It was the green-haired elf, tapping her fingers softly on the table’s smooth surface.
"Greetings, Luminaire’s Heir." She announced, her voice incredibly soothing and harmonizing. Her long, beautiful green hair cascaded down her shoulders, glistening subtly with a serene presence.
Unlike the chaotic presence of both of them, Hers was quite the opposite.
"Nature’s Blessed." Cassian gazed at her, his eyes narrowing subtly. He could sense the mana around the air coiling around her, as if rejoicing at her presence. The most update n0vels are published on NovєlFіre.net
"And who might you be?" He inquired, despite knowing the answers already.
Although he was royalty within the Human domain, he still felt respectful towards her.
Elves were eccentric and prideful beings when it came to interacting with the outside world. They resided near the World Tree and took up the job of caring for and protecting it, mostly ignoring the worldly problems. Even the Elven Council and Royal family, the behemoths of the Elven race, rarely leave their residence. Thanks to their recalcitrance, Information about Elves was quite scarce within the Human domain.
"I’m Sarah Elvineaor of the Guardians." She introduced herself, matching Cassian’s gaze with her own. Her silvery green iris bore down on Cassian, reflecting within an image of a peaceful tree.
’Guardians...’ that word instantly rang a bell inside his head. ’The Protectors of the World Tree–!’
He thought, feeling a sudden buzz inside his head. Cassian’s eyes locked with Sarah’s gaze, feeling the image of that peaceful tree growing vast right before his eyes. His senses became clouded, and he slowly felt he was before the presence of a mighty, unfathomable entity–A God.
’No-! It’s the World Tree’s Blessing!’ His mind screamed frantically to wake up. Sadly, his gaze had already wandered above, feeling the irresistible calling of a towering tree casting its deep, abyssal shadows beneath him.
The tree stretched far across the sky, piercing through what seemed like Heaven themself. His eyes followed its way across the top only to notice a silent, white fog clouding over its peak.
Feeling disappointed, He then gazed below, sensing its thick, ancient roots that sank deep below the earth, embracing the very element itself with its unfathomable might.
’Uhh...’
A soft gasp escaped his lips, resounding within the empty air. A feverish thought to worship the entity before him exploded within his mind, clouding his thoughts entirely. He felt an inexplicable bond with the tree, as if it was the salvation that he was wishing for...
His knees felt increasingly weak, chaos reigning inside his mind endlessly.
He slowly dropped down on his knees, feeling the irresistible urge to bow down and prostrate before the tree-like entity.
"I–!"
[Warning! Intrusion detected within the host’s mind!]
[Activating safety mechanism!]
Suddenly, his brain shut down, knocking him out completely.
The tree’s influence was also cut off, causing the illusion to distort itself.
hum~
Unbeknownst to Cassian, the sheathed sword hanging around his waist let out a faint sword cry and fell silent.
clang–!
The monstrous tree swiftly vanished before his eyes, leaving not even a speck of its trace behind. The illusion split into two, as if bisected by a sword. Cassian sensed a reality shift and found himself inside the room again.
His hollow, vacant eyes gained their vitality back, adjusting themselves to reality.
’What...’
His hand landed instinctively on his sword’s hilt, clenching it tightly with his grip. They were shivering from the fear and horror he’d experienced just a moment ago.
Taking a deep breath, he stopped himself from thinking about that damn tree. His heartbeat was beating abnormally fast–still terrified from the previous encounter.
fuu~
’Damn it! What the fuck was that about?!’ Supressing the anger that was on the verge of eruption, he gazed back at that green-haired elf, the cause of all this.
The elf was also gazing at him, a kind smile visible across her face.
’What kind of psychopathic behaviour is that! She dared smile at me after showing me that damn horror!’
’Lunatics! Psychopaths! What kind of greeting was that, you motherfuckers?!’ He was a step away from unleashing all the curses inside his mind. That was probably the first time he truly felt the horror of being face-to-face with a god.
Well, more like an avatar of a god, but still I almost became its puppet.
He never imagined his first day in the Academy would start with him facing the damn world tree.
The elf’s gaze still lingered around him, pissing him off.
A piece of memory flashed inside his mind–it was the information about Elves according to the novel.
’Right, they worship that damn tree. How could they feel terrified from it?’ He, feeling even angrier at that smile, clenched his fist tightly. ’The Audacity to test me! I will remember this feeling. Mark my words, I’m gonna burn that damn brainwashing tree to dust.’
His anger slowly subsided after cursing it a few times. Afterward, flashing a kind smile, he replied, "Nice to meet you, Sarah. I’ve heard a lot about Guardians, and it’s quite an opportunity to meet one personally."
His eyes were on her while his mind was distracted by something else.
’Did she show me the projection of the World Tree to threaten me? Or was it a form of a test? Did she sense anything amiss within me?’
He thought about inquiring it from her, but upon noticing her smile, he gave up.
’Huh, now I know why no one wants to cooperate with the Elves.’ He shook his head. That damn tree was scary as hell. Who would be interested in associating themselves with a brainwashing tree?
’They must have sent her here to let her see and experience the outside world. I don’t know what those elves are cooking.’
While Cassian was deep in thought, a sudden phenomenon caught his senses.
zzz~
Before any more could be said, the sigil on the far wall pulsed—once, then twice—before a circular glyph formed in the air. Countless signs and symbols revolved around the glyph, forming an intricate pattern of a twinkling butterfly.
’Butterfly?’
These thoughts popped up inside the heads of everyone as they heard a grand voice leaking from inside.
The voice echoed into the room.
"Welcome, Representatives of Lux."