Inside the house, Ren quickly found the library. It was filled with thousands of books, neatly organized on bookshelves in a room that was shaped in the form of a perfect circle. The 3-meter tall bookshelves were not touched for two thousand years yet lacked any speck of dust, as if someone came and kept everything clean, neat, and organized, visting every day. The most surprising thing was, no matter which book she took down, it was in very good condition. The ink may have faded a bit on some pages, but nothing that would make them unable to be read.
“Interesting.” Ren murmured, flipping through page after page.
“Could it be because of the trees’ auras?” Leinor’s voice asked inside her head.
“Maybe, I can’t tell. The one we spoke with is a true Demigod. I am 100% sure. When we stepped into its body, I could feel it. He is capable of controlling this area in a way that prevents the decay of mundane items.”
“I did not know that… plus I felt nothing strange. Nothing at all, to be honest.” He sighed.
“Exactly.” Ren smiled, opening an old lexicon written about the customs of the old House of Ein. “The most telling point of a Demigod is that you can’t distinguish them from any average humans. Not even when they use their immense strength. Nothing leaks out. In the old ways, when one started to fill energy into his or her own core, there was no leakage, no energy or aura. That is why their spells were deadly. They were focused, precise, and devastating.”
“Are there different stages of Demigods?” Leinor asked as since he could focus his own thoughts more and more, he relied less and less on reading Ren’s mind or feelings. He was trying to keep his own identity intact, separate from hers.
“Not really.” Ren answered after thinking for a little while. “Not in the sense as in the realms before it. There are differences as to how much energy you transfer and convert into your core, but that is it. There is also a huge disparity between the two demigod cultivators’ understandings. It can lead to differences in power. This is why it is hard to tell who is going to come out on top if two demigods decide to fight.”
“And this is just your old knowledge…” He whispered as Ren just nodded, putting the book in her hands back on the shelf.
“Yes. I’ll need to hear about the Immortals’ method and how they developed the new way of cultivation and experience it for myself… but we are talking about the tree here! Watching the demons’ tribulations, they are different from us. They have cores that act like demigods right from the start. Our host has not just developed its core to the demigod realm like Rumira, who lacks in her own body and is unable to precisely control it. Until she does, she is not a Demigod. Same for the old tiger. He had his body elevated into the demigod realm, but his core was lacking, and that is why he was not able to use spells. The energy couldn’t penetrate the robustness of his body.”
As she explained it patiently, Ren did not realize that she was talking somewhat loudly. Ariana, who arrived not that long ago, was listening carefully, taking it as a lesson, feeling that Ren was answering her own questions that she was about to ask.
“Both of our species have their own advantages. On the one hand, the demons have no need to watch their cultivation as closely as we do. They have a natural way of progressing, like growing up. Of course, imbalance can occur easily at later stages, as you can see. If they survive long enough… On the other hand, there are us humans. We consciously take the steps, one after another, just as a toddler learns how to walk. First, we build up our bodies; then, we focus on harmony to keep our bodies in balance with our energies. It is not a natural evolution for us, we need to actively focus on it, or it won’t happen! Some will never be able to even step past the first few levels. As for the ents…” She fell a bit silent, watching the spine of the differently colored books before her. “They are demons. They must have the same progress as the rest. That means that they have a core. The question is; Where?”
“Maybe at their roots.” Ariana spoke up as Ren smiled, turning towards her with a warm look in her eyes.
“There is a high chance that you are right.” She nodded. “But this is something we can’t ask, as it would be like asking you what kind of underwear you have on right now.”
“Master!” She puffed out her cheeks. “It is totally not the same!”
“Ahaha, true. It is even worse. So, are you shaving it or not?” Ren asked as she tilted her head, almost choking Ariana and driving her disciple into a coughing fit.
“M-M-MASTER?!” She asked, slapping her own chest, gasping for air, trying to clear the saliva that went down the wrong way.
“Yep! Asking that question would be the same as this!”
“Hmf! You are enjoying making me feel embarrassed!” She crossed her arms, turning her head sideways, pouting.
“A little.” Ren giggled before leaning against the only window in the room. “So?”
“N-nothing… I just feel creeped out by this place.” Ariana sighed softly. “I feel like I am seeing things from the corner of my eyes, things that are not there or should be there, but they are not. If I stay alone for long and let my thoughts wander, I can pick up the leftover feelings from long ago! They are still lingering here; it is scary! I don’t want to sleep in a palace like this!” She said with honesty and childlike fear in her eyes.
“Can you feel if there are people buried under the land?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I can’t. I can’t even make out the feelings of the bird demons outside or any of the trees. If I try, I feel my powers are being blocked. They are masked by the workings of this huge tree. I can’t think of anything else to explain!”
“Me neither.” Ren agreed. “And you did tell her off! Maybe she is blocking you because of spite~”
“Ugh… please, don’t remind me of that, Master!” She twitched her eyelids. “You should’ve told me!”
“Why? Don’t worry! If they want to hurt us it is not like we could fight back or do anything, they could squash us like nothing!”
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“You… do know, this does not ease my worries Master… yes?” She looked at her with a weird smile.
“Ahaha, I’m just saying; Don’t worry, because it would not change anything!”
“I’m sure you could do something if we get into trouble!” Ariana said with confidence.
“The three Ns, my dear disciple! Nope. None. Nothing. It is a demigod we are talking about; not even Sect Head could stand up against it!”
“Really?” She asked with an even more terrified voice, with her mouth wide open.
