Chapter 307 - SELFISHNESS

"MOTHER TREE, I appreciate that you're helping me," Mona said carefully. "But I want to know if you already knew from the start that my baby's grim future. Do you know that the gods and the Spirit World plan to use my child to protect their own worlds?"

The Cosmic Tree fell silent for a while before speaking again. "My dear Mona, no matter how much I treasure you, there are things that I cannot tell you even if I wanted to. If the gods want me to seal my lips, I have no choice but to do so."

Even if she wanted to, she couldn't get mad at the Cosmic Tree.

She knew that her Mother Tree was already showing her affection for her by giving her the title of 'Daughter of Nature.' Despite all of that, she was aware that there were things that the Mother Tree couldn't do for her.

"If that's the case, then why did you decide to help me now?" she asked worriedly. "Aren't you going to be punished by the gods?"

The gods had eyes everywhere.

Everywhere that there was light, at least. Elen, the paradise where the Cosmic Tree stood, didn't have nighttime so it was always as bright as any sunny morning in the living world. That also meant that the gods could clearly see everything that was happening in Elen.

"I cannot say who but one of the Major Gods has decided to help us," the Cosmic Tree explained. "He's currently blocking the eyes of the other gods and he will do so until you leave."

"But wouldn't the other gods know that their view has been blocked?" she asked. "That means you'll still get in trouble, Mother Tree."

"I'm prepared for that, my dear Mona," the Cosmic Tree said. "The gods will probably put me to sleep for at least ten years as punishment. That's why this is the last chance that I can lend a hand to you, my child."

She was touched.

The Cosmic Tree was willing to be punished for her. She was just a mere human. Even though she had always known that she was loved by Nature, she didn't know that they loved her this much.

She was happy to know that, but she also felt guilty.

"Do not worry too much, my dear Mona," the Cosmic Tree consoled her. "I am not doing this just because I'm fond of you. I decided to help you because the child in your womb is special. I do not wish for her to live the life that the gods decided for her."

The life that the gods decided for her daughter.

That sentence scared her.

"The gods…" she whispered, scared. "I'll do anything to protect my daughter but every time I am reminded that I'm going against gods, I still get scared, Mother Tree."

"My dear Mona, not all gods are your enemies," the Cosmic Tree comforted her. "There are gods who wish to support you. They will come and show themselves to you when needed."

That gave her the comfort that she needed.

"Thank you, Mother Tree," Mona said, then she hugged the trunk of the Cosmic Tree and closed her eyes. "See you after ten years. It will be my turn to help you once you wake up."

The Cosmic Tree laughed softly. "See you then, my dear Mona," she said gently. "And I hope that by the time that I open my eyes again, you and your daughter would be in a place where the gods of this world wouldn't be able to reach you."

Mona also prayed for the same thing.

The day Mona left Elen was also the day that the Cosmic Tree was put to a long slumber by the gods.

***

MONA was sent by the Cosmic Tree to the creature called Novak.

She didn't expect that she'd get sent to the Black Ocean. It was a place that even she avoided. The red sand in the shore was actually ashes of different ancient creatures, while the pitch-black water wasn't pure water. Most of it was Impure Mana.

'Impure Mana' was the Mana of the dead creatures that were burned in that place.

[When a person or creature with Darkness attribute dies, their Mana doesn't return to Nature. It becomes an entirely different substance called Impure Mana. And as far as I know, Impure Mana could be harmful to humans if it is left in an uninhabitable environment– just like this Black Ocean.]

"Welcome to my territory, Daughter of Nature."

She looked up and was mesmerized when she saw a beautiful white unicorn emerged from the black water– its pair of huge white wings flapping majestically. It was always night at the Black Ocean, and the appearance of the shining white unicorn practically lit up the whole place.

[An Ancient Spirit…]

Mona respectfully bowed to the white unicorn. "Greetings, Ancient Spirit," she said, her head still hanging low. "It's an honor to meet you."

"Raise your head, child."

She did as she was told.

The majestic white unicorn with a gleaming and golden magical alicorn was now standing in front of her. "My name is Novak," the mystical being said. It sounded like a male's voice. "I am the Gatekeeper that guards the doors between this world and the one called Earth."

Oh.

So there was more than one door, huh?

[But it doesn't matter. Now I know that the dream I saw was real. There's a world where my daughter and I can run away to.]

"Daughter of Nature, this isn't the first time we met," Novak said in an amused voice. "But I guess you don't remember since a human like you wouldn't be able to remember the memories of her past life."

Ah, that was right.

"I had a dream about my first life. But I don't remember everything, sir," she explained politely. "But I think I was able to find the door that leads to another world thanks to your help."

