Gaia arrived in the main cavern with her spriggans and found the Elder kicking Rul in the face.

"Bastard! You take Alui from her! You need to die!" Elder was doing minor damage, but Rul could not feel the pain.

"What is this? Where is Melody?" Gaia demanded to know.

Elder turned in surprise. "Spriggan?! You friend of Melody?"

"I am her mother. Where is she?!" Gaia demanded in a fury, her magic beginning to crackle around her.

"I'm here." Melody came out of the tunnel, carrying Alui's body, followed by Maple and three scared giant females.

"Melody." Gaia moved over to her as Melody laid her mother out on the floor.

"I was too late. Mother Gaia. He killed her." Tears were streaming down her face. Her shoulders trembled.

"She is smiling?" One of the spriggans observed Alui's expression.

"I don't know why. Why would she be happy?" Melody asked, grief-stricken.

That was when Rul spoke up, barely keeping conscious. "Alui defy Rul. Rul have fun. Rul kill. Alui happy have R-."

One of Gaia's vines unraveled, extended, rocketing out like a bullet, and pierced his chest.

"Gwuh! Gah. Ah! AHH! AHHHH!" Roots sprouted from his body and began to dig into the ground.

"Monster! You dare not speak more! I condemn you to a fate worse than death. The Nightmare Elm shall be your eternal prison, sustenance, and suffering as it keeps you alive while feasting on your nightmares! A monster like you deserves to suffer!" Gaia angrily spoke.

The tree continued to grow, raising Rul up the wall as it grew. They all watched as the tree imprisoned his body within itself.

The tree finished developing. Below Rul's neck was within the tree while his head had a wicked-looking face biting down into his skull. Rul began mumbling to himself, his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Mother Gaia, what did you do?" Melody asked, stunned by the sight before them.

"I implanted him with a special seed. One I can only get every hundred years. The Nightmare Elm. It is an ultimate punishment I can give out, one that I never thought I would use. But seeing your suffering, I could not think of a better way to punish that monster." Gaia said.

"Thank you, mother." Melody stood and hugged Gaia.

"What do you plan to do now, Melody?" Maple asked.

"Mother Gaia, could you take in these giants?" Melody asked.

"Of course," Gaia replied.

"Elder, you and the other females will come with us. I will take you to Gaia's grove, where you will be able to live peacefully. You will be safe and welcome there."

"Understood, Melody." Elder and the three females nodded.

Melody could tell that the three younger females were still unsure, but Melody did not feel like trying to convince at the moment.

Gaia had her spriggans restore Alui's body to a pristine state like she had passed in her sleep.

"Alui… No… Meldy… No…" They heard Rul's mumbling in fear.

"What is his nightmare about?" Melody was curious.

"We can see if you wish to." Gaia offered, and Melody accepted, as it might allow her to see the reason for her mother's smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rul stood before Alui, as she was strapped down to the stone table.

"You break promise! You not give son yet!" Rul cried out.

Alui looked at him as if he were dirt. "Yes. I break promise. I give birth to greatest giant already."

"Meldy girl! Girl weak!" Rul angrily cried.

"No. Melody is strong. Stronger than Alui. Stronger than Rul. Melody escape this hell. Melody happy. Melody free from weak Rul!" Alui smiled in defiance.

Rul punched her in the gut, but she merely laughed at him.

"Hahahaha! Rul weak! No hurt Alui no more! Alui bear no son for Rul! Alui free!" Alui broke her bonds and stood before him.

"No! You break rules! You belong to Rul!" He took a step back from Alui as she seemed to become bigger than him.

"Alui free." With her defiant smile, she turned and walked away from him.

"No! You mine!" Just as he lunged at her, a red enshrouded giant appeared, knocking him back.

"Gwah! Who-… Meldy." Melody stood before Rul, a bloody hatchet in hand.

