Caeril reacted the mont Evan ntioned knowing the future of the universe for thousands of years. He'd already known Evan was from the future, but not how far ahead.
The Prophetess didn't know this, after all.
Seeing his reaction, Evan raised an eyebrow and asked with a teasing tone,
"What? She didn't tell you that part? Of course, she didn't. I bet she can't even see my future properly, can she?"
Around them, the other spirits, still restrained and immobilized, all wore stiff or disgruntled expressions. It was the sa look soone wore when they heard the impossible claid about soone they admired.
Though they couldn't move, they could still hear everything being said, and hearing soone speak like that about the Prophetess, soone they revered and believed in without question, felt like a slap to the face.
However, Caeril, in front of Evan, flinched slightly a reflexive reaction he couldn't control due to his imperfect connection with the vessel.
Noticing this, Evan grinned, confirming his suspicion.
He'd been fairly certain from the start. Even a Deity Level Existence with an Authority of Ti couldn't accurately foresee the future of a ti traveller like him, especially since he ca from 10,000 years ahead.
His ti was distorted, as Caeril had so bluntly put it. That distortion, the result of being an existence from a different point in the universe's space-ti continuum, disrupted divination and future-sight abilities, especially when the user lacked solid background knowledge of him.
"But let's set aside what your Prophetess can or can't see," Evan continued. "You said you wanted to recruit because my Destruction power poses a threat to the devils' grand plan. That's nice and all, but why should I care?
Why should I get involved in a war on a planet that has nothing to do with ?"
As soon as he asked that, Beatrix raised a hand to her chin and muttered. "Hey, Evan… don't you think your luck's kinda trash?"
Evan blinked. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
He looked genuinely confused, unsure why Beatrix was suddenly talking about luck.
In response, she shrugged and said, "I an, first there was Aramis, and now this… what was it again? Temia?"
"Taemia," Evan corrected.
"Right. Taemia. So, first Aramis, then Taemia. Both tis, so freak incident blasted you across space-ti, dropped you on so random planet, and surprise, surprise, there's a war going on. Then people show up asking you to help fight in it."
Hearing that, Artemisia nodded in agreent and chid in. "She's right. Honestly, Evan, your luck's awful."
Evan's brow twitched in irritation.
"Are the two of you seriously doing this right now? We're in the middle of sothing serious!"
"Yeah, Evan, you're the last person who should be lecturing anyone about 'serious'," Beatrix shot back imdiately.
Then, as if suddenly rembering their audience, she gave a sideways glance at the spirits still restrained around them.
"Doesn't an he won't kill you if you piss him off, though, which you already have. He just won't kill you… seriously?"
Her voice trailed off at the end, even she wasn't sure what she ant anymore.
Evan turned to her with a look of sheer disbelief. "What does that even an? You know what? Forget it. Ignore them," he said, waving a hand dismissively and turning back to Caeril.
"You. Give a reason, one deed reasonable by , why I should care enough to get involved in your war."
"To answer that," Caeril began, "I'll have to explain the existence of Triffid, the Tree of Creation, and the very thing the Infernal Archdevil Vonun wants to get his hands on."
Hearing this, Evan raised an eyebrow.
'Triffid?'
He had heard the na in so old sci-fi story back on Earth V about man-eating plants, and now, hearing about another Triffid that was called the Tree of Creation…
'Oh well, let's see where this is going.'
His thoughts only took a second, and in the next second, Caeril continued speaking.
"The Tree of Creation was once deified by the elves who lived in the eastern part of the continent. It was one of the life-giving forces of our planet, and now, Triffid is nothing but a curse, a parasite that corrupts everything that it touches with its creation.
Less than a year ago, the lands surrounding Trifid were lush, green plains, part of a thriving elven empire that held dominance over the east. But now, Triffid's influence has turned everything into an ominous, shadow-drenched forest. Trifid consud every blade of grass, every grain of soil, corrupting the landscape and bending it to its twisted image."
He paused to take a breath before continuing.
"The elves kept quiet about Triffid's corruption, believing they could handle the matter without involving the other races on the continent, and that was why their empire was the first to fall.
By the ti we spirits noticed Triffid's corruption, it was already too late. Tens of millions had been consud."
Tens of millions was a lot, and the fact that they were all consud by a tree? Evan, now very curious about this story, more so than the reason the story was being told, gestured for the spirit to carry on.
"The worst part is," the spirit said grimly, "those devoured by Trifid don't simply vanish.
They are reborn new extensions of Triffid itself, becoming guardians of the forest spread around it. We call them Vanguards of the Tree. Not quite alive, but very much far from dead.
They are bound to Triffid's will, however rudintary it is, and they will defend it to the last limb.
All we've done to hold it back, even setting fires to the forest despite the warnings and pushback from the elves, everything failed. Triffid simply fed on the flas that we torched it with, using them to birth new growth, as if our every effort to destroy it only empowered it more."
Hearing that, Evan held up a hand and said, "Newsflash. My main elent is fire, so I'm going to be completely useless to you guys if that tree is, well, you know, invulnerable to fire. But carry on."