"That is correct," Novak said. "In your past life, you received the help of the current Aether and the Cosmic Tree. Thanks to the two of them, you were able to discover the kind of life that awaits your daughter."

"Did Mother Tree also send me to you just like this during my first life?"

"She did," Novak confirmed while nodding his head. "Together, you and I took a glimpse at several worlds to look for the one where your family's souls were most compatible with. That was how we found the place on Earth called Korea."

Ah, she had a good feeling about this.

Since she had already done this in her first life, then the process this time would be easier.

"Lord Novak, I remember the place called Korea based on my dream," she said. "But I don't remember how I ended up choosing that world over the others. Moreover, I failed to cross over that world in my first life. I am not doubting our past judgment but I'm wondering if it's really the best world that would suit my family."

"It is the most compatible world for your family," Novak said gently. "But our timing wasn't right. You and your daughter, along with a trusted knight, entered that world when you were at your weakest, Mona. You immediately tried to cross over another world a week after you gave birth to your daughter."

She clenched her hands tight.

That was the mistake that she also realized when she saw the memories of her first life. It was also why she was confident that she could do it right this time.

[But the trusted knight that Lord Novak mentioned…]

"My lord, is it Commander Gavin Quinzel?" she asked carefully. "The trusted knight you mentioned…"

"It is indeed the former Quinzel Heir."

"Former?" she asked, confused. "But Duke Quinzel just announced that Commander Gavin is his official successor."

The only reason why Duke Quinzel hadn't formally stepped down from his position was because he was still pressuring Gavin Quinzel to marry Sera Wisteria. But why did Novak address Gavin Quinzel as the "former" heir?

"The true successor of the Quinzel of this generation is yet to be born," Novak explained. "Daughter of Nature, you do not have the luxury to worry about the future of the Quinzels."

Was it Novak's way of telling her not to ask any more questions?

"However, just like the first time, you still need the help of the former Quinzel heir when you open the door to another world?"

"Is it because of Commander Gavin's Darkness attribute?"

"Ohh," Novak said, making a sound as if he was impressed. "What made you say that, child?"

"It's just a hunch," she said honestly. "When I met the Nameless Royal Princess trapped as a black tree, she was with an elf that was also a Darkness attribute user. According to Commander Gavin, that elf is the Messenger of the God of Eternal Darkness. Thus, I thought the reason why the gods haven't found the Nameless Royal Princess all this time is because she's being protected by darkness."

She paused and waited for Novak to correct her if she was wrong.

But when the magical unicorn nodded as if encouraging her to continue, she did so.

"It is said that humans are wired to fear the darkness," she continued with her explanation. "But I heard that for the gods, it is hatred. Apparently, their eyes can't reach those places that the light cannot touch. Thus, they have come to hate the darkness."

"That is correct, child."

She nodded before speaking again. "Earlier, Mother Tree told me that a Major God blocked the view of the other gods so they wouldn't see or hear what we were talking about. She said she can't say who it was, but I have a feeling that it's the God of Eternal Darkness. That was when I realized that the way to block the eyes of the gods is to hide in the darkness. And Commander Gavin has the ability to hide us in the darkness by using his Shadow Manipulation Technique."

"Once again, you are correct," Novak said while nodding. "You need the current strongest Quinzel to hide your movements from the gods of this world."

"Lord Novak, did Commander Gavin die when I failed to cross cover to the other world?"

"He did," Novak said bluntly. "You died, too. Are you not going to ask about what happened to your daughter after you failed?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I know that my daughter lived. In the dream that I had, I saw my past self asking for Tara to save my daughter. Since it was my dying wish, I'm sure that the Queen of the Spirit World didn't let my baby die. Moreover…" She took a deep breath before she continued. "That's all in the past. I don't know why we regressed back in time but I won't waste this opportunity– I will succeed this time."

"Then, are you willing to kill other people to save your family?"

"Huh?"

"Mona Roseheart, there's a reason why your soul needs to be compatible with 'you' of the other world," Novak said in a serious voice. "And it's because you and your family need to replace the 'you' of that world."

Mona covered her mouth with her hands when she gasped. "We need to replace them?"

***

"COMMANDER, I will show you the future that Lord Helstor had seen."

Gavin was tempted by Lukas' offer but he still had to ask. "How did the God of Eternal Darkness see my future? Not all gods are capable of seeing the future, are they?"

"There are gods paying close attention to the Quinzels, Commander," Lukas said, and it seemed like he was doing his best to be patient. "As you know, gods are wary of anyone with the Darkness attribute. They didn't want a repeat of the Absolute Darkness. Thus, they're being extra cautious when it comes to people like you."

That was understandable.

