Axis took a deep breath, his Ki wrapping around the Emperor's sacred psychic energy. He then began to guide and harmonize it.
The cold power of Order was gently softened, its searing will of judgment stripped away, leaving behind only the purest and most immense divine energy, free of any inclination.
Axis guided this purified psychic might from the Emperor and injected it with equal precision into the earth, where it merged with the great torrent of power.
Through the combined efforts of the four, they had barely managed to supply the total energy the Divine Tree required. The frenzied power of Khorne's Chaos and the Emperor's divine power of Order and human hope were two forces that should have been utterly irreconcilable, potent enough to tear the fabric of reality apart.
Yet now, with Isha and Axis acting as "purifiers" and "harmonizers" through their unique divine Ki and immense energy reserves, these opposing forces were forcibly converted, balanced, and fused into an unprecedented, colossal power.
This new energy possessed the wild potential of Chaos and the stability of the Emperor's sacred psionics, containing the immeasurable essence of two supreme beings.
Nourished by this terrifying power, the walnut-like seed deep within the earth finally ceased its frantic draining of the planet's life force. Instead, it began to emit a low thrum, like an ancient heartbeat.
Deep within the core of the Domain of Life, a tiny sapling finally appeared.
A deep pulse, like a cosmic heartbeat, began to sound. It did not travel through the air but struck directly at the fabric of space itself.
Each throb was accompanied by a slight ripple in the Webway, as if the beating heart of this yet-unborn seed was already powerful enough to shake the very boundary between the real and the unreal.
"It's done!" A sharp light flared in Axis's eyes. He could clearly feel that the terrifying accumulation of energy within the seed had reached its critical point. Its bottomless consumption had transformed into the coiled potential of an imminent eruption.
"Hahahah!" Khorne's colossal face let out a deafening roar that sounded eerily like laughter.
He could sense the gestation of something he had never before conceived, a "Tree of Divine Fruit" that mixed the potential of Order and Chaos, of life and destruction.
Axis and Isha coordinated their efforts, using their most primal Ki to compel the Tree of Might to burst forth from the earth.
A cataclysmic roar echoed as the entire Planet of Life trembled violently. This was no earthquake, but the groaning of the world's very structure as it was reshaped.
Near the planet's equator, the ground was torn asunder as if by an invisible, giant hand, creating a massive rift that stretched for thousands of kilometers.
From the depths of this chasm, a seven-colored light radiated outwards. At the center of this sea of energy, a point of emerald green pierced through the chaos.
It was a young sprout.
The instant it appeared, an indescribable pressure swept across the entire Webway. The colossal faces of Khorne and the Emperor both faltered for a moment.
Isha felt a tremor deep in her soul, a resonance triggered as the very essence of life was stirred by a higher-level existence. Axis felt this same spiritual connection. He and Isha had planted this divine tree together, and it was profoundly linked to them both.
The sprout grew and expanded at a terrifying rate, visible to the naked eye. This was not the gnarled, twisted vine-like form of a normal tree of might, but the ancient, solemn, and sacred shape of a true titan.
Its trunk was as thick as a mountain range, its bark a strange pattern of interwoven dark gold and emerald green, like a solidified nebula intertwined with the veins of life.
Its root system plunged madly into the sea of energy in the Immaterium, greedily absorbing the terrifying nourishment provided by the four supreme beings while anchoring itself deep into the structure of the planet and the Webway itself.
The canopy stretched upward with incredible speed, instantly piercing the planet's thin atmosphere and reaching into the shifting, rainbow-hued void of the Webway. Its massive branches and leaves unfurled, each leaf like a star carved from jade, its veins flowing with liquid gold and crimson energy. The lush foliage wove together in the void, forming a celestial canopy that covered nearly half the sky of the Domain of Life, radiating a brilliant light that was both sacred and chaotic.
This was a Divine Tree. It was no longer a mere Tree of Might, but a true tree of the gods, nurtured by divine power on divine soil. Its very existence emanated an aura that made the Immaterium itself tremble.
"Success! Hahaha! A true Tree of Might!" Axis laughed with unrestrained joy.
He could feel his own vastly depleted Ki rapidly recovering under the influence of the pure energy radiating from the tree, and he even felt a subtle increase in his power.
This tree was connected to him by blood and spirit, a miracle he had personally brought into being.
