Sebuah dunia yang diterangi cahaya redup dan udara yang suram, digunung-gunung oleh kekacauan yang tidak pasti dan tak menentu, diatur oleh fenomena-penomena surreal yang ada di antara garis tipis antara realitas dan ilusi. Ia menggila-akibat semua indra, pemikiran, roh, dan jiwa.
Di sepanjang dunia yang redup ini, dengan kilau tak bersumber, sekilas tampak seolah-naik bersinar dari segala arah sekaligus, sebuah manifestasi kepastian dan ketidakpastian yang bersatu, hanya ada satu wilayah yang konsisten. Tak kalah menggila bagi mereka yang berada di sana, namun jauh lebih melebihi sekadar realitas-kekacauan yang ditawarkan oleh Alam Noda Nestling Void ini.
Mereka tidak berada di sana karena keinginan mereka sendiri.
Pohon yang menjulang ke langit, dengan akar dan dahan selekukura kota-kota kemanusiaan, tegak di antara pohon-pohon yang sama sekali mengerikan. Kulitnya yang tembus jelas memungkinkan penglihatan yang menjijikkan dari vena-venanya yang berdenyut-denyut berwarna hijau yang bersinar dengan cahaya zamrud. Vena-vena itu sangat mirip dengan vena-vena makhluk humanoid dan binatang, mengalirkan cairan ke seluruh cabang, akar, dan daun di bagian puncaknya. Jalurnya rumit dan banyak sekali.
Mengikat pohon ini, dengan rantai emas di cabang-cabangnya, adalah beberapa sosokan. Mengikat setiap pohon di kawasan ini adalah beberapa sosokan. Istilah u201cbeberapau201d mungkin saja sepele, karena pohon ini dipenuhi oleh individu-individu, berjumlah ratus ribuan di seluruh pohonnya. Masing-masing memiliki dua hal yang sama: Mereka semua memiliki telinga panjang dan tajam, ciri khas elf, dan mereka semua memiliki mata berwarna zamrud.
Meskipun warna rambut mereka berbeda-beda, ada yang kulitnya hitam seperti arang atau putih seperti susu, ada yang kulitnya seperti kulit pohon atau rambutnya seperti daun, mereka semua tak bisa dipungkiri memiliki mata-mata zamrud yang mengeluarkan kekuatan alami yang khas-essensi Kayu. Meskipun esensi ini berbeda dari segi aura, ada yang cenderung pada kehidupan yang ramai atau kehancuran yang layu, mereka semua berasal dari satu sumber kekuatan yang sama.
Di sekitar bagian pusat pohon, yang terikat dengan rantai emas dua kali lipat jumlahnya dibandingkan yang lain, ada beberapa sosokan yang cukup mirip satu sama lain. Mereka tidak hanya memiliki mata zamrud, tetapi rambut mereka juga berwarna yang sama, hanya dengan nuansa yang sedikit lebih redup, yang justru menekankan warna mata yang berkilau seperti permata. Mereka terdiri dari pria dan wanita.
Di antara para individu yang terikat ganda ini, ada seorang wanita yang kurus dan tersusut, dengan kulit kering, pucat seperti roh, mata yang redup seperti senja, dan telinga panjang yang mengerdip. Meskipun keadaannya sangat kelaparan, sebaliknya kecantikannya yang dahulu mengagumi seluruh benua Myriad Yore mas masih terlihat sebagian. Setidaknya, sekali pandang pun cukup bagi siapa saja untuk menentukan bahwa ia adalah seorang kecantikan yang dapat menyaingi raja-raja dan mengundang iri-iran para wanita lain.
u201cHgh!u201d Perempuan yang lemah itu terbatuk seberapa. Namun, tidak sejengkelpun air liur yang dapat keluar dari bibirnya yang lebih kering dari padang pasir di musim panas puncak.
