Suvron's Bridge
11th Banem 1092
The most famous bridge in all of Destia certainly lived up to its billing. A host of adventurers, tourists, and merchants frequently crossed Suvron's Bridge, often stopping at stalls to stock up on necessary items before heading out into the wild. Those who set up stalls on the bridge were usually merchants too poor to pay for spaces inside Suvron's Gate. As a result, their products were usually a lot cheaper than those in the tower.
Naturally, these cheaper products also paled in quality to those sold at the tower. It was a system that ensured every adventurer, regardless of their wealth, left or entered Merriheim satisfied.
On this day, like every other day since, the sun shone overhead. Like every other day, the bridge was packed with hundreds of people. However, unlike every other day, the bridge was eerily silent, the eyes of every soul on the bridge directed at the quartet at the bridge's foot.
It was expected, as the group comprised three of the most notorious figures in all of Rosendun and Merriheim.
Kashi, seated atop Drixlia, led Shadow, Larsial, and a full-sized Kira up the bridge. The attention did not bother the daeben as many of the staring eyes contained the good-fashioned hostility he loved. Compared to the adoring fans at Lunette's concert, Kashi felt more at ease among the hatred and killing intent.
Despite their murderous thoughts, no one dared to make a move on the daeben. This was not just because they were deep in Maggot territory. The most significant deterrence was the massive direwolf that stood shoulder to shoulder with the stallions. Those ferocious blood-red eyes and teeth as large as fingers promised a gruesome death to anyone foolish enough to cross her.
So it was that Kashi led his group past the bridge without incident. A smile blossomed on the daeben's face as he gazed at Suvron's Gate in the distance. Significant portions of the tower's walls had been replaced with sturdy glass, such that residents within the building had a magnificent view of the world from above. The modern architecture stood out in this world, drawing thousands of tourists and adventurers eager to experience this for themselves.
"Kashi-dono, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."
Kashi looked down to see a dark-skinned mertian. The heavy-set bald man looked to be in his late forties. A set of formal, sharp business attire and the host of servants following behind suggested he was a man of considerable influence.
Kashi nodded, acknowledging the greeting. "You are?"
"Ah, where are my manners." The mertian politely bowed at a sharp 90 degrees angle. "I am called Gregor. Master Miote left me in charge of operations here at Suvron's Gate."
"Of course he did," Kashi murmured. However, inwardly, he let out a sigh as he realized just how little he knew about his guild. However, with an indifferent shrug, he completely abandoned that train of thought. As long as Leila was around, he did not need to get into all this administrative stuff. "Gregor-san, Lunette informed me of a problem you encountered?"
"Yes, of course," Gregor acknowledged as he gestured to a little ways off from the entrance to Suvron's Gate. "If you would follow me."
Kashi got off Drixlia, and after instructing the stubborn stallion to behave itself, Kashi, along with Shadow, Larsial, and Kira, followed after Gregor. Kashi noticed their path significantly led them away from the entrance to Suvron's Gate. "This problem. I was informed it was in the basement?"
"Yes, it is," Gregor explained. "Master Miote insisted workers leaving through the tower's entrance was not a good look, so he commissioned a tunnel to be built nearby that connected to the basement. That is what we currently use."
"Smart," Kashi complimented.
"Indeed," Gregor agreed. "When it comes to making money, Master Miote possesses exceptionally keen insight."
"That accent, you did not grow up in Merriheim, did you?" Larsial noted.
"The miss has an excellent ear," Gregor conceded. "I did indeed spend my childhood up to my rebellious young adult ages in Imperium. As a matter of fact, I was once esquire to a knight during the Great War. Unfortunately, the squad I was enlisted in suffered a terrible ambush during one of our campaigns here. I was the sole survivor. I was too lazy to move back, so I stayed and opened up my own business. Luckily, Master Miote found me recently, and after proving myself, handed me this prestigious job."
"Oh? As someone who has been through the Great War, what's your honest opinion on Rosendun and their conquest?"
Gregor proved why he was deserving of his position. Aside from a slight twitch of his eyebrows, his expression remained largely the same. "My honest opinion? There were already too many skirmishes in Merriheim amongst warring factions. It was only a matter of time before one side won and took over the others. I never expected an outsider to be the one to stop the fighting in one swoop." Gregor sighed. "In times like these, you can only pray that the person who eventually takes over will not be the greatest of tyrants. That he will care for the people. In this regard, Rosendun has far exceeded any prayers we dared to have. So, in my honest opinion, I am all for Rosendun's conquest. Our other route was an endless cycle of orphaned children and armed teenagers without a goal in sight."
"An astute analysis," Larsial stated. "You have been asked this question before?"
"The locals often discuss this amongst ourselves," Gregor openly admitted.
Larsial's gaze flashed. She looked at the unassuming daeben then back at Gregor. In the end, she only muttered, "Interesting." She remained silent for the rest of the trek.
