Reborn as a Demonic Tree

To gaze beyond the veil of your own imagination is to risk the shattering of your very power. For in the blinding light of truth, what was once limitless may become finite, and what was once divine may crumble to dust. The strength of the mystic depends not on what is true but on what we dare to imagine as truth. Even in the face of the truth, never stop believing in the impossible. - Kael Mystshroud, the first ancestor and author of the Veiled Truths scrolls.

Since she was young, Elysia had been taught this mantra by her family, which was reinforced by the heavenly whispers. Mystic Qi was a higher form of illusion Qi that allowed her to manifest things into reality so long as she believed them to be true, and it was made easier if those witnessing the phenomenon also thought it to be possible.

As the fame of the All-Seeing Eye spread, her capability to wield Mystic Qi in his name would increase. However, unlike other traditional forms of Qi, if her or others' faith in the All-Seeing Eye were to diminish, so would her power.

She was rewarded for being deluded about his grandeur and turning a blind eye to the signs that he may be less than what she and everyone thought.

But she couldn't help it. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she had dared to peer past the veil and bore witness to what she never should have—her god's true form.

He was not a godly, untouchable being high in the sky, eternally gazing down on the entire realm. No, he was far more mundane than that. He had a physical form, the body of a tree. He had bark that could be damaged, sap that could be drained, and leaves that could wither and fall.

"My god, I have finally gazed upon your true form." She confessed to the cosmic affinity tree, acting as a proxy for her 'god' despite him being only a mountain range away. As the words left her mouth, she felt power vacate her soul, and her legs gave out.

Collapsing to her knees, the world went white, and the floating island lurched backward. The cosmic shield protecting the island rippled as a myriad of colors surged over it from the many attacks aimed at Vincent Nightrose. Yet, despite the color and noise, Elysia's world suddenly seemed dark and quiet.

Oh god. Elysia's lip trembled as she realized what she had done. In the blinding light of truth, what was once limitless may become finite, and what was once divine may crumble to dust. It's happened to me.

The pedestal on which she had placed the All-Seeing Eye in her mind had crumbled to dust, and with it, so had her mystic Qi. She wasn't worshiping a god. It had been nothing more than a powerful tree all along. She had committed the greatest sin a mystic cultivator could do and was now paying dearly for it.

As they say, curiosity killed the mystic cultivator.

Power kept gushing out of her into the surroundings. She felt herself rapidly degrading into a mere mortal and that her whole life had been a lie.

"I suppose you didn't like what you saw?"

Elysia looked up within her consciousness and saw a tree that seemingly reached for the heavens looming over her. Divine energy wreathed his entire form, and his presence was domineering.

But he was no god.

Elysia shook her head, "You're not a god. Just a tree on a mountain."

"Mhm." The All-Seeing Eye paused, "That may be true. But what is a god?"

Elysia slowly looked up at the tree, "What do you mean?"

"If I'm not a god, tell me what is."

Elysia frowned as she stared at the tree wreathed in divine power. She knew, as well as anyone else that divine energy was not an affinity one could cultivate; it was power gifted by the heavens to beings revered by the populace of the realms. It was reserved for what people would consider godly beings, yet this tree could control it?

Filling the silence while her mind spun to form an answer, Ashlock continued. "I can wield divine energy, and I am revered by millions due to your efforts. My influence spreads far and wide. I can summon champions from other dimensions to fight at my side. I am an ageless, near-immortal being that can do seemingly impossible things. Do I not fit the definition of a god?"

Elysia clenched her teeth in anger that was mostly directed at herself. "I know... but you're still just a tree. I can't see you the same way again."

"Relax, Elysia. You have always seen me this way. Your delusions just got in the way."

"I have not—"

"I'm not from this world. A fact I know that you are aware of."

Elysia's eyes went wide. "How do you know that?"

"I overheard you in the basement of the Duskwalker residence. You're raising Mytherion as a backup for your infatuation should I return to my previous world. You were already raising a tree as my replacement and knew deep down I was nothing but a tree all along. All that's happened is because you saw my true form; it confirmed what you subconsciously hoped to not be true."

Elysia gulped and nodded. "Yeah. My family's teaching warned me of this possible outcome should I give into curiosity."

"But does this realization change anything? I may not be what you thought or hoped I was, yet that doesn't detract from all we have accomplished together."

"No..." Elysia trailed off. While logically learning the truth shouldn't have shattered her soul, it had. The All-Seeing Eye, which had been her everything, was a lie.

