241 World Seed (1/2)

”First of all, I have to give you a proper farewell. I do not know how long I will be away, though I sincerely doubt it will be too long.”

”We are never apart, Great One,” said Iona. ”Though your physical form may wander, here-,” She touched a hand to her heart. ”We are always connected. A farewell is quite redundant in that regards.”

”Yes, but proper farewells never hurt. I would have given you one before you were my Root, so I do not see why that should change now,” said Li.

”The sapling priest is right, too,” said Iona. ”Your absence is temporary. No need for dramatic goodbyes, especially when we ponder the vast breadth of time we shall occupy as spirit and divinity.”

”I suppose you are right, and I can see your difficulty to accept basic kindness is starting to show again. And sapling?” said Li amusedly. ”I'm sure Ivo would be quite peeved at having his many decades of experience and collected wisdom reduced to the moniker of 'sapling'”.

”To mine eyes, he seems a sapling. All mortals do,” said Iona. ”Which is why it is so rewarding to see them learn and grow under my tutelage.”

”I was not able to relate to that feeling before, but now,” said Li. He looked to eastwards, to the fields, where even now, he could feel the lives of his followers beat and flow and flux as they struggled and laughed and worked. ”I can understand that sentiment, if even a little.”

”More than you think,” said Iona. ”The amount of divine strength you are bearing now is worthy of praise. In a year's time, I am certain you will be able to shoulder the full burden of your true nature with ease.”

”A year?” Li knew that sounded like a long time, and before he came to this world, he would have felt it long too. But now, when he heard time broken down into years, he felt it all too tiny a measure. A little droplet in the expanse of infinity he would occupy.

A few times, when he sat down to meditate, his mind sometimes wandered, thinking, reflecting, and when it touched upon the topic of immortality and what it meant and its inevitable losses, he felt twinges of loneliness.

Twinges that he smoothed over by knowing that he would always have a greater duty to work towards.

”I suppose that is quick, all things considered. In any case, here is my true gift,” said Li.

Li put a hand into his pocket, closing his eyes as he felt his hand sink into the void of his treasured seed pouch. He mentally envisioned the garden he once planted, the precious seeds he had spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours toiling towards with so many friends.

In his reflections, he had deemed this seed the one to plant many years down, after many of his mortal connections had frayed with age, and when he would transition his faith into something greater. Something global.

But, as it stood, beyond all the sentimental values attached to it, that seed was also the strongest defensive tool that Li had in his entire arsenal. Beyond any spell he had, Ultima-rank or not, and he would not hold back on using it to protect what he had made for himself now.

He would take this precaution without a shred of hesitation. He knew the chance was infinitesimally low, but in the incredibly rare case that, in his absence, his followers were attacked by something that exceeded the power that even Iona or the twelve Justicars could muster – and there were beings or objects in this world capable of that -, they needed something to protect them.

Something that could protect them absolutely. Without question or cause for concern. Regardless of whether they fought an Armageddon inducing salvo of weaponry or a corrupted god wielding unimaginable power.

”Here,” said Li as he withdrew his pale hand from his pocket.

At the center of his palm, a glowing, iridescent bright light shone, completely burning away the dark of night in its green-tinged radiance. The culprit of the shimmering, ever wavering glow was a surprisingly mundane looking seed.

It looked like an elongated oval of flaxen, light green material, and it only spanned the size of Li's palm. Between each individual plant fiber, however, there seemed to be little crystalline growths, and looking deep into them, in each little twinkling diadem, one would be able to see sights of monumental vastness – crashing waves atop oceans, canyons spanning unimaginable distances, forests dominating the horizon, and the like.

Iona froze, and her lip trembled as she beheld the seed. She looked at Li, her eyes glowing with bright fire that signaled amazement. She seemed hesitant to even look at the seed, let alone reach out and touch it.