Year 187

The north was a chain of islands, but that honestly didn’t stop me. It seemed that no one sensed Lumoof’s presence, well, except Aria and Aispeng.

“You’re in the Northern Isles?” They asked through the mirror.

“Yes, through my avatar.” My trees gradually expanded, and I added artificial minds to support the amount of monitoring.

Here, I detected a second ‘barrier’ or ‘bottleneck’.

There was a limit of how much information that Lumoof can send and process. It’s still a decently high limit, we could simultaneously look at about 20 places, and I couldn’t ‘switch’ views instantly. That meant there was still value in having a real root connection. Somehow, all of this information flowed through Lumoof, and it taxed his mental capacity heavily, even with the assistance of the extra minds.

A person, even if he was a high leveled avatar, was not meant to be ‘full on’ ‘god mode’.

My trees spread discreetly, they adapted to the appearance of the local flora and my trees spread quickly. At first, a lot of it was just pointless chatter. We had to filter that out. It occupied too much of Lumoof’s brain-time.

I tried creating an artificial soul there, through Lumoof, but I couldn’t send the souls I gathered here to Lumoof. That said, Lumoof was in fact, a portable soul collection machine with the ‘avatar’ ability. This meant, if he fought with the heroes, he could actually facilitate the gathering of Titan Souls!

Yay! He’s like a massive soul vacuum cleaner, and he’s collecting the north.

“Come to think of it, do you collect souls?” I asked Aria and Aispeng. After all they are spirits in their own way.

“No. Not our department.” Aria responded.

Then where did all the souls in the North go? Surely they must go somewhere, or do they drift along?

I tried using my soul powers to interrogate the collected souls. This power was rarely used because when I could see and eavesdrop on almost the entire continent, that was a much more reliable information source than interrogating the dead with their incomplete memories due to death. After all, incomplete information without context can be dangerous.

Still, in the north, I needed to quickly gather information, and soon I chanced upon the dead souls of two operatives.

“Kill. Hero.”

“Why?”

“Hero. Enemy. Mission. Rewards. Dead.”

So there’s a reward if the hero dies? What kind of reward?

“Big money. Levels. Special. Class.” A special class for those who killed heroes? That actually makes sense. “Power. Immortality.”

“That’s awfully vague.” Lumoof remarked mentally, as he too was a participant in my interrogation of the dead. Even if they had pointed us in a direction.”

“I faintly recall killing heroes results in a curse.” But only if they were killed before their designated demon king perished. Thus, for this generation, they are all targets.

“That is probably also true, but worth it. Given the risks, the rewards should be fairly good.”

“If so, surely there must have been successful hero-killers in the past.” If there were, they managed to hide themselves from the historical records available to us.

But then again, why do I need records when I have Lillies and Aria? I quickly asked the two about whether they know of the hero killers. It was a no from both of them. Lilies commented that they have never met hero killers.

Hmm. Surely there are people who killed heroes, even if entirely by accident? It can’t be that the heroes are so lucky, right?

Or they are.

“It’s not easy to kill heroes, though.” Kei frowned. “We’re pretty tough once we hit level 100. We get all sorts of natural defensive perks and most of us have abilities to ignore low-level damage. We’re also usually immune to one or two elemental types which we are aligned to, and we get most status effects negated.”

“Most.” I wondered. “It’s possible for a hexbomb to kill you.”

Kei shifted uncomfortably. “Well, yes. A hexbomb would be bad. Wait. Are you saying there’s a plot to use hexbombs to kill the heroes? We need to warn them! They may not be aware of hexbombs!”

“I’m sure they are. They’ve seen the journals, no?” I retorted. “Harris’s generation faced hexbombs and a world riddled with hexbombs as a demon-champion countermeasure. We’re lucky those days are over.”

-

The first of the Aiva Triumvirate arrived via ship. They were led by one of the Triumvirs, Grandmaster Engka, and they came in one of the finest ships we’ve ever seen. A beautiful warship of a glistening paint of gold and bronze, and loaded with magical enchantments. Accompanied by a small delegation of Aivan Templars, his arrival was a secret, of course, but everyone noticed the presence of a warship like that.

“Not a hero-item, but very high quality as they go. It’s been in their care for centuries, and painstakingly maintained, even if their craftsmen and ship workers couldn’t quite repeat the mastery of the ancient times.” Lausanne explained her experience, and she was one of those tasked to greet the Triumvir.

The ship was parked in one of the larger port cities on the Eastern coast. “Nice to meet you again, Lady Lausanne.” Engka gave a small nod as he stepped off. “It seemed that Aeon truly meant business.”

