'Am I really doing the right thing?'
The Leader of the Tree Transformation sat dazedly on the ground, muttering to himself.
'I deceived everyone, created a totem, fabricated a faith, and used them all... In the end, wasn't it just to achieve my own goals?'
Mo Ling listened to the Leader of the Tree Transformation's fragmented confession, gradually piecing together the story of his life.
...
The Leader was different from the other Tree Transformations.
From the moment of his birth, he wasn't in the same mindless state as the others.
While other Tree Transformations muddled along toward the Big Tree Cave, he already knew how to dodge attacking beasts.
The price of consciousness was bearing the pain that came with it.
He watched his kin being devoured by beasts, completely defenseless. His heart filled with useless rage, but he was powerless to do anything.
Many Tree Transformations were born, so even if the vast majority were eaten, some would still reach the Big Tree Cave safely.
It was a delicate balance.
But the Leader could no longer bear it. He woke up a dazed and ignorant kinsman and told him their mission was to save the Tree Transformations from their terrible plight.
The strength of two Tree Transformations was still too limited, so the Leader continuously expanded their ranks.
He found a safe area near the forest where the Tree Transformations were born and established a tribe.
He also casually fabricated a square-shaped totem. He wanted the Tree Transformations to develop sharp edges, to learn how to resist.
Slowly, the Qifang Tribe was established.
The Tree Transformations began to spontaneously wake up their newborn kin, telling them of the disaster their kind was suffering.
Having gathered into a group, the Tree Transformations finally had the strength to fight back.
They used traps and tools to kill some of their weaker natural enemies, which encouraged the Leader.
But the good times didn't last. The vast difference in combat strength meant that every act of resistance resulted in heavy casualties.
Watching his kin die continuously, the Leader grew afraid. He began to regret why he had ever started down this path.
He didn't know if more of his kin died from resisting or from wandering along in their oblivious state.
Resistance had a price.
The Leader discovered that these simple-minded kin never doubted him, believing every word he said.
If he told them to fight their natural enemies to the death, they would go to their deaths.
If he told them to form a wall with their bodies, they would stand firm in the way.
Simple-minded, yet so pure.
The Tree Transformations had originally only wanted to go to the Big Tree Cave, but the Leader told them that what they were doing now was for the sake of future generations.
Hearing of the vision where newborn Tree Transformations could reach the Big Tree Cave without a care in the world, this group of Tree Transformations set aside their own yearning for the cave and chose to follow the Leader without a second thought.
The Leader constantly contemplated whether his actions were right, often doubting himself.
'Holy Relic, have you truly come?'
He turned his head and caressed the Block.
The Block's arrival was unexpected. He had originally thought it was just a similarly shaped object and that carrying it would boost morale.
He never imagined it could actually save his people!
Listening to the Leader's confession, Mo Ling finally began to understand why everything had felt like such a coincidence.
It turned out the Leader had been deceiving everyone all along. The totem, the Holy Relic—it was all a lie. He had been using the Block to keep the lie going.
Mo Ling could also sense the Leader's helplessness.
'Deceiving his own kin with lies for so long... he must be in agony, right?'
'Holy Relic, why did you come so late?'
The Leader took a strange spinal column from the pack on his back.
He held the spine in his hand and muttered, "I thought I was going to have to use this."
Mo Ling looked at the spine, full of confusion.
'What is this thing?'
The Leader suddenly said two words:
"Must change."
Mo Ling's heart jumped. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
'The voice of a god?'
Although Mo Ling had never heard it himself, he clearly remembered what Li Luo had said.
The voice of the god she'd heard in the Big Tree Cave had spoken those exact two words.
'So the voice of the god came from the Leader?'
Could this be another coincidence? Mo Ling found it hard to connect that terrifying voice with the weak Tree Transformation before him.
The Leader murmured, "Oh, Holy Relic, the power of the Tree Transformations is simply too weak. I've learned one thing in my short life: the more we struggle, the more we realize that the power of a Tree Transformation has its limits... unless we become another species."
The Leader held up the spine, his eyes gleaming. Then he looked at the Block and slowly relaxed.
"But compared to the Holy Relic, this is just a crooked, unorthodox power, isn't it?"
He carefully placed the spine on the altar in front of the Block.
"No matter where you come from, in my heart, you are the Holy Relic of the Qifang Tribe."
The Leader kowtowed to the Block a few times. When he stood up again, his determined, fighting spirit had returned.
He slowly walked down from the altar and disappeared from Mo Ling's sight.
The Guards closed in again, as if nothing had happened.
The Leader's mutterings echoed in Mo Ling's mind.
But no matter how hard he thought, Mo Ling couldn't find an answer.
'I still have too little information.'
Flames flickered on the altar. The Block lay in the center, motionless.
'I should worry about myself.'
Right now, Mo Ling couldn't even figure out his own situation.
'I wonder how Li Luo is doing.'
Mo Ling was filled with frustration. At least when he was with Li Luo, they could talk to each other. Now there was truly no one to talk to.
He teleported the spine from the altar to himself. Mo Ling examined it for a while but found nothing special about it.
But judging by the Leader of the Tree Transformation's behavior, it seemed to be a relic of some kind?
'I wonder if it's related to the voice of the god.'
The day's battle had left Mo Ling exhausted. He set the spine aside and fell asleep to the crackling of the fire.
...
When Mo Ling awoke the next morning, he was already being carried by a group of Tree Transformations to the tribe's speech platform.
The Leader was giving the Tree Transformations a pre-battle pep talk.
"Once we eliminate the last of our natural enemies, our mission will be complete!"
"The Cave Demon is the creature that harms us the most! It lurks in the Big Tree Cave, constantly hunting our newborn kin."
"It has defiled our sacred Big Tree Cave!"
"The arrival of the Holy Relic is a sign! It is telling us that the time has come to destroy it!"
The Leader looked at the Block, filled with confidence, and the Tree Transformations all cheered wildly.
After the rally, the Tree Transformations assembled, ready to depart. They lifted the Block and headed toward the Big Tree Cave.
Because Mo Ling had already dealt with the creatures blocking the way, the path from the tribe to the Big Tree Cave was completely clear.
The Tree Transformations were initially on guard out of habit, but they relaxed once they realized all their natural enemies had already been eliminated.
"Praise the Holy Relic!"
Upon arriving at the edge of the Big Tree Cave, the faces of all the Tree Transformations were filled with yearning for it.
However, a furious roar put all the Tree Transformations on high alert.
Hearing that familiar howl, Mo Ling's heart jumped as well.
It was the creature that had made him fall into the depths of the Big Tree Cave!