Arpious of the Planes

"How cruel," Zoe, the Sixth Commander, says with Owen, the Seventh Commander nodding his head in agreement.

"What's so cruel?" I asked but had a slight inkling that I decided to reserve for myself.

"How they are sending soldiers as bait to try and draw out more of our attacks… And they don't even know that. I honestly feel kind of bad for them," Zoe responds.

"Yeah, they seem more like monsters than us," Owen adds.

"I guess…" I mutter before snapping my fingers, putting out the raging flames which cremated the second wave of soldiers.

Now, we just need Treyni to finish her part...

…

(Arpious POV)

[Day 95]

Another day had passed, and even more good news arrived as Yin soon informed me of Homura's clean and swift victory.

But, Yin did add that the humans didn't seem to try and come up with a plan; instead, they tried to test our skills… Almost as if they knew they wouldn't be able to win either way.

Today, I woke up bright and early with Treyni. We both ate breakfast with our daughter while I explained what came next with the plan that Kumo had come up with.

To be honest, the plan was advanced, but given enough time, I could've been able to think about it… Though it only took a couple of days for Kumo to think of it, so I guess that shows the apparent difference in our intelligence.

"So, once you get there, hold the position and, if need be, retreat until I can send back up. But if they keep chasing you, I'll send the assassin corps there to help turn the tides," I explain just as Treyni was getting to leave.

"Is mommy leaving?" Flora asks, grabbing onto my black dress.

"Only Treyni is leaving. I'll be staying here to take care of you," I respond, crouching down to meet her eye to eye and patting her head.

She still hasn't grown, huh? I mean, she grew, but barely. She's probably growing at the slowest rate out of all my children.

But I wouldn't say it's a bad thing because I can keep seeing her adorable face every day.

"B-but, I wanted play more, mommy," Flora says through teary eyes, and her grip on my dress was so firm that it began to tear.

"It's alright, sweetie. She'll be back," I console Flora as if she holds onto my dress any longer; the entire thing will rip.

I need Aimi to at least have something to sew back together.

"Noooooo!" Flora shouts before completely ripping my dress, so my maids scampered over to us.

"Mistress, would you like help?" A Fire Siren maid asks.

"Yes, please," I respond before the maids begin to stroke Flora's hair while resting her head in their large fluffy dresses.

And soon, Flora closed her eyes and didn't open them. Light snores could be heard from her, and I thanked my maids before they brought her away.

"Bring her to my room. I'll be with her in a bit," I ordered my maids, who bowed respectfully.

"Alright, don't have too many nightmares. I can't baby you all the time," Treyni says with a smile before kissing me on the cheek and skipping off down the hallway.

Instead of responding, I just smiled before walking down the hallway and making my way to my room, where I crawled into bed with Flora and hugged her tightly.

But I soon realized that I was still in my torn dress, so I immediately changed out of it and into my onesie while ordering my maids to bring the dress to Aimi so she could fix it.

"*sigh*... You are too strong for your own good," I mutter before closing my eyes, Flora wrapped in my arms.

…

Bum Bum… Bum Bum… Bum Bum… Bum Bum

A heartbeat rung in my ears, threatening to wake me up. It was a strange feeling like I was in a lucid dream because not only could I hear a heartbeat, but I also saw two large flames the size of mountains in front of me.

They were in pitch-black darkness, and when I tried to look down and see my body, I couldn't. My head didn't move… Or maybe I didn't have a head?

Bum Bum… Bum Bum… Bum Bum… Bum Bum

The heartbeat suddenly got progressively louder and synchronized with the annoying sound were the two large flames pulsating like a heart.

But each time the flames contracted, it got smaller and smaller until it seemed to fit in the palm of my hands.

FWOOSH

ROOOOOOOOAAAAAR

Suddenly, the flames exploded into a massive rage while morphing into a giant monster that seemed to be close to a ghost with its hollow eyes and slightly transparent body.

And once both fires had finished solidifying into their gross monster-esk form, they snapped their head downwards and stared deep into my soul.

…

"AGHHHHH!" I shout, immediately sitting up and feeling a significant drop of sweat run into my eye.

Ouch…

"Mommy! M-Mommy?! M-maid! Mommy hurt!" I hear a familiar voice shout into my ear, making me wince in pain.

"Flora, it's alright. I'm fine," I mutter, wrapping one arm around her and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"M-Mother!" I heard another voice shout, but now that I fully woke up, I could identify who it was.

"Yes?" I respond as Zehar flings the door open.

"O-Outside! Somethings happening outside?!" Zehar shouts before grabbing my hand and dragging me out of bed.

Flora chases after me, just as confused as I am.

We ran through the stone hallways, and whenever we turned a corner, I could see my maids panicking due to something.

Just barely, I managed to swallow a drop of saliva as we ran out the balcony that had just been created a few days ago.

"Wha-"

A beautiful view. That's the only way I could describe it.

Back in Japan, when I was still alive on earth, there was a particular season most people would refer to as the Sakura Season.

For a week, every year, in Japan, beautiful sakura trees would bloom. Pink, luscious, and almost graceful leaves get blown by the wind while also sweeping its vanilla scent up your nostrils.

It's a pleasant and relaxing experience that I enjoyed very much… And I never thought I'd see it again.

"It's beautiful," I mutter, but it seems Zehar was confused... Though it makes sense as these weren't typical sakura petals.

Instead of pink heart-shaped leaves fluttering through the wind, black and white petals in the shape of elongated hearts flowed through the air like a dance of Yin and yang.

But where did these come from?

[Both seeds of your Ancient Fires have fully bloomed]

Ah… I see…

Quickly, I summon my wings and unfurl them before flying off the balcony while telling Zehar to watch over Flora, who still seemed to be confused and a tiny bit scared.

With each flap that I took upwards, I felt as if the world seemed to slow down. I wasn't excited. I wasn't hyped up for what was to come. Instead, I was more nervous and scared due to the last thing I saw before waking up.

And even without that dream, anybody could tell two powerful presences resided above my kingdom.

"Holy shit," I mutter as I see the enormous at least 200-meter tall trees reside next to my kingdom.

Their branches reached out over the top of my kingdom, blocking some sunlight, but it wasn't anything significant. Children could still play like normal. Warriors could still train. And farmers could grow their crops with ease.

But the most noticeable parts of the two trees were their black and white petals.

Each petal was the size of my castle, but they were also made of smaller black and white petals which fluttered down my kingdom.

ROAAAAAAAAAAAR

I felt a shiver get sent down my spine in that very instant.

…

(Treyni POV)

tsk

How annoying… They already have an army here waiting… I mean, it wasn't that hard to figure out, but that's still annoying for me.

"Eighth Army, make sure to survive. Use my summons as cannon fodder if need be," I explain to Olivia the dryads army.

I was pretty surprised the one I had blessed survived, and she had grown into a fine young woman. Not only is she strong, but she lived up to her parent's beauty…

I blessed the girl because I wanted to return a favor.

Before I had the encounter with the annoying Deer Mountain Guardian, I was saved by two dryads after being significantly injured in a battle with a small ice dragon who later became the King of the Mountain of Twilight.

Though they didn't even land a scratch on the dragon, they managed to get me out of there and even nurse me back to full health as I recovered from Mana Sickness.

Later, the two would die to the Deer Mountain Guardian, and just as the nasty thing was about to lock me away, I blessed their child in return, hoping she would become the next Mother Nature once I had died.