Chapter 333: The Apostle (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 333: The Apostle (4)
A few hundred years may have passed for others, but for the tree, it felt like an eternity.
It still remembered the young man’s cries from that day.
The sight of him was harrowing. He vomited blood and gouged out his own eyes, leaving them to bleed.
How… How can this be…?
His golden hair was stained crimson as he sobbed in utter frustration.
What did we do to deserve this… Just what!
He cradled the bodies of his fallen friends, watching the blood pool around his family’s lifeless forms.
And yet, through the despair and resentment choking his voice, he asked:
Ruler…
The tree had no answer for him.
What are we supposed to do now…?
The world was engulfed in flames. The once-blue ocean had turned a murky red with blood. Life on land perished, one after another.
This was the Blood Disaster.
A cataclysm brought forth by a single being, leading the world to ruin.
Our ruler…
Where had it all gone wrong? Was it because the tree had stood idle, hoping its children would find happiness on their own? The tree didn’t know. All it could do was extend a branch to gently wipe the child’s tears.
Child.
The golden-haired youth lifted his head. His eyes were hollow, completely devoid of light. The world was destroyed, and so was the child standing before it.
…Tell us. What did we do to deserve this?
You did nothing wrong.
Then how could the world end up like this…!
It was the work of the Blood Demon. The moment that monster emerged from the rift in the sky, it began seizing territories.
The tree knew. Every life on this land was its child, and the tree was aware of each and every one. Yet, it had been completely unaware of the Blood Demon’s existence. This could only mean one thing: the Blood Demon was not of this world.
And the tree had a fleeting understanding of why it had appeared.
It was because of what had happened twenty, perhaps thirty years prior. Maybe even earlier. A change had come to the world, despite the tree’s belief that it would remain constant. A crack had torn open in the sky, and creatures from other worlds began to spill through. The tree believed that was the cause.
This connection to other worlds violated the fundamental principles. And because it had happened under the tree’s watch, it bore the responsibility. The ruler had allowed this change, and it was a grave sin for the world to be linked to other realms. It didn’t matter who had caused it or what problems arose. This land had committed a sin, and the tree had to be punished for it.
However,
…Everyone… died.
There was one thing the tree could not endure.
The children’s limbs were torn apart.
Their parents had their necks severed.
To the tree, every being on this land was its child. Death was a part of the natural flow of time. Though the tree had lived for ages, it felt as if all life had been extinguished in an instant. Death by old age or in battle was the world’s natural cycle. The tree had always endured that pain, blessing the world with new life, never believing it could—or should—interfere.
But now, a new ruler was needed because of the crack in the world. Even the tree could understand that much.
…How pitiful.
Yet, as it watched the child weep in sorrow, the tree felt a strange, unfamiliar emotion stir within it.
Soon, the Blood Demon would arrive here. The tree wasn’t sure if its children had given the monster that name or if it had chosen the name itself, but it could feel the creature approaching from afar.
Craaack.
The tree’s roots extended, gently wrapping around the young man’s body. This wasn’t for protection. It was an attempt at consolation, though the tree didn’t know if it could reach his shattered heart.
Even now, the tree could feel the endless deaths of its children.
How could it be this violent…
It was unspeakably violent. Must all these lives be erased for a new beginning? The tree was powerless to stop it. To stand by and watch its own children die slowly across the land… Was this truly what the principles of the world demanded?
Wasn’t it too violent? Too brutal?
The saddest part, to the tree, was its own helplessness.
In the distance, the red sky drew nearer. It was coming. It was coming to erase the tree and restore the world to its original state.
As the ominous darkness approached, the tree wondered: Were these principles truly just?
They probably were. The world’s principles were absolute, and so was the role the tree had been given. A ruler existed because the world existed, and life could be born because the ruler existed. The tree only existed thanks to this world.
With that thought, the tree spoke into the void.
I admit it.
The world’s foundation had been damaged, and change had come because of it. The tree admitted that the fault was its own.
But the children did nothing wrong.
Who was the tree speaking to? It knew no response would come. It was only talking to itself. If anyone was at fault, it was the old tree, the former ruler of this world.
…Child.
The tree whispered softly. A presence stirred within the branches wrapped around the young man.
Child.
…Yes…
The child’s expression was one of hopeless devastation. The tree gazed at his face and spoke.
I will give you a choice.
Choice… you say.
The tree’s roots began to tremble; its branches writhed.
You may choose to perish here, or you may listen to a story and seek another chance.
The young man’s eyes trembled. The word ‘chance’ seemed to pierce through his despair. From his reaction, the tree knew no verbal answer was needed.
Its branches extended, gently brushing the young man’s hair. This wasn’t necessarily the right decision. It was a defiance of the world’s principles, an act of ignoring its own role and place. But the young man had decided. He would seize this chance, no matter the cost. He would do anything to escape this calamity.
…Child, it seems this is the only thing I can do for you all.
Something sinuous began to slither down the tree’s trunk, wrapping itself around the young man’s body. It resembled a snake. As leaves drifted slowly from its branches, the tree itself began to change. Its once-vibrant roots withered; its body started to decay.
The world became aware of what the tree was about to do.
I will bear the responsibility for this as well…
The act of altering a person’s fate carried an extreme burden. To change the destiny of even a single human was a grave sin, and the tree feared the punishment it would face.
