I had another reason for refusing to return to my original form besides Hyun saying he liked me this way. There was an even bigger reason.
The truth about my body.
My mind thinks of my body as Yu Sia, who was once an 18-year-old young man, but that's not actually the case.
An artificial life form created by a madman. That's what I really am.
Even if I "returned to normal," how much would actually change? At best, my wings and horns might disappear.
Or maybe... I'd return to whatever form I'm supposed to have.
It's completely random, from best to worst case. That's scary, which makes me hesitant.
"So it's enough if I can just heal this leg."
"Certainly... if what you're saying is true, drinking the Elixir probably won't return you to your original form."
"That's right, isn't it?"
I was disappointed but not despairing.
If I had been expecting that drinking the Elixir would return me to my original body and let me live like before, it might have been different.
But I had somewhat anticipated that drinking the Elixir wouldn't change much.
I smiled bitterly and shook my head.
The tree gently swayed and lightly stroked my head with a thin branch.
It was less of a stroke and more of a brief touch, but from that careful gesture and the emotions conveyed, I could tell she was trying to comfort me.
"Thank you for comforting me."
The Elixir is a bit of a waste, but if the tree helps me a little, I should be able to heal my ankle at least.
As I closed my eyes and felt the leaves brushing against my head, the Light Dragon, who had been silent, spoke up.
[Drink the Elixir anyway.]
"I really wish you'd stop cutting out all the context when you talk."
I muttered with a sullen expression, and the Light Dragon snorted.
[When have I ever said anything useless to you?]
"Well, never, but that's not the point. When you talk like that, I have no choice but to ask more questions."
[Then I'll tell you. In your current state, you won't live even a year.]
...Die?
My mind went completely blank at this revelation, which was far more serious than I'd expected.
I thought I'd become quite resilient after all I'd been through in this short time, but apparently not.
Seeing how my brain completely reset at the mere mention of death... No, anyone would react the same way.
Death isn't something you overcome; it's something you accept.
No, wait.
"Why...?"
[What a strange question. Did you think a dragon's body could be created so easily?]
"Well, no..."
[It takes 10 years just for a pureblooded dragon to be born from an egg. It takes 500 years for a Hatchling to become an adult through molting. Yet you went through 7 molts in just 7 months to become an adult. Does that make any sense to you?]
"But that's so out of nowhere! Why didn't you tell me this before?!"
[I thought it better for you to live peacefully until the end rather than live blinded by impossible hope. As you aged, you would naturally have realized your mortality anyway.]
Listening to him speak so calmly made my blood boil.
I almost lost control of my emotions, but as the heat rose to my head, I somehow became calmer and managed to hold back.
"Why was that your decision to make?"
[What difference would it have made if I told you? Would your death be postponed? Would you live longer? No. You would have either trembled in fear waiting for death or struggled desperately to live. What would that improve? No medicine could heal your body.]
"...Except the Elixir, you mean."
[Yes. That's why I told you as soon as the opportunity arose. Even if I was wrong to hide your impending death, I won't apologize. I believed it was the right thing to do.]
I felt a surge of anger at the Light Dragon's words, but I couldn't bring myself to lash out. I understood intellectually, but emotionally, I just couldn't accept it.
Should I let it go since he's telling me now? But how could he hide something like this when someone's life is at stake?
Should I forgive him because he was trying to be considerate? If he really wanted to be considerate, he should have been honest from the start.
As I was struggling internally, I suddenly remembered Hyun asking me to tell him if anything happened rather than hiding it.
Ah, so that's how Hyun felt.
Realizing that, my anger subsided somewhat.
Of course, I wasn't completely over it; I just realized I wasn't in a position to blame others.
"I guess this is what they call learning from others' mistakes?"
[Hmph. Useless talk.]
Well... at least he didn't wait until I was on my deathbed to tell me. That would have been truly unfair.
...Of course, I couldn't curse the Light Dragon to death, but I could at least glare at him from a distance.
"So drinking the Elixir will heal me?"
[If you believe its effect of returning to your original form is true... Well, let's think about that later. Yes, drinking the Elixir will heal you.]
I nodded and looked up at the tree.
It was a bit embarrassing to refuse once and then ask again, but when your life is at stake, what's a little embarrassment?
"I've been listening to everything."
Oh right. I keep forgetting.
Maybe it's because the connection with the tree feels so comfortable that I keep forgetting we're linked.
"I hate to be shameless, but could I ask for your help?"
"As I said before, that's not difficult. But before that, shouldn't you wake that child up before we go?"
I nodded, got up, and nudged Hyun's side with my foot.
Making groaning sounds, Hyun soon pushed away the branches covering his face and slowly sat up.
"Ugh... my head... What just happened...?"
"Nothing much. You just briefly connected mentally with the trees here, and you couldn't handle it and passed out."
Hyun blinked at my words, looked around, and shuddered.
Mental interference strong enough to make me lose consciousness? That crazy old man, how is this supposed to be a safe Gate...!
Ah, so this is exactly what mental connection feels like.
Strong thoughts or emotions are clearly felt, while smaller feelings or thoughts are only faintly perceived.
As I nodded at that thought, Hyun's mind went quiet.
"Hey... are you connected to me too right now?"
"Huh? Well..."
I nodded and looked at Hyun, and a strange atmosphere flowed between us.
No joke, there was a truly strange feeling flowing.
"..."
"..."
Please disconnect the mental link between Hyun and me.
Please disconnect the mental link between Sia and me.
Hyun and I had the same thought simultaneously, and the Mother Of The Forest and surrounding trees swayed gently.
Even without a mental connection, it was clear that this was a sign they were laughing.
"I'm sorry, but connections aren't something that can be made and broken at will."
Well, if it can't be helped...
I glanced at Hyun and our eyes met as he was glancing at me.
Oh god, this mental connection is real.
I sighed deeply and covered my face, hearing a sigh from beside me as well.
With emotions doubled, the embarrassment was doubled too.
Just then.
[That's a lie. If it were truly impossible, connecting with you in the first place would have been impossible.]
"Really... I just wanted to watch the pure love of young ones..."
The tree showed disappointment for the first time at the Light Dragon's words, but...
""Please disconnect us...""
I'm not joking, it really feels like we're displaying public affection in the middle of a subway!
"Don't think about that!"
"You're thinking about similar... No, you crazy bastard, what are you thinking?!"
"Hohoho, to be young. Like a baobab tree."
"Aaaaargh!!"
Mental connections are too scary...
...After a brief commotion.
After our desperate persuasion, the mental connection was severed, and we followed the Light Dragon's guidance, flying in the direction of the light particles emitted by the Mother Of The Forest.
We flew because the tree was so large that walking would have taken several more hours.
Seriously... the largest leaf was the size of a neighborhood basketball court.
[Using me as a map substitute, of all things. Tsk, what's so embarrassing about reproductive behavior between males and females?]
"You...!"
I almost shouted out loud in anger but held back and screamed internally instead.
'That's obviously embarrassing!'
[I was saying, why be embarrassed now when you were licking and sucking while I was watching?]
"You were watching that?!"
"What?! Are we mentally connected again?!"
"What were you thinking about to react like that?!"
[Haah... such noisy fellows.]
I felt like I was going crazy with indignation, but I held it in and flapped my wings hard.
Following the particles, we finally arrived at our destination: inside the Mother Of The Forest.
Surprisingly, the inside of the tree was hollow. Looking up, the night sky spread out above us, and looking down, an enormous mass of light was pulsating.
[That's the Gate Core.]
"Unbelievable..."
Maybe because the tree itself is so huge, the core is also impossibly large.