Dari keadaannya, tidak ada yang bisa menebak bahwa dulu ia adalah putri elf dari benua Myriad Yore. Suatu hari, ia ingin melihat dunia yang lebih luas meskipun sang ayah menolak dengan tegas tanpa menjelaskan alasannya. Ketika ia pergi di balik kabut malam, dengan api eksplorasi dan pengalaman dalam hatinya, ia pun menemukan bahaya yang melekat dalam kehidupan luar.
Akibat sifatnya yang pemalu dan mudah tertipu, ia pun tertangkap tanpa disadari. Darah esensinya pun diekstraksi untuk kultivasi orang lain. Ia tak berbeda dengan ternak. Tak berbeda dengan ayam arit yang ditunggu untuk bertelur atau sapi yang ditunggu untuk dikrimakan. Pengalaman ini sekaligus menakjubkan dan menyiksa.
Pada saat itu, ia tetap kuat. Meskipun kematian mungkin datang, segenap segelintir kepercayaan pada ayahnya akan membunuh dengan cara yang ekstrem. Keyakinan kuat ini memungkinkan ia bertahan di ujung jurang, enggan jatuh ke dalam kegelapan putus asa.
Setelah diselamatkan oleh seorang pemuda licik bernama Wei Wuyin, yang menemukan situasinya dan terburu-buru melaporkan kepada orang lain, memungkinkan ia lolos dengan selamat, ia kembali memperoleh semangatnya dan bertekad untuk kultivasi. Ia tak pernah ingin lemah lagi sehingga hal ini bisa terjadi. Ini terutama setelah mendengar bahwa pemuda yang menyelamatkannya, kepada siapa ia berutang nyawa, telah tiada di tempat yang tak dikenal.
Sayangnya, takdir tidak begitu baik padanya.
Setelah melintasi benua, ia rela beranikan diri untuk membunuh mereka yang menyiksa Lin Ziyan. Ia dihukum mati karena perbuatannya, dan segenap dukungan yang ia miliki, segenap keyakinannya, tidak berarti sama sekali. Bahkan sang pria yang ia kagumi di atas segalanya tidak dapat lain ketika tubuhnya dilengchainggam dan dibawa ke panggung tempat ia harus menyelesaikan nyawanya.
Ia tertangkap lagi dan tak dapat menentukan nasibnya. Meskipun ini adalah kesalahan perhitungan dari sisinya, ia tak mencoret sama sekali. Sayangnya...
saya tidak ingin mati.
HOWEVER!
Pemuda yang pernah menyelamatkannya bertahun-tahun lalu kemudian tiba di atas hewan peliharaan yang ilahi. Dengan sekalimat, nasibnya seluruhnya berubah. Ia diperbolehkan hidup. Diperbolehkan bertahan. Perasaannya lalu berubah secara drastis. Sebelumnya, mungkin jauh lebih dahulu, ia tersipuku pada sifat herois yang dimiliki oleh orang lain, tetapi dengan kehadiran pemuda itu yang terus-menerus, perasaan cintanya runtuh dan keinginannya berubah secara alami. Seolahnya ia dikembalikan dengan kebebasan untuk memilih, tidak terpengaruh oleh keinginan atau kekuatan eksternal mana pun. Tak terbayangkan betapa bebasnya itu.
Setelah beberapa peristiwa, keduanya kehilangan rumah, memasuki dunia yang sepenuhnya asing, dan kini berada di jalur yang tidak diketahui. Sayangnya, takdir, sekali lagi, tak berpihak dan tak berubah.
Ia tertangkap di balik tipuan. Ia bertemu dengan nenek nenek moyangnya, yang ia kagumi di atas segalanya, dan bercita-cita untuk menjadi salah seorang alkimius yang seperti Raja Everlore. Ia bertemu dengan Ratu Elf Suci. Dengan janji-janjimu manis untuk menjadi muridnya, untuk mendapatkan kekuatan di atas imajinasinya, dan kekuatan untuk mengendalikan nasibnya sendiri, ia pun dibawa ke sini.
Ia ditambatkan di sini.
Ia dikurung di sini.
