Chapter 83 - Cosmic Tree

  When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the blinding whiteness surrounding me. The ceiling stretched above like a blank canvas, the sterile curtains hung motionless, and I lay cocooned in crisp white sheets that smelled faintly of antiseptic. The faint hum of medical equipment droned in the background. My head throbbed with a sharp sting, pulsing behind my eyes whenever I tried to move.

  Blinking, I turned my gaze to the side and saw Myrrh sitting beside me. Her lime-blonde hair spilled over her shoulders, a few strands falling across her face, but she didn't seem to notice. She let out a shaky breath, her lips curling into a soft smile of relief as our eyes met.

  "You're awake..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.

  I frowned, my mind sluggish, struggling to piece things together. "Where... am I?"

  "The Orbital Tech clinic. You passed out." Myrrh shifted closer, her brow furrowed with concern. "How are you feeling?"

  "Dizzy... feels like a bad hangover." I winced, slowly raising my head, each movement making the pain in my skull flare.

  "You were out for about thirty minutes," Myrrh explained softly. "I found you on the floor, and Agent Feena, Agent Steve, and I carried you here right away. You felt kind of light, so we were quite worried."

  As if on cue, Agent Feena appeared at the doorway, talking quietly with the clinic nurse. She noticed me stirring and stepped inside, rubbing her temples as if nursing a headache of her own.

  "Agent Feena," I called out, my voice dry. She glanced at me, her expression unreadable. "You okay? You look like you’ve got a headache too. Though I'm pretty sure it's your hungover."

  She let out an exaggerated sigh. "You're one of a cheeky bastard, you know that?"

  "Takes one to know one," I shot back weakly, managing a smirk.

  Feena crossed her arms, giving me a once-over. "So, what the hell was that back there? Why'd you pass out? Are you drunk?"

  "You're the one that was drunk." I said.

  "I'm sober now, thank you very much." She jerked her thumb toward Myrrh. "You should’ve seen her. Myrrh was panicking, like, 'Oh Zaft! What should I do? No, don’t leave me! I can’t live without you!'"

  "Agent Feena!" Myrrh's face turned crimson, her eyes widening in horror. "I never said that! You're making things up!"

  "Oh, you didn’t?" Feena teased, scratching her head in mock confusion. "Could’ve fooled me. You sure weren’t subtle. You heavily implied it with your tearful eyes."

  "I did not!" Myrrh buried her face in her hands, her voice muffled by embarrassment.

  Despite the lingering pain, I couldn't help but chuckle. The warmth in the room, Myrrh’s flustered protests, and Feena’s relentless teasing made the sterile white clinic feel a little less cold.

  “Anyway, the nurse said you’re free to go,” Agent Feena announced, crossing her arms. “All your vitals are stable, and you seem to be in perfect condition. Just a little dehydrated, so make sure to drink more water.”

  “Dehydration, huh?” I murmured, but before I could dwell on it, a sudden jolt of memory crashed into my mind like a tidal wave.

  Binary codes. A stream of fragmented data flashing behind my eyes. The WEEB System’s voice ringing through my skull, delivering a mission that felt far too colossal to be real.

  [Main Quest: Cut down the Cosmic Tree]

  [Failure to do this Quest will erase this reality]

  My breath hitched. I needed to check the WEEB System—confirm what I’d just seen—but when I instinctively reached for my wrist, I realized my smartwatch was missing. And the system message… it wasn’t a hologram. It wasn’t projected onto a screen. It was burned directly into my vision.

  I turned to Myrrh, my voice barely above a whisper.

  “Myrrh… Was I holding something when I passed out?”

  “Come to think of it, I did notice you were holding this.” Myrrh reached into her blazer’s pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Her fingers smoothed over its creases as she unfolded it, revealing a faded image of an ancient mural. The artwork was intricate, almost hypnotic, but my eyes locked onto the string of binary code scrawled across the surface. The same code. The same message that had burned itself into my mind.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Myrrh squinted at the translation scribbled below the image and read aloud, her voice low and cautious.

  “The First Apostle shall cut down the Cosmic Tree before the Cosmic Goddess is resurrected.”

  She turned to me, brows furrowed. “This has something to do with you, doesn’t it?”

  I gave a slow nod, the weight of the revelation settling heavily in my chest. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Agent Feena’s expression darken. Her usual playful demeanor was gone, replaced with quiet concern.

  “I knew it,” she muttered, crossing her arms. “Another piece of the puzzle.”

  I shifted towards her, narrowing my eyes. “You know something about this, Feena? The Cosmic Tree… Do you know where to find it?”

  Agent Feena hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip. Finally, she sighed. “There was a report. A recorded message from KAWAII agents who… didn’t make it back.” Her gaze drifted downward for a moment before she continued. “They claimed they saw a strange tree right next to Archonlight Tower during the Blackout Incident. The thing wasn’t just weird — it felt wrong.”

  I leaned in. “What happened?”

  Feena shook her head. “The Red Meteor massacre happened. Those agents were killed before they could gather any solid evidence. By the time we got there, the tree was gone. No trace of it.”

