"Alright, the rules, the origins, and so on. I get it. But why clear out such a massive area around the Death Arch?"
"Hehe... Just take a look."
"Boom."
Asmodeus felt himself being pushed out of the unknown space, or perhaps more accurately, his mind was ejected from the dimension controlled by Primis, as his body hadn't moved at all since the conversation began.
He opened his eyes again and was about to swear under his breath, but then the ground shook. Asmodeus wasn't the only one who felt it. In fact, everyone present wobbled slightly from the unexpected shift of the ground.
"Everyone, get outside!" Asmodeus shouted to the few wizards surrounding him.
He sensed that the movement just now wasn't an earthquake. It was the arch in front of him, seemingly sending out a strange shockwave. Not wanting to take any risks, Asmodeus decided to leave the place as quickly as possible. Hearing him, the wizards didn't hesitate for a second and began Apparating swiftly.
As Asmodeus, staying behind to make sure no one was left, was about to Apparate upwards, he felt the tremor again. Cursing, he Apparated just as he saw the ceiling of the once-grand Ministry of Magic building starting to collapse.
"Mother f...!"
"Boom."
Just seconds after Asmodeus disappeared from the hall, a slab of the ceiling, weighing several tons, crashed down exactly where he had been standing.
Asmodeus appeared near the barricade, about 500 meters from the red phone booth—the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. After looking around and making sure that everyone who had come with him was either nearby or behind the barricade, he nodded with satisfaction.
Turning his gaze back toward the Ministry, Asmodeus felt the tremor again.
'Couldn't Primis have explained everything beforehand instead of playing games?' he thought.
While Asmodeus observed the surrounding area, he felt the tremor once more, but this time it didn't stop. The amplitude only continued to increase.
Looking closer, he saw that the buildings around the site where the Ministry of Magic once stood began to slowly collapse and sink into the ground. Fortunately, even if the Supreme Wizarding Council had not declared an evacuation of these areas, no one would have been harmed, as the "old cities"—those built during the "pre-magical era"—were sparsely populated at this point.
People had largely migrated to areas concentrated with wizards and to undeveloped lands. Even for something like potion-making, one needed at least a small garden to grow certain ingredients for emergencies. Snape didn't bother with this at Hogwarts, as Pomona subsidized his materials, but most potion-makers preferred to have a personal garden in case of supply disruptions. This migration led to the abandonment of the old cities, and without electricity, the tall buildings became extremely impractical for living.
Seeing that the buildings around him were crumbling one by one, Asmodeus flew into the air to get a better view of what was happening. While in the air, he could no longer feel the tremors beneath his feet, but he clearly saw what was unfolding in the dust-covered zone below. He watched as a tree began to slowly emerge from the ground... if you could call something with a diameter of a few hundred meters a tree.
The growth was slow but steady. Noticing that the tree was expanding both in height and width, Asmodeus quickly ordered everyone to retreat beyond the barricades using the communication bug. With the help of the "Eagle Eye" spell, commonly used by referees in Quidditch matches, he confirmed that everyone—soldiers and civilians alike—had evacuated the barricaded area. Finally, he relaxed and focused on the strangely massive tree.
Just as he thought the tree was growing too slowly, making the evacuation seem unnecessary, the growth halted for a few seconds, with the tree reaching approximately 800 meters in diameter and 5 kilometers in height. He assumed that was it and began to relax, planning to descend and inspect the strange tree. But then he sensed a massive surge of mana at the tree's crown, and...
"Boom."
With the sound of the earth ripping apart, the tree, which had appeared to stop growing just moments before, seemed to receive the best fertilizer in the universe and began expanding rapidly once again. Not only did its diameter and height increase, but Asmodeus finally saw the tree's roots, which were now rising from the ground, gradually reaching the edges of the 5-kilometer radius he had set as a boundary.
Moreover, Asmodeus noticed strange branches growing outward in different directions. Why strange? Because usually a branch ends with leaves. But here, the enormous branches stretching out seemed to, at some point, shift into another space, becoming intangible, as if they no longer existed in this world.
The same was happening with the tree's crown. It was no longer entirely green; instead, it shimmered with multicolored hues.
Some of the leaves looked like local ghosts—transparent, but with a dirty blue outline that made their shape discernible. Others were dusted in a red color, like blood. There were also purple, gold, blue, and many other hues. Of course, green was the dominant color, which made the strangeness of the other leaves stand out even more.
It seemed to Asmodeus that the rapid growth of this strange tree would never end, but then, all movement suddenly stopped. He now saw the massive tree in its entirety, so enormous that he had to step back just to see its boundaries. It was a typical oak tree, except the trunk alone was 5 kilometers in diameter, and its height was unknown—he could no longer see the crown. Based on the tree's proportions, he estimated it to be at least 65 kilometers tall, knowing that an oak is usually 13 times taller than its diameter. Don't ask him how he knows this useless information...
Valchar and the other druids had a habit of sharing strange and varied knowledge about nature during their weekly Supreme Council meetings.
Seeing that there was no more movement, Asmodeus decided to descend. Why down? Because he noticed that a large arch had formed at the roots of the tree, towering several dozen—maybe even a hundred—meters high. This arch didn't glow like the previous portal to the realm of death; no, it simply opened up an entrance into the tree.
