As the sun rose, lighting up the earth, the dark shades of dawn faded. However, despite being greeted by golden glow sunbeams, the Everlasting Woodlands were still dark. In the middle of the east continent, the Tree of Life stood like a giant against the deep blue sky. Its trunk was massive, over one thousand kilometers large. Its shadow always kept the forest in an everlasting darkness, hence its name.

Situated at the exact center of the east continent, Yggdrasil was said to be the heart of the world. Its roots, spreading throughout the world, kept the land in place, while its branches, disappearing in the infinitude of sky, supported the Holy Realm. Yggdrasil was known as the Tree of Life. However, the Tree of Life was not doing well.

Representing the gate to Heaven, many are those who tried to climb its trunk to reach the Holy Realm. And although no one managed to succeed so far, as the Tree of Life was heavily protected by mythical creatures, it quickly became subject to everyone’s greed. Being the main source of mana in the world, a single bark of Yggdrasil had infinite properties. Mortals kept coming to try and steal a single bit of the giant tree’s wood. However, Yggdrasil did not have the ability to regenerate. Ripping apart the Tree of Life was equivalent to kill it one piece at a time. And being the heart and soul of the world itself, were Yggdrasil to die, the world would collapse together with it. It was for this very specific reason that the Tree of Life was being heavily guarded. Protecting it was, in fact, the very first duty of the Original Gods. Still, despite the Gods’ effort to keep them away, in over fifty thousand years, the mortals still managed to weaken the Tree of Life.

As the sun came to kiss her skin, Veda gently placed a hand on Yggdrasil’s trunk. She could feel its life slowly, but surely, wilting away. The Goddess of Wind and Wisdom had been watching over those sacred lands since the beginning of times. She could tell better than anyone that it was weakening.

“Your Eminence.”

“You have returned,” the goddess said without feeling the need to turn around. She could tell by his presence only that it was one of her angels. “How’s the situation?”

“I have delivered your word,” the angel responded, his head lowered, kneeling before his master. “Shall they fail to answer your demands, retribution will come.”

“Good. We have waited for long enough. What about the Guardians?”

“They’re doing a good job. They’ve recently eliminated a few trespassers.”

The Goddess of Wind and Wisdom lifted her head up towards the sunlight.

“I see,” she muttered. “Maybe I should give them a reward. They’ve been quite diligent lately.”

“Guardians are honored to serve you, Your Eminence,” the angel stated. “They have no need for rewards.”

A very subtle smile formed on Veda’s lips. The high elves had been serving her as guardians of this holy land for quite a long time now. And although it is true that they had been extremely loyal this past millennium, she had not forgotten how elves had been the first ones to forget their place.

Once humble creatures favored by the gods for their beauty, longevity and philosophy, it didn’t take long before their privileged treatment went to their heads and elves started proclaiming themselves as the superior race. They had paid the high price for it, though. The retribution for this unacceptable behavior had been colossal. Elves lost their homeland and high elves were even brought to the edge of extinction. Only a small number of them had been spared by the benevolence of the Gods. Returning to the humble and compassionate beings they once were, the survivors dedicated their life to the Original Gods. Their descendants have since been serving them as Yggdrasil’s Guardians.

However, history tends to repeat itself. Veda knew it better than anyone. Mortals being short-lived creatures, they were bound to repeat the same mistakes over generations. This time, however, elves weren’t the one to test the Gods’ patience. This time, it was humans. Humans had been thriving for too long, now. They were starting to threaten the world’s balance.

“What about the Kreason Kingdom?” the Goddess asked. “Any news?”

“The Valkyries have been sent. They will return shortly.”

While the thought of eradicating an entire kingdom did not please the Goddess, it was inevitable. The greed of the Kreason Kingdom’s king knew no end. Despite the numerous warnings she sent, he kept sending armies to conquer these holy lands, and this, naturally, was not something that could be tolerated.

“This should be Naia’s job, really…” Veda sighed.

“Her Luminance left to settle things in the north,” the angel responded.

“I know, I know. Someone needed to investigate this incident, and Draxaos can’t be trusted.”

The young goddess frowned in annoyance.

“What’s that guy here for, anyway?” she complained. “It happened in his territory, yet, he won’t move a finger. What’s the point of having a God of Chaos, really, when he does nothing but twiddle his thumbs?”

