"…Excuse me?"
Hongyeon doubted her ears.
Placing her hands on the ground, she only lifted her face to question Cheonma.
"Did I… hear wrong?"
The old man pulled out a smoking pipe from his bosom with a frozen expression.
Smoke began to rise from it.
The pungent scent of unfiltered tobacco wafted through the air.
"It's a good thing for you, isn't it? The guy you disliked is dying."
Hongyeon held her breath and calmed her trembling heart.
Her hands on the floor were shaking.
"The succession issue is no longer a worry, right?"
Just as the old man said.
With the Young Demon dying, there was no longer a need to worry about his successor.
But… with his death, bigger problems would arise.
Did he know how much that man had done here so far?
Dozens of children owe their lives to his grace, and hundreds of women have avoided crime because of him.
How much Dowon would be shaken just by his death.
It was too significant an issue to simply move on from.
"Is that, your own words?"
Hongyeon herself was not at ease.
"Yes."
"Please, tell me the reason! Why exactly…?"
Hongyeon raised her voice in questioning.
A perplexed expression as if she still hadn't grasped reality. The news was too horrific to accept all at once.
Yet, she instinctively knew.
She had made a huge mistake.
"There's no need to know the reason. He was meant to die from the start."
He was too brilliant a talent to die.
The loss of a man with at least nine layers of wings yet to spread, it wasn't something to end in mere regret.
"Just a moment… please!"
Beyond urgency, it was desperation.
The old man furrowed his brows and coldly murmured.
"Don't whine. It's already been decided."
The old man stood up, scattering cigarette smoke as he passed by Hongyeon.
She hastily turned her head and grabbed at the old man's robe.
With just one step, the old man easily shook her off.
-Click.
The sound of a door opening ahead.
It seemed close yet as if it came from a far place.
Stunned, Hongyeon stood dazed before lifting her head again at the sound.
Just before the door closed, she managed to shout.
"Father…"
Click. The closing door halted.
"…Please."
"..."
"Why does that person need to die? Where exactly?"
Her brain was spinning rapidly.
Even her brilliant mind couldn't fully grasp the situation now.
"Is it because of the succession issue? If that's the case, I misunderstood… if that person becomes Cheonma."
"Hongyeon."
The old man, his emotions carved out, coldly cut her off.
Hongyeon gasped for breath.
"You are the leader of Dowon."
"…Yes."
"Since when could you question my decisions?"
Impossible.
Leader Hongyeon, her role was not to advise.
"All of Dowon's authority has been transferred to you. Are you trying to mess things up with personal feelings?"
"..."
"What you need to do is not to change the decided matters but to nurture the future of Dowon. You must deal with the problems that will arise in the process in advance."
"I know that."
Cruelly, every word was spot on.
Hongyeon felt as if her heart was being carved out.
"Curious about the reason? What's there to change by knowing?"
Satisfying curiosity might be something, but thinking you can change events was arrogant and overly self-confident.
The old man stood for a long while.
Hongyeon's face seemed half-lost.
Was it because he caught sight of her expression?
"To prevent the outcry, the Young Demon dies for Dowon. That's all there is to it."
-Thud.
With those final words, the old man left.
Outcry. There were plans from the outside to subjugate Cheonma.
The fact that Dowon had been safe until now was due to the invaders not attacking, knowing Cheonma's life was nearing its end.
But was the outside beginning to make secret moves again?
Hongyeon, realizing the external situation in an instant, let out a breath.
"…Ha."
It was half a sneer.
"Ha, haha. Huh."
A man's face crossed Hongyeon's mind.
Now, she began to understand what he had said.
'Leaving in three months. Was it about this?'
How far ahead had he been planning and acting?
It seemed he knew from the start that things would turn out this way.
Suddenly, he said he would act, and Dowon grew rapidly under his guidance.
Now, he's ready to die for Dowon.
'…What a foolish man.'
Hongyeon chuckled, covering her eyes with one hand.
The erased makeup left a white smear on her hand.
'I haven't even had a drink with him yet.'
The alcohol she brewed herself for that man, placed beside the bed at home.
Prepared for when he would someday leave, now it seemed pointless.
Perhaps they would never meet again.
And she couldn't imagine facing that man with a brazen face.
-Slap!
Hongyeon struck her own cheek hard.
To snap herself back to reality, with all her strength.
"Sigh."
With a cold face, she steadied her trembling breath.
Hongyeon was the leader.
Even if he died, Dowon would continue to exist.
She must continue to impartially carry out her duties and make the right decisions.
She had learned from childhood not to be swayed by emotions.
Hongyeon got up and took a step forward.
-Click.
However, despite her determination, she couldn't even lift her foot before her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees.
"...Uh."
'I should calm down.'
But the pain in her heart was too great.
Like being squeezed by a hand, her throbbing heart tortured Hongyeon.
She dearly missed the man who would rap her on the head when she made a mistake.
The meals they shared at the inn.
Always dealing with work alone and making do with cold food, those meals were incredibly warm to her.
She hadn't known her management was wrong because there was no one smarter than herself.
She had learned a lot from the man.
