My journey in Fusou—no, my journey since the day I left Ludoria—finally came to its conclusion as I reached the base of the Fusou Tree, an enormous tree that looked like it stretched right up into heaven. Though to be more accurate, I was only standing at the edge of an enormous lake surrounding the base of the Fusou Tree.
To make it this far, I had needed to diverge from the main road, avoid the city of Chinju, and evade the patrols. Avoiding the notice of the skyfolk was actually incredibly difficult. Luckily, they didn’t have much in the way of night vision, so I had been able to move under the cover of darkness.
“Fusou Tree.” As I stared at the enormous tree, I called its name. As I did, the earth around me began to rumble, the lake in front of me starting to ripple.
Even in the moonlight, I could clearly see a black shape rise up out of the water. It was one of the Fusou Tree’s roots. Splitting earth and water, the root rose right in front of me, so I hopped onto it. I could have asked the water spirits for help in walking across the surface of the lake if I wanted to, but if the tree was offering to carry me itself, I had no reason to turn it down.
That said, this was the first time I had ridden the roots of such an enormous tree. As it moved to carry me across the lake, I had to admit I was more than a little scared. The root lifted me higher and higher, until one of the tree’s branches reached down toward me. As I moved over onto the proffered branch, the root returned to its resting place in the water, and the branch lifted me farther upward.
Okay, we were going way too fast. This was really getting scary.
The sight of the enormous tree moving like this must have been incredible, but I was huddled down and clutching the branch as tightly as I could, so I could hardly enjoy the experience.
But as it lifted me up into the air, I did notice something. The lake at the base of the Fusou Tree served as a border between the northern kingdom of oni and southern kingdom of humans, merfolk, and skyfolk. Such a large body of water restricted the land access between the north and south ends of the island, making it difficult to move large numbers of troops. Those limited crossings thus became critical defense points. The stalemate between the northern and southern kingdoms—or in other words, the reason a balance had been struck between them—was in part because of the Fusou Tree.
I was lifted from lower branches to higher ones, one after another, brought ever upward. I eventually reached the clouds and continued to ascend even farther. This would have been an impressive sight during the daytime, but at night it was more terrifying, not to mention freezing cold. That said, being just a little closer to the moon, seeing it just a little bigger, did make it surprisingly more beautiful, enough so that it made me feel like my journey all the way here had been worth it.
At long last, I made it up to the hollow at the top of the Fusou Tree’s trunk. It looked almost like...and I know how strange this sounds, but it looked almost like a chair. A huge chair, like one that would fit the true giants who were said to live up here. So although it was far too large to accommodate someone like me, I sat down and looked around.
As I did, the branch that had carried me up here dropped something beside me with a heavy thud. It was an enormous fruit. Each of its pods were the size of my head, the fruit itself larger than my entire body. Aside from its size, it looked pretty close to a mulberry. It also gave off a similar feeling to apuas or Mystic Peaches. That meant that this must have been the Spirit Tree of the giants after all.
When I broke off one of the pods and took a bite, the frigid cold that had me shivering up until now suddenly vanished. Though it seemed larger than should have fit into my stomach, I worked my way through the whole thing. I didn’t feel the slightest bit of cold anymore. Rather, a pleasant, comfortable warmth filled my body, to the point that I started feeling drowsy.
Ah, so that was it. The Fusou Tree was asking me to stay here and sleep for the night. Considering the effort it had taken me to travel from Outo up and around Chinju without being spotted, I did have to say I was quite exhausted. Taking a little nap didn’t sound like a bad idea.
Lying down and shutting my eyes, I could feel my consciousness slip away...out of my body and down into the Fusou Tree.
As I dreamed, I had become a tree. An enormous tree, planted and raised here by an enormous person. They eventually returned to the world above the clouds, so I grew to chase after them. Up into the clouds, farther, and into the sky beyond. The person who had planted me here was overjoyed by my growth, and occasionally came to visit. Whether it was once every ten years, or once every one hundred years, it was hard to tell with only the senses of a tree.
