The ancient cave was deathly silent.
The thick rock walls isolated all sound; there was neither the whisper of wind nor the drip of water.
Colin stood silently near the towering ancient tree, without making any movement.
A sharp branch hovered behind him, but instead of pressing its tip against him, it gently encircled his waist.
Yet, even so, Colin dared not make any sudden moves.
Swish.
The branch floating behind him unconsciously moved forward a bit.
Colin's muscles tensed as he stepped forward, almost reaching the base of the ancient tree, leaving only about a meter's distance from its deformed, slender trunk.
Just moments ago, he had also "voluntarily" walked step by step to the side of this malformed ancient tree.
"Tree..." Colin thought silently; he bowed his head and gazed at the armor he wore, unsure whether he should feel fortunate...
His gaze moved upward; the distorted lower part of the ancient tree clearly appeared before him... Rather than saying it was the lower part of a tree trunk, it was more like a long tree burl.
The burl was roughly six to seven meters long with a diameter of two meters in an elliptical shape. Though termed elliptical, it was incredibly irregular. Large and small bulges dotted with dark red spots like malignant tumors swelled up, densely covering the entire area.
Colin just stared intently for a moment, then suddenly felt a bit dizzy and quickly moved his gaze higher.
This was above the long burl. Here, the diameter of the trunk abruptly expanded to nearly ten meters. The outer appearance also returned to normal. The two parts joined together in this manner, looking utterly discordant and causing discomfort to the onlooker.
However, this top-heavy appearance surprisingly did not give the impression of being unstable; rather, it made one feel as though it should be this way, with the burl connected to the ground being even more a stable entity!
"Strange..."
"Weird, it's not yet time, so why has the Flower Elf come now?"
At that moment, the ancient tree beside him spoke again.
A huge, vague human face emerged from the middle of the brown, sturdy trunk, muttering softly while gazing at the little elf Nasi, who slumbered amidst the flowers.
"Why... why indeed..."
This puzzlement seemed to deeply trouble it, continually repeating in a murmuring tone, gradually becoming chaotic and frenzied.
"Why... why indeed?!"
The eerie whisper made Colin feel as if a ladle was inserted into his brain, ceaselessly stirring, causing him to groan involuntarily, his complexion turning somewhat pale.
Whether it was because it noticed Colin's groan, the murmuring of the ancient tree abruptly stopped.
The huge face, like a swimming fish, moved down from the middle of the trunk and came to stop at the edge where the normal trunk met the burl, seemingly unable to move any further; thus, it hovered, staring down at Colin.
"Tree... I almost forgot about you, Tree," the face muttered to itself,
and then continued with a dawning realization, "The Flower Elf must have come a few years early to bring you here, am I right?"
Colin bowed his head and remained silent, partly because he did not know how to respond, and partly because, though he could understand the tree's strange words, he did not know how to speak them.
But was Nasi really the legendary Flower Elf?
Seeing that he did not answer, the face did not get annoyed; it moved back to the middle and continued to stare at Nasi, muttering to itself:
"Since you're back, we might as well change bodies again so you can continue to sleep without worry of being disturbed… so weary."
As it spoke, it vividly yawned, its specific expressions unclear yet clearly exhibiting a sense of fatigue.
Then, the huge face frowned, and thus, those thorn-like brown branches in the middle suddenly became as soft and flexible as tentacles.
Next, a shocking amount of emerald Spiritual Light enveloped Nasi, covering the entire middle area and also obscuring Colin's view.
Just by feeling this Spiritual Light, any slight notion of resistance Colin might have harbored instantly vanished.
But in reality, Colin had no time to examine closely... The branch that had followed him like a shadow, as the ancient tree got busy, began unconsciously moving forward continuously, almost forcing him to press up against the burl!
"Anilasa!" he suddenly cried out loud.
Whoosh.
The emerald Spiritual Light above his head instantly disappeared, and the face instantly appeared before Colin.
"Are you Tree?" Before Colin could speak, it suddenly asked.
Colin was startled, almost thinking the ancient tree had noticed something unusual.
But the next second, the ancient tree continued speaking, asking continuously:
"Tree, where is your High-Level Elf companion? And those treasonous Tree Elves? Have they all been 'eliminated' by 'me'?"
Colin kept his head bowed, remaining silent, his mind full of suspicions…
"Is it that my memory has failed, or is there another reason? If I obliterated them myself, why would I need to ask others?"
Meanwhile, his silence seemed to make the ancient tree realize something.
"Are you the only one left..." the huge face murmured, sounding somewhat desolate.
It closed its mouth and slowly ascended upwards.
Colin took the opportunity to look up at Nasi, who lay among the flowers.
Due to his angle, he could only see a dark silhouette through the thin petals…
But, changing bodies?
It seemed that if this had happened many times over the years, Nasi should at least not be in mortal danger.
But… would Nasi, having changed bodies, still retain her current memories?
Would she still be Nasi?
This thought made Colin's heart sink.
"Tree, I am tired. I will sleep for a little while.
During this time, take over the work of the Flower Elf, whether it's dealing with the Tree Elf traitors or just staying here. In any case, watch over the Elf Kingdom for me and tell me if anything unusual happens."
But to Colin's surprise, after the huge face ascended, it did not continue the action but instead chose to sink into the trunk... It seemed that due to his interruption, it could no longer resist its tiredness and chose to sleep.
However, although the face disappeared, the voice still continued to echo.
"Also, in a few days, the Wind of Amis will descend again. Stay away from me, and stay away from those winds, lest you also get tainted by that unbearable foulness!
You are not a Flower Elf, your spirituality is not half as firm as hers... moreover, there are no more bodies for you to switch into, I cannot produce fruit…"
The massive yet eerie voice gradually quieted down, and the cave returned to silence.
The branch that curled around his back like a clinging curse also quietly drooped down.
But Colin felt not a shred of joy.
He rolled up his left sleeve, and, on the upper part of his wrist, a clear golden tree pattern had quietly emerged.
Pulling his sleeve back down, Colin looked up at the flower cradling Nasi overhead.
The pale golden flower had closed, tightly wrapping the little elf within.
Unlike other branches with flower buds, the one carrying Nasi was the only one that did not retract to the trunk.
Not only did it not retract, but it had also deliberately elongated, distancing itself from the ancient tree's trunk... as if guarding against something.
Colin withdrew his gaze thoughtfully.
Moments later, he returned along the same path, passing through the illusionary wall, and found himself back in the original palace.
Bang!!
Passing through the illusion, Colin fired a Fireball experimentally at the ground. A loud explosion resounded through the sky.
Swoosh, he crossed back through the illusion.
In the cave, the tall ancient tree remained quietly still, not making a sound.
"Indeed... for some reason, this ancient tree cannot perceive or, rather, avoids seeing or hearing any external disturbances."
Understanding this, Colin returned to the palace, glanced at the Emerald Throne in front of him, and then sat down cross-legged beside it, closing his eyes.
With the help of the Crown of Spiritual Light aiding him to understand the ancient tree's language, another thing stored in his mind suddenly became comprehensible—
That was the bizarre ancient books remembered within the tallest and majestic stone tree under the blue sky!