Rul tried to fight Melody, but she broke his arm with a single punch. He screams in pain, but Melody does not relent. Using her hatchet, she destroys his legs, then his arms, and proceeds to relentlessly beat him.

"NO! RUL STRONGEST!" Rul cried through blood and screams of pain.

"No. Rul weakest." Gaia appeared and pierced his gut with her vine.

He felt pain rush through his body until he suddenly was standing before Alui strapped to the table once more.

"You break promise! You not give son yet!" The sequence continued in an infinite loop and prison.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melody opened her eyes and looked at her mother's body, a peaceful smile on her face.

"She defied him. She mocked him. Heh, sniff, she decided to no longer give in and told him how pathetic he was, how weak he was… Mom…" She kneeled down next to Alui's body.

"Let's get you out of this cold place. I will find you a fine, warm place to rest in peace." Melody picked up her mother.

"Melody. Why not bury her in the grove? The land is always warm, and she will not be desecrated by any monsters or animals." Gaia offered. Melody thanked her mother, and the whole group began their long trek back to the grove, leaving Rul to his fate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside the Adventurer's Guild, the guild master slammed his fist onto his desk, cracking it.

"What do you mean you refused to say anything?!" He yelled at a group of adventurers.

"I'm sorry, guild master, but if you saw what it looked like, you would've stayed silent too!" The party leader said.

"Not to mention that huge, unique spriggan… the look in her eyes was saying 'Don't you dare do a thing, or your life is forfeit.'" Another adventurer commented.

"That unique one, I wonder if she was, like, the queen of spriggans or something?" A woman commented.

"You're right. She had quite the regal look." Another commented.

"Enough! So you were scared of this, spriggan queen?" The guild master asked, his head beginning to hurt over losing the greatest chance to make contact with Melody.

"Not just that. Guild master, it looked like a funeral procession." The party leader said.

"What do you mean?" The guild master calmed at the mention of what they saw.

"The one that matches the description of Melody, she was carrying another female giant in her arms. The two of them looked similar to each other. Tan skin with crimson hair. Maybe the one Melody was carrying was her sister? Mother maybe? The whole thing had a very solemn atmosphere. Melody looked like she was trying to be strong, holding back her tears." The party leader described.

The guild master sat down in his chair. "Very well. I… I believe you. Sorry for my reaction. Any other details?" Beginning to lament how he had been seeing Melody as only an asset instead of person.

The party leader explained that they saw a large pixie, a few spriggans, and a few female giants along with the procession.

"I see. Thank you. Here is a small gold as a reward. Be on your way." The guild master dismissed the group just as Gerald and his party burst into the room.

"Guild master! You are not going to believe this!"

The guild master sighed. "If it is about Melody's funeral procession, I just heard about it."

"What? This is not about that. It is about that giant den that has been causing problems! It was wiped out!"

"What?" The guild master was stunned.

"Yeah. The whole thing, all dead. No females in sight, just several dead males, along with one that got a terrible fate." Gerald explained.

"What do you mean?"

"Reinhart appraised the creepy thing. It was a Nightmare Elm, a rare type of evil tree that feeds on pain of its prisoner. Not to mention this thing, Jak." One of Gerald's team came forward and set down a massive stone hatchet head.

"This was buried in the skull of one of the giants."

The guild master quickly linked the two stories together.

"Melody wiped out the giant clan. Their group saw them," The guild master motioned at the other group in the room, "Melody was carrying a dead giant while four other females followed along. I am just guessing, but I think Melody wiped out the males to save the females. I remember Gona telling me about how the males treat their females." He sighed.

"This was big. To think we could have had such a powerful ally if we only were able to get in contact with her. Or if that jackass of a noble didn't drive her off…." The guild master paused and tapped his desk, "Hey, how would guys like to earn some good coin on the down-low?" The guild master asked with a wicked grin.

Over the course of a week, a certain noble was driven back into hiding by masked harassers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was setting when they arrived at the grove.

"This place pretty." One of the female giants commented.

"Smells so nice." Another said.