"If it helps, the All-Seeing Eye is more of an idea. It serves as a persona of mine, if you will. While I have a tree body stuck in reality here with you, I prefer to go by the name Ashlock. I like to laugh and cry, hang out with my daughter, and talk to those close to me. But I'm no longer a mere tree when I'm the All-Seeing Eye. I'm something more. The All-Seeing Eye is just as mysterious to me as it is to you."

"Really?" Elysia said.

"Yeah, you could even think of my body as an avatar for the All-Seeing Eye, much like yourself when I spoke through you. Come on, Elysia, let's rebuild the idea of the All-Seeing Eye together into something greater than either of us ever will be. You and me. He can't be the god the people need him to be without his avatars."

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Elysia felt power rush back into her body in a flood, practically forcing her to stand up in her mind like a rising tide. The idea was simply so... beautiful. She turned on her heel with the tree to her back and raised her arms. Her consciousness trembled as the mystic Qi gathering in her soul solidified into what she envisioned as the All-Seeing Eye. A pillar then rose in her mind with the eye on top.

Taking a step back, she marveled at her creation alongside Ashlock, the tree. The All-Seeing Eye had returned to being on a pillar in her mind, except this time, she was the one building the pillar ever higher. The heavens were now the limit.

Her soul could not contain the rush of mystic Qi and pulsed twice as she rocketed up two stages to the 9th stage of the Star Core Realm. The Qi kept coming and was about to push her Star Core to its peak and go supernova, but the power suddenly froze.

"Not yet," Ashlock said. His roots had spread into her soul, and he was holding it steady.

"Why?" Elysia asked, not a hint of anger in her voice. She trusted him wholeheartedly as a fellow avatar to the All-Seeing Eye.

"You should link with Mytherion and have him be your infant soul."

"But I raised him for you?" Elysia tilted her head.

"No, you didn't. You raised Mytherion for the All-Seeing Eye. Not me. And so long as you believe in the eternal gaze, the All-Seeing Eye isn't going anywhere. Whether I remain in this realm or not."

Elysia nodded as she fully realized the disconnect she needed to make in her mind. While Ashlock could bring the All-Seeing Eye into reality, so could she. Anything the All-Seeing Eye could do, she could manifest with mystic Qi as long as she believed it possible.

"Okay, I will raise Mytherion as my infant soul so one day, the All-Seeing Eye will have another avatar should you leave." Elysia paused and looked at Ashlock seriously, "Thank you. I felt my world crumble around me for a moment, but now I feel my devotion is about to reach new heights."

"Ah... new heights, huh." Ashlock chuckled nervously, "Don't overdo it, okay?"

"I never have," Elysia dismissed his concerns, "But I have one more question."

"Go for it."

"When the All-Seeing Eye came to me and said: 'Vincent Nightrose, leader of the Blood Lotus Sect, desires something that is mine. Something so close to me that losing it would cause me to war with the nine realms until its destruction or my own.'Was that something, Stella?"

"It was."

"What is Stella's relationship to the All-Seeing Eye? I know she is your daughter, but why would the All-Seeing Eye start a holy war against Vincent for her?" Elysia bit her lip, "This link is making the disconnect between yourself and the All-Seeing Eye difficult in my mind."

"When the All-Seeing Eye became a deity recognized by the heavens, his fate was interlinked with Stella. He watched over Stella to protect her and founded a sect to nurture talents to go to war for her. The All-Seeing Eye's gaze is eternal, so long as his focus remains alive. Should Stella Crestfallen die, his fate will no longer be intertwined with this reality, and he will leave. Understand?"

"Stella is the eternal gaze's anchor to our world," Elysia bowed deeply. "Thank you for the profound teaching, Ashlock. As the Vice Cult leader, I will protect and help Cult Leader Stella as best I can."

"Good. Take this."

Elysia's focus returned to the floating island outside her mind, and she saw a vial of what looked like viscous black blood waiting in her hand.

"This is blood from our god. As his avatar, I am honored to carry it in my body and have now passed some onto you. Drinking it will turn you into a tree."

"What is this for?" Elysia asked the cosmic tree, still blazing with the presence of her god. "Do you wish for me to become a tree?"

"No. Use it when you form your infant soul to link to Mytherion. However, wait until after the battle with Vincent is over before ascending to Nascent Soul Realm."

Elysia carefully stored away the vial and got to her feet. While the island tilted itself back into place and the cosmic flowers began powering up for another attack on Vincent Nightrose, her family looked at her with a mixture of shock and concern. Her uncle stepped forward, and his gaze shifted as he studied her. Slowly, a look of relief appeared on his tired face.

