Chapter 108

Three days ago.

Eched and Taltos, descending the rocky mountain in pursuit of Shaterian, who had been taken by a wyvern, encountered the Imperial Knight Order.

Upon hearing that Shaterian had been captured by a wyvern, Orgon’s face turned pale.

“She’s alive. That’s why I’m going to look for Shaterian right now.”

“Look for her? Are you saying you’re going into Haltonea Forest?”

At Orgon’s question, Eched acted as if there was no reason not to. He argued that there was no time to waste discussing this and tried to rush into the forest immediately.

“Commander!”

Orgon grabbed Eched. After a brief hesitation, he firmly stopped him.

“Entering Haltonea Forest now is dangerous.”

For some reason, the monsters had grown stronger. Entering the monster-infested forest alone was tantamount to s*icide.

“Shaterian is in there.”

“No. She might already be… dead.”

It was difficult for him to say those words, to predict the death of a family member with his own mouth.

Did Orgon not want to find Shaterian? Of course, he did.

But it was an unavoidable decision. It was better to plan a strategy than to recklessly charge in.

Even though it was a family matter, Orgon, as the leader of the knight order, could not be swayed by personal emotions.

“Commander, you need to regain your composure.”

“Composure? I’m extremely composed right now. That’s why I’m going to find Shaterian.”

Eched firmly believed.

There was no way Shaterian was dead. That’s why he had to find her quickly.

Before Shaterian, who was alone in the forest, faced even greater danger.

Once Eched had made up his mind, no one could stop him.

If Taltos had been in better condition, he would have gone with him. However, due to overexertion from the battle with the wyvern, Taltos was in no shape to accompany him.

Without giving Orgon a chance to stop him further, Eched stepped into the forest.

At the place he arrived, guided by Mnemeite’s power, he found only Shaterian’s ring lying there.

Thus began his search for Shaterian—one day, two days, three days.

He had slain countless monsters, but the one he sought was nowhere to be found.

***

A sensation tickled her face, and her hazy consciousness slowly began to return.

‘Am I alive…?’

Such a question was immediately overshadowed by the dull pain that surged through her body as soon as she regained her senses.

Falling from that height—it was only natural.

In fact, it was a miracle that she was still alive.

She couldn’t help but question why her divine power couldn’t be used for self-healing.

A sacred force meant to be used only for others.

‘Sacred force, my foot… It’s not like I’m meant to live my entire life in service and sacrifice.’

Groaning in pain, she barely managed to open her eyes. Before her, a spirit flitted around in the air.

It was the same spirit that had appeared underground a few days ago after her encounter with Eched, only to vanish shortly after. Now, it had reappeared, hovering around her as if urging her to get up.

How annoying.

She didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger, let alone spring to her feet.

That was when the spirit brushed against her cheek.

In an instant, a warm energy spread through her, and the pain vanished as quickly as it came.

Feeling much lighter, she blinked at the spirit in bewilderment.

The spirit floated gracefully through the air, as if beckoning her to follow. Instinctively, she began trailing after it.

The place where she had awakened was a dim underground space, just bright enough to make out her surroundings.

The sound of dripping water echoed, and the damp smell of moss filled the air.

Since she had fallen while flying over Haltonea Forest, this must have been somewhere within it.

It seemed she had somehow ended up underground.

At least there didn’t seem to be any monsters nearby, which was a relief.

As she followed the spirit forward, she eventually came upon a stone altar.

The circular altar had braziers on either side, and at its center lay a rectangular stone coffin.

It looked as though someone’s body had been enshrined there in a sacred manner.

The lid of the coffin was slightly ajar, as if it had been opened once before. Judging by the moss growing in the gaps, it hadn’t been opened recently.

She cautiously examined the coffin, her eyes drawn to the strange patterns engraved on its lid.

The design, resembling a human eye, was undoubtedly associated with dark magic.

She instinctively knew.

The owner of this coffin was the dark mage who had supposedly died 300 years ago.

Peering through the crack in the lid, she saw that the inside of the coffin was empty.

The dark mage’s corpse had already been taken by someone.

Who would venture into a monster-infested forest to steal the dark mage’s body?

And who would be strong enough to pull off such a feat?

Though not necessarily a powerful individual, there was only one person who might steal the dark mage’s body.

‘Masetike…’

Among the followers of dark magic she knew, Masetike was the most likely suspect.

Her lips tightened as the image of Masetike’s face flashed in her mind.

