“South!”

“South!”

“South!”

In the game room, four girls sat shoulder to shoulder, shuffling tiles like crisp leaves in a spring breeze, locked in a tiny mahjong war.

Breeze, Ailuna, Zaocun, Yue Liuyi—lined up like four rare blossoms; the lineup was so exquisite it almost stung the eyes.

Clueless about machinery, Zaocun had used the time before reaching the Naraku Abyss to round up the precious World Tree Maidens for a few friendly hands, like a cat herding fireflies at dusk.

“South… huh!? Why did I… tsumo?” Breeze blinked, as if a firefly flashed; a glowing “Win” sigil popped up in front of her like a flower opening.

“Huh? That’s…”

The cat-eared girl bounced from her chair like a startled kitten and landed behind Breeze, tail twitching like grass in wind.

“Whoa! That’s Seven Pairs! Breeze, you’re insane!”

“Seven… pairs?” Breeze echoed, voice soft as falling snow.

“Whoa! And four dora, plus four ura-dora—bonus tiles on the flip! We got wrecked!!” Zaocun clutched her head like a gull in a gale.

“What’s ura-dora… what’s dora…” Breeze tilted her head, like a sparrow listening for rain.

Truth was, Breeze knew almost nothing about mahjong. She just kept tiles by instinct—one tile felt lonely, three felt like a messy triangle, but two sat just right, a pair in quiet harmony, like moon and water leaning into each other.

And so the wall yielded her seven gentle pairs.

“Sixteen thousand points! Mm… that should put Breeze in first, right?” Yue Liuyi sighed, like a reed bending to wind. She’d been in riichi for ages, but every one of her winning tiles hid in Breeze’s hand, so no victory ever bloomed.

“Uu… last place. Looks like I’ve gotta bring out my house special!” Zaocun eyed the score sticks like a hunter measuring arrows.

“Huh? Zaocun-chan, what’s your house special?” Ailuna’s curiosity sparkled like dew.

“Tanyao! All Simples! Full rush, meow!” Zaocun’s eyes shone, a cat ready to pounce.

“Eh! Is Tanyao a powerful yaku? I wanna learn…” Ailuna leaned in, like a flower turning toward sun.

“Whoa, Ailuna-chan, don’t learn from Zaocun! That’s the salted-fish style—lazy and limp!” Yue Liuyi waved her hands, willow branches warning off a playful breeze.

“Salted fish? Salted fish! Where is it? Zaocun wants a bite!” Zaocun’s eyes lit up, stomach rumbling like a drum.

“Not that fish!”

“Then which fish…” She trailed off like a cat chasing a red dot.

Knock-knock-knock drifted through the door, like pebbles tapping a pond.

“Huh!? Who is it?” Ailuna lifted her head, a petal catching light.

“Lady Ailuna, may I come in?”

“Ah! It’s Sister Tisinate! Of course!”

The door was voice-activated; with Ailuna’s answer, it sighed open like a curtain of rain, and in stepped the mature Elven Queen Tisinate and Alisa, golden hair spilling like sunlight.

A common game room might reek of smoke and spirits, but this one breathed the hush of a flower field. With three World Tree Maidens present, the air tasted of dew and leaf, a sweet green quiet.

And nothing on Dixue’s Skyship was ever ordinary. As Tisinate and Alisa entered, two seats rose from the floor like lilies from water, and a holo flickered into being, asking if the guests wanted another table, like a courteous spirit offering tea.

“Eek! What’s this?!” Tisinate flinched, like a deer in bright snow. As the “indigenous” leader of the New Land, even she had never seen tech like this.

“Mm… this is LittleSnow’s game room. We play mahjong here,” Ailuna said, voice warm as a hearth.

“Mahjong’s gotten this advanced?” Alisa’s eyes roamed the room, a village girl stepping into a city of glass. Curiosity tugged her along like wind through wheat, yet she didn’t forget her courtesies—especially toward Ailuna and Breeze, whom she was meeting for the first time.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Alisa, the Sun’s Guardian! An UR legendary archer! I offer my bow to the beautiful World Tree Maidens.” She struck a flourish like a comet’s arc, then bowed, her voice ringing like bronze.

“Eh? Such a strong soul… Hello, Sister Alisa!” Ailuna’s smile fluttered like a ribbon.

“Hello…” Breeze’s greeting fell soft as mist.

“Good morning, Alisa,” Yue Liuyi waved, a willow leaf in morning light. She’d already learned of the Light Fortress from Lia and knew why Alisa had come.

“Hello, Lady Ailuna! Lady Breeze! Lady Liuyi!” Alisa’s salute gleamed like sunlight on steel.

The girls traded greetings as light as petals, only Zaocun looked a bit wilted, like a cat denied its nap.

“Uu… hello…” Her voice scratched like a sleepy purr.

“Huh? Zaocun, what’s wrong?” Ailuna tilted her head, a bird on a branch.

