Chapter 635 - Paradise Toybox

“Hard to believe the ebb comes from these,” Alith commented, playing around with one of the fruits she just harvested. Despite it shining once it was taken from the root, the light changed nothing. Perhaps the palace was just already too unstable, but the fruit’s light failed to bring the group to the light world.

“Maybe we can bring one back to check in a more controlled environment, but that’s how they were in the lab at least.”

“We’ll see how it goes, still got our emergency escape orb if needed. Hopefully it’ll work. But what now, throne?” Alith asked.

“That is where the spell is supposed to be… Can you lead us there?”

“We can!” Bookie answered, “we had to search the crown in it, follow me!”

“Wait wait, Bookie. Too dangerous. Get the rat to scout ahead.”

The group walked through the abandoned palace, constantly getting thrown in and out of the light world. Alith and Bookie already knowing their way around was a great help, and it seemed none of the deep creatures actually ventured inside of the palace for some reason, despite there being some openings in the ceilings and walls. The stalkers and other monstrosities would creep around the edges, walk on the other side of walls and windows, but never enter. As they progressed the tree’s roots took up more and more space, it was obvious that they were walking toward the tree.

The walk was relatively uneventful until, weaving their way through the thick roots blocking the path, they entered the throne room.

The base of the gigantic tree stood there, like a wall of black and golden bark separating the throne room into two halves. Besides that and the usual roots and dust, there were very few things left aside from debris, the throne, and many grey feathers littering the ground, as if someone had plucked a bird right there.

The throne is right there! In one piece!

Sofia tried to advance, but Pareth blocked the path with an extended arm. 

Oh fuck.

She had been so excited to finally get her subclass’s second skill that she had completely failed to see the distorted human face in the bark. But it had certainly seen them. What could this entity be capable of?

There was a moment of Silence, Sofia thought about attacking but knew she couldn’t. If the tree was the thing maintaining the fake world, then trying to kill it was as good as trampling on her promise to Remia.

I don’t know if it’ll help but I do have my unlife runes so… 

Sofia pushed down Pareth’s arm. “All of you stay here.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Sof.”

“Not really,” Sofia answered, before taking a few steps forward, truly entering the throne room.

She carefully monitored the tree’s face and the mana movements in the air, ready to react at the slightest hint of something going wrong.

The tree’s eyes were made of darker bark, they followed Sofia as she walked toward the throne. When Sofia walked too close, the face started to contort. She took a step back, and the face relaxed.

Trying to walk around the throne was the same.

I just need to see the back… Should I use a vision token?

Sofia sighed, “Can you hear me?” she asked the face of the tree, “Do you understand me?”

The face of bark still looked at her, with no change in its expression.

Maybe…

Sofia repeated the same things in Draconic.

The tree’s eyes slowly narrowed. And its mouth opened. With an extremely deep voice, it started slowly answering in the draconic language.

“Serdross… Have you come back?” it asked.

“I am not Serdross,” Sofia answered.

Serdross is dead…

“Not… Then you must leave. Before I forget. Before, your face… You must leave,” the tree told Sofia, its voice oozing with dread.

“I will leave. I just need to see the back of the throne first,” Sofia told the tree.

“You… Can’t. I will not let you,” it slowly answered, and Sofia could feel the hostility in its voice. She could feel the room’s mana move in strange ways around her. But it was not an attack yet. She carefully considered what to say next.

“Why not? Do you remember Nex? You must have let him see it.”

“Nex… Remember, I do not. But perhaps, like the faces… Forgotten.”

Forgotten faces? Is that… Is that a way to explain why the light world’s faces are all blurry?

Wait… The feathers on the ground, could they…

Sofia took a few steps back, to grab one of the numerous feathers from the ground. Sofia wiped off the dust. It’s not gray! It’s black!

The links were immediately drawn in Sofia’s head, helping her understand a fundamental rule of the light world: it was all following Izzaro’s memory. These feathers, black feathers like a crow’s, covered in skin dust, were likely all coming from a single person, the avian lady they had randomly met earlier on the moon, one of Nex’s ancient companions.

She was the sole person whose face was not blurry in the light world, and the reason was simple: she visited Izzaro often, as shown by the feathers. Often enough for him to remember her face.

That might also explain why everyone’s memory gets rest in the light world, they live tethered to the tree… And it’s much easier to remember the same eight days again and again than to let everyone live an endless life. If the tethered’s memories are all dependent on Izzaro’s memory, he could only remember so much before reaching saturation.

It was only different for us because we’re not tethered. But once you become one, like the avian lady, you get stuck in the loop.

With the number of feathers here… She must have come here and ‘discovered’ Izzaro hundreds of times…

“Do you know who these feathers are from?” Sofia asked, holding up one of the feathers.

“That… I do not.”

Uh… Was I wrong? Ah, whatever…

“Why can I not look at the back of the throne?” Sofia asked next.

“Watch… Me,” the face in the bark answered. “I am the result. We cannot… Create paradise.”

Create paradise? He became a tree by trying to create paradise? Is that what the spell does? The spell is the light world?

Nex saw it… IT’S FAKE WORLDS!

THE SPELL IS JUST THAT!

OF COURSE THERE WAS A FAKE WORLD LIKE THE TRIALS!!!

This must be what they used to create the trials!

Ahahah! Did I do all this just to get one of Joah’s class skills?

The others were starting to worry as they watched Sofia silently cackle to herself, but she quickly regained her seriousness.

“I still want to see it,” Sofia told the tree, “If the queen’s descendants were here, would you let them see?”

“You cannot see… Our queen… No heir…”

That much was obvious… It seems like he won’t attack me as long as I don’t force things, but just to make sure… Sofia shook her staff, ringing Ormoncleth’s bell.

The tree’s face contorted, its eyes fixating the bell, “This… Why? How? Our Queen’s voice…”

He heard it… Not an enemy, then. The queen’s voice, huh?

“Do you believe I am the heir now?” Sofia asked next.

“My Queen…” the tree face mumbled, “I can never forget…”

With these words, the face in the bark relaxed, and its eyes slowly closed.

Oh fuck, did it die?

I guess not, the mana in the tree is still too stable. It must have fallen asleep… All thanks to Ormoncleth’s bell…

From the side, Alith was pointing madly at the throne, pressing Sofia to hurry up.

Yes, yes.

Finally Sofia laid her eyes on the back of Queen Esprizia Ormoncleth’s throne.

As expected, there was a mind-numbingly complex spell schematic carved on the back, but not only that, it came with an inscription at the top. One written in the old human language, no less, and so pristine in condition that one could swear it had just been carved through the stone.

‘My fair lady, I send unto thee this throne, for I have received the sorrowful tidings. It appears these artificial bounds were akin to a child’s ploy in the end; was it not vain of us brothers to believe we might so easily elude it?

Yet still, we thank thee for indulging our folly for so long. As was convened, let us leave here a fragment of this fleeting flesh’s transient wisdom, that our future marked ones might still benefit from this utter farce. I shall depart first, as thy return demands a cause. 

I yearn for thy warm presence to unite us once more. Sincerely, Y.’

This was then followed by a much shorter message, in the common language.

‘For my marks, I leave here the first of four mirrors, a world free from the clutches of death: the [Paradise Toybox]’