"The Vast tree realm holds billions of different aliens species including our own, billions have gone extinct and many more will come into creation, think about how fortunate we have been to survive so long. We have gotten lucky, very lucky that the life around us does not have the same requirements to live"
- Dominic Cree ~ Guardian of the east
Central quadrant of the vast tree universe - Aptyn...tok..n- well this one 'word' is not really able to be said by those with vocal cords or even with spiritual thought for this word was something one would struggle to make sense off.
If it was written it would simply look like any common scene out in nature, if it was spoken the winds would carry it away in all directions, this word was of the language of the plantae.
The closest approximation for what was said would be - The kingdom below the ground among the sea and beyond the sky - but we will simply call it Witheria.
Here plant life ruled as king, while animal life would on occasion make an appearance it was not the norm.
Puffy green balls littered the skyline blocking sunlight from reaching the ground, trees moved slowly among the foliage crushing many of the smaller plants underneath, plants of many types moved without assistance as they gathered into mounds made of their own matter.
There was no concept of space in this gathering as plant life stuffed the smallest of crevices with either root or branch.
"Do not fear, form a tighter bond, even without space we will thrive, let us not fight this day, all will be as it will be"
"Together as one, we will be"
As the mound of plant matter formed a stem hundreds of meters wide slowly lifted it into the air.
Words sounded in the wind the mound slowly formed into a sphere as a thick layer of foliage covered the surface turning it into one more puff ball to add in the sky.
"At this rate it will take us five years to evacuate all, would it not be simpler to take the planet with us?" A tree spirit asked another.
"It is not to be, outside it cannot survive as is. The universe may not know it the place we enter, it is chaos. Can only board the arks like others to survive" the other tree being responded while talking to the wind helping to form the flying spheres.
"...but we've lost so many to craft them. I- I cannot keep slaying my kin only to see them twisted as such" the leaves on it's branches shook.
The other tree spirit kept focused and only listened to the complaints.
It was an unavoidable sacrifice for these tree spirits, they are after all the best material to be used in the crafting of the salvation arks.
Earth wood, of at least the equivalent of a body reformation stage cultivator was considered in most places as the best flying ship material one could possibly use.
For these tree spirits of the earth wood lineage the arks were no different than a mass grave. For them the apocalypse had already happened and the world cared not as it kept moving ahead without a care.
"Do not dwell. We are but plants in a garden, raised to be used as they have decided" the tree spirit knew all too well just how cruel their world truly was.
The world of plants was by no means a peaceful place like many believed it to be, there was only so much space to grow with few areas being considered capable of nurturing life let alone on a grand scale.
For one to be able to survive they must suffocate the others, they must starve them of resources, they might even take on a more parasitic nature leeching of others.
The earth wood lineage was strong and mighty with roots that reached hundreds of miles deep under but they weren't by any means immune to the worlds movement.
Earth wood was a crop in this kingdom of Witheria, it did not have what could be seen as plant rights in the world they lived in.
As he said they are but plants in a garden, they are only alive because someone deemed them useful enough to be kept, it did not matter if it was simply for their looks or what they provided in the end they had no choice.
"I do not wish to be a garden plant..." The tree spirit went silent.
"The world outside our garden. It is not to be worshiped. Everything has downsides, it is no different" the second tree spirit was not reprimanding his friend for he knew their fate was decided from birth.
It would be well enough to say 'fight back and earn your freedom!' but not everyone has such a will.
Why should you go out and fight against a dictatorial government when you can simply keep going to work and let other's fight the big fight? Why risk your life for a better future when the one you live in now is just fine? If you should fail what happens then?
It is easy enough to speak of rebellion but never of the consequences of failure. Fear is something that has been ingrained into living beings from the dawn of time, for better or worse it is not something you can simply live without.
Here these two spirit beings may dream of being free but they were just two insignificant trees in a vast forest with no end. They wouldn't be the first to wish for something better.
The verdant puff balls in the sky did not stay stationary, they rose high above piercing the sky as they entered the void of space.
Here each puff ball was loaded on to the many arks waiting in space but unlike normal arcs with a boat like make these ones are completely round with many pyramid like structures protruding out at various intervals.