Asmodeus landed and began moving forward, studying the majestic oak. As mentioned earlier, the trunk's diameter was at least 5 kilometers, but compared to the height that made the clouds seem low, the tree's massive trunk seemed small. From Asmodeus's vantage point at the base, near the roots, he couldn't see where the trunk led, as the clouds obscured the view. However, he could see many proportionately smaller and larger branches spreading out in different directions, some gradually shifting into a strange, semi-tangible state.
Asmodeus also clearly felt that the density of mana around the tree had reached unprecedented levels. You could even see the wind, tinted with a faint blue hue, and the ground and tree roots glowing slightly.
Thinking about it, he pulled out a mana density sensor and, within seconds, was stunned.
"25!"
Twenty-five points of mana density! For context, with the mana compressor turned off in Adastra Academy, this figure usually stood at 8 points.
Seeing this number on the device, Asmodeus paused and took a few deep breaths.
"Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale..."
"Ha!"
He threw his right fist into the air, and flames shot up into the sky, reaching 50, maybe even 70 meters!
'Awesome! I barely used any mana to release that strike! The surrounding mana is overflowing!' Asmodeus thought to himself, realizing how effortlessly he had performed something that previously required much more effort. Feeling his body rapidly replenish the mana he had just spent, he nodded in satisfaction and headed toward the arch formed by the massive oak roots.
After a few minutes, Asmodeus was already standing in front of the arch, but he didn't enter right away. At first glance, the arch had no depth—just a thin, transparent film emanating clear spatial fluctuations, hinting that this arch led somewhere.
Understanding that although Primis was mysterious and irritating, it had no motive to harm him, Asmodeus moved toward the entrance. When he touched the strange-looking portal, he felt a subtle pull and didn't resist it.
Opening his eyes, he found himself standing in a strange square. Everything around him was made of wood. Behind him was the same arch he had entered, but the ground beneath his feet was no longer earth—it was wood.
Looking around and noticing the ceiling made from the same material as the arch, he was sure he was inside the oak tree. After getting a rough sense of where he was, his attention was drawn to numerous smaller arches arranged around the perimeter of the square. There were dozens, maybe even hundreds of them. Each arch had its own strange glow, with different colors lighting them up.
The color palette seemed familiar to Asmodeus, and he quickly matched it to the leaves he had seen on the tree's crown before it grew too tall.
Stepping away from the arch behind him, he began inspecting the smaller arches, all the while asking the system, "Hey, can you connect me to Primis? Are these arches gateways to other worlds?"
But the voice that answered him wasn't the system—it was Primis herself. Moreover, a familiar glowing orb appeared before him.
"Hehe. Hi there. Long time no see. So, what do you think? Like it? I can finally project myself beyond just you! There's enough mana in this space!"
Seeing such an energetic Primis flying around the square cheerfully, Asmodeus wasn't sure if this was the same Primis he knew.
"Um, why would you need to project your body to anyone else? Aren't you the will of the world? You can control everything in this realm."
"Hmm, I used to be able to form a body and roam the world, observing it, watching people, animals, plants... I did it often until... Never mind. Come on, I'll show you something interesting."
Primis seemingly extended a hand and pulled him toward one of the portals. This one was lit with an intriguing combination of four colors: red, blue, white, and brown. Asmodeus paused for a moment and then fell silent.
"...."
"Um? Aren't you excited?" Primis asked.
"I don't know..."
"Don't you want to find out what's happening in that world?"
Hearing Primis's words, Asmodeus smirked and responded with a hint of sarcasm.
"What, have I done enough, and now you're kicking me out?"
"No way! I wouldn't let you go. Even if you tried to escape to another world, I'd personally negotiate with that world's consciousness and demand your return! You're my chosen representative. You know, that's quite an honorable position."
"Heh, so you're planning to work me to death?" Asmodeus said, not realizing how much lighter he felt in that moment.
"Work you to death? No. I wouldn't even let you die!"
"Alright, alright, I get it..."
"So? Do you want to...?"
"... Yeah, there's someone I need to talk to."
"Alright, I'll set the time channel to its maximum difference—one day here will equal a month there. So don't worry."
"Good..."
Saying that, Asmodeus pulled out his beetle-phone and called Rowena.
"Hey, how did it go?"
"Hey. Everything's fine, but I might leave for another world for a couple of days..."
Asmodeus's tone alarmed Rowena. He sounded slightly anxious, almost scared.
"ASY, are you okay? You sound like you're afraid. Do you need my help?"
"No, it's alright, I just... need to ask something from my 'father.'"
"But you sound upset."
"Nothing, just... remembered some bad things. I'll be back soon and explain everything."
"Okay... you know, I love you, and you can tell me anything."
"I know. Don't worry, everything's fine. Bye."
"Call ended. Thanks for using beetle nets"
Putting his beetle-phone back in his pocket, Asmodeus looked at the glowing orb of energy floating before him.
Nodding, he stepped toward the arch in front of him.
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Guys, the next couple of chapters are going to be quite emotional. I want to add more depth and motivation to our main character. But I want to do it in a beautiful way, something I've actually been planning for a long time.