After introducing himself to Koritak, Seth was led to an enormous house that was built up in one of the largest trees that he’d ever seen. The tree itself was hundreds of meters tall, with the house up in the middle of the branches. Korak didn’t even wait for anyone to get out of the bag before climbing his way up the tree and swinging into the balcony that was directly above Seth. He teleported to the balcony and immediately stopped where he was.
Koritak was standing directly in front of a young woman that was dressed in a small practical dress. There was a snarl on his face, but Seth could tell that it was just an instinctual response to someone being in the presence of his mate. Then there was a sudden slap to the back of Koritak’s head that surprised both Seth and him.
“What have I told you about scaring our guests?” It was the woman that was behind Koritak. Her voice was strong and confident even though she had just struck someone easily more than twice her size. “We get so few as it is with you scaring them off.” She strode up to Seth and presented a tray of snacks to him. “Hello there. My name is Meriemir and I’m Koritak’s wife. It’s nice to meet you, Seth. Koritak has been going on for years about your coming.”
Seth smiled and nodded his head as he took a slice of fruit from the tray, “I would imagine so, seeing that it is one of the reasons that he was sent here. It is very nice to meet you Meriemir.” He tossed the fruit into his mouth and took the bag off. He unzipped the top of the bag and waved a hand to everyone inside. “This is everyone in my little company of oddities.”
As everyone got out of the bag, Koritak’s expression just increased in confusion. “You were certainly on the mark when you said they were oddities.” He looked over the group and pointed to Borris, Kasakierin, Gonza, and Mathos. “You will not be participating because you are already trained for in the ways of strength.” Then he turned to Seth.
“So, what will be happening here, we just came from Musalon?” Seth asked as he walked over to the railing once again.
Before Koritak could respond, Meriemir turned toward the group of people with a massive smile, “You have no idea how long it’s been since we had so many guests.” She placed the tray that she had on one of the coffee tables and everyone started to sit and mingle. “You all wait here, I’ll go make some tea.” She gave Koritak a peck on the cheek as she finished.
Koritak strode up to Seth’s side and pointed out to forest, “You and you alone will come with me into the jungle and absorb a power that has rested here specifically for you.” He looked over at Kasakierin and nodded his head to him, “I will return after we leave tomorrow, but I will be alone. You and the others can do as you will until I return and then they begin training. There is no technology but you should all be fine.” Once he was done explaining everything, he turned back to Seth, “I like the scruff by the way. It suites you.” He strode off without another word, in search of Meriemir.
Seth crossed his arms and leaned against the railing with Kasakierin at his side, “Make sure that everyone is ready to go by the time I get back. I’m not sure how much time this will take up, but everything seems like it’s going too smoothly.” He sighed as he turned around and looked out toward the jungle, “Get some relaxation in while I’m gone. I have a feeling that things are about to get interesting.” Then a thought came to his head and he smiled, “And don’t kill any of the jungle critters, because almost all of them are friends of Koritak.”
Kasakierin chuckled, “Alright, but don’t be surprised if you find me training.”
Seth furrowed his brow as another thought entered his mind, “Have you tried to get in contact with her since the soul binding?” Seth had been wondering about it because he had a theory about Kasakierin’s curse.
Kasakierin put his hands in his pockets and sighed, “Yes, but I haven’t been able to make contact yet. I’m getting worried about her.”
Seth patted him on the shoulder and sighed, “Don’t worry so much, Dog is with her. She’ll be alright as long as she’s around to protect her.” Seth was doing his best to sort through all of his newfound memories and help out the members of his group as best he could. “I’ll see what I can do about your communication problems, so that you can talk to her whenever you get the urge.”
For the smallest amount of time, a smile appeared on Kasakierin’s weathered features, “I couldn’t thank you enough Seth. I don’t even know where I would be without your guidance through my life.”
Seth chuckled, “You’d be just as strong as you are right now, with one exception. You would be in another dimension and you’d be doing something else.” Seth walked back over to the patio an sat down cross legged. “Just make sure that you take care of yourself in the meantime, and if I’m ever gone. Deal?”
