Ch.20266. Because No One But Me Could Have Done It (3)

“Does one rotten apple spoil the whole barrel, as they say?

Just as even the cleanest, most pristine space can be marred by a single conspicuous stain.

My existence must be such an unwelcome blemish to them, a mold they’d rather avoid.

…But thinking of it that way, perceiving and accepting it as such.

That’s all on them.

Even if some don’t see it that way, others certainly will.

And fundamentally, such stains, such filth, such impurity.

…It’s not a matter of quantity.

The very existence itself is the problem.

A council member asked:

“Do you know why the Divine Tree favors you?”

“I haven’t received a clear answer. I could make inferences, but those would merely be my personal opinions, so I’ll refrain from sharing them.”

“…It doesn’t matter. Judging what we hear is our responsibility, so don’t worry.”

“If you insist.”

All questions and answers discussed here have, in fact, already had their answers exposed.

Yet they still go through this tedious process to meticulously review the details.

“I believe I might be the will of the World Tree, so to speak. Perhaps I’ve become this way because I can fulfill its ultimate desire.”

“And what the Divine Tree desires, wishes for… is its own destruction?”

“That’s my conjecture.”

Another councilwoman inquired:

“Why you, of all people? Why is it you, not us, who can guide and fulfill the Divine Tree’s wishes and will… How can you reach such a conclusion?”

“I’m simply making an assumption based on results. It’s not because I’m extraordinary or special.”

“Results? What evidence?”

“The ability to communicate with the Divine Tree. What’s important is that it’s not one-sided.”

“And what evidence suggests it’s not one-sided? If communication were truly possible, couldn’t you have asked directly and received a straightforward answer? Wouldn’t that be normal?”

“Even people who speak the same language often have communication issues and misunderstandings… How could that possibly work?”

“Are you comparing the Divine Tree and its will to a mere creation?”

“…Let me correct one misunderstanding… The basis for considering the Divine Tree magnificent is limited solely to your race.”

At these words, the assembly froze.

“Do you even know what the Divine Tree’s will is?”

The stage was set.

Perhaps he had been guiding the flow to deliver this very answer.

The Queen couldn’t help but think so.

“The Divine Tree is an entity capable of observing and monitoring other similar worlds beyond this one.”

One would need to first establish the premise that worlds are diverse.

The Divine Tree, the World Tree, is precisely a tool and structure that allows glimpses into the futures and divergences that countless worlds have reached.

“But it has neither will nor self-awareness. You were created for that purpose, I believe.”

Initially the Light Clan, and later the Forest Clan.

The Shell Clan that emerged afterward would be the same.

However, whether this was simply a creation myth or a fable derived from a creation myth was difficult to guarantee.

…Perhaps they had crafted such stories to give mythical context to their own creation, who could say?

Countless races do this, and even humans strive to attribute mythical contexts to their bloodlines and dynasties when establishing royal houses.

At least the current imperial house of the Berk Empire, the Enzul family, didn’t try to attribute false myths because they had the justification and absolute, historical fact of receiving the blessing of the Irenis Order, though even they weren’t completely free from such tendencies.

And looking at various countries, there are quite a few examples where dynasties established their own religions.

But whether the elves were created from the World Tree, or whether their racial composition, spirit, and dignity itself was transformed because of it…

Just as humans, by mastering fire and magic and becoming capable of settlement, could lay the foundations for building great civilizations.

“You also understood the existence of the World Tree and its utility. And you began to study it.”

Though it was a religious approach, those in the highest positions of the religion surely didn’t blindly believe.

If so, what could they ultimately do?

And for such a foundation to be established, there must have been pioneering visionaries and exceptional sages who guided them.

For occasionally, beings beyond comprehension appear in the world.

And he would have focused on the utility, meaning, possibilities of the World Tree, and the development of the race because of it.

“The Light Clan was originally not one that could be easily defeated, even if you and many other races united.”

Yet it was possible.

Why?

“Because the World Tree wanted it.”

Then why did the World Tree drive away the Light Clan and pass itself on to the Forest Clan?

