As night came, Aloe leapt into the mantle of the stars again but now armed with the foresight of knowledge. There were cotton fields around the World Tree a few kilometers away from it as those were the most fertile lands of Ydaz. And people were crazy about Cottonpull. If anything could have it inside, they would put it in. Not only did it make everything it was stored in lighter, but it also worked as a decent insulator. That was why all buildings, even not egregiously tall ones, were also stuffed with it.

  A few kilometers were not much for her current self, just a suggestion of distance rather than an actual separation of space, but she still had to look around, and that took time.

  Cottonpull fields were massive, but what bewildered her most was that sense of… uncanniness. She had been here ages ago, and it all had been desert. Yet now it was the most fertile land in all Khaffat. The disconnect was powerful enough to fill her with a feeling of disconcertion that permeated through the whole night.

  Even without haste, her subterfuge form could move faster than the train, which allowed her to visit a handful of fields in the periphery. Not all fields were created equally, mainly in the fact that some were state-owned, and others were private ones. Surprisingly enough, the state-owned ones were the most upstanding. She had expected a full dystopia of slaves being tortured, but Ydaz didn't seem to employ slaves.

  She hated Ydaz and all it represented with all her might, but it had never been a bad country. Only those who… only the one who led it was at fault. If one were to cut off the head, she was sure all the illnesses of this world would be solved.

  Her illnesses.

  As much as she hated it, Aloe stopped searching in state-owned Cottonpull fields. They hosted people for the night, but it was more of an agrarian colony rather than the pot of beans a slave barracks would be.

  Yes, she found slaves already, or at least what she thought were slaves based on their poor living conditions and skin tone, but she couldn't save them all. It would require too great of time investment, and she couldn't lose her surprise factor. Maybe a small village having escaped wouldn't be missed, but she couldn't free them all. Even discovery notwithstanding, the logistics of hosting hundreds if not thousands of people were absurd. She may be able to feed them all, but she couldn't house them.

  The druid tried searching for vitality signals similar to Xochipilli's. Not in amount, but in… vibes. This was the first time she tried it, but vitality was somewhat similar when people were from the same family. A fact she only became aware of after her vitality sense reached sensitivity levels she previously thought impossible. If she found a signal that was somewhat like Xochipilli's then maybe she could find his parents.

  Alas, the night soon came to an end, making her dash tens of kilometers back to Sadina before the sun came out. She also didn't get as far as she wanted, otherwise, she would have lost sight of Xochipilli and she didn't trust the world to leave the boy alone. By sight, she meant a grasp of the child's vitality. She could pinpoint a person's vitality over the city, especially Xochipilli as he was partially infused by her vitality, but if she got too far away no amount of vitality would help her detect him.

  "Good morning," Aloe caressed the child's cheek as he started moving on the bed.

  "Gooood," he let out a cute yawn, "mooooorning~"

  "Come on, get dressed and have some biscuits, today we have a long day before us."

  The boy jumped out of bed as soon as she commanded it. "Where are we going to today?"

  Aloe smiled at him. "The World Tree."

  As much as he had previously insisted on carrying the suitcase these previous days, today she carried it herself. The journey wouldn't be exactly difficult, but it would be exhausting, and it made no sense that the child had to struggle all the way there with the suitcase.

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  Not wanting to get her precious dress dirty, Aloe switched the green Cottonpull dress for one of the cheap day dresses they had bought. This one was white, which contrasted delightfully with her black skin. She forced Xochipilli to wear long trousers as she didn't want the boy to get cuts on his legs as they prowled in the Heart of the Evergreen, but he was adamant about keeping the upper part of his attire.

  She didn't fight him. At least his clothes were dark and easily washable.

  And way cheaper.

  Leaving Sadina was simpler than in older times as there was no longer a wall blocking the way out of the city, but its streets were way messier. It took them a handful of wrong turns before they reached the boundary between the city and the Evergreen.

