Chapter 22 - A New Paradise (2)
“They took my wife, Luri?! Why the hell would they do that?”
“I don’t know. They didn’t tell me where or what for. From the rumors I picked up while wandering, though, I’m not the only one they’ve done this to.”
Leon poured out his woes to Serenian in a voice trembling with rage and despair. She was just as shocked. She hadn’t expected them to touch his family. Even if they had, if it was some noble duty or mission for the clan, a proper explanation would have convinced him to go along. But they hadn’t even bothered with that. Which meant one of two things: they were negligent, or it was something so unspeakable they ignored it entirely.
“I couldn’t contain my anger and grief, so I killed one of their soldiers and fled. An innocent elf who was once one of us. I was just lashing out, so now I’m a vile criminal.”
“Is that why you came here? To this place with ‘fellow sinners’?”
“N-no, that’s not...!”
Serenian snorted at his confession. She knew the guilt weighing on this fallen elf who had sought her out, but the fresh memory of being ignored by those she had trusted in her hour of need still burned.
Realizing his words had dismissed her all over again, Leon’s face drained of what little color it had left.
“You’ve come to the right place.”
With her anger spent, Serenian knelt on one knee, took his battered, emaciated hand, and smiled. Leon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“As I said earlier, this isn’t some exile for sinners. It’s a new land aspiring to be paradise. Eden. This is our new home now.”
Serenian gestured to the World Tree behind her. Only then did Leon notice it—and feel its acceptance.
“A true... new World Tree...”
“But this isn’t just any paradise. It comes with trials.”
Serenian gave a faint smile as she watched Leon stare blankly at the World Tree. She remembered when Seung-hyun had explained why he named it Eden.
“To avoid being driven out again and truly complete this paradise, we must face those trials without end. Overcoming them brings rewards, and with them, we grow. Someday, we’ll be strong enough to take revenge on them.”
“Revenge.”
The word shook Leon to his core. The heroes who felled the Demon King, their allied non-elves, the sycophants who worshipped them. So many of his kin had fallen into depravity. Even with a new World Tree sprouting, revenge against those entrenched powers seemed impossible.
“This paradise isn’t just for us elves.”
Serenian dispelled his doubts. Rising to her feet as Leon gazed up at her in a daze, she signaled Ren and Lea, who were peeking nervously from afar, to prepare their prayer.
Make it rain? But that’s impossible.
Leon watched Serenian and the children in a stupor. He wasn’t a priest, but as a mature elf who had lived several times longer than even Serenian, he knew the prayer she spoke of was beyond them. No matter how great the World Tree’s power, manipulating the local atmosphere went against all common sense.
“But...”
He glanced around. Amid the ordinary-looking forest were scattered anomalies. The most obvious was the large house near the World Tree—a miniature to him, but not built in the elves’ traditional wooden style. Nor was it quite human; he knew humans favored bricks heavily in construction.
What in the world...?
His whirlwind emotions began to settle, and once he started noticing, more oddities jumped out: the strange patterns and fabrics of Serenian and the children’s clothes, their footwear, the unusual bow she carried.
“Can the World Tree control even the winds and clouds?”
“The World Tree is still young. So am I. But there is a master of this heaven who watches over us frail ones. We pray to Him.”
“Impossible. The Sky God is absolutely neutral—He answers no one’s pleas.”
“This sky is different.”
Serenian pointed skyward, revealing the spirit’s presence to the still-clinging Leon, then began the prayer without further delay.
“Ha...”
Dark clouds truly gathered, droplets fell one by one, then thickened into a steady downpour. Leon stood dazed in the rain, reality sinking in. Shock, relief, and more swirled chaotically within him.
Coming here was the right choice.
One firm conviction remained: this world, this land, could be the final haven for lost elves like him.
“Do you see now? We’re not alone here. We can overcome this.”
“Yes. Chieftain, please accept me into this village.”
“Of course, Leon. You are one of us.”
With his resolve hardened, Leon met Serenian’s eyes steadily, pleading to be accepted. And as the High Elf priestess of the World Tree—and chieftain of the clan—granted it, he became a true comrade.
“Send me back to the Great Forest soon. I want to proclaim this place’s greatness and give other kin disgusted by the corrupt ones a chance!”
“Do so. But first, tend to your body. There’s much new to learn.”
Leon begged to return and bring more like him. Serenian saw no reason to refuse; smiling, she permitted it but ordered him to recover from his ordeal first.
Why a rain ritual right now?
Watching Serenian and the new male elf in a daze, I chuckled at her choice.
Elf's Prayer - Rain Invocation
I couldn’t hear their conversation, but it was obvious. She was praying to me now to help convince the new resident—who looked half like a zombie. Internal politics were her domain, though.
I grabbed the mister and sprayed. Thick mist or fine spray like now—inside the pot, it was always a gentle drizzle. Spray harder and faster, and it turned to heavy rain. The World Tree, houses, battle bots, elves, barriers—all soaked evenly.
No worries, though. Every clay structure was tiled with waterproof coating sheets.
“---?”
Serenian, sitting in the rain with water dripping from her face, turned and smirked at him. I could guess what she said even without hearing. When the nameless male elf bowed his head, tears streaming, it meant things went well.
“It’s raining. Your prayers reached the spirit. How’s the situation there?”
“Good... very.”
She replied with a smile over the radio.
Nice scene. Wanted to capture the rain, too.
Their affairs were theirs now. I flew the waiting drone through the rain, gliding swiftly over the pot world to film the wet vistas.
And as expected, it was striking. Low-angle shots of elves praying before the massive World Tree under the sky—I stared, mesmerized.
If even I, who’d seen it daily, was hooked, others would love it. I landed the drone, sat at the computer with the footage, and got to editing.
Elf videos weren’t flashy or dramatic. Just nature-doc-style cuts with soft music and occasional subtitles explaining their actions.
Can’t fill up on the first drink, huh?
The debut video just introduced the pot world and hinted at elves. No dramatic hits, naturally. Views barely scraped hundreds.
Filming an elf mukbang with pork belly might blow up, but I had zero interest in pushing sensationalism.