Dao 4 Chapter 31 (Patreon)

Dar entered his inner world, instantly surrounded by his harem. They held their arms around him, and Dar felt truly home.

“Valdis told us.” Sasha pressed herself to him.

Dar wrapped his arms around his ladies and saw Sha and Bai standing to the side. “If you two aren’t opposed, you can join in here.”

The two celestials smiled, stepping forward and joining in on the hug.

Dar let himself take the moment, enjoying their embrace and letting his mind relax from the frenzy of battle.

Not having Amber and Marcie with them made his heart ache, and he knew that he would still grieve their loss, even if there was a chance of Valdis finding them once more. When everything was done, he wanted to have a remembrance ceremony for them, a chance to say goodbye and celebrate all they were.

Dar took a deep breath and collected himself. The battle was done, but there were still matters that needed his attention.

“Okay. There’s a lot happening right now. We need to talk, make some decisions, and then move forward.” Dar looked around at everyone gathered. “Granterra as we know it has been destroyed.”

Sasha covered her face.

Neko clutched her stomach. “Gone? Where will kittens play?”

Cherry bounced on the balls of her feet. “In all of the worlds that Dar made!” Her eyes were still blazing bright green. “My tree made another tree, a huuuuuuge tree that is still growing. It is fruiting worlds. It is the best tree, and it is mine.” Her eyes glowed a bit brighter as she said the word ‘mine’.

Tami looked to Dar to see if she should be concerned about Cherry.

“What she says is true. I’ve grown beyond the celestial dao and possess one of the two pinnacle dao. Specifically, the dao of creation. Pandora’s dao was the dao of destruction, and she succeeded when it came to Granterra. But the other mana in the universe allowed me to feed another tree, and it seems to have the power to create new worlds. It is life and opportunity.”

“What about everyone on Granterra?” Sasha asked.

Dar swallowed. “We can search the fragments amid the roots of the tree, but I think you’ll find that few people have survived.”

“F-fragments?” Tami’s eyes were wide with shock.

Bai nodded to confirm Tami’s fear. “It is a broken world now. All that exist are fragments of the world, floating in the void. But we can search them for those that might have survived.”

Dar knew that Tami was processing her own grief. While she hadn’t been particularly close to her family, they were still her family. She’d lost them all nearly instantly.

“We can transplant anyone we find to some of the worlds as they mature,” Dar agreed. It was a monumental task, and it hurt his head just thinking about it. But they could do little by little over time.

Dar paused, thinking about the more painful task he needed to finish first.

“Now, I need to go talk to Bart. Then we can join Hearthway, and I will do what I can to pave a future for us all.”

Dar bowed to his ladies and left the keep, heading into the village. It was an odd sensation walking into the tranquil and happy town. Everybody was going about their business completely unaware that their world had been shattered.

“Dar.” Tabby smiled from the familiar cooking pot. Her husband wasn’t far off, enjoying some of her food.

Dar did his best to look friendly, but knew he failed when Tabby’s expression became strange.

“Can you call Bart?” Dar asked.

“Bart, honey, come here.” There was an urgency in her voice as it wavered.

The old blacksmith didn’t seem to notice as he got up, but he took in Dar’s expression and his own grew more grim instantly. His eyes scanned past Dar for something, or more likely someone.

“You look like a man coming hat in hand.” Bart said. “What happened?” He tried to stay positive, but Dar could see the smile slip into a frown every time he tried to keep it up.

Dar stared them both in the eyes. “Outside, there has been a war happening. A fight among celestials.”

Bart swallowed audibly. “No. We trusted her with you.”

Dar hung his head. “Amber died to buy me time.”

Tabby’s palm slapped Dar. He let it happen. He knew she was grieving, and everybody grieved differently. If they needed to take their emotion out on him, his body could take it.

“You-you.” Tabby was at a loss for words.

“Valdis thinks we can bring her back, but it will take time. I’m so sorry.” Dar nearly broke with his own grief.

“Then don’t even think of our forgiveness until she’s back,” Tabby spat.

“Tabby.” Bart’s face was a rictus of pain, but he held his wife back. “I’m sorry, Dar. Give us some time.” The blacksmith pulled the woman away as she began sobbing.

Others in the village had stopped to take in what was happening. Dar did his best to smile as he headed back towards his women. He wanted to find some new tasks to keep him busy, keep his thoughts from the expressions on Bart and Tabby’s faces.

“Dar.” Sasha trailed after him.

“Let’s get to work, Sasha. Come with me.” He grabbed her as he exited his inner world and returned to the hollow in the tree. “We need a place for everyone.”

Sasha spun around, taking in the dark space.

“Right. Light first.” Dar lifted his hand and a ball of a miniature sun came into being before he lifted it up and threw it into the ceiling of the hollow.

The tree had continued growing. The hollow had grown large enough for an entire civilization.