A vine seemed to slither in space dwarfing the surroundings as it slowly encased one of the arks.
"Purple vine spirit have you brought good news?" A red vine spirit asked the outsider.
"How goes the preparations brother?" The purple vine asked.
"They are progressing are required, what about the Vast tree?" The red vine answered without bother.
"And of the spiritual holy lands? Have they been uprooted yet?" The purple vine asked another question without answering to the one asked.
"They will be loaded soon, what about the Vast tree is it safe?" The red vine answered and asked again.
"What about my kin have they all boarded?" The purple vine kept asking away.
"Yes yes they have now tell me about the Vast tree!" The red vine raised his voice.
"What about my dog has it -"
"Mother-fuc answer my question! Is the Vast tree safe? Have they agreed on who will claim stewardship over the Vast tree?!" The red vine blew up on the purple vine.
"Ah that, No they have yet to decide whom will be the one to take care of it. The absolute golden phoenix palace has expressed interest, claiming they have the best knowledge across the realm to take care of it-"
"Fuck those birds, what do they know about growing when they can't even reproduce!" The red vine cursed.
"The absolute holy land of the purple Qi sea claims that their purple Qi sea would be the ideal place for the tree to reside in and as such wish to take the tree for themselves"
"What! While the sea may be good for their cultivation it is no place for the Vast tree! And how dare they wish to take ownership over it!" The red vine clenched his 'teeth' in anger.
"The absolute holy land of the battle domination sect said the tree is just a failed spirit and should be turned into wood to craft more salvation arks"
"They what?! Barbarians! Why are they even participating in the meeting than! Animals!" The red vine slammed the ground.
"Ah the other holy lands have an interest as well but as I said before a consensus has yet to be made"
"And did you present our argument to them? We have the most knowledge in the universe about how to grow as beings of plantae with no one else having means such as our own, our three botanical holy lands combined should be more than equipped enough to take stewardship over the Vast tree what did they say about that?" The red vine calmed down.
"They have heard but as I said no consensus has been made"
The red vine frowned, what could be taking them so long to decide?
The Vast tree, a tree so ancient some said it is as old as the universe itself. It being the presumed oldest spiritual plant in the universe one would assume that some sort of tree spirit should have formed by now, after all the universe was well over eighty billion years old according to most scholar's yet somehow even after all this time the Vast tree remained a spiritual plant without a will of it's own.
To the plantae of the universe this tree was the primordial birth place of all living beings plant or not.
Even without such a title to the rest of living life the tree held immense importance to the universe as a whole, it was after it's namesake.
"Eriri come here!" The red vine called out.
A small flower no larger than 17 cms rushed over from the side.
"Eriri go tell the old woman to gather. Brother purple I would ask of you to come with me I'd think some of the oldies would like to meet you 'hero of Witheria'" red vine smirked.
The purple vine shook "Alas I am a busy person, Have people to meet things to eat tell them that"
"Hmph, you can try and avoid them as much as you want but eventually you must pass down your lineage brother, someone as heaven gifted as you cannot avoid this" Red vine stood he truly had much to do.
Down on the planet a pair of small grass like spirits hid among the stones of a cave.
One was a blue grass shinning with spiritual energy standing vibrantly against the gray and brown of the earth, the other grass was a common grass found anywhere in the universe.
At this moment the blue grass was undergoing a miniature tribulation of sorts that would either awaken the spirit within or end it's life.
Ants crawled along the stone forming a single line that stretched far, throwing dirt that seemed like stones aside they dug to the roots of the blue grass and gnawed away.
The grass did not feel pain in the same way other sentient spirits did, when the first bite happened the roots shook ever so slightly.
This small shake sent warnings through the root system of both the blue and green grass nearby which to an outsider would seem as a very mundane action. It was just a little disturbance in the soil after all right? Wrong.
The plants felt every nibble as it happened without a single pause.
They could not move as of yet being plants without thought they could not scream for help from an elder to assist them either, they could only take the pain as they were eaten alive bit by bit.
Plants weren't entirely defenseless as every part lost forced the spiritual energy that was spread far to condense at the core.
The blue grass may not be able to escape this living tribulation but through sacrifice it would push itself to awaken.
