The head on the left was a serpent's.
It was completely covered in fine, dark green scales that shimmered with a pale gold luster along their edges.
Its vertical slit eyes were amber, with intricate runic patterns slowly rotating deep within the pupils.
The serpent head reared back slightly, its forked tongue darting out from the corner of its mouth, flicking gently in the air.
The head on the right was a flood dragon's.
The flood dragon head was a size larger than the serpent's, its deep blue scales rippling with watery patterns.
Its eyes were a deep blue with horizontal, oval-shaped pupils. Two long, slender barbels hung from the corners of its mouth, their tips resting on the table, swaying gently with its breaths.
The head in the center was a dragon's.
It was larger than the other two heads combined.
Dark gold scales covered it from its forehead to the back of its neck. Each scale was the size of a palm and etched with complex runic patterns.
Dragon horns swept upward from the sides of its forehead, dark brown with spiral ridges winding up their length.
Its vertical-slit eyes were dark gold, with two spots of pale gold light burning slowly deep within.
All three heads lifted simultaneously, six eyes locking onto the insect and the human.
The Energy-Eating Insect took flight from the top of Ethan's head, its six wings vibrating at high speed as it flew toward the stone table.
“Hey, old three-headed geezer, long time no see!”
The serpent head among the three was the first to speak.
Its voice was clear and delicate, but with a heavily drawn-out drawl. “You dead bug, you still dare show your face here?”
The flood dragon head spoke next, its voice deep and resonant, carrying a damp, misty quality. “You still haven't paid off the debt you owe from last time.”
The dragon head spoke last, its voice majestic and steady, each word vibrating the air. “You miserable cur, pay up.”
Before the words could fully fade, the necks of all three heads elongated simultaneously.
The serpent head's neck stretched into a dark green blur, sweeping around from the left to coil around the Energy-Eating Insect's left wing.
The flood dragon head's neck flanked from the right, binding the Energy-Eating Insect's right wing.
The dragon head's neck pressed down from directly above, snapping its jaws shut around the Energy-Eating Insect's head.
The three necks were like the tentacles of living beasts, pinning the Energy-Eating Insect firmly in midair.
The serpent's scales scraped against the insect's carapace, making a soft rustling sound.
The flood dragon's barbels wrapped around the insect's back legs, squeezing so hard that its carapace groaned under the strain.
The dragon's teeth clamped down on the insect's head, and with a slight squeeze of its jaws, the Energy-Eating Insect's compound eyes bulged out.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” The Energy-Eating Insect flailed its six legs in the air, its wings vibrating frantically as the silver runes on its carapace flashed wildly. “Take it easy, you old geezer! I brought you business this time! Business!”
The dragon head released its grip.
“Business?”
The serpent and flood dragon heads also uncoiled. All three heads retracted simultaneously, returning to their positions directly above the torso.
Six eyes stared at the released Energy-Eating Insect, which was now hovering in midair, panting.
The Energy-Eating Insect stretched its aching joints, waving its six legs in the air.
It flew back to the top of Ethan's head, nesting in his hair with only half its body poking out.
“Yes, business. This kid wants you to craft a Wizardry Tool, and he brought the primary material.” The Energy-Eating Insect tapped Ethan's forehead with a foreleg. “The heartwood of a World Tree. Well? Is that prestigious enough for you?”
Six eyes across three heads turned toward Ethan simultaneously.
Ethan felt the weight of those six gazes falling upon him.
The serpent head's gaze was cold and calculating, as if examining an interesting specimen.
The flood dragon head's gaze was somewhat gentler, but it carried the same scrutinizing intent.
The dragon head's gaze was the heaviest, causing his shoulders to sink slightly under the pressure.
The dragon head spoke.
“A Third-Tier Apprentice? Which academy is he from? I've never seen him.”
His gaze swept over Ethan, from head to toe, and then back to his head.
He knew every single apprentice of the Jade Shadow Forest Academy by name, and the youth in front of him was clearly not one of them.
“Ethan Leo, from the Blood Bone Tower Academy,” Ethan said, bowing respectfully. “Greetings, my Lord.”
