TREE OF AEONS 4

It was a form of tyranny, even if IÆd generally tried to have a light touch. Lumoof once said the presence of level caps was to ensure that no one got too powerful, but clearly, the system wasnÆt expecting a creature like myself.

Occasionally, I wondered whether this was all planned. Did the system know this was what I would do? Did the system have a desire? Did it have a goal?

Why? It was a question many people around the world asked. During prayers, many asked why level systems were created and lamented how unfair it was how some nobles had inherited skills and some had none.

What was the purpose of it all, anyway? I noticed a rise in these types of existential questions from the inhabitants of the Central Continent, which I suspected was a result of rising affluence and education levels. Was there even a purpose to it, to create a system where the system granted so much power to those who jumped through its hoops? The system encouraged slaughter and achievements.

This, of course, tied back to development. Rightly or not, IÆd significantly uplifted the development of the Central Continent and invested significant resources on magical research and weapons. Tools of war to wage more dangerous wars.

This was known to all on Treehome and had functioned as a deterrent from the other nations. AlkaÆs crystalline bombs were well known for its incredible destruction. Their magical ripples could be detected an entire continent away.

Yet my goal was to end the cycle, and there was a worry, just like back home, that further research and overuse of bombs may eventually lead to some kind of magical nuclear winter. We didnÆt know how much magic was too much magic, even if I was currently quite certain it was nothing to worry about.

On Branchhold, the issue of a constitution was a bit harder than I initially expected. Mainly the refugees and immigrants to Branchhold had very different expectations, norms, and requirements compared to the administrators from Treehome.

Those from Treehome had lived a generation or two under my rule, and their social, cultural, and administrative norms had deviated quite a bit.

Form filling was a struggle with the immigrants who didnÆt even know what a form was. Things like waste disposal, sanitation, and food processing all had gaps. Even on Treehome there was some gaps, especially between continents, but the other continents had learned from us by exposure. Many nobles, influenced by my spymasters, adopted some of our norms and policies. Even the Triumvirs of Aiva adopted more regimented training processes, supported by my Valthorns indirectly.

All that happened over a long period of time, so the gap never felt so big.

But here, these people never had that exposure. The worse thing was it further solidified my delegationÆs impression that the people of Branchhold were uncultured barbarians.

This was something I wanted to avoid, because it was a formula for resentment and worked against my intention to build a good, positive impression among the nobles, warrior classes, and general peasantry of the world.

- The gapÆs too big, - Johann admitted in a personal conversation with me. - IÆm not sure itÆs possible to educate them and get them to change their practices so quickly. -

I wasnÆt sure why, but that statement made me churn a little. I sensed disdain and a little bit of patronizing in those words. I got that he had a point, but I wasnÆt too comfortable with that feeling, so I decided to clear it up. - Perhaps there is no need to. -

- Oh? - Johann was one of my soldiers, and he respected the warrior ethos of the people. But that was about his only positive impression. There was an immediacy to their life; the focus was on winning the next battle, not stepping back and thinking about how to win the war.

This difference in time horizon was probably something that would need a generation or two to change. The immigrants didnÆt understand or comprehend the security we could provide.

Why think about what was going to happen a year down the road when the demons could invade and kill everyone next month? In a way, the decade - long war was a big setback to their overall society, and frankly, he understood that we could have easily been the same.

Yet it made day - to - day interactions frustrating. It was an experience quite like the Canari, who also seemed to live their lives day by day.

- These people lived life day to day, and rather than try to change them, is there a way to make a better or more productive version of this mindset? -

- That sounds rather strange. - Johann laughed. - IsnÆt foresight one of the better qualities of civilization? To create a structure from nothing. -

- It is, but I am beginning to wonder whether IÆve been looking at civilization with a far too narrow perspective. -

- To me, that just sounds like chaos. -

- Maybe. -

The strength of planning and foresight allowed the accumulation of our efforts toward a larger goal, something that could not be achieved through instant reaction and living day by day. There had to be a guiding path or a focus.

