I opened my eyes and found myself standing in a white room. No... not a room. A white dimension. The moment I realized where I was, a strange feeling passed through me. Nostalgia. I had seen this place before. The first time I met Bell... it was in a place just like this. But why was I here again? I looked around. There was nothing. No walls, no doors, no windows, no visible end. Just an endless white space stretching in every direction.
"What am I doing here? And what happened to me?" My own voice disappeared into the emptiness. I tried to remember. The last thing I could recall was talking with Bell the previous night. After that, I had gone back to Gray and Alysa and enjoyed the celebration for a while. Eventually, I returned to my room and went to rest. So... how the heck did I end up here?
A thought suddenly came to my mind. "A dream... maybe?" I started walking. One step. Then another. Nothing changed. I kept walking, but the place didn't seem to have an end. There was no corner, no distant wall, not even a change in the scenery. Just white. I walked a little farther. Still nothing. "This is pissing me off." I stopped.
How long was I supposed to keep looking at something I couldn't understand? Every time I thought I had found an answer, another question appears. I slowly calmed my heartbeat. Panic wouldn't help. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a breath, then opened them again and carefully observed my surroundings. Nothing. Yet... something felt different. It was as if I was getting closer to something. I couldn't explain it, but I felt like there was something hidden beyond this endless white.
I took another step. The feeling became stronger. My heart tightened. I don't know why, but suddenly I felt like I was about to find something. Something important. Something that felt... closer to me than anything else. I reached out. And then
—a noise. I woke up. My eyes snapped open. I was lying on my bed. My room. The palace. The real world. "What...?" My breathing was unstable as I stared at the ceiling for several seconds. "It was a dream?" I slowly sat up, but the feeling remained. That strange feeling from the dream. Like I had been standing just a step away from something. Something I was supposed to find. Something that was waiting for me.
Before I could think about it any further—Knock. Knock. Someone was knocking on my door. Whoever it was, I guess they had saved me from that dream. I got out of bed and walked toward the door, but then I stopped. Something felt wrong. It was still too early. The sun hadn't even risen yet. Who comes to someone's room this early in the morning? I looked back, then toward the door. My hand moved toward my sword. Better safe than sorry. I slowly opened the door.
Sadlar was standing outside, along with Gray and Alysa. All three looked prepared. Well... mostly prepared. Alysa looked like she wasn't even awake. "Huh? What's happening?" I asked. Sadlar looked at me. "It's time to go to the gate. Remember?" "The gate?" I stared at him. "Now?" Gray, who looked just as sleepy as I felt, spoke slowly. "Do you not remember? They announced that the ship would leave at this time." "When?" Gray stared at me for a moment before his expression suddenly changed. "Ohhh, right! When that happened, you were talking with—"
I immediately covered his mouth. Gray's eyes widened. Sadlar was standing right beside us. If he heard what we had been talking about with Bell last night, things could become problematic. "I remember!" I said quickly, staring at Gray. "Yes! The announcement about leaving early!" My eyes practically screamed at him. Don't. Say. Anything. Gray finally understood. "Yees! Ha... ha!" Suddenly, Alysa fell sideways. She had apparently been standing while sleeping. "What a mess..." I sighed. "Give me five minutes." I quickly went back inside and prepared as fast as I could.
A few minutes later, we left the palace. The corridors were strangely quiet. I barely saw any fairy servants, royals, or nobles. It was almost as if the entire palace had emptied overnight. I looked toward Sadlar. "Where is everyone?" He answered without slowing down. "They are already at Vallah." "Vallah?" What kind of place was that? And was Bell there too? Before I could ask, Sadlar continued, "Vallah is where the gate exists. It leads to the roots of the Exil Tree. We need to hurry before we miss the last Lagis ship." "The gate leads directly beneath the Exil Tree?" Now I was interested. I wanted to see it.
We hurried through the palace and eventually reached the departure area. Then I saw it. The ship looked strangely familiar. It had the shape of a sailing ship, almost like something I had seen in stories about pirates back in my world. But this one was different. It could fly. Large wings extended from its sides, and strange light floated along their edges like glowing dust caught in the wind. The deck was enormous. "Did they copy our technology... or did we copy theirs?" I thought about it for a second, then shrugged. "No point thinking about that."
As I approached, I noticed something underneath the wooden ship. A massive magical circle. It was engraved with countless symbols, glowing faintly beneath the hull. A transportation spell. Alysa's sleepy expression vanished the moment she saw it. She suddenly became fully awake and stepped closer, staring at the spell with genuine interest. Gray, meanwhile, had already gone inside. Probably looking for the most comfortable place to sleep.
