The Golden Crow was not the most imposing beast of legend, but it was the fastest and most crafty out of the bunch. Its survival skills were top notch as no being would be able to keep up with its speed and agility. That didn’t mean their attack power was not potent though. They specialized in one of the most destructive Daos, the Solar Fire Dao. An off branch of the main Fire Dao where all of the comprehension came directly from the Sun itself. It is said once they reach a deep enough understanding, they can bend the laws of physics and outrun the speed of light. All of these thoughts were running through Damien’s mind as he calmed himself.
‘Clearly he is no threat as of right now or he would have wiped me out long ago. I wonder if Aya could take on a Golden Crow though. It would be interesting to see, but I am not here for that! Focus Damien!’
Damien slapped himself with both hands so he could focus on what mattered. He needed to be on good terms so he could stay and practice. He could already feel how this environment was affecting him in a positive way. He had a feeling it would be better than any cultivation chamber in the academy. With that in mind, Damien bowed deeply toward the Golden Crow in which he held true reverence for. Just like the Phoenix, they followed similar paths in the Dao.
“Sir, or uhm, mam? We did not mean to barge into your home without permission. I have a small favor to ask. I traveled from afar to train here in hopes to become stronger. Would that be okay with you? And I wouldn’t be here for long!”
The Golden Crow held its head high as it scrutinized Damien’s posture and voice. It was clear he was telling the truth and wasn’t here to cause harm. It couldn’t put its finger on Aya whose strength was undetectable, but there was no sense of threat either.
“It is actually sir! I am Kyro, the guardian of this tree. Usually I would not tolerate any outsiders, however you entered through a secret passage. I stay up at the top where I could meet anyone that trespassed. Somehow you were able to make it past me. How did you know of that passage?”
As Kyro asked that question, he kept his eye on Aya since it made sense she would somehow find it and not Damien. Aya shook her head knowing exactly what the Golden Crow was thinking. Damien quickly stood up with a smug look on his face.
“I found it by luck! I was just climbing when my hand went through the walls of the volcano. Wait, you called it a tree. What did you mean by that?”
Kyro floated down to be eye level with Damien.
“I’ll get to that afterwards, if you’re worthy to know. What I don’t believe is that you found it by luck. The only way someone is able to get there is by following a very meticulous route. With even the slightest bit of deviation you will never find that passage. You are to say it was truly found by some heaven-defying coincidence?”
Damien didn’t hesitate to confirm his thoughts.
“Yes! I was just mindlessly climbing trying to reach the top and here we are!”
“Yes, here you both are, in my home. If it’s like that then this must be fated. This was bound to happen, it was only a matter of time before you arrived.”
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Kyro the Golden Crow landed softly on top of the prayer mat where it floated amongst the bubbling of the magma. He took a deep and controlled breath as he focused his mind. Suddenly, the magma stopped boiling over, causing the lake of magma to cease to a standstill. The still calmness of the situation confused Damien since it was a complete change on what was going on earlier.
‘Is he now ignoring us? I mean it’s amazing, but expected of a Golden Crow to have this level of control over heat, however what now? What does he want me to do?’
While Damien was contemplating whether to beg or prove himself in some way, a buildup of condensed energy surged through the inner walls of the volcano. That was when the brightest light Damien had ever witnessed appeared at the top hole of the volcano. Within the next moment without another nanosecond passing by, a ray of intense, and scathing light hailed down upon Kyro. It was like a column of holy cleansing light that was so pure it could wipe away any evil off the face of this earth.
Kyro took it all in, accepting it entirely into its body. His body shined even greater than before while he soaked in it like a warm bath. Damien felt enthralled by this event, so much so that he was unaware of his current actions. Its warmth, and power entranced Damien the moment he felt it come down. Damien did not even need to focus to hear the whispering of the Dao surrounding him. It went from quiet whispers to pounding his mind inside and out.
‘I need to know. I need to understand!’
Damien ignored everyone like he was the only person in the world. All that mattered to him was to gain an understanding of the Dao displayed before him. He took his first step into the column of light inside the lake of magma and felt the energies flow into his body. It was an instant overstimulation of flowing energies and understanding that sent Damien reeling over. It made his mind go blank and have a vision of a huge ball of fire suspended in empty space. He fell straight into the magma and stayed afloat with his head up. Aya made no effort to stop or save him. Whatever happened to him was on him and that was her attitude about it.
Kyro opened a single eye to see what had happened and let it go as well. He was too busy basking in this light ray to worry about anything else. On the other hand Damien was trying his best to understand what was being said inside the Dao, however the voices were too meshed up to understand a single thing. With that in mind, he decided to just focus on cultivating the Phoenix Breath Technique in these prime conditions. Immediately his skin began to burn and blister then heal all over. It was a painful cycle but it led to quick and efficient gains. His healing factor kept him from being scorched to death right down to his cells because although he could swim and enjoy the magma, he could not deal with this light source. It was far too strong for someone of his caliber to take in completely without any damage, but it was worth the risk. Damien had gained more than he ever had since he reached the Sky Realm. As he was ready to enter a long state of cultivation while he got into his rhythm, the beam of light vanished into thin air. Being taken away from something that was greatly beneficial stunned Damien to no end.
“Are you kidding me!? It just started, god damn it!”
Damien’s frustrations were clear as day, but he had no choice to stop when Kyro rose from the prayer mat. Kyro watched Damien’s skin go from burnt black to his usual healthy color. It was then the Golden Crow decided to land atop of Damien’s head.
“Interesting boy. Like I said it was fate for you to be here. Usually that does not go in hand with being qualified as well, but you are both. You sensed something in there didn’t you?”
Damien nodded his head which caused Kyro to pull on his hair. Damien cried out in pain as some of hairs were pulled out.
“Just speak.”
“Yes I felt something. I just could not understand it. Where did that light come from and what is this place? I thought it was an ordinary volcano.”
“This wasn’t just an ordinary volcano in the past. This was once a World Tree. The longest living creatures on this planet with immense knowledge and wisdom. People from all over the world would come to a World Tree to seek its advice, however this is just the husk of a World Tree now.”
Kyro feathered his wings in a depressed manner. He looked up into the caldera and reminisced about the past of this once legendary being. It was something that was harder to find than a beast like himself. While Kyro was reminiscing about other things, Damien was trying to figure out what a World Tree was exactly. He had no knowledge of it whatsoever. There were no texts or passed down knowledge from everything he had learned.
‘From the way he speaks about it, it must be something amazing. There’s no way it could claim the title World in its name otherwise.’
“Sir, Golden Crow, sir, what is a World Tree and why is it like this now?”
Kyro snapped back into reality with a grim expression.
“Just call me Kyro. I find it quite amazing you made it without any knowledge of this place. It makes it much more worthwhile for you to arrive here.”