It was the equivalent of a corporate ethos and culture toward some kind of goal.

An organization this large, by sheer number of actors and players, would generate many contradictory forces. A noble in one part of Treehome would and could take the exact opposite direction as another noble. It was impossible to force everyone to be perfectly aligned. It was too much effort and meant turning everyone into robots.

Ultimately, it boiled down to the question of what kind of world I wanted Mountainworld to be.

Did it even matter if its main function was to serve as a massive mana generator to complement my future mana requirement?

Why was I doing this?

- How do the immigrants take the rule of the council? - Johann asked one of the relocated administrators.

- Not well. Language differences are getting better, but they are still unused to the way many things are done. ThereÆs also no respect for the Valtorn Order, which makes it harder for the Order personnel to carry out their work. The priests are having a slightly easier time, but itÆs not smooth sailing, either. -

Johann spotted many small aggressions and conflicts as the relocated administrators and guards tried to impose their version of order onto the refugees.

Most accepted it, even if they didnÆt understand. After all, they came as refugees to avoid the threat of war, but there clearly was some expectation gap. They expected life to be similar back to where they came from, not this accelerated uplift society where they had to adjust to how I wanted this city to be.

This was a result of my will being in conflict with those of the refugees, and frankly, many made the journey with incomplete information.

I could solve this problem by allowing mass migration from the Central Continent to Branchhold, but I wanted to see how receptive the local folk were before I did that.

I also had some concerns about facilitating such a large movement of people between worlds, and I wanted rules and proper processes before such things were permitted. The artificial minds could be granted authority to operate the inter - world transportation, and the necessary mana budget, so that freed up one part of my mental load.

There was a strange problem that emerged for those who came from the Central Continent. I didnÆt notice it immediately because of the presence of my healing aura in Branchhold, but my spymaster noticed it in their field operators.

Diseases of another world.

Those with my familiars or those close to my clone trees were spared thanks to the influence of my healing aura , but the spies that strayed further, some without the protection of my familiars, got sick. A lot.

Most diseases were mild, but it was another aspect that I did not foresee. Stella swiftly reminded me of the diseases brought by colonizers during the Age of Exploration.

The inverse did not occur, simply because my people were generally healthy thanks to the effect of my healing aura , so they didnÆt carry that many diseases. My Biolabs quickly collected some of these disease samples.

Then we realized these diseases of the mountain world were made of magic.

I eventually agreed to a learning visit for the refugees and the nobles. I thought about it and realized maybe intimidation wasnÆt a bad thing.

It was the whole idea of a nuclear deterrence. I had the impression that my domain holders already qualified to be my nuclear deterrence. I also wanted the refugee representative to see for themselves what kind of culture and society we had back on Treehome.

Many refugees had their own de facto community leaders, which we selected for the trip. In total, about one hundred refugees would take their first trip to Treehome.

Their arrival on Treehome was a quiet one. I had not fully declared their presence here, so they were shuffled like tourists on tour buses, always escorted by security personnel.

They were frankly awed, the equivalent of jungle bumpkins entering the city for the first time.

23

YEAR 214

LumoofÆs mana practice continued, while my other domain holders made regular trips to Parasiteworld 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, but lately his progress had plateaued. It still wasnÆt 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 to pain if there was not much progress.

Since we had a roadblock in this particular direction, Lumoof went to Parasiteworld to see what he could do there.

My attempts to drain the pit of the demon king went quite successfully, and the amount of water was then redirected to make actual lakes and ponds in the areas we controlled.

IÆd reached about three - quarters of the way to the core of Parasiteworld, and now the walls of the pit were filled with vines and crawler - type plants. 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 wasnÆt 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 BranchholdÆs highest trees, where there was an observation tower that looked out. Stella nodded at the crystal - golem when she walked in.

I was told it was a gorgeous view of the vast demon lands, still not reclaimed by the heroes. The two heroes, Adrian and Kelly, did use their powers to retake some of the demon lands, but they didnÆt seem particularly enthused.

