“Intriguing…” As always, Yuri was poking and prodding me with her tentacles. There was also a giant mosquito sucking the blood from the left side of my neck. After I felt like I was going to pass out, it slowly injected the blood back into me.

The pink Dryad whispered “It appears that mana-crystals have formed in your blood, blocking many of your capillaries. Several of your glands have totally calcified, then became enchanted from the oversaturation of mana. Nearly thirteen percent of your brain cells have also crystallized, which is what has led to your inability to taste or feel sensations, along with the damage to your central nervous system…”

Normally, I probably would have been freaking out. But I was just numb. Like a piece of my soul had been gouged out. I couldn’t feel anything anymore. My body was shutting down… The weird thing was that I wasn’t scared or worried. I didn’t want to die, but I also never expected to live as long as I had.

“Your heart, kidneys and pancreas are all failing. I would normally begin replacing or repairing them immediately however… The dryadic spores within your body have begun flourishing under the baptism of heavily concentrated mana that you experienced. I did not realize that the Temples of Terra could be accessed in such a manner. Although, given Michael’s connection to her, it is not surprising that he granted you such a ‘key’… Regardless, I would not recommend activating one so recklessly again.”

I softly grumbled “If I didn’t do that… So many people would’ve died… I had no choice. Mikey told me to take care of Alfirin for him…”

She tilted her head, but her face was just as blank as always. Not only expressionless… She didn’t even have a mouth or nose. It was just rounded, with two gem-like eyes. Eventually she telepathically murmured “The lives of several thousand dwarves are inconsequential. Your existence however, is quite profound. The ‘Super Lorelei Project’ is nearing completion. If you were destroyed now, it would be rather wasteful. Regardless, this new rapid increase in spore growth is very good news. It means that your body should be ready to accept the modifications now. Your crystalized vital organs will be removed and replaced with the new Dryadic Interface Organs that I’ve created for you. Along with several other important upgrades. Don’t worry Lorelei… Your wish will be granted soon.”

Before I lost consciousness, I heard her whisper “If you wish to mate with Michael, your reproductive organs will need some special attention. I will take your silence as consent.”

***

I had a really weird dream when I was sleeping… No, I guess it was more like a vision. It even came with a narrator.

“Alfirin is in peril…”

It felt like I was a birdie, flying high above the clouds. All the way from Beast Haven, passed the gigantic mountains that cut the continent in half, then into the ‘Jingoku Badlands’. There was this weird chain of misty hills. On the eastern side was dry and barren, while to the west was lush and beautiful. A lot like Lorthon Forest’s outer ring.

When I reached the tip of the continent, I saw a small canal and beyond that, was an entirely different continent. However, before I could go any farther, I was pulled back towards the Jingoku Badlands. There was a huge crater in the ground, that was infested by nasty monsters. At the very center was a giant naked Blood Elf, that was way bigger than Morny.

Time seemed to start going really fast… Then Rae-Rae and Big Bro appeared! They had a crazy battle with the bitchy monster, then kaboom! The whole area exploded and the two of them barely managed to fly away in time.

“My sister doesn’t understand. She believes that this world is tainted and disgusting… She envies me. That my body can support so much life… Luna would rather see the surface wiped clean, than be forced to watch the endless cycles of Samsara any longer.”

There was a woman speaking to me, but I didn’t recognize her voice. I watched as Rae-Rae and Ethir helped some weird-looking elves, killed some Goblins and then fucked each other in front of the owners of that tiny hut that they were staying in…

“Long ago, in eons past, this world was dead. This whole solar system was devoid of life. My parents changed that. They based this world off of my father’s first home… Earth.”

A blue and brown ball popped into my head. There were lots of white thingies swirling around it too. Then I noticed two weird creatures crawling up out of a hole in the ground, not far away from the tall grass that surrounded that tiny hut.

“Rapture-727 and Observer-131… When they arrived on this planet, it was lush and filled with life… But that was all. There was no mana on the surface, only hidden deep within my core. Humans and other intelligent lifeforms did not exist. Only the various other animals and plants that my parents had created for me.”

One of them looked like a skeleton or mummy, in rusty armor. While the other was a dried up grey horsie. The two of them struggled to crawl across the ground and make it to the grass, where they stayed for a while. Then some Goblins came and started attacking them, but Rae-Rae and Big Bro saved them. Dragging the two weirdos over to the hut.

“My mana-core was unstable and the visitors knew that it was only a matter of time before it erupted, destroying me. Thus, they began establishing arrays across my skin and deep within my flesh. Drawing the power out from my core and preventing my destruction. However, everything erodes eventually… Many of their great works have fallen into disrepair and this one… The northernmost Temple of Terra on the continent of Alfirin… Is now gone.”

She showed me a giant pyramid deep underground, similar to Black Mithril, except a moment later it was engulfed by lava. There were millions of disgusting monsters lurking down there too, but all of them were swallowed up by the molten slag.

“It must be replaced. The wound must be healed… Or all of Alfirin will become death.”

Yep, Terra was a drama queen, but whatever. She was still right about how serious the situation was though. There was a hole in the Earth and a shit ton of mana was spewing out. However, that wasn’t the only problem.

“The ancient veins and arteries have been damaged by the ages of atrophy… Some have been closed off intentionally, while others have collapsed due to neglect. They must be made whole once more…”

My vision followed the tunnel that went south and right underneath the highest mountains was another pyramid. This one was brown, almost like it was made from clay. All around the ancient city were dragons and Dwarves, but they were twisted and mutated by vampirism. Transformed into monsters that couldn’t exist above ground, in the sunlight.

