First Demonic Dragon

World Trees are alive.

Though their sentience occurs less in the way we recognize biological organisms. Instead, their existence is that of an intangible, empathetic sort.

Most of the time, they don’t think so much as they feel. But they do talk to ones who know how to listen.

They concentrate on feeling the same sensations that mortals and immortals experience as they tread upon their lands. It is the closest thing they can get to being human.

That said, world trees can form their own bodies out of nothing in the same way certain primordial gods can. They just choose not to because they get easily overstimulated.

Could you imagine you live your life in one place, comfortable for trillions of years in the chilly universe, and then all of a sudden you’re in a much weaker and smaller body, running around and jumping haphazardly?

You would get motion sick. Or at the very least, disgusted by your body, which you have known to be dry and solid all your life, suddenly becoming wet and squishy.

Suffice it to say, the novelty of the whole experience wears off rather quickly.

As such, it is extremely rare for world trees to make their own bodies for any reason.

That said, they are not above slumming it with the beings who inhabit their lands. If they feel things are amiss, they will jump in for course correcting.

And when they have something to say, they are experts at making sure their voices are heard.

“…Your brother still sucks.”

“I know, Yggy. I know.”

Together, Nubia and little Yggdrasil watched the reconstruction of Asgard.

Thanks to the help of powerful forces of creation and nature, restoration had taken almost no time, and now it was receiving the finishing touches.

Nubia cradled a young Yggdrasil in her arms as she walked around, bringing surges of natural energy into the freshly repaired lands.

The effects on her were apparent.

Her glossy, pale skin was developing a further luster and cleanliness.

Nubia smiled down at her form while being careful to remember that despite how she looked, she was not a child.

Yggdrasil may have even been as old as Nyx and her father. She was surely older than Gaia.

She tended to use a child-like form because she believed people would be more inclined to treat the ground they walked on more kindly if it was in the form of a cute, delicate young girl.

It was hard to say that her thinking was far off.

Yggdrasil isn’t dissimilar to Gabbrielle in that regard. She hides her immense amount of knowledge and wisdom behind a compact, adorable face.

“…Is your mommy really missing?” Yggdrasil said.

Nubia smiled bitterly.

“…Kind of. We know where she is, we just… can’t reach her. She and my parents went into the gates.”

“The pearly gates???” Yggdrasil tilted her head cutely.

“The dark gates.”

“The infernal ones? Why? It’s not like anyone is in there anymore.”

“The forbidden ones.” Nubia emphasized.

That information took a while to settle into Yggdrasil’s brain. She just couldn’t process it.

But once she had a sufficient understanding, all hell broke loose as she grabbed Nuba by the face.

“YOU LET MY SWEET LITTLE ERI-POOH GO INTO THAT DARK PLACE ALONEEEE!?!”

“F-First of all, I didn’t ‘let’ my mom do anything! I’m their child, I can’t stop them from doing what they want! And she’s not alone, the rest of my parents are still with her!”

“Like that matters! Your dirty, rotten mommies and daddy just want to touch her where she pees!”

Nubia would be hard pressed to tell her that she was wrong.

Yggdrasil suddenly placed her hand on her chin and put on a thoughtful expression.

“Although… I guess Miss Lillian is okay. And Lady Lisa.”

“I’m sure they’ll be very happy to hear that.” Nubia smiled.

Yggy turned her gaze towards Nubia and posed a straightforward question.

“Why on earth would they go into that dark place..? Did Ashy-Mommy punish them for having sex somewhere that they shouldn’t?”

“…They wouldn’t do that to Asherah, Yggy.”

“Wouldn’t they, though?”

“…A-Anyway, Asherah didn’t send them. They left because they needed ingredients for an antidote to these… weird flowers that they discovered. Apparently, it’s something that can only be found in there.”

The gears on Yggdrasil’s ancient brain began turning.

“…Weird flowers, you say?”

Nubia raised a brow suspiciously. “…Yes… Mom theorized that they were genetically engineered by Chaos with the help of our… of a man named Dagon.” She corrected.