- IÆd say the same for you, - Stella 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 mountain worldÆs skies were filled with entirely new stars and worlds. - Did A/ 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 arenÆt exactly the best. -

Stella 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 place does have a really good view. This city doesnÆt sprawl, not like Freshka. -

- Not yet. -

- Eh, blasphemy! - Kei teased. - A/ already has an anti - sprawl plan! -

Stella didnÆt 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 had a 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 places that we currently had no access to.

Magic was a lot of hard work.

- How many void mages did you bring with you? - Kei asked.

Stella 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 that comet world and the anti - magic world. -

- That was a waste. A/ shouldÆve kept that world, - Kei said. - Now our supply of anti - magic sand is cut off. -

Stella just smiled.

- Wait. WhatÆs 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 A/ Æs lack of core mana. Between what IÆve seen and what weÆve gathered from the demon kingÆs core replica, weÆre halfway there with the tunnel. -

- Shit. We are just one mana source away from being able to go wherever we want? -

- LetÆs not jinx it and make it sound so easy. Core mana isnÆt the easiest thing to find, but if the parasite - world invasion goes well. - Stella 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 Stella took a break.

- Known what? -

- That weÆre going to be able to essentially connect all the worlds weÆve been to. -

- Oh. It was always there. Each world has a signature, a phone number. Each rift gate A/ steals comes with its own coordinates, mostly intact. IÆve known how to lock a rift gate to a past world, especially if weÆve stolen the gate from that world. ItÆs just we lack the power to make that connection. Void mana doesnÆt survive very well in the void forest. It gets swept away and disrupted by the smallest eddies. -

- Is A/ planning to do that with this world, too? - Kei looked up at the sky. The mountain world would have its own demon king, too, but its cycle was a little longer, ranging from fifteen to twenty years.

- Yes. IÆve discussed it before. We have to grab as many rift gates from as many worlds as far as possible. ItÆs 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 the language of the rift gates, which brings me to my next task. -

- Which is? -

- I need to get my domain. Within the demon kingÆs core - replica, A/ spoke of star - paths and a massive map, but he said there is a guardian within that map. HeÆd only let me use it once I have a domain. IÆve seen images, though, through the dream academy , but IÆd really like to see it for myself and feel what that thing is. -

- Do you think thatÆs 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 wouldnÆt say itÆs impossible. But IÆve not seen any. - My void archmage relaxed and took a sip of water.

A Valthorn dropped in to just check in and then left once they noticed both Kei and Stella were in there. BranchholdÆs security condition wasnÆt 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 installations. I didnÆt trust my detection abilities to get everything.

StellaÆs levels were mostly through research, but in her earlier days, she did some power - leveling with the domain holders. As she reached her level one hundred forties, her levels had slowed, so she would also need to get some combat experience in, even if it was indirect.

It was really quite irritating that the path to a domain seemed to require combat experience. Was this world so battle crazy?

StellaÆs time had to be split between her astral - alphabet and rift gate research, crafting and combat, and also her teaching duties at her void academy. Thankfully, these days she wasnÆt 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 artifacts that Stella used and also taught the next generation of crafter - void mages.

Sadly, the process of getting acclimated 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 intended to stack the inheritable skills to create a naturally attuned void mage . The very first young treefolks just enrolled at the void academy last year since the breeding program started.

Patreeck went a bit further and suggested that I acclimate young lizardpeople eggs and treefolk seedlings to void mana, but the potential of killing these babies made me squirm.

I wasnÆt 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 particular interest, though Reefy often brought trinkets and showed all the strange fish that were 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 similar.

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? ReefyÆs 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 Vallasira, the zaratan, once more. If there was a dead zaratan, I thought I should let them know.

Stella and Lumoof both returned from the other worlds, and they were joined by Edna, Alka, and a large contingent of mages. They boarded the largest vessels we had.

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, some layers of ocean sand had covered most of it.

