At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 221

19. Sensory Disturbance

It was said that ordinary people couldn’t cross time and space.

If a normal person got caught where dimensions overlapped, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the immense power and would be torn apart.

“We’re probably… in that situation right now.”

They were basically saying that this was a situation where they should have died. But here they were, alive and having crossed space-time.

“Your current condition must be due to your instincts trying to protect us all, causing sensory confusion.”

Though it seemed ridiculous to connect Jiwoo’s sudden worsening condition to this, that was the only conclusion.

“The stars don’t match what I know. The location isn’t where we expected. This place is different from the path we took.”

If the astronomer Skiass said it, it was certain.

“So, are you saying we crossed dimensions?”

“No, this is definitely El Ragneil.”

Skiass looked up and read the stars again.

“But… I don’t know when.”

At first, it seemed even the husbands had trouble accepting this strange event emotionally. But in the end, they had no choice but to accept it rationally as fact.

“Do I, even have such a power? I don’t think I consciously protected you all…”

Jiwoo had just been walking with her husbands, only sensing that something was off. She wasn’t familiar enough with the dense forest to immediately notice the sudden change in scenery.

“I’m…not exactly sure either, but nothing else explains this. And… the Akarna power wasn’t something you consciously used, right?”

Skiass tried to explain it simply.

“It’s like a person instinctively trying to surface when drowning. The power automatically comes out to hold onto the body, trying to prevent it from breaking apart. This time…”

As he spoke, Skiass hesitated.

“You dragged us all to the surface… so you’re exhausted.”

“Exhausted?”

That meant she was completely drained of energy, her body weak and limp.

This was her first time experiencing such sensory confusion. But if it was just exhaustion, it wasn’t something to worry too much about.

“If this assumption is correct, the sensory confusion is temporary… so it can be reversed.”

“How? Can you do that?”

Skiass took both of Jiwoo’s hands and began massaging gently, as if relaxing her stiff shoulders from tension.

At first, the touch was the same rhythm, but then it varied. Alternating fingers and wrists, scratching palms with the right hand, backs of hands with the left.

Right hand. Left hand. Again, right hand. Left hand.

He repeated this light stimulation several times, and Jiwoo gradually felt her senses returning to normal.

After a moment, Skiass carefully asked,

“Can you give me your right hand?”

Jiwoo extended her right hand. Her left reached out briefly but hesitated, and she successfully took Skiass’s hand with her right.

“Phew…”

Not only Jiwoo, but everyone watching nervously sighed in relief. Jiwoo exhaled quietly and said.

“So… that’s a relief. It means everyone’s safe.”

“That’s not a relief!”

“Your senses still aren’t fully normal, so we can’t call this a relief.”

Everyone scolded Jiwoo’s excessive optimism, but she shook her head.

“It is a relief.”

She had thought Akarna’s power was gradually growing. She wasn’t the only one surfacing for breath. It seemed she could pull others up as well.

So it really was a relief.

“You could have died in this incident, but it only left me like this for a moment.”

As an Akarna, she’d lived quite a long time.

Though she thought she was becoming more numb to threats and pain, she was still relieved it wasn’t the worst.

***

Jiwoo’s condition didn’t improve easily, so the group stopped moving. Strictly speaking, they were lost, so moving freely wasn’t possible.

Skias decided to estimate the exact time. After taking out some equipment, he moved to a spot with a clear view of the stars.

While waiting, the other husbands massaged Jiwoo’s limbs.

“…Is there any way to completely eliminate the miasma?”

Feeling her senses return gave some comfort, and seeing her husbands worried because of the situation, Jiwoo spoke first.

“The miasma can kill the tree, and if that happens, you’d all have to live much more unstable lives. So, I think if we purify as much as we can, things will improve.”

She had mentioned this before to Lanset and Arven.

If there was one greatest threat to people in this world, it was miasma. That was true in El Ragneil and Caranazion alike. Jiwoo had suffered greatly because of it.

“People die from storms and cold snaps. But you can’t just get rid of them.”

“Is it impossible?”

Miasma was said to exist naturally. It was like natural disasters she didn’t know about like storms and tsunamis that couldn’t be completely eradicated.

“That’s true.”

Solmih thought for a moment and explained.

“You can’t just wipe out winter every year because it’s cold and harsh. The side effects would be worse.”

Jiwoo wondered what the side effects might be if miasma disappeared.