Kasakierin lowered his head in a bow, “Deal. On one condition.”
Seth cocked an eyebrow, “Name it.”
“If we ever got o Arem, will you marry Anabelle and me?” Kasakierin asked with a little bit of a blush, while he was still trying to be as manly as possible.
Seth chuckled, “Of course I will.” Seth could have sworn that tears were coming from Kasakierin’s eyes as he wiped his face and turned away. Seth turned back to the jungle and closed his eyes, “Take care of yourself Kasakierin.”
“I will, and make sure that you take care of yourself as well, Seth Conwell.” Kasakierin turned to the door and went in search of some food, before looking for a place to train.
Seth lowered his head and placed his hands on his knees. “All these memories that don’t even belong to me. They don’t even realize that my very presence changed their pasts. Me simply being there changed the outcome of their pasts, every single one of them. I guess one way to look at it is that fate was set before he ever did the soul binding.” After thinking about the whole situation, Seth closed his eyes and drifted off to his dream world.
The next day, Koritak awoke to Seth standing next to him in complete silence, floating in the air with his legs crossed. Koritak stood and looked over Seth with curiosity. His eyes were glowing white and he seemed to be in some kind of trance. After a time observing him, Koritak tapped Seth on the shoulder. Seth’s eyes closed and opened to their normal bright grey. He stepped out of his floating stance like he was getting off a chair. “Alright, let’s get started.”
Koritak smiled and chuckled a bit, “You performed a soul binding didn’t you?”
Seth seemed confused, “Yes, why do you ask?”
“Koritak started walking out of the room and made his way back to the patio that they had been on the night before. “Who did you have a soul bond with to make you stronger?”
“Pretty much everyone in my group so far. The soul bond was for six thousand nine hundred and seventy six years, after all.” Seth was about to jump off the patio, when Koritak held up a hand for him to wait.
Koritak was still smiling, “If the soul bond was that long, you should be able to feel the very thing that you are here to find.” He chuckled as he saw the look of understanding come across Seth’s face, “You can already feel that there’s something out there, can’t you?”
Seth relaxed and smiled, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, “What gave it away? Yes, I have and have been wondering what it was. I guess I’m about to find out.” He looked at Koritak sidelong and smirked, “My first guess is that it’s the tree of life.”
Koritak chuckled again, “That is correct, Seth Conwell. It is the tree of life that presides over this dimension, linked to all the other trees of life that reside in the other dimensions.” He clasped his hands in front of his face and closed his eyes. “It’s the central link to everything in this dimension.” The smile on Koritak’s face began to soften and he said, “You must absorb its power. You should consider yourself lucky. Even the other generations were not given a chance such as this.”
Seth made a small bow toward the forest, “My parents always told me that I was destined for great things. I never believed them until now.”
Koritak suddenly became very serious, “You are more destined for greatness than you know.” He slowly backed away from Seth as he clasped his hands behind his back. “Would you mind if I keep you group here for a while even after you return, so that I can help put some muscle on their bones?”
Seth chuckled, “In your enlightened opinion, do we have the time for that?”
Without any hesitation, Koritak answered, “Yes.”
Seth nodded his head, “Then go right ahead.” Then, without warning, Seth launched himself off of the patio and started swinging through the trees as fast as he could. Within seconds, he was miles away from the tree house. After going for a few minutes, Seth came to an open valley that seemed out of place, with a single enormous tree standing in its center. He could feel the power radiating from the tree as he landed in the valley and began walking up to it.
As he approached the base of the tree, the leaves flew down and formed a solitary woman, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Seth. I am the entity that was formed from the tree of life. I am called Sabodo.”
Seth made a small bow and smiled, “I would guess that you are a version of Mother Nature that was created when she first planted the tree.”
Sabodo chuckled, “That is rather perceptive of you. I am indeed a copy of Mother Nature and was tasked with the growth and protection of this great tree of life.”
Seth nodded his head and became serious, “With that in mind, I’d guess that you also know why I am here.” He crossed his arms as he thought about the possible responses she would have.