"..." The blue grass spirit opened it's eye's for the first time.
The surroundings were quiet while the darkness of the cave was slightly illuminated by the blue grass while the black exoskeleton of the ants made them near invisible to the eye.
As the blue grass felt the attacks but could not see the attacker without much thought it shook itself free of many of its assailants launching them away.
Rip* Snap*
Roots slowly parted from the earth as the blue grass used it's leaves to push up while grasping onto small stones nearby for added support.
With a final snap the blue grass was freed of it's earthly bindings.
Having lost their meal the ant's could only wander to the nearby common grass as they had already started to feast upon it's root system.
The blue grass was still shaking off the ants that stubbornly clung to it's roots but it did not forget about its comrade.
Using whatever might it could muster it fought the ants for hours as it dug away at the surrounding dirt in order to free it's comrade.
With a final push the grass was freed giving the blue grass a small peace of mind, now all it needed to do was to escape this cave.
So it did, carrying the common grass with great effort it ventured out into the world.
<+== Sir Ian Gregory and crew ==+>
Western quadrant - planet great rock.
Sir Ian along with the vessels and their crew/passengers that followed his command had once more set off into space.
The old man Sir Ian had saved had been given time to rest and now he stood before sir Ian unsure of what to say.
Noticing the old man's troubled look sir Ian took out a bottle with an unknown liquid inside.
"Want a drink? I heard Andel has given you a common tongue scripture so I'm sure you understand what I'm saying" Sir Ian gestured for the old man to sit down.
"I can. Not so much" the old man even while being bandaged from head to toe carried himself with pride.
"I come to thank you. I attack yet you save me" the old man was struggling to find the correct words, only a few weeks had passed since sir Ian spared him having to learn a new language in such a sort time was no easy task.
"You're welcome, although It wasn't me that saved you. I simply found you and took it upon myself to take you from your resting spot, if it was not for me intruding you would have recovered eventually. As for the treatment that was done by Andel not me" Sir Ian poured a glass of spirit wine for both himself and the old man.
"Now tell me, now that you've recovered some what happened to this place?" Sir Ian pointed to the window where the planet grew smaller by the moment.
The old man stared down he couldn't look at the planet else his eyes would fill with rage.
"Demons came"
'Demons? They don't inhabit the western quadrant on such a scale, I doubt some old geezer would even bother with a planet' Sir Ian had his doubts but didn't interrupt.
He being in the soul integration stage had no need for the spiritual materials produced on planets, spiritual continents were the only place beings like him could even hope to find some sort of treasure for someone of his stage.
Demonic beasts should be no different, once one becomes a godly being the lower realm and their planets simply aren't considered of value anymore.
"They came above heaven, they on this" the old man pointed below, it was not that he didn't know what a flying ship was simply the common words hadn't yet stuck.
"A flying ship"
"Outnumbered to many, sects fell in days" the old man saw the downpour of a million flying ships and experienced first hand the subsequent environmental destruction of the planet.
"All stolen, taken on flying ship even fought back, no one saved" the old man had been part of one of many great sects on planet great rock.
His sect having resisted for several days instead of a singular day was already an achievement, albeit an unwanted one.
"So they on flying ship attacked the planet and took everyone? Demons huh" Sir Ian could more or less put things together now.
'With the Vast tree universe coming to an end it's likely that many are taking advantage of the chaos to pillage the surroundings, this old guy had an unfortunate encounter' taking a gulp of wine sir Ian looked at the old man.
"Tell me- ah I forgot to ask thy name. I am Sir Ian Gregory of the middle lands spirit continent, these people aboard this vessel all hail from the middle lands spirit continent which much like your planet is no more" Sir Ian said proudly even though his homeland was gone it still had a place in his heart.
Obviously since the continent had been destroyed relatively recently one wouldn't forget so soon.
"I forgot, I am Kerio calia huntsman sect... Planet great rock" the old man known as Kerio had slight tears in his eyes, then he heard more clearly.
'His continent is no more?' did Sir Ian also have an encounter like his own?
