CHAPTER 157
157. A Matter of Time
It was an old Fairy. He didn't know how long a Fairy's lifespan was, but he wouldn't be surprised if this one had lived for hundreds of years. The fresh vitality and life force felt from the other Fairies were not felt at all.
Instead, a deep atmosphere filled that space. Despite being a Fairy, he didn't look mischievous at all; calmness and gravity took precedence. Even in his smallness and lightness, he was a guy who looked heavy.
"Who are you?"
Jinwoo looked at the Fairy. Due to the size difference, he was inevitably looking down. A subtly disquieting atmosphere drifted, but the old Fairy didn't show a hint of fear.
"I am merely a country bumpkin found anywhere."
Saying he was not a special existence at all. That from Jinwoo's perspective, he was just one of the insignificant creatures that could be kicked around.
"Have you met me?"
"No."
Jinwoo was a little disappointed at the Fairy's immediate answer. If he were a being who knew his past self, he could have heard many stories.
"However, I received much grace from Him, the World Tree."
"From the World Tree?"
But he says he knows the World Tree. Jinwoo showed interest at those words.
Jinwoo is currently looking for the World Tree's location. As a bonus, he wants to know what the current situation is. This small, old Fairy knows all that information.
"Actually, I was a bit big in my prime."
"Big?"
About this much? Jinwoo indicated a height slightly with his hand. Since his current size was smaller than a palm, if he said he was big in his prime, maybe a little bigger than a palm?
Then the Fairy laughed heartily.
"Hoho, not that degree. The old me was bigger than the current you. My body wouldn't submerge even in that lake in front, and I met eyes with the mountain beyond there. While walking, clouds often scattered against my forehead."
"That's... a Giant."
"Yes. I was originally of the Giant race."
Not a small Fairy, but a Giant? He couldn't imagine it with his current appearance. To think this palm-sized Fairy was as big as a mountain in the past...
"To Giants, a strong body is the pride of everyone. A brother who is bigger and stronger takes on the role of the clan's leader and commands everyone."
"A leader, huh..."
"At one time, I too was in that position. But a single encounter changed everything."
"Are you talking about meeting the World Tree?"
"No. I met a black, ominous Seed."
Jinwoo was surprised. Because from the story so far, he guessed what his next words would be.
"The Seed dug into my body and ate away at my body, which was my pride. The me after that was not me."
"That means you are..."
"Lord of Earth and Giants, Terham. That is what I was called."
The old Fairy, Terham's voice was calm. Neither his expression nor his voice conveyed any emotion. But even if it wasn't emotion, it contained much, and held much.
The time when he was a Lord. The period when the body, the pride of the Giant race, was eaten by the Seed. He didn't know what kind of things he committed during those days. But surely, it wouldn't have been pleasant.
However, it was ultimately the past. What was important was the present, and Terham was also talking about the present.
"I don't see the Seed now."
"Yes. With His grace, I was able to cast it off. But the body eaten by the Seed did not return, so I became this small existence."
Belkarim split herself in half to detach the Seed. She tried to protect at least the remaining half by passing the Seed to half of her ego and making it a Lord. In fact, that succeeded, and the current her is a being completely separated from the Seed.
Terham said he detached the Seed with the World Tree's help. He didn't know what method the World Tree used to detach the Seed dwelling in Terham's body. In any case, she succeeded, and Terham survived.
"To the Giant race, their own strong body is their only pride. If it is damaged and they become crippled, they value the nobility of the body enough to commit suicide. I too agonized a lot after becoming this body, but."
"You're alive."
"Yes. I decided to live a new life as a Fairy, not a Giant."
So that's why he is here. In this small village where Lake Fairies gather, as an old sage.
"As you can see, Fairies are very good beings. They may be mischievous, but they have no malice. Just as they welcomed you humans without discrimination, I, who was a Giant, was also welcomed. Thanks to that, I was able to live a modest but precious life."
"I see..."
So there is a Lord like this too. One who abandoned everything like his own power and pride to part ways with the Seed.
One who lost everything but is still living a new life.
"He took my Seed. Since then, we haven't met but... perhaps even now, He is suffering, fighting the power of the Seed."
"Are you saying the World Tree was eroded?"
"Even before taking my Seed."
It means apart from Terham's Seed, the World Tree was already being eroded. But, the World Tree couldn't be affected by normal Erosion. That means...
"He already had a Seed?"
"Probably. And since he took my Seed too, he must possess at least two Seeds."
What Jerakson couldn't do. Embracing two Seeds and exerting all that power. He failed to achieve it. He tried to achieve it by stealing Belkarim's Seed, but was thwarted by meeting Jinwoo.
The World Tree already has two Seeds. Judging from Terham's tone, from quite a long time ago. From that time, She was already surpassing Jerakson.
"Where is it?"
Jinwoo asked. There was no object, but anyone could see he was asking for the World Tree's location. However, Terham feigned ignorance and played dumb.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't pretend you didn't understand. The location of the World Tree."
"What do you intend to do by going there?"
