The moment Aron logged in, Nova wasted no time and teleported him to a private simulation she had specially created for the event.

"It took quite some time," Aron remarked as he settled into the chair she had prepared for him.

{Since their brain structure differs from ours, and theyve evolved various ways of interpreting things throughout their existence, I had to restart the decoding process several times after analyzing each evolutionary phase. Theyve had quite a few of those over their long history,} Nova responded. As she spoke, she materialized visual representations of the distinct brain structures she had to decode, showcasing the complexity of their evolutionary changes.

"Why didn't you just use the little protagonists in our two workers to speed up your analysis?" Aron asked, puzzled by her decision to use a more manual approach.

{The little protagonists can monitor and interfere with the brain, but due to the power level of the beings we're dealing with, they can't fully control them. Right now, all they can do is imprison their consciousness and use the body in place of the original owner by mimicking the brain's signalsthats the extent of their current capabilities,} Nova explained.

She projected a series of visuals, detailing the limitations of the little protagonists. {Even our current VR tech isn't advanced enough to brainwash them. I had to rely on manual methods by analyzing their brain data and memories alone.}

The visuals illustrated how, once a being reached a certain power threshold, the little protagonists became less effective, achieving only up to 75% control. Despite this, they were still able to incapacitate these higher-level beings, just not fully dominate their minds.

"Yeah, and about that, please run some diagnostics on them and give me all of the weaknesses. I need to update them now that they've faced real-life scenarios, and we know their limitations," Aron said, mentally noting the need for upgrades. His drive for perfection stemmed from his long-term plansthese "little protagonists" were not just tools but weapon he intended to use against other civilizations.

{Will do,} Nova responded promptly, creating a separate instance to initiate the diagnostics and begin the detailed analysis required for the updates.

"Okay, show me what you got," Aron said, taking a deep breath to emotionally prepare for what was about to unfold. He knew this would be an extensive experience, sifting through what might be a massive trove of memories. Rather than assimilating the data directly, which could overwhelm him with irrelevant details, he opted to watch it first. Assimilation was reserved for vital information, and only if something truly important emerged from these tree folk memories would he consider integrating it later.

{Since the memories span thousands of years, most of which involve long periods of inactivity while they waited for the results of their experiments, Ive filtered out all those parts. Ive left only the moments where something significant happened or where they were engaged in activity,} Nova explained as the environment around Aron transformed.

Suddenly, the room shifted, morphing into a scene of nothingness. It was an empty void, the starting point of what he called "swimming" a way of experiencing memories as if living them. He could now immerse himself in these moments, becoming an invisible observer while also feeling the emotions and sensations tied to the events.

The first memory began to unravel before him.

The scene unfolded slowly, with small white dots gradually appearing in the void, representing the awakening senses of the tree folk.

As time accelerated, more and more dots emerged, each one signifying a sensory perception coming to life.

This marked the beginning of their relationship. From then on, they would regularly meet, exchanging information about their exploration of the world. They shared discoveries, updating an internal map of the planet as their senses extended farther and farther across the surface.

Over the years, they discovered more of their kind, repeating the process of introducing each new tree folk to the Timeless Meadow, where they would be brought up to speed. Eventually, all five tree folk had met, and together, they mapped the entirety of the planet, their bond growing closer with each new revelation.

After nearly a thousand years in this accelerated memory, Aron could finally comprehend what these white dots representedthe tree folk's ability to sense their surroundings had fully developed.

At first, the tree folk explored their newly awakened senses, gradually learning how to extend their range. Months passed, and eventually, one of them encountered another tree folk. It was a discovery that led to the first attempt at communication.

Without the knowledge of how to interact, the tree folk tried various methods until, by pure chance, their senses intertwined. When that happened, both were suddenly transported to a place that was strikingly familiar.

"Timeless Meadow," Aron said softly, recognizing the space immediately as it formed before him.

The two tree folk stood in awe of each others forms, which manifested as vast, sprawling roots, each hundreds of meters long. Communication came instinctively when one of them attempted to transmit thoughts, and to their surprise, it worked.

This marked the beginning of their relationship. From then on, they would regularly meet, exchanging information about their exploration of the world. They shared discoveries, updating an internal map of the planet as their senses extended farther and farther across the surface.

Over the years, they discovered more of their kind, repeating the process of introducing each new tree folk to the Timeless Meadow, where they would be brought up to speed. Eventually, all five tree folk had met, and together, they mapped the entirety of the planet, their bond growing closer with each new revelation.

However, their connection wasnt without conflict. Though still limited in power, disagreements led to fights, initially only mental clashes. As they continued to grow, however, their roots extended enough to physically intertwine during these fights, adding a new dimension to their interactions. It wasnt just conflict that arose from this intertwining, though.

The tree folk discovered that when their roots merged and expended mana, they could create things they already understoodtrees, for example, which were scattered across the small landmasses of the planet. This revelation led them to shift their focus from exploration to experimentation.

Thousands of years passed, with the tree folk steadily growing in size and power. Eventually, their senses extended far beyond the planet, allowing them to observe the entire star system. It was during this period that the Proximian fleet arrived.

At first, the fleet went unnoticed, but soon after, the tree folk detected the newcomers. Fascinated by these beings unlike anything they had encountered in their thousands of years of existence, they devoted much of their time to observing them.

The memory stream continued up to the present day, marking the end of the swimming.

It was then followed by silence.

{Whats your conclusion?} Nova asked, breaking the silence.

...........

Aron remained silent, still processing the flood of memories he had just witnessed. Nova, recognizing that he was amidst his contemplation, waited patiently, understanding that he would speak once he had fully digested the information.

After a few moments, Aron finally broke the silence. Everything Ive seen from their beginnings to their discoveries is pointing me toward something, but with the data we have now, its too early to draw a definitive conclusion. This will require a deeper dive before I make any solid assumptions.

{I agree, but if you were to form a hypothesis based solely on the current data, what would you say they are?} Nova pressed, almost as if she was eager to compare her own analysis with his.

Aron pondered for a moment before replying, Ive got three possible theories. First, they were created deliberately. Second, theyre the result of a mana anomaly, possibly evolving naturally from it. And lastly, they may have been birthed or produced by someone, or something, perhaps from this planetor even from another star systemand then sent here.

His answer was measured, but he was curious now, sensing there might be a reason behind Novas insistence.

{Looks like were on the same page. Although Ive come up with more theories than you, the most likely ones align with yours.} Nova responded, revealing her reasoning.

Aron nodded, then quickly gave an instruction. Have the exploration team gather samples of the different levels of roots from the two tree folks. Well send them back to Earth for further research. I want to see if we can confirm any of these theories.

{Ill handle it. And what about you? You still have a few hours before your scheduled tour of the planet.} Nova reminded him, aware of the timeline.

Im going to start researching how to create a body for them. The goal is to see if their main consciousness can be transferred into it. If successful, we can perfect the body and have the two tree folks inhabit it, allowing us to use their original forms as research material. If not, well test the new body to determine if theres a distance limit for their split consciousness and, if so, how far it extends. Depending on the results, I have several plans for them, Aron explained, outlining his strategy and noting that he would need Nova's help for the body creation.

{Lets get to work then,} Nova responded, her excitement palpable as their surroundings transformed into a high-tech biology research laboratory.

Bring me a copy of the two tree folks' progeny and one of mine, Aron said, shifting into research mode and ready to dive into the project.