Extra 16: Gate (12)

"Leader, this energy" - muttered an elf as he saw how in the distance, a huge sea of trees began to grow.

"It is as if Wareharun-sama is celebrating" - said the leader of the elves as they all fell to their knees at this miracle - "But, this does not seem to be the presence of our goddess, in fact, it would appear to be someone quite different."

"Wareharun-sama tells me that he is her master" - replied one of the priests in the group - "She appointed him as her superior, a greater entity"

"But, Wareharun-sama represents the forest itself" - said a little girl, confused with the situation - "Unless"

"Yes, he is nature" - replied the old man with a small smile.

The elves shouted with excitement because that meant only one thing, a new era of prosperity for their race.

They quickly ran through the forest that had just appeared out of nowhere, tears in their eyes as they listened to the whisper of their goddess.

* * * * *

"Hardy-sama, please guide my way" - Yao murmured as she walked towards her destination, though her expression changed when she saw a sea of trees appear in front of her - "Impossible!"

She quickly ran around the place, because she felt as if she was in the middle of a dream because it was impossible for a sea of trees to appear out of nowhere, as if it was just an illusion.

Yao slowly touched the nearby tree and realized that it was solid, which was even more unbelievable.

"Maybe this is what my clan was looking for?" - Yao asked as she opened her eyes as she saw a city looming in the distance - "I think I've arrived."

* * * * *

"Done" - muttered Kurama as he disappeared from the place and returned to his throne- "Though I'm surprised to have sensed some people with a huge connection to nature."

Kurama slowly closed his eyes and started to feel how a strange energy started to concentrate inside him, as if it was centering over his heart, creating a kind of golden sphere.

"Is this what strengthens the gods?" - Kurama muttered as he shook his head as he could feel his body changing slightly, one of the few disadvantages of his ability to adapt to multiple situations.

Kurama again shook his head before sighing regretfully. He had tried to communicate with Kaguya, but the dimensional current made contact impossible.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said I was a god" - Kurama muttered as he sighed with regret - "Now I feel like my existence is being connected to this dimension."

Kurama knew that things had already gotten out of control, and what was worse, these changes had gone unnoticed until their state were already too far advanced.

He reached out his hand and released a golden aura, only to have it disappear because the more he used this power, the faster the changes within him became.

* * * * *

"I'm surprised, no, shocked, no, thrilled" - Cato said as he saw the forest outside the city. He quickly walked over to a tree to try to feel it and notice how this tree was not only much more resilient, firm, and had a potent energy within it - "This tree can serve as a potent conductor of magic, a wizard would kill to have a staff of this material."

"Master, this tree seems to have received a blessing" - Lelei added while frowning.

"Why do you say that?" - Arpeggio asked while tilting her head to one side - "Maybe because of the strange energy flowing inside it?"

"Yes, it doesn't look like magic, that's why I deduced that it's the power of the gods" - replied Lelei while closing her eyes - "It's impressive, it seems as if this energy blends directly with nature, it could even blend with us if Kurama-sama wished it to."

"Now that you say it, you're right, this strange energy seems to modify the inside of living beings" - said Cato while pulling his beard - "Interesting, I wonder if Kurama-sama can give this blessing to other living beings?"

"Hmm, I think it's possible, although this blessing must be hard to get, maybe it should have certain merits" - muttered Lelei while cocking her head to the side.

"Maybe we can ask Tyuule-dono?" - Cato asked as the two began to argue.

"It's possible" - muttered Lelei as the two were having an increasingly heated argument.

"Those two" - sighed Arpeggio as she shook her head before looking at Tyuule - "Do you think I can cut down one of the trees to do some experiments?"

Tyuule gave her a blank look before telling her that she would ask her god if she could authorize her to cut down ONE.

Arpeggio scratched her cheek because it was obvious Tyuule had seen right through her - "Thank you."

"Hmph!" - Tyuule snorted before retreating.

"That was, interesting" - muttered Mizari as she left, she still had work to do, but her expression changed as she noticed a group approaching towards the entrance of the city - "Oh?"

Cato seemed to detect these presences and watched in surprise as a group of elves approached, "Is this a coincidence?"

"Elves?" - Arpeggio asked in surprise because this was strange - "What are the children of the forest doing in this place?"

"I have no idea, but I think it has something to do with Kurama-sama" - replied Lelei as she shrugged - "Maybe they received a message from their goddess and came to this place, which is surprising because they arrived just at the time of the birth of a new forest."

Tyuule paused when she heard this before turning back and looking at the new group approaching - "Interesting."

She quickly walked towards the entrance and waited for them to arrive.

A few minutes later, Tyuule watched as the group of elves had arrived at the entrance.

"Welcome to [Samsara], the city of reincarnation" - Tyuule said with a small professional smile - "My name is Tyuule, one of the confidants of Kurama-sama, the god of this city, how may I serve you?"

"Confident?" - Asked the group leader as he raised an eyebrow - "Are you some sort of consort of Kurama-sama?"

"I'd like to, but no, I'm just one of the people who control some mortal things in the city" - answered Tyuule calmly while crossing his arms - "Anyway, I'd like to know what is the reason for your arrival"

"We received a message from our goddess, Wareharun-sama for us to come to this place" - answered a man who was clearly a priest - "She said that here we could prosper without fear of being hunted for being members of our lineage."

"I see" - muttered Tyuule before nodding - "In order to enter [Samsara], you only need to answer a few questions."

"Questions?" - repeated an elf, confused with the situation.

"Yes, just a few questions" - answered Tyuule calmly - "These are, name, age, race, specialty, regrets, and if there is anything you want to confess"

"Anything we want to confess?" - One elf asked as the others looked at each other.

"Yes, here in [Samsara] we believe in second chances" - answered Tyuule as she closed her eyes - "That's why we call it the city of reincarnation, once you set foot inside, it doesn't matter your past, here everyone has the same conditions to succeed."

"No offense, this sounds like a fantasy" - replied the leader of the elven group.

"I think the same, but Kurama's trust has paid off" - replied Tyuule with a small smile - "He reached out to them and gave them a second chance, and people reciprocated with actions."

Many could call Kurama a dreaming idiot, but his actions were showing much better results than people expected.

"What about the people who don't want to accept this second chance and continue to commit barbarities?" - One of the women in the group asked.

"It depends on their offense, they suffer one punishment or another" - answered Tyuule as a huge sadistic smile appeared on her face - "If they are thieves, it can range from whippings, all the way to having their hands cut off, so they won't steal again."

The elves trembled when they heard this, though at the same time they could assure that with that kind of punishment, the criminals would never commit a crime again.

"Anyway, now I have to go finish with my work, if you need more information, you can talk to the gatekeepers, oh, and I recommend you not to lie because we will know, Kurama created a mechanism for that kind of situations" - said Tyuule while walking towards the interior of the city - "If you follow the rules, this is a wonderful place, you could even live in the forest instead of the interior, that is one of Kurama-sama's new policies for the members of races that like to live in wooded areas."

The elves looked at each other before nodding, but their expressions changed to one of disgust when they sensed a familiar aura.

"What is a traitor doing in this place?" - asked a young elf, as he felt an aura similar to his own, slowly approaching.

"I don't know, but it's better if he doesn't do anything stupid" - replied the leader of the group.