THE CURSED GAMER

Chapter 469: An Archverse - The God Tree

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It was an odd feeling for Neji.

As he sat under the God Tree, he felt at peace. Even his breathing felt peaceful. Though he suspected, more than the tree, it was the woman beside him who was doing this magic. His head rested on her shoulder and he relaxed into her.

Her hand gently caressed his hair, patting his head as she looked at him curiously.

“How old are you?”

“....”

“You can't speak?”

He shook his head. He wasn't surprised that she noticed it so fast. However, this prompted him to try something out. He focused his mana, turning it into Smoke, it was easy enough to manipulate elements at his power level, and formed those smokes into blocks of texts over his head.

It worked. [Hi.]

“Oh, hello,” she smiled at the text. “That's a neat way to communicate. So how old are you? And your name?”

In this way, he could communicate. He could have used this to communicate with Kimi too, except he couldn't access his mana or any of his powers due to the chains that would let him manipulate smoke. Not that he would have done that anyway, since he distanced himself from her to keep her safe. He didn’t want to bite her to death.

Neji hesitated from answering Life.

From what the She Beyond Omnipotence had said, all these debuffs were here for a reason. In that case, what could be the reason behind his speech blockage? If he spent a second thinking, it must be because he shouldn't be telling people around about his situation. In that case, he shouldn't tell his real name either. He didn't want to mess up the timeline.

[...Prima. It means just ‘First’ in Italian, a human language.] he said using the text above his head.

“Huh, interesting name,” the Omniverse was vast, and people had many names, so Lady Life didn't find it weird. “And how old are you?”

Neji hesitated again, [It's different for my body, my soul, and my memories.]

“Tell me all.”

[It's 17 for my body, 32 if I count my soul age, and 104 if I count my close memories. I also slept in the void for 153 years, and lastly I have the memory of a God aging a couple of billion years old.]

Lady Life blinked in surprise, “Huh. That is… curious.” She hugged him, startling him a little as his face pushed against her chest. “So in truth, you're just 32? How terribly, terribly young you are for the pain you're suffering. Do you feel better now?”

She had healed his physical wounds with a wave of her hands, so he was doing fine. The pain he felt from his Status Defects, plus his mental limits, were also relieved by her presence.

Neji relaxed into her hug. [Yes.]

“I'm unsure what to do,” she said. “I can feel that the moment I leave your side, you will return to your chaotic self. The God Tree’s presence can help you a little, but it's not enough. But I can't stay by your side all day long, either… I have duties to see to the higher realm, I had only come down here to sprout a new God Tree in this Megaverse.”

[....]

“But at the same time, I can't leave such a young child alone,” she sighed, smiling at him. “Shall I ask Death to see my duties for a while? A few months shouldn't hurt anybody. And it's not as if I can't work from here.”

Neji looked up at her. [You don't have to go that far for me.]

“Oh, of course I do. How can a mother let her child be in pain?” She gently held his face and pressed a kiss on his forehead. The gesture relaxed his body further, her life energy soothing him. “How about you take a nap now? I'll talk with Death in the meantime.”

‘Mother, huh,’ Neji found that amusing. ‘I don’t think that’s how our relationship is going to end, but sure.’ He nodded at her.

* * *

Neji woke up to the cozy ambiance under the God Tree, a place detached from the rest of the universe. He half expected her to be gone when he woke up, but there she was, humming as she cooked on an old-looking stove. The sound of meat sizzling filled the air, as did a delicious aroma.

The Tree itself was a marvel of nature and divinity intertwined, but it wasn't the only one. It was in the middle of a forest that floated in outer space, with it being the tallest of trees, its massive trunk soaring into the skies beyond, disappearing into a canopy of leaves that shimmered with a spectrum of ethereal colors.

‘Looking at it again, it seems my estimate was wrong,’ he realized. This wasn't only as large as a mere sun, it was a universe, with each of its leaves a galaxy. ‘Incredible.’

Which made the forest around it large too. And somehow, his body was large enough to lay under its trunk without looking like an ant. He wasn't too surprised, perhaps his Nigh Omnipotence modified his body on its own to suit the area.

He still looked small, but he mustn’t be human-sized anymore. From his physical perspective, the tree’s head was as big as a town, with its trunk as big as a large ship. But his Jogan could indeed see galaxies, stars, and colonies in the leaves. 

The tree was a universe.

Its roots, as large as mountains, stretched out in all directions, creating a landscape of their own. Each root seemed to pulse with life. Near the center of the roots, it concentrated on creating a platform. Around him, the air was filled with a gentle, luminous mist, emanating from the tree itself. It gave the surroundings a dreamlike look, light dappling through the leaves, casting otherworldly patterns on the ground. 

