With Bahamut now formally sworn to my service, the territorial dispute essentially evaporated. We worked out the details quickly - the Storm Dragon King would maintain his primary residence in the highest peaks while allowing the Ishgar Empire to settle the more hospitable valleys and coastal regions.
Irene had been quietly pleased with how things had turned out, though she'd made a point of thanking me for showing mercy. Jue looked like he was still processing the fact that we'd not only avoided a devastating battle but had actually gained a powerful ally in the process.
"The other sentinels will be... surprised by this development," he'd said
Bahamut himself had proven surprisingly easy to work with once the territorial posturing was out of the way. Centuries of isolation had apparently given him plenty of time to think, and he seemed genuinely eager to have a purpose again beyond just defending empty peaks.
"It will be good to serve something greater than my own grief." he'd said simply.
As we prepared to leave, I found myself standing at the edge of a cliff, looking out over the northern territories that would soon belong to the Ishgar Empire. Irene had gone to speak privately with Bahamut - some final words between old enemies turned allies - and Jue was handling the last of the administrative details.
And the view was sobering, I guess.
Three centuries of uncontrolled storms had not been kind to the landscape. What should have been fertile valleys and rolling hills had been scoured down to bare rock in many places. Forests had been reduced to scattered, lightning-struck stumps. Rivers had been diverted or dried up entirely, leaving cracked earth and empty gorges where water should have flowed.
Jesus. This place looks like a war zone.
Well, I mean it was.
The sound of footsteps on stone made me turn. Irene was approaching, her conversation with Bahamut apparently concluded. She came to stand beside me at the cliff's edge, following my gaze out over the devastated landscape.
"It's worse than I expected," she said quietly.
"Yeah," I replied.
But with my abilities, fixing this is easy. I reached into my inventory and pulled out a small, glowing seed.
"What is that?" Irene asked, tilting her head curiously.
"A World Seed," I said simply.
She blinked. "A... what?"
I could see the confusion in her eyes—she had no idea what I was talking about. Fair enough. Most people wouldn't.
I scanned the devastated landscape below, looking for the right spot. There—in what had once been the center of a large valley, where several dried riverbeds converged. That would work perfectly.
"Come on," I said, starting down the rocky slope. "Let me show you."
After finding the perfect spot in the center of the valley where the old riverbeds met, I knelt down and pressed the World Seed into the cracked earth. The moment it touched the ground, I felt a subtle vibration through the soil. The seed sank in easily, as if the ground was welcoming it home.
But I wasn't done yet. I reached back into my inventory and pulled out a small crystal vial filled with shimmering, pearl-white liquid.
"And this?" Irene asked, watching intently as she stepped closer.
"Water of Genesis," I said, uncorking the vial. The liquid gave off a faint, sweet scent—like spring rain and new growth. "It can accelerate any plant's growth by watering it."
I poured the liquid over the spot where I'd planted the seed. The moment the Genesis Water touched the earth, everything changed.
The ground began to tremble beneath our feet - not violently, but with a deep, rhythmic pulse like a massive heartbeat. Cracks appeared in the dried soil, but instead of spreading destruction, they glowed with soft green light.
A brilliant emerald shoot burst from the earth with an audible crack, growing so fast I could actually see it stretching upward. What started as a tiny sprout quickly became a sapling, then a young tree, then something much, much larger.
"By the gods..." Irene breathed, stumbling backward as the tree continued its explosive growth. "What is happening?"
The trunk thickened and expanded with deep, resonant groans. Bark formed in spiraling patterns that seemed to shift and dance in the light. Massive roots erupted from the ground around us, snaking out in all directions and diving back into the earth like sea serpents. The sound was incredible—a symphony of creaking wood, rustling leaves, and the deep rumble of something truly ancient awakening.
Branches spread out in perfect symmetry, each one as thick as a normal tree trunk. Leaves unfurled like green banners, each one the size of a dinner table. Birds that had been circling high above suddenly found themselves with perches bigger than buildings.
I kept watering it, watching in fascination as it grew larger and larger. The tree's shadow began to stretch across the entire valley, bringing blessed relief from the harsh sun. I could feel the temperature dropping around us as the massive canopy blocked out more and more light.
The trunk had grown so wide that it would take dozens of people holding hands to encircle it. The lowest branches were now hundreds of feet above our heads, creating a cathedral-like space beneath the tree. Smaller plants were already beginning to sprout from the rejuvenated soil around the roots.
Only when the tree had reached full maturity—towering above us like a living mountain, its highest branches disappearing into the clouds—did I finally stop and cork the vial.
