The Astral Tide, Titanion Realm.

The battle was over. There were no severed limbs or rivers of blood.

Orion studied The Lifeless Dreadgod, Archbishop Kysar, and Moriphara a short distance away. The four of them lapsed into a heavy, contemplative silence.

The preceding free-for-all was exactly what they had all wanted—a violent crucible to test each other’s limits. Now that they had holstered their weapons, it was time to negotiate.

"We each hold a piece of the world’s Authority," Orion said. "If we don’t cooperate, the Titanion Realm will remain dead. You tore your way into this realm. I doubt this barren wasteland is the prize you were hoping for."

He slowly raised his hands. Beneath his feet, a colossal World Tree materialized, casting its shadow across the entire ocean of foundational rules. It was a bizarre construct, caught between life and decay. The rotting trunk was riddled with gnarly, spiraling burls. Yet, despite its blighted appearance, it pulsed with overwhelming vitality.

More importantly, it was incomplete. Orion’s fraction accounted for just over a quarter of the whole.

"This world is on the verge of evolving into an Ascendant Plane. It’s our path to godhood. What are you waiting for?" Orion willed his World Tree to grow toward the center of their gathering, making his intentions clear.

"We cannot afford to delay," Insect Queen Moriphara agreed. A hive-like World Tree sprouted beneath her feet, its bark etched with countless squirming, insectoid runes. Following Orion’s lead, she directed its growth toward the center. "If another powerhouse crashes their realm into this one while we wait, our share of the Authority will only shrink."

"This world is still too small," The Lifeless Dreadgod rumbled. "It’s not enough. We must conquer other realms and assimilate them."

A massive Demonic Pillar erupted beneath him—the World Tree of the Lifeless Realm. The shadowy silhouettes of countless Fiends writhed and roared within its structure. By voicing his ambition, the Dreadgod was implicitly agreeing to the alliance.

"I propose we forge The Primordial Pact," Archbishop Kysar interjected. "We can compete internally, but against outsiders, we stand united."

The Primordial Pact required them to use their respective shares of the Titanion Realm’s World Essence as collateral. It would bind their very existence to the realm, anchoring their hopes of ascension here. If they lost this World Essence, their futures would be destroyed.

Orion nodded, followed quickly by the Dreadgod and Moriphara. They accepted the Bishop’s terms.

Without another word, Kysar summoned his own World Tree. It mirrored Orion’s in shape, but it radiated a dense, suffocating mixture of faith energy and vengeful malice.

"Then let it begin."

The four of them simultaneously released their control. Drawn together by an invisible force, the four World Trees converged and intertwined. A myriad of rules manifested instantly, cycling through a blinding kaleidoscope of colors. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Roots plunged into the void, sprawling infinitely. The tree’s vascular network pulsed with light, stretching toward the very edge of chaos.

The roaring of giants, the howling of Fiends, the deep chittering of swarms, and the chanting of holy prayers echoed in overlapping waves across The Astral Tide. Amidst this chaotic symphony, the four World Trees turned ethereal, breaking down to be consumed.

A newborn World Tree took root in The Astral Tide. Like a black hole, it began devouring every underlying rule of the dimension.

Everyone felt it. Orion, The Lifeless Dreadgod, Archbishop Kysar, and Moriphara sensed the very fabric of the world—and The Astral Tide itself—trembling.

"Is this the newborn World Tree?" The Lifeless Dreadgod murmured.

No one answered. The ancient monster was just feigning ignorance; he knew exactly what a dimensional merger looked like.

Orion knew the truth, too. This newborn World Tree wasn’t a fusion of four trees. It was five.

The Titanion Realm possessed its own native World Tree. It had withered away when the realm collapsed into ruin, but its seed had survived. Fed by the voluntary sacrifice of the four invader trees, that ancient seed had absorbed enough nutrients to finally germinate within The Astral Tide.

It was a miraculous cycle of growth. Witnessing it pulled Orion, The Lifeless Dreadgod, Kysar, and Moriphara into a state of profound enlightenment.

In the heart of The Astral Tide, having engorged itself on the source rules, the black hole-like seed silently ruptured. Roots burst forth, shimmering with cryptic, ancient runes. They spread with terrifying speed, tearing through dimensions like soaring dragons or forks of lightning.

For a fleeting second, The Astral Tide was plunged into total darkness.

Then, a single tender shoot pierced the void, illuminating The Astral Tide with the brilliance of a burning star. As the shoot matured, tiny galaxies sparkled on its buds. Starlight flowed through its veins like sap.

A metaphorical thunderclap echoed through the realm—a herald of spring that cleaved the sky and froze time itself. It was like the slow, rumbling yawn of an awakening titan.

The true World Tree was born. Deep within, The World Soul began to form.

Time lost its meaning. Eventually, every errant rule within The Astral Tide was consumed, leaving the dimension completely empty. Only the colossal World Tree remained, bridging the gap between heaven and earth.

The rings of the Titanion Realm’s history reset to year zero. Unnoticed, the canopy and roots of the grand tree had already pierced through twelve different dimensions.

Everything had returned to zero. The cycle began anew.

When Orion opened his eyes, he was sitting on a throne.

It was a true throne, woven from the living branches of the World Tree. Sitting there, he felt absolute control over an entire world.

"Four kings guarding one. How amusing."

The Lifeless Dreadgod’s voice echoed from the distance. Orion looked up to see the ancient entity seated upon a throne of his own.

Orion quickly inspected the newborn World Tree. Its structure was bizarre. From a single central nexus, four massive boughs branched out in opposite directions. Each bough formed a throne. For now, Orion’s branch appeared slightly thicker than the others.

"Did this world birth its own consciousness?" Moriphara asked, uncertainty lacing her tone.

She, too, occupied a throne. Unlike Orion, her first instinct was to look up at the main trunk of the World Tree, which spiraled upward into infinity.

"Every Ascendant Plane possesses its own will. The world is perfectly just and entirely selfless." Archbishop Kysar looked up, offering a devout prayer to the World Tree.