318. The Seedling’s Fork

318. The Seedling’s Fork

Year 285 (continued)

Lausanne, on Mountainworld

Lausanne stood at the side of the crater, the demon king already crushed by Aeon’s roots. The corpse of the armadillo demon king was filled with roots that tore it apart. One of the roots was holding an intact demon king’s core. It would be another one for Aeon’s group of mages and artificers to study.

But it was just a passing point of note. Her mind was preoccupied. Ascension.

Something she had hoped for, and now she had finally achieved it. Her mind swirled at the choices.

She had never planned for this part. After all, without knowing what the [domains] were, what sort of planning could there be?

She looked around.

Was she the only one? Ebon looked exhausted, and she felt for him. He had worked just as hard. There was Hoyia on the side, she seemed relieved. She also felt a little bit stronger. Hoyia was in the Level 140s, but she wasn’t exactly at the edge. She must’ve gained a few levels and now she was on the cusp of becoming a domain holder.

But Ebon noticed Lausanne’s eyes, and he walked to Lausanne. “You did it. I could feel it.”

“I did.” Lausanne said, but thought of consoling the knight. Ebon was at that edge far longer than anyone else, and yet the system gave her the domain before him. Why? There were a thousand questions in her mind, but none would help at this moment.

But she stopped before the words left her mouth. Ebon didn’t need it. He’s a damned good knight, he didn’t need her consoling worlds. She knew he would trudge on. He tried his best to smile. “Good job. It’ll be me next time.”

“It will.” Lausanne answered. The rest of the Valthorns packed up. The battle was over, and it was now time for their routine cleanup. A group of mages and crafters teleported in and began to mine the space for anything valuable.

Hoyia walked over as well to congratulate her. “Well done.”

Lausanne smiled and said the usual thanks. There were many others who all came to congratulateher, but for now, she had something to think about. Something important that would truly shape the rest of her life.

It was an interesting set of three choices, and she wondered how they fit in her life. Lumoof once said that one’s domain choices seemed to be based on their [class] and their selection of abilities, but it was also a reflection of the direction of their lives.

She had served Aeon since her childhood and wondered whether Aeon’s Huntress seemed to represent that. Her early life when she grew up under Aeon’s care and the later years when she served as one of the tree god’s many warriors. As one of the earliest members of the Valthorns, she was sent on many missions to support the then-New Freeka’s issue.

She speculated the first one, the spirit warrior, arose from her attempts at developing powerful piercing weapons, again, as part of her role as an agent of the Valtrian Order.

The last choice made her think of her old Uncle Jura. She would love to see his reaction to this. Maybe she would’ve told Uncle Jura that her dream of being a hero wasn’t impossible after all. Or maybe he would’ve been really proud of her. Even though it had been many, many years since he died, for a moment, she imagined him there tapping her on the shoulder.

“Well who would’ve thought. I was wrong after all.” The imaginary Uncle Jura said with pride. “To think the little girl that I stopped from killing a wolf is now a champion.”

She shook her head, her heart wasn’t ready to choose at this time. So, she looked around some more, noticed there wasn’t much left to do and then said to Patriarch Lumoof. “I think I want to go home and go see my mother and my two kids.”

Lumoof nodded. “That’s a good thing to do. Go and clear your mind. You’ll need it.”

Maybe she should visit her late husband’s grave as well. Yeah. She should. People that she should talk to before she decided on which of the three to go for.

Her heart told her that she should go for the last one. It was a dream, a dream she had buried and told herself was impossible, but deep down inside, her subconscious still didn’t really believe it was.

***

As she returned to Freshka after the war on Mountainworld, there were many others that sought her attention. News of her ascension was only known to the level 140s and domain holders, but she knew it would spread eventually.

For now, home.

Home was her well-furnished mansion in a quiet corner of Freshka. It wasn’t the first home, but it was where she had lived for the past few decades. It was here where she remembered Kei knocked some sense in her and then convinced her to rejoin the Order.

She should thank her for giving her that jolt she so sorely needed. And it seemed that the golem had a talent for impeccable timing.

“I came to see you.” Kei, it seemed, had read her mind and was already in the area waiting for her. “I heard from Lumoof.”

“He told you?”

“I would curse him for an eternity if he didn’t.” Kei the golem tapped her on the shoulder. “One more to Aeon’s pantheon of future deities.” Kei didn’t need to drink, and yet she came with some kind of juice from one of her favorite fruit juicers.

“Did Lumoof tell you about my choices?”

“That’s why I’m here. He didn’t. He said I’d have to ask you myself. That damned old man feeding me with incomplete information.”

The newly ascended elf found the golem’s reaction amusing. “He just didn’t want to spoil the surprise then. Do you want to know?’

“Of course I do!” Kei said loudly and thumped her crystalline chest. Her biocrystalline form was so good at mimicking flesh that Lausanne still occasionally forgot that she wasn’t actually a human anymore. “I’m invested in your success!”

