Aleph stares at the wall of glistening white obstructing her path, tendrils interwoven into a dense nest to stay their progression. "Isn't this the thing that almost killed us?" "Almost killed you. I could've handled it alone." "It's cuter than I remembered." "Your standards of cuteness are beginning to worry me..." Aether pushes at the wall, mapping out the thick web of white with interspersed patches of blue moss, tugging at the tangled mess as it pushes back. "It's not letting me through. Should I just kill it?" "Have some decency! You almost died by its... vine thingies... At least pretend to have some lingering fear! A shred of respect for a former danger!" "Why?" "Don't ask me, that's just how it works. You're supposed to be all reverent and fearful towards things that almost killed you when you were younger."

  Shaking her head, Aleph stomps forward, earth saturating in violet as she prepares to tear her way through. "I ask that you refrain." She pauses, violet halting its growth in intensity as she turns to face the monkey resting upon her back. "To my kin these beings are something of a sacred presence. They protect our home from the dangers above and punish those foolish enough to stray too far. It would disturb the natural order of things to simply slay it." Aleph ponders for a moment, the violet hue taming its grasp. That's fair. I shouldn't be going around destroying ecosystems for my own convenience anyway. "I'll take the slow approach then."

  It doesn't have much Mana protecting it, so I can just grip it directly. Aether shifts its intent, gripping the tendrils and steadily unwinding them with tedious precision. As the wall thins, parts tugged out of the way by energy in defiance to their resistance, more simply plant themselves on top to enhance the obstruction. Vine after tendril after tentacle after vine, an endless stream of white slithering in the way to prevent further progression, pressing tightly against the stubborn sphere of Aether in a futile attempt to crush the intruder. This thing really doesn't want us here... This is going to take a while...

  Through the eyes of an environmentalist

  "Say, Muscles?" Gol Dhee turns his gaze from the mass of vines to meet that of the warrior of green, green eyes curved toward him in intrigue. "What do your people call this creature?" "We simply describe it for what it is. White vines, those which barricade passage to the above. Some even believe it to be an extension to the almighty light. I believe it to simply be a plant." "Well, it's not actually a plant, just a lookalike." He begins with this once more. I believe the term for this is showoff. "It's a distant descendent of sea serpents, making it closer to that of a fish than-" "Fascinating. Do not elaborate." "..." A blank stare is met by a mischievous grin, Gol Dhee restraining the impulse to laugh at the dissatisfied fool.

  "Huhuhu, you should tame your words. One could lose their lifespan listening to your ceaseless ramblings." Gol Dhee chides, the insult dulled by his childish smirk. "Hah!" The warrior bellows, vines seeming to flinch at the volume. "What ever happened to that tiny furball I folded into place all those years ago? You were so much more polite back then. What could have changed?" "We met." "Gahaha! Never meet your heroes, they say. Couldn't be more true!"

  Through the eyes of an artist

  "Lyla!" Diala whispers to no response, shuffling towards the spider atop Aleph's back. "Lyla!" She whispers louder, or rather, brighter. Lyla turns a minute fraction to the side, just enough for one eye to vaguely catch the demon in her periphery, the faintest acknowledgement of existence one could permit. "Look!" The stubborn arachnid relents, turning to observe the crudely shaped stone carving of a squid held lovingly within her hands. "It's a rock." "It's you!" It... What? Cyan eyes double take, darting between the carving, of her apparently, and the demon in a mix of confusion and disbelief. "I don't have ten legs." Diala squints, counting the legs just to make sure. "Do those two in front not count?" "My pedipalps? Those aren't legs, and I'd never stand on them like that. It's just unsanitary." "Oh... You still want it?" "Sure, whatever..."

  Jubilantly handing off the carving she hops away to find another stone within the shifting dome of tendrils. I'm getting better at this! Who knew such a simple hobby could be so fun. Mom will be so proud when she finds out! Picking up a random rock of a semi-reasonable size from the ground, she skips back atop the dragon to resume her craft-work. Who should I do next? Maybe Nila? With a precise strike, she chips at the rock, expertly prying away a piece and accidentally breaking the entire thing in half. Shit.