Dar waved his hand and a carpet of green grass spread underneath his feet, spreading until it coated the bottom on the hollow.

“Are you doing that, Dar?” Sasha stepped around, like she was trying not to let the grass grow up her feet.

“Yes. Now don’t worry. We are going to make a space for those in Hearthway. It isn’t fair to keep them closed up in my inner world.” Dar waved his hands and made mountains and rivers, lakes and oceans within the hollow of the tree.

Smiling, he focused on one particular area, adding in a large river with granite cliffs nearby.

***

The people of Hearthway were planted in the little world Dar had made in the hollow while he and his women went in search of survivors amid the fragments of the shattered Granterra.

They’d found some down by the roots, but others had scattered everywhere.

On one huge chunk, Dar hadn’t bothered removing the survivors. Instead, he just moved it to the crown of the tree and made the fragment into a whole world.

It would be the center for what he was growing.

Neko rubbed up against Dar’s side as he and his harem went along one of the branches to check on the earliest world. Thankfully, Dar could travel far faster now that he was more powerful. Otherwise, it would have taken far too long to navigate the vastness of the tree.

“Kittens.” She purred, rubbing her rounded stomach.

“You have kittens,” Bai teased the cat girl. “Maybe some of the rest of us would like children.”

“But so many worlds.” Neko pointed out amid the branches where worlds grew in the distance like a field of stars. “They all need cat girls. So many worlds.” Neko sighed. “Neko must mother many kittens, but Neko is up to it.”

Dar laughed, not quite sure Neko was truly kidding.

“No laugh. Every world needs kittens; it’s just a fact.” She rubbed her stomach and continued to purr up against Dar. “Right, Dar? Every world needs cat girls.”

“Of course.” He ruffled her hair between her ears. “Every world certainly needs cat girls, because cat girls are the best.”

Neko nodded with a smile, crushing herself into him but being careful with her belly.

“You spoil her.” Valdis sat on Neko’s other side. “One day, that’ll come back to bite you when she really does populate all of these worlds with cat girls.”

Dar shrugged. “I spoil all of you since…” He stopped as the feelings threatened to overwhelm him.

Since his two lovely maids had died, he doted on his entire harem and closed it off for any others. More than a few of those that they’d rescued from the fragments had been eager, but Dar didn’t have much interest.

Bai had even taken on her own tasks, not suggesting that new maids were needed. They’d all watched quietly as Dar insisted on doing tasks for himself, like it was some sort of penance.

They’d been something more to Dar, and the idea of trying to replace them broke his heart. It didn’t feel right, and the others accepted that.

“Okay. This is it,” Dar said as they stopped on the branch and he brought them around to a budding new world. He wasn’t quite sure how it all worked if he was honest. The worlds were growing at an alarming rate, many of them developing life all on their own.

The one below him he’d spotted from much further away. It had a structure he’d found familiar.

“This is the world with The Pangea?” Sha looked over his shoulder at Earth.

“Yeah. It is where my head starts to hurt about paradoxes and timelines. But for now, I know one thing. We’ll seal it off from the World Tree and prevent mana from reaching it.” Dar knew that if he was to have the future life he was supposed to on Earth, there couldn’t be mana.

“What if the maids reincarnate there?” Valdis asked. She was attuned to their souls and would know when and where they reincarnated.

“Then that’s just shit luck, and we’ll have to figure something out. But if we leave this world alone, I believe Lilith’s soul will end up there. And it will find mine,” Dar pointed out.

Valdis breathed heavily and nodded. “Of course. We’ll seal it, and I’ll check on it often.”

Blaire was tapping her lips looking at the world. “Maybe Neko is right. Maybe these worlds need some bright haired young women too. What do you think Cherry, Mika?”

“Of course.” Cherry nodded excitedly while Mika looked eager to get moving. But she nodded anyway.

“Maybe we should head back to Hearthway. We haven’t been back for a few months,” Mika suggested.

The rest of the group grew quiet.

“I’ll beat up Tabby if she says anything?” Valdis offered.

Dar shook his head, knowing that he hadn’t been as sneaky as he’d thought. They knew that he was avoiding the village. It was hard to see Amber’s parents, even if Bart had grudgingly forgiven him with the promise of his girl returning one day. Tabby was still wounded, and her anger was directed at him.

Tabby had her child ripped away, and it would take her time to heal, although Dar knew it would never go away.

“It’s fine, Valdis. These worlds need tending. We can travel between them and help them onto the right path. Besides, didn’t you want to find a world to raise our children?” Dar asked, knowing what Valdis had in mind.

The combat-oriented Valkyrie had put a few suggestions into place to get their children ready for the life they would have.

To each of the world before them, Dar and his harem were gods. By the time the worlds matured, and humans or other sentient life came into being, they would all likely be celestials many times over.

After his ascension to a Drasil, Dar’s harem had rapidly grown in strength as they shared dao companionship.Sha even had a second celestial dao now. Cherry was almost at her first.

