Hearing that it wanted to be moved, Aldrian sensed the tree's reluctance. The tree knew what Seralis had talked about, as Seralis sotis spoke to it about the invasion of other universes.
When Seralis said she had to bring the tree to the lowest heaven so it would not fall into the invaders' hands, the tree understood that the situation was dire.
Still, the tree was reluctant to move, for it held many mories of this place. It had been a long ti since the absolute one had gone, and the tree thought that it could remain here. Seralis, sensing the tree's reluctance, sighed but then smiled.
"I know that you're reluctant to leave this place, but I don't have any choice. With our current situation, it's only a matter of ti before those invaders arrive here and find you. You are a special tree created directly by His Majesty's hands, sothing that even gods would pursue."
"I don't want you to suffer in the hands of those invaders, and I don't want you to perish before His Majesty returns. You don't want that, right?"
The tree answered with its intent, 'no', which made Seralis's smile grow warr.
"His Majesty will return. He will be, and you just need to wait there. I believe he will visit you again," she said as she leaned her forehead against the tree.
The scene then changed again. This ti, the tree was already in a different environnt, and Aldrian knew that this was the current location of the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life was now under the World Tree, and at this mont, a woman stood beside it, gently touching its trunk.
The woman's face was not Seralis's, but from the tree's reaction and emotions, it was clear that this woman was Seralis. Aldrian thought that Seralis must be using a disguise technique.
"I will have to return to the higher heavens. I still have to defend this universe from those invaders. They have already taken the Ninth and Eighth Heavens and are still advancing, so I think I will have to say goodbye for now."
The tree's sadness could not be described, as its only acquaintance from the higher heavens had to leave. The absolute one had been gone for so long, and now its only friend was leaving as well. There was nothing it could do. It could only show its protest through its intent, not wanting Seralis to go.
Sensing the tree's protest, Seralis showed an aching expression. She knew that the tree did not want her to leave and wished she could stay and accompany it here, but that was impossible for her. Her friends and all beings across the universe were still struggling to fight the invaders. The only thing she could do for the Tree of Life was to keep it safe here.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I truly don't want to leave you alone, but I must… You can be angry with as long as you stay here and survive, waiting until His Majesty returns," Seralis said, sadness visible in her eyes.
She knew that once she left, this tree would have to live alone without anyone it knew, for who knew how long. Even though many people lived in this place, they would likely regard the tree as sacred and never interact with it, unlike her, the absolute one, or anyone from the higher heavens.
Even if the tree found soone like her or the absolute one, they would likely leave it as well, for they would have to ascend.
Imagining the loneliness the tree would experience made Seralis's heart ache even more, especially when she could feel its plea for her to stay.
Still, she hardened her heart and put on a firm expression before lifting her head to look at the tree.
"Keep living until His Majesty arrives, and you might return to your ho. We will create new mories there once His Majesty returns," she said as her body slowly began to turn transparent.
The tree kept trying to express that it did not want Seralis to go and wanted to follow her, but Seralis's expression hardened.
"He will co, and I hope you can greet him directly. Maybe by then, you will have shaped your spirit." Her body grew more transparent, and before she disappeared completely, she finally showed a warm smile. She could no longer keep her expression hard in front of the tree that seed like a child to her.
"Take care," she said one last ti before she vanished entirely.
The tree could only watch silently as Seralis left it behind. From that mont, its life as the solitary Tree of Life began.
A few days after Seralis was gone, an elven woman entered the place and looked at the Tree of Life. She approached it and stopped three ters away. She gazed at it for a mont before bowing deeply toward the tree, then sat down in ditation. Without saying a word, she began to cultivate.
Aldrian, who saw it, thought that this must be the empress of Verdyn empire after Seralis had returned to the higher heavens. After that, the scene kept changing, each one showing a different elf. The environnt transford as well, and the tree continued to grow. Aldrian did not know how much ti passed between each scene, but he thought it must have been a very long ti.
He could sense the Tree of Life's loneliness firsthand, as there was almost no one who could communicate with it as the way Seralis and his past life once did. The elves revered the tree too much and rarely tried to speak with it. There were so elves from different eras who tried to communicate with the tree, and the tree responded to them.
However, just as Seralis had said, they all ca and went. For whatever reason, those who could truly connect with the tree and build a bond eventually had to leave, leaving it alone once again.
This brought sadness to the tree again and again, until the ti ca when it felt numb. From that day onward, the tree decided not to show any emotion and no longer tried to communicate with anyone.
The tree simply did not want those who grew close to it to keep leaving, so it chose to live without forming new bonds until the absolute one ca to visit again. It kept waiting, expressionless yet filled with quiet loneliness, but at least not the sadness of being left behind.
The only sadness that remained was from being left alone by Seralis, and from the absolute one not visiting for such a long ti. Still, the tree continued to wait, just as Seralis had told it to in the past.
After an unknown span of ti, when the tree thought it would continue living its days as usual, the tree suddenly sensed familiar figures. mories from the past rushed through it, the mories of when Seralis and the absolute one had visited this place.
At that mont, Aldrian understood that the tree was sensing his avatar and Sylphia. It was not surprising to him, since his golden energy was sothing the tree could easily recognize. As for Sylphia, after undergoing transformation through Seralis in her dream, her very being had begun to change, becoming more like that of Seralis herself.
Finally, the two figures neared the tree, which made it truly ecstatic. For the first ti in a very long while, the tree showed a reaction. The ti of waiting was finally over, the absolute one had returned.
Aldrian couldn't help but smile as he felt the tree's overwhelming happiness, even its urge to cry. After seeing its past, he truly felt bad, his heart felt as if it had been slashed many tis. For the tree to wait for him alone for so long, unable to do anything, he felt he could no longer bring himself to leave it behind.
Its life had been too pitiful for far too long, and he wanted to give it new, joyful mories, just like those it once had when his past life or Seralis still visited. Then he saw his true body appear, which made the tree confused at first, but it was instantly drawn to him, as his true body radiated the strongest resemblance to the absolute one.
For the first ti in ages, the tree finally received golden energy again. At that mont, all the emotions it had held inside burst forth. The tree wanted more than to simply be a tree, it wanted to move, just like him and Seralis, or in this case, Sylphia.
It no longer wanted to be left behind.
The scene continued until he finally began to play the guqin, when suddenly his vision turned to darkness. After a few monts, he sensed that his consciousness had already returned to his real body, and his surroundings were the familiar space beneath the World Tree. He was still playing the guqin when he suddenly felt sothing on his thigh.
It wasn't Sylphia, nor anyone he knew. He was truly surprised that soone could approach him without alerting him.
Even though he had been inside the tree's mories, he could still forcefully wake up if he sensed danger or anyone nearby.
He opened his eyes and looked down at his thigh, stunned. His gaze fixed on the unknown child who had suddenly appeared and fallen asleep on his lap.
When he checked the child's information through his system, Aldrian was so shocked that his hand almost slipped while plucking the strings. He slowly stopped playing, letting the final notes fade into a beautiful ending.
When the music stopped, the others slowly awakened from their trance and opened their eyes. They were about to praise Aldrian's performance but froze the mont they saw an unknown child sleeping with her head on Aldrian's thigh.
Who was this child?
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