Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Dream's Labyrinth (3)
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I had no idea how much time had passed. This was a dream, after all. After walking for a while under the gaze of the portraits, I stopped. The endless portraits had finally vanished. In their place along the long corridor stood doors.
The doors came in all sorts of varieties. Wooden ones, stone ones, those with just a light curtain draped over them, transparent ones, opaque ones, even things so bizarre I wasn't sure they could be called doors...
A multitude of doors in every shape and color lined the hall. The only thing they had in common was that each bore the name of a family.
Each probably held the knowledge, memories, and "secrets" passed down through its family.
Most of the doors were firmly locked. Only family members or the queen could open them, no doubt. I hurried past the locked ones. Even the door of the Sylvanus family, who had lent me the potted branch, wouldn't open for me, so I had no choice but to move on.
But every now and then, there were doors flung wide open. Worn ones, broken ones. These must belong to families that had "vanished." Since they were open, I peeked inside, but there was nothing useful. Just dust flying around. Oh, and sometimes wriggling black blobs. They never attacked first or anything, but they gave off the same creepy feeling of being watched, just like the portraits.
'Let's just do some light scouting today and head back.'
With no clue how vast the Dream's Labyrinth was, I planned to poke around until Ayla woke me. I quickened my pace, but the corridor seemed endless. I get that elves were the second most prosperous race after humans on the continent, so there were tons of families, but... this was too many.
-Whiiish...
-Poof.
-Pop!
Just as I started getting tired, the eerie whistling returned, and the butterflies that had been following me began flitting busily around. Hoping against hope, I sped up my slowed steps, and finally!
The end of the corridor came into view.
"Ha, what a pain in the ass."
At the end lay a vast hall, and in its center stood something familiar.
-Rushhhh!
A fully bloomed Guardian Tree.
Silver-glowing water poured down from somewhere in the endless ceiling onto the tree.
'Holy water...'
The same water used in the Proving Rite. It was perfectly recreated here in the Dream's Labyrinth. The Guardian Tree looked identical too...
I stared at it for a long while before reaching out. Just like in the Proving Rite, I wanted to see if it would react to me.
'My skills don't seem to work here, but...'
-Hummm...
To my surprise, the moment my hand touched it, the Guardian Tree began to vibrate softly. Then.
-Fwoosh!!!!
Just like in the rite, flower buds burst open on every branch.
Green spread through the bare limbs as round petals like silver bells bloomed. It was just as awe-inspiring as before.
-Slither...
And that wasn't all.
As flowers bloomed across the entire tree, a golden banner descended from the ceiling. It bore the image of the Dianta flower, symbol of the queen, fluttering gently amid the petals. I stared in a daze.
-Whiiish...
The whistling sounded again, clearer this time. I looked toward the source.
"...Stairs?"
There stood a transparent staircase, like it was made of crystal. It spiraled upward around the Guardian Tree, stretching impossibly high.
The corridor ends, and now stairs...
I gazed upward with a hollow expression. No telling how long this would take. Hopefully I'd find something before morning.
I began climbing the crystal stairs slowly. The butterflies still followed.
How much time passed?
'Easily past the hundredth floor, I think.'
Looking down, I saw the Guardian Tree shining far below. Dizziness hit me. Ah, damn. Don't look down. Just keep eyes up and walk.
Walk, walk, walk some more.
-Whiiish!
This whistle was lighter, more cheerful. I snapped my head around. Far off, a swarm of butterflies fluttered in circles. I approached cautiously.
"...!"
This was weird.
The area had been brightly lit moments ago, but the moment I stepped off the stairs, darkness swallowed it. After three steps, pitch black enveloped everything, and I couldn't even tell where the stairs had been. Damn, this was a dungeon all right. I pressed on, relying on the light from the fluttering butterflies.
Piercing the thick darkness, I arrived at...
-...Who are you?
A beautiful woman with golden hair cascading longer than her height stood there. Her ears were exceptionally long and pointed, like a butterfly's wings. Naturally, she was an elf. Butterflies flitted around her.
