Chapter 378: He

The tree looked like the conjugation of stars a.s.sembled as the symbol of life. The tree"s leaves and branches danced in the wind, throwing its shade over Arthur"s face. The sound of footsteps made him open his eyes, and he found Li standing in front of him. 

"You are still here?" Arthur sat up as he questioned. "It has already been a day since you were supposed to disappear. Get out of here already." 

Li didn"t say anything and simply sat beside him. Arthur glanced at the white -mixed-with-golden man sitting silently beside him, missing how chatty he was before. 

"Is it because of my spiritual energy?" Arthur tried to guess a possibility for the delay, and Li nodded. "I see, but I don"t think it"s going to take you long until you leave this place." 

"Do you like trees, My Lord?" Li looked at the tree above them and asked. Arthur was taken aback by the question, but he nodded anyway, as he did like trees. 

Li seemed to be thinking of things and nodded without saying anything more. Arthur paused as a forgotten memory appeared in his mind. The mask that Li wore right now was white with nothing engraved on it. However, if Arthur remembers correctly, all of Mistletoe"s members had a symbol engraved on their masks. 

Li"s symbol was of a tree. 

"Are you going now?" Arthur turned toward the fading man, who simply nodded. 

"Our meeting was brief, My Lord," Li said with his hands resting on his knees before he stood up. "However, the things you gave are ones I will never forget."

"I know," Arthur looked up at the disappearing man. "I never thought that I would find you here. Go and overthrow the kingdom. Goodbye, Li." 

Beneath the glowing tree, Li disappeared from the world. 

Arthur let go of a sigh that he didn"t know he was holding. With this, he finished another task he needed to do for his past self. He was tired of making sure that the timeline would be as planned, which hindered his present growth. 

"Without the past, then there wouldn"t be a present." Arthur realized as the carpenter ascended the ridge to sit beside him. "I never thought I would think of this, but past me is spoiled as h.e.l.l." 

"Are you lonely now?" Adrian asked with amus.e.m.e.nt as he sat down. "Don"t worry. I"ll be leaving soon too." 

"Where to?" Arthur was surprised. "Are you leaving the Skyey World?" 

"No. I"m leaving the Spirits Realm." Adrian revealed. "Thanks to the branches you gave me, I have finally fulfilled my task." 

"No need for thanks," Arthur smiled. "I think you owe me a question," 

"I do," Adrian nodded. "Since this is farewell, I will answer whatever question you have." 

"Surprisingly sentimental," Arthur was amused. "Tell me, carpenter. What is your task, and why are you building this grand city?" 

"It seems you know that those two questions have the same answer." Adrian nodded. "My task is to prepare for the end of the world." 

"The end thing again," Arthur sighed. "What are you preparing for?" 

"When the Split can no longer hold back the calamities, they will tear down the gates and attack the world. The Final Dawn will arrive, and there will either be us... or them." 

"The gates..." Arthur was surprised. It wasn"t that he hadn"t expected as much, but he was surprised that the wood spirit knew this amount of information. "And you know about the split?" 

"I"m not an ignorant spirit, boy." The wooden doll grinned, its marble eyes flickering with ancient knowledge. "I am the carpenter tasked with building the ancient city, waiting for the end." 

"Do you know that people of Earth are trying to go beyond the gates?" 

"Foolishness, as it would only bring forth the end." Adrian stood up and began walking. "Follow me." 

Arthur followed after him, and the two walked around the city. When they reached the place, Arthur realized that one of the branches had been turned into a pillar of light. 

"You can make a pillar out of a branch?" Arthur was shocked. "They call you the carpenter for a reason." 

"Hmph," Adrian touched the pillar. "I don"t know how you fall into the grand design of things, but I know that you are crucial in the battle to come." 

The pillar began to glow, and Adrian removed his hand before walking in a different direction. Arthur followed after him silently as he listened to the words that dispelled a part of the fog that clouded the mystery. 

"This city is the reason I exist." Adrian looked at the building, and Arthur could see affection in his eyes. "When he asked me to build a place for survivors, I thought he was joking." 

"He?" Arthur was confused, but the wood spirit ignored him. 

"Now, I only need to transfer the city to the final battlefield and wait for his arrival." 

"Who is he?" Arthur couldn"t help but ask. It was the first time that Adrian talked about another person. From his words, Arthur realized that the ident.i.ty of the person in question wasn"t normal. 

"When I met him," Adrian continued without answering Arthur as if they spoke different languages. "I never thought that such a person could exist. Such arrogance..." 

"Come on, man, answer me." Arthur didn"t want to entertain his drama, but they have arrived at the second pillar. After activating it as well, Adrian kept walking and talking. 

"He orchestrated everything. The final stage, the actors, and the ending. Now, after so many years, I can"t help but wonder." Adrian spoke unceasingly. "Did he plan my misery as well? I don"t know. But he was kind, so I don"t think so. He was kinder than everything. And in everything I see, I see him." 

They reached the third pillar, and Adrian activated it as well. Arthur gave up the idea of trying to understand what he was trying to say and simply decided to listen. This way, he might find out who he was talking about. 

"The world was cruel, crueler than he could accept, so he believed in goodness. Can you believe that someone as powerful as him believed there was goodness in the world?" 

Arthur felt like Adrian was asking him but not asking him. The carpenter seemed to have bottled down these thoughts for countless years, and he was revealing them only now. 

The carpenter spoke his purpose into existence as if trying to solidify it, conceptualize it, and turn it into something he would never lose in this chaotic world. Then, finally, he said his final piece after activating the fourth pillar.

"You see, this city is what he asked of me. He wanted me to build a place for those with nowhere to return to– a place for people like himself. So that"s the answer to your question. I"m building this city because of a promise: a promise to be kind when the end arrives. At that time, I will meet him again, and my promise will be fulfilled."

Adrian activated the fifth pillar, and the world began to buzz. Finally, the carpenter turned toward Arthur with both confusion and dread. 

"Who are you, human? Why are you here? Why did fate lead you to my doorsteps, and why did it make you the final key to my task?" 

Arthur could feel that Adrian didn"t expect an answer from him. But, even if it did, Arthur didn"t have an answer to its question. 

"I am lost, Adrian." Arthur looked at his hand as the words resonated with his soul before they left his mouth. "The world has a habit of entangling itself the moment I think I understand it. There are never answers, but only questions-birthing answers."

"When you run out of questions, you also run out of reasons to move forward," Adrian said as he walked toward Arthur. The island seemed to be descending toward the ground. "The time when there are no more questions will come, so don"t be in a hurry." 

Arthur could feel a change in the world around them. He looked at Adrian before walking to the edge of the island. As he looked below, he found that a giant rift has opened below them. 

"Is this why you needed the branches of the tree?" Arthur turned toward Adrian. 

"In my hands, these branches can open portals to leave the Spirits Realm," Adrian said without pride but a wondering voice. "It"s time that I leave and for you to do the same." 

"Is this going to be the last time we meet?" 

"Who knows?" Adrian shrugged. "If you survive until the end of this wretched show, then we will have a chance. At that time, I"ll give you a house in my city." 

Adrian waved his hand, and roots sprung up below Arthur, carrying him away from the island. As the island descended, the roots carried Arthur away. 

"Goodbye, grumpy carpenter," Arthur muttered as he saw the rift engulf the island. In a matter of seconds, the floating island left the Spirits Realm.