The World Tree of Gluttony felt his hands tremble in ecstasy as a serene smile stretched across his face. As his spawn gazed at the world crumbling around them, Ein remained deathly silent.
“This is what it means for us to merge into a single being,” the tree said.
The crown prince’s consciousness had been shattered, and his inner world was just about to disappear completely—at least, it should have.
“Why?!” the confused World Tree shouted as he watched on from his corner of the world. The blue fire roses had already wilted and rotted away—a victor had seemingly been declared. “He should be dead... Why does this world still persist?”
However, no amount of mental gymnastics could lead him to an answer. Completely perplexed, he whirled around to glance at the fallen crown prince.
“No... You’re still...” he murmured. The tree could hardly believe it—the boy was still alive?
“Gah... Guh... Ah...” Ein grunted, coughing as he endured the continued pain.
But his body wasn’t moving. This... This isn’t over yet, Ein thought. Despite the fact he couldn’t open his eyes or gauge the state he was in, Ishtarica’s crown prince still lived.
“To say I’m astonished would be an understatement,” the World Tree remarked. “I unleashed enough power to crumble an entire continent, and yet...here you are.”
Ein tried to wiggle his fingers, but it was to no avail. As the tree approached, the crown prince was overcome with a sense of urgency, but his body still refused to move. His entire being was now an ashen black, but it wasn’t the result of immolation. No, he’d been cursed—destined to be consumed by the World Tree and its magical energy. Move. Please, move. I have to.
All the while, the World Tree arrived at his side. He held the black blade with a reverse grip—ready to plunge the blade into his creator’s head.
“Frankly, I’m almost proud of your spirit’s unyielding tenacity,” the World Tree said.
Barely able to move, Ein couldn’t snap back with even the slightest of rebuttals. Surely, only death awaited him.
“Please. Wake up...”
Then, from out of the dark sky’s deepest reaches, her voice pierced his mind like an arrow. The World Tree was visually stunned as he stared in the direction of the voice’s origin.
Is she nearby? Ein knew it was impossible, but he couldn’t simply dismiss her voice as an auditory hallucination. At the very least, he wanted to know if she was close by. He opened his eyes and looked to his side. If she was there, he’d have to give her a good talking-to for coming to such a dangerous place. I could still fight... If only my body would move...
He could barely tell if he’d blinked, much less moved his fingers. The idea of moving his body had become a pipe dream to the prince.
“As a token of my respect, I’ll ensure that the two of you are never separated,” the World Tree said.
With the black sword’s tip at Ein’s throat, the World Tree finally thrust it down.
“What the... What is this light?!” he shrieked.
A veil of blue light suddenly enveloped Ein’s body, protecting him from a surely fatal wound. Only able to withstand the single blow, the azure shield proceeded to shatter and its fragments melted away into the prince’s being.
“What’s going on?” the World Tree wondered. “No... It’s nothing that requires my concern.”
Killing Ein was his only objective. With nothing else standing in his way, the World Tree simply needed to swing his blade down once more. He regained his composure and thrust his blade, but this time, a silver wind blew him back.
It’s warm. Ein felt a warmth course through his body as the blood started flowing to his extremities once more. His wounds began to heal, and his breathing steadied. I can still fight. As these reassurance filled his mind, the prince reached out for now-dulled Ishtar and firmly grasped it.
“I...” Ein started.
He suddenly sat up, paying no heed to the World Tree’s slowly recoiling footsteps. After Ein used the holy sword to bring himself to his feet, a silver light started cracking through the blade’s dull patina. Almost instantly, Ishtar had returned to its former glory—its shining silver splendor slicing through the darkness.
“I can still...” Ein groaned.
A powerful aura emanated from the prince—an aura that bore down with pressure of the hero king himself. The void that had once consumed the world above and beneath Ein had been suddenly pushed back by Ishtar’s light.
“I can still fight!” Ein declared.
“I have no idea where that power of yours came from, but it won’t change a thing,” the World Tree said. “You’re still going to meet your end, here and now.”
“It doesn’t matter. I just need to defeat you before this world crumbles away.”
When faced with the prince’s intense aura and overwhelming resolve, the gluttonous villain only furrowed his brows in response. However, there was no need for him to panic. He knew the void surrounding them would blot out the light and swallow the world once more—he just needed to buy himself a little time. If necessary, he could blow Ein away with the same attack he’d used earlier. Even if Ein had found his second wind, he’d still lose in the end.
“Very well. I shall bless you again, as many times as it takes,” the World Tree said.
Another melodious chorus rang out as another void-like sphere materialized, causing Ein to crouch as he stepped forward. With his footing firmly established, the prince rushed ahead and swung his blade—fighting with a completely new aura about him.
The World Tree easily blocked the first swing, but he was visibly caught off guard by the second. Unable to block the blow, the glutton leaped out of the way and took a few steps back. When the third swing came, it looked as if he were desperately trying to escape Ishtar’s reach.
“I don’t understand,” the World Tree said. “Where is all of this power coming from? How?!”
Ein’s world stood on the brink of total destruction, and his diminished stamina reflected that. Even at this very moment, the once-sunny skies had crumbled away as they were sucked into the darkness. Despite that, the prince moved with a gusto that fiercely outpaced his performance in his initial clash with the World Tree. Ein hadn’t just recovered—he now displayed a level of power and swiftness that would’ve come in handy during his battle with Jayle’s specter.