Neko rubbed at her stomach. “I think I’d like to give birth amid the people in Hearthway, Dar. They are our people and our family.”

Dar sighed. “Then just a short trip before we return.” He was quick to give Neko what she wanted in regard to the pregnancy. Besides, some community would likely do her and the kittens some good.

Dar had checked.

Neko was bearing four little ones. Even if she looked fully pregnant, she still had several months to go. Thankfully, she was stronger than a human or he wasn’t sure how she’d manage.

***

Dar paced back and forth outside the door as Neko cried out within.

She hadn’t wanted him to be there during the labor, and it was driving him crazy. But apparently it was a stupid tradition among the people of Granterra.

Dar stopped to look out the window at the dao tree. He had grafted it into the hollow of the World Tree. Now they were both one and the same.

The World Tree was growing every day still, new worlds fruiting along its branches. With Pandora safely sealed away, he just had to watch and nurture the tree and the worlds to make sure that everything went smoothly.

The universe was bursting with mana. What the tree had taken up so far to produce the worlds wasn’t even making an impact. Dar knew eventually mana would run out, but there was so much that he didn’t feel the need to worry about how to recycle it at that moment.

Neko cried out again, and he thought he might lose his mind.

“Are you sure that you don’t want me in there?” Dar asked through the door.

“No Dar!” Neko screamed. “Kittens. Sasha, I want my kit~~tens!”

Dar sighed, returning to his pacing outside the door. He wondered if the experience would make Neko want fewer cat girls to populate all the worlds, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t.

Valdis had never found the ‘perfect’ world. So Dar had been roped into helping her make the perfect world out of one that hung low, closer to their hollow.

Another scream broke Dar from his thoughts as Glump padded into the hallway, his wet feet slapping on the stone floors. “Thought I might find you up here. It takes a little time, even for a demon. Come on, let’s get a drink.” The frog demon grabbed Dar’s shoulder and tugged him along.

Dar didn’t budge on the first pull, but relented and started walking. “How many do you have, Glump?”

“Just the two. Kro’s mother is pretty dead set on another though,” Glump croaked, the frog demon liked his new life.

The Hollow was peaceful. Dar had made it realistic, there was a plethora of beasts, but there were no devils and no angry humans. There was no real threat to the people of Hearthway that lived within it.

To make things better, there was near infinite room for them to grow into The Hollow for millennia to come.

“Ah. You managed to drag him out.” Rex flicked a coin at Russ who caught it eagerly.

The two demons chuckled and joined Glump.

“It’ll take some time,” Rex echoed Glump's earlier words. “Besides, I’m sure Cherry will pop up and inform you when it’s time. So, sit right down here. Jack has a new batch of mead that is fantastic. If you’d spent all day fretting, the rest of the village might have drunk it all and you’d have missed it.”

“Remind me to repeat those words when yours comes. Shelia is looking pretty ready these days,” Dar ribbed the avian demon.

Russ laughed. “He’s doing this half to escape Shelia.”

Dar raised an eyebrow in question. “Everything okay at home?”

“She is… demanding lately. This iced cream you’ve introduced to the goat herders… she craves it day and night.” Rex shook his head. “I do not want to bother the herders again at night.”

Dar chuckled, realizing he’d been so busy that he’d missed some of their friendships.Hearthway, in the short time he’d lived there, had become his home.

“Well, maybe I can just conjure up a bunch for you and put it in an ice box.” Dar suggested.

“Truly?” Rex’s brows shot up. “That would be… Yes, please do that before you go back to pacing outside Neko’s room.”

Dar spotted the tavern that the village had erected and heard the boisterous music as the villagers enjoyed the latest batch of mead. It was one of the few times they put their tools down and truly celebrated.

Dar waved his hand, making a box by the steps and etching enchantments into it to keep the interior cold. Then he placed tubs of ice cream inside of it, showing Rex before closing the lid.

“There you go. It should stay frozen if you keep it in there.”

Rex shook his head. “You make things with a wave of your hand and yet you fret over child birth.”

“I can’t make my children with a wave of my hand. Well… not real ones.” Dar had found a limit. Forcing the creation of people was impossible. And he’d certainly tried. In his grief, he’d attempted to force Amber and Marcie back into existence on several occasions. But the spark of life didn’t exist in the mounds he’d formed.

Even with the animals he created, the first generation was always a little… off.

Glump pushed him into the tavern hall, and the people of Hearthway noticed his entrance. He took up a lot of space and his dao radiated off him in waves.

Seeing him enter, the tavern burst into applause and whistles as everyone cheered for him and wished him good luck with the kids.

More than a few parents laughed with a knowing look on their faces as they tried to wrangle the children around them. Even for a god, children were trouble.

AN - I'll give you guys the two epilogues tomorrow. Then we are off to dragon!