"Dendro Archon, don't worry. I'll tell you everything slowly..."
The elemental Hydro Fungus reassured Nahida, then began calmly explaining the origins of its kind.
"You said you're searching for a way to save your homeland... but what destroyed your homeland was Forbidden Knowledge, and Forbidden Knowledge destroyed the desert. Yet the desert has already returned to normal..." Nahida frowned.
The elemental Hydro Fungus continued, "Yes. Our homeland is not the desert. But, Dendro Archon, Queen of Waters, I'm sorry... I don't remember where our homeland is anymore, so I cannot tell you."
"It sounds unbelievable... but there is nothing we can do about it. As part of the apocalypse, when the pollution was erased, the corresponding part of our memories was erased as well."
"The power and memories that were erased... that should be the void, right?"
Nahida said softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't take that into account."
The elemental Hydro Fungus shook its head. "Dendro Archon, there is no need to apologize... If you had not eliminated the pollution, we would not have merely lost some memories and power."
From the side, Lora said to it, "Forbidden Knowledge has already been completely eliminated. Your homeland should have returned to normal by now."
The elemental Hydro Fungus nodded. "Queen of Waters, you are right... Since Forbidden Knowledge has been eliminated, our homeland must have returned to normal. We originally thought that was nothing more than an impossible dream. We never expected it to come true so quickly... But I can no longer find the way home."
"But... Dendro Archon, you have come." The elemental Hydro Fungus continued, gazing at Nahida as it said slowly, "You must have come because of that ancient pact. You came to send us home, didn't you?"
"Ancient pact?" Hearing the elemental Hydro Fungus mention this so-called pact, Nahida turned to look at Lora.
Lora shook her head as well and said, "That should be a pact someone from their kind made with you in the past..."
"In that case, I'll send you home!" Nahida looked at the elemental Hydro Fungus. Of course, the reason she agreed so quickly was also because she had discovered that this elemental life-form had the same elemental reaction as the crystal she had found in the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
Perhaps, at the end of this journey, she would find the answer.
"I'll go with you too," Lora added. She remembered that at the end of this journey, they would meet the Dendro Dragon Sovereign who had survived from the distant past until now.
"Thank you so much, Dendro Archon!" the elemental Hydro Fungus thanked Nahida. "And you as well, Queen of Waters... Your past clearly carried immense suffering, yet you still chose to help us. Thank you very much..."
The three of them set off, following the connection between Nahida and the elemental Hydro Fungus as they searched for the rest of its kind.
Along the way, the elemental Hydro Fungus saw The Withering and could not help feeling deeply moved again. The Withering was the final fate of creatures like them after being affected by the apocalypse and failing to be saved.
Every flower of The Withering represented one of their lives.
With Lora and Nahida present, there was naturally no need to make an effort to clear it. The two gods who governed life and purification joined forces, and with the slightest movement of their fingers, they completely eradicated The Withering and gathered the elemental aura left within it.
As the journey continued and they gradually approached the desert, Nahida suddenly had a premonition. She said to Lora, "Lora, if we keep going like this, we may encounter Apep."
"The Dendro Dragon in the desert?" Hearing Nahida's words, Lora sighed. "Are you not prepared to meet the Dendro Dragon Sovereign?"
"I'm not sure whether I'm ready to face Sumeru's former master," Nahida said softly after a moment of silence.
Lora continued, "Yes. Between the Dragon Sovereigns and the gods, there is an irreconcilable conflict. It might be different with the other Dragon Sovereigns, but Apep is one who has survived from that distant past. Her hatred toward the gods is probably no small thing."
"But even so, we still have to move forward."
"Yes, forward!" Nahida nodded, then continued following the elemental Fungi toward the desert.
As Lora and Nahida ventured deeper into the desert, they rescued a land-walking elemental Fungus from an area of pollution. After seeing Nahida, it told them of its memories from the distant past.
However, what it described was still what it believed to be the story of Lesser Lord Kusanali before she became small and lost her power and memories, not the story of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
Everything in Sumeru's past was now the existence of Lesser Lord Kusanali, not Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
At that moment, Nahida took out the crystal she had found in the Sanctuary of Surasthana. After the land-walking elemental Fungus saw the crystal, it said to Nahida, "That's right, that's it... Dendro Archon, this is the Fire Seed, the necessary item to save the Dendro Dragon.
"This is a crystal that you, Dendro Archon, once created together with our kind. It can simulate the workings of the Dendro Dragon's Heart of Oasis. The Dendro Dragon's power has been tormented by the apocalypse for too long, but as long as the Fire Seed can reactivate its Heart of Oasis, it will regain the power to heal itself. Our homeland will also be restored to its original state..."
After the land-walking elemental Fungus finished telling Lora's group everything it knew, it bid them farewell. In its own words, it had long since lost the right to be saved.
Lora collected its elemental aura and wrapped it in pure water.
"Thank you, Queen of Waters..." the elemental Hydro Fungus said to Lora, thanking her for treating its kind so gently.
"Let's keep going. The Dendro Dragon is deep within the desert. We'll see her soon," Nahida said softly.
With the elemental Hydro Fungus accompanying them, the group once again set off on their journey deep into the desert.
However, when they stepped into the territory of endless yellow sand, a massive sandstorm suddenly rose, sweeping over everything around them. In the boundless yellow sand ahead, an enormous serpentine figure emerged, looking down at Lora's group.
The figure was immense. All people, objects, and even the surrounding mountains seemed tiny before her.
"This is Apep, the Dendro Dragon Sovereign!" Nahida said softly as she gazed at that terrifying figure.
"Fragile grass. Presumptuous water. So small, and yet you... leave my territory!"
Apep's voice was cold and majestic, echoing through the surrounding sky and earth.