Chapter: 333
To others, it was hundreds of years ago.
To the Old Tree, it is a distant past that has flowed countless times.
There, the Old Tree still remembered the cries of a young man.
How desperate it was.
Spitting out blood while digging into his own eyes.
The tears were as red as my child’s blood.
[How… How could this happen…]
The child, whose once brilliant blond hair was dyed all red with blood,
Cried continuously, as if questioning.
[What did we do wrong… What on earth did we do wrong!]
Embracing the bodies of his friends
and watching the blood flowing from the bodies of his family.
Over and over again.
[My lord…]
A scream filled with resentment.
At the end of it, there was a sobbing call.
The Old Tree could find no answer to give.
[What on earth should we do…]
The world was on fire.
The boundless blue sea was stained with blood.
Even now, life on this earth is dying one by one.
It is a bloody calamity.
A bloody disaster caused by one being,
growing to such an extent that it began to erase the world.
[My lord…]
Where did the problem start?
Because I just wanted the children to be happy.
Could it be because he didn’t try to do anything like the other masters?
The Old Tree was left in the dark.
Just.
Seeing my child crying right in front of my eyes
was unbearably sad.
All it could do was stretch out its branches to wipe away the tears.
[Child.]
As if responding to the call, the blond young man lifted his head,
but the gaze in his eyes was utterly empty.
The world was falling apart.
The child in front of him was already broken.
[…Please tell us what we did wrong.]
[You are without sin.]
[If so, how can the world be like this…!]
Was it called Blood Demon?
The being that tore through the air, as if expressing its own existence,
instantly expanded its territory.
The Old Tree realized:
All life born on this earth
is like one’s own child,
sharing the same consciousness.
However, the Old Tree did not know about the existence of the Blood Demon.
This meant that the Blood Demon did not exist in this world.
The Old Tree vaguely understood why it had appeared in this world.
About thirty to twenty years ago.
Or perhaps even earlier.
It was around that time when change came to the world,
which it had thought would always remain the same.
From a crack in the sky,
life forms not observed by the Old Tree began to appear.
The Old Tree thought that could be the reason.
Originally, a connection with the other world
was something that went against the rules of the world.
It was bizarre that this contradiction occurred in the Old Tree’s domain.
To the Old Tree, the master of the present world,
it was an act of confession.
If something goes awry, it is also the owner’s fault.
The link with the other world was a price to be paid.
Who committed the sin
was not important.
What mattered was that sin arose in this land,
thus the Old Tree had to face its punishment.
But.
[…everyone… died.]
What the Old Tree could not endure was just that.
[The children’s limbs were severed.]
[The children’s parents succumbed with their throats cut.]
The Old Tree considered everyone on this land
as its own children.
Death is like a flow.
For the Old Tree, which had lived for a very long time,
the passing of these lives was but a fleeting moment.
As time flows, one ages and encounters death.
Children who fought and died amongst themselves.
It was the natural order and flow of the world.
The Old Tree swallowed its sorrow and blessed new lives,
thinking it could not interfere with that.
Moreover, if the current rifts require its own disappearance
for a new master to be born in order to correct the laws of the world,
the Old Tree thought it might understand that too.
[… It’s sad.]
Seeing the child cry so sorrowfully,
the Old Tree was overwhelmed by emotions that were impossible to describe.
Soon.
The entity called the Blood Demon would come this way.
Whether it named itself Blood Demon
or the children called it that,
the Old Tree could feel that such a being was approaching from afar.
Thud thud thud.
The outstretched branches wrapped around the young man’s body.
This was not for protection.
If anything, it was closer to a comfort,
but whether the Old Tree’s touch could reach the young man was uncertain.
Even now, within the embrace of the Old Tree,
the incessant deaths of children who had been born and raised in this world were palpable.
[How can it be so cruel…]
It truly is cruel.
That we must erase so many lives before we can start anew.
That it can do nothing itself.
Just rooted in this land,
all it can do is watch the children die.
Is this how it must be?
To say the world desires this of it?
Is it not so dismal and harsh?
In that space of helplessness,
that there is nothing that can be done
would be the saddest truth of all.
Over there.
I saw the red sky gathering.
Underneath that blood-dyed sky,
it was coming.
To erase the Old Tree from this land.
To set right the order of the world.
Looking at the surging darkness,
the Old Tree pondered.
Is this logic truly correct?
It must be correct.
The hierarchy and principles set by the world are absolute.