Gregor stopped in front of a small settlement. Gregor introduced the little hamlet as the temporary lodging for the construction workers. The accommodation was built around a building that acted as the entrance to a flight of stairs descending to a tunnel.
A guard stood at the head of the stairs, verifying the workers' identities before letting them pass. He greeted Gregor as the mertian passed, sending a curious glance at the strange party following behind. It would not be until later that night while drinking with friends that he would realize who he just met.
Meanwhile, Gregor led Kashi and company down the stairs, which bottomed out to a brightly lit tunnel. Gregor explained they had been fortunate enough to find some rare gemstones while creating the tunnel. He pointed out some branching tunnels where he stated miners had found some rich lodes of gemstones. Immediately the tunnels were declared safe, they would have miners come down to dig up the minerals.
The group walked for another twenty minutes, often descending deeper into the earth through carefully constructed sloping tunnels. Eventually, they reached the end of the road, where the tunnel opened out to a massive cavern.
"Kashi."
"Yeah," Kashi acknowledged. His gaze traveled from the massive lake at the center of the cavern to large pieces of crystals scattered on the strangely grass-covered floor. "It's the place we fought Krakul." Kashi was understandably surprised. He had assumed the cavern was buried when the tower rose.
In fact, Kashi had only asked that people explore below Suvron's Gate in the hopes that they found some of the scattered crystals. Maybe the R&D division could figure out some of their secrets and utilize them for the guild.
Never would Kashi have guessed the cavern would be completely intact. Only now did Kashi understand why Lunette had used the word 'basement' when talking about the problem. Indeed, this was the tower's basement. It was just, who had ever heard of such a large basement!?
Kashi quickly reeled in his shock as he turned his attention to a crowd gathered at the shore. "I assume the problem is over there?"
"Yes, Kashi-dono," Gregor confirmed as he led the way to the back of the crowd. A path opened up to the center as soon as the workers realized who was behind them. "How about you all get back to work?" Gregor said with a smile, but the speed at which the workers scampered off suggested there was far more to him than the harmless persona he displayed.
"This, Kashi-dono, is the problem I mentioned," Gregor said as he gestured at two massive stones standing next to the shore.
"What are those?" Larsial asked, confusion etched in her brows.
"They—"
"They are eggs," Kashi interrupted, eyes wide in shock. "I can hear their heartbeat. It's faint, but it's there." He stepped past Gregor and placed a hand on the eggs. He turned to Shadow. "Come up, you can feel it. They're pretty strong."
Shadow did precisely that. "How are they still alive in there?" He questioned as he tapped on the hard stone-like exterior.
"Their mother provided them with plenty of high-quality mana." Kashi and co turned to see who had spoken. A wisben wrapped in loose-fitting fur clothing approached them, shifty green eyes regarding them from behind a pair of glasses. "It's too bad it will soon run out. They will not survive past a couple of days."
Kashi turned to face the strange character. "You are?"
"Kashi-dono, this is Doctor Abnier Newt, a highly decorated beastmaster," Gregor quickly introduced. "Before you arrived, we had sent out a summons for qualified beastmasters to assess the situation. He is the best among those who stepped forward."
"Mmhmm," Kashi nodded. He held out his hand and greeted, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Doctor Newt."
"The pleasure and honor is all mine," Doctor Newt returned the greeting with a handshake of his own.
"So, if you please, would you inform us what you mean by they will not last long?"
"It's truly a pity," Doctor Newt lamented as he adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "I cannot be sure of their species, but their progenitor was a mighty monster, possibly one of the apex species. However, no matter how great the species, they must still succumb to the same rules of reproduction as every other species." He glanced at the stones then continued, "In the case of reptilian creatures, the conditions during incubation must be kept constant. In the case of these eggs, our tests have shown that compared to the environment and position, the determining factor for their hatching is the quality of mana they have been imbued with. Unfortunately, we are incapable of replicating that quality. Hence the embryos have begun showing signs of deterioration. If we do not find a replacement for the mana, these eggs will become nothing but giant rocks." Doctor Newt cleared his throat. "I have an associate who was lucky enough to restrain a dragon. If you allow me, I can have the eggs delivered to him. A dragon's mana might not meet the quality needed, but it's the best chance we have."
Kashi raised a brow. "So, what you are saying is, if we can replicate the quality of mana, we can save these eggs? They do not need a lake environment?"
"Huh?" The question completely threw off Doctor Newt. What's with that calm way of mention the quality of mana. That was the entire point of his whole speech! There was no way they could replicate its effects! Still, he had to answer the question. So, he stammered back. "Uh... yes. In theory. While a lake environment will be helpful, it is not that important."
"Good. These eggs, I'll be taking them," Kashi proudly declared. Before anyone could process the meaning of his words, he placed a hand on each egg. A second later, they both disappeared.
