Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.
Chapter 446. New Play? Falling Asleep.

Tanya eventually returned home. Liu Shu observed how she did so, and she got another surprise. Instead of walking down the street, as if aware that walking alone was somewhat dangerous, the little catkin moved through places where she could hide her body.

Naturally, her moves were amateurish, and almost all people easily spotted her. Still, her figure scurrying around the place was adorable enough that people naturally acted as if they couldn’t spot her. 

Liu Shu arrived at the empty house shortly after. The young catkin poked her head through a fence surrounding their house, and when she saw that the lights were off, her tail and ears flopped down. “Well… Mommy and Daddy usually aren’t here at this hour, so it is okay!”

Tanya climbed the fence agilely and landed on the other side after a few jumps. Then, she walked inside and reached into a flowerpot at the side, picking up the keys to open the door. After Liu Shu saw her go inside, she looked away and chuckled. ‘That was an entertaining afternoon.’ 

She was still groggy, but she managed not to do something too silly during her time with Tanya. ‘Let’s… go bother other people!’

Liu Shu extended her senses and locked onto Taro’s place. The man had gone from a young and elegant man to a middle-aged and classy one. He was in his city hall’s office, looking through a few of the documents there. “Tarooo.”

The man was startled. “Lady Liu Shu?”

“Hmph!” Liu Shu snorted. “Why are you so serious? Loosen up!” 

Taro smiled faintly. “Liu Shu, have you done something like drinking?” As he asked, a person knocked on his door. “Hm? Come in.” 

The person who entered carried a letter with them and placed it on the table before going away. Meanwhile, Liu Shu answered his question. “Drinking? I am always drinking! The lake’s water flows north, and the few rivers flow south. The underwater caves~. Everywhere I am, I drink water!” 

Taro read the letter swiftly and made a sound of recognition. “Ho~. No wonder.” Looking up, he smiled. “Liu Shu, have you felt any strange substance in those liquids?”

“No!” Liu Shu answered, and her tone became mildly annoyed. “Why are you so focused on that? I came here for… for…” The World Tree stopped speaking. “... I forgot. Ugh, whatever. Bye-bye, Taro!”

Taro laughed helplessly as the presence of the World Tree receded and the place turned back to normal. Leaning back on his comfortable and reclining leather chair, Taro read the letter and amusedly smiled. “Tianlian Liu Shu is acting strange, so in case you communicate with her, try to see if she has been negatively influenced…” He stopped reading there and closed his eyes. “What could cause that?”

His intelligent mind spun, and during the next few minutes, he managed to summarize a list of conditions. “Hm… It happened after a rather significant surge of energy. This surge of energy is still occurring as well… From past events, I can confidently guess that Liu Shu is either Leveling Up or Tiering Up. However, instead of being asleep like she usually is, she has appeared at different locations acting abnormally. Then, you take Tianlian Liu Shu’s gentle attitude and worrying nature into account…”  

After listing the situation and preconditions, Taro found the answer quite easy to deduce. “Has Liu Shu tried to remain awake during her Leveling Up or Tiering Up process, but only half-succeeded, leaving her in an impeded mental state?”

It took only a few minutes for Taro to guess the most likely answer to her current state. Without much delay, Taro wrote a letter calmly explaining his thought process. “Well, let’s hope this helps Flor and the others.”

The letter arrived at Flor’s place around an hour later. By then, Liu Shu had gone and bothered many people she knew. Flor read Taro’s letter and plopped her body into a soft, human-sized chair. With her size, the chair was giant and able to easily fit her entire body, legs included. “... Taro’s speculation is the most plausible of those we’ve received. What do you think, Ignatia?”

Ignatia chuckled. “That seems to be the case.” Her lips rose in an increasingly amused smirk. “So, according to this… Will she stay like this for months?”

The Flower Fairy froze, and her mind began creating thousands of scenarios of Liu Shu doing damage everywhere out of drunken fits. The sheer amount of imaginary paperwork was going to make her red hair gain a few strands of white. With that in mind, she closed her eyes and played dead. “I will have to take some rest during the next few months. I hope that whoever is able to substitute me takes my position.”

The Ant Queen laughed gently at her fairy wife’s behavior. “Don’t be so negative. Perhaps it won’t be as bad as you are imagining.” 

While she didn’t hold many expectations, Flor didn’t deny Ignatia’s attempt at consoling her. Wanting to vent some stress, Flor flew over to Ignatia’s side and dove straight into her warm and soft bosom. “Pamper me, then. I don’t want to think about anything now.”

The Ant Queen happily obliged and used her hands to caress the fairy’s body and transform her into a fairy blob. 

A few days went by after that. Those who knew were expecting Liu Shu to make trouble here and there. Strangely, during the day, Liu Shu didn’t bother many people other than with some punctual matters. 