The position it was granted remains unchanged.
Because a world exists, a master exists,
and because a master exists, life can be born.
The meaning of the Old Tree’s existence is tied to the existence of the world.
Contemplating all of this,
the Old Tree addressed the void.
[I accept it.]
It acknowledged that there was a problem in the world it had taken root in.
It also recognized that such anomalies arose because of it.
It would bear this acknowledgment,
but it asked,
[Aren’t the children innocent?]
Was this directed at someone?
A query likely to receive no reply,
it felt more like the murmuring of a solitary tree.
If there exists sin,
then the Old Tree’s sin is loving its own life
despite being called the master.
[…Child.]
The Old Tree whispered softly.
Amid the encircling branches, a presence was sensed.
[Child.]
[…Yes…]
The face of someone already broken,
who seemed ready to give up everything,
was clearly visible through the gaps in the branches.
Seeing this, the Old Tree spoke.
[I will give you a choice.]
[A choice… you say?]
The roots embedded in the ground trembled.
The branches began to quiver.
[It’s your choice to be swept away like this. It is also your choice to listen to alternative stories and seek out opportunities.]
From the Old Tree’s words,
the man’s eyes flickered.
It appeared that the weight of the word “opportunity” struck deeply.
Witnessing that, the man’s choice
could likely be perceived without anyone even having to ask.
The Old Tree slowly extended its branches,
gently stroking the man’s head.
It could not say this was the right choice.
It was a choice made in opposition to the world’s laws.
A decision taken while forgetting one’s own position and purpose of existence.
Then the man chose.
He would embrace the opportunity.
By any means necessary.
If given the chance to escape this catastrophe,
he would do anything.
Even if it meant shattering his own soul
and facing a monumental punishment,
he would say he would.
The man answered as such.
Upon hearing this, the Old Tree
let fall the beautifully blooming pure white leaves from a high branch.
[…Child, this is all I can provide for you.]
As leaves began to pile upon the ground,
something that writhed protectively around the tree
crawled down its trunk and ensconced the man’s form tightly.
It bore the semblance of a snake.
As the leaves continued to drift down,
the Old Tree also faced something unexpected.
The roots, once vibrant with life,
began to gradually wilt.
The surrounding area started to deform and decay.
The world had taken notice.
It understood what the Old Tree was trying to accomplish.
Feeling this, the Old Tree spoke.
[I will bear this burden as well…]
To turn back someone’s time
entails accumulating that much karma.
Even if this act is about merely reversing the time of a mere human,
to go against the principles
is a monumental sin.
The Old Tree felt a bitterness towards the punishment that awaited it.
[…Child.]
[My master… this is.]
[May there be a small blessing amidst the hardships and adversities you will face…]
The man looked at the Old Tree, as if to question its words.
In that moment, the white leaves piled high on the floor
whirled rapidly, like a gust of wind enveloping him.
They resembled a pure white cyclone.
Crrack… Crackle.
While the man was caught in the whirlpool,
the Old Tree calmly endured the bizarre occurrences unwinding around it.
Unlike a simple death,
this was punishment doled out for the master acting against reason.
Sensing the transformation,
the Old Tree gradually held its breath.
At that moment,
Whoosh!
The vortex surged skyward, spiraling upward.
Before long, upon the land of Sacheon,
a man reverted to the body of a boy.
The boy looked around with a perplexed expression,
but the giant tree that should have been there no longer existed.
Moreover,
it seemed the world had altogether forgotten the very existence of the Old Tree.
Or as if it were an entity that had never existed at all.
It was a world where the existence of the Old Tree itself had vanished.
I inhaled sharply as soon as I heard the story.
For it was a tale worth telling.
“You are the master of the world I once lived in?”
The World Tree before my eyes,
was once meant to be the master of our realm.
[Yes. I was the owner of that place.]
“Is it in the past tense?”
[Well, now, I have lost my qualification.]
Lost my qualification.
‘I recall you said you were punished for making someone regress.’
The first thought that came to mind was naturally the name Yeonilcheon.
The heroes I’d met thus far had spoken of him.
Even Yeonilcheon himself had mentioned experiencing regression.
Then,
it was that tree who brought Yeonilcheon back.
Are you suggesting that you ended up here as punishment for causing my regression?
‘You said this place was a false world.’
It was claimed that nothing in this world is true.
The monsters spilling forth from all directions resembled something out of a fantasy tale;
yet the pain they inflicted was all too real.
