Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos

Among all those most affected by the new , the Sylvan wives and children were particularly shocked. The had 1000% comprehension of , among other skills.

When it struck them, the knowledge they had accumulated about themselves felt as if it had suddenly unlocked. It was like ears popping after being clogged for a while.

Liu Shu noticed as well. She saw the six women stop and look at the empty void, their eyes glimmering with a profound, iridescent light.

"U-Ugh."

Flor, who had looked over, had to look away as her entire existence felt... destabilized for a moment. Thankfully, gave resistance to the negative influence of those elements, so the feeling came and went almost straight away.

For the Sylvan Wives, it was not that simple.

***

In what felt like a second, their minds got lost, and from the very depths of their , a part of the self even deeper than the soul, a strange piece of memory surfaced.

This memory was fuzzy even as they looked at it. Like a dream right after waking up. There, yet hard to hold on to.

Before them, they could see the cosmos. It was a sight that made their minds struggle to comprehend it. As if all galaxies were within reach and, at the same time, infinitely far away.

And yet, this massive cosmos was dying.

Even with their current power, something akin to that of an omnipotent god, they couldn’t stop, or even resist, the changes around them.

Worlds shattered.

Stars stopped burning.

Galaxies dissolved.

This was a complete and unstoppable collapse of reality.

Their shared sight with the woman in this memory shifted upward. Above them, a sight that stole their breath and, at the same time, tightened their hearts, spread from one horizon of the cosmos to the other.

A canopy that could shelter the entire cosmos underneath it. A body that stretched across all creation. It was a being worthy of the name Universal Tree.

An entity through which all creation flowed... and at the same time, a dying entity.

"I refuse."

A voice forced out of their throats. Its strength was enough to make all nearby galaxies twist, freeze, burn, and transform into other elements.

"I refuse to say goodbye."

Their hearts felt the woman’s pain, and as her gaze shifted down, the complete opposite of what was above them entered their eyes. Their hands held a single golden leaf.

Infinitely precious.

Infinitely adored.

Infinitely fragile.

"Sadly, I can’t remain as a whole. My powers are far too interconnected with you."

The girls couldn’t comprehend what they were doing, but they saw seven energy traces transform into seven spirits that moved around the leaf... and then a mass of iridescent energy enveloped everything in a protective sphere.

The mass was pure, unknown energy, with little to no knowledge, just an unbending protective instinct.

When this happened, the immeasurably powerful woman began losing her form. "Like this... Even if incomplete... I will always be with you."

BOOM!!

Something exploded at the far end of the cosmos, startling her. There, beyond the edges of their own cosmos, she noticed... something.

It wasn’t a being she had ever seen.

Nor was it an entity she could comprehend.

The Universal Tree’s roots stretched beyond reality’s boundaries, trying to repel whatever was approaching. They burst. It was death on a level of existence she never imagined could befall the gigantic tree.

One feeling, one the girls had never expected to come from a being of this class, flooded in.

Fear.

An instinct told the woman she had absolutely no chance against whatever was approaching. And yet, the instant she tried to look closely, the cosmos fully collapsed. Its explosion spread out, sweeping everything.

***

The six of them opened their eyes, startled awake from their temporary vision. Their breathing was rough, yet even as they breathed in roughly and couldn’t hear their surroundings, their hearts hurt as if a knife was being inserted into them.

Their brains burned as they fought not to forget, holding on to that memory with all their strength. ’I-I mustn’t forget! Even if I can’t remember everything, retain the sensations. Retain the feelings!’

Blood flowed down their nose, and their eyes shed crimson tears as they clenched their jaws as if to shatter their own teeth.

Meanwhile, the people around them moved in complete panic. Especially Liu Shu.

At first, Liu Shu didn’t really understand what was happening. She only noticed her lovers going from smiling expressions to confused, and then blank looks.

Naturally, she was somewhat worried, but she didn’t really panic. "Love? Hm... Are you having an enlightenment or something similar?"

It wasn’t rare that when comprehension soared, you’d gain a new understanding of what you already knew. Having that blank look as you had an epiphany was normal.

"...Blood?"

The second a trace of blood started flowing down their noses, Liu Shu knew that something was wrong. So, she quickly became agitated. "H-Huh? W-What is happening!?"

Did something target her lovers? In her own domain? That was impossible! How could something go wrong right under her canopy!

As those around her began to notice, Liu Shu moved with swiftness beyond anything anyone had seen before. First, she knew that was still on them, but using it was a last resort. Next, Liu Shu stood up and opened her arms.

"!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Six roots exploded from within, enveloping all the lovers. As this happened, their eyes began to shed crimson tears, together with blood dripping from their nose.

"H-Heal! Heal! W-What’s their Phoer Essence!?"

***

Name: T??p?stria----Ch#?@ara

Race: ????? ???????

Level: ????

***

"What!? What is with these System Pages!?"

Liu Shu panicked. All six showed the same symptoms, and all six System Pages were broken. Thankfully for Liu Shu’s heart and everyone else, their consciousness snapped, their bodies went limp, and their System Pages returned to normal.

