Deep within the ravine, a few rocks and dirt shifted, and a large hand shot out. Flexing and feeling around, it clenched into a fist in victory before planting onto the surface of the dirt mound to pull itself out.

  Several minutes passed, and Rul pulled his head out of the mound of rubble. He spits and coughed out dirt and stones. “Damn bitch.” He was glad his Pride skill made it so he didn’t need to breathe, or else he would have suffered considerably before escaping.

  Pulling free of the mound, he sat atop it, sighing. “Still not strong enough.” He shivered at the memory of Meldy surrounded by the red aura. “Fuck.”

  “You are wavering.” A dangerous voice rang in Rul’s head.

  Rul furrowed his brow, annoyed. “I am not. I will continue to grow stronger. I may have lost to her again, but I will deal with her once I evolve one more time.”

  “Oh? I guess I was concerned for nothing. But you must hurry. The Weeds are moving to cleanse my power from the world.” Kraul stated.

  Rul laughed. “I thought you said your power was impossible to fight.”

  Pain gripped Rul’s chest, and he doubled over, clenching his chest.

  “Be cautious with your words. Just as I can give you my blessing, I can also take it.” Kraul threatened.

  “Ngh… sorry, my lord,” Rul said through pain.

  Kraul ceased his punishment, and Rul stood. Looking up, he could see it was far into the night. He knew he had to escape soon before the plant people arrived.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Melody, Violet, and Annabelle appeared on a platform surrounded by trees and leaves.

  “So, is this the Grand Grove?” Annabelle asked.

  Melody was shocked as she looked around.

  “Those are a lot of trees,” Violet commented.

  “Those aren’t trees… those are branches,” Melody said as she walked over and made her way through some brush, showing that they were miles up in the air upon the World Tree, Gyyanrel.

  A light chuckle sounded from behind them. “Welcome.”

  They turned to see a tall, tanned man with pointed ears and green eyes. Though he was tall, he was only eight feet tall.

  Melody bowed her head. “Greetings, Papa Gyy.”

  “Huh!? Wait, he’s the world tree!?” Violet exclaimed in shock.

  “My! Your great-grandfather is quite handsome!” Annabelle commented, surprising Melody.

  Violet sighed. “Yeah… Anna has a thing for handsome, tanned guys.”

  Gyyanrel laughed. “Sorry, little miss, but you are FAR too young for an old spirit like me. To explain my form, this is one of the ‘branches’ I control. You are standing on my main body. Anyway, let’s head to my home.” He smiled.

  In an instant, they appeared just outside a nice-looking, giant-sized mansion that Melody would be comfortable entering.

  Heading inside, they were sitting in a dining room where various fruits and other foods were served.

  “I am assuming the battle didn’t go well?” Gyyanrel asked.

  Melody was sure her great-grandfather could feel her disappointment.

  “That badly?” He asked.

  “Even my strongest arrow didn’t kill him. I buried him at the bottom of the ravine, but I don’t know how long before he escaped. His regeneration is impossible to deal with. I blew away almost his entire torso.” Melody stated.

  Gyyanrel sighed. “That truly confirms that he is a carrier of the Sin of Pride. Were you able to see his information?”

  Melody nodded and went over his status.

  Mountain King (Apostle of Kraul): Name: Rul (Oppal). Age: 17. Level: 9. Danger Level: Death.

  A Mountain King. Mountain Kings are powerful warriors, capable of incredible feats of strength and combat ability. Their life spans are double that of humans, living for hundreds of years and growing to a maximum of twenty-five to thirty feet. This giant is intelligent. Skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Can use high-level thunder magic. They have received the blessing of the God of Tartarus (Kraul), which immensely increases regeneration to nearly immortal levels and gives them a chance to gain the abilities of those consumed.

  Health: 50000. Stamina: 50000. Magic: 10000.

  Strength: 4000. Endurance: 20000. Dexterity: 1000.

  Intelligence: 800. Wisdom: 600. Charisma: 100.

