Chapter 864: Tree of Life
With his plan of action decided upon, Vahn released his impromptu council to go about their business while heading towards the clearing with Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi in tow. Most of the girls had fallen into their own schedule, which typically involved helping clear debris and scouting the 200km wide Floor. It was generally only in the afternoons and evenings that Vahn got to spend time with everyone though, if he wanted to spend time with them, none of the girls would really be against it. Still, with the amount of time he had spent helping Artemis, Vahn knew he needed to show his proactivity or people might start to spread rumors that he was lazy and unreliable...
Once they had reached the center of the clearing, which actually looked a little strange within the ashen-stone of the Dungeon, Vahn sent the signal to Terra before moving her to his location with Unit Management. He would be looking after Alexa on the surface while she was down inside of the Dungeon, though she had been relatively well behaved even without supervision.
Terra immediately appeared at his side, the same smile as usual on her face as she bowed politely and said, "Good morning, Master~." Though they had already met each other this morning, as Vahn had slept with Terra the previous night and explained what she would be doing today, Vahn still nodded his head and said, "Good morning, Terra. Thanks for coming down into the Dungeon for me; I couldn't really do this without you..." In response to this, Terra just giggled before adding, "Master, there is a limit to humility, you know~? I believe everyone understands that, if you really needed to perform this ritual without me, you would undoubtedly find a way...ufufufufu~."
Vahn didn't really have a way to refute this as, though it would take much longer, it wasn't impossible for him to create the ward himself. He already knew the structure and had all the materials necessary to complete the project. Terra would simply be able to do it much faster than him, saving potentially weeks worth of time which he could be used to confront Enyo. Thus, instead of refuting her words, Vahn simply smiled in response while Maemi, Emiru, and Haruhime all giggled behind him. Terra also rustled her wings, clearly amused by the developments as she stepped off to the side, gesturing towards the center as she said, "Master, I am ready when you are. Please, plant the seed~."
Though part of him expected something to happen, Vahn still pulled out the beautiful walnut-like seed with a green spiral pattern. He knew a Tree of Life was perfectly adapted to any environment, purportedly even plantable on the surface of a star. It would gain the properties of its surroundings while purifying them at an incredible rate. Its energy would intermingle with the Dungeon but, by being bound to him, whatever forces could control the Dungeon wouldn't have any influence over the Tree of Life. Even collapsing the ceiling would ultimately be futile, unless someone tried to accomplish it with pure physical force. Still, even if that were to happen, Vahn wasn't even sure if the Tree of Life was something that could be damaged so easily from the outset...
Without dallying too long, Vahn moved to the very center of the region and placed the [Seed of the Tree of Life] on the ground. Then, following Sis' instructions, Vahn made an incision across his palm and dripped his blood directly onto it. The moment the first drop of blood contacted the seed, it spun until it was standing straight up and then started sinking into the ground. It didn't actually push any of the stone out of the way as it did so, almost as if the seed had become intangible. Vahn then backed away a fair distance while everyone followed along, silently waiting for the Tree of Life to sprout. During this time, most of the girls ended up arriving to witness this historical event for themselves, forming a small gathering with Lefiya and Ryuu hardly able to restrain themselves.
During this period of silence, Terra's eyes were focused on the Floor of the Dungeon, much like Vahn's. Her brows perked up slightly upon witnessing the massive amount of energy that had started to expand outward like a deeply entrenched root system. It was significantly more energy than even her own Dominion was able to produce, causing Terra's interest in the Tree of Life to increase a great deal. Vahn also marveled at this phenomenon and was able to discern a great deal more than even Terra herself. He could even sense 'intent' contained within the roots and, as if to directly respond to his intrigue, a small voice sounded in his mind, ("Are you my Father...?")
Vahn's eyes widened upon hearing this childish voice in his mind but he quickly responded, saying, ("In a way, I suppose that is true...as for these girls, they will be your family from this point onward, though, if we're getting into the specifics, the very excited blond Elf is your Mother...if not for the love we shared, it would not have been possible for me to plant you in this place...") As he said this, Ryuu startled slightly before looking back, saying, "There is a voice in my head that just called me Mother...?" This time, Vahn laughed a little while nodding his head to Ryuu, saying, "Indeed. Since the Tree of Life is the product of our love, it isn't incorrect to say they are our child. It looks like Alise will have a little sister in the future...?"
Ryuu flushed slightly upon hearing this while Lefiya, who had been standing to her left, clapped her hands together, saying, "Congratulations, Ryuu~! I don't think there has been a Sacred Tree with sentience since the Ancient Times...I think this makes you Royalty?" Following Lefiya's remark, the other girls began to congratulate the progressively more flustered Ryuu. She didn't know what to say at the moment, only that it would be very cruel to tell the voice in her head that they weren't actually related to each other. In truth, she was very happy, even if the news was very sudden and somewhat difficult to accept outright...
