Laughter

It only took a minute before the Baby reached his destination. At the very end of the Spiritual Link River, a humongous Golden Tree stood proudly. It was as big as ten thousand worlds and it gave off the feeling of harmony and disaster. It has billions and billions of branches intertwining together like rivers. And on those branches, billions of souls are floating. Imprinting their mark before dissipating like a fire that lost its ambers. Those souls have successfully descended on the living realm. The tree had no leaves although if one looks at it from a far distance it would seem like the tree had ethereal blue green leaves. With the souls acting as the leaves. "The Karmic Tree, as majestic as I remembered it." The Baby touched the tree and it swayed a little.

While the Baby was in the process of admiring the Tree, he suddenly spoke.

"Speak." He said.

The Tree suddenly tilted as if it was bowing. Any being would be awed by this event or even be scared shitless yet the Baby just watched it as if it was a normal occurrence. "Almighty Creator, it is my utmost pleasure to be graced by your presence." A womanly voice then echoed throughout which mildly surprised the Baby. "How are you capable of thinking?" Asked the Baby as it stared intently at the Tree. He already knew it could communicate because he felt its consciousness but hearing it speak was still quite surprising. The Karmic tree isn't supposed to have any cognizant ability. It shouldn't be capable of thinking and making judgement because it has to be unbiased and fair. This tree was born from the Karmic law itself which was known for being pure but volatile. It can even be said to be the first manifestation of Karma.

"When I first became aware I was already capable of thinking. I have never thought why and how. My brother the Samsara Tree is the same." The Karmic Tree answered truthfully. In the presence of the Almighty Creator everything is laid bare. 'Nothing can escape him' is what the Tree thought. The Baby didn't feel any hostility from the Tree so he didn't mind this irregularity too much. Just like what the Tree thought, everything was laid bare in his eyes. Having a consciousness means being prone to external or maybe even internal influences. Which could lead to catastrophic accidents if the Tree ever developed a desire of some sort. The Samsara Tree is the same and is equally powerful. But since they're both connected to him, he could just forcefully control them if they ever get out of line.

Across all known and unknown realms, across the vast multiverse that was previously intact. Every manifestation of Karma and Samsara didn't possess any consciousness. They all came in different forms but all were incognizant.

'Was it because of me?' Thought the Baby as it stared at the Tree, a Karmic Tree with a consciousness. 'Such peculiarity might've been born because of my personal desire. I always know that I feel empty and lonely, maybe that's why it influenced everything that was born after my death. Someone or something I could talk to without being destroyed by my own hands, since they came from me.'

"Ha Ha… HaHaHa." A baby's laughter was then heard. The Baby laughed for the first time in a very long time and in some sense, he laughed for the very first time. 'Such mystery! Such unpredictableness! Finally!' Thought the Baby as he wonders what the future holds. Clearly this talking Tree was just the beginning.

The Karmic Tree plays a very important role in the grand scheme of things. The souls that managed to form a connection to its host in the living realm would have to first leave its mark on the tree before descending so that it could be part of the Karmic cycle. That only applies to new souls that are still pure and untainted by worldly events. All new souls would begin as twigs and grow to become huge branches as time passes on. The old souls on the other hand have a different procedure if they ever wanted to ascend to the living realm once more after their death, reincarnation. And the thing or in this case the one who would oversee their reincarnation is the Samsara Tree.

The Baby needed to form a connection to the Karmic Tree before going back or else he would have a hard time creating attachments and permanent connections with other mortals. He could always live and exist alone as he was already used to it but he would have a hard time influencing the grand scheme of things with a mortal status. The Primordial Spark cannot exist without a host and until recently he wasn't capable of creating life. So this mortal body of his was his greatest asset to walk on all realms but it's also his biggest liability. Besides, he already lived an eternity of solitude and to live like that again… "Where would be the fun in that?" Thought the Baby with a smile. "It has been an eternity since I felt something, such anticipation is hard to come by." Even though the Baby was just born a few minutes ago he had always considered himself as an ancient being and not a newly born infant, until now... "This second life, I'll live it fully that way that I can." The moment he thought up to this point, the Baby made up his decision on how he was going to enjoy his second life and how he was going to fully reclaim everything that he lost inside.

"Do your job properly and don't interfere with the Karma of this 'soul'. Also don't tell a single being about my existence. Tell your brother to do the same. I know he's already aware of my existence the moment I came into being, after all he's the one who manages the Reincarnation Cycle." The Baby ordered with a smirk. Clearly he was in a good mood.

