CHAPTER 117 — The Northern Forest
Losing its head, Silbaern collapsed, bleeding profusely. Its colossal body hit the earth, sending deep vibrations spreading outwards.

The power of Erosion spread indiscriminately. The black shadow flowed like a wave, out of control.

Just like the Erosion he had seen on Earth, it was ruining the forest. It stained everything it touched black, stealing its essence and rendering it non-functional.

What washed over them was truly a wave of death. No, a wave of suffering worse than death.

'No way.'

Even Jinwoo felt a sense of dread before the ominous energy that sent shivers down his spine just by looking at it. He feared that this overflowing, uncontrolled power might turn the Spirit Realm into another Earth.

As he thought that, he tried to withdraw the power.

Swoosh—

To his surprise, the power was retrieved more smoothly than expected, far more easily than he had anticipated. It didn't disobey or lose control at all. The shadow gathered back to Jinwoo even faster than it had spread out.

All that remained was a vast forest and a spirit that had lost its heat.

Jinwoo looked down at the fading spirit's corpse.

"Akram."

"……"

At Jinwoo's words, Akram slightly opened his eyes. He seemed to lack even the strength to lift his eyelids, managing only a slight squint.

"This is the end," Kalesian said. Even without his words, it was clear Akram was on the verge of dissipating.

His spirit, forged over long years like a bedrock, was now like a candle in the wind. When that spirit unraveled like a thread, his soul would finally find rest.

The spirits gathered around him, mourning. Rachel was there, as were spirits in the forms of other animals. Even firefly-like spirits without a clear ego were drawn to the gathering.

"…"

In the end, he closed his eyes without leaving any last words. As the powerful spirit vanished, the flames that composed his body dispersed and melted into the surroundings.

Even in death, spirits dissolve back into the world and contribute to it. It wasn't so different from ordinary creatures that are buried in the earth and become nutrients for plants. As special as spirits may seem, they were ultimately part of the world's cycle.

However, the fact remained that his ego had been extinguished. Just as a creature that becomes nutrients after death cannot be revived, a spirit that melts back into the world cannot return.

He was, after all, dead. Thus, the sorrow of those left behind was no different from that of any other creature. There was nothing special about being a spirit.

So as not to disturb their mourning, Jinwoo and Kalesian kept a slight distance. They turned their heads and looked at the forest.

"Silbaern is dead, but the forest remains."

"To say it's been liberated… is a bit strange. This forest grew from Silbaern's power in the first place."

It wasn't a case of a pre-existing forest where Silbaern had forcibly made her nest. This forest was born from Silbaern's power from the very beginning.

The forest might grieve the loss of its master, but it wouldn't disappear. A fully grown forest couldn't just vanish in a puff of smoke.

Though it wouldn't remain as lush as before, it would likely persist for some time.

With Silbaern's mana gone, the trees would now have to compete for a limited supply of nutrients, but that couldn't be helped.

That aside, the forest's reaction was strange. When Jinwoo took a step forward, the forest parted with a rustle.

Of course, these were plants, not animals. Since the trees were rooted, the movement wasn't dramatic. From a certain perspective, the reaction was so subtle it could have been a trick of the eye.

But it had definitely parted to open a path. As if it had no intention of blocking Jinwoo's way any longer.

It wasn't reverence. The will remaining in the forest—what it felt toward Jinwoo was fear.

A rather large flame was lit in front of the cave. Though large, it was but a fraction of the fire that had once covered the entire area.

A gentle breeze blew, carrying faint embers far into the distance. The fire spirits watched it, some praying, some chanting, and others simply gazing.

"He was someone who never left this land his entire life… I'm sure he'd want to go see the world, at least now," Rachel said. This was a kind of funeral.

Everyone here, including Akram, was a spirit born and raised in this land. As such, they didn't have any particular culture, but it seemed they had their own way of sending off the departed.

Small clusters of light hovered over the fire they had lit. A portion of the power shed from Akram upon his death had been reborn as new spirits.

With almost no ego, they acted on instinct. Some of the light clusters rode the wind and flew off somewhere, while others settled directly into the flames.

A few even settled in the cave where Akram had lived. Inside the cave was a small torch, and they hovered around it.

They likely hadn't inherited Akram's memories, but perhaps a fragment of instinct remained.

'The Spirit of the Torch, he called himself.'

Jinwoo also entered the cave and rested comfortably in front of the torch. He hadn't noticed while he was busy moving, but his body and mind were filled with fatigue.

Now that the battle was over and peace had returned, the exhaustion that had been masked by adrenaline came rushing in. Still, it was just fatigue, so a good rest would make it go away.

'That sword from back then.'

The sword that had beheaded Silbaern. The black energy that had overflowed without him realizing, and the blade that had fallen like a guillotine.

He recalled that moment. At that time, Jinwoo had felt an inexplicable sense of omnipotence. Not that he was truly omnipotent, but it felt that way. For that instant, it truly seemed like he could do anything.

It was strange. A sword was originally meant for cutting things. It shouldn't be able to do anything other than cut.

'It was more intense than when I usually swing my sword.'

