They were talking about him.
Light knew that much from their gestures alone.
The Wukongs stood around him in a loose circle, long tails swaying slowly, fingers pointing openly as if he were an object pulled from the earth rather than a living being. Their fur reflected the soft glow of the forest—golden, silver, and ash—while their sharp eyes studied him with curiosity, mockery, and something darker.
They spoke rapidly.
Their language was harsh and rhythmic, filled with strange pauses and clicking sounds. It echoed through the forest like a chant meant for beasts, not humans.
Light's chest tightened.
He tried to understand.
Tried to focus.
But the words slipped past him like smoke.
They're deciding something, he realized.
Something bad.
Then—
BEEEEEEEEEP—
The sound tore through his head.
Light cried out, grabbing his ears as pain exploded behind his eyes. The world tilted violently. Colors stretched. Sounds warped, as if reality itself had fractured for a brief moment.
His knees nearly buckled.
And then—
A translucent screen appeared before him.
Floating. Silent. Impossible.
Only he could see it.
[ Skill: Universal Translation — ON ]
Light froze.
His breathing slowed—not from calm, but disbelief.
Before he could question it, before fear could fully settle in—
The voices around him changed.
Not the sound.
The meaning.
"…Is he an elf or something?" one of the Wukongs said, squinting at him.
"He looks funny as fuck," another snorted.
"Look at his clothes. Aren't those worn by extinct races?"
"Maybe we should eliminate him before nightfall."
"No," a deeper voice interrupted, firm and commanding. "We take him to the Chief."
Light's thoughts spiraled.
I didn't know that language.
So why do I understand it?
His heart pounded violently.
Is this like those isekai manhwa I used to read on Earth?
Did I really get… abilities?
The idea didn't excite him.
It terrified him.
What else is watching me?
Then one sentence cut deeper than all the rest.
"Kill him if he resists."
Something inside Light snapped.
"No!"
The word burst out of him without permission.
Every Wukong froze.
Slowly, they turned toward him.
"I'm not an elf," Light said, forcing his shaking voice to stay steady. "I'm human. From another planet."
Murmurs spread instantly.
"It was an accident," he continued desperately. "I didn't choose this. My friends were with me—but now they're missing."
Silence fell like a blade.
One Wukong stepped forward, eyes narrowing.
"Did you say… human?"
Light swallowed hard.
"Yes," he said. "From a planet called Earth."
The name itself seemed to disturb the air.
The Wukongs stepped back, speaking rapidly among themselves, their voices low and tense. This time, even the forest seemed quieter—as if listening.
After a long moment, the deep voice returned.
"You will come with us."
They walked straight toward it.
The largest glowing tree Light had ever seen.
At first, he thought it was just another massive tree among the many giants of the forest—but with every step closer, his breath slowed. The trunk alone was wider than a stadium back on Earth, its bark layered like ancient armor, glowing softly with veins of silver and emerald light.
Golden lights floated around it.
Not insects.
Not fireflies.
They moved with intention—slow, graceful, alive. Some circled the branches, others drifted downward before rising again, as if the tree itself was breathing them in and out.
Light stared.
"What… is this place?" he whispered.
No one answered.
As he lifted his head higher, his eyes widened.
A cloud—vast and luminous—was merged with the tree's upper branches. Not resting on them, but woven into them. Thick, white vapor twisted together with roots and wood, forming platforms so wide they could hold an entire town.
His heart skipped.
That wasn't there before.
At least… he didn't think so.
Was it already here?
Or was I too shocked to notice it earlier?
The Wukongs kept walking.
When they reached the base of the tree, one of them stepped forward and pulled a hidden lever grown seamlessly into the bark.
The tree responded.
With a deep, ancient hum, the trunk opened vertically, revealing a hollow interior glowing faintly from within.
Light swallowed.
"A… lift inside a tree," he muttered. "Yeah. Of course."
They pushed him in.
The opening closed, and the world began to rise.
The ascent was smooth—unnaturally so. The inside of the tree shimmered with soft light, patterns flowing along the walls like veins. Light could feel the temperature change as they climbed higher, the air growing colder, purer.
