The responsibilities of leading Dominion never truly ended.
Every day brought new reports.
New projects.
New disputes.
New problems.
Some were large enough to affect entire regions.
Others involved matters so small that most people would never even notice them.
Yet all of them eventually found their way onto Kaien's desk.
For nearly three weeks, he had barely left the administrative district.
Meeting after meeting consumed his time.
Infrastructure reviews.
Trade negotiations.
Population surveys.
Resource allocations.
Educational reforms.
Agricultural expansion plans.
Environmental preservation requests.
The pile of documents never seemed to shrink.
Whenever he finished one stack, another appeared.
Sometimes Kaien genuinely suspected the paperwork reproduced on its own.
No other explanation seemed reasonable.
By the end of the third week, even the council members noticed his patience beginning to wear thin.
Not visibly.
Years of leadership had taught him control.
But small signs appeared.
Longer silences.
Shorter answers.
A tendency to stare out windows whenever meetings dragged on.
The people closest to him immediately recognized the symptoms.
Especially Nyra and Lyss.
"You need to leave."
Nyra delivered the statement one morning while placing breakfast in front of him.
Kaien looked up from a report.
"Leave what?"
"The office."
"I left yesterday."
"You walked into another office."
Kaien considered arguing.
Then decided against it.
Because technically she wasn't wrong.
Lyss looked over a stack of reports.
"You've been buried in paperwork for weeks."
"I have responsibilities."
"You also have a tendency to become insufferable when you ignore sunlight."
Kaien frowned.
"I do not."
The twins exchanged identical looks.
A response he had learned to fear over the years.
Because it usually meant they had already agreed on something.
And when they agreed on something, his chances of winning the argument were approximately zero.
"You're going outside today."
Nyra declared.
"That's not a suggestion."
Several hours later, Kaien found himself reluctantly admitting they were right.
Again.
A recurring and deeply unfortunate pattern in his life.
So after completing the most urgent work, he left Novaris and traveled toward one of Dominion's most famous settlements.
A place called Elmshade.
The settlement had become well known during reconstruction.
Not because of its size.
Not because of its economic importance.
Because nearly seventy percent of the surrounding ecosystem had been preserved.
Ancient forests remained untouched.
Natural waterways continued flowing through the region.
Wildlife thrived.
The settlement itself seemed woven into nature rather than built upon it.
Many architects considered it one of Dominion's greatest successes.
Kaien simply thought it was beautiful.
The journey took several hours.
By the time he arrived, the afternoon sun illuminated the entire region with warm golden light.
The sight immediately improved his mood.
Massive trees stretched across the landscape.
Flowering plants covered open fields.
Small rivers reflected sunlight like flowing silver.
The air itself felt different.
Cleaner.
Lighter.
Alive.
For a moment, Kaien simply stood there.
Breathing.
Listening.
No reports.
No council meetings.
No decisions affecting millions.
Just the sound of wind moving through leaves.
The sound alone felt worth the trip.
As news spread that he had arrived, local officials quickly attempted to organize a formal reception.
Kaien escaped before they succeeded.
Years of experience had made him surprisingly effective at avoiding ceremonies.
Instead of heading toward the central district, he wandered deeper into the preserved areas surrounding the settlement.
Walking without purpose.
Without schedules.
Without obligations.
Eventually he reached a massive tree standing near the center of a large meadow.
The tree was ancient.
Far older than the settlement itself.
Perhaps older than several kingdoms that had existed before the Final War.
Its branches stretched outward like a living monument.
Its shadow covered a large section of the field.
Several benches had been placed nearby for visitors.
Kaien glanced at them.
Then ignored them completely.
Much to the confusion of several citizens watching from a distance.
Instead, he walked directly toward the tree itself.
A few moments later he sat beneath it.
Leaning against the massive trunk.
Closing his eyes.
Simply enjoying the shade.
The reaction from nearby observers was immediate.
Several people stopped walking.
Others openly stared.
A few children pointed.
The Director of Dominion.
The man who had defeated the Entity.
The hero of the Final War.
The leader of humanity.
Had traveled all the way to Elmshade.
Ignored every bench.
And sat on the ground beneath a tree.
The sight somehow felt completely normal and completely absurd at the same time.
Yet nobody who truly knew Kaien found it surprising.
His love for nature was legendary at this point.
Stories about him personally redesigning city projects to save forests circulated throughout Dominion.
Many people initially assumed those stories were exaggerated.
Then they met him.
And realized the stories were probably understated.
For nearly half an hour, Kaien remained there quietly.
Watching clouds drift across the sky.
Listening to birds.
Feeling the breeze move through the branches above.
A peace settled over him that he rarely experienced elsewhere.
The same feeling he had known as Arin while sleeping beneath forests.
The same feeling Karna had experienced while traveling through wilderness between kingdoms.
The same feeling Aditya had found in the ruins of forgotten lands.
No matter the life.
No matter the era.
