Chapter 82: The Root of All Time

“O King of Men. I did not invite you here because I have forgiven your kind.”

Nas, the leader of Silvaren.

It was said he had lived for thousands of years.

“I have simply judged that the time for unity has come, and thus called this gathering.”

Back then, I had no idea.

What was in Nas’s heart when he invited the kings of the continent to Silvaren.

He showed us all the cities of the Prana Federation’s other races, including Silvaren.

He showcased each city’s pride, the strength of the nonhumans.

And he said,

“One day, should a great danger befall the continent, then we must use all our power to reclaim peace.”

Such a vague story.

The kings who had been invited there merely sneered behind his back.

In the end, they thought, he opened the gates to trade and contact with the world, but wrapped it up with grand words like ‘world peace.’

But Rohan was a bit different.

The fact that he spoke in such a way made Rohan feel as if some disaster was truly imminent.

So he requested a private meeting.

“To lead unity from within Silvaren—such a thing can’t be easy. The great danger you speak of that will one day come to the continent—what is it?”

“O Emperor of Schubert.”

He approached Rohan with eyes that seemed somehow sad.

“You alone seem to have listened to my words.”

Then he placed a hand on Rohan’s left chest.

“……!”

Rohan flinched at the sudden rush of heat, but the hand soon withdrew.

“The world is in grave danger. But things have already come too far to turn back.”

Words impossible to understand.

“You may lack power, but your heart burns bright. What you must do is not just vengeance alone.”

“I don’t understand what you mean at all.”

At Rohan’s confused expression, Nas simply smiled gently.

“One day, you’ll recall my words. The enemy is very close by. And that will be the beginning of everything.”

He bowed his head in the Silvaren manner.

“May peace dwell in your days to come.”

Rohan mulled over and over those words of Nas.

Upon returning to the Imperial Palace, he took the hint from ‘the enemy is very close’ and quietly began investigating behind Marquis Fabian.

And then, he discovered by chance the Marquis’s conspiracy.

Rohan realized Fabian was preparing for war and tried, albeit belatedly, to stop him.

But he was always just a powerless puppet emperor.

A plan that had been prepared for a very long time could not be stopped by Rohan, emperor in name alone.

So, in the end, Rohan planned to assassinate Marquis Fabian, and the result……



‘Everything was exposed, and I died a miserable death.’

He, who hated humans more than anyone, had no choice but to open the gates of the Prana Federation and allow the humans in.

That was proof there was something far greater at play than a war born of one man’s greed.

Only now did Rohan realize that.

And now.

‘The situation has reversed, and Nas is reaching out his hand to me.’

He didn’t know what he could do.

But if this was the mission for which he had returned, he was prepared to accept it.

He had no doubt he would accomplish now what he couldn’t stop in the past.

“Very well.”

Rohan rose from his seat.

What would the World Tree, who awaited him, tell him?

He felt both anticipation and, at the same time, a twinge of fear.

Rohan followed Nas through the door at the back of the room.

Beyond the door was a spiral staircase, with luminous stones embedded throughout, glowing softly.

The stairs descended endlessly.

He wondered where the end could possibly be, when finally his feet touched solid ground.

And then, the sight that filled Rohan’s eyes.

“This is…… the Sanctuary of the World Tree.”

Rohan’s voice trembled slightly.

The ground beneath his feet was blanketed in soft, golden moss, and condensed motes of light drifted through the air.

And there, towering as if to pierce the sky, stood a colossal tree.

The World Tree.

It transcended the very concept of ‘tree.’

Its trunk alone dwarfed most buildings.

Upon its surface, sacred markings flowed like living tattoos, pulsing with light in time with a heartbeat.

“O World Tree……”

Retina whispered in a hushed breath.

Her face was filled with awe.

‘Even Retina said she had never seen the World Tree before.’

If a Silvarenian like her was seeing it for the first time, the security around this place must be unimaginably strict.

The branches stretched skyward in countless directions, each radiating a different color of light.

From the blue-hued branches, the freshness of spring was felt; from the golden ones, the abundance of autumn.

At the ends of some branches, shining fruits hung in dazzling clusters, and within those fruits, fragments of tiny worlds could be seen.

“Those fruits are the possibilities of futures yet unborn.”

Nas explained.

His golden eyes were fixed upon the World Tree.

“The World Tree embraces the past, present, and future. Each fruit contains fragments of different times. And reading them—that is the role of the ‘Prophet of the World Tree.’”

As soon as he finished speaking,

From behind the World Tree, someone slowly walked forward.

Long, silvery-white hair faded with age, unfocused sky-blue eyes.

An Elphirian woman of unearthly beauty was approaching Rohan.

“It is you, then. The one called by Yggdrasil.”

A voice like the wind swept past.

“This is Arabelin, the ‘Prophet of the World Tree.’ In a way, it is she who summoned you here.”

