Chapter 147
Chapter 147. The Prince’s Return
They arrived near the orca village. Since Yul was in the form of a Deep King Tribe, he could feel the orcas trembling in fear the moment they saw him.
In the past, there had been a strong tendency to revere the Deep King Tribe, but most of the practitioners and village elders who had worshipped them had disappeared due to the Heaven and Earth Resonance…
On top of that, it seemed Tuania had informed them that the root cause of all these events lay with the Deep King Tribe.
-Do not be afraid.
-Isn’t he a Deep King Tribe?
-He’s also Patroller Yul.
-Yul? Did you say Yul?
-Eh?
The orcas who knew Yul suddenly came forward. Most of the orcas here were young.
They were the ones who had gone through the coming-of-age ceremony with him, so they were all shocked.
-Patroller Yul?
Yul was able to see a familiar face after a long time. It was his senior, Patroller Borgin.
-Borgin? You’re alive?
-Hahaha. Of course.
-I feel like I’ve said this before, but I guess I’m saying it again.
After the battle with the Hive, Yul had thought Borgin was dead. Then, after the Heaven and Earth Resonance, he assumed he had either died or gone to the Moon—but he was still alive. Truly incredible vitality.
-Hahahaha. The fact that you’re saying that proves you really are Yul.
He was said to be the oldest in this orca village.
If Borgin, who had been middle-aged, was now the eldest, then it seemed the entire upper generation of orcas had been wiped out.
His skin had grown darker, and he clearly gave off a different impression compared to the orcas of before.
In any case, with so many elders gone, it seemed Tuania had become the leader of the orca village.
After cross-checking several memories, Borgin declared:
-He’s the real one. I guarantee it. That’s Yul.
-Yul?
-Then what those practitioner uncles said was true? Yul used to be a jelly octopus?
-Shh. Be quiet.
The other orcas, now curious, cast off their fear and approached. Yul felt accepted by them, and it lifted his mood. It felt like he had regained something he had lost.
-Anyway, I’d like to use the Healing Spring.
-Fine. You said he’s a sea elf, right? I’ll permit the use of the Healing Spring for him.
At Tuania’s words, the orcas didn’t seem to object.
They had only recently returned and hadn’t yet inherited many of the orca village’s traditions, so things were still disorganized. It seemed that using something like the Healing Spring by Tuania’s sole authority wasn’t an issue.
The orca village was structured as a series of interconnected caves riddled with holes.
The Healing Spring was located in one of those caves.
Yul, along with Tuania, the sleeping Arurion, and Ellarion, who guarded him, headed toward the Healing Spring.
There, in an air pocket completely untouched by seawater, a silver-glowing spring bubbled up in what looked like a specially prepared bath.
-Why is this even here?
-It’s been here since ancient times. If you ask about its origin, I don’t know either. All the orcas who knew about the Healing Spring have gone to the Moon.
Near the spring, Yul used Polymorph and returned to his human form. He had no clothes, but Ellarion didn’t seem to care.
“Are the orcas of the Great Azure Ocean always surrounded by such dark, murky energy?”
“No, it just ended up that way somehow. Anyway, we’ve got permission to use the Healing Spring. They won’t act hostile either.”
“That’s good to hear. I’ll prepare to enter sleep soon.”
-Ma. Ma. Ma. Ma. Ma.
At that moment, sensing a magical signal, Yul turned his head. Seeing him, Tuania muttered like a broken machine.
-What?
-That’s impossible! What did you just do?
-Polymorph? Didn't I tell you I've had Communion since a gem was embedded in my head? It’s a skill I obtained after that.
-Th-then, can you also turn into an orca?
Yul nodded and returned to his orca form. Since it was originally his form, it came as naturally as breathing.
Tuania immediately smacked him with her tail.
-You should’ve shown up like this from the start, you idiottttt!
-Ah, stop hitting me! That hurts! And how was I supposed to know there’d be orcas in this village? When I came years ago, it was completely empty, like a ruin.
-Talking back, are you?!
Smack! Smack!
Dodging the affection-filled slaps, Yul made his way back onto the air pocket’s dry ground and turned into a human again.
-Anyway, I'm going to go save this fellow from over there.
-Got it. I’ll keep watch so nothing happens in the meantime.
Ellarion watched this with a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“You seem quite close with that orca.”
“She’s a pain. A real pain.”
After getting dressed, Yul lay down beside Arurion and took out a Dream Anchor from his bag, equipping it. Ellarion did the same.
With the Dream Anchor equipped, they could invade the dream of the nearby Arurion.
“The method is really simple—just fall asleep.”
Drowsiness quickly overtook him, and before long, he found himself in the middle of a dream.
No one could tell where the dream began. At some point, they simply realized they were inside one.
Above the vast ocean, three colors stretched endlessly: a pale green horizon, sky-blue water, and a yellow sky.
At some point, they stood within this strange landscape. Yul noticed that ropes tied to his belt were connected to somewhere unseen.
Instinctively, he knew that following the ropes would wake him from the dream.
