I couldn't feel my legs anymore.
We'd tried everything—pulling, cutting, talking. Screaming. Nothing worked. The villagers were melded with the trees—skin branching into bark, eyes dulled into mossy stillness.
I dropped to the ground and buried my face in my hands.
"Why…?" My voice was barely a whisper. "Why did I even come to this world if all I do is break it…"
Aelira knelt beside me. She didn't say anything right away. No tsundere jabs. No smugness. Just silence and her hand gently resting on my back.
"I told you once," she said softly. "You're not as special as you think."
I winced.
Then she added, "But you're not as monstrous as you fear, either."
---
Ding.
A soft chime rang out of nowhere.
Aelira's body jolted.
Floating in front of her… was a glowing blue panel.
> System Update
[Blessing Activated]
Healing Skill: "Balm of Return" has awakened to
"Balm of Rebirth"
— Can restore those partially lost to unnatural states
— Warning: Cannot restore those fully transformed
Aelira gasped.
"What… what is this?"
I sat up slowly. "Your ability… it evolved?"
She stared at her hands in disbelief. Light—warm, gentle—began to pulse around her fingertips.
"This is… I can pull them back."
---
We ran to the villagers still showing signs of life—those whose eyes blinked, whose mouths still moved.
Aelira placed her hand against a young girl's face—half consumed by bark. The light flared.
Bit by bit, the wooden growths cracked, falling away like shed skin. Color returned to the girl's cheeks. Her eyes widened.
She gasped. "I… I was dreaming of roots… of growing…"
"You're safe," Aelira said gently.
One by one, she moved from tree to tree. The healing light shone, and I felt something I hadn't in hours.
Hope.
---
But Then…
The light failed.
Aelira tried to reach for another villager—an old man who had no mouth, just a hollowed wooden snarl.
But nothing happened.
"No," she whispered. "No, no, no—"
The blue panel flickered.
> Subject is fully integrated
Healing not permitted
Status: 10% Stable
Aelira lowered her hand. Her shoulders slumped.
"They're… too far gone."
---
We saved eight.
But over thirty remained.
Still trees. Still watching. Still alive.
Lucen stood back, watching the miracle like it wasn't his fault. Like he'd simply read the weather instead of writing the storm.
I looked at him, my fists tightening.
"You did this."
He didn't deny it.
"And now you're going to live with it," I growled. "Every day. You'll see their faces and remember what belief without limits does."
Lucen said nothing. For once, his mouth had no words.
---
As night fell, the rescued villagers slept in blankets under the stars. Aelira sat beside me, silent. Tired. Her hands still glowing faintly.
"You saved them," I whispered.
She nodded slowly. "Not all of them."
"Still… thank you."
She looked at me, eyes softer than ever. "You're welcome, Riku."
Then she added, voice quieter:
"But don't forget. You have a power, too. One that can hurt or heal—depending on the words you choose."
I stared at my hands.
And for the first time since arriving in this world…
I started thinking carefully about what I'd say next.
---
[To be continued]