Cale watched in amusement as his kids gushed enthusiastically about how good it was to see TCF!Choi Han smile like that – especially since they'd been worried about him after his earlier episode with the Black Despair.
He heard his allies speaking to him at that moment. Both of the Dark Elves reported in one after another.
“The core and the black despair have both been purified!”
“I just need to absorb the dead mana now!”
– Choi Han! You seem okay! I knew you could do it! Still, be careful! I’m heading back to the human!
Raon’s happy voice made Choi Han have to hold back his laughter as he nodded his head. His hands were still shaking and there was something still trying to seduce him, but he was okay.
TBOAH!Choi Han compared his own experiences when he'd dealt with the Black Despair and he couldn't help feeling envious of TCF!Choi Han especially for the support structures and support systems he had in and around him.
He kept hearing his friends’ voices and saw them moving about every time he felt his mind letting its guard down, and this night air was cooling him down as well.
“…I need to move as well.” Choi Han quickly started to move again. The restrictions placed by the lure of the black despair didn’t seem too bad right now.
TBOAH!Choi Han knew he had similar support systems, it didn't feel the same. TBOAH!Choi Han sighed heavily and shook his head. He forced himself to change his perspective in order to learn and understand what else made TCF!Choi Han so much better than him – he adamantly was unwilling to accept that one person (Cale Henituse) could influence and make that much of a difference in his counterpart's life.
The first golem fell to the ground behind Choi Han as he started to move.
Those who had died in the battles where the Empire’s golems appeared felt their eyes prickling and their throats closing in and getting choked by the emotion. To see that terrible monstrosity fall, it made them want to cry. It also let them know that their younger counterparts had managed to survive past the moments that they had died in during their TBOAH!World timeline.
The two Dark Elves jumped past the golem in order to follow behind Choi Han, with one of the Dark Elves having a much stronger presence of black mana around him as they moved.
“It’s really amazing that the Dark Elves were able to grow stronger and also help out the Jungle like this.” TBOAH!Rex commented quietly. His voice was trembling, but he was being respectful even though he was certain that this dead mana and black despair were made by the pain, suffering and deaths of his loved ones and family.
“It was a win-win… we were able to get dead mana away from harming anymore people.” TCF!Tasha replied.
“That's right, and you all helped us find closure…” TCF!Rex admits with a nostalgic and sad expression that faded when he shook his head and focused back on the Palantír.
That made the alchemist in charge bite down on his lips as he turned toward his subordinate who immediately reported in.
“Sir, the preparations are complete!”
That made the alchemist quickly turn to look at the edge of Section 7. The soldiers who were stationed at the edge of Section 7 were running toward the airship. What the alchemist didn’t know was that there was someone else who was as aware of this fact as much as himself. It was Cale.
“Fufufu…” Kim Rok Soo began snickering ruefully, Cale rolled his eyes and tried to ignore him, but it was difficult when his curious children all piled over onto Kim Rok Soo to curiously cross question him with their cutest scammer smiles.
“What ya smiling about nya~!” TCF!Hong cooed.
“Come on tell us too nya~.” TCF!Ohn purred cutely.
“Share the joke… we want to laugh too nya~!” Raon added with an adorable twinkle in his eyes.
He could see the soldiers running away from the edge of Section 7 as he stood there looking at the Empire’s knights and soldiers who were looking at him but unable to attack.
‘It’s starting. The explosions will happen soon.’
The glutton chimed in once Cale realized this fact.
– I can’t purify the black despair.
Hearts fluttered all around the hall, the Glutton's voice sends a thrill through the room – even though she says she isn't capable of purifying the Black Despair, she was still implying that there was something she could do and that was something that invigorated everyone in the Palantír Hall.
She could eat dead mana, but could not purify the black despair that was with it. Cale recalled what the fiery thunderbolt had told him last time. He had said that the only ones who could purify the black despair were necromancers, Dark Elves, and himself. Of course, even priests could take care of the dead mana.