The two settled down in one of the reading rooms in Lausanne’s mansion, and the elf narrated the three choices. In the end, Kei’s choice was very similar to Lausanne’s gut feeling.

The dark, magical bark that was part of Aeon’s gigantic body shapeshifted, the bark itself reforming into a door. It was a kind of wood magic, but maybe not. Her fingers and arms seemed to tremble as she reached for the knob.

The room was unchanged. There were still a few of Uncle Jura’s things all over the place. There were some old clothes, perfectly preserved by Aeon’s preservation ability.

“This was after New Freeka?” Lausanne asked. “We stopped living within you after the Rottedlands Incident.”

“Yes. After my long sleep all of you were used to living outside. You’ve all stayed in for a bit, but then, eventually all of you moved out.”

Lausanne nodded. The valley wasn’t a place to stay. Freshka, the new city that was built nearby, was a much more pleasant place. Not everyone wanted to live under the presence of a god. So, the [secret hideout] was just as it was. Most things of value were taken away, but there were some old things left behind.

They were already a powerful group at that time. Freshka and the Order had risen to dominate the continent. There were a few old overcoats, some thick boots, and a few more gloves. There was the old pantry area, with the old wooden plates and cups.

“The world used to be a lot simpler.” Lausanne said, and she felt Aeon laugh in her head. Without the creepy echoes of Aeon’s voice, the laughter genuinely felt amusing.

“It’s only simpler because someone else dealt with the complicated stuff.” Aeon said.

“You’re right. It was just a silly thought in my head.” The elven girl looked at that. “But I still miss those days. My memories of my childhood are so vivid, suddenly.” Then she was quiet. “I’ve never brought my late-husband here, did I?”

“No. Not to this space.”

“He would’ve loved to see it, and I can still imagine him here. He would have said we lived in a life of luxury. Temperature controlled and stable supply of clean water is something hard to find out there as an adventurer.” Lausanne laughed. “We were lucky. We were very, very lucky.”

Aeon didn’t answer, but she knew it was good fortune. She knew he agreed.

“What should I choose?” Lausanne asked again.

This time, Aeon didn’t answer with words. Instead, a door opened. She knew what it was. It led to Aeon’s secret chambers. It was where the old [Soul Forge] and [Biolabs] were.

She followed the largely unused stairs down into an old room. She remembered she was here often.

She looked around, and then, saw a door that she had never seen before. It opened.

It led her further, deeper.

Down into the depths, into a secret room. It was larger, newer. And it was filled with treasures.

She blinked.

“This room is-”

“A room of treasures. Things we’ve collected over the years. The various plants from all over the multiverse. The various fruits. Trinkets. Belongings of those who have fallen. The divine log and many others.” Aeon said. “I kept them here mostly as a store of things, and mainly, I wanted you to see the relics we have.”

The divine log. The lens for the Margmarian dwarves. Special weapons used by the old, fallen warriors. Jura’s old set of weapons. Lovis’s old spear. The heroes’ items and a few personal belongings. She recognized many of them. There were things from the other elves too. Aeon kept the mementos and belongings of the Valthorns that fell in battle, it was a connection to those who fought for him. Even items from the very first refugees who came to New Freeka.

He needed them to augment his abilities as a [Soul Tree] and allow for the living to speak to those who recently died.

It was part of what he did to ensure that their spirits were properly handled and processed through the spiritual realm.

In a twisted way, it was a cemetery to those who died. An altar made of the personal belongings of so many people.

“It’s just a place where I kept things. A [Treeasury], if you may.”

Lausanne laughed. “Can I touch them?”

“Try not to. The spiritual remnants of those who have left are very fragile. I keep them protected, but a touch from a [domain holder] is stronger than most.”

“I see. We’ve lost many of our friends over the years.” Lausanne suddenly could remember the faces of those who used to have these things.

“It is. Of the first generation, only a few of you live, or remain.”

There were a few mementos of those who died. Things that belonged to her friends. Emile, Brislach, Wahlen. She looked at them and memories of her childhood with her friends when still lived.

“I couldn’t save them.” Lausanne said. “That day when the Rottedlands happened, I was too far away, and I could only reach a few. In the end it was Uncle Jura that saved us.”

“Death was too common in that era.”

A lifetime of changes had occurred in the past two centuries, and yet, she was now effectively an immortal. There would be a lot more changes to come, and she would play a larger role in shaping that future. She looked at all the relics and realized they were exactly that. Relics of the past. A snapshot of a time that was. But she wasn’t in the past. “I see what you’re trying to do, now.”

“Oh. What would that be?”

“I’m too preoccupied with the past. I should think about what will work better for the future.” Lausanne said. She should approach her choice without the baggage of the past, but instead, think about what would serve her well for the future.