Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Chapter 605



Even a Wildfire Starts from a Tiny Spark – 3

At that moment, amidst the chaos, someone had sneaked into the tree of origin.

“Stupid Anubis fools. Walking straight into the entrance.”

In the past, there existed beings known as priests in the myriad nations.

They were not particularly great beings. The jungle was home to numerous savage tribes, each developing their own primitive faiths.

Nature. Spirits. The World Tree, totems. Powerful beasts or the kings of beasts. Anything with power became an object of faith. Faith led to exploration, and exploration became power, allowing priests to become unique beings even within the jungle.

The Agartha dynasty of the myriad nations tried to spread the teachings of the celestial god over a long period, but all attempts ended in failure. It was not because people could not accept it, but because the teachings of the celestial god were accepted as just one of many faiths. The dense jungle’s low propagation power even blocked the celestial god who encompassed the continent.

Thus, the power of the priests remained in their own domains, but to the king, independent domains were always a thorn in the side. They clashed with Muhoo at every turn.

Muhoo Agartha’s decision to become the king of beasts might have been partly because he disliked humans.

“The king of humans must be served by us. If it’s the king of humans, he will drive out the hybrid beasts born of Muhoo and make us pure again.”

It was a fair matter. The priests probably did not like Muhoo much either.

“The underside of the World Tree is full of holes. The massive trunk may seem tightly packed, but inside, there are countless holes. Some were dug by someone, others made out of necessity.”

The tree of origin inherited even the size of the World Tree. The trunk, which had to bear the immense volume and mass, could not be described as merely thick. It would be better to call it a mountain where steep hills and cliffs come early.

The land where the World Tree was planted was not very habitable, both above and below. Billions of tangled roots, each with different heights and thicknesses, intertwined like threads, and beneath them were crater-like cavities where even corpses were hard to retrieve once fallen.

There was a reason people built their homes on the branches. In the previous World Tree, the blessed ginkgo era, residents could not live there. Only a few druids who tended the tree stayed.

“If you go below, there are countless water pipes. They are massive torrents that draw river water up to the leaves. The largest pipes may be managed by them, but they cannot manage all the pipes.”

“`plaintext

The priests nodded to each other. The priest of the dolls took out the cursed doll and moved its hands and feet.

In response, the ‘dolls’ moved. The corpse dolls, controlled by black magic, threw themselves into the water, having lost their reason. The corpse dolls were swept up by the flow of water created by the World Tree.

“Have you found it?”

“I’m looking. Be patient and wait….”

The water conduit was a straw that the Root Tree had bloomed into the river, a torrent winding through the sky. As it headed towards various parts of the Root Tree, it repeatedly split and narrowed at will.

Dozens of corpse dolls went astray, drowning or being crushed. The corpses, soaked in drugs and magic, would block the water conduit of the World Tree for quite some time, causing various sanitary problems.

In the meantime, one lucky doll found the right passage. The priest of the dolls lifted the still-living cursed doll and shouted.

“I found it. It’s this way.”

“Lead the way. We will follow you.”

“Be grateful. If it weren’t for me, you would have become fertilizer for the World Tree. Now, wrap my hair around you. It will show you the way.”

The priests, having finished their preparations, threw themselves towards the water conduit leading to the summit.

To lift that enormous amount of water upwards, considerable pressure had to be applied. The water pressure was enough to crush a person, but the priests protected their bodies with various spells as they ascended the water conduit.

“How… much… longer…?”

“A long way! Save your breath!”

The experience of being swept up by the river was rare even for the priests. After a long time, so long that fear crept into the priests’ minds that it might never end.

Their bodies were flung into the air.

“Puha!”

“We’ve arrived!”

The place they arrived at was the dark interior of the Root Tree. It was impossible to guess how high they had climbed.

The priest of the beasts sniffed the air, catching the scent that drifted in the void.

“`

*Sniff sniff. The damp, wet wood smell… This seems to be the inside of the World Tree.*

*I heard the human king is at the top of the World Tree. Where is the top?*

*We won’t know until we get outside. I’ll dig through the wall with my claws.*

As the Beast Priest approached the wall with sharp claws, the Spirit Priest stopped him.

*Stop! If you harm the World Tree recklessly, the Archdruid might notice!*

*Then what do you suggest? It’s only a matter of time before the Archdruid senses our presence.*

*I’ll find the souls of the dead and perform a spirit ritual. They will know the way.*

*This is the top of the World Tree. Where would the dead be here?*

*I heard a witch lives here. A few must have died! This place is full of energy. It’s a perfect environment for lingering spirits. If the witches who split their minds and planted them in beasts are here, we can find them quickly!*

The Spirit Priest took out some fruits and pieces of meat from her pocket. She placed the minimal food for the ritual and shook her bells to perform the rite.

