Trees live by adapting to the environment of the world.
At the heart of the Silva Empire, the great roots of Driandel slowly twisted their bodies.
Root paths that had long lain dormant were awakening.
Vines and trunks had begun to grow from deep beneath the earth toward the border with Aqua.
Above them, the researchers of life who had received Drian’s orders were moving in a line.
“To think we’re to work together with Aqua. This is a first.”
Elona, the chief researcher, lowered herself on a branch and murmured cautiously.
Another researcher following behind her spoke, sounding somewhat dissatisfied.
“I’m still not sure. Whether this is right or not... It feels like they might take our research achievements from us.”
“We’ll know how far Aqua’s research has progressed once we see it. We may be able to make use of their results as well.”
Beneath their feet, living branches served as footholds, and overhead, long-hanging leaves filtered the light, casting a soft glow.
This road made of roots, which had begun to grow according to Drian’s will, was a new bridge connecting the two empires.
Elona sighed and spoke again.
“One thing we need to understand is that, though Aqua is our ally, their position is somewhat different from ours. Aqua is stronger than Ignis, so they can’t be touched so easily, but even if they invade our land, we can’t respond. Last time, Ignis took our cores as they pleased, and all we could do was watch. It’s truly...”
“Then their situation must be different from ours regarding that golden core or whatever it is.”
“Most likely. Perhaps they’re less desperate than we are when it comes to researching a new core.”
Though the existence of the new research institute had not yet become widely known within Silva, the movements were quiet yet unmistakable.
The researchers suspected that this research would not be a mere collaboration, but a turning point that would determine the future.
The roots of the Silva Empire stretched out over the currents and finally wrapped around the temporary research institute established on the border between the two empires.
It was like an island of water plants floating on the surface, a place where Aqua’s flow and Silva’s roots met at a single point.
The structure, swaying gently atop the soft waves and resting in silence, was an unfamiliar yet intriguing sight to the Silva researchers.
The Aqua side, too, looked with interest at the path of roots extending from Silva.
“You must have had a long journey. I am Birellen, chief researcher of the Aqua Empire.”
Birellen, the chief researcher on Aqua’s side, greeted them first.
His tone carried the chill of the sea, but the proper courtesies were observed.
Elona quietly nodded and replied.
“Pleased to meet you. I am Elona, the person in charge for the Silva Empire. Though our positions may differ, I hope our foundations are the same.”
The researchers of the two empires exchanged glances.
Birellen said,
“Now that we have met like this, our research should be able to proceed more quickly. Let us produce results that can stand against the golden core as soon as possible.”
Elona also said,
“This research will become a choice that determines the future of us all.”
The vines and the waves met smoothly and looked in the same direction.
It was a kind of omen that a new being would soon be born.
In the deep forests of the Silva Empire, the trees and leaves that usually exuded vitality in silence had recently been trembling with a certain instability.
The energy of the forest surged more roughly than usual, and the vibrations rising from the roots left subtle tremors in the bodies of the citizens as well.
Citizens whispered quietly at a resting place atop the branches.
“Golden... What kind of metal could it be? It feels as if Metalum has come right before our eyes.”
“They say Ignis made it. How did they make something like that?”
“Could it perhaps be something even more terrifying than Metalum?”
News of Ignis’s golden core was slowly spreading within Silva as well.
Especially for Silva, which was fundamentally opposed to Metalum, a new class of soldiers strengthened by metal could only feel threatening.
“Ignis already left a bad impression, honestly, since it feels like they’re exploiting us. And metal is even worse. What if they made it to target us?”
“The one relief is that we’ve joined hands with Aqua, but though we call it an alliance, will they really care about our situation?”
One citizen let out a sigh.
“Phew, but Ignis has already taken some of our cores. And that probably isn’t the end of it. Whenever they need them, they’ll cross our borders as they please and take more.”
Among the leaves scattering in the wind, the creaking of branches could be heard.
That sound was not caused by the wind alone; it meant that the forest was doubting its own stability, and the citizens were instinctively sensing it.
An old tree murmured in a low voice.
“Iron is meant to melt in fire, yet those two have combined and given birth to another substance. It must be a substance that rejects the cycle of life. To nature, it may be a calamity.”
The forest engraved that warning deep into its veins, as if recording it.
The Garden of Council within the citadel of Driandel.
As the life force flowing along the leaf veins trembled gently, Drian sat quietly in her seat.
Before her stood two retainers, Tarban and Bramir.
Drian opened her mouth.
“The golden core... A combination of fire and iron. It cannot be anything but a threat.”
