# Unclassified Anomaly, Outer God - (14)
Looking at the shattered Earth, I felt empty.
Honestly, isn't this planet too fragile? First it faces extinction from a single tree, and now it shatters into pieces from the slightest touch.
Of course, my recent inability to control my power is partly to blame. But to think it would break so easily... This is why I've been reluctant to use my power carelessly.
The Foundation's method of turning back time isn't an automatic regression when the world faces destruction. Rather, when they determine a future threat cannot be prevented—only then do they trigger something to activate it.
But now—I couldn't sense any trace of life on the shattered Earth. Literally, everything ended before there was even time to turn back the clock.
[Sigh...]
They'll probably turn back time and save everyone again anyway.
I certainly don't want this to keep happening. It makes the value of life seem trivial. Die and be revived, face extinction and turn back time to restore everything...
This won't do. I need to have another deity kill that tree. I should rewind to when I was talking with the leadership at Foundation HQ.
—To the past.
The time of an entire planet, no, a galaxy, rewinds. The shattered Earth reassembles in reverse. Dead lifeforms come back to life. Destroyed landscapes reform backwards...
After a moment, the Grimoire was back at Foundation HQ.
Seeing the Foundation leadership briefing about the tree, it seems I've rewound correctly. From this point, I can tell them about future events and solve the problem.
But then.
"The anomaly 'Tree' first appeared several hours later, devastating our Site-84 and—huh?!"
"Mmm!"
"Th-this is!"
One person falls over in place. Another frantically feels their body with a puzzled expression.
What's this? Judging by their reactions, they seem to retain memories from the previous timeline? To preserve memories while reversing time's flow.
Since there's no commotion outside, this ability must be limited to the leadership present here.
I'm increasingly curious about the Foundation's method of turning back time and the secrets they're hiding. For now, I'll postpone interrogating them for later enjoyment.
"Did time rewind?"
"But 'Zero's' activation failed! I died before I could activate it..."
"What?!"
"God... was it you who turned back time?"
[Yes, I did. The Earth was destroyed, you know.]
Hmm? I notice the mortals wearing extremely distressed expressions.
I turned back time for them, so why those faces? They look even more serious than before.
"...Are you saying that even you couldn't prevent the destruction?"
"My last memory was of the entire Earth shattering to pieces. To think 'Tree' had such power..."
"I too remember the planet being crushed in a single blow as my final memory from the previous cycle..."
Ah, they're mistaking my destruction of Earth for the tree's doing.
I should correct this misunderstanding.
[Oh. That wasn't the tree's doing. Actually, I did it.]
"What? What do you mean?"
[It attacked first, so I counterattacked slightly, but the planet shattered.]
"......"
Now they should feel relieved, right?
* * *
Ignoring the mortals who looked even paler than before—seemingly thinking "Have we driven out wolves only to invite tigers?"—I told them my plan.
[Ahem. Let's move past my minor mistake. It seems I can't precisely deal with just the tree on this planet.]
"Do you have any method in mind?"
[There's a tree that rules galaxies in the dimension where my main body resides. Since they seem to be similar species, I plan to use that one.]
"......"
[Everyone can relax and go about your business. I'll show you how it withers and dies as soon as it appears.]
I turned my gaze away from the dumbfounded mortals who had lost their words.
More precisely, I shifted my focus from the Grimoire in that dimension back to this one.
The dimension where my main body exists and the dimension where anomalies run rampant have different time flows.
Even if only minutes pass here, much more time flows in the Foundation's dimension.
Though it seems I've spent quite a long time with the Foundation, hardly any time has passed in this dimension.
"Ah, Lord. Thank you for protecting the entire universe today. The quiet and majestic asteroid belt..."
"Main God, the movement of constellations has been concerning lately. The deities who have come from afar seem displeased..."
"Main God, thank you for ensuring my brother's safe return from the Outer Space Exploration Team."
The mortals praying in the Earth Federation seem to be doing well.
I can also see Maria, who has been serving as the Pope of the Main God Religion for an incredibly long time.
I'll check on the Avatars of the Intergalactic Empire Federation later. For now, I should call Yggdrasil.
Yggdrasil, the galaxy tree—not god—existing beside Nyseria.
But it seems to be muttering something? Perhaps it's interfering with another dimension?
[Ahem... Yes, I am the great tree grown in the grand universe...]
[Yggdrasil.]
[...Gasp! Urk! Great soil of the universe?!]
