As the cocoon of Abundance dissipated, my avatar once again became visible, and anyone who saw it instantly became wary. It was obvious that it was my avatar, but the changes that happened to it were striking.
My avatar became wilder, even feral, becoming much closer to Borisin's appearance rather than my previous similarities to Foxians. My tails also grew in size, to the point that now I could easily envelop myself in them fully, creating a big fluffy ball.
But those were not the most striking changes, as the antlers that grew from my head were the most eye-catching. They looked exactly like Yaoshi's antlers, having a wood-like texture and blooming with an enormous power of Abundance.
The last change occurred to my aura. Even before, my aura was something that mixed into nature, stirring into a storm when needed. Now, it was as if the whole of nature became part of me. Every blade of grass was a dagger ready to move as I will it. Each leaf was an arrow waiting for a moment to strike. What was gentle and benevolent Abundance in Yaoshi's hands turned into mara in mine.
As soon as the last motes of Abundance from the cocoon disappeared, my avatar opened its eyes to reveal bure blackness. Not giving anyone a chance to compose themself, it lunged at Jing Yuan, who was closest. Jing Yuan blocked the claws, swiping at his neck, only to be blown away by the pure strength of my avatar's attack.
-"Don't block it! Reflect its attacks."-Jingliu sprung into action, shouting to others to make them act.
Fu Xuan also started to use her Omniscia, supporting everyone with her calculations. As making Divinetions on Aeons, especially me, is pure idiocy, she focused on negating feral plants and elements that surrounded everyone.
Feixio followed Jingliu, preparing to work with her to keep my avatar at bay. Two of them jumped toward the cloud of dust, where Jing Yuan was still being pushed back.
Entering into the fray, Jingliu started slashing at tendons, wanting to incapacitate the raging beast. As her sword touched my avatar's skin, a harsh scratching noise echoed around, accompanied by sparks as if she had just hit a metal wall.
Jumping back, Fexiao stepped into her previous position, swinging her axe at my avatar's face. Before the attack could connect, my avatar turned and grabbed the axehead with his claws. The next moment, Feixiao was thrown into the air as my avatar hurled her axe away.
Jing Yuan took this momentary occasion to escape from under the claws, stepping back and manifesting his Lightning-Lord. Feixiao also called out her Flying Aureus, using it to regain her bearing in the air and return to combat.
To not be left behind, Jingliu mobilized her Dao. Instantly, countless snowflakes created from her Sword Intent appeared in the air. In the blink of an eye, the evergreen realm was covered by a layer of silver snow, becoming a frozen wasteland. With a bright moon appearing overhead, the world became Jingliu's stage.
Everyone was shocked by Jingliu's show of power. Even Lan and Terminus took a second look at her. My avatar also reacted, feeling danger from Jingliu he ignored everyone else and focused solely on her.
Two of them rushed forward, exchanging hundreds of attacks in a single breath, neither of them backing down.
In this exchange, my avatar destroyed Jingliu's crystal sword with every swipe of his claws, but she was easily able to reform it in between each of her swings. At the same time, the biting wind carrying Jinglius Sword Intent relentlessly attacked my avatar, not only drawing blood for the first time but also freezing it slightly.
The small wounds quickly regenerated, as even if Lan kept Abundance at bay, the sheer amount of it imbued into my avatar at the moment could create a whole planet of immortals. The singular drop of blood that fell from my avatar shone in a brilliant golden hue, and when it finally touched the ground, the few meters around it bloomed to life despite the frost.
Jingliu and my avatar continued their stalemate, with Jing Yuan and Feixiao occasionally attacking to inflict some damage. They wanted to force my avatar to use up the Abundance imbued into it, allowing me to regain control over it. After finding the right tempo, they continued to subdue my avatar in a steady manner.
While I was watching the fight, I also continued to integrate Abundance into [Yggdrasil]. With every sliver of Abundance fused, [Yggdrasil] grew in size, with its branches extending further and further. The Spirit Runes that shimmered in starlight-like glow pulsated with enormous Life Energy, bringing life to all realms under [Yggdrasil] branches.
