Chapter 565: What a load of crap, Ygg!!!
Kael wasted no time observing what would happen behind him.
The instant Nidhogg dodged the enormous trunk that pierced space like a continental spear, he propelled mana through the runes scattered across his body and leaped from the surface of the dragon’s scales. The world seemed to spin around him for a few seconds, but the inscriptions left by Elion reacted immediately, stabilizing his position in the air before gravity could drag him into the depths of that impossible realm.
Currents of golden energy surged beneath his feet and back, forming temporary support structures. They weren’t wings per se. They were adaptive magical constructs created by the runes, shaped to allow him to survive in an environment where the normal laws of reality held little relevance.
Behind him, Nidhogg’s roar echoed through the gigantic branches of Yggdrasil.
Other trunks began to move.
Not like trees.
But like living limbs.
Structures larger than mountains slowly detached themselves from the immensity of the World Tree, advancing towards the primordial dragoness with enough force to destroy entire continents.
Kael ignored it.
Nidhogg knew how to defend itself.
Its function at that moment was to reach the opening she had pointed out.
The enormous cavity existing between the upper roots of the World Tree remained distant, but it was already visible. It looked like an open wound in the very structure of Yggdrasil. A colossal tunnel plunging into the living wood of the entity that sustained that dimension.
The magical wind increased as he advanced.
The mana currents became denser.
The runes beneath his skin pulsed continuously to prevent his body from suffering damage caused by the absurd spiritual pressure existing in that place.
For a few minutes, nothing happened.
Then it happened.
Kael felt it first.
A change in the surrounding mana.
Small.
Subtle. But enough to activate his instincts.
He immediately interrupted his trajectory and veered to the left.
A spear made of wood pierced the space where his head would have been a moment before.
The projectile disappeared into the distance without losing speed.
Kael spun in the air.
His hand was already enveloped in mana.
It was then that he saw the culprit.
A woman watched his approach from one of the enormous nearby branches.
She possessed a humanoid appearance only superficially.
Her body was formed of living wood intertwined with golden plant fibers. Delicate branches sprouted from her green hair, while luminous leaves moved gently around her figure as if responding to her will.
Her eyes were not human.
They shone with an intense greenish light reminiscent of the very heart of that dimension.
A dryad.
Or something far older than the common dryads known to mortal peoples.
She showed no emotion.
She merely observed.
Analyzing.
Her presence was strange.
She didn’t seem like a person.
She seemed like a direct extension of Yggdrasil itself.
"Intruder."
The voice came out calm.
Without anger.
Without apparent hostility.
But completely devoid of warmth.
Kael kept his distance.
The runes on his body continued to glow discreetly.
"I didn’t come to fight."
The woman didn’t seem interested in that information.
Another wooden spear slowly appeared beside him.
Then a second.
Then a third.
All floated in the air as if sustained by the very will of the dimension.
"Unauthorized presence detected."
The tone remained identical.
Mechanical.
Cold.
Almost automatic.
Kael immediately realized that negotiation probably wouldn’t work.
"Of course." The dryad raised one hand.
The spears shot off.
Kael dove down immediately.
The projectiles traversed kilometers of space in less than a second, leaving luminous trails in their wake.
He spun in the air and unleashed a burst of compressed mana in her direction.
The explosion struck the branch where the woman stood.
Wood, light, and energy particles were launched in all directions.
For a brief moment, Kael believed he had hit her.
Then he realized his mistake.
The dryad simply reappeared a few meters above her previous position.
As if she had merged with the branch and emerged again at another point in the structure.
No damage.
No reaction.
Just observation.
She raised her hand again.
This time, dozens of roots began to emerge from the nearby branches.
Kael felt a shiver run down his spine.
That was not just a guardian.
That was part of the World Tree itself.
Kael watched the first dryad disappear among the ice currents while maintaining his position in mid-air. The wind produced by the storm steadily increased in intensity around the gigantic branches of Yggdrasil, scattering frozen crystals hundreds of meters in all directions. The runes left by Elion under his skin remained active, stabilizing his body against the absurd pressure of that domain and allowing him to manipulate far greater amounts of mana than he normally could.
He didn’t have time to relax.
New presences began to emerge from the nearby branches.
First a few.
Then dozens.
Then hundreds.
The dryads emerged from the very living wood of the World Tree as if they were part of it. Some emerged directly from the trunks, others appeared among gigantic leaves and natural platforms scattered throughout the colossal structure. All possessed humanoid female forms composed partially of wood, roots, and living mana. Their eyes glowed a greenish-gold as they watched Kael.
The situation rapidly worsened. In a few seconds, the sky around him was filled with figures moving among the branches.
Kael analyzed this in silence.
None of them seemed to act on their own initiative.
They were all responding to the same will.
To the same order.
Yggdrasil had begun to realize that something was wrong.
