TREE OF AEONS 5

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 would add another one for the Depth Worm. I was relatively sure IÆd keep them, so turning them off was out of the picture.

Patreeck got to work analyzing all my mana consumption. I spent a relatively large 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 worked, I could essentially move mana from place to place with hardly any loss between my clones. There was always some mana loss from transportation when it was moved, but my clones were pretty much magically entangled that any movement between them was instantaneous.

Between my lesser trees and through my roots, there was some energy loss, just like how my attacks and my abilities were weaker far away. That said, my Giant Attendant Trees also acted as amplifiers, and they also reduced energy loss from transmission in the same manner that the Giant Attendant Trees also reduced the distance penalty to my skills.

For heroes and for the other domain holders like Lilies 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 demonÆs mana back.

But it stirred the cometÆs 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 were 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 demons energy, transformed.

- Demons! - Edna said as gigantic golem demons made up of large amounts of demonic energy charged at us. I immediately recognized the familiar feeling.

- Run, - I commanded. - TheyÆre self - destructing golems. -

Inwardly, I cursed. The demons clearly didnÆt mind blowing themselves up. In a way, that would achieve the goal of destroying the comets. But why would they do something like that?

Unless.

- The entire comet is a crudely made golem. - StellaÆs observation came just as immediately as mine. - WeÆve been lurking on the demonÆs body, and A/ Æs a parasite on one of its parts wrestling against it. -

- They could regenerate, - Alka mused. HeÆd been itching to use his detonation ability, but so far, we hadnÆt gotten such a violent reaction from the comet.

My roots attacked them, preventing them from getting close to my clone.

The golems exploded in a flash of demonic mana. Their explosion was made of highly dense demonic energy. Then I noticed something unusual.

The golems were running toward 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 toward that tree and detonated themselves.

The subsidiary tree didnÆt stand a chance and exploded into smithereens.

My initial plan 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. There were serpents made of rock and sand. They attacked my clone, 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 demons, as much as I hated to admit it, were pushing me back and winning. They didnÆt 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 coreÆs 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 cometÆs mana. All of the rivers of mana that fueled the nodes redirected toward my clone.

My clone body struggled to push back and maintain control. It shook as if we were being uprooted. Parts of my peripheral roots were transformed by the demonic mana, turning into black - 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 couldnÆt pierce. This was a part it couldnÆt 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. It was like standing in a thunderstorm with an umbrella; my soul and the main parts of my body were the only parts that were still dry. Everything else was soaked.

The demons 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 a large 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 couldnÆt even send any of my folks out there.

My clone only survived because my main bodyÆs toughness was really high, and the explosions merely burned through a few layers of my wooden shields and just merely blackened my cloneÆs barkskin.

But for my Valthorns and domain holders, I didnÆt think they could face the demonic mana head - on. Maybe the domain holders, because their domains protected their souls and bodies - but with the overwhelming demonic mana severely restricting my range, we needed to rethink our approach.

I constantly drained the demonÆs 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 did I reverse this?

Even with the heroes star mana, the comet had way too much mana.

I needed more.

Or maybe I needed something different.

If I failed to regain control, the comet would effectively destroy everything weÆd built. But as much as I hated to say it, it seemed like IÆd bitten off more than I could chew.

Evacuation. It was the option I hated the most. IÆd be giving up on Treehome, and IÆd have to rebuild from scratch. I needed to figure out what was the best way to fight against the demonÆs mana.

There must be a way I could win.

18

YEAR 256

Ispoke to Lilies first, and Lilies understood. Our roots connected, and I shared the images and experiences on the demonÆs comet. 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 weÆd built so far.

I felt Lilies understanding and, more importantly, agreement. We would need to rethink our strategy, move our people.

Will of the World.

Lilies 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. IÆd tried it before, but even with new information, nothing changed. The will would not move without the suitable authority commanding 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 Stella redirected a group of the void mages to other projects, mainly to find new worlds that we could spread our population.

The Central Continent had been incredibly prosperous over the past few decades, and that meant we were dealing with far higher levels of people than weÆd ever had in the history of Treehome. It was 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 teleporting large quantities of star mana bombs over to my clone on the demonÆs comet. It might be enough to shatter it, if I could get enough. But AlkaÆs immediate computations suggested it wouldnÆt 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 weÆd done before. But sadly, the heroes were not in the best shape for that assignment.

Lumoof was happy to be back in more comfortable dwellings, but even I could sense the nagging worry at the back of his mind. I could feel him occasionally 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. Stella dropped by to visit one of those days, with food from their favorite restaurant.

- How many worlds do you plan to visit? - Lumoof looked back at Stella. - Any good ideas? -

- I think it wouldnÆt be enough. -

We had reports from the Tropicworld that it wouldnÆt be able to absorb large quantities of refugees. Its production and resources still significantly lagged 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. The planetary coreÆs strength ultimately fueled everything about that world.

Still, the druids tried their best to get the world ready. They used spells meant to massively restore the landÆs vitality, special plants that fed life back into the soil. Just like my trees.

But we couldnÆt avoid the fact that if we moved everyone to Tropicworld, our current estimates indicated that the food output of Tropicworld would just be enough to provide subsistence for the entire worldÆs population. I wouldnÆt be able to feed the population the way we did today. Not without large - scale food imports from both Mountainworld and Threeworlds.

Maybe I should be happy with that, but no. It was 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 was difficult to train strong warriors and maintain a powerful standing army with terrible food supplies.

The soul nourished the body, and the body nourished the soul. It was a feedback loop. With a poor physical condition, it had effects on mana generation, mana capacity, healing, and mental faculties.

That didnÆt even go into the issue of construction. The sheer numbers of the worldÆs population of at least a few hundreds of millions meant weÆd have to provide housing for that many people. This was an issue that would need the combined effort of multiple millions of workers.

Even with the construction of multiple new cities on Tropicworld, the scale still wasnÆt enough to adequately supply 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 was likely I would ultimately end up with a huge mana sink. If we lost Treehome, my current largest 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 worldÆs population would have to move to Mountainworld and Threeworlds. We looked at Branchhold, and my growing hidden city on Threeworlds. WeÆd been expanding them gradually over the past few years.

Branchhold was a prime candidate for massive expansion, even if IÆd resisted it in the past. There was no choice now. Circumstances forced my hand, and IÆd 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 Threeworlds, IÆd need to have another talk with Zhaanpu.

Lumoof and Stella 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 Stella activated a small crystal gem that projected out a star map.

- My void explorer continues to move to more worlds, and if we hit one thatÆs habitable like the Beastworld, I think we should take it. -

- Take it? - Lumoof flinched.

- Invade, - Stella said. - IÆm not mincing words here, but if we encounter a world that can support us, we should take it. -

- That doesnÆt make sense. You might as well advocate for an invasion of the Mountainworld or Threeworlds. Those worlds can support us. Hell, letÆs invade the angels, too. Angelworld surely can support our population. -

- ThatÆs not a bad idea. I came to the realization that invasion is ultimately a necessity, - Stella countered.

- I think youÆre not thinking straight. Why not the demon worlds? - 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 Houndworld. A few more free worlds and we spread the people around. -

- Do we have time for that? - Stella looked out of the balcony. I didnÆt need PatreeckÆs mind reading to know how tormented she felt.

- I donÆt know. - Lumoof shrugged. - But they wonÆt be linked by A/ Æs clones. We will have to build rift gates. Those cities and worlds will have to find ways to recover without Treehome as the core world. -

Stella thought. - What if they donÆt 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 will lay the foundations for the majority. -

My void domain holder shut her eyes for a while, her eyes of eternal darkness swirling. - IÆll need to get started. Start looking. -

- Let me know if you need me. -

- I think youÆre needed elsewhere, for now. -

Kei sat next to the aging Ken. His age was increasingly more noticeable lately, partly due to the stresses of the comet. ItÆd been a few years since the fellow memberÆs death, but it still hung over them.

- You all right? - Kei asked.

Ken just frowned. - A/ still refuses to answer me about what to do with the hero class. -

- Give him some time. -

- I asked him two years ago. -

- ThatÆs still not enough time. - Kei chuckled. She plateaued in terms of levels, not more than level one hundred ten. It was partly because she stopped participating in the higher - level battles as well. Former heroes, Kei, and Ken seemed to still retain some leveling benefit, even if they didnÆt keep any of their heroic blessings. - Is that why youÆve called me? -

- Nah. I wouldnÆt bore you with my whining about A/ Æs slow decisions. - Ken shrugged and offered her a glass of tea. She didnÆt need it. - I want your views on the hero class. What can we do about it, and have you heard about our plan for a League of Heroes? -

- Yeah, I heard. It goes around. But with us not discovering new hero worlds? -

- Yet. - Ken coughed. - But thatÆs not the point. Long ago, they wanted me to lead it. IÆm beginning to think IÆm not the best suited for that role, and I want to pass it onto someone. Someone immortal, like the heroes. -

KeiÆs artificial face still revealed a look of horror. - Oh no. You want me? -

- Genius! - Ken laughed. - IÆll die of old age, or some shit 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, IÆm nowhere near my best shape. -

Kei frowned. - ThatÆs because you refuse to participate in battles. Without the battle experience? -

- I know. You donÆt have to repeat it to me. IÆve heard that nagging lecture a thousand times. - Ken said. There was a burst of de - aging at levels one hundred, one hundred twenty - five, and one hundred fifty. Between and below that, the effects on aging were subtler. He was nearest to the level one hundred threshold, but he refused to participate in any of the tasks needed to get there.

Chung called it planned suicide. I couldnÆt disagree.

- IÆm beginning to think my approach was too. aggressive. Too. in your face. I see how you work with Lozanna and the heroes, and I think your gentle, less - intrusive approach may be the better one. I canÆt be the bridge or the chain that holds the heroes together. But I think you can. You have the most complete hero experience of all. You did your part as a hero. I didnÆt. I just ran when I could. -

There was a long silence between the two before Ken continued.

- Even now, IÆm running. IÆm leaving this shit to others to clean up. -

Kei sighed. - I. I canÆt do it. I couldnÆt even convince my two hero - mates to fight by my side, and I died to the demon king. YouÆre 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 your commitment. -

The golem lady chuckled and then turned serious. - No. -

- ThereÆs no one else. I donÆt know the two other former heroes, and from what I heard, we canÆt trust them. Just think about it. I hope when I die, the answer will be yes. -

- YouÆre a manipulative piece of shit, putting it like that. - Kei just cursed.

- I know. IÆm 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 didnÆt mean it.

On the demonÆs comet, 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 splattered 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 of large 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 didnÆt want to do that. I didnÆt want to be an old man sending young people to their deaths without knowing why or what they died for. I wouldnÆt do that to those who volunteered to serve in my army.

So, curious, I looked back at my prisoners on Treehome. I had 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 theyÆd 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 didnÆt 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 treeÆs domain projection.

