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Chapter 332: Apostle (2)

“My Apostle.”

At the words of the World Tree, my face subconsciously crumpled.

“Apostle?”

What on earth does that mean? Is that really directed at me?

“What do you mean by that?”

[I am glad we have met.]

In the hollow and empty voice, a glimmer of hope could be felt.

The World Tree spoke to me as if it was delighted.

“Why does everyone…”

Even while hearing that, my expression refused to lighten.

Everyone was like that.

Those who met me all seemed to imbue their voices with feelings of joy.

Or perhaps, showing interest, or,

Reacting as if they were pleased by the changes brought about by my very existence.

“Damn it.”

Each of those things wasn’t something I was fond of.

The fact that beings I couldn’t understand were welcoming me.

Ultimately, that meant there was something within me.

I pushed those feelings away.

I asked the World Tree.

“Do you know who I am?”

Judging by its reaction, I wondered if it knew about my return.

The World Tree remained silent at my words.

But then—

Thud—

Slowly, a branch moved, revealing its response.

[Apostle.]

“Why do you keep calling me an Apostle? What does it even mean?”

[I may not know you, but you surely know me.]

I harbored doubts about its words.

Though the World Tree did not know me,

I did know the World Tree.

That part made sense,

But the other part left me puzzled.

Even knowing that I am aware of the World Tree…

….

….

!..

Does it truly claim not to know me?

“What does that even mean?”

[It seems you have traveled against time, my Apostle.]

“…!”

I swallowed hard at the World Tree’s words.

How did it discern that?

‘Was the claim of not remembering a lie?’

Those words were uttered so nonchalantly.

My eyes widened.

Could it really be that this tree possesses memory?

[Are you curious about how I know?] “”

[Don’t be too surprised. I don’t know how you’ve lived through time past.]

“Then how do you know?”

Thud.

A root from the ground suddenly pointed at me.

More precisely, it was pointing toward my chest.

[Because I can feel the traces I’ve imparted to you.]

It was only upon hearing the World Tree’s words that I vaguely began to comprehend how it recognized me.

‘Is it the trace of my previous life?’

I lightly brushed my chest as I recalled.

Those were the very traces the tree had planted within me.

[I may not have given you memories, but it is certainly the Holy Mark I bestowed upon you.]

Memories flooded back.

At that time, I had accepted it all simply to survive.

And then.

– You’ve got a lot of baggage.

The Heavenly Demon I confronted later on commented as such.

Moreover, I thought that the Heavenly Demon had erased it all.

But was that not the case?

[It seems my efforts to erase what was imposed upon your soul were in vain.]

“…Can you read my innermost thoughts?”

[That can’t be. How could a mere old tree like me do such a thing?]

Yet, it felt as though it was truly reading my deepest feelings.

It was quite uncomfortable.

That it was laid upon my soul—that really is grim.

No matter how much I went back in time, my soul couldn’t escape such chains.

“…I came here because I have something to ask you.”

With that behind me, I had to press on with my questions.

There were so many things I wanted to ask,

And so many truths I needed to know.

In the end, the reason I had to arrive at this world was indeed what felt like a mountain of questions to ask this tree.

Could this old tree truly speak to me about it?

[Questions, what can you be so curious about that you sought me out?]

Its voice echoed.

It was like that from the moment we first met.

An unresolved resonance lingered.

I bore through it awkwardly and asked,

“Are you the one who made me return?”

Traveling against time and coming back felt like a miracle,

But I knew such miracles would not easily come to me.

There must be a reason for my return, and aside from what Yeon Ilcheon mentioned about it being a calamity,

If someone intervened in such matters,

The first one I could think of was this tree.

“Are you…. the one who saved me and sent me back to the past?”

Turning back time is inherently close to impossible.

If anyone were to wield such power over me,

That being would have to be anything but ordinary.

By the time I thought this through,

The tree in front of me was certainly not an ordinary being.

It was the first presence I had to doubt.

One.

[Apostle, that was not my doing.]

The World Tree stated it was not responsible.

[Traveling against time is the act of accumulating unimaginable karma upon the soul.

It is beyond the power of a mere old tree like me.]

“A mere old tree does not speak. It’s not like you can grow as large as you have.”

[Whatever I may have been, the miracles you faced were not my doing.]

I was about to voice how I couldn’t trust that.

But realizing it would turn into a pointless argument, I held my tongue.

“So, you’re saying…. it wasn’t you who made me return?”

[Unfortunately, I no longer possess such power. It is an impossible story.]

The statement about lacking such power leaving it impossible,

Does that imply it was once possible?

[Apostle.]

In that moment, a gust of wind blew.

[I do not know what has occurred to you.]

The voice, filled with sorrow, grated on my ears. It sounded almost as if it pitied me.

It didn’t sit right with me.

“Why do you keep calling me an Apostle? What on earth is an Apostle?”

[Having received my Holy Mark, it must mean you are tied to both your past and your future. Hence, you are my Apostle.]

“How do you know that the future involves meeting you?”

[Aren’t you the one who sought to meet me earlier?]

“ ”

[I am pleased. After enduring such a long time, I’ve finally met one worthy of bearing the Holy Mark.]

Such a long time.

It was what it had said back then.

“You… what exactly are you?”

[I have already told you.]

I hadn’t heard much from it, only how to return to the original world and how this one differs from the outside.

That’s pretty much all I got.

‘It spoke and shortly thereafter rotted away into dust, what more could I possibly learn?’

After imparting a few words, the World Tree…

Like how Jang Seonyeon’s physical form had been,

It crumbled away and vanished.

The sight of that massive old tree slowly swaying in the wind as it disappeared

Would not be something I could forget, even through a lifetime.

[I am called Mu-A.]

“I already know that.”

