"My strength plucked high hills, my might shadowed the world.
My golden age is gone, my good steed runs no more..."
"What is this?
Is it... human art?" Greater Lord Rukkhadevata held a pitch-black leaf from the Irminsul. Within it, she sensed knowledge from beyond the stars.
"It's better to destroy it," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata murmured. Vast Dendro energy gathered in her pure white hand to destroy the Irminsul leaf.
But the result was beyond Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's expectations. The immense Dendro energy didn't destroy it; instead, it was absorbed.
This situation was unexpected, but what came next was even more so. Amidst the vast Dendro energy, the leaf gradually took a human form, slowly becoming a young man.
The moment the young man took shape, he asked:
"Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?"
This set of the soul's three questions not only stumped the young man himself but also perplexed Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
"I've created a newborn demon god!" Greater Lord Rukkhadevata exclaimed.
At that moment, Rowan's mind was a mess. The soul's three questions he'd just uttered were his genuine thoughts. He only vaguely remembered that his name was Rowan, and he came from a place called Earth. It was his home. It held so much warmth for him, and yet, so much cruelty. Fragmented memories appeared sporadically in Rowan's mind.
Rowan saw a woman in a beautiful, pale green dress standing before him. She was as beautiful as a sprite, as if she were the favored child of nature itself, exuding the scent of vanilla.
"Who are you?
Where are you?
What are you doing?" Rowan issued the soul's three questions once more.
These questions pulled Greater Lord Rukkhadevata back to reality. She looked at him, like a mischievous child who had just found a fun new toy.
Rowan caught that look in her eyes.
"What are you doing?
Don't come over here!
Don't come over here!
!
!"
...
"You should call me 'Mother'," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata said after studying Rowan.
Rowan searched his fragmented memories for the meaning of 'Mother': *The being that created me.*
"You're the one who made me?"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata reviewed her research of him: *A damaged soul, the body of a demon god, and like myself, an incarnation of the Irminsul. But he's been contaminated by something unknown. It's not like other contamination; it lacks strong aggression, just... strange knowledge.*
"I am the Dendro Archon, Buer, an incarnation of the Irminsul. You are a branch of the Irminsul, and thus, my child."
This idea rushed madly into Rowan's mind.
"I have two definitions I don't understand. I want to ask."
"Speak," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata replied. As the incarnation of wisdom, she felt she could answer most of his questions. After all, he had only just been born.
"First, what is a 'demon god'?"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata smiled at this. *Such a child.* Afraid he wouldn't understand, she gave him a detailed explanation.
"Second question. Based on what you told me, I am the product of your asexual reproduction. From this, I can infer that our individual genetic material is identical. Since the genetic material is the same, our selective gene expression should also be the same. So why are our phenotypes different?" Rowan didn't even know why he'd said such a thing, but the words just tumbled out.
At this moment, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was left speechless.
Rowan realized he hadn't been clear, but his memories were too fragmented. He couldn't justify many of his own thoughts, so he just waited.
Silence... just silence...
In truth, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata could answer this question, but how to put it?
Should she say he was a contaminated branch she was about to annihilate, but then he suddenly pulled this stunt?
That would deeply hurt the child's fragile heart, wouldn't it?
"Right, Buer, I forgot to tell you. My name is Rowan."
At this, a sudden surge of anger appeared in Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's heart. They were both demon gods; addressing each other by their demon god names was fine. So why was she angry?
She subconsciously gathered her elemental energy. The concentration of Dendro around her was already dense enough to kill nearby living beings.
Rowan saw the beautiful woman clenching her fist, which was gathering a ball of green... stuff (Dendro energy). He didn't know why, but he felt terrified and instantly backed down.
"Mo... Mother?" Rowan ventured.
The surrounding Dendro energy vanished instantly.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's mood brightened in a flash. *He called me Mother! I'm a mother!*
Rowan felt he was probably safe and began to observe his surroundings.
He was in a palace within an oasis. The palace was primarily green, a design choice that didn't quite suit Rowan's taste. He instinctively felt the color was... off. He then looked at himself.
He realized he was naked. He looked back at his new mother, whose face was beaming like a spring breeze. A wave of... shame... washed over him. But she didn't seem to mind at all.
*Oh, right. I'm not human anymore. I'm a demon god. By the way, they say every demon god has their own 'authority'. What's mine?*
*This is weird. She's the Dendro Archon, but her authority is Wisdom. What am I?*