Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

The precursor of the Mother of Demons, Moya, Mnemosyne and Laine have harbored a grudge for quite a long time, although this so-called grudge has always been unilaterally perceived by the other party, and Laine has never paid it any attention.

It was not until this Goddess of Titans suffered a loss at the hands of the newly born Atlas that her existence truly caught Laine's attention as she chose to dive headfirst into Tartarus. Now that she has lost her former appearance and turned into a form even more twisted than the Hekatonkheires, one can only imagine the resentment that smoldered within Moya when she awoke.

She had gained the power she had longed for, yet she had also turned into a monster unrecognized by the deities. Had it not been for Tartarus, which had birthed her, guiding her choices, and had she not set her sights on Hell to draw from the power of the Abyss after her descent, Laine would have been well-prepared to encounter her in the Spirit Realm by now.

Of course, if she truly dared to come, it would most likely be a one-way ticket.

"If you have a plan in mind, that's good. Moya, favored by Tartarus, is not someone they can handle."

Pleased with the satisfactory reply, Asmodeus nodded. He was ready to leave, but when his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the 'little' tree growing beneath the floating island, he could not help but recall the ideas about the 'mortal strategy' that Mephisto had expounded to him a few days prior.

He needed something that could constrain mortals while earning their trust, something that could be used extensively and on a large scale. Upon learning of his ideas, the Lord of the Nine Hells had originally planned to try diluting the power of the Styx River, but later he discovered that the true power of the Styx oath did not lie in the river itself, but had a different origin.

The waters of the Styx represented more the punishment for breaking an oath; they possessed some special divinity that could wash away the power of the deities. Therefore, its water could perhaps be formulated into a special ink used to inscribe the contents of a contract, but the material to carry the oath itself would need a different source.

"A 'Sworn Oath' tree, from which power can be harnessed at a cost, I really don't know where you get such things from."

After observing for a while, Asmodeus stretched out his hand and called over a leaf from the Tree of Life.

The golden glow radiated from the veins of the leaf, with some kind of power flowing within. The Lord of the Nine Hells studied it carefully, and after a while, extracted the power contained within the leaf, turning it into a stack of darkly colored 'paper' in his palm.

"This tree must, like the Styx River, gain power by witnessing vows and punishing oathbreakers."

He stated affirmatively and then looked towards Laine's avatar.

"Hand these leaves over to me, let Mephisto take them to the Mortal Realm. Only there can it spread far and wide. Perhaps one day, this divine tree might possess power that rivals that of Styx."

"Regarding this, I have no objections. Take it if you want. The fallen leaves of the Tree of Life are indeed the best material for contracts, but I'm afraid you have some additional work to do."

Laine nodded in agreement, but he looked at the newly grown sapling, which did not have many leaves on it at all.

Leaves infused with power did not come from nothing; they required sufficient strength to support their growth. If relying only on the current ones, they were likely not enough for use.

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"As you can see, although its nature is extraordinary, it hasn't grown long enough. If you want it to grow enough leaves, you'll need to provide it with more nutrients."

"Nutrients?"

"Yes. But that's not hard to obtain. Just find any life rich in energy and submerge their corpses into the Fountain. The energy from their bodies will be purified by the water, turning their life force into nutrients, and the remaining matter will sink to the bottom of the lake, becoming soil, and become part of the world."

The Leonnor Spring was originally a fountain from another realm, reinvigorated after drying up, it became part of the central courtyard, continuing its companionship with its former neighbors. Its power symbolizes vitality and purification, the opposite of the Darkness and evil of the Nine Hells, and its waters are the best nourishment for the Tree of Life's growth.

When it first arrived in the central courtyard, like the initial Tree of Life, Laine extravagantly allowed it to draw from the origin of the realm to achieve its first growth. But to continue to develop, it would need to find another way.

The bodies of foreign life forms are excellent materials, as the alien energy within them is purified by the fountain water, their life force turned into nutrients, and the remaining matter settles at the bottom of the lake, becoming mud, a part of the world.

"Life, that's hard to find in the Abyss. Besides the Demon Gods, there seems to be no other life here."

In contemplation, Asmodeus looked at the Abyss where the materialization of the outer world was becoming more evident, as if he understood something. Laine did not keep him in suspense but explained directly:

"There will be some. After suffering 'damage,' Tartarus's instincts begin to mimic, to mimic Hell and the present world. Life is an important part of it, and even the materials have been 'prepared' by 'someone' for it in advance."

The Lord of the Nine Hells knew what Laine was referring to. The 'materials' were the Flame Kingdom that had merged into the Abyss before. If it weren't for the incubation of the Demon Gods not yet complete, perhaps some primordial life born in flames would already be appearing here one after another.

"Let Mephisto figure it out then, offering the bodies of demons in exchange for contracts from this place... This indeed fits the very rules of this tree itself."