Chapter 111

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Chapter 111: Worlds

Tasha grabbed hold of the "anchor", and the "anchor" caught onto Tasha.

[Astral Traveler]

"You briefly stayed in the Astral Plane and passed the will test of the Astral Plane. Your capacity can only take a spoonful of river water from the endless river of knowledge, but the experience of being submerged by the river water prevented you from quickly drowning next time – your soul has been baptized by the Astral Plane, for some reason, you left an anchor point there. It is fragile, but it still exists."

This is a two-way process; she seized the token of the Astral Plane, she obtained the pass of the Astral Plane, and the gates of the Astral Plane opened to Tasha at that moment. The heavens and the earth did not rip apart; what tore apart was Tasha herself. She realized clearly at that moment that the Astral Plane is omnipresent.

There are no hidden passages; the Astral Plane is there; it’s just that the spirits of Aryan cannot perceive it. It exists on another dimension that overlaps with the world, omnipresent, all-encompassing, existing on the parallel lines of the world, something innumerable people in their lifetime cannot touch, cannot reach. To most people in this world, it is a fantasy land that exists and doesn’t exist.

In an instant, Tasha experienced what it feels like to ascend dimensions.

Perhaps describing the Astral Plane as "existing in a high dimension" is not quite accurate. Its existence itself transcends human knowledge, even surpasses human capacity for expression. This is merely the closest description Tasha can find. She had crossed the Astral Plane, the first time unconsciously, the second time wrapped in a forbidden curse. The spell recorded in the Book of Dungeons completely protected her within it, isolated and exchanged its own consumption to prevent Tasha from being assimilated into the Astral Plane. And this time, as mentioned in the title explanation, Tasha already has some level of adaptability to the Astral Plane, able to withstand the impact of resonating with the Astral Plane in a brief moment.

Her body became incredibly light, as if the ground beneath her vanished, falling into the universe. Her soul felt a dispersed illusion, as if being stretched and becoming incredibly thin. Setting off from the anchor point of The Four Seasons Council, the destination is the other end of the anchor point. At the other end of the returning anchor, Tasha saw a world.

The world in the Astral Plane is strange and vast yet also tiny. This one fruit is not connected to any "tree branches," seeming to float in the universe. Its sky is torn, the air thin, and the edges of the land and sea are slowly breaking, falling bit by bit, vanishing in the Astral Plane. Those edges carry with them dried-up, decayed colors, ailing even before death.

This is a broken world, or perhaps just a part of a world. Like an apple cut into a few slices, casually left there, the cut surface slowly oxidizing, turning into a nauseating yellow-brown.

Aryan’s lost quarter is right in front of Tasha.

It’s not large, after enduring all this time, perhaps only one-fifth, one-sixth, or even less remains. It looks bad but not completely ruined, some force still holding it together, keeping it stable in the ever-changing Astral Plane, like an ark navigating through rough waves. In the heart of the withered domain, a small forest stands strong.

There is a ring of exceptionally tall oak trees, a wide-crowned banyan tree, and the fluffy grass on the ground looks incredibly soft, inviting barefoot running. Lit by an unknown source of light, dappled tree shadows sway on the green grass, a stream rippling with layers of ripples, like a vibrant spring from some unknown place.

Under the huge banyan tree, amidst lush vegetation, sleeps a handsome elf.

With silver long hair flowing smoothly over his shoulders, long lashes casting shadows, the Elf King leans against the depression in the tree trunk, still clad in his armor, as if resting wearily after a fierce battle. The towering trees, green grass, the stream, and the elves within form a beautiful picture, the contrast with the withering area so stark that shifting the gaze from outside to here feels like taking a refreshing drink on a scorching day, cleansing the mind.

But looking closer, you will notice something not quite right about this scene.

The Elf King’s torso is mostly merged into the tree trunk, wholly integrated—truly integrated. Vines twine inside and outside his armor, blending together, limbs unseen. His neck base tinged green, beneath the alabaster skin, veins seem to flow with the sap of plants, this half-god elf seemingly fused with the giant tree behind him.

Oh, wait, Tasha quickly understood.

He didn’t grow up alongside the giant tree, nor was he a parasite. The very core of that giant tree was the Elf King himself, born because of him, and thriving because of him. It sprouted from his back, took root in the ground, and eventually grew into what it is today. The spine of the Elf King grew into this giant tree, spreading out like a butterfly stretching its large and unique wings.

