'In monts of clarity, deep within my heart, I could always hear a low, persistent murmur. It echoed the sa word over and over...'
'Return.'
'Return.'
'There was no longer any talk of escape. My mind was filled with confusion.'
'No matter where I drifted, no matter where I went...'
'That voice was like a tempting spell, like a devout prayer.'
'It pressed down on relentlessly, urging forward without pause.'
'Once again, I heard that soft, ethereal voice.'
———
A chill spread through her body. Cocotte felt as though she were imrsed in a gently rippling pool.
She slowly opened her eyes and found herself cradled in the warm embrace of the Divine Tree.
Gradually, she propped herself up.
Azure droplets clung to her pale skin, sliding down along her arms and body before falling softly back into the pool, sending out faint ripples.
A faint glow filled her eyes. Cocotte shook her head, as if trying to scatter the haze in her mind.
"This is… the heart of the Divine Tree?"
She stepped out of the pool, walking into the calm space around her, where magic flowed quietly in every direction.
Her slender hand brushed over the thousand-year-old vines of the Divine Tree as she closed her eyes.
It felt as though a gentle breeze stirred the window of her mind. The barrier before her grew faint and indistinct. Cocotte opened her eyes again.
Her gaze seed to pierce across mountains and rivers, through the lush expanse of the Elven Forest, reaching distant frontiers.
Outside the Divine Tree, the elves lived in peace and joy. Cocotte's eyes drifted over every living being.
Young elves moved about in orderly busyness. Children laughed and ran across the grass. Elders conducted solemn rituals.
Ti flowed before her eyes, as if accelerating.
In an instant, countless elves knelt beneath the Divine Tree, bowing in reverence.
And at that mont, voices echoed endlessly in her mind, "Protected by the Divine Tree..."
"Blessed by the Queen..."
"Our people shall flourish forever."
Like ancient hymns, these voices filled her with an inexplicable irritation. Her mind grew heavy, wave after wave of pressure building within it.
Even as her body lay imrsed in the pool, the voices clung to her like a shadow.
So Cocotte lifted her head and stared wide-eyed at the intertwined canopy above, her thoughts turning to the aning of her own existence.
Soon, the noise of the outside world faded away.
It was as if an invisible barrier had sealed off all sound, leaving only a single voice echoing in the sea of her mind...
'Return to nature.'
'As long as you return to nature, the peace you long for will never again be disturbed.'
"…"
'I don't like this voice.'
———
As though after a long journey, Cocotte opened her eyes once more.
This ti, she had already left the Divine Tree and arrived deep within the forest.
Barefoot, she walked across the soft grass, moving slowly toward the distance.
Her figure passed through the dwellings of the Elven Forest, walking under the warm gazes of the elves.
Whenever they caught sight of her, they would bow deeply, their faces filled with reverence and respect.
"You've worked hard, Your Majesty."
Hearing the greetings from both sides, Cocotte's expression did not change in the slightest. It remained eerily calm.
She felt a little confused. Was simply lying inside the Divine Tree and sleeping really such a difficult task?
Every being she spoke to said the sa thing. Perhaps it truly was exhausting.
'Return to nature.'
That irritating voice echoed again in her mind.
Cocotte stared blankly, her expression numb, as she looked at the elves bowing... even kneeling... before her.
Without a word, she silently returned to the Divine Tree.
When her body sank back into the pool, she rged with the Divine Tree once more.
Cocotte closed her eyes again.
'So tired.'
'I'll sleep a little longer.'
———
"Miss Cocotte Yard."
A shadow drifted down from midair like a veil, landing lightly on a patch of grass.
Amid the gentle breeze of the forest, a robed figure stood beneath the vast canopy and called out.
Cocotte heard the voice. Half-asleep, she opened her eyes and lazily rubbed them.
Following the direction of the voice, she looked down and saw a man in a robe, standing straight, though his face was obscured.
'Strange.'
"…Who are you?"
"I am Haim Horn, from the Mage Council."
After a brief introduction, Haim Horn went straight to the point.
"Your strength, character, and experience all et our standards."
"I would like to invite you to beco a mber of the Mage Council."
Cocotte stared blankly at Haim Horn as he bowed to her. Her lips parted slightly, but she didn't seem to know what to say.
She was a bit surprised. She hadn't done anything... how had she already t the Mage Council's standards?
She didn't understand, and she didn't feel like thinking about it.
Why did soone need her again?
She had already spent three hundred years in the Elven Forest. She was starting to feel impatient.
