Like how the moon rose when the sun set and the flowers wilted once they bloomed, there were natural laws of the universe that never changed. Even trees couldn’t escape from these laws, yet there was an exemption to every rule. Very rarely, there were occasions that made people doubt these rules, and such an example was the Methuselah. It was the oldest tree on earth. 4,853 years old, to be exact—an existence that had witnessed almost 5,000 years of history. Be it animals or plants, existing for a long time was enough to make something special.

There was an existence like that also in the Hala Forest; a tree that grew even before the forest formed in this land. No one knew the exact date on which the tree was born or its name. The only definite thing was that it had spent an immeasurable period of time quietly watching everything happening around it. For millennia, perhaps. Then, one day, the old tree received a call from somebody. Following it, the tree’s eyes soon opened, and she realized her existence inside the world in a different sense from before. The identity of the one who called her had been a mystery to her, and it still was, yet she slowly moved her feet according to her instincts.

***

Chi-Woo was stunned seeing the figure in front of him offer a handshake. Not only was she—no, he didn’t even know if he should describe the figure as ‘she’—but her action was unexpected. She looked like...