Kai ended up spending the entire night with Elder Caelith, reading books and discussing both the ritual and everything either of them knew about the Earth Plane.

As it turned out, the elder knew far more than Kai had expected. Elves had a natural affinity for spirits tied to the Earth Plane, and because of that, they had gathered far more knowledge about it over the centuries. Even so, most earth spirits rarely spoke in detail about their home. When they did, they only ever mentioned how vast it was, and how it was ruled by an entity known as the Earth Spirit King.

The Earth Plane was not empty.

It had its own native species and humans were not among them. Every elemental plane was saturated with mana to an extreme degree, and ordinary humans would not survive there for long. Even First or Second-Circle Mages would struggle under the constant mana pressure, their bodies slowly breaking down under the strain.

It was not a place meant to be visited lightly.

And yet, the more Kai spoke with Elder Caelith, and the more he thought it through, the clearer it became. Traveling to the Earth Plane in search of an Elder Tree seed sounded like the best option he had. Or at the very least, he might find something there capable of revitalizing the dying tree.

There were records from later ages that supported the idea. Mages who had managed to travel between planes often described the Earth Plane as the home of life itself. Some had even chosen to remain there for extended periods, abandoning their own world as it was slowly consumed by dead mana.

But the Earth Plane was not a sanctuary.

It had its own dangers. Many spirits were hostile to outsiders, especially those who tried to settle or take something from the land. And as spirits grew stronger, they often became territorial and arrogant, and that made them unpredictable and deadly.

Elder Caelith had warned Kai about all of that in great detail during their discussions. He spoke at length about territorial spirits, about guardians that would never tolerate intruders, and about places in the Earth Plane where even spirits feared to tread. If an Elder Tree seed existed there, Caelith believed it would be protected beyond reason.

Kai agreed.

But agreement did not change reality. Even with all the danger laid bare, Kai could not think of another path forward, to save the Elder Tree. Even if he somehow managed to purge the everlasting flame, the damage had already been done. At best, it would linger for a short while longer before dying within the year.

That made the choice painfully clear.

This was their only option.

Caelith understood that as well. Kai could see it in the way the elder spoke less forcefully as the night went on. The man did not want to die. None of the elders did. But they were willing to, if it meant giving Sylvastra a future.

The problem was that knowledge alone did not make the task easy.

Even with everything they knew, traveling to the Earth Plane was far beyond a complicated ritual. Only a ninth-circle Shadow Mage could open a direct pathway to another plane. He didn’t have that much power.

The ritual was the only other way and was complicated and would take a lot of time. Worse still, its goal was not even to open a direct rift to the Earth Plane. Instead, it would push the caster into the space between realms. From there, one could navigate toward a specific plane, if they knew how to find its door.

Kai did.

But knowing where a door was did not make reaching it easy. The ritual would require enormous amounts of resources. And once Elder Caelith had gotten into his plan of going to the Earth plane, he had asked what Kai needed.

Kai answered slowly at first, but the list kept growing longer. Elder Caelith’s face grew paler. By the end of it, the elder looked as though Kai had asked for the forest itself.

In truth, that was not far from reality. The resources required would cost even a Magus decades of accumulation.

Still, there was no point in doing it halfway.

If they failed, there would be no second attempt.

In the end, Kai stopped listing materials and leaned back slightly, knowing what he needed was a way to gather those resources.

And that was where the real challenge would begin.

Fortunately, Kai was no longer living in his original era. This was a time when mana flowed thick through the world and resources had not yet been exhausted. They still existed. They could still be found.

He simply needed to locate them.

Once that was done, he could begin preparing the ritual.

For that, he would need help. As much of it as he could gather. And while a king had access to many hands, Kai chose not to begin with his own kingdom. First, he needed to be honest with the elven elders.

Elder Caelith had already more or less accepted the plan. He might not have trusted Kai at first, but after the attack, he was willing to listen. More than that, he understood there was no other path left to them.

After a simple breakfast, they gathered all the elders together in V’aleirith’s room.

The space was cramped with all five of them present.

Every elder watched Kai closely as he laid out his plan in full. He explained how he intended to reach the Earth Plane, step by step. He spoke about entering the space between realms, navigating it, and then finding the door he knew how to locate.

He did not hide the risks.

Once there, they would need to move quickly. Locate an Elder Tree seed. Leave before the plane turns hostile or the ritual anchors fail.

As he spoke, the elders listened in silence. They could see the gaps in his plan as clearly as he could. Flossbor frowned more than once, his expression tightening as Kai continued. Still, no one interrupted him.

When Kai finally finished, he fell silent and waited.

Flossbor was the first to speak.

“I have no doubt you could open a pathway to the Earth Plane, Arzan,” he said slowly. “But I do not see how we would obtain a seed even if we reach it. There are too many unknowns.” He tilted his head. “You have no way to pinpoint the location of an Elder Tree seed. Do you?”

Kai nodded. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a spell that can locate an Elder Tree seed.” He paused, then added, “And before you speak more, Elder Flossbor, I am aware of the flaws in my plan.”

“Then why?” he asked.

“Because this is the only way I see to save the Elder Tree, Sylvastra, and the world from certain doom.”

Lirian shifted, clearly about to speak. “There are other ways—”

“I didn’t realize you were all becoming suicidal.”

Those words made her pause.

Flossbor’s eyes narrowed. “So you found out.”

Before Kai could respond, Elder V’aleirith spoke from the bed. She slowly pushed herself upright, the movement still painful. Her breath hitched, but she continued. “I told him,” she said. “I believed he had the right to know. And it is not something we could have hidden for long anyway.”