"What are you doing!?" Doctor Newt screamed with undisguised hysteria. "That inventory of yours is a void! It will instantly kill the eggs!"
"Don't worry, doctor," Kashi laughed and patted the confused beastmaster's shoulder. "We are not allowed to put living creatures into our inventory for that exact reason. The eggs are not in my inventory."
Doctor Newt's eyes went wide. "Th-then where are they?"
"I'm a Dimension Artist." Kashi sent the doctor a knowing glance. "Where do you think?" The doctor stared at him, mouth agape, but Kashi did not care. He turned to Gregor. "Your problem's been handled. Thank you for your hard work." He also thanked Doctor Newt for his help, but the beastmaster was utterly unresponsive. It seemed the shock had been too much for him.
Kashi only laughed and exited the tunnel with Shadow and company. He had to hurry to Rosendun before the Blight wiped out the centaur tribe. Kashi, Shadow, and Larsial retrieved their respective horses then galloped past Suvron's Gate towards the heart of Rosendun.
When they were a reasonable distance away from the tower, Kira suddenly came to a halt. As a result, Kashi, Larsial, and Shadow also stopped a few feet away. They turned to face her, curiosity on their faces.
"What's wrong? Tired already," Kashi teased.
"Shut up and get off," Kira instantly berated, red eyes blazing in unbridled rage. "You forget we are connected. You can fool anyone except me."
"Heh, guess I could not get it past you," Kashi muttered. His grip on Drixlia's reins loosened. He slumped forward on the stallion's back. He vaguely noticed a panicked Shadow jump off his horse before he blacked out.
"What happened!" Shadow shouted as he jumped off his horse. He lunged toward Drixlia, aiming to catch the falling daeben. However, he ultimately fell behind Kira, who appeared by Drixlia's side like she had been expecting the fall. Kashi dropped onto her back, unconscious, but ragged breathing revealed the internal struggle he was suffering.
"Thanks," Shadow said in appreciation as Kira lowered her frame, allowing him to pull Kashi off her back. Shadow carefully propped the daeben against a boulder. He examined the daeben, brows drawn together in worry when he could not find any external cause. Helpless, he turned to Kira, "Do you know what's wrong with him?"
Kira placed a paw on Kashi's chest and sent Shadow a troubled gaze. She opened her mouth, but no words would come out. All she could do was whine helplessly as she repeatedly pawed at the daeben's chest. Never in her life had she hated her inability to speak as much as this moment.
"Does it have something to do with those eggs?" Larsial asked. Her question was innocent enough, but both Kira and Shadow turned to glare at her with unbridled hostility. In their panic, they had forgotten an enemy was within their midst. Larsial inadvertently reminded them of her presence, causing them to adopt a defensive stance immediately. Who knew if Larsial would take this opportunity to attack the defenseless Kashi?
"Don't worry. I have no plans of attacking," Larsial declared with raised hands. "I gave my word I would follow him for six months, and I intend to fulfill that promise." She knew her words would not assuage their suspicion, so she didn't bother with convincing them any further. Instead, she pointed at Kashi. "You keep pressing his chest. Is the problem over there?"
Kira's eyes involuntarily brightened, but she still kept her guard up.
"I may have an idea as to what's wrong with him." Larsial's keen eyes caught the change in the direwolf's expression. She slowly made her way over to Kashi's side under Kira and Shadow's strict watch, keeping her hands high in the air. "I heard him say something about being a Dimensional Artist before he took those eggs. Unless everything he said was hogwash, I imagine he has a personal dimension of his own. Something must've gone wrong when he put the eggs in there."
Kira raised her head and howled as if to express her agreement. She pawed at Kashi's chest, whimpering as she nudged him.
Larsial slowly reached over and placed a hand on Kashi's chest. Her expression twisted somewhat as she felt the impossibly rapid heartbeat. Any other hume with such a heartbeat should already be dead. How the hell was he still alive? She glanced at Kira and asked, "Is it here? The dimension?"
Kira's red eyes lit up as she nodded.
"This is serious," Larsial stated with a bleak expression. "I don't know what is happening, but he can't last long like this." As if on cue, Kashi suddenly spasmed violently, coughing up a large chunk of blood in the process. "Hold him down!" Larsial ordered, but moments passed without any help. "What the hell are you do—" Larsial started to shout but immediately stopped when she looked up.
Kira and Shadow were frozen in place, staring at the convulsing daeben, shock, and fear apparent in trembling eyes. Kashi had always been an insurmountable figure to these two. No matter what happened, he always pulled through with a confident, sometimes slightly cocky grin. Even when entirely overpowered by the Adjudicators, Kashi still managed to seize the momentum. The duo - no, not just these two - probably the entire Hopeful Maggots guild had never considered a possible future without Kashi.
