I had thought it was Anilasa who had resurrected me, but unexpectedly, it was a resentful, parasitic consciousness that believed itself to be the Ancient Tree of Life, yet was actually depleting the energy of the golden broken branches.
However, at that time, the giant face on the tree didn't seem aware of this, or perhaps, denied it.
It was also unaware that she was the only Flower Elf who hadn't fallen. Instead, it repeatedly killed her in anger for denying that she was part of the Ancient Tree of Life, and then resurrected her again.
This process repeated itself many times over the next few decades.
The continuous death and resurrection of the Flower Elf was both a torment and, in the eyes of the giant face, a misguided form of atonement.
Fortunately, perhaps due to excessive exhaustion of power, or maybe because the parasitic consciousness grew tired, the process was lengthened until the Flower Elf was completely tainted by the contamination of the Dark Red Wind.
Initially, it was every six months, but as the Flower Elf grew increasingly accustomed, the time period got longer, and now it had been as long as ten years, while Nasi had been developing for five years.
Click, click, click—
The Ancient Tree Wall gradually rose.
The dark, contaminated wind surged in!
"No—!" the giant face on the tree screamed in despair upon seeing this change.
But Nasi just furrowed her delicate brows, turned to Colin, and continued,
"Big giant, the monster inside is screaming terribly."
It seemed to be in response to Nasi's words, the intensity of the Dark Red Wind abruptly escalated.
Endless wind, its origin unknown, blew toward the cave, and in the blink of an eye, a dark-red and purple tornado formed inside!
"The wind has picked up…" Colin understood that the wind from the outside had also reached this place.
The once-powerful parasitic consciousness, which had been residing in the Ancient Tree's golden broken branch, now faced the contaminating wind and was like a mouse confronting a cat, utterly powerless to resist.
The enormous purple tornado spun rapidly, its overwhelming force eliminating the parasitic consciousness as easily as blowing out a tiny candle flame.
In just a few breaths, the desperate scream of the giant face was no longer audible.
Seeing this, Colin finally relaxed, and his tense muscles also loosened.
"It's so hot, big giant," Nasi suddenly said, her inexplicably pale face now covered in sweat.
"Not good!"
Seeing this, Colin instantly realized what was happening.
Although the screaming had stopped, perhaps indicating that the parasitic consciousness had perished, there was no sign that the Dark Red Wind was subsiding—in fact, it was getting even stronger!
"Follow me and leave this place, Nasi!" he urgently whispered.
"Yes!" Nasi didn't hesitate. With a nod, she flew into Colin's hood… The little bed inside, due to the earlier impact, was damaged, and Nasi pouted her lips, grasping the edge of the hood.
Colin activated his Light Flame Soaring Skill along with Swift Skill, flying out of the palace with all his might!
However, a few breaths later, Colin keenly sensed something was wrong.
The further they went, the more the intensity of the Dark Red Wind increased instead of decreased!
At this rate, he would be unable to endure until he could use the wooden hammer at the base of the mountain.
'I need to go back and lower the Ancient Tree Wall!'
His thoughts raced, and Colin quickly figured out the reason.
Though the giant face in the cave might have already dispersed in the wind, the Ancient Tree's golden broken branch was still there!
He realized—this wind would probably continue to intensify until the Ancient Tree's remnants were completely wasted away!
"Nasi, we need to go back and lower the Ancient Tree Wall! Otherwise, this wind won't stop!" Colin briefly explained the situation to Nasi, then raced against time to return to the stone wall.
But his earlier mistake had ultimately cost them some time, and on the way back, Colin felt an increasing irritation inside him.
Mad, eerie whispers echoed persistently in his ears, driving him even more frantic!
"Quickly, through this corridor, and we'll reach the Treasure Vault!" Colin gritted his teeth and forcefully shook his head.
"Big giant, what's wrong?" Nasi asked concernedly, her face also very pale, sweat rolling down.
Overall, though, she seemed somewhat better than Colin.
At this moment, Colin's consciousness was somewhat blurred, Nasi's concerned words sounding strange and distorted, as if coming from the deep sea or a distant sky.
'The stone wall is right in front of us, step onto this platform, and we can reach the Throne!' he mentally cheered himself on, his heart pounding like a drum, his breath heavy as a horse's whinny.
With no magic left to maintain the Flying Witchcraft, all his power was focused on defense.
One step, two steps… Colin had no choice but to rely on his body's strength to climb the stairs.
Little Nasi flew anxiously beside him, her form shaking incessantly in the fierce wind, requiring all her strength to fly steadily.
Three steps, four steps... Colin lost all his strength before reaching the end and fell to his knees, gasping heavily.
"Great giant!" Nasi cried out anxiously.
"Go... the... wall... the wall..." Colin's consciousness was muddled, his expression bizarre and twisted.
Confused murmurs filled his entire brain, almost bursting it completely!
"Go lower... the wall..." he used the last of his strength to stammer out the phrase, then lost his energy and collapsed.
"Great giant!" the little elf cried anxiously.
However, Colin had no strength to reply.
Fortunately, Nasi remembered Colin's words. After hesitating for a moment, she quickly flew toward the Emerald Throne.
Dark Red Wind, like yellow sand, obscured the visibility and made the short distance seem far.
"Ah!" Little Nasi puffed her cheeks and shouted lowly, straining to fly forward.
Rustle rustle.
Her already slightly damaged crystalline wings, now under the assault of the polluted wind, kept dropping fragments.
Finally, when about half of the lower wings had fallen off, she reached the Emerald Throne.
The next second.
Click, click, click—
The robust and grand Ancient Tree Wall sank back down.
Thud.
The wall had completely descended, but unlike what Colin had thought, the Dark Red Wind did not subside.
Instead, this polluted wind showed no signs of stopping and grew stronger.
It was as if… as if it were the polluted wind that blew every seven days, seemingly going to last an entire day!
"What should we do?" Nasi, standing on the Emerald Throne, noticed this, her expression anxious.
She glanced at Colin, who was growing increasingly weak, and her heart panicked; her bright, gem-like eyes suddenly fogged over, close to tears.
Boom!
Suddenly, a muffled explosion sounded from behind, accompanied by a familiar scent...
"Mother's scent…" Nasi murmured to herself. She looked at the stone wall behind her, then at Colin, seeming to think of something, and quickly flew back to Colin.
"Ugh!" She grabbed Colin's collar, flapping her wings with all her might.
She somehow mustered the strength to lift Colin and, with shaky movements, carried him across the illusion beneath the wall and back into the cave.
"Hiss… Where is this?"
A few breaths later, Colin regained consciousness.
"You're awake, great giant!" Nasi called out joyfully.
Colin looked at her and understood everything,
"Thank you, Nasi." He felt somewhat moved and sincerely expressed his gratitude.
However, the next second, Colin suddenly sensed something unusual.
Feeling the almost nonexistent polluted wind and observing the familiar surroundings, he was somewhat astonished.
'What happened? There isn't any polluted wind inside the cave?'
And not only that, not only was there no polluted wind in the cave, but it was also inexplicably filled with a gentle, warm power.
This power continuously warmed him, calmed the heat in his heart, and accelerated his injuries' healing.
Almost subconsciously, Colin turned his head toward where the giant tree used to be.
There, the giant tree was no longer present.
Instead, there was a huge, grass and flower-covered circular shallow pit.
And in the middle of the shallow pit was a huge… golden broken branch!