"Now that we have properly introduced ourselves let me ask you, how did you manage to survive so long? What were the weapons used to take down your sect, tell me the difference in cultivation between you and the demons, what the flying ships looked like, what banners did they fly?" Sir Ian launched a barrage, old man Kerio struggled to keep up
"What I am saying, I am by no means a perfect spirit but I am also no devil. As a spirit that stands for righteousness I can not let this go, these demons or whomever they are let us find them and get your people back!"
Old man Kerio looked astonished, to save him was already a lifetime debt but to help even his people was something not even one's kin could be expected to do.
Was he desperate? Yes. Was he willing to do everything in his power to achieve revenge? Yes. Did he have a means of doing so? No.
Had Sir Ian and his fleet not appeared would he have ever made it out of the planets vicinity? He didn't believe so.
"Yes! Yes! If save my people I will give my all!" Old man Kerio rose with fervor.
"Than walk with me, feel free to take the bottle of wine it will help you heal faster" Sir Ian noted the old man had yet to take a drink, maybe the conversation was simply too heavy for however short it was.
'If I simply keep pushing like so he would fall into Qi deviation, his injuries are still to grave and his spirit is at rock bottom. A change of the scenery is in order' he walked to the door followed by the old man as they made their way down a deck.
"See those kids? They are the descendants of my descendants several times over, they are as far removed from me as you. Yet I failed to save my direct kin and all I could do was save that which was nearest to me. I wish for them to be strong, I wish for them to be safe, I wish for them whom I selfishly see my failures in to live long well beyond even the universe's end" sir Ian looked at old man Kerio.
"Teach them. My skill with a sword may be superior to many a spirit but it is not an invincible art. I don't know if what they learn from you will give them a chance to live but I want to give them every opportunity to do so" Sir Ian's conversation was heard by the children and those nearby.
"I pass my art to them!" Old man Kerio felt no regrets saying so, a cultivation art was often seen as a cultivators greatest secret but that was only the case for rouge cultivators and sect secret arts(scriptures). Old man Kerio was not limited to such means, even if his sect had their own secret scriptures he had other means more readily available.
"Good. That will be all the repayment needed for saving your kin. Even if I should fall you must protect them!" Sir Ian moved on that was enough for him, he didn't bother to ask what would be taught simply the notion of it was good enough.
Old man Kerio slammed his chest "I will!"
Moving up a deck several passengers sat down to teach their young how to properly cultivate. This was a family that had originally paid to travel from one area of the continent to the other but with the sudden appearance of the calamity they could do nothing but tag along until a safe refuge was found.
"Focus, don't let your mind wander" a mother rebuked her child.
"I am!" The child furrowed his brow slightly.
"When one practices their cultivation art they must focus, casting spells isn't as simple as swinging your arms and spitting fire. You are in control of the spiritual energy inside you, it moves not because it needs too but because you are guiding it where you need it" the mother placed a palm on the child's back.
She was only going to very carefully guide a single drop of spiritual Qi from one area of the body to the other.
"Don't waste time"
The boy grunted he didn't want to meditate nor cultivate right now. Having no choice he could only bite his tongue and do as his mother says.
When that drop of spiritual Qi that entered the boy's body, it felt like that specific area had suddenly doubled in weight and when it moved it seemed to drag along the body.
It wasn't uncomfortable in the sense that something unwanted had intruded in the body it was more like a part of the person, similar to touching the skin with one's own hand it did not trigger an ill response unlike if someone or something foreign had touched the skin.
Relaxing the boy tried to guide the energy where he wanted but struggled to move it freely.
The point of this cultivation exercise wasn't simply to let the boy control that drop of spiritual Qi, it was meant to force him to explore the main parts of his body so that in the future he doesn't need to think about what path the spiritual Qi needs to take.
"Remember where the energy travels, it goes where you want it but the path it needs to take is up to you" carefully she let go of the spiritual Qi drop as the boy took over.
The boy hyper focused, that single drop of Qi may be nothing to his mother but to him it felt like a large boulder that suddenly held him down.
As the Qi moved along his body is slowly became smaller and smaller but the path it traveled was cleared away for the future.
"I- I did it!" The boy smiled radiantly.
"Good, now lets do the other arm" his mother said making his face drop.
<+== The vanishing city ==+>
Northern Quadrant - Planet Eru, city of the vanishing sky.
