The Tree of Life floated over and patted Kei’s head.
"I can still hold on for a few more months. Don’t look at me like it’s the end of the world."
Her voice sounded calm, yet the green aura surrounding her had faded significantly. Kei couldn’t help thinking of the withered leaf falling amidst the dead forest. The Tree of Life claimed she had a few months left, and Julius was also slumbering within her embrace. Those few months were far from a guarantee.
It was merely the span of time the Tree of Life could still manage to push herself through.
Kei gave a soft nod. He didn’t wish to force the Tree of Life into offering him any further reassurances.
"Thank you, Lady Tree of Life."
The Tree of Life furrowed her brow.
She patted his head once more, looking seemingly satisfied. Kei forced a faint smile, yet the lingering unease refused to dissipate. If they only had a few months, he had to figure out a way to save Julius before that time ran out. But how could anyone possibly rouse someone who had been fast asleep for an entire millennium? He didn’t even know why he had been dragged into these memories in the first place.
Then, Kei abruptly recalled the person who had gone missing inside the Dungeon.
"When I entered here, I was searching for an SS-rank hunter named Kang Ian. He vanished inside this Dungeon. Do you know where he is?"
The Tree of Life let out a soft "Oh."
"You’re asking about Ian? He hasn’t woken up yet."
Kei froze in shock.
"Ian? No, the person I’m asking about is Kang Ian," he frowned, striving to explain. "He’s a hunter from this world. Not the child Ian you knew."
"I know who you are talking about."
The Tree of Life tilted her head, her expression as though that answer were blindingly obvious. Kei opened his mouth to press further, but the name ’Ian’ kept snagging stubbornly in his mind.
Ian.
The blond Elf who had departed the Elven Forest all alone. The young boy who had bowed to Julius before walking away, carrying with him the promise to grow strong enough to protect Kei.
Kei vividly remembered that face.
And he remembered Kang Ian’s face in the present-day world just as clearly.
At first, he had merely thought they bore a slight resemblance. A bizarre coincidence, perhaps restricted to their facial contours or the shape of their eyes.
But the harder he tried to picture it, the more the features within his memories overlapped: the bridge of the nose, the corners of the lips, alongside that perpetual air of exhaustion blanketing Kang Ian’s face as though he hadn’t slept a full night in years.
Kei stood rooted in a daze.
It wasn’t just a slight resemblance. Kang Ian’s face was practically identical to Ian’s face as he grew up.
"Wait..." Kei looked toward the Tree of Life. "Is Kang Ian actually Ian?"
The Tree of Life shrugged.
"You’ll have to figure that out on your own. I cannot show you any memories past the day Kael carried you away from the Elven Forest."
Kei nodded in silence.
That reply failed to dispel a single thing. On the contrary, it only multiplied the questions swirling inside his chest.
Where had Ian gone after leaving the forest? How had he survived? By what means had he managed to reach this world, rise to become an SS-rank hunter, and then mysteriously vanish inside a Dungeon?
Why had he never sought Kei out?
Kei clenched both hands tightly. Within his memories, Ian had departed bearing the raven-locked hair and darkened eyes of a Dark Elf. He had lost his homeland, lost his family, and been disowned by his very own kin. Kei knew Ian hadn’t chosen to transform into a Dark Elf. That tragedy had occurred because Ian had tried to protect him.
Knowing was one thing, however. Believing that Ian didn’t harbor any resentment toward him was an entirely different matter.
Perhaps Ian had lived with that agony for far too long. Perhaps he didn’t wish to lay eyes upon the person who had stripped him of everything. Perhaps, deep within Ian’s heart, Kei was nothing more than a lingering scar from a Chapter of his life he preferred to forget.
Ian... have you already hated Kei?
A tiny arm wrapped gently around Kei’s waist.
The Tree of Life had drifted over at some point, pulling him into a soft embrace. Kei didn’t realize he had lowered his head until his hair brushed against her shoulder, prompting him to blink gently.
"Ian’s story is far more complicated than you think," the Tree of Life’s voice softened. "But I promised that child I wouldn’t tell you."
Kei didn’t press further. Since Ian had sworn her to secrecy, he had no desire to force the Tree of Life into breaking her promise. Even so, a sharp ache twinged in his chest at the thought of the agonizingly long stretches of time he had missed out on.
The Tree of Life released him and flicked her wrist gently.
Green light converged beside them, weaving together into a sturdy, thick branch. Fresh, tender leaves sprouted along its length, standing in stark contrast to the withered, parched forest surrounding them. Resting motionlessly atop that thick bed of foliage lay a man, his eyes tightly shut.
Kei recognized him instantly.
"Kang Ian..."
He took a step forward, before halting abruptly. For reasons unknown, that brief distance suddenly felt impossibly vast.
The man lying upon the tree branch bore Ian’s face from his memories, yet he was equally the Kang Ian Kei had crossed paths within this world. Two names, two lifetimes, coexisting within a single face.
The Tree of Life let out a soft sigh.
"You’ll have to let him tell you his story himself." She looked at Kei, her gaze turning solemn. "Or you’ll have to uncover it yourself."
Kei kept his eyes glued to that sleeping visage.
He had once assumed he was merely entering a Dungeon to track down a missing hunter. Right now, the man resting before him might very well be the very boy who had walked out of the Elven Forest alone, all because of him.
Kang Ian was no longer just a troublesome SS-rank hunter anymore.
"Ian..."
Kei whispered softly, though the man upon the tree branch did not stir.
Only the emerald leaves fluttered gently around him, as though standing guard over a secret that had slumbered undisturbed for a very long time.