Chapter 365: The Village That Remained

The golden image trembled above the root network, revealing the ruins of Luna’s village beneath a veil of dark corruption.

For several moments, nobody spoke.

Luna stared at the familiar stone bridge, the broken rooftops, and the three-branched tree near the western entrance. She had imagined returning to her village countless times, but never like this. Even in her worst expectations, she had hoped to find something recognizable, something that proved her home had survived.

Now she could barely recognize the place where she had grown up.

"Can we go there?" she finally asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Eden looked toward Athena and the professors. "The connection is stable, but the passage won’t remain open indefinitely. I think the World Tree can guide us through the root network, although we should be careful about how much energy we use."

Professor Roland examined the readings before nodding. "The mechanism is maintaining a narrow connection. We can use it to reach the destination, but we shouldn’t treat this as a permanent passage."

"And we don’t know whether the corruption can interfere with the connection from the other side," Scolding added. "Everyone stays together. If the passage becomes unstable, we return immediately."

Arthur turned toward Luna. "Are you ready?"

Luna swallowed. Her fingers trembled slightly, but she nodded.

"Yes. I need to see it with my own eyes."

Arthur didn’t tell her everything would be fine. None of them knew what awaited them, and he wasn’t going to make promises he couldn’t keep.

Instead, he stepped beside her.

"Then we’ll go together."

At Athena’s signal, Eden focused on the rhythm she had identified in the World Tree’s roots. The golden lines brightened, flowing toward the center of the mechanism. A circular opening gradually formed above the exposed roots, revealing the distant village through a shimmering veil of light.

The air grew heavy as the passage stabilized.

Vedas examined its edges. "The connection appears steady, but I wouldn’t recommend lingering inside it."

"Understood," Arthur replied. "Everyone, stay close. We don’t know what the corruption has done to the area."

Sun raised his staff. "At last, another expedition. I trust everyone is prepared to witness my exceptional ability to handle dangerous situations."

Kong adjusted the straps on his provisions. "I’m prepared to witness you complain when the path gets rough."

"I do not complain!"

"You complained about the roots being uneven yesterday."

"They were uneven!"

Melo chuckled, her five tails swaying behind her. "If the village is as dangerous as it looks, perhaps you should save your energy for something useful, Sun."

Sun opened his mouth to argue, then apparently decided that answering would only make things worse.

The group stepped through the passage.

For an instant, golden light surrounded them. Arthur felt the familiar pressure of mana flowing around his body, followed by a brief sensation of being pulled along an invisible current. Then his boots touched solid ground, and the light behind them faded to a narrow opening between two enormous roots.

They had arrived.

The smell struck them first.

Damp earth, rotting wood, and something bitter filled the air. The village lay beneath a gray sky, its streets cracked and overgrown. Collapsed houses leaned against one another, while thick roots had broken through the ground and twisted around abandoned buildings. Dark veins spread across the stonework, pulsing faintly beneath the surface.

Arthur slowly surveyed their surroundings.

The stone bridge stood behind them, its central section partially collapsed. Beyond it, the road led into what had once been a lively settlement. Now, weeds covered the cobblestones, and broken carts lay scattered beside the remains of market stalls.

Luna stepped forward.

"I know this place."

Her voice sounded distant, as though she were speaking from somewhere far away.

She walked past the broken remains of a wooden sign and stopped beside a half-buried stone.

"This was the entrance to the market. There used to be a fruit stall here, and another one beside it that sold handmade ornaments. The owner always complained whenever children touched anything."

Mithra looked around, trying to imagine the place as Luna described it. "Was it busy?"

"Very. Especially during the local festivals." Luna managed a faint smile. "My grandfather used to bring me here. He said the market was the best place to learn about people because everyone forgot to hide their true personalities when they were bargaining."

Sun nodded solemnly. "Your grandfather sounds like a wise man."

Kong glanced at the ruined stalls. "Do you think the vendors sold cooked food?"

Melo turned toward him. "Kong."

"What? I’m trying to imagine the village as it was."

"Of course you are."

Luna let out a small laugh, but it faded when she looked farther down the street.

A familiar building stood near the square, its roof collapsed and its windows broken. The faded sign above the entrance had almost disappeared beneath the roots creeping across the wall.

"That was the old records hall," she said. "My grandfather used to bring me there when he needed to examine documents. I wasn’t allowed to touch anything, so I’d sit by the window and read whatever books he thought were suitable for me."

Athy approached the building, carefully examining the surviving walls. "If the structure is stable enough, we might find records that weren’t included in your grandfather’s collection."

"Perhaps," Luna replied, but her attention had already shifted toward the northern side of the square.

Her grandfather’s house had stood beyond it.

She began walking faster.

Arthur followed without trying to stop her. The others quietly spread out, keeping watch while giving Luna room to lead them through the streets. Even Sun had stopped making jokes, and Kong carried his provisions without another complaint.

