"Say it."
The Vice Captain's voice was low.
"Say it."
The pressure tightened.
The spirit's body convulsed. Bark split along its shoulders. Light leaked through the cracks. Its form destabilized, edges dissolving and reforming in violent pulses.
"Stop fighting back," the Vice Captain said softly. "You are going to die."
The force crushing the spirit intensified. It wasn't physical weight; it was something deeper. Something pulling from within.
Its soul strained.
It felt as if something inside it was clawing outward, screaming at it, tearing at its core.
Say it.
Say your name.
The agony sharpened.
It could not resist.
Its pride shattered first.
Then its resistance.
Its voice broke apart.
"I… I…"
Its form flickered violently.
"I don't have a mother or a father," it forced out, voice trembling. "As you can see. I am a tree."
The Vice Captain watched without blinking.
The spirit struggled to remain coherent.
"So… I only have two names."
Its breathing was unstable now. Fractured.
"The name given to me by the Human Emperor… and the name given to me by the world."
The Vice Captain's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Go on."
The spirit's body pulsed once more, then...
"The name given to me by the emperor is Dandelion."
A pause.
"The name the world gave me is Blueberry."
Silence fell.
The pressure vanished instantly.
All at once.
The suffocating weight lifted.
The tearing sensation stopped.
The existential screaming inside it ceased.
Its form stabilized. The cracks along its bark sealed slowly. The distortion faded.
Relief flooded through it.
Not gradual.
Immediate.
Like something that had been exploding from within was suddenly allowed to exist again.
It felt whole.
It felt… calm.
Its breathing steadied.
Its existence stopped unraveling.
And then...
Clarity returned.
It understood.
It had spoken.
It had given its name.
To him.
The relief turned cold.
Its body stiffened.
It had failed.
It had not resisted.
It had broken under pressure.
It was in danger now. Real danger.
The Vice Captain stared at it for a long moment.
Then he exhaled quietly.
"Two foolish names."
His gaze sharpened.
"Well."
A faint smile formed.
"I will call you Ts."
Ts now understood that the worst part was not just the pain.
It was the control. It was his weakness
"Ts?" it said weakly, confusion slipping through the remnants of its pride. "Short for tree spirit? That's… unoriginal."
The Vice Captain looked at it without expression.
"Your name is Blueberry," he said flatly. "Be quiet."
The spirit fell silent.
The Vice Captain turned his gaze away from it, as if the matter were already settled.
"I will need to examine you further," he continued. "You will explain what happened during the assassination attempt. Who approached you. Who instructed you. Every detail."
"But you will return after I finish training. I am busy."
The spirit nodded its head slightly.
"Yes," it said quietly. "I understand."
Its body thinned, dissolving gradually into drifting fragments of green light.
Within seconds, it was gone.
The Vice Captain closed his eyes again.
And resumed cultivating.
-----
The two-month period the Vice Captain had set aside for himself came to an end.
He did not emerge exhausted.
He emerged refined.
The residue that once clogged his meridians had been completely purged. Every strand of impure buildup had been compressed, filtered, and dissolved under relentless cultivation. His core was stable now, dense, controlled.
Core Manifestation - Second Stage.
Not forced. Not unstable.
Stabilized.
He exhaled slowly and rose from meditation.
Training was no longer the immediate priority.
There were matters waiting.
The goblin festival.
And the tree spirit.
He chose the latter first.
The spirit appeared when summoned, no longer flickering uncontrollably as before. It had regained form, but something subtle had changed. It was quieter now. More cautious.
"Speak," the Vice Captain said.
The spirit bowed its head slightly.
"Tell me what happened during the assassination attempt."
The spirit hesitated for only a brief moment.
"Well…" it began, voice low. "I was approached by a man from the city."
The Vice Captain did not interrupt.
"He had a… displeasing look," the spirit continued carefully. "Cold eyes. Narrow. He came alone."
"And?" the Vice Captain prompted.
"He made a deal with me. One hundred thousand medium-quality spirit stones."
"He proposed cooperation. He would supply the stones. In return, I would enhance my domain, strengthen the forest's suppression, and assist in driving you down."
A pause.
"I required the stones," the spirit admitted. "My cultivation had slowed. Advancement demanded resources."
"And you agreed," the Vice Captain said.
"Yes."
There was no denial.
"He came to me approximately one year ago," the spirit continued. "He later brought people into the forest. Buried them here. Fed the land with blood and vitality."
The Vice Captain's expression did not change.
"I trained on those who were sent," the spirit said. "Prepared myself. Strengthened myself. They were meant to be used against you."
Silence lingered.
"Was there anyone else?" the Vice Captain asked.
"No," the spirit replied immediately. "Only him."
The Vice Captain's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I think I know who you are referring to," he said quietly.
The spirit did not respond.
"One hundred thousand medium-quality stones," the Vice Captain murmured. "A significant investment."
"It was a great deal," the spirit said honestly. "I could not refuse."
"You know," the Vice Captain said evenly, "People work hardest when there is benefit in it for them."
He stood with his hands behind his back, gaze steady on the tree spirit.
"You might think I intend to use you without return."
A faint pause.
"I do not."
The spirit lifted its head slightly.
"If you work well," the Vice Captain continued, "if you are honest in your efforts, I will give you more than one hundred thousand medium-quality spirit stones."
The spirit's eyes widened.
More?
Surprise flickered across its face. Then something else.
Relief.
"Truly?" it asked cautiously.
The Vice Captain did not smile.
"You simply need to be honest," he said. "No hidden arrangements. No divided loyalties."
He stepped forward a single pace.
"As I told you before, your ability has value. You can construct layered environments. Simulations. You can show my knights different worlds, different pressures, different battlefields."
He gestured lightly.
"You can force them to evolve."
The spirit straightened slightly.
"And if your ability improves," the Vice Captain continued, "if its scale and depth increase, then the benefit increases. For you. For me."
"For all of us."
The spirit's tension eased.
"I understand," it said quickly.
The Vice Captain's gaze sharpened again.
"I have one more question."
The spirit stilled.
"Why do you have an ability?"
The question struck unexpectedly.
"Why?" the spirit repeated, confused. "What do you mean? This is simply what I have."
The Vice Captain tilted his head slightly.
"I find it strange," he said calmly. "A small city in the middle of nowhere suddenly produces two unique ability holders."
He raised a finger.
"You."
Another finger.
"And that goblin."
The spirit did not speak.
"Coincidences happen," the Vice Captain continued. "But this one is… layered."
He looked directly at the spirit.
"Both of you happen to benefit me."
A slight pause.
"Especially you."
"Do you not find that curious?"
The spirit forced a small smile.
"That only means you are fortunate," it said. "Strange things occur. Low probabilities are not impossibilities. Sometimes events align."
The Vice Captain studied its expression.
"Weird coincidences happen," the spirit added. "This is one of them."
The Vice Captain did not immediately respond.
Instead, he asked quietly:
"When did you first obtain this ability?"
The spirit blinked.
"From birth?" the Vice Captain continued. "When your consciousness first formed?"
The spirit shook its head.
"No. About fifty years ago."
The forest went quiet.
The Vice Captain did not respond immediately.
Fifty years.
Not ancient.
Not inherited.
Acquired.
He remembered the goblin.
The timing.
The pattern.
The city.
Two awakenings.
Same period.
Same place.
Coincidence?
His eyes darkened.
No.
It can not be.