75 World Tree (1)

Max was surprised by the sudden magical power that surrounded him. Although he had experienced the feeling of teleportation once, he was still unprepared to the feeling.

He held his breath and tried his best to calm down. Breathing in and out, luckily although the feeling of the transfer felt long, it only took a second to reach their destination. He opened his eyes and wanted to rebuke Orville for suddenly grabbing him and transferring to another place, but he could not do so.

He stood in something covered in green, something pliable as it bounced with every movement. However, it was still tough even though it gave the feeling of being elastic and soft. It was so large that it baffled Max. His facial expression was priceless as Orville can be heard laughing at the side while looking at Max.

Max could not be blamed as the surrounding was covered with dense clouds, the wind blowing was cold, it brought chills to his body every time the wind blows. Large green things can be seen swaying every time a strong breeze blew, but they did not fall. It surprised Max due to the fact that they were standing in a large leaf, he did not want to believe it was a leaf due to the mere size of what he was steeping at. If one wanted to compare the size of objects on Earth, then the size was as big as an auditorium that can seat a thousand people. It was that big and he was surrounded with leaves as big as or even bigger than what he was standing on.

From afar, a sudden roar was heard. He could not help but look at the thing that made the roar, but due to the clouds and leaves covering the surrounding, he could not find what made the sound.

Max knew they were high up but the next words that Orville uttered from his mouth were unbelievable.

"We are currently standing at the middle part of the World Tree. Although you are a guest and sister's…" He paused for a bit as though thinking of the right words to say before continuing. "Friend… You still need the permission of the elders to be able to step on the highest branches of the world tree." He said with a mischievous smile as though it was fun to see the surprised expression of Max.

Max did not bother to clarify Orville's words. He knew Orville had another meaning with his sentence, but he did not want to dwell into it. He thought to himself, "I'll be able to learn more about it sooner or later. For now, I should patiently wait for Verdi to explain everything. In due time."

Max was now able to calm himself as he asked his own question, "Why are we here?"

Although it was fun to experience this fantasy setting, he thought how this sudden leap in difficulty was too much considering he had just arrived in the elven forest. He thought there should be a process or levels on him being introduced to the setting. However, he forgot that he was not in a game and these are real people who have their own will and personality. Max could only smile wryly as he expected too much from the fantasy settings that he knew.

"I know that moving was sudden but sister wanted to meet you. Her residence is close to here, so come, follow me." The clouds suddenly parted when Orville came near them. It felt like the clouds were giving way to him, even the leaves that seem in disorder suddenly arranged themselves as pathways for them to continue on their way.

"It's alive," was Max's thoughts as their way was not obstructed in any way. It felt as though the tree was assisting them to move to their desired location. He now remembered what his grandmother had said, the World Tree which was also known as the Tree of Life by the humans, chose the elves that can contain and handle its power. For it to choose means it has its own will, and its current actions made Max believe his thoughts.

The World Tree was a sentient being, in that case, was it able to materialize itself in order to communicate with the elves. This question and train of thoughts were once again disrupted by the loud roar that once again vibrated all throughout the lands of the elven forest. He once again looked at the place where the sound originated. This time it sounded closer, his body could feel the vibrations from the roar that the being from outside of his sights. He knew it was not close to their location, but for it to be able to affect his body by its mere vibration showed how strong and mighty the being which was hiding behind the thick clouds and leaves was.

Original novel by Chuchuwachuwa.