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  Through the eyes of a strategist

  I can get rid of potential casualties just fine if I prepare something in advance, but I need some way of getting enough Mana for it. The only bodies I can sneak in are practically devoid, by design for being able to sneak into such places without idiot feline dickwads finding them. I can prepare something in advance and just warp one of my stronger bodies in, but it's too wide of an area to cover with just one. I'd need at least five, preferably more, but I simply don't have enough. Hmmm... "Hey dragon." "Hmm?" "What's the easiest way you know of sneaking a tonne of Mana into a place?" "Sneak it in? If you had a Mana-based pure heart you could just generate what you need on the spot." That thing again... It sounds important, maybe it could help?

  "How does one acquire this 'pure heart'? Good deeds?" "No, um... Maybe? It's pure as in having a link with pure energies, not relating to any concept of moral purity. You get one by forming it around your soul, something I can't really help you with. I don't think anyone really understands the mechanism behind how soul hearts are formed." That complicates things... So I can't just training arc my way into an epic new power then. "Can a pure heart be borrowed? Stolen?" "Not by any method I know of. Souls are more conceptual, you can't really break or steal them like a normal object. You shouldn't need to worry about that anyway, you're already forming one."

  "Huh?" "Hm?" "What?" "You're forming a soul heart." "Ew..." "Why ew?" "I didn't consent to having my soul touched by some nebulous concept." "By definition you did. It's being formed by your will, after all." "Still gross." "If you insist." So I'm naturally just strong then? Fuehehe, as expected of me! Hmm... I feel like I've read something similar to this... Something related to well-known people going missing? Strange...

  Through the eyes of a fascinated elf

  Fluffy runs his palm along the rubbery surface of one of the pale tendrils, the gentle thrum of life pulsing through beneath the skin. I've read entire theses that would pale in comparison to one about this creature. Such a complex, almost alien animal... does it even have the same organs one would expect? I feel a pulse, so it must have some form of heart, yet to pump blood through such an enormous body without tearing apart its soft flesh under the pressure would be impossible for a single organ. I suppose Mana could be involved, though it's surprising how often it isn't with creatures such as this. Perhaps I should simply stay here and study this creature?

  The lithe appendages writhe, struggling against the force prying them away. Ah, right. I should go back to Master first, tell them I succeeded. Then I can return and study the creatures here again. One tendril wraps around his fingers, a gesture of curiosity as it matches his inspection with its own. Do each of its limbs have the capacity to think independently? Something similar to that of octopi? I suppose that would be quite the evolutionary leap... Oh, I forgot! There is that thing... the quest? What did the Progenitor ask us to do again? I suppose it will come back to me if it's important.

  Through the eyes of an irritated dragon

  This is just getting ridiculous... Aleph peers through the wall at the ever-growing pile of vines, a convolved nest of entangled threads which refuses to cease its expansion. The increasing complexity proves to make the process of unwinding it more and more difficult, pieces moving in to replace those pulled away and slowing their steady gait to a trudge. "Are you sure I can't just kill it?" "I would prefer not." "Such a creature is surely too fascinating to kill!" "Um... Animal cruelty?" These guys are so stubborn about this... "I say we just blast our way through. This brainless clump of soggy noodles clearly wants a piece of us, so let's give it one." At least someone is on my side.

  "The longer this goes on the harder it'll be to keep moving without hurting it, and I'm not digging my way around it. Who knows how big it is..." "My preference is only that it not be killed. Should it be injured by its own stubborn interference, I would bear no qualms." "But you see-" "The vote's been tipped. Get on, we're using brute force." Fluffy reluctantly complies, prying himself away from the tentacle wall with a solemn wave of his hand as he positions himself upon Aleph's back. I should be able to just tear through directly. I doesn't have enough Mana to defend. Aether twists its grip, turning hostile to shred a tunnel through the mass above them, legs shattering the stone below as she launches through the scattered pieces of vine and splatters of goop.

  A wave of tendrils pierce through the debris, whistling against the air as they whip towards the aggressor, only to be pulled to a complete stop by a wall of violet force gripping them in place. With a heavy slam she crashes into the ceiling, a radial explosion of green goop splattering to the ground as she pulses the stone into dust once more, digging and clambering her way up to leave the amalgam behind. That was easy. Should've just done that from the beginning.