"The Almighty Creator's worries are unnecessary, I have never interfered with the Karma of any soul that has left its mark on me. Also I would never dream of being anywhere near the Creators Karmic Path." Answered the Tree. The Tree didn't ask any question nor did it ever think about why the Creator was a mortal. It was simple, because the Creator works in mysterious ways that only he knows. The reason why he only appeared now is probably because they are all insignificant to serve him. The Creator simply had no need for them, until now that is. That's why Tree felt something inside her for the very first time. Something she was quite familiar with because she felt it before in the souls that came to leave their mark on her. It was happiness. The Creator even touched her and said that she was majestic. Also 'The Almighty Creator's laugh was so cute!!!' The Tree wanted to squeal yet she held it in. She was in the presence of the Almighty Creator after all.

The Baby ignored the Tree as he soared high until he reached the top of the Karmic Tree, he looked for a spot he could attach his mark to and after finding a suitable one he touched it and a new twig sprouted on the spot. His Karmic twig was different because it was rainbow colored. It stood out like a sore thumb but he didn't mind it. He was about to turn around and leave when he saw something in the corner of his eyes. He turned back and saw a small twig, this twig was different from the rest because it was black as night and beside it was a white twig.

"Looks like I won't be bored."

Swoosh!

The Baby sliced space again and was about to return to the living realm when the Tree spoke. "Oh Mighty Creator, please grant this insignificant creation the privilege to ask you a question."

"Granted."

"When would the Almighty Creator sit on the Summit Throne and grace all creation with his glorious presence?"

"When I feel like it." The Baby answered only after he thought about it for a moment.

The Tree was about to thank the Baby when he suddenly entered the tear in space without waiting for her reply. The moment the Baby returned to the living realm he spread opened his arms and closed his eyes as he breathed in that first breath, and as he breathe in that first breath the whole realm began to glow, tunes of nature and hymns of the celestial began to resound throughout the Nine lower realms and Thirteen thousand worlds. It was as if the universe itself was welcoming the arrival of it's master. Time is still frozen and the reason for it? A story for another time.

Because air only exists in the living realm, he only got the chance to breathe when he returned. After savoring that first breath the Baby shifted his attention to his Mother and Father in this lifetime. He floated above his unconscious mother and gently wiped her tears with his small hand. He then channelled energies in the surrounding to heal his mother. "Thank you… for bringing me into this world." The concept of parenthood had already faded in his mind and maybe in this lifetime he would be able to feel it once more. After healing her he also added some bonus. After healing his mother he floated towards his father.

He examined the spells he casted and it gave him a bit of a surprise. One of the spells was a spell which would transfer life force into someone using one's own life force, greatly shortening the caster's lifespan. "To give your life to someone whom you never even met, even if it's your child and a dead one at that. Not everyone is capable of performing such actions. Is this what a father is?" The Baby tapped his father's shoulder returning the life force he expelled. And also some added bonus.

He then turned to the old woman. "A necromancer huh. To be capable of opening a gate that leads to the Purgatory by only being at this level, talented. Hmm? What's this? You are also using your remaining life force to open the gate? Are you perhaps my Grandmother? But none of my parents share your bloodline, in fact none of them resembled you." The Baby pondered as he floated around the old woman. "Oh well.. here take this gift."

The Baby slashed space again but this time instead of going through it, something else came over from the other side. It was ethereal blue in color and contained rich life essence. It was a strand of water from the Spiritual Link River. It went inside the old woman slowly bringing back some of her youth.

Suddenly, the Baby furrowed his brows before a faint smile appeared on his lips. "Looks like this is all the time I have left. The new consciousness is already forming inside me and is about to awaken." The Baby had to seal his Primordial Spark for the time being and let his mortal body and soul develop and since his consciousness is inside the Spark then it would be sealed with the Spark. He originally planned to create a weaker copy of his consciousness that would act as a substitute until the body was capable of supporting the original consciousness but there's one problem, he needed enlightenment to strengthen his mortal mind. The copy would not be able to gain any enlightenment since it was already enlightened because it was still after all a copy, albeit weaker. So there is only one solution, a new consciousness. Something that would start at the very bottom and be strengthened by experiences and hardships.

The Primordial Spark already contained all of the enlightenment that he gained during his previous life. But integrating those enlightenment inside his mortal brain would only cause more harm than good. After all his enlightenment had now solidified and became laws and laws are something that mortal brains cannot begin to understand nor fathom.

"I'll sleep for now and let this infant body and new soul grow. My Primordial Spark would only cause harm to it." The Baby then engraved some profound tribal tattoo all over his body which slowly faded away and disappeared except for two small marks on the back of each of his hands. The mark on his left hand was in the shape of a small black worm coiled up inside a black magic circle and on the right hand was a small white needle inside a white magic circle.

"The seal has been engraved, I only need to activate it for it to work. As for these two marks, It's my gift to you, the one who's about to be born. Happy birthday."

It might just be his imagination but he was sure that after saying that he heard a baby's laughter. He then chuckled before whispering…

"We are one yet we are not."

He then activated the seal as he went back to the arms of the old woman. After lying in the old woman's arms the Baby's eyes slowly closed and he slowly froze in time like the rest…