Chapter 341: The Upper World

The moment Arthur stepped through the broken passage, he stopped, standing there for several seconds while nobody behind him understood why.

Sun nearly walked into his back before catching himself. "What are you—" He looked past Arthur, and the sentence died in his throat.

The others stepped through the opening one by one, and then nobody spoke.

The World Tree had opened into an enormous world. A forest stretched across the branches ahead of them — not a forest growing around the Tree, but a forest growing on it.

Trees hundreds of meters tall rose from the surface of enormous branches, their roots sinking directly into the golden wood beneath them. Rivers of clear water flowed between them and disappeared over the edges as waterfalls falling into the clouds below.

The water wasn’t ordinary. It shimmered with mana, every drop reflecting the Tree’s golden light as it fell.

Far beneath them, clouds stretched across the interior like an endless ocean, some white and peaceful, others glowing faintly blue and purple from the mana flowing through them.

Ancient roads crossed the enormous branches, wide enough for entire groups of Beast Tamers to travel, with stone bridges connecting one branch to another. Some disappeared into the forest, while others continued toward distant structures barely visible through the mist.

Above it all, massive Beasts flew between the branches. One passed overhead, larger than a house, its wings stretching across the sky as it glided between two enormous trees, its body covered in silver feathers that caught the light. Another followed, then another.

Arthur slowly turned his head. "There are so many."

Vedas looked around. "These aren’t corrupted."

"No," Arthur said, his eyes moving across the forest. "None of them are."

Melo stepped forward, her five tails swaying behind her. "I can feel their dreams."

"Dreams?"

She nodded. "They’re sleeping while they’re awake."

"That doesn’t make any sense," Sun said.

"It does to me." Melo glanced toward a group of small flying Beasts resting on a branch. "They aren’t constantly afraid. Their minds are calm."

"So this place is safe?" Kong crossed his arms. A massive roar echoed across the upper forest, and he immediately corrected himself. "I didn’t say that."

Mithra laughed. "You almost sounded confident."

"I was testing the atmosphere," Kong grinned.

"You were testing whether you could survive," Athena said, shaking her head.

Kong looked offended. "There’s a difference."

"Not when you’re doing it," Athy giggled.

The tension that had followed them through the World Tree finally eased. For the first time in what felt like forever, nobody was fighting, running, or trying to sever a corrupted root. They were simply standing together, looking.

Arthur stepped forward, his eyes moving across the forests, the rivers, the roads, the Beasts, the ancient structures. He had explored ruins, entered dangerous regions, seen enormous Beasts and strange environments throughout the Everglades. Nothing compared to this.

Luna walked beside him. "You’ve gone quiet."

"I’m trying to understand what I’m looking at."

She smiled. "Any conclusions?"

He looked toward the forest growing across the branch. "I think we’ve been wrong."

"About what?" Athena asked.

"We’ve been treating the World Tree like a dungeon." The group went quiet. "But it isn’t." He looked toward the waterfalls falling into the clouds. "It’s alive."

Eden floated beside him. "And everything here is connected to it."

Arthur nodded, pointing first to the forests, then the rivers, then the flying Beasts overhead. "The forests. The water. The Beasts."

Luna’s expression shifted as understanding hit her. "The entire ecosystem."

"Exactly."

Vedas looked around. "So we’re not climbing through a dungeon."

"No," Arthur said, his eyes gleaming. "We’re climbing through a world."

That realization changed the atmosphere immediately. Sun looked toward the enormous road stretching across the branch. "Wait." He walked toward it. "This road was built by people."

Athena followed, crouching beside the stone surface to brush away a layer of moss. Ancient markings appeared beneath her fingers. "This isn’t natural."

Mithra leaned over her shoulder. "How old?"

"I don’t know." She looked toward Luna. "Luna?"

Luna approached and studied the symbols. "They’re related to the writing we’ve seen below."

"What do they say?" Arthur asked.

She traced one of the markings. "Nothing complete. Most of it is damaged." She moved farther along the road. "But there are repeated symbols."

"Which ones?"

"The Tree. Beasts. Water. Growth." She looked ahead. "And travel."

"So people used these roads," Arthur said.

"Yes."

"How many people could have lived here?" Sun asked. Nobody answered — the question was too large.

Athena stood and looked toward the horizon. "If this is only one section, then the civilization inside the World Tree may have been much larger than we thought."

Athy’s eyes widened. "You mean there could have been entire cities up here?"

"Cities, villages, farms." Athena looked toward the forest. "Maybe even Beast habitats."

Kong’s eyes lit up immediately. "Beast habitats?"

Melo sighed. "I know that expression."

"What expression?"

"The one you make before doing something stupid."

"I don’t have that expression."

"You do."

"Definitely," Vedas nodded.

Kong looked betrayed. "Even you?"

"Especially me," Vedas shrugged.

Arthur laughed, and the sound carried through the forest. Several small flying Beasts immediately scattered from a nearby branch, and everyone looked over. His smile faded. "Sorry."