Lausanne didn’t quite smile, “It’s been a while indeed, though I must admit I accepted this assignment at great reluctance.. Allow me to introduce the officer in charge of the escort.”

Engka laughed. “Still bearing old grudges I see.” There was something faintly divine in his presence. To my spirit sight, it seemed like there’s something else swirling with him.

“This is Lord Johann. The master ranger in charge of your security.” Lausanne introduced. Johann outranked Lausanne as he’s in the Level 120s, and was fully informed of the greater details of the visit. Though the Aivan Templars had their own escort, we were not taking chances.

Already their arrival sparked rumours, and I had my artificial minds on high alert. There were secret messages bouncing between the locals and people from out of town, and then ships headed our way.

“I see I’ll be in good hands.” Engka smiled. The templars unloaded crates after crates of items. The dockworkers quickly loaded them on the beetles, the specialised transport for this visit. These were some of the toughest beetles yet. “But tell me, are we expecting company?”

Lausanne glanced at Johann. Johann merely smiled. “No. But we are prepared.” A few of the higher ranked rangers were also nearby, shadowing their movement. They are there for security, and to catch anyone who takes the bait. My spirit vision sensed some unusual magic in those crates. Things that felt similar to that log I had, but different. Engka himself also had some interesting magical gear, and I sensed at least two hero items on him. If they were so small, this meant these were either single-use items, or hero-items made for normal people.

“Well, let’s get moving.” Johann said, and a few administrative team members sorted the templars to their respective caravans. The chatter in the background was intense, as many soon asked why were the Aivan on the Central Continent?

We were expecting company soon enough, as my magical sensors detected uncommon types of magic activating across the continent. The agents planted are finally moving, and my minds were watching, marking. Spies from the other temples, the Laenza, some of the southern kingdoms.

And secret requests to the assassin guilds throughout the Central Continent. Sadly, they were all met with a swift rejection. The guildmasters of all these assassin guilds had an understanding that their presence was merely tolerated so long as no Valthorns were targeted, and they had sufficient brain juice to not interfere with my things. Those old enough to remember my punishments decades ago would know better.

Still, with the guilds themselves staying away, these foreign players directed the requests to the assassins personally with hefty rewards. The smarter ones know better than to accept. Even if they succeed, they know they can’t escape. But there are always fools tempted by the huge sums of money.

I view this as a net positive. My Valthorns may be high levelled, but they do need anti-assassins practice. And a good reminder to those who have forgotten. The memories of men fade so easily.

“How’ve you been?” Engka asked as Lausanne sat in the same cabin. It’s a large, lush and well-furnished cabin similar to the ones used by the heroes. “It’s been decades.”

“Much better now that I’m no longer running demon hunting missions.” Lausanne responded.

“There’s no need for that bitterness, is there?” Engka smiled. “I am after all here at the invitation of Aeon itself. So, how much do you know?”

Lausanne smiled. “Not much, but I don’t mind. It’s better when I don’t get involved with your business. I am here merely at Aeon’s behest, he figured that you’d enjoy some banter.”

Engka laughed. “True. The matters of the Triumvir are never simple. That is a wise choice, a wise choice.” He then looked at Johann, who was on a lookout. The caravan of a hundred beetles passed through the valleys, and were soon closing in on some patches of forests. My artificial minds pinged that some assassins were going to strike there.

I waited, and let my Valthorns do their work. They have to detect their presence themselves, and Johann made some hand signals. A few of the subordinate rangers fanned out.

Engka looked at Lausanne again, as he watched the rangers. “I must say, Aeon’s ability to cultivate talent is truly second to none. I would trade my hero items if I can convince some of your rangers to serve me. I’ll even accept you.”

Lausanne responded. “No thanks.”

“The Aivan is really short of capable, high levelled folks. Surely Aeon can share?”

“No.”

“I can count the number of level 70s we have in one hand. That’s how bad we have it. A little bit of pity?”

“No. And certainly that’s not something you should be revealing so casually.” Lausanne seemed to have some bad memories of the man, and I wonder whether it was a mistake to get her to be the liaison. She didn’t reject it, though.

Engka laughed. “Oh, anyone level 70 and above serving for the Aivan church is a public figure through and through. You even met them.”

Lausanne didn’t reply. The caravan now took the roads through the forests. The assassins struck. The Valthorns intercepted. They were slightly slower to pick them up. The assassins were quite low levelled, some in their level 30s. A few of the assassins backed off, deciding that it wasn’t worth it once they saw who they were dealing with.

