With a low voice, it finally spoke.
"The forest you are in was once part of a prosperous civilization of Aldeorado. They were the widely known species among every other species, and henceforth, their contribution in the Mythril Andeneo War was huge."
"Wait, who's Aldeorado?" Noen asked, curious, his face focused, looking for an answer.
The monster glanced slightly at him, as if he had asked an unexpected question, but after a silence, it spoke again.
"Aldeorado worshiped the World Tree as their almighty god, a messiah for them and the representation of true immortality. They possessed magical powers and were able to utilize the great power of Asatharus, the Godfather of World Tree."
"World Tree has a godfather!?" Sera exclaimed, shocked by its remark, continuing her words of what she knew.
"The book my Mom used to read for me didn't have any mention of the World Tree having a godfather—"
"Those books are a mere attempt to hide the true history. During war, it was pretty common. They even named the war the Great War of Heavens when that war never even existed."
"What do you mean?" Sera asked, her voice astounded by his claim.
"This is reality, little girl. Nothing ever, you know, was true about this world."
"Wait, can I ask something?" Noen questioned, cutting off its words, his gaze lost in thought, and for a moment he was silent before he asked in a low voice.
"If the War of Heavens never existed, then what even was the actual history?"
"Haha... Mythril Andeneo is the name of a human because of whom it even started in the first place. A greedy human in search of power cut down one of the veils of the World Tree and devoured the elixir of true immortality. Even though it was only a part, what fate had saved for him was an answer to his greed; and in the result, he lost himself in darkness.
"And that was the point where the real massacre began, enraging the very godfather that protected the world, and the state of flow was now angry. The very godfather of the World Tree announced war through heaven and hell, leaving the path to them open, allowing entities to step into the mortal realm and disrupting the world balance, which began the first harvest of corruption, leaving all gates of the 9 realms open."
"Wait, Mr. Lagoon, can I ask something...?" Sera said, raising her hand, her eyes filled with unresolved mystery. She spoke in monotone.
"Then how does the immortal elixir disappear—"
"Wait, wait, wait. Where did you hear about this?"
"The same books my mom used to read for me."
"So they really did change the history."
"Who!?" Noen exclaimed, his face curious, and the answer he looked for in the monster's eyes as it responded in a calm, heavy tone.
"Humans."
" It's a surprise after the blessing of curse they still changed the known history."
(There must be another god involved…)
"!..."
"So do they exist now…?"
"I don't know... This place has long been secluded from the outside world, and because of the influence of this place's power, we beasts feeding on it can't leave this place.
"This is also the reason we are even alive."
"Wait, then what happened to the Aldeorado species?"
"Nothing... They just sacrificed themselves to the World Tree in the hope of power.
"But in the end, the world's corruption left no species related to any god, and now this place is an empty shell ruled by no one.
"Just running on the set of rules the world created."
Noen stood in silence, his thoughts rambling from all this info. Sera was also dazed, her eyes wide open, as if the history stood as a shock to her.
But somewhere, someone watched, their eyes fixated on something.
Just then, as Lagoon began to speak more—
pierce!
A giant hollow hand pierced through its body.
It turned back, staring in blank surprise.
"Why did you do that!?" it said in anger, looking bloodshot. Staring at the entity who stood behind it, smiling…
"You are revealing too much, ain't you?"
An entity spoke, its smile stretched and staring through its hollowness. Where its chest was covered in ribcage; its giant claw-like hand twisted more, and before they both could understand anything—
The monster split the Lagoon in half. Its internal fell out as the blood sprayed all over.
Noen stood panicked, dazed.
"I didn't sense it," he thought, his sword already forming on its hand, but before that, the smiling entity spoke.
"It was a mistake; I let him live."
"The sole survivor of the Andeneo War, was it?"
A stretching smile filled its face; laughing, it stretched more and more like it would tear its face. Turning back, it held the torn body of the fallen Lagoon.
Crunch.
In front of them, it slowly bit through its flesh, tearing it before nothing was left.
Sera stood in shock, a dizziness filling her head. She vomited, her eyes tearful, while Noen looked in pure frustration, his eyes glaring with anger.
Just then, he remembered.
"Wait... Isn't this the same monster I saw...?"
But before it all could have ended.
Snapping him out, the monster's giant head stood near his face, looking closely with its giant eyes. Its flesh breath lingered on his nose, a rusty smell of blood.
The monster's smile left him cold, standing in daze. Even his body refused to respond.
"Why can't I?" he thought, trying his best to move.
Where Sera. She was in an even worse state than him. Her body trembled, unable to stand on her feet, her eyes filled with terror. She hiccuped, crying from fear… looking at the monster standing close to Noen.
"It just smiles," the monster said, the same words, the same words Noen heard in the vision.
Pressing both its large fingers on his shoulder, the monster moved closer, more closer, before Noen's face sat fit in its mouth.
And just before he could have processed—
Crunch.
It bit his head through, chewing it like candy.
Below, Sera stood in horror, moving back. Her eyes looked lifeless, as if what she was seeing wasn't a reality.
A figure covered in darkness, large glowing eyes followed by a hollowness. Its smile sent a primordial fear in her chest.
Unable to speak, she muttered helpless cries, but no one listened.
She crawled back and back till she felt something.
Hands... no, faces.
She sensed bodies, blood dripping on her forehead. Stuttering, she looked back in fear.
And what she saw was a tree covered with human figures, all screaming to save them, filling her ears with murmurs of cries.
Couldn't bear it; she screamed as the monster closed in on her face.
Its giant claws lifted her head. Its mouth opened as those hands behind her held her to the tree.
She begged and begged, crying for Noen to help her.
But no one listened... her cries echoed in the forest
Where the World Tree stood behind her, faces stretching from the branch and the bodies of sacrifices, the thousands of souls and blood it held under its eight veils of branch.