were all of a different set of colors. Some were rainbow colored. Some were pitch ck. We were trapped in the middle of a constantly flowing river of strings, but there were little gaps here and there. Through the gaps, and through the little holes created as the strands stitched together, we could see little bubbles of worlds, and when we tried to walk towards them, or reach out to them, we couldn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t real. It was as if we were touching projections of light. ¡°So, what do you think we¡¯re looking at?¡± Ste said, as we kept walking. The path must¡¯ve led somewhere, even if there was no reason for it to. Lumoof now wanted to touch the strands that were in front of him. They were so close, but they somehow instinctively moved out of the way. As if space itself bent to create space for us. We couldn¡¯t touch them. Even if they felt like they were in front of us, no matter how far we reached, it was always outside of the way. But even observing the strands themselves, we noticed they were only sometimes real. They flickered. Turning on, and off. Randomly. Sometimes for long stretches of time, they remained real, the others, some of these strands withered away like dry sand in the wind. ¡°I have no idea what we¡¯re looking at.¡± Lumoof said. ¡°Let¡¯s go. It should lead somewhere. Somewhere the voidyers want us to be.¡± Ste sighed, as she floated. I wasn¡¯t sure if we were moving. ¡°Now you¡¯re saying the voidyers want us to be somewhere?¡± Lumoof looked at the woman. The woman seemed sure. Suddenly. As if she felt something. ¡°Are you hearing something?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± Ste said. ¡°Like, there is a voice somewhere. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Where?¡± We had no sense of direction. I couldn¡¯t feel much beyond the boundaries of my domain, and what we saw changed all the time. The strands rotated, moved, and fluctuated. The only clue that we were moving was that the things just flowed out of the way. ¡°Let¡¯s just follow me.¡± Ste said, as she held Lumoof¡¯s hand. It was like swimming in an infinitely deep and wide ocean, filled with strings. Ste led us through the strands all around us. But we didn¡¯t know how far we were. There was no frame of reference, while the strands surely changed, but what and where were we going? They continued for days. And then the days turned to months. From afar, I was unsure whether we were moving. But Ste assured us we were. The voidyers had a waypoint somewhere. It had a marker that she could feel, and we were getting close. 316. Peeling Back 316. Peeling Back Void Layers - 2nd Layer? Lumoof thought it felt like years, but it wasn¡¯t. It was just the sameness of it all that made time seem to stretch out. ¡°How many days have we been moving?¡± Lumoof asked Ste. If he didn¡¯t regrly check in through our mutual connection, it almost felt like he was lost in the ocean of strings. At times, the strings looked fat, like gigantic long earthworms. Sometimes they resembled colorful eels, wriggling and wobbling just out of reach around them, never quite touching them. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ste said, but she soldiered on. ¡°Keep going. We¡¯re almost there. I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a while, but actually, this is a familiar feeling.¡± ¡°A familiar feeling?¡± Lumoof asked. ¡°I couldn¡¯t pin it down, and kept wondering where I felt this feeling before. But you know, I learned void magic from the Zaratans, and the Zaratans have a mind-state where the void forest feels like something simr. Rather than strings, instead it was like a constant slurry of mud.¡± ¡°Oh. It¡¯s different then.¡± The avatar wasn¡¯t sure where Ste was going with it, but humored her. ¡°It is.¡± Ste said and then she stopped. ¡°I think we¡¯re here.¡± The strings just stopped moving, and without us fullying to the realization, we were suddenly not in that part of the voidyers anymore. *** Theyer below felt normal. There was soil, albeit blue soil. There was a sky, albeit a brown sky. There was a sun, albeit a ck sun. But it was somewhat normal. Compared to an ocean of strings, this was normal. ¡°So, why are we here?¡± Lumoof looked around and touched some of the soil. The world didn¡¯t feel magical. Instead, it felt thoroughly devoid of magic, and all their magic would have toe from within them. This would be a dangerous world to be stuck in, if they didn¡¯t have their own internal ways of generating magical energy. ¡°I have no idea.¡± Ste said. ¡°But it is a differentyer. My senses tell me that much. Let me just lock thisyer in-¡± Lumoof gave the woman some space and so spent some time walking about the clearly lifeless ce. It was as if it was a failed world. After a while, Ste looked like she was done registering the ce into her own record of the voidyers. ¡°At least we¡¯re out of there.¡± Lumoof looked around. ¡°Does your gut feel tell us where we need to go, now?¡± Ste blinked as she stared usingly at the avatar. ¡°My gut feeling is not apass.¡± ¡°But you do know where we need to go. Don¡¯t you?¡± The woman made a rare blush. ¡°Well, yes. Yes I do. Come.¡± The vastnds eventually gave way to a single hole in the ground. Ste seemed to be able to feel the unusual flows of the voidyers. ¡°It¡¯s like there¡¯s a flowingyer in the background. It¡¯s like water moving in a particr direction, and so all I do is follow it.¡± Lumoof looked at her. ¡°Will this actually go anywhere? Like we¡¯re trying to find a way to reach parts of the world we couldn¡¯t do normally. Does this actually help?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ste answered. ¡°But we have to understand it. At least, somewhat understand it. Then we can start using it. As it is, we know nothing. Something is still infinitely better than nothing.¡± ¡°That something is knowing that there¡¯s ayer made of eels, strings, and elongated stretched objects is not exactly useful.¡± ¡°Yes, but they must exist to do something. The voidyers don¡¯t feel purposeless. They have a purpose. Either as a failed state, a graveyard of worlds, or just as a nursery for something. They exist as a result of a creation process.¡± Ste said, but we¡¯d known her long enough to know this was part of her theorizing. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± We did, and we entered a tunnel. A vast, massive tunnel. But there were walls here. Walls that were invisible, its presence written into our souls. Yet, we could see what happened beyond the tunnel¡¯s walls. In a distance imperceptibly far away, we both saw an egg form before our eyes. A ck egg, as massive as the world and more. We walked and kept walking along that tunnel, fully able to see what was around us and what was ahead. As we walked further, we could see further, deeper into a giant swirling ck object. Then we couldn¡¯t proceed any more. There was a barrier, made of a tremendous amount of void energy, blocking our path. It was transparent and yet visible to our souls. A gigantic puzzle in the shape of an ever changing door. A door that we could not open, no matter how much force or energy we exerted on it. It was a mechanism present within the voidyer. Perhaps, a protection from things that the voidyer didn¡¯t want others to touch. ¡°What in the world-¡± Ste frowned as she tried to get past it. She looked at Lumoof. ¡°Use Aeon¡¯s power and try to hit it.