He let out a tired sigh.
"I really didn’t want to have to kill anyone here."
His voice was low, almost lost in the sound of the wind.
The dryads didn’t respond.
They only advanced.
Hundreds of them simultaneously shot through the air. Some launched projectiles made of hardened roots. Others manipulated currents of plant mana. Some simply tried to reach him physically. It was a coordinated, efficient attack, completely devoid of hesitation.
Kael remained motionless for a few seconds as he watched them approach.
Then he slowly raised one hand.
The temperature plummeted instantly. The ice didn’t erupt explosively.
There was no spectacle.
The change occurred quickly and in a controlled manner.
The moisture in the environment began to crystallize.
The mana vapor scattered throughout the Central Kingdom condensed into frozen particles.
The wind changed.
Cold air currents began to swirl around it.
Then they intensified.
And intensified again.
In a few seconds, a storm took shape.
Masses of snow, ice, and cutting winds spread throughout the surrounding area. Visibility dropped drastically. Gigantic branches disappeared behind the white curtain created by the magic. The dryads immediately lost some of their mobility as they tried to cross the frozen currents.
Kael continued to fuel the technique.
His goal wasn’t to destroy.
Nor to injure.
He only needed to stop them from continuing to attack.
The first dryads were hit by the ice currents almost immediately. Crystalline layers began to cover their arms, legs, and bodies. As creatures connected to the nature and mana of that domain, they possessed impressive resilience. Even so, the cold continued to advance.
One after another, they began to lose speed.
Then maneuverability.
Then mobility.
Many ended up trapped inside ice structures suspended among the gigantic branches.
Others were simply pushed away by the force of the storm.
Kael carefully maintained control.
None of them were being crushed.
None were suffering permanent damage.
They were only being neutralized.
As the storm intensified, he began to open smaller portals around the region. Elion’s runes aided in stabilizing the spells, allowing him to connect distant spaces without excessive effort.
Each frozen dryad was pushed through these passages.
Isolated locations.
Safe areas.
Regions far from the conflict zone.
Nothing that would put those creatures at risk. The process continued for several minutes.
The sheer number of enemies was absurd.
Even so, Kael persisted.
When a dryad managed to escape the ice, it was immediately struck by another freezing current.
When an attack came from a different angle, cutting winds altered its trajectory.
When groups tried to surround him, the blizzard made it impossible to coordinate any effective attack.
He was fighting without the intention to kill.
Which made everything significantly more difficult.
Under normal circumstances, eliminating the attackers would require far less energy.
But he didn’t want to turn that invasion into a massacre.
After all, those creatures were only defending the place where they lived.
After some time, the sky began to empty.
The last visible dryads retreated to regions further away from the branches as they watched the storm.
Kael took the opportunity to partially catch his breath.
The wind continued to roar around him.
Large masses of ice remained trapped between the structures of the World Tree.
For a few moments, the combat seemed to have ended.
Then he felt something.
A change.
Subtle.
But impossible to ignore.
The mana of the entire environment began to move.
Not just in the nearby region.
Throughout the entire dimension.
Kael slowly raised his gaze. The gigantic branches of Yggdrasil were reacting.
The colossal leaves above it vibrated.
Golden currents coursed through the living wood in all directions.
It was like watching an organism awaken.
This was no longer the reaction of local guardians.
It was something bigger.
Much bigger.
Yggdrasil was finally paying attention.
The change was immediate.
Kael felt it even before seeing any physical manifestation around him. The mana that coursed through the gigantic branches of Yggdrasil ceased to flow organically and began to move with purpose. It wasn’t just energy circulating through the World Tree. It was attention. It was consciousness directing resources to a specific region.
That region was him.
The icy wind produced by his storm continued to sweep through the surrounding branches, but now there was another pressure mixed into the environment. Something much greater than the dryads. Much larger than any individual guardian he had encountered up to that point.
Kael silently observed his surroundings while keeping his spells active.
The frozen dryads remained scattered across various distant branches. The last units that could still move had retreated completely. None of them seemed interested in continuing to attack.
The problem was that this didn’t mean victory.
It only meant that someone more important had taken control of the situation.
The gigantic leaves above him began to vibrate.
Not like trees swaying in the wind.
But like structures responding to an order.
Millions of leaves.
Billions of them.
Moving simultaneously.
The sound produced by that movement spread throughout the entire dimension.
Kael slowly raised his gaze.
The golden light that coursed through the branches became more intense.
Then it began to converge.
Luminous streams emerged in all directions.
Streams of mana surged through the colossal trunks like golden rivers coursing through the veins of a living creature.
He immediately understood what was happening.
Yggdrasil was no longer sending guardians.
Yggdrasil was awakening.
Kael let out a weary sigh.
"Of course."
His voice came out low as he observed the absurd scale of it all.
"Because apparently nothing on this journey could be simple."
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