Chapter 337: The People Who Stayed Behind

The River of Memories continued flowing through the enormous cavern, its golden current disappearing into the darkness beneath the roots of the World Tree. Arthur remained beside it for several moments, still thinking about Eden’s final words.

There were memories here that hadn’t happened yet.

He didn’t know what that meant, and for once, even his curiosity wasn’t enough to make him immediately touch the river again.

Vedas noticed his expression.

"You want to touch it again."

Arthur looked at him.

"Maybe."

"Arthur."

"I said maybe."

Luna laughed quietly. "You definitely want to."

Arthur smiled. "Fine. I definitely want to."

Vedas sighed. "At least you’re honest."

Before Arthur could move, something changed on the other side of the cavern.

A faint light appeared between the roots.

It wasn’t the golden glow of the River.

This light was white.

Arthur immediately turned toward it.

"Did you see that?"

Luna nodded.

Eden flew closer to Arthur’s shoulder while Star bounced against his head.

Vedas tightened his fists.

"Something is there."

Arthur stared into the darkness.

The light appeared again.

This time, he saw a shape standing behind the roots.

It looked human.

Arthur immediately reached for Dusk.

"Someone’s coming."

The figure slowly stepped forward.

It was an old man.

At least, it looked like one.

His body was thin and covered in ancient armor that had partially grown into his skin. Wooden patterns ran across his arms and neck, while faint golden lines pulsed beneath his skin like veins filled with mana. His hair was long and white, but parts of it had become thin roots that disappeared into the Tree behind him.

Luna stared.

"He’s..."

"Human?" Vedas asked.

The old man stopped several meters away.

His eyes were still clear.

"Once."

Arthur lowered Dusk slightly.

"You’re one of the people from the memories."

The old man looked at him for several seconds before glancing toward the River of Memories.

"You saw them."

Arthur nodded.

"Fragments."

The old man’s expression softened.

"Then the Tree has finally begun showing them again."

Vedas remained cautious.

"What are you?"

The old man looked down at his own hands.

"A remnant."

Arthur frowned.

"You’re alive."

"Not in the way you are."

The old man touched the roots growing from his arm.

"When the corruption reached the heart, most of us fled. Some carried the Mirrors away. Others stayed."

"Why?"

The old man looked toward the enormous roots surrounding them.

"Because someone had to remain."

Arthur listened carefully.

"The Tree could not survive alone."

The old man’s voice was quiet, but there was no weakness in it.

"So we bound ourselves to it."

Luna’s eyes widened.

"You became part of the Tree."

"Some of us did."

The old man nodded.

"Those who understood what was happening chose to become guardians. We gave the Tree our mana, our memories, and eventually our bodies."

Arthur looked at the roots connected to the man’s back.

"And the others?"

The old man’s expression darkened.

"Not everyone remained themselves."

The cavern became quieter.

"The corruption entered those who could not withstand it. Some became creatures of the Tree. Some became guardians without minds. Others became things that should never have existed."

Arthur immediately thought about the corrupted Beasts they had encountered.

"So that’s what we’ve been seeing."

"Some of them."

The old man looked toward the darkness.

"The Tree remembers every one of us."

Arthur studied him.

"Then you’re one of the last."

"One of the last who can still speak."

Eden floated closer.

"How long have you been here?"

The old man looked at her.

His expression changed.

"You can see it."

Eden tilted her head.

"See what?"

"Time."

Arthur immediately looked at Eden.

The old man studied her for several seconds before turning back toward Arthur.

"Your companion is beginning to perceive what the Tree has always carried."

Arthur became more interested.

"What does that mean?"

"Not yet."

The answer was simple.

Arthur frowned.

"You can’t just say that."

The old man almost smiled.

"You remind me of someone."

"Who?"

"Someone who asked too many questions."

Vedas chuckled.

"That sounds like him."

Arthur looked at Vedas.

"You’re supposed to be helping me."

"I am."

The old guardian turned toward the River.

"There is something you should understand before you continue."

Arthur’s expression became serious.

"What?"

"The World Tree cannot be killed."

The words were calm, but they carried enormous weight.

Arthur looked toward the golden roots surrounding them.

"We already suspected that."

"No."

The old man shook his head.

"You do not understand."

He placed his hand against the root beside him.

"If the heart dies, everything connected to it dies."

Arthur’s expression changed.

"The Secret Realm."

"The Beasts."

"The land."

"The mana."

"The rivers."

"The forests."

The guardian looked toward Arthur.

"Everything."

Luna slowly looked around the cavern.

"So destroying the Tree would destroy the entire Secret Realm."

"Yes."

Arthur thought about Ronin.

He had already understood that the Tree was important, but now the scale became clearer.

Ronin wasn’t simply trying to control a powerful entity.

He was forcing himself into the foundation of an entire ecosystem.

Arthur’s grip tightened around Dusk.

"Then the people who created the Mirrors already knew this."

The guardian nodded.

"They discovered it too late."

Arthur’s eyes sharpened.

