Chapter 339: The Future That Waits

The deeper Arthur’s group traveled, the quieter the World Tree became.

The enormous roots that had surrounded them for so long gradually disappeared behind them, leaving only a narrow passage illuminated by a faint golden glow.

There were no ancient ruins here, no sleeping Beasts, and no corrupted roots crawling across the walls. Even the constant movement of the Tree seemed to have stopped.

Arthur slowed as he walked.

"This is strange."

Vedas looked around. "You mean because nothing is trying to kill us?"

"That too."

Luna smiled faintly. "You sound disappointed."

Arthur glanced at her. "A little."

Vedas sighed. "Of course you are."

Star bounced lightly on Arthur’s head, his small body wobbling as he looked around. Unlike the previous areas, there was nothing here that he could sense as a threat, yet he remained unusually still.

Eden floated beside Arthur’s shoulder.

She had been quiet for several minutes.

Arthur noticed.

"Eden, what is it?"

She looked ahead.

"I don’t know."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "You usually say something when you don’t know."

Eden frowned at him.

"I said I don’t know."

Luna covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

Arthur stared at Eden for a moment before shaking his head. "Fair enough."

The passage finally opened.

Arthur stepped through first and stopped.

The others nearly walked into him.

Luna looked past his shoulder.

"What is this place?"

The chamber was enormous.

Unlike the rest of the World Tree, there were no roots covering the walls or branches crossing the ceiling. The entire chamber was perfectly smooth, almost as if the Tree itself had created the space specifically for them.

At the center was a pool.

Its surface was completely still.

Golden mana filled it from edge to edge, glowing softly enough to illuminate the entire chamber.

There was no treasure.

No ancient artifact.

No enemy waiting in the darkness.

Just water.

Arthur walked closer.

Vedas immediately followed.

"Don’t touch it."

Arthur looked back at him.

"I wasn’t going to."

Vedas stared at his hand.

Arthur slowly lowered it.

"I was going to look closely."

"You always say that before touching something."

Luna laughed.

Arthur gave Vedas an annoyed look. "You don’t trust me."

"I trust you to touch things you’re told not to touch."

"That’s not trust."

"Exactly."

Eden giggled as Arthur sighed and approached the edge of the pool without touching it.

The golden surface reflected his face.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the reflection changed.

Arthur’s expression disappeared.

The image became someone else.

Arthur stared.

The person standing in the pool was still him.

But older.

Stronger.

The man in the reflection wore magnificent armor covered in ancient markings, and an aura surrounded his body so powerful that even the image itself seemed distorted by it.

Behind him stood Vedas.

Arthur’s eyes widened.

Vedas was enormous.

The Goblin King had changed completely, standing like a towering warrior covered in powerful armor, his presence nothing like the Vedas Arthur knew now.

Arthur slowly whispered, "That’s..."

Vedas stepped beside him.

He stared into the pool.

His expression became unusually serious.

"I see myself."

Arthur looked at him.

"You see the same thing?"

"No."

Vedas shook his head.

"Not exactly."

Arthur looked back at the pool.

The image had changed again.

Star appeared.

But this was not the small Star currently sitting on Arthur’s head.

The creature in the reflection was magnificent.

A vast celestial form floated behind Arthur, its body composed of shifting colors and brilliant light, with countless stars moving through its translucent form. It looked less like a simple Slime and more like something that belonged in the night sky itself.

Star bounced once.

Then again.

Arthur could feel the excitement coming from him.

"Yeah," Arthur said softly. "I know."

He reached up and gently touched Star.

The little Slime wiggled happily.

Then the image changed again.

Eden appeared.

Arthur’s smile faded.

The fairy floating beside the future Arthur looked almost completely different.

She was larger, surrounded by countless golden clocks and rings of light, with strands of silver-gold hair drifting around her. Time seemed to bend around her body, with moments of the past and future appearing simultaneously within the chamber.

Eden stared.

Her eyes widened.

"I..."

She stopped.

Arthur looked at her.

"What do you see?"

Eden didn’t answer immediately.

Then she smiled.

"I’m old."

Arthur blinked.

Luna laughed softly.

"That’s what you’re worried about?"

Eden looked offended. "I don’t want to be old."

Arthur chuckled.

"You don’t look old."

"I know."

She floated closer to the pool.

Her expression became more thoughtful as she stared at her future self.

"But I don’t understand how I became that."

Arthur watched her carefully.

He had never seen Eden look at something with that much curiosity.

Then the image shifted again.

Luna appeared.

Arthur looked toward her.

Unlike Vedas and Eden, Luna’s future was completely different.

Arthur couldn’t see it.

The pool reflected only Luna herself.

She stood somewhere surrounded by ancient trees, with the five Mirrors glowing behind her. She wore a different set of clothes, carried several old books, and looked older than she did now.

Luna stared at her reflection.