  Skills: Pride. Physical Boost (10). Thunder Magic (10). Consume (10). Danger Sense (9). Martial Combat (9). Melee Weapons (8). Archery (4). Tactics (3). Tracking (2). Charge (2). Challenge Call (2). Fortress (2). Poison Control (2). Tracking (1). Cooking (1). Housework (1). Arithmetic (1). Holy Magic (1). Wind Magic (1). Water Magic (1). Fire Magic (1). Magic Sense (1). Construction (1). Carpentry (1). Blacksmith (1). Sewing (1)…

  Melody stopped listing his skills, as it only hurt her heart to think of how many people Rul had killed, absorbing their skills.

  Gyyanrel sighed in sadness. “I don’t blame you for stopping, Melody. He has brought considerable harm to the world. I have informed your grand-uncles and grandfather of this. They will search for him in the ravine. If we cannot kill him now, we will attempt to seal him. Let us contact Lyuten to notify her of this.”

  The three ladies were stunned by Gyyanrel’s casualness about meeting a goddess, which made it sound like they would just make a phone call.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The World Tree laughed and pulled out a small green, completely smooth orb. “Mother, are you there?”

  After several moments, a cheerful voice sounded. “Gyani, my dear! It has been a moment since you called me! How are you? Oh! Have you met my great-great-granddaughter? I have been checking in on her occasionally but have been busy lately.”

  Gyyanrel chuckled. “Mother, Melody is here.”

  Silence…

  “Um, hello? Great Grandmother?” Melody said.

  Gyyanrel shivered for a moment. “Oh. This is unexpected.” He looked up.

  “What is? W-Where is the goddess?” Violet nervously asked.

  Melody shivered as, through her connection to nature, life felt like it was exploding around them. Gyyanrel seemed to be using his roots to redirect the natural energy to the farthest ends of his roots. “Oh…” Melody looked up. I guess she is coming here.”

  The World Tree’s leaves shimmered and glowed with life.

  It was then that a green orb about the size of Melody rushed into the room. From it, a woman as big as Melody popped out and gave her a tight, loving hug.

  “Melody!” The woman called. She leaned back, holding the shocked giantess. “My! You are even more lovely in person!” She hugged Melody again, rubbing their cheeks together.

  Violet was stunned and silent. Annabelle knelt.

  “Greetings, Goddess Lyuten,” Annabelle stated.

  Gyyanrel just watched the event happily.

  Lyuten stopped cuddling with Melody and turned to Annabelle. “Oh!” She giggled and let Melody go briefly. “A pleasure to meet you, Annabelle. I hope your reincarnation is going well?”

  Annabelle saddened for a moment but then gave a warm smile. “I am. I was saddened to lose my parents, but I am thankful to my grandfather. For raising me so kindly.”

  Lyuten blinked a few times and turned to Gyyanrel. “Did I come here too quickly?”

  Gyyanrel chuckled. “Yes, you did.”

  “What?” Annabelle was confused.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Annabelle ran through the town surrounding the World Tree, huffing and sweating as she sprinted.

  It couldn’t be. But why would the goddess lie? Was it really true? Were they really alive?

  She stopped before a large building that looked to be a hospital. A couple was just outside the door, escorting a weakened beast-kin to their family. A man with brown hair that reached down to his shoulders, while the woman looked like Annabelle would be the spitting image of her.

  The man noticed Annabelle and froze for a moment before tapping the woman’s arm.

  “What is it, dear? We are almost done here.” The woman stated.

  He tapped her again, staring at Annabelle.

  The woman huffed and turned to him. “What is it?”

  He grabbed her head and turned it toward Annabelle.

  It took a moment for the woman to process the information before she raised her hands to cover her mouth. “Annabelle?” She muttered.

  Annabelle teared up and began stepping toward the couple.

  “By the gods! Anna!” The man rushed toward her along with the woman.

  The couple enveloped Annabelle in their loving embrace.

  “Mom… Dad… I thought… We thought…” Annabelle cried.

  Annabelle’s mother pulled back, holding Annabelle’s face. “That we were dead? Did you not get our letters?”

  “Letters?” Annabelle was surprised to hear this.

  “Hmm?” Gyyanrel looked confused when he heard this. “I know I sent them to the temple.”

  Lyuten sighed. “My little Gyyanni, you should have known to send them directly to her grandfather.”

  The goddess, world tree, Melody, and Melody with Violet on her shoulder stood by, watching things unfold.

