#leading Athy to her death would also serve as a lesson for Lucas...

[sharper-than-a-serpents-tooth]

I've said it before but the world tree is so shady. Why did it establish contact with Athy only now? What if it wanted Athy to die? I've always found it strange that Athy is allegedly god's "favourite" when in the Lovely Princess The World Tree did nothing to save lp Athy from her execution and in wmmap it tempts Athy with a method to save her father but choses not to tell her about the risks of her journey. The scene where Athy who is filled by the omnipotence of the world tree becomes suddenly so high-spirited and fearless, believes she can do anything and demands to touch the branch again to travel there immediately, reminds me of the scene when Athy is stuck with the desire to pluck the mana-eating lotus flower and almost drowns. From one moment to another Athy isn't acting rational and cautious anymore. It's as if she's suffering the aftereffects of a spell that has gripped her psyche.

Had Lucas not stopped Athy, had he not prepared her for what was about to come, Athy would have followed the lure of the world tree and went on an adventure to big for her. It's questionable if she would have made it out alive without any help.

What if the tree wanted Athy to die and eat her mana, because their own was stolen from them by Lucas and they needed to replenish their mana? The only person that could come into question as a sacrifice is someone powerful: a royal. What if the world tree did not care which member of the Imperial family died (Claude, Aeternitas, Athy...) as long as one of them died? Imagine if the world tree was like the mana-eating flower that grew in Claude's lake, except it possesses consciousness and both gives and takes mana to achieve a balance of the world. It's neither god nor evil. It's just acting according to it's nature to ensure the continued existence of the world.