Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Mu En understood now. He wasn't in Elden Ring or Dark Souls, but in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
This was a world where human civilization had withered and was being gradually consumed by the forests of the Sea of Corruption.
Mu En felt an overwhelming urge to complain. Sure, both creators were named Miyazaki, but the styles of their worlds were way too different!
He'd thought he'd been thrown into one of Miyazaki's delightful poison swamps!
Still, that explained how she could "hear" him speak.
As one of the few extraordinary individuals in the entire world, Nausicaä was born with the ability to communicate with others through her mind.
Since she could befriend animals and even insects, she could naturally communicate with a conscious tree like him.
Most importantly, this heroine was a born leader.
She was qualified and capable of becoming the bridge between him and this world!
If he missed his chance with Nausicaä, Mu En would probably never encounter another intelligent being he could communicate with before he withered and died.
Was he supposed to count on those bugs coming to worship a tree that looked so out of place?
The only thing Mu En found strange was that the burning of the forest should have happened when the Torumekian Empire invaded.
Yet he hadn't seen a single soldier.
"Mr. Erdtree...? Are you still there?"
The long silence made Nausicaä uneasy.
She worried that she might have said something wrong and angered this incomprehensible being.
"I'm here. The wind brought me to this land, and this place is indeed under my protection. The Sea of Corruption cannot encroach upon it."
Mu En quickly recovered and replied in terms she could accept.
He knew that the only thing worshipped here was the wind that never ceased to blow.
Nausicaä could hardly believe what she was hearing, yet she could sense that the being who called himself the "Erdtree" wasn't lying.
Ever since the Valley of the Wind had received its name, the poisonous miasma that drifted in with the dust from the Sea of Corruption to the west had threatened its people's survival.
And now, there was actually hope that this threat could be purified!
But she didn't let this unprecedented hope cloud her judgment. Instead, she carefully voiced her request:
"I mean no offense, but the spores of the Sea of Corruption are poisoning the land we depend on to survive. Could you... could you tell us how to purify the toxins?
"As long as the Valley of the Wind can bear it, we're willing to pay any price!"
Outwardly, Mu En fell into "thought" once again, making Nausicaä's heart rise into her throat.
In truth, he was nearly cheering in his mind.
At last, he had a chance to gain believers!
Fortunately, he was a tree now, and no one could read his expression from the outside. Otherwise, with Mu En's abysmal acting, he would have lost all dignity long ago.
Excited as he was, he had to find a way to win Nausicaä over wholeheartedly.
Although he was the Erdtree, he hadn't mastered all the powers of the Golden Order. He guessed that was because he was still too "young."
After a moment's thought, Mu En found an incantation among the few abilities he possessed that was perfect for the situation.
With that in mind, he immediately seized the chance to speak.
"Mundane possessions mean nothing to me, and I cannot directly 'trade' it to you either."
A trace of bitterness welled up in Nausicaä's heart.
Was even a mysterious being like him unable to completely resolve the disaster brought by the Sea of Corruption?
"However," Mu En continued, changing tack.
"If you are willing to become one of my people and help me spread faith in gold, I can grant you the power to restore the land to purity."
Believers.
That was what the Erdtree needed.
The complex implications behind those words sent a succession of expressions across Nausicaä's face.
She had seen people who believed in gods before. The fanatical warrior monks and missionaries of Dorok to the south were believers who followed the will of their "gods."
But all they brought was strife and destruction.
Besides, the only thing she revered was the wind, which protected this land and represented the will of nature.
Although she could "feel" that Mu En bore no ill will, still...
As Nausicaä wavered, unexpected words came from the Erdtree.
"Lost maiden, there is no need to struggle over this. I will not demand your faith.
"Besides, as this forest is one of my dwelling places, I will not stand by and watch it be destroyed.
"Behold, this is the power of the Golden Order..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nausicaä felt her consciousness gently pushed out of the mental space, and her surroundings came back into focus.
"Princess? Princess!"
"I'm all right, Grandpa Mito." Nausicaä came to her senses and saw the one-eyed old man standing before her, his face full of worry.
"You've been standing here without moving for almost ten minutes. You wouldn't respond no matter how we called you."
Nausicaä took a deep breath and answered without taking her eyes off the little tree. "I heard the voice of this 'Erdtree' just now. His power stopped the contamination from spreading."
Whispers broke out among the crowd.
The Valley of the Wind was small, and nearly everyone here was an elder who had watched Nausicaä grow up. They knew their princess had the ability to listen to nature.
But the idea that a tree had the power to completely purify the Sea of Corruption was simply too astonishing.
Just then, something strange happened.
A geometric pattern slowly lit up on the ground, centered on the Erdtree.
First appeared three golden circles made up of unknown runes, interlocked in a triangular arrangement. A fourth circle emerged, centered on the point where the three overlapped.
Then a stream of light, shaped like the trunk of a tree, ran through the center where all four circles overlapped, joining the patterns into a single whole.
That was the Elden Ring, the mark of law belonging to Mu En alone.
Hum!
With a clear ringing sound, surging golden light spread outward from the Erdtree.
The toxins that had seeped into the earth, the fungi that corroded everything, and even the raging flames were instantly wiped away by the power of the Golden Order, returning the forest to its original state!
Everyone touched by the golden light felt an indescribable comfort and warmth, as though they were soaking in a hot spring.
Someone instinctively took a deep breath and discovered that the air, which had been filled with the acrid smell of burning trees, had become incomparably pure.
All of this was thanks to the Golden Order incantation Mu En had cast: the Law of Regression.
Regression meant that all things converged toward the unchanging, and it also symbolized the immortal nature of gold.
It was the first ability he'd thought of after arriving in this world, and it had indeed proved remarkably effective.
The golden wave spread hundreds of meters before gradually dissipating into the air, while its lingering effects continued to influence every living thing within its range.
Everyone was immersed in the wonderful sensation. No one noticed that the golden light radiating from the Erdtree itself had dimmed somewhat.
A moment later, Nausicaä was the first to realize that this was the "Golden Order" the Erdtree had spoken of.
"Quick! Go check the trees we marked!"
The villagers came to their senses and immediately ran toward the great trees that had been deemed beyond saving only a short while ago, marked to await burning.
A woman dressed in bright yellow cloth reached into a split in one of the trees and found that the fungal threads had turned into a dry, grayish-white powder. At the slightest touch, it crumbled into ash and scattered.
"This... how is this possible?"
"It's alive! This tree is alive!"
"The fungal threads have all withered and died!"
Cries of astonishment rang out from all across the woods.
Someone even pulled out a test tube hanging from their chest and placed a pinch of soil into the reagent inside. After gently shaking it, their expression changed dramatically.
"The toxins in the land have dissipated too! The soil here is even cleaner than the land to the east, which is protected by the sea breeze!"
The results of their investigation left all the villagers utterly stunned.
Everywhere the golden light had passed, the fungi of the Sea of Corruption had been completely purified, and even the toxins contained in the soil had vanished without a trace.
This was beyond their understanding. There was only one word for it-
A miracle!
"Princess, what on earth is this...?"
Burning gazes filled with hope turned toward Nausicaä and the wondrous little golden tree.
"This is a gift from the Erdtree."
The hesitation on the girl's face had been replaced by firm resolve.
For she had witnessed a real "miracle" with her own eyes.
Compared with a power great enough to change the fate of the Valley of the Wind, the possible risks were utterly insignificant.
Passing through the excited crowd, Nausicaä stood before the Erdtree once more.
"I am willing to become one of your people!"