The forest of Greynifra had been completely destroyed by the Mother of Greed and Sin.
Although the elves were diligently working to restore it, their efforts had only reached the interior of Fildagreen.
The outer area was still left in its devastated state.
𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
At the center of this completely ravaged wasteland—
“Mmm~”
Someone wearing black sacred robes smiled as if pleased and looked around.
First, he turned his head toward where Sin had first moved.
Then, toward where Sin had fought.
Even though he hadn’t been there at the time—
As if retracing the past, the man in black sacred robes turned his head in order.
“There’s not much left now.”
He touched the corners of his mouth, where a more pronounced smile had formed compared to earlier.
“Actually, it might be worth stepping things up a notch at this point.”
Having finished checking everything, he murmured and began to walk.
“How does it look?”
As he turned his gaze to the side—
There stood someone who hadn't been there just moments ago.
“You think so too, don’t you?”
***
Unlike Evan, who had said he would rest, Alon had traveled with Radan to the eastern edge of the coast.
An empty beach with no one around.
Alon stared out at it, lost in thought.
‘…Am I remembering it wrong?’
He looked again toward the eastern coast and the spot where he stood, then shook his head.
‘No, this is definitely the right place.’
Though some time had passed, Alon clearly remembered where he had met the Observer.
Despite the years, the eastern coast had barely changed at all.
And yet, the Observer had not appeared.
‘Wasn’t this necklace supposed to summon her?’
Alon looked down at the necklace he had received from Yongrin.
Last time, simply walking along the beach with the necklace had allowed him to meet her.
‘…What should I do?’
Alon fell deep into thought.
‘The most realistic option would be to go to the colony and ask Yongrin about the Observer.’
But Alon shook his head right away.
‘No, that would take too long to go there and come back.’
“If I may, are you troubled by something, Brother?”
As Alon remained silent, Radan, who had been wearing a slightly troubled expression, spoke up.
“I am, a bit. But you don’t look particularly cheerful either.”
“Oh, this? Don’t mind it too much. I just felt like fixing the shape of that rock.”
“Ah.”
Nodding as if he understood, Alon explained.
“I thought I’d be able to meet her if I came here, but she hasn’t shown up.”
“Oh, you mean the mermaid?”
“You knew?”
At Alon’s question, Radan looked surprised, then nodded awkwardly.
“Yes. I saw her moving around once before.”
“Really?”
Though Alon found the reaction a bit suspicious, he continued the conversation.
“I came to meet her, just as you guessed… but it seems like I won’t be able to today. I thought she’d come if I carried the necklace.”
As Alon clutched the necklace, Radan spoke after a moment of hesitation.
“If it’s okay with you, Brother, should I try finding her?”
“Finding her?”
“Yes. As far as I know, mermaids live in the deep sea. I’ll try diving down and looking.”
“Won’t it be dangerous?”
“I have an artifact. I don’t think it’ll be that risky.”
After a moment of thought, Alon nodded as if convinced.
“In that case, sorry, but I’ll leave it to you.”
“Understood!”
“But don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Don’t worry!”
Alon told Radan as much detail as he could remember from when he had gone underwater with the Observer.
Of course, all he had really done was ride in the bubble she created and move along with her.
Still, he thought even such trivial information might be helpful.
And then—
“I’ll be back soon.”
As soon as Alon finished his explanation, Radan disappeared into the water.
A few hours later—
The sun, once high in the sky, began to descend.
[Wait, wait, wait!! I was wrong—guooooogh]
[Kreaaaagh—save me! Stop!!!]
By the time Blackie was forcefully feeding seawater to Basiliora, who had mocked with jabs like "just a parasite that sleeps all day," and was pressing down on his head with its tiny, cute foot—
“I’m back, Brother!”
Radan emerged from the coast, where only the sound of waves had been echoing.
“Good work.”
“No, it’s nothing. Scouting isn’t all that difficult for me.”
Alon handed him a towel he had received earlier from Evan, just in case.
Radan thanked him softly and took the towel, then gave his report.
“I did find what appears to be the entrance where the Observer is, just like you said.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I didn’t go inside just in case, but would you like to check it out?”
“As much as I’d like to, I can’t stay underwater for long.”
“If that’s the issue, don’t worry, Brother. I have an artifact for you, too.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
With that, Radan pulled out a small earring from his robes.
“You can wear this.”
“This is—”
“A relic that allows breathing underwater.”