He wondered if their short length made them dangerous, but when he moved, the ends followed along, making their length seem irrelevant.
“So this is a dream.”
He thought he would return to his original form, but being in human form was intriguing.
Aside from the bizarre scenery, nothing else had changed. Ah—except for the fact that he wasn’t breathing.
Looking around, he spotted Ellarion. Realizing he was standing on the surface of the sea, Ellarion looked startled—then promptly splashed straight into the water.
“How?”
He looked surprised when he saw Yul standing on the surface of the sea.
“Easily? You just have to try to stay afloat.”
Perhaps because he still retained the sensation of levitating, Yul floated without issue, but Ellarion couldn’t manage it in the end. Instead, he seemed to decide to swim.
“Do you feel anything?”
“I think it’s that way.”
Just as Kaiman had said, perhaps due to the innate traits of the sea elf race, he immediately pinpointed where Arurion was.
“Isn’t that an island?”
“An island in the Eternal Sea….”
Ellarion muttered, his expression unusually relaxed.
“Why? Is that island important?”
“This place is similar to what humans call heaven. According to oral legends, sea elves can obtain immortality on that island. There should be a massive tree somewhere on it.”
Yul flew, while Ellarion swam, and they arrived at the island.
And just as he had said, there was a massive tree somewhere on the island.
Its branches extended into the sky in multiple directions at regular intervals.
“What is that?”
“It’s the Sacred Sea Tree. I never thought I’d see something like that while alive….”
It seemed that legends about the tree had spread among the elves. Perhaps, in a distant past they could no longer remember, they had been connected to the World Tree, and that had evolved into these oral traditions and myths.
Beneath the Sea Tree stood a small child.
“Who is that?”
“He looks incredibly similar to His Highness when he was young.”
“Then is it his son?”
“His Highness has never married.”
The small child with long hair waved at Yul and Ellarion.
“Hello!”
“Hello? What’s your name?”
“Arurion!”
“Huh?”
He was glad they had found him so quickly, but he couldn’t understand why he had become a child.
“This is the first time someone has come from beyond the sea.”
“Your Highness, so this is where you were! Let’s return at once!”
“Who are you, mister?”
Since he even showed a wary attitude, Ellarion looked slightly shaken.
“I am your subordinate, Ellarion. Do you not remember me?”
“I don’t.”
If they provoked more wariness, he might run away. Watching him, Yul changed his approach.
“Hey, kid, why are you here alone?”
“I was watching the flames that passed by under the Sea Tree.”
“Flames?”
Little Arurion raised a finger. Yul followed his gaze.
From beyond the horizon, something flickering like flames appeared. They came rushing in waves, resembling souls.
“The souls of sea elves?”
“Ah… they’re going beyond the Eternal Sea….”
The souls, shaped like the dead, flew in like flames, passed the Sea Tree, and disappeared somewhere beyond.
As Ellarion, as if entranced, tried to follow them, Arurion stopped him.
“You can’t go any further. Grandmother Samnaren said not to.”
“Grandmother Samnaren?”
“Yeah. She’s the High Elf who’s lived the longest on this island. She watches over the withered grasslands and makes sure the burning flames don’t lose their way. She told me to come back soon, so I should go.”
“Can we follow you?”
“Yeah.”
Yul followed the path Arurion had taken, walking past the Sea Tree. Ellarion followed behind and spoke to Yul.
“It seems he has completely forgotten me.”
“Let’s meet this High Elf called Samnaren. She might be the one keeping Arurion here.”
Following him, they came upon a forest path that smelled of old wood.
Cypress trees without a single leaf lined the path, giving off an unreal and eerily ominous atmosphere.
At the end of the trees stood a small wooden house. In the yard, a woman sat in a rocking chair, weaving thread.
“Grandmother! People whore aren’t flames have come from beyond the sea!”
“Arurion, could you go inside the house?”
“Yes.”
As the small boy hurried inside, the woman stopped weaving.
“You’ve come to find him.”
The woman who spoke carried a peculiar aura. She seemed like an ancient elder who had lived countless years, yet at the same time like a newborn infant or an innocent young girl.
She was clearly no ordinary being.
“We came to take the prince back.”
“No. He cannot leave.”
The surrounding scenery warped, and the previous cottage vanished without a trace, leaving them standing within a desolate forest.
In the sky above the forest were countless spiderwebs that shone as if made of starlight.
At some point, Samnaren was seated upon them.
“And why is that?”
Despite the sudden change in environment, Yul spoke calmly.
“Because he is a being who can traverse beyond countless mirrors.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was born with the destiny to guard the Eternal Dream. He is the only one who can inherit my power.”
He didn’t fully understand what she meant, but one thing was clear—this being was the culprit preventing Arurion from escaping the dream.
“His physical body in reality is dying.”
“Reality? That is merely a fragment reflected in a mirror. Losing a fragment of the reflection does not matter.”
“So you have no intention of letting him go?”
“Naturally.”
In that case, it looks like we’ll need to negotiate.