- ItÆs down there, right at the bottom, - Alka said. His magical abilities and past experience as an occasional archeologist meant he had some skills for this kind of event. - We could use a portal and teleport it up, but weÆll need to encase it in a bubble of magic to preserve it from further harm. -

Bones. I could learn of its last memories from its bones, but I would do so after I got the zaratanÆs views, if they allowed me to do so.

- But letÆs wait and let me see what else I can learn through magic. -

I recalled these zaratans loved water, and I wasnÆt 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 theyÆd always wanted.

Stella shrugged. - IÆm sadly unaware of their funeral rites or customs, despite being their apprentice. As far as I know, they donÆt 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 didnÆt need to wait long, as a thick mist soon emerged in the area, and two massive zaratans emerged, one younger one that IÆd met before. Their presence was thick and rippled outward, comparable to any domain holder.

The treeÆs compatriots have gained much strength. The largest of the zaratans spoke.

Everyone just looked at Lumoof, and he entered avatar mode. I spoke through him then. Greetings. We meet again, Vallasira.

The younger zaratanÆs still - massive turtle head nodded. Indeed, A/ . Your actions have rippled through the worlds. We thank you for the safety youÆve provided us.

It is what I must do. Let us get to the point. Reefy, my reef - friend, has found the bones of a large zaratan in the depths.

Indeed. The largest one spoke. Vallasira, as you have met them, you can host them in your shell.

At that moment, one of VallasiraÆs shell - hexagons opened up to reveal a small box. Hop on. We will dive to the depths together and see our departed brother.

Stella was the first to go. A portal opened between her and the box in VallasiraÆs 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 uncomfortable 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 VallasiraÆs 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 glass box in the depths of the ocean.

The dive into the depths took just a moment, as all three zaratan landed 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 ran 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. ItÆs 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 Vallasira 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, Vallasira 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, Vallasira said.

The small box we were in was then separated into two compartments, one with only Lumoof and another with everyone else. Stella 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 outward 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 our later studies.

It is safer for our bones to be in your hands than anyone elseÆs.

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. TheyÆve begun to suspect somethingÆs 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 canÆt tell the difference, Vallasira said.

24

YEAR 215

Iwas now in possession of two sets of bones from legendary creatures - 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 dragonÆs bones as well.

I moved a large piece of the zaratanÆs skull from one part of my secret hideout, right to the biolab located within my body. The skull itself was large enough to be a truck, but this broken piece was about the size of a large door.

It pulsed momentarily as my biolab began its work. Ethereal vines from my soul forge biolab entered the bones, and I began to see images and little bursts of thoughts. Emotions.

A lake and then a sensation of moving. A black sun, then abruptly snapping. Forced off the path! Another lake but then it was dried out. How? Then demons, large demons. Champions.

Running. Flee and conjured water around itself. The champions latched on, and then the sensation of moving again. It was unstable, demons on its back.

Ocean. A struggle. Pain. Sinking? -

The memories ended there, and I realized this zaratan had probably been yanked out of its path across the stars. The demons could do that, or at least that black sun could.

I felt that black sun was the key to everything, and I proposed the idea of destroying or capturing the black sun to the domain holders. They generally concurred that it may work, if it was the only one.

I wanted to speak to Aiva again, ask them whether theyÆd ever tried assaulting the black sun. If that would work?

I tried a few more zaratan bones, but the memories of its last moments were similar. So I used the bones of the dragon from the moon that IÆd kept for so long.

It was a bad habit. I would keep things and only check on them when I remembered them. Patreeck gave me regular reminders, but I found it hard to focus until it really drew me. Anyway, I focused on the dragonÆs bones now.

Its memories were far hazier 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 aflame. 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 the last 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, combat, and magical prowess of a lesser dragon.

Titan option unlocked: Zaratan Replicant. A creature created based on the zaratans of the void sea. Possesses ability to move between worlds, if there is an existing path. Comes with void mana as default and can use some void magic.

I had one titan soul left, but I looked at the six heroes allied to me and realized I wasnÆt in a rush. Not if this arrangement worked.

