The World Tree turned a deaf ear to the elves' pleas, shutting out those chaotic prayers completely.
And so, the terrifying Chaos Dragon high above the sky began its slaughter without restraint.
Everywhere the Chaos Dragon passed, its pale body streaked with dark violet stirred up a wind of deathly silence.
The elves were completely annihilated by the dark purple storm the dragon unleashed.
Their beautiful bodies were torn apart in an instant, some even exploding into countless fragments that scattered across the water's surface.
The dead elves shed not a single drop of blood. Instead, they dissolved into layers of energy that rose into the sky.
And the chaotic Dragon King devoured that energy without hesitation.
Every elf the dragon killed made it grow even larger.
The aura of chaos around its wings became more violent, and the lightning flashing around it grew fiercer.
Chaos wrapped itself around thunder as it swept across the land.
The elves engulfed by that chaotic lightning were sliced clean in half the moment they touched the raging shockwave.
Powerless to resist, the elves could only continue their endless prayers on the ground.
But the World Tree they worshipped still ignored their cries, sleeping soundly without waking.
The dragon became more and more terrifying. Darkness nearly swallowed the entire world as it approached destruction.
In the end, nearly all the elves were slaughtered by the dragon.
The dragon disappeared into the dim sky, and the chaotic disaster slowly faded away.
The World Tree still slept.
Only a handful of elves survived the catastrophe.
They stared at the once-proud and sacred World Tree before them, complicated emotions flickering in their eyes.
Resentment, anger, heartbreak...
That place had once symbolized their sanctuary.
Why hadn't the World Tree protected them? They had devoted so much to it.
And so, the few surviving elves left the World Tree behind, abandoning this land of utter chaos.
The forest, now devoid of elves, gradually withered away. Its greenery faded, leaving behind nothing but silent, darkened shadows of dead wood.
The grasslands on the plains began turning yellow as well, appearing increasingly bleak and desolate.
The sun became crimson red before slowly sinking beneath the horizon and vanishing.
The world itself began to collapse. Everything moved toward death, like torn scraps of paper drifting through the wind.
Only the World Tree at the center of space remained unwithered, swaying gently in eternal loneliness as it stood alone within the ruined world.
Suddenly, a black crow landed alone upon one of the World Tree's swaying branches.
Its unique gaze glimmered with a strange black light.
"So that's how it is. This is what returning to nature means."
Nature created the nature elves and gave them a love no one else could ever receive.
Because nature elves were nature itself.
To anger an elf was, by nature, to anger nature itself.
Their long lives allowed them to create natural energy over countless years and store it within themselves.
When an elf's lifespan finally came to an end, the natural energy within her would return to nature and nourish the vast natural world.
Existences like the Elf Queen, from the moment they were chosen by nature...
The immense natural energy contained within them would become nourishment for the World Tree after death, promoting its growth and providing greater power for future generations of elves.
And every Elf Queen carried the surname Yard.
Because the world's very first elf had also borne that surname.
Nature created the first elf and used her as a template, continuously refining and nurturing even more outstanding descendants.
The elves were nature's messengers. Those who died would merge into nature itself, which contained the six great elements.
They would become part of the soil and the plants, making the world more complete.
This was the fate of every elf.
But if elves disappeared, the natural elements would lose their bridge into the world.
The trees, grasslands, and everything sustained by natural energy would wither and die.
"Pretty useful new knowledge."
The crow standing on the World Tree branch slightly opened its beak and muttered to itself with a grin.
Then it spread its pitch-black wings and flew downward beneath the World Tree.
Its figure turned into a streak of blackness and plunged beneath the tree.
When it rose again, countless crows poured out alongside it.
The black tide erupted with the sound of flapping wings, and the massive shadow blotted out the blazing sun hanging high in the sky.
From above, the enormous shadow formed by the countless crows looked like a gigantic black raven.
They all surged toward a branch deep within the forest, their bodies gradually merging together.
The next second, Viktor's tall figure emerged from the cluster of crows, his coat swaying softly behind him.
Five streams of differently colored magic flowed into Viktor's body, and five stripes spread across his coat.
The power of the five elemental magics transformed into a vast ocean that slowly spread across the collapsing world.
Standing on Viktor's shoulder, Vega grinned and said, "So what now? Your employee's still asleep."
"She doesn't seem interested in waking up."
Viktor glanced at Vega, blue light shining in his eyes as he looked toward the World Tree standing at the center of space.
He could feel Cocotte's consciousness fading into nothingness.
Gradually returning to nature.
At that moment, Viktor suddenly spoke, "She once asked me for help."
Cocotte hated that voice.
She didn't want to return to nature. She didn't want to merge with nature. She was only using deep sleep to escape from that voice.
No one had expected that Cocotte, who spent all day sleeping and looked completely carefree, was actually suffering deeply inside.
That was why she wanted to sleep forever.