Liu Shu quickly checked them as her roots tightly but gently coiled around them. There was no damage, just deep exhaustion, and their Aether and Anima Energy were almost entirely depleted.

Flor saw Liu Shu’s panicked face lose its anxiousness, and she asked, worried. "What happened?"

"Wait, let me check the babies."

Liu Shu quickly scourged the entire domain and found her Sylvan Children. Unlike Tempestria and the other five, they had just fallen into momentary contemplation, and their shared, multicolored strand of hair glowed brightly for a moment before calming down.

"...Alright. Nothing’s wrong with them. Also, don’t worry, Mom, they are just exhausted."

She said that, but she was honestly still worried. That System Page was not normal. It was as if something else had taken over for that second. Something beyond the current Liu Shu.

So, she dragged them through a dimensional portal into her , just to take care of them in depth. If anything happened, she could react instantly. As she left with the Avatar, Liu Shu spoke to Flor.

"Tell the frontline against the Nexus to fall back for a moment. Let everyone get accustomed to their new blessings before fighting... Nevermind. I can do that myself. It’s several times quicker. Just inform the government branches about it, and also prohibit the Explorer Association from escalating anything."

With that, the Avatar disappeared.

Flor pondered, then got to work. Either way, the changes brought about by the were incredibly profound, so she had to review several benefit laws and ask her people to assess the expected short-term impact. For the long-term impact, other divisions were constantly at work.

’Also, Cinderielle and the others will be unable to work for a while. I doubt Liu Shu will allow it. I need to cover their absence.’

Inside the , and in many other places, the leadership moved quickly to ensure they could digest the changes as fast as possible.

Liu Shu sat in her Core Room, looking at her lovers while hugging her knees. She rested her chin on her knees and pondered what had happened.

’I can’t relax.’

Now that she was much calmer, she understood that the event was probably some kind of breakthrough that targeted their fundamental essence. Something deep enough to exhaust all their Aether Mana and Anima Energy.

"Their Phoer Essence isn’t nearly as affected, so the blood and such might’ve been the result of their body being overdrawn, not damage to their vitality... Or so I hope."

She sighed in her mind. ’Even then... For this to happen right under my nose. What if someone with stealth on that level appears?’

She had anti-stealth skills. After previous wars, Liu Shu bought and even developed a perception ability to S- Rank. Her words were more of a reminder not to be complacent than to take any kind of action.

So that line of thinking was slightly paranoid.

Liu Shu refreshed her mind and stood up, approaching one of the six beds she had moved to place them. Sitting by Cinderielle’s side, Liu Shu muttered to herself. "Hey... Why are you six so special? Hm? Care to tell me?"

Her voice was soft and without an ounce of blame. She knew that the girls were hiding something from her. After all, that zone before the entrance to her was impossible for her to access alone.

Could she send her Avatar to look? Perhaps. However, she didn’t want to. Not because she wasn’t curious, but because she respected her lovers’ wishes.

Regardless of whatever they were doing, Liu Shu knew that everything they did was for her own good. So, she was trustworthy.

"Even then..." Liu Shu poked Cinderielle’s soft cheek. "You all can’t collapse like this, okay? I might be a World Tree, but I can also feel scared when my lovers are in danger."

Laughing gently, she lowered her head to take Cinderielle’s lips into hers. She tasted them, savored them, and slowly nibbled at them. Liu Shu laughed softly, her fragrant breath spilling on Cinderielle’s face. "...Are you not going to wake up, hm?"

Seeing she was in a deep sleep, Liu Shu pulled away with a soft look in her eyes.

Slowly standing up, Liu Shu went to each of the six beds, asked similar questions, and made sure to give each of them a deep, savory kiss. When none of them woke up, Liu Shu chose Verdantia’s bed, snuggled with her, and closed her eyes to rest.

Verdantia’s soft body was the most comfortable among all of them, so she really liked snuggling with her. Well, to be frank, she liked snuggling with all her wives. Their scents were incredibly calming to her.

It wasn’t until much later that they stirred awake.

The first ones to awaken were the four initial wives. Their bodies had undergone an while bearing the titles, which helped their resonance and recovery.

When they woke, their minds pounded painfully. They knew that they had memories they had not wanted to lose, but sadly, most of them were gone. That didn’t mean they didn’t recall anything.

They still remembered most of the vision’s core. ’...That leaf. Those Seven lights... Her fear.’

Cinderielle thought back to her infancy, when she saw that almost withered leaf flying around. ’Was it...?’

Her heart couldn’t help but pound. Still, at the same time, her heart was confused.

Verdantia, Tempestria, Harmonixia, and later Obsidianis and Seraphina, would feel similarly. Their experiences with Liu Shu differed, but they could now tell with near certainty that its source was... the same.

Liu Shu noticed a shift in their gazes, making her blink curiously. "Are you all okay?"

The six of them, now awake, moved in and squeezed Liu Shu in a hug, their voices resonating strangely. "We are okay, love. Thank you for everything."

Liu Shu felt her hanging heart finally rest when this familiar hug enveloped her. She blushed happily and smiled. "Hehe. Thank you for loving me as well! I am glad you are healed."

The six Sylvans smiled, their eyes dripping with love.