I would get more fragments. Sure, I was so close to one hundred fragments, but that was really a consolation prize if I could direct the heroÆs 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 could 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 didnÆt really know whether that was a rule or just a convenience of the demons. It was entirely possible that they assigned one - to - one worlds just to maximize 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 was possible that a demon kingÆs presence emitted something that interfered with the astral paths, thus preventing multiple invasions.

Since we now had a demon kingÆs 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 weÆd 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 the comet world, 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 similar to the sensation from the comet world.

The presence was still collecting itself, and its 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.

Stella was back on 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 worldÆs astral path was different and how each world saw the void forest differently.

This made me think that even the demonÆs star maps 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, traveled to this void forest, where they would move and wobble their way to other worlds.

I attempted to access that view again, even with my soul forge, but IÆd yet to succeed. Maybe I needed the right levels, but I also consulted my fellow domain holders on whether theyÆd seen such things.

Lilies, for one, had no clue. This was way beyond their experience.

Over time, I realized the process of learning was very often just repeatedly throwing something at a problem and seeing what stuck.

I wondered 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 didnÆt 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 occupied their time.

Prabu nodded. - Kinda, but not really. WeÆre 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 succeed, for all the obvious reasons.

After the zaratanÆs warning, I wondered whether this invasion may be the wrong move. What if I drew their attention and became 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, IÆd cover them and pull the rest of them back to Treehome.

WeÆd finally drained the waters of the pit, and I got a glimpse of what was within those pits. It was similar to what we saw in the anti - mana world, the demon mother, around a core. ParasiteworldÆs 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 didnÆt work, but I reckoned 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 planned assault force.

We did have a clear path that led 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 was 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.

- Oh, come on, donÆt kick me into the pits. -

- IÆm not kicking you in. IÆm asking you to go in with the heroes. Heroes weaken that creature, and then A/ captures it. -

- Pause for a moment, - Chung said. - Can you clarify what that was? -

- A/ captures demons by flooding them with mana. DonÆt you know that already? - Prabu said. - TheyÆve attempted to capture the demon king, too. -

- I know, but can it work on the demon mother? -

Edna shrugged. - It should. WeÆve 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 died from exposure, but that was when we tested it against regular - type demons. WeÆd never attempted to infect a demon king with star mana, though I didnÆt think itÆd 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 wasnÆt 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 access to the core mana. Not crack the planet in the process. -

I wasnÆt sure - scorched planet - 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 uninhabited planets to form interstellar 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 islands closer to the Central Continent.

Thanks to the skills earned before this, I was able to tunnel to some of the islands, and this meant I now had some influence over the seas around the Central Continent. My minds suggested creating artificial islands, a point which I eventually came to agree to. The Valthorns quietly arranged for druids, earth mages, and builders to commence the construction of these artificial islands.

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 didnÆt appear too much.

Publicly, these artificial islands were to serve as my military ports, of course, with all that excuse of reducing piracy and facilitating trade. It was 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 relatively easier. Mountainworld as a whole only had one single ocean that was 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 any large habited areas.

The cold peaks of Mountainworld didnÆt do much to stop roots that could tunnel through mountains, though in the process, I discovered that Mountainworld had very interesting subterranean life and culture. There were 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 IÆd probably need to cook up a plausible excuse to send my Valthorns to investigate or probably just have them fake it as adventurers.

Yeah. ThatÆd 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 knew something.

Anyway, as a result of my expansion on both my home world 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 mountain world.

This wasnÆt enough, obviously, but then again, the demon mother might be weaker.

Time to set it in motion, whatever the consequences may be.

- WeÆve been working on this plan for years, - Stella said at the edge of my clone tree on Parasiteworld. 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 domain holders, 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 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 access to core mana.

- If itÆs possible to free the world, it may mean we can have a new population base and more future heroes to rely on. With core mana, Stella 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 counter - invasion was a deep - strike meant to target the real command center of the demons.

- Any questions? - Lumoof asked out of habit. It was just a procedure; they had discussed the issue at length over the years.

