Chapter Celestial Tree"s Origin
Elysia and her group arrived near the sacred tree in the center of Zhadphis Woodland. The two hundred-meter-tall Celestial Tree still received preferential treatment from the fairies, a beautiful private place and a peaceful atmosphere.
Lifa could sense that Celes was currently feeling lonely despite all of that.
"You look like you"re waiting for something? Why are you pensive and staring off into the distance? Is there something up there in the sky?" Lifa touched the trunk of the Celestial Tree and spoke in a gentle tone as if she knew what this tree was observing.
"Hm? Who are you? You suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Are you a ghost?" A yellowish fluffy little ball emerged from inside the tree trunk and peeked out from above.
"Fufu, what do you think? Why don"t you come down here and have a little chat with me? Many young fairies are playing around, but you don"t seem to want to meet them. Did something happen?" Lifa beckoned the little fluffy ball to come down.
"Hmm, you are strange and suspicious. Are you an elf? Why can"t the fairies around see you? Is it only me who can see you? Ah! As expected, you are a ghost!" Celes went into a panic and went back inside the tree to hide.
"Eh?" Lifa was taken aback by that response. She froze for a few seconds as she didn"t know what to do now. Celes thought she was a ghost?
"Truly cute, just like the last time we saw you, Celes. Hi, we"re back to visit you. We"re invisible to the fairies around here because we don"t want our conversation to be interrupted by outsiders." Elysia revoked her invisible magic and waved her hand with an amused smile.
Initially, she and the others complied with Lifa"s request, and that was why Lifa was the one who went to approach Celes first. However, no one expected Lifa to end up scaring Celes instead.
"O-oh~ It"s you, Elysia, and everyone! Your group has grown more than before. There are some new faces... Wait, is the big armored man behind you a dragonkin!?" Celes came out from inside the tree to answer the greeting cheerfully. Still, she immediately fled back to hide from the terrible dragon.
"Hehe, he is Gio, an immortal earth dragon. He is kind and has a gentle heart. You might hurt his feelings for treating him like that. Just so you know, he can be as vicious as a monster and as docile as a pet." Elysia covered her mouth and introduced the armored man behind her.
"Oh, my apologies. I didn"t mean to offend you, mister dragon. I"ve only ever heard of the ferocity of dragon beasts and dragonkins." Celes flew over and apologized. However, she stopped near the angel-like fairy G.o.ddess.
"Angel fairy, nice to meet you again." Celes protruded a little hand and waved it to say h.e.l.lo.
"Mm, nice to see you again, Celes." Nell almost laughed to see Lifa"s pitiful expression, but she silenced her laughter perfectly. She had never thought of a moment where the most revered G.o.ddess would be neglected and ignored. Not to mention, it was from Lifa"s own lineage!
"h.e.l.lo. You look happier now than ever. Is something bothering you?" Rhea asked kindly.
"Well, battles are taking place out there. Casualties are inevitable, and many young fairies will probably lose their parents. I can"t bear to see their innocent expressions when I realize that. I became saddened because of it. I"m a Saint-level sacred tree, but I can"t be of much help to them. Yralissa also just went to the battlefield. The situation has probably gotten worse because she also brought her elite imperial troops." Celes heaved a sad sigh.
"Regarding that, Fairy Empress Yralissa only went with us to clean up the monsters on a slope in the southeast. Nothing bad happened while we were there. She is probably on her way back here by now." Rhea told the factual incident with a smile.
"Eh, is that true!?" Celes was pleasantly surprised.
"Mm, that"s true." Rhea nodded slightly.
"Despite all that, I remember a certain fluffy ball who wanted to meet the Tree of Life. When the one she wants to meet the most is already present, she just ignores the opportunity? What a shame. What if this is your missed golden moment?" Elena rested her cheek against hers and muttered under her breath.
"Hm? You are the G.o.ddess of Light, right? What do you mean by that?" Celes flinched slightly and looked at the golden-haired G.o.ddess in confusion. She then glanced at the long-leaf green-haired lady.
"Wasn"t what I said clear enough? Try to feel your connection to the lady over there one more time. Don"t you feel any familiar feelings? Do you remember what Ely told you the last time we met? She only fulfilled her promise, and the involved party also wants to see you." Elena gave a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt. She helped to explain it frankly because Lifa"s approach ended up miserable.
"Hmm?" Celes still somewhat doubted that statement. However, she got an encouraging look from Elysia and the others.
Because of that, she tried to feel the strange feeling she got from that green-haired lady. It was a bit hard to decipher, but she did think that she had met that lady before. It was just that she couldn"t remember when or where. She didn"t even know what she needed to do at this moment.
