THE WORLD TREE OF ASHA
Six months had passed since The Root reached Level 4, and the warning signs were impossible to ignore. Every Guardian above Level 5 in the region had declared Asha Village an enemy—seeing their alliance of smaller Guardians as a threat to their dominance.
GUARDIAN: The Root
LEVEL: 4
TOTAL FAITH: 6,729,418.3
FAITH PER SECOND: 38.215
REQUIRED FOR LEVEL 5: 10,000,000
CURRENT CAP: 1,000,000,000,000
TERRITORY SIZE: 1,200x Village Size (Daily growth rate 10%)
ALLIED GUARDIANS: 7 (Levels 3–4)
HOSTILE GUARDIANS: 12 (Levels 5–8)
SPECIES LEVELS: Highest 11 (Kira, Borin, Zara – Pre-ascension)
COST TO ASCEND EACH: 4,882,812,500 faith per person
Kira stood at the edge of the territory, looking out at the charred ground where the Cinder Pine (Level 6) had burned every plant within a mile of Asha's boundary. The fire had been fueled by 100,000 faith spent on its S-rank ability—Wildfire Blast—a clear message that higher-level Guardians would stop at nothing to destroy them.
"Three attacks in two weeks," Borin said, joining her with a report in hand. "Storm Cypress (Level 7) sent floods against our northern farms, Crystal Spire (Level 5) tried to petrify our water sources, and now Cinder Pine with its fire. Each one is spending millions of faith just to damage our land."
Zara arrived moments later, her Water Sense abilities letting her feel the poison seeping into the soil from the Venom Bloom (Level 8) territory to the south. "They're coordinating," she said grimly. "Every attack comes from a different direction, timed to stretch our defenses thin. The Solar Oak (Level 5) is leading them—Lyra sent word that they'll launch a full assault when Solar Oak reaches Level 6."
The Root's voice echoed in their minds, carrying a weight they hadn't felt before:
Most higher-level Guardians follow the old ways—believing that only one strong Guardian should rule each region, with all species swearing absolute faith to them alone. They see our alliance as a challenge to their power, and they fear that if we reach Level 50 and guide our people to ascension, other species will follow our example and break free of their control.
The Guardian shared a vision of the hostile forces gathering: twelve Guardians, their territories forming a ring around Asha's expanding lands. Together, they had more than 500 million total faith and faith per second rates that added up to over 200. They were preparing to combine their powers into a single attack—one that would cost billions of faith but could potentially destroy The Root entirely.
"We need to reach Level 5 before they strike," Kira said, turning back toward the village. "What do we need to do?"
To reach Level 5, we need 10 million total faith—we are already 6.7 million of the way there, The Root responded. But every attack drains our resources. We've spent 2.3 million faith so far on healing the land and defending our people. To speed our growth, we must unlock a new ability—Faith Weave (A-rank)—which will let us connect the faith of all allied Guardians into a single stream. However, it will cost 500,000 faith to activate, and we will need all our allies to agree to the connection.
Kira immediately sent messengers to each allied Guardian. The Current Serpent (Level 4), Stone Heart (Level 3), and the others all agreed—they knew that Asha was their only hope against the hostile forces. Within three days, the connection was made, and Faith Weave was activated.
FAITH PER SECOND INCREASED TO 89.421
TOTAL FAITH: 7,218,932.5 (After Faith Weave cost deduction)
TIME TO LEVEL 5: 9 days
With the new faith rate, Asha's growth accelerated dramatically. The Root guided the building of specialized structures—faith sanctuaries where believers could focus their devotion and increase their faith output by 20%. Farmers unlocked new crops that produced food twice as fast, and craftspeople created tools that let them build defenses in days instead of weeks.
But the hostile Guardians responded by increasing their attacks. Solar Oak spent 5 million faith to unlock Sun's Wrath (SS-rank), an ability that could scorch an entire field in seconds. Storm Cypress followed with Tsunami Wave (SS-rank), costing 7 million faith to flood half of Asha's northern territory. Each attack forced The Root to spend millions of faith on Lifeweave and Branch Shield to protect the village and repair the damage.
TOTAL FAITH: 8,941,207.1 (After defense costs)
TIME TO LEVEL 5: 3 days
Kira, Borin, and Zara had all reached Level 11 pre-ascension—each requiring nearly 4.9 billion faith to prepare for ascension. But The Root couldn't afford to spend that much faith yet, so they focused their strength on defending the village. Their pre-ascension power was already impressive: Kira could call vines from the ground that were strong enough to hold back Level 8 fighters, Borin's Woodweave Armor was nearly indestructible, and Zara could manipulate water to form shields and weapons.
On the second day of the final push to Level 5, the hostile Guardians launched a coordinated assault. Cinder Pine sent walls of fire from the west, Venom Bloom released toxic clouds from the south, Crystal Spire shot petrifying beams from the east, and Storm Cypress brought torrential rains from the north. Solar Oak led the charge from the center, its golden light shining bright as it prepared to unleash Sun's Wrath.
"We can't hold them all off!" Garin shouted, as he and the other craft workers rushed to reinforce the defenses. "The Root is spending faith as fast as we gain it!"
TOTAL FAITH: 9,876,543.2
FAITH PER SECOND: 89.421
TIME TO LEVEL 5: 1 hour 45 minutes
Kira gathered all 2,100 chosen fighters—their levels ranging from 3 to 11—and positioned them around the territory edges. "We just need to hold on for less than two hours," she called out. "When The Root reaches Level 5, everything changes!"
The attacks hit with devastating force. Fire consumed the western forests, poison seeped into the southern farms, petrifying beams turned stone structures to dust, and floods washed away northern fields. The Root's shields held, but every second cost thousands of faith.
TOTAL FAITH: 9,923,718.5 (After 50,000 faith spent on shields)
TIME TO LEVEL 5: 1 hour 12 minutes
Lyra and her Level 12 fighters pushed through the northern defenses, their Solar Flare abilities burning through everything in their path. "Surrender now!" she shouted, her sword glowing with the power of Solar Oak. "Give up your Guardian, swear faith to Lord Solas, and we'll let some of you live!"
Borin stepped forward to face her, his Level 11 strength matching hers. "We'd rather die free than live as slaves to your Guardian!"
The two clashed, their weapons sending sparks flying across the battlefield. Borin's ironbark staff held firm against Lyra's golden sword, but he was slowly being pushed back. Zara and Kira joined the fight, their combined power holding the Greenwater forces at bay.
As the battle raged, the faith ticked upward—every believer in the village focused their devotion, every allied Guardian sent their faith through Faith Weave, every second bringing them closer to Level 5.
TOTAL FAITH: 9,999,998.7
TIME TO LEVEL 5: 13 seconds
Kira glanced at the mental window, then shouted to all defenders: "Thirteen seconds! Hold on—just thirteen more seconds!"
The hostile Guardians sensed what was happening and poured all their power into a final attack. Solar Oak unleashed Sun's Wrath, a beam of golden light aimed directly at The Root. Storm Cypress, Cinder Pine, Venom Bloom, and Crystal Spire combined their abilities into a single wave of destruction that raced toward the village.
"Now!" Kira cried out, as the total faith finally hit 10,000,000 exactly.