There was no more time to prolong the work to be done. Dinner ended with little fanfare. All the necessities before bed were taken care of. The moderately sized house saw two silhouettes standing near the staircase, looking at the Kitchen entrance just a few steps away.

“Whatever you hear tonight, do not approach the upper floors. It’ll be better if you do not come out of your rooms tonight” that was not a warning, but a plea. Xiao had taken measures from his side to ensure that there would be no trouble with his new house guest, but you could never know.

As for the wards around the room? There was no guarantee that they would hold on at all. Since the power source of both their cores was similar enough - the wards might not even register two presence in the house.

“Stay in the room and not come out. Got it” Kei remarked before he started moving when pointed toward. The room he had selected had been stocked with emergency supplies. Even sleeping clothes of free size had been stocked in case of emergencies it would ensure that his guest would be comfortable through the night at least.

While his guest made the way toward the assigned room, he once or twice turned back to take a look at him. However, Xiao held firm to his place in front of the bedroom. He was not taking any chances before he made sure that his guest had crossed the door line.

After the door closed, Xiao should have made his way upstairs immediately for the preparations. However, he decided to wait and make sure that his guest would not overstep his generosity.

At this point, he was just trying to avoid the inevitable work - but that was something he did quite often.

After fifteen minutes of waiting, it was finally time to begin moving.

The second floor was one big hall with two rooms on opposite sides. A store and a chamber for what he was about to experience. Taking the book out from a rack just adjacent to the balcony door Xiao made his way over to the chamber.

The room was empty. Not even sparsely decorated - it had nothing in it. The walls, the ceiling, the floor - everything was white and held no marking. Closing the door behind him, Xiao now stood in a room devoid of anything to mark the entry or exit.

It was worse than being in a hospital room or a prison. Here there was no personality and no indication to point your interest at. No distractions either and that’s why this room was designed so.

Kneeling down in the centre of the room, Xiao opened the book which was bookmarked. Although the books had tons of useful techniques, there was only one he used on a frequent basis. However, he still made sure to use the book to not make mistakes.

Working the needed array on the ground was easy. Since this particular magic did not need any conduction - all he needed was the magic to bind it.

Magic was an intangible feeling, however, it could also take solid shape in the forms of magic threads. This ability was what made it weldable. While everyone had magic inside them, their degree to wield the magic threads made them competent.

All Xiao needed to do was to pull the threads into the required array. When he pulled the threads to shape them, the previously multi-coloured array lost its shine to form a crystalline black mass.

When one generally pulled at magic there was a chance that it could take any form. From air to animals - there can be anything magic can bestow on a person. For him, it was this black crystalline substance as it had been for all the wish granters before he had.

Shaping magic once tangible could be tricky since it not only required concentration but also imagination. For a rigid person, instructions would work great, but they would never achieve anything more than what their initial purpose was.

It took quite a while to get the array done. While he had experience doing it, his reluctance to actually go through the thing made him hesitant to actually finish the array. Plus, his mind generally ran a hundred miles a minute which was a distraction in itself.

“Done. Let’s get it over with” Xiao pumped himself. While there was no one around to hear him, he felt better saying it out aloud. Finally, it was time. Lowering his body on his back, he closed his eyes and then there was no more moment inside the room.

There was something twisting around his body. He was bound and could not move. His body was really heavy too. However, the mind was slow to come around. All he could feel was a smooth but firm texture press against his arms.

When Xiao came around to himself and opened his eyes, all he could see was black. A clear contrast to the all-white space of before. However, this was a common sight for him. He was in the capsule and it was time to get out now.

‘Knife. Not sword’ Xiao thought as the pattern on his body appeared and began concentrating toward his held out hand. From experience, he knew that a knife would be a better option for what he was about to do.

The pattern had concentrated to form a small knife, fully built out of black obsidian. When he had a knife in his hand, he began cutting above him. He was in a root capsule. There was only dirt around and below him. The only way to get out had been to cut above him.

He was sure that someone had advised this to him a long time ago. Perhaps in another one of his lives or it was the courtesy of his parasite which informed this to him. He didn’t care much when it helped him survive.

Once there were rays of light all around him, he began making his way. Thick roots and veins overlapped to make a root nodule all around him which he used to climb up. Once he was out he hurriedly made his way to the small clearing in front with a tree branch just adjacent.

He had once again returned here. To the place of dreams and miracles. To the lap of the World tree.

It was a tree in every sense of the world. Thick branches with abundant foliage-covered a huge area. Covering almost 60 meters in diameter, it was huge in height and coverage. The landscape was also not smooth with small hills and caves run over by the routes and hanging veins of the tree.

It was a Banyan Tree or something which came close to it. The leaf structure was the same and it was much bigger than any he had ever seen before. But if one overlooked it all - it was a banyan tree.

The grass was white in the landscape. Almost crystalline in appearance, however, it was living all the same. One of the black butterflies flew away from the tree branch and flew over the grass. However, before it even reached very far, the blades of grass wrapped around the butterfly and when they opened up, there was no butterfly there.

As beautiful as this place was, it followed the law of the jungle. There was nothing innocent about this place. It was as vicious as its king - the world tree.