“Because the World Tree’s will hated the Light Clan.”

…

Another kind of silence descended upon the hall.

As if the doubts and suspicions they had long harbored were suddenly resolved by those words, some seemed rather relieved, while others looked as if they finally understood.

“I see you’ve all had your suspicions. Then, is there anyone who can explain why the World Tree hated them?”

“…This old body will explain that.”

An elder rose from his seat, leaning on his staff.

With unusually abundant white sideburns for an elf who typically doesn’t grow beards, he gathered his breath and began to speak.

“The Light Clan offered the blood of various races as sacrifices to the Divine Tree. Among them… were even high dragons. Didn’t you say earlier that the Divine Tree has no self-awareness?”

“Yes, that’s what I said.”

“Then… if such a powerful being died and harbored resentment, it would surely have influenced the Divine Tree… That’s the conjecture I’ve long held. What do you think of this?”

“…”

Kariel briefly surveyed the assembly before calmly responding.

“That conjecture is only partially correct.”

“Partially?”

“Even the members of the Light Clan weren’t fools.”

If the World Tree’s will should rightfully be the infinite glory of their race, but the opposite occurred?

“I don’t know about the members, but the leaders of that time had a completely different mindset from their constituents.”

Kariel exhaled deeply through his nose and said:

“They absolutely believed that the World Tree should be favorable to them.”

“…”

It sounded like a reasonable statement, but the issue was the method.

Make the Divine Tree favorable to us? How?

Is worship and devotion not enough?

“They wanted to intervene in the will of the World Tree itself. And those most harmonious and compatible with the World Tree were… none other than themselves.”

“…”

A council member requested permission to speak from the Queen.

“So, is that why our ancestors have always followed the ancestral spirits to return to the Divine Tree’s side when they die?”

Even if their bodies decayed and crumbled, their spirits, wills, and souls would remain with their ancestors and descendants, with their race.

That belief, over time, became their tradition and lineage.

It was a tradition that was over ten thousand years old.

“That’s not incorrect.”

An inexplicable solemnity hung in the air at Kariel’s words.

After all, their race was deeply rooted in the grace and devotion of their ancestors.

“But that wasn’t enough.”

“…Wasn’t that why they offered blood sacrifices?”

“It was still insufficient. Why were blood sacrifices offered in the first place? The Divine Tree had no self-awareness and never asked for anything. Was it tribute? Or was it done thoughtlessly as a religious ceremony to display authority and maintain discipline?”

“…”

For thousands of years, all the elves knew were conjectures, assumptions, and imaginations.

They maintained traditions, and though they lost some due to the conflict with the Light Clan, their identity remained steadfast.

…But rather than being clear, it was somewhat vague and even absurd.

Because little was proven or revealed.

They simply believed, and things happened as they believed… or so they were convinced.

But this boy speaks as if he knows all the answers.

…It would be strange to say he’s just making up stories with a vivid imagination… he’s unusually confident.

“As I mentioned earlier, the World Tree can observe various worlds. But just as we are bound to the present, and living in that present, we don’t necessarily need to observe the present or past of another world. So what ultimately matters is the future.”

The future.

…A neighbor both near and far.

“And the leaders of the Light Clan dreamed of a future that would bring them definitive victory.”

“…But knowing the future doesn’t guarantee certainty.”

Indeed, during the Demon King’s invasion, the elves glimpsed a future where they were defeated by the Demon King.

Of course, there were some instances where hope emerged, but most of those possibilities were buried before they could see the light, due to the machinations of the Golden Beast.

The reason their race chose to avoid the war with the Demon King’s army was because their greatest hero was miserably defeated and killed, and their greatest sage bowed his head to the Golden Beast.

Just because one can see the future doesn’t make it absolute.

Rather, wasn’t Melineos, one of the Nine Heroes and the human girl harbored by Geornia, guiding the hero’s party with much clearer prophetic dreams than the seers who listened to the Divine Tree’s divine command, those who saw ahead?

“The reason your seers’ predictions of the future were insufficient is because they could only glimpse a part of the future.”