  “If you had sent the letters to the temple, my father would have made sure they reached Anna,” Mom exclaimed.

  Violet sighed. “This means you didn’t know that her grandfather was chased out of the temple. Though, I don’t know the reason for it.”

  “It was a failure to stem the corruption in the main temple,” Annabelle stated. She clenched her teeth, stepped away from her parents, and stomped her foot, cracking the ground. “Those bastards have been destroying your letters!”

  Mom sighed. “That also means they have been taking the gifts we sent.”

  A dark look came to Lyuten’s face. “Someone dares to wrong one of Melody’s closest friends?”

  “Ho, ho. How brave of them.” Gyyanrel had a dangerous smile.

  Melody rushed to calm them before they did anything.

  “Mom, Dad,” Annabelle returned to stand before them, holding her arms to her chest, uneasy. “Why didn’t you return?”

  Gyyanrel stepped forward. “I am to blame for that, Annabelle.”

  “What?” Annabelle was shocked.

  “No, it is not your fault, Lord Gyyanrel,” Dad stated. “We chose to stay here to help the beast-kin.”

  “We should take this…” She paused and looked at Melody and Lyuten. “I think it would be difficult to take this inside.”

  Lyuten giggled and shrunk down to the same size as Gyyanrel.

  “But what about me, Nana?” Melody asked, looking hopeful that her great-great-grandmother might be able to give her the ability to shrink. ‘Nana’ was the name the goddess wanted Melody to call her.

  “I’m sorry, dear, but this body of mine is merely a spiritual fragment,” Lyuten stated.

  “I have an idea,” Gyyanrel stated. “Sit down, and I will share my knowledge of creating an avatar like mine.”

  Melody cheered while the others headed inside the hospital.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Melody cut some of her hair and laid it on a cloth before her sitting self.

  “Now, prick your finger and let a drop of your blood fall on the hair,” Gyyanrel instructed, placing a golden fruit and a bundle of branches.

  Melody let a drop of her blood fall on the bundle.

  “Alright, I will help you with this part,” Gyyanrel said as he used a bit of telekinesis to wrap the bundle. “Flow your nature magic into the bundle, and I will form the body.”

  Melody nodded and did as she was told. Her magic flowed into the bundle while her great-grandfather moved his hands like he was conducting an orchestra.

  Several minutes passed, and the round bundle’s form changed to resemble a feminine body beneath it.

  “Perfect!” Gyyanrel stated. “Now, this avatar is linked to you and only you. You are the only one who will be able to control it. Now, you know how to reach out to other beings through nature. When you take control of it, your body will enter a pseudo-meditative state. So, reach out to the avatar now.”

  Melody nodded and closed her eyes. Reaching out to the avatar was simple since it was like a part of her body. She felt a connection, and her body went numb for a moment before she felt like she was lying on her back instead of sitting cross-legged.

  “Looks like it was a success.” Melody heard a happy-sounding Gyyanrel from above herself.

  Opening her eyes, she saw a white cloth over her, and she felt the warmth of the sun through the cloth.

  Sitting up, the cloth was pulled from her face.

  “Good morning, sleepy head.” Gyyanrel smiled.

  Melody teared up as she saw her now-bigger-than-her great grandfather. “I’m… normal sized!” She cheered and jumped from the cloth to hug him.

  “Oh, uh…” He quickly wrapped her in the cloth. “Let’s head inside to get you something to wear.”

  Melody looked down to see she was stark naked. “S-Sorry.” She quickly wrapped herself in the cloth and then was startled when she looked behind herself to see her giant self. “Wow… I am bigger than I knew.”

  Gyyanrel laughed. “Try comprehending that when you’re that big.” He pointed at the World Tree.

  Melody giggled. “Um, what about my body?”

  “I’ll send it to a safe location among my branches.” With a wave of Gyyanrel’s hand, Melody’s body disappeared.

  The two headed inside and got Melody a patient outfit. Even their biggest outfit was not tall enough for her, which upset her a little, but still, being closer to the size of humans was pleasant.

  They arrived at a meeting room where the others were waiting. Violet, Annabelle, and Lyuten shared hugs with Melody’s avatar.

  They took their seats, and their meeting began.