The criminal died. Instantly. It was as if they choked. Their bodies shriveled as all life was forced out of them.

Sadly, that wasnÆt the end of it.

Their bodies were then 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 manÆs 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, launched a root strike, and destroyed that body.

- That wasnÆt 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 plants dying slower than the rest.

Could I use demonic mana or creatures made of demonic mana that still remained under my control? Did 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 seemed to me that the demons had their own version, though their mana seemed to cause things to blow up.

In my fields of demonic hybrid plants, 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 demonÆs comet, IÆd have to coat myself in demonic mana.

IÆd have to be a demon.

19

YEAR 257

Icollected demonic mana from all my demonic hybrid trees and began manipulating them. IÆd 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 IÆd 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.

- A/ , this is the path where we have to walk carefully, lest we become 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 depended on it. - If I stray, my dearest Avatar, tell me. Let the domain holders know of my plans 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 changed as I allowed the demonic energies to transform it.

Lilies 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 IÆd 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 IÆd 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 couldnÆt just play 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 worked and what didnÆt.

So on Lavaworld where it still overflowed with demonic mana, and there were still local demonic spawning pools, I started a large - 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 carried the intent of its - controller. - It was this intent, embedded with mana, that allowed mana to function and do things. Mana without will just floated around without purpose.

Each mana absorbed or carried this intent when it emerged through the soul spring.

It was why when my mana encountered another mana, whether it resisted, passed it by, or absorbed each other, was because of the intent that was tied up with that mana. Intent, from the mage, shaped the mana into form. Into spells. Into abilities.

Demonic mana that sought to corrupt carried within it the intention to corrupt. My mana, seeking to protect myself, would therefore clash and fight with the mana that resisted.

This was why it was often a battle of wills, because intention within the mana was the one that was driving the resistance, and refining how oneÆs mana resisted the intentions of other forms of mana was how I got better at fighting off demonic mana.

This was why intentless demonic mana, like those generated by my hybrid trees, could be possessed and manipulated. My soul could impose my intention onto these blank motes of demonic mana, because there was nothing there to resist it. The ability to project intention came from the soul spring. The soul spring was a printer, the device in which the code was injected into each mote of mana.

However, if these two intentions did not conflict, they could coexist. This was how groups of people managed to work with each other and overlap their spells or even bless each other.

But at the same time, this was also a vulnerability. Intentions could be changed, but luckily, a soulÆs ability to control the intention of mana usually ended once it left its body. In short, the manaÆs intention was usually fixed the moment it exited the body, as the soul could no longer interact or pass on its intention to the mana, or even if it could, the range of interaction was usually limited.

It was the equivalent of programming codes going live, free to interact, coexist, or fight other codes. To change it, weÆd have to upload or send a new set of codes.

Mana itself had 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 was like coding with some kind of thick black oil.

In its raw, base form, demonic mana and energy was naturally slightly corruptive and wanted to change everything into itself. It wanted everything to take its usual shape.

It was a familiar sensation; my own mana had the tendency of warping things into trees or plants.

Every soul changed the mana they produced slightly, even if it was not enough to be considered a whole category of its own.

There were elemental biases even in the mana, just like how AriaÆs mana was tinged with ice, and Lilies mana had both water and deathÆs taint. Residual codes as a result of processing from each soul spring.

This theory explained 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 was Hytreerion.

Allowing the demonic mana to flourish was counterintuitive, but I had to rein in my own intentions. I pulled the demonic mana produced by my hybrid demon plants 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 revelation for me. In a single skill, it changed the balance 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 didnÆt really need to say it. But for clarity, I had to.

- It means I will be using a lot of demonic mana, and demonic mana will flow through my body in large quantities. -

- Do we know what happens when you have too much demonic mana? - Stella countered. - Void mana changed my body, and those of the void mages. -

- I donÆt know. -

- No, - Stella said. - We shouldnÆt go down this road. The demonic mana might gain control of you, and its effects. -

The rest of them promptly agreed. They thought this was a line that could not be crossed. Small scale demonic mana was fine, but once large quantities of demonic mana flowed through my body, the effects on me. Well, I didnÆt know what the effects were.

My soul should protect me, or it might not. Actually, no. It wouldnÆt.

This was my demonic mana, and it was likely the domain would not step in. After all, the domain would not resist itself, and the domain was subservient to the soul.

This was granting the demonic energies the equivalent of root access to my programming. It could unmake me, and there was 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. LavaworldÆs demonic mana, which was controlled by its demon mother, could be easily converted into usable demonic mana.

But it was a risk.

I realized I probably wasnÆt in the best mental state to make this decision, because it was 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 councilÆs thoughts and did not expand the demonic mana harvesting.

I didnÆt 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 collapsed on itself. It died. There were aspects of its 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 was 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 couldnÆt just reuse the old templates.

The one thousand demonic giant trees became a large experimental spawning pool, where I figured out the strengths and weaknesses of the demonic material.

One, they were naturally hard, and weÆd 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 acceptance 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 class, - 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 demonÆs 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 class.

I entered into her soul spring and found the cracks on the vast marble spring had gotten much larger.

- Your soul? -

- I feel as if my soul and the hero class 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 is weighing down on me. ItÆs holding me back from remembering and reaching into. into something. -

Cracks.

About a hundred and forty years ago, I tried to suppress the hero class for Mirei, to lift the curse within. Today, I looked at the cracked hero class around ColetteÆs soul spring and wondered whether the hero class was the curse.

Power flooded my soul - vines and appendages, and it wrapped around the stones that formed her soulÆs 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 class. It was the means that translated their intent into power.

It didnÆt 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 class that sought to impose itself on her.

It wouldnÆt be too far - fetched to think she might have been able to suppress her hero class with enough time.

Unlike Mirei, who found it extremely painful, ColetteÆs unconscious body relaxed. As if she was in a long, peaceful sleep.

She was in a dream.

A long dream, as I held the hero class as long as I could. With her soul itself resisting the hero class, I didnÆt 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 class itself. Parts of the stone were worn out, hollowed from below, likely from the soulÆs resistance.

There was accumulated damage in the structure of the spring, too. Gaps and holes where there probably should be none. Cracks and scars. Chips in the rocks.

Was this caused by the natural weakening of the hero class? Actually, could it be that due to the - forced - nature of the hero class, the soul itself struggled against the hero class, and so inevitably it would decay over time? The symptoms we saw might be just the side effect of prolonged wear and tear, as the soul grew stronger over time.

I could mend the hero class, but I realized it may not be what Colette wanted.

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 blasted outward.

Then I felt Colette awaken after hours of sleep. I felt joy.

- You can stop, - she answered.

- The hero class is damaged. Do you want me to fix it? -

- No. That wonÆt be necessary. - I gently placed the stones back, and then, just as suddenly, the rocks began to move and reshape themselves. - 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 fireplace.

This lasted 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 class. - I am now a Liberated Hero . -

20

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 class, and no longer will it inject me with its whims and desires. -

- How? What? -

She smiled. - I actually donÆt know. But I remember my family, and I remember a lot of love from everyone. I had a great, incredible dream, A/ . 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 class return, all I did was push that desire toward it. -

She walked to Rohana, who looked at her mother. - 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 wasnÆt sure what to make of it. He looked at his 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 A/ for it, too. It feels. it feels like I no longer forgot our childhood. -

Rohana merely tugged her motherÆs hand. - Does it make you stronger, Mommy? -

- Not really. But I feel like I see things clearer. As if a veil was lifted. -

- ThatÆs good, Mommy. Can we go eat something now? -

Ken stewed at the revelation that it was possible to escape the control of the gods, while still retaining the hero class. He immediately looked at SnekÆs hero class.

- Do you think thereÆs a way to turn your hero class 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 class, we were 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 knew, and I wasnÆt even sure whether I could replicate it. That last part, where her soul itself heated her hero class, 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 class, and the heroes themselves wanted it.

But I could try.

Modifying hero classes was certainly not out of the picture.

Time was ticking. The demon comet was thirteen years away from impact on Treehome and three more years till the next interplanar 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 demonÆs comet.

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 reckoned that once they knew I could use demonic mana, they would adapt accordingly.

After countless more experiments with my demonic beetles, I was finally comfortable 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 wouldÆve solved the demon comet issue easily, due to its natural mastery of magic.

Ah. I quickly snapped myself out of my contemplation and focused back to my demonic beetles. I could control them, but I couldnÆt see through them. My next problem was I needed the means to remain in contact with the scouting demon beetle as it explored the demonÆs comet, so I tested more variants of demonic plants and trees, just in case I needed them to explore the demonÆs comet and expand my beetleÆs range of operations.

It was frustrating that the demon cometÆs rivers of mana continued to focus on my cloneÆs location. I had hoped that they would somehow realign themselves back to their original nodes, then I could use that opportunity to expand outward, in some manner that wouldnÆt 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 had 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 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 demonÆs 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 didnÆt take long for me to discover that I could? -

Conditions fulfilled. Depth Worm Variants unlocked. Demonic Depth Worm Titan is now available. Starts with high endurance, extensive digging abilities, and extensive earth sense. Will also share vision and image.

ItÆd been a long time since I felt like this, but thank you, System, for coming in clutch and supplying me with exactly what I needed. 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 demonÆs comet, I sent my beetle, fresh from LavaworldÆs success, 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 splatter 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 ninety - nine percent demonic in its structure, and once more, I watched in incredibly surprise how the demonic mana just moved around of my trees and left them unharmed.

The incredibly obvious question thus popped up.

- Lumoof, imagine a demonic warrior. Do you think theyÆll be immune to demonÆs attacks? -

- A/ , 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 wasnÆt sure how long before the demonÆs comet would pick up that the presence of other demonic mana was 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 had 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 they were just the background.

It made me think that these demonic creatures were just programmed to attack anything that didnÆt feel or emit demonic energy.

With demonic roots, I dug deeper into the demonÆs comet.

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 demonÆs comet. The rivers of mana were not everywhere, and once the roots reached parts of the comet where there werenÆt any rivers of demonic mana, we could act with much more freedom.

Stella regained access 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. WeÆd been building up more anti - magic mana crystals and trying to use them to shatter the daemolite.

We were also trying to find a good, easy, convenient way to destroy daemolite, since the entire comet was pretty much some kind of daemolite. My labs on Treehome were heavily experimenting on their structure, and eventually it was EdnaÆs Quest ability that came to the rescue.

She emerged from her quest with a black hammer. - Well, this is a crystal crusher . It should help the physical warriors destroy the crystals and allow us to dig. IÆll keep trying for other types of quest rewards. -

Which then led to the next project that I ran with utmost urgency.

