A large, white dove flew high in the sky above the colossal tree. Below, on the cozy ground beneath its branches, Ronaldo lay sleeping. "Aghhhhhhhhh!" he dreamt, then shouted as he woke. "Huh, I'm not dead!"
The dragon was flying towards him. Ronaldo covered his eyes in fear.
"Who are you! You're not from here, aren't you?" the dragon boomed.
Ronaldo stammered, "What? I thought this was heaven, and what do you mean 'not from'?"
The dragon laughed. "You fool. Bodyless one, you are referring to your own world, and where you are right now is not heaven, but it is different from yours."
"What?" Ronaldo thought momentarily. Did I just get transported to another world? Reincarnated? He shook his head. "I don't care. Please do not kill me. I am already dead in my own world, and I don't want to experience death again."
The dragon took a closer look at him, sniffing him and scanning his entire bodiless form. The dragon growled, "You are clueless of where you are, and you seem to have no intention to destroy the tree."
"Erhh, what tree?" Ronaldo leaned to his left, looking up, but still, only leaves and branches covered the sky view. "Why would I destroy that? That's massive; not a chainsaw could penetrate that."
The dragon, who introduced himself as Zephyrus, continued, "This tree is one of the cardinal trees of this world that holds its very structure. It gives life, shelter, and even great power. The day came when humans learned how to harness even more of their power. They wanted to be more powerful."
"What, by that tree?" Ronaldo asked.
"This tree has a magical element that could give you a tremendous amount of raw essence that can be harnessed into what you desire, most used as they called magic. Not only that, this tree possesses infinite storage of raw essence that can sustain this world for many years, and also the living. I am Zephyrus, one of the cardinal dragons, the guardian of the Western Tree of Balete. I saw creatures evolve into new beings. I have witnessed the stars warring with each other. I saw how they died. I have witnessed the light being manipulated to its utmost capability, not until those observations were changed into roaming battalions that desired to cut this tree. Over the past years, I have lost connection with the likes of me."
"Oh, so there are many dragons like you?" Ronaldo asked curiously.
"No, we are one of a kind. We exist just to guard the tree. Now that I've lost connection to them, I'm afraid that this world is nearing its end."
"Ehhhh, wait, what do you mean?" Ronaldo was surprised and taken aback.
"Yes, we may be powerful and have lived since the creation of this world, but humans have acquired the greatest weapon they could have: their intelligence. They are labeled as the evolved ones, the fastest among other creatures. They have gained the attention of the firstborns, and now they have uncovered the secret of the cardinal tree. They have cultivated the edges of this tree, the root trees. They contain less magic compared to those root trees closer to the main tree, and even leaves bear powers."
"So, you're telling me that if this tree is cut, the world will be in chaos or destroyed too, and eventually gone?" Ronaldo concluded.
"Yes, this tree is not just a tree; this is one of the branches of the Tree of Life, which is the center of this world. As long as its guardians and those who seek to nourish the Tree of Life hold hope, the world will hold. But like I said, I don't have any information about them. I have lost connection with it since an epoch, and I don't know what happened, but if something happens to that Tree of Life, it would be catastrophic as everyone could imagine."
"Why?" Ronaldo asked.
"This world will be vulnerable to new seedlings. A new type of tree may be planted here, but it's not like this one. A demon tree might be, that opens the realm of demonic beings. The dead will overturn this world."
"That's unbelievable," Ronaldo said.
"Indeed. So now you know what is in this world. Do you dare to take the same path?" The dragon lowered his head to Ronaldo.
"Uhhh, no, I won't. I don't intend to do that. In fact, that's also a problem in my world; they cut trees, but not like this one. Then it causes floods and loss of habitat; it even causes death. So I can relate to you, and I will never cross that decision to do that." Ronaldo nervously ended his statement, scratching the back of his head while the dragon leaned away, satisfied by Ronaldo's reasons.
"Hmmmm, you seem promising. You don't even have magic to begin with."
Ronaldo made a dull face. "Ah, yes, magic. That was the thing. When I was reading some manga, they used magic to fight and everything. And it didn't even come to my mind that this is a magical world, but I don't know if I have one."
Zephyrus led the way to the tree. "Come, touch the tree with your both hands."
"Wait, are you sure about this?" Zephyrus didn't answer. He just looked at him with a fierce dragon gaze. In a scared situation, Ronaldo did so. He placed both hands on the stem of the tree. A portion of it glowed. Green links traveled from the tree to Ronaldo as he closed his eyes, and then his hands glowed. The wind surged in.
[a vast amount of raw essence is attempting to link in your own essence]
"Haaa, what did you say?" While Ronaldo was empty-headed, Zephyrus was confused by what he was saying. Although it was definitely the system talking to him, Zephyrus didn't care; he just observed him making an idiotic scene.
[do you want to accept it]
"Oh, okay, if you insist too."
[accepting the link]
[loading….]
Ugh, my head hurts, Ronaldo thought, as he saw only a green light surging through his body. In a couple of minutes, Ronaldo fell.
After three days of slumber, Ronaldo woke up in a breathtaking place. He was asleep atop one of the tree's branches. Then he made a clueless mistake: when he moved after he woke, he fell from where he was.
"Booogsh! Awwwwwwww!" A loud voice made the birds fly away. Ronaldo stood up, massaging his body. Then he saw Zephyrus observing him.
"Good morning, sir!"
Zephyrus, curious, asked, "I thought you were dead."
"Whattttttttt!" Ronaldo jumped continuously, irritating Zephyrus. A loud dragon growl echoed through the forest.
"What happened to me? I was just like a ghost when I came here, then when I woke up, I have a body, and it's beautiful!" Ronaldo excitedly expressed his enjoyment.
"That's probably due to the powerful concentration of the tree's raw essence. You're different from them before; no one slept before when they touched the tree."
"What actually happened?" Ronaldo calmly asked.
"The tree is one of the main sources of magic in this world, like the natural elements. It is natural in nature and distinct on its own. You can make any power with it. You slept because you couldn't handle the raw power."
"Ahh, is that so?" Ronaldo said. "But I don't feel anything."
"Your essence and the tree's essence merged together, creating a flow of power synergy. As the tree doesn't have a mind to command itself to link itself to others, its power can be easily transmitted to others. That's why it is very vulnerable to exploitation, and you, as the receiver, had control over it, and that's why it happened," Zephyrus explained.
"Then why did you allow me to touch the tree?" Ronaldo asked.
"I offered you the power of the tree to see if you are one of them. But then, as I can see, it's far to expect bad from you compared to what they did. And so, I entrusted you to touch the tree to have a new body of your own as the main reason, as it will take a star's time to have a fully polished body on your own, just like human flesh," Zephyrus said.
"What? There are humans here?"
Zephyrus just looked at him, tired of his questions.
"I can't wait to meet them!"