A few minutes ago,
In the capital of the Ivory empire, Evergreen city, the center of the Ivory Imperial Family's governance, the heart of the Elves' empire and the most important city in the empire. The city was more 'pure' than Balin City, with only a few brick structures visible. Most elves in this city were more conservative and disliked the idea of mixing nature with human culture.
Almost all buildings in this city adhered to a zero-human-culture policy. Despite the absence of luxurious human standards, the buildings were still elegant and neatly arranged. At the center of the city stood the imperial palace, located under a giant world tree even bigger and taller than the one in Balin.
At this moment, in the throne hall, many high-ranking nobles were gathered. From the ugly looks on their faces, it was clear they had been debating something for a long time.
"No, we still do not approve of his entrance!"
"What are you waiting for?! The imperial teacher himself guarantees that he is likely the one the spirit has been waiting for!"
"But still, we are not 100% sure about this human."
"Are you doubting the imperial teacher's judgment?"
"Don't twist my words!"
Each group had its own arguments and showed no signs of backing down. The elf sitting on the throne listened to their banter with an unamused expression, feeling increasingly annoyed.
"I'm also leaning towards Grand Duke Sylvaris' faction, but Grand Duke Maelis' faction also has valid points." he thought. The topic of their debate was crucial as it concerned their secrets and what they were about to do had never been done before.
The emperor of the Ivory Empire, Ladwin Evergreen, as their race leader, was the decision-maker. He didn't want to endanger his people because of a wrong decision. However, he trusted the imperial teacher who had just returned from Balin not long ago and was now standing behind him, watching the commotion.
"It will be tough to convince the conservative faction. From the looks of it, we need to bring 'him' here so they can see for themselves." the same man, who had acted as a butler when Aldrian met him in Balin, sent a voice transmission to the emperor.
"Yes, that should be the best for now, but we have to be careful of the extremists within the conservative side." Ladwin answered while still looking at the two groups. The group on his right was the liberal faction, led by Grand Duke Sylvaris.
The elf who had interrogated Aldrian in Balin stood closer to the emperor in silence. On the left side was the conservative faction, led by Grand Duke Maelis, an elf with a scar under his left eye and a stoic expression. They only stared at each other while the nobles under them continued arguing.
"I don't doubt the imperial teacher's judgment about that human, but we need to ensure he is trustworthy enough to enter the 'Shrine of the Heavenly Tree.' We are talking about our holy place, which has never been stepped on by another race before," Grand Duke Maelis said.
"When the imperial teacher gave his evaluation about that human, I believed him. When I met him in person, I could feel something different from him, something hard to explain but inspiring reverence. I'm sure you will feel the same if you meet him," Grand Duke Sylvaris replied.
"Let's see if that is the case."
Their factions' debate continued for a few more moments until finally, Ladwin released his aura. The aura of a High Emperor stage made the atmosphere tense, and the entire hall fell silent.
"After listening to all of you, I acknowledge that you all have points worth considering regarding this issue. I have come to my decision: the human named Aldrian Aster will be brought to the capital so we can assess him ourselves. Grand Duke Maelis will also have the chance to assess him to ensure that Aldrian is trustworthy enough to enter our holy place."
Some of the nobles who heard the emperor's decision were quite displeased, especially those in the conservative faction. They believed that the holy place for elves should not be stepped in by outsiders at any cost, even if it was said to determine their future.
They thought it was blasphemy against the Heavenly Tree of the world and feared the emperor's decision would bring a curse upon the elves. Their only hope now was to ensure the human failed the assessment. As they collectively devised their plan, the entire palace suddenly trembled for a moment before stopping.
"What is that?! Is the palace under attack?!"
"On your guard!"
The entire palace panicked due to the sudden tremor, and not only the imperial palace but the entire capital felt it. Every living being in the capital fell into confusion and rushed out from their buildings. Emperor Ladwin and Imperial Teacher Elthar also rushed outside the palace to check, accompanied by imperial guards protecting the emperor.
"Father, what is going on? What caused the sudden tremor?" a beautiful elf in her gown asked as she rushed to Emperor Ladwin.
"Sylphia, go back to your room. Let the others check the situation first."
Outside the palace, Ladwin spread his senses across the entire capital with the support of the capital's world tree blessing, but he found something strange with the world tree.
"This—"
Suddenly, a voice, a beautiful voice, began speaking, but only a few could understand the language.
"This is...this is spirit language!" Emperor Ladwin exclaimed.
The voice formed a symphony and sang a song that no one had ever heard before. Emperor Ladwin looked at Elthar before sending a transmission.
"The voice of the world tree's spirit! And the content of the song is to welcome the return of someone or something!"
Their faces turned solemn as the entire capital listened to the song and the beautiful voice singing it. Unbeknownst to them, this phenomenon was not only happening in the capital but across the entire Ivory Empire, specifically at the world trees in each city, except the world tree in Balin city. The denizens of the Ivory Empire were left confused this night, and it would cause a sensation and rumors throughout the entire continent.
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Aldrian's steps never stopped, but his pace was slow. He kept walking aimlessly, letting his feet lead him wherever they wished. After the vision he had not long ago, he felt a familiar sensation with the scenery and the woman, so he tried to contemplate what he had seen.
"Who is she? Welcome back? Me?" He kept walking, ignoring the surrounding people. Their voices blurred and grew smaller with each passing moment as his mind repeatedly replayed the vision of the woman until he stopped in the middle of a quite road. There weren't many people passing through, and the activity here was minimal. Aldrian took out the leaf to look at it and then closed his eyes, trying to comprehend and sense the karma between him and the leaf.
He relaxed his mind, allowing his feelings to guide him toward the string of karma—the feeling of closeness between him and the woman, or even to that place. Before long, he saw a blurry string, so small that he would miss it if he lost concentration.
He saw the white string, which he thought represented his karma. It should have been impossible to see karma, even for someone who comprehended it. At most, people who comprehended karma could only sense its presence, not see its physical shape. He followed the string. First, it connected to the Balin world tree, then it branched into two, three, and kept increasing beyond his domain.
"It's impossible for me right now, the karma is connected to so many things and is also too far away. I need to deepen my comprehension of karma and my connection to this leaf."
He opened his eyes and continued walking. While walking, he tried to adapt to his new domain to deepen his connection with the Balin world tree as the center of his second domain. He could sense the entire city and tried to feel each person individually, but—
"It's still too much for me to sense in such small details." He tried to implement the principle 'There is nothing that can escape my view, there is nothing that can escape my sense.' but with more than 160 million people, it was overwhelming. It was different from his first domain, which had no more than sixty people.
"While scanning the entire city just now, I felt a few strange aura. The closest one is a kilometer from here in that direction." He looked in a particular direction.
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At one of the buildings in Balin, a few cloaked figures gathered in a dark room. They surrounded a small circular altar with a red symbol in the middle and pouring their energy into it. The altar began to shine with a red light before a person appeared on it.
"Welcome to Balin. Let's move quickly and stop the summoning for now. Don't let the elves catch wind of our presence."
The newcomer only nodded, followed by the others. They covered the altar with more formation before leaving the building and dispersing, leaving no trace behind.