Hearing just up to here, he knew. He had no intention of telling him the World Tree's location.
"I don't intend to commit any unsavory acts. I am collecting the Seeds. Do you see them?"
"Four... counting this insect woman here, that's already five. I see them well."
Larna, who was in the middle of munching on fruit, flinched and looked this way. But when neither Jinwoo nor Terham paid attention to her, she picked up a new fruit again.
"I am collecting the Seeds. These need to be kept in one place and managed. I don't see it as right for them to be scattered and causing trouble all over the place like now."
"What are you saying now? Wasn't it you who spread them first?"
"..."
Why the source of Erosion split into twelve and scattered. He has no memory regarding that.
That his past self spread them intentionally was one of several hypotheses Jinwoo speculated. A quite highly probable one. Terham's words were pointing that out.
But if you think about it carefully, he said he had never met him. So how does he know whether he spread the Seeds on purpose or not?
"I don't know. Maybe there were unavoidable circumstances or something, so I had no choice but to spread them."
"I suppose so. Just as there is no result without a cause, there would be no incident without circumstances. I too am currently holding unfortunate circumstances where the Seed dug in and I had to abandon all my body."
"..."
'...His words are sharp.'
"Indeed."
Jinwoo smiled bitterly. No hostility was seen from Terham, but no goodwill was shown either.
Though he says he lives a new life, he hasn't forgotten his past as a Giant. The past where he had no choice but to watch his own body being eroded. The past where he eventually had no choice but to discard it all.
The conversation ran parallel. Terham didn't trust Jinwoo and didn't tell any story regarding the World Tree.
How should he conciliate him? While he was agonizing over that, Larna, who was sucking the fruit juice on her hands, spoke carefully.
"Is... is it trouble?"
"Huh?"
"Is it trouble because this Fairy won't listen?"
Before Jinwoo could answer, Larna moved first. Her arm, moving secretly and swiftly, snatched Terham up. Then, without delay, she tossed him into her mouth.
Jinwoo was surprised by the sudden unexpected action. But Terham didn't just get eaten quietly either. Clearly, he had entered Larna's mouth, but in the next moment, he was seen floating in the air as if he had teleported.
"I lost my body, but I didn't lose the clan's secret arts. You cannot catch me with clumsy movements."
Terham's composed tone must have grated on Larna's nerves, as she drew her sword. It was the extremely light sword, thin like insect wings mentioned before.
A wind blew as if a sword fight would erupt any moment. Terham also looked down at Larna with cold eyes, and Larna's hand was already moving.
"Stop."
Jinwoo cut in between them. Grabbing Larna's wrist, he leaked ominous mana from the direction of Terham.
Larna looked disappointed but surprised that she was caught by Jinwoo, and immediately ran away. It seemed her fear toward Jinwoo hadn't completely disappeared yet.
Terham snorted as if the mood was spoiled and descended to the ground, but magic power like a Giant's was still emitting presence around him.
Even if he had a small body like a Fairy, his mind and soul were still a Giant.
"Let's stop here for today. We'll talk again tomorrow."
"Do as you please. Fairies are kind, so you may stay as long as you want."
In this atmosphere, nothing that would be solved gets solved. Promising tomorrow, Jinwoo took a step back.
Seeing Jinwoo preparing bedding for himself and Larna, Terham disappeared deep into the cave.
"Yo... You. Are you looking for the Soul Tree?"
"Yeah."
While covering himself with a thin blanket and trying to sleep, Larna in the spot next to him asked. She was also covering herself with a modern blanket; perhaps liking the texture quite a bit, she was snuggled inside the blanket.
"Why?"
"I was purifying our world with the World Tree's power, but the World Tree's condition is strange."
He was erasing the black earth of Earth with the World Tree's power. Now that Jerakson was gone, no new Erosion was created on Earth. But the already dead earth couldn't be helped, so he had to rely on the World Tree's power.
But since that World Tree itself is dyed black, there's no way he can leave it be. So Jinwoo came to the Spirit Realm to find the World Tree.
And even without this reason, he wanted to meet the World Tree.
"More than that, why are you following me? You ran away because you almost died."
"That's true but... that's..."
"That's what."
"I don't know either."
Jinwoo looked at Larna lying on her side. Her long bangs fell to gravity, revealing one eye. It wasn't an eye suited for modifiers like a starry sky or a jewel. It was a colder, inorganic eye like a camera lens.
"Just... I feel like I shouldn't be apart."
"Shouldn't be apart?"
"Yeah. Just that feeling."
She couldn't explain it more rationally here. Since there wasn't another reason in the first place and she was just following her intuition, it couldn't be helped. Even if it wasn't her, anyone who came wouldn't be able to explain it properly.
Jinwoo turned his head and looked at the cave ceiling. The stalactites embedded in the ceiling twinkling; this looked like stars in the night sky. A natural cave next to a beautiful lake.
'The Seeds are pulling each other.'
Jinwoo closed his eyes. Five Seeds had already gathered in this spot.
The rest would be a matter of time too.