They passed the remains of a fountain and crossed a narrow lane where flowering vines had once climbed the walls. Luna recognized a small courtyard where children used to gather after lessons. A cracked stone bench lay beneath the remains of an old tree.

She stopped beside it.

"I used to sit here when I was waiting for my grandfather," she murmured. "He always said he would only be a few minutes, but sometimes I’d wait for an hour. When I complained, he would bring me a book and tell me that waiting was less boring if I learned something."

Melo’s expression softened.

"He sounds like he cared about you very much."

"He did." Luna looked at the broken bench. "He wasn’t always good at showing it. He was so focused on his research that he sometimes forgot about everything else. But whenever I became upset, he always made time for me."

She lowered her gaze.

"I used to think I would have plenty of opportunities to ask him about his work when I grew older."

Nobody interrupted her.

Arthur understood that there was nothing he could say to make that regret disappear. He could offer his support, but he couldn’t give Luna back the conversations she had never been able to finish.

So he stayed beside her while she gathered herself.

Eventually, Luna continued toward the northern slope.

Her grandfather’s house stood at the end of the path, or what remained of it. The roof had collapsed inward, and one of the outer walls had fallen into the garden. Thick roots covered the entrance, their surfaces stained black by corruption.

Luna stopped several steps away.

For the first time since they had arrived, she seemed unable to move.

"This is..." She swallowed. "This is my home."

Arthur looked at the ruined building, then at Luna. "Do you want us to wait?"

She shook her head, though tears had begun gathering in her eyes.

"No. Please stay."

"Of course."

Vedas moved closer, keeping his attention on the surrounding area. "We’ll remain here. Take whatever time you need."

Luna nodded and approached the remains of the garden.

A small stone planter lay overturned near the entrance. She knelt beside it, brushing away dirt until she uncovered a faded carving on its side.

Her grandfather had made it for her when she was young. She remembered how proud he had been when he presented it, even though the carving was crooked and one of its corners had broken off.

She held it carefully between her hands.

"I thought I would come back one day," she whispered. "I thought I’d tell him everything I’d discovered about the Mirrors. I thought he’d be happy to know that his research had finally led somewhere."

Her voice broke.

"But I don’t even know whether he’s alive."

Eden moved beside her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t offer false reassurance. Instead, she remained there, allowing Luna to grieve for the home she remembered and the future she had imagined.

After a while, Luna carefully placed the carving inside her bag.

"I want to look around," she said, wiping her eyes. "There might still be something left inside."

Arthur nodded. "We’ll help you search, but nobody enters a damaged building until we’ve checked it for structural hazards."

Mithra and Melo immediately began examining the surrounding streets. Mithra inspected the larger roots and the damage they had caused, while Melo moved between the abandoned buildings, looking for signs of movement.

"These roots aren’t behaving naturally," Mithra observed. "They’re growing through the walls, but the corruption seems concentrated around their intersections."

Melo crouched beside a dark vein spreading across the ground. Her expression grew serious.

"You’re right. This isn’t simply old contamination. There’s energy moving beneath the surface."

Athy knelt beside her, studying the discoloration. "The pattern resembles the corruption we encountered before, but it’s weaker here."

"Perhaps the World Tree’s restoration weakened it," Sun suggested.

"Perhaps," Vedas replied. "But weaker doesn’t mean harmless."

Eden suddenly stiffened.

Arthur noticed immediately. "What is it?"

She closed her eyes, concentrating on the faint rhythm beneath the ground.

"There are traces of life beneath the village."

Luna turned sharply toward her. "People?"

"I’m not certain. I can sense something moving, but it’s faint and difficult to distinguish from the surrounding energy."

Eden opened her eyes, her expression troubled.

"The corruption isn’t merely residue left behind by the disaster. Something is still sustaining it."

Before Arthur could respond, a faint scraping sound came from inside the ruined records hall.

Everyone turned toward the building.

Another scrape followed, accompanied by the sound of something dragging itself across broken stone.

Sun raised his staff. Kong set his provisions down and moved into a defensive position, while Mithra and Melo withdrew from the exposed street. Athy stepped behind Arthur, watching the building’s shattered entrance.

Vedas’s expression hardened.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves. We may not be alone."

The darkness inside the records hall shifted.

A figure emerged from behind the broken doorway, its body twisted beneath layers of blackened roots. Its clothes were torn, and its movements were unnaturally stiff. For a moment, it stood motionless in the gray light.

Then its head turned toward Luna.

A second figure appeared behind it.

Then a third.

Luna stared at them, her face draining of color.

She recognized the clothes. She recognized the shape of the building behind them.

But she couldn’t tell whether the figures standing before her were still the people she had once known.

The first figure took a slow step forward, and the corruption beneath its skin pulsed like a dying heartbeat.