Awoooooo—
A wolf’s howl echoed across the open hill, sharp and clear against the quiet air.
"Louis! Elena!!"
Lisa’s voice followed right after, bright and unmistakably cheerful.
When we turned, we saw her waving wildly—while sitting on the back of a massive wolf.
Of course she was.
Her pink hair fluttered in the wind, and behind her—
A whole pack of wolves came running in formation, their footsteps rumbling like distant thunder.
Elena and I just... stared.
Wild wolves, infamous for being territorial and vicious, were trotting along behind her like loyal pets.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she dragged along a parade.
Maybe she really had used the power of the Evil Eye. That was the only explanation that made sense.
"You’re all safe!!"
Lisa’s voice trembled slightly as she leapt off the wolf and ran toward us.
She wrapped her arms around Elena first, squeezing her tight. Elena hugged her back without hesitation, burying her face in Lisa’s shoulder.
It was a genuine reunion—warm, relieved, and long overdue.
Behind the two of them, the wolves who had followed Lisa sat down in neat rows, their tails swishing back and forth like overexcited puppies. A few even tilted their heads at us, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
I still couldn’t reconcile the image.
Once the two girls finally pulled apart—after what felt like several minutes of clinging to each other—the conversation naturally shifted.
"But what are you two doing all the way up here?" Lisa asked, dusting off her clothes.
"We were headed toward that tree," I said, pointing into the distance.
Lisa followed my finger, her eyes narrowing.
"The World Tree...? Why?"
"Last night," I explained, "I saw a beam of white light coming from that direction. I thought if we went there, we might figure out what caused it."
Last night...
Behind the softly glowing World Tree, an unfamiliar pillar of pure white light had pierced the sky—so bright it almost looked like it had split the darkness itself.
Elena and I had been heading there this morning, hoping we might find something—anything—that explained our situation.
That was when we unexpectedly ran into Lisa.
When I mentioned the light, Lisa tilted her head, then turned to check the direction of the World Tree.
The moment her eyes landed on the towering beam, she froze.
"That... is that what you’re talking about...?" she asked, her voice wavering in surprise.
The pillar was visible even in broad daylight—still shining, still pulsing faintly like it was calling to us.
And I knew exactly what it was.
A message.
A marker.
A signal deliberately left behind by Lumine—the one who sent us to this world.
For us alone.
But I couldn’t say that.
Not yet.
"We’re not sure," I said instead, giving her a vague, noncommittal answer. "But we think it might be related to how we ended up here."
Lisa lowered her gaze slightly, as if deep in thought.
"...Is that so?"
Her expression was unreadable for a moment.
Then she quietly clenched her fists, as if arriving at a decision.
"Then let’s go together," she said with a small but determined smile.
After that, she walked forward without hesitation—as though the decision had been obvious from the start.
As though she had no intention of letting us go on without her.
I exchanged a glance with Elena, who looked relieved, then nodded.
And so the three of us began our journey toward the World Tree—toward the beam of light piercing the sky like a divine guidepost.
Whatever was waiting at the end of it...
it felt like everything was finally starting to move.
---
With Lisa joining us, the atmosphere instantly became lighter—almost too light.
She was looking around with bright, curious eyes, reacting to every little thing as if the world itself was new to her.
Well... in a way, it was.
Lisa had spent her childhood confined inside cold laboratories, used as a test subject more than she ever lived as a person.
And after that, she had slept inside a glass tube for nearly a hundred years.
To her, even the wind brushing her hair must have felt like a brand-new experience.
So she ran around the hilltop like an excited child, smiling at flowers, poking at rocks, and even trying to talk to the grass at one point.
Elena watched her with a soft smile.
I watched her with a tired one.
Still... it was hard not to feel the mood brighten with her around.
Thanks to her enthusiasm, our climb up the steep hill didn’t feel as exhausting as it should have. Before we knew it, the World Tree—so far away just moments ago—was now looming much closer, its enormous branches stretching across the sky.
Eventually, the slope grew steeper and our stamina ran out.
We took a short break on a flat area near the top.
The view was breathtaking.
A vast, open landscape spread out below us—green forests, shimmering rivers, and the endless sky painted in bright blue. Just staring at it made our fatigue melt away.
"...It’s beautiful," Elena murmured.
I nodded in silent agreement.
But then something caught my eye.
"They’ve already gone down there."
Following the line of my gaze, Elena and Lisa looked toward the base of the hill.
The wolf pack—the same pack Lisa had ridden earlier—was sprinting toward the World Tree.
But as they drew closer to it...
Their movement changed.
The wolves slowed, their formation tightening.
Their ears pressed flat.
Their tails lowered.
They rolled their eyes and drooled from their protruding tongues.
Some even crouched, their bodies trembling slightly.
Seeing the wolves on the verge of losing their minds, I had no choice but to release the hypnosis I’d placed on them.
I understood why they were behaving so erratically.
It was the World Tree.
The World Tree—the source of all life energy—radiated a presence so overwhelming that even humans felt pressure just by standing near it.
But humans at least had magic circulating in their bodies, a thin shield that allowed us to endure its influence.
The wolves were different.
Creatures driven more by instinct than reason, their minds were desperately rejecting the idea of going any closer.
And with my hypnosis forcing them to move forward, their instincts and my influence clashed violently.
Their minds were on the brink of breaking.
So I released them.
The moment the hypnosis faded, the entire pack bolted away without looking back, disappearing into the forest like shadows.