My Valthorns assembled a large group of master crafters and golem makers and sent them over to Lavaworld. - We need operational demonic lattice armor able to deceive the demon cometÆs demons. -

There were two real approaches, one where we created a golem frame and then placed demonic matter around it, and another 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, and 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 didnÆt increase. - But itÆs worth it. -

But not increasing in power ignored the fact that the heroÆs power experienced decay over time. The power of the hero class was strongest right before they fought their demon king, and after their first demon king, it had 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 knew, it was likely that if the heroÆs soul wasnÆt strong enough, the hero classÆs hold on their mind may actually be enhanced. The very act of pushing against the hero class drained the soul of its energy, so if it didnÆt have enough, it could be a mistake.

I quickly clarified the risks of attempting similar acts and also explained that there were already tremendous cracks in her soul before she broke free.

- I would hesitate trying it again, until your souls reveal similar 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 didnÆt know the consequences of a Liberated Hero . Did it affect how future heroes were summoned?

Did 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 Tropicworld. 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 were common now. Everyone knew we had access to other worlds, and so the fact that there was a comet coming our way didnÆt seem farfetched.

Most didnÆt know the details, of course. Some thought it was just a superûdemon king, and some thought the planet itself was cracking. Some thought it was just all the water on Treehome was evaporating.

It was hilarious and sad to watch how stories mutated as they passed on.

But ultimately, emissaries began to visit Freshka in droves, demanding truth. My own diplomats initially tried their best to delay it by denying the truth.

I felt conflicted, as my diplomats and leaders denied the truth despite the evidence. Our official stance was this was a military preparation for the coming demon king.

I was a liar. We were all liars.

But it wouldnÆt help my cause. No. I would expect resources would 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. The last time we fought a demon king in their world was Year 238, and their world faced a demon king every fifteen to twenty years.

Stella and Khefri pointed to a location on Threeworlds. The Centaur lands. Khefri merely cursed. - TheyÆve gotten hit hard, and now theyÆre getting hit again. -

There were times when I felt rich. When I felt we had enough resources to pursue anything we wanted to.

Then there were times like this, where I had not done enough for the demonÆs comet, and I still needed to dig into my reserves to resolve a demon king on Threeworlds. The heroes would be there.

They had to be.

We would need to properly rig the place 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 HafizÆs death.

Lumoof slammed the table. - This is very unreasonable of the dwarven king. -

The dwarves had initially blamed the heroes for their capitalÆs fall. Now, their discontent toward their new living conditions, despite our attempts to assist, were aimed at us. The dwarven king was not wise. It was something I knew, but I supposed it wasnÆt important before. But now, the dwarven king, unable to do much to improve things, aimed that anger at us.

I had sympathy for those whoÆd lost their homes.

But if they declared 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, accusing 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, was mostly on my side.

But the dwarves were quite good at riling up the masses. Their rapport with the common folk was good.

Politics and public relations 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 would deal with them. Later.

21

YEAR 258

Khefri watched as the Valthorns began to pour into the Centaur lands 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 shortages 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 available 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 inflation 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 available to almost all segments of our society.

In a way, it really amplified class 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 couldnÆt.

Stella 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 Valtorn Order tried to mitigate this, but there was a balance 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 was possible to create artificial crystals and grow them through various means. Yet these remained relatively 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 didnÆt make sense to build large 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 didnÆt help that common crystals didnÆt store a lot of mana, compared 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, remained an ongoing research subject because of the expansive usage options. There were attempts to use anti - magic glass 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 crystal compartmentalization 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 had always tried to create high - density bombs and crystals.

The best way, currently, remained 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 place 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, IÆd face more problems getting the Centaurs to move.

Khefri watched as more bombs were placed.

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 didnÆt 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 heroÆs 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. - ThatÆs just trying to kill me in another way. Does he want war? I have no issues marching into his lands and blasting 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 KhefriÆs 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 declaration and a warning.

If the crystal king messed with the anti - demon king preparations, I would apply the weight of my force against him.

It was a controversial statement, one that Zhaanpu didnÆt like, but he didnÆt say much. He did flag his concerns on the ancient pact, that should the crystal king die, the ancient pact with the gods could be broken.

Some worlds had pacts, some didnÆt.

It didnÆt matter.

If the crystal king indirectly causes the death of the heroes, I considered that just cause for war. It would also help that IÆd be able to then use his lands as home for potential refugees. The people of Treehome.

It was convenient, even if I certainly came across as Machiavellian. For his sake, I hoped he didnÆt 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 their lands, their ancient customs dictated that they must participate in the battle. Even if it was suicide, their ancient custom did not permit others to defend their land 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. - Stella 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? -

- DonÆt we have the demons of Threeworld to prepare for? -

- Roon, Johann, and Alka are headed there already. They can handle it. This oneÆs for you. -

- All right. - Lumoof nodded. - Another world to visit. -

The way age worked was well known, but its tendency to strike was still hard to pin down, even if we could chart its probabilities. Old age was like playing a game of chance. Each day, you were a little bit closer to death.

Every day, the dice was weighed a little more.

IÆd studied death in old people many, many times, and often, the collapse was sudden. There were many ways old age killed. One of the most common was when the soulÆs link to its body somehow tore, 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 was as if a gear just decided to turn a different way. Or a key that went into the wrong hole. A door that didnÆt open properly. Organs and parts of the body began to collapse, and death would come soon after.

Old age was a sneaky assassin and behaved, in some ways, like stress. Or wear and tear. It was a ticking time bomb. It left its mark on every part of the body, for the right moment to trigger, and these marks came in physical, magical, and spiritual form. IÆd gotten quite good at removing the physical and magical elements of old age, and it was 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 oneÆs 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 didnÆt listen.

- You have a lot to do that youÆve left undone. -

- The hell with that. - Ken coughed. Through my vines I could sense parts of his body imploding on itself. This was something IÆd 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 collapse.

My healing powers flowed through his body.

- Stop, - Ken said, choking halfway.

- No, - I answered. - I will not let you die without the other heroes being here. -

- DonÆt tell them, - Ken said. - DonÆt tell my friends. -

- Ken, selfish as it may be, I will keep you alive until your friends get here. -

- Fuck that, - he said. - Fuck? -

- ItÆs not all about you. ItÆs about the optics of letting you die without your friends. -

- Fuck. CanÆt 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 was really good at winning. I could keep him alive indefinitely.

But I knew he didnÆt 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. CanÆt even die without seeing your stupid face. - Ken cursed back.

- You donÆt regret it? Come on. Just tell A/ to fix your soul and make you live longer, - Chung said, cursing but also pleading. - DonÆt. -

- No. - Ken said. - IÆm not? -

Prabu and Colette came next. Colette walked in, and she frowned. - HowÆre you feeling? -

- Dying. But A/ Æs 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, thatÆs rubbish. Choice shouldnÆt matter when heÆs making an irreversible decision to kill himself. -

Ken frowned. - ItÆs 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 didnÆt say anything, just nodded and held KenÆs hand. His skin was quite wrinkly, but today, it was 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 A/ to plant a clone on Ulara. -

Ken laughed while choking. - You can negotiate with the Tree yourself. -

He coughed some more and couldnÆt seem to stop. I injected him with more of my healing energies and helped patch him through. - A/ , can I die now? -

I thought about it for a moment. IÆd seen people die around me, usually suddenly. Most would not want to die, but suicide was not uncommon. - No. -

- Fuck, - Ken cursed, and he flailed 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 flailed and then slept.

- IÆve put him to sleep. For now. -

- DonÆt let him die. -

- He will. His soul is imploding. -

- You can fix it, - Chung said.

- I can, but if he doesnÆt want me to fix it, itÆll make things harder. -

- I donÆt 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 ugly. - Are all of you murderers? Why are you aiding his suicide? This is insane. -

- There comes a time - and place - when we must let our hands go, - Colette said with a maturity IÆd not seen before she became a liberated hero. She spoke from a place 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 doesnÆt believe it. -

Colette smiled. - ThereÆs no evidence against it. -

- ThereÆs 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 didnÆt go far, just down the corner where there was a relatively new drinking place. - He better not die while IÆm away. -

- ThatÆs not your choice to make, Chung. -

In a way, it was mine. And I needed ChungÆs help.

Ken wouldnÆt die. Not yet.

22

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 all combat engagements if I allowed Ken to die.

IÆd always had a rather tense relationship with the archer hero, but this sort of blackmail only confirmed my feelings. Khefri, the woman that Chung had a crush on, found his threat so repulsive that the two had an argument.

- YouÆre a dickhead. - Khefri cursed. - Why do I only attract people that either want my power or are just outright horrible people? -

Chung tried his best to downplay the severity of the threat. - Khefri, come on, IÆm just asking A/ to keep Ken alive. -

- IÆve had idiots on Threeworlds trying to sabotage the demon king preparations, and here you are flinging threats like this around, threatening A/ not to participate in battles against the demon king. What does that make me? IÆm an idiot for thinking this hero - league thing could work if itÆs composed of selfish assholes like you. You immature, foolish prick. -

- Khefri -

The scorpionoid lady 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 ChungÆs request, and it only made Ken mad as hell. He understood, but he was mad.

- YouÆre a horrible person, A/ . - Ken cursed. - You said youÆd like to let me die. -

I felt a little shit doing this to him, but at this point, IÆd rather offend Ken than the heroes. - I will. Later. -

He understood, of course. He wasnÆt 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 IÆm fucking leverage. I hate you, A/ . DonÆt 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 manaÆs gotten to you. - Ken cursed. I knew it hadnÆt, but it didnÆt change that some people would think that way.

Demons. What was a demon? I believed I was at the point where it was important to differentiate between being a demon and being made from demonic stuff.

Or was this me trying to defend my own decisions? Had 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, IÆd have to duplicate my soul.

Not possible.

Demons. What were they?

It was actually quite hard to answer the question, but we knew that they sought to assimilate worlds and had captured gods to do so. Or at least their divine energy. They had advanced portal and void technologies and had the capability to construct superstructures to make the most of them.

It seemed to me that the demons themselves couldnÆt 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 didnÆt know how long this would last, but we had to move quickly.

Before the demons figured out there was a pretender among them.

Digging deeper, and deeper, while the time continued to tick. Next year, the comet would briefly approach Lavaworld.

If there was an opportunity to launch an attack, that was 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 met. I had presumed that the rock structure would get more coherent as we went deeper, but the presence of imperfections in the cometÆs 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 had the cure and had a built - in kill switch. The dangers of such a weapon were so off the charts that I couldnÆt even contemplate the outcome should it out - evolve its inbuilt kill switches.

- If we could reliably control it, itÆs no different from your swarm of beetles. -

- But we canÆt. - I had no confidence we could control our own swarm. I wasnÆt so conceited as the Terrans to think we could manipulate our own autonomous swarm. The beasts we sought to control could consume gods, and I wouldnÆt be surprised if it could someday turn against me. - I wouldnÆt even? -

The hunger within the demon kings, that intent to corrupt and consume from the comet, was enough evidence that demonic creatures had an inbuilt bias toward consumption and assimilation.

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 outlandish massive bombs. There are times, especially with Alka, that the line between genius and madness was incredibly, incredibly thin and so porous.

