Chapter 340: The Price of the Future

Arthur could not feel the ground anymore. Golden roots surrounded him from every direction, wrapping around his arms, legs, and body as they pulled him deeper into the World Tree.

The chamber from before had completely disappeared, replaced by an endless golden space with no clear direction and no sense of distance.

Vedas was somewhere nearby. Arthur could hear his voice, but it sounded distant. "Arthur!" He tried to answer, but another root passed between them before he could, and then everything went silent.

Arthur opened his eyes. He was standing beneath the World Tree, but it was no longer corrupted. The branches above stretched across a clear blue sky, covered in golden leaves that shimmered in the sunlight. Beasts wandered peacefully through the grass, while people walked between enormous roots and ancient buildings.

"Again?" Arthur asked. The World Tree didn’t answer.

He took a few steps forward and spotted Vedas. The Goblin King stood several dozen meters away, kneeling, and something was wrong. "Vedas?" There was no response, so Arthur ran toward him.

The closer he got, the more the scene changed. The grass was covered in blood, and golden leaves were falling. Vedas was holding something in his arms — Arthur’s own lifeless body.

Arthur stopped, unable to move for several seconds. Vedas looked down at him, no anger in his expression, no rage, only exhaustion. "You promised," he said quietly, tightening his arms around Arthur’s body. "You said we’d keep going."

Arthur’s throat tightened. "I..."

The scene shifted. Arthur saw Vedas standing alone beneath the World Tree, years later, his armor different and his body stronger. He had become everything Arthur had seen in the earlier vision. But nobody stood beside him — no Arthur, no Star, no Eden, no Luna. Vedas stared at the empty space, and Arthur’s chest tightened.

"This is also possible," the World Tree said.

Arthur looked around. "You said the futures you showed us were possible."

"Yes."

"So this could happen."

"Yes."

Arthur stared at the image of Vedas. For the first time, he didn’t have an answer.

Then he heard another voice. "Arthur!" He turned and found Star floating in darkness, and he ran toward him. "Star!" Star bounced desperately toward him, but a transparent wall appeared between them. Arthur pressed his hand against it, and Star pressed himself against the other side, his body trembling.

Arthur’s heart sank. "What happened?" Star couldn’t speak — he never could — but Arthur understood the feeling coming off him: fear. There was nothing around them. No enemy, no monster, no attack. Only an endless darkness separating them.

Then Star disappeared. "Star?" Nothing happened. "Star." The darkness stayed silent, and Arthur’s expression hardened. "Give him back."

"You fear losing him," the World Tree answered.

Arthur clenched his fist. "Of course I do."

"Then why continue?"

Arthur looked upward. The voice was calm — not threatening, not mocking, simply asking. "You have already seen the future you desire."

The darkness vanished, and Arthur found himself standing beside Eden. She looked different, much older, her appearance almost impossible to describe as countless streams of light moved around her body with time itself flowing through her. But she was alone.

"Eden?" She didn’t respond, and Arthur noticed tears running down her face. "What happened?"

"They’re gone."

"Who?"

"Everyone." She looked toward the sky, her voice trembling. "They lived their lives. They grew old."

Arthur couldn’t speak.

"I kept moving through time," Eden continued. "They kept moving forward." She looked at her hands, then toward the horizon. "I could reach yesterday. I could reach tomorrow." Her voice grew quieter. "But I couldn’t make them stay."

Arthur stared at her. This was different from the futures he’d seen before — no grand victory, no tragedy, no enemy. Only time. Eden had gained everything she wanted and lost everyone she loved along the way.

"Eden." She looked at him. "Would you still choose that future?"

She didn’t answer, and the scene disappeared.

Arthur was standing somewhere else now. Luna stood at the top of the World Tree, the five Mirrors behind her, and from that height he could see the entire Secret Realm. The world had been saved. The Tree was restored. The Miasma was gone. Everything was peaceful. Luna looked happy, but she was alone.

"Where am I?" Arthur asked.

She turned toward him. "You never came back."

"What?"

"You reached the top." Luna smiled sadly. "You saved the world." She looked toward the horizon. "But you never came back down."

Arthur’s chest tightened. "Luna..."

"I waited." Her smile remained. "I waited for a long time."

He stepped toward her. "Then why are you showing me this?"

"Because I wanted you to understand."

"Understand what?"

She looked toward the World Tree. "That reaching the future isn’t the same as living in it."

The scene faded, and Arthur returned to the golden chamber. Vedas was there. Star was there. Eden floated beside him, and Luna stood nearby, all four breathing heavily, as if they had just woken from a nightmare.

"Did you see it?" Arthur asked.

