SSS Class Mythic Beast Master

Odin hummed thoughtfully, the sound resonating through the frozen space. "I was getting bored of seeing you fall to this thing's control. It's about time you woke up."

Reinhard blinked, processing the words. He looked around at the frozen scene, at his allies suspended mid-combat, at enemies caught in aggressive stances, at the environment locked in perfect stillness.

His eyes widened slightly in understanding, and recalling the strange voice words from before. "Am I in an illusion or a dream? But how!?"

Odin bluntly said. "From the moment you charged inside, the forest sprayed you with its toxin to paralyze and trap you all before wrapping you up. It used its First Class Defenders as bait against the three powerhouses while baiting the one with the Star Jewel to come inside."

Reinhard trembled, the implications crashing through him as His expression shifted from confusion to horror as the truth settled. "How bad is my situation?"

Odin chuckled before saying. "Very bad. Those three First Class Beast Masters can't enter here without spending a lot of time trying to break in. The tree is using most of its magic and strength to keep them out."

Reinhard frowned, mind racing. "Can't they blow through the enemies and blast a hole through the bark?"

"They can't." Odin stated flatly. "The tree stopped sending magic to its roots across the outer regions and is now focusing on channeling its energy through the bark. Even when those three blast a hole through, it will instantly regenerate."

Reinhard's expression kept deteriorating, each piece of information adding weight to an already crushing situation. "Just how much magic does this tree have? We've been constantly attacking, cutting through its forces, but it still looks like we aren't making a dent."

Odin hummed thoughtfully. "This thing has been gathering magic for over three hundred years. Why do you think that is?"

Reinhard furrowed his brows, processing the question's implications. His mind assembled pieces rapidly as he started from the tree's age, its defensive capabilities, and its apparent endless reserves. Then shock appeared, his eyes widening, and he whispered. "It wants to wage war against the entire continent and take down the Mori Empire."

"Indeed." Odin confirmed in satisfaction. "And for it to do that, the magic it would require is vast enough to contend with millions of opposition. It would take at least a decade before those three could fully drain this thing's magic power."

Reinhard trembled, staring in disbelief at the frozen scene around him. The scale was incomprehensible. A decade of assault from three First Class Beast Masters just to drain its reserves?

"Don't be surprised." Odin said as a light shone in his helmet. "This is a testament to what it takes to take on an entire continent and win."

Reinhard fell silent, his grip tightening on Zenuken until his knuckles whitened, and he asked softly. "What about us? What will it do with us?"

Odin hummed. "It will wrap you all into cocoons and place you into eternal sleep, where it will then use you to help it."

Reinhard blinked, confusion mixing with dread. "Help it how?"

"Haven't you ever wondered?" Odin asked, tilting his head. "Why didn't it just kill all the Eastern Hesod people in the past? Why, for the next three hundred years, did it leave them alone? Why did it capture those walking in the forest and take them away?"

Reinhard fell silent as he had wondered, briefly, but hadn't dwelt on it. There could be many reasons, such as simply not viewing the people here as threats worth eliminating. But now with Odin asking directly, he began thinking deeper.

Why would the tree take people alive? What purpose did captives serve that corpses didn't?

Then he recalled the humanoid roots and the Phantasm Beast constructs. The way enemies seemed endless, constantly regenerating or being replaced.

Reinhard's eyes widened. "Could it be... Could it be that the forest has been using people and Phantasm Beasts to create the root warriors?"

Odin hummed approval. "You're half right. It has been using the beings it captured to create new warriors for itself, which is why you've been seeing different forms. But the other truth is the roots have been using every being they captured as fuel to keep it going and growing stronger."

Reinhard frowned, processing the new information. "Fuel? Wait... You mean it's been draining their life force and magic?"

"Indeed." Odin stated bluntly. "That is also another reason why it has so much magic. You could say it's been treating the Hesod people as cattle. Once the adults and elders reach a certain threshold, the roots attack to capture them."

Reinhard trembled, his expression contorting with revulsion. "That's... It's been doing this for over three hundred years?"

Odin hummed confirmation. "Every root in this forest can be considered a being."

Reinhard paused, confusion breaking through his horror. "What?"

"Every time a new person is captured and enters eternal sleep, more roots grow from the tree and then expand over the forest."

Reinhard bit his lips hard enough to taste copper. "No wonder... No wonder it never killed anyone, usually, and why it was keeping the Precursors alive... If nothing is done, we'll become like them and be drained of our life force..."

