Gated Gardens (Patreon)

Year 145

The Eastern Continent’s war against the demons increased in intensity. The heroes returned, and with it, they brought superior, star-mana powered firepower. The heroes could take on large flights of drakes, and that meant the war was starting to shift in favor of the natives.

We know this, because the temples’ propaganda machine is in full swing, boasting of the heroes success in defeating the demons. So, the powers of the 3 heroes were now public knowledge. Kei essentially was a mobile flak fortress. Alvin, was a mobile missile site and he fired magic missiles by the thousands. Hans was the mobile beam weapons and drones person. Strange that the Gods opted for ground based anti-air powers, instead of giving the heroes flight and ability to fight midair.

With their powers, the drakes were not a challenge. They just could not be everywhere at the same time. There were too many fronts, too many cities and towns under the attack of the drakes.

The drakes have multiplied tremendously over the past few years, and swarms of 50 to 300 giant drakes were now common sight. Lausanne described them as mobile flying fortresses, and were quite like dragons that she’d seen in her many dreams. I was expecting the war to end soon. The heroes would win, I think.

-

In the Central continent, the ruling class generally believed the demon king was a goner. They didn’t think the heroes would fail the 2nd time, even if they were the 2nd batch. Personally, I think they would succeed, simply because the demon king must be in a weaker state, perhaps due to damage from the earlier battles with the first batch of heroes.

So, our focus was mainly on restoring the trade connections that’ve been lost over the past decade of war, and it was getting easier. In particular, a few of the island nations, there were some volcanic island nations located nearer to the center of the oceans, that were keen to support us and essentially become our intermediaries.

Unlike the continental kingdoms where the temple’s influence is strong, these volcanic islands had a lot more to gain, and honestly, not much to lose.

That said, since most of our ships disguised themselves as pirate ships, privateers all, they had multiple sea battles with the navies of those continental kingdoms. We lost quite many ships, but it was fine.

On the Northern continent, often referred to as the Northern Isles, a few independent kingdoms went as far as permitting our merchant ships to dock, without a need to change our flags. Overall, a good sign, that trade and global relations were somewhat thawing. I really don’t see the point of pointless battles.

Solving the demon king in the long run was a bigger problem.

-

The Central Continent is big, and even though almost all of the kingdoms and nations in the continent are now allied to my, either formally or indirectly, there are still places where my root network and trees only have a little coverage.

Since many of these new kingdoms are relatively new to my growing federation, we had focused our subsidiary trees in the habited zones. This was in line with our support of the Treeological priests’ social and charity work. It would be quite similar to a network of expressways linking all the large habited zones, since I also needed the network of trees to ‘break’ through the shattered Rottedlands, and also to act as beacons for the beetle-truckers.

Therefore, in spite of my vast network, there are still gaps. And where there are gaps, there are mysteries to be explained, and monsters I have yet to meet.

So, in the northern areas of the Central continent, in a forest I recently just expanded to, we heard a creature calling out to us. “I sense a spirit in our midst.” A large giant wolf spoke, it looked every park like a regular giant wolf-animal, but the very fact that it spoke meant it was not ordinary at all.

It seemed to be having a conversation with something, or someone.

“You are right, perhaps it can hear us.” The wolf somehow said. “So, spirit, show yourself.”

I thought about this for a moment, and decided to telepathically speak. There was something strange about his form as a wolf, perhaps it is not really a wolf. “Greetings.”

The wolf paused, and it looked around. “I see. A spirit of the land?”

“I am Aeon, a Tree Spirit.”

“Akrenaf, Wolf of the Hunt.” I had no idea what that was.

“It seems you speak the common tongue?”

“Ah, I am both wolf and man, and there are two of us in our body as we speak.” My spiritual vision seemed to clear up, and then I saw a wolf... and something like a man? But it’s not really separated. “The man in me is Varik the Brave, a human shaman who died a century ago.”

“I see.”

“You are...” it paused, and then it seemed puzzled. “Where is your body?”

“Far, far away.”

“So... strange.”

“Not as strange as two souls in a single body.” I don’t recall that is possible. One soul should have purged the other. I focused my energies, my roots linked to more trees. The trees around them all added to my spiritual sense.

“Ah, we are not really two souls. Our souls fused, and we are one, but we are of two minds.” Ah split personality. That’s a lot easy to digest.

“How?”

“Varik the [Shaman] has a unique ritual skill called [Living Memory]. It made his soul into a memory able to latch onto anything, or in this instance, me.” Akrenaf said. “I, the wolf killed him a century ago. I was but a normal wolf then.” The memory changed the wolf, and it gained levels since then. It is now far stronger than before, and yet, it refused to leave it’s forest.

“Ah.”

“I am dominant, but his memories, voices, magic and thoughts remain in me. He lives through me.”

“Fascinating. Well met, Akrenaf, Wolf of the Hunt.”

It howled.