Those who went for the attack found arrows lodged in their heads within seconds. Operatives hired by groups unknown.

“Do they always try to kill you?” Lausanne asked.

“As you should know, I have many enemies, and I believe most of those who try to kill me are my allies.”

The caravan would take 3 days to cross the continent to reach Freshka.

-

“The Aivan triumvir is here?” Kei stormed and asked Edna one day. She didn’t know until the caravan moved. “Why?”

Edna paused, and obtained my permission to tell her. “Because they reached out to us, for a ceasefire. An alliance.”

“No. My sources tell me the entire Triumvir will be here. They never meet unless something of divine importance.”

Edna nodded. “Yes. It is of divine importance.”

“What is Aeon trying to do?”

“A talk with a god. The truth to whether there is a way to end this.”

Kei stared at Edna, her mind spun as she processed it. “I want to be there.”

“Very well.”

-

Diplomatic messages and secret messages flew across the world, as they speculated about the Aiva’s intention. The other three churches were particularly tense and they sent strongly worded messages to Engka.

Engka smiled when he received them. “Isn’t this amusing?”

Lausanne shrugged.

“The Gayan Master of the Temple just demanded that I clarify my presence on the Central Continent. I got similar messages from the Hawa and the Neira too. Pathetic, when all of us together couldn’t even muster a force to stand up to Aeon’s overwhelming power.”

“Are you here because of power, then?”

“My personal stance on this, yes. We are weak, and we acknowledge that. It’s especially clear now that you could invade the Eastern Continent and win.”

“That just makes me even more suspicious of your presence.” Lausanne responded.

-

The caravan arrived in Freshka safely. There were a few more smaller assassination attempts, but nothing too big. The caravan of beetles were led to a special clearing site made at their request. The crates were unloaded, and the templars started work. We had mages, builders and crafters on standby to make any structure or amendments to the site as required.

They built a circular temple with a central clearing, and I will speak through Lumoof. I would have to stop my Northern observations for this, but I will do so once they are ready.

“The other two Triumvirs?” Edna asked.

“They will be summoned here.” Engka showed a magical ring. “This is the Ring of the Triumvirs, and allows me to summon the others here.” They walked to my valley. Edna was with him, and she was fully armed in her best equipment, just in case.

Engka bowed before my massive tree, I could see his legs shiver, and he seemed pale. “I had doubts, but now I do not. Greetings, Aeon.”

“Speak.”

“I will commence the Ceremony of the Heavenly Gate, to open a means to commune with our God, Aiva. Three of us will be there to keep the gate open, and we will sacrifice three divine items to maintain it. But once commenced, we will be very vulnerable, and will require your protection.”

“You have my word.” Indeed. I had the entire area on lockdown. Who dares to mess with my ceremony.

“But that’s not the main point, really. We have never performed this ceremony, and we only learn of it now. Could you ask a question on our behalf?”

I wondered what it could be.

“Why are we left to die?” Engka said.

-

The site was ready, three hero items in the middle, filled with star mana. Engka twisted his ring, and his ring glowed. For a moment, I saw with my astral sight the world momentarily twist, and then, two others appeared.

“Grandmaster Amdar, Grandmaster Mianas, let us begin.” They both looked around and noticed that everything has been prepared. They sighed and nodded.

They formed a triangle, the floor has already been marked. There were runic formations on the floor that I did not recognise, and it seemed that this was new to the grandmasters too. No matter, they started chanting, and the strange energies within them, however miniscule, vibrated and then glowed. This was entirely invisible to everyone else, only visible in the spirit vision. It shone out and linked together, and then the three items burned, melted, and transformed into a levitating blob of the night sky.

Lumoof had been called back, and he waited. I would activate the Avatar if needed. Still, I early summoned Stella to watch on a hunch. Then we saw it, the blob twisted, and a door opens in the astral starways, so small and tiny.

A light reached out, a stringy light crawled out, and then the front bulged into a wisp. The string was still there, present.

At that moment, the entire world felt it, it was an oppressive feeling. Everywhere, even in the further towns, people were vomiting and some fainted.

Lilies spoke through the roots.

I would reply later, my focus on the ball of light that stood before Lumoof. Lumoof and Edna was unfazed, their domain protected them and allowed them to stand. Kei fainted briefly, but quickly caught herself. Stella, strangely, only vomited.

The wisp formed into a face. “Greetings, Aeon. I go by my names across the many worlds I touched, but here, I am Aiva, and long ago, Deyar. My time is limited, my true self many worlds away. Let us speak quickly.”

