LOTM: Seekers

59. Thus, I pray

"Go? Why should we? Isn't it better to stay here?" She smiled—a rare expression for her. A sudden realization struck me: something was definitely wrong.

Do you finally realize it?

The voice echoed in my mind, swiftly followed by a familiar headache. It was Uriel.

For a moment, the way the three of them looked at me—it was as if I had betrayed the team.

"Haha, I'm just kidding! Why would we ever leave? We've got all the delicious fruit we could ever want, right?"

With those words, the tension in their eyes dissolved almost immediately.

I decided to take my time for now, at least until the boat was ready. There had to be something I'd overlooked. So I began piecing together the signs I had missed.

Even after we killed the Demon, nothing changed in them, despite eating the fruit. The next day, Neph was still making plans to cross the Dark Sea as if nothing had happened.

And with each passing day, the amount of fruit we consumed grew. Day by day, they became more obsessed—almost delirious—with it.

On the second day, they were still building the boat, but with plenty of time left before the Dark Sea rose, they had already stopped—and today, they worked even less.

It was undeniable now—a form of mental corruption. The more fruit we consumed, the further it progressed.

If I was right, then we were on the path to becoming mindless beasts, doomed to remain here, endlessly devouring the fruit until we died—just more nutrients for the tree.

I was probably fine because of my constitution—or perhaps because of my ability, Occlumency, the one that protected the mind. Still, I wasn't entirely sure. Occlumency wasn't exactly that kind of defense. It might've also been Uriel's interference. I should remember to thank her properly later.

Anyway, I should focus on finishing the boat for now—I won't be going anywhere without it. And maybe I should be ready to knock some sense into them if they resist... just enough to throw them onboard.

With that plan in mind, I resumed building the boat. After all, I alone was more than enough to get it done.

….

As expected, the next day they worked even fewer hours than the day before. Tch, these lazy employees... I'll fire them sooner or later.

I grumbled and cursed under my breath day in and day out, but my hands never stopped moving. If nothing went wrong, the boat would be finished by tomorrow—and we could probably set sail by tomorrow night.

Phew, that was a good day's work. I should've slept like a log—or at least, that's how it was supposed to be. But…

"Wha—what?!" I was jolted awake by a sudden tremor. An earthquake? I quickly scanned my surroundings, only to realize the real cause—Cassie was shaking me.

"I hope you have a good reason for this, Cas," I muttered.

"Yes! You can scold me all you want later—I'm probably going to forget soon, so listen carefully: we're in danger!" she said, clearly on the verge of breaking down, her voice frantic, like she was clinging to her last thread of hope.

"Find Sunny! You and he—you have to do it, or we're all going to die here!"

"Are you talking about the tree?" I asked, already knowing what she meant—her Aspect must have given her a glimpse.

"Eh?" Cassie blinked, surprised by my words, and in that moment of confusion, she let go of the last thread. "Wait… what was I doing?" She looked up at the starless sky, then back at me with a puzzled expression. "It's still night… What are you doing?"

She stared blankly for a moment before realizing she was still clutching my collar. Embarrassed, she quickly let go.

"Haa… silly girl. Go back to sleep," I muttered as I turned away and crawled back under my makeshift blanket. I'm tired

***

Rise and Sunshine

Just like yesterday, Cassie remembered nothing about what happened the night before. As she said, she had completely forgotten it all. That, in itself, was a clue for me—it wasn't full control or some deep corruption. Rather, it seemed to erase their intention to leave the tree.

Today, I worked alone; no one else showed up. It seemed they had even forgotten about the boat entirely. I needed to finish it today so we could set sail by nightfall.

But was this really enough?

I paced around the tree as usual, observing them all in their familiar spots. Neph, in particular, seemed to be growing increasingly lifeless—her spark fading bit by bit.

Cassie, on the surface, looked cheerful as ever, but every now and then, a fleeting grimace would flash across her face before she quickly masked it with a bright, carefree smile, as if nothing was wrong.

Sunny was… playing with the thread, occasionally climbing to the top of the tree. He was the only one who remained inconsistent, unpredictable.

"Hey, do you remember?" I asked, recalling Cassie's advice.

He blinked, clearly confused. "How do I do this?" he countered, pointing to the weaving motion.

"Do you want to escape?" I pressed again.

As I expected, he frowned. "Escape? Escape from what, exactly?" he replied, confirming my suspicion.

Now, the real question is… am I truly satisfied with this ending—escaping from this tree?

"What do you think?" I whispered, as if asking the very air itself.

And, as expected, the answer came:

'The Demon-like Judge of Fire has approved the Judgement.'

Right? That's how it's supposed to be.

Then I resumed work on the boat, and by lunchtime, it was ready to sail. But before setting off, I climbed the tree to gather as much fruit as I could—it was, after all, a money tree.

Yet I hadn't forgotten the true reason for reaching the top. The fruit was merely a side quest. The real purpose lay elsewhere.

I smiled with satisfaction as I gazed at the small, straight branches I had collected—about ten in total. I only needed four; the rest were spares.

Then, I thrust the straight branches firmly into the ashen ground. In front, two branches stood with a narrow space between them; behind, the other two were planted with a slightly wider gap.

Yes, you guessed it—this was an altar for a ritual.

The most basic one.

I wasn't sure if it would work, but if I was going to try something, it couldn't be in my own world—unless, of course, I was ready to face my own death.

A white flame flickered to life at the tips of the four branches, turning them into makeshift candles. I closed my eyes gently and prayed

'The Demon-like Judge of Fire is curious about what you're attempting.'

"The Constellation that despises and judges the wicked."

"The Demon-like Judge of Fire."

"The wicked concealed within its purity."

"Is that supposed to be me?" a voice echoed, accompanied by a sharp headache. But I pressed on.

"Please help your incarnation and show me your judgement. "

"Eh?" A confused voice responded, but the headache vanished. Instead, I felt the connection to her strengthen more than ever before. Yet my entire body screamed, as if an ocean was trapped inside a fragile glass cup.

"Ehhh?! This… possible?"