“Blood Bone Tower?” Surprise crept into the flood dragon head's voice. “You dead bug, you came all the way back just to bring a little apprentice from the Blood Bone Tower?”
The Energy-Eating Insect's voice drifted down from Ethan's head, pitched high. “Why do you care so much? I brought him here to have a Wizardry Tool made. Are you doing it or not?”
The serpent head tilted, its vertical pupils lingering on Ethan.
“Just you?”
The words were spoken lightly, the final syllable drawn out, its vertical pupils filled with undisguised skepticism.
The vibration frequency of the Energy-Eating Insect's wings suddenly spiked.
It took flight from Ethan's head, hovering in midair with its six legs flailing as the silver runes on its carapace lit up completely.
“Looking down on me?” Its voice was piercingly sharp. The insect spun around in midair, pointing a foreleg at Ethan. “Hmph! Kid, open this old geezer's eyes!”
Seeing all eyes turn toward him, Ethan quickly retrieved the heartwood.
The moment the arm-thick heartwood appeared in his hand, the air in the entire hall trembled slightly.
A pale teal light surged from within the heartwood, the fine points of light flowing slowly along the wood fibers, stirring faint ripples of energy in the air.
The serpent head's vertical pupils contracted sharply.
The flood dragon head's barbels stopped swaying.
The two spots of pale gold light deep within the dragon head's dark gold pupils flared brightly.
All three heads leaned forward simultaneously, six eyes locking onto the heartwood in Ethan's hand.
The hall fell dead silent for three whole seconds.
Then, all three heads spoke at once.
“The heartwood of a World Tree?!”
The three voices overlapped—the serpent's sharpness, the flood dragon's depth, and the dragon's majesty blending together, shaking the hall so much that the points of light on the vaulted ceiling trembled.
The Energy-Eating Insect did a flip in midair, its six wings buzzing loudly.
“Hahaha! Well? I told you it was business! Big business!” It flew right in front of the serpent head, poking the tip of its snout with a foreleg. “Who was the one who just said 'just you'? Huh? Who said it?”
The serpent head recoiled half an inch. “Where did a bug drowned in debt like you manage to find material of this caliber?”
“Who cares where I got it!” The Energy-Eating Insect flew over to the flood dragon head, crossing its two forelegs. “Old geezer, haven't you been crafting Wizardry Tools for hundreds of years? Didn't you claim you've seen every good thing out there? Have you ever seen the heartwood of a World Tree before?”
The flood dragon's barbels curled slightly. “N-No.”
The Energy-Eating Insect's compound eyes bulged even wider. It flew right up to the dragon head, waving its six legs in front of its nose. “Well? Are you taking this job or not? Are you taking it?”
The flood dragon and serpent heads turned to look at the dragon head simultaneously.
The dragon head remained silent for a few seconds before raising its right hand.
Its human-like palm opened toward Ethan, fingers curling slightly.
“Let me see it.”
Ethan handed over the heartwood.
The dragon head took the heartwood, bringing its dark gold vertical pupils close to inspect it.
Its other hand slipped out of its robe sleeve, a pale gold rune manifesting at its fingertips.
The rune hovered half an inch above the surface of the heartwood, spinning slowly. With every rotation, it sent a faint ripple of gold through the air.
“At least two hundred thousand years old. The integrity of its preserved origin exceeds ninety percent. Its wood-element affinity...” The dragon head paused, its vertical pupils narrowing slightly. “...is near perfect.”
The flood dragon head leaned in, its deep blue barbels brushing gently across the surface of the heartwood.
“The internal fiber structure is undamaged. The growth rings are clear, and the energy residue in each ring is remarkably uniform. When this tree was alive, it must have steadily absorbed the world origin year after year.”
The serpent head also crowded closer, its forked tongue flicking rapidly in the air.
“To produce heartwood of this quality means it has accumulated and held onto its origin power for at least thirty thousand years without using it.”
All three heads looked up simultaneously, their six eyes locking onto Ethan once more.
This time, their gazes were completely different from before.
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