“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”

“I’m asking for your help.”

“…That help you’re asking for is basically asking me to die.”

“In return, I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that next time, you can live a normal life. Born into an ordinary and wealthy family, able to be loved. Even if I lose all my power and return to being a mere creature, no longer belonging to the divine.”

The child carefully reached out and took Serena’s hand.

Serena’s shoulders flinched at the infinitely cold hand of the child. She looked down at the child in confusion, then slowly closed her mouth tightly.

“I’m not asking for much, big sister. I just… want the World Tree to return to its original state.”

“……”

“I wish for this land to become abundant again and for all creatures here to chatter and make noise.”

“Why?”

Serena asked.

At Serena’s question, the child’s head tilted slightly.

Seeing that he didn’t seem to grasp the intent of the question, Serena organized her thoughts and spoke again.

“Why do you want to put the World Tree back among humans? What if the same thing happens again?”

“Because the World Tree likes humans.”

“…And you?”

Serena asked with furrowed brows. Again, the child seemed not to understand Serena’s words immediately and tilted his head.

[Help… please….]

“Why me?”

Two voices overlapped.

Serena took a deep breath. This voice was much clearer. The words were properly audible.

‘Asking for help?’

What kind of help is it asking for?

Serena looked around again. There was still nothing around.

She shrank her neck with an eerie feeling.

“Big sister?”

“Ah…?”

“Why me? But what’s wrong? You’ve turned pale.”

The child asked with a seemingly worried expression.

That expression looked truly sincere.

“Damn it, Serena!”

Magnus’s voice was heard from behind, but it felt somewhat distant.

“Doesn’t the World Tree like you?”

Serena brought up the conversation she had momentarily forgotten. The child’s eyes widened at that.

“That’s right, it probably doesn’t like me. After all, negative emotions ultimately stem from darkness.”

[I don’t dislike you.]

Once again, the voices overlapped.

The soft, calm voice and the child’s characteristic young voice, that is.

‘…It says it doesn’t dislike it.’

Serena turned her head towards the World Tree in surprise.

‘Did the tree just speak?’

Even though it’s called the World Tree, I thought it was just a tree…. At this point, does it have consciousness too?

She took a small step back.

[Please cut me down.]

Serena stopped midway as she was turning her head towards the child. She stared blankly at the World Tree.

What did this tree just say?

[Please cut me down. You should be able to cut me down.]

“……”

Wasn’t the world supposed to end if it’s cut down?

‘Am I really dreaming or something?’

Like hearing auditory hallucinations of what she wants to hear.

Serena shook her head. This can’t be happening unless she’s gone mad.

“Big sister, please help.”

“How many times do I have to say I don’t want to die……”

“What’s more precious, the lives of millions of people or your single life, big sister?”

Serena clenched her fist tightly.

When he puts it that way, doesn’t it make her feel like she’s an utterly bad person?

“If you’re asking personally, of course my own life is more precious to me.”

“…So you’re no different from other humans, big sister.”

“Even if you suddenly say millions of people would live if I die, it doesn’t really hit home or make sense to me.”

Serena frowned.

“And honestly, what you’re saying is nothing more than an ideal. Maybe dark emotions would disappear if you’re gone,”

Perhaps everyone in the world could live with happy hearts under the sun.

They might be able to live while being grateful for everything, and maybe all of that would become the norm in that world.

“But you’re darkness, not a god. You can’t see the future either. Can you be sure your choice is right?”

“Yes.”

“Does the World Tree want that too?”

“I suppose so.”

“That it wants you to take revenge like this and remove emotions from humans?”

“Yes.”

The child spoke as if certain.

Serena’s face contorted. It was because it was completely different from the story she was hearing.

The World Tree was continuously asking for help. It was asking to be cut down.

Serena slowly exhaled at the voice that kept coming.

“Are you sure that’s the conclusion you reached after talking with the World Tree too?”

“…Yes.”

[No!]

“You’re lying.”

The child said, his face not changing at all.

Serena’s face contorted at that.

This much was certainly a lie. After all… the World Tree wanted to die.

[Please cut me down. Please cut me down… Please. I don’t want this anymore.]

“It’s not a lie.”

Serena frowned as she looked at the child and opened her mouth again.

“It is a lie. The World Tree is saying right now that what you’re saying is a lie.”

“What are you talking about? The World Tree has been in a deep sleep and unable to communicate for hundreds of years now.”

This time, the child frowned and spoke.

Serena glanced at the World Tree, then looked back at the child, then at the World Tree again.

[…He can no longer hear. He’s gone too deep. He’s become too distant.]

“It says you can no longer hear. Because you’ve gone too deep.”

Serena quietly relayed the message. The child’s lips trembled slightly.

“To lie like that because you don’t want to help…!”

Anger settled on his suddenly distorted face. Serena took a step back.

“How dare you…!”

Strange veins popped up on the young, childish face, and the whites of his eyes began to turn black.

[Nyx has already fallen. He can no longer discern, can no longer hear my voice, and can no longer hear the voice of god.]

The World Tree spoke in a voice that was even clearer than before.

[We were soon to become gods. But we have already committed too many sins.]

“Serena, you’re the same. In the end, you… were no different from other humans. If you were so unhappy, why don’t you participate in eliminating unhappiness?”

[I am miserably continuing my life using humans as prey, and darkness has massacred and killed many humans. God is a flawless being. We… can no longer become gods.]

Leaves slowly began to sprout on the World Tree’s branches. Green buds started to pop open.

At that, the child who was striding towards Serena stopped in his tracks.

“…World Tree?”

The child whirled around.

The light that flowed from the World Tree’s branches instantly enveloped Magnus and released his binding.

“Serena!”

He immediately ran over and embraced Serena.

“…What?”

The child’s eyes widened at the sight of the freed Magnus. The child glared at Serena and Magnus.

“What did you do!!”

“I didn’t do anything.”

Serena answered.

[Please cut me down. I… will drive out and eliminate the darkness.]

“…What’s this voice?”

Magnus, who was next to Serena, said with a frown. Serena’s eyes widened.

“Can you hear that? Magnus.”

“It’s faint, but… I can hear it. I’m not deaf, after all. Do you know what that is, Serena?”

Magnus asked, narrowing his brows and gripping his sword tightly.

“It’s the World Tree.”

“The World Tree? So trees can speak too.”

Magnus looked ahead, expressing exactly the same sentiment as Serena.

“Should we cut it down?”

Magnus glanced at Serena and asked.

“…I don’t know.”

… whether cutting it down is right, or not doing so is right.

[Look, I can no longer even bloom flowers. Corrupted and defiled… the world is already running on its own without my power. Humans now… no longer need the help of gods. Humans will ponder, develop, and progress. They will create the product called science, and eventually, there will even be those who deny gods.]

“……”

[Like the world you’ve seen and felt. Your world is our future, after all.]

No sooner had the World Tree finished speaking than the leaves that had bloomed on the branches instantly turned black and rotted, then finally fell off and turned to powder.