Chapter 174: Influence of Memories
"But may I ask you something? How did you end up in such a condition that even you were on the verge of being corrupted?"
Hearing that question, the World Tree went silent. After a few moments, she let out a long sigh and softly said,
{Let’s get seated first. Our talk will take a very long time.}
As soon as her words ended, the surroundings changed completely. The ground transformed into a serene garden filled with blooming flowers, and the previously white sky turned into a deep black night. Countless stars twinkled gently, and the silver moon shone brightly, casting a calm and gentle light across the entire space.
Soon after, a table and two chairs appeared. The Great Mother gracefully took her seat and gestured for Ash to sit as well.
In front of Ash, a silver cup filled with a glowing green liquid materialized, along with a transparent jar. Ash glanced at the drink but chose not to touch it.
{So, let me tell you from the beginning...}
According to what the World Tree began explaining, sixteen years ago, the previous Elf King had decided to step down after fulfilling his duties. Before his retirement, he made a heartfelt wish to the World Tree.
He simply desired to live the remaining years of his life—about one or two more—in peace, without responsibilities, and surrounded by calmness.
The World Tree accepted this wish, and as a result, a transition period began. The king had stepped down, and the process of selecting the next ruler had started.
During this critical time, the World Tree needed to retreat her focus to begin the sacred process of choosing a new monarch. It was not something that could be done lightly.
She had to scan for potential, innate talent, kindness, strength, and countless other traits. Even though many qualities of a great ruler are shaped by experience, the foundation must still be right.
However, what the World Tree did not expect was that, during this narrow window—when the previous king had stepped down, and she had temporarily withdrawn her awareness from the physical world—a demon would seize the opportunity to act.
One such demon managed to infiltrate the castle of the Elf King, which stood at the highest branch of the World Tree itself.
Moving silently past every protective barrier and ward, the demon entered the king’s chamber and ended his life while he was resting.
Since the king was already near the end of his natural lifespan, his body was frail, and he did not have much strength left to resist.
He died tragically.
And at that very same moment, the World Tree chose the next queen.
A phenomenon appeared across the continent—a crown of emerald leaves and glowing light manifested above the head of a five-year-old girl named Serena. A child born with a pure soul, high affinity, and the gentle heart of a ruler. She was chosen as the next Queen.
When the World Tree reconnected her consciousness with reality after completing the process, she was shocked to discover that four years had already passed.
The demonic heart had manipulated time itself inside her sacred space, and she—despite being a being near the level of divinity—had been affected.
By the time she realized what had happened, the Demonic Heart had already embedded itself deep within her roots.
It had corroded several vital regions, and if it had continued for much longer, it would have reached the core of the World Tree.
To prevent that outcome, the World Tree redirected the majority of her mana to guard the core, wrapping it in layers of protection. From that moment, a long internal battle began between her and the Demonic Heart. It was a constant struggle, a tug of war between corruption and purity.
However, since the Demonic Heart had already consumed a large portion of her mana and converted it into demonic energy, she found herself constantly pushed back. She wanted to call Serena for help, but she could not. So instead, she relied on the spirits.
Many loyal spirits willingly sacrificed themselves to slow the corruption. They offered everything they had.
But whenever the World Tree attempted to send one of them out to deliver a message or warning to the Elves, the Demonic Heart would strike them down. It used demonic spirits to intercept and kill any messengers trying to reach the outside.
And like that, time passed in silence. Until now.
When Ash appeared.
"Don’t you know who the demon was?" Ash asked.
{I don’t. What I am telling you is what I learned from that Demonic Heart. It was always boasting about how it corrupted me, about what it would do to my children after taking control over me... He was trying to break my will at that moment.}
"I see," Ash muttered softly.
"But don’t you think the timing fits a little too perfectly? There definitely must have been some insider who provided the information to the demons. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense for the demons to know about the exact moment, right?"
{O Savior, none of my children would ever think of harming me. That is something I am confident of. There must be some sort of Diviner present on the demons’ side.}
Hearing that, Ash’s mind jolted as if a light bulb had been switched on.
I see. That means my previous guess about the demons purposely removing future obstacles was true.
{Does that answer all of your questions?}
"Yes."
Even though I now know this information, there is nothing I can do about it right now... Only by knowing the future can I prevent something from happening before it occurs.
But most of those things are either unknown to me, or already destroyed because of my meddling...
Should I look for...