Just a bit too far, and weÆd be making our own demons.

- YouÆre already created your first demon, A/ . - My beetles cracked through the last of the layers. We dug for an entire year and eventually broke through one of the deepest layers 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 cometÆs 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 didnÆt take much for me to realize this demon king was strong, because I could feel its throbbing aura pressing around it.

Then, a core.

An actual planetary 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 generated large quantities of demonic mana.

Was this how demons generated even more demonic mana?

They could infest a core and make it do something else?

Like a virus?

They could repurpose planet cores into a womb for the demon king. They could repurpose planet 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 plan. Fracture the core or disrupt the energy flows such that the magic that held such a large structure together crumbled.

My domain holders rushed to make the computations. 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 donÆt have a way to move such a large number of things without the demons noticing. ItÆs 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. -

- A/ , 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 buildingÆs foundation for centuries - and then, all it took was a sudden shockwave to cause it all to come crashing down.

My demonic beetles set to work. The demons did not notice our presence, and they even snuck around the Demon King Multipus without raising its attention. It didnÆt seem awake or alert, as if it was hibernating.

WeÆd 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 Tropicworld.

Just that this one had a far larger 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. - IÆd known that each core contained a Will.

- You are not these things. You come from another world. - The demon cometÆs core spoke. - Yet you are coated in their energies. What are you? -

I wasnÆt sure whether I should be honest or should lie. If it was hostile and subservient to the demons, IÆd immediately lose my cover. If it was friendly, then I could help it.

I wasnÆt sure how to answer and immediately sought out help. I tried to contact the Will of Treehome and the Will of Tropicworld.

Whether they could see.

Nothing.

I got nothing.

I went to my domain holders, and at this point, it could go either way. I was not sure if waiting too long would? -

- LetÆs 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 was laced with demonic energy. The entire demonic cometÆs core shook, as I felt Demon King Multipus rouse from its slumber. Things had 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 cometÆs core, the mana from the core was extremely dense, but clearly, the demons had 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 didnÆt care. It began to destroy everything. Tentacles the size of buildings slammed into the ground with such force that the rocks cracked.

- This could be a strategy! - Lumoof shouted. - It canÆt identify friend or foe. So it can only attack everything that isnÆt 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 ever larger demonic Giant Attendant Tree farms.

I knew I shouldnÆt.

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. YouÆre pulling too much mana from Lavaworld. -

I spawned more. But I needed more demonic mana to sustain my expanded roots as the demon kingÆs 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 coreÆs 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 demonÆs core. The gigantic tentacle king slammed its massive limbs on the core structure, and more of them cracked.

It did so repeatedly, but the demonÆs 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 didnÆt get through.

My advance deeper into the core was halted. For now. I immediately tried to mimic the coreÆs 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 demon cometÆs core.

But the damage was done. The demon cometÆs core was now littered with huge cracks from the demon king.

I took that time to observe my surroundings. IÆd 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. Was there a will underneath that, despite the control of the demon king?

23

YEAR 259 (PART 2)

- 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 was 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 declared to the horror of those watching. I knew the mages of the human - lands, 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. IÆd already made enemies. Could I crush them? I was struggling on whether I should just march an army into the depth of the crystal kingÆs fortress and blow it up.

- At some point, we should, - Chung said. - At some point, we must. -

My domain holders didnÆt think that was necessary. The crystal king was an annoyance we could deal with. It was just like flies. Edna thought that if we scared them enough, theyÆd go away.

The Centaurs opinions of their human neighbors soured greatly. Centaurs and the crystal kingÆs humans went to war a long time ago, but recent events seemed to have undone 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. TheyÆd done the usual set of procedures, where we planted our tracking devices, stole a few rift gates, and observed its own astral pathways. - WeÆre dealing with bugs. -

The first few rifts released only the stereotypical hellhounds, but the later 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 and Colette were ready in my clone. My city in the northern lands of Threeworlds was a proper magical fortress. For Colette, this was her first real test.

Well, after this, weÆd wage a full scale attack on the comet.

There wasnÆt much time left, and though I had wanted the odds to be stacked in my favor, with the comet, we didnÆt have much of a choice. Preparations for the attack on the demonÆs comet 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 the compulsions of her class. Even if her powers were not stronger, the clarity 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 kingÆs attempted sabotage took a leap. An escalation that would begin more conflict. The crystal king created a portal, and 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 slammed 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 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.

- ThatÆs new. - I cursed, while bug champions emerged from the demonÆs rift.

Chung shot an explosive arrow that destroyed the golem instantly. Some of the shrapnel exploded and accidentally smashed into KhefriÆs scorpion armor. - Fucking distraction! IÆm 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 slammed into the giant bug demon king Sectar.

Khefri frowned. - Chung, can you stop being an idiot? -

- IÆm not! IÆm attacking this damned bug. -

Prabu and ColetteÆs combined inferno continued to burn, turning the vast grasslands 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, was a gigantic insectoid with wings. It was more like a ladybug 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 would go toward the coming invasion when the demonÆs comet intersected with Lavaworld.

- WhatÆs happening to him? - Chung demanded as Ken looked even more frail than before. Age and decay seemed to set in.

- Age, - Ken responded weakly. - Heh. A/ Æs 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. DonÆt do this to yourself. WhatÆs happening? -

Lumoof sighed. - What A/ has been doing so far is fixing 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 wondered whether they were still friends. - A/ -

- ThereÆs 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 wonÆt let me. - I could force my way through, but I left that part unsaid. It was better for most people to know that I preferred 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 palace. There was nothing here now; the entire city was 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? -

Zhaanpu laughed. - He doesnÆt hate you as a person. He hates that he doesnÆt have a hero he can control, while our new tree friends have heroes at his disposal. If itÆs one thing that shiny rock dislikes, itÆs a lack of control. The tree is a wildcard he canÆt 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 successor 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. -

- ThatÆs 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 explained.

The world wasnÆt a nice place.

- 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 occur, the bridges of light can emerge once more. -

Khefri frowned. - You seem talkative today. -

- Well, you should know, because the pact comes 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 donÆt get it. Why flee? Are they not gods? CanÆt 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 personÆs 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 black blob, the prison, may not be the source. ItÆs been millennia since the demons existed. How many worlds do you think they already control? -

Khefri had seen StellaÆs maps, and theyÆd spoken to each other enough to know that the map in itself was incomplete. It was perspective - led, and so it was the equivalent of you couldnÆt crush the bug that you couldnÆt see.

There could be hidden worlds where the demons continued to live in, where they bred and then launched attacks on others.

- Then whatÆs 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 godÆs control is far too dangerous in a childÆs hand. -

Khefri stopped talking. I reckoned what went through her mind then was whether Zhaanpu just distrusted heroes or whether he was genuinely fearful for the world.

- She must be slain. She is an agent out of control. -

- No! - KhefriÆs response was immediate. - She - sheÆs fine. -

- For now. Eventually, without the inhibitions of the gods, she 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 vignettes of the past. But be wary, child. Those unshackled from the controls are dangerous. The hero class 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 class. -

Lavaworld was busy as hell, and my demonic trees were visible to all those who were there. IÆd sent demonic beetles over to the demonÆs comet repeatedly, trying to explore and take control of more things.

Demon King Multipus seemed to react particularly 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 its surrounding, marking it as a target.

The will of the comet was complex, as if multiple voices were talking to each other.

- intruder. Destroy. -

- Help! -

- Destroy! -

Every time the will commanded destroy, Demon King Multipus would rouse from its slumber, but the comet was unable to provide targeting information. So Multipus could only search for a target. Everything around them was demons.

I had somehow fooled it.

I wanted to create more cracks on the demonÆs 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 demonÆs comet.

The use of so much demonic mana was beginning to strain, and I had to quickly compartmentalize 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 cloneÆs body.

And I began to experience hallucinations. Visions. My artificial minds tried their best to block their influence, but even then they still crept in.

It was a familiar vision.

That old sandy, deserted world filled with demonic spires. Home. Origin.

Now, though, I wondered whether they were looking for a place rather than just a memory of their home world. Were the demons looking for their home world? If I could shake my head, I would. Why was I thinking in sympathetic terms with a group of demons that clearly slaughtered almost everything in its path?

Still, I needed to prepare the demonÆs 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 to lash out at the surroundings, and it left huge cracks in the demonÆs cometÆs 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 didnÆt look optimistic. All of his computations suggested our weapons were not enough to destroy the comet. But with ten years left on the clock, we had no choice. We needed to act, and we couldnÆt wait too long.

The invasion team was ready. As much as we could be.

The heroes were ready, too. Even with their conflicts, they accepted the task of battling Demon King Multipus while the rest of us tried to wreck the place.

It was time to roll the dice and attack.

May fortune be with us.

24

YEAR 260

- This is it. - Alka looked around. Stella was located on Lavaworld, waiting to open the void portals. There was a force there, waiting to strike. The surface teamÆs goal was simple.

There were already existing cracks in the comet left by Demon King Multipus. Most of the demon cometÆs mana was occupied by my constant intrusions. So that prevented these cracks from healing. The surface team would spread out with large quantities of bombs and set them up.

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 plant more bombs.

The last 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 cometÆs core, simultaneously with my cloneÆs 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 plan.

We didnÆt know itÆd work. There was no time to simulate and test it out more. AlkaÆs computation had no conclusive answers. It was an outcome that wasnÆt good enough, but our window of opportunity was slipping away.

We needed the Lavaworld intersection just as a means of escape if our attack went to hell.

IÆd seen MultipusÆs offensive abilities and was fairly sure my clone would be able to hold out against it. Ultimately, the real risk was if Multipus decided to destroy everything around my clone, thus denying my access to the wider comet.

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 didnÆt 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. She and Prabu were the more understanding ones. Adrian, Kelly, and Khefri didnÆt care all that much for Ken.

Given the situation, I had to just work with the cards I had. Maybe it was my lack of will.

Colette sat next to Ken, one day, before all of this and spoke to him.

- Hang in there. HeÆll let you go. A/ will let you pass. -

- If thereÆs one, there will be again. I hate it. -

- YouÆre 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 A/ Æs compromise. -

- 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 saw with him and an entire army of other advisors. Live advisors. It was one of the ways we augmented 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 exposed itself and released its rivers of mana toward the heroes, the heroes would be in trouble. The only way I knew, 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 left lasting 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 coreÆs constant yapping.

- Help! -

I wasnÆt sure who was asking. It didnÆt matter. I was going to break this comet apart. I needed a window to act, to force myself through the coreÆs defenses while Multipus engaged the heroes.

- All right. Stella, weÆre on your notice. - The rest of the domain holders were camped on the clone.

- What do you mean, on my notice? - Stella responded through our shared communication. The surface team was ready.

The comet was visible on Lavaworld. Within range.