Everyone shook their heads. The pit had been heavily reinforced over the past year. I had four seeds: one on Branchhold, one on Cometworld, one here in Parasiteworld, and one more in store, still serving its cooldown.

There was four more years to go. They thought of waiting, but then, I didnÆt feel like we needed to.

We had made extensive preparations, and they all had a variety of weapons: the ice blades of Aria, the death - staff of Lilies, StellaÆs 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 weÆd yet to claim was the large cavern around the core.

Lumoof made a prayer, and the heroes nodded.

Time to claim the parasiteÆs core and free this planet.

25

YEAR 215 (PART 2)

- The entire pit was captured? - Chung asked as my vines had captured the trees. WeÆd figured out how to make some bioluminescent plants, which lit up the path and made it easier for us to defend the pits from the demonic assaults.

- Only the core chamber is unclaimed. - Beetles, with adapted legs meant for walking up and down vertical trees, also served as my defenders here.

- Damn. If only Ken could see this. This is hella beautiful if it wasnÆt a journey to the death. - Then Chung slapped himself. - Choi! ShouldnÆt have said that. -

Prabu smirked. - It shouldnÆt be that hard. -

- Initial data suggests itÆs slightly weaker than a demon king but still significantly stronger than a champion. Seems to be the leftover husk of a demon king, or at least a part of it was the demon king. -

I could technically teleport them down to the edge of my vines, but I didnÆt want to reveal that part of my abilities, so they made the journey riding on LumoofÆs carriage of vines.

As the heroes approached the core, Stella and my sensors began to detect some movement.

- SomethingÆs happening to the astral paths, and IÆm detecting some magical pulse from the demon. -

It was a momentary magical surge that quickly subsided. Then the demon repeated it again. And then it got stronger and stronger.

- WhatÆs that? - Stella asked, her eyes glued to the stars above.

- IÆve got no idea. - It felt like a warning beacon. Or an alert beacon, meant to alert the demons that it was under attack. - But it sounds like we may have company. -

There was still nothing in the astral paths. No movement.

Lumoof and the heroes approached the core and found the demon mother coiled up with the core.

- Well, that is our opponent, - Lumoof introduced, and the heroes quickly got ready. The demon mother, at that moment, abruptly shrank its size and hid within the core.

- Uh, where is it going? -

- I think it can see your star mana and is hiding from you, - Edna responded. - It knows that you wonÆt destroy the core, so itÆs using the core as a shield. -

- Oh, I think you can leave this hide - and - seek to me. - Lumoof jumped to the core, and then my roots surged out. My roots and vines spread out, and the demon mother, no larger than a small cow, attacked my vines. It was strong, for sure, but destroying my vines revealed its location.

The demon was indiscriminate and happily attacked the core, but this close, I felt a rough, hazy presence touching on my avatarÆs will, calling to us. It was groggy, as if itÆd been long asleep or unconscious.

Something pulled it back.

- Follow the colored vines, and itÆll lead to the demon. -

The heroes approached the core. Meanwhile, through Lumoof, my vines flooded the holes of the core and attempted to slow down the demon motherÆs movement. It could easily cut through my vines.

After a few minutes of hiding, it soon realized its initial plan to escape or hide within the core wasnÆt going to work because the heroes eventually caught up and attacked it.

The demon fought the heroes within the core for a short few minutes and found itself outmatched. The heroes landed a few hits, but frankly, they held back because they didnÆt want to damage the core. Yet it was clear that the heroes would win if it remained within the core.

So rather than remain in the core, the demon flared its magic, burned through my vines, then rushed out of the core. I tried my best to delay it, but it still managed to blast through them after a few hits.

- Chase after it! -

That flaring of energy seemed to mark something else as well, as Stella immediately noticed something unusual was happening.

- A/ , somethingÆs coming! IÆll do my best to delay it. I need you to send more void mages over to me right now. - She immediately barked orders as a group of void mages on standby immediately jumped to action, and I sent them through my clone.