Is that really a banyan tree? I’m not sure, most likely it’s just something similar. Many branches grew into the canopy of the giant tree, leaning on each other, expanding their leaves, like the aerial roots of a giant tree turning into pillars on the ground, standing alone like a forest, and resembling thousands of small trees growing together, intertwined and echoing each other. Sixteen oak trees surrounded this remaining forest, like unwavering defenders in a tight circle where no grass grew outside, with lush greenery inside.

Tasha didn’t see the Great Druid with other elves.

Tasha has already seen the Great Druid with other elves.

Each generation of Great Druids buries their bones, and new trees sprout from their graves, growing vigorously. They will become oak trees, growing into a new sacred forest. Forest Elves come and go from the forest; legends say their souls will return to the elves’ paradise, their bodies merging with their homeland, guarding their king.

After hundreds of years of wandering, only the Elf King remained here.

The king of the Forest Elves opened his eyes at that moment.

What kind of eyes were they, Tasha saw hundreds of years of lonely waiting and hundreds of years of undying hope in them. The Elf King, with the power of a demigod, had guarded this drifting world for hundreds of years after the return journey was blocked and his companions fell asleep one by one. He and Tasha locked eyes from a distance, looking somewhat surprised, and then he smiled.

There was no time for introductions, no time for questions and answers. Like an arrow shooting into the sky reaching its highest point, in the moment before it starts to fall, there was only time to glance at the moon from afar. Tasha heard a soft rustling sound, like a gentle breeze passing through a forest, causing every leaf to sway softly.

The Elf King’s body fell backwards, swallowed by the tree trunk, his armor and remaining form disappearing together. The giant tree began to stretch and straighten, its bones creaking. Sixteen oak trees waved goodbye while thousands of smaller trees whispered among themselves. Brilliant flowers in gold and silver suddenly bloomed, spreading like ripples from the center of the canopy to the outer edges of the umbrella.

Whoosh!

This grand blooming happened so quickly and intensely, like a sudden snowstorm causing pear blossoms to bloom on countless trees, like fireworks lighting up the sky endlessly. The world outside the oak tree circle shattered in an instant, while inside the circle, the forest slowly transformed into light, assimilated by the flowers. The world fragments that had been supported for four hundred years suddenly blossomed, like a red giant star exploding.

The contaminated area was pushed away from the center, turning into a nebula; everything in the central area, revolving around the giant tree, continued to contract, becoming brighter and heavier. A small piece of the world in front of Tasha disintegrated, collapsing into a tiny point of light that condensed everything, blinding and heavy to behold. When she instinctively looked away, the ball of light rushed towards her.

Tasha began to "descend."

She couldn’t stay in the Astral Plane forever, like a novice diving into deep water, unable to stay submerged for long before needing to resurface. Tasha’s floating body regained its weight, she felt solid ground beneath her feet, surrounded by a familiar environment. She was in a small grove, the campfire still burning gently, and the Silver Wolf beside her lifted its head in surprise, as if waking from a vivid dream. The two tents were pulled open slightly, and Mavis and Eugene’s heads popped out.

They looked at each other, knowing it wasn’t just a dream.

The Astral Plane and Elf King were gone, the four elves who oversaw the trial had vanished. The wandering world fragments had finally welcomed their visitors back home, the world faded into silence, the anchor points losing their meaning, and the magical circle at its center coming to an end. Where did the four Guardians go? They must have returned to the land of the elves. The long sentence had come to an end, the gatekeeper who had drawn the prison four hundred years ago, finally freed.

"What is that?" whispered Eugene.

Tasha looked down, holding something the size of a fist in her hands. It shimmered faintly, like a fallen star.

That was the light ball that Tasha had just received.

It was once as bright as the sun, but when touched, it was neither hot nor cold. It felt warm and smooth, like a piece of warm jade. Tasha opened her hands, and remnants of a quarter of the world rolled in her palms.

"This feeling…" Mavis paused, seeming unable to find the right description, "makes me feel familiar."

It was a natural thing.

In a brief encounter in the Astral Plane, Tasha and the Elf King did not exchange a word. But in the moment the light ball was placed in Tasha’s hands, she understood what it was. The wandering forest flourished and withered, and in an instant, a mature seed fell into Tasha’s hands.

"Tree of Life," Tasha said, as surprised as her audience, "if it’s planted, perhaps it will grow elves."

Forest Elves come from the forest and return to the forest.

"What’s wrong?"

The human guide Martin rubbed his sleepy eyes as he poked his head out, looking puzzled at the people (and a Silver Wolf) gathered in a circle outside the tent. The uninvited people were confused, not knowing what had happened in the stagnant time and space, not knowing that the other companions had just encountered the spirits of centuries past and seen the wandering phantoms in the Astral Plane.