Odin nodded, the horned helmet moving slowly. "Which is why it's time for you to awaken and end this."

Reinhard frowned, his mind already working despite the overwhelming situation. "You said it's pushing most of its energy and force to stop Lucian, Vlad, and Brunhilde from entering?"

Odin nodded, but Reinhard noticed a slight trembling in Odin's form, barely perceptible but present. He filed the observation away for later consideration and said. "Then I should be able to make it to the top and destroy the flower without too much trouble."

"Then that's your trial." Odin stated simply.

Reinhard blinked in confusion. "What do you mean by my trial?"

"For you to become a Second Class Beast Master."

Reinhard's eyes widened before he gasped and muttered. "Right…I forgot I'd already reached a thousand souls a while ago."

He'd been too busy fighting, pushing through to the center, surviving moment to moment. The milestone had passed without acknowledgment, lost in the chaos of constant combat. And even if he did realize, he would have waited to attempt the trial anyway.

"Your trial is to destroy the flower." Odin declared, their tone carrying finality. "Then you will be elevated."

Reinhard stared blankly at Odin, his mind struggling to process the absurdity. "Are you kidding?"

Odin chuckled, the sound carrying genuine amusement. "What's the matter? You already planned to destroy the plant. This shouldn't be any different."

Reinhard fell silent as Odin's words settled, as he was right. He'd already intended to destroy the flower to end the Dark Silence anyway. Odin adding it as his trial made things easier, if anything, it gave the mission additional purpose beyond simple survival.

"Fine, but I have a question… Why do I have a connection with Fenrir? How is it possible-"

"I was wondering when you plan to ask that. Unfortunately for you, I don't like giving answers to an ant that isn't strong enough to handle the truth."

Reinhard trembled before glaring and saying. "Just like you weren't strong enough to handle the truth about Ymir?"

Odin paused before tilting his head. "Correct, you saw what happened to me after learning about it."

Reinhard furrowed his brows and said. "How does… Wait, does it have something to do with the universe-"

"In a way, but to help your curiosity. The reason you can have Fenrir and even more Beast Spirits is that you are made up of more shards of yourself than the others."

Reinhard stared blankly at Odin before saying. "What?"

Odin chuckled as he moved his spear with casual grace, the massive weapon cutting through frozen air. Before Reinhard could react, the tip tapped his right hand gently, a touch that barely registered physically but sent shockwaves through his magical awareness.

Odd symbols appeared on his skin, burning themselves into flesh without pain. They glowed briefly before fading to invisibility, but Reinhard felt them, a new pathway of power connecting to his Beast Symbol.

"I gave you the Fire Rune." Odin explained. "With this, you can use fire magic even when you tapped into the wolf spirit. But that's all the help I will give you, as the rest is up to you."

Odin raised their spear high, while Reinhard tried speaking, questions forming rapidly. "Wait! You haven't properly explained-"

Odin ignored him completely, slamming the spear into the ground with force that should have shattered stone but produced only silence.

Reality cracked.

The frozen scene shattered like glass struck by a hammer. Fragments of time scattered, each piece reflecting different moments.

Marie mid-strike, Joseph's lightning crackling, golden warriors laughing, enemies advancing. All of it broke apart and fell away into darkness.

Reinhard fell with the fragments, plummeting through a void that held no up or down. The pale tree's interior vanished, his allies disappeared, and everything dissolved into absolute black.

But Odin's final words rang through the darkness, echoing with power that transcended the void.

Use your wisdom, use your trickery, use those around you, use the world itself to overcome all obstacles. That's what you should do if you wish to overcome this source that will swallow the entire world in its sin… And for the other stuff, grow stronger first you ant.

The voice faded gradually, each repetition growing softer until only silence remained.

Reinhard fell through darkness, alone, clutching Zenuken while new power burned in his right hand. Somewhere outside of this directionless void, his friends and allies were trapped in cocoons, slowly being drained.

Somewhere beyond that, three First Class Beast Masters battered uselessly against regenerating bark.

And at the top of the pale tree, a flower with purple and silver-grey petals commanded an army and prepared for continental conquest.

Reinhard's grip on Zenuken tightened as he continued falling, Odin's words replaying in his mind. Use your wisdom, use your trickery, use those around you, use the world itself... Fine, you bastard, I will pass this trial, but the next time I see you, I promise to cut you down or at least punch you.

The darkness began shifting, suggesting something approaching.

The trial was beginning.