His back was just that huge.
But now, to see that invulnerable leader completely helpless like this, to the extent he was violently coughing blood. There was no word to describe the terror that seized Kira and Shadow.
Shadow was a little better. Larsial's shout managed to get him back to his senses. He dropped next to the thrashing daeben, struggling alongside Larsial to hold him down. This was the first time he felt Kashi's inhuman strength for himself. Shadow thanked their lucky stars that this was only an instinctual thrashing; hence Kashi was not using his full force. Or else, as assassin classes, both he and Larsial sorely lacked the muscle power to hold him down.
Unfortunately, the stalemate did not last long. As if reading Shadow's mind, Kashi's efforts to free himself suddenly tripled, the exertion causing Kashi to cough up even more blood. At this rate, the daeben would surely die of blood loss!
There was only one person here strong enough to hold down Kashi firmly,
"Kira! What are you doing!?" In a rare moment of rage, Shadow let out an exasperated shout. "Get over here! He'll kill himself if he keeps this up!"
Kira, however, remained frozen in place. She just stared at the extremely vulnerable Kashi. Her heart beat chaotically, so loud she was sure the entire world could hear it. But even this could not snap her out of her stupor. The young direwolf had never realized just how much she had come to depend on Kashi's presence. Ever since her mother's death, she had been with this hateful man all the way.
They had grown strong together, faced all kinds of impossible situations and dangers right by each other's side, and they had always found a way to get through it. But now, she did not know what to do. She could not think of any way to help Kashi, and the thought of permanently losing him terrified her more than she could have ever thought possible.
Just when did the hated daeben become this important?
"Kira!"
Shadow's subsequent shout managed to reach Kira. She listlessly looked over to the assassin. "I know you are afraid," Shadow said with a grunt as he struggled against Kashi's increasing efforts. "I am too. But this is Kashi we're talking about. He'll recover and laugh at us for worrying so much. Help us stabilize him first, so he doesn't harm himself." Shadow looked her in the eyes, and solemnly stated, "Everything will be fine."
Who knew if Shadow actually believed those words or if he was just saying them to convince Kira... or maybe himself?
Regardless of his intentions, Shadow's words managed to spark a little life into Kira's listless eyes. She walked over and stood on Kashi so that her four limbs were on Kashi's. Her considerable strength showed as she immediately rendered Kashi's efforts to move futile. Only Kashi's head could move, but Larsial was more than enough to hold that part down.
Kira stared down at Kashi. Only at this moment did she remember that no matter how great he may seem, in the end, Kashi was just a hume. He could die. If he died, he would be gone forever. He would leave her. She would be alone. Kira reared back her head and let out a sorrowful howl, pouring out all the pain in her heart.
Pa!
The howl seemed to spark something in Kashi as his eyes instantly snapped open. Kira felt the movement and immediately cut her howl short. She met the daeben's gaze, but before she could let out a thought, she cried out as a single message bombarded her mind over a thousand times in a second.
"GET IN HERE!"
Kira felt a torrential aura envelope her body. That aura forcefully tried to pull her somewhere. Against her best instincts, she didn't fight the force. A second later, she disappeared, and Kashi's body went still.
"What was that?" Shadow muttered.
Larsial did not forget to check Kashi's pulse and breath quickly. She only relaxed when she noticed Kashi's vitals rapidly stabilizing. She nodded at Shadow. "Don't know. But whatever she did, it's working."
Shadow looked at Kashi's chest. "What's going on in there?" He turned to look at Larsial. "Thank you. If you didn't react when you did..."
"He might have killed himself," Larsial harshly finished. She glared at Shadow. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you think your leader is some sort of god? Kashi has completely spoiled the lot of you." She glanced at Kashi. "This is his fault as a leader too. He's too used to handling everything by himself, so the rest of you have begun to see him that way." She stood up and dusted herself off. Fixing a stern glare at Shadow, she advised, "If you do not want to be the cause of your leader's death, become a force he relies on and not the other way around. That way, you will always consider Kashi's vulnerability in everything you do."
With a sigh, Larsial added, "You're strong, but you do not know how to analyze situations beyond the battlefield very well. With this ability, you would have easily deduced the most probable cause for his condition. You should consider joining the Assassin's Guild. They're not as powerful as they used to be, but it's a good place to learn the fundamentals of what it really means to be a person's shadow."
Shadow's sat in a seiza by Kashi's side. His expression remained neutral through Larsial's tirade, but he acknowledged her critique with a determined, "Thank You."
Larsial sighed and shook her head. She looked down at the daeben. Really, what was going on in there?
Minutes Earlier
"Fuck!"
Kashi let out a tirade of curses as he glared at a pair of stone-like eggs. His inner world was a complete mess, and these two were the culprits! Tsunamis and floods crashed against sturdy mountains and hills. A sea of flames burned over the mountains, continually fighting against the flood, but at the moment, they were at a stalemate.