Darah esensinya diekstraksi oleh pohon yang tidak wajar ini, berulang-ulang, dipaksa untuk mengganti dan mengisi kembali darah esensinya, lalu dipaksa agar dikeringkan setelah mencapai keadaan yang cukup nyaman untuk ekstraksi. Proses ini adalah sebuah neraka hidup. Dan hal ini telah berlangsung selama puluhan tahun.
Puluh. Tahun.
PULUH. TAHUN!!!
Orang-orang di sekitarnya memiliki mata yang telah mati seperti mayat. Mereka telah lama mematikan keinginan untuk hidup atau bertahan. Bagi mereka, inilah hidup mereka, dan mereka hanyalah menunggu akhirnya tiba.
Bagaimana menakutkan gambaran banyak orang yang telah kehilangan keinginan untuk bertarung? Cukup untuk membuat iblis dan roh menggigil!
Namun, sebuah nyala hangat kecil, hampir mustahil untuk ditemukan, mas masih tersisa dalam jiwanya. Ia menemani kehangatan di saat-saat pahit, terutama ketika pohon ini meresok ke dalam tulang belakangnya, merusuk jantungnya, menusuk ke dalam mata paletnya, dan menyedot esensi ter precious dari setiap sumber di dalamnya. Jika tidak demikian, ia takkan pernah berjuang untuk melawat setiap beberapa bulan, mencoba melarikan diri setelah keadaannya sedikit pulih.
Meskipun usahanya akhirnya sia-sia, tindakan ini cukup untuk melawan takdir. Namun, siklus harapan dan keputusasaan memberikan beban pada jiwanya. Ia merasakan penderitaan dengan setiap kegagalan. Sensasi setiap detik setelah melewati kegagalan adalah yang paling mengerikan. Mereka terasa seperti sepanjang abad. Tanpa batas dan kekal. Dan saat-saat ini, ia hanya bisa membayangkan realitas situasi dengan pikirannya.
Di saat-saat seperti ini, hanya dengan mengingat senyum lembut itu, tanpa rasa syahwat atau niat jahat, mengandung rasa akrab yang paling murni kehangatan dan kebahagiaan, bisa menenangkannya. Hanya dengan mengingatnya, dan ia tersenyum cerah. u201cIni rahasia kami.u201d
Ia tertawa ceria dan menyebabkan serangkaian kutukan yang hanya terdengar pelan untuk kali nanti.
Pohon ini jelas paling hidup di antara semuanya.
Setelah beberapa jam, diam yang menunggu ketika vena-vena mulai bersinar redup. Ini adalah tanda akan datangnya ekstraksi. Bagaimana mereka tidak bisa diam? Bagaimana mereka tidak bisa?!!
Bagaimana mereka tidak bisa...diam...!
Perempuan kurus ini berusaha untuk menganggukan kepalanya ke langit yang tak pernah diterangi bintang. Pandangannya tertuju ke mana-mana, namun tampaknya ia melihat satu hal-seseorang.
u201cAku penasaran bagaimana dunia baru itu memperlakukanmu...u201d Kata-katanya penuh rasa ingin tahu dan keingin. Jika ia bisa, ia ingin menjelajah dunia yang luas bersamanya. Dulu, di atas panggung eksekusi, ia ingin menjelajah dunia kultivasi, tidak ingin tinggal untuk menjadi istri atau ibu siapa pun. Bahkan sampai sekarang, keinginan itu tak berubah. Tetapi orang yang ingin ditempal dengan pengalamannya telah berubah. Bukan lagi enggan untuk berkelana bersamanya.
Jika saja ia bisa kembali ke masa lalu, jika saja ia bisa mengatakan padanya agar mengambilnya, izinkan untuk melihat bintang dan segala keindahan dunia. Jika ia bisa, di benua Myriad Yore dulu, ketika ia menjelaskan segala prestasinya yang berlebihan dengan senyum terang di wajahnya, dan mencerita kankenyataan, dan makan makanan yang enak, ia ingin mengatakan apapun yang ingin ia katakan saat itu. Apa yang sang jiwa ingin katakan meskipun hatinya terikat dengan orang itu!
