Roar!
As if to reply the heavens let out a loud thunder. It was so loud and imposing like all the creatures in the sky would have to prostrate in reverence upon its call.
However, that is only what the others heard, but to Lord Raven and his demonoid, they heard a clear voice saying,
"Why should I need to come down when my children are more than enough to deal with your futile efforts?" The Great One's voice sounded like he was a proud father in the ears of Lord Raven and the enemies.
"Hahaha! Do you think your children were enough? Look at this Overseer! Can't you see that they were now on the verge of being slaughtered by me and my army?!" Lord Raven pointed at the heavens with spite.
His disrespect, arrogance, and spite were apparent as he spoke to the heavens.
The heavens roared once more however, it was not as scary as it was the first time. That was because the Great One's response was just a light laugh.
This made Lord Raven extremely angry and insulted.
But before he could open his mouth, the Great One's voice already rang in his head. "You have no time to bicker with me, rebel. Look behind and see who my children really were."
After that, a pair of brilliant lights shot from the sky once more, this time, the light immediately struck Leon and Eli's position.
It was so blinding and fast that everyone in the field immediately cowered to protect their eyes from the overwhelming brightness.
They were unable to figure out where the streak of light actually descended exactly. All they knew was it just came down so fast and drowned them with light.
Leon, who was the first one to be hit by light, found himself once more in front of the mystic tree in the End Of Path.
"Young one, are you willing to finally embrace the essence of the Path's End?" The same mysterious voice who talked to him the first time he came asked.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Yes… as long as it leads me to the path of the righteous, I will accept." Leon this time did not hesitate nor reject.
His defeat and mistake lead him to believe that his current strength is not enough to defeat the enemy.
"Very well…" The voice replied with a calm tone. "Come forward and take this…"
As the voice sounded, a fruit that does not look like any other familiar fruit in Leon's knowledge appeared.
He raised his hands and carefully took the fruit which the voice in the tree sent. As soon as it touched his hand, he was able to smell the sweet fragrance of strawberries.
"Eat it and you will unlock the mysteries of this path." The voice rang once more.
Leon knew not to delay any further. He took the fruit and ate it directly. The sweet taste of something similar to peach drizzled with the purest honey and a hint of citrus covered his lips.
He had never tasted fruit like this. It was delightful, at the same time bizarre for there were no seeds in it. The entire fruit is edible and Leon ate it all until no trace was left.
As soon as the mysterious fruit was completely consumed, Leon's vision changed.
The gentle waves of mana surged so fast like the speed of light. The mysterious tree in front of him dissolved like light, revealing a person inside.
It was someone whom Leon could not figure out with his naked eye. The only thing he knew was that it was the owner of the voice, and he looked like an angel coming from the heavenly realm.
"You've eaten the fruit of the End of Path, which makes you have the power over Prasinos's life essence" The figure said.
"Life essence? Isn't it mana?" Leon did not understand.
"While mana itself connotes life, it is not to be considered as essence. As mana is a product of the life force produced by the essence of life itself…" The voice explained.
"The fruit you ate is part of the essence tree which I guard. The tree contains the essence of life for all of Prasinos. It is the very origin of life which holds this world together."
Leon looked at the angel and asked, "Are you also a guardian of the land?"
The angel shook his head gently and replied,
"I am not a guardian of the land but of the Paths and the Tree. Both of them are part of Prasinos, but not in Prasinos… just like how the spatial void and the Ancient Dragon Spirit could not be found in the land of Prasinos, yet still part of the same world."
"I see… Then has anyone before me managed to reach this place?" Leon asked.
"No… you are the first one… perhaps because Prasinos herself wanted for you to find it, that's why the paths were opened for you…"
"Nevertheless, it was opened for a reason… and you have already met the requirements to find it…"
"The only thing that you should know is that, while you have the power of 'Life' it was only for Prasinos, it is completely different to the mortal time." The angel reminded Leon understood.
"Now go forth, young man… and answer Prasinos's cry for her children." The angel whose face could not be seen waved his hands and gently pushed Leon's consciousness away from the Realm of Paths.
When Leon opened his eyes, his countenance immediately changed.
His neck-long red hair grew longer on his back. In his crystal blue eyes, there was a shining array of stars rotating in it.
And as he breathed he could feel every movement of the entire land. How Prasinos breathe in to take in the people's cry and how it breathes out mana.
He stretched out his hand and felt bizarre, the people around him were still blinded by the light, and only he could see what was happening in his surroundings.
He waved his palms and was amazed that mana and life moved according to his will.
If he willed for the grass to be dry, then it will wilt. If he willed for it to grow then it would grow vastly.
The only thing he had to remember was that while he could control 'life' he could not control mortal time.
From what he understood from the angel's words… that meant that he could not control destiny. If a living thing is destined to die, then it will die. If it is not yet the end of mortal time, then he could intervene as much as he wants.
Leon closed his fist and became nervous, this power was utterly overwhelming and scary. However, he vowed to only use it against evil, not on the innocent.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe looked at the position where Lord Raven was angrily cowering because of the bright light and was about to make his move when he felt a movement beside him.
"Leon…" A familiar voice called him, making his entire body tremble.
He no longer had to think and turned in the direction of the voice.
There he met Eli with her obsidian eyes and dark hair. No traces of injury and torture could also be seen in her body anymore.
However, something in her seemed to have changed.
It was like he was looking at Eli, but a different Eli overall. Although he could not point it out exactly, he knew that something happened while she was in a coma.
The only thing he is certain though, is that he did not dislike this change. Instead, a whole new interest appeared in his heart, as if wanting to uncover the mystery of his love as soon as he had the chance.
"I'll explain to you later… though I hope it will be easy for you to accept… Leon." Eli looked at him with loving eyes, a hint of anxiousness and nervousness.
Eli was afraid that her complete self would scare Leon but then, they were not in a situation where they could talk about these things.
They had a formidable enemy in front of them, they had the world praying for the chaos to be stopped and resolved.
As such, Eli looked at Leon and smiled, "Shall we?"
Leon held Eli's hand. It was warm and soft, the same sensation that he had been longing for a long time since the start of the war.
It gave him newfound courage and strength, more than the confidence and security his new powers could give.
"Together?" Leon looked at Eli's obsidian eyes which were also filled with the same rotating stars as him.
Eli smiled and squeezed Leon's hand back, "Together!"
The two looked at the direction of Lord Raven at the same time. Instantly the light disappeared, but it was still not enough to make everyone prepared for the two's appearance.
Leon and Eli let go of each other's hands and rushed in Lord Raven's direction.
Lord Raven suddenly felt a formidable presence coming toward him and instinctively conjured a thick wall of shield from his sinister powers to blindly protect himself.
Boom!
The sound of the explosion alarmed everyone on the battlefield, especially when they were still blinded by the surge of light!