At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 200

As they moved forward, there was a particularly dark area in the sea. It was a pitch-black ocean, as if it absorbed all the light. However, the rocky cliffs surrounding the beach seemed to be preventing the miasma from penetrating too deep into the land.

“Let’s finish this quickly and have some fun.” 

Jiwoo said lightly, even though the sight of the water beneath her was a bit frightening. Before entering, she dipped her feet in.

“Ah, it’s cold.”

“We’ll join you.” 

Lanset and Arven said as they began to remove their shirts.

“No, just you two stay here.”

“Come on, let’s go together. If we get contaminated by the miasma, you can help us, right?”

“It’s better if you don’t get hurt in the first place… Ah… this is…”

But as she spoke, she turned around and noticed that the miasma which had been cleared by their path was already covering it again.

If Jiwoo left them behind, the boat would decay and sink.

“Looks like it’s better to go together after all.”

“We have no choice… but we’ll be careful.”

“Ah, of course.”

The miasma was retreating around Jiwoo, unable to cling to her, as it burned away. Once they entered the water, purified, clear water would form a sphere around her.

With Lanset and Arven on her sides, Jiwoo stepped into the water. Surprisingly, it felt much better than expected.

‘…I never thought I could use it this way.’

In fact, she had never walked on miasma-infested land with someone else before—except when she walked with Helka just before saving the tree in El Ragneil.

That was because, while purging the miasma, if it had spilled over, it would have endangered anyone with her. Back then, she could only protect herself, but now, as her power grew stronger, it seemed to cover a larger area.

She had thought the water would be more dangerous… but if they stuck close to her, it seemed like they would be fine.

They didn’t need to swim or hold their breath. Instead, they sank slowly, like floating down to the bottom.

With Lanset and Arven holding her on sides, Jiwoo was able to move forward comfortably while taking in her surroundings.

The water was filled with floating black fragments, like ashes from a burnt forest. These were the fragments scattered from the decaying tree. It felt like black snow was falling under the water.

They soon arrived at the place where the tree was.

It looked as if a giant stake had been driven into the sea. The black stake was so dark that they seemed to crack open and suck in the seawater, giving the illusion of being absorbed.

Even though it was the sea, there were no creatures swimming around, just the black shards drifting like ash. The area felt desolate, yet there was an overwhelming sense of sadness about it.

‘It’s my first time seeing a tree growing under the sea.’

On land, Jiwoo could just walk up to a tree, touch it, and connect with it, but this was completely different. She had no idea how to approach it.

So, without thinking much, she stretched out her hand.

And then, she was startled.

‘Ah…!’

From the massive stake, dark, vine-like tendrils began to stretch out and wrap around Jiwoo’s hand. The tendrils pulled her in, as if trying to absorb her, and an overwhelming pressure like being sucked into a whirlpool took over.

This was a drastically different reaction from when she had healed the other tree.

‘Wait, hold on!’

Jiwoo panicked and opened her mouth, causing air bubbles to spread out around her. Instinctively, she tried to pull the vines off, but they were already tangled around her wrist, making it difficult to remove them. The tendrils didn’t just wrap around one arm—they multiplied, and now they were wrapping around her opposite arm and leg as well.

Jiwoo wanted to ask Lanset and Arven for help in removing the vines.

‘Huh?’

But both Lanset and Arven, who had been beside her the whole time, were nowhere to be seen. No, it wasn’t that they were gone.

The surroundings had turned completely black, and it felt like she was being pulled somewhere distant.

‘Where am I?’

Once she realized this, Jiwoo understood that she was now surrounded by an enormous darkness where she couldn’t tell up from down. The vines that had once been wrapped around her had vanished. The space around her was pitch black, but she could still see her hands in front of her. Strangely, her body seemed to shine in contrast to the darkness.

‘Why am I suddenly in a place like this?’

She couldn’t feel the ground beneath her feet, nor was she floating like she had been in the water. Was she inside the tree?

That might be possible. If the vine-like tendrils had instinctively wrapped around her to protect her life, she could be inside the tree now.

“Tree, are you okay?”

Jiwoo reached out into the air as if caressing the tree. Then, something warm and soft wrapped around her hand. It was incredibly comforting and gentle, completely enveloping her hand.

And suddenly, Jiwoo felt like she had made eye contact with something.

Something enormous—like a giant eye—filling the dark space around her.

* * *

Jiwoo felt the warm, soft sensation of lips against hers, followed by a sweet taste. 

Despite the softness, there was a rough, deliberate exhale, and a pressure against her chest.

Jiwoo opened her eyes.

“Cough. Cough…!“

She spat out the water and sat up.

As her senses returned, she saw Lanset and Arven in front of her, looking distressed.

“You, you’re awake! Seo Jiwoo!”

“How could you do that after telling us to be careful? What were you thinking?”

“Ung?”

Jiwoo, still confused after having been in some distant, strange space, looked around.

It wasn’t the water anymore, and it felt like she was in some kind of cave. The humid air suggested it was near the sea.

“What happened?”

“You got caught in a whirlpool.”

“A whirlpool?”

What kind of whirlpool?

“Normally, Elalndos energy is so strong that whirlpools easily form in the sea. You were too close to Ellandos while trying to heal it.”

So that meant the tree had been successfully healed. She had heard that the Elandos tree roots created unusual currents.

But… had this really happened?