Chapter 67: Chosen Fruit

“This land is protected!” The left guard shouted.

“None can pass without the blessing of the…” the right guard’s decree was cut short.

“No need for that, stand down,” Patro commanded. The guards kept a defensive and ready position, but their gaze raised from Trint to Patro. With sudden recognition, they sheathed their swords and stood at attention before the gateway.

“This is my guest,” Patro calmly stated,” Would you please confirm he has the necessary blessing and allow us passage?”

“No one informed us of “guests” nor of a Blessed One appearing!” One guard said, “This is abnormal for even someone in your station Patrolius!”

“Perhaps we should summon the Council or at least our Captain?” The other guard challenged.

“Before you delay us further, answer me this, do I have the authority to enter this gate, and can any Blessed Ones be denied entrance?” Patro said with clear authority.

“Fine,” The guard on Trint’s right suddenly took a step and was immediately in front of him. He bent down to a knee and grabbed Trint’s right hand with his own. Then Trint felt a warm current pass through him, and his body lit up like a light bulb. He could clearly see his core and Spirit and even the Soul manifest visibly to his eyes and there was a heaviness that descended. The guards and even Patro seemed to stumble as if they had just shouldered a very heavy backpack. Trint was unhindered by the force that impacted the others, but he turned his focus to the hand holding his own, and he noticed a new mark on his palm. Inside the hexagon scar, was the image of a tree.

The guards both seemed to notice the image as Trint did. And immediately after they were both in front of Trint on their knees bowing with their hands palms down before him. Trint looked on in shock as the other two sets of statues took steps from the wall and changed into four more guards. Who then took steps forward. One set also bowed behind the original two and the other two stood at attention on either side of the gate.

“Why?” Trint pointed to the guards and their posture. “…what does this mean?” Trint pointed his left hand at his right palm now showing a glowing tree. As the rest of his internal glow faded the Tree image now remained like a shining tattoo of golden light. The guards and Patro stood back up now unhindered. Trint turned his hand back and forth seeing that the mark appeared on his palm and on the back of his hand.

“It is time then,” Patro spoke to everyone present. “I bring one marked worthy to enter the gates and approach the tree. Unless there is a challenge to the decree or this one, I bring, please set the guard, and provide escort.”

The guards’ minds already made up took to this instruction with exacting precision. The two guarding the gate never moved while the kneeling four stood and bowed at the waist in unison. Then the rear turned towards the gate. The first two sidestepped and came up behind Trint and Patro.

“They are to guard us as we enter?” Trint asked Patro. “Am I in trouble or is this an honor guard?” Should I be more afraid of what’s in there or these guys? Trint thought to himself.

No answer was voiced by the guards. Yet no swords were drawn and as Patro started to walk, he pulled Trint along as the guards moved with exacting attention, keeping their distance, and marching along to Patro’s movements. Trint figured Pneuma couldn’t hear him but even so, optimistic thoughts were probably just wishful thinking. Regardless of the outcome, he made it this far, he was going to see where Patro was leading him.

The path inside began wide and paved with beautiful bricks but as they entered the trees the bricked path came to an end and the path narrowed more and more. After a couple of hundred yards, they were on a game trail that animals likely had made. The guards had fallen in, with two in front and two in back all in single file. Their hike through the woods was fascinating for Trint. He had seen woods and loved nature. The only distraction came when he started to have a stomachache and some heartburn. Trint attempted to use his storage ring but could not access it. Another reason to be concerned.

“Patro, do you have water?”

“Are you thirsty? Or do you need to wash? Are you feeling dirty?”

“No, I don’t feel dirty. I feel a stomachache and I have heartburn. I just want something to drink.”

“Really?” Patro smiled but said nothing else as he pulled a flask from his storage device. It happened to be in an ornate ring hanging around his neck. It reminded Trint of how soldiers wore dog tags. “Hold!” Patro said as their escort and Patro stopped. Trint bumped into the guard in front of him before he could stop. “Smell this. If it is sweet drink it. If it smells foul or bitter do not.”

Trint took the flask. It was a shiny metal, looking silver to him but somehow had an extreme shine. As he took hold of the flask, it glowed a light blue. Unstopping the top cork, he hesitantly sniffed the contents, unable to see the liquid inside.

