Chapter 89: Why Are You Shouting So Loud
Night fell, and a blood-red moon hung high in the sky.
Peiya returned to her room early. Before she left, Elise wanted her to stay a bit longer, but Peiya used the excuse of being tired to refuse.
Holding a warm cup, Peiya suddenly coughed.
Maybe because of the red moon outside, the witch power inside her body began to grow stronger, as if something was kicking hard inside her stomach.
A deep feeling of unease spread like a wild beast, slowly breaking down the little sense of safety she had left.
Based on what she had learned before, monsters would go crazy on the night of a full moon. Now it seemed that their madness was related to losing their reason.
Peiya picked up a spoon and tried to hold it steady. When her fingers touched it, nothing strange happened. But when she stretched her arm forward, it started shaking like a butterfly.
She took out paper and a pen and wrote down what she found.
Luckily, writing was not affected. She could still write easily.
So the effect was temporary… or maybe it came and went?
Peiya kept thinking, and suddenly had a bold idea, could it be because she had not fully merged with the witch’s power, which made this unstable feeling worse?
As soon as she thought of that, she quickly pushed the idea away.
She got out of bed and walked to the window, then summoned the Moon Tree. The mark on her arm quickly appeared in the air.
It floated and flickered, surrounded by red light, like a group of moving meteors.
Peiya reached out and touched the blood-like liquid. It stayed on her finger for a moment, then melted into her body.
It looked just like a drop of water falling into a lake, completely blending in.
She quickly pulled her hand back, not daring to touch it again.
“Cough… are you there? The one who argued with me this afternoon?”
“My lady, of course I’m here.”
“Aren’t you just a leftover soul? You can follow me too?”
“Of course. The Moon Tree is my home. Since you brought it with you, I had to move with it too~”
The sharp voice made Peiya’s head ring, like needles stabbing into her ears. The pain spread through her body.
She could tell the voice came from the Moon Tree, but it sounded like it was right next to her ear.
“Why are you shouting so loud?!”
“I’m not~ My lady, don’t tell me you haven’t completed your witch transformation yet?”
Peiya raised her head in confusion. “What is that? Do I have to do it?”
“Of course! You’re a witch, so you should merge with your power as soon as possible. Aren’t you afraid of being eaten by ancient whispers?”
“Ancient whispers? What is that?”
“Want to know? Come closer, I’ll tell you~”
Peiya frowned. “You’re trying to trick me into merging with the Moon Tree, aren’t you?”
“Yes. My lady is really smart.”
“I don’t need that kind of power. Just tell me what the ancient whispers are.”
“Ah, ancient whispers… it started a long, long time ago, when the world was just created—”
“Get to the point,” Peiya interrupted, raising her hand. “Moon… whatever spirit, why are you more long-winded than my history teacher?”
“What did you call me?”
“Moon—uh, I mean, Moon Tree spirit.”
“I’m not a spirit, I’m a leftover soul. But not having a name is troublesome… how about you call me Hunhun?”
“…Fine, Hunhun. Just explain the main point, what are ancient whispers?”
The Moon Tree trembled slightly, its branches shaking as it slowly spun. Then a deep, muffled voice came out, as if someone was speaking with their mouth covered by a bag.
“Ancient whispers are actually problems left behind by the gods long ago. You can think of them as the remaining thoughts of very powerful beings. What I skipped earlier was the great war between the gods and the demon race. Back then, witches like us were leaders among the demons. And your former comrade, the Demon Wolf, died in that war. It is said that when he died, the gods themselves sealed his body, making sure it would always remain intact…”
“...They locked it away in some hidden place. After that, because the Demon Wolf was in a half-dead, half-alive state, like Schrödinger’s cat, the demon race fell into chaos for a long time. Later, some cultists began searching for clues about the Demon Wolf. They tried to offer their lives as sacrifices to him. Unexpectedly, it actually worked, they brought him back to life. But reality is not like a fairy tale…”
“...After coming back, the Demon Wolf’s personality changed a lot. He became much more violent. And you, my great master, it was you who defeated your own teammate and sealed him again, trying to free his soul. As for the whispers, they are those souls that have not fully been freed. Every full moon night, they come out to cause trouble. The damage caused by these leftover souls of legendary beings is what we call ‘ancient phenomena’. Including whispers, miracles, and hidden realms.”
Peiya rested her chin on her hand and fell into deep thought.
That was a lot of information, just as important as what the Ice Bear King told her before.
“Thank you for telling me all this. Do you have any wish or something you want to do? If it’s something I can handle, I’ll help you. Consider it payment for your help.”
“Yes.”
Hunhun’s voice suddenly became serious, and much clearer.
“I wish to serve you for the rest of my life, my great master. You are a witch who stands above this era. You are a supreme being. Your wings will spread across the Avalon region, even the Kingdom. Children will grow up on your fertile land, nourished with milk and water. Livestock will produce the purest dew for you. You are a king without a crown, no one can crown you—”
“Stop, stop.” Peiya raised her hand to interrupt. “Why are you so talkative?”
“But my lady, I truly want to serve you.”
“That’s not how serving works. I don’t want to be a witch. I brought you here because I didn’t want you to get caught by those old men from the church. You don’t have bad intentions toward me, so I won’t treat you badly either. Just because I don’t want to become a witch doesn’t mean I want you to suffer. Do you understand?”
Peiya’s tone became serious. She needed to make this clear to avoid problems later.
“I understand. My lady, you are truly kind. Maybe only you can fulfill Witch Kreis’s wish.”
“Her wish?”
Peiya thought about the book she brought back. She remembered that Kreis often talked about humans.
Maybe the two things were connected.
“What exactly is her wish? I only saw that she kept learning about humans. Isn’t she a witch? Why is she so interested in humans?”
“Well… I’m not completely sure either. I only remember that back then, my lady said, ‘Humans are truly amazing beings. They don’t have strong bodies, and they don’t have natural magic talent. Yet in the end, they are the ones who remain standing.’ During the war of the gods, even the dragon race, which existed for ages, almost faced extinction…”
“...Disasters were everywhere. Living beings suffered greatly. The gods wanted to rewrite the rules of the world. It was a war between higher beings. But humans… one by one, they came forward in the great flood. They were just ordinary people without magic…”
“...Yet when facing disaster, they chose to stay behind. They lifted their children high above the water, even though they knew they would die. Still, they did it without hesitation. In the broken clouds, I saw countless shining babies forming a line. The light was from the tears on their faces… and also the last hope left beneath the water.”