Di mana ia berada sekarang jika mereka tak kembali ke penginapan itu?
Pasti di mana?!
Mata-mata annya kabur, basah dengan air mata meskipun keadaannya kering, lalu ia menatap langit dengan segala kekuatannya. Ketika ia mengedipkan mata, tiba-tiba muncul sosok pria yang mengendarai burung yang hitam dan putih, yang sangat indah hingga ke puncaknya, sementara laki-laki di atasnya memancarkan kehadiran yang tak terbatas.
Mata-mata peraknya bersinar seperti pelangi di dunia yang redup, indah hingga membuat rohani seseorang menangis, dan wajah yang tak tertandingi di antara kaumnya, memancarkan kepriaannya yang unik. Hanya bisa dimiliki oleh satu orang, dan seseorang yang ia bayangkan selama puluh tahun, hampir tak pernah memakai gambaran itu untuk menjaga semangatnya yang enggan menyerah.
Sepertinya ia sedang bermimpi lagi. Apakah ini kekanak-kanakan? Mungkin. Tetapi ini cukup untuk menjadi belangin bagi tekadnya untuk tidak menyerah untuk bertahan. Sama seperti sebelumnya, pemuda yang menyelamatkannya tidak sekali tapi dua kali, yang sangat tampan sebagai Terpilih di langit yang bisa melawan Neraka, akan tiba, memecahkan rantainya dengan satu kata atau satu gerakan tangan, dan mengantarkannya ke langit.
Langit redup akan terbelah dan, ketika ia diam dalam pelukan yang hangat dan erat, langit bintang akan terungkaap.
Ia akan keluar dari sini. Tak akan pernah kembali.
Betapa manisnya mimpi ini.
Versi terbaru dari pemuda ini jauh melebihi imajinasinya, dengan busana yang tak pernah ia bayangkan, memancarkan kehadiran yang sangat maskulin dan alkimius, dengan sempurna menggabungkan dua identitas itu dengan gaya yang mengandung daya tarik kerajaan. Di samping itu, ia jauh lebih tampan dari yang ia ingat.
Ia
A world of dim light and gloomy air, defined by its sporadic, uncertain chaos ruled by surreal phenomena that exist between the fine line between reality and illusion. It was maddening to the senses, thoughts, spirit, and soul.
Throughout this dimly lit world with radiance without any source, seemingly emitting from everywhere and nowhere at once, a manifestation of uncertainty and certainty, there was only a single region of consistency. It was no less maddening to those who stayed there but for far more than just the chaotic reality that this Nestling Void Realm offered.
They were there not by their own wills.
A sky-ascending tree with roots and branches as thick as mortal cities stood tall among similarly startling trees. Its translucent bark allowed one the unsettling experience of seeing its throbbing green vein-like insides that glistened with emerald-colored light. The veins bore a strong resemblance to the veins of humanoid creatures and beasts, pumping fluid through it, reaching every branch, every root, and every leaf on its crown. The pathways were intricate and numerous.
Attached to this tree, bound by golden chains at the limbs, were several figures. Bound to each tree in the area were several figures. The term 'several' might be an understatement, as the tree was littered with individuals, numbering in the hundreds of thousands across its trunk. Each of them had two things in common: They had sharp, pointy ears, an elf's defining feature, and they all had emerald-colored eyes.
While their hair colors differed, some with skin as black as coal or as white as milk, others with bark-like skin or leaves for hair, they all undeniably possessed those same emerald-like eyes that exuded the quintessential powers of nature, specifically-the Essence of Wood. While this essence diverged in terms of aura, some leaning toward a vibrant life or withering decay, they all stemmed from a single source of power.
