The Draoidh are famous historians, and after tens of thousands of years of extinction-level calamities, they realized history is continuously repeated. It is the arrogance of human nature to think they are better than their ancestors.

~Gwyddion, God of Illusions

Druid of the Gods

The sun rose on the other side of the Colossus, so the henge remained in the shadows for the first part of the day. It was about to crest over the giant guardian’s head when Crow approached the pedestal in the center of the henge.

Unsure what to do, he placed his hand on it and let the ring click against the stone surface. Mana flowed out of him at an abnormal rate but not so fast that he panicked. This vampiric feature of this entire realm was something he was getting used to.

“Congratulations,” his subconscious told him. “You may choose one of three features of your artifact to unlock. Please consider your choices wisely.”

“Uh… what are the choices?”

“Augment, Technique Circle, and Spatial Capacity.”

“Could you provide me with more details on each?”

“Augment will improve the damage of your Blood Thorn technique by five percent. Spatial Capacity gives you the ability to store things inside the artifact. It’s roughly three cubic meters, but it’s amorphous, so it shifts the space to accommodate whatever your storing provided the size doesn’t exceed the allotted space.”

“Wait, explain that again?” Crow felt he understood, but it was odd.

“Imagine a stone box with three cubic meters of space. If you tried to put a long spear into it, it wouldn’t fit. Now imagine a water box of the same size. The water would shift to cover the entire spear, allowing you to store it inside. Your Shield is like the stone box, and your artifact is like the water box—or could be.”

“Interesting.” Crow was more shocked than interested. His Shield wasn’t like a stone box, or he didn’t think so. The Vortex Pin made sure the space was massive, but it didn’t seem that rigid inside. Maybe the Vortex Pin was also amorphous too? “Okay, pass on that feature. What’s the circle thing? Are you saying the technique has more than four circles?”

“Yes. This circle is called Thorn Mouth Daffodil. It’s a summoning spell.”

“That!” Crow said immediately, without hesitation. Summoning spells were rare enough as it was, and this one could end up very powerful if he could master the other circles. As the knowledge entered the artifact, he browsed through it and was baffled by the spell. Not because it wasn’t amazing, but because it was unusual. Its applications were random and diversified.

It summoned a yellow cupped daffodil, but it filled the cup with thorns, like that of a shark’s mouth. When threatened, it’d spit out its thorn teeth rapidly, and those things could puncture weaker metal. The crazy thing was how thin the thorns were. Even armored foes might be in trouble because those projectiles could slide through the narrowest gaps.

He was even more terrified of what he could summon when thinking about the other circles. The unusual thing about this summoning was that it didn’t seem like it’d just disappear once called. The first thought that came to mind was using them as traps.

*You are only thinking about how the circles benefit it. Did you think about what the other circles would gain from it?* Lily asked. Her voice of reason broke through his contemplation. He first thought of attaching it to the end of his vine whip. *You are still missing the point. It’s a summoning, meaning it’s alive or has some sentience. It can sense what you want. The cup is its actual mouth, and it uses it to devour insects. Why couldn’t it bite other stuff?*

“That’s really disturbing,” Crow muttered and heard Lily laughing. “It is even scarier thinking about making a thorn wall with those things growing out of it.”

*Don’t get carried away. It’s a summoning spell that is maintained by your Spirit. It may need Origin energy to summon it, but your Spirit keeps it here. Mainly, you should never overtax your Spirit, or it’ll damage your Soul. The most sinister thing about that summoning is it’s a harmless-looking flower until it opens its mouth.*

“Yeah, wait until I prank Otto with it,” Crow chuckled evilly and went back to his room to learn it. Lily sighed and prayed for that big guy. While Crow thought about how he could use it, he also realized that it didn’t help with his current weaknesses. It left him unsure of how to proceed. He explained his concerns to Lily and waited for her to think it through.

*Thorn Mouth Daffodil.*

“Oh?”

*You have two days left. Even if you learned the basics of Bramble, the benefit you’d gain isn’t worth much. The summoning spell, even at the beginning stages, is beneficial. Your father once told you that if you can put up a formidable defense, then an overpowering offense is the next best thing. So Thorn Mouth Daffodil, and continue expanding on the Vine circle so you can upgrade the thorns. If that flower can spit Blood Drinker Thorns—even I find that horrifying.*

“Not bad. You even threw one of my father’s quotes back at me,” Crow chuckled.

*Before you cultivate, I actually sought you out for a reason. You might want to look at your Soulverse.*

Curious, Crow sent his consciousness into Soul and saw the Fireheart Oak burning brightly. The flames always made it seem like the void wasn’t empty. It was a silly thought, but that warmth was something he enjoyed about this place.

Even though the distance was great, his memory was so perfect that even the slightest change couldn’t escape his notice. On a higher branch was a new acorn, but it was a small bud, barely grown. Approaching it, he didn’t get a sense of what it was.

“Any idea what this is?” Crow asked Lily, who stood beside him.

“Give me a kiss, and I’ll give you my thoughts.”

Lily gave him an evil smirk, and Crow grabbed her by the waist and pressed his lips against hers. It was soft and considerate, but he didn’t expect the electric jolt that went through when their lips touched. It wasn’t harmful, but more like—

“Resonance,” Lily explained when he pulled back. “That jolt was our resonance and the same thing that initially summoned me to your side. The longer we are together, the more we resonate. Eventually, my power will be yours, and your power will be mine. Does that bother you?”

“Why would it?”

Lily blushed but didn’t look away from him. Her dainty hand reached up and stroked the side of Crow’s face. Their energy pulsed, and Crow could feel her as if they were one entity.

“Since you were a good boy, I’ll tell you what I think after observing your Soulverse for some time. This little budding acorn is the current realm you are in. If I’m not mistaken, every realm you enter will somehow be connected to you in the future. Based on the other two acorns, I will assume the strength of the connection is determined by your imprint on it. Remember, each floor is also its own realm.”

“So I can enter my original Soulscape world because I created it? And because I was born on Litavis and now linked to it through Mugna, I can interact with the world?”

“Just a guess, but I will know for sure when we leave this place. If another one of these budding acorns appears, we’ll know if I’m right.”

“I believe you, but what does it all mean?”

“I may know, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you. I can say that Yggdrasil and Tuatha de Danann are both involved.”

“Why can’t you tell me?”

“The fae within Tuatha de Danann are oathbound to keep its secrets. Until you enter those lands, you are not allowed to know.”

“Alright, I won’t make it hard on you. But can I know if what is happening in my Soulverse is bad, and does it pose a risk?”

Lily remained silent for a while, trying to think through the past events. She didn’t exist at that time, but collective memory was passed down among her kind. The memories from that time degraded, so she didn’t completely understand what happened back then. However, she knew enough.

“This isn’t a bad thing. But if anything happens, you need to promise to destroy your Soulverse and not allow it to be subverted or fall into undeserving hands.”

“That dangerous?”

“In the wrong hands, very much so. Now get out of here and cultivate. You need to learn that summoning spell before you leave Sanctuary.”

“Why?”

“Call it a woman’s intuition,” Lily giggled. “Okay, I’ll stop playing. The reason is that the stronger your artifact technique, the more unstoppable you’ll become. The longer this trial continues, the more desperate people will get. So when you are traveling around, your main focus should be mastering the circles as fast as possible.”

Crow nodded and left his Soulverse. The next few days went by quickly, and he barely ate or slept as he focused on mastering the new summoning circle and the additional features of his vine spell.