¡± Lumoof did and with the full strength of my powers, we attacked this invisible barrier. The sensation was unusually clean, as if my powers smashed into a perfectly repelling rubber wall, and the recoil was just as perfect. ¡°Ouch. It¡¯s not going to work.¡± From the recoil, it answered everything I wanted to know and realized how poorly made the demon¡¯s void barrier was. Whatever it was that the demons used to block the rest of the worlds away from our eyes, it was nothingpared to this. This was incredible, and from that single hit I knew I was dealing with something that was created out of the veryws of the multiverse. This was the system itself saying no to us. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll break it with more power, no matter the number of times I hit it.¡± Ste frowned, and yet she felt a connection to this mechanism. ¡°It¡¯s a lock. And I will need enough void mana to get through it. I have an inkling how to get past it, but I¡¯m- I¡¯m not ready yet.¡± She just knew. No. The very interaction with the mechanism and barrier fed the knowledge to her. It spoke to her and imprinted into her being that she wasn¡¯t ready. She stopped and looked at Lumoof. ¡°We¡¯ll return when I¡¯m stronger. I think I need to reach Level 250 to get past thisyered lock. Whatever this is, it is made as a fundamentalw of thisyer, and we won¡¯t get past it without fulfilling its requirements.¡± ¡°That is a very high bar to reach.¡± Lumoof looked further, and it was clear that there were other mechanisms in the way. ¡°And it won¡¯t be thest barrier.¡± ¡°If one wants to pursue the truth, it lies beyond this thing. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Ste looked back at the ck swirling object that stood at the very end of the transparent tunnel. It wasn¡¯t ck anymore. Instead, it started to change color. There were more eggs around us, each a nascent world preparing for birth. Lumoof looked at it, and back. Was this really something to the demons? This felt like one of those hidden stories that went far off course from our goals. ¡°It may not be worth it. Our goal is to stop the demons.¡± ¡°I know. But I think this, just maybe, this is something for me to chase after all of that is over.¡± Ste looked, and she created a portal to bring them out of the voidyers. Year 285 Mountainworld The arrival of the demon king was long overdue. In the past three years, the demon¡¯s rifts were a minor affair, since our Valthorns ensured that none of these demon rits ever caused any significant damage. After thest attack on Mountainworld about 17 years ago, it would be finally time for Mountainworld to face its regr, scheduled disaster. It was slightlyte. We¡¯d been monitoring the connected demonworld for the past three years, and didn¡¯t detect much movement, and on our end, we didn¡¯t want to trigger another dem by attacking the demonworld world directly. So we allowed it to y out as usual. Over the next few years, there were quite a few demon kings that would spawn. The world of Caval, with the hero swords, would face a new demon king in a few years. Whether we followed Edna¡¯s n and allowed for a hero to be summoned, or deferred to Ste and destroyed the demon king upfront, was still open. I personally leaned towards Edna¡¯s n, since, if what the Gods¡¯ said was true, heroes really did return to that moment in time where they ¡®died¡¯ or a version where they didn¡¯t die. Yes, it would be traumatic for the hero, but with the right support system and amunity of fellow heroes, we could minimize the pain, while we got a chance to fully explore the powers of a growing ¡®hero sword¡¯ and try to push that to the limits. There was quite an interesting ovep between the nature of these hero swords and the nature of my artificial souls and titans. I thought that the learnings from this experience could lead to stronger artificial souls. It really cannot be understated how useful artificial souls are in administering my vast empire. It is the artificial souls that control the movement of beetles throughout the empire. Without the artificial souls ensuring that my beetles move where they are supposed to, the logisticwork of the Order would grind to a halt. They are pretty much the trucks and cargo ships of my empire, the red blood cells ferrying crucial cargo everywhere. Better artificial souls would only allow me to handle more beetles and deploy even more resources. There was also the world of Triotuga. When we visited that world, the demon king was already dead, but in the next few years, they should have a demon king as well. It¡¯s also one where we would live to observe the Boarpeople and how their powers interacted with the demon king¡¯s presence. Then, there¡¯s Twinspace and ra, where the demon king still reigned unchallenged. All in, there were about four to five demon kings over the next five years to defeat. We would use these battles as a chance to elevate people like Lausanne, Ebon, and Hoyia to be the next generation of domain holders. A few others like them all asked for a chance to face the demon king without assistance. We roughly concluded that it was quite difficult to be domain holders if they fought demon kings with too much help. They needed the experience, the entire experience. The Level 140s would battle theing demon kings entirely on their own, until they were spent and totally unable to. Only then our domain holders would step in. It was risky, but no one became domain holders without taking on some risk. We¡¯ve grownrge. Large enough that there is going to be some world, somewhere, that is going to be invaded by demons and a demon king. We can handle it. *** ra was a world where we were quite torn on. They are a low priority world. The peripheral worlds and their perilous conditions meant I¡¯d need to maintain my node trees for convenience of ess to the peripheral worlds and to facilitate smoother movement of traffic. If I gain an increase in my number of node trees, I am still hesitant to ce a node on the little snakeworld of ra, partly because the locals don¡¯t really want me there. But if Snek insisted, I would spawn a node tree just so that they can have an exit route, if that day ever came to pass. Meanwhile, I spent some time checking on the city of New ra. The new group of ran migrants, who made a home on Tropicsworld, did