The Daughter of the World Tree
The sun had already risen, yet the world remained steeped in gloom.
Early-morning light, blocked by the leaves of the World Tree, never reached the ground. Only a bluish wash of shadow blanketed the entire forest.
“Has Robin already pulled some new scheme?”
Gazing at the uncanny scene, Do-yun naturally thought of Robin.
No returnee had ever spoken of the World Tree. Do-yun himself had first learned of it only after Robin mentioned the thing.
If anyone knew a way to force the World Tree to grow, Robin would be a likely candidate.
No. That doesn’t make sense.
Do-yun dismissed the idea at once. The desperation Robin had shown had not been false. The man would never have unleashed something this monstrous without Do-yun’s leave.
Another challenger, then.
There was no reason to assume Robin was the sole resident of the eighth floor. Challengers far outnumbered the Tower of Ascension’s total floors. While Robin had scoured the layer for traces of his spirit, some other climber must have been hunting for a way to revive the World Tree.
“Ciel. Even for you, flying all the way to the top would be hard, right?”
“Of course! That thing’s higher than the clouds!”
The World Tree’s height was enough to make even a fairy look sick. Listening to Ciel’s answer, Do-yun thought,
I’ve never seen anything about the World Tree before.
The events of the sixth and seventh floors had been shocking enough, yet both had sprung from hidden pieces he already knew. The World Tree, by contrast, offered no clue to its origin.
“No choice, I guess.”
The eighth floor’s setting was vast enough that even Jeong Se-ah, the Seeker, had never uncovered every secret. Whatever power that tree held, he would have to learn it the hard way—by colliding with it.
His body, still floating in midair, gave a sudden lurch.
Prolonged flight had finally exhausted the wind spirits.
“You can set me down now.”
The World Tree’s explosive growth was already tapering off. The roots that had been thrashing about had gone still. Descending now would be safe.
Do-yun drifted earthward and, the moment his boots touched ground, broke into a run—straight for the spot where the colossal tree had erupted.
“Isn’t there a chance we’ll run into other people?”
Ciel, clinging to his shoulder, spoke carefully. Ever since the fight with Robin, Do-yun had avoided contact with others as much as possible, preferring to minimize needless battles and focus on collecting hidden pieces.
“Can’t be helped.”
He answered shortly without breaking stride.
The World Tree was an overwhelming presence capable of rewriting the eighth floor’s entire environment. If he stood idle, the one who had raised it might seize transcendent power the way Lily had on the seventh floor.
One mistake is enough.
He tore through the forest at full speed and soon reached his destination.
In the center of a clearing choked by massive roots, a man sat cross-legged. The name of the figure whose robe fluttered in the breeze was already filed in Do-yun’s mind.
Wind-Weathered Immortal Seo Hwi—fourth place in the seventh floor’s Hall of Fame.
“A guest has arrived, I see.”
His face looked roughly Do-yun’s age, yet the words that left his mouth belonged to an old sage who had cultivated the Dao for decades.
“Did you make this tree grow?”
Even as he asked, Do-yun already expected the answer. Seo Hwi’s ears were not pointed like Robin’s. An ordinary human was unlikely to be a native of the eighth floor.
“Your temperament is truly like a flame. Yet this strange artifice is not of my doing.”
A faint smile touched Seo Hwi’s lips. His gaze remained fixed on the distant foliage of the World Tree.
“The one who raised this tree has already climbed higher.”
Do-yun’s brow furrowed. He had asked only to test the waters; he had not expected so direct an answer.
Too friendly.
He studied the man again. Backlit by the green radiance of the World Tree, Seo Hwi looked like a figure painted on a scroll of classical landscape. He appeared a benevolent hermit, yet Do-yun’s senses told another story.
I smell blood nearby.
Sharp instincts picked up the scent of blood hanging in the air. Seo Hwi sat as if barring the approach to the tree. A few climbers had almost certainly tried to pass him and paid the price.
Do-yun’s hand drifted toward the hilt at his waist.
“Do not tense so.”
Seo Hwi chuckled softly and added,
“I merely sense a familiar energy about you.”
Do-yun could only feel puzzled. A familiar energy? What kinship could an immortal who had become one with nature possibly feel toward him?
“The Five Elements intertwine, yet without invading one another they flow in harmony.”
Seo Hwi’s eyes sharpened as they fixed on him. For an instant Do-yun felt as though his entire body were being dismantled and examined; he flinched.
“Though our paths may differ, how could I hinder a fellow seeker who aims for the same heavens? Go your own way.”
Looking into those eyes full of genuine goodwill, Do-yun understood. The man had mistaken the source of Do-yun’s power for the fruit of some profound cultivation.
And of all the powers Do-yun possessed, only one was tied to nature.
The conch shell.
The conch resting against his chest—restored by Reverse—was a treasure that had accumulated natural energy for an unimaginable span of years. Seo Hwi had clearly sensed that aura and drawn the wrong conclusion.
An misunderstanding Do-yun saw no need to correct.
“Meaning I may pass?”
“Of course.”
Seo Hwi rose and even stepped aside so Do-yun could walk by without concern.
Still wary, Do-yun took a cautious first step—
—when the nearby underbrush shook and a man burst out.
“Finally out of the way, old geezer!”