One of the Beasts slowly returned, landing several meters away to stare at him. Arthur crouched down. The creature was small, covered in pale blue fur with translucent wings, and it no longer seemed frightened — only curious, tilting its head at him.

"Hello," Arthur smiled. The Beast chirped.

Star bounced off Arthur’s head and landed on the branch, bouncing toward it. "Star." He stopped and looked back. Arthur pointed at the Beast. "Slowly." Star wiggled and approached more carefully.

The flying Beast leaned closer. Then Star bounced once, and it jumped backward.

Sun laughed. "That went well." Star flattened himself in embarrassment.

"You’re terrifying," Arthur said, covering his mouth. Star wobbled angrily.

Melo laughed. "He doesn’t like being called terrifying."

"He’s a giant ball of slime." Star bounced harder.

"You should apologize," Vedas said.

Arthur sighed. "Fine." He crouched beside Star. "You’re not terrifying." Star bounced. "You’re only slightly terrifying." Star bounced again. Arthur smiled. "Fine. You’re cute." Star immediately expanded happily.

Sun stared. "That worked?"

"Arthur has discovered the secret weakness of Star," Mithra smiled.

"Compliments?"

"No. Arthur."

Everyone laughed, even Luna covering her mouth.

The flying Beast eventually returned and approached Star again, and this time he stayed still as it touched him with its nose. Star wiggled happily, and Arthur watched them, struck by how strangely peaceful the moment felt.

Then he noticed something. "Wait."

"What?" Athena looked over.

He pointed toward the forest. "There." A group of larger Beasts moved between the trees — none fighting, some feeding, others sleeping, a few following one another along the ancient road.

Arthur’s expression turned thoughtful. "They’re using the old paths."

Athena nodded. "Which means the roads weren’t only built for humans."

Melo looked toward the Beasts. "The Beasts remember them."

"What?"

She closed her eyes. "I can feel it." She looked toward the ancient road. "The older Beasts have memories connected to this place."

Arthur’s eyes widened. "Can you see them?"

"Not clearly." Melo shook her head. "It’s like a dream buried underneath another dream." She frowned. "But they know these paths."

Arthur looked down the road. "So even after thousands of years..." He smiled. "The Tree remembered."

Eden moved closer, and Arthur noticed immediately. "What is it?"

She stared toward the sky. "The river." He followed her gaze — one of the enormous mana waterfalls had begun flowing upward.

"That shouldn’t happen," Sun said.

Athena went serious. "No."

The water was rising from the clouds. Instead of falling from the branch, countless droplets were lifting upward, flowing into the enormous roots above them.

Arthur watched, fascinated. "It’s recycling."

Luna nodded. "The mana flows through the Tree." "The Tree takes it in," Arthur said, looking toward the forest, "then returns it to the ecosystem."

Eden smiled. "Like blood."

"Exactly."

The realization made the entire environment feel different. The World Tree wasn’t merely holding this world — it was maintaining it. The rivers, the forests, the Beasts, the ancient roads, the mana: everything moved through the same living system.

Arthur looked upward. Somewhere above them, Ronin was climbing toward the heart. His expression hardened. "Then he’s hurting all of this."

"Yes," Vedas said, stepping beside him.

Mithra looked toward the distant branches. "Which means we can’t let him reach the heart."

Sun gripped Long. "After seeing this place?" He shook his head. "Absolutely not."

"We save the Tree," Athena nodded.

"And everything living inside it," Athy added, looking toward the forest.

"Agreed," Melo said, her tails swaying.

Kong cracked his knuckles. "Then let’s climb."

Arthur smiled and looked ahead. The ancient road stretched across the enormous branch and disappeared into the forest, and beyond it waited countless more branches, forests, rivers, ruins, and Beasts — an entire world above them. His eyes lit up. "Let’s go."

Vedas looked at him immediately. "Don’t say it."

"What?"

"Don’t say you’re going to explore."

"I wasn’t," Arthur smiled. Vedas narrowed his eyes as Arthur stepped onto the road. "I was going to say we’re going to save the World Tree."

Vedas sighed in relief, and Arthur kept walking. "Then explore."

"I knew it," Vedas said, closing his eyes.

Luna laughed as she followed them, while Sun immediately began complaining that exploring meant there was probably treasure somewhere, and Mithra teased him about it. Athena continued examining the ancient markings along the road, and Athy kept stopping to stare at every unfamiliar Beast.

Behind them, Kong loudly declared he was going to find the strongest Beast in the entire forest, while Melo simply followed with a tired expression.

Above them, Star bounced happily from Arthur’s shoulder to his head, and Eden floated beside him.

For the first time since entering the World Tree, Arthur wasn’t looking at it as a mystery to solve. He was looking at it as a world waiting to be explored.

The only problem was that somewhere above this peaceful ecosystem, Ronin was still climbing — and the closer he came to the heart, the more violently the World Tree began to tremble.