Yggdrasil’s eyes contained a knowledgeable light. But it was only there for a moment before it was replaced by the flittery, innocent eyes of a child.

She held out her small hand, and a blue mist enveloped her palm.

Within the mist, Nubia could see the captured images of strange glowing flowers.

“Are these what you were talking about?”

Nubia nodded slowly. “I-I believe so… How do you know what these are?”

Yggdrasil nodded thoughtfully.

“They started springing up inside of me a few months ago. In small inlets, mostly. They make me feel… icky.

I’ve been subtly changing the landscape where I could to make sure things don’t go near them.

I feel like something bad’ll happen if the sweet animals your mommy made for me try to eat them.”

Nubia was shocked beyond belief.

The reason being, Yggdrasil’s personality was very… particular.

She considers herself an outside observer. Outside of beings like Yesh, Lailah, and Audrina, she contains the single largest well of knowledge about the realms that make up her branches.

The only problem with this is, she is extremely unmotivated to share it with any who might ask.

Being an ancient divine tree has long imparted upon her the value of minding her own business.

She has no problem staying removed from the conflicts of those who dwell inside of her.

The reason being- Yggdrasil is not a tree spirit that one would consider to be ‘benevolent’.

In fact, it is almost the very opposite. Almost nothing would fill her with more joy than for every being on two legs to spontaneously die inside of her all at once.

There would be no more noise. No more hurt. She could rest eternally without being disturbed by the whispers of strife and war.

The thought of boredom had never crossed her mind. Even less so when she met Eris and Nubia.

She figured that, if she were ever to stoop so low as to require entertainment, she could invite them to come here and frolic in her empty, clean fields.

Maybe they could bring their wives and husbands too… If she was feeling generous.

For her to actually find something that she decided needed intervention, the flowers must have given her a worse feeling than what she could put into words.

Suddenly, Yggdrasil held out her hand and formed a piece of paper and a feather pen.

Rolling up her sleeves, she began writing a list.

“I’m giving you the locations of the flowerbeds that I’m currently aware of…. Get one of your dunderheaded brothers to torch them for me.” She yawned.

Nubia almost dropped the young girl from shock.

She warily took the sheet of paper and looked it over, memorizing it instantly.

“I… Thank you for this, Yggy. I think some of us are going to need something to do while the rest look for Thea, so… this will hopefully prevent the entire house from going insane.”

For a moment, Yggdrasil’s eyes seemed incalculably old. She placed her hand on Nubia’s cheek and showed her a tender smile.

“I hope you find your family, Nubby. I may not care for your whole bunch, but I do know how much they mean to you.”

Nubia smiled at her tenderly.

She placed her forehead against the child’s in response. For a moment, Yggdrasil’s cheeks turned bright pink.

“…I really appreciate this, Yggy. I’ll bring my entire family back to thank you once we find them.”

Nubia pulled her head away a moment too soon for Yggrasil’s liking, but she didn’t complain. That would be way too embarrassing.

Even a divine tree had it’s pride to maintain.

“At the risk of overstepping with your generosity…” Nubia began awkwardly. “Is there any chance that-“

“I know not where your sister has been taken, Nubia. This, I swear to you.” Yggdrasil sighed.

Nubia’s mood deflated.

“But, since I like you and you helped me… There are two things I can tell you. But you can only choose one, okay?” Yggdrasil held up a single finger.

Nubia nodded fervently. She didn’t even consider trying to barter with the ancient spirit, for fear that the child would take back the offer as quickly as she had given it.

Yggdrasil smiled. “Then, would you like to hear about your sister, or would you like to hear about the earth?”

Nubia barely even needed a moment to think about it. Her sister came before everything else.

“Thea.”

Yggdrasil smiled.

“I’m pretty sure your sister is being held on Earth.”

“W-What makes you say-“

Just like that, Yggdrasil disappeared from Nubia’s arms.

She didn’t get to ask a follow-up question or even get a location.

But she knew where to start looking. And for now, that had to be enough.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!