The first thing Lilly saw when she woke up was a crude wooden ceiling.
Despite her head pulsating with waves of pain, she forced herself to sit up. When she moved, a sharp pain shot through her body like a firecracker.
She grimaced.
Looking around, Lilly realised that she seemed to have been saved.
No!
Luna!
The previous night's events flashed through her mind like a nightmare.
She ignored her injuries to look for her sister.
When she turned her head, she came face to face with a massive black and green frog!
There was a pause, then a sharp scream.
The frog croaked, seemingly displeased, then hopped out of the room.
'Why couldn't this girl be as cute as his little master??'
For a moment, Lilly felt like she even saw a look of disdain on the big frog's face.
Ignoring the strange setting, Lilly quickly looked for her sister.
After realizing that her sister was collapsed next to her, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did she take a moment to check on her injuries.
Her little hand rose and covered her missing eye.
She was completely blind on one side.
She thought back to those chaotic memories and tried to remember what had happened.
The last thing she remembered was her little sister's voice encouraging her to keep moving. After that, the world faded into black.
No... There were screams... and then...
Lilly couldn't remember.
The door to the cottage slowly opened.
Lilly suddenly turned her attention to the little girl who walked in.
This strange green haired child wasn't much bigger than herself. She had dazzling black eyes and long emerald hair. If it wasn't for the crude leather clothing that ruined her appearance, Lilly might have mistaken her for an elven princess.
Lilly held her breath as the small girl approached.
Petra looked at the older sister who had just been at death's door before taking the medicine.
She thought to herself, I might have really misused a treasure.
"How are you at making clothes?"
Lilly was first confused, then stunned.
Did this little girl want her to make clothes for her?
"Where are the adults? Shouldn't they buy clothes for you?
Petra frowned. "Your sister said that you could do it before passing out."
Lilly tilted her head. 'Were we saved just so we could be her tailor?'
Before she could ask, Petra interrupted her. "There was a big hole in your head, you know. If it wasn't for me, your sister would be all alone."
Lilly froze.
She actually didn't know how bad her injuries were.
If this were true, then she probably should be dead.
"Since you took my best medicine, then you can pay it off with your body." Petra pointed towards the bathroom door. "Go take a bath and clean your clothes, there's a lot of work to do."
Petra turned around and pointed to the storage room and her bedroom. "Don't go there and there. When you're done washing, clean up your sister, then come meet me outside."
After that, Petra left the house.
Lilly was left alone in the small cottage, feeling unsure.
She looked around, then checked her sister's injuries.
If she didn't check, she wouldn't know. Luna's injuries were very severe. Many of her bones were broken, her body was covered in deep cuts of all shapes and sizes, and only a few of her fingers were still at the right angle. Scars and bruises covered her from head to toe. Her clothes were torn and her feet were a bloody mess.
Tears streamed down Lilly's face.
The last few days were like a dream to her.
Unfortunately, for her sister, they were more like a nightmare.
Lilly carefully carried her sister to the 'bathroom' and opened the door.
The small wooden room had a large wooden bucket in the center of the room. The large bucket could fit about six girls of her size.
She looked around a bit and discovered how to draw water.
As the bath filled, Lilly carefully disrobed her little sister and helped her get in.
Steam filled the room as Lilly carefully washed her little sister's body.
Perhaps the steam hid the tears, but Lilly's face stayed resolute as she gently washed the battered and broken body. If her sister was this severely injured, then she couldn't imagine just how bad her condition was at the time.
That strange green haired girl had said that she used her 'best medicine'.
She had no idea how much she owed her.
Maybe she really should just repay her with her body…
As time passed, Lilly felt as if her body had relaxed.
The stress from a life and death chase slowly disappeared, dissipating with the steam.
After a nice long bath, Lilly finished up only to realise a problem.
Although they had clothes, their clothes were ripped and torn, becoming barely usable scraps of cloth. Frowning, she wondered if there was really a point in cleaning these.
Just as she was unsure as to what to do, a loud ribbit came from the door.
Lilly turned her head to see the large frog from earlier hop in. It was carrying two large leaves that seemed to be used as makeshift clothes.
Unsure if she should accept, the frog just dropped the two grass dresses and left, making sure to close the door in a very human-like manner.
Pausing, Lilly looked at the two leaf dresses that had been dropped on the floor for a long time.
It wasn't that she was disdainful of the clothes, it was just, that frog... seemed to be very poisonous, right?
She wouldn't die if she wore these, right?
Looking between the torn rags and the large leaves, Lilly decided to finally risk it.
She slid the large leaf over her body. It wrapped around and covered all the important parts. Her long white legs poked out from the bottom.
Helping her sister get dressed as well, Lilly carried Luna out of the bathroom and rested her against the wall where she had woken up.