"The moon is out," Eugene said with a smile.

Yes, the moon is out.

The magical barrier blocking between the open space and the sky had disappeared, the curtain was drawn back, revealing the true night sky. Sparse stars dotted the dark dome, a waxing crescent moon hung above the sky, quietly bathing in the moonlight of this era.

——————————

The journey to the former sacred site of the Druid returned full.

The original purpose of the departure had been achieved, in the Hall of True Knowledge, the two-colored keys were filled, the story was told, she saw the magic arrow tear open a passage to the Astral Plane, all the Forest Elves marched forward under the protection of The Four Seasons Council and the Elf King, entering the Astral Plane.

The so-called gateway to the Astral Plane was more like a convergence point of different dimensions. The Elf King’s magic arrow was stuck in it, firmly anchoring the ever-changing space; the barrier set up by the Great Druid protected the Forest Elves as they traveled into the Astral Plane, pulling the thread of their own arrangement.

The travelers successfully entered the Astral Plane and managed to remove a contaminated quarter of the world from Aryan, but they couldn’t return. The images in the Door of the Mirror did not provide answers, Tasha only saw the stern expression of the Great Druid and the worried faces of the ordinary elves.

The solution of the green key stops here, it has answered the question "Where did the Great Druid and Forest Elf go?"

The answers Tasha received from this journey exceeded her expectations.

Going back five hundred to four hundred and fifty years ago, the Demon Lords of the Abyss united to attempt to destroy the Primary Material Plane and divide its energy. The Heavenly Realm exposed this information, and the beings of the Earth realized that Celestial Beings and demons had similar intentions. The Aryan Declaration was signed, and the various races of the Primary Material Plane secretly united.

Over four hundred years ago, a plane war erupted involving the Heavenly Realm, the Abyss, and the Primary Material Plane. The beings of Earth joined forces with the Heavenly Realm to drive out the Abyss, but then the united forces of the Primary Material Plane used Abyssal powers to expel the Heavenly Realm, only to be countered by the Abyss, causing a lot of plane pollution. To prevent the spread of pollution, the Son of Nature Forest Elf and the Druids of The Four Seasons Council prepared for the "journey," severing a quarter of Aryan and taking it to the Astral Plane for purification. They encountered some unexpected event, unable to return, and the Astral Plane gradually turned into a forgotten legend after a brief appearance.

The blank timeline was suddenly filled with many events.

Questions still remained, such as what the Druids and elves encountered outside during their journey. Their departure was too carefree, almost not considering the possibility of not returning. They left without a determined will to sacrifice, without many preparations. Losing anchor may cause them to lose direction. The guard left behind in the former sacred place should not have been just a high-ranking Druid; that Druid calmly left after a few professional elves without much concern.

Among the participants were the Elf King, who has lived for countless years like a demigod on Earth, and the esteemed Great Druid of The Four Seasons Council, who is powerful and knowledgeable among all the Druids of Aryan. Could they all have miscalculated? Will they all make mistakes in this event that affects the fate of their whole community? Do the strong ones who hope for their salvation of Aryan ignore this?

The unexpected mostly exceeded everyone’s expectations, and things happened too fast.

They didn’t think about preparing beyond the anchor point, maybe because they felt their preparations were enough. And if their preparations failed, there were other ways to fix it, like the wizard Elf Mage mentioned being able to enter the Astral Plane. Rarely did anyone prepare before extraordinary changes happened. It was like living in a normal world and not thinking about what to do if the sky fell.

Elf Mage said that after the dimensional pull was complete, the Astral Plane shook so much that even the best wizard couldn’t enter. The anchor point disappeared so quickly that the four Forest Elves present had to act quickly and use magic to save the flame seed, there was no other way. The Forest Elves and the Great Druid had not expected such a strange accident before leaving. When the four elves activated the magic array, they did not expect that, even after hundreds of years since the Battle of the Heaven and Earth, the massive war was still ongoing. The once isolated Aryan became a mess, and the chaotic warfare turned into one-sided expulsion and massacre, with countless secrets and knowledge lost in the flames. They were just missing someone who could open the gate.

Tasha felt a little scared but also somewhat fortunate to be a survivor. It was as if looking upstream from the river of time, you realize that your survival has gone through so many coincidences that any ancestor’s death could have meant your non-existence.

If Tasha had not come here, if Tasha had not chosen this path, or if she had chosen it but not succeeded, then the four gatekeepers would continue to wait, wait, and wait until the flame they guarded became meaningless, and the wanderers in the Astral Plane sighed and disappeared, with no one coming.

