694 FAFO 10
“Did you feel what I felt?” Oak asked, his voice tinged with unease. As the tremors and explosions shook the planet, so of his core roots had disintegrated under the intense heat and pressure, beyond what they could withstand despite their strength. For the first ti in his existence, Oak felt a profound sense of danger—a sensation so foreign to him that he struggled to categorize it.
“Although I’m not certain it’s exactly the sa, I felt sothing too,” Mangrove responded, sharing in the unsettling sensation. Like Oak, so of his roots had also disintegrated, but the feeling they both experienced wasn’t rely a reaction to the damage. It was sothing deeper, sothing far more disconcerting, and it left Mangrove with a growing sense of unease.
“But we’ve experienced earthquakes before—what’s different about this one?” Oak asked, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar feeling. “Other than the loss of so of our core roots, which isn’t too significant considering the end goal.”
He searched his mories for a similar reaction during past earthquakes, but since they didn’t have such advanced sensations back then, he couldn’t be sure if they had felt the sa way before.
The possibility that this strange feeling was related to the loss of their roots crossed his mind, as it was the first ti they had experienced such destruction. However, he couldn’t shake the sense that this was sothing more profound—sothing akin to fear, though he hesitated to na it as such.
“It doesn’t matter,” Mangrove replied, trying to focus on the task at hand. “But it doesn’t seem like he plans on stopping, and we can’t halt the mana absorption now that we’ve started, or all the mana we’ve gathered will go to waste.”
While they conversed, a small portion of their attention was dedicated to monitoring the situation, including Aron, who appeared intent on continuing his destructive actions after the first devastating attack. The pressure was mounting, and they knew they couldn’t afford to falter now.
“I have an idea to deal with him, but there's a chance it could fail,” Oak said, then quickly outlined the plan he had co up with. After explaining the concept, he waited for Mangrove’s response, giving him ti to process the idea and co to a decision.
“There’s no harm in trying,” Mangrove finally responded. “If it works, it will benefit us. If it doesn’t, we can stop what we’re doing and manage the loss after we deal with them once and for all.”
With that, they jointly reached out to the other tree folks, summoning them for a eting in the tiless adow.
“I really don’t have ti to deal with you people, especially since my focus is already stretched thin,” Birch said, glaring at the two traitors seated across from him. The division within their once united group was now stark, with the two factions clearly having different agendas.
The other tree folks echoed Birch’s sentints, voicing their dissatisfaction with the traitors for daring to harm their children by exploiting the control ant solely for ergencies.
“We created them, so we can do whatever we want with them,” Mangrove responded, speaking for both himself and Oak, his tone cold and unapologetic.
“That control is limited to your own children; you have no authority over ours,” Crabapple retorted, his frustration evident. His children had suffered the most due to the size discrepancy between them and the giants, as the dwarves were shorter even than the average Proximians.
“We can address that later, but right now, let’s focus on why we called this eting,” Mangrove interjected, setting aside his belief temporarily. He knew that if they continued down this path, it would only lead to more argunts and wasted ti.
“We’ll listen to you, but first, rescind the order you gave your children. I won’t entertain anything else until that’s done,” Crabapple demanded, laying down an ultimatum.
“I’m sure you realize that’s the only thing preventing you from directly targeting us. Do you think we’re foolish enough to do so without an agreent in place?” Oak responded with a smirk, clearly aware that Crabapple was trying to outmaneuver them.
“Then I’m done here. I won’t waste my ti talking to people who are actively sabotaging our efforts,” Crabapple declared, and before anyone could respond, he vanished from the tiless adow, making it clear that he wasn’t bluffing and was entirely serious about his stance.
“Although I’m tempted to join him, I’m curious—what exactly are you trying to propose?” Cypress asked. Her children were relatively safe, as their natural ability to fly allowed them to avoid much of the chaos and focus on helping other Proximians.
Birch remained silent, signaling that she, too, was interested in hearing what they had been called for.
“As you’ve probably guessed, we’re currently gathering mana to reattempt the creation of a small number of bodies capable of containing our consciousness,” Oak began, getting straight to the point. “Our offer is this: deal with the imperial couple and bring their bodies to us, and we promise to create a body for each of you to transfer your consciousness into.”
The adow fell silent as Cypress and Birch processed the offer, weighing their options carefully.
After a mont, Birch spoke first. “No, thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse , I have other matters to attend to.” Without waiting for a response, she imdiately left the tiless adow.
"What about you?" Mangrove asked, not surprised by Birch's decision. She had always been the closest to humans and Proximians, often acting as their representative. Her refusal was expected, and had she agreed, it would have raised more suspicion than gratitude. Turning to Cypress, the last of the traitors still present, he sought her decision, not planning to waste ti if the answer wasn’t favorable.
"I'll accept your offer," Cypress replied without hesitation. "But first, I need you to stop targeting my children so I can focus on him. Also, I want to be the one to keep the original body of his." Her expression remained unchanged as she betrayed the others who had just left.
Mangrove and Oak were montarily taken aback, a mix of surprise and anger flashing through them at her greed. But they quickly realized that in her position, they might have done the sa. Cypress held the upper hand, and at this mont they needed her more than she needed them.
"Fine, you can have it," Mangrove agreed, carefully masking his irritation. He knew that showing anger might lead Cypress to demand even more, sothing they couldn’t afford.
"That's why I like dealing with you guys," Cypress remarked with a hint of satisfaction before she too disappeared from the tiless adow. Mangrove and Oak imdiately ordered their children to leave the fairies alone, keeping their end of the bargain.
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