Nature always brought him peace.
Eventually something landed nearby.
A small bird.
Kaien glanced toward it.
The bird tilted its head curiously.
Then remained where it was.
Several moments later another arrived.
Then another.
Then three more.
The nearby citizens began noticing.
Whispers spread.
More birds appeared.
Some landed on branches above him.
Others hopped across the grass.
None seemed particularly afraid.
Kaien smiled faintly.
Then ignored them.
Which somehow seemed to encourage them further.
The first squirrel appeared shortly afterward.
Running across the roots of the tree.
Then another.
Then another.
Within minutes several squirrels occupied the area.
Some gathering food.
Others observing him cautiously.
One particularly bold squirrel approached close enough to investigate his boot.
Kaien remained perfectly still.
The squirrel eventually decided he wasn't dangerous.
A conclusion that rapidly spread among the local wildlife.
Because over the next hour the situation became increasingly ridiculous.
Birds gathered in large numbers.
Squirrels appeared from every direction.
Rabbits emerged from nearby brush.
Even foxes could occasionally be seen watching from a distance.
People began stopping specifically to observe.
Not because the animals were unusual.
Because of who they were gathering around.
Many had heard stories before.
Stories about animals showing unusual trust toward Kaien.
Most assumed they were exaggerated.
Now they were witnessing it firsthand.
And somehow the reality looked even stranger.
One elderly woman watching nearby eventually laughed.
"I've never seen this many."
Several others nodded.
Neither had they.
Normally one or two animals might approach.
Maybe three.
This was entirely different.
The tree had practically become a gathering point.
As though the entire ecosystem had collectively decided to visit.
Then something even more surprising happened.
A deer emerged from the forest.
The meadow immediately grew quieter.
The animal moved cautiously at first.
Observing.
Watching.
Then gradually approached.
Several people expected it to flee.
It didn't.
Instead it stopped only a short distance away.
Calm.
Relaxed.
Completely comfortable.
Kaien slowly opened his eyes.
The deer stared back.
For several moments neither moved.
Then the animal lowered its head slightly before continuing to graze nearby.
The reaction among the spectators was immediate.
Many openly stared.
Others whispered.
A few children looked completely amazed.
One young boy even asked whether Kaien secretly possessed some animal-related manifestation.
His parents quickly apologized.
Kaien simply laughed.
The answer was no.
At least not as far as he knew.
Still, he couldn't deny the pattern.
Animals had always seemed comfortable around him.
Across every life.
Even as a child.
Especially as a child.
The memory suddenly brought something else to mind.
Hollows.
For a moment his expression became thoughtful.
The creatures were rarely discussed anymore.
During his childhood as Kaien, Hollows had still existed in noticeable numbers.
Dangerous creatures born from distorted manifestations and corrupted environments.
Some resembled animals.
Others looked far stranger.
Many regions had suffered from their presence.
Entire military divisions once specialized in containing them.
Then the wars came.
First regional conflicts.
Then larger battles.
Then the Final War itself.
And somewhere during all that destruction, the Hollow populations collapsed.
Many were killed directly.
Others disappeared when their habitats vanished.
Some simply couldn't survive the chaos.
By the time peace returned, very few remained.
Nowadays seeing a Hollow was considered unusual.
Most younger citizens had never encountered one.
Entire generations were growing up knowing them only through books.
Kaien wasn't sure how to feel about that.
On one hand, their decline made the world safer.
On the other hand, they had once been part of the world's ecosystem.
Dangerous.
But natural in their own way.
The thought lingered briefly before fading.
His attention returned to the present.
To the meadow.
To the animals surrounding him.
To the peaceful world humanity had rebuilt.
The contrast felt almost unbelievable.
As a child he had grown up among wars.
Among monsters.
Among constant danger.
Now he sat beneath an ancient tree while squirrels climbed nearby branches and birds filled the air with song.
Life truly was strange.
Hours passed before he finally stood.
The movement immediately attracted attention.
Several animals scattered.
Others remained.
The deer looked up briefly.
Then returned to grazing.
Kaien smiled.
Then placed one hand against the massive tree.
Its bark felt rough beneath his fingers.
Ancient.
Enduring.
A silent witness to generations of change.
The tree would likely remain standing long after he was gone.
Long after this life ended.
Long after another began.
For some reason, he found comfort in that thought.
Some things deserved to outlast legends.
Some things deserved to remain.
With one final glance toward the meadow, Kaien began walking back toward the settlement.
Behind him, the ancient tree remained where it had always been.
Its branches swaying gently beneath the afternoon sky.
And for the first time in weeks, Kaien felt genuinely refreshed.
Not because of rest.
Not because of peace.
But because for a few hours he had been reminded of something important.
Civilizations were worth building.
People were worth protecting.
The future was worth fighting for.
But the world itself—
the forests, rivers, skies, and creatures that filled it—
was worth preserving too.
And as long as he lived, he intended to make sure humanity never forgot that.