"Where is this?"
Her consciousness seed to drift into a void. Cocotte's limbs felt strangely light and hollow, while her body had beco soft and pliant.
Yet unbearably heavy, unable to move.
She struggled to open her eyes, trying to see her surroundings.
But there was nothing in this space except darkness, and the silence ringing in her ears was terrifying.
Even the slightest sound seed unnaturally amplified here.
This place… felt strangely perfect for sleeping.
She vaguely rembered now.
It happened half a month ago.
Cocotte still rembered clearly that Henny had co looking for her on her own initiative that ti.
She had rarely awakened from her silent slumber.
Back then, Henny had sohow brought back a chubby little white puppy. The tiny thing was only about the size of a palm.
It was incredibly lazy.
By the ti Cocotte saw it, it was already peacefully asleep in Henny's warm hand.
Its slightly pudgy body rose and fell gently with each deep breath, looking utterly at peace.
Cocotte examined the sleepy little dog and couldn't help finding it amusing.
There was actually a creature in this world even lazier than her?
But when Cocotte looked up, intending to greet Henny, the little white dog suddenly opened its eyes.
It let out a long, cavernous yawn and lazily rubbed its sleepy eyes with a paw before casting Cocotte a drifting look.
More accurately, it was staring at the cloud beneath her.
Faced with the little white dog's unfathomable gaze, Cocotte vaguely felt that eyes this deep and filled with desire could not possibly belong to an ordinary puppy.
And of course, her intuition was correct.
The mont their gazes t, Cocotte felt drowsiness surge over her once more like a tidal wave.
Clinging to what little clarity remained, she tried to ask Henny where this little white dog ca from, only to see surprise in Henny's eyes.
"Senior Cocotte, you really can see it."
Cocotte was startled and was just about to ask more questions.
Then suddenly, she sensed sothing ominously strange.
The surrounding space seed to freeze into incomparable stillness, leaving only Cocotte awake and able to observe her surroundings.
She could clearly see that Henny's body had beco rigid like a statue.
anwhile, the little white dog opened and closed its mouth as it spoke, "Let's make a deal."
Cocotte's mouth dropped open, her eyes widening round with shock.
She never imagined a dog could actually speak human language.
"I know the… mm… desires in your heart. I know very clearly what you want."
Its voice carried a drawn-out laziness, slow and dragging, as if it might fall asleep the very next second.
Its eyes were hazy and unfocused, frequently drifting blankly. Halfway through speaking, it would nearly nod off.
Then suddenly jerk awake and continue from where it left off.
Its voice seed to possess so kind of magic. Cocotte found herself believing it with ease.
She stared at the puppy in astonishnt, looking at the tiny creature with confusion before raising a brow and asking,
"Then… can you give a better sleeping environnt than this?"
"A place where I'll never be disturbed again."
The little dog swayed its head as it answered before closing its eyes once more.
"Yes."
After that, an irresistible wave of exhaustion quickly swallowed Cocotte whole.
And from then on, she never woke up again.
———
Honestly speaking, becoming a plant in the garden was an experience far better than any sleep.
There was no burden of consciousness anymore, no need to think.
That sentence also stopped endlessly echoing in her mind, 'Return to nature.'
And now, she technically had returned to nature, hadn't she?
That voice probably wouldn't keep whispering in her ears anymore.
But what was happening now?
Cocotte felt her consciousness slowly returning to her body, though it didn't seem like the right ti to wake up yet.
Her body felt as though it were wrapped in warm water.
The world around her suddenly filled with dazzling light, illuminating everything before her.
Above her stretched an endless azure sky, while all around was empty nothingness.
Beneath her feet was a tranquil sheet of crystal-clear water. Cocotte hadn't even realized she was being cradled within those peaceful waters.
She opened her eyes and suddenly sat upright from the pool, taking a deep breath of fresh air.
After resting for a mont, she lifted her head and gazed at the pristine sky untouched by even a single cloud.
Then suddenly, within Cocotte's field of vision...
an elf walked past her.
Cocotte was filled with confusion, because the elf seed entirely unaware of her existence.
Just as she reached out, intending to greet one of her own kind, the elf before her gradually turned transparent before dissipating completely.
In the blink of an eye, her body transford into a tiny sapling.
Her feet beca tangled roots extending into the clear water below, taking root upon the tranquil lake.
The sight instantly stiffened Cocotte's body.
Then more elves began appearing from the edges of her vision.
They laughed and played together, and whenever they reached Cocotte's side or stood before her... these elven kin would transform into particles of light one after another, returning to nature's embrace.
And wherever they vanished, flourishing trees would grow from the earth.
