"I am aggressive. After all, your species is too arrogant. As you are now, it is impossible to fit inside my society."
The Star Elder inwardly frowned when he heard those words, even if he showed nothing outwardly. 'This creature seems to be a bit more complicated to deal with compared to what we've experienced before. Her intelligence is high, but nothing I can't deal with.'
After waiting for a few seconds, the Star Elder spoke calmly. "You call us arrogant, but you are just fearful of our powers."
'Trying to minimize our influence doesn't work with beings like her. Instead, I need to be frank and forward. This sentence should rattle her.'
Liu Shu looked at him and smiled. "You are right."
"Huh?" An involuntary sound of confusion escaped the Star Elder. Things went off track just after the first answer.
Liu Shu calmly took a sip of the tea and spoke. "Your species's potential is, to put it mildly, world-shaking. Were someone from your group to reach higher Levels and Tiers, I can't imagine what miraculous abilities they will develop."
Liu Shu saw a flash of vanity in the Star Elder's eyes, but she didn't point it out. Instead, she continued. "You see, my society already has someone similar to your species. A World Tree in my native world is close to
Fortuna had never stopped growing. Her initial small buffs were now something sought after all around the world. However, Liu Shu never feared Fortuna. The reason? Fortuna was a World Tree.
As a creature of the same species, Liu Shu could understand her thought process, not to mention that Fortuna was deeply entangled in her roots. Fortuna's threat level was, and will always be, zero, both from a trust and potential perspective.
The Star Elder still didn't touch the tea, clearly suspicious. "You speak as such, but your actions contradict your words. Why would you come out so strongly when meeting with me? You could've silently gotten rid of us, right?"
"I could've." Liu Shu admitted, her tone peaceful. "Still, I do not want that. Star Elder, I am a World Tree. Life is something I appreciate, and the cycle of the universe is something I take part in, most of the time as an observer. However, there are some creatures that, while lacking the power and strength, overflow with senseless ambition."
The blue-colored eyes of the wooden avatar, illuminated by the sap flowing through them, locked into the Star Elder's eyes. "You've seen my arrival. You know that your race won't perish, as you've seen them prosper. Therefore, you have the wrong impression that I either don't dare touch you or find you too valuable to go against you."
Star Elder glanced at the Avatar's eyes and spoke lightly. "If my impression is wrong, how am I seeing that future?"
"That's because you can't see through me."
The Star Elder showed a confused look on his lizard-like face before calming his expression. Internally, he sneered. 'Overestimating herself. Even if her Level is higher, there is no way to protect against our visions.'
However, he didn't know that among the many buffs, Liu Shu had a title named
***
Enemies cannot perceive your future actions with prediction, foresight, or divination.The effects of decay and entropy are nullified.All buffs and debuffs applied to you last indefinitely unless actively dispelled. Maintaining them costs
***
Then, what was Star Elder seeing? The future they were observing was one that would not happen. The arrival of an otherworldly power, the prosperity of their race, and everything else came from a timeline where Liu Shu didn't exist.
Even without Liu Shu, Nualis was just too weak. Therefore, when the conflict in Ceperet wrapped up, the victorious power would arrive at Nualis. And unlike Liu Shu, they would not be that well-aware of the Star Chart Newt's true potential.
With the new resources, their species would grow swiftly and, as some visions of past ancestors suggested, become prosperous.
Before she contacted them, Liu Shu was honestly somewhat confused. How could they predict her arrival? How could they see through her protection? Honestly, her guardedness stemmed from the fact that they had predicted her arrival at Nualis.
But, after thinking for a while, she noticed odd movements. While their elders used their powers and prepared for different futures, Liu Shu noticed that these futures were not related to her.
When she visited the Star Elder, there was also a faint surprise and confusion in his expression, as if he never expected her arrival.
So, after placing all the puzzle pieces together, she came to a conclusion. 'Their future vision is flawed.'
One would think that after learning this truth, Liu Shu would disregard this species. However, the opposite happened. The reason was their danger. With incomplete information, she had a group of overconfident fools acting as if they knew the future but never taking her own existence into account.
How considerable was the danger of someone like that by her side? One had to be wary of powerful or intelligent enemies. However, what hurt a power the most was incompetent allies that put everyone else in danger due to their ineptitude.