While Ryuu was flustering about with the other girls, Vahn listened to the voice in his mind ask, ("Father...what is my name? Where is this place...?") To these questions, Vahn came up with both answers relatively quickly, smiling as he 'said',("Your name will be Yggdrasil, though I think I will call you Yggy for short...as for this place, it is the Dungeon, Tartarus, located on the Continent of Eden. I planted you hear in the place called Haven, praying you might become a beacon of hope that protects this City against the darkness contained deeper within...") This time, the voice within his head sounded very chipper and excited as it said, ("That is a wonderful name, Father~! Thank you, I love it a lot!")
Almost as soon as these words sounded within Vahn's mind, the massive amount of energy contained in the Floor began to converge towards the center of the empty region. Then, as if watching the event sped up several times, a small sapling emerged from the center without breaking through the stone. Vahn noticed that Yggdrasil's energy seemed to 'overlap' with other forms of energy, instead of overwriting and breaking through it like normal matter. His [Eyes of Truth] were active the entire time, watching as the Tree of Life grew and expanded very quickly, stopping once it had reached precisely ten meters. At the same time, the trunk of the tree was a very stout 5m while the canopy overhead spread out to, once again, 10m. The most startling aspects of this tree were that the bark had a very dark green coloration with emerald green swirls creating a beautiful pattern on the surface. As for the leaves, they looked like gemstones that possessed a variety of different colors and patterns, while still retaining the flexible and natural quality of actual leaves...
As everyone was marveling at the awe-inspiringly beautiful tree, a figure began to emerge from the bark, drawing the attention of everyone present. Then, what appeared to be a very young version of Ryuu, stepped out from the tree trunk. She had the appearance of a very young girl around 4-5 years old and, somewhat surprisingly, at least compared to past experiences, she was clothed in very cute clothing that was comprised of leaves and vines. The main difference between her and Ryuu, other than the drastically different age, was that her skin had a light brown color while her blond hair frayed outward a little with green tips. Like Terra, she also had strange runes on her bare arms and legs but, though her power was much lower, the amount of energy contained in the figure before them was phenomenal...it actually felt borderline 'infinite', as Vahn was simply unable to grasp the magnitude of Yggdrasil's energy...
Without saying anything, Yggy smiled radiantly and leaped towards the surprised Ryuu, hugging her tightly as she said, "Thank you for making me! I love you, Mother~!" Since Vahn had told her that she wouldn't have existed without Ryuu, Yggy was very fond of her Mother. She didn't know exactly what an Elf was supposed to be but, based on the pure energy contained within Ryuu, Yggy knew she had to be a good person. Even so, she didn't hold onto Ryuu for that long and immediately set her sky blue eyes on her Father, Vahn. Her smile became even more radiant as, from her perspective, Vahn actually was 'more infinite' and pure than she was. The purity and composition of energy coming off of him made her own feel minuscule in comparison, causing Yggy to feel truly blessed to have such amazing parents...
As the super small Yggy ran towards him, Vahn naturally scooped her up into his arms, pinching her button-like nose and causing her to giggle happily. Calling him 'Father' had immediately elevated Yggy's status in his heart so Vahn's impression of her was already rather extreme. He actually started to feel a little guilty, knowing that she would be down here watching over Haven while he was away at times. Though he had already planned to spend a fair amount of time on the 50th Floor in the future, Vahn made a mental note to spend time with Yggy herself whenever possible. Fortunately, once the teleportation ward was established, it wouldn't be that difficult for him to stop by, even if the costs were a bit expensive...
Though she had a 'physical' body, the Elven version of Yggy was just the form she had decided upon for her 'avatar'. Her actual body was the Tree of Life itself, and she had just wanted to create a form to interact with everyone that had gathered around. From Vahn's perspective, she was essentially an entity of pure energy and, even if her 'body' was destroyed, Yggdrasil would be perfectly fine, so long as her 'real' body remained. Since the Tree of Life was borderline indestructible, and actually produced its own energy, the chances of this happening were slim at best. The only way Yggy could die was if someone managed to gain access to her 'heart', which was the very same seed he had planted previously. Since the only person that could even remotely gain access to it was Vahn himself, she immediately became the best protector for Haven they could have asked for...
From the moment Yggy had sprouted, a very clear and refreshing aura had expanded to cover a 400m radius around her canopy. It was so vibrant and pristine that, from the perspective of his [Eyes of Truth], there was now a green sphere surrounding Yggy, purifying everything within. Even the surrounding ashen stones in the surrounding area has slowly changed into an entirely different state of matter, becoming rich and fertile soil that was already covered in a layer of emerald green grass. There was so much energy in close proximity to Yggy's trunk that Lefiya and Ryuu actually had to move to the outskirts since their faces had become extremely flushed from the excess energy entering into their bodies.