Akrenaf was a wolf that guarded this forest, and as a wolf, he is, in many ways, a monster like me. Yet, it had memory of the world, and thought, and so it gained levels. As my roots spread throughout the forest... This was a young forest. It was not older than 50 years.

“This forest, it was destroyed before?”

“Yes. The demons came, we were powerless to stop it, so we hid in the mountains till they left. When they left, Varik’s [Shaman] powers helped to restore the land and return the forest.

“I see.” That explained how the forest didn’t seem special. It was not ancient, and it doesn’t have history to it. It was no wonder it fell through all our radars.

This [shaman] class is interesting, so I quickly went through my stockpiles. I do have a few of them, but I’ve not given them to anyone. It’s certainly a ritualistic class, with a focus on runes, sacrifices, ceremonies and processions.

-

Exploration of the [Tainted Demon Core] continued. More tests, and I still struggle. I had to wield both regular mana, and somehow create demon mana to unlock it. It was going nowhere.

-

Arlisa was 5, and she grew quickly. Her physique was at least 20-30% bigger than a half-elf of her age, and despite her petite figure, her body was exceptionally strong. This was because her inherited class had transformed into [Blessing of a Soul Tree (advanced)], and she unlocked [Enhanced Strength], and [Resilient Body].

It’s strange, and like Lausanne, quite a splitting image of herself. Laufen could finally have the joy of teasing Lausanne. “You were just like her. We couldn’t handle you when you got too strong.”

“She didn’t even get started on the dreams yet!” Lausanne protested.

Arlisa made a naughty face and ran away. It was a pain to find her, she didn’t unlock any class yet, but she already has the [Lesser Stealth] skill.

“I don’t know anyone who has lesser stealth at 5!” Lausanne complained when she caught her daughter hiding on top of the trees in Freshka. “She better not end up stealing!”

-

[The Demon King Raja-Naga has been slain].

None of the heroes died, and the news of their victory quickly spread. The war of the demon king is over... at least, for this decade. The heroes spent two months mopping up the rest of the demons from the Eastern Continent, and then... they were all set out on their ways.

So... Kei returned to the Central Continent after that. Alone, and she immediately went to Freshka.

“I need an audience with Aeon.” She met Jura, and there was a seriousness in her words. “No buts. I want to see him, or I will barge into the valley myself.” Jura shrugged and nodded. If she won against the demon king, then there’s nothing Jura can do to stop her anymore. Not at his level.

We led her to the Giant Attendant Tree again, where she last chose her hero item. Once she was inside, she immediately sat down and demanded. “I want tea.” Oh well.

Tea it is. She poured exceptionally large amounts of leaves into the pot and made a thick brew. She cast a spell to cool it down and then quickly downed the cup.

Then she yelled. “FUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!” Thankfully she was indoors. She poured herself another cup of the tea, and downed it.

“FUCK THIS SHIT! ARGH WHY WERE WE SO STUPID!”

“Uh, may I ask what happened?”

She took a deep breath. “Those fucking gods  Fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuck.”

Then she seemed to struggle against some kind of phantom pain. She quickly gulped down a cup of tea.

“You won, right?”

“We didn’t have to kill the demon king!” Kei shouted. “We shouldn’t have to kill a weak, defenseless demon king!”

What? I waited. That sounded absurd. The demon king killed so many. Surely killing the demon king is the right thing to... wait. Is she trying to tell me something else.

“But the gods. Fuck’em, they did something to all of us. All three of us. We broke the seal that the previous heroes made, and killed the weakened and disabled demon king. It was pathetic of us. There was no challenge in slaying a weakened demon king.”

The more I paid attention, this was a very weird statement from Kei. Like, what do you mean, no challenge? Is that all she cared about? No. She’s trying to say something without saying it.

She sat and started talking. “We should’ve walked away, rather than let the power in our hands get to our head. The previous heroes were not strong enough to kill the demon king, but the seal they left behind in their final hours left the demon king in a perpetually disarmed state, trapped in a magical tornado and magical web, sustained by heroic mana.”

“The demon king couldn’t harm a fly in that state, and yet we walked up to it and killed it! It was pathetic! We should have waited for a proper fight."

Huh.

“Why?” She continued. “I don’t fucking know either, but whatever fuck that was, I should have slapped the hell out of my two friends and tell them to walk away. But I didn’t. The bloodlust won. Fuck the gods. They fucked with my mind so hard. I want a proper fight!”

She’s not like that. She had a headache again. Another cup. "Even now, they are fucking with me." No.

She’s trying to say... what.

“Think about it. If we only killed all the other demons, and left the demon king there and waited for it to recover, we could have a proper fight. We could wait a 100 years if we need to, so that we can get a proper fight on our hands.”

100 years? Oh. OH.

She had a mental breakdown, a headache and started crying.

“Why, Aeon? Why?”

I honestly have no idea. But clever.