The last one began to cry. Elder tended to the three giants as Melody carried her mother to the center of the training ground.

She laid her mother down and began digging with her bare hands.

"Melody? Are you not going to use your skill?" Maple asked, worried for her friend.

Melody gave her a sad smile. "I want to do it this way, Maple. Will you help me?"

Maple nodded and helped dig the ground. Gaia, Bell, Pappy, Max, Rini, Poppy, the female giants, and Elder joined in helping.

Over an hour later, the grave was dug. Melody laid her mother down within.

"Goodnight, mom. Sleep well and have pleasant dreams. I will fulfill the dream you wanted. I will live free and strong. This place is always warm. Thank you, mom, for giving birth to me. Raising me, teaching me, freeing me… Now rest well, for you are now free as well." Melody kissed her mother's forehead.

They returned the dirt to its place, laying Alui, Melody's mother, to rest in the grove's warm embrace. The spriggans and Gaia began singing through nature, a song of mourning. Melody joined in the singing while on her knees, flowing her magic into the ground. Flowers, trees, and plants grew, creating a beautiful garden around Alui's grave. Melody stood and joined Gaia, singing into the night.

Melody awoke in the morning, her eyes dry and puffy, next to Gaia in the Daughter of Lyuten's home.

"How are you feeling, Melody?" Gaia asked, hugging her daughter.

"I am still sad, but I feel better. Knowing mom's soul will rest here peacefully, I am happy. Thank you mother Gaia."

Gaia lovingly stroked Melody's head. "I am more than happy to do this. You will always have a place here, Melody."

So warm. Melody teared up a bit but had a smile on her face.

They eventually got up and headed outside. They went in different directions as Gaia had a few duties to take care of. Walking about, Melody found the brownies and giants working together to make a home for the four new giants. Elder was sitting with some young brownies and a few pixies.

"Elder," Melody called out.

"Oh, Melody. I was just watching young ones. The girls are helping."

"That is fine. I will go assist as well… Ah! My hatchet!" Melody's memory of what happened when she was under the influence of Wrath was vague. Still, she could remember small bits of it. One such part was when her hatchet broke.

Before she could say anything else, there was a loud crashing sound of magic by the entrance of the grove. Pulling her knife, she ran as quickly as possible toward the sounds of battle.

"Solar Crash!" Gaia fired off a powerful light spell toward a man clad in black. His long red hair wiped about in the force of the attack. The man had a bemused smile on his face as the attack seemingly dissipated without even scuffing the man's armor. Melody watched as each and every spell from Gaia and the spriggans dissipated well before reaching the man. The man stood confidently with a smirk on his face.

"I'll help mother!" Melody began charging toward the man.

"Melody! Wait!" Gaia cried and created a wooden wall between the two.

"W-What? Mother? Isn't this an attack?" Melody screeched to a halt.

Gaia sighed heavily. "Sorry, Melody. I guess I should have mentioned him to you before starting this. This is-."

"Allow me, Gaia." The man stepped forward as Gaia receded the wooden wall.

"Greetings to you. My name is Lord Alexander Tulsen, and I am a master of magic, archeologist, researcher, inventor, and wanderer. I came here to trade for a large amount of healing herbs. Gaia asked if she could test some attack spells to better their coordination against powerful foes. Apologies for the misunderstanding." Lord Tulsen explained with a bow.

"Oh, um, nice to meet you, Lord Tulsen. Sorry about trying to attack you." Melody was feeling a bit awkward, speaking to the first human in a long time.

Lord Tulsen laughed. "It is fine. Nothing would have happened either way."

"I doubt that. You are notorious for erasing beings for less." Gaia commented, slightly annoyed.

"Come now, Gaia, I would not do such a thing to your daughter." Lord Tulsen countered.

A human… It has been a while since I spoke to one. He seems nice, though. I wonder how strong he is…

"Don't you do it, Melody." Gaia lectured Melody.