The most amazing thing about this was the fact that this was Yggy's 'passive' state. If she wanted to, though the energy would become thinner, the region under her influence could be increased greatly. Her base ratio, for 100% purity, allowed her to influence an area that was precisely 40x larger than the height of her main body. Since she was 10m tall, this meant Yggy's influence extended omnidirectional, including into the ground, 400m. If she wanted to, it was possible to reduce the purity of her aura to around 10%, allowing her to influence a region with a radius of 800m. Since this was actually more than enough to bolster plant life, Vahn asked if she could expand her aura to its maximum, assuming there wasn't an emergency.
Since her aura had a natural purification effect, that even worked on the negative energy in people's hearts and minds, Vahn felt it would be helpful to keep order. At the same time, her aura also warded off 'evil' creatures, such as monsters, causing them to take persistent damage so long as they were within her range. If they approached near her trunk, almost any monster that wasn't 'allowed' to be there would end up disintegrating entirely. The only 'downside' to Yggy's aura was that it would make all poisons, toxins, and miasma almost completely inert. Even this wasn't a true downside, however, as the medicinal herbs that would have been most affected by her aura would actually become purified versions of themselves, or outright 'evolve' into a new type of plant. Making a poison was next to impossible, but it was exceptionally easy to make powerful healing and mana potions just by allowing herbs to soak in Yggy's aura for a few days...
Though Vahn had always expected the Tree of Life to be amazing, it was far more incredible than he had expected it to be. Not only did he get a cute little daughter, but her existence itself was already infinitely close to Tier 4 from 'birth'. He was able to discover this very quickly as, after handing over the two [Yggdrasil's Branch]s in his possession, and explaining his intentions, Yggy very happily became his subordinate. Though her Status listed her as [Nameless], meaning he would be able to use his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] in a few days, he was still able to confirm she was a verified Tier 3 existence with a whopping four Innates...
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[Nameless]
Age: 0
Race: Spirit of the Tree of Life
Level: (-)
Loyalty: 1,019
Soul Strength: Tier 3 (Great Spirit)
Karma: -
State: [Active]
Skills: [Spirit of the Tree of Life: Innate: SS], [Yggdrasil's Blessing: Innate: SS], [Fountain of Youth: Innate: S], [Sanctuary: Innate: A], [Purifying Light: SS], [Rampant Growth: S], [Terraforming: S], [Endless Vigor: A], [Healing Rain: A]
[Spirit of the Tree of Life]
Rank: Innate(SS) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a backlash.*
Passive: Allows the user to adapt to any and all environments, purifying them and strengthening the life essence contained within. So long as the 'Sacred Heart of Life' remains, those possessing this skill will live eternally.
[Yggdrasil's Blessing]
Rank: Innate(SS) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a backlash.*
Passive: Grants the user limitless vital energy and allows them to infuse it into other sources.
Active: Bestow [Yggrasil's Favor] unto a target via a kiss. Warning: Weakens the passive strength of [Yggdrasil's Blessing] for a year after bestowal.
[Fountain of Youth]
Rank: Innate(S) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a backlash.*
Passive: Produce one ounce of pristine water every month. Those that consume this water will have their vitality replenished, enabling them to reverse the effects of aging by a single year.
[Sanctuary]
Rank: Innate(A) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a backlash.*
Passive: Create a domain of purification that increases the growth rate, natural recovery, and spiritual development of everything within. Has the effect of negating negative energy, purifying poisons, preventing the spread of miasma, and damaging entities recognized as a threat by the user.
[Purifying Light]
Rank: SS
Use: Causes a radiant light to emanate, dealing persistent damage to enemies based on the purity of their soul. Against familiars and mana constructs, this ability can completely destroy any entities beneath the Level of the user.
[Rampant Growth]
Rank: S
Use: Convert vital energy into the natural energy to stimulate explosive plant growth.
[Terraforming]
Rank: S
Use: The user is able to passively change the environment to be more hospitable for recognized lifeforms. Able to create 'ecospheres' with isolated habitats that can last indefinitely, so long as the user is still alive.
[Endless Vigor]
Rank: A
Use: Massively increases the replenishment of stamina, mental energy, and spiritual energy.
[Healing Rain]
Rank: A
Use: Convert vital energy into clouds that will rain down indiscriminately, healing all within this abilities range.
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Securing the future by planting a seed...','Spontaneous Tree-Daughter-no-Jutsu~! RIP Ryuu...','Man, Vahn needs to start using his Unique items more proactively...Yggy is OP as all heck~')
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