“Maahooah!”

Crow didn’t know what the giant was saying but recognized the sound of grief. The wail of a mother losing a child was haunting and tragic. That heartrending feeling felt like it could open up a chasm and swallow all of existence. The sound was so haunting that Crow nearly dropped to his knees and wept. It was a sound he never hoped to hear again, but he also knew what it meant.

“Those fuckers!” Crow cried out in grief. Real or not, he empathized more than anyone. That keening struck him deeply as he thought about how much his mother suffered when she had to give up on him that day. A sacrifice she made without a second thought just to protect her child. That’s the true love of a mother, and he relived that moment again and again for countless years. Even now, as the tears stung his eyes, he absently rubbed his scars against the egg. Not realizing he was cutting himself all over again. His blood stained the egg, but he couldn’t feel anything because the sound of the grieving mother nearly broke him.

Every thought of redemption for Kafe ended at that moment. There was no redemption for that monster, only death.

“By limb and root, I vow I’ll end everything that son of a bitch stands for or represents. Nothing will escape my fury. By root and limb, I freely make this vow.”

Crow’s words weren’t loud but filled with powerful emotions. The vow was so strong that Yggdrasil inside of him shook, and another budding acorn appeared. He didn’t notice this, nor would he have understood, even if he had. The wailing mother suddenly paused, and Crow felt the weight of the giant woman’s gaze on him.

“What is happening?”

*Will you give my child sanctuary?* The giantess asked.

“I don’t know what that means… but if I can save your unborn child, I’ll do so without regret,” Crow said. It didn’t take him but a fraction of a second to realize who was talking to him.

*The vessel you’ve provided is enough. You have karma with Giants and have even taken one as your brother. When my son awakens, tell him I’ll visit when he is strong enough.*

Everything that the giant said was like a combination of punches to his head. There was so much loaded meaning that he couldn’t process it all fast enough. By the time he had questions, the giant woman’s presence was gone. Shortly after, an overwhelmingly powerful force approached him and entered the egg in his hands. It nearly fractured Crow’s consciousness, but he could tell it was unintentional. Moments after, the egg also disappeared, but he sensed it entering his Soulverse, which was strange.

Crow’s consciousness followed that streak of light and saw it entering the new seedling on the Tree of Life. Time both stopped and proceeded forward. It was like the outside world froze, but this new seedling experienced time so quickly that the world inside kept evolving until the egg hatched. A massive Night Fire Jörmungandr was born, and Crow watched in fascination as it encircled the world and bathed it in Night Fire. As it circumnavigated the globe several times, its pace slowed until it bit its tail and stopped.

“An Ouroboros?” Crow whispered in awe. It made sense now why everything was playing out this way. Corra represented life and death, and Ouroboros did the same on a grander scale. If he hadn’t seen one being birthed, he’d still consider it as nothing more than a myth. However, that myth was now residing inside his Soulverse.

After it bit down on its tail, the serpent’s eyes closed. If the other myths were true, it’d enter a period of hibernation until the world faced its demise. The legends were never clear if it caused an apocalypse or if it woke up because of one. He had difficulty reconciling that this child was the cause and felt it more believable that it’d remain asleep until forced awake by the inevitable destruction of its world.

The Temple of Pythons was eye-opening for him. As much as he tried to keep an open mind, he still underestimated how little he understood. There were so many mysteries and wonders left to be discovered.

“You are indeed different,” the old man of the tower said from beside him.

“I’m not even sure what just happened.”

“Corra was killed, but her life eventually returned because of who she is. The bizarre event you experienced occurred to her mother when Corra entered her death state. She lost her little brother to a cruel race that plucked it from her mother’s womb. This event created a knot in her heart she couldn’t overcome until Heaven’s array trapped her. It turned her into a guardian after toying with a grieving sister. Existence is tricky, right? You experienced an actual event, and her brother’s death was exactly as the events occurred here. A sacrifice for other’s power.”

“And I broke the cycle?”

“Do you know how the Heavens tricked her?”

“No?”

“It promised that if anyone that attempted her trial gave up all rewards to save the child, she would win. The soul of her little brother would enter a life state. Since it shared a similar bloodline to her, he could be brought back once. Tens of thousands of years passed, and no one gave up a chance to ascend. Not one person considered whether they should do this.”

“Because everyone that enters the trial understands the reward. A free ride to the upper realm or nothing,” Crow sighed. The Heavens were truly abominable. “Let me guess, the original leader of Unhulde also made a deal with the tower, which is why this trial exists under an evil sect?”

The old man laughed and said nothing. It was enough. Crow frowned, saddened by what he’d just heard. He was not a saint, but it was one thing to be cruel and indifferent toward his enemies and another to consciously kill a baby. Even if he didn’t believe any of this was real, there are some lines a person should never cross, even in a virtual setting.

“I know you have your purpose, and in many ways, we are enemies. But… I offer my gratitude toward you nonetheless,” Crow finally said. The Tower wanted to kill off cultivators as if it was its entire purpose for existence.

The old man laughed. “I’ll tell you a secret, kid. Opposing you at every turn isn’t only because I’m required to do it. You’ve freed Corra, but have you ever thought about whether I want the same thing?”

“You?”

“Me. If I went easy on you, let up, or gave you a free pass, you’d fail to live up to my expectations. You’d fail to destroy the Heaven Array, and I’d remain a slave forever. Unlike you, I was born a slave. My first memory was feeling the shackles of Tur Briste capturing my soul and refusing to give me a choice. I want what you want, but I’ve seen many like you, and all have failed. It is why I’m merciless, but I’m not without empathy.”

“I will break the Heavens.”

“I believe you will try. Whether or not you succeed is something time will tell. To show that I am not heartless, I’m going to aid you some—this much is within my power,” the old man chuckled as Crow cried out in pain. His Shield acted up, and he ripped open his shirt to see what was happening. All the stars lit up on his Wood Shield, and he could feel his connection with each keystone on the seventh, eighth, and ninth floors. “I’ll send you to the keystone on the ninth floor. Your allies have already entered the tenth-floor Soul trial. I cannot bypass that for you, but since your Source already exceeds the Wood floors, I’ll put you on the cusp. Plus, I believe you have something to do on the ninth floor. While I won’t take it easy on you, I hope you free me.”

“Before you send me away, what was the penalty?”

The old man’s eyes twinkled. “Part of the transition requires me to take their Shield, and part of my vindication is I can drop them where ever I want within a certain area. Let’s just say there are some places a newly ascended should be wary.”

Crow shuddered before he felt his entire world shift. Seconds later, he stumbled out next to the keystone during the Moonlight Market. After getting over the terrifying results of taking the shortcut, Crow remembered something else the old man had said. At first, he was confused but remembered that Mother Danu left him a task when he gained his Shield. There was something on the ninth floor that would aid him.