It was always looking, always observing and always making a judgement.

And there in the clearing was the deepest and most intimidating part of the beautiful crystalline tree. The opening in the thick tree trunk opened up to a low seating area. Small bunnies and foxes ran around changing each other in the white grass. Butterflies flew around and there were birds of different shapes all around the hanging branches.

It a beautiful scene in its own right however here it felt off-putting. All the animals supported the same obsidian texture and look. Crystalline enough to not seem living in any sense of the world. Even the fox that nuzzles him seemed cold. Cold and soundless - just like this whole place.

And in the centre of the tree opening sat a person he had met more times than anyone he would like. The figure which haunted his nights on a daily basis, the one who made him who he is today and the one responsible for saving his life.

Even if he had no right to do so. His own death - this person took it from him and for that, he might never forgive him.

“I see that you don’t like foxes much. Would you prefer a cat perhaps?” the voice that called out was smooth. It always was and it was the only voice that rang in this empty and cold place.

The fox in the person’s hand shook as if having a seizure before it began breaking in parts. The shape twisted before it was no longer recognisable before the form began stretching again. It was forming a more recognized form of a cat.

“Here, a cat” the newly formed was thrust toward him by eager hands. But Xiao had no intention of receiving the cat. Whatever this new game was, he was not sure he wanted in on it.

“Don’t want a cat either? Are you not here to visit me because you missed me?” Their tone was familiar to him, however, he had no time to entertain the person in front of him. He wanted to tell the person as such, but this place was special. Till you don’t have the permission of the being in front of him you could not speak.

So he settled on glaring to convey his message instead.

“I want to grant you speech rights but then you’ll just ask your question and leave me alone. I like it much better when you are here with me, even if I can't talk with you directly” In one in front of him was a guy. Tall and well built. In human age, Xiao guessed that this person might come off as 19-20 years old.

However, for an entity such as the one in front of him, time and age held no meaning.

“You’re not happy with me, I can feel it. And you are going to leave soon too. If so, it's better if I can hear your voice” With that Xiao felt something in him ease out. The clearing was also empty of all the animals it had supported before. Even the cat in front of him was gone.

“Your Highness, Lord Ashvattha. It’s an honor” He didn’t know the real name of the entity in front of him. However, what he did know was that it was the avatar of the world tree. There was a new name for every mythological known existence for him. The most common one was Yggdrasil, however, the last wish keeper had recorded it as Ashvattha, so it has stuck with him.

“I’m sure it's not a pleasure meeting this time?” Lord Ashvattha asked and he nodded. This was sacred land that only certain people had access to. Lord Ashvattha’s real face was unknown to all. Even the figure in front of him was all but a shadow.

Fine features on a slightly darker complexion. Yellow hairs with brown eyes and a mole of his hand. This was definitely a puppet in the skin of one of the old Wish Granters. From the descriptions he had heard, this man had been the one 5 generations before him.

Wish shop was a family business for sure, but the wish granter was never from the family. They were always adopted into the family to keep it an internal affair. Just like him, who had no knowledge of his real family.

“I’m afraid I'm here to fulfil a wish. A duck wishes to become a god but the way to take it is not clear. I wish to use the scurry pond to look for the clues here” Scurrying was a way to look into the future when you paid it a price. However, the one in the recess was different.

It shadows whatever you wanted it to show without any price. However, you could never see your own benefit in there and only one with the power of the origin - the wish-granting tree could utilize it.

The only other way was the ritual of Fortuna. But that was as risky as it was inaccurate. One needed to be a master for it to work. This was the safest way for everyone involved. Besides, this way took a toll on his body too. Spending this much magic power was taxing for both body and mind.

“Ah, of course. If you could make your way there, you may use it” Lord Ashvattha’s voice was cool as it normally was. There might even be a pout in it but it could very well be a growl of disapproval.

“Thank you. I’ll make my way there since I don’t have much time” Xiao bowed to the figure in front of him. When he straightened himself from the bow, his blue-green eyes met the brown ones in front of him.

However, he quickly averted his eyes from the form in front of him. Those eyes, no matter what form they took - always looked lonely and in need of companionship. However the next second they were cold as ice.

They looked at him and saw something which was never there. Something lost in the ravages of time and would never recover no matter how long it took. The companion they sought was no longer there.

They were now two souls who went their own way a long time ago. They made their choices and they would need to live with them. After all, this was also all but a memory of a place preserved by magic.

He needed to get away so that he could get the much-needed space.

Once he was far away, a wind blew away in the area. The once vibrant land was now dull, the glow disappearing into black crystal butterflies. In the clearing where the once lush tree now stood a hollow tusk of the tree. A smiling silhouette in his sight till it faded with distance.

Like an old worn down and unkept clearing. This was the real face of this place - old and worn down. The figure from earlier, the animals, the light -it was all a memory. A well-kept illusion of memory.

Or perhaps a wish and his price for it too.

If he had time to dwell on it, he might drown in sorrow and memories of this place. But not right now when he had work to do.

The scurry pond was in front of him, as dark as every.