Annan had seen the Otherworld Tree receive Dade's Nature Energy. Back then, it had been like a picky child: Dade worked herself into a sweat before it reluctantly grew a single leaf at the tip of one branch.
But now, fed with oddities—or rather, Humanity—the Otherworld Tree was in an entirely different state.
Its invisible roots drew the oddity from beneath the ground, and the Otherworld Tree began growing at an almost frenzied pace.
Its once-slender trunk expanded and grew with an almost audible crack. The bark stretched and split, revealing a fresh layer of wood brimming with vitality beneath.
As the Otherworld Tree's branches reached outward, its crown spread with them, forming a canopy of dense shade. Its leaves turned from tender green to vivid green, then deep green, gleaming with a natural emerald sheen.
Fertilizing it with just one oddity had nearly transformed it from a sapling into a healthy tree.
Annan actually felt a little guilty. Compared with how it looked now, the Otherworld Tree had seemed malnourished before.
Then a branch descended from the crown and gently stroked Annan's head and face.
"It's very lively."
Dade looked up at the Otherworld Tree, which was gently stroking her too.
It was still digesting the oddity in the pit, though its growth had slowed considerably from the miraculous pace of the day before. The next day, once the Otherworld Tree had fully absorbed its nutrients, Dade and Irilanze measured its height again.
Its trunk had thickened by ten centimeters, its height had nearly reached five meters, and its crown was unusually lush, like a head of broccoli.
Dade said this was likely the Otherworld Tree's natural choice: plants relied on their leaves to absorb Nature Energy. Annan knew that much.
But as a tree with emotions that responded