483 New Ten-Path Crossway Warp (1/2)

The spriggan stopped braiding twigs and looked up to see a very familiar face. ”Is that...?”

Wiser who was behind Zero grinned. Shittomi stopped weaving leaves and smiled. It didn't take as long as she thought it would. Wiser must have skipped on many details for the discussion to end so quickly.

”It's me, Zero!” the doctor grinned and greeted Shittomi who was making a leaf crown using the fallen leaves from the Tree of Time.

The Tree of Life was isolated from the rest of the shrine and there was a very powerful barrier around it that made Zero pause. Wiser ignored it and walked right through which prompted Zero to do the same only to be stopped by a crackle of electricity.

”Oops! My bad. Please try again,” Axel apologised and modified the barrier's restrictive spell.

Zero didn't blame the spriggan. Security was tight and he understood the need for privacy. The tree can be seen from a distance and it was probably for the better that people didn't crowd around it. Zero glanced at the things Axel and Shittomi were making with interest.

”Are these for sale?”

The spriggan nodded. ”Many tourists want souvenirs. Some of these contain a little of the time power so it is worth a lot of money. It's partially Mammon's idea to recover the cost of building this wonderful home.”

They settled into easy small talks until Axel asked Zero how he knew the location of the Tree of Time.

”Better still, how did you know I was looking for the Tree of Time? Those parting words really hurt and shocked me. Couldn't you have explained it better? Also, you didn't see me for such a long time, I was worried that we'd never meet again!”

Zero apologised with a sheepish grin. The spriggan had every right to feel worried and confused as well as hurt. Then again, he was surprised the spirit in the Tree of Life didn't tell Axel anything. Zero then looked over to Shittomi and Wiser. Should he tell Axel the summary or the full story as it might take a while. Eventually, Zero decided to give Axel a summarised version. The Tree of Life could give Axel more details if she wanted to. Zero had more important things to attend to for the rest of his visit.

”In summary, the Tree of Life was in Endow Hill for a while in a time rift called Sleepy Cave that you chanced across on a raid and then you kept the seed until it was ready to be planted in the abyss to stabilise the broken plane?”

Zero nodded at Axel's summary. ”That sounds accurate enough,” he said and the spriggan laughed.

”Well, who would have thought that the Tree of Life would go on such an adventure! No wonder she kept speaking fondly of you. Also, Lovina is her child. I met the witch several times and I must say, she could be on par with Sylvia in terms of magic.”