Supreme Magus

Chapter 3477: Present without Future (Part 2)

”Each World Tree lives knowing they are cursed to be alone and no one will remember them.” Xaphen said.

”Without my fragment, the next World Tree will become bitter and resentful soon after they inherit the mantle and realize what awaits them. The next Yggdrasill will try to break out their prison or, if that proves to be impossible, to make everyone as miserable as them.” Read latest stories on empire

The Sapling extended his hand with his palm open to Lith but Aalejah stopped him again.

”Wait, there’s something you don’t know. Once the fragment is gone, you’ll lose your memory of everything that happened since you received it. You would forget about having this conversation, every place you visited, and every person you’ve met.”

”Destiny is truly cruel.” Xaphen laughed bitterly. ”It seems I can’t escape the fate of the World Tree but it’s a small price to pay. I can only hope that some echo of my travels will remain.

”Maybe I’ll see it in my dreams and find the motivation to leave my home and start traveling again. Losing my memory also means I’d have the rare chance of trying something for the first time a second time.”

”You don’t need hope.” Lotho extended a bundle of his vines. ”Use a mind link and the communion between Fae to leave a message to yourself. Once the fragment has been removed, I’ll give the message to you.”

”It’s a good idea but I’d rather leave it to Aalejah, brother.” The Sapling said. ”There’s no telling how the fragment might affect a fellow Fae and no reason to risk discovering it.”

”A fair point.” The plant representative nodded. ”Before meeting you, I always envied the World Tree and considered them foolish for being unable to resist the madness. Now I can see that what I considered a blessing is a curse and vice versa.”

”Glad to be of help.” Xaphen held the elf’s hand, trying his best to be concise.

There was only so much a brain could handle and he had to be sure his future amnesiac self wouldn’t doubt the origin and sincerity of those memories. He entrusted her with feelings he had always kept for himself and a tiny personal embarrassing secret.

”I’m ready.” The Sapling let go of Aalejah and looked at Lith.

Without Xaphen’s will holding it back, the fragment was unable to resist the call and left his life force. Lith was still purifying the new fragment when the Sapling started looking around in utter confusion.

”Who are you? Why am I in this ridiculous form? What happened to my home? What are we doing here?” Xaphen recognized none of the people staring at him.

Yet he could see with Life Vision that if the strangers wanted to harm him, they would have already killed or restrained him with ease. The mysterious Dragon was strong enough to kill him by herself while the others would have needed to join their forces.

”It’s a long story, brother, but I can explain it to you.” Lotho extended his vines and the Sapling accepted them without hesitation.

’I need to understand what has gotten into me to make me leave the safety of my home.’ He thought. ’If I was kidnapped or used in a Forbidden Magic ritual, I must learn how to keep it from happening ag-’

The plant representative started the mind link from the death of the World Tree, skipped everything until the moment Lith had asked for Lotho’s help, and left out nothing past that point.

”This must be a fucking joke!” Xaphen rejected the vines with such violence that the sudden break of the communion stunned Lotho. ”Over two months? Do you really expect me to believe I was in a mystical trance with a fragment of the World Tree and played tourist for two months?”

Lith recognized a fellow paranoid when he saw one and acted accordingly.

”You don’t have to believe us. Believe yourself.” He said. ”Feel free to check your calendar if you have one or call any of your friends.”

”Excellent idea.” The Sapling took his communication amulet out of his dimensional storage and found it flooded with worried messages and missed calls. ”I can’t believe I wasted over two months of my life and have no memory of it.”

He said after listening to the messages and calling his best friend to confirm the current date.

”You wasted nothing.” Aalejah shook her head. ”Quite the contrary. You have left me a message for yourself. Do you want to hear it?”

Xaphen looked at the elf like she was crazy but, as the many revelations he had received in the past few minutes sunk in, he realized that one more piece of crazy news would make little difference.

Aalejah passed on to the Sapling his own passcodes and many details no one else could know. Then, she shared with him the joy and amazement Xaphen’s past self had chosen as his message.

There were no words in it, just a collection of images of people, places, and adventures. The Sapling recognized none of them but the visions stirred feelings he didn’t know to have.

Somehow, every one of those moments he had never lived was precious to him. He could feel them scratching at the back of his skull but no matter how hard he tried, he could only recollect bits and fragments.

”Are you alright?” Aalejah’s voice snapped him out of his reverie.

”Yes, why do you ask?” Xaphen felt something on his face that turned out to be tears. ”Oh, that’s why.”

”Well, since we’ll never meet again, I’ll say it. You were much nicer when possessed by the fragment.” Lith said. ”You are the first one that I regret splitting from the essence of the World Tree.”

”Lith!” Solus rebuked him. ”Xaphen is still shocked and confused. What’s your excuse?”

”Your friend is a rude jerk, but he has a point.” The Sapling said while checking his appearance and clothes. ”A few minutes ago, I was a better person. I want to be that person again so I have to start my journey from the beginning again.

”Before that, however, I’d like to help you. Allow me to accompany you and I’ll make sure you won’t have trouble with Zima’s Council. I can also vouch for you to the other Fae.”

”Are you sure?” Lotho asked. ”If someone discovers you are helping foreigners take the power of the World Tree away from Zima, you’ll be the one in trouble.”

”I’m sure.” Xaphen nodded. ”You need a local guide and I have to start my journey somewhere. Everybody wins. Also, I’m not taking the World Tree away, I’m protecting Zima from their madness.

”From what I’ve seen in your memories, Lotho, those fragments can’t be left unchecked. It’s only a matter of time before a member of my brethren understands what happened and tries to collect them.

”Merging unpurified fragments together would bring back the worst of the World Tree and trigger a war between Zima and Jiera. After the plague, the relationship between the two continents is awful.

”If not for the monster infestation and the lost cities roaming free, Zima would have already invaded Jiera.