It's Not Night - Chapter 118
Everything fell apart. The punishment poured out by the primordial god destroyed Hezel and took away humans’ time.
Seeing the fire spread throughout the kingdom in an instant, Anat was shocked to the point that she watched with her mouth agape. The things she cherished until she put down her godhood were crumbling at the primordial god’s hand.
‘No, you can’t do this…’
Get up, Anat. There is a place you must go to. Nera forced the distraught Anat to stand up and took her somewhere. Her touch was so harsh that Anat couldn’t resist and was dragged along. With Nera’s power, they arrived in an instant in front of Anat’s World Tree.
“Why…?”
Each of the nine gods had a world tree that had sprouted at the same time that they were born. It was also the source of life given to them by the primordial god. Thus, each of the gods had a world tree and cherished it.
Anat looked at her world tree. The tree, which used to stand tall and proud, was wilting pitifully. The green leaves fell to the ground and withered, and the branches of the trees were all bare. It was because Anat became a human and was dying.
In fact, as Anat created the Kingdom of Hezel and started taking care of humans, she neglected her world tree.
“Can you hear that? Your world tree is suffering.”
“…….”
“No, of course, you won’t hear it. Since you became a human, your ties to your world tree have been severed.”
Nera was right. Anat could no longer hear the world tree’s voice. Come to think of it, since when did it start? When did she lose the world tree’s voice? It was because she poured so much affection into Hezel and humans. Nera watched as Anat lowered her head. She clicked her tongue.
“Your world tree is dying, and will eventually die. Above all, a rotten tree cannot be brought back to life. But don’t worry. It is not like there is no way.”
“What…”
Nera started a fire. Ever since humans had stolen it, anyone could easily create fire. Nera blew fire into the World Tree. Anat was shocked and hurriedly clung to Nera. What are you doing, Nera! If you do that, the tree will burn to death! Nera calmly looked down at Anat as she shouted.
“It’s just to burn it all down and let it sprout again. A rotten thing cannot be revived, so we must get rid of it completely first.”
The embers flew on the wind and landed on the world tree. The tree, which was lifeless and withered day by day, soon caught fire and began to burn vigorously. Its leaves and twigs allowed for fire to burn with vigor.
The tree started to glow redder than ever. And the embers that the world tree spits out spread around the area again with the wind. The green fields were instantly engulfed in fire, and the sky turned gray.
“Nera, please! Don’t do this!”
“Are you worried about your world tree now? Oh, Anat. It’s irreversible. You know that.”
“The world tree, the world tree… Ahhh!”
At that moment, Anat covered her ears and crouched down. She heard a scream so terrible that it hurt her ears. Anat intuitively knew that the scream was the sound of her world tree. At the same time, tears flowed incessantly from her eyes. It felt like her chest had been pierced and hacked to pieces.
I’m in pain, save me, save me… The world tree desperately called out to her.
“Once this tree has been completely burned down, Mother’s judgment will begin. Do not be afraid. I’ll stand by your side. Mother is angry, but she will forgive you eventually. You are the lovely god of wisdom and ideals.”
“Help me, Nera… Please, hiicc…”
Anat grabbed her chest and dropped to the floor. She was writhing in pain along with the world tree. Nera only looked at Anat with pity, but did not ease her pain. The pain was something Anat had to endure. It was also punishment for her choice to give up her life.
“For your sake, I dearly hope that Mother’s anger does not last long.”
* * *
Andra awoke with a start, her breaths uneven and quick. Her entire body was covered in cold sweat. Her pounding heart just couldn’t calm down. At the same time, there was a hazy smoke in her head. She couldn’t even remember what she was dreaming about until just now—she was left with only fragments.
Trees, fields, fire, pain, women.
“Anna, are you okay?”
Then there was Jonathan’s voice from the front. Then she realized that she had fallen asleep leaning on Jonathan’s back. She looked around and saw that it was still a forest.
“Did I… Did I fall asleep for a while?”
“That’s right. You must be very tired.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know…”
Andra calmed her breathing, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. She didn’t know what it was about, but it seemed like a very unpleasant dream. It was the first time she felt so uncomfortable having a dream.
Jonathan shrugged his shoulders lightly and replied indifferently.
“No, that’s not true. More than that, you’re tossing and turning your body badly, are you okay? If you’re hurt somewhere, it’s better to tell me right away.”
“No, it’s just a… strange dream… I’m fine, thank you for your concern. I am being a nuisance to Your Highness.”
“Nuisance? Anna, you are the benefactor who saved me. Don’t say that.”
