The Awakening of the World Tree

I stood there, frozen in the silence, my mind racing to piece together the fragments of the tree's words.

"You merely left, for a time..." What did that even mean? Had I been here before? Was I part of this world all along? The questions circled relentlessly, their weight pressing against my chest, suffocating me with their uncertainty.

The voices in the forest, the demons, the trials... they all seemed to make sense in some way. Was I supposed to overcome them? Or had they always been a part of me?

I took a steadying breath, my eyes locked on the ancient tree before me. Its gnarled branches seemed to pulse with a quiet energy, and something deep within me tugged, as though I had always been meant to stand here, before it.

Then, like a flash of lightning, it hit me: Master Eisen had warned me countless times about pushing my limits, about the dangers of wielding magic I wasn’t trained in.

His words echoed through my mind, a steady drumbeat of caution. "Don’t rush things. Don’t force what isn’t ready."

But then, I remembered the moments that had defied all reason.

The magic that had shattered the glass during my affinity test.

The magic that had caused the flowers to bloom when I unknowingly released my mana.

Those had been moments where something inside me had clicked—as if I were tapping into a power that had always been there, dormant, waiting.

I needed that magic. Whatever it was, I could feel it stirring within me now, a force I couldn’t ignore. And this tree... it held the answers. The words from the forest whispered in my ears, urging me forward. I didn’t fully understand why or how, but something deep inside me—something ancient and tied to my very soul—was pushing me to act.

My hand reached out toward the dying tree. I didn’t know what I expected, but as my fingers grazed its bark, a surge of energy coursed through me.

It wasn’t a conscious decision. Instinct took over. My body moved before my mind could catch up. I closed my eyes and focused, gathering every ounce of mana within me. It wasn’t enough.

The pull of the tree, the desperation for answers, demanded more. Cold sweat beaded on my brow as I strained against the growing emptiness within me.

I can’t stop now.

I needed more.

The air around me seemed to hum with potential, and I could feel it—the mana in the forest, the life energy that surrounded me. It was so vast, so abundant, and I needed it.

Dion and Tabitha will get angry, but… I barely acknowledged the thought. I don’t care.

With a deep breath, I pulled the surrounding mana into me, feeling it swirl around my body, threading through my veins like a river that had finally found its course. It was overwhelming, the raw power, the sensation of life itself flooding through me. I trembled under its weight, but I held on, my focus unwavering.

“You said I have returned. If that’s true, then I was always meant to revive you.”

With those words, I released every ounce of mana I had gathered into the tree. The moment it left me, the world around me seemed to hold its breath. The ground trembled beneath my feet as the air shimmered, glowing with a radiant light that cascaded like a thousand falling stars. It was breathtaking—like the forest itself was being bathed in pure magic, each spark like the dust of forgotten dreams.

But the beauty was fleeting, replaced by a sharp, searing pain.

“Ugh!” The sound tore from my throat as the pressure of releasing the mana all at once hit me like a wave. It was as though every nerve in my body was being stretched to its limit.

“Answer me!” I demanded, my voice shaking with urgency.

The tree began to respond. Its rough, weathered bark shimmered faintly at first, as if waking from a long slumber. Slowly, it began to revive, the cracks in its surface healing as though time itself was rewinding. New leaves sprouted, rich and green, unfurling toward the sky. The tree pulsed with a soft, ethereal glow, the light growing brighter with each passing second.

Everything around me seemed to shift, to change. A brilliant flash of light blinded me momentarily, and when my vision cleared, I gasped in awe. The forest that had once felt cold and lifeless was now alive with magic. The shadows receded, replaced by vibrant colors that seemed to pulse with a life of their own.

I blinked, hardly believing what I saw. The dreary woods had transformed into something out of the ancient texts I had read in the royal library—the true Enchanted Forest. It was a place of legend, a realm of breathtaking beauty and boundless magic. The air sparkled with energy, the trees whispering secrets on the breeze, and the ground was carpeted with glowing flowers that seemed to hum with power.

I stood there, overwhelmed, as the world around me came alive in a way I had never imagined. This was no mere forest—this was a place of ancient power, now awakened. And somehow, I knew it was because of me.

“Wow,” I was so amazed. Did I do this?

Then the voice that emerged from the tree. It was rough, like someone who had just woken up from a long nap and wasn’t quite happy about it.

"Yawn... Who awakened me?" The voice grumbled, a deep, gruff tone that sounded like an old man who hadn’t had his coffee yet. "Is it you, young girl?"

I frowned, taken aback by the tree’s casual, almost annoyed attitude. I had expected wisdom, ancient knowledge—but this? This was something else entirely.

I steeled myself, determined to get the answers I needed. "Now that I’ve revived you, tell me everything I need to know," I demanded, my voice sharp with frustration.

The tree let out a snort, almost as if it was laughing.

"HUH! Who are you to boss me around, girl? I am the World Tree!" it retorted, its voice thick with disdain.

“I’ve been asleep for who knows how long, and you think you can just tell me what to do?”

I was taken aback. The tree I had spoken to earlier—the one that had whispered cryptic words and held the promise of answers—was nothing like this one. The voice that had just come from it was gruff, irritable, and completely different. Where had the ancient wisdom gone?

This tree, now fully revived, had a demeanor that could only be described as... grumpy. It was as if the very essence of the creature had been drained by its long slumber, and all that was left was this irritable, old soul who resented being disturbed.

"What’s going on?" I muttered under my breath, glancing between the two versions of the tree—the one that had spoken to me in riddles and now, this one, the sharp-tongued, reluctant being before me.

The glowing tree rustled its leaves in a huff, as if irritated by my confusion. “You were expecting something different, weren’t you?” it grumbled, its branches shifting impatiently.

“Well, tough luck. I’ve been dormant for far too long. Don’t expect me to just hand over answers because you woke me up.”

My hands clenched into fists, frustration bubbling up within me. This isn’t the tree I was seeking, I realized, the truth hitting me like a cold wave. “I… I don’t understand. Why are you acting like this? You spoke to me before, you seemed... different.”

“Oh, please. That was someone else, not me,” it said with a dismissive tone. “I’m not in the mood for your questions, little girl. You’ve woken me up—congratulations—now leave me be.”

I could feel my temper rising, my patience quickly running out.