Nas explained in a quiet voice.

“It is an honor to meet you, Arabelin. I am Rohan.”

Rohan greeted her, gazing intently at Arabelin.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

She met his eyes with a clear, pure voice.

“I saw a woman who looked exactly like you earlier. I was curious, so I stared without realizing. Forgive my rudeness.”

At Rohan’s apology, Arabelin smiled softly.

“You must have met Luna? That makes sense. Luna and I are twin sisters. Our personalities, abilities, and preferences are all different, but our faces are the same.”

She raised a hand and caressed Rohan’s cheek.

Rohan flinched, but did not avoid her touch.

“You, too, seem as one at first glance, but in truth are two. Behind that youthful face, a man full of worry watches me.”

“……”

That must be his former self.

Hearing it said aloud sent a chill down his spine.

“In any case, welcome. Yggdrasil has been waiting for you all this time.”

With the most natural, gentle gesture, she led Rohan onward.

“There is something she very much wishes to show you.”

“To me…… Yes, I understand.”

He had been waiting as well.

Arabelin guided Rohan’s hand to rest atop a long, trailing branch of the World Tree.

“Feel the pulse of Lady Yggdrasil and close your eyes. And whatever you see, try not to be too startled.”

At her gentle instructions, Rohan nodded.

“Slowly… entrust your heart to the master of the world, whose power ripples at your fingertips.”

As if hypnotized.

Rohan felt his body begin to float.



When Rohan opened his eyes again.

‘……!’

What he saw was—

“P-please, spare me……!”

A woman’s head was mercilessly severed as she reached toward him, screaming.

‘Wh-what is this…’

Rohan’s eyes widened in shock.

“Aaahhhh!”

“Gahh, kuh! S-spare me……!”

“Mommy, waahhh!”

The world was stained in darkness.

[Kr-r-rrk……]

[I will kill them all. Eradicate them.]

Blood flowed, staining the ground red, and people died screaming.

A legion of shadowy figures on horseback slaughtered people mercilessly with their lances.

‘Wh-what is…’

Rohan knew this place well.

Hollymay Village.

It was where Rohan had spent his childhood with his mother.

‘Grandpa Odys…? You… Hansen?’

Familiar faces lay sprawled on the ground, eyes empty.

The scene shifted.

‘Here is……’

A desolate field.

Crows flocked, pecking at corpses strewn about.

The broken flag clearly belonged to the Kingdom of Cocoon.

All that remained on this war-torn field, ravaged by some force, were humans.

And so, as the vision changed, various regions appeared before his eyes.

The mighty Aizenka Empire collapsing, the shining kingdom of knights, Kalis, awash in blood, the king of the small Moland kingdom dying as he resisted to the end, impaled by a spear—horrific sights.

And……

“May the World Tree’s blessing be with us.”

The next scene showed Nas and the Silvarenians standing before the World Tree, facing the shadowy army.

‘Retina.’

Even Retina was there, short one arm, gasping for breath as she raised her sword.

‘What is this, O World Tree?’

Rohan was devastated.

He had not come here to witness such horrors.

‘What are you trying to tell me?’

At Rohan’s desperate cry, his vision shifted again.

‘This place……!’

A windswept spire.

A familiar figure stood before him.

“To kill the emperor is treason. Are you not afraid of the consequences? If Eliot learns of this, you too will be under suspicion and watch for the rest of your life!”

“And even so, who could possibly stand against me? Have you already forgotten who stands behind the Sun?”

Rohan’s eyes widened.

‘Marquis Fabian!’

Kazin Fabian was opening his pocket watch.

And beyond the Marquis stood Rohan—his former self.

“My, it is time.”

Before the words finished, his former self threw himself from the spire.

To any onlooker, it looked like a suicide.

‘No!’

That sight, recalling his former life, sent shivers of agony through him.

Marquis Fabian bid a graceful final farewell.

“Well then, goodbye.”

Marquis Fabian calmly disappeared from the spire.

‘Ah…’

Rohan moved to the edge of the spire.

He saw his own wretched final form.

Lying on the ground, unable to even close his eyes in death, so filled with resentment.

But then…

‘Huh? That’s…?’

A faint light shone from his left chest.

A blue light, like moonlight.

‘After I died… such a thing happened?’

At the same time, his vision went dark.



“Huh?”

Now he could see his own body.

His voice had returned as well.

[Did you see clearly.]

“……!”

A voice sounded from the void.

An androgynous voice, as if riding on the wind from afar.

“Could it be, the World Tree… Lady Yggdrasil?”

At Rohan’s trembling question, the air vibrated.

[I am Yggdrasil. The root of the world, the branch that divides time. Cradle of all life, and the gate through which souls return at the end.]

And then, shards of light began to gather together.

What the cluster of light formed was none other than…

[Child of Man. Welcome to my world.]

A gentle-faced Elphirian woman.