  I frowned, falling into deep thought. At least now I had a clue — a direction. The Cosmic Tree was real, but it had vanished. If I was going to unravel this mystery, I’d have to dig deeper… and brace myself for what I might find.

  “Anyway,” Agent Feena stretched her arms above her head, letting out a satisfied sigh. “Enough about the Cosmic Tree. Tomorrow marks the official start of the holidays, so make sure to relax. All that work can wait until next year — don’t stress yourself over your divine mission, ‘First Apostle.’” She smirked. “You’re heading back to Earth tomorrow, right? Don’t forget to stay hydrated!”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “You should take your own advice. You’ve had quite a bit to drink today.”

  “Yes, sir.” Feena snapped a playful salute, then burst into laughter. Her cheeks were flushed, and her steps wobbled slightly — no doubt she was still feeling the effects of the alcohol.

  As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Whatever mess I’d gotten tangled in could wait. The holidays were here, and after everything that had happened, I deserved a break. Five days without classes sounded like paradise. I could finally breathe.

  And yet… I couldn’t shake the weight pressing against my chest. That message — “Failure to do this Quest will erase this reality” — echoed in my mind like a distant thunderclap. What did it mean? Was it some metaphor, or was I really staring down the end of the world?

  I stared at the sterile white ceiling, the clinic’s hum of machinery fading into the background. For now, all I could do was hope that reality would still be here when the holidays were over.

  <><><>

  Since there was nothing abnormal with my condition, they allowed me to head home. Myrrh stayed by my side the entire time — from signing the discharge papers to quietly walking with me out of the university grounds. As we strolled down the familiar path towards the intersection leading to our dorms, the sun dipped low on the horizon, casting a warm, orange hue across the sky.

  The world felt calm. Peaceful. Each step we took was accompanied only by the soft rustling of leaves and the distant hum of the city. I glanced at Myrrh, noticing the way she clutched the small bouquet of cyberflowers I’d given her earlier. The delicate petals shimmered faintly in the fading sunlight, almost as if they pulsed with a quiet glow.

  But what really caught my attention was Myrrh herself. The sunlight painted golden streaks through her long greenish-blonde hair, making it glisten like strands of silk. The gentle sway of her ponytail with each step made my fingers itch. I wanted to reach out — to pat her head, just like I knew she secretly liked.

  My hand hovered in the air, mere inches from her hair, when she suddenly broke the silence.

  “So…” Myrrh muttered softly, her gaze fixed on the path ahead. “Are you really going back to Earth? Tomorrow?”

  I quickly retracted my hand, stuffing it into my pocket as if nothing had happened. “Yeah,” I replied, trying to sound casual. “I already booked a space shuttle. How about you?”

  Myrrh hesitated. Her fingers tightened slightly around the cyberflowers. “I have nothing to go back to,” she said quietly, her voice tinged with sadness.

  The warmth in the air felt distant now, the weight of her words settling between us like a quiet shadow.

  “Oh, yeah. About your ex-boyfriend, Ephraim.” I shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. “I completely understand. You’re still bitter.”

  “I-It’s not about him!” Myrrh pouted, her brows knitting together in irritation. Her lips puffed out slightly, and she shot me a glare that could melt steel. “We sold our house on Earth after high school graduation. Then we migrated here. My mother’s already confined in Xyraxis, and I’ve been living in the women’s dormitory ever since. So… there’s no reason for me to go back and spend my holidays there.”

  “Oh.” I scratched the back of my neck, feeling a little guilty for teasing her. “Okay.”

  A small smirk crept onto my face anyway. It was kind of amusing how wrong my guess had been.

  Myrrh crossed her arms, cheeks puffing in frustration. “And also,” she added, her voice darkening, “I don’t want to see Ephraim’s face. Or that junkie girlfriend of his.” She forced a smile, but I could see the cross veins bulging at her temples and the way her fists clenched tightly at her sides. “I swear, if I saw them — or even their shadows — I’d transform into a Frame Unit and stomp them into the ground like disgusting bugs.”

  …Maybe I was right about my guess after all.

  We walked in silence after that, the sunset casting long shadows across the path. Before long, we reached the intersection between the male and female dormitories — our usual parting point. The soft amber glow of the setting sun painted the sky behind her, making her greenish-blonde hair shimmer like silk.

  Myrrh stepped in front of me, her cheeks dusted with pink, and held out the cyberflowers I’d given her earlier. The delicate petals glowed faintly in her hands, reflecting the warmth in her eyes.

  “Again, thank you for this, Zaft!” Her smile was bright, a stark contrast to her earlier frustration. “I hope you have a… merry happy holiday!”

  I felt heat rise to my own cheeks. “Y-Yeah,” I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck. “You too. Have an… awesome holiday.”

  She waved, turning towards her dorm. I watched her go, standing there until her silhouette disappeared behind the building. Letting out a long breath, I finally turned and headed for my own dormitory.

  Unfortunately for me, I did not have the "merry happy holiday" that Myrrh wished for.