I looked at Sadlar. "How long does it take to reach Vallah Gate?" "Probably five hours." "Five hours?" "If nothing happens." I paused. "If nothing happens?" Sadlar looked at me. "Yes." I stared at him. Does something usually happen? I had a feeling something was definitely going to happen. But... who cares? I stepped onto the ship.
Inside, I finally understood just how large it really was. There were fairies everywhere. Young fairies. Most of them were carrying weapons, books, strange artifacts, or magical equipment. Some were talking excitedly. Others looked nervous. Some looked as if they were already thinking about their future opponents. I didn't see many noble fairies among them. Maybe this ship was mainly for civilian participants. That made sense. The Exil Tree didn't care about titles. Neither did the tournament.
I looked around until I spotted Gray waving at me from farther inside. "Looks like he found his sleeping spot." I sighed. "I think I should join him." We didn't know what would happen once the tournament started. Rest was probably the smartest thing to do. I started walking toward him, and then—I bumped into someone. Again. I looked down. The same girl from yesterday. The girl I had accidentally bumped into during the celebration. This time, she was alone. The boy from yesterday wasn't with her. She stumbled slightly, so I grabbed her shoulder and steadied her. "Why are you always in such a hurry?" She looked at me and froze. Her eyes widened. "C... Creator?"
I blinked. That was strange. I had never received that kind of reaction from someone before. Was she afraid? Or was it something else? I couldn't tell. I gave her a gentle smile. She slowly steadied herself, then looked at me. "..." Silence. This was awkward. I looked at her. She looked at me. Neither of us said anything. I decided to leave. But just as I turned around, I heard her take a breath. She seemed to be gathering the courage to speak.
I stopped. If she was trying this hard, the least I could do was listen. "I... am sorry," she said, lowering her eyes. "For today... and yesterday." Then she hesitated. "And... I am trying to find my friend." "The same boy from yesterday?" She looked surprised. "Yes. His name is Rafaleo." She hesitated again. "And my name is Hannah..." Hannah. Nice name. It had a nice ring to it.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Zaraf." I smiled. "Mind if I help you find your friend?" Hannah immediately placed one hand over her other arm, almost as if she were holding herself back. She hesitated before asking carefully, "Are you... perhaps a participant in the tournament?" She was scared of something. I wasn't sure what. But that was only a guess. "Yes," I nodded. "So are you?" Hannah's expression changed. She slowly stepped backward. "Yes..." The way she looked at me was strange. Almost like she had suddenly realized I was her enemy. Then again... if we met during the tournament, we might have to fight. I was about to say something when a voice suddenly came from behind her. "Who are you?"
The boy from yesterday appeared. Rafaleo. He immediately stepped between Hannah and me. His eyes glared at me. Hannah tried to stop him, but he seemed to think I was bothering her. The situation became a mess very quickly. "What is happening?" Alysa suddenly appeared and stepped between us. She looked from me to Rafaleo. Rafaleo moved back and grabbed Hannah, pulling her away. He continued glaring at me. I watched them leave. Well... "Looks like I have my first enemy." I shrugged and walked toward Gray. Alysa followed me, repeatedly asking what had happened. I didn't really know how to explain it. But before long, I looked back. Hannah was still looking at me. There was something sad in her eyes. Almost like she wanted to say she was sorry. "Damn it." I turned away. Whatever was going on with her... I didn't understand it.
Eventually, I reached Gray. I lay down, and Alysa joined us. Before long, all three of us were asleep. Apparently, none of us had learned anything from Sadlar's warning. Not long after, a voice came. "Wake up." I opened my eyes. "Huh?" I looked around. Had we already arrived? Sadlar was standing over us, and he looked angry. Gray slowly woke up beside me. Sadlar stared at the three of us. "You know you're surrounded by enemies, right? What if someone decided to attack you while you were sleeping?" I sat up. He was genuinely angry. Gray looked toward him, then whispered, "You slept too? I thought you came here to watch over us, not sleep while being surrounded by enemies." Sadlar's expression froze.
"Yeah, I'm going to sleep," I said. Gray looked at me. "You slept late last night, didn't you?" "Yes. You guys didn't tell me about the leaving plans properly, and I was tired." Sadlar looked at us for a moment, then stood. "I guess you had your reasons. But from now on, stay on guard." I nodded. He was right. Yesterday, we had seen friendly fairies. Awkward fairies. Difficult fairies. Nobles. Commoners. People celebrating together. But this was different. Now we were surrounded by people who wanted the same thing. The tournament had begun before we had even reached the Exil Tree, and not everyone here would see us as friends.