[I am the fifth World Tree bestowed upon this land.]

[I am the master of this world.] “The master….”

No matter how I looked at it, this world was already ruined and decayed.

“Are you saying you are the god of this world?”

[Once I was referred to as that. It seems I have not conveyed that much to you.]

“There probably wasn’t time to do so. You vanished immediately.”

[…. Vanished, huh. Right.]

The World Tree’s response to my words sounded grim.

It was a voice that sent chills deep within.

[I don’t seem to have much time left.]

“…If I consider the timeframe, it shouldn’t be that short?”

A few years here,

When compared to the outside world, it’s equivalent to a day.

Considering I fell into this place around my adolescence,

If I calculated that,

There should be countless times left for the World Tree.

However.

[The time humans experience is merely a moment. To you, it may feel long, but to me, it’s not much of a stretch.]

It seemed the World Tree wasn’t quite thrilled about this chat.

[So it may be for the best. That you sought me out directly, my Apostle.]

“Seriously with this Apostle nonsense. It’s so annoying. Why do you insist I’m your Apostle?”

I don’t believe in gods.

That belief has long since faded.

“You said that to me.”

The flame that would burn the karma accrued in this world, you said.

I don’t know about this world,

But I was well aware there are countless entangled issues from where I came.

“I have a lot I don’t understand.”

It’s embarrassing that I have so many unknown truths even after returning,

With so many unpleasant truths that I sought to ignore while trying to spread myself comfortably.

Those damned truths felt tangled somehow.

Even if I were unentangled,

It bothered me to know that there were those who shouldn’t suffer tied into it.

“So, point me where to start unraveling it. What do you know?”

[…]

The World Tree remained silent at my words.

An extraordinarily uncomfortable silence followed.

After a brief moment,

Thud.

A root sprang forth from the ground, bending as if to invite me to sit upon it.

[Please, sit.]

Hearing that, I cautiously took a seat.

[Apostle, do you know anything about what it means to be a master?]

“Master?”

It was something the World Tree itself had once mentioned.

That it was the master of this world.

[Yes, my Apostle. The master is the essence of the world itself.]

“Make it easy to understand.”

[The essence means that where there is a world, there exists a master. And because there is a master, the world can be said to exist.]

“What the…?”

[The only difference is that if a master disappears, the world will vanish as well; however, the reverse is not true. The world does not fall apart just because a master disappears.]

I couldn’t grasp the meaning behind the World Tree’s words.

Regardless of what it meant,

I could not fathom why it was speaking of this at present.

“…What on earth do you bring this up for?”

I wanted to inquire about the return, the Blood Demon, and the Heavenly Demon.

Also about the calamity Yeon Ilcheon mentioned,

The identity of the red egg once dubbed the seed hidden in the depths of the front line of Gu Clan’s territory.

There were so many things I wanted to ask,

Yet, suddenly, it launched into this seemingly unrelated tangent.

[When I say mastering the world, I mean it is not literally the master of the world.]

“What, does it have some other meaning?”

[To be precise…. it is the master of life.]

“Life?”

[Indeed. I am referred to as the master of all life residing upon this land. The understanding that life breathes because the world exists and the master is present there.]

“And so, what does that have to do with our current conversation?”

[If the master of the world ceases to exist, what do you think will happen?]

At the World Tree’s words,

Something once fuzzy suddenly felt clear for an instant.

[If the master disappears, it means the death of all living beings.]

“What…?”

I swallowed hard at the World Tree’s proclamation.

“What do you mean by all living things disappearing?”

It was incomprehensible, regardless of the world or the master.

Surely, the World Tree before me had given me the Holy Mark in my previous life and uttered a few remarks before vanishing.

If, as the World Tree said, every living thing should have ceased to exist, then it would contradict its words.

Moreover.

‘…There is no master in this world at all…!’

While turning my thoughts, something struck me.

With somewhat startled eyes, I stared at the World Tree, and in response, it uttered:

[Just because a master dies does not mean the life in that land disappears abruptly. Under normal circumstances, it merely means other life will not be born, so, gradually, life will edge towards extinction.]

“Life cannot be born?”

[That is how it should be.]

The master.

The master of the world.

That was an odd statement.

If a master was needed for life to be born and survive, then—

“…In our world, there is no master. How is that possible?”

I had never heard of such a being existing in the world I reside.

If they say there is no master,

Then it means life cannot be born or exist at all.

But the world as I know it is functioning just fine.

Could it be that there’s a master I know nothing about?

As this thought crossed my mind.

[We refer to that situation as a crack.]

The World Tree informed me.

“A crack?”

[It is something that deviates from the natural order established by the world, thus it would be proper to call it a crack.]

In a world without a master,

Life breathes and is born.

Does that mean the world I’m living in operates contrary to the world’s very principles?

“Is that a problem?”

[If there is no master in the world, that is to say the situation deviates from the natural order, and to rectify that, a master must be created.]

“A master must be created?”

[That is why I am referred to as the fifth World Tree.]

It signifies that I am the fifth master that has descended upon this land.

That is why the World Tree itself refers to itself as the fifth World Tree.

“…So you’re saying that as long as we wait for a master to be born, there aren’t any problems?”

Eventually, a master will arise.

If we can merely wait until that happens, there shouldn’t be any significant issues.

Yet, as I formulated such a response,

[Apostle, as I said before, the life born upon the land belongs to the master.]

The World Tree corrected me with a different assertion.

‘So—

[If there exists life upon a land without a master, and if new life is to be created upon that land, do you know what has to be done first?]

“To create a new master…. I must first do something?”

Instantly, as I frowned, the World Tree began to speak.

[That is.]

[First, every living being upon that land must be erased. Only then can a new master take root.]

Now that was truly a gruesome tale.

 

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