The Baby Isn’t Yours

He turned to his older brother, wondering what was going on, and he embraced Tokan in greeting.

“You finally show up after ten days! Where have you been all this time?”

“…Older Brother?”

“Tokan is here?”

Hoa ran out from afar with her black and white hair fluttering in the wind.

“Oh, this guy! You ran away with my herbs last time, didn’t you?”

As she approached, two long-tailed birds followed her.

Hoa jumped towards Tokan and grabbed his head, biting him.

“That guy! That guy!”

“It was originally mine.”

“Hmph! I don’t remember that. By the way, what if the youngest one is the latest to arrive?”

“I have my reasons,” Tokan replied.

“Where is the noisy and ungrateful fairy? Shut up and accept my attack, Tokan,” demanded Hoa.

She wrapped her muscular arms around Tokan’s neck and pressed, but Tokan skillfully dodged her attack and stepped back, taught by countless experiences from his youth.

Ahim stood behind him, trembling with fear.

‘Why are all the fairies here so big? Have we entered the world of giants by mistake?’

Looking at the boy with a pale and tired face, Tokan pushed his brothers in the back, biting his teeth.

“Let’s say hello first. Furiosa and Nua are both inside?”

“Actually, everyone there greets mom. Let’s go. Father’s there too.”

“Father’s here.”

Tokan nodded and looked back at Kanal, who was watching the family meeting with a benevolent face.

“I’m sorry. We’ll talk later.”

Kanal smiled and waved at Tokan as he nodded.

Watching the children of the Fairy King chat and drag Tokan away, Kanal turned to Ahim who had followed them.

‘…A boy wearing clothes with the emblem of the Akan Kingdom.’

Kanel’s gaze went cold. He looked at the boy through narrowed eyes, then slowly turned and walked towards his hut.

And Ganini was watching Kanal turn around and leave.

* * *

Because only fairies could approach the Primordial Tree, Tokan pushed Ahim into his own hut for a time.

“Sit quietly here, don’t wander around and do not get caught up in the pranks of the spirits.”

“Oh, okay,” Ahim nodded obediently, left alone in the hut, which was neither big nor small.

Tokan glanced at him before snapping his fingers and summoning a few spirits.

“Can you bring this child something to eat?”

-Yes!-

The adorable spirits hastened to bring fruit and wheat bread.

Ahim was delighted and hastily ate them.

Tokan headed straight for the Primordial Tree.

“Tokan!”

Nua and Furiosa, who were waiting for him, greeted Tokan happily.

Behind the noisy children, the Fairy King Kalexia watched them.

“Father.”

“You look healthy, Tokan.”

As Tokhan approached, Kalexia smiled and hugged his son.

As the youngest son of a wandering star, Tokan had no connection to the forest. Since the coming-of-age ceremony, Tokan had always travelled, and Kalexia knew that this was his destiny.

As Kalexia hugged Tokan and talked him, glanced at his son’s right eye, which had somehow changed.

He soon spoke as if intrigued.

“Have you acquired the divine eye?”

“I wouldn’t say that I acquired it, I got it by force. As you know… it’s not something you can refuse.”

“When?”

“It was not so long ago. When I went to the Swamp of Insight last year, I got sucked in…”

Tokan’s face wrinkled as he remembered that time. He didn’t expect to end up going through a dimensional rift like that. And to find himself in a world of gods.

“I don’t know which god chose you, but you are definitely wise. Perhaps he marked you from the moment you were born.”

Tokan shrugged indifferently.

The golden sheen inside his iris was the power of the gods, through which he could observe this world.

Of course, they always had the ability to observe the world whenever they wanted, but without a ‘specific event’ or ‘special reason’, it was difficult to directly manifest their power in this world. Moreover, in order to closely observe this world, it was best to put ‘eyes’ into existing bodies and indirectly influence them.

Not all gods could do this, but there were some gods who showed interest in this world in this way.

This is especially true of the gods, who have been involved since the creation of this world.

“It’s difficult, but everyone is here. You all know, but I will briefly explain for Tokan.”

Kalexia paused and gently stroked the cheek of his wife, who was lying on the Primordial Tree.

He thought maybe it was lucky that she was sleeping.

