Chapter 21: Domain Expansion - The Golden Apple Tree
Seeing how shy Yume was being even after five years spent in the Dream Land, Akasha simply shook his head with a soft chuckle.
Yume’s eyes widened as she slowly turned in place, taking in the mountain peak with pure wonder.
The small oasis gardens sparkled under the seven suns, crystal-clear streams winding gently between vibrant flowers and soft patches of grass.
Gentle waterfalls trickled down the rocky slopes, filling the air with a soothing, melodic sound.
Far below, the five vast continents stretched across the horizon like a living painting, their borders glowing faintly in the golden light.
"W-Wow..." she whispered, her voice soft and breathless.
She clasped her hands in front of her, bouncing lightly on her toes as her purple hair swayed with the mountain breeze.
"Master, it’s so pretty! Everything feels so... I don’t know, alive?!"
Though she was twenty-eight, her bright-eyed excitement and playful charm made her seem far younger—like a child seeing the world anew.
Luna, standing a short distance away, watched the two of them with an amused chuckle.
"You two are truly absurd," she said, shaking her head with a fond smile. "A Star Entity having a physical body should be completely impossible... yet here we are."
Akasha only smiled, turning his focus to the items he had just received.
Though he wanted to see how anomalous Yume could be... he truly didn’t expect for her to be able to exist physically.
’Well, what’s done is done now....’ He thought to himself with a shrug and then he began looking over the changes of the artifacts.
He noted that since the items were adjusted to his current rank, their effects were slightly lower than they could have been.
The Mark of Divine which at the universal peak would give him a 100,000 multiplier towards his divinity at this moment only gave 10,000.
Which brought his total Divinity to now 60,000,000—impressive, but nowhere near what it would be at higher tiers.
’Even still... this is perfect, since now the Domain Expansion Token won’t be wasted,’ he thought, knowing this had been his entire reason for expanding his divinity in the first place.
When he noticed the Domain Expansion Token would only cover his Divine Sense, he quickly came up with a plan to enhance it.
This led him to focus on his Divinity, as Divine Sense—something he had acquired at Tier 4—amounted to just 10% of his total Divinity.
With that realization, he reached into his inventory and pulled out the Domain Expansion Token.
It pulsed with soft purple energy, warm against his skin.
The token suddenly spoke in a cute, giggly voice, light and playful like a mischievous child.
"Hehe~ Break me!"
Akasha raised a brow but asked no further questions.
With a casual squeeze, he crushed the token in his hand. The orb shattered with a bright flash of violet light, the fragments dissolving into sparkling motes that spread outward like falling stars.
The moment it happened, the Domain surged.
HUMMMMMMM!!!!!
A deep, resonant hum filled the air as the shimmering white-and-purple barrier expanded rapidly from just covering his mountain to expanded rapidly into the size of a small kingdom.
Lush forests, sparkling rivers, rolling hills, and vibrant meadows bloomed across the newly claimed land.
Gentle waterfalls cascaded into crystal pools, and fields of colorful wildflowers swayed in the breeze.
The transformation was beautiful and majestic yet natural, like the world itself had been waiting to flourish under his touch.
Yume watched with wide-eyed excitement, her hands clasped tightly as she spun around to take it all in.
"Oh my... Master! This is so beautiful!" she exclaimed, her voice full of pure joy as she bounced on her toes once more.
Seeing this Akasha only shook his head with a low laugh, the sound carrying on the wind as he watched the transformation unfold.
Then a new status appeared before him.
[New Domain Feature Granted.]
[Domain Guardian - You can now create one guardian that can never leave the Domain. This guardian will be able to display your total Battle Power and act as an absolute defender of the Domain.]
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"This isn’t a bad feature at all... but I’ll deal with it later," he muttered, glancing at the status screen.
The next order of business was to plant the Golden Apple Tree—perhaps the thing that excited him the most.
Akasha turned to Luna and Yume, "Now... why won’t you two help me find a good spot to plant this tree."
The three of them began walking across the newly expanded peak.
What had once been a simple mountaintop was now a vast, breathtaking expanse stretching over 500,000 kilometers.
The ground was mostly flat and open, giving a commanding view of the five continents far below, yet it was alive with natural beauty.
All around the trio as they walked were lush gardens bursting with vibrant flowers in every color, blooming in gentle clusters and swaying softly in the mountain breeze.
Clear, sparkling pools mirrored the light of the seven suns, their surfaces dancing with ripples as tiny waterfalls cascaded between them.
And not far ahead of them was a dense, enchanting forest that formed a natural pathway, its tall trees creating a shaded tunnel of green and gold, with sunlight filtering through the leaves in warm, dappled patterns.
Yume skipped ahead slightly, her purple hair bouncing as she looked around with wide-eyed wonder.
Luna walked gracefully beside Akasha, her own pink and purple locks catching the light.
As they reached the end of the long forest tunnel, both women stopped and turned to him.
"This would be the perfect spot," Luna said with a smile, gesturing to the open clearing where the tunnel opened up into a wide, sunlit meadow overlooking the horizon.
Yume nodded eagerly, clasping her hands together.
"Master, I think it would be interesting if you made a treehouse or something instead of something typical. It would look so cute up here!"
Akasha smiled, the idea appealing to him instantly.
He floated gently over to the end of the long forest tunnel and planted the Golden Apple Tree seed right at the edge of the meadow, where it would have plenty of sunlight and a commanding view of the world below.
The moment the seed touched the ground, it took root.
HUMMMMMM!!!!!
The transformation was instantaneous and breathtaking.
The ground trembled faintly as a massive golden trunk erupted upward with a deep, resonant hum.
The tree grew at an impossible speed, its bark shimmering with a warm, metallic glow as thick branches spread outward like the arms of an ancient guardian.
Golden leaves unfurled in a shimmering canopy, each one glowing with soft inner light.
Clusters of white apples formed rapidly, hanging heavy and luminous from the branches, their skin smooth and pearlescent, catching the light of the seven suns in a way that made them look almost ethereal.
Akasha raised a brow, staring up at the colossal tree that now easily dwarfed the entire forest.
"White apples... kinda misleading name for the tree, isn’t it?" he commented with a light chuckle.
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