One With Nature

Tree to Tree: 1

"Well... this is something," I mumbled as I kept looking at the giant, glowing Tree.

"Hmm... This is odd," Yggdrasil mumbled into my head.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

To be honest, I'm still not sure if I should be surprised that I'm talking to THE Yggdrasil, or surprised that it sounds like little girl.

"Usually, I would need to open myself to people and they need to put up effort into being able to communicate with me, yet you are doing it as easily as breathing, despite the fact you don't breath," Yggdrasil explained.

"Yeah, this isn't exactly the first time this happened," I commented while crossing my arms.

"You're speaking about your meeting with the Primordial Mother Goddess of Mesopotamia, correct?"

"Okay, how do you know that?" I asked. This was the second time she knew something about me despite never meeting before.

"I am the Tree that holds the Nine Realms. My roots reach all in this and other worlds,"  I didn't believe someone who sounds like a little girl would actually manage to sound more smug than the Gorgon sisters but damn this tree sounded proud with herself.

Anyway, I guess her explanation makes sense. I'm not that knowledgeable in Norse Myth, but I believe Odin received knowledge from Yggdrasil at one point.

"So... uh... is there a reason you led me here?" I asked, trying to see why the tree of the world would want to meet me.

"If I'm being honest, I was curious," Yggdrasil replied. "The Heavenly Body had never truly had a being that could fit as the Ultimate One. Since the days of Ymir, no being managed to reach that point. Yet you, in a life that has not even reached three thousand years, have managed to gain the position of a candidate. I have to say you are... not what I expected from the World's Mirror."

"Yeah, I tend to make people question their expectations a lot," I shrugged my shoulders. "You're not exactly what I expected either. Well, is that all you wanted?"

"And if it was?"

"Then I'll ask you for a way out," I replied.

"That's it?" Yggdrasil asked, sounding disappointed. "You speak to the World Tree and you have nothing to say?"

I mean, what does she want from me? I didn't exactly plan on ever talking to her. I know nothing about her. And, quite frankly, I have nothing to say to her.

"Uh... What's it like to hold the Nine Realms?" I asked, in an attempt to humour her.

"Surely you can ask a question better than that."

"Okay, now you just sound like a know-it-all," I groaned.

"That's because I do, in fact, know it all," Yggdrasil gloated.

Okay, Stheno and Euryale sounded smug, but the kind of smug that you can actually put up with. Yggdrasil is starting to sound bratty.

If she wants a difficult question, I need to bring one she can't possibly answer. But that's a bit hard considering she watches almost everything. I can't bring up questions from the future because that would be too petty.

Then, I realised something. She only knows about the Nine Realms... not what's outside of them.

"Alright, I have a question that I believe you'll find hard to answer," I said, placing my hands on my waist.

"I hardly believe that, but ask away."

Alright, here it comes. "Tell me about what the Eldritch Gods."

There was a few seconds of silence before Yggdrasil spoke again. "The... what?"

"The Eldritch Gods, surely you know of them."

"You made that name up. No such gods exist."

"Oh, but they do," the smugness in my voice would have made Gil so proud. "They're gods that reside in the nothingness outside the universe. They're not part of the Nine Realms. So, it's no wonder you don't recognise the name."

"That... I..."

"What's wrong? You said I can ask anything. I asked you a question I warned you about and you still didn't listen claiming you know everything, so answer."

Yggdrasil stayed quiet and I didn't hear anything for a few moments before she made a sound again.

But it was not the sound I was expecting.

"... *sniff*... w-WAAAAAH!"

She began crying.