Himari rubbed her temples as she tried desperately to organize her thoughts. The last 12 or so hours have been nothing but a string of problems all starting with Hecatolite wandering off into the forest. Babylon, any word from Overseer yet? She sighed.

Unfortunately, Mother Himari, I am still unable to contact Overseer in any capacity. Either its system is offline or it is ignoring us. Babylon chimed in her mind causing her headache to grow.

And that elven merchant? Tinaka? Any progress there?

Again, no. Though I have pinpointed several errors where his soul was forcefully removed from the system before being violently reinserted into it. Babylon paused, Himari feeling the tell tale signs of it running a scan before continuing. It’s almost as if his soul had been summoned off world before being returned. Though I find that unlikely given the current lock on interworld travel. I have run several scans on his soul and though it appears to be relatively fine, minus several small abrasions, I cannot determine why he remains in a comatose state. There is a high possibility that though his soul is undamaged, his physical mind isn’t, but I will be unable to determine such things until he has awoken.

Himari slumped against the wall. She knew all that already, not that she didn’t hold out hope for something different. She glanced at Amethyst, and my problems keep growing. She shook her head, pushing the young woman from her mind. Amethyst was a problem, but currently she is a stable problem. 

Hecatolite on the other hand, is a problem. Himari had learned last night that Amethyst was still at least somewhat connected to the Babylon system, meaning that without Overseer she could still be contacted and tracked with Babylon. Hecatolite however, seemed to only be linked to Overseer itself, and with that half of the system down for some reason meant that even if she wanted to, she couldn’t contact her. 

I guess I should be happy that I can still track her through Babylon. She was somewhat thankful that Hecatolite had decided to get lost in the great forest. Even without being able to see Hecatolite herself, tracking her movements through nearby souls was simple enough. Though Himari was still worried over the now missing Overseer. 

Which led her to the next problem. Overseer mysteriously vanishing the same time a soul was removed from the system could not be a coincidence. But Tinaka’s soul was returned to his body after a few minutes, if he was wherever Overseer went then why did one return but not the other?

She ground her teeth as she thought about it. Tinaka was currently her biggest problem. The man suddenly collapsing into a screaming heap had drawn the attention of everyone in and around the town. Needless to say, an elven man collapsing while bleeding from the eyes and screaming the same night a bunch of humans arrived didn’t exactly instill a whole lot of trust in their crew.

In a way Himari felt slightly lucky Hecatolite hadn’t been here when it all happened, her absence along with Amethyst new melancholy was likely the only thing that kept a full-blown fight from breaking out last night when the elven soldiers rounded everyone up and put the entire crew on lock down while they investigate what happen. Turning the abandoned town into a makeshift prison camp was hardly the worst outcome of last night. Eryl’s conversations with the elven guards clearly helped as well, meaning that though uncomfortable, they were at least safe from harassment… well until the elves find a reason to blame them that is.

Himari again felt a twinge of worry for Amethyst, the young woman suddenly seeming much more… meek, since the other day. Himari could help but feel that Amethyst felt oddly fearful of the elves. It’s almost like the young woman forgot she is a deity herself, Amethyst was easily one of the strongest people around, if not the strongest. Yet now, she felt like a scared child who just quietly shrank away from the altercation. Himari was positive that if it came to blows Amethyst would step up and defend the crew… hopefully.

She was surprised how complacent Amethyst was when they were ushered into one of the houses, thankfully Eryl was able to talk the guards out of trying to confiscate her sword as Himari was sure that would have set the young girl off. Himari couldn’t tell if Amethyst was simply complying in hopes of building a relationship with the elves or if it was something else, though she did realize Amethyst never seemed to stand directly in front of the elven elder.

Mother Himari… Babylon hesitated, causing Himari’s heart to sink. Whatever it was couldn’t be good, and she had yet to come up with an answer to any of her current problems. It would appear “the Soul of the Forest” is attempting to guide Hecatolite out of the forest. It is not going… well. 

