The air still hummed with lingering mana as Lucretia stood in the center of the clearing, arms loosely at her sides, eyes half-lidded like someone who just completed an unexpectedly taxing yoga routine. Birds were still chirping, but now they seemed unsure whether to sing a hymn or a national anthem for a newly birthed continent.
"Okay... maybe that was a bit much," she mumbled to herself. "I need tea. Or a nap. Or both."
Yuuna emerged fully from her hiding spot, notebook filled to the brim with diagrams, notes, and half-finished equations that looked suspiciously like she was attempting to recreate Lucretia's summoning system using science. She stopped beside Lucretia, tilting her head.
"You're not done yet, are you?" Yuuna asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
Lucretia blinked. "...Am I not?"
Yuuna pointed to the magic stone dangling from Lucretia's sash.
Lucretia looked down at it. The stone, gifted by Nigihayami before she returned to Asgard, shimmered faintly with the colors of a sleeping aurora. It pulsed softly. A whisper of potential.
"Oh," Lucretia said. "That's still active. I forgot I had it."
Yuuna sighed. "You are literally a divine-level caster. How do you forget a celestial artifact tied to interdimensional summoning?"
"I have many pockets," Lucretia said defensively. Then, clearing her throat with a theatrical flourish, she raised the stone.
The circle beneath her feet flared to life again. This time, the glyphs shimmered with an entirely different rhythm, more refined, older, like ancient runes humming in harmony with the mana of the world. The sky pulsed.
From the center of the light, four pairs of humans appeared, each group blinking at the surroundings as though they had just walked out of a history book and into a fever dream.
The humans were... well, surprisingly plain. Their clothes were practical, and none of them had glowing horns or sparkly tails. One man squinted at a flower and promptly sneezed. Another woman looked up at the mana tree and muttered, "Is that thing breathing?"
Yuuna observed them with narrowed eyes. She adjusted her grip on her notebook and said flatly, "So... you just summoned a baseline species. No wings, no aura, not even a single spark of visual intimidation."
Lucretia tilted her head. "They have potential."
"You keep saying that like you're some divine architect," Yuuna said, not unkindly. "But you're not a god. Just a high-powered elf with questionable impulse control."
Lucretia opened her mouth, paused, and then shrugged. "Accurate."
"So, what now? You give them homework? A motivational speech?"
"Maybe a starter home and a loaf of bread."
Yuuna sighed, scribbling notes. "At least give them fire resistance."
"Done. Sort of."
Taking a deep breath, Lucretia stepped forward. The humans backed up slightly, clearly intimidated by her shimmering presence and the fact that she had just birthed them into a world without any warning.
"Welcome," Lucretia said, her voice kind. "This world is yours to shape. You may be fragile now, but with guidance and courage, you will thrive."
Then, because she couldn't help herself, she reached forward and tapped one of the men on the forehead. The man blinked. A faint shimmer surrounded him.
"I may have given him longer lifespan and minor magic affinity," Lucretia whispered to Yuuna.
"How minor?"
"He might not set his shoes on fire by accident."
Yuuna scribbled that down. "Acceptable baseline."
The humans left, some in awe, some muttering, and at least one already asking if bread existed here.
Next, Lucretia took a breath and looked to the horizon. She extended her arms again. "This world... needs life. And danger. And snacks."
Yuuna raised an eyebrow. "Snacks?"
"Wildlife," Lucretia corrected. "Ecological balance."
She conjured a dozen small summoning circles all around the glade. With rapid pops and flashes, various monsters and creatures appeared, rabbits with horned foreheads, massive cows with leafy tails, deer that shimmered like fog, bees that looked entirely too smug, and a pelican that immediately flopped into the pond with dramatic flair.
Yuuna's notebook was shaking from how fast she was scribbling.
Lucretia put a finger to her lips. "I tried to balance meat yield, visual appeal, and potential cuddles."
"You summoned a plush ecosystem," Yuuna deadpanned.
"And yet, no one is complaining."
Suddenly, the bush rustled.
Just before that, another summoning circle hiccupped, not burst, not pulsed, just gave a sort of magical hiccup. And from it, with an audible 'doink,' a pumpkin sprang up. It had tiny root-legs, glowing eyes, and absolutely zero sense of direction.
With a delighted "Wheee!", it bounced three times, did a somersault midair, and zoomed off like a toddler on too much sugar. It rebounded off a cow, ricocheted off the trunk of the mana tree, and finally tumbled into the pond with a splash that startled the pelican into a full-on dignity crisis.
Yuuna blinked. "Was that a pumpkin?"
"A very energetic pumpkin," Lucretia said, nodding approvingly. "Potential pie material, if it ever slows down."
Suddenly, the ground shook slightly. One of the summoning circles fizzled at the edges, and with a small pop, a black carrot-shaped creature sprang forth.
It blinked. Then it screamed.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
The mandragora flailed its tiny arms, jumped five feet into the air, landed sideways, then bolted across the clearing with the velocity of a fleeing potato on caffeine.
"That's... a vegetable," Yuuna said, frozen mid-note.
"A very loud vegetable," Lucretia added, wincing. "Too loud. Way too loud."
The mandragora ran in circles, tripped over a horned rabbit, screamed again, and kept running, this time directly into a fog-deer, which vanished in panic. Somewhere in the distance, a pelican squawked indignantly.
Yuuna lowered her notebook. "Why does it scream like a kettle being boiled inside a tornado?"
"I don't know! I was trying to summon something edible with personality!" Lucretia replied.
The mandragora let out one final shriek before leaping into a bush, where it presumably entered another plane of existence.
The world now felt more alive. Not because it was full, but because it was diverse. And Exiastgardsun was finally ready to bloom.
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