Chapter 32: The Witch of Green
As time reversed, several days receded. Changes in the Wind Veil Basin commenced at this moment. In a corner of the Wind Veil Basin, a woman sat on the ground, gazing at the crowd in front of her with a puzzled expression. Her flowing, ebony hair cascaded down her back, with tips adorned in a vivid green hue.
The woman’s aura lacked sharp edges, exuding a gentle and delicate beauty. She embodied life and motherhood, evoking admiration for her serene grace, tender love, and compassion. Even in simple, dishevelled attire, she emanated an approachable and admirable maternal warmth.
Like the gentlest of springs, she brought serene and beautiful tranquillity. Yet, at this moment, her abdomen bore a stab wound, blood flowing relentlessly. Reaching out, she felt the warm blood at her fingertips, her heart filled with confusion. Even she couldn’t fathom why this was happening. She hadn’t committed any wrongdoing. However, the people in front of her ruthlessly harmed her, causing a momentary hesitation among them, considering Eveum’s past aid.
“Why are you doing this?” Eveum questioned, her voice still gentle.
“It’s your fault! You never told us! You’re a witch!” A refugee accused loudly, attempting to alleviate guilt.
Mages and witches both used magic. The former required a medium, while the latter did not.
So, with a little care, one could discern a witch—Eveum, who used magic without any medium. It seemed to come out of thin air, almost divine.
However, in the Bi-Colored realm, a witch was synonymous with evil.
Any disaster meant blame on the witch—famine, plague, or war, if unexplained, was the sorceress’s fault. Initially, the people didn’t view witches this way. These changes began at a certain point.
One person spread rumours about the witch, and a hundred believed. Then those hundred spread the rumours, and another ten thousand believed. Afterwards, the original falsehood seemed irrelevant. The wise might explore the initial lie, but not everyone is wise.
Eveum touched her abdomen wound, moving with difficulty.
“Don’t move!” The refugees feared she’d use evil magic.
They feared Eveum might use wicked witchcraft to harm them.
“I gave you berries… took you to a beast-free place…” Eveum whispered, “Why do this?”
Upon hearing Eveum’s words, these displaced individuals felt somewhat remorseful. Because what she said was accurate—amidst these desperate displaced individuals, Eveum brought berries.
In the refugees’ despair, a beautiful woman brought them sustenance and refuge. It appeared like the beginning of a fairy tale, but unfortunately, the conclusion was not as fairy-tale-like.
“We know we’re sorry!” A displaced person exclaimed guiltily, “But if you’re alive, we’ll continue to starve! Our people will die! This famine is because of you!”
Eveum’s eyes were filled with confusion. She couldn’t comprehend how these displaced individuals could utter such things. Because of the term “witch,” they attribute everything to her. This kind of thing was absolutely perplexing.
“Mother, it seems people outside really hate us.” She had lived in the Wind Veil Basin since she was young, raised by a witch.
The witch who raised her didn’t return after going out once, so she had to start living independently. Even though she heard about the hatred towards witches in the Bi-colored Realm from her foster mother, she never left the Wind Veil Basin and didn’t have a profound understanding of it. She lived in a remote area, probably not encountering another person for a year or more.
Occasionally, she would encounter displaced individuals and provide them with berries. In fact, she could leave the Wind Veil Basin, but her foster mother had told her they needed to stay there. Besides the Wind Veil Basin lies the Buried Plains, where evil spreads beneath the soil, and they need to prevent this evil from spreading into the Wind Veil Basin.
And the evil that Eveum’s foster mother spoke of naturally referred to the roots of the Mother Holy Tree. However, if a witch were to tell others that the Mother Holy Tree is evil, no one would believe it.
“Alright, let’s kill her quickly. I’m worried about unexpected things.” Some displaced individuals were concerned from the beginning that Eveum might retaliate.
“Yes, we have to kill her… things will get better after we kill her..,” a knife-wielding displaced person muttered.
While they exchanged harsh words, they didn’t notice the changes occurring in Eveum. Eveum’s face turned pale, and numerous vines around her tightly bound her hands and feet. She could sense that her magic was spiralling out of control, and this was the most worrying thing for a witch because the consequences were unimaginable.
The raging magic transformed into mud, flowing out from her wound, leaving her astonished. “Is this the black mud?”
She was familiar with black mud, but seeing its appearance for the first time, it seemed like a polymerisation of magic and self.
“Why aren’t you running away yet…?” Despite the displaced individuals in front of her being the culprits, she still uttered these words.
Unfortunately, the displaced individuals didn’t believe her words, thinking Eveum was deceiving them.
Until they watched Eveum, with a helpless expression, transform into a puddle of black mud, and massive man-eating plants grew around her. Thus, the Wind Veil Basin faced two monsters—the Mother Holy Tree and the black mud.
As the cost of all they had done, they would all be buried here, turning into fertiliser.
