Chapter 515 - Awake

Chapter 515: Chapter 515 - Awake

Nāgāntaka remained silent for a while, his golden eyes following the D’Archy siblings as they walked across the garden and entered the castle. A few maids hurried forward to collect their belongings, leaving Nāgāntaka standing alone in the garden.

For several seconds, he remained completely still.

Then...

He felt it.

A pair of eyes watching him.

Nāgāntaka slowly turned his head toward the source. There, standing not far from the gazebo, was a man he had never met before.

Yet the moment their eyes met... Something stirred within him.

Nāgāntaka tilted his head slightly.

There was something strange about the man’s expression.

Several emotions were visible within those ancient eyes.

Nostalgia.

Sadness.

Relief.

But above all...

Longing.

A deep, almost immeasurable longing.

Nāgāntaka couldn’t understand it. He had never seen this man before, at least, as far as he could remember.

And yet...

Somewhere deep within his heart, buried beneath memories that did not belong to this life, something recognized him.

His blood recognized him.

His soul recognized him.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Nāgāntaka took a slow step forward.

Then another.

Until eventually...

He stood directly before the man.

Wisnu looked up at the enormous Garuda.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

He simply stared.

As though trying to memorize every detail of the being standing before him.

Then, finally...

"...Garutman." The ancient name left his lips softly. Almost reverently. "Your mother would be happy to see you again after so long"

Wisnu’s smile trembled ever so slightly.

"...And so am I." His eyes softened. "I’m happy to see you again, my friend"

A quiet breath escaped him.

"Brahmanda was never quite the same without you"

Nāgāntaka simply tilted his head.

The words stirred something inside him, but he couldn’t identify what it was.

Confusion remained written across his face.

"...Who’s Garutman?"

Wisnu’s smile remained.

"And mother?"

Nāgāntaka’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Me?"

He pointed toward himself.

"Are you sure?"

A pause.

"As long as I can remember... I’ve never had a mother"

Wisnu gently shook his head.

"No"

His voice was calm.

"That is because you are remembering only the beginning of this life"

Nāgāntaka remained silent.

Wisnu looked toward the distant horizon.

"Everything has a beginning, Nāgāntaka"

His gaze slowly returned to him.

"Everything has its own story"

He gestured toward the world around them.

"This Earth"

"The humans"

"The Tree"

"Even the smallest stone lying beside the road"

His smile softened.

"Every one of them has a beginning"

A brief pause.

"Even the gods are no exception"

Nāgāntaka continued staring at him.

He still didn’t understand.

Wisnu could see it clearly.

And yet, rather than explaining everything immediately, the ancient god simply chuckled.

"Believe whatever you wish, Nāgāntaka"

He stepped closer.

"But before you decide what to believe..." His eyes met Nāgāntaka’s once more. "...let me tell you a story"

A gentle smile appeared on his face.

"A very, very old story"

His voice became quieter.

"A story about an old friend I once knew"

Wisnu paused.

"And perhaps..." His eyes softened with nostalgia. "...a story about you"

--------

- With Taufik.

He was on his way to the World Tree.

He didn’t know what Wisnu and Nāgāntaka were talking about, and he didn’t need to know. Knowing one’s origin was never a bad thing. And even if Nāgāntaka discovered the truth about his origins, it wouldn’t change the fact that he was the very first companion Taufik had ever had after wielding this power.

Nothing was going to change.

Not him.

And certainly not Nāgāntaka.

And now, he was on his way to see another old companion.

As he arrived at the area, Taufik’s eyes fell upon the enormous tree standing within the Saranjana Kingdom.

The World Tree.

It wasn’t always like this.

When Taufik, Gaia, and Nāgāntaka first came to this island, there had been nothing here. The tree itself had been nothing more than an ordinary tree, no different from countless others scattered across the world.

Perhaps it was because Gaia and Nāgāntaka had used this tree as their base from the very beginning.

Over the years, the immense amount of energy radiating from Gaia had seeped into its roots, trunk, and branches. Nāgāntaka’s Mana had also saturated the tree, especially since he had made it his nest for so long.

Slowly...

The tree evolved.

Its roots grew deeper.

Its trunk grew wider.

Its branches reached farther into the sky.

Until eventually, it became something far beyond an ordinary tree.

And from the combination of the tree’s immense life force and Nāgāntaka’s Mana, something else was born.

A spirit.

Mathilda.

The World Tree Spirit.

And that very spirit was currently sweeping fallen leaves beneath the enormous canopy.

"Mathilda. How are they?"

The moment she heard Taufik’s voice, Mathilda stopped what she was doing.

"My Lord"

She lowered her head respectfully toward the first King of the Saranjana Kingdom.

Afterward, she turned her gaze toward the enormous trunk of the World Tree before looking back at Taufik.

"They’re fine, My Lord. Their healing is progressing very well. They should be waking up soon"

"Good"

Taufik nodded before walking toward the three beings resting beneath the World Tree.