No one spoke.
He wanted to ask questions.
Thousands of them.
But something in their silence warned him not to.
When the lift opened again, cold wind rushed past his face.
Light stepped out—and froze.
He was standing on the upper branches of the largest tree.
Not branches as he knew them—but vast, solid pathways of wood and light, stretching outward like natural bridges. From here, the world unfolded endlessly.
The violet sky burned softly above. Below him, the glowing forest spread like an ocean of stars. Mountains shimmered in the distance, and far to the north—
He saw it.
A distant structure.
A city.
Or a castle.
It stood tall against the horizon, faintly glowing, its shape blurred by distance but unmistakably massive.
Light pointed without thinking.
"That place… is that another town?"
The Wukongs didn't respond.
They simply turned and walked.
"Hey—wait," Light said. "I'm asking you something."
Silence.
They moved toward something that made his breath hitch again.
Stairs.
Stairs made of cloud.
They spiraled upward from the tree's branches, disappearing into the sky. Thick vines hung down from above, swaying gently, connecting clouds to earth as if the heavens themselves had grown roots.
Light hesitated before stepping on the first cloud.
It held.
Cold. Soft. Solid.
"…This world is insane," he whispered.
One Wukong glanced back.
"Do not fall," it said flatly. "The sky does not forgive."
That shut him up.
They climbed.
And climbed.
Until the clouds opened into something vast.
A village.
The Wukong village floated among clouds and branches, immense beyond anything Light could have imagined. White roads curved gracefully between trees and cloud platforms, glowing faintly underfoot. Shelters and homes were grown from wood and vine, yet integrated with strange technology—lights formed from glowing leaves, energy pulsing softly through bark and roots.
It was primitive.
And advanced.
Alive.
Wukongs moved everywhere—talking, training, resting. Some rode on small clouds, standing atop them casually as the clouds moved like obedient animals.
Clouds… as vehicles.
Light stared openly.
One cloud drifted closer to a Wukong nearby. The Wukong laughed and patted it like a pet.
"Good wind," it said fondly.
The cloud hummed.
Light's escort stepped onto a larger cloud.
"Get on," one ordered.
Light hesitated.
"You expect me to trust—"
The cloud surged forward suddenly.
Light yelped and nearly fell as he was dragged onto it.
"Hey—!"
The cloud shot forward.
Fast.
Too fast.
The wind tore past his face, his eyes watering as the village blurred around him. He couldn't blink. Couldn't scream. Couldn't even think.
Then—
They stopped.
Suddenly.
Light stumbled as he stepped off.
He stood before the center of the village.
And looked up.
A massive structure rose before him.
Not a tower.
A vine.
A colossal vine sprout spiraled upward, thicker than skyscrapers, glowing softly as it pierced through clouds and vanished into the sky itself.
It connected earth…
To heaven.
Light felt eyes on him.
Wukongs everywhere had paused, watching.
Judging.
So this is it, Light thought.
If they decide I don't belong… I die here.
His heart pounded.
I survived space. I survived that forest. I survived losing Iris…
I can't end here.
"Move," one Wukong said.
They stepped onto a giant leaf growing from the vine.
The leaf rose smoothly, carrying them upward.
Higher.
Colder.
The air pressed down on him like invisible weight.
At the top, the leaf stopped before a massive chamber grown from vine and stone.
Inside—
A temple.
Walls carved with ancient drawings. Symbols of stars, beasts, worlds colliding. Energy pulsed faintly through the vines embedded in the floor.
Light wanted to look.
To understand.
But hands grabbed him.
They dragged him forward.
Guards stood on both sides—larger Wukongs, armored, silent.
At the far end—
Darkness.
And within it…
A presence.
The light bent strangely around a massive figure standing still.
Light couldn't see its face.
Couldn't see its body clearly.
Only its shadow, stretching across the floor like a living thing.
His breath caught.
So this is the Chief, he thought.
The one they feared.
The shadow moved slightly.
End of Chapter-5-