Leaving her sister, Lilly walked to the front door and took a breath.
She wasn't sure where she was.
Opening the door, Lilly was greeted with a shocking sight.
In front of her was a large circular stone platform with a complex map carved into it. The same green haired girl from earlier was sitting at its edge, crouching down and hugging her knees, watching the countless ants move around slowly.
Looking into the distance, she seemed to see the forest border.
The unnatural curve caught her attention. Realizing that it didn't seem to be a natural border, she instinctively followed the curvature, then turned to the center of the circle.
She looked up.
When she looked up, an even more shocking scene came into view.
A huge tree, far larger than anything she had seen before.
She stood under its crown, amazed by the wondrous sight. Green and blue leaves hung down like a waterfall, countless small wisps floated in the wind like fireflies, when the wind blew, the world rippled, looking like a painting. This tree seemed to be the centerpiece of everything.
After a long moment of silence, Lilly finally mustered up the courage to approach the strange young girl who had saved her.
Lilly came to the side of the map and stood next to Petra.
Looking at the map, Lilly seemed to realise something.
'This was a map of the Green Wind Forest!'
This thought stunned her.
One had to know that there was never a complete map of the Green Wind Forest. Because of the volatile weather conditions and the ever-changing foliage, creating a complete map was nearly impossible.
Looking at the ants that were working diligently, Lilly had an even more frightening guess.
'Could this be..?'
She looked at the many red stones carried by little ants and seemed to understand their significance.
'Can she track all the humans by just sitting here?'
At this moment, Petra spoke up. "Can you make clothes?"
Lilly paused.
She smiled. Since this little girl had saved them, then it wasn't without need. Lilly guessed that she needed some extra hands to work around here.
After the pause, Lilly nodded her head.
She could indeed make clothes, or… at least, she could try.
Petra, satisfied that she finally got an answer, passed over a bag full of cloth rolls and a simple list.
"Then from now on, you will work here as a maid. Take this list and fill it out. Make some clothes for you and your sister while you're at it."
Lilly took the large bag and looked through the assortment of colorful cloth. When she touched the cloth, she wasn't sure what material it was made of, but it felt really comfortable.
Lilly looked through the list. There were a number of common household things on the list, like clothes, curtains, blankets, and a variety of bags.
Petra handed her some simple tools she had bought back in town, then shewed her on her way.
Lilly returned to the cottage and began her work.
The variety of cloth didn't only come from Evergreen Town. Although Petra had bought a lot, it was far from what she needed, especially when she thought about what she would need when building her permanent home.
Most of the fabric came from the Tower Spider.
Apparently, in their contest to prove who was more useful, the spider and the centipede had finally finished their first battle. The Tower Spider had woven its silk into long sheets of cloth, and Petra, who desperately needed it, happily accepted this cloth, using various natural dyes found in the forest to make an assortment of colors.
The tower spider also came out victorious against the centipede.
If it wasn't for the fact that Petra didn't know how to make clothes, she really wouldn't have needed the twins.
The funny thing was, after the centipede realised that it had lost the battle for 'resource provider', it actually tried to start sewing its own clothes. It 'not so secretly' stole the cloth rolls, and began teaching itself how to make clothing.
Can you imagine that? The dozens of scythe-like arms all swinging around madly, trying its best to form something that didn't look like a ball of yarn?
Petra was quite amused by the big bugs' attempts, but it would take too long for him to figure it out. With the appearance of the twins, Petra had a way to make what she currently needed. She would leave the large centipede to mass produce clothing when she needed it in the future.
Petra looked up at the sky.
The great storm that had been approaching from the horizon had arrived. Tomorrow, the forest would probably be uninhabitable. Petra looked at the hundreds of red dots on the map. She wondered why these people would risk getting caught in the storm.
Peeking at the cottage from the corner of her eye, Petra wondered just how much trouble these two little girls would bring her.
Letting out a sigh, the little green haired girl had a look of exhaustion.
She dug her little feet in the mud and wiggled her toes.
Her mind couldn't help but wonder what Elena was up to.
It had been two months since she left town.
Throwing this thought to the back of her mind, Petra decided that it was time for a long bath.
* * *
On the other side, walking up the long and winding mountain road, the big breasted blond haired big sister who had just left the northern region looked back towards the forest.
She stood at a high altitude, providing her with a good view of the Green Wind Forest.
From afar, an endless sea of green mist intertwined with the trees. Dark clouds covered the sky and torrential rain fell constantly.
Elena looked through the thick treetops and towards the heart of the forest.
This was a place where no powerhouse would want to stay.
For some reason, Elena had the sudden impulse to think about the little orphan girl she had spent three years raising.
She hoped that Petra had found a good place to stay.