“This is Gaia’s story.”

Tokan, who was already aware of the events surrounding Gaia, nodded slightly in response.

“Before she died, Gaia gave birth to a child.”

“…Huh?”

“It seems that a daughter was born between her and the man. I found that child.”

“Found?”

Kalexia nodded and briefly told Tokan the story.

A fragment of the soul of Gaia, Kalia, the birth of Kalia and Gaia, who became the spirit of Amuntia.

Tokan’s expression darkened as he heard all this. The same thing happened to the rest of the Fairy King’s children.

They all looked up into the air with a sober expression on their faces.

But the real story begins now.

Kalexia wiped his wife’s tightly closed eyes with dry hands.

Finding the letter in his cloak, he froze like a rock.

He silently beat his chest, unable to wipe the tears streaming down his face, regretting that he was angry at something that didn’t need his anger and caused a tragedy.

At that time, there were no forest spirits around the house where Gaia and the man lived. This was because they spread ‘Silchia Roots’, which the spirits didn’t like, throughout the house, fearing that Gaia’s family would find out about the place.

The magic spells of the man who was a wizard probably also played a role.

Unfortunately, this made it very difficult to find ‘Lirik’, whom they brought to their house at that time.

However, that didn’t mean it was completely impossible.

Kalexia used his magic to expand the radius of his power.

Wherever his powers extended, the spirits responded.

He tried to call up old memories, but most of the little grass spirits had already died due to their short lives.

He further enhanced his power and drew memories from old trees.

It was a method that was not used often, as it required pressure on natural beings. However, the trees willingly sacrificed part of their lives to respond to the king’s grief.

As a result, the misty face of the man appeared with difficulty.

It was like a memory of an inanimate object, so its form was not clear, but a middle-aged man with a strong physique emerged.

‘Lirik.’

The face of the doctor who said he was going to Akan.

“This… This is a letter from the man Gaia loved.”

When Kalexia waved his hand in the air, a thin sheet of paper appeared.

Kalexia sighed softly and told the story written on it.

Telling this with his own lips, Kalexia blamed himself.

The blood gradually drained from the faces of the brothers and sisters who listened to this story.

Anger crept into their trembling fists.

The sibling’s faces were severely distorted to the point where they couldn’t be compared to what they had just seen. The eyes of the fairies, who loved life and guarded the good, shone colder and harder than ever before.

“…I can’t forgive him, never, I can’t forgive him!”

“Nobody can forgive him! Let go, I’ll kill him. I will find him and tear him to pieces!”

The flame of anger grew in an instant.

Under the tree was noise caused by the raging Hoa and the howl of Nua with an ice sword.

Forest Queen Leah’s fingers twitched slightly.

* * *

‘Akan.’

Returning to his hut, Tokan thought deeply.

‘Akan, Akan…’

The place where he picked up Ahim was in the Akan forest. In addition, it was a forest very close to the royal palace.

The boy had a pill full of magic and was very scared.

“He said it was a medicine distributed by the royal doctor. This doctor is suspect.”

Thinking about this, Tokan suddenly remembered something.

‘Oh, I forgot to tell my father about Ahim.’

The story he heard earlier was so shocking that he momentarily forgot about Ahim’s existence.

Maybe the boy knew something.

When he looked into the boy’s eyes, the fear he saw was more than just fear.

As he hurried towards the hut, someone called out to him.

“Tokan.”

It was Kanal.

As if waiting for him, he stood just on the way to Tokan’s hut.

“Why are you standing here?”

“While working, I had a sudden thought, so I hurried back.”

“A sudden thought?”

At his words, Kanal’s face darkened and he sighed.

“Have you been to the Akan Forest by any chance?”

When Tokan hesitated, as if wondering how he knew this, Kanal laughed.

“This human boy from before wore Akan’s clothes. That’s why I asked.”

“Oh yeah. Actually, I have something to say about this elder.”

“Is this about that forest to the south?”

As if reading his thoughts, the theme of the forest surfaced.

Without confirming or refuting his words, Tokan stared at Kanal.

Kanal, who was looking at Tokan with a worried smile, froze in surprise. He noticed a golden glow in Tokan’s iris.