More and more elves surged toward Cocotte like an endless tide.
Yet without exception, the mont they drew close to her, they transford into light, scattered, and returned.
A sudden thunderclap startled Cocotte from her daze.
Violent thunder and lightning churned across the heavens as torrential rain poured down from above.
Feeling the massive raindrops crashing onto her, Cocotte stared at the vast water below the storm, where all things grew wildly, forming a lush and thriving forest.
Rampaging thunder and lightning roared like enraged celestial beasts in the sky. Watching the storm dance overhead, Cocotte felt a chill run through her.
Her feet stood upon the water now rippling with waves as she sank deep into thought.
Those elves who had beco specks of light rose into the sky and gathered together into a warm sun.
Though the forest had risen out of nowhere, the earth itself still lacked soil.
It was as if this world were missing so vital elent.
The forest floated atop the blue water, and yet everything looked so fantastical.
Cocotte simply stared blankly.
What had once been empty nothingness had transford in an instant into a dense forest.
And this entire forest had ford from the energy of those vanished elves.
Their bodies brought life.
Their consciousness returned to nature.
"Return to nature?"
At that mont, Cocotte finally seed to understand what returning to nature truly ant.
Standing within the forest, she herself gradually began to change.
Her feet hardened into thick roots, plunging deep beneath the towering lake into the earth below.
Her body slowly grew tougher as she transford into a massive and majestic tree.
The hair atop her head spread outward, becoming countless lush branches swaying gently in the wind.
Her long hair stretched toward the heavens, scattering into innurable branches that moved softly beneath the breeze, breaking the original silence.
Fresh green buds soon sprouted from the graceful branches, nurturing vibrant leaves that danced with the wind.
This lofty divine tree stood surrounded by the forest, its enormous trunk rising proudly from the tranquil lake, bathed in the warmth of the sun beneath a sky flashing with thunder.
In the end, Cocotte completely rged with this realm of nature and beca a great divine tree.
Once she felt her roots sink deep into the cold waters below, the voice in her mind finally stopped bothering her.
This ti, she should finally be able to sleep properly, right?
But even then, she still couldn't rest.
Elves drifted in from every direction. In each elf's hands was a bowl woven from green leaves, filled with crystal-clear spring water.
They bowed reverently beneath the divine tree, offering their heartfelt dew to it.
And with every single drop of dew poured forth, a new elf would bloom from the towering canopy.
Day after day.
Year after year.
Old elves died, and newborn elves appeared once more.
'So tired. I really want to go on strike.'
"..."
Every day, the elves prayed.
Their prayers rolled on endlessly like waves, echoing deep within Cocotte's heart.
'What did they need today?'
'So, they needed vast land to build hos.'
'But even my own roots haven't touched real soil.'
'How am I supposed to give you earth to build houses with?'
Cocotte sank back into exhaustion once more.
'So tired. I really want to go on strike.'
"..."
Within Cocotte's awareness, generations of elves ca and went.
Those elves who once gathered beneath the divine tree in worship had all long since returned to dust, becoming trees within the forest.
And now, the newer elves rarely prayed to the divine tree anymore.
The elves had achieved self-sufficient lives and gradually beco independent.
But things were not that simple.
Just like those cliché stories that always appeared.
The more peaceful and tranquil a world was, the more likely sothing would erge to shatter that peace.
The sky darkened, and storms raged around the forest.
Chaotic energy surged from deep beneath the earth, polluting the rippling lake and trying to cover the heavens, descending upon every elf.
The elves looked up in panic.
These elves, who had never experienced disaster before, had absolutely no idea how to deal with such a situation.
They had never faced danger like this.
But now, catastrophe was approaching.
ROOOAR!!
A white dragon pulsing with dark violet waves burst from the dim heavens, spreading its black wings.
Its oppressive presence felt like madness itself dragging all chaos out from the depths of the world.
The flowing dark-purple scales emitted wave after wave of strange resonance, making the elves' skin crawl.
The danger arrived in an instant, and the elves imdiately began praying to the divine tree again.
"O supre divine tree, please, save us from this crisis."
"Divine tree, please help us reclaim our holand."
"Divine tree…"
Listening to the heavy prayers that sounded almost like incantations, Cocotte, who had beco the divine tree, slowly awakened.
She shook her towering branches that reached into the clouds and turned her gaze toward the outside world where the elves were gathered.
Honestly, she didn't even know how long she had slept.
She wasn't even sure whether her consciousness still truly belonged to her anymore.
Yet when she heard the elves' prayers, she still felt a trace of surprise.
Did the elves need her again?
But she was only a tree.
What could she possibly do?
'So tired. I really want to go on strike.'
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