By looking at a corpse, one can tell how they lived. Especially for those who dealt with magic or energy, traces can remain even after death. The Spirit Priest was akin to a coroner, reading those traces and deducing their actions in life.

There were no corpses here, but even similar traces would suffice. The Spirit Priest sought the traces of the dead through the ritual.

Strong-scented food, loud bell sounds. Signals that stimulate the senses filled the space. Amidst the pervasive energy, she found a human reaction. Before long, the Spirit Priest found traces of death…

*Ugh!*

…so many, as numerous as the lush leaves.

*Ugh! Ugh. Kr, kuek!*

It was as if someone had grabbed the Spirit Priest and turned her inside out. She vomited everything in her stomach, buried her face in her vomit, and fainted.

The startled Beast Priest pulled her out. Her eyes rolled back, showing no sign of waking up.

*Hey! Shaman! Wh-what’s happening!*

*…Look. Look here.*

The doll priest with a serious expression pointed somewhere with his finger. There, along the wall, petals had grown in neat rows. On the branches that had grown as if guided by someone’s hand, large fruits were hanging.

Inside the translucent fruits filled with unknown juice, the silhouette of a human curled up like a baby could be seen.

“…What is this?”

The doll priest roughly counted the numbers. At least a hundred. If there were more of these, the number would multiply. The doll priest folded his fingers and muttered.

“…It seems someone has cast black magic on the World Tree.”

It was then. A clicking sound echoed from beyond the darkness. Faint lantern light seeped in from the dark corridor beyond.

Footsteps revealing their presence. The beast priest bristled and focused all his attention on the owner of the footsteps. And he was stunned.

‘…What? I can’t feel anything…!’

“Ha. Why are you here?”

Black bats flew up all at once. After the soundless flapping of wings subsided, a witch in black clothes and a pointed hat appeared before them like a phantom.

Walpurgis. The Witch of the Night.

The only servant of the Great Witch, and the witch who alone managed the layers of the command.

And once, the nightmare that plunged this jungle into a deep, dark night.

The priests in front of her instinctively recoiled in fear. Even in the midst of this, the doll priest stepped forward calmly.

“Hoho. Great and fearsome Witch of the Night. I have urgent matters to discuss.”

“Yet you infiltrate the storage through the water pipes. Do you hide in others’ warehouses to have a conversation?”

“If necessary, we might. How could we know where the water pipes lead?”

“…I will listen for now. Just know that I am being very considerate.”

Walpurgis crossed her arms. She exuded an air of having no intention to listen properly.

“They say the King of Humans has appeared.”

However, when the doll priest brought up the main topic, Walpurgis pressed her witch hat down with a distressed face.

“Do you know as well? There’s no one in the entire jungle who doesn’t know.”

“Those sensitive to news would all know. You made such a grand spectacle.”

“It’s a problem that arises from something that’s not my responsibility, but the cleanup always falls to me. Everyone is so irresponsible.”

The doll priest waited until she had complained enough, then pointed to the meat fruit and asked.

“This fruit. Is it an ingredient to resurrect the human king?”

“You could say that.”

“Is the human king also a being you created with this?”

“No. The human king’s body already existed. Though he had no consciousness, we were respectfully caring for him.”

“Then why were these humans created?”

There’s no need to hide it any longer. Walpurgis sighed and continued.

“The Archdruid found the witch. The witch’s medicine can save a person on the brink of death and kill a healthy person overnight. He thought that if he used the witch’s medicine, he might be able to revive the human king.”

The priests raised a slight doubt.

There are quite a few people who seek the witch, but they are all those who have reached the end of their rope. The witch’s medicine is an unknown thing, with its efficacy and intent unproven. It’s the last gamble of someone who has nothing left to lose.

“Of course, he didn’t believe in the witch’s medicine either. He doubted its effects and questioned it thoroughly. But how can you know what effect it has before drinking it? Someone has to drink it.”

And the priest recalled another past.

A long time ago. When the jungle was deep and dark at night.

Walpurgis sold illusions.

Those who drank her medicine fell asleep in happy and pleasant dreams. It is said that when they woke up, they all shed tears. Asking to return their illusion. Begging to go back to that world.

Those who woke up longed for the night again and sought out Walpurgis, and Walpurgis gave them new medicine each time. The customers who drank the medicine fell asleep with happy faces, and most of them never woke up.

The dark period when the jungle was engulfed in a silent night without pain and screams remained a terror for everyone. Those who waited for parents who never came, children who disappeared, lovers who left behind love, all went to the great witch with a thread of hope in the dark night.

The great witch moved for those who were once her people, and only after she took the night witch did the morning come to the jungle.

People couldn’t even cheer. They were just grateful that the night had passed safely and searched for those who disappeared during the night.

From noble mtl dot com

Some wondered how the great witch took the night witch, but curiosity was always secondary to survival. No one sought the reason….