"..." Celes slowly floated closer to the leafy green-haired lady timidly.
She once again checked this lady from top to bottom. This lady, at first glance, looks like an elf, or maybe a dryad, with a s.e.xy mature body but a young face with mature charm.
Despite all of that, the mysterious aura emanating from this lady gave off some familiar feelings. It was as if to say that there was a bond between this lady and herself. The little fluffy ball wondered why.
"Are you really the Tree of Life? Have you just been reborn? Why do I feel a familiar feeling from you? It"s a bit strange, it"s like we"ve met before, but this is our first meeting." Celes hovered around the green-haired lady as if she was inspecting something.
"Wait, if you really are the Tree of Life, why can"t I feel a divine aura from you?" Celes a.s.sumed that the lady before her was the one she wanted to meet the most. However, she didn"t know why she wasn"t so excited now.
"Oh, my child. I didn"t allow you to remember about me until you rose to Emperor-level. However, the situation has changed drastically in recent times. I had already died once before the G.o.ddess of Light, and her discipline helped me. Come here. I"ll do something for you." Lifa stretched out her hand, and the little fluffy ball landed on her palm.
She closed her eyes and opened them again with the lime green leaf glow.
Celes was mesmerized to see the glowing green eyes of this leaf-green-haired lady. A flashback rushed through her mind when this lady pointed a slender finger at her.
It only lasted three seconds. Celes instantly learned about her past, her origin, and her real ident.i.ty. She fully knew why her memory with the Tree of Life was sealed. It was because the Tree of Life couldn"t live long at that time for some reason. However, things were different now because the Tree of Live survived.
"I am the Celestial Tree, one of the two seeds of the Tree of Life. The divine tree wants me to guide the fairies." Celes muttered in her trance. She sees so many events in her memory as if they have been there for a long time, but she has only just been able to access them.
"I have unsealed your memory. Do you still not recognize me?" Lifa gave a head pat to the little fluffy ball with her finger.
"Me, you... Uwaa, mama!" Celes flew and clung to Lifa"s cheek as if giving her a longing hug.
"Shh, shh, baby, don"t cry. I"m happy to see you are in good condition. Did the fairies treat you well? I presume you guide the fairies and the royal family well from generation to generation. It"s been a long time since then, huh... Do you hate me?" Lifa stroked the little fluffy ball with a tender smile.
"I never hated you, mama. Your effort was an emergency measure because you"ve seen the day you will fall, but the outcome is different now. You"re here, alive. I often wonder about myself, and I now know everything. But, you gave me such a big responsibility..." Celes rubbed her face sadly. It turned out that her inner self longing feeling came because she wanted to meet the divine tree and also because she wanted to discover her origin.
"Fufu, I knew you could do it. Look, you can now manifest your avatar, and the fairies respect you. It"s only a matter of time until you can form your second body. At that time, you can explore the world even if your original body remains here." Lifa looked at the Celestial Tree with a profound look.
"Are you going to leave me again, mama? Can you take me away too to live with you, mama?" Celes sobbed slightly and ventured to ask.
"Hmm, the situation has changed, and fate wants me to stay alive. If that"s what happened, why would I leave you?" Lifa muttered under her breath and glanced at Elysia and Elena.
"Then!" Celes was instantly elated. Yet, her mother"s following answer made her sad.
"However, I currently have a responsibility and a duty. I can"t stay around for long because of it. Let"s say it this way. Once you ascend to Emperor-level, the day you can split your consciousness into multiple avatars, you can go with me to explore the multiple worlds. That way, you can be with us and guide the fairies simultaneously." Lifa raised her hand to the sky with an encouraging smile.
"That"s a promise? I"m already so close to Emperor-level. I"ll hate you if you don"t keep your promise." Celes was feeling excited again. She asked for rea.s.surance.
"Sure, a promise. I"ll- Ah, I have a nice idea. Wait a moment." Lifa got a brilliant idea. She went to Rhea and whispered something.
Rhea then nodded and spoke to Elysia via telepathy. After that, she and Elysia walked away to the other side of the Celestial Tree.
"???" Celes just lay on her mama"s palm, wondering what her mama would do.
"What will they do?" Sylvia asked in wonder.
"How would I know?" Yuuki shrugged her shoulders.
"Ah, that"s a good thing. The daughter finally got to meet her long-lost mama." Ella clasped her hands together.
"Mm, destiny can be a bit funny and unpredictable at times. The Tree of Life survived, and she reunited with her remaining family." Evelyn wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.