The colossal tree trembled slightly, and the seventh white ring appeared to be rather unstable.
The place was saturated with magical energy, surging and vast like an ocean of magic itself.
From the very moment Viktor stepped into this strange dimension, he could feel two powerful energies.
One was pure magic. The other carried the breath of nature and life, like a calm, still lake.
The closer he got to Hyjal, the clearer he could sense it.
The two energies gradually began to blend together, forming a pure kind of natural magic.
This kind of magic was completely different from Vega's overwhelming magical power, it couldn't be directly harnessed by humans.
Compared to normal magic, natural magic was more attuned to the elements, and spells cast through it were even stronger.
Yet, there were very few beings in existence capable of wielding natural magic.
And… at this moment, there was one such being standing right beside Viktor.
"Hu~ hu~ hu~"
No one knew when Cocotte had fallen asleep.
The natural energy here was so dense that, for a moment, she felt as though she had returned to the homeland of the nature elves.
Bathed in such abundant natural energy, Cocotte felt herself growing even sleepier.
It wasn't her first time coming here, this time, she was simply accompanying Viktor.
Previously, she had asked Haim if she could take a nap under this great tree, but that suggestion had been strongly opposed by several council members.
Haim had explained, "According to a prophecy left behind by the Archmage, in the future, Hyjal will face a catastrophic calamity."
The Archmage.
Founder of the City of Mages, he had lived for over a thousand years.
Viktor remembered it vividly.
In terms of sheer power, the Archmage was on the same level as the Emperor of the Calencia Empire.
But in his backstory, the Archmage relied on his own cultivation.
Whereas the Emperor had gained his strength by exploiting life itself and drawing on divine blessings.
Their powers were similar, yet their destinies were not, one lived long, the other burned out fast.
Still, everyone believed the Archmage had long since passed away, after all, he had disappeared from the world for hundreds of years.
If he were still alive, counting from the time of the first emperor of the Empire, he would now be well over a thousand years old.
Even long-lived elves like Cocotte could live only about five hundred years at most.
Thinking about that made Viktor chuckle a little.
The Archmage was—of course, alive—but he wasn't human.
His true form was… a turtle.
And how did Viktor know that?
Because there wasn't a single NPC he hadn't beaten up before.
"But we still don't know what kind of crisis awaits Hyjal in the future," Haim had said frankly, "so we need more mage power to protect Endymion."
This matter was something he'd only discussed with the twelve members of the Mage Council, and Viktor.
If the other mages learned about it too soon, some of them might just flee before the crisis even began.
Not all mages possessed morals or a sense of justice.
The first principle of the Mage Council was "morality" and "justice."
Viktor didn't respond to Haim. He simply stared at Hyjal, the towering tree before him.
At some point, the raven on his shoulder took off and flew toward the great tree.
Haim watched quietly, not stopping it.
After all, it was just a raven. What harm could it possibly do to Hyjal?
Viktor spoke calmly.
"Mr. Haim, before we talk about helping…"
"Do you actually know what Hyjal is?"
"..."
Haim didn't answer. Ever since his birth in the City of Mages, Hyjal had always existed above Endymion.
It had sustained Endymion's floating existence for generations, and with its vast natural magic, it kept the city's climate springlike year-round.
But now, Viktor's question made him waver for the first time.
What was Hyjal, really?
Why had it been able to keep Endymion aloft for so many years?
Could it truly be the first tree planted by the gods?
As though he had just received some kind of signal, Viktor took one last glance in the direction Vega had gone, then withdrew his gaze.
Suddenly, his black coat shimmered faintly with a red glow. A weak trace of fire-element magic began to resonate with Hyjal's natural energy.
Haim noticed this and quietly observed Viktor's movements.
He felt certain Viktor knew something, something big.
He knew what had happened in the Mana Canyon; he knew the sheer, terrifying power of Viktor's natural magic.
That blazing flame had been like a shard of the sun itself, just a fragment of it had been enough to incinerate the canyon entirely.
Haim didn't understand what "Calamity" meant.
Very few people did. Calamities weren't recorded in any historical texts, they appeared only as fragments in ancient myths.
They were true creations of the gods.
Viktor's magic gradually intertwined with Hyjal's.
In that instant, countless green sprouts broke through the void beneath Hyjal.
Their magic seemed to be guided by something, and lush grass began to grow around Viktor and the great tree.
Within moments, colorful flowers bloomed throughout the strange space, transforming it into a breathtaking garden.