Sabodo’s calm demeanor darkened and her leaves appeared to wilt before Seth’s very eyes. She sent a blast of dark energy his way and it simply washed over him with no effect. She flew up higher into the air and began to circle him, “You must prove yourself to us before you can absorb us.” The leaves flew apart and all kinds of animals began to meander into the valley and gather around the edge of the clearing. Then the leaves converged once again at the base of the tree, “You must befriend all of these creatures of the forest.”
Seth looked around and tried to think for a minute. He saw lions, panthers, apes, baboons, even a few crocodiles, and many other creatures of the jungle and forests of the world. He sighed and sat down cross legged on the ground. “Very well.” He closed his eyes and relaxed all of his muscles, concentrating of his aura and shifting it. As he finally found the right emotion to emit, energy began seeping out of every pour in his body. The emotion that he was conveying was that which he felt when among friends and family. It was a combination of love, friendship, and acceptance.
As time passed, all of the beasts began moving toward where Seth sat on the ground. As they came closer, Sabodo was wondering if they would attack but was astounded when they began lying down next to him. Some of them even snuggled up to him and lay their heads in his lap. The sight was interesting to behold. Lions were curled in the laps of gorillas and baboons piled up as a blanket for some panthers.
Once all of them were comfortable, Seth got to his feet and started making his way through the maze of sleeping and lounging creatures, to the base of the tree of life. Then a great silverback gorilla stepped in front of him, but it was far larger than any of the other silverback gorillas that were lying around.
Sabodo appeared above it, “You must get past this beast with force.” Seth began to approach the gorilla and it raised a massive hand to crush him where he stood. However, when the strike came, Seth struck its forearm and the gorilla went flying with its arm to the side, all the way to the edge of the clearing. Then he came face to face with Sabodo, “The next and final test it for you to convince Ludavic that you are worthy of absorbing the power of the tree of life.”
Sabodo dispersed and a dark pool of energy formed in front of him. From the darkness, a tall and very pale man rose, draped in darkness. “I have one simple question for you.” The man stated, with a voice that seemed to emanate from him more than actual speech. He clasped his hands behind his back and Seth simply waited for the question to come. “If you had the opportunity to resurrect your mother, but it would require Jessica to die in her place, would you do it?”
Without even a heartbeat, Seth answered, “No, I wouldn’t.”
Ludavic smiled, “Now explain why.”
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Seth sighed, “My mother is already dead and I got over that.” He looked to the skies as he continued, “Also, my mother would never approve of me bringing her back, especially if it took the sacrifice of my only love. She would never forgive me for such an act. On the other hand, I would most likely be willing to but I would not allow it to happen.” Seth crossed his arms and met Ludavic’s gaze as he finished, a look of peace on his face.
Ludavic clapped his hands together, “The exact response that I knew you would give.” He stepped forward and offered his hand for a handshake, “Ludavic, first Lich and neutral party of the dimensional war.”
Seth cocked an eyebrow, before clasping hands with him, “Seth Conwell, leader of the resistance as far as I know, and the One as far as I know.” A lightning bolt shot to their hands as they finished the introductions. Seth wasn’t effected by the lightning and neither was Ludavic. However, Ludavic did have a response to the lightning, a verbal one.
Ludavic raised a hand to the sky and gave a salute of his middle finger, “I don’t care if you don’t want me to meet him. I do what I want.” He got out and old leather book and flipped through a few pages. He skimmed through a page before nodding and slamming the book shut. He stored it and looked to Seth, “You will see me again at precisely five in the afternoon in exactly one hundred and forty seven months. Don’t freak out alright.” Then he turned to dust that drifted off in the wind.
Seth blinked in confusion as the dust settled and he was left alone with the tree of life, Sabodo nowhere to be seen. He strode up to the tree and sat among the roots. The power radiating from it was immense and vast. Seth took a breath and placed a single hand on a nearby root. He was blasted skyward as the power leaked into him. After a few minutes, Seth fell down to the ground blasting a small crater into the earth. His eyes glazed over with the familiar bright white light and his head nearly vibrating with all the energy and time that he was passing through. Then he was still and the power exchange truly began.
