The purple-striped griffin rested silently among the dense vegetation. Irina walked down its back slowly. A faint golden glow shone beneath her feet, and she appeared inside the Tree of Life all of a sudden.

  Ever since Irina left, the Tree of Life had shut its hollow, refusing entrance to anyone, including Sally, who was sitting cross-legged at the Tree of Life currently.

  “Little tree, I’m back,” Irina said with a smile.

  The glowing tree branches waved happily around Irina as though the tree was welcoming her return.

  “Keep a low profile. If that witch Helena finds out that I’m back, I’ll have to leave again.” Irina motioned the Tree of Life to quiet down.

  The joyous Tree of Life quieted down immediately, and reached a couple of branches out to Irina to caress her hair, as though it was trying to express its joy.

  “Alright, I will visit you often, be good.” Irina reached out to touch the branches as she looked at the tree lovingly.

  After coaxing the Tree of Life for a while, Irina seriously said, “Alright. I need you to awaken Her Majesty for me. I have something very important that requires her help. The survival of the elves depends on it, or should I say, the entire Norland Continent’s survival depends on it.”


  After the elven queen had gone into seclusion, there was no more news of her. She did not even respond or make any movements even when so many major events had happened among the elves. Therefore, there were many rumors spreading around.

  Some said that the elven queen was dead, and Helena had gained full control of the elves.

  Some said that the elven queen had gone into seclusion to cultivate her magical powers, and had washed her hands off the elf tribe after handing it over to Helena.

  Irina was certain that Her Majesty did not die, but was in a deep sleep because of a certain reason. Irina did not know how to wake her up, so she could only ask the Tree of Life for help.

  The Tree of Life swayed its branches gently.

  “Even you can’t wake her up?” Irina frowned. It seemed like Her Majesty’s condition was worse than she thought. Irina fell silent for a while before saying, “Then do you know how I can form a connection with the Goddess of Life? I want a connection that’s deeper than the one formed with life magic. We need her help.”


  Ding~

  The branches swayed, and suddenly there was the ringing of a wind chime.

  Irina closed her eyes subconsciously, and in an instant, she seemed to have seen some scenes flash past her mind like flipping pages, as though history was a book opened right in front of her.

  She saw the elves building a city in the Wind Forest, she saw the elves risking their lives to chase the demons out of the forest, she saw the bloodbath during the racial war, she saw the carefree elves in the forest……

  This was history told backward.

  The elves used to be very strong, and used to be bullied because they were small, but they had never given up their chase for freedom.

  Within this sea of history, the Tree of Life was just like a pillar of support, standing strong in the center of the forest, and witnessing the elves’ development.

  Finally, the scene paused at a land of ruins.

  The ground was black and charred, and there was almost no vegetation around.

  Even the cruel racial war did not bring about such a horrifying aftermath to the Wind Forest.

  A beautiful elf with long silver hair appeared on the barren land, and planted a seed.

  Irina knew that it was the Tree of Life.

  And that beautiful elf with long silver hair should be the Goddess of Life.

  However, she saw a rough semblance of herself on that elf’s blurred face.

  “So you’re really the hope that the Goddess of Life planted to protect the elves forever?

  The scene faded away, leaving only a boundless white space.

  Irina looked around at the empty space. She was all alone.

  “Where is this place?” Irina asked. Her voice seemed to have traveled really far, but there was no reply.

  She was not flustered. The Tree of Life would never harm her.

  However, she did not know why the Tree of Life would make her witness the elves’ history, and then bring her here.

  “Irina.”


  Just then, a weak voice came from afar, but it sounded as though it was right by her ear.

  “Mother!” Irina’s eyes lit up. After that, she was a little nervous as she said, “Where are you? How are you now? Why do you sound so weak?”


  “Don’t worry. I’m fine. It seems like the Tree of Life has bound our thoughts together. Otherwise, I would not be able to talk to you directly.

  “Did Helena do something to you?”


  “This has nothing to do with Helena. It’s my choice. Back then, during the racial war, although the elves won, I was seriously injured several times. I went into seclusion this time to recuperate from my past injuries.”


  “Do you know what happened in the Wind Forest all this while?” Irina pressed her lips together.

  “Yes, my child. You did what was right. Just like how we chose to stand up for ourselves.” The queen’s voice was filled with happiness and admiration.

  “You and Helena built all this, but I overthrew it. Do you think that I did the right thing?”


  “During my seclusion, I’ve thought about it. Back then, we chased the demons away, and escaped from being bullied and enslaved, yet we ourselves formed a slavery system, and became what we hated. Our initial intent might have been good, but this was indeed a hilarious and foolish decision. The funniest part is that we’ve walked further on this wrong path for a century because we were afraid that the system would fail, so we weren’t brave enough to turn back and correct ourselves.” The queen sighed.

  “But you did not stop Helena.” Irina frowned.

  “I’m unable to leave right now. I am attempting the possibility of breaking through to a higher level. This concerns the future of the elves, and maybe the future of Norland Continent.”


  “Do you already know about the existence of the Great Old Ones?” Irina was shocked.

  “The Great Old Ones?” The queen was bewildered. Her tone quickly changed, and seemed a little more rushed. “You mean that horrifying monster that once wreaked havoc on the Continent? The unknown thing that was as huge as a mountain?”


  Irina’s eyes lit up. Nodding, she said, “Yes. We’ve found its sealed head. It was a giant octopus head that’s hundreds of meters tall. However, it’s going to break out of its seal soon, and even a 10th-tier could not kill it completely, or even cause any damage to it. That’s why I’ve returned to the forest. I want to find the Goddess of Light to help us.”


  “The Great Old Ones, they do exist……”