Such options were not available in the TBOAH!World because there were no alliances and no one could protect the TBOAH!Dark Elves or TBOAH!Mary and by the time this was all happening – TBOAH!Jack was already dead and so was TBOAH!Elf with the Fire Elemental from TBOAH!Pendrick's Elf Village who had earned the Fire of Destruction.
Loud noises could be heard coming from the orbs located on top of the bombs. The noises coming from these orbs were changing, starting from the bombs at the edges of Section 7. The orbs were becoming louder and brighter. All of these changes were starting from the edges of Section 7. Cale looked toward the residences that were still quiet. He was certain that everyone had woken up already. He knew that the people of the Jungle were currently laying low in their homes without even being able to turn on some lights.
He understood what they must be going through right now. Cale had done the same thing when he was Kim Rok Soo, running away from monsters and crawling into the debris of a destroyed building and remaining as quiet as possible. He had not even been able to sleep as he was scared of the strong monsters outside. That was why he understood what they must be going through right now.
TCF!Alberu and TCF!Choi Han's expressions turned grim and everyone from the TCF!World stiffened. They didn't know that this was what the world Cale had come from was like.
“Uhm… Hyung?”
“Oraboni…”
TCF!Basen and TCF!Lily’s voices shook as they called out to Cale. Cale immediately turned his head and smiled reassuringly at the two of them.
“This was in the past, back in the beginning of it all, things were a lot different, right?”
Cale turned to look at Rok Soo for his agreement, which he readily supplied.
Nodding eagerly, Rok Soo answered Cale in order to reassure their younger siblings.
“That's right, it's a lot better now and monster attacks and outbreaks like this are better controlled. Every place has very strict evacuation protocols now too!” Rok Soo reassured everyone. It took a while, but eventually the hall was calm enough to warrant Naur to continue with the record.
He closed his eyes even though the enemies were in front of him.
– Human, I am here!
It was because he had Raon. Cale heard the voice of the glutton again.
– That was why I could only eat it and die after being dyed black. Although I can’t purify it, I couldn’t watch the ground turn black and do nothing about it.
Cale recalled what the glutton had said the first time he met her.
‘I don’t think I can give up on this taste even if I get fat! It’s so unfair that I had to die while eating dirt!’ He had originally thought that she had just starved to death. But now he understood what she meant by having to eat dirt. What would she have died eating in the land of boulders that did not have trees? Why had the ground turned black?
Cale slowly started to get angry.
‘Why did they all live such sad lives?’
The glutton, the cheapskate, they all had sad lives. He thought about the single black tree on top of the desolate area in the slums. Although nothing was there, that ground had not been a land of death poisoned by dead mana.
“There he goes again, our selfless over-caring, and kind Young Master Cale…” TCF!Rosalyn whispered nostalgically. TCF!Lock nodded in agreement.
“Yes, Young Master Cale is too kind!” TCF!Mary added after she overheard TCF!Lock reiterate TCF!Rosalyn' description of the Cale they all loved and followed.
– All I could do was be a shield.
The glutton priestess had to lay low inside that black tree for over 10,000 years.
– I can’t do anything on my own.
The glutton priestess was different than the Scary Giant Cobblestone. The Super Rock was able to attack. However, the glutton had no way to attack. The only powers that she had was the power to defend and protect. This was the reason she always needed allies. She needed allies in order to grow, just like how a tree cannot grow on its own. Shield. The power to protect something. This power was only able to get stronger when it had someone to protect.
“That's right!” Sherritt's eyes brightened and she straightened in her seat. TCF!Lock sat proud and upright. He also turned his head toward her and smiled brightly, his eyes twinkling with excitement to hear Young Master Cale thinking about something so similar to what Sherritt had taught him when he was learning from her.
The Indestructible Shield. She was able to finally find a new ally after over 10,000 years. Cale Henituse. After waiting for such a long time, she finally found a new person to protect.