Numerous new buds appeared on the newly grown branches, turning into new crystal leaves twinkling into a myriad of Laws, forming an aurora in the skies. Here and there, a bigger bud would bloom into a flower containing an entirely new realm. Within the delicate petals, whole galaxies of stars and planets could be seen, making each flower a world of its own.
Admiring the changes, I finally felt what I was desperately wishing for. From the deepest of the roots, a white mist started to climb toward the crown of [Yggdrasil], elevating everything it touched into a higher form. Finally, when the first flower was covered by the mist, it condensed into a dew on its petals.
Gazing into the tiny drops, I saw something that caused me to lose concentration and even receive backlash, chipping part of my Soul away. I gazed at the incomprehensible. When I thought about what I perceived, my Soul wounds continued to deepen, and yet, I had no plan to stop.
I encountered countless Taboos, broken some, bent some. Nevertheless, some truths like a [Law of Equivalent Exchange] remained commandments none could disregard.
One of such truths was something that is obvious even to the average mortal. The [Law of Totality]. It dictated that even in the infinite worlds and Fates of the [Myriad of Worlds], it still is contained in one whole. The totality that can't increase nor decrease.
But a single glance I just took into a dew on a flower negated that truth. Breaking the [Law of Totality], not bestowing but creating in the purest meaning of this world...
~"Yue!"
~"Ugh."~ A sudden scream shook my Soul and broke me away from my thoughts.
~"Stop whatever you are doing. You almost lost yourself."
~"Fuli..? Why are you..."
~"I'm here because Terminus almost dragged me here while freezing the whole Chaos in time, but that's not important now. You were about to dissipate... How in the world you could destroy your Soul, Soul of Aeon with Path connected to it, within mere moments is beyond me."
~"I just got lost in... [Void]..."
~"Frankly, it's not the time for explanations. I'll help you restore your 'self'. You should be able to deal with the rest."
~"Thank you."
Calming my almost shattered Soul, I mobilized my Path of Ordination to cooperate with Fuli's Remembrance, quickly recovering from the dangerous predicament I found myself in. After restoring my Soul, I regained control over Abundance and returned to tasks at hand, for now sealing the memory of gazing onto that dew.
After recovering control, the rest of the process was without surprises, and within a day, I regained control over my avatar. This allowed me to fully grasp control over the remaining Abundance, accelerating its fusion and making the whole process reach its completion a few hours later. Opening my eyes in the still snow-covered realm, I breathed a sigh of relief.
-"Master, are you alright?"
~"It's ok now."
~"What was that?"~Terminus appeared and looked at me with undisguised anger, showing such intense emotions the first time since I met her.
~"I found my answer."
~"So what."~She sneered at my nonanswer.~"You once again committed a mistake, Yue."
~"..."
~"Pathetic."~She turned away and started to disappear.~"You changed in many aspects since becoming part of that Hold of yours, but with every strength you gain, you become weaker. You are bound by too many things. If you continue like that, even your Ordaining of the whole's [Myriad of Worlds] Fate won't save you from demise."
Looking at where Terminus disappeared, I once again sighed. Looking back at it, I seem to indeed commit more mistakes as my strength grows. Vowing to get a grasp on myself properly, I started to check the changes brought by what had happened.
The first obvious change is the Abundance. [Yggdrasil] is now Aeon of Abundance. What that means is rather clear, but the weight of that statement can't be underestimated. From now on, I'm dual Aeon, walking upon two Paths.
The second is also connected to Abundance, mainly my avatar. Despite it no longer being imbued by Abundance, its influence could still be felt. After returning to my normal appearance, my tails remained enlarged, and I could feel distinct fangs in my mouth. But once again, the antlers were the biggest difference.
They now looked like part of [Yggdrasil], silvery-white with countless Spirit Runes shimmering on them. Fortunately, I could make them immaterial and invisible, but if I were to use Abundance, they wouldn't be able to remain hidden.
The third change is brought by the growth of [Yggdrasil], strengthening and elevating my world. It was still some distance from the Higher World, but the worlds in the flowers will slowly give birth to new native beings, and after many years, some gods will be born to finally push my world into the ranks of Higher Worlds.