This was a battle between these eggs' bloodlines against the joint forces of the dragon and Yggdrasil. Kashi initially had no clue how his inner world functioned, but probably due to this incident, information related to his world began flowing into his head.
It was only now that Kashi realized that his so-called 'inner world' had not yet reached the status of a world. At best, it was only an embryo of a future world. There was only one way to build this inner world of his, and that was to introduce the six elements of creation: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Metal, and Lightning. Furthermore, the world's magnitude and strength depended much on the type of materials used in their creation. So far, the fusion of Kashi's inner dragon (fire) and Yggdrasil (Earth) managed to create the first patch of earth for the inner world.
Furthermore, as far as earth elements were concerned, there was nothing with the same quality as Yggdrasil. Unfortunately, as Kashi had not yet managed to acquire all the guardians' branches, it was not yet at full strength. Still, it's high-quality aura managed to create and stabilize Kashi's inner world such that he did not need to gather all the elements.
The inner dragon contributed fire to the inner world, hence why there was a 'sun' overhead. In the end, Yggdrasil was still a tree. The sun increased the speed at which it evolved. The only unfortunate reality was that, as an Elder Dragon, Kashi's inner dragon's fire element could only be considered 'very good.'
It definitely did not match Yggdrasil's premium quality. Hence the boon it provided Yggdrasil was quite minimal.
However, the dragon benefited greatly from Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil was known as the 'Tree of Life' for a reason. All life that stayed under its branches often evolved multiple times past their bloodline limit. Every second spent under Yggdrasil improved its strength. The dragon was confident that even if Kashi did nothing but sleep, sometime in the future, it would evolve past being an Elder Dragon.
This fragile balance was maintained because both auras belonged to Kashi; hence there was no disharmony as to who should lead and who should not. They cooperated for the sake of making Kashi stronger.
However, it was into this fragile ecosystem that Kashi unceremoniously tossed, not one, but two Hydra eggs. By themselves, these would already be huge threats as Hydras were an even better source of water element than Elder Dragons were of the fire element. However, these were no regular Hydra eggs.
First, their mother was a Hydra that had lived for over a millennium. She was also personally selected by Razznik to guard a god. The purity and strength of such a bloodline were already terrifying enough on their own. The two other secrets that Kashi was not aware of were even more damning. First, while their mother had been a Hydra, their father was a Kraken. Razznik, in a bout of boredom, had one of his servants artificially impregnate the Hydra with a Kraken's seed.
These eggs were so powerful that they had taken over eight hundred years to form. It had also been over two hundred years since they were laid, but they were unable to hatch for one terrifying reason: their powerful mother could not supply the quality of mana needed. Hence, she could only substitute quality with quantity. She had spent over two hundred years nourishing these eggs, but in the end, she died right before the eggs were ready to hatch.
The lifeforms within the eggs struggled to conserve the remaining mana accumulated over time, but without constant replenishment from their mother, the mana was quickly running out. They knew they would soon perish if they did not get some high-quality mana. Hence, the moment they sensed the rich mana emanating from the combined auras of Yggdrasil and the dragon, they greedily attempted to forcibly absorb it all for themselves.
This was a terrible enough scenario on its own. The mana drain would certainly leave Kashi weak until it stabilized, but it was not fatal. However, things took a rapid turn for the worse when the dimension recognized the eggs as a potential source of one of the missing elements needed for its creation: Water.
Furthermore, it was such a high-quality source of water too. The dimension automatically attempted to seize control of the hydra eggs and place them under submission. The idea was to establish a continuous cycle between the eggs, the dragon, and Yggdrasil to benefit all the parties involved.
Unfortunately, immediately the Hydra eggs felt the pull on their remaining aura, they pegged the environment as a hostile place that wanted to kill them by sucking out the rest of their mana. The eggs burst out in full retaliatory force, their combined auras seeking to crush the world around them.
Yggdrasil and the dragon recognized the threat to the already fragile world and immediately worked to counter and suppress the eggs. Unfortunately, Yggdrasil was still mostly incomplete, and the dragon's bloodline was not up-to-par, forcing them into a stalemate with the eggs.
The battle between the elements raged chaos within Kashi's world, causing tears to appear in the 'sky' and 'ground.' The world could no longer handle the clash and would soon implode if left unchecked.
Kashi would have liked to communicate with the eggs, but these were still just eggs, no matter how ancient. Their actions were the basest of animal instincts. There was no mode of communication. Kashi's brows had already begun to knit in worry when a loud, sorrowful howl tore through the world.
The wolf cry was so unexpected that it brought a momentary pause to the conflict.
Meanwhile, Kashi stared in shock at the silhouette that had appeared in the sky as a new piece of information entered his mind. Using all of his willpower, Kashi willed himself to wake up, just long enough to give Kira the signal not to resist.