There, Kariel asserted:

You merely glimpsed a part of the future.

But the leaders of the Light Clan…

“To secure a future absolutely favorable to themselves… they sought to understand the many possibilities of various futures by borrowing the eyes and ears of those they called sacrifices.”

“…”

Some didn’t understand what he meant.

But some did, and a few understood clearly.

“Are you suggesting…?”

“It’s different from the seers. But the purpose and utility were the same as those of the seers.”

With just those words, all the elves who had been seers turned pale.

“What… abominable act…”

Just glimpsing the future briefly could make one feel like their soul was escaping.

They forced people to do this until death? Under the pretext that they were going to be sacrificed anyway?

And even worse, to make them serve those who had reduced them to such a state?

“It’s not someone else’s story. Even after the Light Clan retreated, your ancestors did the same.”

“But our ancestors did not tolerate such atrocities!”

“It still continued for hundreds of years. Just not as cruelly as the Light Clan.”

“That…”

The elder who tried to refute hesitated and then closed his swollen lips.

“We’ve digressed a bit, but anyway, to prevent anything from adversely affecting the will and self-awareness of the World Tree… the Light Clan took various measures.”

“Various? Wasn’t the burial of our ancestors enough?”

“It wasn’t. Do you think one or two ancestors could handle the hundreds or thousands offered as blood sacrifices?”

“…Is that something that can be calculated or distinguished numerically?”

“It’s not. If it were, everything would have collapsed long ago.”

“Then what else is there?”

Despite being a race that rarely feels frustration, one of the elders urged for an answer, as if finding it hard to bear.

“The purest blood. The youngest and most vibrant blood. The most innocent and noble blood. The bravest and strongest blood.”

“…?”

“What does that mean all of a sudden?”

“And the most legitimate bloodline, born to become the World Tree itself, taught and raised for that purpose. A bloodline born solely for that purpose.”

The expression was ominous.

But even after hearing it, not many failed to catch on.

“That means…”

“D-Don’t tell me those bastards even offered their own kind?”

Kariel shook his head.

“They weren’t forcibly offered.”

Kariel shrugged and said:

“It was martyrdom.”

Those born and raised solely for that purpose.

Martyrs.

“The reason the World Tree’s will was favorable to the Light Clan was precisely because such martyrs, with their supremely pure, innocent, and immaculate consciousness, willingly offered themselves.”

Madness.

Fanaticism.

Frenzy.

“For their kin, for the present and future of their kin. For boundless and infinite glory. For unparalleled radiance. Didn’t the old seers pluck out their eyes as offerings? That was an abbreviated ceremony. They couldn’t die and had little to offer, so it was a token gesture. For you who live long lives, offering that must have required tremendous courage. But there might have been impure intentions. So… they prayed for 1,000 days before that, kept their bodies clean, and suffered to empty their minds of distractions and delusions, isn’t that right?”

“…It is indeed written that way in the old records.”

It was the Deep Seers (Shimkenja) who remembered the history of the Far Seers.

During a time when records were ambiguous.

And a great sage, knowing that mistakes and errors would be repeated with just the future and present, established this organizational culture and tradition anew with the grace of the World Tree.

In other words, the Deep Seers were a guide and warning established by the ancient Forest Clan.

“The Light Clan was rejected by the World Tree because the balance they had anticipated was broken.”

“Was it because the sacrifices… exceeded the devotion of the martyrs?”

As one elder spoke with a heavy heart:

“It’s precisely because the martyrs lost their faith.”

Everything is achieved, and everything unfolds according to their will.

They couldn’t help but become arrogant.

It would be abnormal not to become presumptuous.

But that’s the story of the leaders of the Forest Clan and the members who followed them.

If a similar poison had spread to the martyrs as well.

Could they have maintained their purity and innocence?

“Up to this point, these are things that no one in this era could have told me, or if they did, they would have been vague. Any other questions?”

“…There’s still something important left.”

A council member pointed out the core issue again.

