Heir of Synthesis: The World Mage

Priam froze mid-step. His heart was beating out of rhythm when he turned around, running through the corridors of the clan’s main building.

When he reached the entrance... he saw a tall man staring at him with a tense expression.

”Father?!”

Priam stopped, feeling as if a mountain had been lifted off his back. It really was his father, and he was alone.

”Where is my mother?” Priam asked, anxious and hurried.

That man snorted, relieved to see Priam. Then, he said lightly:

”She’s fine... she just couldn’t come.”

Priam felt his legs lose their strength. He took a step back, leaning his back against the wall, then slowly slid down.

As he sat on the floor, he closed his eyes... feeling his entire soul and mind ease a little from that chaos of pain.

After a few seconds, he raised his gaze to his father.

That man was staring at him with a shocked and confused expression; after all, it was difficult even for him to know what he felt before that macabre disaster.

...

While Orlaith checked everything that remained of the clan, Boey explained to Priam the reason they had escaped.

The moment Priam said he would be away for seven days, his mother saw the perfect opportunity for them to return to his father’s second race, the Pyrix.

It turned out that the couple’s fertility was quite poor for two reasons: First, his mother’s base humanoid bloodline already had this as something intrinsic. Humanoids in general were known for high fertility, but her race, which originated from Elves, was an exception.

Second: his father’s Pyrix bloodline made his body 90% Yang, facing a structural imbalance. This also severely affected his fertility.

When they were forcibly married in the past, this was the main reason the Ylisse clan didn’t accept it. But Boey had a plan. Before the marriage, he accumulated many terrifying resources.

When everything was concluded, he used the Ancestral Art of the Pyrix race.

Because of this race’s natural problem, they really did have a method to increase fertilization, but it was rarely used because of the high cost, and it still wasn’t guaranteed.

But shortly after the marriage, they managed to succeed. Thus, Priam was born.

Returning to the present. Since Priam had cured his mother without using the things his father had accumulated to try to save her, he chose to sell everything and gather as many resources as possible again.

Initially, the couple intended to try this after Priam went to the Divine Plane.

But Priam would possibly stay away from home for many years and, as a result, wouldn’t even find out that he would have a brother or sister during that time. So, Seien wanted him to know about this fact, to force him to come back home more often.

Seven days was far too short, but there was a chance they could manage it.

So, on the day Priam went to that other universe, they also went to that other race.

Priam listened to everything and swallowed hard.

It was luck, a lot of luck.

At least this time, fate hadn’t been so cruel and merciless to him.

But... having his parents safe didn’t bring him true joy, only relief.

The cost of his mistake... was the life of the entire planet. All their dreams, hopes, and futures now pressed down on his soul without mercy.

He took a deep breath, then remembered something. Turning to his father, he asked:

”Okay, and why didn’t she come?”

”This...” he smiled lightly. ”I didn’t want her, now... to suffer such great pain by seeing everything here.”

”Hmm?”

Seeing the confusion on Priam’s face, he said awkwardly.

”Yes... it seemed like something from fate. Right on the first day, we had complete success. She’s already pregnant.”

Priam sighed, surprised.

”She learned about this whole disaster the moment I found out too. But to keep her from being so shaken by seeing all this, she stayed with my other family.” Boey murmured, looking at the skies. ”She asked me to find you... and also... to check on her race in the forest.”

Priam heard that and nodded.

At that moment, the two moved together. They went to a corner farther west on the planet, using some movement inscriptions Boey possessed.

That was where the largest forest on the planet had once existed. But now... it was a black forest, and completely dead.

Boey knew exactly where they lived, leading Priam there.

When they arrived, it was a small tribe that lived near a river, with dozens of simple huts built in the trees.

The scene there was identical to everywhere else. Bodies had fallen in several spots, all completely lifeless.

Priam observed their appearances for the first time. They were all short, thin, and had delicate features. The women were definitely beautiful like his mother, but the men also looked like the women. If you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t be able to tell their gender.

Boey sighed, recognizing several faces there.

”I really tried... I came dozens of times to talk with Seien’s family, trying to convince them not to cut ties with her completely. But... only later did I discover that this was a sacred rule for their survival. They couldn’t grow or draw attention.”

Priam heard those words and nodded. Indeed, they had only survived because they hid as much as possible. But... was living like that really worth it? Well, who was he to judge them?

The two entered a central hut, much larger and different from the others in the place.

Inside...

Almost everything was empty. At the back of the hut, Priam saw an elderly Charming Elf with wrinkles on his face and silver hair. He was sitting in a lotus position, eyes closed; obviously dead.

He was embracing a staff made of wood. Its color was grayish; it was a little over one meter long, relatively short. At the tip, it split in two, in a ”Y” shape.

The moment Priam looked at it... he felt an immense similarity to something of his.

He waved his hand, taking from his spatial ring a gift he kept like a sacred... and melancholic treasure.

It was a bracelet made of intertwined branches, adorned with small flowers and leaves. It was the Amulet Luvinah had given him. (Chapter 78)

When he took it out, the amulet unexpectedly shone, emitting a unique natural aura.

”What?!” Boey exclaimed when he saw it in Priam’s hand.

”You... how do you have the heart of the Essence-Root Tree?!”

Priam heard that, confused.

Luvinah had told him this amulet had been made with the gift of a youth from the Divine Plane. The wood was special, able to grow and transform into protection if Ether was supplied to the internal rune inside.

”Hmm... I got it in a distant place. Is it that good?”

”Good?” Boey swallowed hard, then pointed to the staff. ”That was created with only one branch of this tree, and it’s already the ultimate treasure of your mother’s entire race.”

”They’ve kept this for a very long time and hidden it from any outsider. I only discovered it by chance, because I faintly felt its aura when I visited them. It’s something left behind by their ancestors to save them. With this branch of the tree, the leader of this race can use extremely high-level nature power and save them from any tribulation.”

Priam nodded. ”Is it really that good? Are you sure I have the heart?”

Boey nodded.

”The Essence-Root Tree is a very ancient race of trees, with terrifying power, that no longer exists nowadays. Only one sect in the Divine Plane preserves the dead bodies of some of them. They are the only power that can live in the south of the Divine Plane, the Ironweald sect. Using the power of those parts, they’re known as the hardest sect to bring down, even while living in the most dangerous and complex place in the Divine Plane.”

He paused for a second, staring in disbelief at the amulet in Priam’s hand.

”That thing in your hand has a strange internal rune, right? I’ve studied a lot about this tree. Only the hearts of the trees have that kind of thing, and it’s impossible to place another type of runic core inside things from this race. But... test it. Bring it close to the staff.”

Boey pointed for Priam to go to that branch. Priam turned, but hesitated.

”Your mother is the only one alive on the planet who has the pure blood of this race... so the treasure now belongs to her. She asked me to come here, take it, and give it to you. Since you showed that you have her power and bloodline, this can help you.”

Priam heard that and sighed. His mother, once again, didn’t hesitate to give him everything she could.

He no longer hesitated and walked to the body of the elder of the race.

He extended his hand with the amulet toward the branch.

*BUZZ*

When it touched, a tremor was felt throughout that hut. Then, the amulet was sucked from Priam’s hand, disappearing inside the staff.

After that, the staff began to shine in a lighter tone. The gray disappeared completely, as if the staff were now alive.

Small flowers and green roots sprouted across it, in vibrant colors.

Priam stretched out his hand, grabbed the staff, and pulled it toward himself.

He wasn’t someone who used staffs, but maybe he would find a good use for this.