TOL ~ 6/7

{I was dying, Parting. That’s the opposite of life, I couldn't allow it to happen.} The tree sent to not only her, but all of the mobile Eidolons which had gathered around his miles-wide trunk. {I can stop any time. I don't need any more. Don't worry. I would never hurt any of you.}

Her sharp stare burrowed into his mental space, causing him to wriggle about uncomfortably as it continued. <I think I understand far more about love and hate, gluttony and self-control, than you possibly can. I am Duality, so when I tell you that you are beyond the point where you can stop… trust that I know but I'm talking about.>

{What are you-?} Maine cut off his conceptual sending with a gasp of horror and pain as Duality shoved forward, clearly attempting to bisect his trunk in one swift strike. Rage and a deep, long-since-thought forgotten sense of betrayal welled up in him. {You tried to kill me?}

Parting looked at his trunk in consternation, seeing how her attempt to cut through him had merely left a thin cut on the surface of his bark. <I don't want to kill you, I want to make the smallest sacrifice possible to save this world. Death, for life. Doing something which is necessary, though I don't want to do it. Not only is it what has to be done, it is my nature.>

{Why? Why would you choose these lesser, thoughtless creatures over me?} Maine plaintively questioned as she stepped closer and struck at him again. {They are mere leaves, which are falling to fertilize my ground, to help me grow stronger and taller.}

<You're not a tree anymore, Maine.> Parting grunted as she fiercely chopped into his trunk. <You just look like one.>

{The rest of you… do you agree with her?} He sent this only to the surface, leaving the Eidolons closer to the center of the world out of the conversation. 

|No. I'll stand with you no matter what.| Durability promised him, immediately moving to assist the tree which had been with him since he had gained intelligence. Unfortunately, he was thousands of miles away at the time, and moved at a stone's pace.

#You are wrong, Maine. Death is a part of life, not the opposite of it. It is an ever-moving cycle, and you are attempting to destroy that cycle for everything else. Motion. Must. Motion.# Motion motioned for Parting to continue.

The others, those part of the conversation, agreed with Parting and joined in on attempting to destroy the tree. It seemed confrontation was inevitable, as they were bound by duty, morality, and their very nature to protect the world from his expansion. It was truly unfortunate… 

…for them.

The struggle which followed was tragic and completely one-sided. Maine was a colossus of power, with the abilities of countless elementals coursing through him. He was also a patient tree; as his fear and paranoia had grown over the last many years, he had even prepared against the eventuality of fighting those he considered allies.

The roots near his tree shifted into a strange, mind-bending configuration, and as Parting lashed forward again, she found herself coming to a stop against a wall of force. Her attempt to retreat was similarly rebuffed, and the roots around her shrank, forcing her into a tightly contained space.

A magical cage appeared around Motion as well, though his was designed as a cross between a wheel and a centrifuge. As soon as the Eidolon was within it, his very concept began to shift—and he was raised to a Greater Eidolon, changing to become Perpetual Motion.

One after another, each of his erstwhile allies were captured.

They could only watch on as the planet was drained of life, all of which was collected in the tree before them. The oceans didn't boil away, they simply vanished, swallowed into the roots. The mountains were slowly reduced to hills, then bedrock, then pits. The surface of the world continued eroding, faster and faster as more life and power was captured and collected into Maine; the net of roots he had created squeezing tighter and tighter on the vanishing world.

Lava exploded upward, only to be drained of heat and existence. This continued for hundreds of years, until Complaisance herself was exposed to the void. The continent-sized Eidolon looked at the singular tree which, to her, rose all the way to the sky, and cheerfully bowed the knee. Maine ate away at her size and power until she was small enough to be placed in a magical containment—for her safety—then chewed through the center of the world.

Now in all of existence, there was only the star, Maine, six magically contained Eidolons, and a gem which shimmered with the light of the star as it was exposed to something other than darkness, pressure, and heat for the first time in its existence. 

{Are you willing to speak yet, Eather?}

=You’ve never been able to hear me.= The sonorous voice spoke directly into his mind, bypassing the others so as to not destroy them. =I was the planet, and you ate my body. I'm not sure if I should thank you, or curse you.=

{How about you join me, instead?} The tree which had eaten the planet was now the size of a planet itself, all of the material and energy having been collected into a new form. {I want to find what else there is.}

=There is nothing else. I've floated through this universe for time immemorial. There has only ever been me, and a single star.=

{Then we will find a new universe.} Maine confidently stated, {Together. Can you tell me what concept you represent? As a planet it had to be something potent, yes?}

=You want to find more? I’ll go with you, happily.= The gem chuckled ruefully, clearly not believing such a possibility existed. =The planet was only my body. You are holding my true form. I embody the concept of Soul.=

The information the single word contained within it was enough to force Maine into his own mind for five hundred years, until all of the myriad concepts tied within had been parsed and understood.

When Maine came back to himself, he found that the others had nearly broken free of his grasps, his root system expanding naturally and therefore nearly losing their magical configuration. His attention fell on Parting, who had never stopped attempting to escape his grasp. Letting out a sigh, the tree finally let go of all of his anger toward her perceived betrayal. {It’s your nature… I can't hold that against you.}

The tree paused, his attention flitting over to the elevated Eidolon of Perpetual Motion. {I can't hold it against you… but maybe I can change it?}

Each of the captured elementals cried out against this thought, but Maine had already made up his mind.