Flossbor looked as though he wanted to argue. His mouth opened, then closed. In the end, he sighed. “I understand.” He turned back to Kai. “But dying to save the Elder Tree here, or going to the Earth Plane and dying there, does not seem very different. I hope you see that, Arzan. At least dying here would mean our deaths serve a noble cause.”

Kai shook his head. “It’s not a noble cause,” he said. “At best, it delays the inevitable by a century. Maleficia attacked once already. No one says they can’t do it again. And when they do, you won’t be there to stop them.”

Elder V’aleirith drew a breath, about to speak, but Kai looked directly at her. “And even if I am,” he added, “there’s no guarantee of anything. They are taking me seriously now. I’m sure they’re already planning for me.”

He let those words sink in before continuing. “At least going to the Earth Plane gives us a chance. A real one. A chance to come back with a seed and give the Elder Tree thousands of years of life.”

The elders exchanged looks, weighing his words. The room fell quiet, heavy with thought.

Then Caelith broke the silence.

“I believe Arzan is right.”

Flossbor raised an eyebrow. “You do?” he asked, looking at Caelith.

Caelith straightened and moved away from the wall he had been leaning against. “Yes, I do,” he said. “I spent the entire night going through his plan with him. And yes, there is a chance that anyone who goes with him might not come back alive. But that is still better than giving up our lives without even trying.”

He looked at the others in turn. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I do not wish for my death to be like that. The Elder Tree treats all of us as its children. And it would not want us to die this way. You all know that.”

His words left the other elders visibly unsettled.

Kai did not let the moment slip by. He stepped forward and spoke before the silence could turn against him. “And I am not asking you to come with me,” he said clearly. “Though I would appreciate a spirit trainer if one is willing, I will not force anyone.”

He looked around the room. “All I ask is for the elves to help me gather what I need to perform the ritual.”

He continued further. “Sylvastra still holds many resources. I know you do not like disturbing the natural order, but if I succeed, think about what that means. We can save the Elder Tree. We can rebuild Sylvastra.” His gaze lingered on each elder. “Without you, the rest of your people will be left without direction. You all know that as well.”

Silence settled over the room.

Kai could already feel the decision forming. The elders would not refuse this. They might have resisted if he had demanded they travel to the Earth Plane, but he had not. And truthfully, most of them would not survive such a journey. Spirit trainers, for all their power, were often limited in combat. Even after centuries of life, elves did not have a battle culture like the barbarians or Battle Mages.

This request, however, was different. It did not ask them to die. It asked them to simply help.

That was exactly why Kai intended to rely on his own subordinates rather than the elven elders once he truly made it into the Earth Plane. It was not a place suited for them.

But just as he was certain the elders would agree, Elder V’aleirith spoke again.

“I understand what you are saying,” she said slowly. “But our lives are not equal to yours, Fatebreaker. You going to the Earth Plane is dangerous. If you lose your life there, the world will fall into darkness regardless of whether the Elder Tree survives.”

Kai turned to her, meeting her gaze. “I have faced danger everywhere,” he said. “If I did not believe I could return from the Earth Plane, I would not even consider this plan.” He took a step closer to her bed. “You know this as well as I do, Elder V’aleirith. I do not act on plans I believe will kill me.”

And it was true.

Despite everything he had learned about the Earth Plane, despite the risks that waited there, Kai was confident. Truly confident that he would come back.

Elder V’aleirith lowered her head, as if weighing his words carefully. After a moment, she looked toward the other elders, then let out a quiet sigh.

“How confident are you?” she asked.

“Extremely confident,” Kai replied without hesitation.

She studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “Very well,” she said. “We will help you with the ritual.” She paused, then added, “But one of us will go with you. You will need at least one spirit trainer in the Earth Plane.”

Before Kai could respond, Elder Caelith stepped forward. “I will go with you.”

Kai turned toward him. “Are you sure?”

Caelith snorted. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be? I know the dangers, and I doubt anyone else here would agree.” He glanced briefly at the others. “They are even less warriors than I am.”

Flossbor let out a short snort at that, but no one stepped forward to argue.

The decision had been made. That was enough for Kai.

“That sounds good to me,” he said simply.

The main challenge now was gathering everything needed to reach the Earth Plane. Without the materials, the ritual was nothing more than theory. As if reading his thoughts, Elder V’aleirith spoke again.

“What do you need?” she asked.

Kai took a few seconds to think. “Many things,” he said honestly. “But what I was hoping the elves could help me with is pure mana essence.” He looked around the room. “I don’t care about the aspect. But for a ritual of this scale, I need an enormous amount of mana. Pure essence will let me power it properly, especially since I won’t be going alone.”

He did not say it out loud, but powering such a ritual was complicated. If he tried to fuel the ritual using only his own mana reserves, he would run dry halfway through. That would leave him stranded between this world and the space between realms. Death would be instant.

But pure mana essence was rare. Painfully rare.

Everyone knew that and the elders’ expressions darkened as soon as he mentioned it. Not because they didn’t want to follow the request, but because they knew how difficult it would be to fulfill.

“I know it won’t be easy,” Kai said, seeing their reactions. “But that’s all I’m asking from the elves.”

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Caelith broke the silence.

“How fast do you want it, Arzan?” he asked. “We might be able to extract enough essence from a few trees. We have such ones here. The beasts around them will be a problem, but it can be done.”

“As soon as possible,” Kai replied without hesitation. “I’ll be moving at the same time. I need to gather the other materials, finalize the ritual, and plan the journey.”

He looked at them all, his voice steady. “Once everything is ready, I’ll open the gate to the Earth Plane.”

***

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