Uriel had no idea.

But he felt like it was primordial.

Many things were starting to come together; from his ’nill’ moniker, to his broken scar, to his path, which he didn’t understand yet, hadn’t been acknowledged by, and was being corrupted.

He felt like if he understood that single truth, everything would finally make sense.

’...’

But he couldn’t. It was as if a wall of endless darkness barred him from it. It was so close, yet so distant, so clear, yet so elusive.

Uriel took a breath, then sighed. ’The answer will come to me in due time.’

BANG! BOOM! BOOM!

The building tribulation in the skies finally seemed to sense his presence, and seeing that he interfered with Samael, it seemed to become even more enraged.

The lightning danced in the skies like slithering ancient dragons, thickening until it became as wide and large as titanic pillars, shifting to a deep crimson.

The air stunk of blood, and a deep Will that sought retribution and punishment blanketed the forest.

"..."

Uriel slowly raised a palm, and with it, swaths of wood aether rose, the air being dyed green as his Wood Ring revving to life.

The runic fabric of the world bent and twisted under the pull and weight of his magic, and just the slightest bit of his spirit’s authority leaked out.

’Let’s call it...’

Uriel’s Will, which had been becoming more and more tangible as of late, streamed into his ring, harmonising with his spirit and aligning his body through his stars.

The engine of his power—from his magic, to his martial arts, to his aether—was so smooth and well-oiled that he couldn’t help but smile.

’...Star Echelons.’

[First Wood Star Echelon: Looming Mother]

The world shook.

All trees in the forest, all streams of energy in the surroundings for thousands of kilometres, every root across the world, and every single last bit of plant life within Uriel’s range harmonised.

For a moment, it all aligned, forming a new type of formation that went deeper than simply drawn runes; directly using Wills and living beings as abstract components of a larger structure.

WHOOOSH!

The gigantic formation Uriel had drawn activated, and his surroundings were entirely dyed green and bronze, a gigantic spectral manifestation of a tree forming above him.

Its mere trunk was larger than the forest, and its canopy more than wide enough to blot out the skies, piercing past the clouds and reaching toward outer space.

The projection was massive beyond words and comprehension. And the wooden aether it wafted out was such that all other elemental streams couldn’t help but bend.

In its presence, nothing but wood could reign supreme.

PAH!

The lightning in the skies shattered, unable to form under the dominion of Uriel’s formation. The projection shook, and its branches slithered across the air like serpents, breaking the formation of dark clouds looming above the world.

Uriel’s Wood Will thundered across the skies, his resonant dominance sharpening it and his true infusion turning it into a true weapon.

The Heaven’s Will in the skies broke in nothing but a blink, and the tribulation faded before it could fully form, let alone descend to strike Samael.

’It feels good to be back.’ Uriel grinned. ’But... it seems I’ll have to find a solution for my reserves. I can’t be burning everything so fast all the time.’

If a First Star Echelon Spell, which when scaled to Uriel’s prowess would be equal to a First Circle Spell, could drain nearly all his energy so easily, what would higher Echelons do?

Never had Uriel thought that one day he’d be hoping for an even larger aether pool, yet here he was.

Still, he smiled. ’It’s fine. I’ll figure something out.’

He wasn’t worried in the least. If there was one thing he’d always be confident about, it was his magic.

To Ithuril and those of humanity, he may as well have been an Arcane God. Soon, that title would extend to all, regardless of worlds and ranks.

It was only a matter of time.

...

Parthyn stood in the depths of Kael.

The commotion had alerted all powerhouses of the city, and after what had happened a couple of days ago, most were already on edge.

"..."

Rain fell harshly, and many rushed back into their homes, terrified by the booming echoes of thunder that ravaged the air.

"..."

He stood on a rooftop, looking far into the distance where the tribulation had been forming. His gaze was fixed on it, almost frozen.

His veil flickered in and out of being, and he let himself be drenched by the hail, uncaring for anything.

He couldn’t believe it.

’The Heavens were... angry.’

Uriel didn’t know it, but not all tribulations were built the same, and not every tribulation had the same purpose.

While Uriel understood it as punishment, in truth, tribulations were a sort of test set by the world after a breakthrough.

It was a test of Will and foundation.

You either died, thus proving unworthy of your power, or you lived, refining your will and having your core tempered by the skies.

None of that involved emotion. None of it involved wrath.

The Heavens were only ever angry at—

’...horrors. No... a Human Horror? How...? Wait, no.’

It wasn’t that the Heavens usually struck Horrors down. If that were the case, then the Wildlands would never have Horror tides.

It was a very specific type of Horrors that the Heavens hated.

A single type.

’I have to report this,’ Parthyn bleakly thought, but then he paused. ’But maybe...’

There was another side to the equation, which was even more shocking than the Heavens being angry.

Somehow, whether it be Uriel or Samael, one of the two had managed to shatter the tribulation, then summon that gigantic projection.

Normally, shattering a tribulation was seen as impossible. But for the few who could, an even bigger punishment would be handed down.

But Parthyn could tell that nothing would happen, almost as if the skies had forgotten their anger.

’A Spirit and Horror?’ He frowned. ’What the hell did she get involved with...’

Things were spiraling out of control, and he felt like soon, chaos would come to consume their once peaceful city.

And with chaos, death came.

"..."

Parthyn looked away from the forest and turned to observe the civilians of the city, all of whom were either terrified and rushing back home, or climbing onto their roofs to look at the gigantic tree that had appeared in the skies.

Most immediately assumed it to be the result of a battle between a Horror, Beast, and Hunter—or worse, a battle between Hunters for spoils and treasures.

Such things were very common.

’People will die.’ Seeing the aloofness on their expressions made his heart ache. ’Too many people.’

His gaze steeled, then he vanished.

’We have to prevent it.’

He disappeared just in time to miss the aura that awakened in the forest in the wake of the fading tribulation.

RUMBLE!