Chapter 369

Chapter 369

Insane!

That was the only word that came to Levin’s mind.

The scene before his eyes was that astonishing.

For a tree to be carbonized meant it was already dead.

It was an impossibility for new leaves to sprout from a tree that had been burned at high temperatures and pressure and crystallized.

Even in a world where the unexpected happened often, this was beyond comprehension.

The smile vanished from Levin’s face.

He reached out toward the sprout and asked,

“This… is this real?”

Smack!

At that moment, Brielle slapped his hand away.

“Ow!”

“Are you crazy? What if you die from touching it carelessly?”

“Then this really is real?”

“Yes, it’s real. A true sprout born in the desert. The will of this tree gave birth to it.”

Brielle’s voice trembled.

Elves were a race of the forest.

They were born in the forest and returned to nature within it.

Of course, they loved the forest more than anyone. But Brielle had never once seen a real forest.

She was born on Earth and raised in the desert.

Not even with the high elf’s divine power could a sprout be made to grow in the desert. Rather than growing trees or grass, they had to adapt to the arid wasteland just to survive.

Which meant this was Brielle’s first time seeing a freshly sprouted leaf.

“Ah…”

She leaned her forehead against the tree.

Closing her eyes, she tried to commune with it.

Even for a high elf, communing with a dead tree was impossible. And yet—surprisingly—there was a faint will emanating from the carbonized tree.

A will to sprout, no matter what.

“You’ve been fighting all these years.”

Drip…

Tears slid down Brielle’s cheek.

“Hey, hey! Are you okay?”

“I need to see the others.”

“What?”

Before Levin could stop her, Brielle moved from tree to tree. As he followed her, he couldn’t help but gasp.

Sprouts were budding from other trees as well.

As if by some secret agreement, all at once.

Brielle’s legs gave out, and she collapsed where she stood.

The dark elves were no different in their reactions.

“My god…”

“Ho—how?”

“A forest is being born here.”

Though their skin was different, dark elves also loved the forest.

Thanks to their combative nature, they had adapted well to life in the desert, but they still longed for the woods.

No elf—not just Brielle or the dark elves—could witness such a sight without tears.

Zeon asked Go Doo-won,

“Is what’s happening now related to Hahr?”

“It’s better if you see for yourself. Come with me, deeper into the forest.”

“I’ll bring Brielle as well.”

Zeon gestured to Brielle, who was still crying with her forehead pressed to a tree.

“As you wish.”

“Thank you. Brielle!”

As soon as Go Doo-won gave permission, Zeon called out.

Brielle wiped her tears and approached.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Let me introduce you. This is Mister Go Doo-won, the master of the Black Forest. Everyone else gave up on this place, but he protected it to the end with his daughter.”

At Zeon’s words, Brielle bowed deeply to Go Doo-won.

“Thank you. For not giving up. The children are all grateful to you too.”

“The trees told you that?”

“I can feel it.”

“You’re just like my daughter.”

“Your daughter?”

“Yes. Hahr said the same thing. That the will of these trees remained, and one day they would sprout again. That’s why she always spoke to them, treated them as if they were alive. Then a few days ago, these sprouts began to appear from the dead trees.”

Brielle was stunned.

What Hahr had achieved was a feat even high elves hadn’t accomplished. No high elf had ever drawn sprouts from carbonized trees.

If it were possible, high elf villages would have become forests long ago.

Zeon and Brielle followed Go Doo-won deep into the Black Forest.

The inner forest was so densely packed with carbonized trees that sunlight couldn’t reach even at midday. It felt especially cool in the shade.

Go Doo-won looked around and said,

“In the past, we couldn’t dream of entering this deep because of the bomb bees. It’s thanks to you we made it this far. Thanks to you, the territory has expanded, and people who were scattered have gathered here again.”

“You mean the people who were fighting the monsters earlier?”

“Yes. My fellow Goya clan members. They were scattered by the bomb bees but have now returned.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“It’s all because of you.”

“I didn’t do it for thanks.”

“Even so, thanks are due.”

Go Doo-won’s gruff response made Zeon scratch his head in embarrassment.

Brielle asked curiously,

“What are bomb bees?”

“They charge at any target and self-destruct.”

“Brutal.”

Go Doo-won joined the conversation.

“They had occupied the deepest parts of this forest, and we couldn’t even get close. That’s why the forest only began to regain life thanks to Zeon.”

“Oh, come on…”

“There. That’s where Hahr is.”

Go Doo-won pointed deeper into the forest.

Where he gestured stood the largest tree in the entire Black Forest.

Like the others, it was carbonized—but it dwarfed them in size and girth.

One had to crane their neck for quite a while to see its top.

Beneath the massive trunk lay something white and foreign.

It was round, like a giant silkworm cocoon.

Zeon asked,

“That’s Hahr?”

“Yes. Do you remember the egg clinging to the queen bomb bee?”

