At the end of December, Mulan finally arrived alone outside Great Oak Town.
The moment Mulan crossed an invisible boundary, a powerful sense of safety welled up within him. He knew he had entered the reach of the Secret Realm's power.
Compared with when the Secret Realm had first been created, its reach had clearly expanded, though not by much. That was because the World Tree was still growing, making the Secret Realm itself a living thing.
Beside the little bridge by the river, Mulan looked at the distant town, then surveyed his surroundings and bent down. His figure seemed to blend into the withered grass and cold wind. In a fleeting blur, the wind lifted the lingering snow, seemingly scattering his body into fragments along with it.
When Mulan stood again, the winter scenery was gone. His body felt bathed in a spring breeze, surrounded by green grass and a sea of flowers, with the impossible-to-miss World Tree filling his view.
A stream of multicolored light rose from Mulan like flowing water. After circling once through the sky, it took the form of a dragon-shaped elf and landed beside him. It was Lysias, the elf who had been residing within Mulan's body all along.
"Doesn't it take your breath away every time you see it? A scene this magnificent."
Even Mulan felt immensely proud of the Secret Realm he had created. The elf did not disagree. "It truly is a dreamlike Secret Realm, nothing short of a miracle."
Mulan smiled and walked toward the World Tree. On the ground beside its trunk, he saw an elegantly shaped pot entwined with slender vines. It gave off no light, nor was there any flow of magic power, yet it was one of the holy relics people coveted most-the Wish-Granting Pot.
"What