The demon rushed up the pits, and I tried my best to block it and covered the pits with thick walls of wood and trees. It heated up like a shining, burning missile and blasted through my attempts to delay it.

The heroes and everyone else gave chase and fired attacks. - Just attack it. DonÆt worry if you land a hit on the walls or anything. I can always fix the trees later! -

Each attack weakened the demon mother, but it moved with speed equal to the demon king and dodged most of the heroes and my domain holders attacks.

At that moment, Lumoof immediately asked, - Should I stay in to secure the core or go after it? -

- Go after it. My vines and roots can reach here. Let me deal with it for now. I donÆt think IÆll need my full strength here. -

- Got it. - Lumoof immediately darted after the heroes and my three domain holders. My domain holders were slower than the heroes, but Prabu had used a magical acceleration ability to pull them up so that they could keep up.

Chung launched volley after volley of homing magical arrows at the demon mother, and this was when I saw it phase out and vanish momentarily before appearing a short distance ahead.

- Great. Just great. - Chung charged another shot while he flew up the pit after the demon mother.

- There was an invisible demon before this, - Prabu quipped while he charged a star manaûpowered homing fireball. At the heroÆs level, the fireball resembled an actual neutron star rather than a ball of fire.

The demon mother took a few hits, and then it flared a magical energy.

Up on the surface, Stella immediately deployed a wide array of void - mana equipment and started to channel it. I felt her void mana spread through the skies above; it seemed to be pushing against something.

There was something coming that only she and her void mages could see. - A/ , void mana batteries, I need more! - she yelled, and my vines wrapped around her and her void mages. This linked her to the void batteries back home.

My clones and my roots essentially functioned as cables, linking them to the stored mana batteries back home. I felt huge quantities of void mana travel through our linked bodies.

The skies darkened, and I saw strange explosions in the skies above. Then I saw a flickering astral path. It flickered momentarily, and a burst of light traveled through the path. It vanished just as quickly.

- Ugh. - Stella winced, and I felt her magical energy destabilize. - WeÆll have company. I couldnÆt stop some of them. -

Stella had been working on interfering with rifts for the longest time, and even then, it wasnÆt perfect. Rifts opened in the skies, and then strange black demons emerged from them. I could tell these were mini - demon kings, stronger than champions. They charged at Stella and my void mages.

Guardian Treants and an army of beetles emerged around my clone tree. My artificial minds quickly got to work. - Protect the void mages. ItÆs trying to undo their interference. -

Horns and my other artificial mindûpowered beetles led the defense while I created a wall around my void mages. I couldnÆt block them from the sky, as that would prevent them from doing their part of battling the rift.

A few of my higher - leveled Valthorns also joined the fight on the surface. These were my level one hundred twenties to one hundred forties, those who aimed for the domain.

A battle raged on the surface as the defenders destroyed the black - demons.

- Oh dear. Something big is coming, - Stella said as I felt her and all her void mages expend all of their energy. Their battle was one I couldnÆt see, but it was something called a - void shield - that attempted to use void mana to shield a world from rifts.

Still, she did her best and pushed. I was very surprised by how much void mana she had within her, even without the void batteries.

Then the skies cracked, like a glass shattered, and I saw that same black blob from before. The glass attempted to return and fix the shattered sky? -

And the demon mother surged out of the pits and bathed in the strange glow of the black blob.

A black droplet fell from the blob.

Stella winced. - Not gonna let that happen. - To me, it looked like a piece of glass sheared through the drop, and a bit of it disintegrated. Yet that very same strike sent a huge jolt of pain through Stella. She bit her lips and then pushed again. - More. -

She pulled more void mana through the roots, and I saw that droplet shear in half in an invisible strike.

Yet that strike knocked her out. The rest of the void mages did their best to hold out without her. - A/ , we need another void archmage here! -

More rifts began to open in the skies above, and this time I could see it.

The demon mother merged with what was left of the black droplet and then transformed. It regained power, and at that moment, the temperature in the world began to increase.