  It was a jarring sight how such a sprawling metropolis started one step, and the next one you were inside the densest forest Aloe had seen. Truth be told, she had only seen one other, and technically speaking, it was the same one as the Evergreen expanded through what used to be all the northern Qiraji and a bit of Loyata.

  The moment they stepped into the Evergreen, Aloe felt overwhelmed. She had long been sensing for the vitality of the massive forest and its even more massive heart, but now that she was touching it, she couldn't help but feel how… familiar the vitality was.

  And it wasn't hers.

  She bottled all her angst and walked alongside Xochipilli in silence. They had a full day of travel before they reached the World Tree, and she couldn't dump her worries on the child. She was already supporting herself too much in him, and she felt awful about it. Physically strong as she might be, it nauseated her how she was depending so much on him. She wasn't helping him to survive or find his family out of the goodness of her heart, but because her heart would shatter if he wasn't with her.

  Aloe Ayad ached for the company of the child, more than he ached for hers.

  As they progressed through the Evergreen, the place became denser with its verdant foliage. And darker. The canopies of the trees blocked the sun, and even if they didn't, this early in the morning the World Tree projected its shadow over them.

  With a groan, Aloe removed her glove and grew a Radiating Undergrowth on her hand after she saw Xochipilli nearly trip on the forest's undergrowth.

  "Better now?" She asked.

  The boy silently nodded.

  "You aren't very talkative today," Aloe added.

  "This forest is… overwhelming," Xochipilli responded a while later.

  "Well, it's certainly darker than the place I met you at." It felt like ages ago, even if it only had been a couple of weeks ago. I may have lived for centuries, but these last days I felt like I've truly lived, and I just had been dead all that previous time. She didn't voice that out to the child but knelt down and embraced him. "Is it less overwhelming now?" She whispered in his ear.

  "Yes…" He answered sheepishly, his cheeks reddening.

  "Good, good…" The master patted her disciple, mindful to keep the second sun on her hand away from him, lest she accidentally killed him.

  Still, it seemed to be a little too close as he asked her a moment later, "Does it hurt?"

  "What? The Radiating Undergrowth?"

  He nodded. "It's very warm. Hot even."

  "It did, once," she answered. "But now my skin is stronger than metal, and I have some… degree of a connection with the plant, so even if it should hurt me more, it doesn't as much."

  "So it still hurts?"

  "I…" A wry smile was drawn on her visage. "I'm rather numb to damage. I always have been."

  "Stop! Please!" Xochipilli released himself from her embrace and begged her. Their eyes met. Her dead yet glinting emerald eyes met with his lifeful yet trembling crimson ones. "You shouldn't hurt yourself just so I can see."

  "Ah…" Aloe moaned as his still heart pulsed if just for one beat. Yes, this is why I need you for, Xochipilli. Not many people had cared for her; and the ones that had done so, she had betrayed them. First, she killed their loved ones; then she left them to die, imprisoned to the passage of time. It was such a marvelous feeling to have someone caring for you. Xochipilli was a weak and clueless child, but he was brimming with so much emotion…

  It almost made her wooden heart beat again.

  Unfortunately, she had to emphasize that almost.

  The vegetable woman relaxed her expression and drew a motherly smile, then she pulled the Radiating Undergrowth out of her hand. The gesture had been rather violent as many chunks of her hand went with it, but as soon the mushroom hit the ground and dimmed, the wound had already healed.

  "How about a middle ground?" Aloe offered him, her hand caressing the side of his head. He was so small her palm already covered it all.

  "A middle ground?" The boy mused as he laid the weight of his head on her hand. His body temperature was lower than hers, yet he felt so warm…

  Aloe smiled and picked up a pebble from the ground. She pressed her finger into it and separated from it. A moment later, a searing white mushroom exploded from it. Smaller than any previous Radiating Undergrowth but with the exact same potency. Well, the experiment was successful. She laughed to herself but also outwardly chuckled to Xochipilli.

  "Now we can have our way illuminated without anyone getting hurt."

  Ther.