Yggdrasil startles dramatically. Looks like I caught it in an embarrassing hobby.
It seems to be playing with mortals, but I have no interest in your personal hobbies.
After all, I created the interdimensional interference system using the Grimoire.
[I need your power for a moment.]
[Command me anything. Though I'm not sure how my meager strength can help one as great as you...]
[Well, I want to interfere with another dimension, but I can't control my power well. Someone like you should be able to perform more delicate work.]
I originally planned to ask Atlach-Nacha, but since higher beings face greater restrictions in the Foundation's dimension, I can't expect much help.
Perhaps if this dimension's Yggdrasil exerts power there, it won't face restrictions?
Even if there are restrictions, I can help overcome them.
[The task is to kill a tree that grows while withering everything on a planet—something that appears to be a planetary god.]
[Yes, I understand. Should I ensure no harm comes to the small beings on that planet?]
[That's right.]
Yggdrasil readily agrees.
At times like this, I'm glad I received bonsai seeds from Nut's dimension.
It seems like just yesterday when I brought the World Tree seed buried on the planet.
Now it has grown from dust-sized to helping me with my work, which is quite moving.
* * *
After securing Yggdrasil's cooperation, I shifted my gaze again.
In Atlach-Nacha's dimension, time had passed and the planet's destruction was imminent.
With the consciousness I left behind, I moved the Grimoire to the site where Abel was imprisoned...
When 'Tree' emerges, I just need to ask Yggdrasil to exert power through the dimensional wall.
Typically, someone who regressed from a world-ending crisis would rack their brains trying to determine the cause.
They might investigate the connection between Abel and the tree, or search for the reason behind the tree's sudden emergence and rampage. They might even scour everywhere for weapons effective against the tree.
But I don't need to do any of that.
The cause of the tree's growth? Why it grows from the site where Abel is contained? Why it remained dormant until now?
Why should I investigate the circumstances of something that dies with a simple touch?
Rumble rumble—
As if on cue, the ground shook violently.
A massive tree began growing through the Foundation's Site-84.
[Yggdrasil.]
[Yes, I understand.]
I slightly moved my main body's finger to touch the dimensional wall.
Just as I could sense Nut's dimension through the presence of Avatars like Lee Yuna, I could sense that place through the Grimoire connected to me.
Crack.
A fingernail-sized hole opened in the dimensional wall.
To me it was a minor scratch, but for dust-sized Yggdrasil, it was a wide space.
[Can you see the tree growing on that blue planet?]
[Yes. It feels both similar and different from me. Fundamentally, it doesn't seem to be of my kind.]
[Somewhat different from a World Tree... I see.]
Indeed. It appears godlike but isn't a deity.
An anomaly—something like a cosmic monster or a planet-eater type lifeform.
Swoosh.
Yggdrasil extended one of its branches through the dimensional crack.
Though seemingly a minor branch among branches, this continent-sized branch pierced through Earth's atmosphere.
In an instant, with the sound of something being stabbed, the tree anomaly rapidly growing from Site-84 flinched.
Yggdrasil's branch had pierced its trunk.
Tremble...
And soon, the tree that had grown hundreds of meters tall rapidly shrank.
Literally, it withered and died as all its nutrients and life force were drained.
"Th-this can't be! Really...!"
"Unclassified Anomaly—Beta entity... 'Tree' completely eliminated..."
"I'll report this. A massive crack appeared in the air, and something like a tree branch came through..."
"Well, well. This is something."
I could hear the surprised voices of Foundation mortals who had boarded aircraft to observe the situation.
I could also vividly sense the confusion and shock emanating from all directions.
Not just the Foundation, but ordinary mortals could perceive something of this scale, which was natural.
Now, let's hear about the secret of time regression from the Foundation mortals.
I'm sure I can find clues about my true name as well.
———
"I will elevate the threat level of the Unclassified Anomaly, Outer God entity. Temporarily..."
"No. Wait a moment."
"First?"
"I feel we should only make that judgment after having him face 'Zero.'"
"...If that is your judgment, we will temporarily suspend the documentation on the anomaly 'Outer God.'"
Click. Click-click.
[Outer God (Identification Code XX-0000). Anomaly Response Report]
Classification: Unclassified Anomaly. (Estimated to be the highest threat level, surpassing 'Dragon' or 'Clown.')
Authoring Organization: Foun...
"Leave it as is, and let's see his reaction when he contacts 'Zero'..."