- But fine. ItÆs within range. Get ready! - She sent out a ping to the army, two thousand strong. Each squad of ten was comprised of two void mages, two regular mages, and about six combat units. Each of them would be tasked to destroy demons they encountered and head to the specified locations with their payload of bombs.

Another three thousand Valthorns waited within my clone.

The heroes had 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 place to engage somewhat distant from my clone.

The group of three thousand could then charge out toward their own targets and also plan their own set of bombs. They would follow the various tunnels, holes, or chasms we made over the last few years. Many of these chasms and cracks in the comet were left by the demon king over the last 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, theyÆd have to make the last mile themselves. It wouldnÆt be comfortable terrain.

- All right, surface squad ready. WeÆre going in, - Stella said as we instantly felt the twisting of space. Void portals emerged on the surface of the comet, and it immediately roused MultipusÆs interest.

Edna, Alka, and Lumoof were next. They journeyed as close as possible to the core.

- The surface team is starting their part. LetÆs go. Heroes will arrive last 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 coreÆs mana shield. This forced the core to draw more mana inward. IÆd gotten better at understanding the nature of the coreÆs mana shield over the last year; it was rather similar to the way the demonÆs rift gates were modulated by some kind of mana frequency.

- Leave. -

I poked deeper. I didnÆt do it before, because I wondered whether Multipus would eventually find out. But now, with the heroes coming to provide a distraction.

- Stop, - I said to it. - Turn back. -

- Must do as commanded. -

I pushed further. My roots were 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 didnÆt say much.

- LetÆs go skewer a giant octopus, - Chung said. - Make some takoyaki. -

- ItÆs got way more than eight legs. An octopus is incorrect. -

- Octopi. -

- And you donÆt want to eat this dudeÆs meat. It looks like a stone - tentacle monster, - Colette retorted.

- Whatever. LetÆs go. -

- Well. LetÆs go kick some comet ass and buy our friends some space. -

Ken looked at one of the Valthorn attendants. - ItÆs all for this moment. IÆm 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 entire comet to shiver. Multipus already sensed them.

- Well, our greetings are on the way. - The heroes blasted out of the clone tree like superheroes leaving their base. Multipus flared up and seemed to fly.

- Okay, okay, okay! LetÆs go! - Lumoof ran as fast as he could toward 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 was reinforced, were still possible.

Edna laughed. - YouÆre awfully enthusiastic on this day. -

- This is a great day! - Lumoof countered. - WeÆve waited for this for decades! -

Throughout the comet, whatever residual mana was 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 the core.

And the entire comet transformed into a battlefield.

- Surface team, report in, - Stella said as she opened void portals. The crystal bombs theyÆd made were deployed, ready to be triggered.

- WeÆve set the bomb. - One by one each of the teams reported that theyÆd deployed the bomb.

The bomb would go off once a magical pulse blasted outward. In theory, a magical pulse of the right frequency should cause all the bombs throughout to go off.

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 play dodge, and luckily, they were good at that game.

Demon King Multipus found the heroes and engaged. Their attacks began to cause tremors throughout the comet. It was still too large to crumble or shatter.

But the already existing cracks widened.

With the demon king occupied, Lumoof managed to reach the very edge of the cometÆs core. Through Lumoof, I felt the presence of the cometÆs swirling will, as if multiple waves were trying to exist in a single body.

- The core itself is stitched together, - Alka said as he landed next to him. - I could blow myself up here - should break up the power supply of this giant golem. -

- LetÆs 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 cometÆs core.

It was distracted. Bothered.

Its mana was affected by the presence of heroes on the world, and it couldnÆt 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 the cometÆs will. If there were different parts of it, I wanted 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. IÆd 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 blade 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 EdnaÆs blade 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 cometÆs core.

As EdnaÆs rock - slashing blade kept hacking away, I began to notice polarities 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 was 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.

- A/ ! - the heroes roared as Multipus suddenly stopped and darted away. - Multipus is retreating! Watch out! -

Edna and Lumoof panicked. - Fuck. We donÆt have much time if itÆs 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. -

EdnaÆs 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 - slasher blade glowed. - Well, I suppose that is one way to take out a giant golem. -

We all felt the comet shaking violently.

- A/ ! - Stella said. - The cracks and gaps in the structure of the comet! They are the areas where the giant golem is supposed to separate itself! -

Like a transforming robot, the comet 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, doesnÆt that mean weÆre just putting bombs at the surface? -

Edna laughed. - Well, I suppose amateur mistakes happen to even the best of us. LetÆs 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, - I commanded the heroes, and they tried. Multipus was trying to flee toward the core.

Chung fired a magical arrow with a chain made of magic, like a harpoon, and the arrow pierced into MultipusÆs 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 its main body continued to rush toward 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 backward. - Help! -

Roon and Johann, too, launched attacks at the demon king and also harpoons of their own. They needed to pin the demon king down.

The heroes quickly came to ChungÆs 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 - InTrUdErr! - 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 cometÆs core assaulted me with its presence. Lumoof winced as he, too, shared my burden of facing the cometÆs 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 blasted attacks their way, and it spread demonic magic into the crystals around it. Each time it did so, more of the cometÆs network of tunnels collapsed and crumbled.

Each of the demon kingÆs attacks, a creature made of tremendous demonic mana, and in MultipusÆs case, also void and core mana, began to leave tangible ripples in the cometÆs bubble of space.

The comet, an object traveling through the sea of void, started to experience turbulence.

The cometÆs reality began to tear apart.

25

YEAR 260. COMET INVASION PART II

As the bubble of space was ripped apart by the demon kingÆs struggles, Stella immediately sounded the alarm. The domain holder of void was most sensitive to the weakening bubble of reality.

- IÆm evacuating the team! - Stella 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 was like jumping off an airplane while it was flying through a hurricane. The little tunnel of void energy between the worlds that a void mage formed had very little chance to survive the teleportation.

- Scratch that! Do not attempt teleportation back to Lavaworld! Team, teleport to the clone! A/ will have to send us out! -

I wasnÆt 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 they held onto.

Magic was going to be wonky in this sort of situation.

The entire cometÆs vibrations grew in intensity. My demonic roots and the connections to my spawned demonic trees shook, and parts of the comet began to shift.

- Uh. - Stella stopped. - I think the golem might be waking up? -

- Really? - There were parts of the comet where my roots were that felt as if the golem wasnÆt 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 Stella remained. She held the button to trigger the explosives. Around the same time, the cometÆs core itself tried to reassert its 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 wasnÆt working. The domain holders were immune to the effects of the demonic mana. The coreÆs attempt to overwhelm my three domain holders hacking deeper into the core was ineffective.

- How much deeper do we need to go? - Edna asked, but not once did her attacks stop. She seemed to be able to wield the rock - cutter blade as if it weighed nothing.

Alka frowned. - I donÆt know, but from the magical energies around us, I think much deeper. -

The tunnel was also covered with my demonic roots, but the coreÆs frantic attempts to throw all their mana at the domain holders was just like its attempts to overwhelm my clone. Blocked.

If it was anyone else, theyÆd be overwhelmed by demonic mana and corrupted.

- SToP -

Lumoof and I were bombarded with the voices and screams of the demonÆs 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 demonÆs core got louder. We kept going anyway.

Because the cracks kept growing. With each hit, the stability of the cometÆs reality bubble weakened.

- Are you guys all right? - Stella 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 Stella repeatedly.

Roon and Johann pinged back. - WeÆre fine - but the demon kingÆs still getting closer! You should get yourself back to safety, too! -

Stella slammed that idea. - IÆll 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 didnÆt even manage to hold their soul.

Demon King Multipus made progress toward 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 JohannÆs repeated strikes did nothing. Johann even summoned his dragon to attack the demon king, but its wounds healed as quickly as they were made.

- This guy is incredibly tough. Even after hitting with all the shit we have, itÆs still going! Edna, how are you holding down there? -

Edna responded. - WeÆre deep in the core. IÆm 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. HeÆd have to use his ability soon.

- Will you be able to get out? - Stella was worried that the coreÆs huge blob of mana and its existence would mess with my teleportation ability.

- DoesnÆt seem like it would, - Edna countered. - But no matter, weÆll be fine. Send the rest of them back. -

- Trying! - Stella said. - IÆm trying to paint in a storm here! -

The three domain holders laughed. - Well, weÆre in the eye of the storm, and we donÆt feel a thing. -

- Come on. - Stella 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 didnÆt feel them die, but I suddenly could not sense them anymore. I tried to pull them back through the System, but I couldnÆt. - WhatÆs happening? - I asked.

- The voidÆs decay is creating very unstable areas between the cometÆs reality and the greater void sea, and those unstable areas. Well, IÆve no idea what the hell is happening. -

The comet, or the comet - golem, shifted. An entire chunk of the comet vanished.

If our goal was to break the comet, it seemed we were almost there. Even if it felt like we were not winning.

- Should we just start the bomb? - Stella said.

But what was the golem? Was it the core? Or was it Demon King Multipus? Or was there a part that I was missing? Or was it all three together, and they fused together like some combination robot transformation?

What exactly were we targeting when we bombed this piece of rock? Just destroying the rocks?

The heroes attacked the demon king constantly. MultipusÆs severed tentacles attacked the heroes like automatons, but its attacks were like the wild flailing of a separated lizardÆs tail. All it did was leave more cracks and marks on the demonÆs comet.

More chunks of the comet vanished.

- Why wonÆt you die?! - Chung cursed as he bombarded Multipus with even more attacks. But the demon cometÆs core redirected its mana flow to Multipus, and doing so significantly amplified its regeneration.

- A/ ! Can you shut down the flow of mana? ItÆs regenerating from all our hits! - the mages, Prabu, and Colette, said.

I tried. I attempted to mess with the mana flow of the demon cometÆs core. The mana of the core pretty much lashed out erratically, yet the nature of demonic mana meant it still couldnÆt corrupt something that was already corrupted.

- CrAcK! -

The cometÆs core then released a strange pulse.

StellaÆs eyes widened. The cometÆs structure made huge, loud cracks. The comet was cracking apart, like a golem unfurling itself. - A/ , IÆm triggering the bomb now. I donÆt think we can wait anymore. -

She pressed it, and a magical signal blasted outward, out to all our crystal bombs throughout the comet. 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 wouldnÆt 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 collapsed, 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 Johann commanded as the cavern chamber they were in began to collapse. - LetÆs blast the demon king with the strongest thing we have and bail! -

The fraying fabric of space could be felt even in the depth of the comet, 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 A/ Æs clone. Now! -

But the magical ripples in the cometÆs 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 collapsing fabric of space and reality.

- Shit. I canÆt 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 toward 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 kingÆs explosions.

A portal opened, and Adrian, Chung, and Khefri got through.

Roon and JohannÆs anti - magical weapons smashed into the demon king, and one of the demon kingÆs tentacle limbs exploded.

The explosion, however, was lopsided, the blast radius curved and bent by the ripples of space. It destroyed Kelly instantly. My two domain holders, despite being nearer, escaped the blast 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.