Other than the tree, if he had to talk about the area around it, instead of a sky it had space with distant universes that floated around it. This forest was like a small island, with the God Tree at its center, floating endlessly. 

Neji yawned and pushed himself up. He walked toward Lady Life who stood by the side of a hut and cooked. The smoke from the dish she cooked traveled through the forest and made it misty.

Lady Life was humming a soft melody while cooking on that old-fashioned stove, a stark contrast to the grandeur of their surroundings. The sizzling sound of meat failed to muffle her voice, “Oh, you're up? How do you feel now?” she said without looking back.

He formed a smoke text above his head, [It was a great sleep, thank you.] He had noticed how the tree's energy had rejuvenated him. Or perhaps it was Lady Life’s presence? Whatever the case, something had cradled him in its protective embrace, and now he didn’t feel like going insane anymore.

He wasn’t sure for how long, however.

Lady Life didn't need to turn around to read that, but she did anyway. She smiled, her green eyes sparkling with warmth. "Good morning," she said, "I hope you're hungry.” 

She looked beautiful and kind. ‘She looks a lot more gentle than what I remember from the future,’ Neji thought. Perhaps getting herself a child, or perhaps the Gamer's death, caused her to change.

The current her was too pure. Was that the reason she was helping him out?

She continued, “The local Gods sent me some of their best fruits, veggies, and divine beast meat. I thought I'd make us breakfast.”

[Thanks. But local Gods?] Neji asked and inspected inside the hut. It looked neat.

"This place," Lady Life pointed at the forest around us, "is the divine sanctuary that grew around the Archverse, that is the God Tree. Hmm, if you don't know what an Archverse is, it's the biggest thing after a Hyperverse. This God Tree is ancient, one of the first to have ever existed, and its power is beyond comprehension. Each of its leaves is a universe, and branches a multiverse.” 

‘Huh,’ Neji was sure his eyes saw merely galaxies in there? Perhaps he had reached Jogan's perception limit. ‘I have to Level it up more, I guess. It'll be useful.’

Lady Life continued, “The God Tree is the Archverse, while this forest is the Realm of Gods local to this Archverse. Good people, very respectful.”

[I imagine few people would not be respectful towards an Abstract Entity,] he said, which got a burst of sweet laughter out of her.

“Well, I guess.” She shrugged. “From the perspective of their subjects, the living beings within leaves and branches, they might not come off as the best of Gods… Anyways~ breakfast is ready. Sit down on that table,” 

She pointed at an empty spot near Neji, and a table sprouted out of the ground. He obediently took the seat, as Lady Life walked over and presented him the food.

He ate, blinking in surprise at every dish. Each bite was a new world of flavors, and his surprise made the watchful Lady Life smile. As he sampled each dish, Lady Life enthusiastically explained their origins and unique qualities.

"This," she said, handing him a piece of tender meat, "is from the Starlight Seraph. It's a dragon-type divine beast that wanders through the celestial realms. The meat has absorbed the essence of stars, giving it a flavor that's quite literally out of this world." As Neji tasted it, he found the description apt; the meat burst with flavors that reminded him of the night sky, filled with stars and cosmic mysteries.

On a gut feeling, he used [Mine] on the food. It worked.

[You have mined Sight of the Starlight Lords — bloodline ability.]

[Jogan and Sight of the Starlight Lords are compatible for merge.]

"And these," she continued, pointing to the glowing fruits and vegetables on his plate, "are Lumina Berries and Twilight Roots. The berries are bathed in the light of celestial bodies, giving them a sweet, honeyed lightness. The roots, on the other hand, are from the eternal twilight zones of the Archverse, with a taste that's both sweet and earthy, like the moment when day turns to night."

[You have mined Photosynthesis — bloodline ability.]

She smiled seeing him devour the food faster, both for the abilities he got, and the taste. “I am glad you like it. The Archverse God Tree truly is a wonderful place.”

Neji listened, fascinated not just by the food but by Lady Life's detailed knowledge of each item. She seemed to take genuine pleasure in caring for him, explaining each dish with a motherly tenderness. He liked that. Anyone else, and he might have thought they were just trying to fatten him up to eat him later.

He couldn't help but wonder about this nurturing aspect of her character. Was this her natural disposition, or was there something more to her motherly nature?

As they chatted and he ate, Neji found his gaze drifting back to the God Tree. Since the source of this food was that tree, he got curious.

'I wonder... how much will I level up if I destroy that thing,' he thought, a cold look in his eyes.

Something told him Lady Life wouldn’t appreciate that.

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