Weed ~The One’s Gardener~ - Chapter 97

The center of the world was incredibly beautiful. However, the gaping void marred that scenery, and the disease it caused was dreadful. Even the beautiful plants of Lar could not heal this affliction. So, the World Tree decided to eliminate the void.

After much contemplation, it found a single solution. However, the World Tree couldn’t sacrifice its own life.

The god had told it to wait. Although it hadn’t heard exactly what to wait for or how long, it knew it had to survive until the right moment arrived.

So, the World Tree opened a dimensional portal. It summoned sacrifices, offering them proper respect and shamelessly asking for their lives. They were so noble and gracious that they willingly accepted. How could they be so beautiful? Perhaps it was because they came from a dimension far higher than this one.

As the void was resolved piece by piece, the World Tree looked up at the sun and asked the god there:

O god, I have cultivated your world so beautifully. This world is waiting for your return. Please come back.

But there was no response.

Moreover, the guilt of having sacrificed such precious beings began to grow in one corner of its heart. No, it was more than simple guilt. It was something much deeper, something profoundly significant. Yet, it remained a mystery why its emotions crumbled so.

When a bug sacrificed itself, it cried for a week. When a small bird sacrificed itself, it cried for fifteen days. After sacrificing an even greater life during the last ritual, it cried for more than a month before fainting. It wasn’t that it measured the worth of life; the sadness had simply accumulated.

The World Tree began to tire.

Even as it looked up at the sky and called out to the god, there was still no answer. It was slowly accepting that it would never receive a response.

This world had been abandoned.

It should not have trusted the command to wait. It should not have listened. Whatever it had done, it had clearly incurred the god’s wrath. The god must have disliked this world so much that it refused to return.

O god, why…?

The World Tree felt wronged. It believed it had so much value. It was prepared to do anything the god desired. Why had the god abandoned this world? Why had the god forsaken it? Why plant false hope that it would return? It simply couldn’t understand.

Finally, exhausted and worn out, the World Tree decided to enter eternal slumber.

The immortality granted by the god had only dulled its emotions. It no longer wanted to tend a garden its master would never return to. It no longer wished to wait for a god that would never come back. The longer it lived, the more its emotions crumbled, and now it felt it could no longer endure.

Today, the Weed looked up at the sky again… a sky where today’s sun rose, but nothing else.

He gazed blankly upward, tears streaming down his face.

“Please bring her back.”

Sadness, injustice, anger—these emotions trembled in his voice.

“God! This world doesn’t need you. I will no longer wait for you. I don’t want this world anymore. What on earth did I cultivate Lar for? God! Please return what is mine!”

His emotions shattered more than ever before.

“Give me back what is mine!”

He simply gazed up at the sky.

He no longer had the strength to wait for eternity. He no longer felt capable of living. He couldn’t understand how he had ever felt so confident.

He was just a weak, insignificant being.

“Return her to me!”

He begged more fervently than ever. He didn’t need a god.

This greedy world had swallowed countless noble lives, ultimately taking her as well. He wanted nothing else. Only the one thing he had wanted, his own.

“Give her back! I demand it!”

For the first time in his life, the World Tree rejected the god.

At that moment, the sky finally opened.

“Ah…!”

It was the end of a wait that had felt like an eternity.

With a sigh, Weed watched as dazzling golden light poured down. The brilliance was just like the first time he had seen the light of this world and gained consciousness. He was filled with the same elation. Although he had always chased after the sun, this light was infinitely more noble.

The sun had already risen, but an even brighter grace descended upon the earth. The ground, once filled with holes, was now floating and settling.

The rugged land of Lar expanded as though it had opened up.

The void of this world had vanished.

The revitalized World Tree shed golden leaves. A gust of wind blew, and the newly sprouted leaves fluttered like golden dust. It was merely the transition from spring to summer. Yet, the earth glowed with golden hues, like a wheat field at harvest.

With the void sealed, the ground displayed its most noble colors to welcome the god.

At that moment, they finally saw each other. With threads of light extending from her back like wings, she revealed herself.

Their eyes met.

With his face still streaked with tears, Weed murmured in awe.

“Hana…”

He knew this would happen. He knew it.

He had expected the being from another dimension to appear far more extraordinary. As a noble entity summoned from a higher plane, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she had beautiful wings. When he had once touched her shoulder blades, he hadn’t found any traces, though it seemed she had hidden them well, being such a masterful liar.

Such a noble and beautiful being, with wings of gold that suited her perfectly.

But that wasn’t what mattered now. He moved toward her.

No, he didn’t run.

The one who had fallen from such great heights was now back on high ground. He didn’t want to pull her down anymore. Couldn’t he simply rise to meet her?

He was tired of waiting, doing nothing.