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Chapter 113
*Wooooong—*
Inside, there was light.
Mysterious green orbs of light floated in the air, shining brightly.
A warm light. A comforting light.
The lights flickered brightly, but somehow, they seemed sorrowful.
"So... that’s it! The spirits of the World Tree!"
Behind me, I heard Palman’s voice, who had hurriedly followed me in.
"They’ve been protecting us all this time! Even after losing their priestess... they’ve protected the dying World Tree and us elves, staying with us until the very end!"
He knelt down, his fists clenched, and his body trembled.
"..."
The flickering green orbs of light.
These were the spirits of the World Tree.
Former priestesses of the World Tree.
I walked silently among them.
With a soft thud, I sat down in front of the brightest spirit.
I reached out my hand.
It passed through the air.
I couldn’t touch it.
It was expending all its energy, desperately radiating life force.
I covered my face with my hands.
A choked sob escaped from my lips.
"Ah... ugh... haa..."
Should I be thankful that I’ve met you again, even in this form?
It’s already been a thousand years here.
Have you been well?
I’ve been in so much pain.
I whispered the spirit’s name.
"...Igraine."
---
How long had it been?
I must have been sitting there for quite some time.
When my vision refocused and I regained my senses, I found myself seated against one of the tree roots in the meeting chamber.
How did I get here?
Did Chris carry me over?
"...Rain! Rain!"
Chris was sitting beside me, her fingers gently but anxiously pinching my cheek.
Then, she bit her lip and pulled my cheek hard.
*Streeetch.*
Tears welled up in my eyes as I glared at her in protest.
"Urgh, urgh..."
"Oh! You’re back to your senses! Thank goodness! I was thinking about pulling you out of the capsule! Whew..."
"...Sis, you’re so rough."
I pouted and turned my head away in a huff.
"But you and that elf were both sitting there so out of it! Gah, I was so lonely! Rain, please forgive me!"
Chris tried her best to make me smile again.
As we playfully bickered, Palman, who had remained silent, finally spoke.
"...Rain, is it?"
"Yeah?"
I looked at him curiously.
He stood up and bowed deeply.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, the elves will once again be able to receive wisdom from the World Tree."
"...I just opened the door for communication. But didn’t you say there’s no priestess in this era?"
"There’s a way, though indirect. If I’m here, I can communicate with the spirits of the World Tree. Though they’re not in a state to converse right now, once the immediate issue is resolved, it should be possible."
"If you’re here...?"
"You know the meaning of my hair color, don’t you?"
He shook his head, causing his long white hair to ripple.
"Hmm..."
*Tap, tap, tap.*
Chris sat in her research lab, tapping a pen on her desk.
She had a lot on her mind lately.
Her little bird, Rain, had started devoting all of her time to leveling up after that day.
She no longer ate three meals a day. Now, she only ate once.
Rain was collapsing from exhaustion daily, falling asleep right inside the capsule. Chris would then transfer her from the capsule to her bed.
Even when resting, Rain didn’t log out.
She spent her breaks sitting before the green light in the deepest part of the World Tree, staring blankly at it.
Whenever Chris asked out of concern, Rain would just smile and shake her head, saying nothing.
It was as if Rain felt she had to finish her task and then retreat into that space.
Chris was worried about her.
Since the day they first saw the World Tree in *Astria Online*, Rain had changed.
The conversation from that day, which Chris hadn’t fully understood...
The look in Rain’s eyes as she gazed at the green orbs in the World Tree...
Sadness. Regret. Longing.
Chris could sense Rain’s emotions but didn’t know what had caused them.
And that elf, Palman, seemed to know Rain.
Chris couldn’t help but be puzzled.
"How could an NPC like Palman know Rain, a player? Is this some kind of Easter egg?"
Chris shook her head.
No, it wasn’t some kind of Easter egg.
There was something deeper, something more fundamental at play.
While Chris respected Rain’s privacy, she was also a proactive person.
She had a feeling that if she left things as they were, her little bird, Rain, might slip out of her grasp.
She whispered an apology to Rain.
"Sorry, Rain, but..."
I need to know who you really are.
Chris activated a hologram, using illegal means to look up Rain’s personal information.
"...Lee Seulbi, age 19. Hospitalized a year and a half ago with severe injuries. Diagnosed with L2 spinal cord injury. Discharged shortly after regaining movement. No known relatives. Registered as a beneficiary of the Special Refugee Orphan Welfare Act."
There were no records before her hospitalization.
Only her resident registration.
Chris frowned.
"This is strange."
Since South Korea had started accepting refugees, many orphaned children had been registered.
Judging by Rain’s exotic appearance, Chris assumed she was one of them.
But it was rare for there to be no records at all.
There should have been records from her time in an orphanage or school, at the very least.
Most people wouldn’t question it if they didn’t
dig as deeply as Chris had.
But Rain seemed... out of place in this world.
Rather, she fit in beautifully with *Astria*.
Chris was a scientist.
She didn’t believe in supernatural phenomena like otherworldly spirits or ghosts.
Enjoying the fantasy world of *Astria Online* was her way of escaping from the mundanity of reality.
However...
The way Rain treated *Astria* like reality...
"It’s not just a psychological issue with Rain."
For the first time, Chris decided to trust her instincts over science.
She started investigating the structure of *Astria Online*'s developer, *Hana Games*.
Before developing *Astria Online*, the company had been relatively unknown.
Did they create an NPC that knew Rain?
If so...
Could they be connected to Rain’s mysterious past?
"CEO Kim Dongyeon... AO Director Shin Kyunghoon..."
Then, Chris’s gaze stopped on one particular name.
"...Team Leader Han Yeoreum."