The main object of belief in this forest was the World Tree. It was believed that, upon their death, all beings would have their souls return to the embrace of the World Tree.
“I don’t know about all beings, but it is a fact that every one of the souls of our elven ancestors is currently resting within the World Tree,” Edsillon explained as he led them to walk across the lake.
Eugene’s main goal in paying a visit to the Rainforest was to take a closer look at the World Tree. His interest in the tree was due to the fact that he had personally experienced the miracles performed by the World Tree multiple times and also because Eugene himself had one of the spirits from the World Tree fused into him. That was why he couldn’t help but be interested in Edsillon’s words.
“When you say that you don’t know if all beings return to the World Tree, is there a reason why that remains a mystery?” Eugene asked curiously.
He was especially interested in learning more about the beliefs centered around the World Tree and the details of its power over death and reincarnation.
“No, it just means that no one has ever bothered to check,” Edsillon replied. “Perhaps it is true that, as the legends say, the World Tree has the power to reincarnate the souls of all forms of life, but none of the previous generations of elders before me have ever tried to confirm any of the legends surrounding the World Tree personally.”
Eugene frowned. “Why not?”
“Because it would be going against the laws of nature to disturb someone who has already died and gone on to their eternal rest just to answer a few personal questions,” said Edsillon simply.
His response was highly characteristic of an elf. However, wasn’t that a contradiction of what they were currently aiming to do right now? After all, wasn’t Edsillon ultimately planning to disturb those same slumbering spirits?
“That’s because there is a need to disturb them,” Epsilon replied in a calm voice. “The advice that Sienna seeks isn’t just meant to satisfy anyone’s selfish desires, now is it? In the current state of the world, the Demon King of Incarceration and the Demon King of Destruction are both still rampant, and there’s no way to tell when war will break out once more, repeating the events from three hundred years ago…. No, perhaps things will be even more terrible than back then, and all of creation might end up being trampled by those Demon Kings. It will be up to you three, Eugene, the Saintess, and Sienna, to bear the brunt of preventing such a disaster.”As he said this, Edsillon turned back to look at Eugene and Sienna, “This won’t be the first time that I have sought help from the Ancestor Spirits. Two hundred years ago, when Sienna fell at the foot of the World Tree after suffering fatal wounds, there was nothing I or the other elves could do to heal those wounds, even with all our magic and healing skills. So, at that time, we also sought help from the Ancestor Spirits.”
“So it wasn’t a miracle performed by the World Tree?” Sienna asked with a surprised expression.
Edsillon responded to her question with an amused snort, “A miracle can simply be defined as an act of someone granting you your deepest wish. And since the Ancestor Spirits reside within the World Tree, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it was a miracle performed by the World Tree that saved you that day.”
At these words, Sienna also let out a soft sigh.
When Sienna had returned to the World Tree after receiving fatal wounds at the hands of Vermouth, who seemed to have undergone a personality transplant, she was suddenly ambushed by Raizakia. Even as she was left on the verge of death, she had still been able to block Raizakia’s attack and then, conversely, banish that bastard into a dimension rift — but Sienna couldn’t have managed this with just her abilities alone. Such an outcome was only made achievable due to the combined will of the elves and the power of the World Tree.
Until now, Sienna had just chalked the whole thing up to a miracle that was performed by the World Tree. However, according to what Edsillon had just said, it was actually done by the elven Ancestor Spirits residing within the World Tree.
In that case, wasn’t it all thanks to the Ancestor Spirit’s care that Raizakia had been banished, Sienna and the elves had been saved when they were on the verge of death, and Eugene had been rescued during his fight against Raizakia?
“This is a strange feeling,” Sienna muttered to herself with a sheepish smile.
Because she considered herself to be a traditional wizard, she wasn’t one to respect things like faith and miracles.
However, it had now occurred to her that such an attitude was a wall impeding her true freedom of thought and the infinite possibilities that might lie hidden behind it. Whether black magic or holy magic, it would be the height of arrogance to look down on them from such shallow prejudice. Why should she ignore them just because she didn’t understand them or have the right mindset for them? Wasn’t that lack of understanding of what the study of magic was meant for in the first place?
Before too long, they arrived in front of the entrance to the World Tree. The last time Eugene and Kristina came here, they had used a leaf from the World Tree as a key to enter the trunk, but there wasn’t a need for that this time around. Just by Edsillon holding his hand up towards it, the World Tree slowly began to open up.
“Ah…. ohhhh… whoooa….” Carmen, who had been following along while enthralled by the experience, was so moved by this sight that, for a moment, she even forgot how to speak proper words.
With this sight in front of her, Carmen felt she really was on an adventure straight out of the legends that she had been so hoping for.
She had accompanied a Hero, Saint, and Wizard as they embarked on their journey. Arriving at the World Tree, they had met the Elder of the elves residing in the forest and were now venturing inside the World Tree to meet the Ancestor Spirits of the elves….
While almost being overwhelmed by all of these excited emotions bubbling up within her, Carmen placed her hand on the sigil of a Radiant Lion embroidered onto her left breast. To think that one of the many dreams she had once had while reading children’s fairy tales when she was younger would actually come true now. Carmen felt like she might burst into tears if she let her guard down even slightly, so she secretly put more strength into keeping her eyes from tearing up.
