World's Best Protagonist [BL]-Chapter 67: World Tree (2)

Darkness wrapped around me like an old, dusty blanket that smelled suspiciously of forgotten things. Not exactly the coziest feeling. And where the hell did those ghostly lights go? Where are they when I need light the most?

Even the torches mounted on the spines of bookshelves flickered out. I’m a second away to shouting: let there be light! If only the hairs in my arm weren’t fascinating me, standing on their own.

I couldn’t see it. I just knew. My skin tightened after hearing that sound.

The atmosphere turned cold and eerie, and the silence was thick and long—so absolute that I started wondering if I had suddenly gone deaf.

Then, a few moments later, I heard it again.

The sound of something scraping.

I froze. I held back my breath, a bit scared that my sound might catch the attention of whatever that is.

Then, something farted.

...that was not me. It sounded like a fart but it closed to something softly and slowly croaking noise... though I did smell something beside the smell of books. The scent was a mix of musty, aged wood with a faint, unsettling, almost unnatural scent.

Like the smell of old parchment, damp earth, with the faintest hint of something metallic and herbal at the same time, like dried leaves long forgotten.

Another scrape, slow and deliberate, echoed in the room, like something being dragged across the floor, except the floor wasn’t the issue. I’m certain it’s not on the floor.

I’m not trying to convince myself that something I can’t see was not slithering underneath me. Okay, deep breaths, Jade.

Then, it came again. I’ve confirmed it was coming from above.

Now, I’m not saying I was scared, but if someone had taken my pulse at that moment, they would’ve diagnosed me with a severe case of—

Oh, shit. I felt something touch my back. Fuck. Don’t fucking look behind, Jade.

What’s more terrifying, a ghost in the corner of the ceiling looking at you and grinning foolishly or a ghost standing behind your back in the act of whispering something in your ear, in which, if you turn to look, you’d faint at the smell of its breath and not at the sight of it?

The latter, isn’t it? So, with that decision, I slowly—very slowly—tilted my head up.

And then I saw them.

The darkness seemed like it had its own mind. It cleared as I decided to find out where those noises came from. It feels like the place was playing with me, adding horror to this peculiar treasure hunt, giving clues, and startling the hell out of me.

Those things...were branches. Yeah, branches. Like the small stems you see in a tree where leaves sprout, bending with the wind.

But judging at these branches, I could tell they’re not the friendly kind.

These weren’t the harmless tree limbs that birds perched on or that provided cool shade on a sunny day. No, these were the suspicious kind. The kind that moved when they shouldn’t, even without wind.

"What in Harry Potter is this?" That’s it. They looked like the devil’s snare, but only more...uhm, less scary? And untangled.

They slithered along the ceiling, curling and shifting like oversized snakes that had just realized they were being watched.

I blinked.

"Huh."

They paused.

Oh. So they could sense me noticing them? That was not comforting at all!

Ghostly lights flickered upward, illuminating what was above me, and wow. That was so much worse.

The ceiling, which was way, way, higher than I expected, was a tangled, twisted nest of roots and branches, stretching from one bookshelf to the next, like some kind of wooden spider web of nightmares.

They pulsed, subtly shifting, as if they were thinking. Or breathing. Or maybe judging me for existing.

I took a slow step back. "Okay. Yeah. Nope. Not creepy at all. Haha. You guys are fine. Fascinating!"

The branches moved again. I flinched. They didn’t like the compliment?

However, contrary to what I expected, they did not attack—just... reaching. Like a cat stretching after a long nap.

A really, really huge and very cursed cat.

Observing them without blinking, realization suddenly hit me.

They weren’t attacking me. They weren’t even trying to scare me. They were...welcoming me...?

Which, honestly? Kind of mesmerizing. The slight fear I have for them vanished. I knew this place was alive. I just stood there, staring up at the ceiling branches like some kind of bewildered idiot.

"...Okay, so you guys are just gonna slither around like that?" I muttered.

"Do you guys speak? Not that I want to see tongues suddenly slipping out those cracks. Hell, no. I’ve got enough of this fascinating horror scene, but I’ve got questions. Can someone answer them? Politely and less scary, I mean."

The branches creaked. I swore they sounded pleased. I chuckled. What the hell am I saying? Anyone who hears my thoughts would think I’m a nutjob. How could I tell what those branches are feeling?

Something was certain. This place—whatever the hell it was—wasn’t dangerous. It wasn’t hostile.

And it feels like it has been waiting for me.

"Why?" I voiced out.

Hearing my own voice echoed in the place. I could only let out a frustrated sigh. I know nothing about branch language, or was it a tree?

Wait... A tree?

"Am I... inside a tree?"

The moment those words escaped my lips, torches fired up, their lights brighter than before. I immediately grabbed one and roamed around, proving my claim by checking the walls, which I could not see at all because of the bookshelves everywhere.

When I thought that it was useless, an old, effete voice finally spoke, like it just woke up from a long sleep.

"Indeed."

My body shivered. There was no hostility or malicious intent in its tone. It just sounded like... an old butler answering the query of its lord.

It sounded pleased, respectful even, and glad. Everything only confused me more.

"Who are you?" I asked, looking around, searching where the voice came from.

"I am the Tree."

I gulped. I don’t understand a thing, but now that someone can talk to me, I’m determined to find all the answers I want. I tested it. I waited for it to speak again, but it did seem that it would only speak if I asked questions.

"What kind of tree? Can you elaborate?"

The ceiling moved, it rose and fell, as if the tree took a deep breath.

"I am the World Tree. My roots link the heavens, the hells, the mortal word, the underworld, and anything that exists. My branches hold entire realms and different worlds. My fruit possesses wisdom and knowledge. I am the tree everyone seeks, yet nobody could succeed."

"What about me?"

"An Ancient Keeper."

My heart skipped a beat. My chest heaved rapidly. It’s telling me I am an ancient keeper, that’s why I found this place. My head only throbbed from thinking how could it possibly happen?

First of all, I don’t look ancient. So, just how the fuck?