{Why don’t you drink that elixir I prepared? It is meant to calm the mind, no matter how stormy or conflicted it might be.}
Ash’s thoughts were cut off the moment he heard the words "mind" and "elixir." He immediately remembered that he needed to ask the World Tree about the problem concerning Dark Ash’s memories.
{Drink everything in one go.}
Heeding her words, Ash gulped the entire cup in a single breath. And as soon as the drink slid down his throat, his mind went completely blank.
All the inner turmoil and confusion were cast aside like worthless clutter. The messy emotions and overlapping thoughts of Dark Ash were pushed far back into the recesses of his mind, allowing his original consciousness and intentions to surface once more.
His breathing became rough, like someone who had just run for several days without rest.
What the hell is this...?
After absorbing Dark Ash’s memories, Ash had convinced himself that his mentality was strong and stable. He thought everything was under control.
What he had not noticed was how deeply his thought process, his behavior, and even his judgment had begun to twist and distort over time.
He had done so many unnecessary things. Things that were completely off his original plan.
Originally, Ash had decided to travel to Dragon continent, acquire the Rune of Space, create a teleportation skill, and only then come back to heal Elysia using the skill creation chance granted by his trait. By creating skill with Rune of Life
If, even after that, he still failed to heal her, he would then consider going to the Elven Continent.
But when he woke up after the memory fusion, his thoughts had taken a different turn altogether. His reasoning had shifted into something else entirely.
His mind began telling him that he might as well take the Rune of Time too. And from there, one thing led to another. His actions started becoming irrational, unnecessary, and increasingly chaotic.
He could have completely avoided the whole Dragon Slayer scene simply by staying silent and waiting for the right time to escape. But he didn’t. Instead, he stole the dragon egg when there was no real reason to.
He had even been scolded by Solareth and Lumielle.
What made it worse was that Ash never intended to take the Rune of Time at this point in the story. In the original version, that Rune was something Ray wouldn’t receive until far later—deep into the narrative. But now, Ash had taken it far too early.
What is this...?
I am getting... No... No, no, no...
"AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"
Suddenly a scream tore from his mouth as his head throbbed violently, as if it were about to split open. The Great Mother looked at Ash with pitiful eyes and gently placed her hand on his forehead, and her hand started to emit white light.
Shockingly, his headache vanished. But Ash’s eyes were bloodshot. The veins in his eyes were clearly visible. His breath came out in ragged bursts.
"Y-You k-knew, d-didn’t you...?" Ash asked, his voice trembling as he kept his gaze fixed to the ground, unable to meet her eyes.
With the same pitiful expression, she said,
{O child, I have lived a very long life, and it is not my first time witnessing someone’s mind being influenced by foreign memories.}
{When you live long enough, you experience and learn many things, and with time, you gain many abilities. The moment you stepped into my domain, I was able to see a bright light inside you, one that was being slowly shrouded by darkness, as if the darkness was trying to corrode that light completely.}
{Even that concealment skill of yours was useless here. Everything about you was laid bare before me to see. Although I cannot inside your body, but from every angle it appears perfectly normal.}
{That is why I summoned you here. Not because I had bad intentions, but because as soon as your concealment dropped, I felt a tremendous wave of causality attached to you. It was like the weight of countless fates trying to shift around your presence.}
But Ash, ignoring everything else she had said about fate and concealment, asked in a calm and steady voice,
"Can you help me remove these memories?"
His breathing was no longer ragged, and his tone carried no hesitation, though the Great Mother still had not lifted her hand from his forehead.
Because of her touch, no unnecessary thoughts were swirling in his mind. Everything was quiet. His thoughts were no longer a storm. He was focused solely on the present moment.
{The human brain has a natural tendency to forget unnecessary or painful memories over time. In this particular case, the best and safest method is simply time. Time will heal everything. As days and months pass, your mind will begin to erase the memories it finds irrelevant or damaging. Eventually, only the most important and precious ones will remain.}
{The ones that truly mattered to you. Those alone will endure.}
"Is there no other way?" Ash asked again, his tone quiet but pressing.
{Why are you in such a hurry, child? There is indeed another method, but it is extremely dangerous. It involves forcibly severing the memories from your soul. In doing so, there is a chance your soul may become damaged. And if that happens, even I will not be able to heal it.}
"Tell me what it is," Ash replied without hesitation, his voice became still and emotionless. "Because I have perfect memory. I won’t forget these memories for my entire life."
Even as he spoke, a single tear slid down from his eye and trailed along his cheek, silent and unnoticed.
***