Chapter 378: He (1/2)
The tree looked like the conjugation of stars assembled as the symbol of life. The tree's leaves and branches danced in the wind, throwing its shade over Arthur's face. The sound of footsteps made him open his eyes, and he found Li standing in front of him.
”You are still here?” Arthur sat up as he questioned. ”It has already been a day since you were supposed to disappear. Get out of here already.”
Li didn't say anything and simply sat beside him. Arthur glanced at the white -mixed-with-golden man sitting silently beside him, missing how chatty he was before.
”Is it because of my spiritual energy?” Arthur tried to guess a possibility for the delay, and Li nodded. ”I see, but I don't think it's going to take you long until you leave this place.”
”Do you like trees, My Lord?” Li looked at the tree above them and asked. Arthur was taken aback by the question, but he nodded anyway, as he did like trees.
Li seemed to be thinking of things and nodded without saying anything more. Arthur paused as a forgotten memory appeared in his mind. The mask that Li wore right now was white with nothing engraved on it. However, if Arthur remembers correctly, all of Mistletoe's members had a symbol engraved on their masks.
Li's symbol was of a tree.
”Are you going now?” Arthur turned toward the fading man, who simply nodded.
”Our meeting was brief, My Lord,” Li said with his hands resting on his knees before he stood up. ”However, the things you gave are ones I will never forget.”
”I know,” Arthur looked up at the disappearing man. ”I never thought that I would find you here. Go and overthrow the kingdom. Goodbye, Li.”
Beneath the glowing tree, Li disappeared from the world.
Arthur let go of a sigh that he didn't know he was holding. With this, he finished another task he needed to do for his past self. He was tired of making sure that the timeline would be as planned, which hindered his present growth.
'Without the past, then there wouldn't be a present.' Arthur realized as the carpenter ascended the ridge to sit beside him. 'I never thought I would think of this, but past me is spoiled as hell.'
”Are you lonely now?” Adrian asked with amusement as he sat down. ”Don't worry. I'll be leaving soon too.”
”Where to?” Arthur was surprised. ”Are you leaving the Skyey World?”
”No. I'm leaving the Spirits Realm.” Adrian revealed. ”Thanks to the branches you gave me, I have finally fulfilled my task.”
”No need for thanks,” Arthur smiled. ”I think you owe me a question,”
”I do,” Adrian nodded. ”Since this is farewell, I will answer whatever question you have.”
”Surprisingly sentimental,” Arthur was amused. ”Tell me, carpenter. What is your task, and why are you building this grand city?”
”It seems you know that those two questions have the same answer.” Adrian nodded. ”My task is to prepare for the end of the world.”
”The end thing again,” Arthur sighed. ”What are you preparing for?”
”When the Split can no longer hold back the calamities, they will tear down the gates and attack the world. The Final Dawn will arrive, and there will either be us... or them.”
”The gates...” Arthur was surprised. It wasn't that he hadn't expected as much, but he was surprised that the wood spirit knew this amount of information. ”And you know about the split?”
”I'm not an ignorant spirit, boy.” The wooden doll grinned, its marble eyes flickering with ancient knowledge. ”I am the carpenter tasked with building the ancient city, waiting for the end.”
”Do you know that people of Earth are trying to go beyond the gates?”
”Foolishness, as it would only bring forth the end.” Adrian stood up and began walking. ”Follow me.”
Arthur followed after him, and the two walked around the city. When they reached the place, Arthur realized that one of the branches had been turned into a pillar of light.