well. The past decade of expansion and growth meant the hard part of migrating had mostly passed. Most of the rans now settled down, and the new generation of rans adapted to their new way of living. Snek hoped that New ra would take after the practices of the older, pre-demon rans, before the demonic conquest, but those records were still back on ra. The old den lords were not keen to allow those who left a chance to return. Their reasons were entirely understandable. They didn¡¯t want their ideology to spread amongst the rans that remained behind. So, without ess to the ancient records, Snek shared stories as much as he could remember and the builders of New ra tried to recreate the old cities of ra to the best they could. But it was a struggle. Even after so many years, the ran migrants were so used to the subterranean life that life on the surface was awkward, and even after a decade, there were still some parts where their behavior was strange. They were getting better. Day by day, there was improvement. From what I could see, this was probably one of the better stages to be in. The pioneer era was the time when great chances were made, new norms were formed, and society experienced a period of genuine, well distributed growth. New ra was meant to be the new symbol of the ran¡¯s desire for change, and in some ways, it was. The younger rans grew up without fear of the demons, even if it would take a generation or two to fully change their ways. Just like many others, they would grow up different from their parents. The early mature and developed stage would usually be the golden era. The post-pioneer era where some structure and order would emerge, but not still not overwhelming. Resources would be abundant, everyone would have opportunities to make something for themselves, ancient norms and rules would still not be so rigid, and their society would go through the equivalent of their teen and early adult years. For some societies, this was when they peaked and it was all downhill from there, unless they went through a good process of renewal. Institutions get used to a particr way of working, and over time that creates a force that resists improvement. No, more than the ossification of institutions is the presence of immortals. It¡¯s very much true in worlds with magic, where there are existences like myself. Immortals create a concentration of power that resists change, unless the immortals themselves desired change. We are the old pirs that prevent the rot from being too deep, but we are also the barriers that prevent further improvement. The societies, due to the pervasive effects of the immortals, over time are an image, a creation of their controlling immortal¡¯s views. *** Freshka The heroes had a few rtively peaceful years, and for them, they moved about and visited each other. The ie provided from trading the hero items to the Order wasvish and afforded them many luxuries. Some heroes, like Khefri, liked massive mansions with dancers and all that. It was a veryfortable and luxurious life, but I could tell that they were all a little lonely. Only Colette and perhaps Prabu, were less so. It¡¯s not as if the heroes didn¡¯t have friends. Many did try to make friends and sessfully did so with the various Valthorns, whom at some level, could be their peers. But they were never too close. The restraints on the [hero] ss didn¡¯t just hurt their ability to maintain their sanity. The [Hero] ss sabotaged their ability to form connections with their friends. Peers. But I¡¯d seen how to break the [hero] ss¡¯s constraints. I understood that it was all written into the structure of the soul spring. That white, corrupted soul spring. And so Colette also suggested something, for Prabu, and the rest of the heroes. It emerged because Colette grew increasingly frustrated at how much she had to look after the rest of the heroes. ¡°The soul spring contains our [hero] ss, and if you remember correctly, it cracked over time. Can you have a look into Prabu¡¯s soul and see whether there is something in there?¡± The heroes regrly visited my bibs for scheduled medical checkups, once every few years. They were heroes, but it was a good habit. It kept them in generally good shape, physically. But the mental aspects were gated behind the heroic soul spring, and I wouldn¡¯t touch it unless explicitly instructed to. I dipped into the hero¡¯s soul, and from outside, it looked generally alright. Prabu winced, but I could feel his mind struggling. I sometimes wondered whether the [hero] ss had some level of sentience to it. At least, maybe Caval¡¯s hero ss had something different to it. ¡°I¡¯m going to lift up your soul spring. If there¡¯s something hidden within your soul spring, or if there¡¯s some damage, we¡¯ll take it out.¡± It was rtively easy to lift the once-heavy heroic soul springs. They still consumed arge amount of energy, but given my stronger levels, it felt as if they were lesser. Stronger, I felt confident and tried to look deeper into the spring itself. Thest time I tried there felt like the hero¡¯s ss resisted, but this time, that resistance could not stop me. So, I noticed that some of the rocks that represented the hero ss protruded into the flow of the mana. It was as if the rocks were shaping the flow of the soul¡¯s mana into the rest of the body. I lifted the stones that formed the hero skills, and as Colette predicted, there was damage throughout the rocks. ¡°There is damage, isn¡¯t it?¡± Colette frowned, who was also along for the ride through a sharing of vision via [Dream Academy]. ¡°Can you fix it?¡± My spiritual tentacles touched them, and the damaged rocks were fused back together. They were not really actual stones, but more like representations of a hero ss. Was all this some kind of wear and tear? I did not recall such damage in my Valthorns, as I have done simr checks on them. Was this the engineered decay of the [hero] ss? The heroes¡¯ experienced skill decay after they defeated the demon king. This ¡®decay¡¯ was this ¡®wear¡¯ in their soul spring?There were some remnants, the grinded up dust and shattered remains of these hero ss stones. I picked them up and kept some. When I did, I got a notification from the system. [Dusts of the Heroic ss - Can be used to seed new sses and skills and empower them significantly] Was this why there was a mechanism within the system to convert the hero sses to something else? For non-hero sses they often took a different color and shape, and these non-hero sses were often forced to the outer ring of the Soul Spring. Colette quickly reminded me to focus on Prabu. ¡°Ah yes. Let¡¯s get to it.¡± I picked up Prabu¡¯s heroic ss stones and fixed them one by one, but as I went deeper, I reached some of the protruding rocks. I didn¡¯t understand why they were meddling with Prabu¡¯s soul flow, and they were likely pushed out of ce over the years. So, I adjusted the locations of these rocks so that they no longer blocked the flow of mana from the spring. I was done. ¡°How¡¯d you feel?