“You need to realize something; That is the realm before becoming an Immortal or a God. I could fight someone at the third level of harmony or someone like Harimau because they are not really demigods. Utilizing my strengths and exploiting their weaknesses can bring me victory, not to mention using the advantage of numbers! Still, it is required to risk my life in doing so! Fighting a true Demigod? Nope, that is a foolish endeavor if you are not one yourself. I could wield the weapon of a God, but I’d still be squashed like a grape. Five of me? Same results.” Ren explained to her with complete calmness, wearing a relaxed smile.
“What about that… formation?” She asked after falling deeply silent for minutes, registering what her Master was saying.
“Now, that is one thing I could put up a fight with! With good preparation and catching a demigod off guard, I could kill him or her.”
“Then-”
“Ahaha, and you think I could set one up right now? I know that a tree can’t move, but please…” She laughed, walking next to Ariana, patting her head, and stroking her hair. “Relax. Nothing bad is going to happen.”
…
….
…..
It was an enormous space, filled with golden light, wherever one looked as if it was raining down from the sky. It was gentle, warm, and filled with the fresh smell of nature after a spring rain. If one only looked with his eyes, he could only perceive the endless, golden fields, yet if he looked with his soul, he would see a forest of trees, gently swaying in the wind, their leaves rustling. They were sounding as if they were singing. In reality, they were talking amongst themselves, and this meeting was hosted in this golden realm belonging to their ruler, the one who Ren and the rest talked with through the body of Catherine.
“Their words were way more telling than they would acknowledge it.” One tree said, sounding like a deep, male voice.
“I agree.” Another echoed, less robust but still a male voice. “We all know how humans are; their limited lifespan makes them harsh, and they act without thinking about the future consequences. This does not change even if they expand their lifespans.”
“Are you sure?” Another more feminine voice asked. “Are we right in categorizing their species based on the past?”
“Based on the current evidence!” The first voice spoke up once again.
“It was my fault.” Another calm voice added, now sounding like a father’s, silencing the rest quickly. It was the same voice that Ren could hear, mixed with the female voice that, in reality, belonged to the body and soul of Catherine. “I wanted to provide them a tangible presence to talk to and used Catherine's body to do so. I was not thinking of the consequences. Just like a human would.” He said, almost sounding like a defeated sigh.
“You don’t need to say that, Allfather!” Said not just one but hundreds of voices at the same time.
“Yes I do. She was right. Were we not the same?” He asked as his voice traveled into every living ents’ mind. “When I gained sentience, I saw how humans cut down our ancestors, our children, our family. They burned them, used them, tortured them, without hearing their screams.”
“That is why we can’t trust humans!” Multiple ents said they still remember those days, but their voices were way weaker than the silence of the rest.
“Could they hear us even?” Allfather asked.
“They did not listen even when you talked to them directly! They started to burn down the forest!” A reply came after only a short pause.
“Yes, and they paid for it. We enslaved their bodies and souls for eternity as a punishment. I stand by the decision that I made back then. Don’t get me wrong, my brothers and sisters!” Allfather continued. “But think about what we felt when we saw how they chopped us up to build their homes from our corpses! Now, I used one of theirs as a vessel to speak with them… I can understand their anger. It was my fault for choosing this approach. Deep down, I realize I wanted to invoke fear into them, to show our… my strength, and scare them away from our forest! I can’t and won’t deny this mistake.”
“You did it to preserve our homes. If humans come back, history will repeat itself!”
“Did I? Or did I do it because we are acting just like a human would? Only we don’t want to face it?” He asked as he lamented with a heavy voice, “Are we really different?”
“Allfather…” The murmur of thousands of voices came at the same time as they were starting to debate amongst themselves once again.
“Humans are a threat; they exploit nature, and nothing will change that, not even time!” The deep voice spoke up once again.
“What about demons?” Allfather asked, now directing his own voice towards him directly at first before letting it spread towards the rest. “Some of you did the same with demons as we did with the humans back then, did you not?” He chuckled, and he even sounded greatly disappointed. “After the talk, I felt it out. I let my roots burrow deep, and I was shocked at how many demonic vessels some of you have collected. I started to question if they really did the same as humans. So? Care to tell me?”
At first, it was silence, just like when a parent catches his kids doing something wrong and starts questioning them. The silence slowly started to build up and turn into pressure as creaking noises began to echo from the distance.
“When we formed our home in the middle of the forest, we agreed never to do the same as the humans did to us! We will stay in our new home! Watch and protect the forest to let our awakened brethren have something they can call home! Call their own land! We meant not just us, ents, but all demons! Or did you all forget it just because some years have passed?!”
Nobody said anything, and when the pressure started to become way too overwhelming, almost cracking their barks, it suddenly started to recede.
“I need time to think. I also advise you all to do the same. We gained intelligence; we should not squander it but use it.” He said, and the gold light slowly faded. The fields turned illusory before finally dissipating. It was leaving the Allfather’s thoughts alone in a fog-like haze, represented by a golden sphere accompanied by a faint, bluish speck of light beside his own.
“I told you, you are a hypocrite.” A female voice spoke up next to him. “It needed another humans’ words to recognize it?” She asked with deep sarcasm and resentment.
“Yes, because yours are usually filled with malice.”
“Who would have guessed?” She snorted loudly. “You all need to face reality! What did I say over and over again in the past? You are worshiping a God… Are you not?”
“Yes.” The firm answer came immediately. “He gave us life; he blessed us with intelligence and called out to us! I still remember the voice I heard when my consciousness formed; ‘I opened the path for you! Now, walk on it! Stand up and start walking because it’s fun!’” Catherine did not say anything at first, letting Allfather relieve his earliest memories before speaking up, telling him something she had been saying for a long, long time, yet until now, he just ignored it.
“Your God… was it a demon or a human?”
Allfather, just like so many times before, had no answer for her, falling silent and Catherine also refused to say anything else. She was going completely dormant, unnoticeable beside the giant, golden presence of Allfather.