The corpses of those slain by the monsters did not fade like an illusion.
Why is this place considered a false world?
The World Tree itself had made that declaration.
After everything concludes,
when I escape this place and return to my original world,
I witnessed every single person who had transitioned alongside me had survived.
I was among those who believed this world to be a lie.
If not, how could such a scenario be possible?
But in truth,
‘Are you suggesting it’s a confined space?’
So, this is the place where the World Tree fell after committing a sin?
I was aware that there were several magical realms in the world.
There are four realms documented even within the Murim Alliance.
I have also overseen the gateways to these accessible locations.
Yet, this place does not belong to any of those four realms.
Among those unknown magical realms,
I knew of a few.
“… So, if you’re still here and haven’t vanished,
does that mean life in our world continues?”
Whether that’s true or not, I wasn’t certain.
Unknowingly, my tone had shifted slightly.
Regardless of whether the being was labeled as master or not,
my mouth still moved freely.
However, the vague sensation I derived from that World Tree was unsettling.
It felt strangely reminiscent of a mother’s warmth.
Was it difficult to issue harsh words?
‘How many years have I lived without feeling that?’
Now feeling maternal affection, despite my age, it struck me as ridiculous.
In the meanwhile,
the World Tree spoke to me.
[That isn’t the case.]
Because you exist here and haven’t disappeared,
the earlier assertion becomes questionable:
can the birth of life truly continue?
The World Tree denied this notion.
[I have lost my qualifications and thus lost my value as a master.]
“I cannot comprehend… then.”
How is the world maintained?
Is it genuinely the case that the magical realms pose a problem?
The Blood Demon… the being that the World Tree referenced,
is that a representative sent to eradicate life?
‘So, what were those orbs at the frontline?’
In the domain of the Sphere on one side of the battlefield,
the orbs that were present,
were identified as seeds, created from the beast found within.
Trees and seeds.
I truly despised that oddly intertwined feeling.
‘Hey.’
I called out to it with these thoughts in mind,
but the being hadn’t responded since the brief incident involving Shin Noya.
The same applied to Shin Noya.
I raised my hand and swept it across my forehead.
My head ached.
I sought to grasp the truth,
but never anticipated such hidden narratives to be stacked up so heavily.
When aiming to unravel the core issue,
one must trace where this problem originated.
To obtain a beginning
is to unravel even the most tightly wound threads.
However,
‘So ultimately, isn’t it true that the mess left by our ancestors is the problem?’
If cracks pose the problem,
it ultimately leads back to the one who opened the Demonic Mirror.
In the distant past,
the forebears of the nine clans opened the gate to the magical realm.
From that event, termed the way of the world,
cracks appeared.
This led to the emergence of the Blood Demon to rectify something amiss.
The master of the world where the Blood Demon thrives
was this World Tree.
Yet, for an unknown reason, the World Tree returned to Yeonilcheon.
Thus, the question arises.
“… Why precisely was it Yeonilcheon?”
King Gwon Cheol-geum was the greatest figure of his time.
At that point, he was the proprietor of the foremost Sega.
Just from listening to Shin Noya’s anecdotes, his strength was apparent.
Yet, I couldn’t help but remain skeptical.
What prompted Yeonilcheon to be chosen?
The reason this nagging question lingered was simple.
All the heroes from the past who had appeared thus far,
including Yeonilcheon,
Hwang A-bul-yeong, and even Namgung Myung,
all sought after Shin Noya.
The inquiry stems from the fact that they acted as if their hope dwelled in Shin Noya.
I don’t quite grasp the reason, but if Shin Noya is the hope,
would it not have been more prudent to revert Shin Noya instead?
In response to my question layered with meaning,
the World Tree shifted its branches,
as if indicating I should sit down again.
[Apostle, I sense your curiosity, but I regret to inform you I am not privy to many answers.]
“I’m simply seeking to understand why Yeonilcheon was brought back.”
[Yeonilcheon… Yes, that was the name.]
The World Tree confirmed this.
The reason why Yeonilcheon was allowed to return
is fundamentally tied to the World Tree before me.
That he’s been entrenched here due to that punishment.
[As for the reason… the reason.]
Was there something particularly special?
[It’s complicated.]
“It’s complicated?”
[Yes, how could it not be? Finding a reason is the key.]
Confounded by the World Tree’s assertion,
I cocked my head in disbelief.
What exactly does that mean?
Is it truly hard to determine the reasoning?
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.