Thankfully, its reign would be short lived. The heroes shot out of the pits, and they didnÆt hesitate. TheyÆd fought many demons before, and their heroic battle sense was impeccable.

They unleashed a torrent of attacks at the transformed demon. Roon and Johann also unleashed their own version of hell, mostly with bolts of anti - mana glass and anti - demonic wood.

In a single combined strike, the transformed demon mother cracked, and its outer shell shattered, leaving a large, egg - shaped black droplet that crashed into the ground below.

At this moment, I noticed the rifts all immediately closed, and the crack to that black blob had vanished. The void mages had sealed the rift once it retreated.

The egg - shaped black droplet released a similar, familiar pulse. It attempted to detonate itself.

- Fucking hell, itÆs got a bomb, too. - The heroes cursed, but we also predicted this eventuality. It was, after all, a former demon king. It must have had that crystal core.

My vines approached it, and Edna, once again, withdrew our valuable anti - mana glass weapons and stabbed the egg. It wobbled from the strike, and the anti - mana glass did its work.

Unlike the demon king, this egg didnÆt pose that much of a challenge. It wasnÆt as strong as a full demon king, and that made a world of difference. Lumoof immediately closed in, and in avatar mode, my vines wrapped around the egg.

Lumoof winced slightly as my vines drained it of mana. I then inserted my own mana into it. Through Lumoof, my mana flooded it, but instead of converting it, it began to disintegrate.

The egg somehow stopped its attempts to detonate itself and instead struggled in its dying breath. It pulsed, attempting to fight off whatever nearby, but its weakened attacks barely hurt Lumoof.

We had defeated it, and the egg melted away to reveal a ball - shaped metal shell within. My vines quickly wrapped it and sent it back home for further investigation.

The rifts had closed, and my defenders crushed the remaining demons.

We freed Parasiteworld from the demon mother, and elsewhere, we noticed the tide of demons attacking us began to dwindle.

Down in the core, my vines had wrapped around the core and started to drain it of its demonic energy. It was like an engine covered in old grease and gunk, and it took a while to clear it.

Then the much - needed announcement came. If anything, a title seemed like a worthy prize.

Title Obtained: Liberator of a Fallen World

- Huh. - The heroes were rather amused. - A title. -

As I began to drain more demonic energy out of the core, the core began to glow. It was as if it was restarting after a long time.

- Uh. -

My vines from the entrance of the pits entered the core chamber and grew on the walls of the core. Here, in the depths, gravity was a little wonky.

The will of Parasiteworld began to rouse from a long, long coma. It would take some time before it could communicate; I sensed that its will was fragmented, and there was still a lot of demonic mana residue to clear.

- Is everything all right up there? - Edna asked as she looked up at the still - dark skies. The energies still felt unstable, even if none of the rifts were active.

- Seems normal for now, - the void mages answered. - ItÆs now quiet in the path. WeÆre just dealing with waves from the sudden closure of rifts. -

The heroes loosened up after hearing that all clear, and some of them stretched. - So, what now? WeÆre done? -

- Yes. LetÆs get all of you back to safety and let this planet recover slowly. ItÆll be some time, I think, - Lumoof answered. - The fact that we got the title is a sign we achieved what we came to do. A/ will need some time to figure out how to access the core mana. -

Chung looked at Lumoof. - Can we be here when that happens? IÆd like to see what A/ does to the core. IÆm not paranoid or anything, but yÆknow, letting A/ have the core is a big. uh. responsibility, and I just want to see whatÆs happening. -

Lumoof nodded. - WeÆll keep you informed. -

Prabu ribbed Chung in the elbow, and Chung just said, - Ever heard the phrase trust, but verifyÆ? Letting anyone control a planetÆs a big deal, even if itÆs an empty one. -

The heroes returned to Treehome and Mountainworld, and my domain holders also withdrew. I watched ParasiteworldÆs core carefully, but there were positive signs. The recovery rate of natural mana of the world seemed to start to tick up.