"Now you can ask those three questions I promised."
Elisira couldn’t speak for a few seconds. After everything she had seen, countless questions were spinning in her mind.
But even after all that had happened, her biggest question still hadn’t changed. The question that, among all her questions, was at least the most important to her.
And also the reason she had been willing to risk getting that book.
All of it, just to find out what this monster really was.
"What... are you really?"
Daniel remained motionless for a few seconds. A gentle wind moved among the tree’s massive roots.
"My name is Daniel. I was human once, but now? Even though I am still human on the inside, I don’t think I am considered a human anymore." And then he said very simply.
There was no lie in his words. He really was still almost exactly like a human emotionally. He had all the emotions and emotional abilities of a human.
But does that make him still a human? His essence, his existence, and his foundation were no longer human, but a completely different race.
The blood in his veins was not human blood either; it belonged to a god.
And his soul? Even his soul was not a human soul, but the soul of a dragon.
This even made him hesitate a little. Could he really still call himself human? Apart from his emotions and feelings, what about him was still human?
Elisira blinked and waited for more: his race, his identity, where he came from. But Daniel added nothing.
And that made Elisira’s heart heavier, and she sighed. It seemed she still had high expectations and had been mistaken.
"...He only said his name."
"It’s as if the rest is something I shouldn’t know."
But still, from that answer alone, many things could be understood. Especially for someone like her who loved to scrutinize details. She understood that his name did not belong to this continent.
She had never heard the name Daniel before, and such a name is not used on this continent. It was completely unknown. So her guess had been correct.
This boy was probably a survivor from one of the destroyed continents who had somehow managed to survive. Probably because of his power that he had been able to survive.
"What is that gate the book talked about? Do you know, and is it related to this tree? Does the tree want to save the world or destroy it?" She took a quiet breath and asked her second question.
This question was not among her options, but after reading that book’s writings, it was a question she couldn’t get out of her mind.
This time, Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
"I’m not sure myself, but I can reason that it probably means the gate through which the beasts of corruption, or even that monster that destroyed the continents, emerged."
"And I doubt this tree wants to harm this world."
"On the contrary." His eyes narrowed slowly.
"I’m almost certain this tree is this world’s only hope for salvation."
Elisira’s breath caught. Her entire life she had heard that the cursed tree was the source of disaster.
But now, someone who had even destroyed an Eternal Warrior was confidently saying this tree was the world’s hope.
And suddenly, the book’s sentence echoed in her mind again.
"Until the fruit is complete, the gate will not be closed."
Doubt and uncertainty grew larger in her heart, and she was no longer sure what to believe or not believe. And this doubt was very great.
So much so that even her faith was troubled.
And what if the Divine Prophet had been wrong, and this tree was not a disaster but the world’s only hope?
She sighed. Even if that were the case, she could do nothing to save the tree. She had no power, and no one would listen to her.
"So... you really are protecting this world?" She quietly asked her third question.
This time, Daniel was silent for a long while.
The wind moved through the tree’s white branches, and the fruit’s golden light flickered on his face.
"It doesn’t matter." And then he finally said.
Elisira was confused.
"Because I can’t do either." But Daniel continued.
Elisira’s eyebrows furrowed.
Save the world?
Or destroy it?
Daniel’s tone was as if both were out of his control. Not because he couldn’t save the world or because he lacked the power.
But because this world was probably already destroyed, and what he was seeing was just a simulation of a world that had once existed.
But Elisira didn’t know this, and he couldn’t and didn’t have the patience to explain anything.
"Anyway, I answered your questions. Now I have things to ask. Is eternal power something all Eternal Warriors have?" After his fight with Walterk, this had become a question for him.
He didn’t think Walterk was the kind of person to learn and cultivate the law of eternity separately, and considering the title "Eternal Warrior," he was sure it was related to the law of eternity.
"Eternal power?" Elisira didn’t understand what he meant.
Daniel slowly raised his hand. At that moment, a particle of the law of eternity appeared in the air.
Just a tiny particle, but that much was enough to bend space.
Elisira immediately turned pale.
Because this was the same power Walterk had used.
But Daniel’s version was purer and far more terrifying. Her lips went dry.
"You mean... Gods power?"
Daniel didn’t say anything and nodded.
’So here they call it the power of the gods, huh?’ He thought to himself.
And Elisira continued quietly:
"We don’t know the real name of that power. Everyone just calls it the power of the gods."
She glanced briefly at the golden particle floating in Daniel’s hand and shuddered slightly.
"This power makes Eternal Warriors not age, and even if their bodies are destroyed, they survive. Killing them is almost impossible."
"As long as their soul is not destroyed... they don’t die."
Daniel tilted his head slightly.
"So that’s why they’re called Eternal Warriors. Because of this semi-immortality."
Elisira nodded.
Daniel nodded and understood the mechanism. The law of eternity really had the ability to give such power to its users.
But he doubted that the Eternal Warriors cultivated the law of eternity themselves. Rather, they probably just obtained a small amount of eternal power as something granted.
"Tell me more about the top ten." And then Daniel asked again.
Elisira sighed quietly.
"Walterk was ranked seventh."
"And among all Eternal Warriors, he had the strongest physical strength."
"The ranks from tenth to fourth are not far apart." Then she continued.
"But the top three... are different."
"Each of them alone can defeat the other seven."
"Third rank... Valdrak. His title is the Silent Dragon, and they say he ate the heart of an ancient dragon."
"He has no territory or army... but his mere presence brings nations to the brink of collapse. He is one of the most terrifying because his temperament is very strange and volatile."
"Second rank... Lady Seraphina Alvaris. The Lady of the Thousand laws."
"She is not like the other warriors. She has no physical power. Instead, she bends the laws of the world and fights using them."
"There’s even a rumor that she can stop time for a few seconds." Her voice lowered slightly.
"First rank... Lord Ragnar." And then, she said the last name.
"The King of the End. The strongest Eternal Warrior in the world. A hundred years ago, he single-handedly destroyed a nation, and after that... no one saw him again."
"Some say he might have surpassed the level of Eternal Warrior."
Daniel just listened the whole time, but in fact, Elisira’s explanations had given him a lot of information, and he had obtained a general view of all of them.
And the one who caught his attention the most was Seraphina. Using the laws of the world? That seemed exactly like the power system of the Celestial Domain in his world.
"What about the Half Step-Divines?" After a few moments of silence, Daniel asked.
This time, even Elisira became more serious and nodded slowly.
"No one really knows anything about them. They only interfere when they themselves want to."
"Even the Holy Empire does not have one of them."
"It’s as if they are neither part of this world nor completely outside it."
Daniel nodded slightly as a sign of thanks. He had obtained the information he wanted, though he hadn’t understood anything about the Half Step-Divines.
Then he looked at the sky, which had grown dark.
"It’s late. You should go back."
For a moment, Elisira hesitated. She still had many questions, but she knew she wouldn’t get answers. But just as she was about to move, Daniel’s voice stopped her again.
"If you can find me information about the Half Step-Divines, I’ll answer three more of your questions."
Elisira’s eyes sparkled for a moment.
"...Thank you for saving my life." And then she said very quietly.
Daniel showed no reaction.
Elisira lowered her gaze, and then, without looking back, she walked through the silent ruins of what was once a forest and slowly disappeared into the darkness.