Back in the tree house, Koritak was rousing everyone from their slumbers. Some of the group was up and looking around the house. Now that he could observe them for a longer time he could tell that there were more that were strong than he originally thought. As far as the group went, there were five that he truly needed to train, Alex, Austin, Jade, Jason, and Kaythanos. Koritak had a rather unorthodox training regiment set that they would go through. He slowly gathered the five of them in the main room and opened the closet that was on the other side of the room.
Everyone was wondering what was going on as Koritak began laying out a set of clothes for each of them. Austin and Jade were very curious as they noticed something about the clothing, it didn’t seem like it was made of a common cloth. Once five sets of clothes were laid out, Koritak turned to them, “Seth agreed to me giving you some strength training while he is away.” He noticed that Jason and Alex seemed bored while the others were eager to get started. “So, seeing that you five are the only ones that require the strength training that is necessary, you will be wearing these for the foreseeable future. As far as the others go, they will be on their own training regiments for the duration of your stay here.”
Jessica poked her head in and frowned, “Why wasn’t I invited? I’m not really strong like the others. I just know a lot of martial arts because they’re locked inside of my head.”
Koritak lit up like he was laughing at an inside joke. He waved a hand to one of the shirts that was on the floor, “Please pick up that shirt there and you’ll understand why I am not going to be training you.”
Jessica easily picked the shirt up and inspected it, “I don’t see what’s so special. It looks like it was just made of some kind of thick material.” She turned back to Koritak in confusion.
“Now, toss it over to Jade.” Koritak instructed. Jessica shrugged and easily tossed it over to Jade, who instantly was laid out by the shirt like it did not weigh the intended pound and a half. Koritak stepped over to Jade and picked the shirt off of her, “This shirt weighs sixty pounds and was specifically designed for training purposes.” He cocked a brow at Jessica with a smirk, “Being the beloved of the One has its perks.”
Jessica gripped her hands like she didn’t recognize them. She looked up to Koritak with a question in her eyes, “Just how strong am I now?” She was genuinely intrigued by the event.
“You will not know until you test its limits.” Koritak turned to the five that he’d gathered and smiled, “Please put the gear on and simply stand for one hour. Jessica, I would suggest that you join Kasakierin or one of the others in your experimentation of your abilities. Also, please let me know if any of them are not training, they will have me to deal with if that is the case.” He clasped his hands behind his back and smiled like it was an open threat to anyone living in his domain. Then Kasakierin came around the corner and smirked at the look. Koritak glared at him and Kasakierin didn’t budge. He smiled at that, “Now you have a beasts instincts. You, I know will train on your own without instruction.” After that everyone dispersed from their hiding places and made their way outside.
Ali and Borris came striding out of the wall as if they had been apart of it. They shared a wistful glance before leaping off of the patio and plummeting to the ground. Kasakierin started walking to the patio until he noticed that Jessica was following him. He paused for only a moment to shake his head, before launching himself out into the jungle to find a clearing to train in. Mathos fell from the ceiling and leaped down into the branches that were closer to the ground, taking a seat cross legged. He closed his eyes and began to mediated, emitting a light blue glow from the runes that were all over his skin, pulsing to the beat of his heart. Gonza and Griffin came running out from the hallway to take off into the sky. Gonza morphing into a massive lion to go hunting down in the jungle. Anne walked out of the dining room with a plater of food and started to float up into the clouds to finish eating and begin her own training. Jessica strode over to the edge of the patio and sat down where the railing split. She closed her eyes and tried to activate her mind to access even more martial arts to practice with, intricately memorizing them all.
Koritak waited for all five to put on the gear before waiting the promised hour. Once it was over, he had them start to do chores with even more specialized equipment. It took the group ten times the normal amount to perform menial tasks around the house. Jade was washing dishes that weighed thirty pounds each. Alex was mopping with an eighty pound mop. Jason was dusting the house with a fifty pound duster. Austin was wiping pictures with a lead rag that weighed thirty pounds. Kaythanos was rearranging furniture that weighed up to four hundred pounds.