The scent that hit Trint was sweet and inviting. Without thinking he upended the flask and began to drink. At first, nothing poured into his mouth. He opened his eyes and saw a glistening amber liquid drip to his tongue. It looked and felt like honey. That is until the warmth hit him, and the thick liquid began to soften and then melt.

The liquid expanded as it melted, and Trint had to quickly swallow as his mouth was filled with the expanding fluid. The few drops had become like a large glass of fluid. He righted the flask and continued swallowing the fluid that filled his mouth. It was a wild sensation to have his mouth closed and yet needed to swallow. But he was not thinking about it as his throat and stomach were now warmed and he felt his core begin to absorb new energy.

After about thirty seconds, the honey stopped this odd process and Trint’s attention bounced between watching his core, swallowing, and noticing the guards had been watching his reaction.

“Was that wise Patrolius?” A guard asked.

“I had a feeling he would be fine.”

“What do you mean?” Trint still distracted by the experience realized it had been something of a test. “How else could that have gone.”

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“You could have been paralyzed and then drowned in the fluid. You weren’t even weakened a bit. It only gave you strength and vitality. Does your stomach hurt or does your heart burn still?”

“No, I feel a peace I can’t fully describe and my entire being feels amazing, from my Body to Soul.”

“Let’s continue, I might be able to explain more,” Patro offered.

They marched on and when the terrain and thickness of vegetation allowed, they ran. After what Trint imagined was about 10 miles, they came to a sudden opening in the trees. Up to this point the tree canopy had blocked out the view above. Light still filtered down and provided enough visibility to traverse the trail. But now they were all looking ahead as Trint looked up and around, gawking at the scope of the tree now so much closer and imposing.

“We will go alone from here,” Patro said to the guards. They returned a salute and stood at attention two to each side of the path. They watched Trint, revealing no sign of their thoughts. Face blank and serious.

“Follow me,” Patro started walking. Trint gathered himself and jogged to catch up on Patro’s right.

“What should I expect next?” Trint was in awe. Everything about Patro was encouraging him to give him his trust. But Trint was fighting to maintain his skepticism. It was getting harder as they approached the tree to feel anything other than awe and just being here felt like an honor and privilege. The very air was thick with vitality, and he could hear a stream nearby as cool and warm currents of wind passed them.

They walked until they were so close to the tree that the roots of the giant tree were the only thing visible on every side. Like walking in between two mountain ridges. They were not on a path now, walking only on grass and flowers. Trint felt like that was sacrilege in some way, but Patro never slowed. Finally, the roots on either side spread further away forming a larger clearing about the size of a football stadium. It bowed on every side and the depression in the middle had a single tree. Trint stared at the pure white bark and leaves of the tree. It was covered in red leaves, vibrant, the color of blood, and a single fruit hanging from a branch.

“Stop,” Patro’s voice shook him out of a daze. “Come back here,” Trint was now five yards away from Patro. He didn’t realize he’d walked toward the tree. “Before you go, look around and you will see there are actually a few trees. The one in the middle is special, yes, but it is not the only one. You may eat only one fruit and when you do you won’t see me again. You will return to your body where it was before you arrived with me.

“Why bring me here? What does the fruit do?” Trint was trying to make sense of this whole trip.

“What I can tell you is that this will help you. Not just with your Soul. But with your journey to find and save your family. Also it will take you so much further than you can imagine. We are here to help any who arrive as you have. No one else had arrived in my time here. We live out generations and lifetimes without ever fulfilling this role. So, know that this is important, and this opportunity will never come again. The giant tree is representative of the power of these trees here. They all carry aspects that will benefit you. Some more than others and even I don’t know what will best fit you. Now listen and don’t interrupt.”

“Blessed Seeker, may the Tree of Life and Death, Hope and Despair not tempt you to miss what is True. Seek truth, fight for more than yourself, and gain the right to claim your true self. Should the chosen eat and be filled, chains will break and light shine to remove all darkness. Rise and seek, find, and eat.”