Currently, they were walking down a long passage within the trunk of the World Tree.
This place still looked similar to when Eugene first came here a few years ago. There was still more mana packed inside these walls than any other place that Eugene had ever been to in his life. Even the Lionheart estate, where the mansion and its surroundings as a whole had transformed into a natural wonder-level leyline, couldn’t compare to this.
‘It seems a bit noisy?’ Eugene suddenly thought to himself.
[That’s right, it really is,] a voice in his head immediately agreed.
“What the fuck!” Eugene yelped in surprise as he spun around, startled by the sudden response to his thoughts.
The others were even more surprised by Eugene’s sudden outburst than Eugene himself had been, and they turned to stare at him in shock.
Eugene coughed awkwardly, “Ahem… it was nothing.”
After responding to their stares with that feeble excuse, Eugene silently scolded Tempest for suddenly talking to him inside his head. ‘Hey! How am I supposed to react if you just suddenly start talking in my head like that?’
[Have I ever warned you in advance before talking to you? Wouldn’t asking for permission, in and of itself, be an act of suddenly speaking to you?] Tempest pointed out.
Eugene sneered, ‘Bastard, you’ve been hanging out with Lady Melkith so much lately that your attitude is in need of some percussive maintenance. You keep crying and protesting that you hate being at her beck and call, but it seems like you don’t really hate it that much. After all, you’re really starting to resemble her in a way.’
As soon as Eugene finished thinking those words with a chuckle, Tempest let out a furious roar, [Apologize!]
Because of the location that they were in, Tempest didn’t raise up a storm, but in Eugene’s head, an angry roar of wind as loud as any natural storm was raging.
[I am nothing like that madwoman!] Tempest roared.
‘Okay, okay. I get it, so quiet down. You’re being way too noisy,’ Eugene complained.
Tempest just continued to demand angrily, [Apologize!]
‘I’m sorry, I was wrong,’ Eugene quickly gave in.
Thinking about it, Eugene had to admit that his words had been too harsh. If someone had told Eugene that he in any way resembled Melkith….
Eugene’s reaction would ultimately vary depending on who it was, but if it were someone who he didn’t mind dying, then his first response would be just to kill them.
[Your apology is not accepted,] Tempest replied with a huff. After taking a few moments to regain control of his emotions, he resumed speaking in the usual solemn manner that Eugene was used to, [Hamel. You may have already noticed it, but they’re actually being quite loud for spirits.]
Things were different from when Eugene had first entered this secret location to meet with Sienna a few years back. At that time, the spirits of the World Tree had just quietly watched Eugene.
‘Though even back then, I did get a quiet feeling of being welcomed,’ Eugene recalled.
Eugene wasn’t a traditional Spirit Summoner. The only spirits he had made a contract with were a few wind spirits, and even those contracts had only been made due to his prior relationship with Tempest, using Wynnyd as a catalyst. If Eugene had decided to delve deeper into the traditional path of a Spirit Summoner, he might have been able to achieve great success, but….
[If that had been the case, Hamel, you might have become as great of a Spirit Summoner as Melkith currently is,] Tempest said wistfully.
By saying that, didn’t that mean that Tempest ultimately did recognize Melkith as a great Spirit Summoner? Eugene quickly buried this unconscious thought before it could rise to the surface of his mind.
[They were content to welcome you quietly back then, but now they’re being quite passionate with their welcome,] Tempest noted in an amused tone.
Even with his untrained senses, Eugene could vaguely sense their enthusiastic welcome. A ticklish feeling was coming from the spirit of the World Tree that had completely melted into his mana and fused with him. His skin was also tingling for no reason, and… it sounded like some kind of laughter was floating just in the distance.
“How fascinating,” Edsillon muttered in surprise. “This is the first time I have ever seen the spirits seem so joyful and welcoming. Could it be that they recognize you as their savior?”
“Well… I guess it’s probably something like that,” Eugene said as he slowly raised his hand.
When he did so, a whitish air current appeared, wrapping around Eugene’s hand and clinging to his fingers. Although the sensation was very faint, it was almost as if a newborn child was holding onto his finger and trying to shake it.
To think that the spirits were able to show such a direct reaction. Eugene jolted in surprise as he looked down at his fingers.
“You both saved each other, didn’t you,” Sienna spoke up. “You saved me, the elves, and the World Tree by killing Raizakia. And the World Tree also saved you when you were dying. So you can’t help but be fond of each other and think of each other as something special.”
“It’s a strange feeling,” Eugene admitted before coughing and ducking his head.
The passage that had once looked like a cradle for the sleeping elves was now completely empty, but it didn’t feel lifeless. The air was warm and full of mana. Even the tangled roots that formed the walls of the passage felt full of vitality.
As they reached the end of the passage, Edsillon’s steps came to a halt. The spot where Sienna had originally been laid to rest was now bare.
“Please step back for a few moments,” Edsillon said as he got down onto his knees and held his hands out to the wall at the end of the passage.