Unlike Black Mithril, White Mithril and Angren, this underground chamber didn’t have any natural light source. It wasn’t a triangle either, but shaped like a giant cube. Just because it was dark, didn’t mean that there was no light at all though. There were the glowing red eyes and bodies of the monsters. Oh, and the magma dripping down from the cracks in the ceiling and walls too.

The ground shook and big streams of molten metals poured through, picking up speed. There were holes in the floor too, so it passed through and didn’t linger too long. Some of it cooled though and slowly began reshaping the ruins of that ancient city.

That wasn’t all though. To the east and the west, there were tunnels, though they were mostly covered by now. Still, the magical vision let me see past all of the obstructions and know that at each end there were more cities! These weren’t abandoned or infested by monsters either!

At the westernmost end was a glowing red pyramid! The city was filled with orange and crimson skinned elves… They were probably related to the Red Goblins in Black Mithril. On the eastern end was a golden pyramid, while the city was filled with yellow-scaled lizard people. We had some reptilian Tribes in Angren and Ael Tol, but it was nothing compared to what I was seeing. There were tens of thousands of them, gathered together around the pyramid and chanting some kind of weird spell.

“There are dozens of Temples within my flesh, but hundreds are scattered across the surface. Some are more important than others. However, it is important that all of the veins and arteries are unblocked. Otherwise…”

My sight zoomed outwards, up through the ground and way past the mountains. Eventually, I could see the whole continent of Alfirin. From the cataclysm at the top, to the very bottom of the first ring. Lorthon Forest looked like a gigantic eye, while the mountains would’ve been the eyebrow and above that was the forehead I guess?

I could see through the ground, the huge mithril tunnels that went in a complete circle around the first ring of Lorthon. Then there were other big lines that went out from Black Mithril, to a huge human city in the west. On the other side, there was a line that connected White Mithril to some ruins in the desert… Near the ocean.

No matter how numb I was feeling, I was still amazed at that sight. Why? Because I was just thinking earlier that I had basically conquered all of Lorthon, or at least the most important parts, but there was another city in southern Lorthon. Not to mention that we had so many tunnels connected to Black Mithril, White Mithril and Angren… They were below the cities!

Not just below, but also above! There were even spirals going downwards, from the surface, down past those cities… All the way to the core of the fucking Earth! Okay, not the core… But it was still pretty deep!

I could see a dozen other cities like Black Mithril within the inner rings. Tunnels circled around within the center of the first three, while the fourth main tunnel was on the edge between the third and fourth ring. On the southern side of Lorthon Forest, there was another city like Angren.

“I do not expect you to be able to repair all of the damage to my flesh and skin… Even to conquer all of Alfirin would be far beyond your capabilities. Your purpose is in Lorthon. Where another cataclysm is occurring right now.”

My vision and mind were forced towards the Eye of Lorthon. Or more specifically, the pupil. At sea level, there was a giant lake of black goo, with a massive golden pyramid in the middle. The pyramid was like an arrow pointing up towards Angren. Each side of that triangle was facing a gigantic tree. The two northern ones were fine, even though it looked like they had been cut down long ago, there were still plenty of branches and vines connecting everything together.

The southernmost tree was different though. It had blackened and withered to the point where the other two trees were holding it in place. Well, that and the fact that it was fifty miles in diameter and only three miles high… An ancient stump that probably couldn’t fall over, no matter how much it decayed.

On top of the three stumps and with the giant pyramid in the center, there was a huge disc of dirt and rock just laying there. Suddenly, on the northeastern edge, the ground started caving in as a huge dryadic woman appeared. She was struggling to swat some tiny things that were crawling up her body, but in the end, she collapsed and the ground reformed.

During the fight though, a tiny ball was smacked off of the edge of the disc and eventually turned into a purple shooting star. When my vision zoomed in a bit, I could see that it was actually a fiery tigress! She eventually landed in the Forest of Corruption… Not that far away from Angren. The problem was that she got lost and actually ended up running and flying all the way around to the southern side of Lorthon Forest. By then, all of the trees in the area were dried and wilted. Especially that huge stump…

“Another one of Luna’s machinations. Another disaster, beyond my power to prevent.”

Since the tiger-girl flew around by shooting flames out of her feet, it shouldn’t be that hard to guess what happened next. Woosh~! It started with a little forest fire, but once she latched onto the tree and began climbing… The whole thing burst into flames and parts of it actually exploded. By the time she made it to the top, the stump collapsed and that giant disc tilted, then flipped over onto the southern side of the Forest of Corruption.

There was this metal wire though. Connecting the tip of the giant pyramid, to some giant thing in the sky… It snapped off at the base and then shortly after that, a huge silver disc crashed down into the human lands to the west of Lorthon Forest. There was a gigantic explosion of mana and flames. It landed on that fancy city with the pyramid city underneath. Creating another hellish eruption like the one that Rae-Rae and Big Bro caused in the north, only this one was way closer to home.

“Fortunately, the events which I have just shown you… Have not yet come to pass. There is still time for you to stop her… Stop the Burning One. Prevent her violet flames from bringing ruin to all of Lorthon. If you cannot, then all you have built and everyone you love… Will perish.”