Ghaster knows that he is rash but even he has survival instincts. His instincts tell him to stay away from Salvini so that's what he will do. He thought he had a chance against Soverick. Now he knows he was wrong and that he was courting death. He won't make that mistake twice.
They returned to silence again and watched the city. They aren't seeing anything interesting but Ghaster just felt like watching the city. He is feeling nostalgic and depressed and watching the city makes him feel a little better. It reminds him of a better time. A time when he was young and carefree and when Hadricks used to sneak him treats, play with him and give him vitality.
Ghaster sighed at the memory. Mihila is wrong about why Ghaster is feeling so down. He is sad because he is missing someone or something. It is not because he is missing Soverick as a rival. He is confused but he doesn't really know why. Soverick's death is the major thing that has happened recently. That's why he is fixating on it.
But something else has happened in the Ghastorix main city that he doesn't know about. It is a monumental event that is making him feel a sense of loss. It is also why looking at the city is making him feel a little better. If he knew about what happened in the city a few days ago, then he will understand why he is like this.
There is someone missing in the City. It happened a few days ago. Ancestor Guntu, the eye of destruction, came to the city on a secret and important mission. It was a few hours after the death of Soverick was announced. Guntu didn't come alone. He came with a hundred other Origin gods. Only 10 of them are in the open. The rest are disguised and hiding around. They will only appear if needed.
The 100 origin gods didn't enter the city. They stayed outside and dispersed so as not to draw attention to themselves. Then the 10 origin gods with Guntu included entered the city and went down to the bottom layer of the city. They passed through the only access point in the barrier that lead to the vast underground forest.
The forest seems to be under the open sky. There is sunlight cascading down from above and clouds can be seen moving across the sky. It doesn't look like a forest underneath a city at all. At least the creatures living in it don't think so. The forest is their home and to them, it is real as real can be.
The forest is real and so are the creatures within it. The singing birds and the chirping insects are real. There are numerous exotic creatures and plants that live in this forest. They were brought from other planes to liven up the forest and make them beautiful. Some of them belong to the Virut plane but have long gone extinct. There are herbs here that will set titans of law to war.
There are different types of trees in this forest but a certain type of short trees are most prominent. They are many of them too. Each different tall tree has a short tree beside it. These short trees are in the shadow of the tall trees. It could be that the tall trees have stunted the growth of the short trees or the short trees were planted directly next to a tall tree.
Guntu and the other 9 origin gods that accompanied him passed through the forest toward their objective. They can see far into the nature of the forest so they can't get lost. They know that the clouds in the sky are real but the sky isn't real. They know that one of the rabbits in the small family of 7 blue rabbits munching on leaves and watching them is not real. Only 6 of the rabbits are real.
They can see the false trees and the fake path produced by the protective array of the forest. They can see all this because they are Origin gods. It will be very difficult to fool their soul-force-empowered senses. Origin gods can see beneath the world of manifestation so any illusion or deception based on the world of manifestation cannot fool them. They are a part of the law matrix after all.
They shouldn't need their innate ability to perceive the world to navigate the forest in the first place. They should have been allowed to pass directly through since they are guests here, not enemies. But Ancestor Hadrick wanted them to test the defenses. So they are testing the defenses despite the fact that it is delaying them.
They can plough through the defenses to save time but that will be destroying the defenses and not testing it. There is a difference between the two. Ancestor Hadricks was very clear about what it wanted from them. They have to take time for testing and be careful about it. No one wants to get into trouble with the ancestor so they chose to simply test the defenses.
They found Ancestor Hadrick at the center of the forest. It is a very short tree with dark green bark and leaves. The tree is also crystal-like as if it is made of stone, not wood. Its color and form make it look like a tree carved out of a giant emerald gem. The tree is short at about a meter tall and it has a small amount of leaves but its trunk is thicker than it is tall.
Ancestor Hadrick's main body looks like a green fat drum of precious stone that grew some leaves. It is more of a stump of a once gigantic tree. It would have looked like a stump but it didn't have its top cut off. It just looks like a really short but wide tree.
All 10 origin gods bowed at the tree and offered greetings.
Hadrick greeted them, "Welcome to my humble abode."
Guntu stepped forward and spoke, "We have come to escort you ancestor Hadrick."
He is the oldest and the strongest one that was sent here so he is in charge. He is not the oldest descendent but he has been around in the realm tree for a while so he was made to lead this small squad. It is so that a new face will not attract attention. He has been here for a while and he participated in the war against the gods. No one will suspect the Ghastorix family of being up to something if they see him.