Tempestria was flying by Liu Shu’s head, looking at the gargantuan countenance of her World Tree lover. “Love, what are you doing lately?”

The enormous head of the World Tree slowly turned sideways, making leaves, twigs, and even some flying animals fall from her hair. “Tempestria?” Liu Shu’s tame and tired voice reached the Wind Sylvan. “When did you become so small?”

Tempestria smiled. “We are not in your <Core Room>, love. I am flying by your main body’s head.”

“No wonder you are so small and cute.” A few strands of Liu Shu’s long and silky verdant green hair extended toward Tempestria. Each strand was a shimmering green vine as thick as a wrist, which gave the impression of soft, wavy hair when compared to her gigantic body. 

Tempestria allowed the strands to catch her, curious as to what she wanted to do. “Your control is exceptional. To think that you can control just a few strands of your hair without any problem?”

Liu Shu answered with a giggle. “My roots are many, many, maaaaany more in comparison. Controlling a few strands of hair is as easy as lifting a finger with my Avatar~.”

Tempestria nodded. “So… Why have you captured me, love? You are now pulling me into your hair as well.”

“I don’t know~.” 

Liu Shu dragged Tempestria and pressed her against her hair. The soft surface made Tempestria feel as if she were sinking into a soft grass bed. The Wind Sylvan blinked, confused, and then saw a few of the hair vines raise around her, some pointing at her. 

Tempestria had a bad premonition, and her body tensed. A tremble was quite easy to notice in her voice. “S-Shu’er. What is the meaning of this? What do you want to do?”

Liu Shu giggled. “I always wondered. What would we do to show intimacy if I didn’t have an Avatar? Would you leave me because I can’t satisfy you in one of the most intimate acts of love?” 

The feeling of one soft and smooth vine gently caressing her calves and very gently climbing up was nothing but the prelude to what was bound to occur to the Wind Sylvan. “W-Wait. Love, think about it. Wouldn’t it be better to try this with Cinderielle, who has yet to have a child?”

The current Liu Shu didn’t care. She just wanted to try whatever idea passed her mind. If she were in a normal state, she might’ve thought about this, but then discarded the idea. 

“No~. Cinderielle and I must be together in a way that we have a chance to create clever children! If we do that here, we will only have fully plant-type children! Like Green, Red, Grey, and Purple.”

The dozens of vines surrounding Tempestria made the Sylvan’s body react. After all, as a plant creature, she could easily detect the pollen that had started flying around her. The ticklish pollen caressing her nerves inside her nose aroused her to no end. “Wait. Liu Shu, please, I feel that I will awaken a strange thiiinnngg. Oh, my branches above…”

A sensation of pleasure had hit her brain like a hammer, and looking between her legs, she knew the reason. She took a deep breath and spoke, trying to keep her tone neutral. “L-Love, please. That one is too thick.”

“Hehe~. You are elastic, don’t worry~. Moreover, they are properly slimy, soft, and smooth~. I made sure to create a sap to coat the vines, hehe. They won’t hurt you, I promise!”

“That’s not the pro—Oohhh~!” 

Her soul flew up to the sky for the first of many times. What followed was Tempestria drifting along in a world full of pleasant sensations and Liu Shu’s overpowering presence. As a small being utterly enveloped in the World Tree’s “embrace,” she surrendered her body and soul until her tiredness forced her mind to shut down and she fainted. 

“Oh~, she fell asleep.” Liu Shu giggled and removed her vine-like hair, exchanged it for new ones, and created a sleeping mattress for her lover. Then, she poured a few flowers on top of Tempestria, and the vines carried the dozens of fruits Tempestria created. 

The World Tree observed her lover’s tired body, and a sense of satisfaction flowed into her mind. Seeing Tempestria sleeping also made her mind dizzy, and eventually, she actually fell asleep. Once asleep, waking up became impossible, so she slept for four and a half months. 

During that time, the powers around the entire Golden Sap Country began organizing for their action against the Abyssal Void Nexus. The war that would decide the fate of the <Wild Continent> was near, and no one could stop the clash from happening now.  

Moreover, to make sure that they could give them the killing blow, they sent a few representatives across the <Wall Forest> to contact the leaders of the last bastions opposing the Abyssal Void Nexus. 

Meanwhile, the Void Nexus was having a little problem called Warlya. The World Tree, which had endured countless wars and conflicts, was not easy to overcome or tame, giving them a headache. 

Warlya observed those trying to invade her land with cold and detached feelings. However, inside her placid and usually unperturbed heart, a hint of curiosity was born about the World Tree called Tianlian Liu Shu. ‘I wonder. Will her roots reach me before her demise comes? Or will the Nexus uproot her like they’ve done with many in the past?’ 

She had a faint expectation, but soon, she discarded it. ‘Well, it doesn’t matter. Even this supposedly miraculous tree won’t have an answer to my predicament.’