1023 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Chapter 1023: The Disappearance of the Heavenly Demon The Heavenly Demon had vanished. She was nowhere to be seen, though she was just behind him moments ago. Where could she have gone? "Again, without saying a word." He frowned. He had brought her along to keep her by his side, only for her to disappear like this. Especially in such a situation? 'Tsk.' Though it became a bit troublesome, she likely hadn't gone far. Based on her actions, she tended to linger nearby. 'The issue is she's not here right now.' But honestly, that wasn't a significant problem either. 'It's not like things would change if she were here, right?' In the course of the conversation, he had glanced at the Heavenly Demon without realizing it. Whether she was there or not didn't make much of a difference. With this in mind, he turned to ask the spirit. "What does it mean for a soul to have a core?" "……." His question inspired a look of puzzlement on the spirit's face, as if wondering why he didn't already know the answer. "Can I dare to ask the master of the underworld...? If this is a test for this insignificant one..." "It's not that, I genuinely want to know. I lack knowledge about this side of things." "……." Being addressed as 'master' was strange enough to prompt questions. Especially with claims of harboring a core within the spirit. “……The connection to the universe is formed by the Divine Tree. That's why I said so; you bear one within you.” "The Divine Tree... inside me?" He ran his hand over his chest. A Divine Tree, he bears one? What could this mean? '...Could it be that?' He narrowed his eyes, recalling the situation. He might have borne it, indeed. 'Is she referring to what I obtained at Night Moon?' At that time, when he touched the Divine Tree, he felt energy flowing into him. Is that what she meant? 'So that's why she thinks of me as the master?' If this spirit woman's misunderstanding stemmed from that, it seemed plausible. However. Acting as if he remained clueless must have bred doubt in her expression. She appeared uncertain if he really was the master. Worry mixed with wariness showed on her face. 'Hmm.' Instinctively, he knew proving he wasn't the master would lead nowhere good. Those standing behind her were subtly showing hostility. '...What should I do?' If needed, he could sweep them away. It probably wouldn't be too difficult. 'But there's too much to gain here.' It seemed wasteful to dispose of a potential source of information like her. He had minimal information and knew he could learn much from her. Moreover. 'Regarding the Divine Tree in front of me...' He looked up. Though it was still day, recalling the full moon he saw the previous night, he knew. 'The full moon isn’t far off.' In a few days, the full moon would rise, heralding the moment his mother had mentioned. 'She said to meet at the hill when the full moon appeared.' He guessed the hill his mother mentioned was the one where this Divine Tree in the Forest of Spirits stood. The small hill testified to this. 'This means I'll need to spend a few days here, waiting for the right time.' To avoid needless conflict, it made sense not to stir up trouble. With that decision made, he spoke to the woman. "I see... Indeed." He nodded, acknowledging her. “Uh—” "The testing concludes here." He interrupted her. “To confirm something, I apologize for having tested you.” "......!" Her eyes widened as he spoke through a faint smile. "E-Exactly…!" She seemed relieved that her assumptions were correct. As he turned away from her, the spirit woman, he faced the Divine Tree. Nothing more needed to be said. He did not want to risk his expression betraying his thoughts. “Spirit, was it?” “Yes, O Great Being.” “Indeed, as you said, I come from another realm.” "Ah…." She sounded awestruck, though he couldn't fathom why his origin inspired such reverence. Though he did not understand, he’d come to terms with it in time. "Tell me. Why are you bound to this place?" He had heard of beings unable to leave the Forest of Spirits, suggesting it was not by choice. Speaking as if he knew, the spirit woman immediately prostrated with folded hands. “……We are the children of the Spirit Mountain, eternally guarding this land.” “Children of the Spirit Mountain?” “Yes...... It's the home of those among the Moonlit Race whose blood is particularly thick.” “…Hmph.” Their notably thick blood was something he accepted. 'At least they're confirmed as the Moonlit Race.' This included not only humans with animal ears and tails. ‘So, the Moonlit Race also includes those closely resembling beasts.' Some practically looked like pure beasts, save for standing on two legs. The issue was. "Then what about you?" He accepted that for the others. But what about this one called Spirit? Unlike the others, she didn't greatly differ from the Moonlit Race he knew. The veil hinted at a human face resembling those of the Moonlit Race. Animal ears and a tail, similarly proving her identity. “You’re different from the others.” He speculated she should be more like a beast, according to her clarification. Seeming prepared, the spirit replied: “……Among the children of the Spirit Mountain, once every thousand years, an offspring is born to uphold the traditions of the priestess.” “An offspring?” “Yes, the Master of Myriad Worlds bestows blessings to send one resembling herself.” "……What?" He scowled and stared at the spirit woman. ‘Resembling the master?’ That meant. ‘She resembles my mother?’ White hair, tail, and ears. Her face wasn’t visible through the veil. Even with focused perception, he couldn't see past it. This implied that the veil itself was akin to a rare artifact. "I'm sorry for not showing my face. I cannot reveal it because it resembles our master's." The idea was that she shrouded her face with a veil to hide her resemblance to the Master of Myriad Worlds. But still... "For what purpose?" Why exactly did the Master of Myriad Worlds fashion her offspring as a priestess, bringing her into this world? Questions remained about this aspect. With a somewhat melancholy tone, the spirit continued to clarify the situation. "Originally, this place was created by our master to disseminate her will." Her eyes scanned the surroundings. "Even the Forest of Spirits was once more vibrant and beautiful than it is now." Though the forest appeared sufficiently lush, the outside was stark. A barren landscape of rocks, lacking any vitality. ‘Wasn't it always like that?’ Did it mean it wasn't meant to be just barren rocks? "However, about two hundred years ago... When the communication from our master ceased, an anomaly occurred." "An anomaly?" "In our midst, a figure emerged calling himself a chieftain... When he appeared, all vitality of the mountain was erased." "...Hmm?" The vitality of the mountain disappeared with the emergence of this chieftain? "He began to capture those who originally inhabited the Forest of Spirits. For some unknown reason, the mountain steadily lost its life force. We had to flee." "…You fled from the chieftain?" "Yes... To escape his gaze, we regretfully had to use the fragment left by our master." "Fragment?" The spirit showed something carefully. It was a piece of stone, radiant with a deep crimson hue. "It's a sacred object sent by the master to the priestess." "......" Upon seeing it, he immediately recognized it. ‘…What is that aura?’ The energy contained within that tiny fragment was unfathomable. It held an immense, incomprehensible quantity, making it distinctly foreign. Just seeing it was enough to rouse a reaction from his body. "Is this what you used to create the space?" "Yes... This place is our sanctuary, created using the power bestowed by the master." "Why didn't you consider fleeing?" "We couldn’t... Without the chieftain's permission, we cannot leave the Forest of Spirits..." "Huuh." When the chieftain began to dominate the Forest of Spirits, the life force of the forest vanished. He began capturing all the tribesmen living in the Forest of Spirits. In order to escape this, they created a space using the fragment and lived in hiding. Hearing this only sparked more questions. "Then why did you only reveal your presence during the day?" He knew about the problem with this space. The presence that was undetectable at night became noticeable during the day. If they really wanted to hide from the chieftain, they shouldn't have been scattering their presence in the daylight. ‘There’s no way the chieftain wouldn’t sense it.’ Having experienced his acute senses firsthand, he knew the chieftain would inevitably find them. To this question, the spirit replied. "……The chieftain of the Forest of Spirits does not move during the day." "What?" She provided quite invaluable information. "He exhibits no behavior when the sun is up. But as soon as night falls, he begins to move. This is why—" "So during the day, you feel safer revealing a bit of presence?" "Yes." "...Does that mean it’s to conserve energy?" "That's correct..." The spirit seemed surprised that he guessed the reason correctly. Though the fragment held vast energy, it was still exhaustible. To maintain their space for as long as possible, they had to conserve. ‘Lowering the density of the space during the day when the chieftain isn’t moving, or is perhaps unconscious.’ That’s why he could only detect their presence in the daytime. Having thought this through, he crossed his arms, but the understanding only deepened thus far. "One last thing." He asked the spirit. "You claimed you were waiting for me. How could you know?" Their demeanor implied they were anticipating his arrival. It was a key detail that intrigued him the most. This understanding prompted the spirit to speak, seemingly prepared. "……Our master left us a message." "The master?" "Yes. About two hundred years ago, when she last communicated... She expressed her apologies for the events we were about to encounter and, along with the fragment, said another master from a different realm would come to rescue us." While speaking, she clenched the hand holding the fragment into a fist. "……I believe that time has finally come." Her voice, heavy with emotion, echoed. "……O Great Being." She bowed her head as low as she possibly could. "Please… Please save us." The small-bodied spirit lay prostrate before him. "……Hmm." Scratching his cheek as he looked at her, he spoke. "No." “Thank yo… What?” The spirit raised her head abruptly. The veil fluttered. Even without seeing her face, her shock was unmistakable. He smiled, speaking again. "I refuse." "……." The spirit's form became extraordinarily stiff. Comments Hideto 2024.10.19 17:56 Report I don't like free handouts. 0 Yeon Woo 2024.10.31 02:38 Report What a jerk, just taking the information and ignoring them. 0 Only logged-in members can post comments. 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