What did I do to deserve this? She lamented, burying her head in her hands. It was the one thing she had wished wouldn’t happen, but in the end she guessed she was being… naively optimistic? Have they started fighting?

Not currently, though it seems they are both prepared to if the other does not concede. Thankfully Hecatolite seems leery of the guardian, and the soul of the forest has always been a cautious creature. I can deduce that it has deemed Hecatolite does not belong in the forest yet it does not see her as a threat currently, it has guided all the animals in the area away from her as a precaution and is currently trying to guide her towards the town.

And what are the odds of that working?

Unknown, Hecatolite is an unpredictable creature and though the “Soul of the Forest” is patient, there is a limit. If Hecatolite causes unnecessary damage to the forest or its denizens it will attack her. I do not estimate Hecatolite will…

If that happens Hecatolite can, and will, kill it, Babylon.

I do not see how that is a possibility. The Soul of the forest is part of the forest as a whole, in order to “kill” it…

Do you really think Hecatolite is incapable of destroying an entire forest?

Babylon fell silent again, Himari’s mind straining as she tried desperately to think of a way to stop the inevitable battle. She didn’t think Hecatolite would attack the forest unprovoked, in reality she felt she may owe Hecatolite an apology.

Himari, after thinking about it, realized that given what Hecatolite was, she was quite… docile. Yes, she could destroy souls, kill gods, and end the world if she wanted but in the end Hecatolite had not done a single one of those things… well, on purpose. If anything, Hecatolite was like a sleeping bear. As long as you left her alone, she would be completely content to just lumber around harmlessly, the problem is that she keeps winding up in situations that force her hand. Does she overreact? Yes. Is it completely unwarranted? No. 

How very…  American. Himari sighed.

 In the end Hecatolite was exactly like the “Soul of the Forest” in that regard, completely harmless unless you needlessly disrupted the forest, hells the guardian doesn’t even stop people from hunting in the forest as long as you only did so within reason.

Babylon finally answered. Given the current disconnect from the system I am unable to calculate exactly how dangerous Hecatolite is. However, given the “Soul of the Forest” is on par with a mature dragon in terms of raw destructive power, I find it unlikely that a single being, even if they are divine, could easily win against it. Even if the “Soul of the Forest” is unable to defeat Hecatolite with its power alone, it is a manifestation of the forest itself as such as long as the forest stands it will exist. To kill it one would need to destroy over half of the great forest, along with the great tree which is protected by the elves. Even the gods would not be up to the task of destroying it all in one go. 

Babylon, you greatly underestimate Hecatolite if you think she can't raze this forest. Himari sighed, she had investigated the “Soul of the Forest” and had to admit it would not be an easy fight for Hecatolite. But in the end, she did not doubt that, if it came to it, the great forest would cease to exist if Hecatolite willed it. Himari did doubt Hecatolite would realize what the creature was, not that she would have figured it out without the system's help either.

Then again how in the hell would Himari have known that if you planted a forest on a ley line, the mana rich environment would not only cause the forest to flourish, but grow into a very primitive hive mind. Being unable to move on their own they mutated the ability to protect themselves, sure trees and plants don’t have a ton of mana themselves. But a couple hundred billion of them all providing their mana to one simple thought and you end up with, well a “Soul of the Forest”; a homunculus with the simple goal “protect the forest”. Yes, the system intervened a little, making it to where creatures could still live and thrive in the forest, but god's help anyone who disrupts the very delicate balance of the land here. 

Given all that, right now there are two sleeping giants squaring off in the forest right now. Hecatolite, who is likely to misunderstand the guardians’ intentions. And “the Soul of the Forest”, who will eventually try to remove her by force if she tries to take more than it deems necessary.

Wait… Himari felt a shred of hope blossoming in her as she sprang to her feet. Hecatolite isn’t in the system right now, is she? She looked at Amethyst, considered for a moment then decided against it. Amethyst in her current state is likely just as likely to harm the delicate situation than help. 

Slowly, Himari made her way to the door. A single thought on her mind as she exited the building. I need to find Eryl.