And what does that difference mean to Jiwoo?

“It’s okay. I understand.”

“I think the village will be fully restored by this evening. We not only have a feast prepared for you but also want to offer you the best possible reward we can provide. It might be good for you to take a look around the village before making your choice.”

“Will it be restored that quickly?”

“Yes. Since our Elandos have lived much longer than the trees there, the recovery speed, as well as the speed at which it rebuilds, will be much faster.”

Small orbs of light were already rising and floating around the Elandos. It was the same energy form that Helkainis had shown before the birth of the children of Elandos. Seeing those things already gathering, it seemed that this Elandos was indeed a tree that’s more advanced in its years.

“It sure looks like that.”

“Then?”

Asillion reached out to Jiwoo with much more confidence than before.

Jiwoo just smiled. It wasn’t because of Asillion, but because of the people she had to return to.

“Before that, I want to go back to my group first.”

“Ah, I…”

Asillion seemed to want to say something in disappointment but sighed and smiled. It was a defeated response.

Jiwoo turned her body toward where they were. Even though there was another giant Elandos that could be admired, they were still looking at her. Their gaze was always fixed on her, and so all she needed to do was turn her head to meet their eyes.

The stiff feeling melted away in an instant.

‘But why am I so tired?’

This Elandos was said to have lived three times longer, so maybe it was why her body was constantly droopy.

The grass, which had been like ashes, had regained its vitality and had become more abundant, so it took longer to move than before.

The group, including Helkainis, had been watching Jiwoo all along and hurriedly ran towards her when they confirmed that she was approaching them.

Jiwoo raised her arm to wave at them but was startled.

“Urk…!”

Her arm, which touched the grass, stung sharply.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed small scratches. Like being scratched by sharp thorns.

‘Why is this happening? Something’s strange.’

Does such tough grass grow here? But to cause wounds on an Akarna’s body…

As Jiwoo was taken aback and stood still, they had already come close to her.

“Seo Jiwoo.”

Her vision was dizzy.

The sight of Callan running towards her was blurry.

“―woo?”

The voice sounded faint. It was as if hearing it underwater. Her chest felt stuffy, just like her body.

Cough.

Something burst out from inside, and she coughed once, accompanied by something wet.

“Oh…”

Jiwoo looked down at her hands that had just covered her mouth.

Her hands were stained red.

Still not grasping the situation, Jiwoo raised her head.

“―!”

The last thing she saw was their pale faces as they ran towards her and her vision turned dark.

.
.
.

06. El

When Jiwoo began living in the temple of this world, she had never believed in God in her life. Yet suddenly, she had to become a symbolic figure of religion. Living with restricted language and food, she carried burdens she never wanted.

The freedom she had enjoyed was suddenly taken away, and she was forced into painful tasks. She had never wanted anything like that and had never done it willingly.

Until she met the Crown Prince, in other words, before Jiwoo learned to endure everything in the name of love, she spent every night in tears.

But even so, there was a reason she abided by the ‘Duty of the Akarna’ enforced in the temple.

Partly, it was to survive. It was all she could do, and in this unfamiliar world, it was the only way she could receive some kind of treatment.

At first, she felt frustrated and angry. She thought it was unfair treatment. Jiwoo was not someone willing to sacrifice herself for strangers.

Then she felt sad and nostalgic. She had to adapt and live here, but every night, she fell asleep thinking of her homeland. Perhaps she could return, if she endured a little longer.

Then she resigned herself to her fate. Since there was no way back, she realized that longing for that place only caused her pain. She couldn’t appeal to anyone. Surrounded by many, Jiwoo was still an isolated loner.

Growing weaker day by day, Jiwoo fell seriously ill one day. It was due to malnutrition and psychological stress.

However, despite suffering from a high fever for days, Jiwoo did not receive proper medical care. And then, she realized.

The existence of Akarna was replaceable any time, like any consumable.

From then on, she complied out of fear.

Until she met the Crown Prince, she trembled in fear every day.

She went to her homeland in her dreams every night, but at some point, her homeland stopped appearing.

Instead, she often had nightmares.

The dreams showed despair. She couldn’t talk to people, she couldn’t even hear people’s voices. If someone hurt her, the wounds wouldn’t heal, and she would die from excessive bleeding.

The only thing people in this world want was her body. Then, once that became useless, they would discard her without a single ounce of mercy. Seeing the backs of the priests who turned away as she continued to tremble from the endless bleeding, Jiwoo let out a scream. But no sound came out. Because she didn’t know the language of this world.

She worried and worried.

What if the powers of an Akarna within her would suddenly disappear? What if she couldn’t survive even in this place?

Then Seo Jiwoo, who was useless in this world, would be thrown away. She might be driven out of the temple and become a slave.

That’s why being able to focus on loving someone had been her only comfort.

And so…

“Seo Jiwoo.”

“…….”

“Seo Jiwoo!”

With the urgent voice calling her, Jiwoo opened her eyes.

“Gasp, gasp…”

Why, why did she have that kind of dream all of a sudden?

Her heart was pounding. When she looked around, she saw familiar faces.

Looking at her with concern, they offered her a water bag. Jiwoo, who had been sweating, relaxed as she saw their faces and cleared her throat.

But something was strange. Her body felt heavy, like after swimming for a long time and suddenly coming out of the water.

No, her body still felt heavy. Her limbs were sluggish, as if floundering in water.

Her body also felt chilly. Seeing the darkness around her, it seemed like it was already night.

What had happened suddenly? She vomited blood, lost consciousness, and now that she’s awake…

Noticing Jiwoo waking up, Callan visibly relaxed and said something to her.

“―.”

“What?”

Jiwoo was taken aback.

He opened his mouth again.

“―――, ―――――.”

What, what was he saying?

She only knew that his lips were moving and he was making some sound. But she couldn’t understand what he was saying at all.

“Seo Jiwoo?”

Jiwoo quickly nodded her head. She could understand the name he called. It was a proper word, after all.

“―?”

But when he spoke again, Jiwoo couldn’t hide her confusion.

Until now, Jiwoo had had no problem understanding the language of this world. This was because Akarna’s power, which instinctively eliminated threats around her, automatically adjusted the language of this world for her.

Until now, Jiwoo could understand any language in this world.

In fact, she couldn’t explain the principle behind it, but it felt that way. When a sound reached her, it felt like it was coming through several layers of filtering. The filtered language was then received by her ears and mind.

But not anymore.

She could not understand a single word.

__