"W-What? I wasn't -."

"You were going to use Identify on him." Gaia curtly cut Melody off.

"Gah! I'm sorry!" Melody apologized.

Lord Tulsen laughed. "It is fine. Go ahead and try." He said, smirking.

Well, he gave permission. Identify!

Human?: Name: Alexander Tulsen. Age: ??? Level: ??? Danger Level: SKULL, SKULL, SKULL.

No additional information is available.

Melody felt her blood run cold, and she began sweating. What? What the heck is this guy?! I have never seen anything like this before! What is up with that danger level?! Even his race is in question?! Ah!

"You used magic to skew your information!" Melody cried out.

Lord Tulsen laughed but didn't answer her statement.

"Anyway, Gaia, since you already have a good name. Is there anything else I could do in exchange for the healing herbs?" Lord Tulsen asked the Daughter of Lyuten.

Gaia thought for a moment before looking toward Melody, who was playing with her knife.

"Ah, there is something. My daughter lost her hatchet in an unfortunate battle. Would you be able to get her a quality one?" Gaia asked, which Melody was surprised.

"Hmm? A hatchet? Sure, I can do that. I have an acquaintance that is quite the craftsman. Let's see. Earth Form." He cast a spell that caused the dirt to shift upward, form into a basic-looking hatchet that would fit Melody's size, and it hardened solid. Grabbing the hatchet shaft, he snapped it off the ground and handed it over with ease.

"Here, try this on for size 'little' miss." He said with a smirk, handing it over to her.

She took it in her hands and tried swinging it a few times.

"Mm. This has a good feel to it. Um, I'm sorry to ask Lord Tulsen, I am just curious, why do you need so many healing herbs?" She asked as a group of spriggans finished stacking several large bags.

"I don't mind answering." He said, sighing in frustration while scratching the back of his head.

"In a city far from here, some idiot let his pet Red Lion run wild. A lot of people got hurt because of it. Luckily an associate of mine could take it down, but a few hundred people suffered some pretty bad injuries. I came here hoping to get a lot of herbs in exchange for naming the grove mother with a guaranteed evolution, but you already took care of that. Anyway, I will take this and be off. It may be some time before I return, but I will come back with a quality hatchet for you. Anyway, thanks, Gaia. See you soon!" With his final words, Lord Tulsen vanished along with the bags of healing herbs.

"He was quite the... character." Melody commented, a bit annoyed Tulsen somehow hid his information.

"Melody, what did you see for his status?" Gaia asked.

Melody shivered. "There was hardly any information on him. Only his Name and Danger Level were clear. I have never seen anything with a danger level that was just three skulls. I also felt... like I sensed only a tiny sliver of how powerful he is. He is insanely powerful. I have never felt something like that before." Melody began shivering, her legs weakening. Gaia helped keep her standing.

"It is okay, Melody. He would be dangerous as an enemy, but he is an ally."

Melody calmed down a bit. "How can you be sure?"

"He told me a long time ago. The things he hates most; people in power who abuse their position, hurting those they should be protecting and serving, and I think the other was something about extremists? I cannot fully remember. But Melody, you are a good person, with a good heart. I am sure if you asked him for help, he would lend his aid." Melody took solace in Gaia's words.

If Gaia says so, I guess I don't need to be scared of him, maybe…

The two of them returned to the area where the home for the giants was being made.

"Oh! Melody!" Maple flew over to her.

"Hey, they need your help. Could you use Stampede?" She asked.

"Alright! I need to get my mind off something, so this will be helpful!"

After showing Melody where they needed her to demo, Melody lined herself up.

"Here I go! Stampede!" Charging forward, Melody broke through the outer wall, skidded to a stop inside, turned back, and used Stampede once more, expanding the hole. Melody came to a halt and looked back at the opening. The brownies and pixies cheered in amazement.

"Are you alright, Melody?!" Gaia asked, looking her over for wounds or scratches.