As he said before, if the Quinzels didn't need light to create shadows, then they would have been feared and hated by people. His family was lucky because they needed light even though they possessed the Darkness attribute.

"Knowing that there are gods who have their eyes on your, Lord Helstor became anxious," the elf continued. "He didn't want his precious child to be hurt. Thus, Lord Helstor checks on your future from time to time to see if the gods would move to harm you."

"I see," he said, not really caring about that kind of thing. "Lukas, I want to see the future where you said Lady Roseheart might become my enemy."

Lukas nodded, then he opened his palm. A red orb the size of an apple appeared above his open hand. The orb, for some reason, made him feel uncomfortable. "This is one of Lord Helstor's eyes," the elf said. "It will show you a glimpse of the future related to you."

Gavin wholeheartedly believed that he wasn't capable of hating His Majesty and Lady Mona Roseheart…

… not until he saw the future that awaited him.

***

MONA was amazed while looking at the three images floating in front of her face.

The man looked exactly like Nikolai while the woman looked exactly like her. And the baby? Even though her daughter was yet to be born, she could tell that her baby would look like the image of the infant in front of her.

[But it's interesting to see that the three of them all have plain black hair and eye color.]

"These are the people on earth that are equivalent to you and your family of this word. They are also a family," Novak explained to her. "But the three of them are destined to die untimely."

Mona gasped aloud. "Even the baby?"

"Yes, even the infant," Novak confirmed. Then, a golden light appeared at the tip of his alicorn. The golden light pointed at the image of the man that looked like Nikolai. "This human who looks like Nikolai de Moonasterio is called Yoon Jung. He will die in an accident."

She flinched because she was now starting to see what she and her family had to do to be able to cross over the other world successfully.

"The woman who looks like you is called Go Areum," Novak continued. This time, the woman's image was glowing. "She will take her own life."

Once again, she gasped. "But why would she do that when she has a baby…?"

"It's because Go Areum is destined to lose her infant," Novak said bluntly. "The infant, called Nabi, is destined to die after she turns one year old."

Her heart squeezed painfully.

[She's too young to die…]

"Daughter of Nature, you and your family couldn't cross over to the other world with your physical bodies," Novak said seriously. "Thus, you must leave your physical bodies here and travel to the other world with your souls."

Ah, her hunch was correct.

"Lord Novak, correct me if I'm wrong," she said before she began her guess. "We need to cross over to the other world the moment the versions of us on earth die," she said. "Am I correct?"

"You are correct, child," Novak said while nodding his head. "As soon as the original owner of the bodies left, your souls have to enter your new vassals. Since your souls are stronger, it will protect the physical body you'd possess from dying."

"Then, we have to be precise with the timing?"

"That is correct," the Ancient Spirit confirmed. "It was our mistake before. Since you were in a hurry to escape this world, we forgot that the flow of time here is different from the flow of time in that world. You opened the door when the versions of you in that world were too young. Moreover, the child that your daughter was supposed to possess wasn't even born yet."

"I see," she said, then she clenched her hands. "But the fact that we can interfere with the lives of those people also means that we can change their destiny. Isn't that right?"

"It won't be easy but the gods willing to support you are strong," Novak explained carefully. "Their influence can even reach the other world."

She smiled bitterly. "If that's the case, then it means that we have the power to save them…"

"We do," Novak confirmed. "But if we save their family, you and your own family wouldn't be able to cross over to that world successfully. It's not like you can possess random people."

She let out a deep sigh. "This feels… awful."

"They are destined to die early, Daughter of Nature," Novak reminded her gently. "And that's exactly why we chose that world for you and your family."

She still couldn't say anything.

"Mona Roseheart, which is more important to you?" Novak asked carefully. "Their family or yours?"

Mona closed her eyes tight and answered weakly. "My family, of course."

***

GAVIN saw the grim future that awaited him.

Emperor Nikolai would cross over to the other world first to possess Yoon Jung's body after the latter supposedly died in the car accident. But since the emperor's soul was filled with Mana and life force, Yoon Jung's body would be revived miraculously.

Of course, it would no longer be Yoon Jung because his body was already occupied by the emperor. Still, Yoon Jung's body would be left in a comatose state for a year because his body needed to recover.

Then, a year later in that world, Go Areum and Nabi would still board the cruise ship and the accident would still happen.

But Nabi and Go Areum would survive.

After all, Lady Mona Roseheart and the newborn royal princess would take over Go Areum and Nabi's physical bodies.

"No. They're going to replace them," Gavin said while clutching his chest tight. "If they can do that, then it means I can change the future of Areum-ah and Nabi-ya."

And he wouldn't let Go Areum and Nabi die again.

***

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