Descent of a God

Forest III

Cordelia POV:

Calling the lines of wooden buildings in front of me 'tree houses' would be an insult. 

The 'houses' were also much bigger than what you would think, though that is a given seeing the thick trunks of the trees to support them. 

Those trunks seemed to have been hollowed out and used as part of the house. There were various lantern like objects hung down from the roofs of the houses and there were also bridges between them. 

Not only that, but the wood of the trees itself gave off a mystical feeling.

However, what truly caught my eye was the giant tree near the middle. It was unbelievably huge which made it surprising that I hadn't seen it till now. The leaves had a lush green colour that made the other trees look withered in comparison.

Not only that, there was a gap between the houses and the big tree, signifying some sort of great importance to Sophie's people.

Speaking of Sophie, her ears perked in excitement and it made me wonder how long she has been away from her home.

Suddenly, several men and woman appeared in front of me. I wasn't surprised since I already sensed there presence, but I had to admit their speed was a bit startling.

'These guys must be focusing on movements instead of fighting,' I thought as I examined them.

The elderly man stepped forward and asked in a kind but firm tone, "Who is this woman you have brought with you, Sophie?"

Sophie stepped forward, flustered, before answering, "H-her name is Cordelia. She was passing through this forest when she found me being chased by the Salamander and saved my life. I told her what happened and she wanted to help us."

'Now that I think about it, Sophie is quite naive. She easily believed me just because I saved her life and even led me to their secret hideout.'

The elder must have thought the same thing as me as his expression darkened, "You brought a powerful, mysterious woman here just because she saved your life? What if she's colluding with the Chamrior King and this was their strategy of finding the World Tree!"

I saw the others taking out weapons and coating their bodies in mana. The air around us become heavier as I also readied spatium to teleport away if need be, since I didn't want to harm them.

'So that big tree is the World tree? It must be very important to these guys then. Not only that, they seem to be the traditional elves you read about in the fantasy books.'

Living in trees. Long ears. Good looking. Close connection with nature and mana. And finally, the World Tree.

'Yep, they are definitely elves,' I thought before deciding to diffuse the situation, "It may be hard to believe but I do not work for the Chamrior King, nor do I want to harm you. I am only here to help you."

"Oh, and what would you take in return," the elder asked me while raising his brow.

'I need to bluff my way through,' I thought before replying.

"I had heard about the great elves of the Chamrior Forest and came here to visit them as well as see the World Tree as I was searching for a certain solution. However, I met Sophie while she was being chased and recognised her as an elf. I decided to save her life and told her to lead me to you."

'Hopefully my bluffing works,' I thought as sweat dripped down my neck in nervousness.

"Ah, so you have heard about us from somewhere else!" One of the younger elves exclaimed in excitement.

"And you are willing to help us," this time, the voice of the young woman entered my ears. Her voice was full of hope.

"Yes," I nodded my head, "In return, I want the solution to my problem from the World Tree."

There wasn't really any solution I needed but I had to lie here as the elves would have been doubtful of my motives.

"Huh? Do the outside people believe the World Tree answers questions?" One of the elves muttered out aloud.

I sweat-dropped, 'Fuck, did I mess this up?'

Thankfully, my fears weren't realized when the elder coughed, "You seem to be mistaken, Cordelia. The World Tree is not a presence that answers questions. However, there is still someone who may be able to help you."

My mood was instantly uplifted as I barely held myself back from pouncing on them for answers.

I took in a deep inhale to calm myself before saying, "Let's discuss more formally."

The elven elder nodded his head and gestured us to follow him. While we were walking through the area, I couldn't help but marvel at the scenery.

The houses and the pathways seem to be integrated with the nature itself. The pathway, rather than being build out of stones or tiles, was just a shaven bed of grass that made it feel like I was walking on clouds.

The houses were actually not like real treehouses. It seemed like they had grown out of the trees, with the base sticking to the trunk of the trees.

Not only that, I could feel an overflow of a different type of magic that I had never seen before.

'Is this the plant deviant that Jude was thinking about?' I wondered internally.

The elderly man's voice woke me up from my stupor, "We have reached."

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A/N: 

Sorry for the short chapter, guys! My IGCSE results are coming out and I am way too stressed to write, I'll upload a longer chapter next week (If I am not dead by then.)

I am thinking of ending this tower arc in another 3-4 chapters hopefully, so do look forward to that.

And pray for my results!