Near the central region of the trunk, bound by roughly double the number of golden chains as the others, some looked very similar. They didn't just have emerald-colored eyes, but their hair was of a similar color with a faintly dimmer shade, only accentuating the coloration of their treasure-like eyes. They consisted of both men and women. Amongst these double-bound individuals was a thin and bony woman with dried skin, skin paler than a ghost, eyes as dim as the dusk, and droopy pointed ears. Despite her extremely malnourished state, her natural beauty that once reigned supreme across the Myriad Yore Continent was still present to some degree. At the very least, a single glance was enough for anyone to determine her as a nation-toppling beauty that could inspire envy in other women.
"Hgh!" The woman weakly coughed. However, not a single iota of saliva could escape her lips which were drier than a desert in peak summer.
From her state, perhaps no one could tell that she was once the elven princess of the Myriad Yore Continent. One day, she desired to see the greater world despite her father's vehement refusal without explanation. When she left in the veil of the night, the burning rays of exploration and adventure in her heart, she soon discovered the inherent dangers of the outside world.
Her trusting, naive nature led her to be unwittingly captured. Her essence blood was extracted for another's cultivation. She became no different than livestock. No different than a golden goose meant to lay eggs or a cow to be milked. The experience was eye-opening as it was tortuous.
She remained strong-willed then. While death may come, the seal placed in her would activate and her father would avenge her with extreme prejudice. This firm belief allowed her to hang on the cliff, unwilling to fall into the abyss of despair.
After being saved by a cunning young man by the name of Wei Wuyin, who discovered her situation and hurriedly informed others of the situation, allowing her to escape with her life intact, she regained her valor and strove to cultivate. She had never wanted to be so weak that this could have happened again. This was especially so after hearing that the young man who had saved her, to whom she owed her life, had perished somewhere unknown.
Unfortunately, fate did not shine too kindly on her.
After traveling beyond her continent, she risked it all to slaughter those who tortured Lin Ziyan. She was sentenced to be executed for her actions, and all her backing, all her belief, none of it mattered as not even the human man she admired more than anyone could only watch on powerlessly as her body was shackled and she was marched to the platform where she was meant to breathe her last.
She was captured and unable to determine her fate once again. While it was a miscalculation on her part, she didn't regret her actions in the slightest. It was just a shame...that...she didn't want to die.
HOWEVER!
The same man that had saved her all those years ago arrived atop a divine mount. With a single sentence, her fate was overturned entirely. She was allowed to live. She was allowed to continue on. Her feelings then changed strongly. Before then, perhaps even further back, she had been infatuated with the heroic bearing of another, but with that young man's continuous presence, those infatuated feelings crumbled and her desires changed most naturally. It was as if she was once again bestowed the freedom of choice, uninfluenced by any external wills or forces. It was unimaginably freeing.
After several events, they both lost their homes, entered an entirely foreign world, and were now on unknown paths. Unfortunately, fate, once again, remained unkind and unchanging.
She was captured under the guise of a lie. She met her ancestor, the one she revered more than anyone, and aspired to become as much as any Alchemist would for the King of Everlore. She met the Sacred Elven Queen. Promised by sweet words of being her disciple, to obtain power beyond her imagination, and the strength to rule over her own fate, she was brought here.
She was chained here.
She was caged here.
Extracted of her essence blood by this ungodly tree, repeatedly forced to replenish her essence blood, and forced to be siphoned dry after reaching a sufficient state for extraction. The process was a living hell. And it had lasted for decades.
Decades.
DECADES.
DECADES!!!
Those around her had eyes as dead as corpses. They had long since shut off their will to live or survive. To them, this was their lives, and they were simply waiting for its end. How harrowing was the sight of so many who've lost the will to survive? It was enough to startle devils and ghosts!
However, a tiny, nearly insignificant spark remained in her soul. It warmed her up at times of extreme agony, especially as the tree pierced into her spine, plunged into her heart, stabbed into her glabella, and siphoned out her most precious essence from every source within her. If not for that, she would not struggle every few months, trying to escape after her state recovered slightly.
While her efforts were ultimately fruitless, the act itself was enough to defy fate. However, the cycle of hope and despair was weighty on the soul, and she felt herself suffer with each failure. The feeling of each second passing shortly after each passing was the most terrible. They felt like an eternity. Endless and everlasting. And during that time, she could only bathe her thoughts with the reality of her situation.