Ever since he gained the ability to cut flames, his senses changed whenever he held a sword. He felt no hesitation in cutting things, allowing him to slice through hard rocks and steel bars without pause.

But that sword from before was different. In that moment, something far, far greater had possessed him. Something likely related to his past life.

'I also absorbed all of Silbaern's flame.'

Moreover, he had gained great power from this battle. And yet, he didn't feel a great sense of power.

In his past battle with Johann, he had clearly felt a huge influx of power when he cut the dragon's soul. But this time, after cutting Silbaern, it was just so-so. There was only an empty sensation, like pouring water into a bottomless jar.

It was strange. In terms of spiritual rank, Silbaern's soul, which had ascended to the Spirit Realm, should be far superior to the soul that was being controlled by the likes of Johann.

In addition, he had safely stored Silbaern's dead body in his inventory. A dragon's corpse was a treasure trove with no part to waste, so he couldn't just let it return to nature.

"So, what's the plan now?"

"Kalesian."

Kalesian approached, chewing on a chunk of meat. The outside was cooked to a crispy brown, while the inside was dripping with blood. It was a bit rarer than Jinwoo preferred, but it still looked delicious.

"Want some?"

"Could I have a few pieces?"

Kalesian gestured with one wing, and a piece of meat that was being cooked on the side flew over.

Naturally, this wasn't the fire the spirits were using for their prayers; Kalesian had set up a separate fire to cook it.

"Hmm, it's a bit bland."

"I don't really season my food. Add salt yourself if you want."

The meat was completely unseasoned and bland, but the taste of the meat itself was excellent. Sprinkling a little salt on it was enough to make it quite edible.

It wasn't a well-prepared dish like one from a restaurant, but eating something simply grilled in the wild had its own rustic charm.

"So, where are we heading?"

Returning to the main topic, Jinwoo pondered the question.

If asked whether he had a destination, he certainly did. To find the God of the Moonlight Forest, the World Tree.

The problem was where that World Tree was.

"You still have that branch you picked up, don't you? Is there any reaction from it?"

Jinwoo took out the branch he had kept.

The glass bead and the seedling he had planted had all been destroyed by Silbaern. This was all that was left.

Losing the sacred items was a pity, but it couldn't be helped after fighting such a dragon. He had to consider himself lucky that even this much remained.

"No particular reaction."

"Then we'll have to embark on a journey to find a reaction."

Jinwoo let out a small laugh. To go on a journey to get a reaction from the branch that was meant to find the World Tree. He hoped it wouldn't become a chain of seeking a reaction to a reaction…

Soon, after a good sleep in front of the warm fire, they set out on their journey early in the morning.

"Be careful. And… thank you."

"It's fine. It would have been hard to win without Akram."

As Rachel saw them off, Jinwoo asked.

"What will you all do?"

"We'll each go our own way. Some children want to stay, and some want to leave."

"And you?"

"Umm… I'm not sure. I'm going to think about it a little more."

'So she's staying.'

This cave and its surroundings were where they had been imprisoned by Silbaern. In that sense, it was a terrible place, but conversely, it was also the place where they had fought alongside their comrades against Silbaern's forest.

He understood both those who wanted to leave and those who wanted to stay. Either way, it was no longer any of Jinwoo's concern.

"Jinwoo, are you planning to exit through the northern path?"

"I didn't have a set plan, it just turned out that way. This side seemed the most lenient."

Jinwoo was walking through the forest that had lost its master. The forest still opened a path for him.

Rachel looked on in awe as the once-ferocious forest now prostrated itself before him. Then again, perhaps it was only natural for it to fear the man who had cut off that dragon's head.

"I heard there's a snowy mountain to the north. I've never seen it myself, though."

"Is that so?"

The reason the northern forest was particularly lenient was simple. Silbaern's power hadn't fully extended to the north.

She had ruled the area around her nest and the southern forest with a strong grip, but she hadn't been able to do the same for the north. It was because of the snowy mountain that existed there.

Rachel explained this, and Jinwoo wondered if he should change direction now.

"I chose the north specifically because I thought a dense forest would be hard to walk through… but was the dense part actually the right answer?"

It meant he had judged the situation completely backward. He had already gone through so much trouble here; he had no desire to enter another dangerous area.

"…! Jinwoo. Look at this."

Just then, Kalesian pointed at something. It was the World Tree branch, which he had kept out so he could check for a reaction at any time.

A faint light was emanating from it. It was a dim and faint light, but it was definitely there.

'She can't speak to me, but does she know what's going on here?'

That was the only way to interpret the reaction. Otherwise, there was no reason for it to light up at this specific timing.

This faint light also felt like the faint voice of the God of the Moonlight Forest that he used to hear.

"...Should we head over there for now?"

Seeing this, it probably meant the World Tree was on the snowy mountain, or that there was a clue there. He couldn't just ignore it.

It seemed dangerous, being a territory that even Silbaern couldn't push into, but it shouldn't be impossible if they approached with caution.

However.

"Just in case, let's look for a blue portal too."

He needed to prepare for the unexpected.