We woke Alysa and headed toward the upper deck. The area above the rooms was wide open, allowing us to see the surrounding landscape. I walked toward the edge and then stopped. My eyes widened. "Whoa..." The scenery below was massive. Forests stretched farther than I could see. Great roots crossed the land like enormous roads. Cities, houses, and mansions had been built around the area. And then I noticed something ahead. Gray pointed. "Look! I think that's Vallah Gate!" We looked ahead. A massive stone structure stood in the distance. Something was written across it. The letters looked ancient. I stared at them. And suddenly... that feeling returned. It looked familiar. The structure. The writing. Something about it reminded me of the dungeon.
My heartbeat changed. The strange feeling I had experienced inside those ruins suddenly clicked somewhere deep in my chest. I clenched my hand. Calm down, I told myself. Calm down. The gate was enormous. It looked several times larger than our wooden ship. Outside it, fairies had built small cities, houses, and mansions. But there was something else. Merchants. Dozens of them. They were selling weapons, artifact stones, magical technology, and other strange objects. It looked almost like a massive marketplace surrounding an ancient monument.
Sadlar pointed toward the structure. "Behold. This is Vallah Gate. A massive transportation spell that can teleport travelers directly to the Exil Tree. This was created during the Age of Realms. Even now, we cannot fully understand how it works. Nor can we create another one." I stared at the ancient structure. "Age of Realms..." That sounded like a very very long time ago. So the old civilization had created something that even the modern fairies couldn't reproduce. The old civilization was more advanced than the current one? That was strange. Back in my world, technology kept progressing. But here... it seemed like some things had been lost.
Our ship continued moving. It didn't stop at Vallah. Gray looked toward Sadlar. "No break, I guess?" Sadlar shook his head. "We are already late. There is no need to stay here. We will go directly into the roots of the Exil Tree." A strange feeling twisted inside my stomach. I didn't know why, but the closer we got to the gate, the stronger it became.
Sadlar stood at the front of the ship. "Welcome. You are about to meet one of the ancient things." I looked ahead. The transportation spell was enormous. A huge stone circle surrounded the center, covered in ancient symbols. It looked less like a machine and more like something left behind by an entire civilization. The ship approached. As we entered the circle, I reached out. My fingers touched the barrier. It felt strange. Soft. Almost like a bubble. Like a thin curtain separating two worlds.
Then we passed through.
For a moment, everything became white. It felt like passing through a mirror. Then the other side appeared. The moment we emerged, I noticed the difference. The wind. It was pure. Clear. Lighter. The air itself felt different. I could hear birds. A peaceful sound. For several seconds, none of us spoke.
Then we looked ahead.And our eyes widened.
I couldn't understand what I was seeing. No words came to me.
There was wood.But not a tree.A root.An enormous root.I looked upward.Only root.No trunk.No visible end.I looked toward the ground.More roots.i turned sideways.The roots stretched into the distance.There was no end.
They were so enormous that entire landscapes existed upon them. And above us... the roots continued beyond the sky. I couldn't even see where they ended. It was larger than anything my eyes could comprehend.
Sadlar spoke quietly. "This..." He looked toward the enormous roots. "This is the reason for the fairies to exit. For its protection. It is one of the oldest trees in the entire Fairy Realm."
I stared upward.Then down.Then around me again."This tree..." I swallowed. "It looks bigger than the entire realm."Alysa and Gray were staring too."Massive..." Gray muttered.
For the first time in a while, I felt small.Not human-sized small.Not like standing before a giant.
Smaller.Like an ant standing beneath a mountain.
No.Even that comparison wasn't enough.
Sadlar nodded. "Yes. Each root is considered a continent."My mind went blank.
Each root...
A continent?He looked toward the roots beneath our feet.
"That's what we call the Exil Tree."So this...
Was the Exil Tree.
I didn't know why, but suddenly something inside me changed.A strange feeling.Not fear.Not exactly excitement.Something calling.Quietly.
From somewhere I couldn't understand.
I looked at the enormous roots again.
For some reason, I wanted to go closer.
I wanted to understand it.
I wanted to know why the fairies respected this tree so much.
And why...Why did it feel strangely familiar?
It looked almost divine.Then I remembered the tournament.
I looked upward.Gray looked upward too.Alysa followed.We stared at the endless roots stretching beyond the sky.The three of us spoke at almost the exact same time.
"Are we gonna climb that?"