260 Chapter 260 Epilogue

"What do you mean, there's only one of me?" asked the furry snake as it looked up at the world tree.

"You are such a special specimen, the realm can't handle more than one of you," said the tree sadly. "Perhaps if you were on a more developed realm, that had more magic, there would be an opportunity to lay eggs and thus have more of yourself, but this realm can't handle you. I had to wait a long time after Aella killed you to bring you back, to make sure you didn't destabilize the realm."

"I'm really that powerful?" asked the snake, flicking its tongue out furiously.

"If Aella had not killed you, I fear this realm would not have survived," said the tree gently. "I'm amazed you were able to survive here before, with so little magic available."

"I remember bits and pieces," said the snake, looking off into the distance, pulling the memories out and dusting them off.

"You had forced your body to grow multiple legs to move about faster, and to climb sheer cliffs. I believe, based on what I've been able to find out, that you were attracted to Aella when she was in heat."

"She smelled good," the snake agreed, remembering her a little. "She skinned me and kept my hide for her bed."

"You know that?" asked the tree in surprise.

"I was aware of it, but I'm not sure how," answered the snake. "How long do you think it will take for this realm to grow enough for me to have a mate?"

"Centuries, maybe longer. It's managed to stabilize after the magic was released, but it's growth has slowed tremendously."

"It needs to grow slowly in order to stay stable," agreed the snake sadly, turning to look over the vast ground under the tree's branches.

"This is a nice realm. No real war or famine. It feels cozy and nice. All the more reason to leave."

"Wait, you want to leave? I thought you just said this realm was a nice one?" asked the tree in confusion.

"You are a young world tree, so you aren't familiar with my race," explained the snake. "I know I was just hatched only a few moments ago, but already my memories are coming back to me. It would have been better for you if you had left me as a fur laying on the bed of the realm's guardian. The moment I leave your shadow, Aella will sense my magic and come to deal with me as a threat. I can not stay here. My power will continue to grow and it will destabilize this realm. I need a much older realm, one that can handle my power growth."

"How… how can you know that?" asked the tree.

"I am not meant to have a mate, as the power from two of my kind could destroy realms," sighed the snake, partially curling into a ball. "Yet, I am designed to seek out a mate that is powerful enough for me. Aella was the best I had seen in a long time, and should she approach me in order to kill me, I fear she will not be as lucky as she had been before. I was very much out of my mind from starvation and could not think clearly when she killed me before."

"Starvation?!" exclaimed the tree in shock. "How were you starving?"

"Magic starvation," clarified the snake.

"Ah," agreed the tree, understanding finally. "A new entity has entered into the equation. His name is Joseph. You might want to be careful of him."

"Oh, I don't intend to upset any gods or goddesses. They feel that they would need to destroy me and as the last of my kind, I see no reason to end myself. No, I think a nice big, old realm, that has lots of magic would be perfect for me to hide and wait for a time when I can reassert myself."

"What do you mean?" asked the tree, feeling uneasy with the snake. Could it take back what it had done? No, the tree could already feel the power of the snake growing greater than its own. It wouldn't be long before Aella noticed it.

"You have no need to worry, great World Tree. Your roots will be long decayed before that time will come. I need only for you to send me to a world that meets my needs," reassured the snake, coiling as if to strike.

Never before had the tree felt the need to shrink away from something. It fought to keep itself from broadcasting the fear that raced through it, so as not to alert the realm or tree guardians. Searching quickly, through all the realms it could connect to, the tree quickly settled on two of the largest, most magical of the realms.

"I have found two," panted the tree, tired from the unusual exertion. "One is filled with multiple races, similar to this one, that struggle to survive in the high magic of the realm, and the other is almost a death planet, with deserts and harsh living conditions."

"Both have tremendous amounts of magic?" asked the snake thoughtfully.

"Yes," agreed the tree quickly.

"Send me to the one that has the multiple races. I don't mind a few snacks and the idea of living in a desert with this fur is oppressive," hissed the snake, giving a shake to cause the pure white fur that ran down the center of his back to shimmer in the dim light that peeked through the thick foliage of the tree.

No sooner was the snake gone, then Aella appeared, looking around curiously.

"Hello, Aella. How are you doing?" asked the tree, fighting to sound calm as it always did.

"I thought I sensed a spike of power here just a moment ago," said Aella, studying the area carefully. "Was Stella here just a moment ago?"

"No, I'm sorry. That spike was me. I was getting rid of something by shoving it into another realm," confessed the tree. There was no way it was going to lie and get caught up in it later! Stella or Aella were not individuals the tree wanted to upset. "Don't worry, it won't affect the realm any."

"What was it?" asked Aella, kneeling down to inspect the still glistening egg shell at the base of the tree's trunk.

"A mistake on my part," sighed the tree. "It won't happen again. Is your time with the young Alfred going well?"

"Ha!" laughed Aella, glancing up at the tree. "I see what you're doing!"

Her eyes twinkled as the distraction worked perfectly. "It's nice not to be alone anymore. I should go before he notices I'm gone!"

As the glade under the tree's branches returned to quiet solitude, the tree gave a huge sigh of relief before sending out a warning to its sibling world trees. Never again would a tree return a creature such as the snake back. It just hoped Joseph didn't find out what it had done. He probably wouldn't take any form of punishment out on the tree itself, because the action was done in ignorance, but the world tree didn't want to risk it.