"You say that we can't see through you. Then, why be so aggressive? Allow me to be blunt, Lady World Tree, even if you can read my System Page, you can't experience or understand our powers. They are a boon you must not give up, since we are able to give your power wings, transforming you from a large fish to one that can fly the endless skies."
Liu Shu chuckled. "See? Arrogant, not putting me into your eyes. Even now, when you are trying to keep up pretenses, your conceit and disdain for all others can't help but spill from your speech. I am a being that can, quite literally, squash your entire species with a single thought. Even knowing that, you dare spout nonsense, thinking yourself all-knowing."
Star Elder smiled, unafraid. "The fact that I am alive even after offending a being such as yourself proves that my words are not that ineffective. If we were creatures like you described, would you take the time to explain your actions to me?"
"I would." Liu Shu sighed, her gaze maintaining the same calm, while the Star Elder actively scowled for the first time.
"Why lie—"
"Do you really think you are someone who requires me to lie? As you said, allow me to be blunt. You are not worthy. I've already approached all leaders of the world, and except for you, all of them have accepted my governance. Nualis, your world, is mine in everything but name."
The Star Elder looked at Liu Shu coldly as she continued peacefully. "The Star Chart Newts are an interesting species, exotic even. Some of my highest-ranked officials have already told me about the rarity of a species like yours. However, their suggestions are just that, suggestions. I have total power, and were I a tyrant, your existence would've ceased to exist before you even heard my voice."
The Star Elder was stubborn. "I don't believe that."
"I know." Liu Shu sighed. "That's why your race is so problematic and pedantic. I could summon my strongest aide, I could show you the extent of my power, and nothing would faze you. In your mind, you have that blind trust that you can, eventually, overcome any obstacle."
The World Tree took another sip of her own tea and looked down at the fluids of the cup. "We will do one thing, and I am not asking for permission, but forcing you to do it. So, listen closely."
The Star Elder's expression kept being cold, but Liu Shu didn't care. "From now on, I will take with me all Star Chart Newts that get pregnant and their partners. All Star Chart Newts that are below 3 years of age, as well as their immediate families. The rest of you can continue to exist here, and I will not touch your land. You can develop a scheme as you see fit. However, the only option is your eventual death from natural causes."
The Star Chart Newt's eyes opened wide, not having expected such words to come from this being.
Liu Shu looked at him with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but this is the best solution I can think of. If you want anyone from your species to get out of the open jail I'll be putting you in, you know what to do. Once someone is pregnant, I'll have people come and get them."
The World Tree sighed, feeling somewhat helpless. "Also, don't try to give them any purpose or try to brainwash them into altering or causing ripples in my society. Each of the Star Chart Newt families will be separated, spread across my vast empire in small communities able to prosper and spread the bloodline. Only when the new generations grow will they start fitting in society."
"Y-You… You can't do this! That's too cruel!"
"Is it?" Liu Shu looked at him, all emotions disappearing from her face as the aura of her existence enveloped the room. "You can't stop thinking of plotting. Your innate precognition is a ridiculous power, and your arrogance is honestly earned."
The Star Elder couldn't breathe. The Aether, Anima, and even the very air had fallen under the World Tree's boundless existence. For a second, he felt tiny. So extremely insignificant that, from the first time, his heart beat with fear. 'S-She is not bluffing.'
Her words lingered for a second before she continued, ignoring his plight. "Sadly, that sentence is only truthful when you deal with equals. It will take a few decades, but as long as I place your species under Fortuna, they will eventually prosper and become a powerful root that anchors everyone's future. You and the other elders will be unable to participate in that prosperous future. That's all."
The wooden avatar stood up, while the pressure around her increased. The chair under the Star Elder cracked, and the cup holding the tea exploded. As his body was ruthlessly flattened but never excessively damaged, Liu Shu spoke one last time.
"Star Elder, I will act as the evil this time. I will sacrifice one generation so that all future ones prosper. Curse at me, despise me, spread false stories of my cruelty, and do as you please. Just know that it's all futile. The less resistance, the more peaceful your twilight years will be. Food, entertainment, and limited freedom will be given to you. The only thing that your generation won't have is… a future."
Then, Liu Shu disappeared, the roots that governed the room uncoiling.
Right after, the world around them quaked. Gargantuan roots soaring up in a massive circumference around the Star Chart Newt territory. The roots grew and intertwined, quickly forming a giant, impregnable
When the Star Elder rushed out and saw the giant roots in the distance, he fell to his knees, his gaze blank.