Within no time at all they were all drenched in sweat and begging for the pain to stop, all except Austin, who simply grimaced with the work. Once all of the chores were done, everyone went to take the gear off but Koritak stopped them in their tracks, “No, you will be wearing those twenty-four seven until you leave this place.” He smiled as they all sighed and resigned to their fates.
Seth opened his eyes to find himself still in the clearing, however, he was on a throne of vines that had sprouted out of the ground. He rubbed the side of his head with a hand as he thought of what he had just gone through. Seth had experienced the life of all the nature in every dimension and every branch of the tree of life. It had been closer to a soul binding, however, it had been far longer, since the dawn of the earth after the split of the dimensions. Seth had seen the birth of the ten dimensions first hand. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he now knew every myth and legend, knowing that they were almost all true.
Seth shook himself before rising off of the throne and slowly starting to walk back through the jungle. He wrestled with his thoughts as he walked between the trees and vegetation. There were still some animals that were following him, but most had moved on from where they were. After a time, he started to float up into the sky and broke through the canopy of trees. His eyes flew wide as he realized that twenty days had passed since he arrived at the tree itself.
He concentrated and could feel all of the life energy that was around the world. Seth could sense everyone training around the tree house farther into the jungle. He could feel all of the people that were simply going through their lives as if it were a normal day. He could sense all of the mythical beings that were in hiding around the world. There were only a few but he knew that it was more than would have been expected.
Then Seth slowly turned back to where the tree of life was seated, not that far away. “What if I believe that this is too much power for any one being, let alone a man?”
Some of the leaves began to fall from the tree and drift over to where he was. Then the leaves gathered together until Sabodo appeared before him, with her hands clasped behind her back. “That is exactly the reason why the Gods and Ludavic decided you are worthy of absorbing this great power.” Then the leaves dispersed once again and Sabodo was gone with the wind.
Seth chuckled as he clasped his hands together and mimicked a baseball swing, “Wooh-k, and it’s a home run.” Seth looked down and noticed that he was wearing that ridiculous white robe again. He blinked and he was back in his pants and trench coat. “Now that really raises a question now doesn’t it?” He closed his eyes and held out a hand. The moment that his arm was extended, a leaf landed in the center of his palm. “Did I attract that leaf with magic or did I simply know where it was going to be?”
Seth let the leaf go and shrugged off the feelings and dropped back down to the ground. He took his time walking back to the tree house. He was going through yet another odd experience as he was reexperiencing all of his senses. He could hear and feel the heartbeat of every living creature and plant around him. It was similar to when he first received his power in that forest but on a much greater scale.
Around the tree house, everyone was getting better and better. Even the five that Koritak had picked out were well ahead of where they had been. They were able to chores normally with the gear on and even did exercises with the weighted gear on with extra equipment. Koritak had been proud of them for going through with the training even though they didn’t actually have a choice in the matter.
Koritak looked toward the highest balcony to find Jessica leaning on the railing as she stared out into the jungle, looking for Seth. She’d been going there every morning for the last few days, saying that she had a feeling that the time was coming for Seth to return. If she was right, that confirmed the fact that she was in fact the beloved of the One. Koritak was always hoping that it was true for Seth’s sake. Meriemir was his soul mate and he truly wished that it worked out for them.
He shrugged off the feelings and went to find the five that he had doing an exercise on the other side of the tree. He found them still doing hand stand push ups with all of their weighted gear on and balancing a rock with their feet. They were in a half circle, so Koritak stepped up to them and waited for them to do a few more before interrupting them. He smiled at how far they had come, at first they could barely even put the gear on themselves. Now, they moved freely as if the weight was a part of them. “Alright, time to see some shocked expressions. Take all your gear off.” He said as he crossed his arms and waited for them to do so.
The first thing to go for everyone was the weighted hat and gloves, then the shits and pants. The last thing that everyone took off were the shoes. Koritak was chuckling at the sighs of relief and looks of hope that came over everyone’s faces. Once they had all the gear off, he continued with everything.
“Now, I want all of you to jump straight up into the air.” Koritak stated as he took a seat on the ground in front of them.
Alex cocked his head to the side, “What?”