Kashi's attempt was successful, and moments later, a confused Kira appeared next to Kashi in the sky. Despite her confusion, Kira pounced on Kashi immediately she laid eyes on him. The daeben did not have a chance to say anything before she nestled her head on his shoulder. Initially shocked, he eventually regained himself and patted Kira's head. "Sorry for making you worry."
"Hmmph." Kira snorted and released her grip on his shoulders. She instantly regained her proud demeanor, the scared little wolf nowhere to be found. "I told you before. You're not allowed to die until I kill you."
"You did say something like that, didn't you," Kashi admitted with a short laugh.
Kira ignored the smug grin on Kashi's face. She looked at the chaotic battle and questioned. "What's this?"
Kashi gave a quick summary of what he understood of everything that had happened so far. In the end, he added, "I'm going to need your help."
Kira sent a determined gaze Kashi's way. "Just tell me what to do."
Kashi looked at Kira. He did not know what had caused a significant change in her attitude, but he was thankful for it. In this world, there was certainly no one who knew and understood him as well as she did. Likewise, there was no one in this world he could trust as much as Kira. Although there was undoubtedly a bonus from living so long in each other's heads, Kashi was sure that even without their connection, he would still be confident in putting his life in Kira's paws.
Kashi smiled and said as he patted Kira's head. "Just don't resist, and everything will be fine."
"Don't resist? What will I be resisTIII—" Terror engulfed Kira's mind as an overbearing force seized control of all the mana in her body. Kira instantly understood why the Hydra eggs reacted the way they did. No living being would take kindly to having some unknown force take control of their body, let alone one that sucked out something as vital as mana. Despite Kashi's explanation, it still took everything Kira had to not struggle against this oppressive force.
Kashi keenly felt Kira's panic. His brows locked together in worry. Had he made the wrong decision? Were things really as the information in his head suggested? The daeben suddenly began to doubt himself. He did not want to risk Kira's life on a gamble. He had initially been entirely sure, but Kira's panic and fear opened his eyes to the possibility of being wrong. What if he was wrong and something happened to Kira?
Kashi could not imagine a world without Kira.
Kira had been with Kashi for so long that he had begun to take her presence for granted. Even when they were leagues apart, a part of Kira was always in his head. This ensured that no matter what, Kashi never truly felt alone. One of the primary reasons he was so confident when Froy captured him was precisely because of Kira's connection.
It was funny, really.
Because he had to leave the game from time to time, Kira did have moments where Kashi was not in her head. The opposite, however, was not true. Ever since Fladnag established the connection between them, Kira had always been in Kashi's head, an ever-present presence that assured him he was not alone in this world.
"Hey, Kira—"
As if sensing the daeben's hesitation, a bright light suddenly descended from the 'sun,' enclosing Kira within. Kashi's eyes were forced shut as a massive gale burst out from Kira's position. The initial blast flung Kashi several meters back. He managed to land on his feet, but it took all he had to remain upright as the wind picked up.
Kashi activated [Dragon's Eyes]. Thin layers of mana-films protected his eyes, which had transformed into dragon slits. Under the protection of the mana-films, Kashi opened his eyes and searched for Kira.
Kashi did not exactly find Kira. Instead, to his surprise, he saw the light cocoon containing Kira hovering under Yggdrasil. Horrid tempestuous wind gushed out of the cocoon into the flames above.
The flames roared with renewed life. They burned even brighter and angrier, buoyed by the sudden influx of high-quality wind element injected into them. The raging flames instantly sought vengeance against the tyrannical flood. They directly engulfed and suppressed the flood, swallowing it up at an alarming rate.
Within moments, the combined forces of Kira, the dragon, and Yggdrasil effectively suppressed the eggs' auras. The eggs recognized their loss and stopped their futile struggle. They reluctantly allowed themselves to be enveloped by the world's power, which manifested itself in the form of bright light. The eggs were then transported beneath Yggdrasil's branches.
Kashi let out a sigh of relief as he saw the situation stabilize. However, things did not remain calm for long.
With the four elemental lifeforms docile and compliant, the dimension could finally begin forming for real. The dimension once again sucked out the auras from all the lifeforms. This time, there was no resistance from any of them.
The released auras converged in the clouds above, where they mixed into a complex amalgamation of mana that took the form of a tornado.
Kashi looked on in interest as the tornado abruptly expanded. It exploded, sending mana scattering across a vast area. Kashi's eyes went wide as a stretch of enormous plains formed in front of his eyes. Small creeks and rivulets cut across the plains, and Kashi could see that at the ends of the plains was a massive body of water whose ends he could not see.
