The forest continues to grow.
As if it would reach the very edge of the sky.
The forest of the Silva Empire had recently ceased the bustle that, like the sea of the Aqua Empire, had kept it busy for some time, and entered into a rare tranquility.
Peace had come to Silva not only because it had reunited with Aqua after the fall of the Yellow Dragon Montanus.
Because the Metalum Empire had withdrawn its army from the center due to its clash with the Terra Empire, the threat had grown distant from Silva’s perspective.
Thus, no trace of tension could be felt around Silva any longer.
Not a few woodland regions that had been devastated by Metalum’s invasion were also recovering their former appearance.
Trees, bushes, and countless vines slowly stretched out once more, filling the gaps in the forest, and Silva breathed calmly, as though it had always been so.
At the heart of Driandel, two trees were quietly conversing.
For a while, it had been their daily routine to argue over one topic or another, let it turn into a quarrel, and in the end escalate into a physical fight.
Now, they were leisurely photosynthesizing while respecting each other’s opinions.
“These days, you know, I’m just grateful no matter where the sunlight comes from. What does the direction matter?”
“Exactly. After living so long, isn’t it something? Back then, we were young and didn’t know any better.”
“Hm? We’ve lived long? The world does seem to have changed a lot, though.”
“At this point, we’ve lived long. We even saw those pieces of metal invade all the way into our territory once.”
“Those things…… came from the west, was it?”
“That’s right. If the east is the direction of life, then the west must be the direction where such terrifying things exist. Now I understand why Uncle avoids mentioning the west.”
The two trees looked at a large tree that had taken root nearby.
That tree, older than they were, stood upright toward the sky, showing off its dignity.
“Uncle.”
One of the two trees spoke to the large tree.
“Do you mean me? What is it?”
“What’s in the west is called Metalum, right? Why are those bastards coming all the way here? What are they trying to get?”
“Hmm.”
The large tree lowered its trunk toward them.
“They are after the Life Core that breathed life into us. Those creatures are as violent and ignorant as they look. They want to conquer this world. I hear that even now, they are abusing themselves in order to become stronger. But no matter how much they do such things, what they cannot possess is our life.”
“Oho.”
The two trees were surprised at the same time.
“Metalum really is a dangerous existence to us. To think they tried to ruin this forest with metal. Is there no way to keep them from coming?”
“There are roughly two methods. One is for us to grow even more than we have now, so that we will not be cut by mere lumps of metal. The other is for the fire energy of the south to make Metalum withdraw, but……”
“Fire energy…… Ignis……?”
The two trees looked at each other.
The large tree shook its branches up and down.
“That is so. Metalum is weak against Ignis. If fire comes between us and Metalum, Metalum will not be able to set foot near our forest. But the most important thing is for us ourselves to grow without cease. Rather than depending on others.”
“Oho…… I understand. You mean we must become stronger than metal.”
“Exactly. No matter how much it is steel, it cannot cut through firm roots.”
From the branches of the trees, swaying lightly, the sound of wind flowed quietly.
The aura of war still lingered somewhere in this world, but Silva, like Aqua, had stepped ahead into a time of rest.
Empress Drian sat quietly upon the throne within her fortress and looked down over her empire.
Within her eyes dwelled the energy of countless lives.
“How long has it been? Since the moment we were able to grow in our own way, without interference from anyone.”
She slowly reached out her hand.
Following her hand, the leaves trembled as though responding.
The forest of the Silva Empire was recovering its original self.
“At last, the time is drawing near.”
Drian spoke as she walked out of her fortress.
She stroked every part of the fortress with her own hand.
Silva’s fortress, shaped like a tree and therefore a living being, yet at the same time a defensive facility that supplied vitality to the entire Silva Empire and protected not only itself but all of Silva.
Drian’s retainers, Tarban and Bramir, approached her side.
Their expressions, too, had brightened.
Tarban spoke first.
“Your Majesty, the number of guardian tree spirits has already exceeded ten. We have become far stronger than at any moment in the past.”
Bramir chimed in as well.
“At this level, even without relying on Ignis, we will be more than capable of defending against Metalum. As long as we continue to maintain our relationship with Aqua, our forest will be eternal.”
Drian smiled.
“You have truly worked hard. I can feel it as well. That we have grown even more than before.”
As her gaze was fixed on the fortress, Bramir spoke again.
“It is thanks to Your Majesty’s fortress, after all. Your Majesty’s fortress is breathing vitality into the entire forest.”
Drian looked up at the top of the fortress and said,
“But this fortress still holds the potential for growth. Its growth into the final stage remains.”
Tarban nodded.
“Then the speed of growth will become even faster. And we, too, will soon meet a dragon of our own.”
“A dragon……”
Drian fell into thought for a moment.
