At first, his words didn't get registered in my brain. I was too consumed just watching the majestic, gargantuan thing in front of me. It was bigger than anything I've seen so far on the planet, and yet I was able to witness every part of it. The tree was taller than mountains, and yet even its very top was visible, contrary to the mountain peaks which were hidden behind the black mist.

The Great One began walking down, and this brought me to reality.

- How do we get the seeds? - I asked, following him.

- You have to pick the seeds of the tree - he explained.

It was a bit confusing because I haven't been able to see anything 'pickable' on that damn plant. If it even could be classified as a plant.

It took us a few hours, but we finally reached the roots, and a real difficulty started then. The outer black shell was slippery, so it was hard to stay on top of those dam things, and they were occupying all the space, not living us any other way to get closer. On one hand, I accepted that, but part of my brain was on high alert, telling me that something is wrong. Terribly wrong.

I listened to that second part and was able to find the reason. My balance was way off. So off, that the conclusion was obvious. At least some of my skills were not working.

It led me to watch The Great One closer, and I was able to notice, that he was really struggling with moving forward. It became as clear as day, that part of his skill set was also turned off.

This led to the next part of our journey taking days. Every single mile we covered was occupied by a gigantic effort and paid with large amounts of time. To the ridiculous point, when even I began feeling tired, which was almost unthinkable because the climbing was way less energy-consuming, compared to other activities, which led previously to me feeling this way. By that I mean the toughest battles I participated in

Somehow, though, we made it to the very trunk of that tree. It was very short compared to the gigantic sphere on top of it, and finally, I was able to see all those creepers around it up close. Well, kinda... Why I'm mentioning this is, because the seeds were actually growing on those very creepers.

I was able to have good look at a few, but there were thousands of the small balls attached to them, covered by a protective net made out of the same thing the creepers were.

- We have to climb to take as many as we can, and gather them here - The Great One informed me.

He tried to pose as if he could push forward, but the truth was, that he was out of gas, and I could see it.

- I'll do it. Just give me a moment - I replied.

A few minutes later, I was struggling to make my way up. It was even harder than the march over the roots. Fortunately, the distance wasn't that big, and in a few hours, I finally reached a place, where I was able to switch from the tree trunk to one of those previously mentioned creepers.

I used it to get higher, and finally, a few additional hours later, putting my hands on one of the seeds. I had to wrestle it from the net, while keeping myself up there, which was very difficult. I know it sounds ridiculous, but my body wasn't working as it should.

I knew that flying was not an option, so I had to go through this additional effort, but when I had it in my hands, it suddenly became worth all the work I had to do to obtain it. My whole body was telling me that.

- What now? - I asked myself while holding it.

p It was limiting my moves, and I knew I couldn't just drop it down. The first idea was to put it in the vault, but I was hesitant since I already had the feeling I shouldn't use so many of my skills, but in that very case, it didn't appear. Still, I took it slowly, first thinking of other potions, but eventually just tried. It worked, and the world didn't do a backflip, which made me decide to go forward after a brief pause filled with a massive burst of anxiety.

I was actually expecting to get smitten by something straight from the sky, or something of that sort.

Since nothing like that happened, I felt encouraged to continue.historical

A few hours later I put the eight seeds in my vault, then felt like it was enough. I didn't really do any calculations in my head, thinking of how many we would need, because just picking them was taking all of my energy, and the thought to stop just popped into my brain.

This began my journey down, which took another few hours, but was much faster than the climb, as I just jumped from someplace to other to shorten the distance in large chunks. I knew I was balancing on a fine line while doing that, but I was simply on the verge of collapsing, so that was the only choice other than stopping and resting for a while.

- How many? - The Great One asked me, ignoring my heavy panting, as soon as I reached the place he was waiting in.

- Eight - I said.

- Should be enough for now - he said. - Rest, and let's return.

I didn't need encouragement for that. I sat down on the big root right there and then, then I lay down on my back.

This was the first time I felt this way in a very long time. Even the fight with Ixa didn't put me in such a state. This place was definitely different. It was dangerous and yet majestic. It's hard to explain why.