“It uses mana, right?”
“It does, but it can only be used for a limited time each day. About an hour, I think.”
“Wouldn’t that be a bit dangerous?”
Earlier, when Radan had gone in, the sun was still high in the sky, but now it was hanging midway over the island.
That meant he had been underwater for a long time.
And Alon remembered that it had taken quite a while to explore the area with the Observer years ago.
“It’s fine. This time it was just a scouting trip, so I took it slow. Now that I’ve found the entrance, an hour will be more than enough time for a round trip.”
Then Radan added, “But since it’s late, how about we go tomorrow instead?”
“Let’s do that.”
Alon nodded.
The next day, after spending a day in Shifra.
‘Still no sign.’
Just in case, Alon brought the necklace again, but the Observer still didn’t appear on the beach.
“Then let’s go.”
“Yes, Brother.”
Alon put on the artifact Radan had given him, and together, they descended into the sea.
The moment they entered the water, they felt a strange buoyancy.
Alon instinctively closed his eyes and held his breath, but at some point, he realized he could breathe naturally and slowly opened his eyes.
‘How fascinating.’
Along with that realization, the previously blurry underwater world became clear, and Alon marveled at the sight for a brief moment.
Confirming that Alon had entered the sea, Radan immediately took out a blue jewel from his chest.
The moment Radan threw the blue gem that glowed even amidst the blue sea—
Woooom~!
The ocean currents shifted, and a passage began to form in the center.
“Let’s go, brother.”
“We’re taking this passage?”
“Yes, if we follow this passage, we’ll reach the destination quickly.”
At Radan’s words, Alon naturally moved toward the passage.
The moment he put his hand into it, he was instantly sucked in and began swimming at a tremendous speed along the designated route.
“Now, just wait.”
Radan’s voice reached Alon, who looked around in surprise.
“You’re quite versatile.”
“Aw— no, brother. This isn’t all that difficult.”
“......Still, I doubt there’s anyone besides you who can move through the sea like this.”
“Haha— well, that might be true. But it’s all thanks to the power of the relics.”
For just a fleeting moment, Radan’s face showed a somewhat bitter expression.
Alon noticed this and felt a slight curiosity.
“Brother, it’s going to get a little dizzy now.”
“What—urk~!”
Just as Radan finished speaking, the passage took a sudden dive downward, and Alon couldn’t help but shut his mouth tightly.
Before long, Alon was pulled down into the unseen depths beyond the blue sea as if being sucked into the abyss.
“We’ve arrived.”
They had reached the place he once visited with the Observer.
Entering a giant hole and walking through a long tunnel with Radan confirmed it even more.
Even though it was clearly deep under the sea—
Countless clusters of stars reflecting from the sky were visible on the ceiling of the cave.
Looking up at those stars, Alon naturally started walking further in, and before long—
“You’ve arrived.”
He encountered the Observer.
However—
“I’ve been waiting.”
The Observer stood pierced by a massive spike embedded in the wall.
“Are you alright?”
That was the first thing Alon said to the mermaid.
It was only natural.
The spike impaled in the Observer’s chest was so large, anyone could see how serious it was.
But the concern only lasted a moment.
“There’s no need to worry. This is necessary to maintain the observatory.”
“...To maintain the observatory?”
“In order to preserve this space, I have to periodically transfer my essence to the observatory.”
“......In that condition?”
“Yes, once it starts, it needs to be sustained for over half a year, so even though I knew you had arrived, I couldn’t leave.”
As the Observer continued speaking, Alon began to understand the general situation.
“So you did know I was here.”
“Yes, because you brought that necklace.”
The Observer answered plainly, then shifted her gaze from Alon to Radan, briefly showing a hint of surprise in her eyes—but it disappeared quickly.
“So, what brings you here? If you came to check on the same ‘longing’ as before, I’m afraid that won’t be possible in my current state.”
“It would be nice to check on that too while I’m here, but that’s not why I came this time.”
Alon then took out a curved jewel he had obtained from the East.
“Do you know anything about this?”
He handed it to the Observer.
At first, the Observer accepted the curved jewel from Alon with a look of confusion.
Then—
“...?”
Her eyes suddenly widened as if she had realized something.
“Where... did you get this?”
She stared at Alon in shock.
“............What is it? Why are you so surprised?”
“This is—”
The Observer continued.
“It’s the Egg of Sin.”
Alon and Radan could only stare wide-eyed in disbelief.

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