Chapter 981: The Revival
Chapter 981 – The Revival
A ring of blue-white light spread across the pool.
Water surged upward from cracks in the stone, clear and bright, filling the basin in a whirl of silver-green shine. The dried moss at the edge turned emerald. Dead roots softened. Black bark cracked open, revealing pale living wood beneath.
The revival rushed outward.
Like a fairy tale deciding to become real.
The ash vanished first.
Not blown away.
Absorbed.
Turned into nutrients.
Blackened roots sprouted silver leaves. Dead vines unfurled into flowering strands. The cracked arches sealed themselves with glowing moss. The hollow mountain behind them shuddered as light traveled through its roots, upward, outward, into the overgrown forest.
The chamber transformed around them.
Not cosmetic.
Not illusion like before.
Alive.
Truly alive.
Flowers bloomed where the Devourer had dragged its claws. Water trickled down the stone in clean streams. The air filled with the scent of rain, leaf sap, and fresh earth after fire had finally ended. The blue-white spring glowed beneath the arches, no longer still. Its surface rippled gently, reflecting not dead roots, but living silver leaves.
Yue breathed out. "Wow..."
Gula’s eyes sparkled, but this time not with appetite. "Beautiful..."
Lullaby hugged her pillow, voice soft. "Yes... this one... is alive..."
Lux looked around.
The glow of the grove washed over his face, softening the sharp exhaustion there.
He looked at Ely.
The spring’s light curled around her like recognition.
The leaves above bent toward her.
The water whispered in a language older than her family name.
Lux spoke quietly. "The grove feels like you, Ely."
She turned to him, startled.
He smiled faintly. "Feels like home."
Ely’s eyes shimmered.
Before she could answer, the spring brightened again.
Not violently this time.
A glow rose from the water.
Dim at first.
Then clearer.
Silver-green light gathered above the surface, shaping itself into a figure.
Everyone tensed.
Lux stepped slightly forward, daggers still in hand, though lowered.
Yue’s spear angled subtly.
Sira’s claws flexed.
Gula gripped her fork-spear.
Lullaby’s Sloth aura softened the air around Ely.
But the figure that emerged did not roar.
It became a woman.
Tall.
Serene.
Silver-green hair flowing as if underwater. Pale gold eyes, distant but no longer empty. Her body was translucent, formed from springlight and memory, but there was presence there now.
Not a recorded message.
Something aware.
The first elf.
Her gaze moved slowly across the chamber.
Past the others.
Then it landed on Ely.
The first elf’s expression changed.
Recognition.
Tenderness learned too late.
"My child..."
Ely stopped breathing.
The first elf looked at her with eyes that carried forests, ash, debt, and centuries of silence.
"What brings you to this dangerous place?"
For a moment, Ely couldn’t answer.
Ely swallowed.
Then she stepped forward.
"Guide me to your place."
Lux’s eyes flicked to her.
Direct.
No trembling.
Well, a little trembling.
But still.
The first elf’s gaze softened, but not enough. "Is something happening to the race?"
The question had weight.
Not curiosity.
Condition.
The words from the book returned to all of them.
’I will only answer if the elven race faces danger.’
Ely’s fingers curled against her skirt.
"No."
Sira’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Gula made a tiny sound like she had bitten into something unexpectedly sour.
Yue remained still.
Lux said nothing.
Ely lifted her chin. "Not for the race."
The first elf’s expression became unreadable.
Ely continued, voice quieter but firmer. "For you. I need to talk. A real talk."
The spring rippled once.
The first elf tilted her head. "Why do you need to talk?"
Ely looked at her.
Really looked.
At the woman who had stood before fire and promised repayment. At the ancestor who had left a farewell instead of a plea. At the first root buried beneath centuries of debt.
"You are my ancestor," Ely said. "I see nothing wrong with it."
Silence.
For one fragile heartbeat, something flickered across the first elf’s face.
Not emotion exactly.
Not enough to call it pain.
Maybe recognition.
Maybe discomfort.
Maybe the first time in centuries someone had said ancestor without meaning obligation.
Then her face closed again. "Go home."
Ely stiffened.
"This isn’t the place to talk," the first elf said. "This is the place where our kin almost died."
The glow around her dimmed.
Ely stepped forward quickly.
"Wait—"
But the first elf was already fading.
Her silver-green body dissolved into mist, then light, then nothing. The spring rippled softly once, as if swallowing her reflection.
She was gone.
Ely stood there with one hand still half-raised.
"Wait..."
No answer.
The spring continued to flow, alive and beautiful, completely unhelpful in the most elegant possible way.
Ely slowly lowered her hand.
Then huffed.
"I didn’t even tell her our real reason."
Her voice carried frustration now. Embarrassment too. A little hurt beneath both.
"Yet she already rejected us."
Sira crossed her arms. "If she knew the real reason, she would kick us out."
Gula nodded. "Probably with roots."
Lullaby hugged her pillow. "Ancestors are strict."
Lux finally spoke. "As expected."
Ely turned toward him. "You expected that?"
"Yes."
"That would have been nice to say before I got rejected by my ancient ancestor."
"I wanted to see how she responded to you, not to me."
Sira gave him a look. "That’s a very Lux answer."
"It’s also the correct one."
Ely sighed.
Yue looked at the spring, then at the place where the first elf had vanished. "She is not ready to think of herself as trapped."
Lux nodded. "She has built identity around the debt. If we walk in and say ’Hello, your sacrifice is invalid,’ she’ll reject everything. Especially from me."
Gula tilted her head. "Because you’re a demon?"
"Because I’m a demon, Greed, and very handsome." Lux smiled faintly. "Mostly the first two."
"Mostly?" Gula asked.
"Do not encourage him," Sira said.
Lux turned away from the spring and gestured beneath it.
The others followed his hand.
Something had changed.
At the back of the revived basin, where the water curved beneath the stone arch, a path had opened.
It hadn’t been there before.
A narrow stairway descended under the spring, lined with roots glowing silver-green. The water did not flood it. Instead, it parted gently around the entrance, flowing along the sides like curtains. Beyond the stairs, faint light pulsed in the darkness.
Lux’s eyes narrowed. "Seems like the spring knew she needs to be saved."
Gula leaned to the side, peeking past him. "So the spring knows better than that elf."
Lux looked at the glowing water.
"The spring is now already part of Ely. Or at least connected to her through the restored core." His gaze shifted to Ely. "It listens to Ely."
Ely stared at the path.
The frustration in her face slowly shifted into something steadier.
The first elf had refused.
But the spring had opened.
That meant something.
Maybe the grove could not speak against her.
Maybe the spring could.
Ely took a breath.
"Next stop..."
She looked toward the stairway beneath the spring.
"Hollow Mountain."