“Yes, the spirit egg, right?”

“That’s the one. It began to shine and turned into that. Hahr is inside it now.”

After Zeon left, Hahr had kept the spirit egg with her for eight years. Whether sleeping, resting, or working, she had never once let it go.

Everyone who had come to the Black Forest told her to give up, but she always said,

“This child is alive. I can feel it.”

She treated the spirit egg as a living being.

People shook their heads. Some even said Hahr was mad.

But she didn’t care. She cared for the egg—until a few days ago, when this transformation began.

“The moment Hahr and the spirit egg became that cocoon, monsters began attacking.”

From that point on, it had been hell.

At first, low-tier monsters nearby swarmed in.

They weren’t hard to defeat, but over time, stronger and more distant beasts began to attack. And today, it reached the point where high-tier monsters like the armored gorilla and saber-tooth tiger were assaulting them.

If Zeon and the dark elves hadn’t arrived in time, the Black Forest would’ve fallen to the monsters.

Brielle, as if drawn by some invisible force, approached the white cocoon.

Go Doo-won tried to stop her.

“Child, wait—”

“Brielle is a high elf. She’ll be fine.”

“High elf?”

“Yes. You can think of them as the spiritual pillars of the elf race. She’ll only help Hahr—never harm her.”

“Is that so?”

Go Doo-won nodded, seemingly reassured.

Brielle reached out and gently touched the cocoon with her hand and forehead.

Zeon and Go Doo-won watched silently as she communed with it.

They didn’t know how much time passed.

After a long moment of communion, Brielle finally opened her eyes. A subtle glow shimmered in them.

Her golden-hued eyes sparkled with mystique.

Though the golden aura soon faded, the air around her remained ethereal.

She spoke.

“Hahr is doing fine. Don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She just can’t move right now because it’s an important moment.”

“An important moment? Don’t tell me—”

“A spirit is about to be born.”

Brielle smiled brightly as she answered.

Go Doo-won’s legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees.

“At last…”

His shoulders trembled slightly.

Brielle placed her hand gently on his shoulder and continued,

“Hahr said so. Just wait a little longer. Hold out just a bit more…”

“Hold out?”

“More monsters will come, trying to devour the spirit. Ones even bigger and stronger than what we’ve seen.”

At her words, Zeon nodded.

“So it’s the same as with Gaia.”

“Yeah. Spirits can be consumed to gain power.”

“The sprouts from the dead trees… that’s also the spirit’s doing, huh?”

“Once the spirit is born, this will no longer be dead land. Trees will grow. Grass will spread. Greenery will blanket the earth.”

Brielle didn’t know what kind of spirit it would be. But she knew one thing for sure:

Beginnings were always the hardest.

Once the first was born, more would follow.

If the first spirit on Earth was born, others would come more easily.

“Is this different from Gaia?”

“Gaia wasn’t a pure spirit. She was the first child born after the Kurayan spirit fused with a whale to survive. I’m sure Gaia’s birth influenced Hahr’s spirit. But we’ll only know more once Gaia wakes up…”

Gaia had fallen into a deep sleep to digest the scythe of death. No one knew when she would wake.

“Until the spirit is born, we have to protect this place from the monsters.”

Zeon came to a conclusion.

He and Go Doo-won returned to the forest edge and gathered the dark elves and humans.

“Ahem!”

“Hmm!”

Gathered together for the first time, the two races didn’t mix well and lingered awkwardly apart.

Neither Zeon nor Go Doo-won expected them to unite quickly.

They had kept each other at arm’s length for so long. Opening up suddenly was never going to happen.

Zeon looked around briefly, then spoke.

“Lady Floa!”

“Speak!”

“Did you see it?”

“If you mean the sprouts, yes. To think a miracle would happen in this dead forest. It’s truly astonishing!”

“It’s more than just a miracle.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a miracle born of the determination and will of a child born between a human and an elf.”

“Wait—are you saying a half-elf caused this miracle?”

Floa and the dark elves looked at Zeon in disbelief.

Like other pureblood elves, dark elves often looked down on half-elves.

Even Brielle had once underestimated Mandy, a half-elf. But over time, she came to accept her.

Likewise, the dark elves and humans here would need time and experience too.

“A spirit is about to be born in this forest.”

“Is… is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Ooooh…”

In unison, Floa and the dark elves dropped to their knees.

Just like Brielle, tears flowed from their eyes.

“When the spirit is born, this forest will come fully alive.”

“A forest… my god…”

The older dark elves covered their faces and wept.

Unlike the younger ones, they remembered the deep green of Kurayan. Their longing for the forest ran even deeper.

Floa turned to Zeon and asked,

“Can we live here too? Will you accept us as residents?”

“That decision isn’t mine to make. It’s his.”

Zeon pointed to Go Doo-won. Floa approached and knelt on one knee before him.

“Lord of the forest, I humbly ask that you accept our clan as residents of this land.”