“Are the gods secretly sadists? Are they gods of war, like Ares, that relished in victory? They just want the demon king dead, is that it? Even if it’s defenseless? Don’t they care about the struggle? The pleasure and satisfaction of a hard won battle?”

Kei sat up. “Fuck the gods. Fuck em, and fuck my two brainwashed friends who can’t seem the mindcontrol for the life of me. My answer is simple. Aeon, I need your help. I believe in the whole wide world right now, only you can help me. Even if I die in the end.”  Another cup. “Next one, I want a proper fight with the demon king.”

Then she screamed in pain.

“And...”

“You’re a tree, a magical tree, and as far as I can tell, one of the strongest beings to exist in this world. If I give you all the star mana I have, including my soul if you need it, can you..."

She couldn't say it, as she dropped down on the floor and struggled. It seemed like her head was in immense pain and she pulled her hair.

This was too much for me to take and if I was a human I’d be panicking. Thankfully, a tree does not panic. She struggled for a good one hour, and when she recovered, her eyes were blank, her face deathly pale.

She just sat there, and finished her pot of tea. Then she asked for the journal, but I didn’t say too much to her. She seemed out of it.

She stared at the journal for hours, then finally she added some additional notes into it. She slept in that room that day, then spent the subsequent few weeks, making more star-mana weapons.

-

Despite Kei’s obsession and frustrations about slaying a weakened demon king, I think she was actually trying to tell me something else, without fully triggering the god’s increasingly overreaching mental influences.

By not going all the way and making me think for myself what she couldn’t say, did she just... figure out how to cheat the gods?

Her statement about a weakened, disarmed demon king opened my mind to a world of possibilities.

Seal the demon king. And probably the heroes too. A seal that could last a century. Maybe more.

It’s strange to think that this entire problem could be solved in such a simple method. Seal the demon king, lock it up, keep it alive but harmless. Essentially, it would jam a metal wrench into the cog. It’s a lot easier to deal with the other demons, without the demon king.

Peace. Sort of.

But how?

It was a proposal in the right intent, but we are lacking the tools. If this is to be done, it would need a few decades of preparation, and far more levels than what we have now.

I gathered my artificial minds.

“The hero Kei was almost in the right direction. If we can somehow figure out how to disable both the hero and the demon king, we can delay the cycle as long as they are both disabled. Failure is unfortunately death, since if either one turns on us, our ability to survive them right now is low.”

“It can be done if the hero is on our side. By our calculations and our present abilities, I think we have an extremely slim chance this would succeed. I recommend significantly more preparation.” Patreeck commented, and naturally I agreed. This was going against heaven and hell at the same time.

“To seal a demon king and also a hero would require a spell far more powerful than anything we have, perhaps at an even higher tier than the superhexbomb.”

“But not impossible, and as the hero implied, a 100 years of peace may be worth it, and it would allow us all the time we need to prepare for the eventual failure of the seal. We are the only ones that can stop this. Only us, with the benefit of our long lives. Perhaps, us and Lilies. Together.”

Silence from my artificial minds.

“We would have to convince Lilies to support this endeavour, it is risky, since the heroes will turn on us as our plans involve sealing both sides. We also don’t know how far the god’s mind-warping abilities can go. Should any of the heroes rebel so publicly, would the gods be able to turn their powers on overdrive, and turn her into their puppet outright?”

I believe it is certain that the gods won’t let me seal the demon king. Why else did they load up the heroes’ minds with so much mental alterations? I believe the gods can make them puppets if they so desire, perhaps at a great cost.

“If so, master, conflict with the heroes...”

“Inevitable.”

I recalled Kei’s words. When she saw the demon king, she was swamped with an intense bloodlust. The heroes that supported and worked with us may betray us at that crucial moment, and that could go really bad, very quickly. We would need very specific countermeasures for the heroes then.

The war with the temples would take a far nastier turn, if that happened.

Still, I wanted to thank Kei. She sparked a thought, a chance, of how this entire conflict could end. A perpetual truce.

Maybe it would not succeed in her lifetime, but I have the time to prepare. I’ll need all the time to prepare on this path that will make the gods and demons my enemies.

“Master.” Patreeck spoke. “It may be tempting to consider Kei’s suggestion as something achievable, but at the same time, it is possible that you can gain sufficient power to alter the divine arrangement yourself, without a need to directly seal both of the combatants in this conflict.”

“Hmmm?”

“I mean... the heroes and the demons are beings from another world, right? If you could... seal this world away, hide the world from their sight, would they still come?”

“Oh?”

“It’s like the powers of the ancient vanishing forest, taking it to the next level. A vanishing world, away from the meddling gazes of the demons and the gods. A global shroud generator.”

Another option. Go all out on the path of divinity, then run away, and take this entire world with it. There are other options that may emerge the higher up I go, as I better understand the powers of the divine.

Options. Suddenly I felt like there is a path out of this stupid game.

“You are right. We must try what we can.”