- LetÆs go, - I spoke to the heroes. - LetÆs send you back before reality crumbles around us. -

- But. - Adrian frowned.

- IÆll retrieve whatÆs left of Kelly, if thereÆs anything. -

There was a charred body. I felt her soul enter my own.

The blast radius from the demon kingÆs exploded tentacle left a huge tunnel along its blast radius. The cometÆs crumbling was almost certain, as the cracks in the comet were now everywhere. More chunks of the comet seemingly disappeared into the void sea.

But the demon king wasnÆt dead. Multipus then multiplied, its body bubbling like a strange boiling pot.

- Wait, what? - Johann was bewildered that it could launch such an attack. - That wasnÆt its suicide move? -

- Uh. - Roon looked at the demon king. They kept attacking, but without the heroes, they didnÆt have the firepower needed. Multipus was easily the strongest demon king they ever fought in terms of durability. Never had they seen a demon king take so many hits and still be able to counterattack.

Then -

Back in the core.

Lumoof was the first to sense the unusual magical movements in the coreÆs mana. - The coreÆs behaving strangely. -

The mana of the demonÆs comet began spread throughout the comet instead of trying to defend itself. My mana pierced through its 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 Stella immediately.

- Treehome, - she deciphered.

The mana fanned out, and the core itself started to crack intentionally. It was splitting apart.

- Wait. I thought the cometÆs 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 the cometÆs 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 cometÆs turning into a barrage of missiles, - Stella 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 coreÆs 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 the comet, as if preparing to hitch a ride.

- Great. - I cursed. If these smaller rocks hit Treehome, it would also deliver Multipus to Treehome like an orbital pod.

- ThereÆs no time to waste, A/ . LetÆs nuke this shit apart before we lose our window. -

Edna nodded. - IÆll stay with you. -

As a last - ditch effort, through Lumoof, I tried to seize control of the core.

I had already broke through its defenses earlier. But getting an entry wasnÆt 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 didnÆt have enough.

A coreÆs 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 much smaller bubbles of space. Their own little bit of reality.

Like smaller comets emerging from the larger comets, they separated, somehow, from the main comet.

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, toward 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 their 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 rift gates. Stella 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 kingÆs headed your way. -

Multipus - at least, the largest remaining segment of the multi - body demon king that was Multipus - continued to head toward the core. More parts of the comet were breaking up. Alka laughed. - I happen to enjoy living dangerously. ThereÆs no time to wait. Lumoof? Edna? -

Stella frowned. - ThereÆs no need to risk it. The cometÆs smaller. WeÆll have to prepare for impact. -

Alka disagreed. - On the contrary, this is the perfect chance for me to destroy the largest remaining part. -

- IÆll stay with you, - Edna said. - Someone needs to hold the demon king off. -

- That wonÆt be necessary. - Alka laughed. - My ability was meant for this. -

All my domain holders carried my special familiar. Edna waited and realized. - Teleport out once youÆre able. -

- ThereÆs 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 was left were those that were swallowed by the void.

- Just me and you, A/ , - Alka said as we felt the demon king rush toward us. By now, the core was cracked in many, many ways. Demon King Multipus somehow could sense AlkaÆs presence.

With most of the comet 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 outer layer of the comet was already gone. What was 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 it 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. - IÆve 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 Cometworld. I tried to grab whatever rocks I could that flew close.

Alka naturally noticed, but he frowned. - Looks like itÆs not over. -

The hundreds of chunks each were their own bubble of reality, many with their own little demon kings on them.

The largest of the cometÆs 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 the largest 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 kingÆs 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.

- IÆm fine. We can resurrect, remember? - Alka laughed, blood splattering out of his mouth, and in his dying breath, he said, - I shall be the pioneer for the resurrection ability. -

Then even the remnant frame of the egg - shaped cometÆs core shattered like glass.

With the cometÆs core effectively fractured into hundreds of parts, the bubble of reality around us collapsed, like a 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 collapse of the last bubble of reality, shredded by the void sea. The largest chunk of the cometÆs 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 accelerate the resurrection time. Each Hero fragment will reduce time needed by 5 years.

YouÆve shattered the DemonÆs Comet! YouÆve 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 minor comet of your own or deliver normally by your assistants. Once they land on a particular 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 available. 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: Planetary 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 livable planets in the same realm and also solar systems. Note: removing your clone will cause the eventual collapse of these secondary planets.

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, combining a Titan Frame with a Clone Substitution will immediately increase their power levels.

New Title Awarded: Cometbreaker

AlkaÆs 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 wasnÆt 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 was Ezar, a brawler - ranger. He was level one hundred forty - three just six years ago, but the entire comet campaign somehow pushed him over the edge, and now he was a level one hundred fifty Domain of the Fist .

It was a funny thing, of course, because everyone joked that he shouldÆve been a shovel - domain, since all he used during those last 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 with Domain of the Claw . His first ability was also another combat ability with some parallels to EdnaÆs. Tooth and Claw made Kafa a temporary hero - tier combatant but didnÆt grant him invulnerability.

In terms of utility, I supposed both their abilities were kinda lame, but additional hero - tier combatants were always useful.

Edna, too, reached level one hundred ninety, 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 JohannÆs pet somewhat underwhelming, since it didnÆt do much on the comet. But I supposed it wasnÆt the right tool for that sort of situation.

RoonÆs Sniper domain granted him a power that overlapped 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 were exploring new worlds, but on the core - clone worlds, this abilityÆs 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 RoonÆs case, it didnÆt work.

Stella also reached level one hundred seventy 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 domain holder, was now the second highestûleveled person around, as he reached almost level one hundred ninety - seven. 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 stronger combatant than my main body, because there was some kind of multiplier applied when fighting through LumoofÆs avatar mode.

IÆd have to wait till Alka woke up to see what he got, if he got anything after all.

Stella looked into the skies as we prepared for the next phase of our battle.

- There will be smaller comets and meteors. -

These rocks wouldnÆt destroy the world. But it could destroy cities and countries, and there was the demon kingÆs body that was hitchhiking on these objects. There was no way to intercept them. It was just emptiness after Lavaworld, but they were all still headed our way.

Objects from space would likely appear at the very edge of TreehomeÆs bubble of reality, one that was much bigger thanks to my new ability.

They were much smaller, these fragments of the comet. Baby comets. StellaÆs data indicate that the largest of them could still be destroyed conventionally. But there was a lot more to destroy.

So taking a note out of missile and projectile warfare, we planned to build weapons to shoot down the smaller comets and meteors, the moment they entered the range of our reality. WeÆd have to build moon - based weapons platforms and prepare to shoot those meteors and comets down.

WeÆd destroyed the biggest comet. Somehow.

Now weÆd have to shoot down some meteors. What remained 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 Cometworld lifted, there were a few annoyances I wanted to solve.

I had another annoying shiny rock to crush.

26

YEAR 261 - 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 had to destroy. My council summoned the builders and mages to prepare our countermeasures.

Our countermeasures largely fell into three groups.

The first would be our void mages. These void mages would essentially jump to these meteors once they were detected, plant bombs, and leave. With their smaller size, we could knock them out fairly easily.

The next defense would be our - space - based defenses. We needed to shoot them down the moment they crossed into TreehomeÆs bubble of reality.

The main anchor of this would be the moon base and the various asteroids around Treehome. IÆd need to reactivate the moon base and then transform it into a space - based weapons and projectile array. According to our trackers, some of those meteors would be faster than others, so we should be seeing some of these space rocks a lot sooner than the rest.

Some of them would carry the smaller Demon King Multipus on them, which meant we needed a way to destroy the demon king in space. Our initial plans for this were to construct weapons platforms in space, redirect these smaller rocks to them, where we could then engage the demon king in combat.

My builders all sketched out multiple wild ideas. Space - based ballista, guns, cannons. Space ships and tugboats. At this point, we decided to go with all of them. Some of these meteors were uninhabited, without the presence of Multipus, and were 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 detected the presence of Multipus had to be destroyed, because Multipus would attack our ships, and these ships were unlikely to be hardy enough to withstand a demon kingÆs 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 needed was the ability to fight in space. Because this remained solely within TreehomeÆs bubble of reality, we didnÆt have to cross the void sea and use void magic portals, so conventional magical portals would be sufficient.

The third layer 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 would be focused on the first two layers, because once they entered Treehome, that was already a little too late to prevent destruction. Instead, itÆd 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 from large, inhabited areas.

There was a small funeral for Kelly, the Mountainworld heroine. She stuck around in my soul realm for a bit and then vanished when it was time.

Death seemed frequent lately.

- Happy? - Ken asked, coughing. He sat in a chair filled with my vines, those vines ensuring 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. -

- The cometÆs done. Let it go already, - the former hero said. - ItÆs time I go. -

- A/ , donÆt you? -

- Goodbye. I can feel it. - Ken smiled. He knew I wasnÆt planning on letting him live even longer. This was it. Prabu and Colette stood nearby and held his hands.

- A/ , save him! - Chung roared. Angry. Frustrated.

- ThereÆs not much I can do if he doesnÆt allow me to meddle with his soul. - I could force it, but I wouldnÆt 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 reckoned he had fun. - You werenÆt this mad when Hafiz died. -

Chung fumed as Ken closed his eyes for the last time.

KenÆs 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.

- ItÆs this place 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 wonÆt tell me? - Ken asked.

- I really donÆt know, but goodbye, Ken. YouÆve been helpful. -

- Thanks. I wish you well, and I hope you do not stray too far from your goals. -

- IÆll try, - I answered.

- Try harder. The myriad worlds suffer from your neglect. -

I felt that sting a little. - ThatÆs 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 hypocritical coming from him. - Says the one who fled from his duties. -

- IÆm 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 was nothing we could do. The smaller meteors were now in the depth of the void sea, and they were mostly invisible to us. At most, we could hit some of them once they entered within one year of Treehome, but that was a fairly small sphere of influence to destroy hundreds of meteors.

So there was an annoyance that I wanted to deal with.

One that IÆd 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 every land, if there was a gun, it must be fired at least once. Not because it had a target, but to show the world that it was real and that it could be fired.

The magic city of man, Maelga, seat of the immortal crystal kingÆs 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 four landed on a vast open field on the outskirts of the city.

The army of Maelga scrambled to action as a scout immediately rode toward the four.

- Stop. State your business. -

- WeÆre here to settle a score with your crystal king, - Lumoof answered as our aura of power radiated outward. LumoofÆs presence was like a tsunami of magic that propagated outward and smashed into the cityÆs own little sphere of influence. Everyone in that city immediately felt a strong discomfort.

The air turned tense, charged with our aura pushing against the mountainÆs own. He would know we were here.

I found it ironic to think that he was right, really.

How unfortunate.

It was a beautiful city.

- I once stood right there to look at the city below, - Lumoof said.

