The One Luna

After returning to the base, the soldiers were strictly forbidden to speak about what happened. If Luna thinks that taking in the Manananggals would be a good choice, then he would announce it. If not, then he would simply execute them.

The soldiers obediently followed their orders. They were aware of their leader's wisdom. Besides that, there was no point in causing a panic. So when they were asked by their friends, they merely said that Luna will soon have an important announcement.

<Life Tree Area>

It was almost noon when Angry Bakunawa arrived. When Maxene gave him the order to head here, his eyes brightened from the excitement. The life energy here was abundant, which made it very comforting for anybody who stayed here.

Clemencia and the rest had no idea where they were headed. When they stepped out, they automatically notice the five towering <Life Trees>. Apparently it had already grown quite a bit.

"The Life Trees from the Garden of Eden!" Clemencia exclaimed.

"Garden of Eden?" Luna was taken aback. These trees came from the Garden of Eden?

"Yes! That was where they were grown. But, I thought Lucifer had burned it all down?" She said.

"Not all of them." Elder Aran spoke up. "In our world, they were handed down for generations, a reward given to us by the Gods for the merits that our ancestors contributed. It was what gave birth to Elves that had higher potential than the norm."

She giggled as soon as he made his statement.

"What's so funny?" Luna asked. Clemencia immediately cleared her throat and wiped the smile off her face. She almost forgot how precarious her situation was.

"Part of the knowledge that Lucifer wanted to obtain was the location of the Garden of Eden. He was always curious about the ancient times." She looked towards Sura. "Lady Sura, your Asura race should still know about way back when your race worked together with the other races, especially the human race, right?"

"That's right." Sura replied.

She took a glance at Luna and continued. "Lord Luna is a special case. But humanity as a whole, is far too weak. So why would the proud Asura even see them as people worthy enough to fight beside with?"

"Does it have something to do with the Life Trees?" Luna took a guess.

"Indeed. Although five is nowhere near enough to bring back that Golden Age, there is now another factor being brought in."

"And that is?" Luna asked.

"They call it the Agimat of Attribute. It's what gave you your 'stats' as you call it. You call it that because that's what's familiar to you. It resembles something that was made, which was inspired from something that inherently exists within everyone. The Agimat of Attribute gives those who are considered the 'Tabula Rasa,' or 'Blank Slates' the ability to evolve, as you can already tell. Lady Sura, you weren't fully aware of this Agimat, but even you knew you had to start all over in order to evolve, right?" Clemencia continued to explain.

"Correct." Sura nodded.

"God didn't tell you why you had to lose all your progress and start at level 1?"

"No. I was just told by my father that I would be able to evolve much further. To the point where I can rise above every Asura."

"The Asura are the strongest race, but the caveat is that you all aren't Tabula Rasa. That is why you had to be reverted to becoming a blank slate. The Gods are all being kept busy, they can't afford to reset one of their own. You must have felt the urgency in his voice, no?"

"That's right. He left us a pretty vague message. 'Fight, struggle, and evolve, he said. Only then will we survive what is to come,' or something along those lines." Luna replied.

Clemencia's eyes betrayed the feeling of guilt that was eating at her. "It's all our fault. Lucifer's thirst for forbidden knowledge. Our infatuation towards him and his 'cause.'"

"What was it that he wanted?" Elder Aran asked. This conversation alone opened up endless questions for him.

"The Agimat of Attribute and the Life Trees to create an army." Clemencia had a solemn look on her face as she spoke the truth.

"I don't get it. Why didn't he just do it sooner? Why now? Why were you sealed on Earth and not elsewhere? There's so many inconsistencies." Luna now understood why Sura, even though her knowledge was much more limited than Clemencia, didn't want to share it all at once.

This was world-shaking news!

"Fear. Fear that their sovereignty would be threatened. That was one thing that Lucifer was right about. He hated that they feared, but who could blame them? Would an Emperor allow a peasant to usurp his throne? We were sealed on Earth because this planet was designated as the last bastion of hope. It was made by a being that far surpassed the Gods we know. It was that same being who found the Agimat of Attribute. The Light-bringer made a grave mistake when he unknowingly exposed the fact that the Gods of our worlds had it in their possession."

Luna's hunch was correct. The Light-bringer, Lucifer, was indeed the one who ironically brought this darkness into the world.

"What is the void?" Luna asked.

"The void is a race. These zombies you see are equivalent to the bacteria of your world. That is why they can threaten so many worlds and spawn as if they are never ending. The only thing stopping them is a formation built by the same being who created Earth, the Gods have to take turns injecting energy into it, while their soldiers fight the ones that get through. They cannot be disturbed or else the formation's barrier goes down with them. They prioritized the Earth's protection due to that Being's instructions."

"Very well. You'll have to answer all my questions by tonight, in return, I can tell that the Life Tree can help you in some way. As long as you do not do harm towards it, I will help you." Luna offered. He had a lot of questions yes, but these women had the answers that even Sura didn't have. If they know what they're up against, then they can have the advantage they need to see all of this through.