Tarban nodded and said,
“That is so, Your Majesty. That which was born from fire meeting iron is the worst possible combination for our Silva Empire. We are already in a situation where we have no particular way to respond even if Ignis takes our life cores at will. If it even possesses the attribute of iron, our soldiers will be rendered even more powerless.”
Bramir added,
“The signals of their golden cores are already being detected. The vibrations flowing out from Ignis differ from ordinary cores; their waveforms are distorted. It is only natural, since they are the result of forcibly binding together attributes that are opposed to each other.”
Drian fell into thought for a moment, then slowly raised her head.
“In truth, for Aqua, this may not be such an urgent situation. We may be the only ones in difficulty. Iron is a dangerous attribute to us, but conversely, it is an attribute that aids Aqua. Their energy even overwhelms that of Ignis. I wonder if they truly considered the appearance of the golden core to be serious.”
Tarban replied,
“Generally speaking, that may be so, but if the energy of fire is too strong, even water will not be able to withstand it. Surely they felt threatened as well.”
Drian shook her head.
“Did I not say it? Iron aids water. Iron creates the flow of water. Even if the energy of fire is strong, the energy of iron may instead prevent them from suffering any harm at all. Ignis’s target is not Aqua, but us!”
After a moment of silence, she continued.
“We must establish our own order as quickly as possible. For now, we are researching a new core together with Aqua, but that alone will not be enough.”
Tarban nodded and said,
“That is true. First, we must at least succeed in our union with Aqua. We are not weak. Our method of confronting threats is simply different. We, too, must continue creating new beings suited to this era.”
Drian’s gaze deepened.
“What we aim for is not destruction, but defense—and at the same time, adaptation. What we need is not to resist the new, but to prepare ourselves to embrace it. Fusion with water is only the beginning.”
Bramir spoke cautiously.
“Your Majesty, I dare to say this, but do you not perhaps have complete trust in Aqua? Even within our own ranks, some suspicion toward Aqua still remains. The same applies to this joint research, and we cannot know how long they will continue to support us.”
Drian nodded.
“That concern is justified. But now is the time to follow the flow. We must be allied with Aqua in order to defend ourselves against Ignis’s tyranny. There may come a day when we must stand on our own without allies, so until then, we must maintain our relationship with Aqua.”
For a moment, the Garden of Council sank into silence.
The vines swayed lightly in the wind, and the bright light filtering through the leaves scattered across the floor.
Drian slowly rose from her seat.
“The path of roots has already been connected. I wish to confirm whether our research and theirs are progressing well. We must not allow the flow of our life to stop.”
Tarban and Bramir bowed their heads at the same time.
“We shall obey your command.”
Their voices overlapped with the energy of the forest and spread outward.
And that wind would soon be ready to cross with the waves.
Once again, at the temporary research institute between the borders of Silva and Aqua.
The researchers’ greetings had been brief, but the silence that followed was long.
The research teams of the two empires, Silva and Aqua, quietly observed their surroundings, each like their own attribute.
“We will proceed with data sharing in stages. There’s no need to share everything from the beginning.”
Birellen spoke first, and Elona also nodded.
“May we first see the wave core reaction experiment your side conducted? We will provide synchronization data for the life core as well.”
Their words were calm, but a subtle tension flowed between their gazes.
They were aware of each other, yet unwilling to depend on each other.
Water flows, and trees extend. The two had met, but they had not yet fully mingled.
Elona thought to herself.
‘If we succeed in creating a new core, how will we distribute those cores?’
Amid the deep greenery, Drian walked slowly alone.
Beneath her feet, roots quietly opened a path, and the light falling between the leaves trembled with every step she took.
Before long, the temporary research institute floating on the surface would come into view.
She murmured softly.
“I will grow according to the cycle of nature. But when the cycle collapses, there are times when one must adapt to a new cycle.”
Where her fingertips passed, a single leaf gently fell.
It was a leaf that held the flow of life.
Before it could touch the ground, it was carried by the wind and lifted high once more.
“Cooperation with water is a natural flow. But even within that, we must protect our own life. Even if the day comes when their waves dry up, we must be able to continue extending our roots.”
The research institute entered her field of vision.
She stopped for a moment and looked at the root and vine structure rising above the water.
“Just as one changes form at times in order to grow, we can no longer hesitate.”
She began walking again.
Quiet yet filled with resolve, the ruler of the forest was on the move.
And at that same moment, vibrations were also rising from the northern iron wall of the western region.
Now, it was Metalum’s turn to move.
Oruma was heading toward Aqua to face the new era.