Before Koritak could explain, Austin squatted and coiled up all the muscle in her legs for a jump. When she finally did jump, she shot off into the air, easily twenty feet off of the ground. When she landed on her feet, she looked around like she had just done something wrong for the first time. “What? How did I just do that?”
Koritak chuckled, “It is the accumulative strength that you acquired while you were wearing more than your actual weight. Your body is now more used to weighing more than it actually is.” He pointed to her abdomen and chuckled, “Why don’t you take a look?”
Austin lifted up her shirt to show her midriff and was shocked by what she saw. She’d always been fit but had never had a six pack in her life. She had always had a smooth stomach and was proud of that, but she now had a very defined and refined six pack that looked even better than she could have imagined. “Nice!”
Once it clicked in everyone’s head what was going on, they all sprung into the air with joy and started to look over themselves to look at how much their muscular structure had changed. Kaythanos noticed that he’d even grown a few inches and had much more muscle mass than before. Alex and Jason were having an arm wrestling contest as they realized that they were much stronger than they were before. Jade looked over herself with an approving eye as she realized that almost all of the areas that she was worried about with fat and rolls had been wiped clean with pure muscle.
Koritak was chuckling the entire time until he started explaining the specifics, “So that all of you understand what was going on, you have been running around all day every day with twice your body weight weighing you down. Your muscles are denser and more refined for strength and endurance than ever before. Your body will seem much lighter and you will be able to move around for much longer than before as well. I will say one thing, however, do not let your strengths show early in a fight of any kind. You will need to figure out how to control your new strength and figure out just how strong you are now.”
Koritak turned ready for a fight when he heard a scream come from the railing of the patio. He saw Jessica leap from the railing and for a second he thought that she was diving head first into the ground. Before he could run to catch her, she disappeared from mid air and everyone was left speechless. Not a person moved as they tried to figure out what was going on, even Kasakierin who was on his way back from his training area with a good sweat running down his body.
“Did I see something just now?” Koritak could have sworn that he just saw something appear to catch Jessica. He started looking around the clearing, trying to identify whatever it had been. Just as he was about to start off on a hunt following a scent, Seth walked out from behind a tree with Jessica in his arms, kissing her for all he was worth. Koritak sighed and put his hands on his hips in relief. “Was that really necessary?”
Seth and Jessica were still interlocked but eventually pulled away from each other so that Jessica could catch a breath, “Of course, I have to keep you guys on your toes some how.” Seth stated as he began walking up to the tree with Jessica still in his arms.
Koritak shook his head before looking back to the five that he had trained, “Your training has come to an end, so start packing up. I would suggest that you run alongside Seth for a portion of the trip.” The smile on Koritak’s face was priceless as they all grimaced at the last assignment. It was an inhumanly carnivorous and insane smile that tended to give people nightmares.
Seth teleported straight to the living room and waited for everyone to show up from their various training exercises. Kasakierin was the first to show with a bit more bulk on his frame than before, which surprised Seth since it was very difficult for him to gain muscle mass. Slowly, everyone else began appearing from different directions. As they all came in, Seth evaluated all of their progress. After everyone was up in the tree house and ready to go, Seth laid out everything that they were going to be doing and what had just transpired, “I just absorbed the power of the tree of life along with all the memories of the vegetation of this world.” Everyone froze, even ceased breathing. Even Koritak was completely speechless, “For those that do not know what that means, I have now lived the lives of all ten roots of the tree of life throughout the ten dimensions of this world. The memories of over one hundred thousand years … technically.” He looked around the group and still didn’t get any responses, so he continued on. “Right now, the only history that I don’t know is that of the previous generations that had been hidden from me. The Gods safeguard that knowledge I’d guess because there are several tragedies hidden there. There is also only one more top before we have to start heading to the other dimensions.” Seth stood, not waiting for anyone to respond this time, walking to the edge of the patio, “We will be going to France, to find a man by the name of Condolore. We will be there for about a month because he will be giving you additional training on top of the strength training that Koritak just gave you.” Seth turned back to the group and crossed his arms as he looked over the group once again, “Now, how was all the training?”