**** (POV)

The current state of affairs is truly deplorable. (; ⌣_⌣)

The representative of the endless forest kingdom has been corrupted by this world.

She who used to be the epitome of strength and fierceness now follows a puny mortal around like a pet.

How risible.

I knew reincarnation was a mistake.

She was convinced it would bring her to greater heights.

She did reach greater heights of failure.

In theory reincarnating presents countless opportunities for change.

The thing is change is not always good.

The true path to power is simply accumulation. ⌛

The current her is a pitiful rank 4.

Yes, she did avoid this world's limitations, but at what cost?

She should have proceeded like I did.

Sending a strand of soul here and keeping the main body safe.

It is enough to keep amassing mana in the forest kingdom until it can emerge again.

That day will come.

What will happen then?

She won't be strong enough to protect our domain.

Not unless she reaches rank 8 again.

But I will be there.

I will protect the forest.

Her failure is all but assured.

Not only is she following a weakling around, but she wants to appoint him king.

None is worthy of such a title. Not since the downfall of the Greenwood Lord.

Her conduct is sacrilegious to his memory.

Then again, our god was always a benevolent one.

Even in his death. Otherwise he would still be alive.

He would not care about such trivialities.

As long as the forest exists that should be enough.

Still.

As the emergence point of our world we should uphold some dignity.

The youngsters here are mostly adequate.

While all extremely young some do show promise. (๑◕ꇴ◕)

Considering the scarcity of mana in this world anyway.

Well even the other guardians back home are young too.

Compared to me that is. How old am I?

It has been a few thousand years since I have awakened.

Slowly nurtured by our king from but a seedling of a divine tree.

Loved and protected. Away from the tyranny and exploitation of the elves.

Every day I count my blessings to have encountered such benevolence in this life of mine.

I still have hope. Hope that one day our true king will return.

I have safeguarded a fragment of his being all this time.

All that is missing is a worthy sacrifice. ↑_(Φ w Φ;)Ψ

One day we shall descend to the earth realm and bathe it in blood.

From it he shall return.

Well this can only be in a far far far away future.

I can only control a clone in this world.

Moreover the current restrictions make the birth, or rebirth in this case, of a deity impossible.

But that does not matter.

Time is irrelevant. Accumulation is key. The impatient tend to provoke disasters.

Thus I am waiting.

From time to time I bring my consciousness to the earth realm.

Every time disappointment awaits me.

The previous proud and worthy guardian is only a dog now.

She came to plead for this chosen of hers. For me to accept him.

I chased her foolish self away. I did begrudgingly vow not to kill him.

To let him grow. She thinks she sees potential in him.

But I can sense it. He is devoid of any worthy quality.

He is lazy, fearful, and ignorant. I saw him lurk around my clone's territory.

It may be only a sliver, but I possess some divinity. Gauging the capabilities of any mortal is well in my means. He is doomed to never wield magic or show any physical prowess for all that matters.

He is worthless.

Less useful than a steaming pile of shit. At least crap can fertilize our brethren.

The sane thing to do would be to cause his demise fast. This might break the pull he has over her.

But for that I need him to be within my reach. At first, I thought he would be too cowardly to intrude upon my domain.

But then came an opportunity. In his foolishness he provoked the wrath of some of the younglings. (ฺ◣д◢)ฺ

The space slasher mantis and the shadow fox "king" even decided to join hands to deal with him.

Apparently, he is extremely peculiar. While being extremely weak himself he is somehow as resistant. So sturdy that these two rank 4 younglings cannot do anything against him.

But that is and ever will be his only redeeming feature.

It probably comes from an item or maybe a god's blessing. Either case it does not change anything.

Eliminating him is still a priority.

The day they both ambushed him I watched.

If I had the tendency to waver the way he handled it would have convinced me of his worthlessness. Of course my belief was already firm.

His reactions, or lack or any in this case, are a sight to behold. He lacked even a basic situation awareness. What cruel joke. For such an idiot to still be alive is a miracle.

Truly a miracle even with that specialty of his.

I almost clapped when he got thrown in here. Well, no, because I am a respected divine tree.

I watched him struggle against the vegetation around here.

The only presence I tolerate.

Mere weeds, but weeds that do work well at keeping the peace.

Yet he is truly struggling. He has a hard time even walking. Crawling would be faster.

Him a king? What kind of king is that pitiful? What a joke. (;¬_¬)

If he is a king, I am a god.

At some point I get bored of the scenery. (○´―`)ゞ

I am mostly keeping my consciousness on the other side. Barely keeping a lookout here.

It takes him a long time, but he finally reaches the edge of my domain.

Well a long time by the mortal's definition. This is but an instant for me.

I will not let him escape.

I do feel like crushing his hopes, however.

I will wait until he is almost out of here and bring him back myself.

Or not. Apparently, he is so trashy a simple magic trick bested him.

What kind of king falls for such basic shadow magic?

While there is some ingenuity behind it, the overall power is truly lacking.

Yet he fell.

Truly remarkable. In its own way.

What is he doing now?

Digging the earth as he proceeds? What pointless endeavor.

Oh he is using the holes as foothold to resist the little one's shadow magic.

Is this supposed to be smart? It seems to be working surprisingly.

I guess he is adept at trickery otherwise he would not have managed to fool the representative.

I would rate him a bit higher for that wittiness. But sadly he is a bad influence.

He shall be terminated. Enough playing.

I get the surrounding ancient trees to release some of the water they have accumulated.

It rains. It pours. Enough to reduce the ground into mush.

He just lost his footing. So easy.

The weeds drag him backward. Right into my grasp. ( つ✧_✧)つ

I will not hurt him. My words are sacred.

I will only make him stay here for a few millennia.

Him running out of lifespan is no concern of mine after all. ¯_(⌣̯̀⌣́)_/¯