Just like the thoughts inside her consciousness, 'I'm so tired... I really want to quit working.'
The clear voice echoed in Viktor's ears. Even now, he still remembered those words she once said to him.
And so, as if reminding Vega of something, Viktor spoke to the bird on his shoulder,
"I like twists in a story, so..."
"The ending should have one too."
At that moment, Vega curved its brows and let out a gleeful laugh.
Deep within its pitch-black eyes, blue light flickered as a subtle connection formed between man and bird.
In that instant, the entire withered and shattered world was once again covered by the natural magic surging from Viktor's body.
The blazing sun hung overhead, forests rose from the earth, and torrential rain crashed down upon the land.
And yet, the solid earth itself still failed to appear.
Then the chaotic thunder dragon appeared within the space once more.
This time, the dragon devoured nothing living in the world.
Instead, it transformed directly into flowing blue lightning and chaotic purple energy, merging into the body of the World Tree.
The World Tree rapidly absorbed that dazzling natural energy like shimmering starlight.
An emerald vortex burst forth from the center of the World Tree, sucking in all the dense surrounding energy.
Green light filled the patterns across the World Tree, and under the nourishment of that energy, its surface began to glow brilliantly.
Endless natural energy surged like ocean waves, returning once more to the center of the world.
Endless natural energy surged like ocean waves and flowed once again into the world's center.
The world collapsed again.
Fragments of broken space peeled away from the mirror-like world one after another, floating into the void before gradually being swallowed by darkness.
If returning to nature meant allowing an elf's energy to return to nature, becoming part of the World Tree while her consciousness vanished entirely...
Then what would happen if all of nature's energy was instead poured back into the elf, turning the World Tree itself into nourishment for her?
[Nature's Return]
In an instant, brilliant green light swept across the towering World Tree, gradually gathering at the very top of its crown.
BOOM!
The elves all raised their heads toward the pillar of natural light shooting into the sky.
The radiance pierced through the clouds and stretched toward depths no one knew.
The elves knelt devoutly before the World Tree. Beneath the magnificent glow, it looked like a sacred act of worship born from faith itself.
As though their god had finally descended into the mortal world.
———
The energy inside the World Tree continuously flowed backward, passing through the small openings in the vine-covered walls and circling through the clear pool into Cocotte's body.
Her body, which had been on the verge of fading away, gradually became whole and full again under the replenishment of natural energy.
The World Tree slowly turned yellow, and everything within it began collapsing.
Cocotte's consciousness slowly returned, and her body seemed to grow heavier and heavier.
She could feel her awareness returning. She could feel the weight gradually settling back into her body.
She opened her eyes. Though her vision was blurry, she focused on her body.
Her body felt so exhausted she couldn't move.
It felt like she had been a tree for a very, very long time.
She couldn't even remember how to move her limbs anymore.
Then her soft body was gently lifted into someone's arms.
Feeling the familiar warmth holding her, Cocotte tilted her face upward and saw a familiar man's face before her eyes.
She smiled softly and said to Viktor in a half teasing tone, "How long was I asleep?"
"Not long. Half a month."
"I see..."
A lazy smile lingered at the corners of Cocotte's eyes. She wanted to gather enough strength to wrap her arms around Viktor's neck. Maybe that would make her feel a little better.
But her body refused to move at all, just as heavy as when her consciousness had completely vanished before.
So she could only continue speaking anxiously, "Y-You took so long to come back."
"Do you know I almost slept myself to death?"
"Do you know you promised you'd wake me up...?"
She laughed while sounding upset, and before she realized it, tears were already slipping from the corners of her eyes.
"Do you know... I get scared too...?"
———
"Does your home... have a garden?"
That was during the days shortly after Endymion had just been destroyed.
The elf sitting atop a cloud had asked Viktor that subtle question.
The elf had always understood what it meant to return to nature.
And she also knew the man before her controlled nature itself.
The elf wanted to save herself too. She understood clearly that if things continued like this, the ending awaiting her was inevitable.
But she wasn't close to him. Even though she found him strangely comforting, she knew her request would be unreasonable.
So simply asking was enough. Just asking was enough.
If he said no, then she would accept reality and find some place to sleep forever.
"Yes."
"Want to come?"
"..."
Maybe she really had met someone who could save her.
If that was true, then could she ask for just one tiny extra favor? Just one?
"If one day I can't wake up anymore, could you come wake me?"
The elf lay on the cloud with her face propped in both hands.
Speaking in a joking tone, she grinned at the human mage.
"If you're asking me for help."
He was clearly a cold-hearted mage.
But even now, she still remembered the tone he used when he said those words, exactly like he did now.
"Then keep living. Don't give up hope."
Warmth gradually flowed into her body from all around, slowly easing the stiffness in her limbs.
The smile had already vanished from Cocotte's face, replaced by tears she could no longer hold back.
Just like the hope he once gave her...
"I'll definitely come save you."
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