"Holy..." Irene whispered, her voice barely audible as she craned her neck to look up at the colossal tree. Her scarlet hair whipped around her face in the new wind patterns the massive tree was creating.
"If this were planted on a massive planet or an infinite plane, it could grow to cover the whole thing. The World Tree adapts to its environment—it'll grow as large as the world can support." I said, wiping my hands on my pants and trying to sound casual despite the awe in my own voice.
I gestured at the mountain-sized tree, its trunk easily rivaling the peaks Bahamut called home. "But here? This is about as big as Earthland can handle without throwing off the planet's balance."
Already, I could see the effects spreading. Green was returning to the devastated landscape as the World Tree's roots spread life-giving energy through the soil. Dried riverbeds were beginning to trickle with fresh water drawn up from deep underground. The air itself felt cleaner, richer.
"This is amazing," Irene murmured, but her tone held wonder rather than disbelief. "In all my centuries, I've never seen something like this."
The sound of heavy wingbeats made us both look up. Bahamut was descending rapidly, his massive form cutting through the air. Behind him, I could see Jue's figure behind him.
The Storm Dragon King landed with enough force to shake the ground, his golden eyes fixed on the impossible tree before us. For a long moment, he simply stared in complete silence.
"What... what sorcery is this?" he finally rumbled, his voice carrying genuine awe.
Jue touched down a moment later. "By the ancient spirits..." he gasped. "Is that... did you just...?"
I shrugged, trying to play it cool despite the way everyone was staring at me. "Nothing too fancy."
"Nothing too fancy?" Bahamut laughed.
Jue was walking in circles around the base of the massive trunk, his mouth hanging open. "The magical energy radiating from this thing... it's off the charts. It's not just growing—it's actively healing the land around it."
"You continue to surprise me, my king," Bahamut said.
"The domain of life is one of the hardest and most complicated magic to learn," Irene said, her voice filled with quiet amazement. "Even I am only capable of manipulating it—I am not able to create life as easily as what happened."
She gestured toward the massive tree, its branches still creaking as they settled into their new size. "Revitalizing on this scale would take massive amounts of ethernano that I am simply incapable of producing."
Bahamut nodded slowly, his ancient eyes reflecting centuries of accumulated wisdom. "She speaks truth. Life magic is considered the pinnacle of magic—requiring not just raw power, but perfect understanding of the delicate balance between creation and destruction." His gaze shifted to me with something approaching reverence. "What you have done here... it should be impossible."
Jue was still circling the tree, taking notes in a small journal he'd produced from somewhere. "The energy signatures are completely stable too," he muttered, more to himself than to us. "There's no fluctuation, no decay—it's like the magic has become self-sustaining."
Irene moved closer to the World Tree's trunk, pressing her palm against the spiraling bark. "I can feel it," she whispered. "The life force isn't just contained in the tree—it's spreading through the root system, touching everything for miles around. The very soil is awakening."
She turned back to me, her crimson eyes wide with wonder. "Aiden, do you truly understand what you've accomplished here? This isn't just healing damaged land—you've created a magical ecosystem that will sustain itself for millennia."
I blinked, suddenly feeling a bit awkward under all the intense stares and reverent tones. "Uh... oops?"
The word hung in the air for a moment, completely at odds with the profound magical feat I'd just accomplished.
Irene's eyebrows shot up. "Oops?"
"Well, I mean..." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "I didn't really think it through that much? I just saw the dead land and figured, you know, plant a tree. Make it green again." I gestured vaguely at the mountain-sized World Tree. "I guess I didn't realize it was supposed to be... that impressive?"
Bahamut stared at me for a long moment, then let out a sound that might have been laughter.
After a while, once the initial shock and amazement had worn off, we began to part ways. Bahamut spread his massive wings, casting an enormous shadow across the valley.
With a powerful downstroke of his wings, he lifted off, heading toward the highest peaks that would serve as his new primary residence.
Jue had already departed earlier, muttering something about needing to completely rewrite his reports about our mission. I had a feeling the Sentinels were going to have some very interesting discussions in the near future.
"Ready to head back?" I asked Irene, who was still staring up at the World Tree with a mixture of awe and exasperation.
She shook her head slowly. "I'm never going to get used to this" she said, but there was fondness in her voice along with the bewilderment.
I opened a portal back to the Kingdom of Midi, the familiar golden light cutting through the air. "Come on. Valerius and the rest of the empire's citizens are probably waiting for good news."
Irene stepped through first, and I followed, leaving behind the northern territories and continent of Mu—now home to a tree that would be visible from space for the meantime.
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