Late Morning - Early Winter : The Tree of Prayer

"Hwaah..." I woke up with a yawn as I lethargically glanced toward my side and saw Ilios lying on his back. -So I ended up falling asleep after all...-

I was still a tad tired, but after realizing I had been out for well over a day, I didn't bother falling back asleep. *crackle* As I stood up, I forgot to distribute my weight and accidentally splintered the wood under my paw and slightly damaged the reincarnation rune. -Whoops...-

It wasn't a big deal since it was an easy fix, but it worked as a reminder. -I should probably repair the rest of the rune while I'm at it...- After glancing at Ilios and seeing him still asleep, I stopped wasting my time and got to repairing it.

It was a dizzying process to run in a slowly growing spiral, scanning each ring of the rune for damage and repairing it, but although it was tedious, I managed to finish after a couple of hours. -I hope I didn't accidentally mess something up though...-

Although most of the rune was only slightly damaged from age, there were a few areas that were simply unrecognizable. -The area I ricocheted off after biting into Magni at nearly Mach 70 was almost irreparable... I really hope I didn't misplace any of the rune channels there...-

I had a clear mental map of the whole rune at that point, but I still wasn't exactly sure where everything went since the rune channels in each ring varied greatly. -Whatever... I just need to make sure I'm here during the next pilgrimage to make sure it all functions properly...-

Finally making my way back toward the center of the rune, I walked up to where Ilios was sleeping and saw him sitting and staring at me with a wagging tail.

The joy that covered his face was simply contagious. "Hehe... How did you sleep, buddy?"

His tail started wagging faster and faster until it became a weapon of mass destruction as I walked up to him. But once I finally got close to him, he jumped straight up onto my back and started licking my face like we hadn't seen each other in ages.

"Haha, it's good to see you too, Ilios." assuming resistance was futile, I let him continue licking me for several more minutes until he eventually calmed down enough for me to pull myself away. -He's really energetic today.- "Well, since we're both well rested, how about we go check in on Amara and the crew?"

He paused before giving a determined nod and hopping off my back. "Wuf!"

His confident posture warmed my soul as he walked away. -He's just so cute...-

After enjoying the moment for a few more seconds, I finally started getting to leave.

Momentarily hopping into the void to create a marker for the rune, I

finally came back out and changed to my humanoid form.

*Flash-Thunk* *Shing* After creating a new set of clothes and sheathing my sword, I looked around to make sure I was situated before bringing Ilios to my side and walking out of the tree. -It really is no wonder this is Dagr and Nott's nap spot...-

We quickly made our way out of the trunk after that. Once the angle we walked down eventually got too steep, we simply slid until we entered freefall.

But unlike what I expected, it felt more like I was in an elevator than in freefall. -I guess my muscle and few remaining organs are being held in place by divinity...- It was honestly quite pleasant.

But my casual, relaxed thoughts quickly halted once I exited the fog. *fwoosh*

-Huh?- Looking down the edge of the tree, I saw the ground around the trunk completely buckled and warped for a few kilometers. -Woah...-

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It was quite a spectacle to see tree roots, easily more than a hundred meters in diameter, somehow ripped out of the ground as if an earthquake ravaged the place.

But I knew exactly what caused it.

When I initially blew up the mass of antimatter to finish off Magni, I transferred the recoil from me to the branches and tree trunk behind me. When I did it, I didn't expect the tree to even feel it since it was so massive... -But to think the recoil from that spell would be so immense...-

Looking a bit more closely, I could clearly see countless people in religious robes walking around the roots, either praying or meditating.

The mana they all emitted was far from sufficient to get the reincarnation rune going, but at the same time, if they kept it up for long enough, it would at least get it running on a very small scale. -It won't lift the fog, but it will ever-so-slowly reincarnate souls...- It still felt odd to think about, honestly. -I wonder if the newly reincarnated souls will affect the world population at all...-

Before long, I got lost in thought, only to snap out of it when I started sliding down the base of a large root. *skkkksh*

"Uwaaah..." I let out a long yawn as I slowly transitioned to running and made my way past the countless praying folk and to the treant directly north of the Tree of Prayer. -There sure are a lot of them...-

Eventually passing by the countless lifts leading up to the Northern Treant's branches, I made my way toward the trunk before throwing myself up onto a main branch with thruster magic. *RUMBLE-FWOOSH*

Once I eventually landed on a building and hopped down onto the street, I overheard all sorts of commotion about the noise, but it changed to a discussion about the prayer almost immediately.

"Do you think that scene we saw around the Tree of Prayer was really our lords cleansing sinful apostles?"

"Yeah, I'm curious as well! There's a rumor going around that two of The Great Apostles actually died though."

"Yeah, I heard that Great Apostle Skati locked herself in her estate and hasn't shown herself yet."

"Do you really think the rumor of her being that scared could possibly be true though?"

"Well, if the explosion we saw and felt really came from the top of the tree.. how big would it have needed to be? Wouldn't you be afraid too?"

"But didn't you see how excited The Night Apostle was? She didn't have the slightest fear in her voice during her announcement."

"I.. guess that's true..."

-So that other woman just locked herself in her room, huh...- It felt odd knowing I traumatized someone to such an extent, but at the same time, I didn't think it was such a bad thing. -I guess I can only hope that fear turns into loyalty...-

Finally continuing down the road, I stopped at a few stalls to get a bite to eat and a drink to wash it down before picking up the pace once again.

Without having to mind my pace so Bjorn and Yolanda could keep up, I actually got back to our inn quickly, with almost no difficulty.

And to make things even better, as I walked up to the inn, I could sense Bjorn and Yolanda's auras emanating from the window to our room. -Thank goodness they're still here...- I didn't sense Amara, but didn't really question it much before walking inside.

"Welcome back, sir!" The receptionist seemed to be in a great mood. "Did you enjoy the prayer?"

Her enthusiasm only fueled my already good mood. "I did indeed. I hope you did as well."

"Well, of course! Anyway, here is your key to the room." As she handed me the wooden key with a cloth tag on it, she leaned over the desk and whispered in my ear. "Be careful walking in though."

-Huh?- "Why?"

"Well, let's just say.. they've been having.. a moment..."

Her awkwardness only confused me before I eventually made my way upstairs and to the door to our room. *clunk-thunk* *click* Promptly unlocking the door and walking in, the smell of sweet alcohol and flowers assaulted my nose.

My mind stuttered as countless thoughts ripped through it, but only one idea stuck. -What... There's no way...-

Pinching the bridge of my nose from disappointment, I walked over to Yolanda's room, where the smell was strongest, and reached for the doorknob.

Not hearing any noise inside, I finally pushed open the door. *click*

An even more overpowering scent of alcohol punched my nose as the door opened to reveal a bed covered in empty alcohol bottles and flower petals.

"Haah..." -What in the world happened while I was gone...- I could only let out a deep sigh as I looked at Bjorn, who was reading a book while Yolanda clung to his stomach, dead asleep.

Yolanda honestly looked like a ragged mess, yet somehow Bjorn looked absolutely, unbelievably normal. "Oh, welcome back, Vasilias!"

I wanted to facepalm after hearing him respond as if nothing was out of the norm. "Hoooh..." -He can't be serious...- I glanced up and looked at the scene in silence for another moment before saying anything else. -I guess I'm as prepared as I can be...- "So.. do you care to explain?"