Tree of Aeons

Year 270 (Part 3)

“I cannot de-age him.” I said. 

No. If I said I could, and I did it against his will, I would just prove Chung’s point that I could have saved Ken but chose not to. If I didn’t do it for Ken, there’s certainly no reason to do it for Chung. I had to keep the story straight. 

“But- doesn’t this mean we just killed him?” Prabu and Colette both looked horrified. 

Chung’s soul just had his class ripped out of him, and even as I tried my best to soften the edges, it is still a traumatic incident and would cause aging. 

Khefri frowned. “How many years does he have left?”

“Five?” I guessed, based on the rate of aging. “His body was under a lot of stress, and he didn’t trade his hero class for the other classes.”

“Wait. Does that mean he could keep his immortality if he traded his hero classes for other classes?”

“To some extent.” 

There is a limit, just like how there is a limit with the Experience Seeds. As far as I could tell, only domain holders are immortal, as the rest of them still age, albeit slowly. In that sense, this was a unique advantage afforded to us non-humanoids. 

Even a lich, or a mummified corpse, like Zhaanpu, experienced decay over the years and had to go through a process of rejuvenation. The heroes didn’t like this development, of course. Why would they? They thought they just merely stopped him. They didn’t think they just gave him a death sentence. 

Over the days and months, as Chung regained his consciousness, he laughed maniacally. “Well done! Well done, all of you!” 

Prabu was the only one there when Chung laughed. “Chung. You were being destructive.”

“I know.” Chung laughed. “And you did it. Well done, Prabu, Well done. You’ve worked with evil, and decided to kill me.”

“I- I didn’t know it was going to go this way.”

“And you trust that crazy tree anyway, don't you? You knew, and yet you trusted him.”

I was tempted to just kill him anyway, but I didn’t care. Chung now posed no harm, and I thought it was useful to have him around, as a test for the heroes’ nature. 

Prabu shook his head. “We didn’t expect it either.”

“You think the damned tree didn’t know this was going to happen?”

“It never removed a hero class ever.” Prabu countered. “And you were a danger to everyone. It was the only way.”

“Was it?”

“You were not listening to us.”

“Why should I?”

Prabu frowned. “You’re being difficult.” 

Chung frowned as well. “Is that what you call standing up for myself and what’s right?”

“No. You’re being destructive, and you wrecked the place in the Southern Continent. I don’t call that standing up for yourself.”

“I did that, didn’t it?” Chung said, as if feigning forgetfulness. “Why not just kill me? That’s what the tree would want.”

“It’s not what we want.” Prabu countered. “For the greater good, this is the best way forward.”

“For the greater good.” The former, now powerless hero said. “That’s how we justify it all.”

“Yes. It is.” Prabu somehow snapped. “And it is the greater good if you’re not destroying shit.”

“Fuck you.”

Prabu stared at the shell of a man. “I thought I would be sad to see you die. As it turns out, it’s just me holding on to someone who I thought was my friend. Someone who was with us for the fight against the demons.”

“Not for-”

“No. You were always looking for excuses. I had it. We’ve been in this world way longer than Earth, or wherever they call it. These worlds are our homes, now, and I’d be damned if I don’t protect it.”

“All because you have a daughter-”

“Fuck you, Chung.” Prabu said. “So what it’s because I have a daughter. I want to protect the world she lives in. At least I have something worth fighting for, unlike you just wrecking shit up because you think you’re better.”

“I did. Ken was-”

“Ken was always our friend.” Prabu countered. “Even when he vanished and hid away, ditching his responsibilities as a hero. You, on the other hand, used him as a fucking crutch. You blame all your mistakes on Ken’s death, and it fucking tires me.”

“I liked you better when all you did was eat snacks.” Chung somehow aged in that moment, while he looked at the hero that usually seemed quiet. Prabu was not a person of many emotions. 

But he snapped today, and Chung wasn’t sure why.

Maybe the gods tried to ensure the heroes stuck together, so with each other, they were forgiving of each other’s faults. Now that Chung didn’t have the hero class, those effects vanished?

I wasn’t sure.

“Guess I ate something too spicy and I just had to vent it. Enjoy your final days, Chung. I hoped we could be friends like we used to, but I realize all I’m talking to is a shadow of the person I once knew. A rotten shadow.”

“Go to hell, Prabu. Go fight for the evil tree and I hope you realize the mistakes you made in your final days.”

Prabu walked to the door of the fortified biolab. “I’ve seen the spirits of the heroes that died before us, and I know we are on the right path. It’s a shame you refuse to see the cruel reality. We will go to the demon’s hell, and we will destroy them.”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh, did I tell you Aeon spoke to a god?” Prabu smirked. 

Chung stared, his eyes a mix of confusion and betrayal. “-what.”

“The Order finally found a god-protected world.”

“Wait- don’t go!”

Prabu shook his head. “I’ll come back if I feel like it. Bye.”

Chung yelled, while his body was strapped to all the vines and roots that tracked his every bodily readings.

***

***

Lumoof, Roon and Edna were back on Satrya, where the demon king would arrive, this time, escorted with an actual Valthorn contingent of our own, mainly to set up the plan. Our void mages quickly triangulated the location, and since we were expecting a demon king similar to Sabnoc, our approach was the same. 

Nuke the shit out of it once it spawns. 

Once the plan was ready, we had to brief the locals.

The meeting location was the city of Olpash, the home of the priestess. The full Hawa’s Circle was present for Lumoof’s presentation of our plan. 

The usual way. Bombs and explosions, then followed by direct engagement should the demon king survive. Our plan also involved the deployment of one of my [node trees], in order to transport the heroes from our world to Satrya, and all the bombs we needed for this purpose.