This part was something Tasha could be involved in and influence, but there were many other things that she could not affect with her efforts. If the Great Druid and the Forest Elves had not made such efforts, if the final four Forest Elves of Aryan had not bravely sacrificed their lives, if the Elf King had not persisted until now, the fragile answers would remain unsolved in the long passage of time, turning into another unsolvable puzzle.

With so much luck and so many people bleeding, sweating, and crying in unseen corners, Tasha stood on the steps made of Pathfinder corpses, feeling awe.

And a heavy weight.

"My turn," she thought.

The relay baton passed to Tasha, inheriting the efforts of so many people, gathering many questions and answers in her hands. Tasha felt like she was standing at a crucial point in history, thinking, if there were so many better conditions than before, but she couldn’t achieve better results than her predecessors, wasn’t she too insufficient?

It’s not just about responsibility, but the process of uncovering the truth excites her.

Throughout the whole situation, Tasha noticed that the Elf Mage didn’t seem to care about a particular issue. Currently, Aryan arises from the Aryan Declaration, while the Elf Mage links the beginning of the story to disturbances in the abyss. However, Tasha doesn’t believe that the Demon Lord’s retreat is merely because they are "acting strange."

Indeed, the abyss is extremely chaotic, with the Abyss Lord having different stances, disliking each other, only coming together to fight in the ebb and flow of the abyss – this is precisely the problem. How could such a messy alliance suddenly decide to withdraw at the same time and prepare to destroy Aryan as if launching a united attack on the Heavenly Realm?

"’Pollution’ and ‘division’ are no different." Victor muttered to himself in the past vision. "It’s a shame that a Primary Material Plane like the abyss would be so boring."

At that time, he was thinking: it must be this way, there’s no other choice, no third possibility.

What could have forced this rebellious Demon Lord to make a decision? The actions of the major demons were not impulsive, and it’s hard to say there is a significant connection to the Heavenly Realm’s actions. If the Heavenly Realm had been able to determine the outcome long ago, why haven’t they done so in the long years before? There must be something different, there must be a reason.

For Tasha, facing the threat from the abyss, this might be the most pressing issue.

If only Victor would wake up, perhaps he could provide some valuable answers. Dungeon’s gaze couldn’t help but focus on the Magic Pool, surrounding the cocoon of the former Demon Lord. After experiencing a test of good intentions in his sleep, this demon gentleman continued to remain unconscious, not knowing how much his body had grown within those unknown substances.

Tasha was curious about what was inside, and somehow she thought of the scene of a child cutting open a cocoon. Half a cocoon laying half of Victor inside… oh, perhaps it’s better to leave it alone.

Things without progress bars can make people anxious, unlike the dungeon cards nowadays that are straightforward at a glance.

[Dungeon-Tasha]

Merging and restructuring, progress: 75/100

Venturing back to the Astral Plane once more, Tasha gazed at the Elf King from afar and obtained the Tree of Life seed. This series of events brought about a growth of fifteen percent, nearly comparable to the first sighting of the Astral Plane (twenty percent). If events like this happen a few more times, the progress bar will be full.

After surpassing three-quarters completion, the dungeon card showed a slight change.

Tasha originally had three titles: Keeper (extracting elements from the protected to form a body), Dragon (guarding your territory and subjects like a dragon protects its treasure – additional dragon attribute bonus), and Astral Traveler (carrying a token of the Astral Plane, ready to face it with courage, you can set foot on the journey again). Now, behind the latest appearance of Astral Traveler, a new empty slot appeared.

Title: ???

Yes, it’s a row of question marks, just like the reorganization progress before connecting with the abyss, nothing can be seen. What is this? Tasha chuckled, did my self-organized system learn to tease people with a trailer like this? Compared to the well-hidden title names, the following explanatory text seemed hazy, like fogged glass that could be wiped clean to reveal the truth. Tasha reached out in her consciousness but felt nothing.

It probably needs more time to unlock.

The "Returning Home Team" started their journey back home, with the shape-shifting creature Druid summoned by Tasha leading the way. The Druid, who could transform into a falcon, carried the Tree of Life seed and planted it in a safe place in Tasmanian before the others arrived.

Most Forest Elves are viviparous, and it’s mostly a legend that the Tree of Life grows elves. According to the legend, the Tree of Life, like the Forest Elves themselves, bears fruit only after many years, sometimes a decade or even several decades. Tasha just wanted to plant the tree quickly, not expecting to harvest anything.

However, when they returned, the Tree of Life seed that had arrived weeks earlier had already taken root, sprouted, and blossomed into fruit.