When Ella woke from her sleep, she felt for her leather armor and dagger.

  She put them on one by one. The leather armor Azael had bought for her was

  modular, so it was still wearable even after she had grown taller. The

  meteor-iron dagger that once felt quite heavy now felt light and small.

  After being with them, many things about her had changed.

  Her resentment toward her family’s enemies had gradually faded, and Ella could

  not stop it.

  ‘What did Mother and Father look like again… I can barely remember

  Grandmother and Noah now.’

  The fading images of her family left her feeling troubled.

  After finishing dressing, she stepped out of the room.

  ‘The vengeance for my family has already been taken. I was merely raging

  with a hatred I couldn’t control.’

  Outside, the sun was slowly sinking. The fields and farmlands were dyed red.

  ‘What am I supposed to live for now…’

  She walked slowly, looking for Wadji.

  When Ella confirmed that Wadji was not in the house, she woke Tamar.

  Tamar got dressed and came outside, rubbing her eyes.

  She tried speaking to the hostess in clumsy Memphis standard speech, but the

  woman barely understood.

  After explaining with hand gestures, the woman pointed toward the reed field.

  It seemed Wadji had gone that way.

  Tamar and Ella gathered their belongings and headed toward the reeds.

  It was not difficult to find Wadji.

  From the middle of the reed field, which rose far above a person’s height, a

  peculiar light was leaking out.

  As they pushed aside the reeds and approached, they saw Wadji busily working in

  front of a stone door carved with antique reliefs.

  "Ah, you’re here. I was just about finished."

  The stone door was engraved with the shape of a tree.

  Wadji moved his glowing hands quickly as he worked.

  A stone door revealed in the middle of a reed field—Ella was no longer

  surprised.

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  "What is this door, Wadji?"

  As Wadji repeatedly connected invisible lines in the air with his hands and

  traced circles, the stone door slowly slid open to both sides.

  "It’s the entrance to the forest."

  Indeed, beyond the stone door lay a dense forest.

  Trees unlike anything they had ever seen soared to staggering heights.

  "Please, come in."

  As they stepped through, the stone door slid shut again.

  Inside, a mystical world unfolded.

  Warm sunlight filtered between towering trees, and grasses and flowers of all

  sizes thickly covered the ground like a green carpet.

  Seeing a large, beautiful purple flower, Ella gently touched it.

  Wadji cautioned her.

  "It’s not a world of beauty alone. Some plants may carry poison."

  Ella quickly pulled her hand back.

  Tamar reached into the air as if feeling something invisible.

  "I can feel it. That thing you mentioned—the elements. I can feel them

  clearly."

  Wadji smiled softly.

  "Yes, I can feel them too."

  As they walked among brilliantly colored flowers and colossal trees that

  evoked a primordial world, Ella felt as though she had entered the forest of

  the gods.

  Then an irritated shout rang out.

  "Foolish. Truly foolish. Have you appeared as a fool? What are those

  you have brought into the forest I cultivated with my own hands? Humans?

  Demigods? Something difficult even to define?"

  There stood a boy who looked about fourteen.

  Brown skin, loose gray hair—strangely, he resembled Wadji.

  As he approached with a piercing glare, Wadji looked puzzled.

  "There is no need to be surprised. When something is torn apart and

  rejoined, the essence remains, but the contents become empty."

  "D… do you know who I am?"

  "That is something you must define yourself. The attitude of seeking it

  from others is what makes you a fool."

  As the young boy rambled in the tone of an old sage, Tamar and Ella were

  left stunned.

  "Then… who are you?"

  "Me? I am a vessel. A vessel that holds forgotten thoughts and thoughts

  yet to come. You have appeared as a half-wit and a fool—what shall I do with

  this? What shall I do?"

  Ella suddenly realized something peculiar.

  The language he spoke was neither Hebrew, Sumerian, nor Egyptian.

  Yet even she, who knew nothing of foreign languages, could understand it.

  Tamar stroked her chin and spoke.

  "Why don’t you just say your name… If you’re the guardian of the Ished

  Tree, then you must be *Thoth."

  *Thoth is the god of wisdom, knowledge, writing, record-keeping, time, and

  order in ancient Egyptian mythology.

  *Patreon is now open. You can enjoy the next episode and illustrations there.

  *For managing the series, I will upload twice every three days.