The Heavenly Tree randomly extended skyward but soon began shooting towards a specific direction.
Weed and his companions held fast onto the trunk as it sprouted towards its target at some speed. The buffeting wind left them battered and the ground below was a distant memory.Within seconds, Baran village had disappeared from sight.
They passed through the clouds and arrived at a seemingly huge island. An island floating in the sky! Riding the growing tree stalk of the Heavenly Tree, Weed and his companions rose above the fog blurring the area.
“This is the City of Heaven!” the party exclaimed, feasting their eyes on their surroundings.
A maze of buildings sprawled out before them. In the center of the extensive labyrinth rose a massive tower with a myriad of birds perched on top of it. Beyond the large tower were rolling hills and lush fields.
“Oh! The tree’s withering away!” shouted Irene as she glanced back at the tree.
The Heavenly Tree’s trunk withered and splintered before their eyes. The fragments disappeared into the clouds, severing the floating island from the distant ground below.
“Our way back has been destroyed. What do we do now?” Surka fretted. Her companions, on the other hand, did not seem particularly concerned.
“The real adventure starts here. Since the tree is gone, we’ll worry about returning when the time comes.” said Pale.
“But, Pale-nim…” Surka was on the verge of tears, already missing the solid ground.
Weed attempted to cheer her up, “If there’s a will, there’s a way.” But Surka seemed unconvinced by Weed’s words of encouragement, at which point Weed nonchalantly said, “Well, if we can’t find a way we can always jump right?”
“B-but…”
“Well, you’d surely die once, but you’d definitely end up on the ground.”
Surka’s face went white. Truth be told, she had always been terrified of heights.
As the Heavenly Tree grew, she had held on for dear life, afraid of plummeting to her death.
Perhaps she would have passed up on this adventure if she had known it would take her all the way up here.
The party continued on, consoling Surka along the way.