The waist-high grass soon surrounded everyone.
A single blade of grass reached out from beneath Cocotte's cloud and brushed her nose.
"Ah... achoo!"
Cocotte opened her eyes groggily, saw herself surrounded by flowers and greenery, and asked Haim, "Hmm? What happened?"
Haim couldn't answer. He stood frozen in shock.
"Wh… what is this?"
'What on earth had Viktor done?'
Looking at the beautiful scene before her, Cocotte felt as though she were standing in a dreamlike sea of flowers. She even forgot her drowsiness, her eyes filled with wonder and confusion.
She loved environments like this more than anything.
But for some reason… something about this flourishing green life felt…
Odd.
Viktor stood unmoving, still linking himself to Hyjal's source of magic.
To be precise, he was using Gulldon's power to connect with Hyjal's core, Druga.
The six magic elements normally restrained one another, but such rules didn't apply to Calamities.
A Calamity's destructive power could summon natural disasters, yet the gentle strength of nature itself was never wrong.
The fire of nature was the warmth of the sun, it nourished life, helping plants grow.
So when one Calamity resonated with another, that was when fire and wood interacted.
"Photosynthesis."
Haim stood there, speechless. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.
For the first time, ever, Hyjal was changing before his eyes.
"...Haim."
Viktor stood among the blossoms, looking like a messenger of nature embraced by all creation.
Even Cocotte was momentarily entranced by the sight.
Without turning toward the powerful illusion mage behind him, Viktor spoke his name directly.
"Use your magic, and Cocotte's, to build a barrier that won't affect the outside world."
Haim didn't understand. A shiver of dread shot down his spine like an electric current.
"Viktor, tell me, what are you trying to do!?"
"Don't worry. Endymion won't fall."
At some point, the raven had returned to Viktor's shoulder.
"You just need to watch."
A brilliant blue light flashed in Viktor's eyes.
Then, suddenly, from the void, a blazing sun began to rise.
The terrifying heat surged through the air, and all around him, the plants seemed to erupt in celebration, growing wildly.
Endless vines burst upward from the void, wrapping the entire space until it became a dense jungle.
The heavy scent of greenery filled the air, covering everything.
From the hollow sides of the towering tree, two enormous green hands covered in blossoms slowly stretched outward.
Then a second pair. A third.
Until nine pairs of green hands grasped both sides of the great tree, as if holding up the world itself, and split the trunk apart.
The seven white rings trembled violently.
"Viktor! What are you doing!? Keep this up and Endymion will be destroyed by your hands before anything else does!"
Haim's voice shook.
At that moment, the thought crossed his mind, Had he brought a wolf into the house?
Could it be that the Archmage's ancient prophecy… referred to Viktor?
Before he could process that, a massive serpent emerged from beneath the tree's roots, its gigantic body coiling upward.
Haim and Cocotte were both stunned speechless.
'There was… a living creature inside Hyjal!?'
Its emerald head bore three pairs of compound eyes, white light sweeping across them before fixing directly on Viktor.
Then, from within Hyjal, its enormous tail, green with black markings, slowly uncoiled.
Only then did they see the full size of the monster before them.
Cocotte stared at the colossal beast in horror, trembling as she spoke.
"A Calamity! It's really a Calamity!?"
Haim was dumbfounded. He turned to Cocotte sharply.
"Calamity? What's a Calamity!?"
"It's that thing right in front of you! Hurry and make the barrier, or Endymion is done for!"
Haim instantly grasped the situation. He didn't know what a Calamity truly was, but he could feel the immense danger engulfing Endymion.
Cocotte and Haim quickly began constructing a fusion barrier around them, sealing all the energy within the strange dimension.
The formation came together rapidly, within seconds, intricate runes and symbols were etched in place.
Now, all they could do was wait for it to activate.
Viktor stood with his hands in his pockets, his coat whipping in the storm of energy.
He stared intently at the being before him, Druga.
A red stripe flashed across his coat.
A staff appeared in his hand, it was Ulust.
As for the mage's robe, Viktor was already wearing it beneath his coat, its details hidden from view.
The coat flapped madly under the crushing pressure. Vega's blue eyes glowed, overflowing with magic.
Viktor could feel his mana surging, rising sharply, soon breaking through its limits, racing toward its absolute peak.
Feeling that vast, oceanic power, he smiled confidently at the monstrous creation before him.
The Calamity of Wood, Druga.