Something warm fell upon the hearts and shoulders of everyone in the hall, it wrapped around them quietly, softly, completely unsuspectingly – it was a strangest sight for the TBOAH!World audience who were still reeling after hearing and seeing how attached this Ancient Power, the Glutton, was toward Cale Henituse. And then on the Palantír there were soft and quiet twigs and thin sticks and branches falling inconspicuously from above.
Very quiet noises could be heard through the explosions.
“Huh?”
The people of the Jungle who were hiding away and looking at that state of things outside flinched and opened their eyes wide. Things were falling.
Cale heard the glutton’s voice.
– The trees said that they will help.
“What the?!” TBOAH!Bud sighed the moment TCF!Bud found his voice again. Apparently the two of them were more similar than he gave himself credit for. Inwardly he cursed when he felt TBOAH!Glenn threateningly poke his side, reminding him not to say anything foolish.
Branches from small trees were starting to fall from the trees one by one. And soon…
The falling objects crashed down louder as larger pieces fell from above.
Branches from large trees were starting to fall as well. All of the trees throughout Section 7 were lending parts of their bodies to help. That was only visible to the people of the Jungle who were quietly hiding in their homes. The branches stabbed into the ground.
“Oh my goodness!” TBOAH!Litana’s voice trembled and shook, she was getting emotional because of what she was seeing right now. TCF!Litana was shocked as well – seeing and hearing all this from Cale's perspective made her eyes water and her throat feel tight. TCF!Eruhaben and all the others who were there back then were feeling similarly emotional, but not to the point that they would cry.
The Palantír went on to show how at the center of Sector 7 the alchemist boarded the airship and shouted toward his subordinates, the one who was carrying a red orb, to detonate the dead mana bombs starting from the edge. The countdown began as the few remaining soldiers in those areas began to run.
It was as the beautifully shining orbs slowly lost their lights. It was as a small click could be heard from the bombs installed on the large cylindrical tanks.
This was a terrifying sight, TBOAH!Basen and TBOAH!Lily pressed their hands over their faces – covering their eyes and trying to block out the sight of those bombs that were about to go off. For TBOAH!Basen even seeing this bomb going off, even while knowing that this bomb was way worse than the magic bombs that went off in the Capital Plaza – it still was enough to trigger his trauma from back then. Despite hating how weak it made him feel, he still squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block out the sounds of the explosions that he knew would soon echo through the Palantír Hall.
Cale felt an odd sensation at that moment.
However no such deafening sound was heard, and curiosity won over the instinctive urge to hide and block out anything that might trigger his fears and memories. Slowly both TBOAH!Henituse children raised their heads and peeked through their fingers at the scene on the Palantír.
He could feel everything. It was as if his senses could reach all four corners of Section 7. That was why he was able to say something the glutton told him to say as if it was the obvious thing to say.
“Grow.”
“Holy Sea Urchins!!” Archie choked his eyes going as large as dinner plates and his jaw dropping open in disbelief and alarm.
“You're really that surprised?” TBOAH!Rei questions – perplexed by the Killer Whale Archie.
“Well, yeah… I mean we've seen him make plenty things go boom, but I've never seen him make things grow…” Paseton spoke up to explain their surprise.
“That's right… this is where things get really interesting!” Raon snickered with a wicked grin on his face and a very mischievous twinkle in his bright blue eyes. Cale chuckled lightly and then reached over and pet his children – he felt like he hadn't pet and praised them in a while – ever since they'd all scampered over to crowd around Kim Rok Soo. Cale wanted his kids back.
The ground started to shake. Something happened to the branches that all of the trees in Section 7 dropped for him. The branches that had stabbed into the ground started to grow. They became alive at Cale’s orders and started to move.
“W, what the…!”
“What the…? What is going on with the trees?”
Large vines appeared between the Empire’s soldiers. They started to move faster and faster as they grew larger and larger. The leaves were starting to shake. The trees were crying. No, the trees were shouting. Cale could hear them.
