Seeing Liana walk onto the path, I hesitantly followed behind her, keeping some distance between the two of us.


    Beside the path, the lush green grass, which was perfectly groomed, and the a couple of small trees were apparent, each looking well taken care of.


    ncing further a the trees, I noticed some leaves were darker and almost dead while others were a perfect green, and it was the same with the grass as parts of the grass were golden, indicating ack of water.


    Was this the affect of the corruption?


    Paranoid of tripping and falling off the small strip ofnd and into the void, I didn''t dare stare too long and returned the very middle of the path.


    Seeing me walking behind her like a puppy following its master, Liana''s expression changed as she let out an awkwardugh before slowing down to walk side by side with me.


    "I''m not going to push you off, you know?"


    "...I wasn''t thinking about that."


    Well, now I was!


    The scenery of Liana suddenly pushing me off thend and into the void during this stroll was now imprinted in my memory...


    Unlike me, Liana seemed enchanted by the fairy-like space as she often stopped to nce around and admire the small details, such as the perfectly groomed trunks of the trees.


    Though, she too had noticed the effects of corruption as every time we passed by a golden shade of grass or a brown leaf, she would let out a sigh before continuing on.


    Though she tried to hide it, with my enhanced eyesight, I could see her cheeks contort and twitch at those times.


    For her, it must be like seeing her entire world fall apart: her home, her family''s home, and her subject''s home.


    For the hundred years since thest demon war, she had confined herself to the Elven realm, so this realization must have been terrible for her.


    This was the first time the World Tree had been corrupted in history, and it had happened under her rule as queen.


    As we walked past another area that was lost due to corruption, a somber expression appeared on her face before she turned to me.


    "You should know why we''re here at this point."


    Looking at the golden and dry grass ahead of us, I replied.


    "To stop the corruption from spreading? But... didn''t we already do that?"


    Shaking her head, Liana sped up her pace as we neared the hut at the end of the path and replied.


    "No, we''re not here to stop the spread... we''re here to destroy it. All of it. Every singlest bit of it."


    Inwardly sighing, I pretended to act oblivious as I replied.


    "And... how exactly would one person do that?"


    There was only one way.


    Someone had to rece the spirit, resetting the state of the World Tree to its original form where there was no corruption.


    There were two of us here.


    Giving no answer to my question, Liana stopped briefly, and leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree while staring upwards the ck sky, devoid of any stars.


    Gathering up my courage, I strayed away from the path and stood on a patch of grass, looking into the endless void that surrounded us.


    There was also a cat here... sleeping inside my hoodie.


    Of course, it couldn''t be the one to rece the World Tree as it was an animal.


    Shaking my hoodie and forcefully waking up my cat, I allowed to climb up to my head, where it sat down on my hair and staired out into the endless abyss with me.


    I wouldn''t be the one being sacrificed here today, as well.


    How did I know that?


    I wasn''t actually here, unlike the queen.


    I had first noticed it when I stepped onto the lush, green grass.


    My shoes didn''t press down on the grass and cause it crumple up and break; they simply passed through the grass like a hologram.


    Extending my hand, I tried to touch the tree trunk beside me, but my hand simply passed through it like it was nothing.


    My physical body was still in that cave, but my soul and essence were here.


    Seeing me stop, Liana walked up behind me, not stepping on the green grass, and watching my figure from the path.


    She didn''t want to harm this fairy-like world further by stepping on and destroying the grass.


    So, then who was going to be sacrificed, today?


    Putting her hand on her forehead and forcing out a smile, Liana said.


    "You know... a lot of people seem to know the future nowadays. First that girl... and now you."


    The method to enter the tree was only known by two people in the queen''s eyes: herself and her son, Albert.


    Since Lily also knew the method of the tree and knew the future; she probably assumed that since I also knew the method, I knew the future.


    Nodding my head, Iid down on the ground, allowing my body to pass right through the grass, and stared up at the sky.


    Technically, I was floating right now as my body should have passed through the path, but that wasn''t the thing on my mind, right now.


    I was brought here to facilitate the transfer of the spirits for the World Tree with my corrupted power.


    Gently taking the cat off my hair, I ced it on the grass, but it had the same affect as me: nothing at all, the grass remained the exact same.


    As the cat ran in circles around me, seemingly confused about why nothing it did had any affect on the grass or nearby tree, I turned around.


    I wasn''t one to stop someone from making a decision that they were already determined to make, but here, I felt like I had to at least try.


    Deep down though, I knew it was impossible.


    Her entire life, since she was a born, was dedicated to protecting her people, so how could she stray away from that goal during this desperate time.


    But before I could even say anything, Liana''s voice once again sounded as she sat down on the path.