¡± Prabu blinked as his partner quickly gave him a hug. ¡°I feel. Strange. Strangely clear headed. Like, everything feels fresh and new.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing. Should we do this for everyone?¡± I asked Colette. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s ask them. I¡¯ll word it as just some spiritual healing and therapy.¡± 317. Blossoms 317. Blossoms 317 Mountainworld Lausanne double checked her armor and triple checked her arsenal of spears. They were all tremendously powerful weapons, and there were fifty five of her peers around her. All of them were preparing for the battle. Ebon. Hoyia. Lausanne. The dwarven mage ckthorn and many others prepared for a battle against the demon king. Fifty five Level 140s would attempt the first attack on the demon king, and the hope was that some of them would make it past the finish line. For some, the mood was rxed. ¡°I heard you¡¯re making big waves on Twinspace.¡± Ebon grinned and tapped the matriarch on the shoulder. He looked proud of his fellow Order teammate. ¡°It has to be done.¡± Hoyia answered, the matriarch had more armor on than the rest of them. Her physical abilities were probably one of the weakest, so she had to shore it up with more armor and equipment. ¡°Just as what we have to do today.¡± Lausanne thought about what Hoyia did ever since the developments were updated on their shared intre. She was there during the crusades against Aeon and felt a little bit of unusual envy. She should¡¯ve been there. She should¡¯ve tried the same thing with Magisar, too. Mages were not immune to religious propaganda, but as someone who grew up with Aeon in her life, it was just something so taken for granted that she didn¡¯t even know where to start. For Hoyia, inventing a tale and a myth was perhaps easy. Maybe it was her ss, that of a priest, that made storytelling easy. Somehow, the knight noticed Lausanne. ¡°Has someone relieved you on Magisar, Lausanne?¡± Lausanne snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. ¡°Ah, yes. A Mage [Lord] finally arrived to do so, but I¡¯m staying back to help the transition of power. What about you? I heard you were on Caval for a bit, was there anything interesting there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much.¡± Ebon shrugged as if it wasn¡¯t much. ¡°The living weapons are interesting and worth researching, but I think it¡¯s going to be quite challenging to get anything else of value out of it.¡± ¡°Good that you called it quits before you¡¯ve spent too much time there, then.¡± Lausanne added. ¡°Or are you still headed back there?¡± ¡°About that, it isplicated. I think we¡¯ll see each other on Twinspace instead, once Hoyia¡¯s naval expeditions are in full swing.¡± Ebon said, as he also checked his weapons. The knight¡¯s assortment of weapons came from many different craftsmen, and he had a wide range of spears, swords andnces, but one of the things he tried to do differently was minimize the use of blessings from other domain holders. There were somepeting theories on whether the assistance of other domain holders made it harder for a person to make that final cut, so even amongst the group of Level 140 Valthorns, there was some variation in whether their equipment were enchanted with the blessings of other domain holders. A few of them went as far as surrendering Aeon¡¯s familiar, just so that they could truly put themselves on the line. Lausanne breathed. She didn¡¯t go that far. The [Court of the Deitree] was too important to her. She nodded. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go get that demon king.¡± Ebon nodded. In theory, there was enough firepower here to match a demon king. But because it was split across multiple individuals and not focused, that it partly meant its effectiveness was minimized. ¡°You too. See youter.¡± One of the mages in front made a signal and everyone got into position. It was time to step through the portal and head to where the demon king would arrive. Patriarch Lumoof would watch the battle from somewhere rtively nearby and step in once the Level 140s were spent. She hoped it never got to that point, but took a moment and looked around. Some of her peers had no backup teleportation device. Some of them did. Reckless, but they¡¯ve been stuck so long. Was recklessness one of the factors? She didn¡¯t think so. But after such a long, frustrating stagnation, one step before the finishing line for years, she could understand why some of them tried such unusual strategies. A few of them looked nervous. If she told anyone else, they¡¯d probably think it would be fiction. Even if their foe was a demon king. To the regr folk, it was hard to imagine people who were Level 140s being nervous. Folks that were so close to divinity having to give themselves a pep talk was a hrious image. Those not here would not understand the emotions they have, or what it is like to face a demon king with few exit routes. Lausanne closed her eyes momentarily and gave herself a pep talk. She would make it. She closed her eyes briefly and imagined her mother. She remembered her childhood, hiding in the tree. The decades since Aeon¡¯s presence had made Mountainworld into a safe ce. She would like to help spread that presence to more worlds. Everyone deserved freedom from a gue that did nothing but destroy. Some forms of destruction resulted in renewal. They destroyed the old so that the new could rece them. The rift gate opened, and the Level 140s waited. And they were off. *** Lausanne watched the demon king emerge from the rift, in one of the thousands of mountainous valleys of Mountainworld. Mountainworld was home to numerous mountain ranges, created not by tectonic tes but by the flows of magic that forced the terrain to flow with it. [Demon King Armaddon has arrived] The demon king was arge scaled creature, resembling an armadillo with heavy armor, with four legs, all ending in sharp ws. It emanated a toxic aura, and the gaps in the armored scales periodically released some kind of gas. A root-mask emerged via her [Court of the Deitree] and covered her face. Some of the other Valthorns changed into full body suits of armor and magical masks, while others relied on Aeon¡¯s familiars to create a breathing mask. Her spears charged with power, as she ran up to the gigantic armadillo demon, while the rest of the regr demons also emerged from the rift. Distractions. The skies rained with fire and magic, as the mages of the Valthorns bombarded the area with magic. These attacks quickly thinned the battlefield, and Lausanne herself closed in. The poison was slightly corrosive, requiring her to activate a healing ability in response. The first strike mmed into the heavy armor and left a crack. But it was healing. She cursed and struck again. About half of the level 140s were priests and healers, and they mostly kept their distance. She struck again, as she felt the priest¡¯s blessings kick in. Her body, enhanced by the priest¡¯s [Strength of the Divine], made a deeper strike into the armor. ¡°Try the gaps between the scales!