At times like this, only by remembering that gentle smile of his without the slightest lust or sinister intentions within, containing the purest of kindred feelings of warmth and joy could comfort her. Only by remembering that joke of his told on the execution platform could she dryly laugh.
At times like this, the others chained would strain their heads to look at her scrawny figure with their dead eyes. Despite their resignation towards inevitable suffering and certain death, they somehow felt frustrated at the woman's reactions.
"She...is at it...again..." A woman beside her hoarsely muttered, unleashing a string of weak curses after.
A man above the laughing woman clenched his fists with his strength, barely mustering up the might of an infant's grab, and unrestrained, unreasonable rage flashed across his eyes.
"Shu-shut...up!" He struggled to shout. Their situation was bad enough. They didn't want to listen to the periodic madness of another.
All around her, varied reactions occurred as suppressed emotions overwhelmed the resignation of death. The woman was subjected to all sorts of softly spoken curses, both verbally and mentally.
However, she was entirely unbothered. Unbeknownst to her, the remnant hope in her heart slowly roused others. And while it was directed at he'd, feeling anything but numbness meant validating one's existence of being alive. In some cases, this was enough to inspire all sorts of things in someone's soul.
Unfortunately for them, none of their efforts were capable of changing their situations or their thoughts.
The hoarse-voiced woman beside the bony woman mustered her courage and asked slowly: "Why are you laughing?"
"..."
The curses went silent.
No one dared to ask this. Perhaps it was because they were afraid of the answer. Perhaps if she was truly just a mad woman, validating their situation further as hopeless and lost, just perhaps...they would no longer be able to feel anything but the cold numbness of despair.
Yet the bony woman thought of that figure, and how he leaned against her ear, spoke solely to her on that platform, and she smiled brightly. "It's a secret."
It was their secret.
She laughed joyously and caused a litany of softly spoken curses to be unleashed once again. The tree was by far the liveliest out of the rest.
After several hours, silence reigned as the veins began to softly glow. This was a sign of an upcoming extraction. How could they not be silent? How could they not?!
How could they not...be silent...
The bony woman struggled to incline her head upwards toward the endless, starless sky. Her gaze fixed on no part in particular, yet it seemed she saw a single thing-a single person.
"I wonder how that new world is treating you..." Her words were rife with curiosity and yearning. If she could, she would wish to traverse the vast world with him. Before, on that execution platform, she had aspired to explore the world of cultivation, unwilling to settle to become anyone's wife or mother. Even today, that desire hasn't changed. But who she wished to experience it with had. No longer was she unwilling to travel with him.
If only she could turn back time, if only she could have told him to take her along, allow her to see the stars and all the world had to offer. If she could, all the way back in the Myriad Yore Continent, while he was explaining all his clearly exaggerated feats and adventures with the brightest smile on his face, launching jokes, and eating good food, she wished she had said what she wanted then. What her very soul kept telling her to despite her heart being tethered to that person!
Where would she have been today if they hadn't returned to that Inn?
Just where?!
Her eyes grew hazy, wet with tears despite her dehydrated state, and she looked out into that sky with everything she had. When she blinked, suddenly saw a male figure riding an avian of gold and white, elegantly beautiful to the apex, while the man above it was exuding boundless presence.
Those silver eyes shone like lanterns in the dim world, beautiful enough to make one's soul weep, and a face that was unmatched amongst his gender, exerting a masculine charm that was most certainly one-of-a-kind. It could only belong to a single person, and this person was one that she visualized for decades, barely using that image to tether her will to her refusing-to-surrender heart.
It seemed she was dreaming once again. Was this childish? Perhaps. But it offered her endless comfort and this was enough to be a beacon for her unyielding will to go toward to survive. Just like before, that young man who saved her not once but twice, dashing as a Chosen of heaven with the presence to fight against Hell, would arrive, undo her shackles with a single word or a single wave, and bring her away to the skies.
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