The powers of the Tree and the Sea surged within Ryn, at times merging into one, at other times clashing in opposition. Ryn's consciousness sank deeper and deeper... He saw an immense, towering tree. It felt as though he could only see a fraction of it, yet at the same time, he could perceive its entirety.
The tree's branches and leaves were lush and verdant. New shoots were constantly sprouting, while many branches converged to form massive boughs... Within those boughs, Ryn seemed to see a train traveling among the stars... Perhaps that was what the Stigmata called the "Age of Stars," an era where countless worlds that had overcome the Honkai were interwoven.
Where there is new life, there will also be decay... His consciousness drifted down with the falling leaves of the Tree. The leaves turned into motes of light, ethereal and illusory as they descended from the sky. One flower, one world; one leaf, one enlightenment. In each falling leaf, Ryn also saw the time contained within... In some worlds, people struggled to survive in despair, trying to find a sliver of hope in the apocalypse... In others, people were completely unaware, only attempting to turn the tide at the last moment of their doom, but to no avail...
The leaves fell into the abyss, dissipating into nothingness. For such a vibrant and colorful world, the Sea did not even stir a single ripple. Born in silence, and extinguished in silence. The Sea was perfectly calm. It did not possess the Tree's cycles of life and death; It simply existed there, quiet and devoid of thought or desire.
Ryn sensed the Tree and the Sea, but he did not linger... Before them, he left nothing behind but a single "what the hell..."
The Tree and the Sea watched him. They were guiding him, carrying him toward a certain place...
At some point, Ryn saw a little girl crying helplessly in a quantum crevice. He didn't know how to comfort her, so he just watched.
Then, another figure appeared in the quantum crevice—a silver-haired girl with spiral pigtails. The two girls spoke through their tears, and then, crying and laughing, they made a promise.
He learned the two girls' names, Seele and Bronya. He also learned their story, a quantum ghost caused by the X-10 Experiment. Bronya left, leaving Seele all alone.
And the girl who remained, Seele, was the purpose for which the Tree and the Sea had brought him here. She was also the subject of the deal between the Stigmata and the Sea...
According to the information the Sea transmitted to him, Ryn was a bit bewildered. It said... Seele was the daughter of the Sea, and the child of the Tree—meaning him—was to help Seele reconstruct her body and take care of her.
Hold on... Are you telling me a fairy tale right now... What's this about a daughter of the Sea and a child of the Tree!
The Sea of Quanta was responsible for reconstructing Seele's body, and the Imaginary Tree was responsible for reconstructing Ryn's body. So, one was the daughter of the Sea, and the other was the child of the Tree. Made perfect sense.
This was the result of a fight between the Tree and the Sea. Although the Tree and the Sea were constantly at odds, they also coexisted. They had been living in harmony until one day, the Sea discovered Seele and went to provoke the Tree, saying it was going to have a child. The Tree was not pleased. It felt that it, too, had to get a child.
So, when Ryn recently tried to sneak into the Sea of Quanta to become a Herrscher of the quantum side, he was discovered by the Tree. The Tree immediately started a fight with the Sea, declaring, "This one is mine." The Sea was unwilling to back down. It was rare for someone with an Authority to appear on its side, whereas on the Imaginary side, every Herrscher possessed an Authority. Now, someone with an Authority was defecting to its side, and all it had to do was pay a tiny, insignificant price to gain a spokesperson with an Authority. How could it possibly let the Tree snatch him back?
And so, the two supreme existences fought over the ownership of Ryn, then transformed back into their true forms and had another brawl. There was no winner, but they did come up with a solution. The two of them would become their joint children: one, the daughter of the Sea and also the Tree's daughter-in-law; the other, the child of the Tree and also the Sea's son-in-law.
Ryn didn't know that the Tree and the Sea wanted to set him up with Seele, but he did know that the Sea was going to reconstruct Seele's body, and the Tree was going to elevate his own level of existence.
Ryn floated over to Seele, extended his hand, and cheekily said, "The night is long and lonely. How about spending it happily with me, Seele?"
Startled by his sudden appearance, Seele was about to instinctively place her hand in his when her inner persona—hereafter referred to as Dark Seele—took over and slapped Ryn's hand away.
"Who are you? What do you want with Seele! Why are you here!" Dark Seele raised a scythe larger than herself and glared menacingly at Ryn.
Ryn smiled and raised his hands, showing he had no ill intent. "My name is Ryn. I saw everything that happened between you and Bronya just now. By the way, you don't seem to be the same girl from before, do you? A dual personality? Say, have you heard of the Sea of Quanta and the Imaginary Tree?"
"Enough with the questions. I am Seele. What Sea of Quanta, what Imaginary Tree? Never heard of them."
"Alright then, Seele... It's fine if you don't know. You'll see them soon enough. You're the daughter of the Sea, and the Sea is going to help you reconstruct your body. My situation is similar to yours, so for now, just come with me." Ryn had intended to explain the Tree and the Sea, but figured they would see Them soon anyway. For beings like Them, a single glance was enough to understand everything, so no further explanation was needed.
"Heh, do you think I'm that easy to fool? I'm not that crybaby." Dark Seele was pleased that Ryn called her Seele, but she wasn't an idiot. How could she possibly believe his words?
"Is that so... The Sea has pulled Bronya back into the quantum crevice. She's in danger now. Bronya needs you desperately. You should hurry and come with me to save her." Ryn thought for a moment, recalling the bond between Seele and Bronya, and decided to try tricking her.
"You really are a liar! How could I possibly believe such a..." Before Dark Seele could finish her sentence, her red eyes were replaced by blue ones.
The surface persona, Seele, hereafter referred to as White Seele. White Seele nervously grabbed Ryn's hand and asked frantically, "What happened to Sister Bronya? What's wrong! Let's go, quickly..."
"Hey, hey, are you an idiot? Anyone can tell that's a lie!" Dark Seele stomped her foot in frustration within White Seele's mind. How could that idiot Seele believe something like this?
Hearing Dark Seele's words in her mind, White Seele earnestly replied to her, "But... but what if it's true? Then Sister Bronya would really be in danger..."
Looking at the girl holding his hand, so flustered by the thought of Bronya being in danger, Ryn smiled. This one looked so gullible, and she really was that gullible. A girl as innocent as Seele... he could trick her into bearing him ten children.