¡± Ebon shouted, as he treated his weapons as if they were disposable. He thrusted the powerful magically charged spears andnces into the gaps, and detonated the stored magical power. It ripped a few of the scales off, and exposed some kind of flesh underneath. ¡°Eh. You¡¯ve made the opening.¡± Lausanne smiled, as she dived at the unprotected flesh. The key to the demon king was the demon king¡¯s core. There were two real ways of killing the demon king. One, was to drain the demon king of its energies. Each time the demon king regenerated or repaired itself, it used up the energies within the core. That was its ¡®health¡¯. Once that ran out, the demon king wouldn¡¯t be able to restore itself and would die. Of course, the demon core also could regenerate its magical energy, so the damage delivered would have to exceed the regeneration in order to reach the point where that is even possible. The other way was simpler. Damage the demon¡¯s core itself. Lausanne knew this worked because she had seen how Lumoof and Edna¡¯s strikes delivered damage to the core, even if it didn¡¯t hit it directly. That was key to quickly defeating the demon king. Aeon¡¯s ability to deal spiritual damage directly to the demon king¡¯s core and mess with the rest of the demon king¡¯s abilities worked exceptionally well and was partly why demon kings felt weaker in his presence. Lausanne dived into the flesh herself and thrust her de into the opening. The armadillo demon king responded by flooding its flesh with poison and some kind of acid. ¡°I can¡¯t stay in there long with that.¡± Lausanne said as she leapt out. The barrier created by her familiar wasn¡¯t strong enough to ovee the deluge of poison and acid. Some of her armor was already partially corroded. The mages and priests that kept their distance understood, and she was then blessed with an array of shields and barriers. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Ebon said, as he briefly retreated to the mages. His armor was heavily damaged, but he managed to rip apart some of the armadillo demon king¡¯s scales on the other end. ¡°I¡¯ll get in from the other side.¡± There were about twenty other level 140s harassing the demon king, and a few of them tried what Lausanne did. So far, not one of them died yet. ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless.¡± Lausanne said, as her spears glowed. ¡°Even if this demon king is slightly on the weaker end, they shouldn¡¯t take such risks.¡± ¡°Says the one diving into a flooded pool of acid and poison.¡± Ebon smiled as his armor somehow regenerated magically, armor shining as if it was newly forged. ¡°We are all prepared to die, mdy. Our conviction is just as strong as yours.¡± Lausanne blinked, and then smiled. ¡°Ah. That is true. Then let¡¯s see who gets to it first.¡± *** The Valthornsunched wave after wave of attacks, but the demon king¡¯s toughness was truly impressive. A few of them tapped out and retreated. Lausanne kept trying, but the demon king¡¯s core proved elusive. The creature was toorge, and each of their strikes wasn¡¯t deep enough. She remembered how Edna once said that she felt thoroughly frustrated. She was a domain holder, but even at Level 150 to 190, she didn¡¯t have enough firepower. But no. Lausanne knew she couldn¡¯t think that way. Edna was Edna. She was someone else, and her talents were different. She saw Ebon run through different weapons, each of his strikes cut fairly deep, but consumed the weapon itself. She needed a way to strike the demon king¡¯s core and yet, could she replicate some of Lumoof and Aeon¡¯s spiritual sensing ability? She activated her [Court of the Deitree] and used her spiritual vision. It couldn''t see through the demon king¡¯s body. She should have been able to see through it. Frustrated, she moved much closer to the demon king andnded into one of the regenerating wounds, stabbing her spear deep into the demon king¡¯s body. Using the spear as a listening, sensing tool, she tried to sense where the turbulent magic of the demon king came from. The demon king flooded her with demonic mana. Lausanne saw her skin change color, as the demon¡¯s magical energies flowed through the spear and into her hand. Ebon, on the other side, mmed his sword into the demon king¡¯s flesh with all his might. The attacks caused the demon¡¯s magical energies to wane slightly, and Lausanne¡¯s own spiritual energy pushed back and regained control of her hand. Still, she tried to find the demon king¡¯s core. The armadillo was toorge. They wouldn¡¯t get anywhere if they keep attacking like this. Then, Lausanne felt herself flooded with holy energy. Hoyia and a few other priests noticed what Lausanne was trying to do andbined their energies to bless her. The best thing she could do now was to not waste it, so she pushed her own spiritual presence through her hand and into the spear. ¡°Where was the demon king¡¯s core located-¡± She cursed, as she felt the two powerful forces fight within her soul. Hoyia and the priests channeled their powers through her, and the demon king¡¯s energy fought back. ¡°Keep up the attack!¡± Ebon rallied the rest of the fighters to buy Lausanne some space. The rest of themunched volleys of attacks against the armadillo. Lausanne searched systematically through the demonic creature and then she found it. She immediately took out a special spear and held it up. ¡°Hoyia! Bless the spear!¡± Shemanded as she channeled her own magical energies and abilities. The spear glowed, and she lunged it towards the demon king¡¯s core, hidden beneath multipleyers of demonic sinew and muscles. That attack caused the armadillo to il wildly, as the spear¡¯s energies barely grazed the demon king¡¯s core. The attack hurt it slightly. ¡°Again!¡± But this time, the armadillo iled like a wild bull and began to curl up into a ball. A few of the druids and mages tried to stop it and used the weapons to hold the demon king in ce, but they were not strong enough. Lausanne¡¯s spear touched the demon king¡¯s core again, and she felt a little crack. Then, the demon king released a powerful burst of energy. Lausanne cursed and immediately moved out of the way, as a spherical explosion emerged from the demon king. The demon king transformed, as the explosion forced all the Valthorns to retreat. The giant armadillo transformed into a smaller, human sized beast, and immediately charged towards Lausanne with tremendous force. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Lumoof emerged, as his avatar formed. A massive shield of wood mmed into the demon king with a thunderous boom sending shockwaves throughout the valley. Then the spiritual roots emerged. If the attack hit her, Lausanne knew that was the end. ¡°We¡¯ll take it from here.¡± Aeon emerged, and the demon king was no match for their enraged divine patron. The demon king was in in but a few momentster. Lausanne watched the battle end and knew they¡¯d have to try again- [Demon King Armaddon has been in] That would¡¯ve been the end of it, as it normally did. But then, Lausanne felt the system¡¯s whisper continue. She blinked. [You¡¯ve gained a level. You are now Level 150, and may now select a domain. You have three avable choices]. [Domain of the Spirit Warrior] [The Spirit Warrior is a master of weapons that strike at the spiritual heart of your enemies. You will gain a range of abilities and weapons that attack both the spirit and the flesh. These spiritual attacks are able to ignore conventional and magical defensive abilities. You are also able to bless weapons to grant them the ability to temporarily deliver attacks that pass through conventional and magical defenses] [Subdomain of Aeon - Aeon¡¯s Huntress] [As a subdomain of Aeon, You gain an ability to link through Aeon¡¯s clone and treework, allowing you to move seamlessly through the multiverse at will. You will also gain a range ofbat abilities simr to your patron god, to enact fury on his behalf. You are able to transform trees into Aeonic War Treants and also summon Aeon¡¯s beetles to support you inbat.] [Domain of the Unchosen Champion] [You once wanted to be a hero, and you¡¯ve finally reached the starting point. This domain replicates certain heroic abilities you¡¯ve encountered in your journey, except for the [hero¡¯s forge], and allows you to use star mana, convert your mana to star mana, and vice versa over a period of time. You gain the ability to use and manipte unprotected hero-items without any penalty] Lausanne blinked again, and then turned to look at Lumoof with shock. ¡°I¡¯m Level 150 and I have a very important choice to make.¡± 318. The Seedling’s Fork 318. The Seedling¡¯s Fork Year 285 (continued) Lausanne, on Mountainworld Lausanne stood at the side of the crater, the demon king already crushed by Aeon¡¯s roots. The corpse of the armadillo demon king was filled with roots that tore it apart. One of the roots was holding an intact demon king¡¯s core. It would be another one for Aeon¡¯s group of mages and artificers to study. But it was just a passing point of note. Her mind was preupied. Ascension. Something she had hoped for, and now she had finally achieved it. Her mind swirled at the choices. She had never nned for this part. After all, without knowing what the [domains] were, what sort of nning could there be? She looked around. Was she the only one? Ebon looked exhausted, and she felt for him. He had worked just as hard. There was Hoyia on the side, she seemed relieved. She also felt a little bit stronger. Hoyia was in the Level 140s, but she wasn¡¯t exactly at the edge. She must¡¯ve gained a few levels and now she was on the cusp of bing a domain holder. But Ebon noticed Lausanne¡¯s eyes, and he walked to Lausanne. ¡°You did it. I could feel it.¡± ¡°I did.¡± Lausanne said, but thought of consoling the knight. Ebon was at that edge far longer than anyone else, and yet the system gave her the domain before him. Why? There were a thousand questions in her mind, but none would help at this moment. But she stopped before the words left her mouth. Ebon didn¡¯t need it. He¡¯s a damned good knight, he didn¡¯t need her consoling worlds. She knew he would trudge on. He tried his best to smile. ¡°Good job. It¡¯ll be me next time.¡± ¡°It will.¡± Lausanne answered. The rest of the Valthorns packed up. The battle was over, and it was now time for their routine cleanup. A group of mages and crafters teleported in and began to mine the space for anything valuable. Hoyia walked over as well to congratte her. ¡°Well done.¡± Lausanne smiled and said the usual thanks. There were many others who all came to congratteher, but for now, she had something to think about. Something important that would truly shape the rest of her life. It was an interesting set of three choices, and she wondered how they fit in her life. Lumoof once said that one¡¯s domain choices seemed to be based on their [ss] and their selection of abilities, but it was also a reflection of the direction of their lives. She had served Aeon since her childhood and wondered whether Aeon¡¯s Huntress seemed to represent that. Her early life when she grew up under Aeon¡¯s care and theter years when she served as one of the tree god¡¯s many warriors. As one of the earliest members of the Valthorns, she was sent on many missions to support the then-New Freeka¡¯s issue. She spected the first one, the spirit warrior, arose from her attempts at developing powerful piercing weapons, again, as part of her role as an agent of the Valtrian Order. Thest choice made her think of her old Uncle Jura. She would love to see his reaction to this. Maybe she would¡¯ve told Uncle Jura that her dream of being a hero wasn¡¯t impossible after all. Or maybe he would¡¯ve been really proud of her. Even though it had been many, many years since he died, for a moment, she imagined him there tapping her on the shoulder. ¡°Well who would¡¯ve thought. I was wrong after all.¡± The imaginary Uncle Jura said with pride. ¡°To think the little girl that I stopped from killing a wolf is now a champion.¡± She shook her head, her heart wasn¡¯t ready to choose at this time. So, she looked around some more, noticed there wasn¡¯t much left to do and then said to Patriarch Lumoof. ¡°I think I want to go home and go see my mother and my two kids.¡± Lumoof nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a good thing to do. Go and clear your mind. You¡¯ll need it.¡± Maybe she should visit herte husband¡¯s grave as well. Yeah. She should. People that she should talk to before she decided on which of the three to go for. Her heart told her that she should go for thest one. It was a dream, a dream she had buried and told herself was impossible, but deep down inside, her subconscious still didn¡¯t really believe it was. *** As she returned to Freshka after the war on Mountainworld, there were many others that sought her attention. News of her ascension was only known to the level 140s and domain holders, but she knew it would spread eventually. For now, home. Home was her well-furnished mansion in a quiet corner of Freshka. It wasn¡¯t the first home, but it was where she had lived for the past few decades. It was here where she remembered Kei knocked some sense in her and then convinced her to rejoin the Order. She should thank her for giving her that jolt she so sorely needed. And it seemed that the golem had a talent for impable timing. ¡°I came to see you.