"…Great Elves, give us passage!"

"…My daughter is ill… I must bring her to the Elf Kingdom for her to get healed. Please, let us enter!"

Ships, filled with humans, waited anxiously at the docks, hoping for the elves to grant them permission to enter their land.

They were praying, kneeling, and begging with their heads low, but none of their prayers were being answered.

In front of them, there was a massive tree—the World Tree—it was as tall as the sky, as wide as the horizon, and its bark was a shimmering silver.

Its many branches were twisted and contorted, reaching out like skeletal fingers towards the heavens.

World Tree was the legendary entrance to the Elf Kingdom. It was located inside the World Tree, and rarely any outsiders were permitted entrance.

"…Please!"

"…Elves, please!"

In that moment, a ship carrying the flag of the Human Government appeared on the horizon and docked at the island where the World Tree stood.

"This is the place."

Lucky said with a smile.

At the front of the ship, Kiernan, carrying little Ellie on his shoulder, looked at the massive World Tree.

"Whoah!"

Ellie's eyes looked bright with wonder.

She had only seen the World Tree in picture books, and now she was standing right in front of it, feeling like she was in a dream.

Aoi was standing beside them with a smile on her face. This was truly an amazing sight to behold.

"Do we really have permission to enter?"

Kiernan asked.

"I asked the Elves Government, and they have heard about you… They heard about your condition and promised to try to help."

Lucky said.

"…They heard about my condition? How?"

Kiernan asked.

He thought that the Human Government planned to keep it a secret because if that got out, it could put him in danger.

It wasn't like he hadn't made any enemies during his time in this world, and there were a lot of people who would want to see him dead.

Animalkin especially.

"Elves are very closely connected to their Goddess—the Fair One—and it has been said that this World Tree is the very heart of their Goddess.

"That's why they don't really like letting any outsiders close to their Goddess. Their Goddess often tells them things and must've told them about your condition."

Lucky said.

"Whoah, the Goddess talked about Daddy then?"

Ellie asked.

"That's most likely the case, as this is something they shouldn't know. I also assume that it is the Goddess that told them to give Kiernan permission to enter."

Lucky said.

Ellie gasped in excitement and looked at her father with even greater reverence than before, as this meant that even the Goddesses and Gods knew about him!

Kiernan just wryly smiled.

He didn't think that he would have that good of a relationship with godly beings after his antics in the afterlife.

He was a reincarnator, and what he did was considered a great crime against the heavens, and he even used Golden Tribulation Lightning as weapons.

Everything he had done was going against the heavens, so he wouldn't be surprised if they wanted him dead!

They left the ship, made their way to the World Tree, and everywhere they walked there were humans praying to the World Tree.

"…My daughter…"

"…My father…"

"…My wife…"

It sounded like some of their family members were sick, and they wanted Elves to cure them, as they were the greatest healers in the world.

They got close to the World Tree, and in that moment, the Elven Guards pointed their longbows at them.

"…Halt, who goes there?!"

Reaching into his pocket, Lucky pulled out a flower-shaped entrance card. It was shining brightly.

"I am Lucky, the member of the Human Embassy. I've come here with Kiernan Hunter, Aoi Hunter, and Ellie Hunter. I've received permission to bring them here."

The elves checked their papers, found their names there, and then granted them entrance.

The wooden entrance door got lifted. It was part of the bark of the tree.

When they were walking through the entrance, the Elven Guards looked at Kiernan Hunter with their Soul Eyes.

"…Broken…"

They whispered among themselves.

In that moment, they stepped through the entrance, walked up some wooden stairs, and there was another entrance at the top with a couple more elven guards.

They asked for an entrance card. Lucky showed it to them. And after seeing it, they nodded and opened the gate for them.

When the gate was open, their eyes got welcomed to the beautiful sight of the Elven Kingdom.

It was a vertical city, built inside the bark of the tree and connected by intricate bridges and walkways.

Buildings of all shapes and sizes were nestled among the branches, with colorful banners fluttering in the gentle breeze.