“Greetings.” I spoke and saw through Lumoof.

“You have questions. Quickly.” Aiva asked. “The time we have for this gate is short.”

“How can we stop the demon kings and end this cycle of destruction?” At this point, this was really the main thing on my mind.

“We don’t know. We have tried, destroyed some demon worlds, but we failed in the end. The demons are infestations of corruption. They can be delayed, they can be defeated, but they will eventually return. They are drawn to the worlds of the living, but more importantly, they are drawn to us, the gods. They have a vendetta against us, and we fight them across a thousand worlds. They find your world through the remnants of their champions, and also, so long the world lives, they seek to corrupt it, and eventually turn it to a demon world. So long as a world lives, they will look for it. Each demon world weakens us all.”

“Can we hide the world from them?”

The wisp paused. “Possible, but not something I can do. Quickly. Next.”

Good. That’s something I’ll figure out then. “Why do the gods attack me?”

“I speak not of the others, but we often mistake native powers as nascent demonic presence. It is hard to tell what is a corrupting cancer, and what is a robust defense from where we are, our knowledge and information distorted by void, distance and limited perspective. I sensed some demonic energies in you, but am relieved that you remain the master of them. So many worlds lose the ability to defend themselves from the demons, the body weak and in need of external assistance.”

“Can you call them off?” We needed a united front.

“I will try, but they are far away.” Aiva responded.

“Why do you control the heroes?” This was something I wanted to ask for a long time.

The wispy face bobbed. “Oh? Well, the medicine must do what it is meant to do. Strong medicines can often damage and harm the flesh, and so, they must be controlled. We cannot inject medicine and then hope that the medicine will find its own target. We tell it what to find, and mark them such that the demons are drawn to them. It is a balancing act, if we inject too much medicine in the patient, we may damage the flesh more than the demons.”

...fuck. The heroes are nothing more than tools. I felt something attacked my [domain], like something was scanning me from my leaves to my roots. I felt something stir in the distance, my magical sensors started to ring. Edna, Kei and Lumoof seemed to take it quietly.

“Why let them die?”

“Because even gods could not be everywhere at once. Our powers are strongest close to us, but the great void of time pushes and pulls on many worlds, and this world has drifted on the void sea further and further away from my sphere of power. It is a great relief to see a native god emerge at long last, however weak you are now. Take my followers, and they shall treat your word as my own.”’

“Wait. Your eminence, are you sure this is a good choice?” One of the Triumvirs could not help it. He had to ask. I don’t blame them. Aiva’s magical face turned to face the three Triumvirs who struggled to maintain the spell..

“Yes. I am too far to properly protect you. I will repeat. Aeon shall take my followers. That includes all of you.” Aiva’s floating face responded and the three Triumvirs shook.

“I have enough to protect.” Seriously. I already have a continent, but then again, if I am going to end this cycle, I do need more.

“As you grow, you’ll have the capacity for more. The distance between us in this great void continues to grow, and it is an eventual fact that one day, my powers will no longer reach this world. It is far more just and fair for me to say truthfully, that my powers wanes in this world, and better for those who believe in me to seek an ascendant pantheon for protection.”

The Triumvirs could not respond. I had another question. “How long do you have? Will you still summon the heroes?”

Aiva paused. “Perhaps a century or two, much depends on the flux of the void. An ancient pact binds us, the old gods, to defend these worlds. We have to, even if we don’t want to.”

There was a shocked look on the faces of everyone present. “What pact?”

“It’s... complicated. You will know once you ascend.”

“What are you?” Like what are the gods? Where are they?

“We were once like you, though our paths meandered in different ways. Time is running out.” The blob was shrinking. “But here, a small parting gift from me. From a predecessor. Good luck and goodbye, Aeon. I, for one, eagerly await your ascension to the divine realm. We are weary from the eons of war, and we could use some new hands. One not bound by the ancient pacts.”

The blob of light flashed and entered Lumoof. I felt a bolt run through the link between me and Lumoof.

[You’ve gained 2 levels. You are now level 199]

[All tree-type laboratories upgraded]

Whoever wanted to interrupt us was too late, and it seemed a familiar weapon was used against me. A hexbomb. It flew from the South, but it was small, probably hastily gathered. I activated multiple shields to block it, and the bomb was stopped even before it got near the valley.

The blob was gone, and the runes vanished. The three Triumvirs collapsed, exhausted from the gate. Kei looked at Stella. “Holy shit.”

Everyone in the world breathed easier, as the divine presence vanished from the world.