Chapter 406 – Dream (2)

Hiyan came running.

“Is the content of the dream true?”

She grabbed Sarah by the shoulder and shook her. She was in a tough time so Sarah didn’t bother about it.

“Yes. It is true.”

“Oh my.”

“B-But it could just be a random dream.”

Sarah did not expect people to take her dream this seriously. She didn’t think it was an ordinary dream, but their reactions were too much.

If her dream turns out to be nothing, she would bear the brunt of an embarrassing situation. She even wondered if it was right for the leaders of each race to be here just for her dream.

But Hiyan shook her head.

“No. That is not an ordinary dream.”

“Uh…?”

She wasn’t sure how Hiyan knew, but Sarah was so taken aback.

When Sarah looked at Hiyan with a puzzled expression, Hiyan removed her hand and said,

“You were not fated to be here, Sarah Welton.”

When the word fate was mentioned, Sarah couldn’t understand her.

“What are you talking about?”

If she wasn’t fated to come here, where was she fated to be? To which Hiyan answered,

“You were fated to live a quiet life in a forest village with your mother, not touching the sword.”

“… Uh?”

“But for some reason, your fate changed, and you ended up here instead of where you were supposed to be.”

“What do you mean? I don’t get it.”

Sarah’s expression went stiff.

As if talking about fate wasn’t enough, she said Sarah was also not supposed to touch the sword.

The reason she even held the sword was to protect her mother and stand in front of her older brother.

All of this was her choice, but she thought fate had a role in it too.

Even if she went back in time, she knew she would have made the same choice she did now.

But Hiyan shook her head.

“The High Elves are the ones who protect the World Tree, and at the same time, we can see fate and destiny. I know since I saw it many times before. There are many unseen forces in this world. Among them, there is one force that lets us see the future and has the power to predict how it goes.”

“S-So.”

“I have lived for over 20,000 years.”

Sarah was shocked at the number. It was a time she couldn’t even think of.

Maybe she would never understand what it was like to live that long until she died. But that’s not the important thing, and Hiyan continued,

“I have predicted a lot of fates. In a way, I can be called the greatest fortune-teller of our time, so I am sure of this. I’ve never seen a case where the predicted fate went the other way.”

Right.

She had never made a mistake until now.

But there was an exception.

Sarah Welton.

“On the first night you all came here, I talked with Mr. Hasyath and told him about you and that your fate has changed. Upon hearing that, he said….”

Hiyan looked at him and said,

“Perhaps there is a higher being powerful enough to cause a change in fate.”

Sarah turned to Hasyath to confirm, and the man nodded.

“Right. Even I know about their ability to see fate. They never got it wrong until now. But yours had changed. If it were a young elf, I wouldn’t have cared, but this is Hiyan, and she can never make such a mistake.”

To be honest, even a young High Elf would have great success reading fortunes.

As for fate, the High Elves were just gifted with it.

Even if a young elf was unsure, the likelihood of them making a mistake was extremely low.

And for a High Elf who had lived for centuries, making a mistake was ridiculous.

Especially if that person was the leader.

“So we came to that conclusion. It wasn’t something we were certain of. It was just an assumption. But after hearing about this dream from you, I guess it was not just an assumption.”

“Yes. Especially since the World Tree was mentioned.”

Sarah’s arrival in this place was fate. It was the key to an opportunity to break the current situation, which had no answer.

No one knew how to solve it, but there had to be a reason why she was here.

“As the voice in the dream said ‘Go to the World Tree.’”

“Is there something inside the World Tree?”

“Normally, there is none. The World Tree is a precious tree that should never be damaged. But that pest dug a hole into it.”

The culprit that caused the World Tree to wither had dug a hole into the tree.

It was the only place to enter the World Tree.

“Go in there.”

“… what if it was really just a dream?”

“Your dream is not an ordinary dream. I can assure you of that. A changed fate is what brought you here. To save the World Tree.”

To save the World Tree.

Sarah gulped, looking at the huge tree.

Could she save that huge tree all by herself?

No, would it even be possible?

To be honest, she wasn’t sure.

It was just like in the Rotomo Strait, but it occurred to her that this would be more difficult.

These kinds of things needed someone who was strong, and she wasn’t even a Master yet.

Hasyath put his hand on Sarah, who looked worried.