How much consolation she had secretly received from him, she couldn't count.
Always staying up alone at dawn, dealing with documents inside a window frosted over with winter frost.
The days she spent working alongside him flashed vividly in her mind.
She never expressed it, but being near him filled her heart with warmth.
"...Eh, sob."
But now, he would disappear.
They couldn't see each other.
Perhaps, for the rest of her life.
So, maybe that's why today felt even more poignant.
Let's stay like this for 5 minutes. No, make it 10 minutes.
Hongyeon sat, staring blankly at the floor.
-Knock, knock.
Round droplets formed on the floor.
It looked like it might rain today.
People sometimes did crazy things when they're bored.
-Crackle, crackle.
"This is kind of fun in its own way."
As I stirred the campfire with a stick, I found simple pleasure in the task.
Sparks danced along the branches, and black ash fluttered in the wind.
'World Tree of Time.'
[What is it?]
I had been here for about sixteen hours now.
Always busy, now alone, I found myself entertaining various thoughts.
Like sudden fantasies, for instance.
'If I received the power of the Tree Spirit King, could I also steal your abilities?'
[....]
Tree knots mating in a storm.
Just something I mentioned out of sheer boredom.
My mind had been a bit scattered lately, especially regarding sexual desire, which has been particularly
distracting.
If I don't keep myself physically busy, unsavory thoughts sneak in uninvited.
[To steal my power… Are you planning to do that?]
'That's right… no, never mind. I'm just influenced by a lustful demon after a long time.'
[If it were you… no, never mind.]
What?
[I understand what you're saying, but my true form is currently under the management of the Japanese government.]
So, access was completely off-limits?
The idea of forcing my way in crossed my mind, but that seemed too challenging.
Even if I were willing to betray human ethics, I longed for the World Tree's power, but I lacked the courage to go that far.
[Even if you managed to steal it, it's uncertain how the traits would manifest.]
'Is that so?'
[And I don't plan to let it be stolen, hehe.]
The World Tree of Time laughed.
I frowned at the annoying sound of its laughter.
[Even the previous Tree Spirit King couldn't steal my power. In fact… it was only because I sealed my body at the last moment that I narrowly avoided being violated.]
'I'll take that as you being a virgin with no experience.'
[...That's too much.]
The ability to transcend time or space was indeed desirable, but it's also true that achieving it was impossible.
I wondered how strong this World Tree bastard was?
They said a flame burned brightest just before it went out, but it's bound to be less than at its peak.
It's hard to even imagine what kind of state it was in during those days.
[Back then, there were few trees (木) that could follow me.]
'Impressive.'
Thump. Thump.
With ash clinging to the blackened branches I placed beside the rock, I looked up at the moonlit sky.
Was it going to rain?
Dark clouds were gathering in the distance.
'Do World Trees possess their powers from birth?'
[Whether human or tree, upon reaching a certain level, one possesses a single power. It's easier to say it governs a certain concept.]
Thus, the World Tree of Time had power related to time.
The World Tree of Healing possessed powers related to healing.
It seemed there was a naming convention based on the concept they governed.
However, looking at the World Tree of Purity and the World Tree of Resentment, their names didn't seem directly related to their abilities.
[It varies. Many World Trees change their names after undergoing transformations. Of course, their roots do not change.]
'Roots?'
[I'm referring to the species of the tree.]
'What species of tree are you?'
[....]
The World Tree of Time fell silent.
[Are you curious?]
Of course, I was curious.
There were different species even among World Trees. How could I not be interested in the kings of the World Tree world?
After hesitating, the World Tree finally mentioned a name.
[Baekyang… a white poplar.]
Its flower language signified time, the past.
This perfectly matched the current situation of turning back to the past.
'So, your name is Baekyang?'
[There is no name.]
'Don't be so stiff.'
I didn't think there's a need to stick to formalities when we didn't have much time left together.
I had benefited a lot from her, and she's going to benefit a lot from me.
'Baekyang.'
[...Huh. Yes.]
Baekyang seemed to acknowledge it with a sigh, a slight embarrassment detectable in her response.
'Before I go back, I wanted to say thank you.'
Not all World Trees were useless.
These beings had their own thoughts and acted according to a cost-benefit analysis.
She's the one who made me realize this fact.
And she was the one who gave me the opportunity to change the future, showing a kindness.
[I thank you, too. I will remember it for a lifetime, even as I wither.]
That's more than enough.
'I never thought I'd make friends with a tree in my life.'
[If only the previous Tree Spirit King had been someone like you, how wonderful that would have been.]
She kept repeating meaningful phrases.
It seemed like she was turning back to the past, but asking more about it seemed out of place.
I looked into the distance and slowly rose to my feet.
-Thump.
Raindrops began to fall.
I could faintly sense traces of magical power.
A familiar old voice came from right behind me.
"It's time to get moving."
"Have you told everything?"
"Only to Hongyeon."
It seems it's not yet time for Cheondo.
…I wanted to see her crying face and comfort her, but time did not permit.
"Understood."
With a determined face, I dusted off my fists.
I had been ready to fight for a long time.