Of course, I knew who she was.
"Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty."
The Elf Queen, Dianta.
Her eyes, blue as crystal, fixed on me.
-How did you get here...
"I was asked to come."
Her face was unreadable. I waited silently for her to speak.
-You came all this way because of a request?
Her voice sounded faintly like laughter, weary and weak. I nodded.
-In the Dream's Labyrinth, one not chosen...
-'That matter' perhaps...
-Ah, as expected...
The queen muttered to herself for a long time. She didn't seem to have any major issues from this alone... So why was the Sylvanus family so worried?
-Fate has led you here...
-Good. I needed help...
Classic lines. I listened quietly. Then I noticed something odd.
"Your Majesty, your legs..."
Her legs had hardened like wood, roots burrowing into the floor.
Looking closer, black thorny vines sprouted from the ground, climbing her feet to her legs and binding up to her knees. Sensing danger, I reached for the vines. Then.
-Shraaack!!!!
The black thorny vines whipped like a lash. They grew thicker and longer, constricting her body. The queen, about to say something, groaned in pain.
-No...!
"Wait, hold on! There has to be a way!"
-'He' noticed...
"He? Who's he?"
-Run. If he finds you, you'll...
Before she could finish, a massive darkness emerged.
-Find 'Grizel.' And...
The darkness engulfed her. She barely managed to extend her hand and chant a spell. The butterflies around us exploded in a massive blast. The shock hurled me away, and I began plummeting.
'Damn!'
My body fell endlessly. No magic worked here to stop it. Falling from this height should kill me. Being a dream might be okay? But if my brain registers dream death as real...
'I could actually die!'
Down, down, the Guardian Tree rushing closer faster and faster. Then.
-Woof!
-Woof woof!
A familiar morning call rang in my ears. I reflexively "opened my eyes." Actually opened them. The dreamscape melted away like snow, replaced by warm sunlight pouring through the window and Ayla looking down at me.
"Hah..."
...I survived. Thought I was a goner. I swallowed dryly. Like someone with bad sleep habits, I'd rolled off the bed, and my back ached.
"Ah, ow ow..."
Ayla carefully bit my clothes and helped flip me upright. I sat dazed, staring at the potted Guardian Tree branch on the nightstand. The light-butterfly perched on the tip faded away.
"...Find Grizel," she had said.
To not forget, I carefully wrote "Grizel" in the quest log of my worn book.
'The owner of the Dream's Labyrinth, the Elf Queen, captured by something. What the hell is going on?'
As described in the quest log, the Dream's Labyrinth was a space protected by powerful ancient elven magic—a mental realm where even skilled people struggled to wield their powers.
And in such a place, someone had imprisoned the Elf Queen.
'This seems more serious than I thought...'
No more info right now. If only I could've talked to her longer.
Guess I'll have to go back to the Sylvanus family for now.
-Grrrrumble...
...After breakfast first.
* * *
"I knew it."
Mrs. Sylvanus nodded as if everything made sense after hearing my story.
"Yes. It seemed like there was nothing more I could do."
"..."
"Perhaps for something this important, we should seek someone else..."
"No."
Mrs. Sylvanus's blue eyes met mine, filled with even stronger conviction.
"You saw the doors."
"...Yes? Yes."
"All elves who enter the Dream's Labyrinth awaken 'inside' the doors."
"Yes?"
"They can only move within the space assigned to their family. But you..."
"..."
"...walked freely 'outside' the doors. As if..."
Like the queen. Perhaps deeming it irreverent, Mrs. Sylvanus paused.
"Dalion was probably right. You might truly be a descendant of the ancient elves."
"..."
"Even if not, that doesn't change that you're a noble benefactor who can help us."
"That's..."
"If you're the key to saving Her Majesty, we can't give up."
"..."
"We'll give you anything you want. Please... take this commission."
[Linked Quest Activated: Find the Queen]