“That is the end of my mandated speech, I cannot explain further what it means. I don’t know. But I will warn you that you won’t get the Soul you thought. You won’t return with all the answers. Train and prepare and endure to the end. Now go eat only one fruit and only the one that draws you and calls to you. Don’t trust your eyes or your heart, it must come from deeper within yourself.” Patro finished his speech, turned, and began to walk away.

“Thank you!” Trint said. I think he was helping me. I guess there’s only one way to find out. So don’t trust my eyes. That’s one way to start.

Trint closed his eyes and sat. Meditating and seeking to calm his mind after this whole thing.

The first thing he noticed is that the pull from the white tree ceased when he closed his eyes. What replaced it was a desire. Like seeing a long-lost friend or his wife and wanting to run and embrace them. He fought against the feeling, attempting to see if anything else changed. After twenty minutes the longing to embrace didn’t stop. Eyes closed and feeling peace along with the desire, he stood and walked slightly to his left. He continued till he bumped into a wall. Opening his eyes, he saw the wall was the bark of the giant tree root, spanning high above he couldn’t see the top. What caught his attention was a softly glowing symbol on the bark. It matched his hand size and symbols exactly.

Reaching out he placed his palm against the bark symbol. With a shudder that echoed like thunder the giant tree shook. Birds and animals scattered. Dust, dirt, leaves, and branches were sent flying. Trint had turned sideways and taken a defensive stance.

He relaxed as the bark slowly separated to open a path inside. The path showed white fresh wood, alive and wet as he touched it. Now drawn with greater intensity Trint found he had stepped a dozen paces inside the new passage. The wood inside was giving off a soft light and he could see the path turned toward the direction of the trunk of the giant tree. he looked back at the entrance only to see it rapidly close.

“Nowhere to go but forward I guess,” He resolved to follow the path and the increasing pull, deeper into the tree.

The path wound through for several miles. He couldn’t determine how far as it all looked the same, only turning and heading one way. There were no other passages to turn down, just the one heading further toward the center.

Finally, he arrived at a giant cavern within the tree. There was a single tree in the middle, surrounded by a pool of what he thought was honey but quickly realized was the substance he had drank from Patro’s flask. Only this was not colored amber but completely transparent. The only indication of it being not water was the slowly rising bubbles moving through the thick substance.

“Maybe a concentrated sap from the tree?” He spoke and walked to the edge of the pool.

As he looked around for a bridge or some way to get to the center tree, a path rose from the pool. A flat wooden pathway formed from a white tree root. The sap ran off the wood and left a dry path. Trint didn’t delay and walked to the tree.

There again, before him was a perfect example of a tree this one was a deep brown with some red and black stripes. Not blood red this time but like rosewood or redwood from Earth.

This tree was tall, but one branch slowly lowered to about seven feet off the ground. Attached was a golden fruit. It reminded him of a large golden peach.

Without hesitating, he reached up and plucked the fruit. It weighed a lot more than he was expecting and he stumbled. It was like an earthly catching a hundred-pound weight dropped over their head.

Trint settled to the ground. Sitting and staring at the fruit he raised the heavy and glowing fruit to his mouth and bit into it.

The fruit was juicy, sweet, and full of power. Juice ran down each side of his mouth and he felt like he was rising. But the ground was shrinking before his eyes. He quickly ate the rest of the fruit before whatever was happening took him away. But the change continued for a minute and Trint slowly realized he hadn’t been seeing things differently, he was different. He had grown. He would say he was taller than Patro now. But more than that he felt something had changed. He would have to figure it out but as he was considering it, he felt a sudden shift and nausea hit him like a punch to the stomach.

Not wanting to throw up the fruit, he clenched and fought the urge to throw up.

You’re back! Pneuma’s mental communication loudly bounced around his head.

Yeah, I guess so. How long was I gone?

You stepped out over the hole, and I quickly was knocked back and I was left here alone for three days. I was considering leaving but I hoped you’d return. What happened?

Trint recounted the events of meeting Patrols and his journey to the center of the tree.

Can you feel anything different now? Other than you look taller. Check your status.

Upon opening his status, Trint saw a drastic change. A notification he couldn’t close or minimize or ignore was flashing a golden alert.

True Ascension Unique requirement met.

True Ascend Now:

Y/N