A city looked over the horizon covered in darkness only the city lights could be seen illuminating the streets as the spirits walked along the paths going about their night.
Looking out to the ends of the city a field of grass stretched out far in the distance with only a single dirt path leading in and out. A few huts made of wood and hay could be seen in the landscape with many small farms littered about.
"Are we ready dear?"
"Almost honey just a few more things to sort out"
"It's almost time I don't want to miss it!"
"We go every year you've seen it a thousand times what is there to miss"
"And I will watch it a million more times, common hurry up"
Far in the distance a caravan filled with people approached the fields near the city.
It was not night time to those outside the city it was a bright and hot day that made one sweat.
"It's almost time. Remember we only have a week, if you get stuck in there you won't be coming out"
"I get it I get it, let's just go"
"I'll give you this clock, it has exactly six days and eight hours worth of time. DON'T LOSE IT"
"Okay~~~"
The cities inhabitants watched the sky from the highest points in the highest towers, from the hills to the sea all looked at the sky.
As the darkness of night ended and the blue sky melted the hills in the distance which no structure resided changed.
Towers made of stone artfully decorated pierced the sky, red and golden roofs, colorful walls, streets paved with stone with many lanterns along the way displayed a grand sight.
Those watching from the caravans in the distance awed at the sight.
"Let's go, once we enter we must set up our stalls in the city center else we will have to drop prices!" The caravan started moving.
Flash*
A white light blinded everyone for a fraction of a millisecond.
"!?"
"What was that??"
"Where did that light come from?"
"Was it from the city?"
"No it just came from everywhere"
"What should we do?"
"..."
"We keep going, we don't know what that was but nothing happened"
In the city among the many towers a man in his early thirties looked out.
"What happened? A cold flash? But it shouldn't be cold enough for such a thing to happen here" the man looked at a secretary to his side.
"I will look into it"
"Tell the sky falcons to scan the surroundings, we don't want any trouble right now"
"Yes sir"
This man was the city mayor, Hec de rosa villa, he was in charge of the cities management while the founders of the city focused on other tasks.
"Ah, why must this happen in my first term. I hope it's nothing"
In another part of the city a valley covered in tree's and stone paths leading to many areas up the valley a small figure crawled up from a ditch.
It looked at its hand's, it looked at its legs, it looked at the ground as it felt the earth with its hands.
"What is this... is this inside me?"
<+== Echo's of time ==+>
Why are you afraid?
There is nothing here for you to fear.
The mountains are forested with fresh air.
The river is clear with many a fish.
The night sky is calm and without change.
The people near you are friendly and look at you with kindness.
You even have a meal to have your fill.
So why are you so afraid dear fifth?
I am not here to claim you, I am not here to harm you, I am and have always been by your side.
Now I simply have a way to look at you.
The fifth clone sat down and ate calmly, he felt the eyes but could not do a thing about it.
What was to be done? He could scream out like a fool and maybe someone would listen to what he has to say but what would that achieve?
No, most people would simply look at him as a madman.
"So Mr.Cloune you have been with us for a good while now, what do you think about it so far? Do you like it?" An older man talked to fifth clone, it was little miss Fe'ea's father.
"It's as expected, a little rough here and there but all is well. As to if I like it I can only say it is an experience" he didn't enjoy being watched but the adventure so far had been enjoyable.
"Hahaha yeah it's not easy to get used to huh. Well at the very least you won't be stuck here forever. I hear you are going to the sky city?"
"Yes I plan to stay there for a while" it was more that he planned to get a flying ship out of the city but that didn't matter.
"And have you thought about the future? Certainly you have a plan once you get there?" The older man questioned.
"Yes, I am rather skilled as a spiritual stone craftsman trained under my master before well our sect fell, I'm not just a spear man after all" it wasn't a complete lie, he had in a past life learned the art of spiritual stone craftsmanship but he hadn't really put it to practice in this life.
"Oh! That is good, such a profession will be useful well past our time especially in the sky city of Kal no less"
"Haha yes I got lucky my master took an interest in such a thing at the time, otherwise things wouldn't be so simple" after saying so a odd silence took hold.
"So... Mr.Cloune have you thought about taking a wife?"
The fifth clone spat out his food a little.