Chapter 567: I need to find Sylphie. My Sylphie.
Kael advanced the next instant.
The air exploded behind him as his speed increased again, propelled by the combination of his own mana, the runes left by Elion, and the primordial energy that continued to be absorbed through the fragment of Yggdrasil bound to his body. The entire environment seemed clearer than before. The mana currents that traversed the Central Realm were no longer just something he felt. He could see them. He could perceive their flows, their changes, and the paths along which the energy of that dimension moved.
This was dangerous.
Because it meant his body was adapting too quickly.
But there was no time to reflect on that.
A new wave of enemies emerged.
This time they didn’t come from the branches.
They came from space itself.
Humanoid figures began to form from the primordial mana scattered throughout the environment. Their bodies were composed of living wood coated in a golden crystalline layer. Each carried different weapons. Swords. Spears. Bows. Hammers.
Guardians.
Not dryads.
Not natural creatures.
Soldiers.
Kael realized this immediately.
They had organized themselves even before attacking.
Half advanced from the front.
The other half tried to surround him from the flanks.
That was military training.
Not mere instinct.
The first spear came towards his chest.
Kael dodged only a few centimeters.
His sword spun.
The cut pierced the guardian’s neck.
In the same movement, he spun on his own axis and blocked a second weapon coming from the left.
Golden sparks exploded as the two blades collided.
The impact was strong.
Much stronger than he expected.
The guardian wasn’t pushed back.
On the contrary.
The creature withstood the collision perfectly.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
Then he released mana through his sword.
A freezing wave coursed along the blade.
Ice instantly crystallized over the enemy’s arm.
The wooden structure cracked.
The arm shattered.
Kael lunged forward before he could react.
One blow.
Then another.
Then a third.
The guardian’s entire body disintegrated into fragments of wood and mana.
Three more appeared immediately.
No pause.
No hesitation.
The battle continued.
Kael dove down as dozens of luminous arrows streaked across the space above his head. The projectiles struck a distant branch and exploded with enough violence to tear kilometers of living wood.
The force of those attacks was absurd.
Yggdrasil was gradually increasing the level of the ordeal.
He could feel it.
Each new group was stronger than the last.
Faster.
Smarter.
More dangerous.
It was as if the World Tree itself was analyzing their capabilities and adjusting the difficulty according to their responses.
Kael didn’t like this idea.
Because it meant he was being studied.
Evaluated.
Measured.
A spear appeared before him.
Then another.
Then ten.
The weapons advanced simultaneously.
He raised his free hand.
A wall of ice appeared instantly.
The spears pierced the first layer.
Then the second.
Then the third.
But they lost enough speed.
Kael pierced the frozen barrier itself.
His sword gleamed.
A wave of mana coursed through the blade.
The blow opened a bluish line through space.
The ten guardians before him were cut down at the same time.
The bodies disintegrated before even reaching the branches below.
He kept moving forward.
Without stopping.
Without looking back.
The entrance indicated by Nidhogg was still distant.
Closer than before.
But distant.
Very distant.
Then the sky darkened.
Kael raised his eyes.
Something gigantic was descending.
It wasn’t a creature.
It was a branch.
A single branch of Yggdrasil.
But it possessed dimensions comparable to an entire mountain range.
The structure plummeted directly towards him.
He didn’t try to block it.
It would be useless.
His body disappeared in a flash of mana.
The colossal mass struck the region where he was.
The impact made the entire dimension tremble.
Shockwaves coursed through the nearby branches.
Entire forests were uprooted.
Rivers of mana changed direction.
Kael reappeared hundreds of meters above.
Sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Things were getting serious.
Very serious.
For the first time since arriving in the Central Kingdom, he felt that Yggdrasil had stopped playing games.
Then came the next wave.
Hundreds.
Perhaps thousands.
Guardians appeared simultaneously from all directions.
The space around him was completely filled with hostile presences.
Kael took a deep breath.
His hand gripped the hilt of his sword.
Primordial mana coursed through every part of his body.
Runes glowed beneath his skin.
The fragment of Yggdrasil pulsed alongside his heart.
Then he charged forward.
The combat became a blur.
His sword cut continuously.
Each blow destroyed an enemy.
Sometimes two.
Sometimes ten.
He dodged spears.
Blocked swords.
Intercepted arrows. He moved constantly.
The air exploded behind him with each change of direction.
Currents of ice swept across the battlefield.
Freezing storms appeared and disappeared.
Crystal blades pierced dozens of targets simultaneously.
Guardians fell without end.
But others kept appearing.
The number seemed infinite.
Kael felt a blade strike his shoulder.
The pain was immediate.
But superficial.
The runes reacted instantly.
The wound began to close before he even finished his next movement.
He responded with a horizontal strike.
The attacker disappeared.
Another appeared behind him.
Then another.
Then four more.
The battle allowed no rest.
It allowed no mistakes.
It allowed no distractions.
Then something changed.
Kael realized it instantly.
The guardians began to retreat.
Not fleeing.
Reorganizing.
Forming a circle.
His instinct immediately screamed danger.
He stepped back.
Too late.
All the guardians raised their weapons simultaneously.
The entire Central Kingdom responded.
Golden chains coursed through the branches.
Gigantic runes appeared on the living wood.
Space began to vibrate.
Kael felt his blood run cold.
This was no ordinary attack.
It was a technique.
A technique executed throughout the dimension.
Light exploded.
Thousands of golden beams shot out simultaneously.
There was no way to completely dodge.
