In a council room…

The full royal siblings were present, each with frowns and deep in thought—even the youngest, Lyssandra.

"There's a lot we don't know about them, and from what you said, something happened in the past that we know nothing of," Vaelen broke the silence.

"Hm, it must be something connected to their sleep," Theron added, and the others nodded in agreement.

"I have one more thing to say," King Caius chipped in, drawing everyone's attention.

"The First Knight… I don't know, from the way they spoke, but I just feel they know something we don't," Caius said, as Darius's frown deepened.

"So the old and the new are keeping something from the current generation?" Seraphine asked, a sneer on her face.

"So no one can be trusted… this is much deeper than we thought," Lyssandra said with a sigh.

"Yes, you are right. Not to forget that new race, then the Dreadborne…"

"By the way, the Wild Shade organization has been quiet… far too quiet," Darius finally spoke, and everyone felt the tension rising.

This wasn't something a few of them could solve. It was a mystery. And, even more so, where had the forefathers been all this time?

Just as everyone felt they had hit a wall, Darius spoke again.

"Sorry, a general wants to talk to me. Can you please excuse me?" Darius said, and everyone nodded as he left.

Silence reigned as everyone tried to process the information.

Finally, after a few moments, Darius returned and everyone felt a chill.

His face had changed—drastically.

His eyes were so cold and indifferent that it felt like they were sitting on needles.

"Darius… what happened?" Caius asked, noticing the drastic change in his brother.

Darius sat down and spoke.

"I just got news about the forefathers," Darius began, and everyone felt their hearts in their throats as they waited anxiously.

"Coffins… a lot of coffins had appeared. The coffins we thought were merely tombs… were actually homes. An abode for the forefathers."

Boom.

Like a 9.2 magnitude earthquake, everyone felt stunned… hit so hard they didn't even know what to think.

Those coffins that had miraculously appeared—were where the forefathers had stayed for years?

At least they had thought it was the forefathers' dead bodies—not their living bodies inside the coffins.

And more importantly, did that mean what they saw in that scroll was true… or was it a clue toward solving the mystery?

"That wasn't all," Darius continued, and they all gulped.

"According to tests, the coffins contain a massive amount of life energy, energy that could easily create universes. And it has been weakened several times…"

"And the coffins look like part of a tree…"

"There had been myths that a particular tree was birthed at the beginning of time, able to create worlds. Heck, each of its flowers held entire worlds…"

"Are you guys seeing the link?" Darius asked as they gulped.

They could already guess, but didn't want to believe it.

"The Tree of Life. And history says, along with the forefathers… the Tree of Life disappeared. Now we have coffins with the same similarities as the Tree of Life, made from its wood."

"In addition, the forefathers were found sleeping in them… and the energy had been weakened over time—from being able to create several universes to what? Barely able to create a planet."

Darius stood up, clenching his fists.

"They chopped it up, made coffins, and slept in it… something that would actually benefit us all even to this age. They dared chop it… why?" Darius asked, grinding his teeth.

"That is what we want to know," Vaelen said.

"Why did they chop the Tree of Life, make it into coffins, and sleep in it to wake at this moment?"

"Wait, guys… there's something you need to know about the Trees of Life," suddenly Lyssandra said, and everyone paused.

"Grandpa always said that the Tree of Life—if one could actually devour it—one could become literally immortal, maybe even surpass the multi universe in immortality. So wouldn't other parts of the Tree of Life have the same effect?" Lyssandra concluded.

"In layman's terms… they used this as coffins to prolong their lifespan?" Seraphine finished, and Lyssandra nodded.

"But that makes no sense… aren't they already immortal?" Theron asked, stunned.

"Not quite. I have a theory," Caius said, and everyone fell silent.

"At planetary level (Rank 1)… how long is our lifespan?" Caius asked.

"Hundreds to thousands," Darius replied.

"Exactly. To mortals, what are we?"

"Immortals," Vaelen replied.

"But are we really?" Caius asked, and everyone's eyes widened.

"And that cycle doesn't stop, but continues the higher we climb. Right? So what if their lifespan came to an end, and they had to do that to survive?" Caius finished, and everyone went quiet, shocked.

"I will stop you there, older brother. If what you said is true, they would still be very much alive to this day," Darius said.

Caius looked at him, and Theron spoke sharply.

"Darius, you can't know that. Do you know how much time has passed between the forefathers and us? Even the First Knight—his age is unknown to everyone. And he constantly says he is not the first generation after the forefathers," Theron said.

"Actually, the First Knight said he was from the 17th generation," Caius said, and a gasp escaped almost everyone's mouth.

17th??

And yet people thought he was the son or even grandson of the forefathers.

The difference was massive, but it seemed they had come full circle.

"That…" Darius paused.

"At the end, we came back with even more unanswered questions. Is their lifespan really infinite or limited? What actually happened then? And much more…" Vaelen said with a sigh.

"It is infinite," Darius spoke suddenly.

"Huh… how would you know or be sure?" Theron asked.

"Because I am at the same realm…"

*******

At the deep, dark second layer of space, a group of beings with terrifying Rank 3 auras were in a heated discussion.

"Marken, what happened?" an aged man asked, his eyes blazing with fury.

"You said you would take care of the royal family, that everything would be smooth, and there would be no issues. So what is this? Why is this happening?"

"Well, if you didn't know, I was kicked out, you fool. And I don't know—who are you to blame me? None of you were able to take control of your family or organizational power. You all failed, just like me," Marken spat angrily, glaring at the aged men and women as they lowered their heads.

"Enough," a more authoritative voice suddenly thundered, releasing an aura almost at the peak of Rank 3.

A bright red-haired being stepped forward and spoke.

"Yes, we all failed, but that isn't the end. We still have other alternatives. If we can't use their powers to recover our former realm, then why not… feed on them?" The man's words spread silence across the group.

Feed on them? Were they animals? Beasts? How could they do something like that?

Wouldn't that make them no different from the Aliens who saw humans only as food? From those who kept humans as nothing but sustenance in enclosures?

More like how humans raise cows, feed them, even take care of them not just for their health, but to grow them fat and big enough to eat… and now… they had to do the same?

"But this—"

"But what? Do I need to remind you all what happened back then?"

"Look, I don't want to, but they gave us no choice. We all know this multi universe is ruined, there's no way back, and our lifespans have been severely dealt with."

"Is killing a few mortals now a big deal to you all? We chopped off the Tree of Life… what is it that we can't do?" the old man said, and everyone remained silent.

"Look, I don't care if you are still conflicted about this. For me, I won't wait and die. Besides, the so-called mortals you wanted to protect are against you now. Aren't they selfish and ungrateful? We gave everything to them—we can take it back. Besides, we only want to reclaim our true realm," the old man continued, trying to convince the others.

With the back-and-forth discussion, they finally yielded.

"Alright. Besides, if we successfully reach the next realm, then it's for the best," Marken muttered, and the rest nodded.

"Good. Let's start the feast, then," the old man said with a wicked grin.