Ah… This is a dream…
What do you call it when you think this?
I think it’s a lucid dream, but I really am fully aware that this is a dream.
I’m in a pure white space. It’s like when I met god and reincarnated.
Come to think of it, I’ve experienced something like this before.
At the time, Tamamo did all sorts of things…
She’s not around anymore. This means either someone else did this, or it really is just a dream…
I look down, and I’m naked, but I have a nice body compared to old me, so I’m Arata.
That’s kind of a relief.
It’s not like I didn’t like old me, but I’ve been leading a new life, so I really don’t feel like going back now.
‘This way…’
I suddenly hear a voice.
It’s not a bad presence. I feel no hostility from it, and in fact, it’s soothing.
I slowly turn my consciousness that way, and the white space around me flows like time is moving back. Before I know it, there’s Yggdrasil.
“This is…”
‘This way…’
That again. I hear it from the sky, so I try to fly, but…
“No good.”
Maybe it’s because it’s a dream, but I can’t use magic to fly.
Oh well, I have to walk through the same path I traversed with Edinburgh and the others a while back.
Yggdrasil is big, so it would take me over a day to reach the top if I walk normally.
That said, since there’s no sky or sun, I don’t even know if time is passing.
I just keep walking, and before I know it, I’m above the clouds.
I reach towards them with my hand from a branch, and they’re soft like a cushion.
So even this has been replicated. Or is it actually just the same place…
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
I look up, and see I’m almost there.
When I reach the top, I see a grassy field with one tree, even though I’m on top of a tree.
It’s not that big, but I feel a divine presence from it. What a strange tree.
“…!?”
A strong gust of wind blows into my eyes all of a sudden, and I reflexively raise my arms to cover them.
As I slowly lower them, I see a woman in front of the tree.
Somehow, I understand that she is the world.
“…Did you call me here?”
“Yes… This way.”
It’s a strange voice. It echoes like a bell in the wind, sounding not like the kind of voice that should be coming from a person.
But much like when I found myself in this dream world, this voice feels nostalgic.
What is this? It’s like being in grandma’s house in the country during my summer break…
Is her voice a wind chime?
When that thought crosses my mind, I suddenly realize she’s walking with me.
I described her as the world before, but she might be the universe.
It’s beyond logic, is what my senses are telling me.
In any case, she’s not a normal being. She might be on a different level than even the people I met on that island.
She has a mysterious smile on her face, and slowly reaches towards me…
“I wanted to meet you, little Arata.”
She gives me a tender hug, and whispers with a sugary tone.
“Wai, ooh!?”
It suddenly becomes real to me, or chilling, and I try to get away out of embarrassment.
But I can’t. I don’t know how much strength this woman has in her slender arms, but they’re not budging.
You’re kidding!? I’ve never been overpowered by anyone!
“Ufufu, there there.”
She says sweetly while patting my head, like she doesn’t feel how flustered I am.
But I feel myself relaxing, like that’s what I wanted…
“P-please tell me what’s going on!”
“No~.”
I can feel resistance is futile, so I ask instead. But she flatly rejects that too, and keeps patting me.
After pampering me for a bit, I guess she’s finally satisfied, and she releases me.
“Ufufu, I wanted to do that all this time.”
“…”
Meanwhile, I feel languid.
I’m completely taken aback. I’ve never been treated like a kid like this in my adult life.
“S-so who are you…?”
Looking at her again, she’s really beautiful. She has a slender body, and beautiful long hair that makes me think of fresh leaves.
Her eyes feel like they see through all, and it’s like she’s the personification of a large tree…
“Are you Yggdrasil…?”
“Correct correct! Do you want a reward?”
“No, it’s okay!”
There’s a mystical and mysterious air to her, but once she starts talking, she feels innocent like a child.
Her mannerisms remind me of Miss Miriel or Snow. And as I think that, she smiles gently again.
“I am Yggdrasil, the personification of The World Tree of the same name. And your mother.”
“…Eh?”
“Call me mom!”
She says, not minding the fact that she just threw me for a loop.
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Thanks for the treat.😊