Not that many.
Kael released all his mana.
A sphere of ice surged around him.
Layers upon layers were created instantly.
The first one exploded.
Then the second.
Then the third.
The waves of energy continued to advance.
Kael clenched his teeth.
More mana.
More ice.
More protection.
The runes left by Elion glowed intensely.
Golden symbols appeared on his skin.
The barriers continued to be destroyed.
But they continued to be rebuilt.
The clash between the two forces illuminated kilometers of space.
For several seconds the battle became a direct contest between his resistance and the power of an entire dimension.
Then it ended.
The light disappeared.
Silence returned.
Kael was breathing heavily.
His barrier had been destroyed.
His clothes were torn.
Small cuts covered his arms.
But he remained standing.
He continued to advance.
And for the first time the guardians hesitated.
Just for an instant.
But they hesitated.
Kael realized.
They were beginning to understand.
He wasn’t an ordinary invader.
He wasn’t just a human.
He wasn’t just a mage.
He was someone who kept advancing regardless of what stood in his way.
Then he disappeared again.
The speed reached a new level.
The guardians could barely keep up with him.
His sword transformed into a blur of steel and mana.
Bodies crumbled.
Formations shattered.
Defenses were breached.
The distance to the entrance decreased more and more.
Kilometer after kilometer.
Branch after branch.
Battle after battle.
Until finally he saw it.
The opening.
Much larger now.
Much closer.
A huge hole in the structure of the World Tree.
The destination indicated by Nidhogg.
Kael felt a wave of relief.
It lasted less than a second.
Because a presence appeared before him.
A single presence.
And immediately all the other enemies seemed insignificant.
The guardians retreated.
The mana currents slowed.
Even the surrounding branches stood still.
Something was coming.
Something far beyond anything he had faced until then.
Kael stopped.
His sword remained steady in his hand.
His gaze fixed ahead.
"Ah... seriously... I’m starting to get annoyed already. I just want my wife. Fuck it, I’m going to burn this damn tree down." Kael spoke as his eyes glowed red.
He never used that, the Chaos Fire of Elion. The thing she asked him never to use.
"I’m going to find my Sylphie, and I’m going to make you burn until you admit your mistakes. Damn tree."
The Central Kingdom seemed to react to Kael’s words.
Not because he had shouted. Not because he had released mana. But because the intention behind those words was different from anything he had shown up to that moment. Throughout the journey, he had advanced trying to avoid deaths, minimizing damage and seeking solutions that would allow him to move forward without turning that place into a killing field. Even surrounded by thousands of enemies, he had continued to control his blows.
Now that was disappearing.
Kael remained still in the air as he observed the figure that emerged before the colossal entrance of the World Tree. The Yggdrasil branch attached to his body continued to pulse primordial energy continuously, feeding his magical reserves at an absurd speed. The runes left by Elion glowed under his skin, reacting to the constant increase in power coursing through his body.
His eyes, once blue, began to acquire a reddish glow.
The temperature around him slowly increased.
First almost imperceptibly. Then, in a way impossible to ignore.
The ice currents that still lingered on the nearby branches began to evaporate. Crystalline fragments vanished before even touching the living wood of Yggdrasil. The very air seemed unstable.
The presence before him finally took shape.
It was a woman.
Tall.
Silent.
Dressed in long robes formed from the very golden wood of the World Tree.
Her body seemed to have been constructed directly from the primordial mana of that place. Luminous roots ran through her skin like veins. Her eyes possessed the same golden hue present in all manifestations of Yggdrasil.
But unlike the dryads and guardians.
She seemed conscious.
Completely conscious.
The woman observed the thousands of mana fragments scattered across the battlefields left by Kael. Then she observed the destroyed guardians. Then she turned her gaze to him.
"You are angry."
Her voice was calm. Kael didn’t answer immediately.
He continued gripping his sword as he stared at the figure before him.
"I’m tired."
The woman tilted her head slightly.
"You crossed a realm that doesn’t belong to you."
"Because someone who belongs to me is here."
The answer came without hesitation.
Silence returned for a few seconds.
The guardians remained apart now. None of them showed any intention of attacking. It was as if they were all waiting for some decision.
Kael tightened his grip on his sword.
"I accepted the tests."
His voice grew colder.
"I accepted the attacks."
A wave of mana coursed through his body.
"I accepted the traps."
The runes beneath his skin began to glow more intensely.
"But I’m starting to lose my patience."
The temperature rose again.
Small reddish flames appeared around his fingers.
They weren’t ordinary fire.
They didn’t even seem to obey the normal rules of magic.
The flames possessed a deep color, almost impossible to describe. At times they were red. At others they seemed black. At others they took on distorted golden tones.
The woman in front of him observed this.
For the first time, her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But it changed.
"That fire..."
Kael looked away at the flames.
Elion had forbidden him from using it.
More than once.
Not because it was difficult to control.
But because it was dangerous.
The Fire of Chaos didn’t just destroy matter.
It didn’t just destroy energy.
It consumed magical structures, concepts, and, in extreme circumstances, even parts of the rules that underpinned certain phenomena.
It was magic created by someone who frequently ignored reasonable limits.
That’s precisely why Elion hated seeing him use it.
"I know."
Kael watched the flames slowly growing.
"She’ll kill me later."
The comment elicited a slight change in the guardian’s expression.
Perhaps confusion.
Perhaps disbelief.
Kael continued staring at the gigantic entrance behind her.
"But first I need to find Sylphie. My Sylphie."
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