It was dark, but Veritas could see really well.
He walked through the singular path that led deeper into the tree. The roots covered the walls and various plant life grew on them.
There were leaves, moss, and there were even small fruits!
Veritas was careful not to touch any of them though.
That said, the path leading downwards was long.. It stretched down probably a couple of kilometers and it could take hours to reach the bottom.
Veritas was not even at the bottom yet! He was still walking carefully and making his way down the roots of the tree.
'How long have I been walking?'
His sense of time was muddied down here, especially with the unique nature of the tree in terms of time.
He wondered how much time had passed on the outside world as there was clearly some sort of time dilation that occurred.
Or perhaps.. something different?
When Veritas entered the tree he felt a touch of death and also a sense of detachment from his body.
'Would the outside world also see my body be stuck in place? Probably not.. that would be very unlikely, this is just a vision.. I think."
As he walked through the roots, hoping to find something peculiar, Veritas thought about the tree.
'Just what the hell is this tree..'
For one, it stretched over many hectares of land, and two.. it's roots dived kilometers down the ground.
Veritas had lived in Elrod for almost 16 years but he still didn't know about this tree.
'Did Father also know? Was Mother aware of this?'
He spent the time boringly walking to think about the circumstance that he was in. Additionally, Veritas could not move freely inside the tree at all!
Before, he could fly around and do whatever he wanted but now...
He was tethered to the ground as if he had been experiencing reality itself.
His body was still illusory but it reacted to the physical objects near him. He could feel the cold and empty atmosphere of the roots, and even the mulchy and wet moss on his feet!
'Weird.'
Veritas continued to walk for a couple of seconds and suddenly noticed that the path that he was treading on was slightly larger than before.
'Was it usually like this?'
If the path inside the tree was about 3-meters in diameter, now.. it had risen to 5 meters and was larger than before!
The scenery was still the same though, the only difference was the size getting bigger.
Veritas touched the walls and felt the same consistency as before.
'Maybe I'm finally reaching the end?'
With those words, Veritas suddenly saw an end to the long path that led downwards.
He was right, the sudden increase of the path's size was due to him finally reaching the end.
Before him, he saw a dark spacious area, it was as as the tree from above!
It stretched far and wide, covered in walls of wooden roots and leaves.
There were also holes that covered the bottom area, it seemed like they were also entrances just like the one that Veritas had walked on.
It was a space full of nothing but leaves, wood, and moss. There was also water at the bottom which had accumulated over time, covering half of the spacious area and showcasing a small island in the middle.
When compared to the area that was in front of Veritas, that island could be said as small. But... he saw that it had been as large as the castle from Elrod.
'An underground lake?'
The water was clear and looked as pure as it could be. From the bottom, small particles of light made their way up to the surface of the water.
This made a spectacle to behold, Veritas felt that if he drank from the water, then his life would extend by a thousand-fold.
Although that would not be possible, it was still tempting to do so.
In the great underground lake, Veritas noticed a particular gathering of the light particles in front of him.
They seemed to surround something... or someone, who was walking on the surface of the lake.
'Is that..? That's Queen Valeira!'
Alas, Veritas had finally located her.
He carefully made his way down to the lake and thought of how he was going to pass through.
'Water again...'
Seeing as the Queen walked in water herself, Veritas theorized that the water is tangible like the illusory firmament that guarded the tree.
So, Veritas tested the waters, anticipating the feeling of cold liquid seeping through his feet.
But... Veritas' foot never touched the water, instead he stood on it like it was solid ground.
Light particles begin to form where he had placed his foot and it radiated greatly against the tenebrous darkness.
Veritas deemed it safe to walk on the water so he placed his other foot on top of it.
'Huh, great.'
Thus, he chased after the queen, moving slowly and steadily.
The Queen was already almost upon the island in the middle and Veritas was just beginning to catch up to her pace.
He saw her carrying the slumbering Seraphim as her hair moved with every step that she took.
Veritas hastened his pace.
He looked around and saw the lush greenery caused by the growing leaves on the roots. It was much more green than the path that led down but it was probably due to the light emitted by the particles.
