The Secret Within the Divine Tree

Into the Divine Tree

the world.

Colors bled into each other like paint thrown onto water, melting into static.

And then—darkness.

Every step rippled the surface like I was walking across water, but I didn’t sink.

The Divine Tree’s leaves trembled faintly but showed no colors. To the crowd, it was silence. To me, it was everything.

“Okay,” I muttered, voice cracking, “creepy dimension forest tree thing. No problem. Totally fine. Not terrifying at all.”

I smirked at my own words, but my chest hammered loud enough to drown out the silence.

And then—

I froze.

My eyes jerked toward the sound, and the air left my lungs in a rush.

Ray.

He stood there like he’d never left. His messy hair, his crooked grin, hands shoved casually into his pockets. The same posture, the same stupid grin that used to drag me out of the dark.

My chest flooded. A laugh bubbled out before I could stop it. For the first time in years, my smile wasn’t forced. It stretched wide, brighter than the towers of Heaven, freer than any breath I’d ever taken.

“Ray! You—”

But his grin didn’t reach his eyes.

It faltered, bent, sharpened.

“How’s Heaven life, Hatoru?” His voice lowered, venomous. “Son of the God King. Living with your divine father, your perfect mother. Enjoying your new life happily… while before—”

He stopped. His jaw clenched. His eyes burned.

And then his tone cut deeper.

“You laughed with me. Ate with me. Promised me tomorrow. But when I needed you most—you weren’t there.”

The smile slid off my face like it had been cut away.

His voice… it wasn’t playful. It was a knife.

“You never saw me. Never saw me breaking. Never saw the nights I screamed into my pillow. I carried everything—so you wouldn’t have to.”

My chest caved in. His words were hammers, each one cracking a rib that wasn’t even real.

I staggered back. My mouth worked, useless.

“I—Ray, I didn’t know… I swear, I didn’t—”

He laughed. Bitter. Hollow.

“That’s the point. You never looked close enough.”

And then his hands snapped around my throat. Cold. Heavy.

My vision blurred as he squeezed. His eyes glowed with void.

“You should’ve saved me. You should’ve been the one.”

I clawed at his wrists, gasping, shame and panic burning hotter than oxygen.

“No!”

My voice tore itself raw.

Memories crashed in—rain at my birth, whispers at his funeral, the guilt that carved me hollow.

Tears blurred my vision, but sparks bled from my fists.

“I was weak! I was blind! But—”

Light flickered in one palm. Shadow in the other. My voice rose through sobs.

“I’ll never leave you again!”

Ray’s face trembled. His grip faltered. His lips quivered.

I gasped out through tears:

“Please, Ray. Stay with me. I’ll carry you, even if it breaks me. Just—don’t leave me again.”

His own tears spilled, streaming down his cheeks. His arms collapsed around me, pulling me into a shaking hug.

“Don’t leave me, Hatoru,” he whispered against my ear, voice breaking. “Not again.”

I held him back, sobbing, pressing my face into his shoulder.

“I won’t. Never again.”

The world cracked. Mana roared out of me, bursting like wildfire and hurricane both.

Ray’s phantom shattered—not violently, but softly—breaking into shards of black glass that fluttered upward like dying fireflies.

I collapsed to my knees, choking for air, tears burning down my face. My whole body trembled.

The silence pressed heavy around me. Still, I whispered into it, voice shaking:

“I’ll carry you, Ray. Always. Even if it kills me.”

The dark didn’t answer. But for a heartbeat, I swore it listened.

The floor split.

Jagged cracks tore through the obsidian surface.

And from them—hands. Clawed, jagged, dripping shadow. One after another, hulking silhouettes dragged themselves up. Phantom beasts. Their jaws gaped too wide, teeth jagged, eyes glowing molten white.

They circled me, snarling. The air vibrated with their growls, shaking my bones.

I exhaled, shaky, and forced a grin.

“Oh great. From emotional trauma straight to a monster buffet. Thanks, tree. Really considerate.”

I looked down. A weapon shimmered into my grip.

