Chapter 290: Chapter 290 The Dying Tree
"The Witches..." My words halted in my throat.
Her gaze lingered on me for a second too long, before returning to her young self.
Spells lit up the sky like lightning, ripping holes into the earth and setting the entire tents on fire.
I watched in horror as the witches attacked. The smell of blood, the smoke, the cries of the werewolves tore through the air.
Young Princess Anastasia didn’t move an inch away from the tree, she continued pressing her glowing hands against the roots, pouring all her magic into it. Her body trembled from the force of it, and her dress was soaked in sweat and dirt.
"If the tree died, the realm would die with it." Princess Anastasia said, she knelt beside her younger self, her blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
"I have relived this moment a thousand times, wishing I could change my decision... but no matter how hard I tried... it remained the same." She brushed her fingers over her younger self’s cheeks, but her fingers only passed through her body.
She retracted her hand to her side with a shaky breath.
I knelt beside her. "It is not your fault, everyone makes mistakes." I tried to console her.
She turned to me with a bitter smile. "If this was only about the Golden orb... it would have been better?"
She looked down the hill, and I followed her line of sight, only to find two women climbing up the hill, behind them a group of witches and demons chased after them.
Young Anastasia’s eyes flickered with alarm as she spotted the two women climbing desperately up the hill, their clothes torn and stained with blood and dirt. Her body swayed where she knelt, but she stumbled to her feet.
She rushed forward, and gold light slithered from her hands as she pushed back the witches and demons before forming a barrier around them.
The witches and demons attacked the barrier furiously but they couldn’t get through it.
The ground trembled under the blast, and the two women stumbled up the hill, their breaths ragged, sweat dripping down their pale faces.
They collapsed near the sacred tree. One of the women had a feature like humans, she clutched her swollen belly, her eyes wide with fear as if holding the child was the only thing keeping her alive. The other woman... my eyes locked on her and I froze.
Her body shook as blood soaked her side, the wound spilling and closing at the same time. The skin fought to knit together, but it was slow, and the blood refused to stop. She was clinging to life, healing yet breaking apart.
I didn’t know her, but my chest tightened when I looked at her face. My stomach twisted, my fists clenched hard. A strange ache pressed against me. ’Why am I feeling this way? Who is she?’ The thought circled in my head, refusing to leave.
The Sacred Tree was deteriorating before our eyes. Its golden glow had dimmed into a sickly green, its bark splitting and peeling away like it was rotting from the inside out. The air around it grew heavy, suffocating, as if the entire realm was sinking with it.
"No...no... no" Young Anastasia whispered, panic lacing her voice. She pressed her palms back against the trunk, pouring everything she had into the roots once more, but a fierce backlash threw her onto her back. She cried out, clutching her chest.
Her eyes widened in horror. They darted to the tree, then to the women, then back to the tree again. A realization seemed to crash into her like thunder. Her lips trembled, her words tumbling out in a broken whisper. "The seed... I have to get the seed... If I can save the seed, I can save the tree..."
Her voice cracked, but even as she mumbled, her gaze kept falling on the women who now writhed on the ground. The woman with the injuries groaned, her dark brown hair clung to her face, her hands gripping her belly as another wave of pain tore through her. The human woman screamed, curling on her side, her face contorted with agony.
I rushed forward. "I think they are going into labour." I knelt beside them.
"They are." Princess Anastasia said, her voice distant and cold.
I turned to face her. "We need to save..." My voice died in my throat as I realized we are nothing but spirits, we can’t save them... we can only rewatch the past.
My breath hitched, and my shoulders slumped, my eyes flickered to the young princess.
She staggered to her feet, her body swaying as she walked closer to them. Her hands hovered uncertainly in the air, torn between reaching for their trembling bodies or turning back to the dying tree. Her face was pale with exhaustion, her hair damp with sweat, and her blue eyes carried the weight of impossible choices.
"Calm down," she whispered, forcing her voice to stay steady even as it shook with fear. She knelt beside them, brushing strands of hair from the wounded woman’s forehead, then placing a hand on the human woman’s trembling arm. "Please, you must hold on... Breathe. Stay with me."
The ground rumbled beneath us, the roots of the tree cracking as if they were crying out. Anastasia’s eyes filled with desperation, and her voice grew louder, firmer, even though it wavered.
A glint flickered through her eyes. "If the Sacred Tree dies, everything dies with it." She paused letting her words linger in the air. "Your families, your children, everything you love will plummet into hell and vanish. Do you hear me?"
Her hands squeezed theirs, her touch trembling. "But... but together we can save them. You can save all of them."
The women screamed again as another wave of pain overtook them, their cries mixing with the groaning of the dying tree. Anastasia’s tears spilled down her cheeks as she looked from their faces to the tree’s fading glow. Her body shook, her lips muttered prayers under her breath, and I could see the torment written across her face.
"What does she mean by that?" I turned to Princess Anastasia.
"You’ll find out soon." She stood with her hands clasped together.
I stood frozen, my eyes locked on the wounded woman’s face as her body arched with pain. My emotions tore through me in a storm I could not untangle... grief, bitterness, and something raw I could not name.