When Ellie looked up, all she could see was the bustling city above her. She felt like she was in a magical fairytale world.

Long-winged birds soared through the air, and there were even elves, using some kind of flying contraption to glide effortlessly through the city above.

"Welcome to the Elf Kingdom!"

Lucky said with a smile.

"…"

Kiernan looked around the streets and saw pointy-eared elves going about their daily business with a sense of grace.

There really weren't humans anywhere, which was why they garnered some attention.

What caught most of their attention was Kiernan's destroyed soul, as it wasn't every day that they met someone with a destroyed soul.

"We're meeting with some Elven healers to see if they can help. We must take an elevator there, so follow me!"

Lucky said.

They followed right behind and soon arrived at the elevator, which was being dangled by a couple of ropes, and the group cautiously stepped inside.

It was an elevator made of branches, leaves, and twigs. It really didn't look that safe to use.

Ellie tightly grabbed Kiernan's hand, and at that moment, the elevator started being pulled up quickly.

It lifted about a thousand meters into the air until it stopped, and they stepped onto a wooden bridge that was suspended in the sky.

"…We are so high."

Ellie whispered in fear.

She had never been this high up before and started feeling dizzy, but then Kiernan lifted her up and carried her instead.

Ellie quickly wrapped her arms around Kiernan's neck, holding on tightly as they continued to walk across the bridge.

"This is the Healer's Avenue."

Lucky said as they stepped out of the bridge and arrived at a beautiful city street lined with vibrant flowers and bustling shops.

Gown-wearing medic masters roamed about, testing all kinds of new recipes and treating some ill elves.

When they arrived, several of the medic masters turned to look, and all exclaimed simultaneously after seeing the state of Kiernan's soul.

"…Young man, what the hell happened to you?"

"…A completely destroyed soul. Your inner world looks like a starry sky, but the stars are broken pieces of your soul. That is very not good!"

The medic masters exclaimed.

They had seen a couple of destroyed souls, but nothing like this before, as his was completely shattered.

'Young man…'

Kiernan's mouth twitched.

He wasn't a young man any longer when it came to human age, but for these elves, he was basically a baby.

"This one here is Kiernan Hunter, and I've brought him here to see if there is any chance to heal his soul. If somebody can, it will be you, elves."

Lucky said.

"…Heal that? I've been able to heal a soul that had a small crack. This is not a small crack. It looks to be completely exploded!"

One of the medic masters said.

"That is not something you can just put a bandage on! I haven't heard about anyone that is capable of fully restoring a soul!"

Lucky listened silently to them, and sighed, and looked at Kiernan with an apologetic look.

"I am sorry, Kiernan. I thought if somebody could, it would be elves, but I guess I underestimated the condition of your soul."

Aoi and Ellie looked at Kiernan with sadness, as if elves couldn't heal him. Nobody could, so it was a hopeless situation.

"…It's alright. I expected as much."

Kiernan smiled.

He would be lying if he said that he wasn't disappointed, but he wasn't angry at himself for destroying his soul.

It was a small sacrifice, as it helped him to meet Aoi and his daughter, which was a good trade-off.

"…We're sorry, young man."

The elves apologized.

Kiernan shook his head, as they had no reason to apologize for him.

In that moment.

A bright light descended from the sky. A golden light. It forced everyone to close their eyes as it engulfed Kiernan.

"Ahhh!"

"What's going on?!"

At that same moment, the light disappeared, and as everyone opened their eyes, they noticed that Kierna was gone!

"Kiernan!"

Aoi screamed hoarsely.

"Where is daddy?!"

Ellie shouted.

"…Everything is alright."

In that moment, Lucky assured them with a shocked look, and the elves were equally stunned—so much so that they couldn't speak.

"Lucky, what happened?"

Aoi asked.

"…The Goddess of the Elves, the Fair One, summoned Kiernan to her palace. That golden light was hers. Kiernan is currently meeting with her!"

Lucky said in shock.

He didn't think it was possible for a human to ever meet the Goddess of Elves. As far as he could tell, no one had before!

It was something that only a handful of elves had ever experienced!

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