"Muria hasn't received his World Tree leaf, so why do you think the problem lies with us elves?" The elven elder blocking the golden dragoness on the Eternal Isle asked, expressionless.
"You elves are responsible for providing the World Tree leaves. Since my son hasn't received his rightful share, naturally, the problem lies with you," the golden dragoness retorted confidently.
"I'd also like to ask why I haven't received my World Tree leaf. Has something happened to your World Tree?" Muria stepped forward, his tone calm and polite, which slightly unsettled the elven elder. It seemed unusual for a Titan to carry such a refined air.
"You should ask your mother what she did to our World Tree."
"My mother?" Muria turned to his mother, noticing the elder's look of resentment. A suspicion arose in him—perhaps the elves weren't at fault, but rather, his mother had done something inappropriate to their World Tree. It seemed she might have wronged the elves, causing the current issue with his leaf.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"I didn't do much," the golden dragoness chuckled awkwardly, seemingly a bit embarrassed.
"Your mother, when she and your father came to collect the World Tree leaf, forcibly broke off an entire branch, taking 128 leaves—enough for 18 Titans. So, we decided not to give you any."
"You broke off an entire branch of the World Tree?" Muria stared at his mother in disbelief. The World Tree held immense significance to the elves, even more than their gods. The World Tree planted on the Eternal Isle was still just a sapling, and his mother had clearly damaged it by breaking off a branch.
The fact that the elder in front of them hadn't attacked the golden dragoness upon her return made Muria think that elves had an extremely mild temper. If it had been him, he would've attacked long ago. Of course, it was also possible that his mother was so powerful that the elder didn't dare to make a move.
"Muria, have you ever seen the World Tree itself? Tell me, taking over 100 leaves from the tree—what does that really amount to?" the golden dragoness asked.
"Um..." Hearing his mother's question, Muria recalled when the silvermoon elf Hesel had shown him the World Tree. It was a massive tree connecting the heavens and the earth, with countless branches and leaves. In the grand scheme of things, his mother taking 128 leaves really seemed insignificant—like plucking a hair from a human body.
"Yes, I've seen the World Tree," Muria nodded.
"Exactly. You've seen that tree, and the elves still call it a sapling. Isn't that ridiculous? Have you ever seen such a gigantic 'sapling'?"
"That *is* a sapling. When fully matured, each leaf will be its own world. Right now, the World Tree is just in its early stages," the elven elder countered.
"Stop spouting nonsense! A single leaf becoming an entire world? Even if the World Tree drained all of Erathia, that wouldn't be possible. This so-called 'World Tree' is never going to mature," the golden dragoness sneered. She then turned to Muria. "Son, I'm telling you, these elves are just deceiving the Titan race. That World Tree is already fully matured, but they claim it's still a sapling so they can be stingy with the leaves. That's why each Titan only gets one leaf per level-up, and a Titan's maximum share is only seven leaves."
"Absurd! We elves would never lie!"
"Who knows? Maybe you're lying to protect your precious tree from being exploited by the Titans," the golden dragoness scoffed, clearly disgruntled with the elves.
"Artres, when have we ever wronged you? Why do you slander our Eternal Elves like this?" A light, ethereal voice suddenly echoed from all directions. A clear breeze stirred the air, carrying countless vibrant green leaves that swirled around Muria.
"What is this?"
"This is the queen of the Eternal Elves residing in the Titan Isles," the golden dragoness explained, her face impassive. "She's strong."
"How strong?"
"I fought her once... didn't win," the golden dragoness admitted grudgingly. But she quickly added, "But I didn't lose either!"
"Artres, since you have such strong opinions about us, why don't you come over for a proper talk? I'd like to clarify a few things with you." The swirling leaves formed a portal, through which Muria could see a female elf standing calmly.
"Come on, let's go see what she has to say," the golden dragoness said, stepping through the portal and beckoning Muria to follow.
"It's been a while, Artres," the elven queen greeted her.
"Hmph, Lisette Larrisin, if you don't give us a proper explanation this time, I might just break off another branch for my son," the golden dragoness threatened bluntly. She believed that the Eternal Elves had forgotten their place as subordinates.
"Our World Tree *is* a sapling; there's no doubt about that," the elven queen replied.
"Even if it's a sapling, only giving one leaf per level to a Titan is outrageous. You live comfortably here, benefiting so much from the Titans, yet offer so little in return," the golden dragoness countered.
"Artres, you must understand that aside from the World Tree, our Life Tree and Eternal Tree also produce significant resources for the Titans," the elven queen explained.
"Do you call that a tribute?" the golden dragoness sneered. "Everything my husband received from you was exchanged with the bodies of demons he killed in the Abyss."
"If Lord Ansel wanted resources beyond the allocated share, of course, he needed to trade for them. We are sheltered by the Titans, but we are not mere vassals to be exploited at will."
As Muria listened to the argument, he quickly grasped the situation. It seemed that when his mother and father had visited the Eternal Isle, she saw how little his father received from the enormous World Tree. Feeling the disparity, she had forcibly broken off a branch, taking over a hundred leaves.
"Artres, you seem to believe that Titans no longer need our World Tree because you think its resources are irrelevant. Is that correct?"
The elven queen smiled gently. "But in truth, epic Titans have the greatest need for the World Tree. Its branches, leaves, sap, and roots are all of critical importance to them. In fact, the resources from the World Tree are meant to be reserved exclusively for the epics. Yet in the Titan race, even Legendary Titans enjoy its resources."
"Your husband should be grateful for what he received, not dissatisfied. The amount you took far exceeds what a Legendary Titan should have received, yet we didn't hold it against you or seek to recover it."
"I understand, Your Majesty. It was indeed wrong of us," Muria stepped forward, taking responsibility. He didn't blame his mother directly but instead shouldered the fault himself. "I only came to inquire because I needed World Tree leaves to stabilize my demi-plane."
"It's fine as long as you understand," Queen Lisette smiled graciously.
"However, there's something I'd like to discuss with you, Your Majesty."
"Oh? What might that be?"
Muria smiled as he explained what he intended to do next.
"I see. Are you asking for military assistance from us when the time comes?"
"No, I don't need your armies. I need the treants' help. The land I'm dealing with has been too severely polluted, and I need your elves to help purify it."
"That's no problem!"
...
Finally, after calming down his mother, who was still brooding, Muria returned to Synapse. He then began to gather his subordinates to plan for the upcoming war.
Sitting upon his crystal throne, Muria looked down at his many legendary subordinates. On one side were the giants, led by the legendary storm giant Terence. On the other side were the dragons, mostly chromatic, but also including a few metallic and gem dragons. As Muria's power grew, more and more dragons had pledged their allegiance to him. However, the various dragons didn't always get along smoothly.
"I've adjusted Synapse's course. We're now headed for the Synapse subcontinent," Muria announced from his throne, his tone serious.
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