Although the green tide was tough, it was nothing compared to the final wave.
In her past life, Elena had once investigated the cause behind the green tide. Although she never found the exact reason, she knew it had something to do with a very powerful plant that was cultivating in the depths of the forest.
Actually, the entire forest was affected by the residual aura of 'that thing'.
Elena looked down at the information that she had bought from the adventurers' guild.
On the page was a snippet about two twins that had escaped and were lost in the forest.
Lilly and Luna Azurefell, a set of twins that came from the great Azurefell Family. Black hair and blue eyes. They were naughty runaways, at least that's what the Information claimed. The Azurefell Family had put up a large bounty to bring them back safely.
Elena looked at the faces of the two little girls.
She didn't know the one on the left, but Luna Azurefell was far too familiar to her. This was the original name of the 'Witch of Silence'.
The silent witch was a monstrous existence in all three of the futures she had seen.
She was a sad soul forged from despair and loss. She was injured when she was young and lost her ability to speak. She was tightly intertwined with a future calamity.
After her half dead body was dragged back to the family, they were enraged by the death of her twin sister. She suffered for years under the ruthlessness of the Azurefell Family.
Because she had lost the ability to speak, Luna was unable to even beg for forgiveness.
Left broken and falling into endless despair, Luna Azurefell signed a contract with a nameless existence and gained unimaginable power.
She slaughtered her family in revenge and started a chain of vengeance and bloodshed that would last for years. Every time someone came to avenge the avenger, the Silent Witches kill count increased.
After millions of lives had fallen at her hands, the sleeping big shots finally took action and fought a great battle with the Silent Witch. Although she was killed, the devastation caused by the battle left the world in chaos. The abyss was open, the void leaked in, and chaos from outside the world started to invade.
This battle was one of the 'Nine Calamities of the Cross'.
Elena held the picture tightly.
She didn't know whether she should go back or not.
She had just left the northern region and was a few days up the central mountain range. It would take about a month to reach the place where she was sighted.
Elena's fingers twitched.
She seemed to be weighing something in her mind.
After a moment, her fingers moved, and she began 'pinching her fingers', silently calculating. This simple movement was a form of divination, and it was the only skill, aside from her knowledge, that she could bring over from the previous loop.
The reason Elena was hesitant, was because this would undoubtedly attract the attention of certain figures. Whether the attention was directed at her or the young Luna, it would cause an unnecessary change.
In the end, she chose to take a look.
She didn't remember this bounty.
It was likely a butterfly effect caused by something that happened in Evergreen Town.
Elena's vision blurred, and her consciousness seeped into the unseen world. Time, Space and Karma streaked across the void like a painting.
'Chaos' formed 'Order' and a series of images flickered past.
'Two girls being chased through the forest.'
'One fell and the other begged.'
*Zearrt!*
'Something seemed to tare at the painting, and a crack ripped through the side of the image.'
'Footsteps of a figure that should not be there.'
Its concealed silhouette was like a mouse crawling over a wet canvas, dragging a colorful trail of paint as it moved.
'Eight massive glowing red eyes flashed behind 'it' from the darkness.'
*Chink!*
Something broke.
'A small hand reached down and fed the dying girl something.'
'The corpses of the three pursuers, left alone in the forest.'
'Violent static.'
Elena was stunned.
She was rejected by something, and the divination broke.
Her hands moved, quickly divining the future 'Witch of Silence'.
Her consciousness was drawn back into the unseen world. Time, Space and Karma streaked across the void like a painting.
The future that she knew...
'A plain clothed maid stood before a table, making tea.'
'Something seemed to startle her, and she looked towards the camera.'
The maid locked eyes with the diviner.
Elena was shocked.
Something was wrong!
Before Elena could end the divination, the plane-clothed maid pulled something from her front pocket, read it, then thrust her hand forward.
The simple and small hand ruthlessly pierced through time and space, dropping the letter, then returning back to the kitchen.
The divination space shattered, and Elena received a massive backlash.
Blood flowed from her eyes, nose and ears, leaving her whole body feeling unwell.
She stumbled back, her eyes never leaving the small letter that had seemingly come out of nowhere.
'Something's wrong, something's very wrong! She shouldn't be that powerful!'
On the front of the letter was Elena's name, written in a beautiful and curly font.
She carefully picked it up, her hands still shaking, and opened it.
Looking through the contents, Elena was stunned.
Her body shook violently.
Her eyes looked towards the forest.
'First it was Petra, now the Silent Witch... just, what changed?'
Elena felt truly helpless for the first time.
Things had gotten out of hand.
Something in the shadows was pushing the world towards an unknown direction.
Elena could feel the unseen chess game slowly going off course.
Taking one last look, Elena turned around and continued her climb through the central mountain range.
Her next destination was the southern empire.