¡± Kei, it seemed, had read her mind and was already in the area waiting for her. ¡°I heard from Lumoof.¡± ¡°He told you?¡± ¡°I would curse him for an eternity if he didn¡¯t.¡± Kei the golem tapped her on the shoulder. ¡°One more to Aeon¡¯s pantheon of future deities.¡± Kei didn¡¯t need to drink, and yet she came with some kind of juice from one of her favorite fruit juicers. ¡°Did Lumoof tell you about my choices?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. He didn¡¯t. He said I¡¯d have to ask you myself. That damned old man feeding me with iplete information.¡± The newly ascended elf found the golem¡¯s reaction amusing. ¡°He just didn¡¯t want to spoil the surprise then. Do you want to know?¡¯ ¡°Of course I do!¡± Kei said loudly and thumped her crystalline chest. Her biocrystalline form was so good at mimicking flesh that Lausanne still asionally forgot that she wasn¡¯t actually a human anymore. ¡°I¡¯m invested in your sess!¡± The two settled down in one of the reading rooms in Lausanne¡¯s mansion, and the elf narrated the three choices. In the end, Kei¡¯s choice was very simr to Lausanne¡¯s gut feeling. ¡°Choose the unchosen champion. It¡¯s the path for you to do what you¡¯ve always wanted to do but couldn¡¯t. Star mana is tremendously powerful.¡± ¡°I believe so too. But I thought of giving it some time before I make thatmitment. We are not at the point where I need to rush through that decision.¡± After Kei, a few of Lausanne¡¯s closest friends, families all came to talk to her. Her mother, Laufen, was proud as hell and wished that her father would have been there to see it. Her daughter, Arlisa didn¡¯t seem too excited. If anything, Lausanne¡¯s sess turned into a deeper,rger shadow that loomed over her life. Lausanne tried to tone it down, but Arlisa¡¯s frustration only grew. Her son was fairly rxed and didn¡¯t have much of an opinion of his own. He was just d that now that she was a domain holder, she would be eligible for the resurrection ability of Aeon. He didn¡¯t have to fear losing his mother, and that was all that he needed to know. *** The valley of the Unrotten. It was the name those who came after her gave to this ce. The name of the ce where they survived the Rottends. She didn¡¯t like the name. It was her home. It was Freeka, and then New Freeka. It wasn¡¯t such a deep, scary valley, either. Their long confinement of almost two decades surviving on their own druidic produce and what little food they farmed in the valley was a memory most of them didn¡¯t think about. Things are definitely better now. Nostalgia. Her mind thought about those days when she was trapped here in the valley. The valley has changed so much. This ce used to be home. Their homes used to be within the various [subsidiary trees] of Aeon, but it had been more than a century. She hadn¡¯t been back in a long time, and yet, the very act of achieving one¡¯s domain seemed to refresh her past. So here she was. The ce felt dense. Aeon¡¯s presence was so heavy here, and before she got her domain, at times it felt suffocating. She could even tell he was trying to shift his presence around, but Aeon¡¯s presence distorted the world and that distortion was unmistakable. Increasingly, even Edna, Ste, and Lumoof all also distorted the world around them. For lesser beings, they were at the mercy of something that could unmake them in many different ways. This time, this visit, it all felt different. She could still feel Aeon¡¯s powerful presence, but it gently moved around her, as if she was a boat sailing through calm, peaceful waters. She was once a sandcastle facing the ocean tide, but today, it was as if her sandcastle was made of carved marble and stone, and the waters did not harm her. ¡°TreeTree, are you there?¡± Lausanne could speak to him everywhere, and yet, she still came here to speak to him. Her childhood that at some point seemed hazy, now turned clear. She knew her fellow domain holders had rather vivid memories, but the sudden rity to her memory and the strength of her nostalgia made her wonder whether this was an effect of the choices avable to her. ¡°Yes.¡± The voice spoke into her head, and she blinked as she realized she could alter the form of that voice. Aeon¡¯s voice had taken an ethereal, choral quality over the years, as if a thousand trees rustling and speaking together at once. Now, with the domain, the voice she allowed to enter her mind was within her control. She could shape that voice such that it didn¡¯t overwhelm her, and she blinked as she realized how much leeway she had to shape the voice of thosemunicating with her telepathically. She had always known that the [domain] protected them from mental intrusions and the effects of other immortals. In a way, a domain was the [system]¡¯s way of carving up the distinction between someone who existed as a part of the environment and someone who now stood above them. ¡°I can make you sound like you used to.¡± Lausanne said, feeling amused at how Aeon¡¯s voice was back to that old, wise, but singr voice of her younger days. ¡°It seems the domain has brought you a fair bit of nostalgia.¡± Aeon spoke to her without the echoing. Her mind didn¡¯t have to strain to withstand a powerful being¡¯s intrusion. ¡°Yes. It has. Since two of my choices make a reference to my past, I would think so.¡± Lausanne said. Both the [Unchosen Champion] and [Aeon¡¯s Huntress] referred to her roles over the years. ¡°It seems I was held back by my past more than the others.¡± ¡°And the [system] recognizes you for it.¡± ¡°I thanked Kei for helping me realize that I had unsolved dreams. But now I think I owe her a little more than that.¡± She should buy Kei a good present for breaking her out of her stupor. A nice meal would be the normal way of saying thanks, but the golem didn¡¯t really need to eat. ¡°Kei¡¯s casual way of achieving things without much direct conflict is a strength of hers. I would give her a reward, but what she wants is just for the heroes to have a good rest.¡± Lausanne smiled. She knew Kei yed a big role during the first crusades, thenter as the coordinator of the League of Heroes. Now this. ¡°Yes. But this is the start. I am at the starting line. What should I choose?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your choice. We will respect whatever you do and know that there will be a ce for you.¡± Aeon said, and for a moment, she remembered the days of New Freeka. ¡°There are thousands of worlds. Ste¡¯s detection finds more worlds the further it goes.¡± ¡°The first choice-¡± ¡°The first choice, I suspect, is about your youth.¡± Aeon said. ¡°Your first weapon was a spear, and a dagger. The spear, because you hoped to reach them and hit them before they could hit you. The dagger, because you wanted to kill the moment they got close enough.¡± ¡°Edna always wanted to be a knight.