"Compromise?"
After murmuring that word, the World Tree fell briefly speechless.
The shimmering green eyes before it seemed to pierce straight through it.
Astie.
Far too small, far too young, an incomplete existence.
And yet the power flowing through the child’s heart was strong and frighteningly clear.
‘Because this is mine.’
The instant that thought crossed its mind, Astie spoke.
"You said it yourself last time, didn’t you? Without Tie’s permission, you can’t take the power or come outside."
The World Tree’s expression darkened.
Because Astie was right.
All this time, it had been trapped deep within the child’s subconscious.
Only when Tie allowed it—or when the girl’s heart opened enough for her subconscious itself to waver—could it emerge.
"But there’s a condition."
Astie’s eyes turned serious.
"Teach Tie how to use the power properly."
The World Tree froze.
The leaves composing its body trembled with a faint rustling sound.
"......Are you proposing a deal to me right now?"
"Yeah!"
Tie answered brightly.
The World Tree let out an involuntary laugh.
For countless years—
No one had ever dared try to make a deal with it.
Choice had always belonged solely to it, and there had never been any price attached.
But now—
Tie was looking at it with a completely innocent face.
‘......How strange.’
And yet somehow—
It couldn’t reject her so easily.
"Isn’t it uncomfortable being trapped inside Tie?"
the child asked.
As though she already understood everything.
The World Tree quietly closed its mouth, unable to answer.
"That’s why you said you wanted to eat Tie back then, right? Because you wanted to come outside. Tie’s right, isn’t she? Right?"
The World Tree’s golden eyes trembled.
"......I do want to come outside."
After muttering that, it twisted its lips into a faintly mocking smile.
"Well. I won’t deny that."
Once, in the Forest of Roxe, it had already lost to Luciano.
And the consequences had been catastrophic.
Its servants had been corrupted and transformed into magical creatures, while the lives it had painstakingly nurtured vanished meaninglessly.
Truthfully, from that moment onward, only one path had remained to it.
‘Create a seed from the remnants of my essence.’
Then entrust that seed to the most fertile soil—
The chosen Astie.
‘It was not an easy path.’
Even so, while hiding everything from Luciano’s eyes, the World Tree had thought of only one thing.
‘I'll reclaim it all.’
The radiant Forest of Roxe.
It would surely restore the era when it had stood omnipotent.
But the problem arose from a place it had never expected.
‘No!’
‘Tie didn’t come here to become the dawn of the world!’
The soil where the seed absolutely should have taken root—
That very soil, Astie, rejected it.
‘Tie won’t hand herself over! And she won’t hand over the seed either!’
If this had happened in the past, the rebellion of some insignificant creature would never have shaken it.
It would have forced the child to kneel through sheer power if necessary.
But it couldn’t force Tie into submission.
Astie had already completely absorbed the seed.
More than that, with each passing day she was becoming more skilled at wielding its power.
Only then did the World Tree finally acknowledge it.
‘Was I the one who made a mistake?’
Overpowered in a struggle against an ordinary human child.
But was that all?
Now both Lucarion and Krazar stood on Astie’s side as well.
That much was obvious from the fact that even after recovering all their memories, they still remained beside the child.
The World Tree’s face darkened.
‘Astie. Just what kind of child are you?’
The girl created terrifying variables with frightening ease.
And now she was even trying to consume it in return.
Its anxiety deepened day by day.
Was it because it had lost the power of an absolute being?
At the height of its strength, it had almost never experienced suffering or torment like this.
But the thing destroying it most of all was—
‘Helplessness.’
The helplessness of wondering whether it might remain trapped forever inside Astie’s subconscious, never able to escape again.
The horrifying reality that it might be forced to watch the end of the world without being able to do anything at all slowly eroded every conviction it had once lived by.
Astie stepped closer.
"Either way, there are only two choices. We compromise with each other, or we keep fighting."
Then suddenly, the child’s expression became serious.
"No."
There was still no hesitation in her shining green eyes.
"We need to decide who we’re fighting. Nice Tie who knows how to compromise first... or the worst Luciano."
A tiny hand stretched forward.
The World Tree’s golden eyes shook.
Shhhh—
A rising wind swept between them.
