Cerilla had long since finished all of the preparation. She had nothing else to do but start climbing the tree. The trip to the World Tree's top is perilous, always asking for more than people can endure.
The tree is massive, and its titanic branches are full of vicious and appalling monsters that never once touched the ground. Those beings are so powerful that any of the previous kings who met one never managed to reach the top.
The World Tree Maidens, it's Miko, would declare a king's death, the name of the monster that killed him, and how to avoid such a monster in the future.
The previous king had managed to reach the top, but the one before him died trying. A vile worm called the Dark Web Caterpillar killed him. A monster that uses its indestructible black threads to lay traps and poison its prey.
Arad looked at the blond woman sitting on the throne in front of him. "A caterpillar? A bug, is it large?"