My training sword. Wood. Scarred. Pathetic.

I barked a laugh.

“…Really? Out of all the weapons—”

Unknowingly, within my body, energies surged, my aura trembling like it was trying to break free.

But as I gripped it tighter, my breath steadied. I closed my eyes, visualized a real blade — steel, weight, sharpness, the way it should feel in my hand. 

The wooden sword shimmered, cracked, and then unfolded into a true sword of silver and flame, humming with power.

“…Better.”

The first beast lunged. Instinct swung my arm.

WHOOSH.

Flames erupted down the blade, scorching the thing’s jaw.

The second leapt. My swing dragged a cyclone from nowhere, ripping it back.

The third pounced. My blade drowned it in a crashing wave.

The fourth rushed. The ground itself split, pillars of earth erupting to shield me.

The fifth lunged from behind—only to be frozen solid in midair, encased in ice so cold the air snapped.

Lightning sparked across my aura, my blade striking with thunderous arcs that split the sky itself.

Wind spiraled with my movement, carrying me faster, sharper, every strike laced with death.

Fire. Water. Wind. Earth. Lightning. Ice. All of them.

The beasts roared, rushing me at once.

I gritted my teeth, heart slamming in my chest.

“Alright then—COME ON!

The Ripple of All

I slammed the blade down.

BOOOOOOM.

Every element erupted at once. Firestorms. Cyclones. Tsunamis. Quakes. Ice walls. Lightning storms. Light seared the void. Shadow writhed like living tar.

The beasts dissolved, shredded by the impossible harmony of everything at once.

The world itself cracked, glitching like shattered glass. Stars flickered. Voids bled.

I stood tall, frozen breath trailing. Behind me, the battlefield lay encased in glaciers. And as I stepped forward, each stride sparked with lightning that scorched the ground in my wake.

The sword splintered in my hands, disintegrating into sparks.

Only my fists remained.

Light blazed in one. Shadow coiled in the other.

My breath rattled, my chest heaving.

And for the first time, I felt it—

I wasn’t just a boy.
I wasn’t just a prince.
I wasn’t just the King’s heir.

I was something more.

I collapsed to my knees, sobbing, laughing, everything at once.

Flames licked one wrist. Water shimmered across the other. Wind spiraled around my shoulders. Earth throbbed under my palms. Lightning flashed at my heels. Ice crowned the battlefield. Light crowned me. Shadow cloaked me.

Every element. Divine light. And beneath it all—something heavier. Brighter. Darker.

Cosmic.

It pulsed inside me, violet-gold, fractals burning in my chest.

I threw my head back and laughed. Ragged. Wild. Free.

“I… I did it!”

I pressed my fists to my forehead, tears spilling.

“Kael, Lyra, Father, Mother—” my voice cracked, “I’m not just enough… I’m everything.”

The cosmic spark pulsed again, shaking my ribs, making my whole body glow like a star trying to crawl out of me.

For the first time since the rain. Since Ray’s silence. Since the night I begged to die—

I felt whole.
Alive.
Unstoppable.

The Light & Shadow

The black floor beneath me shimmered, mirroring my face.

My irises glowed. Gold. Shadow. And deep inside—violet fractals of infinity spiraling like galaxies.

I touched the reflection, trembling.

“This is mine,” I whispered, breathless. “All of it. Mine.”

The glow dimmed. Faded deeper. Waiting.

But not gone.

Never gone.

And in the silence, I swore I heard the voice again.

“Light and shadow. Gift and debt. The world heard your cry—now the world will watch.”

The floor cracked beneath me. The dimension trembled.

And then—

Light detonated.

Far away, beyond the bark and the screens, the Arena saw nothing. No flame, no ripple, no gift. Only silence.

Cutaway — The Watching Crowd

In the stands, Kael’s jaw tightened. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. 

“Blank…? Or hiding something?” Suspicion sharpened his glare, colder than ever.

Beside him, Minister Arval’s lips curved into a thin smile. Perfect. Let the silence do my work.

 A prince who awakens nothing? The cracks in their faith will spread themselves.