The angel couldn’t find anything to retort. But there was no need for him to, as the goddess did not expect an answer. As she was about to resume her one-sided ranting, however, she was suddenly interrupted as there was an abrupt disruption of mana in the air. The change was very subtle, too subtle for anyone to notice it. But she was not anyone. She was a divine being, a goddess. She could detect the slightest mana fluctuations in the atmosphere, and this one was surely not one that could be ignored.

“Your Eminence,” the angel called in concern, as he also felt the mana disruption. “That’s…!”

The goddess shifted her attention back to the Tree of Life. As she placed a hand on its trunk, she felt Yggdrasil’s core reacting.

“That’s not good,” she finally finished his sentence, wincing.

She had felt something like that before. This was not the first time. But this is exactly because this was not the first time that she could tell this was not a good thing.

Something similar happened over five thousand years ago. Back then, the gods ignored the matter, considering it trivial. However, they soon came to regret that decision.

There was only one thing that could make Yggdrasil's core react. At this thought, the Goddess of Wind and Wisdom furrowed her brows.

“Someone just ascended…”

The birth of a new god.

Displeased, Veda clicked her tongue.

Mortals having the possibility to infinitely elevate themselves from the point from which they departed, they could, theoretically speaking, elevate themselves to become gods. Theoretically. In practice, however, it was impossible. To become a god, a mortal would need to go through several stages of elevation. One elevation, however, was already hard enough, as it would take years for them to fulfill all required conditions to elevate. Mortals’ life was too short to allow them to go through several elevations. There has been a case of a mortal reaching godhood once, though. But that mortal was not completely mortal. That mortal was a demi-god. A child born from a mortal and a divine. This was the only one case where mortals could reach godhood. Because while demi-gods did not inherit their divine parent’s powers, they did inherit their immortality. Once they reached adulthood, they stopped aging completely, offering them eternity to elevate.

There was once a demi-god who dedicated his life to train himself. Despite the time it took, he eventually did manage to reach godhood. Being still significantly weaker than them however, the Original Gods did not deem it necessary to stop him. But unlike them, the demi-god had the possibility to progress. To grow stronger. And so he did. Slowly, but surely, the demi-god grew strong enough to match the Original Gods’ power. He had, however, no intention to conform to their Rules. Spreading terror and death among mortals, he soon became known as the Evil God.

The threat of the Evil God was now long gone, but his ascension forced the Original Gods to realize how dangerous demi-gods could potentially be. If they were given enough time, they could, theoretically speaking, surpass them, completely overthrowing the balance of the world. To prevent this from happening, the remaining demi-gods had all been executed, and a new Rule was established. No child shall ever be born between a mortal and a divine.

Yet, someone just ascended. A new god was born.

How? Did a demi-god somehow slip through the net? Did an Original break the Rule and conceived a child with a mortal?

In all cases, this was not something good. The gods had learned from their mistakes now. They would not let history repeat itself.

Veda focused on Yggdrasil. She connected her energy to the Tree of Life and followed its roots, pinpointing the origin of the mana disruption.

“This is near Agraal,” she managed to locate the new god. “Is anyone near Agraal at the moment?”

The others had probably also felt the sudden mana disruption. If anyone were near Agraal, they would be able to react quickly.

“Agraal?” the angel repeated, as he suddenly recalled something. “I think I’ve heard that the Goddess of Lust and Mischief and the God of Love and Chivalry were spotted there recently.”

“Yoko and Harri?” Veda suddenly squinted. “That’s… quite unusual.”

Those two couldn’t stand each other. There was no way they would stay at the same place together. Veda knew that better than anyone. These past fifty thousand years, they had done nothing but fight, and most of the time, she had been the one to separate them. Something was fishy about this. First, the incident in the North Continent, where a colossal amount of mana was suddenly summoned out of nowhere. Then, the appearance of this new god. And now, Yoko and Harri hanging out together.

“What’s been going on here, lately?” the Goddess muttered in confusion, frowning her eyes.

“Your Eminence,” the angel called, “what are your orders?”

Veda sighed, having made her decision.

“Send everyone available,” she ordered.

“And what should we do if we ever encounter the new god?”

“Is that even a question? The Rules are clear.” The Goddess marked a pause, giving her angel a meaningful look. “Eliminate on sight.”

The angel placed a hand on his heart and bowed his head.

“Naturally.”