- Well? -

- And now IÆve come 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 welcome here. -

- We do not need your welcome, - Lumoof countered. - WeÆll find our way easily enough. -

The captain shouted back. Even from a distance I could see him quivering in his place. - Leave! -

- Consequences, - Lumoof declared, ignoring the captainÆs statement. His voice wasnÆt loud, he didnÆt 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 kingÆs officials wore armor made of crystals. It was powerful and definitely would have cowed any lesser foe. But today their enemies were 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 wanted 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, and 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 cityÆs walls, and it met with crystals. The citizens of Maelga seemed in shock but soon discovered that we didnÆt 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 wasnÆt hard to coat my roots with a bit of anti - magic sand.

Lumoof stepped closer, the three others following.

- A/ 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 had. Power flowed through them, but they fainted the moment the weight of my presence pressed on them.

And it was foolish.

The crystal king would be punished. And nothing would stop me.

27

INTERLUDE - THE CRYSTAL DEFENDERS

Maelga. Pride of the human lands, home of their lord and protector, the crystal king. One of the Three Hegemons of the land, there was never a time where 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 OnyxÆs 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 MaelgaÆs defenders, an attack on Maelga was impossible. No one ever tried to attack Maelga. Even the other two forces never managed to march forces beyond their inner ring of defenses. Even when this new force, this. this upstart pretender called A/ , sent an army burning through their defensive lines, just to help the heroes destroy the demon king, it never ever occurred to them that Maelga would be attacked.

After all, who dared attack a deity?

Well, other deities, naturally.

Onyx ran as the defensive bells rang. It had never rang in a real emergency, not once in the past fifty years. All previous ringing of the bells were for drills, entirely for practice purposes, and publicly declared.

- Is it a drill? - one of the civilians asked as Onyx ran toward the tower.

He shook his head. There really was no need to answer when they all felt the air grow heavy, as if the heavens themselves 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 were nothing more than flies, if such a hypothetical enemy existed.

There must be some great illusion. An army somehow snuck past those lazy 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 recognize. A man with a wooden staff, a woman in knightÆs armor, and two archers. In normal cases, heÆd laugh 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 MaelgaÆs surroundings were almost entirely dusty, rocky land. When did it all turn into grasslands?

- 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 wasnÆt 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 outside of all the walls, and they slammed into the defensive shields.

The shields wobbled.

Onyx prayed the shields would hold, but they didnÆt.

The roots didnÆt even have to try very hard. He watched the roots cut through the shields as if they were soft butter.

The citizens panicked and screamed.

The commander general yelled, activating some kind of ability. The walls of the city glowed. Magical blasts of all kinds looked ready to be fired, and as they activated.

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, slammed into gigantic wooden shields. It didnÆt do any damage. The soldiers panicked.

One of them, horrified, then began to run. The rest of them realized the same and also did so.

- Wait, what are you doing? - Onyx shouted at the soldiers. Some of them clearly werenÆt ready to fight them. - We are the guards of the Great Crystal City. We do not run! -

- Captain! This is madness! WeÆre 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 couldnÆt continue the sentence as the entire magical defensive network of Maelga shattered like glass. Not from an attack, but from the weight of the enemyÆs 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 then some.

A shadow. A silhouette. A distortion in the air in the form of a tree. Just merely glancing 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 couldnÆt even run. Their knees went weak.

- What in the mountains? -

He felt his legs buckle. All of the soldiers felt a weight of fear that suddenly crashed into the entire city. The panicked citizens turned even more panicked and delirious. Chaos turned into insanity as they screamed and shouted.

Only the crystal guards managed to stand in defiance. Onyx couldnÆt see who, but it was one of the great generals of the crystal king who shouted, - GeneralÆs 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 seeming to be carried by the land itself. The wind seemed to carry his message so 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 kingÆs crystal presence push back against the four. It certainly tried. - YOU DIE TODAY. -

Onyx thought that they were saved, but the feeling didnÆt last.

The crystal kingÆs presence was overshadowed.

The old man smiled as the shadow of the tree that seemed to be around the man grew even larger. The buildings of the city trembled and cracked. Onyx couldnÆt believe it, but he saw segments of the magically enchanted walls crumble, not from an attack, but from the weight of the TreeÆs 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 the land. A million ancient trees spoke at once, its voice echoing in every one of their minds. - You once said we would come as invaders. -

The crystal king raised a spear of crystal so large that it could have been a tower of crystal.

- Your prediction is correct. -

The towering spear of crystals was thrown toward the old man and, with it, the weight of the crystal kingÆs 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 manÆs chuckle could be heard throughout the land. The land itself laughed with him. Little rocks, bits of sand, the grass, all shook as if laughing together. - Killing my avatar does nothing but enrage me. My fury arrives eventually. -

It was a clash of power, all in a single move, the kingÆs spear and the wall of roots. - INVADER, I WILL NOT SUBMIT, - the crystal king roared, and the crystalÆs magic glowed. Yet Onyx swore it looked like the spearÆs magic was sucked about by the roots.

- So be it. -

The roots emerged from all over the city. They broke through the rocky tiles and 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 paralyzed them as well.

The crystal kingÆs power wobbled. - MY DEATH WILL SHATTER THE PACT. -

- Death is too easy for a hardheaded fool. -

The roots wrapped around the crystal kingÆs arms, and everyone screamed when they saw those roots ripped the left crystal arm off the body.

Onyx couldnÆt believe it. It wasnÆt possible.

Then the roots wrapped around the right arm and ripped it off as well. They flung the crystal arms to the side, throwing them away as if they were trash.

- YOU - The crystal kingÆs energies glowed as it regenerated both arms. - YOU THINK THIS WILL HURT ME? -

The roots wrapped around the crystal kingÆs entire body. - Then this will. -

The entire city shook as they felt a huge amount of magic get 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, far larger than any others. The root transformed into a spear embodying the world, and in a single, loud thrust, it pierced the crystal kingÆs golem body.

The sound that followed was as if the entire world had cracked in half.

- May this pain be eternal. -

Onyx wasnÆt sure what happened, but there was a huge amount of mana flooding the crystal king. It wasnÆt 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 had 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 emerged and encased the spherical crystal.

- For the crimes of tampering with our preparations and attempting to assassinate a hero, I, A/ of Treehome, imprison you for the next hundred years. You shall remain a watcher of the world, while your empire collapses around you. -

A giant tree grew on their mountain of crystals, and this giant tree held a single object in its 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 Crystal Mountain, and turned the rocky, crystalline land of Maelga into a verdant, blooming hill.

28

YEAR 262

The giant tree stood in the city of Maelga. A prison.

The System recognized 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 domain holder imprisoned was significantly easier, because most of its powers were 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 donÆt intend to kill me, then you canÆt hurt me, - he bragged. His crystal core was like a dungeonÆs core. It stood imprisoned.

Then I discovered that a soul tree was indeed a special thing in the multiverse.

After all, it was not every day that I had the opportunity to mess with another domain holder. 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 wouldnÆt work like all my earlier attempts to deal damage without killing him.

Then my roots made a hole in the crystal platforms of his soul. I could chip away at his domain!

It would heal, in time. But at that very moment, the crystal kingÆs horror was palpable. - Impossible! - he exclaimed.

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 couldnÆt harm it. The domain was still an object of the soul, a creation of the soul, and a weapon attuned to the soulÆs 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 multiverseÆs equivalent of destroying oneÆs meridians and crushing oneÆs energy cores.

This was a dangerous power, and the cracking of the crystal kingÆs 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 heroÆs 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.

- YouÆre doing some pretty dangerous things. - Aria and AispengÆs golem spoke her will. - YouÆre 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 Lilies nodded. - Such consequences are mild. One hundred years is but a fluttering of the eye. Heroes come and go. -

Yet, as I brought the two golems to Maelga, the crystal kingÆs senses were not dulled. I felt its attention; it looked in surprise as his senses brushed over the two golems. - YouÆve 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 saw 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 relationship will not change. The weak will submit to the strong. -

He blocked it with his domain.

Stubborn piece of rock.

Stella looked at the special chamber in the depths of my main tree, where AlkaÆs body was being reconstructed. It was magic. It was the System at work.

- Wonderful, isnÆt 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, - Stella said. - I stare and stare and have no idea whatÆs happening. -

- I know. -

- ItÆs nice to stare at something dumbfounding and not have to worry about whether itÆs trying to kill me, - Stella added. - ItÆs a great - how do I say this - relief. -

- That is true. Every unusual or mind - boggling thing weÆve seen seems to be trying to kill us, one way or another. - The Sun Rings , the demonÆs 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, IÆm not convinced itÆs that great a security. -

- YouÆre worried thereÆs some demon that deals soul damage, that could hurt your soul directly, regardless of how many clones you have, - Stella said. - If that is the case, none of us are safe. -

I doubted itÆd be that bad. Perhaps my domain holders would still remain, so long as I existed. My ability allowed regeneration of my domain holders. The System said they could regenerate, and I trusted it.

Threeworlds reeled from the consequences of the crystal kingÆs defeat. The once - difficult human cities became instantly subservient.

We would have a need for their lands and their supplies. StellaÆs eyes watched the stars and noticed that the remnant comets decayed into even smaller meteors. Without a singular core to hold it all together, even the smaller rocks fragmented.

But they were undoubtedly still headed toward Treehome. It would be the equivalent of planet 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 the large bomb - building exercise, we redirected our efforts toward a series of construction work. Anti - projectile cannons, magical shields, and one of the largest bunker construction projects.

The construction of bunkers brought back memories.

- A/ , do you really need the bunkers? The last time we built bunkers was decades ago, and it didnÆt help, - Lozanna joked as she reminded me of the time when we built the bunkers, then Rottedlands happened. That didnÆt help.

- But what else is there to do? - I countered. We could also perform emergency evacuation once we get the trajectory of the meteors.

Lozanna laughed. - Build a wall? -

- ThatÆs 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 wasnÆt stupid. I watched him try to drown himself in alcohol but be annoyed by alcohol being mostly useless to him. He needed something that could offset the hero class 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 didnÆt set up her own little kingdom. Instead, her ambitions were smaller, and she ran an elite adventurerÆs guild, where the elites received hero - items from her. Naturally, she was successful, 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 heÆll kill himself? - Prabu asked his partner as they rested back on Freshka.

- Nah, - Colette said. - Just give him time. A few years. HeÆll get over it. Find someone to love or something. -

The two mages worked on creating magical shields as a contingency for the coming meteor shower. Their hero - items were very powerful, and an array of space - based shields should deflect most of the smaller meteors. They had a large mansion with multiple workshops, for them to build all their stuff.

Hero Forge did most of the work, but it was better with materials, plans, and space for extra stuff.

- Yeah, - Prabu said. - I hope he doesnÆt 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 Scorpionoid lands that felt like home.

Kei, the designated successor, refused to get her hands involved. - This is a relationship problem between the two. Not something I can fix. IÆm staying out of it. IÆd rather be recruiting new heroes. -

Chung was stupid.