"I'm fine. The skill increases by defense along with my attack damage. I used it before and was completely unharmed." Melody explained though it did not stop Gaia from fussing her over anyway.

Once Melody was free of Gaia's doting, she used her knife to shave the edges smooth. Melody and her friends stayed in the grove for several days to help get the giants situated. Melody also gave them official names.

The eldest, one with long blonde hair, she named Becky.

The middle one, who had short brown hair, Lizbeth.

Then the youngest, Allie.

Melody also learned that Elder did not have a proper name either.

"And here I always thought your name was literally Elder." Melody snorted.

"Do not play with me, Melody." Elder frowned.

"Okay then… Yup, I have enough magic to do one last name. Then, Elva." Melody's magic was consumed, and tears formed in Elder Elva's eyes.

"Melody. Thank you." She fell to her knees, finally feeling like she was free from the oppression of the male giants.

"Thank you, Melody, thank you, thank you..." Melody knelt down and hugged Elva with a warm smile on her face.

Another day later, Melody woke up, feeling a cold chill running down her spine. "Brr." She shivered.

"You're awake, Melody. Pappy brought some breakfast over for you." Gaia said.

Melody mentioned the strange cold chill she felt.

"Ah, that feeling is telling you that winter is upon us. From what I felt this morning, I believe that this will be a long winter." Gaia placed a fruit drink down for Melody as they sat down.

"How long do you think?" Melody asked.

"Hmm, I believe around eight months. This will be the longest in two hundred years." Gaia said.

"What was the longest?"

"I believe father said that when he was young, there was a winter that lasted six years straight."

"Wow. That is a really long winter…." Melody finished her breakfast, and she headed out to gather her friends. They got together near the entrance to head back home.

"Please take care. Melody." Elva said. Elva had skipped an evolution into a Shaman Giant. She also looked like she reversed in age, now looking like a middle-aged woman. Her hair was now a bright blond with a few gray streaks here and there.

"You look good, Elva."

Elva laughed, thanking Melody.

The three female giants also evolved, but they became High Giants. They also thanked Melody and asked her to visit often during the winter. While they were talking, Gaia asked Melody to check her full status before leaving.

High Giant (Daughter of Gaia) (Evolution Available): Name: Melody. Age: 15. Level: 65*. Danger Level: Extremely High.

A High Giant, an evolved form of a giant. High giants age at a slower rate than giants increasing their life span. High giants also grow larger than normal giants. This giant is highly intelligent. Expertise in survival, hunting, trapping, stealth, and archery. Can use high-level nature magic. Has received the blessing of a Daughter of Lyuten (Gaia), gives a large boost to magic and nature abilities.

Health: 6810. Stamina: 8310. Magic: 16150. Strength: 840. Endurance: 760. Dexterity: 650. Intelligence: 450. Wisdom: 630. Charisma: 480.

Skills: Abnormal Condition Immunity (10). Physical Boost (10). Nature Magic (10). Magic Boost (10). Stealth (10). Wrath (*). Survival (10). Identify (10). Magic Manipulation (9). Construction (8). Archery (8). Dismantle (7). Cooking (7). Consume (7). Forester (7). Stampede (7). House Work (6). Tracking (5). Dig (5). Magic Sense (5). Acrobatics (5). Terror Howl (5). Animal Handling (3). Taming (2). Shadow Pounce (1).

Huh? Melody did a double-take on a specific line of her status.

High Giant (Daughter of Gaia) (Evolution Available)

"I have my evolution available!" Melody cried out in surprise.

Gaia and the others congratulated Melody.

Now I'll be able to extend my life even more! Melody had a big event to look forward to when they got home.

Definitely going with Huntress. I may have wished to be big and strong, but I don't want to be THAT big and strong.

They finished saying their goodbyes, and they began their trek home.

The future is looking great. I hope Nova was able to get my friends over here. I hope I'll be able to see them again.

Melody headed home, the warmth of her friends with her, happy and free.