Sienna stared at Edsillon’s back with a bright sparkle of curiosity in her eyes.
She may have been present when this wall was last opened, two hundred years ago, but Sienna wasn’t able to remember anything from that moment because she had already lost consciousness after escaping from Vermouth.
[Indeed,] Anise muttered quietly in admiration as she also observed Edillon’s appearance. As a light began to rise around Edsillon, Anise continued, [I can understand why Sienna would say what she said earlier. What he’s doing, the magic of the elves… it really does resemble holy magic in a way.]
‘Are you talking about miracles specifically?’ Kristina clarified.
[That’s right,] Anise nodded.
The light that had appeared around Edsillon gradually began to expand. No formulas were drawn, or incantations chanted during this process. Eugene could sense the divine power that was circulated within his internal universe and the spirits of the World Tree responding to that light.
“Ah,” Sienna let out a small gasp of surprise.
Her subspace had just started trembling on its own. If she left it like this, it seemed like her subspace might just shatter completely.
She couldn’t just allow such a thing to happen, so Sienna quickly opened up her subspace.
The shaking was caused by Bloody Mary, that most ancient of staffs whose very appearance advertised its ominous nature. It was now emitting a mysterious light. The light had a vibrant blood-red hue. With each flash of light, the blood veins covering Bloody Mary’s shaft throbbed. At the same time, the clinking sound of chains began to ring from the staff.
Eugene recognized that sound, ‘Those are Incarceration’s….’
This sudden situation seemed fishy. If this were any other location, Eugene might have given some thought to withdrawing from here for now and taking a few moments to observe the situation, but they were currently right inside the World Tree. If Incarceration’s dark power or his special abilities were allowed to run loose inside this confined location, it might have a negative impact on the World Tree. To defend against that, Sienna quickly cast a spell.
Tchtchtchk!
Various complex characters were linked together in a single loop. This loop formed a seal that wrapped around Bloody Mary. With Sienna’s Absolute Decree placed on top of that seal, holding it together, she managed to suppress the eerie red light that had been flashing off of Bloody Mary. The sound of chains gradually grew fainter.
A voice suddenly spoke to Sienna, [It’s alright.]
Sienna wasn’t the only one to have heard that voice. Everyone currently within the World Tree was able to hear the voice of a woman speaking to them.
[Nothing will happen, so go ahead and remove the seal,] the clear and sonorous voice instructed.
Even though it had only said a few words, the voice itself gave them a sense of the speaker’s power. Sienna was startled as she turned to look in the direction that the voice had come from.
Next to Edsillon, who had immersed himself in the spell to communicate with the elven Ancestor Spirits, the light that had risen around him had at some point taken on a distinct form and was standing next to him. Although, from a certain angle, it appeared to have the figure of a human being, no face was visible on the figure’s head.
“Wh-what are you?” Sienna yelped in surprise.
When Sienna turned to look at Edsillon, who hadn’t shown any reaction even after something like that had appeared right next to him, the figure of light responded with a soft laugh, [There is no need to worry about this elf. He has just fainted from the exertion of opening the door.]
“The door?” Sienna repeated in confusion.
The figure sighed. [Junior, it’s only natural for you to be suspicious, but can’t we have this conversation a little later?]
Before Sienna could say anything in response, Eugene stepped forward.
He placed his hand on Sienna’s shoulder, who seemed to be on the verge of unleashing her Eternal Hole, and whispered into her ear, “For now, let’s just do as she says.”
“What?” Sienna turned to him with a frown.
“I’ve heard her voice before,” Eugene explained, yet he seemed just as flustered and doubtful about the current situation as Sienna was. After alternating between looking at Sienna, standing next to him, and the figure of light a few times, Eugene muttered, “It is you, right?”
[You’re still just as rude as ever. It seems your true innate nature won’t change even if you die and reincarnate a hundred times over,] the figure whispered with a chuckle.
Sienna was still a bit suspicious about this whole situation. However, even if she couldn’t trust what the figure of light was saying, she could still trust Eugene’s words.
After taking a few short breaths, Sienna removed the seal she had placed on Bloody Mary.
[Junior, that is some impressive magic,] the figure complimented. [I see that you have pioneered your own path. To think that a junior’s magic would actually be able to keep Incarceration, that Ancient Demon, suppressed. Even if this isn’t the Ancient Demon’s true body.]
Eugene couldn’t help but focus on the way that the figure was referring to Sienna as her junior. If that figure really was who Eugene was thinking of… then the conclusions that Eugene had managed to reach thus far may have been fundamentally flawed.
As the seal on Bloody Mary was removed, it started shining with red light once more. This was also followed by the sound of clinking chains.
Bloody Mary floated up into the air. Part of the wriggling blood vessels wrapped around the staff fell away, and the bud-like mass at the end of the staff began to swell.
“This is…,” a new voice muttered.
The tip of the bud opened up. What bloomed there wasn’t a flower but a single red eye. That eye rolled around until it was staring at the figure of light.
“...surprising,” the eye finished speaking.
[It is all thanks to your scheming that my Mary was brought here, so why are you acting so surprised?] the figure demanded with another laugh.
Openbookworm & DantheMan's Thoughts