“Holy crap… this… this is… it really is!” Rok Soo’s eyes were wide and he had to slap a hand over his mouth to stop himself from saying whatever he had been about to shout out. Cale and TCF!Alberu eye him suspiciously for a moment longer before returning their gazes to the Palantír once Naur continued the record.
‘Protect them because I have given you a part of my body.’
Cale’s two hands responded to the trees that were asking him to protect them. He looked toward the large vines.
The moment the final countdown reached one, the Empire's soldiers seemed to brace themselves and expect the explosion and the red orb that the Empire’s dog was carrying exploded – as if it were the indicator for these terrifying dead mana magic bombs. This was an obvious reaction – even the people in the Palantír thought the same, but there was something else that everyone who was paying attention to the scene were quickly realizing.
The large vines divided up and wrapped around the dead mana bombs. It was as if they were shields. No. It was as if they were prisons. The vines completely caged in the dead mana bombs. It was the moment that could be seen. The orbs lost all light and the sound stopped. The dead mana bombs located at the edges of Section 7 started to detonate one by one. Black liquids shot up to the sky.
“Oh my god! NO! Please no!!” TBOAH!Litana wailed in panic, but TCF!Litana grabbed her and roughly forced her to remain seated.
“Keep your eyes on the Palantir!! Keep watching!” TCF!Litana scolded her and nodded to Grigori who had instantly teleported over to TBOAH!Litana’s side the moment her panicked voice shouted out aloud through the Palantír Hall.
However, they could not reach the sky.
Dead silence fell over the whole room as everyone sat helplessly gawking at what was unfolding on the Palantír record right in front of their eyes. They watched the vines that were slowly turning black, those hundreds of vines that were being destroyed by the initial explosions were growing back and shooting up and outward toward the dead mana.
All of the Empire’s forces looked toward a single person. The vines were growing around that person. Cale looked toward the Empire’s forces and started to speak while laughing.
“Eat up.”
Terrified – the TBOAH!World guests of the Goddess' Domain were terrified. TBOAH!Choi Han’s palms were sweating and his skin was prickling with the sense of danger – the instinctive sensation that came with him being a Swordmaster as well as a talent he had honed in order to protect himself.
TBOAH!Choi Han felt a threat to his life for the first time in a while and he turned his head sharply to look toward his counterpart. TCF!Choi Han, however was smiling viciously – daring his counterpart to insult Cale-nim again, daring him to call any sacrifice or plan Cale had made useless or unneeded. TBOAH!Choi Han had never actually said any of that, but in TCF!Choi Han's delusional mind doubting Cale in any shape or form was all the same to him.
Eat and eat some more. The vines that had turned black were eating up the dead mana bombs as if they had become snakes. The vines became as dark as the night the more they ate. The world became darker and darker as the trees continued to cry. This was just the beginning of hell for the Empire’s forces.
“F**k Cale, are you the Lorax?”
“What the hell?” Cale demanded confused because he didn't understand what the heck Kim Rok Soo was talking about now. “What the hell’s a Lorax?” he demanded, although he really didn't want to know, because he was somewhat certain that Rok Soo was teasing him.
“You know… Dr. Seuss, the Lorax… That little squishy guy who said; “I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.” That guy, are you him?”
“What—why do you even know that?!” Cale exclaims in a high-pitched tone with an even more offended expression on his face.
“What? I have a niece!” Rok Soo replies like it's the most obvious thing in the world. “She's quite fond of Dr. Seuss.”
He’s so casual about it that Cale can't even yell at him for being so annoying anymore.
“Tsk, this dumb shit!” Cale cursed and palmed his forehead. Meanwhile the rest of the room were doubled over laughing hysterically at this image of a mini Cale with chubby cheeks, standing in one of his ‘Real Arm’ uniforms with his hands on his hips saying the quote Rok Soo just said about speaking for the trees.