“Looks like you’ve got business. So… no comeback for me… Wait! How about we open two three-player tables?” Zaocun’s eyes sparkled again, mischief like moonlight.

“Don’t just think about playing right now!” Yue Liuyi scolded, but her tone rippled like warm water.

…

…

As Alisa spoke, visions of chaos curled up before them like storm clouds rolling over a plain.

Over a thousand years ago, before the invasion of chaotic creatures, the New Land held many races, a forest of peoples, even vast numbers of humans.

Then the Chaos came, a black tide that ate horizons. Spears and plate, warhorses and bows—feudal iron and leather—shattered like reeds in a flood before that nightmare.

Towns fell into ruin like clay pots dropped on stone. Magic trees drowned in wildfire, their crowns a sea of red. Tribes left only char-black banners fluttering like burned moth wings.

Smoke veiled the sky, bones paved the fields, nations toppled like rotted trunks, races vanished like frost at noon; all life faced death stripped of dignity—bodies tossed as fodder to the dark.

At the cliff-edge of despair, the World Tree Maiden of that age—Ailuna—woke from dream like a bell struck at dawn.

She raised the World Tree like a green shield. Under its vast branches she cast a living ward, and the refugees huddled beneath it like birds in rain, finding shelter and the courage to rise again.

It was an age of sacrifice lit by courage, a night shot through with stars. Even the orcs, once mortal enemies, stood with humans and elves, forging an alliance like iron hammered in one flame.

The World Tree Maiden fought too. With every race at her side, she joined battle in the Elven Forest, where leaves became banners and roots held the last line.

…

“And then? And then?” Ailuna craned forward, eyes bright as lanterns. She knew bits of that history, but hearing it from one who’d walked it was a different wind entirely.

“And then… victory, of course!” Alisa patted her chest with a thump, pride flaring like sunrise. “The will to live is priceless. With everyone’s strength, most chaotic creatures were erased, and even the fiercest Evil Deities were sealed.”

“That’s wonderful! After that, everyone started rebuilding the planet, right?” Ailuna’s voice rang like a chime.

“Yes—but the wounds ran deep, like scars across the earth. The homelands of humans and orcs were hit the worst, almost completely gone…” Alisa’s words fell heavy as rain.

“Uu…” Ailuna’s heart dipped like a kite in sudden wind.

“No wonder the New Land has so few humans… and hardly any orcs,” Yue Liuyi murmured, like reading ripples on a lake. Her old questions finally found roots.

Usually, elves—because of birth and culture—were the minority on most worlds. But the New Land flipped that pattern: humans had grown rare, while elves held most of the surviving ground, like green islands in a broken sea.

It made sense now—when Chaos swept the land, only the regions around the World Tree stayed whole. The Elven Forest endured, while humanity, ripped from home soil, struggled even to keep its stories alive.

“After the war, Lady Ailuna and Lady Canary sealed the Evil Deity inside the Rainbow Sanctuary,” Alisa said, voice steady as a drawn bow.

“So that’s how it is!” Ailuna’s eyes shone like stars in clear water.

“Only…” Alisa’s gaze slid to Ailuna, words hovering like a sparrow on a branch.

“What is it, Sister Alisa?” Ailuna’s tone was gentle wind.

“Mm… it’s nothing. We’re about to reach the Naraku Abyss. It may get bumpy—please be ready, World Tree Maidens.” Her warning settled like snow.

…

Ahead of the Skyship, the world split like silk.

An azure sky showed a sudden fault, swallowed by a swath of black. From ground to heaven, vertical lines rose, taut and bright, strings of a colossal harp that cut blue from night, veiling the horizon like hanging rain.

The Shadow Boundary Line—that was the name of that shining fence, the seal the previous Ailuna had wrought. It didn’t just hold the Evil Deity; it also strained stray malice, turning poison into clean mana, like a charcoal spring purifying water.

Now, with several Rainbow Fortresses damaged, holes pocked the line like moth-bites in silk. Ominous breath seeped out, and nearby trees twisted into blackened husks, wintered before their time.

“The Red Giant Evil God is sealed in there?” Ailuna asked, voice a leaf’s whisper.

“Yes.” Alisa nodded, gaze flicking to Yue Liuyi, then Breeze, then finally to Ailuna, her eyes like flints remembering sparks. “If not for the three of you, I’d try to stop this. The Red Giant Evil God isn’t an enemy you can look down on.”

The blonde stood straight as a spear of light, a glimmer in her eyes like a memory rising from deep water.

But stopping wasn’t an option. Everything under heaven grows or withers. Any life that stands still gets left behind by time’s river—World Tree Maidens included.

Like mahjong—if you never dare riichi, you’ll win junk hands forever, stuck at a thousand points, like a boat circling the same eddy.

“Let’s go. Let’s end this for good.” Yue Liuyi lowered her head slightly, set her palm on the small table like planting a flag, and her voice rose soft and sure, a bell in morning mist.