“Then why does the Divine Tree desire its own destruction? And why are we also involved in this? We’ve endured many hardships to live righteously. Yet… does the Divine Tree hate us too?”

“Hmm…”

Kariel folded his arms and pondered for a moment.

Should I tell the truth?

Or should I offer comforting white lies?

Or perhaps… spread malicious falsehoods to incite confusion?

Elves are sensitive to lies, but that’s not a problem.

For me, lies aren’t lies.

Because I can genuinely believe in them myself.

I believe everything sincerely, yet I don’t trust any of it under any circumstances.

That is the essence of who I am, named Kariel.

It’s not normal.

But because I’m not normal, I can change the normal world.

…I clearly understood that this is what it means to be a hero, a brave one, by glimpsing the memories the World Tree showed me.

“I’m not certain. Let me preface by saying… the World Tree is simply tired.”

Actually, that’s not it, but it doesn’t matter.

You all just accept it that way.

“Don’t you all sometimes feel aches and pains as you age after living a rough life, and find thinking itself bothersome and cumbersome? It’s something like that.”

…

After saying this, Kariel immediately requested a recess, saying he was thirsty.

‘Next, all that’s left is to reach a conclusion.’

According to the original schedule, once the Q&A ends, Kariel just needs to say what he has to say.

After that, it’s entirely their problem.

And after a break that lasted over half an hour, everyone gathered back in the council chamber.

The Queen looked around and asked if anyone had additional questions, but everyone expressed their intent through silence, as if by agreement.

“Then, Kariel. As originally planned, it’s now your turn. Are you ready?”

“Yes, of course.”

Standing in the same spot, Kariel vaguely interlocked his fingers in front of his chest.

“Practically everything I wanted to say came out in the previous Q&A. If I were to elaborate, we could discuss for days more… but you all know that’s not the important part, right?”

Kariel surveyed the assembly and spoke again.

“Several choices now lie before you. As I mentioned a few times earlier… First, will you follow the Divine Tree’s will or reject it? Second, will you kill me, or will you instead pass the choice to me and follow me as the agent of the Divine Tree, the World Tree? If these two issues were the initial problems, let me add one more.”

Unclasping his fingers, Kariel spread his palms comfortably in front of his chest, towards the ceiling.

“Whichever path you choose, you have no future. Given that assumption, what future do you dream of?”

“…Why assume there’s no future? Isn’t that too definitive?”

At a council member’s words, Kariel wagged his index finger.

“Is that person the only one who thinks that way?”

A silence, heavy and even chilling, dominated the hall.

Continuation, survival, maintenance.

The risk, the possibility of deprivation from all these things was being discussed here and now.

“Let me inform those who don’t know. Originally, all of this—whether I should die or become the sword and fire that sweeps the world—is an issue agreed upon, combined not just by the World Tree… but by the master of our world. Did I mention that these two wills are unified and in agreement? Hmm, did I perhaps forget to mention it?”

In other words, that’s it.

Even if they abandon the World Tree. Even if they somehow follow its faded divine command.

Or even if they leave me alone, even if they pass everything on to me.

Their future has no guarantees.

Rather, they only face the crisis of losing the protection and blessing of the World Tree.

And the master of this world, this realm, also similarly conveyed whether I would become kindling or the leader who will burn the world.

…That being, though it didn’t give me words, signals, or oracles… clearly conveyed that fact through the World Tree.

If I didn’t realize it?

Well, that would just be because I’m slow-witted and stupid.

And the master of that world is probably a magnificent, absurd being that I know very well yet know nothing about.

“Anyway, I predict we don’t have much time. So… please think seriously about this issue, even if for a short time. As I said initially, I don’t care either way.”

The words spoken initially.

“As I told the council members and the Queen before, sacrificing myself isn’t that difficult a task.”

It’s true.

Dying… no longer gives me any meaning.

‘Ah…’

Suddenly.

Vague images of certain people flashed through my mind.

Coincidentally, who they were…

I can’t remember any of them now.

Originally, who am I?

This real me who’s talking here, who was I? Who was I again?”