"What were the Mirrors originally made for?"

The old man was silent for several seconds.

Then he looked toward the River of Memories.

"They were never weapons."

Arthur waited.

"They were not created to destroy the corruption."

Luna stepped closer.

"Then what were they for?"

The guardian raised his hand.

Golden light appeared between his fingers.

"The corruption had already entered the World Tree. Destroying the Tree would have destroyed everything connected to it, so we needed another way."

Arthur’s eyes widened.

"Separate it."

The guardian looked at him.

"Yes."

Arthur’s mind immediately connected the pieces.

The corrupted roots.

The Chief Beast.

The way severing the connection had saved it.

The five Mirrors.

The ancient civilization.

The Tree’s resistance.

"That’s why the Mirrors were connected to the Tree."

The guardian nodded.

"They were designed to separate the corruption from the World Tree without killing the Tree itself."

Luna looked toward Arthur.

"That’s what we’ve been doing."

Arthur nodded slowly.

"We’ve been following the same method."

The guardian looked at him.

"You have already begun."

Arthur remembered the corrupted Chief Beast.

Instead of killing it, they had severed the roots connecting it to the Miasma.

They had done the same thing at the five Mirrors.

And now they were climbing toward the heart.

"The Five Mirrors aren’t meant to destroy the corruption."

Arthur’s expression sharpened.

"They’re meant to create a path to the heart and separate the corruption from the Tree."

The guardian’s eyes widened slightly.

"You understand quickly."

Arthur smiled.

"We’ve had a lot of practice."

Vedas crossed his arms.

"Mostly because Arthur keeps finding corrupted things."

"That’s also true."

Luna laughed softly.

The guardian looked at the group for several seconds.

Then his expression became more serious.

"But there is a problem."

Arthur immediately stopped smiling.

"What?"

"The corruption has changed."

The old guardian looked deeper into the World Tree.

"When we created the Mirrors, the corruption was concentrated around the heart. It had not yet spread throughout the entire network."

Arthur frowned.

"But now?"

"Now it has reached much farther."

Vedas’s expression hardened.

"Because of Ronin."

The guardian nodded.

"He has forced the corruption deeper into the Tree."

Arthur looked toward the ceiling.

Somewhere above them, Ronin was still climbing.

"So reaching the heart isn’t enough."

"No."

The guardian pointed toward the roots stretching deeper into the darkness.

"You must reach the original heart before the corruption completely consumes it."

Arthur became silent.

"How long?"

The guardian shook his head.

"I don’t know."

Arthur looked at Eden.

She was staring toward the darkness again.

Her expression had become distant.

"Eden."

She looked at him.

"I can feel it."

"What?"

"The heart."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

"Can you tell where it is?"

Eden shook her head.

"Not exactly."

She paused.

"But it’s far below us."

The guardian slowly looked at her.

Then his expression changed.

"Below?"

Arthur noticed.

"You know something."

The guardian hesitated.

"The Tree has been changing."

"Because of Ronin?"

"Because of both of you."

Arthur frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You have entered a part of the Tree that has been sealed for thousands of years. The Tree is opening paths that it closed long ago."

Arthur looked toward the labyrinth behind them.

"Because it wants us to reach the heart?"

The guardian’s eyes lowered.

"Perhaps."

Arthur smiled.

"That’s good enough for me."

Vedas sighed.

"Of course it is."

The old guardian stepped aside.

Behind him, the roots slowly moved apart.

A massive passage appeared.

It descended into darkness.

Golden light flickered far below.

Arthur looked at the path.

Then at the guardian.

"Are you coming with us?"

The old man shook his head.

"My place is here."

Arthur nodded.

"Then we’ll see you again."

The guardian smiled faintly.

"If the Tree allows it."

Arthur turned toward the passage.

Luna followed.

Vedas stepped beside him while Eden and Star moved closer.

Before Arthur left, the guardian spoke again.

"Arthur."

Arthur stopped and looked back.

"The heart is not merely the source of the Tree’s power."

Arthur waited.

"It remembers everything."

The guardian’s gaze became distant.

"Everything that lived here. Everything that was lost. Everything that still remains."

Arthur looked toward the descending path.

"Then we’ll be careful."

The guardian shook his head.

"No."

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

The old man looked directly at him.

"Don’t be careful."

He pointed toward the darkness.

"Understand it."

Arthur smiled.

"That sounds much more interesting."

He turned and began descending.

Luna followed closely behind him, while Vedas shook his head and Star bounced after them.

Eden remained beside Arthur.

As they disappeared into the darkness, the old guardian watched them go.

For the first time in thousands of years, hope appeared in his eyes.

Deep beneath them, something pulsed.

Once.

Then again.

Arthur stopped halfway down the passage.

He could feel it.

The World Tree’s heartbeat.

And somewhere inside that heartbeat, something else was moving.

Something corrupted.

Something enormous.

Arthur tightened his grip around Dusk. "The heart is waiting."

Vedas looked at him. "Then let’s reach it before Ronin does."

Arthur nodded.