The priests didn’t see the necessity for such ‘crude’ methods. In fact, they were horrified.

On worlds such as Satrya, the demons were not the endlessly consuming plague. Here, they had to obey the intensely powerful rules woven into the fabric of this world’s reality. So, in the Core worlds of the Gods, the demons were not an existential threat. 

They couldn’t be, because the Gods who watched over them would intervene. It didn’t cost them much to intervene. 

But since Hawa himself declared that we would deal with it, who was the Hawa’s Circle to oppose our plan?

None of them wanted to speak up against Lumoof, because he was my avatar. Our presence distorted reality, and warped the environment around us. Just like when I ascended to be a domain holder, my presence rippled throughout the world of Treehome, that even Lillies could sense it, Lumoof’s presence on Satrya had a similar effect. 

Our threads mixed into the divine presence of this world, and it made the priests uncomfortable. 

They have never felt their Lord’s authority challenged this way. The presence of another god in a world that never had the presence of another was unnerving, and it shattered a long held belief. The primacy of their god’s place in the multiverse.

Their god was only one of the many. 

Eventually, the Hawa’s Circle themselves appointed two to attend to our needs. They would act as facilitators, and ease our conduct with the rest of Satrya.

The head priestess of Olpash, and the head priest of Museo. 

Roon had an eyeroll, like the fates were playing some kind of divine prank on him. Maybe she volunteered herself for the role. 

“It is time we are formally introduced, then. My given name is Olivia of Olpash.” The head priestess said. 

“And I am Michael of Museo.”

We would later find out that they are named that way because once they ascended as Hawa’s Circle, they are supposed to consider the entire city that is their ‘home-state’ as their home, and as such they are given the city’s name as their normal family names. 

The land where the demon king would arrive was located deep in the uninhabited territories, and it seemed that the magics of Hawa had somehow twisted their magical rifts such that they could only land in a few specified locations throughout Satrya.

These areas became known as the demon lands to the Satryan populace.

Uninhabited, and perfect for a node tree. Or a clone. 

Our forces easily pierced the depths of the demon lands. Demon champions were frankly nothing at this point, Edna and Lumoof could handle multiple simultaneously. 

I thought about what was the right level of force to apply, and briefly weighed the risk. From what I could see so far, Hawa offered to help, but we would have to help free up resources. 

With a node tree, I didn’t show my true strength. But why? Why hold back? 

Should I be fearful of Hawa’s retaliation by placing one of my clone body on it’s outer core worlds, or betrayal?

I briefly considered the experiences so far. I would have the clone I lost in year 261 back in my reserves soon, and Alka would be back in business in about two to three years. 

Lumoof understood my concerns, and then asked Olivia and Michael. “How trustworthy is your god?”

I saw the silliness of the question. How could their own priests know their god’s character? But even so, what their answers helped. 

“If Hawa is not worthy of trust, no one is.” Michael of Museo answered in confidence. 

Hawa’s decisions in its peripheral worlds do not inspire that sort of confidence. Yet, I suppose to those who live in privilege, what would they know?

Olivia’s response was similar. “There is no one we trust more than Hawa.”

Lumoof nodded. “Is Hawa’s promises reliable?”

Olivia and Michael’s facial expression was one of genuine disbelief. “Of course!” They countered, as if appalled that their god’s character should ever be questioned. 

But the dealings between Gods are all a matter of trust, is it not?

The system could ensure contracts and agreements are followed, but it would take a pact, a pact with the same level of power like the [World Faith System]. In short, it would be a [constitution] formed from the combined votes of the multiverse. 

But right now, my dealings with Hawa will entirely be based on trust. 

The belief system, in its design, should be one of trust. One where the Gods act in accordance to their myth, and Hawa was never seen as a deceitful god. After all, actions contrary to the Gods character will cause the gods to lose believers. It is an incentive to encourage consistent behavior. 

“Very well.” Lumoof made the two priests of Hawa speak of their god’s character, to describe his greatness. 

They preached. They were trained to do so from a young age. Hawa in their eyes was the god of Laws, Honorable Battle and Honor. Of battlefield excellence and the purity of skill. 

To the Satryans, Hawa was the only god in their eyes, naturally their own creation myths explained how the primordial egg created Hawa, and the remnants of the primordial egg formed the rejected parts of the world. 

The demons. 

It was totally untrue. 

Hawa’s faith on Satrya didn’t speak of the others at all, unlike how Hawa’s faith on Treehome was a blended creation myth.

Perhaps, the gods created a few versions of their own creation myths. A set for the peripheral worlds, that includes the other gods, and a set for their core worlds where they would not encounter the other gods. 

In that sense, the existence of the other gods meant Hawa lied to the common populace. I could see the reason for it, after all, Hawa wanted believers, and for its’ core worlds, it was best not to give its believers options. Here, he was supreme, and the only alternative wasn’t one. 

Only the inner circle, the Hawa’s Circle, knew of the other worlds. But even they didn’t know the full picture. 

There was no reason to know. 

Despite this obvious lie, I didn’t think it invalidated Hawa’s trustworthiness. The variation in creation myths didn’t seem malicious. 

I also had value that I brought to the table. I could offer the Hawa a way to gain more faith points, by transporting his priests and believers to places that would cost too much [faith points] for him to reach. 

I could defend worlds where it cost too much for him to act. 

So, I decided it was worth it to give this relationship between two powers a shot. If they wanted to see us in action, well, I’d do so with a clone. 

I had three to spare, and one more on the way, anyway.

***

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