With that rough shout the newcomer shot past both of them and reached the trunk of the World Tree. The moment he set a triumphant foot on the bark, Seo Hwi’s expressionless hand flicked through the air.
Seo Hwi uses Cloud Mist (F)
Just before the man’s toes touched a root, fog erupted in a sudden wave. The mist took form, coiling like serpents around his legs. In the next instant his body was yanked into the air.
“W-what the hell is this?!”
Suspended upside-down, the man thrashed as the fog tightened around his throat. His face turned purple from lack of air. Just as his struggling breath was about to fail completely—
Uren uses Distortion (F)
A single straight line, snaking like a living thing, streaked toward Seo Hwi.
Bang—!
The delayed report of a gunshot rolled through the air. The familiar scene left Do-yun with a sharp sense of déjà vu.
“David! How many times do I have to tell you not to charge in like a wild boar?!”
Only after seeing the woman’s sharp face did Do-yun place the memory. Floor zero—when he had known nothing—this was the duo that had attacked him and fled at once.
So they were still alive.
While he regarded them with mild surprise, Uren recognized him in turn and her expression hardened.
“David. We run. Now.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?! You said we need leaves from the World Tree to restock our bullets!”
David, just freed from the strangling mist, bellowed back. Uren pressed a hand to her forehead as if the very sound gave her a headache.
“That’s not the problem right now, you idiot.”
Her words still echoed through the trees when Seo Hwi, who had taken the bullet, slowly rose to his feet.
“Bullets that disrupt harmony… You wield forbidden arts.”
Uren hastily leveled her pistol again, but mist from the ground rose faster and enveloped the muzzle.
Click.
The trigger produced no sound. Realizing the firing mechanism had been jammed, Uren’s face went rigid—just as David roared and swung his greatsword.
“Mist or whatever, I’ll smash it with pure strength!”
It was a brutally simple charge, yet sometimes such brute force proved the correct answer. The wildly flailing greatsword tore Seo Hwi’s fog to shreds.
“Fellow seeker, go on ahead. I shall hold this place.”
Seo Hwi clicked his tongue once and tossed the remark to Do-yun, who had been watching. Then he closed his eyes and began to concentrate, the air around him thickening with the promise of a major technique.
Do-yun frowned.
What is he trusting to act like this?
They had met mere minutes ago, yet Seo Hwi was already turning his back as if to an ally. If Do-yun chose to strike now, the immortal would take a fatal wound. After a brief hesitation Do-yun moved his feet.
At least for the moment, he’s useful.
What would happen once the truth came out was another matter; right now the help was real.
Even when Do-yun set foot on the World Tree’s roots, the mist did not react.
Boom! Crash!
Ominous detonations erupted behind him, but he ignored them and searched for footholds that would let him climb. Lingering to assist Seo Hwi might give the climber already at the summit time to finish whatever scheme they had begun.
“There’s nothing to step on, though.”
Do-yun’s expression turned awkward. The trunk was simply too vast for ordinary climbing. He was considering driving his sword into the bark for holds when the tree itself solved the problem.
With a soft rustle, the living wood shifted of its own accord, forming something very like a staircase.
The reason was clear. The spirits thronging Do-yun’s body, the Spirit Affinity (S) option on the sword at his waist, and even the conch shell brimming with natural energy so potent it had deceived Seo Hwi—taken together, Do-yun was closer to an elf than most actual elves.
Step by step he climbed. Whenever he rose a certain distance the lower stairs melted away behind him—explaining why he had never noticed them from the ground.
“Wow… it’s so beautiful.”
When the leaves of the World Tree felt close enough to touch, Ciel, resting on his shoulder, let out a soft gasp of wonder. Looking down, Do-yun saw the forest trees reduced to the size of toys.
“Yeah. Incredible.”
His own admiration, however, came from a different sight that only this height revealed.
Beyond a clear boundary, a blackened sea of corruption stretched endlessly. The forest was only a small island. Everything else had been swallowed by the dark energy seeping from mana stones. From below the World Tree had seemed immense; even so, its roots could not cross that black sea.
Crunch.
While he climbed and watched the view, the summit drew near. Brushing aside leaves that brushed his face, Do-yun at last stepped onto the crown of the World Tree.
A high wind keened. Above the cloud layer that, on Earth, one would only see from an airplane, a woman stood waiting.
Sunlight filtering through the foliage gently lit her golden hair. Quietly gazing downward, she sensed his presence and turned.
The instant Do-yun’s hand flashed to his sword, she spoke first.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
Her voice was soft and gentle. Between the strands of wind-tossed gold, pointed ears glinted.
Pointed ears—an elf. Yet the woman before him showed not the slightest killing intent; she felt nothing like an unknown enemy.
“I find this tiny world so pitiful, so heartbreaking.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying we need not fight each other.”
Do-yun raised his blade and knitted his brows, unable to grasp her meaning. From floor zero the Tower of Ascension had preached struggle. The Hall of Fame itself was built on competition, and the first to reach the tower’s true summit was said to be granted a single wish.
“Is there any need to compete alone?”
The next words she spoke therefore contained a proposal Do-yun had never once imagined.
She rose, brushing off her clothes, and smoothed her golden hair with a quiet smile.
“My name is Elysee. I am a spirit caller, just like you.”
Deep, clear eyes that seemed to hold an entire green world met his.
“As fellow spirit callers… won’t you climb the tower together with me?”