Chapter 600 Dryad
Anastasia's light golden hair reached her earlobes, like a golden apple.
Her amber pupils were clear and transparent, as intoxicating as brown wine.
The girl's height didn't even reach Aiwass's chest - about the same height as Yulia.
Compared to the average height of the elves, she was obviously much shorter... Aiwass had hardly ever seen an elf shorter than Isabel, but he had seen one today.
And Aiwass suddenly realized why the timid Yunus suddenly became brave and even rescued Anastasia from the bandits. Aiwass didn't know whether Isabel had short bob hair like this when she was a child, but her hair color was exactly the same as Isabel's.
She looked to be about the same height as Isabel was when she was nine years old.
Apparently, Anastasia hadn't grown in height since she was sent to the fairy kingdom.
And Isabel at that age... was exactly the Isabel that Yunus remembered when he left Glass Island.
...He must be under stress.
Perhaps it was only after he had made his move that he realized it wasn't Isabel; or perhaps the mere resemblance was enough to make his heart ache.
Anastasia trotted over to Grace, opened her arms, and with a skillful little jump, she was about to leap into Grace's arms.
If they were outside, Grace would have easily lifted the girl into her arms. But now, having shrunk, Grace could only flutter her wings like a dead leaf butterfly and fly back two steps before she could barely hold Anastasia in her arms.
"Aya..."
Grace affectionately called Anastasia by her nickname and caressed her hair lovingly. With the same hair color but different lengths, the two looked like sisters.
As her hair tumbled, Aiwass could clearly smell the fragrance of her hair, a fresh scent of pine mixed with orange peel.
This is the smell of shampoo in Grace's house.
...What is going on?
Aiwass hesitated slightly.
As he concentrated his mind to resonate with the Tao, the power of dedication began to flow in his body. His right eye, which had previously sacrificed its sight by Aiwass and turned a dim amber color, also emitted a reddish glow like a lit fire.
This is an obscure ability similar to "True Sight".
And as he stared, he saw the edges of Anastasia begin to blur.
Aiwass' heart moved and he closed his left eye.
There was no dimness at all—his eyes were still bright.
Completely different from the outside world, while Aiwass was in the fairy kingdom, his right eye's vision seemed to have fully recovered. In other words, the world seen by his right eye, which could see the power of the Tao, was exactly the same as what Aiwass saw with his naked eyes.
I'm afraid this entire world is an illusory world condensed by the power of Tao.
Only two things are different.
A large number of runes appeared on Grace's body—mysterious lines that resembled tattoos and totems, emitting a yellow-green glow. The vast majority of the runes were light green and dark green, with only a small patch of dim yellow lingering within.
It looked like a large piece of jade covered with the skin of an elf, and patterns were carved into the skin to reveal the inner brilliance.
Anastasia, on the other hand, gradually became illusory in front of Aiwas's eyes.
Her figure became incredibly blurry, like someone with severe myopia without glasses, or like ink smearing in water. But Anastasia was the only one affected…nothing else was affected at all. Aiwass stared with a strange expression at the blurry blob of color lying in the arms of the tattooed Grace, unable to discern her expression.
Aiwass looked back again, only to find that the "little tree" was still there.
——It wasn't in Grace's arms at all.
The little tree seemed to sense Aiwas's gaze, and turned its head away shyly, preventing Aiwas from seeing its face.
Hearing the conversation in his ear suddenly stop, Aiwass opened his left eye.
As if wearing glasses—the outline of Anastasia in her girlish form instantly became clearer, and the tree disappeared without a trace, submerged in the bright sunlight of noon.
"...Can I call you Mr. Aiwass?"
The little girl's soft and sticky voice came.
She looked at Aiwass with a wary and slightly reluctant look. If Grace hadn't reached out and placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder, holding her down, she might have turned and run.
...I see, you sensed my gaze.
Aiwass suddenly realized.
That makes sense.
After all, she is an expert in illusion, so she must know whether her illusion has been broken... However, Anastasia's illusion is so powerful that even Aiwas, who is at the fourth energy level, cannot see through it without true vision. This talent is really amazing.
This means that she has at least reached the fourth energy level - or even the fifth energy level.
Although he had received the inheritance, the most important thing was the awakening of his bloodline. He was just like the legendary dragon.
Unlike amber, which is essentially a psychological problem, tree transformation is a unique phenomenon that flows through the blood and occurs randomly. There is no cure, because it is not a disease at all... but a sublimation.
Just like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, the life form undergoes a fundamental upgrade. However, the price is that the caterpillar's flesh and blood must melt and serve as nutrients for the new form.
From a certain perspective, this could be considered a kind of metamorphosis—from an elf with hands, feet, and a lifespan, to an immortal tree-shaped phantom demon.
"Hello, I'm Aiwass."
Aiwass smiled gently, and his voice became softer: "You don't have to call me 'Sir'. Just call me 'Brother'."
He half-knelt on the ground, stretched out his hand and shook hands gently with Anastasia.
It was a soft, warm, and slightly damp hand. The smooth skin didn't feel like bark at all, and the palm was slightly sweaty from nervousness.
"Brother Aiwass, are you here to burn me?"
Anastasia whispered.
"…Why do you think so?"
Aiwass was a little surprised.
He subconsciously turned around and looked at Grace: "Do you elves have any other...burnings for heretics?"
"How is that possible... I think those happy spirits said something to her."
Grace shook her head. "They have short lifespans and don't really understand a lot of things, but they just love to tell lies. And when the fairies tell lies, the children believe them... After all, the Fairy Kingdom is essentially a world constructed by their collective imagination. In a sense, their nonsense can come true, making it even harder to distinguish truth from falsehood."
"But Mom said that too."
Anastasia defended herself, "They said they would burn me once I was completely transformed into a tree."
"That's to ensure you ascend properly to the Dream Realm, Aya."
Grace said softly and seriously, "Otherwise you might be stuck in the material world."
"But I just want to stay with my mother."
"...I want to accompany you too, Aya."
Grace smiled bitterly and said softly, "But no. You can't stand the noise now. Once you transform further... even if I plant you in the yard, the noise around you might wake you up from time to time.
"You should be starting to find the noise of those merry spirits noisy."
After hearing this, Aiwass suddenly realized that both Anastasia and Grace spoke in very soft voices, like the volume of someone telling a bedtime story to a child.
He himself was not a noisy person, and the surrounding environment was also very quiet, so he didn't feel anything before.
But now I see...
"Dryads really hate... or are afraid of noise."
Grace turned around, leaned over to Aiwass, and whispered, "Any sound that can wake a person up is unbearable for a tree demon. A tree demon can be considered to be 'always sleeping', and even when awake, it can be 'made more awake' by noises.
"Remember to keep your voice down, Mr. Aiwass."
(End of this chapter)
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