Tave walked slowly, until he reached a small, radiant shape growing in the very center of his Gaialu. There, in the middle of the endless dark, sprouted a tiny, luminous tree.
It stood no taller than his knee, with delicate, glowing branches and leaves that shimred in a soft, pulsing green. The air around it felt different—dense, sacred. Like the quiet heartbeat of sothing older than ti itself.
He sat down in front of it, legs folded neatly, eyes fixed on the little tree with quiet reverence.
In truth, he could barely contain himself. Every instinct inside him scread to leap into the air, to shout in triumph. Because what stood before him wasn’t just rare. It was monuntal. Impossible.
This was the World Tree Seed.
Yes... an actual seed of the World Tree.
Tave knew exactly what he was looking at. In this world, the World Tree wasn’t just one singular being. Not truly. It had a source, yes. But most of what the world saw were rely avatars.
Like the World Tree that stood on the floating island of Vensalor. That was the main avatar. The hub where the World Tree’s primary essence resided. That was where its deep-rooted power thrived.
But in order to ensure its own survival and legacy, the World Tree had scattered its seeds across the world, seeds that could grow into new roots, new extensions of its presence.
The King possessed one of those seeds. And now, Vanya, after awakening her Echo.
And now... him.
The seed had taken root within his Gaialu. A personal gift, a living testant of the bond he had ford with Vanya Zylven. And what did it an?
It ant potential. Imnse, unspoken potential.
Even if his Echo remained dormant, this seed was growing inside him. But it wouldn’t simply bloom because it existed. He would need to prove himself worthy. To earn it. To show that he could carry the weight of what this Echo represented.
This had only happened... because of the pact he had ford with Vanya Zylven.
"What if I told you sothing big?" Tave said softly.
He wasn’t even sure if the words would reach. After all, he hadn’t received this gift through any direct approval. It had co indirectly—through a bond, not a blessing. Not by will, but by consequence.
And Tave knew the World Tree’s nature well.
It was old. Stubborn. Obsessed with balance. Its power had always been guarded fiercely, handed only to those it deed worthy, naly the forest elves. And not just any elves. Only those of the purest lineage. It had openly rejected other kinds.
So what would it say, what would it think, about a human like Tave?
A human who had overridden his bloodline with that of a Shadow Wolf.
A human who carried demon blood in his veins.
A human who now possessed its seed.
"What if I tell you I know more than maybe anyone else in this world?" he continued, his voice steady, firm now, as if daring the silence to break.
"What if I tell you... I’m not even from this world?"
The words hovered in the air, whispered like a confession. Or a challenge.
He had no idea if the tree would hear. The World Tree listened only when it chose to. It answered only those it deed worth its attention. Even Vanya, the crowned princess, forest elf, bearer of legacy—could have been rejected if the tree had so willed it.
Tave leaned in slightly, lowering his voice further.
"How much would I have to give," he whispered, "to make you listen to ?"
He paused.
He considered it for a mont.
Should he speak about the demon threat? Should he ntion the collapse that lood just beyond the Rift’s edge?
No. Not yet.
The World Tree had no patience for panic. It didn’t respond to fear. And warning it of destruction might only provoke rejection.
Instead, he waited.
Watched.
Hoping that sowhere behind those glowing leaves... the ancient will of the World Tree was listening.
But there was no answer.
The World Tree chose silence. It chose not to listen.
Tave exhaled slowly, suppressing the sting of rejection—not from pride, but from the understanding that this Echo would not co without a price. A heavy one. And maybe, even then, it still wouldn’t be enough.
At the very least, he had access. That alone was already a gift far beyond most.
He would focus on that. He had to finish this trial first. Complete this Rift. That alone would require everything he had.
But even then... even if he brought Vanya out safely, even if he fought with all he had and won. He knew that might not be enough to earn the World Tree’s approval.
Or maybe... He’d have to prevent the fall of the Vensalor Kingdom itself?
Damn it.
Then so be it. He’d do whatever it took. Anything that let him survive in this world. No matter the weight, the path, or the consequence.
He rose to his feet, drawing in the last trace of stillness from the space around him. His brief tour through the depths of his Gaialu had ended.
His eyes lifted once more toward the two great orbs suspended in the void, his twin cores, Blaze and Shadow, spinning in the air like twin galaxies on the verge of collision. Spirals of red and purple energy brushing against each other, refusing to rge yet too tightly bound to part.
He hadn’t exhausted them too far.
And now, he knew that he was stronger than he had been just monts ago. Stronger than he’d been in hours. In days.
Tave didn’t wait. The mont he felt his senses returning to the waking world, he reached for the status screen he now instinctively summoned in his mind.
[ Na: Tave ]
[ Level - Stage: 31 - Gaia Master ]
[ Elents: Blaze (dium) | Shadow (dium) | Soul Fire (Low) | Netherblaze Flas (Low) ]
[ Sigils: Shadow Cloak | Hellforge Form ]
[ Relics: Destinova (The Flabound Seraph) | Naless Hollow (Shadow Wolf) ]
[ Echoes: Verdant Sin (Dormant) ]
[ Pacts: Vanya ]
The details unfolded before him.
Level: 31. Clear, undeniable. He had reached Gaia Master. His breakthrough was complete.
Next, Blaze: dium. The elental affinity had surged upward, and right beneath it, a new entry had appeared: Netherblaze Flas. A rged elent. A powerful synthesis of Blaze and Shadow.
His Sigils remained the sa, two in total.
Then ca the Relics section. For the first ti, the nas and detailed attributes of his relics were fully visible. A perk exclusive to Gaia Masters, the ability to perceive the relics more intimately.
And there it was, his Echo.
Verdant Sin, huh?
Tave narrowed his eyes. So the World Tree didn’t shy away from what he was. A sin, a deviation. And yet, it had given him form. Let that be a ssage. Let that be power. Because if the World Tree called this a sin, then let him be the one to redefine what sin looked like.
After all, the Seven Sins Deities were still the most powerful gods this world had ever known—and their Echoes, the most feared and revered.
Finally, he looked to the Pacts section. There, plain and unshakable, Vanya. Vanya Zylven, the crowned princess of Vensalor Kingdom.
And just as Tave’s eyes blinked open, the first thing he saw was her.
Vanya sat directly before him, her head tilted slightly as she looked at him with that ever-curious gaze.
Tave t her eyes and responded with a faint, knowing smile.
"You’re finished, Tave?" she asked softly, her voice laced with a hint of warmth.
"Yes," he said. "And now. Let’s move to the next phase of our plan."
Reviews
All reviews (0)