Cocotte originally intended to refuse outright. All she wanted now was a mont of quiet, to enjoy the afternoon breeze brushing her face and drift peacefully into sleep.
If she could remain asleep like this until the end of her life, that might not be such a bad choice.
But the familiar voice echoed in her mind once more, 'Return to nature.'
Every ti she woke from sleep, that whisper would resurface.
She was used to it.
And just as the words of refusal reached her lips, what ca out instead was, "If I go to the Mage Council, can you guarantee a quieter sleeping environnt than this place?"
Even without seeing Haim Horn's face, Cocotte could sense that he paused for a mont.
Well, maybe that request was a bit too much.
After speaking, Cocotte leaned back against the tree branch, smacked her lips slightly, and closed her eyes again.
Haim Horn held his chin, thinking for a mont.
"Endymion has many kinds of magical creatures. If you need it, I believe we can find sothing like a 'bed' that can provide comfortable sleep."
"Sounds good. I accept."
———
The Mage Council did indeed fulfill its promise to Cocotte, allowing her to sleep in Endymion as much as she wished.
At most, she would need to wake up once a year for etings or when receiving guests, though most of the ti she remained drowsy even then.
When was the last ti she had slept deeply in Endymion?
Cocotte thought about it, her mories slowly returning.
"Cocotte, I need your help to receive a newcor arriving at the Mage Council."
Inside the council, Cocotte lay lazily on a floating cloud, struggling to keep her heavy eyelids open as she complained to Haim Horn, "Haim, I only woke up a few days ago."
After all, she had co to Endymion to enjoy peaceful sleep, not to work.
A rare trace of guilt appeared on Haim Horn's face.
"I'm sorry, but this will be your last task today."
He paused for a while, then continued, "The newcor arriving has so issues."
"His reputation isn't very good, but his strength is extraordinary. Our council urgently needs him."
"Besides, he requires a council seat. I intend to give him your position."
Did that an she wouldn't have to work anymore?
Haim Horn's decision perfectly suited her wishes.
"That's fine. As long as I can continue enjoying long stretches of sleep in Endymion."
Cocotte yawned repeatedly.
Yet the irritating voice in her head still remained.
She didn't want to wake up... she only wanted to sleep peacefully forever.
Perhaps once tomorrow's task was over, she would never need to wake again.
———
Cocotte lay on a soft cloud, various strange creatures moving about the garden below.
Yawning, she waited for the intriguing newcor to arrive.
A strange aura broke the silence. Cocotte opened her eyes and propped herself up slightly.
A man in a black coat appeared, with a young human girl beside him.
The man was a fourth-tier mage, while the girl seed to be only first-tier.
For a first-tier mage to withstand Endymion's chaotic magical currents... what an impressive human girl.
Cocotte silently praised her.
Clearly, the mysterious newcor Haim had ntioned was this man.
She couldn't help but feel a natural sense of familiarity from him, even though his expression was cold to the point of indifference.
That was Cocotte's first impression.
However, what happened next made her discard that thought.
The fierce battle in the Magic Gorge surged like towering waves, instantly driving away her drowsiness.
That overwhelming power could move mountains and fill seas. Even the colossal Storm Dragon King bowed before it.
This newcor was terrifyingly strong.
Then, at the lowest level of Endymion, the appearance of the Calamity of Wood made Cocotte even more alert.
Under such circumstances, she simply couldn't fall asleep peacefully.
That period beca the longest she had ever stayed awake in Endymion.
For three full days, Viktor battled the Calamity of Wood.
And for three full days, she watched from the side.
Cocotte had never imagined she could stay awake for so long.
The power of the sun and the forest clashed like tides, two contrasting elents intertwining and rging amid conflict.
The rage of a colossal beast tore through space, as if two worlds were being crushed together by an alien force.
Blazing radiance, thriving vitality, and destructive fury intertwined before her eyes.
In the end, within that chaotic space, only endless disorder remained.
Yet in her mind, that phrase no longer echoed...
[Return to nature.]
Instead, through the layers of madness before her, she seed to glimpse true nature.
Faintly. Intermittently.
———
In the end, the upper three layers of Endymion were destroyed, along with the garden Cocotte had carefully prepared.
Cocotte no longer had a ho where she could sleep.
Although Haim Horn had said he could prepare another place for her, it would take so ti.
But at that mont, Cocotte pointed at Viktor... the one who had brought everything to an end.
If she had to return to nature... Then she would choose this man.
———
"Does your ho… have a garden?"
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