I just hoped he didnÆt walk down a path where he became stupid and dangerous.

IÆd never killed a hero. But if I had to, I believed I could.

Stella 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 had to continue exploring new worlds; only through getting more worlds could we knit some kind of alliance together.

My two new domain holders were on Lavaworld where they tested out their new abilities. Kafa and Ezar were briefed, in totality, of our history and why we did what we did. It was a recap of things they knew and an affirmation of loyalty to the cause.

To end the demons. Both were Valthorns; theyÆd joined us in our fight in their earlier years, rising through the ranks. Now they had reached the top, and we had to ask them to give even more.

Domain holders.

It made them demigods. They knew it. They saw how I imprisoned the crystal king, and I knew, even if they never said it, that my domain holders would think that they could be on the receiving end of that same treatment.

The next phase of our plan, other than to survive the meteor shower, was to mount a second attack on the Sun Rings .

Our intention, this time, was to either capture it or destroy it. Unlike the demonÆs 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 wouldnÆt know when we would be ready, but we would be.

Mountainworld. Threeworlds. Lavaworld. Tropicworld. It was time to consolidate power. The demands for surviving the coming meteor shower was less intense than the first push toward 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, weÆd be dealing with tsunamis.

So it was time to do what I couldnÆt 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 outward, and in doing so, it also extended my range through the void sea.

My Valthorn builders finished the reconstruction of the dwarven kingdomÆs capital. They continued to complain 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 accident.

It left a bad taste in my mouth. Once again, I regretted being so soft when I shouldÆve been more forceful.

Choice. There was an important line somewhere. When did we allow others to make stupid choices? From my point of view, there was always a stupid choice. I could see it, but that was because I had a perspective they didnÆt. Or maybe it was the other way: they had a perspective I did not share.

One day, a demon king would spawn on another city.

When that time came, I would give them a taste of Lavaworld and remind them why they should obey. If they didnÆt, I was going to force them out. I would 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 to put those who fought for me at risk.

If given a choice between the life of those who fought for me and the happiness of these citizens, I knew I would choose to save the lives of my soldiers.

Just like with the stubborn crystal king, I was wrong. There were times when force was necessary. The world was a cruel place, and the demons would not hesitate to destroy us. I could not allow these people to stop our fight.

So my Valthorns streamed into the human lands 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 would undo most wounds, and mortal memories were short indeed.

29

YEAR 263

The year began with a rare congratulations from the System.

Domain assessment completed. Faith computation completed. Congratulations on reaching Level 250. Thank you for waiting. The System needed to coordinate availability of administrators. We will now start the special event.

Then I was brought into a strange room, where I met a very familiar old man. I wasnÆt 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 didnÆt 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 SystemÆs administrators. -

- We come 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 two hundred fifty and meets 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 accept, under this system, you will gain various powers, such as the power to summon your own Heroes , subject to your annual faith point availability. 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? -

- ItÆs arbitrary. The System calculates 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 explained. - Some benefits will be lost but some gained. -

I paused. - Why do the other gods accept this system? -

- Because it allows them to be everywhere instead of just one place. 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, and later 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 clammed 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 populated worlds. -

- Explain. -

Bach paused before explaining. - In Earth terms, each planetary 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 donÆt recall ever. voting? -

- The cores collect your responses subconsciously. -

- Wait, canÆt we delete the demons this way? - I asked. If each planet was essentially how the System responded to changes, it should be used offensively.

- I cannot answer that question. -

- All right, I get it. I can reach multiple worlds with my current abilities. Why donÆt the gods do it? -

- They couldnÆt. They were not trees or corals that could clone themselves, and so they changed their forms to accommodate. -

- The World Faith System came later? -

- Yes. -

- And most gods are on it? -

- Yes, - Bach answered.

- Are all gods on it? -

A long pause later, 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.

- ThatÆs 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 classes, awaken more powers? -

Again, powers that the current system could offer. But if there were other systems, then surely there were more. - Are there other systems besides these two? -

- Yes. The demons system. They grow in strength over time. -

Shit.

If the demons had their own system, it meant they were significantly more powerful than I expected. I didnÆt realize when I said it out audibly, much to the chagrin of the two system administrators present.

- Well, some wouldnÆt consider them to be an entirely new system - but they exist on top of the existing experience system. - That was why their souls were different. Their system had modified them. - But with each additional world they control, they get a bit closer to making more profound changes to the system, - Bach said.

It explained 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 didnÆt give them a path out of this. I could seek their help, but their hands were tied. But they could offer it to my domain holders when they reached level two hundred fifty. They could be new gods.

Bach paused, somehow reading my mind, and then was quick to explain. - They will wither and die. They must create their own faith and grow it to a critical size. This option is not available to those without their own faith, even if they reach level two hundred fifty. -

- I see. - If Lilies reached level two hundred fifty, they could be one. Or Zhaanpu.

- Must I decide immediately? -

- Yes. The System only offers this choice once. -

- That doesnÆt seem fair. I canÆt 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 occurred 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. - BachÆs grin was frankly unmistakable. - I believe they still donÆt think they made a mistake. -

That sealed it for me. - Well, no. I donÆt like it. - And I didnÆt 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 wasnÆt 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 remained largely the same system as it was made eons ago. - Bach smiled. - You will be receiving your level two hundred fifty Subdomain choices now. -

- You couldÆve 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 display 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 plant 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 access the Void Layers, which are different ways the void appears, and can share it with your void mages. The special class Voids of A/ will be created, and void mages can unlock them. Voids of A/ can travel in the void layers.

Void worlds can only be safely explored by those with void magic protection.

The Dark Void will link with your fellow Void domain holder, amplifying her abilities and allowing her access to all your new Void abilities.

Subdomain: Treenopticon

You gain the ability to see through your familiar, your beetles, and anyone with an A/ ic class. In addition, you can also now see through your flows of mana. You can now communicate 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 treeÆs 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 and computational power.

Mages and domain holders linked through your Treenopticon will able to leverage on your range, granting them ability to cast spells through your network of trees as if they were there personally. They will be able to see and cast spells through your avatar, clones, or trees. Domain holders 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 your combined powers as though you are one. The effects of all the levels and base stats of the pantheon members will be combined additively. This power will require a willing mortal host. The hostÆs endurance depends on his level and the amount of power used. Domain holders that serve as the host will be significantly empowered by the combined 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 available at level 300 will be deferred to level 325 if you elected one of the earlier subdomain choices. Choices are cumulative, and earlier subdomain choices are not removed.

- Shit. I want all of them, - Stella 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 thatÆs only available to gods?! -

Lumoof frowned. - I believe turning it down was the right choice. WeÆve seen the consequences of the old gods method of work, and itÆs not great. -

- But - think about it for a moment. Functional immortality! -

- A power A/ grants to us. -

- Not every society of gods has an A/ , - Kei countered. - But seriously, are we getting power of friendship with that last one? -

Lumoof chuckled. - I suppose my prayers did come true. -

- YouÆre hacking. - Stella 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. -

Lumoof nodded. - I cannot recall ever seeing the System change, but the fact that it has, it might be something that occurred so slowly over time that no one ever noticed. -

- I agree. If subtle changes are applied over a long period of time, we wouldnÆt even feel it. WeÆd confuse any changes to our abilities to our higher levels, age, or just upgrades to our skills or our class. - It was the equivalent of environmental changes. It occurred so slowly that natives would adapt.

The System must have been different, many, many years ago; the core principles were unchanged, but the nitty - gritty aspects may have changed. Those outside the System, such as the gods who were on the World Faith System , may not notice such changes. TechnologyÆs effect would bleed in slowly, as the System absorbed 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 him. Even more than Lilies. -

I soon shared this knowledge with Zhaanpu, Lilies, 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 played with. - I supposed he meant the fact that the WFS required 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, isnÆt it? -

ZhaanpuÆs golden eyes glared at the scorpionoid heroine. She smirked back at him.

- What? The taste of your own medicine is great? Or must it suck to be manipulated? -

Zhaanpu stewed.

30

YEAR 264

The first of the Earth mages from Ulara reached level seventy two decades ago. Now, the first of them, that same Earth mage, reached level ninety.

The limits of their soul. Anything beyond here would require the Soul - Strengthening Seed .

Ularans, despite their tinier size, seemed to have a far higher - level limit than humans who capped at around level eighty to eighty - five. I suspected it was the nature of their souls.

Level ninety.

I offered the not - so - young Ulara, Kapakulartajam, or Kobra, as his Valthorn classmates referred to him, a Soul - Strengthening Seed. He accepted but requested for a return to Ulara before he took it.

With my new abilities, there wasnÆt much to think about. I could easily place a node tree on Ulara while keeping my clone trees for more strategic locations. Still, I tried to wrangle some benefits out of Snek.

- So that hero class. Will you trade it for a node tree? - I offered in plain and simple terms. There was no need to overcomplicate it. If he accepted, I would place the node. If not, I wouldnÆt.

Snek paused, thinking it over seriously.

There was some movement of Ularans between Treehome and Ulara, facilitated by the rift gate, but there were times when the rift gates were non - operational due to unknown reasons. The void mages called them - void storms. -

It didnÆt do much, other than make teleportation impossible and frankly quite predictable. The vibrations tended to start small and slowly grow in intensity over a few months before coming down again.

Snek, initially, hoped to consult with those on Ulara 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 centuries later, most of the Ularans refused to even consider it theirs.

It made him feel a little abandoned and a little bitter toward the whole hero class. All that sacrifice for nothing.

- At this point, itÆs your choice, - I said frankly. - IÆm not sure what IÆll do with the hero class, either. If you want, you could use it yourself. -

It was an idea Snek opposed. - IÆm not worthy. -

- Then no one is, - I answered. Snek sacrificed his physical body to save his world, endured the void sea, and succeeded when many others failed. If he wasnÆt worthy of the class, who was? Even the kids who received the hero class were not the kind that would sacrifice themselves for the cause. It was only because of the hero classÆs intervention that warped their minds into this demon-killing machine.

He couldnÆt decide. Not yet.

But, through one of the rift gates, we sent one of the Ularans back anyway. Snek and Lumoof followed along.

- The first of our offspring to return to Ulara as a warrior. - Ularsawabesars, or Snek, watched as the first of the Ularan 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 wider network 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 in the depths. -

- There is pride in enduring even the harshest of oppression, - Lumoof countered.

- For my people, it is not enduring oppression. It is accepting their place, 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 occupiers, 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 Ularans had something in common with lizardfolks in terms of biology. Their scales correlated to their power. Powerful lizardfolks had shiny, healthy scales, and the same applied to the Ularans.

Ularan scales manifested the elements of their class, which meant that Ularans pretty much announced the type of class 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 Ularlicintenduk, - Snek answered.

- IÆll cut to the chase. What happened to the rest of them? -