Upon looking down, he saw that the water was deeper than it looked. It stretched about a few hundred meters down and there were overgrown plants that lit up the darkness below.
It was quite scary.
But thanks to him being able to walk on water, Veritas worried about nothing.
After a few minutes, he had reached halfway towards the island and no longer saw the figure of the Queen.
'She must've walked towards the heart of that island already..'
His bare feet felt the coldness of the water below him and it gave him comfort in some way.
However.. that feeling suddenly vanished as the water turned from cold to warm.
Veritas looked down and saw the light particles vanish below him.
'What th-'
Suddenly! A looming figure of a serpent-like dragon appeared deep below.
It was faint, but Veritas saw that it had feathered wings and viridian scales that reflected the light of the particles. No.. it didn't reflect the light of the particles but rather.. it was the one emitting it!
It's scales radiated small particles of light that rushed in the air, but whenever it was around... those particles seemed to be sucked towards it.
If there was one word to describe it, then it would be..
"Beautiful.."
Simply beautiful, no modifiers nor adjectives. Just beautiful.
Veritas' eyes were mesmerized by the beauty of the feathered-serpent below him.
Upon a couple seconds of attraction, the serpent left and made its way to the other direction.
Veritas snapped back to reality.
'What just happened?!'
He looked around for a second and realized his purpose once more.
"R-right, the Queen!'
The particles below him radiated his feet and glowed brightly in the darkness.
Veritas rushed towards the island, splashing his feet with droplets of the pure water.
In a couple of minutes, Veritas arrived at the island and carefully scanned his surroundings.
'An island made out of roots?'
It had leaves, trees, bushes, and many other things..
It looked exactly like how a normal island would usually look, the only difference is the floor is made out of wooden roots.
Still, it felt nice to finally stand on solid ground, even though it was wood.
He made his way deeper into the island and searched for trails that would clue the whereabouts of the queen. Due to the prevalence of the trees in the island, Veritas had no clue as to how to navigate the entire thing.
It was as big as the castle from Elrod, even he had a hard time navigating that!
So, he circled and eventually made it to what seemed to be the center.
It took him about 12 minutes to reach here, but it was worth it as Veritas saw the Queen heading towards what seemed to be a mausoleum.
It was overgrown with moss, and leaves. It's intricate design had been covered by the roots which seemed to grab it as if it were its possession. The marble pillars itself were covered with spiraling vines and there were also some that hung from its roof.
The mausoleum itself had no damages, only being ruined by the growth of the plants around it.
'How could a mausoleum be here?'
Veritas followed the Queen and entered the mausoleum.
His footsteps echoed in the tranquil silence of the island, rustling the leaves below as Veritas walked towards it.
Inside, he saw the spreading vines corrupt the beautiful artistry of the mausoleum. It was dark, but Veritas could see very well at how it was built and the delicate craftsmanship that was put into effort.
In front, he saw an altar with lit up candles, Queen Valeira kneeled in front of it as the Seraphim laid down atop the altar.
The insides looked like a balcony, revealing the altar on a cliff in the island. It almost looked like it was intended for sight-seeing but Veritas decided against it. It showed the glowing pure water below and the elegance that came with it.
'Is she praying?'
Valeira had her eyes closed and her hands tightly embraced with one another as she kneeled down.
She then uttered:
"O, Great Guardian. Please, accept this offering and grace us once more with your blessings.."
Veritas eyes widened.
Suddenly, the small particles of light vanished in the water, he saw the water recede and ripple. It gradually got darker as a large shadow suddenly appeared below.
Then, light particles seemed to get sucked towards it and imbued its scales with a bright radiance, making it look reflectory.
The water rose up and revealed a figure.
Feathered-wings, onyx eyes, and viridian scales. It was large, and its mere head covered the area that was behind the altar.
Veritas saw its onyx eyes get closer and cover the balcony area.
Immediately, Veritas felt dread.
His eyes contorted and pulsated red. Blood rose up his head and he began to feel suffocated.
That thing is not beautiful at all!
It was.. It was-
"Death."
Veritas mouth was agape.
Suddenly, Queen Valeira looked back and stared at Veritas' figure with her hollow eyes.
"...who are you?"
She unsheathed her sword and held it down the floor.