47 – World Tree (7)

Arwyn suppressed his emotions and continued to follow his father and elders.

Since they have lived a long time, they must have been looking at something they did not understand.

It was hard, but…Someday, I’ll get used to it again.

Just like that, 80 years have passed.

Arwin turned 100 years old.

He was only halfway through his adulthood.

Her body has grown to some extent, and she has become quite an adult.

As if it were true that she was blessed, she grew up to be remarkably beautiful even among the elves who were said to be beautiful.

She still couldn’t get off her rotten tee, but she was also establishing her own values.

…All of this, the values I hate so much.

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It was the conclusion she came to after experiencing the pain of her body being cut off every month for the past 80 years.

On top of that, her head was pounding from the continued sacrifice.

It was her change that started in an instant.

But she knew again.

That this is a natural feeling.

Of course, sacrifice is not welcome.

It’s a moment that everyone has to go through and pass on.

She alone made more sacrifices than her others, but she benefited more than that.

She was a woman who had a lifespan that no one could ever hope for.

If I could hold out for another 100 years, I could enjoy the next 1100 years as I wanted.

Other elves have a maximum of 600 years after coming of age, but Arwyn has a maximum of 1100 years.

It was almost twice as long.

She

Maybe she should be thankful that she didn’t have to sacrifice 400 years.

She could become a great person who will remain in the history of the world.

You can become the most perfect being among the creatures born in this world.

It might be possible to become a divine being who lacks nothing.

So she thought of holding out for another 100 years, looking only at that life.

She would have to fall asleep and wake up tens of thousands of times, and she would have to scream so that her throat would explode tens of thousands of times, but time would solve everything.

I endured like that for a while.

On days when she was exhausted and unable to do anything, Arwin enjoyed reading as she let out shallow breaths and snapped her feeble fingers.

Then she seemed to forget a bit of the nightmarish agony she felt while sacrificing.

I liked reading.

Because she was able to live a life she had never experienced, at least indirectly.

As Arwin lived a different life from other elves, her interests were very different from those of other elves.

If there was one thing she was most interested in, it was the world outside.

The vast territory of Celebrien was too narrow to contain 100 years of time.

There is nothing to see, nothing to feel.

So, from some time ago, my yearning for the outside world gradually grew.

Until now, if it was my dream to remain in the territory and become a respected elf…Now I wanted to go out into the world and become something.

I didn’t know what it would be.

Adventurer. Or a musician. Artist. Philosopher. Hunters… All of them might be possible.

Arwin imagined the outside of the Celebrien manor from which he could not escape.

I thought of the sweet fruits behind this duty that would one day end.

A wide and beautiful world. Short-lived species and their culture. I spent so much time anticipating what I was going to do.

My mind was unstable at times, as if walking on a tightrope, but I persevered this time too.

It could still be.

As much as I was blessed, I had to give it back.

And then, in the distant future, he would become an elf that would go down in history.

This was a hardship to endure for that bright future.

It was the year I turned 120 like that.

“From now on, I have to do it every 15 days.”

“………..”

The moment he heard those words, Arwin felt his suppressed heart rise like an active volcano.

Until now, I understood.

He tried to think of it as a sacred duty.

“…It is the choice of the elders.”

But the string of reason stretches screaming.

No excuse could calm her simmering emotions.

For the world tree. For elves. Happy future…And so on.

Nothing could compare to the pain she was going through now.

Irreversible evil thoughts gradually fill my head.

This means that every fifteen days, the body has to endure the pain of being torn apart.

The next 80 years.

There is no evidence that this is the end again. In another 10 years, you may have to do it every day.

“…”

I know it’s a sacrifice everyone makes.

She

She knew that as she was given life, she would only give it back to the World Tree.

But now I don’t like it.

Selfish, to say the least, she couldn’t bear it any longer.

“…I don’t like it.”

Arwin rebelled for the first time.

Ascal said as if she expected it.

“It is not your choice. It’s what the elders chose. You must do your duty for the sake of the Elves of Celebrien and the World Tree.”