Of course, neither she nor her retainers could know for certain what majesty Silva’s dragon would display once summoned.
What was certain was that, due to the relationship of mutual opposition, Silva’s dragon would be able to overwhelm Terra’s Yellow Dragon Montanus.
Drian slowly opened her mouth.
“Yes…… soon, before long, our guardian deity will appear in this forest.”
Though they exchanged hopeful words, none of them brought up advancing or invasion.
Silva had never shown any will to invade Terra in the first place.
They had merely dispatched troops whenever Terra first provoked the space between Aqua and Silva.
Of course, Terra’s Montanus had recently trespassed into their territory as well, but as the situation improved, Silva’s hostility toward Terra gradually faded.
Interestingly, the trigger for Silva and Aqua to restore their relationship had been Montanus’s appearance.
While Silva and Aqua had their backs turned to each other, Montanus had torn through their border, and so the two empires had joined forces to defeat Montanus.
Drian said to her retainers,
“I will soon grow this fortress. There is nothing you must do immediately. All you need to do is watch as this fortress grows toward the sky. Not only you, but all our children as well—I would like everyone to enjoy this sight together.”
Tarban and Bramir bowed their heads.
Tarban replied,
“It will surely be so. All of us must share this beautiful moment together.”
Drian stood alone atop the highest stem of the fortress.
Beneath her feet, countless branches stretched out in intricate patterns, and below them, a vast dome of leaves that moved as if breathing enveloped the empire’s sky.
“Growth is the instinct of life.”
Drian quietly opened her palm.
The green light that bloomed from her hand soon began to flow along the stems.
It was a command and a stimulus, and at the same time, the embodiment of encouragement.
The trees that formed the fortress immediately responded to Drian’s gesture.
A vibration began, and from deep within the roots, new life energy surged upward.
The vines covering the outer walls of the fortress began to grow again, and the branches that had filled the sky stretched toward higher and wider places.
“The shade is spreading!”
The citizens within Driandel stopped in their tracks and looked up at the fortress.
The surrounding trees and bushes, too, were gazing up at the fortress as it rose higher and higher.
The fortress did not grow only upward.
It also sent roots downward.
It extended its roots beneath the earth and made the entire forest tremble.
Every living being in the forest came to know where the source of that vibration was.
Drian smiled.
This place was a living existence itself.
A massive life-form that understood itself, grew by itself, and knew how to express its own will.
And at its heart was she.
“We will no longer follow anyone. Soon, growth will be where we stand foremost.”
The growth of the fortress did not stop.
This time, a new stem extended from the very top.
Like a crown, it formed a round and gentle crown of life at the pinnacle of the fortress.
It was the moment when the symbol of the Silva Empire evolved once more.
Drian lowered her hand and slowly stepped back.
The command to grow had ended, and now it was time to wait.
The fortress’s growth was not yet over.
But before long, it would reach the endpoint of its growth.
Drian turned her steps toward her own space.
The Room of Life, the source of all life.
The trees there shook their leaves as if responding the moment Drian entered the room.
Drian did not say anything in particular yet.
She slowly wandered through the Room of Life.
The fortress was still growing, and faint tremors rose from the floor.
“Nereia…… is she doing well, I wonder.”
That name had felt awkward until not long ago.
Now it was no longer so.
Drian had not forgotten the time when Empress Nereia of the Aqua Empire first set foot in the forest.
Their relationship had begun with somewhat awkward greetings, but now she was someone Drian trusted more deeply than anyone.
Drian had her eyes closed.
She retraced the past, little by little.
Events both great and small flashed past again like a revolving lantern.
Ignis’s approach and atrocities, and then its helping hand.
Metalum’s assault and the devastation of the forest.
Terra’s unexpected, sudden actions.
All those other incidents had now passed.
And now, the fortress’s final growth lay before her eyes.
“If we can embrace one another, then this world will suffer a little less hurt.”
She lifted her gaze.
The green light seeping through the veins of the leaves pulsed in rhythm, like a heartbeat.
Life, too, is part of the world’s flow, like waves.
Whether war or peace, everything is decided upon that flow.
“If we continue forward like this, will there be no problems from now on?”
At least from Drian’s perspective, that was so.
There appeared to be no being that could block the path ahead for Silva and Aqua.
Countless tree guardian spirits were already protecting Silva, and in addition, Silva’s dragon, soon to appear, would also guard the forest.
It was then.
In a place far away from the Silva Empire, a clamorous noise was still spreading.
Steel continued to temper itself, and enormous gears and steel frames meshed together, periodically letting out a thunderous sound like a heartbeat.
“At last, the moment of glory draws near.”
The voice of Emperor Oruma of the Metalum Empire rumbled low.
He was looking up at the pure white sky covered in a metallic sheen.