Vedas nodded. Eden wiped her eyes. Star bounced weakly. Luna stayed silent for a moment before answering. "Yes."

Arthur looked at the golden pool. "So it showed all of us something different."

Vedas frowned. "It showed me something I didn’t want to see."

"What?"

He hesitated. "You. I saw a future where you died." He clenched his fist. "I saw myself becoming stronger, stronger than I’ve ever been. But you weren’t there." He looked directly at Arthur. "I don’t want that future."

Arthur smiled faintly. "Neither do I."

"That’s all you have to say?"

"What else should I say?"

"You could at least pretend to take it seriously."

"I am taking it seriously." His smile disappeared. "That’s why I’m not letting it decide what happens."

Vedas stared at him. Arthur turned to Eden. "You saw everyone disappearing." She nodded. "And Luna saw me never returning." Luna looked down.

Arthur took a breath. "None of those futures are guaranteed."

"No," Eden said quietly. "But they’re possible."

"Exactly." Arthur turned toward the pool, where the golden mana had gone completely still again.

"You understand," the World Tree said.

"Yeah."

"You have seen the futures that await you."

Arthur shook his head. "No." The voice paused, and he smiled. "We’ve seen possibilities." The chamber fell silent. "You showed us futures where everything works out." He looked toward Vedas, then Star, then Eden, finally Luna. "But you also showed us futures where we lose each other." His expression turned serious. "And that’s the point, isn’t it?"

The golden roots around the chamber began moving again. "The future is waiting."

"I know."

"You could stop here."

Arthur looked at the golden pool one last time. He could still see the perfect future: his name known across the world, his Beasts reaching their greatest forms, the World Tree restored, his friends beside him. It was tempting. But something was missing — the unknown.

He smiled. "I don’t want a future someone else picked for me." The golden pool began to crack. "I’ll take whatever future comes." He tightened his grip on Dusk. "And if I don’t like it?" His smile widened. "I’ll change it."

The chamber suddenly shook, and the golden roots surrounding them tightened. "Arthur!" Luna’s eyes went wide as the roots surged toward them.

Vedas transformed his arm and tore through one. "These things aren’t releasing us!"

Arthur thrust Dusk into another, but the weapon barely penetrated. "They’re trying to pull us deeper!"

Eden’s eyes widened. "It’s happening again."

"What?"

"The Tree." She looked upward. "It’s moving us."

The entire chamber began collapsing inward, and Arthur understood: they had passed the test, but the Tree wasn’t simply opening a door for them. It was absorbing them.

"Everyone, stay together!" Vedas grabbed Star, Luna caught Eden, and Arthur reached for them. Then a massive explosion erupted from the chamber wall, and the roots shattered as a golden sword cut through the darkness.

Mithra stepped through first. "Found you."

"Mithra?"

Behind her, Sun charged through the opening with Kong at his side. "FINALLY!" He pointed his staff toward Arthur. "We’ve been looking everywhere for you!"

Kong smashed another root aside. "These roots are annoying!"

Athena entered next, followed by Athy and Melo.

She looked at Arthur. "You really do attract trouble wherever you go." Melo’s five tails lashed behind her as she eyed the surrounding roots. "I knew following you would end badly." Athy looked around in amazement. "Is this the inside of the World Tree?"

Arthur barely had time to answer before another root crashed toward them. Mithra moved first, and the Dawn Sovereign flashed, splitting the root apart.

Sun grinned. "Now that’s more like it." Kong roared and punched another root away. Athena raised Heavenpiercer. "Everyone, get them out!"

The others attacked together. Melo’s dream mist spread through the chamber, slowing several roots, while Athy manipulated the surrounding earth to force them away from Arthur’s group, and Athena struck the thickest connections with precise blows. Mithra moved between them like a golden blur, cutting every root that tried to close in.

"You all came?" Arthur asked.

Sun looked offended. "Of course we came!"

"We’ve been trying to find you for what feels like hours," Athena sighed.

Mithra smiled. "And apparently you found another way to get yourself eaten by a tree."

Arthur looked at the roots surrounding him. "I passed the test."

Sun stared. "That doesn’t make it better!"

"He’s still Arthur," Kong laughed.

Arthur smiled. "Good to see you too."

The roots surged again. "Move!" Athena shouted, and everyone attacked at once. The chamber erupted with power as golden roots shattered and the walls cracked, and for the first time since entering the World Tree, the separated groups stood together again.

Arthur looked around at his friends. They had finally reunited. But the World Tree was still shaking, and somewhere above them, Ronin continued climbing toward the heart.

He looked upward. "Alright."

Vedas stepped beside him. "What now?"

Arthur smiled. "We climb."