Isha gazed up at the colossal tree that pierced the heavens, feeling the life force and cosmic laws it emitted, far beyond anything she could have imagined.
Her eyes were filled with shock and fascination. The power to create worlds and nurture life seemed no longer so distant.
Working with Axis to plant this tree had allowed her to feel a different kind of power, a creative force that transcended life itself.
Was this the power of a Supreme Kai that her father had spoken of? Isha could feel a wondrous connection to the tree. It was an independent life form, yet it also felt like an extension of her own power.
Axis could already sense the divine aura of the tree. It would take a full ten thousand years for it to blossom and bear fruit. During this time, the tree's roots had already bored through the Webway to anchor themselves in the Immaterium, where they would continuously absorb the raw energy of the Warp and convert it into the nutrients they needed.
"Haha, good! Excellent! Perfect!" Khorne roared three times, his blood-red face contorted with excitement.
"Axis, you have fulfilled your promise! The fruit this tree bears will surely possess incomparable power. I look forward to tasting it!" It had not disappointed him.
The value of this tree surpassed all the treasures he had ever seen. It was perfect, truly worthy of his contribution, and the key to increasing his own power as a Chaos God.
The Emperor's giant golden face remained silent, but his cold eyes were locked on the tree, as if he were assessing and calculating.
Its fruit, once grown, could indeed save him from the Golden Throne.
This Tree of Might was true hope.
The Emperor projected a thought into Axis's mind. "Axis, the Tree of Might you spoke of has not disappointed me. I can sense it. If this tree can successfully bear fruit, I am certain that consuming it will restore me completely."
"Of course," Axis replied. "And this Tree of Might is deeply bound to my soul. However, it will take ten thousand years to blossom and bear fruit, and it will require a tremendous amount of energy."
Standing there, Axis could feel the very pulse of the tree before him, a marvelous connection. The time it would take for it to fruit seemed long, but this was a divine tree.
For a god, time was the least valuable of commodities, so a ten-thousand-year cycle was perfectly normal.
Axis could afford to wait.
"I will provide protection for this tree," the Emperor communicated. "And I will supply it with a continuous stream of energy from the Immaterium."
He needed the fruit to rise from the Golden Throne, while Axis needed it to break through to a new level of power. Once that happened, they could join forces and have a chance to defeat the Dark King.
The Emperor's gaze even shifted to Khorne. The Dark King was an enemy to all, and perhaps Khorne could be convinced to help as well. Three beings, empowered by the fruit of this tree, would certainly have a higher chance of victory.
The future was no longer a bleak expanse of despair. Yet, for some reason, a sense of unease still lingered in the Emperor's heart. Would the Dark King truly allow this to happen?
"It seems I will have to stay here for a very long time," Isha said. The tree, rooted in her world, could absorb some energy from the Immaterium on its own, but the divine power of Chaos provided by Khorne had to be converted by her.
"I will help you with the conversion," Axis said. "You are not the only one bound to it."
Like Isha, Axis would not be able to leave for a long time, as he was responsible for converting the Emperor's power. But this was also an opportunity. Through this process, Axis could analyze Khorne's Chaos power, Isha's God Ki, and the Emperor's sacred divine power all at once. The path to becoming a Super Saiyan God was within reach.
"You can bring your wife here, Father," Isha said, "but I will not call her Mother."
Acknowledging a father was one thing, but she had no intention of accepting a mother.
"Haha, Kasha wouldn't recognize you as her daughter either," Axis replied with a laugh.
"Nurturing this tree is good for your Domain too. You should be able to feel it evolving to a higher level because of the tree's presence."
This world had originally been an ordinary planet abandoned by the Aeldari. Isha had overlaid her domain upon it, transforming it into the Planet of Life. Now, with the Divine Tree growing here, the world was being nourished in return, evolving it toward a higher level.
Isha nodded. The growth of this tree was of great significance to her.
"I will return to the Golden Throne for now, Axis," the Emperor's voice echoed. "Sanguinius still needs to oversee the establishment of the Imperial Cult. But you need not worry about such matters. For now, stay here and watch over the tree."
There was no need for Axis to concern himself with a small matter like establishing a state religion. He would not be of much help anyway.
"No problem," Axis nodded. "I could use a vacation right here."
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ps?