¡± Lausanne said. She actually remembered meeting Edna when she was just a [Grand Knight] undergoing training in Freshka. She remembered Aeon offering her the level-breaking fruit, and she had declined. That fruit, instead, went to Edna. She had wasted so many years. ¡°That is a part of it. A part of you wanted to wander the world, learn from various spirit trees. We are more than just a single thing, and the [System] probably has to try very hard to boil down what your story is.¡± Aeon spected. Yet thinking about the system¡¯s peculiarities was not why she was here today. Lausanne shook her head, and approached one of the Giant Attendant Trees. ¡°Is our home still there, inside your [Secret Hideout]?¡± There was silence. A long silence she was so used to. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Can I see it?¡± Lausanne said. The dark, magical bark that was part of Aeon¡¯s gigantic body shapeshifted, the bark itself reforming into a door. It was a kind of wood magic, but maybe not. Her fingers and arms seemed to tremble as she reached for the knob. The room was unchanged. There were still a few of Uncle Jura¡¯s things all over the ce. There were some old clothes, perfectly preserved by Aeon¡¯s preservation ability. ¡°This was after New Freeka?¡± Lausanne asked. ¡°We stopped living within you after the Rottends Incident.¡± ¡°Yes. After my long sleep all of you were used to living outside. You¡¯ve all stayed in for a bit, but then, eventually all of you moved out.¡± Lausanne nodded. The valley wasn¡¯t a ce to stay. Freshka, the new city that was built nearby, was a much more pleasant ce. Not everyone wanted to live under the presence of a god. So, the [secret hideout] was just as it was. Most things of value were taken away, but there were some old things left behind. They were already a powerful group at that time. Freshka and the Order had risen to dominate the continent. There were a few old overcoats, some thick boots, and a few more gloves. There was the old pantry area, with the old wooden tes and cups. ¡°The world used to be a lot simpler.¡± Lausanne said, and she felt Aeonugh in her head. Without the creepy echoes of Aeon¡¯s voice, theughter genuinely felt amusing. ¡°It¡¯s only simpler because someone else dealt with theplicated stuff.¡± Aeon said. ¡°You¡¯re right. It was just a silly thought in my head.¡± The elven girl looked at that. ¡°But I still miss those days. My memories of my childhood are so vivid, suddenly.¡± Then she was quiet. ¡°I¡¯ve never brought myte-husband here, did I?¡± ¡°No. Not to this space.¡± ¡°He would¡¯ve loved to see it, and I can still imagine him here. He would have said we lived in a life of luxury. Temperature controlled and stable supply of clean water is something hard to find out there as an adventurer.¡± Lausanneughed. ¡°We were lucky. We were very, very lucky.¡± Aeon didn¡¯t answer, but she knew it was good fortune. She knew he agreed. ¡°What should I choose?¡± Lausanne asked again. This time, Aeon didn¡¯t answer with words. Instead, a door opened. She knew what it was. It led to Aeon¡¯s secret chambers. It was where the old [Soul Forge] and [Bibs] were. She followed thergely unused stairs down into an old room. She remembered she was here often. She looked around, and then, saw a door that she had never seen before. It opened. It led her further, deeper. Down into the depths, into a secret room. It wasrger, newer. And it was filled with treasures. She blinked. ¡°This room is-¡± ¡°A room of treasures. Things we¡¯ve collected over the years. The various nts from all over the multiverse. The various fruits. Trinkets. Belongings of those who have fallen. The divine log and many others.¡± Aeon said. ¡°I kept them here mostly as a store of things, and mainly, I wanted you to see the relics we have.¡± The divine log. The lens for the Margmarian dwarves. Special weapons used by the old, fallen warriors. Jura¡¯s old set of weapons. Lovis¡¯s old spear. The heroes¡¯ items and a few personal belongings. She recognized many of them. There were things from the other elves too. Aeon kept the mementos and belongings of the Valthorns that fell in battle, it was a connection to those who fought for him. Even items from the very first refugees who came to New Freeka. He needed them to augment his abilities as a [Soul Tree] and allow for the living to speak to those who recently died. It was part of what he did to ensure that their spirits were properly handled and processed through the spiritual realm. In a twisted way, it was a cemetery to those who died. An altar made of the personal belongings of so many people. ¡°It¡¯s just a ce where I kept things. A [Treeasury], if you may.¡± Lausanneughed. ¡°Can I touch them?¡± ¡°Try not to. The spiritual remnants of those who have left are very fragile. I keep them protected, but a touch from a [domain holder] is stronger than most.¡± ¡°I see. We¡¯ve lost many of our friends over the years.¡± Lausanne suddenly could remember the faces of those who used to have these things. ¡°It is. Of the first generation, only a few of you live, or remain.¡± There were a few mementos of those who died. Things that belonged to her friends. Emile, Brich, Wahlen. She looked at them and memories of her childhood with her friends when still lived. ¡°I couldn¡¯t save them.¡± Lausanne said. ¡°That day when the Rottends happened, I was too far away, and I could only reach a few. In the end it was Uncle Jura that saved us.¡± ¡°Death was toomon in that era.¡± A lifetime of changes had urred in the past two centuries, and yet, she was now effectively an immortal. There would be a lot more changes toe, and she would y arger role in shaping that future. She looked at all the relics and realized they were exactly that. Relics of the past. A snapshot of a time that was. But she wasn¡¯t in the past. ¡°I see what you¡¯re trying to do, now.¡± ¡°Oh. What would that be?¡± ¡°I¡¯m too preupied with the past. I should think about what will work better for the future.¡± Lausanne said. She should approach her choice without the baggage of the past, but instead, think about what would serve her well for the future. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Break Announcement Break Announcement Hi all. I am taking a break for the entire month of December to indulge in some new obsessions. I will be trying to make some games on RPGmaker and also try to get my nonputer-literate brain to somehow digest godot''s gdscript and concepts. What I wanna do : 1. Try to set up a simple gamey loop in rpgmaker for Tree of Aeons to explore a sorta ''base-builder'' style game for ToA 2. Try to do a RSM dating sim on Rpgmaker. 3. Learn how to get godot to work. I have been absolutely consumed by godot and rpgmaker to think about anything else, and I don''t really wanna write when my heart is elsewhere. Thanks for all the support. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!