How much silence passed like that?
At last, the World Tree’s tightly closed lips slowly parted.
"......This isn’t something that can simply be learned."
The leaves surrounding it scattered through the air before gathering once more directly in front of Tie.
"Your body right now is like a tiny vessel containing a storm. If you cannot endure it, that storm will eventually devour you instead."
Tie frowned.
"You will never be able to fully master my power. Human beings were never meant to wield it in the first place."
The child’s eyes widened.
"Then......."
Tie’s face darkened.
"So you still don’t want to be friends with Tie all the way?"
The hand she had stretched out slowly began to lower.
The World Tree’s golden eyes remained fixed on that hand.
But before the child could completely pull away—
"Spirits."
The World Tree grabbed Tie’s hand.
"Learn to command the spirits that exist under my dominion."
"......."
"For the current you, that is far more realistic."
Tie’s lips parted slightly.
After looking down at their joined hands, she raised her head.
"The forgotten wind. The light drowned within fog. Voices sleeping in the cracks of time. Many have already vanished. But I am the one who creates life."
The World Tree raised its free hand into the air.
Pure divine power began gathering at its fingertips.
"You only need to do one thing."
The holy power transformed into a pulse that echoed like heartbeats.
"You must learn to speak to them. Speak of what it is you truly desire."
If it could not take root, then at the very least it must not be consumed instead.
And for that, this path was the best one available.
The World Tree extended a hand overflowing with divine power toward Tie.
"I will give you the oldest names I possess."
Light slowly began sinking into Tie’s heart.
"......Now it’s your turn to call them."
The next instant—
White radiance swallowed both Tie and the World Tree whole.
Early morning.
"......Really? Waaah!"
As sunlight filtered through the curtains, Tesetan slowly opened his eyes.
For several seconds, he blinked blankly.
‘When did I fall asleep this deeply?’
Maybe because he had fallen asleep beside Tie.
For the first time in a long while, he had slept so deeply he couldn’t even remember dreaming.
‘Seriously. Falling asleep inside the Sercanos Main Temple.’
He covered his eyes with one hand.
Then through the lingering haze of sleep, a familiar voice reached him again.
"Hek. Got it! Like this?"
Realizing it was Tie’s voice, Tesetan opened his eyes again.
With a groan, he pushed himself upright.
Lowering his gaze, he saw a tiny head poking up from beside the bed.
"Wahaha! That tickles!"
At the sound of the bright laughter, Tesetan swung his legs off the bed.
Then he said hoarsely,
"Kiddo. If you were awake, you could’ve woken Papa up. Playing with Pupu this early in the morning......."
But he never finished speaking.
Because he froze at the sight before him.
"Ah, Papa! Did you sleep well?"
The crouching girl sprang to her feet and ran over to Tesetan.
"Tie wants to show you something! It’s......."
The girl awkwardly scratched her head.
And almost immediately, several pairs of eyes appeared one after another behind her.
"......These."
Tesetan’s lips parted in shock.
Tiny creatures no larger than a palm floated around the child.
Light and transparent, like dandelion seeds drifting on the wind.
"Look! These are the spirits the World Tree asked Tie to take care of!"
Yet something unmistakable radiated from them.
Fire.
Moisture.
Or crackling electricity.
Excited, Tie carefully set one of them on her palm.
Tiny sparks crackled around the bright yellow creature.
"They’re still babies, so they’re really tiny. But they’re super good at hiding, and Tie already memorized all their names."
When Tie opened her other hand, the remaining creatures immediately swarmed toward it.
They shoved and bumped each other while trying to climb onto her palm.
"This one’s Mimu, and this one’s Ripi, Kur, Nubi, Lunil......."
Tie’s voice rang bright and clear.
Meanwhile, the spirits were fighting each other more and more fiercely.
And at that exact moment—
The holy seal carved into the wall shattered apart with a crack from the energy they released.
Tesetan inhaled sharply.
Tie blinked in surprise too.
When she lowered her gaze, all the spirits had already climbed down from her palm.
"Kkyut—"
Watching the entire scene unfold, Pupu shook its head with the expression of someone looking at a group of utterly hopeless idiots.