Her expression slowly changed.

Arthur noticed.

"That’s your future?"

Luna nodded.

"I think so."

"What do you see?"

Luna smiled.

"I don’t know if I should tell you."

Arthur tilted his head.

"Why?"

"Because it feels personal."

Arthur immediately looked away.

"Fair enough."

Luna smiled at him.

"Thank you."

The pool changed again.

This time, all of them appeared together.

Arthur stood at the center.

Vedas was beside him.

Star floated above him.

Eden hovered near his shoulder.

Luna stood at his side.

Behind them were the five Mirrors.

Fire.

Water.

Earth.

Darkness.

Light.

All five were shining.

Beyond them stood the World Tree.

But it was no longer corrupted.

Its branches were golden.

Its roots stretched peacefully across the land.

The Miasma was gone.

The Secret Realm was flourishing.

Arthur stared at the image.

His expression slowly softened.

It was beautiful.

Then he saw something else.

People.

Hundreds of people.

Then thousands.

They stood beneath the World Tree, looking toward him.

Beast Tamers.

Professors.

Students.

Beasts.

People from cities Arthur had never visited.

His name appeared everywhere.

Stories.

Books.

Records.

Statues.

Arthur Cronwall.

The Beast Tamer who saved the Everglades.

The man who restored the World Tree.

The man who discovered the secrets of the five Mirrors.

The legendary Beast Tamer who stood at the center of a new age.

Arthur remained silent.

Vedas looked at him.

"That’s quite the future."

Arthur nodded.

"It is."

For once, there was no joke in his voice.

He wanted it.

He wanted to become stronger.

He wanted Vedas to reach the heights he had always dreamed about.

He wanted to see Star’s ultimate evolution.

He wanted Eden to understand the mysteries surrounding her power.

He wanted to explore the world.

He wanted to protect the people beside him.

And somewhere in that future, he wanted Luna to still be standing beside him.

It was everything he could have asked for.

Luna looked at him.

"Arthur."

He didn’t answer.

She stepped closer.

"Would you be satisfied with that?"

Arthur finally looked at her.

"Yeah."

Luna seemed surprised.

Arthur smiled.

"I think I’d be really happy."

Vedas stared at him.

"So what’s the problem?"

Arthur looked back at the pool.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then the chamber changed.

The golden mana began to ripple.

A voice entered the room.

It did not come from above.

It did not come from below.

It came from everywhere.

The World Tree itself was speaking.

"You have already won."

Everyone froze.

Eden looked upward.

Luna’s eyes widened.

Vedas immediately moved closer to Arthur.

Star stopped moving entirely.

The voice continued.

"You do not need to continue."

Arthur stared at the pool.

The future remained before him.

The perfect future.

The future where everything worked out.

Where the World Tree was saved.

Where his Beasts reached their greatest forms.

Where his name became legendary.

Where the people beside him remained there.

There was no tragedy.

No uncertainty.

No unknown enemy waiting beyond the next door.

No question of whether he would succeed.

Arthur stared at it for several seconds.

Then he smiled.

Vedas looked at him.

"Arthur?"

Arthur slowly turned away from the pool.

"That’s boring."

Everyone stared at him.

Luna blinked.

"What?"

Arthur laughed quietly.

"I mean, it’s a great future. Really. If someone offered that to me right now, I’d probably take it."

He glanced back at the pool.

"But that’s the problem."

Arthur looked toward the ceiling.

"I don’t want to know how my story ends."

The golden light around the chamber intensified.

Arthur stepped away from the pool.

"I want to see what happens next."

Vedas stared at him for a moment before sighing.

"Of course you do."

Arthur smiled.

Luna laughed softly.

Eden looked at him with a strange warmth in her eyes.

Even Star began bouncing again.

Then the chamber changed.

The golden mana surged upward.

The walls began moving.

Arthur’s smile disappeared.

"What?"

The floor beneath them suddenly opened.

Golden roots erupted from below.

Vedas grabbed Arthur and pulled him backward, but more roots emerged from every direction.

Luna raised Dawn Sovereign.

"Eden!"

"I know!"

Time distorted around Eden, but the roots continued moving.

They weren’t attacking.

They were wrapping around them.

Arthur struggled as a root coiled around his leg.

"Wait!"

Another wrapped around Vedas.

Star was pulled from Arthur’s head.

"Eden!"

The fairy reached toward him, but roots surrounded her as well.

Arthur finally understood.

The test wasn’t over.

The Tree had shown them the future.

They had rejected it.

And now the Tree was taking them deeper.

The roots tightened.

Arthur looked toward Luna.

"Don’t fight it!"

"Arthur!"

"I think this is part of it!"

The golden mana rose around them.

The chamber disappeared beneath the light.

And as Arthur’s consciousness began to fade, the World Tree spoke one final time.

"Then continue."

The roots pulled them into the Tree.