“It is fine. Believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, then believe in your blood. Trust in your brother. You are the one and only younger sibling of the ruler of the Black Tower.”

Although their relationship was strained now, Sarah was the only younger sibling of Jamie Welton.

With the same blood, she should also have the same power.

“Your brother tried to save the world when he was the same age as you. What are you unable to do then?”

“Mr. Hasyath.”

“You can do it.”

“Right. Just do it, Sarah. It won’t be too difficult.”

Mero, who was behind her, encouraged her by saying that this task wouldn’t be hard. Seeing his encouragement, she felt that the burden had been slightly reduced for some reason.

Her heart was pounding, but Sarah clenched her fists. As one could see, it was something she had a hard time coming to terms with.

“I will try.”

“Nice.”

Hiyan smiled as she told everyone,

“We will prepare right away to go inside.”

“S-Should I go this far?”

Sarah looked burdened.

The reason was this.

Sarah’s body was equipped with items that the High Elves had prepared for her safe entry into the World Tree.

From head to toe, they had decorated her with items that seemed like treasures that the human world could never have, so how could she not be burdened?

“They are all artifacts related to survival. The three rings will help you heal faster, and your wounds will be almost cured the moment you get injured. The bracelet is for handling your physical strength, and the bracelet on your left hand is for mana circulation. It will make it easier for you to use aura. The silver necklace…”

In addition to the ones they spoke about, there were more than ten items.

All of them were things that would help improve her physical condition, but the artifacts had a high value and lasting effects.

Selling one should make a town rich.

The High Elves had amazing storage, and they had countless items like this in their warehouse.

If there was a human magician in this place, they would have fainted.

“It isn’t heavy. All of them are enchanted with weight reduction, so you won’t feel too burdened. It’s like you don’t even have them on you.”

“It really is.”

As they said, despite the many artifacts hanging over her body, she couldn’t feel their weight.

“Then good job.”

The High Elf who was putting on the items on her stepped back, and Hiyan approached to look at her.

“As expected, you look so beautiful like this.”

“M-Me?”

“All of these items on you are of great value. You were born into a noble family, so you look better than anyone else. Originally, you would have lived like this.”

Sarah smiled bitterly,

“That is something I had forgotten about.”

“No. Do not forget it.”

“Uh?”

“Your fate changed. I still don’t know what that means.”

“I heard that saving the World Tree is my fate.”

“It is just a path, child. Fate is what runs a person’s life. Saving the World Tree is just one thing. You will live a lot longer than now. You might not always have good days, or you might just live the best life. However, fate isn’t a small thing. The reason you came here is something I haven’t fully understood yet, but there are quite a lot of things I’ve learned in my long life. And one of them is that if you do not give up and are stubborn with what you want to do, the best result will happen.”

Do not give up.

‘Even if the world is harsh, do not give up. Even though you may be criticizing yourself and the journey may be difficult, you should make the decision to keep going because eventually, you will be able to reach your desired destination.’

Shiva’s face overlapped Hiyan’s.

“Go. For the sake of your future.”

“My future.”

Sarah looked at her hand and clenched it. She closed her eyes and once she opened them again, she said with a determined face,

“I will be back.”

Somehow she had a feeling that this was the moment her life would change.

Sarah headed for the World Tree while tightly gripping the stick that Shiva gave her.

“Do you think that child can reach the supposed place?”

A mature-looking woman with wine-colored hair, purple skin, and silver eyes sat on a chair overflowing with black smoke and asked the person next to her.

“I don’t think it will be an easy task.”

It was a world where only pitch darkness existed.

In the middle of it, there was a being who had a soft light around her. She was a beautiful woman, with curly golden hair down to her waist, and her hands were clasped over her white dress.

Her skin was pale, her eyes were green, and there was a crown over her head. She didn’t say anything and just stared into the darkness.

“Huh. No fun. Well, it’s a situation where even those pretty lips cannot speak carelessly.”

The lady, Venus, smiled.

As the owner of the Shadow World and the Dark Spirit King, she was enjoying this situation.

“All good though. Such a pleasure in this boring life. I can wait long enough. If you succeed, you succeed, and if you fail, you fail. Ah, maybe you think differently?”

“…”

The woman glared at Venus.

“Huhu, don’t look at me like that. Just by hiding you here, I am like a great helper to you, right?”

Venus smiled.

“Gaia.”

The Goddess of Beginning.