…Child.
Ruler… what is this?
I hope you find even the smallest of blessings, on a journey that will be full of hardships…
The young man looked up, puzzled by the tree’s words, as the white leaves scattering around him began to swirl. They formed a pale whirlpool.
Crackle… crunch.
As the young man stood at the whirlpool’s center, the tree endured the transformation overtaking it. This was the punishment for breaking the rules—a fate far worse than mere death. As the transformation unfolded, the tree’s breath gradually faded.
At that moment,
Swooosh!
The whirlpool shot up into the sky. Moments later, the man found himself in the body of a boy in Sichuan.
The boy looked around, confused. The giant tree that had stood before him was gone. The world, too, seemed to have forgotten the tree’s existence, as if it had never been there at all—as if its very being had been erased.
* * *
I gasped, reeling from the story I had just heard. It was profoundly shocking.
“So… you used to be the ruler of my world?”
The World Tree before me was supposed to have been the sovereign of the world I called home.
Yes, I was the ruler of that world.
“Why do you speak in the past tense?”
…I lost my qualification.
The tree had lost its qualification. It said it was punished for altering someone’s fate.
My mind immediately flew to Yeon Il-Cheon. The other heroes I’d met had said similar things, and even Yeon Il-Cheon’s own memories hinted at his experience with regression. Was it possible that the tree had changed Yeon Il-Cheon’s fate and was now here as punishment?
I called this a false world.
I had insisted that nothing here was real. The Demons pouring out everywhere seemed like illusions, yet the pain they inflicted was real, and those killed by them didn’t simply vanish. I called it false because of what I’d already deduced. The World Tree itself had referred to it as a false world. And when I returned to the real world, everything was exactly as it had been, as if nothing had happened. That’s why I believed this place was an illusion.
Otherwise, how could such a thing be possible?
But perhaps… Maybe this is more of an incarcerated space? Was this a prison dimension created specifically for the tree’s punishment?
I knew there were various types of Abysses in the world. The Murim Alliance’s records listed four, and they even managed a gate leading to one. But this space wasn’t any of them. I was aware of a few Abysses that remained unknown to the world.
“…Then, is it your presence, even here, that allows new life to be born in my world?”
I didn’t know if the tree’s story was true, but I found myself speaking to it more formally without thinking. My mouth still ran freely, even knowing it was a former ruler, but I felt a strong emotion emanating from the tree that gave me pause. There was something maternal about its aura, making it difficult to be rude.
It’s been so many years since I’ve felt that.
Was I feeling something akin to maternal love? The irony wasn’t lost on me, given my age.
Setting that aside, the World Tree responded.
Not exactly.
I had asked if my world was sustained because the tree still existed somewhere, but the World Tree denied it.
I lost my qualification, and my worth as a ruler along with it.
Then… I don’t understand.
How was my world still functioning? Was the Gate of Demons the real issue? And the Blood Demon… was it sent as an agent to erase all life? Then what about the marble I saw at the Frontlines? In a territory of the Gu Clan, there had been a marble that the beast inside me referred to as a ‘seed.’ A tree and a seed. I hated how the two seemed connected.
Hey.
I tried calling out to the beast, reminded of its presence, but it had been silent ever since Elder Shin woke up that day. The same went for Elder Shin himself.
I raised a hand to my temple, brushing my hair aside. A headache was forming. I wanted to uncover the truth, but I hadn’t expected such a tangled and unpleasant story. Finding the root of the problem was essential if I ever hoped to solve anything. Only then could I untangle this mess.
However, So then, doesn’t that mean that my ancestors were the ultimate culprits? If the crack in the world was the problem, then the bastards who opened it were at fault. Long ago, the ancestors of the Gu Clan had opened the Gate of Demons. That act had torn a rift in the world’s principles, and the Blood Demon had been summoned to fix it. At the time, the World Tree ruled the world, and for reasons unknown, it had sent Yeon Il-Cheon back to his younger self.
“…Why was it Yeon Il-Cheon, of all people?”
The Iron Fist was the Zenith of his era. He was also the Head of the greatest clan at the time, and I knew from Elder Shin’s accounts just how powerful he was. Despite all that, I couldn’t help but wonder. Why him?
One reason puzzled me above all. Every hero from the past I had met—Yeon Il-Cheon, the Light of Might, even Namgung Myung—they had all been searching for Elder Shin. It seemed that, in the end, Elder Shin was their last hope. If that was the case, wouldn’t it have made more sense to send him back to the past?
After hearing my question, the World Tree moved its branches, gesturing for me to sit down again.
Apostate. I understand your curiosity, but sadly, I do not know much myself.
“I’m just curious as to why you chose to return Yeon Il-Cheon to the past.”
Yeon Il-Cheon… ah, yes. That was his name.
The World Tree’s response confirmed it. It was solely thanks to this tree that Yeon Il-Cheon had been able to regress. But as a result, the tree itself had been trapped here as punishment.
Reason… reason.
Was there a special reason for choosing him?
It’s difficult.
“Difficult, you say?”
Yes, how could it not be? To find a reason for it.
I tilted my head, confused by the World Tree’s words. What did it mean? That it was difficult to find a reason?