Prelude

Eldric had waited for this moment ever since he was chased out of the tribe by Ronan. Nearly four decades had gone by since the time he had been stewing in anger and scheming his revenge.

With World Tree as his puppet, no one could stop him from uniting the Continent. Even the Lord Protector would have no choice but to submit to his power.

Eldric stood atop a tall tree and looked at his tribe's Inner Sanctum one last time to etch that beautiful scenery into his memory, because by the end of that day, only sticks and stones would be left in its place.

For a moment he thought it would be a waste to devastate the very place he grew up in, but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.

"I've been through so much to get here. I can't have a change of heart now." Eldric slapped himself lightly to remain stone-hearted and marched towards the Inner Sanctum at a steady pace as if he wasn't afraid of anything.

He had to be since his plan was perfect. During his time in Varn, he had poured his blood and sweat into concocting this plan.

He had fooled everyone into thinking that his Puppet Makers were solely for the purpose of firepower. What they didn't know was that he had chosen to create this particular monster solely for its ability to hold the souls of people.

For the creation of Puppet Maker, three virgin females needed to be sacrificed and their souls would be trapped inside the monster until they were released by an external force.

Eldric had known that much from the books in the elven library and had thought nothing of that information. Although the idea of having a strong monster as a pet had already started taking root in his mind at that time without his knowing.

It was just one of those dumb rituals for him that weren't worth wasting his time on.

It wasn't until he broke bread with the people of Varn that he became aware of the sheer magnitude of power these rituals could produce and Eldric had never been the same again.

As a man whose hunger for power was endless, he became enamoured with the art of ancient rituals and dove head-first into that field of study.

Even his Phantom Shifter was a product of such rituals. The very idea of stealing another man's Innate Spirit was absurd for the old Eldric.

"Everyone! Head to the Sacred Chamber! Now!"

Eldric chuckled as he could hear his old friend's distressed cry over the distance. "Ohh, poor Ronan! You have no idea what I have in store for you! Hahahaha!"

Hearing Ronan's voice only served to boost his confidence as he quickened his pace and entered the Inner Sanctum within a few moments.

Just like he had expected, Ronan was there to stop him.

"This is as far as you will go, Eldric!" Ronan screamed as he unsheathed his sword and took a fighting stance.

"We will see…" Eldric turned intangible like a ghost and completely ignored Ronan as he went past him— unobstructed.

"That damned Innate Spirit again! Fight, you coward!" Ronan, who was expecting a fight, was left flabbergasted as Eldric ignored him.

"There is no need to fight you, Ronan. What I am about to do is more than the petty vengeance between us." Eldric said nonchalantly.

"Don't think for a second that you will succeed! World Tree isn't some shrub growing in your backyard. It will fight back and when it does, there will be nothing left of you to repent!"

Ronan swung his sword at Eldric but the sword harmlessly passed through his body.

"When will you learn, Ronan? Your attacks do not affect me. Stop resisting and surrender. I will make your death painless."

"I will never surrender to someone like you!" Ronan spat angrily. However, he was panicking on the inside. How come Eldric was here alone? Where was his army of Puppet Makers?

What was he planning to do?

The lack of information was making it pretty frustrating for Ronan to deal with Eldric.

"Haha, it doesn't matter if you surrender or not. You're going to die anyway." Eldric shrugged and made his way towards the World Tree, unbothered by Ronan's relentless attacks that followed after him.

-Star Beam-

Just as he reached the foot of the World Tree, a brilliant ray of golden light passed through his body.

"Step away from Mother!" Celestia appeared from the side as her people hid behind her in fear. "Elders! Do not let him get closer!"

The rest of the Elders jumped down from the nearby trees and surrounded Eldric.

"Give up, Eldric! You're surrounded!" Elder Greenwood gnashed his teeth and uttered with hatred.

"Tsk, tsk, pointing your blade at a fellow clansman? How the mighty Greenwoods have fallen!" Eldric shook his head as though he was thoroughly disappointed with Elder Greenwood.

"You asshole! you are not one of us!" Elder Greenwood roared.

-Death Rose-

As Elder Greenwood unleashed his lethal spell, thorny vines with blooming black roses sprang forth from the ground and tried to ensnare Eldric.

To his credit, Eldric didn't laugh out loud and only facepalmed at Elder Greenwood's stupidity.

"Idiot! Stop wasting your mana. You may have no use for it but I do. The more mana you have the better my plan will work!"

"What do you mean, Eldric?" Ronan had a sinking feeling that something horribly wrong was about to happen.

"Hehe, my dear Ronan, why the hurry? You will find out very soon." Eldric chuckled as he activated his ritualistic magic.

-Descent of The Devouring Pyramid-

-Voom!

"Everyone! Don't let him finish it! Attack!" Celestia screamed at the top of her lungs and the Elders followed suit as they activated their domains in unison.

-King's Domain-

Eldric smirked as he felt their domains passing over him with absolutely no effect on him. His smirk widened as a gigantic magic circle spread out from under his foot and expanded outwards towards the edge of the forest.

The reason why his Puppet Makers weren't with him was because he had placed them around the whole WhisperMoon forest to form a sacrificial circle for his ritual.

The souls trapped within them were the main ingredients for his summoning ritual.

"Hahahaha! Ronan! What is the most precious thing a man or any living being possesses?" Eldric cackled madly and asked Ronan.

"Whatever madness you're planning, stop it this instant!" Ronan barked.

"Haha, you don't seem to be in the mood to answer my question. No matter, I will answer it for you. It's the soul!" Eldric spread his arms and said dramatically.

"Soul is the most precious thing. You cannot even imagine the things that can be achieved by sacrificing it."

He pointed at the sky as the dark clouds started to converge towards the Inner Sanctum. Even the blanket of clouds surrounding the World Tree was slowly starting to drift apart.

Coincidentally, the shrieking of thousands of souls reverberated through the entire forest, spooking every living being to its core.

The Puppet Makers tore themselves apart as the magic circle reached them, releasing the confined souls sealed within them into the ritual.

"And I have sacrificed thousands of them to summon this entity. Your World Tree stands no chance!"

Ronan looked up as the clouds covering the World Tree were swallowed up by the inky black clouds and moved up towards the sky.