Lastly, the insight into [Void]. It was exactly what I needed. A foot in the door. From this starting point, I should be able to unveil the mystery behind the [Void], though this will take time.
There were some more changes not worth mentioning, but along with all that, I discovered an issue I hadn't thought about. My avatar couldn't handle my power. When I looked at my hands, I instantly noticed tiny cracks running through my whole arms. With my perception, I discovered that such cracks covered every part of my avatar, constantly mending and forming anew.
Using illusions to cover them, I put creating better avatars on the agenda while I returned my mind to reality. I rose up from the ground and looked at Lan and Nous, who were nearby.
~"I'm all right now. Thank you for helping me."
~"Dispute. No need to thank me. I received data that I would need eons to gather normally.
~"Same. Now that Yaoshi is no more, I finally finished my Hunt. Luckily, there is a perfect new target now."
~"Chaos Gods. How are preparations going?"
~"Answer. Qlipot's plan is going perfectly. Some rifts appeared here and there but are mended before they can prove harmful."
~"Good."
~"It was fun. Let's Hunt something together next time."~Lan said as THEY left.
~"Farewell."~Nous also left as THEY had nothing to do here.
With Aeons dealt with, I turned to Jingli and company.
-"Are you still Yue?"-Feixiao asked, looking at my changed appearance.
~"Yes."
-"Prove it."
~"How?"
-"When you helped me with the Moon Rage, we made a promise together. What was it?"-Feixio looked at me seriously.
~"That we will remain ourselves, even if we become demons one day."
-"Good. You are still you."-She finally relaxed her guard.
~"How did that question allow you to confirm that?"~I asked, genuinely intrigued.
-"I know that you will never lie, so if you can say that, it means that it must be true."-She smiled slightly.
~"Sharp. Let's go back. I want to sit in Moon Palace and rest."
Everyone agreed with my idea, so we left that realm, which disintegrated after the Abundance that built up disappeared with me.
The growth of [Yggdrasil] caused a slight commotion, but there was no panic or even worry. Everyone only stopped to look before sending a prayer and continuing with their daily life. Only my family reacted more intensely, demanding to know what happened after I returned.
Pacifying them required some time, but I was able to exchange their forgiveness for some promises. Seeing that my Guards couldn't stop me from acting recklessly, it was decided that from now on, there would be an additional person openly by my side at every moment.
The girls also demanded that I limit the number of my avatars to at most three, one of which is in the Hold. Of two outside avatars, one will be responsible for matters of Hold, while the other for the affairs of Spirit Empire.
Accompanying me from the Spirit Empire will be one of the Sentinel Generals, while on the Hold side, I'll be followed by one of my mikos. They will have the same job. To keep an eye on me. I'm not exactly happy about that, but I can see why girls want that to happen, so I acquiesced to give them peace of mind.
When I calmed my inner Palace, I moved my focus to other tasks I was dealing with. In Teyvat, I decided to leave Mondstadt the next day, so there was still nothing happening there, but in Rakia, some matters appeared during the day I was dealing with Abundance.
I received word from Athena that the insurgents decided to go along with my plan, and they will declare their sovereignty. Because of that, the atmosphere in the city turned into a mix of anticipation and pride.
In the middle square where the execution block stood when Ares ruled the city, now appeared a monument to the rebellion. All slaves who were freed from their chains would come here to throw their shackles on the piling hill. In a day, a mountain as high as the buildings surrounding the square piled up. People came to call this monument Unity.
Standing on the foot of it, I marveled at the power of [Hope]. Those who lived as slaves for generations, beaten down their whole lives, took up their weapons, and used what remained of their strength to make a last stand.
-"What are you thinking about?"-Artemis asked me after noticing me staring at the monument.
~"I just wonder how the meaning of this monument would change if Ares were to return here."
-"He won't."
~"Yes, he won't."~I turned my head away and started walking away with Artemis.~"The ceremony of their independence will take place in little over an hour, so let's go to Elven camp to prepare for it."
-"I had the same idea."-Artemis smiled as she took my arm.
As we walked, we could see the festive atmosphere everywhere. Smiles on faces are still dirty from the dirt and filth of their slave labor. With such noisy surroundings, we traveled to the Elven camp.