“I hate it…!”

“It’s what everyone does. Only you-“

“It hurts! It hurts! I’m going to die of pain!!”

Arwyn screamed with all her might, like a scream on the day of sacrifice.

She said, staring at Ascal with her straight eyes.

“I am the only one with pain. How is everyone doing it? Everyone is not sick like me!”

“Loras sacrificed a year ago-“

“-You did it once. How can you say that you are like me?”

Arwin looked at Ascal fervently.

“I do it every month! If it’s just for one day, who can’t do it!!”

“Ar-“

“It’s my body, my body!! Why are the elders and my father forcing me to sacrifice!! Why do you spit it out so easily!! You’re saying it’s not your body!!”

Arwin threw the documents on Ascal’s desk aside.

Ascal was surprised by Arwyn’s fierce reaction for the first time in 120 years.

Arwyn said with great enthusiasm.

“Okay, I will.”

“…?”

“Instead, my father and the elders all have to go in with me. If everyone sacrifices their lifespan as much as I do…! If you’re in pain and suffering like me, I’ll do it…!”

Ascal frowned as if it was difficult.

“…Elders don’t have as much life left as you. Also, when the elders were young, they were like you-“

“Then, I will make a sacrifice… feel the same pain.”

The more he spoke, the more Arwin realized that his own heart was bursting with rage.

It felt like the dam was about to burst.

The violence inherent in him, which he was unaware of, gradually opened his eyes.

As if the beginning was difficult and the later was easy… After the first rebellion, the unforgivable words that would follow flowed out easily.

The mind accumulated for hundreds of years was never light.

Arwin suggests.

“From now on, on the day of my sacrifice, ask all elders to gather. No… After I recover, tell me to gather. Everyone knelt in front of me in a row…! I’ll let you go through the pain of tearing your body apart, so tell everyone to sacrifice for the elves and the world tree!!”

“Isn’t it something you just have to endure for a while, Arwin!”

“It may be a moment for my father, but it is a lifetime for me!”

Ascal has been quiet ever since, and she had no answer.

Arwin reveals another hidden fact.

“And I heard you, Father.”

“…?”

“You said that your father also went through the sacrificial process under the world tree, right? He said he did it himself, so look at me and put up with it… You said that?”

“…”

“But I heard you only did it for 20 years. And every two months.”

Arwin burst out laughing. His voice trembled. He was such a comparative quality that I didn’t want to be too ugly.

“I am now in my 110th year. Yes? On a monthly basis. He has experienced more than 10 times as much as his father…!”

Her maniacal laugh emanated from her.

“But what the hell are you talking about knowing…? Are there any elders who sacrificed as much as I did?”

Askal didn’t react much to Arwin’s words.

“There are no hypocrites like this…! I’m just glamorous, I’m not the one who sacrifices!”

Ascal was silent and then said the same thing again.

“…For the Elves and the World Tree-“

“-What about me?”

“…”

“I’m not an elf, am I? My father only sees me as a tool, right? Is the World Tree really more important than anything else?”

The World Tree was important to Arwin, too.

It was a different reason from other elves.

It was because the tree, like a parasite, had to survive, but the time it had endured would not collapse.

Ascal must have sensed that her Arwyn had gotten her out of control, and slowly began to calm her down.

“…Arwin, I understand. Calm down. I will talk to the elders again.”

But Arwin shook his head.

“No? That’s Okay. It really is now.”

A dam that had already been broken could not be restored.

In this very brief moment, change came.

“I feel so relieved to say this. Surprisingly.”

“…”

“…I should have lived like this from the start. Maybe because I am so slow to learn, I have been given a long life.”

Arwin looked down at Ascal with her cold eyes and spat out her swear words.

“…I’ll give it 15 days. But that’s it. When I come of age, I will leave this estate… Don’t expect anything from me anymore.”

Once again, Arwin faced a turning point in his life.

“No matter how I live…! Don’t vomit…!!”

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