At the center of these plains was the massive Yggdrasil. The dragon laid on the earth beneath its branches, whereas Kira's cocoon still hovered in mid-air. The eggs found a new home in a small pond, also located beneath Yggdrasil branches. If the eggs had voices, they would have squealed in delight as, compared to the mana that was sucked out of them, the high-quality mana from Yggdrasil was more than enough to satisfy their needs. Furthermore, because of the intermingled Elder Dragon and Zephyr Direwolf auras, there was a chance their bloodline could mutate even further.
That's right, Kira was a Zephyr Direwolf. Kira's existence as a Zephyr Direwolf was only revealed to Kashi when her howl pierced into his dimension. Although Kashi had always known that Kira's bloodline was special (Her mother was a freaking god!), he never knew her exact species.
The game interface simply listed her as a direwolf, and since Kira herself did not know what species she was, both parties flung the matter to the back of their heads.
The ArchGriffin they released in the mines reminded them how special her bloodline was, but there had been no chances to explore that further. They once again forgot about it. However, this time, the truth of Kira's bloodline finally came in the form of a demand from his dimension.
It needed an extra element to balance the situation. And after noticing Kira's bloodline's purity and the fact that her wind element would greatly influence the stalemate, it bombarded Kashi with the relevant information.
The world continued to stabilize as the different auras began to form a cycle between each other. Yggdrassil's earth element formed the basis for everything. Its unique ability to provide life energy further boosted all the beasts' bloodlines under its branches.
The improved bloodlines would, in turn, boost the respective elements of these beasts. In the case of the Hydra eggs, their water element allowed for the growth of plant-life like the grass on the plains. The water element also provided nourishment to Yggdrasil, replenishing its mana and aiding in its development.
The Elder Dragon's fire element did not need to be mentioned. Without the fire element, the entire world would be frozen over, and life would be unable to exist. The surprise addition was the effect of Kira's wind element. Her element brought air to the world. Initially, this was a world only suitable for spiritual bodies, or those that only needed mana to survive. However, wind's inclusion introduced oxygen and other gases into the world. Living beings could now breathe in the world.
This was the first time the world could be considered a 'real world.' The world wasn't complete yet. Four elements had been gathered. Two were left. Kashi had no idea where the hell he was supposed to get Metal and Lightning, but he did not care. These types of things were encountered, not sought after.
After the world stabilized, Kashi landed beneath Yggdrasil's branches. This was the first time he stood next to the tree, and only at this moment did he realize just how large this tree was. While it had yet to reach the colossal height Razznik had encountered, the tree was still over 200 meters (656 ft) tall, with a ridiculous trunk width of just about 20 meters (65ft).
Kashi looked up at the multi-layered canopy formed by the tree branches. He was not wholly certain, but he was quite sure at least one baseball stadium could fit beneath the canopy.
Kashi recalled the city-sized Yggdrasil Razznik mercilessly cut down. Maybe it was because this tree was a part of him, but he now felt he could understand why the Treants had fought Razznik so valiantly. This tree was a thing of beauty. It exuded a soothing fragrance that not only calmed the minds and souls of everything close to it but also seemed to uplift their spirits.
It was difficult to harbor evil thoughts while beneath this tree.
Kashi looked away from Yggdrasil to the cocoon that encased Kira within. "Hey, Kira. Thanks for the help. You saved my life this time." The cocoon remained silent. "Uh... Job's over. You can come out now."
No answer was forthcoming.
Kashi's brow furrowed. "Kira?"
The quiet rustling of grass and leaves were the only sounds in the world.
"Kira!" Kashi shouted. His frown deepened as he began to panic. "Hey! Stupid Dimension! You don't get to keep her! She isn't some power source for you!"
Still no response.
"I said Release Her!" Kashi screamed with clenched fists. The silence continued. Kashi unleashed a tirade of curses. He began considering much more violent solutions when a cool breeze washed over him. Kashi had no idea how he knew what he did, but somehow, not only did that wind stabilize his emotions, it also somehow delivered a simple message: "Everything will be fine."
Kashi turned back and glared at Yggdrasil. "You. You're the one, aren't you?" A slight breeze brushed past. "Uh-huh. You're also the one who told me about Kira, am I right?" There was that slight breeze again. Kashi's eyes narrowed. "So, what exactly are you, and what's happening to her?"
The breeze brushed by once again. Kashi was now certain. It was definitely Yggdrasil that sent the information about Kira. This was because he could feel the familiar influx of information into his mind. There was no way to explain how it felt. One second, he did not know anything about this tree, and the next, he had all the information he needed.
Perhaps a neurologist would question how this was possible and how it could be applied in the world, but Kashi... Kashi only cared about the information. It took him a moment to sort out the report, an evil grin spreading on his face the deeper he got.
According to Yggdrasil, it was the 'seed' of this world. In most myths, Yggdrasil was referred to as the 'World Tree.'