Jonathan reprimanded Andra in a stern tone. In fact, if Andra hadn’t come, he would have been eaten by the monster long before.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s nothing to be sorry about. Well, I’m glad that you’re okay. How surprised I was to think that you had gotten hurt again. I can’t even stop the horse in this situation…”
“Come to think of it… This is…”
“We’re still in the forest. I couldn’t find the valley.”
Jonathan replied with a sigh. Although she couldn’t see his face, she could easily guess that it would have a dark expression.
“Is this way… correct?”
Even though it had been a while since they started their journey, the two were still stuck in the forest from where they began. Andra looked around with anxious eyes. The sun was about to set really soon, but the valley, let alone the Norrent County, was nowhere to be seen. Jonathan, who was driving the horse with a compass out, also tilted his head in wonder.
“It’s really strange. I’m sure this is the west side…”
“Maybe the compass is broken…?”
“The compass is fine. I’ve checked it over and over again. I guess… The area itself seems odd. Anna, you said that a dungeon was created around here and it seems that it was the reverse exit, right? Maybe this area has also been reversed. We might have…”
“…entered a dungeon?”
Andra unconsciously touched her head at Jonathan’s hypothesis. She hoped it wasn’t the case. Her head was throbbing. She suddenly missed Honne, the guide her team had while they were in the dungeon.
As a guide, Honne would have skillfully found her way to the county. Honne wouldn’t be wandering through the forest stupidly like Andra and Jonathan. If she knew it was going to be like this, she would have talked to Honne a lot.
“This is a big problem. Now, when the sun goes down, the monsters will be more likely to target us,” Andra said.
“I think so too. Let’s go a little further though. If we can’t find it after the sun goes down, we’ll have to climb a tree.”
“…A tree.”
Ants are good at climbing trees. When Andra thought so. Jonathan sensed Andra’s questionable reply and asked.
“What’s the matter?”
“Oh, no. Trees are fine, but I still hope we can find the valley.”
“That goes for me too. Then, I’ll pick up the pace, so hold on tight.”
Jonathan tightened his grip on the horse’s reins. Andra put her arms around his waist. The horse carrying the two began to pick up a little more speed.
Click clack, click clack… Their horse ran for a while. Dusk was now taking over the sky. Andra and Jonathan would need to be fortunate enough to find the valley.
“I can hear the sound of water!”
“A valley’s over there!”
Jonathan urged the horse to run faster. Soon, with the sound of water, a large valley appeared. They stopped their horse, got off, and dipped their hands in the river and drank the water. When the cool water flowed down their throat, they felt alive for a moment.
“I don’t think the area is warped at all.”
“That’s right. I’m glad I found the valley before it’s too late.”
“It’s impossible to travel further, so let’s camp here for today.”
Andra brought rocks around and started making a bonfire at an appropriate distance from the valley. It was easy to light the fire. The bonfire lit up with a single magic spell. Seeing the fire, Jonathan sat down beside it and held out his hand, delighted. It wasn’t long before the warmth came over him.
In the meantime, Andra had removed a bag from the saddle on the horse, which had been dangling in chaos.
“What about the bag?”
“I was curious what would be in it. They might have put emergency rations in there.”
Andra managed to untangle the tight knot and untie the bag. Inside the bag was a solid long string, a small dagger, a pack of matchsticks, a bottle of water, a pair of gloves, a bottle of medicine and, luckily, a few pieces of biscuits and jerky. It seemed to be the auxiliary bag of one of the knights who accompanied them. We’ll be fine tonight. Andra, relieved, took out the biscuits and jerky.
“You must be hungry. Fortunately, there are biscuits and beef jerky. I think we should eat this tonight.”
“Looking at beef jerky reminds me of the old days. You often set up a camp like this. Every time I go to the east, the night sky there is so beautiful that I just stare at the sky without sleeping.”
Jonathan picked up a dagger, skillfully sharpened a twig, stuck it in jerky, and leaned it against the fire. Andra smiled lightly and nodded her head.
“The eastern night sky is beautiful.”
“That old tree, is it still there?”
Remembering something Jonathan, she asked Andra. But when Andra heard the question, her heart skipped a beat. What’s wrong with her? She squeezed her chest and crouched her body.
“What’s the matter, Anna?”
“Noth… Nothing…”
As Andra paused and inhaled deeply, Jonathan jumped up and came towards her in a panic.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“Suddenly, can’t, breathe…”
It felt like she had forgotten to breathe. Not even a voice could come out, so Andra moved her mouth. She doesn’t know why she was like this. Jonathan made Andra bend over her torso and began to pat her on the back.
“Anna, calm down for now. Follow me. Inhale, exhale…”
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