"You're home."

Elysia nodded as she closed her eyelids to hide her empty eye sockets.

"Uncle, I'm back."

He gently stroked the side of her head with a warm smile. "I thought I lost you for a while."

"I know, I'm sorry. The teachings of Kael Mystshroud just kept echoing in my head, so I refused to accept the possible truth, fearing it stripping me of my newfound power, and stubbornly pressed on with my delusions despite how much they hurt me."

"Kael Mystshroud was a powerful but insane man. We use his teachings out of respect for his legacy, but do you know how he died?"

Elysia shook her head.

"His delusions came crashing down on him. Just like you almost did, his soul collapsed on him, reducing him to a mortal. He died years later when age caught up to him, but while not taught as much, I feel his dying words are far more profound."

Elysia looked into her uncle's warm eyes, "What were they?"

"On his death bed, as an old mortal man of 137 years, he said: 'I realized it too late. Sometimes, the veil of our own making becomes a shackle when, instead, it can be viewed as a chrysalis. When it shatters, we do not fall; we unfold. For in the ruin of false belief, the truth blooms, and a new path is revealed—one forged not by comfort but by clarity. Unfortunately, I refused to break the shackles, so instead of soaring to the heavens, I was dragged down to hell by them.' He died as a bitter mortal shortly after uttering these words to his wife. Listen, Elysia, mystic Qi is as powerful as it is dangerous. We can quickly get drunk on power and let it control us." He paused and looked deeply into her third eye, "While Kael realized it far too late, I can see now that you have gained clarity and are no longer stubbornly pressing forward despite your subconscious screaming out to you."

"Sorry for worrying you, uncle." Elysia stepped back. "My thoughts are now clear, and I'm far more devoted to the idea of the All-Seeing Eye than ever before."

"That's... good. I think?"

"You bet it is," Elysia said, spreading out her arms and displaying a manic grin. "Empires will fall before us, Uncle. Monsters will kneel at our feet, and all who oppose us will be slaughtered." In her mind, she envisioned the pillar rising ever higher, fueled by the death of the nonbelievers and those who oppose them.

"I still don't think that's what the All-Seeing Eye wants..."

Elysia grabbed her uncle's hand and led him to the edge of the floating island. Pointing down to the forest below, she smirked, "It's already beginning."

Her uncle narrowed his eyes and then gasped in horror. Through small gaps in the foliage, a terrible slaughter was happening. A wave of people under Vincent's control clashed with metal beings wielding weapons wreathed in earth Qi. They efficiently cut through the horde of people, only briefly stopping to raise up the corpses and somehow devour them whole.

"What are those things?"

Elysia didn't know but answered what she believed to be true. "Warriors of the All-Seeing Eye, here to purge the realm. Just like I said, the nonbelievers will be slaughtered."

Her uncle gulped, and his gaze hardened, "It looks like you were right."

"Of course I was," Elysia said as her third eye glowed violet because her soul was overflowing with mystic Qi. Deciding not to waste it, she spread her arms and channeled the excess mystic Qi into many ritual circles in the air. They expanded out, covering an immense area.

In the middle of the largest ritual circle, an otherwordly eye appeared as if watching down on his subjects. Tendrils of mystic Qi cascaded down, and everything they touched was blessed. The tiny warriors were wreathed in purple and black flames, and otherworldly eyes appeared on the cosmic islands' flowers, helping to focus their power.

"To please both my god and his avatar, I will help rid this world of the filth that dares to target the one they hold most dear," Elysia muttered under her breath as seemingly unlimited power flowed out of her into the surroundings.

***

Ashlock let out a sigh of relief. "The day I comprehend what is going through the insane girl's mind is the day I should check myself into a hospital. I'm just glad she didn't go supernova and kill us all."

For a moment, he thought Elysia was going supernova, then realized something terribly wrong had occurred when her soul continued to collapse and showed no signs of exploding. Luckily, he somehow convinced her to continue believing in the All-Seeing Eye, and she grew stronger from it.

A horn suddenly blared out in the distance, drawing Ashlock's attention. "What the hell was that—are those the Mudcloaks?" He watched in wonder as the little guys decked out in armor they had likely made in that forge under the citadel charged down the mountainside.

"Well, I'll be damned," Ashlock muttered as he saw the largest Mudcloak group descending on Douglas's location. The man was with Elaine and a few other cultivators in a fortress of rock that was quickly being overrun.

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