"from there on, i don''t quite remember what happened. damien said that we made a quick escape because all the creatures the tree was keeping asleep awakened."


    as bea finished the story, everyone just sighed and became silent. professor collins was close, jumping around with excitement.


    he was the most invested in the story out of everybody, other than sera, of course. after finishing, sera watched her ex with fresh eyes.


    this was only one story about the past two years, and it was close to ending in tragedy. it made her think, how many more such stories everybody here had?


    life was like a tightrope they walked on. each decision felt like jumping up on the rope and hoping to not fall to the abyss of death.


    professor collins contained his excitement enough to speak again.


    "bea, if it''s not too much to ask, could i perhaps read through your status page? i''m really curious to learn more about the world trees and such."


    he was nervous, since it was rude to ask for someone''s status, but bea didn''t mind. she just shrugged and showed the page.


    name: bea


    title: queen of nature


    1st kill: world tree, horror of the 1st tier


    2nd kill: tree of life, horror of the 1st tier


    life essence absorbed: 10000/10000


    abilities: <nature''s call> <seed of life>


    passive abilities: <one with nature>


    heritage: <seed of the world tree>


    items: -


    overall, her status changed little after her evolution. <nature''s call> and <one with nature> became stronger, and she got a new ability. explore more stories with empire


    her heritage changed too, which she still didn''t understand why. she was very curious about what her new heritage could do.


    sadly, she had already realized how useless most descriptions were.


    they didn''t outright tell what the ability could do. instead, they just suggested what it might do, and sometimes they cautioned against the over usage of said ability.


    the <seeds of life> was like this too, and when the professor opened it, bea read it again too.


    <seeds of life>


    description: <after life created the world trees, she used her own essence to give them help in terraforming realms. these trees of life were like the world trees, but their power was more concentrated and less potent. they were great at keeping small communities alive, but were much too weak to terraform realms. they were the second victims of the empyreans.>


    "sera... how many transcended have you killed?"


    bea was the one who voiced the question everyone had. even vicky seemed interested in the answer.


    sera just shrugged without looking up. "about two dozen, maybe over thirty. i never really counted or cared. they stood in front of me, so they had to die."


    her voice sounded empty and even defeated, like she already made peace with being called a murderer.


    after hearing her mother''s sad voice, vicky leaned in and cuddled closer. on sera''s face, a small smile appeared, and she gave a small kiss to the top of vicky''s head.


    the room turned awfully quiet. bran, melinda, and david already knew all this, but the others were in the dark. a shiver went down their spines collectively, as they imagined how powerful sera would become.


    if she as an ascended could kill multiple transcended, would she be able to kill stellars upon evolution?


    the thought was unimaginable and even scary. damien knew the best out of everyone here how large the gap is between an ascended and a transcended.


    but upon hearing what sera had done, the distance seemed much smaller than he previously thought.


    "at least i understand why you have your own religion now..."


    as bea said this comment, the room burst out laughing. the solemn atmosphere broke, and soon the topic changed.


    they all began telling stories about the past two years. some were sad, some were happy, some were ridiculous. they laughed through all the pain and suffering of the past.


    after an hour, around 2 hours before midnight, more people arrived in the lounge.


    each time the door opened, the music got worse, and the room got merrier. they were all talking, drinking, playing games and just enjoying the moment.


    sera just continued to sit with her daughter. they whispered to each other, telling how much they loved one another.


    both knew that sera was lying, since she couldn''t feel love, but in that moment neither cared. just because she couldn''t feel it, she could know it, and she was a hundred percent sure that vicky was the most important person in her life.


    during the past two years, she never felt so warm, and even happy. her mood was always uncaring and bored, but now she was joyful and excited.


    she kept on asking questions about her daughter. since she forgot everything, she wanted to relearn all her favorites.


    vicky was much more laid back. she curtly answered her mother''s questions and even had a few of her own. but she would''ve been perfectly content staying silent while continuing to hug her mother.


    eventually, professor collins ended writing all his thoughts about the world trees and whatever else he was thinking.


    afterward, he walked to sera and vicky with an excited grin.


    "excuse me, sorry to bother you two. i would like to know more about little victoria''s evolution. if you don''t mind, could you perhaps tell me how it happened?"


    the smile on vicky''s face froze, and her breathing turned quick. her face went pale, with a fearful expression.


    before anyone could react, she teleported away...