“But, the newly grown World Tree has all the ingredients. Roots resembling humans, mushrooms growing under the oak tree, the pistil of an iris. All were precious, but the most precious was the test subject for the precious medicine made from them.”

Walpurgis revealed the reason here.

“This meat fruit is a test subject for the medicine to be given to the human king. There are many samples, few variables, and I can control the experimental group at will.”

“Kuuh! Cough, cough!”

The priestess of the spirits, who regained her senses, coughed and raised her body. Trembling pitifully, she shouted without even thinking of wiping the vomit off her face.

“How many did you kill here…! How many deaths have you experienced, that countless deaths fill the space!”

“I haven’t really counted. Is there a problem? The meat fruit used as a test subject has nothing to do with you.”

Walpurgis, shrouded in darkness, slightly lifted her hat brim and questioned.

“The night’s fantasy medicine was made to lessen pain and forget suffering. They found the night’s fantasy medicine themselves. They drank a lot and fell asleep in a fantasy. They reported me to the great witch.”

The witch makes medicine. No one can guarantee the efficacy of that medicine. Not even the witch herself.

Therefore, someone must be found to drink it. Walpurgis used the night’s fantasy as bait to test numerous medicines.

Until the great witch, who heard the rumors, came.

“The great witch said that the problem was that the night continued forever, severing the ties of the day. She allowed me to use this place instead of finding test subjects in the jungle. On the condition that I make the medicine requested by the archdruid.”

The priestess of the spirits looked at Walpurgis in fear and terror. But one, the priestess of dolls, laughed in a shiver.

“Kukuku. If there was such a good thing, you should have told me. I became a fool searching the jungle for a usable doll. I’m glad I came up here.”

Walpurgis asked calmly.

“Do you have any other business?”

“A fruit that grows humans, and a king of humans. It’s not right to hide and monopolize something so important to all humans. Let’s share it.”

“Don’t you plan to go back like this?”

“Why should we? If we go like this, we won’t gain anything.”

“No.”

Valpurgis whispered as she slightly lifted the brim of her hat.

“You’ll barely keep that insignificant life of yours.”

At the same time, bats flew in from all directions. The sound of screams, inaudible to human ears, filled the space.

The beast priest ran and tore Valpurgis’s body apart. Valpurgis’s form scattered like a phantom, and black smoke wrapped around the beast priest.

Valpurgis, who flickered for a moment, swung her hand nonchalantly from a few meters away.

“Sleep within the night.”

Bats scattered in all directions, and shining powder fluttered among them. It was a dreamy and fantastical sight, as if the stars of the night had been ground into powder.

“H-hold your breath! Don’t inhale…”

The priest of spirits couldn’t even finish his sentence. The priests, intoxicated, collapsed one by one. Among the silent flapping of bats’ wings, only the doll priest stood unscathed.

“You don’t sleep, do you? Well, a doll doesn’t need sleep.”

“Heh heh. Did you notice?”

The doll priest took out a prepared cursed doll. As he infused it with magic, the priests who had fallen asleep staggered and rose.

The unconscious bodies became dolls, moving according to the doll priest’s will. The dolls that didn’t sleep surrounded Valpurgis.

“Thanks to you, I’ve obtained a precious doll! Thank you, witch of the night! And I’ll turn you into a doll too!”

The beast priest charged, and the spirit priest swung his sword and bell. They coordinated without any concern for getting hurt. Valpurgis mumbled as she grabbed the brim of her hat.

“But, there are not only sleeping pills in the world.”

Walpurgis suddenly moved forward and embraced the Doll Priest. The unexpected action made the Doll Priest step back, but Walpurgis’s new form seemed to seep into him.

“What is this! What have you done…!”

“Enjoy. Endless hallucinations and pleasures. A night that will never come again.”

And the Doll Priest straightened his back at the voice whispering in his ear.

His body did not obey. A shiver ran down his ear. It felt as if someone was playing with his body like a toy. Just before the ecstasy filled his head, the Doll Priest felt an unknown fear.

‘Danger…! I must break the connection with the doll quickly!’

The doll usually uses a human. This is to ensure that the senses are not disturbed and can be fully transmitted.

But this time, that advantage became a poison.

A witch is both a medicine and a poison. While hesitating for a moment in the endless ecstasy, his body and mind no longer refused the command. He let his body go in this endless pleasure and revelry.

Not to the doll, but to the one controlling the doll.

“Ah! Huh, huh! Haaah!”

The Doll Priest gasped in pleasure.

The overflowing sensations confused his mind. Trembling alone, twisting his body, scratching himself to relieve the itch. The Doll Priest forgot how to distinguish between himself and the doll.

Both he and the doll. They were the dolls of pleasure gifted by the Night Witch. The moment he realized that, the Priest’s mind snapped.

“-Rest in peace.”

The Night Witch whispered quietly among the fallen dolls.