But whenever the person came, they sat down here and looked over the land, so eventually I took an interest in the land below as well. There were numerous tiny people living below me, and for some strange reason, they were always fighting. The large person said to me:
“Through conflict, they keep their numbers in check, refine themselves, and advance forward. The life-giving waters you provide ensure they will prosper, that they will have the power to fight and survive.”
Even with that explanation, it was difficult for me to understand. But it seemed like the large person was expecting something of the smaller ones, enough that they had planted me here to make it easier for them to live.
So I continued to watch over the tiny people living under me. Though the war they fought stood out, when I looked closer, I could see how they lived their lives outside of battle as well. Both sides of the conflict drank the water I provided for them, giving birth to new children. They grew, and then eventually died. Sometimes in old age, sometimes in battle, though in all manner of ways, that’s how the tiny people lived their lives.
When would the big person come to visit me again? As I watched over the tiny people below, I had countless questions to ask. So I continued my watch, waiting patiently for the day they would be answered.
The next thing I knew, everything around me was bright, the sun shining brilliantly overhead. Back with my own eyes, I couldn’t see the lives of the oni unfolding to the north. Instead, I saw the mountains tinged purple by the rising sun and the sparkling water flowing down from the Fusou Tree.
Ah, so this was the scenic beauty that the Japanese saying “purple mountains and shining water” meant to convey. It was nostalgic, lonely, and exciting all at once.
I took one more pod from the Fusou Tree’s fruit and took a bite. The perfect blend of sweet and sour went down quite easily. Once again, I found myself strangely able to eat a lot more than I should have, but the drowsiness didn’t come this time. It seemed the fatigue had drained out of me completely. After I finished eating, a seed about the size of a closed fist was left over, so I put it into my bag.
I imagined the dream I had seen the night before was of the Fusou Tree’s memories. In that dream, I had met the giants and watched over the land of Fusou. Even the Fusou Tree didn’t seem to understand what the giants were trying to accomplish. But it was clear that, at least in a broad sense, the giants were aware of what was happening here in Fusou. In other words, they recognized the oni as simply another race that lived here, a people worthy of their protection.
I had seen a lot of things here in Fusou, but I had yet to come to a conclusion on whether it was best to consider these oni to be people or monsters. I suspected that stepping into their territory would result in a fight to the death, so it didn’t seem I’d have a chance to talk things over with them. I imagined the oni had their own thoughts on it, but I was starting to let go of the idea that Fusou would be better off without them. Their presence here in Fusou had tied the land of Fusou together and prompted all sorts of development.
So I would trust in the judgment of the giants, and in the people of Fusou themselves. There was no guarantee the giants had some superior perspective or benevolent intentions, but at the very least I had seen the strength of the people who lived here for myself. So I would do nothing. I would leave both north and south to their own devices, and leave the island bearing the Fusou Tree behind.
My journey here had been far from a worthless endeavor. There had been good food, good drink, plenty of culture to explore, and good people to meet. And here at the end, I was able to see this tree, look out from its crown, and confirm the existence of the giants for myself. If the giants were real, then Airena’s White Lake almost certainly existed.
If I waited here for a few decades, I could potentially meet those giants for myself, but I decided against it for now. While I had food and water from the Fusou Tree, just sitting around waiting that long would be too boring. No matter how stunning the view was, its magnificence would fade if I stared at it too long.
So if there was a reason for me to return, or if I ever craved this scenery, I could come back and climb this tree again. I had plenty of time to do so. Whether for good or ill, that was the life that was given to me.
With plenty of stories to bring back for Kaeha, I was satisfied with the conclusion of my trip.
“Veening, Fos, Nuruth, Un, Zam.”
With the words of the levitation spell on my lips, I jumped from the top of the Fusou Tree. It was time, at long last, to start heading home.