Kashi felt this description severely underestimated just how powerful this tree was. Apparently, the Yggdrasil Razznik saw was only a 'branch' of the tree. Yggdrasil was a colossal tree that served as a gateway between all the dimensions Ferulic created. The hopeless romantic designed the tree so he could easily take Aethir anywhere she wanted.
Aethir, in turn, fell in love with the magnificent tree and personally blessed it. This blessing was [Boon of Life], which granted Yggdrasil the ability to create and disseminate life energy. This energy was capable of boosting the bloodlines of every living thing. There had even been rare cases where concentrated doses had resulted in immortality.
However, in Kashi's case, all he had was a 'seed' of this magnificent tree. The seed had already fused with his soul, so it existed in tandem with him. If Kashi perished, it would too. So, it was in its best interests to do everything to keep Kashi alive. Since Kashi was not the type to take up farming or knitting and live in peace, it had no choice but to find ways to make him stronger.
Unfortunately, while the world remained in its 'embryo state', Yggdrasil's range of activities were severely limited. Luckily, the Hydra Eggs' introduction had finally provided the world with an additional element that could improve the situation. But, it had not accounted for the eggs' hostility.
To stabilize the situation, Yggdrasil rapidly needed an additional non-hostile element to stabilize the situation. It was at this moment that Kira's howl pierced the realm. It instantly detected her real bloodline. After all, it was a seed of the Great World Tree. It would be shameful if there were a lifeform it did not recognize.
When Kira entered the world, Yggdrasil forcibly boosted her bloodline with most of the life energy it had stored up. It was a temporary rise, but it was enough to activate the powerful wind element in her blood. The temporary boost was enough to suppress the Hydra eggs and bring them under submission.
However, Yggdrasil did not release Kira because the boost was only temporary. Should it release her at the moment, her bloodline would instantly revert to its previous state. The backlash would be severely damaging, and it might affect her future evolution. Yggdrasil instead kept her in the cocoon. This way, the life energy would be trapped in there with her. It would slowly assimilate into her bones and blood until the situation stabilized. Only at that moment could she be considered to have genuinely 'evolved.'
Yggdrasil also clarified that Kashi should not expect this kind of rapid evolution to be a regular occurrence. Aside from the fact that such forceful growth sapped far too much life energy from a sapling like itself, Yggdrasil was still a tree of balance and nature. It would not interfere too much in the mortal realm.
However, it was not all terrible news. Yggdrasil did reveal to Kashi that it was a part of him, and, as this was his world, there were some benefits. It was these benefits that had Kashi grinning like a mad devil.
First, as the dimension existed in his soul, Kashi would have access to every element within. It wasn't to the extent where he could summon rain and thunder with a wave of his hand. More like, Kashi could now enchant anything he touched with the elements in his world. At the moment, he had access to the Wind, Earth, Fire, and Water.
Second, the existence of Yggdrasil provided Kashi with a constant source of life energy. He could use the energy to heal himself and others. Yggdrasil was quick to stress that Kashi was not immortal. The amount of energy it could send to him was not that much as most of it was needed to maintain the dimension. When it came down to numbers, Kashi found that his health regen rate had tripled.
Yikes! Kashi suddenly felt like a roach. It would indeed be too difficult for everyday riff-raff to kill him even in his sleep now.
That was not to say he was invincible. Characters like Shoko had terribly high Damage take could more than half his health with the right strike. Furthermore, most high-level warriors and mages had some sort of skill that tampered with self-regen. In the Warriors' case, they usually by infusing the enemy with explosive or corrosive ki. Alchemists used poisons, while Mages used debilitating spells.
All in all, having high-regen was not a reason to get careless. However, that said, how often would someone run into a player with both High Damage and self-regen hindering skills? Ninety-nine percent of the time, Kashi would be able to stomp his way through most battles. This was immensely satisfying.
This was even more so considering that he would be forced to fight even tougher monsters with the debuff if he wanted to match the leveling speed of the other great Summoned.
The final boon was an immediate increase in his strength itself. The world increased his base strength by 20%. That number would increase as the world itself stabilized and increased in size.
The information ended with the two methods to expand the world. The first was to find the best elemental materials or beasts to serve as the core of the dimension. The long-term process, however, was to populate the dimension with life. Animals were a good start, but the life energy they produced paled compared to that of Humes.
The life energy generated by these life forms would be absorbed, then enhanced by Yggdrasil. This would allow it to expand the world, so even more people could join. It was entirely possible that one day, Kashi could create an entire universe of his own.
Uh-huh...
Kashi digested all of this information with an excited grin. He looked up at Yggdrasil, then at the cocoon containing Kira. The white light wriggled now and then, a sign of the life within it. In Kashi's eyes, it somehow resembled a maggot or caterpillar.
"I'll be waiting," Kashi promised with a smile. Moments later, only the rustling of grass remained. Kashi had returned to the real world with an urge to destroy—er, test out his new powers.