Would investigating this place, which seemed to be the dark mage’s altar, yield any clues?

But this was, after all, a monster-infested forest.

It was questionable whether she could safely escape, let alone bring someone here to investigate.

As the saying goes, “A master craftsman does not blame his tools,” but she was no master craftsman.

Still, she glanced around, hoping to find something that could serve as a weapon. Unfortunately, there was nothing useful, only stones.

In the end, it seemed she’d have to fight her way out of the forest barehanded.

“How absolutely dreadful…”

Though her divine power might help her fend off some threats, it was no guarantee of survival. It was merely a stroke of luck.

She foresaw her fate.

This was a one-way ticket to a death ending.

But she couldn’t just sit around waiting for someone to rescue her.

In a situation where it was uncertain whether anyone would come for her, doing nothing would be far too complacent.

Even she found it miraculous that she was still alive—how much more so for others?

“Still, if it’s Eched, he might come looking for me…”

Yes, perhaps Eched would…

A sudden thought struck her—she needed to escape quickly.

Before that inflexible man put himself in danger, she had to return to him.

To Eched’s embrace.

The spirit flitted back toward her.

It seemed to want to show her something else.

The spirit had brought her here and guided her thus far.

It clearly had a purpose.

But since it couldn’t communicate, all she could do was follow its movements.

The moment she took a step after the spirit, the world around her changed in an instant with a burst of brilliant light.

The dim underground space vanished, and she suddenly found herself standing amidst a golden radiance.

Golden sparkles illuminated the surroundings, and a golden path stretched out before her.

The atmosphere was cozy and warm.

Though unfamiliar, she felt as if she knew this place.

It was a space that seemed to lift her body into a state of buoyancy—a strange sensation she had only ever experienced in dreams.

Standing there felt so surreal that she hesitated to take another step.

But standing still and mulling over it wouldn’t yield any answers.

Whatever the spirit wanted to show her would be at the end of this path.

She walked.

The peculiar sensation of walking on clouds accompanied her until she arrived at a tree.

“The World Tree…”

It was the World Tree they had been searching for.

The space surrounding the World Tree was immeasurable.

It felt both vast and confined, simultaneously stable and precarious.

She approached the World Tree slowly.

Though it seemed infinitely far away, she could touch its trunk by simply reaching out her hand.

As her palm pressed against the trunk, the energy of the World Tree flowed into her body.

The World Tree guided her to the world. As she floated through existence, countless versions of herself brushed past her.

The past, the present, the future.

After countless reincarnations, she had reached her current life. Upon her death, she would reincarnate again—a soul trapped in an endless cycle.

A wheel that spun without end.

The inescapable shackles of the World Tree.

The unbroken threads of fate.

She focused on one life in particular, observing it closely.

It was a world where she had not regained her memories.

In that world, she was much the same as the person she knew herself to be.

Still rude to others, still sharp-tongued, still distant from her family.

But one thing was different: in that life, “Shaterian” harbored no jealousy.

Because of that, she never sought to harm Eched, never ended up in prison, and never took her own life there.

Naturally, the dark mage’s soul never awakened.

Gusto was never consumed by dark magic, monsters never overran the land, and no one died as a result.

Masetike never resented Eched or her, nor did he long for his family.

The World Tree seemed to suggest that this was the correct version of events.

This was how the world was supposed to unfold.

To the World Tree, she was a disease, a virus that had disrupted the natural order.

What an infuriating accusation.

It was Eched who had brought her soul here, and it was the Goddess who had restored her memories.

Yet she alone was being branded as the culprit.

At that moment, a voice resonated through the space.

[Do not feel so wronged. Is this not all the result of your past actions?]

By “past,” it was referring to her previous lives.

She recalled the memories that had brushed past her earlier.

In her past lives, she had always begged for her life. Eched had saved her, violating the laws of the world and accumulating karmic debts.

[But it would be too harsh to hold you accountable for all those sins in your current life.]

The World Tree spoke as if it were a merciful deity.

[Thus, I shall give you a chance to set everything right.]

“How?”

[If you completely eradicate the dark mage from this world, I shall grant you what you desire.]

“Eradicate the dark mage from existence?”

The World Tree smiled faintly.

Light enveloped her. When the light faded, she found herself standing before the World Tree once more.

The World Tree handed her a sword.

A blade forged from its own branch.

[This is both a weapon to destroy the dark mage and a means to restore the world to its original state.]

Restore the world…

[To a clean world, free of the dark mage.]