"Gasp!" suddenly opening my eyes, I panted heavily.

Trying to remember what had happened to me, some peculiar pure white flames and a gentle touch on my head came back as an answer.

I could remember the last moments of my life and I was sure that I was almost dead.

But...

"Holy mother of... I'm alive?" I was alive and, not only that, I checked my body and caressed every part of my body.

"What the..." this was shocking.

This was more shocking than I can think because not only was I healed but, I was better than ever.

I could feel the vitality had increased a lot, and I was breathing air that had higher mana density than the green forest.

This air... was purer than the one in the jungle I had lived in for years.

Looking around, I could see the dazzling room that seemed to be a dream.

"Yeah... maybe this is a dream. I... am I dreaming?"

This wasn't something I could be sure about and this luxurious room filled with shining things, this soft bed that was softer than ever, and this body.

This body had not a single scar on it.

I didn't feel any pain. I wasn't even hurt.

This was as if someone had revived the dead body of the corpse-like me, but... was all these real?

Did I really survive that horrific thing?

What were those white flames that killed the creature that had killed countless creatures in mere moments?

And I remembered it all.

Though my eyes were fuzzy, filled with blood and dust, I was sure that I saw it.

I saw the creature and that it was dead.

Someone had killed the creature, and that someone was far, far stronger than anything I had met in this life.

Killing a demonic beast with the power of a high-level (Purple) ranked beast?

That was something not even <Masters> were capable of doing.

And those pure white flames...

I had seen them clearly despite the red blood covering most of my eyes.

I had seen them and they were something unreal.

A pure flame.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on N0vel--Biin.

Flames that were white.

And flames that had burned the creature with no chance or mercy.

His painful cries were still fresh in my eyes and I was sure what I had seen was right.

And... I was also sure that the voice that I had heard was right.

Someone was here.

The owner of this place and something too different from all the creatures I had seen in this great forest.

That voice was still clear in my head.

The wisdom-filled voice.

The old and yet sympathetic voice.

Something captivating but warm.

This was the voice that I had heard and the gentle touch I had felt on my forehead.. I knew.

This was no normal being.

Someone stronger than any creature, and wiser than even the great willow.

Who was that person?

What was she?

-Clank.

I didn't have to worry about that too much and, the answer, the person on my mind, walked into this gorgeous room.

A lady that looked older than my mom, but...

This was something more than what I had expected.

"Oh? Have you fallen for an old lady like me, little one?" she said in her alluring voice that seemed celestial.

I couldn't take my eyes away from her, even if I wanted to.

I was a true admirer of beauty and... this was something that couldn't be compared to anything I had seen in my life.

This lady, this person before my eyes... was just too alluring to not admire.

Her hair was special, which started from orange and ended with a fiery red.

The same as fire and a fire that burned furiously.

This lady was looking at me with a smile that was sweeter than my mom's and contained the warmth that I only felt with my family.

Her eyes were blue, pale blue of pure fire.

Her smooth, pearl-white skin went so perfectly with her appearance that I could forget the perfect body she possessed.

Her clothing, the decoration, and the simple yet extravagant appearance were unreal.

This was not something I could have ever imagined, even if I had seen countless miraculous things.

But I knew.

This lady... was my savior.

"Oh~ don't cry like that, child. You did well and 'you' survived."

She came close to me and I was on the verge of breaking down.

Her appearance was marvelous but, the joy of being alive was something greater than that.

I was alive.

This was the biggest thing I could wish for in the dying moments of 'this' life.

I wanted to live, and I was alive meant I could meet my parents.

I could meet them, I could be with them and, and...

"Yes. You should cry if you want. Tears contain emotions and help to relieve the pain, the anguish, and that grief in your heart."

Embracing me with her strangely warm self, she gently stroked my head.

Her touch was gentle, her touch was calm, and she was warm.

Tears burst out of my eyes and the dam storing the pain of a long flight, a long survival, a misery.. was now open.

My life had passed through my mind when that thing almost killed me, but now everything was okay.

I was better and.. alive.

There was no greater joy for me than being alive but, meeting someone like this lady... brought greater joy to me.

The tears were endless and... wait...

It had been too late to react that I was naked, so forget that.

,m I continued my cry and... long story short; it lasted until my eyes turned red.

"Feeling better now?" she asked as she set down on a chair beside my bed and offered me some strange, purple fruit.

Well, I was hungry from all this running around, fighting, and chasing and we can talk about the details later.

"Thanks..."

Picking up the apple-like fruit, I took a bite from it.

This was some fruit but, yeah, this thing was tasteless.

This wasn't like the tasteless potato variety of this world but, just tasteless.

My expression turned weird, and the lady caught that subtle change.

"It's something that will help your mental body, child. There is no taste, but it is helpful.

And seeing that you took three months to wake up-"

"Three months!?" I shouted, cutting her mid-sentence, and stared at her with wide-open eyes.

"Ah. Calm down. You are alright so there is no problem." She said in an understanding voice and patted my head.

Her touch was special, always calming and soul-soothing.

If she said it was alright, it was ok.

She had saved me, and I can believe her.

This encounter was something that wasn't part of that damn hero plot, but... I knew this was the play of that so-called fate.

Nature had brought me here, to this very place, this very person.

And I would be eternally grateful for that.