He crouched down beside them.

His expression immediately became serious.

He carefully examined each of them, analyzing their bodies, Mana, souls, and even the condition of their very existence.

A few seconds passed.

"...Their souls are completely healed"

Taufik frowned.

"Strange"

He examined them again.

"They should be able to wake up already"

His eyes narrowed.

"What happened...?"

A sudden thought crossed his mind.

"...Don’t tell me..."

Taufik slowly clenched his fists.

*Plack!*

"OUCH!!"

Lembuswana’s enormous body suddenly jolted. His eyes snapped open as he immediately raised his head.

"WHO HIT ME?!"

Taufik froze.

Mathilda froze.

There was a brief silence.

Taufik slowly looked down at his clenched fist.

Then he looked at Lembuswana.

"...You were awake?"

Lembuswana blinked several times.

"...Apparently"

Taufik’s eyebrow twitched.

"You were pretending to be asleep?"

"No"

"Then why did you just yell?"

"Because you hit me!"

"I barely touched you"

"You punched my head!"

"I tapped you"

"You punched me!"

"It was a tap"

"It made a sound!"

Taufik stared at him.

Lembuswana stared back.

Mathilda quietly lowered her broom.

"...Should I leave?"

"Yes," both of them answered simultaneously.

Mathilda immediately walked away.

Lembuswana slowly sat up, rubbing the spot where Taufik had struck him.

"...You haven’t changed"

Taufik’s expression softened slightly.

"I’m a God while also being a Progenitor Vampire. I won’t change, Lembuswana"

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Then Taufik’s gaze shifted toward the other two beings who were still lying beneath the World Tree, seemingly fast asleep.

His expression immediately became serious again.

"But if you’re awake..." He looked back at Lembuswana. "...why aren’t they?"

Hearing that, Lembuswana glanced toward Basukhi and Kl’lara. A mischievous smile slowly spread across his face.

"Alright, guys. We’ve been found out. Wake up." He approached the two sleeping beings and crouched beside them. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he raised both hands and lightly tapped their bodies. "Hey. We’ve been found out. Wake up"

...

...

Silence.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Then-

"Ugh..."

Basukhi finally let out a deep groan.

His enormous body slowly stirred before rising from the ground, his sleepy eyes opening as he looked around.

A moment later, Kl’lara also awakened. Her Death Spirit form slowly lifted from the ground, her ethereal figure becoming more defined as she regained consciousness.

Basukhi immediately turned his gaze toward Lembuswana.

"You shouldn’t have brought us into this, Lembu," he said, his expression turning deathly serious. "We still wanted to rest"

"You traitor!" Kl’lara exclaimed, glaring at Lembuswana.

Lembuswana merely grinned mischievously, clearly enjoying himself.

"You...!" Kl’lara raised her voice.

Soon enough, the three ancient beings began arguing among themselves.

Lembuswana kept provoking them with his usual mischievous attitude, while Basukhi complained about having his rest interrupted and Kl’lara continued calling Lembuswana a traitor for exposing them.

Taufik could only watch the three of them with a helpless expression.

He shook his head.

They had apparently been trying to trick him.

Yet, despite that, a small smile appeared on Taufik’s face.

Seeing the three of them awake and moving again after such a long period of unconsciousness brought him a quiet sense of relief.

They were alright.

That was what mattered.

"Alright, that’s enough, you three," Taufik finally said.

His voice immediately caught their attention.

The three beings stopped arguing and turned toward him.

"Let’s go meet the others. They’ll be happy to see that the three of you have finally regained consciousness"

Basukhi’s expression softened.

"You’re right. It’s been a long time since I’ve properly moved my body"

As he spoke, his enormous dragon body began shrinking.

In a matter of seconds, the gigantic dragon had transformed into a small, cat-sized version of himself. He casually jumped onto Taufik’s shoulder and settled there comfortably.

"Wait..." Basukhi suddenly tilted his head. "How long exactly were we unconscious?"

Taufik glanced at him.

Then he looked toward Lembuswana, who had followed Basukhi’s example and transformed into a smaller form before perching comfortably on Taufik’s other shoulder.

"How long have you two been awake?"

"Just a few days ago," Kl’lara answered.

She had already returned to her human form. Her expression was much calmer now that the argument had ended.

"It wasn’t as though we were intentionally trying to stay asleep. Our bodies were simply incredibly stiff after being dormant for so long, so we decided to rest a little longer"

Lembuswana nodded in agreement.

"That’s pretty much what happened"

Taufik simply stared at the three of them.

He didn’t say anything.

Instead, he shook his head slightly before continuing to walk.

With Basukhi resting on one shoulder and Lembuswana perched on the other, Kl’lara following behind him, Taufik continued toward the place where his family and companions were waiting.

For the first time in a long while, the three ancient beings were awake.

And Taufik couldn’t help but feel relieved.