Caeril was slightly surprised to hear that Evan's main attribute was fire, and though a part of him doubted Evan was telling the truth, he thought about the current situation and realized that Evan had little reason to lie to him.
Or at least, he hoped that was the case.
With such hopes in his mind, he continued telling his story.
"We launched a direct assault on Triffid. It was shortly before the appearance of the Chasm. In that assault, we carved through Triffid's forests and battled all of the powerful monsters of our continent that had been transford by Triffid's corruption.
Our race lost a lot of Transcendents in that battle, and the remaining Transcendents sacrificed themselves, pouring their remaining power into destroying the Tree."
At this, his expression changed, and then he spoke again.
"And yet," he said, gritting his teeth, "even that wasn't enough."
Hearing the sound of his teeth grinding, Evan winced at the disconcerting sound and said,
"Dude, chill. That's not your body. That guy's gonna need an appointnt with a dentist if you keep on grinding his teeth like that."
Then he added,
"Anyway, you said that you guys did everything you could and you destroyed Triffid, and that wasn't enough. How so?"
Caeril's response ca imdiately.
"Triffid is an existence that was born alongside this planet, birthed by the law of Creation.
Even though we reduced it to ashes, it rose again from those ashes. Its roots drank the energies we used against it, feeding off them like fuel, and it grew back, stronger than ever, mocking our every effort.
We thought nothing could be done against Triffid, but thanks to the Prophetess' divination and the sacrifices of the previous generation of Elders, we discovered Triffid's weakness."
And at this, the man faced Evan's eyes, and Evan imdiately understood.
"I see where this is going. It's a Tree of Creation. Its weakness is Destruction."
And the Elder responded,
"Yes. Triffid's weakness is the law of Destruction, the counterbalance of Creation, and it is the only thing capable of completely removing Triffid from the surface of this planet.
That's why we need your help. Not just yours, but the help of your companion on the other side of the Chasm.
We uncovered Triffid's one vulnerability, but the Archdevils had discovered it long before us. As such, anyone amongst our allies, Infernal Humans, Elves, or others, who practice the law of Destruction, they've been hunted down by the Archdevils and eliminated.
And the one spearheading this hunt is the Infernal Verdant, Vonun, the sa one who led the attack on you and your companions.
He is from other continents that have already fallen to the Infernal Devils' control, and after conquering those continents, he ca over to us and discovered Triffid's existence.
They want to terraform this planet into one more stable for their kind, but terraforming an entire planet, especially an Apex one, as we have learned that our planet is called, is no small feat.
Hence, Vonun plans to use Triffid to achieve this."
Taking a mont to catch his breath, he continued.
"From what the Prophetess divined, she told us that Triffid is essentially a near-limitless energy generator, one that the Archdevils intend to use to fuel their conquest of this planet.
Of course, that energy isn't created from nothing—Triffid draws upon everything it consus, converting it into energy that sustains itself and fuels the expansion of the Great Forest that surrounds it.
The Infernal Devils want to harness that converted energy, and that's only the beginning of their plan.
Vonun has the title of Infernal Verdant for a reason. He possesses mastery over the laws of wood, plants, and life. His Infernal Verdancy allows him to manipulate plant life and all surrounding flora at will."
When he explained up to that point, Artemisia could already predict where the rest of the story was heading.
"He wants to control the tree with his powers," she said.
Hearing that, the Elder shook his head.
"Control?" he repeated. Then he scoffed.
"It would be a great relief if that was all. Vonun intends to fuse with Triffid, devour its pseudo-sentience, and eventually beco the Tree of Creation itself. That would give him far more access to its power than if he were rely using his Infernal Verdancy to control it.
Once he rges with the Tree, he will not only control its energy source but also gain its power over creation. He will likely beco able to influence sentient life directly.
With that, he could terraform the entire planet, reshaping it to suit only the Infernal Devils.
He can cultivate dense areas filled with negative energy, and any lifeform that enters those zones would be corrupted and transford into an Infernal Creature, expanding his army. He could tap into the planet's energy veins from almost anywhere, establishing a network of energy that spans the surface of the world.
With such a grid in place, he could maintain summoning portals and call in reinforcents from other worlds."
His expression then turned grim as he concluded.
"Worst-case scenario, he could destroy the one thing preventing the Infernal Devil Kings from descending upon our world: the barrier that keeps Deities from entering this planet."
And upon hearing about the existence of this barrier, Evan displayed, for the first ti, a clear expression of surprise.
"There's a barrier around this planet that blocks deities?" he asked.
He turned his gaze in the direction of the Chasm and said,
"It kind of makes sense that sothing like that would've been erected. But who placed the barrier there?"
At that, Caeril silently shook his head.
"We're not sure. The Chasm was created in the aftermath of a battle between a great Infernal Devil and several of the strongest rulers from our world's various races, beings from other continents.
Their battle spilt over onto this continent, and at the end of that battle, the barrier was erected. We still don't know which of the Supres was responsible for placing it."
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