Chapter 996 – Little Vasida

On the night after Mo Lan finished making the Thelan version of the magical camera, Tree Spirit Mother’s consciousness echoed in her ears.

She quickly grabbed the magical camera and dashed to the outer edge of the tribe — to Celine’s treehouse.

The treehouse window glowed with bright, soft green light, casting an ethereal shimmer over the tangled vines and hanging dried herbs around it.

From inside came voices trembling with excitement:

“…The life cocoon seems to be moving…”

“The cocoon’s color has reached the critical point too. Lady Lila, is it almost time?”

“Yes. The rate of energy absorption is slowing down. It could hatch at any moment.”

“It’s finally almost here — this child really is quite the glutton!”

…

Mo Lan didn’t knock. She leaped lightly onto the platform outside and peered through the not-quite-closed gap in the window.

The interior had been tidied up to be neat and warm. A thick moss carpet was spread across the center, and the life cocoon sat upon it, radiating a steady, full glow.

Celine and Lila knelt on either side of the cocoon, both with their hands gently resting on its shell, channeling a continuous stream of the forces of nature into it like a gentle brook.

Their eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the cocoon, their expressions showing an unprecedented blend of focus and tenderness.

Mo Lan held her breath and aimed the camera lens at the scene inside.

Suddenly, a faint “pop” came from the top of the cocoon.

It wasn’t a crack — more like some internal pressure had reached its critical point and gently pushed open the weakest spot.

Celine gasped. Lila’s hands tightened slightly.

The opening expanded rapidly. The cocoon shell unfurled like blooming petals, peeling away one piece at a time with elegant grace, revealing the tiny curled-up figure within.

It was a fair-skinned, plump little Elf.

Dark green curls, just like Celine’s, clung damply to her forehead, and the outlines of her features carried a faint trace of Lila’s serene elegance.

She seemed startled by the outside light. Her fine eyelashes fluttered a few times before she slowly opened her eyes.

After viewing the nature Elf’s inherited memories, Vasida had barely managed to accept the fact that she had become an unhatched cocoon.

Opening her eyes to see two faces brimming with excitement, feeling the familiar aura and weakened state of their bodies, Vasida’s heart softened.

With the Devouring Stomach, even as an Elf infant, she was still a big eater.

One look at her Elf mothers was enough to know how much nurturing and hatching her had cost them.

Vasida tried to engage her newborn, still-clumsy vocal cords, and stumblingly produced the simplest Elvish word she had learned from the inherited memories: “Ma… ma!”

Celine’s lips moved, and she looked at Lila in disbelief. “Did the baby just say ‘mama’?”

Lila nodded vigorously. She reached out, her fingertip trembling, and touched the baby’s cheek with the lightest possible touch.

At that very moment, a clear “click!” came from the direction of the window.

Vasida was drawn by the sound and turned her gaze toward the window.

She saw an unfamiliar Elf standing there holding something that looked like a camera.

She was the great Devouring Sorceress, turned into a tiny Elf baby, and now someone was photographing this dark chapter of her history?

Alarm bells rang in Vasida’s mind. She instinctively raised her little hand to cover her face, then sneakily peeked out through the gap between her slightly parted fingers.

That Elf… was smiling, and something about her gaze felt inexplicably familiar.

“Moira!” Celine spotted Mo Lan at the window and exclaimed with delight, “Your magical camera is finished? Can it really capture images that never fade?”

“Of course!” Mo Lan climbed in through the window and waved the camera in her hand. “This camera of mine can not only capture images but also record sound. I already got that whole scene just now. Once I develop the prints, I’ll give you each a copy!”

“Thank you!” Lila and Celine were both looking forward to it, though their eyes couldn’t bear to leave the baby in their arms for even a second.

Vasida: “!!!”

Mo Lan!

Though it was in Elvish, that unique combination of syllables translated to the exact same thing as “Mo Lan” in Witch language! Mo Lan had also come to the Seran world, and then there was that sense of “familiarity.”

Vasida lowered the little hand blocking her view and stared fixedly at Mo Lan as she approached.

“She seems to be looking at you, Moira,” Celine noticed the baby’s gaze and said with a smile.

Mo Lan walked up close and gave a playful wink at the swaddled Vasida.

It really was Mo Lan! Vasida was instantly certain.

The joy of running into a good friend in another world made her completely forget she was still a tiny baby. She squirmed and wriggled with all her might, lunging toward Mo Lan’s arms, her mouth making garbled “Ah! Ah!” sounds as a string of glistening drool cascaded down with a “splash,” dripping onto Celine’s arm.

“Pffhahaha!”

Mo Lan burst out laughing and, with lightning reflexes, raised her camera and precisely captured Vasida’s drool-streaming, frantically flailing “classic moment.”

Vasida froze mid-motion. “…”

Her eyes were filled with the accusation of being “backstabbed” by a good friend.

“She really seems to like you, Moira!” Celine watched the baby’s lively antics with both amusement and relief, carefully shifting Vasida in Mo Lan’s direction. “Would you like to hold her?”

Mo Lan nodded, knelt down on one knee on the soft moss carpet, and extended both arms to steadily take the little baby version of Vasida — who was still trying to “condemn” her with her eyes — into her embrace.

Once she had a secure hold, she didn’t forget to turn the camera lens around, stretch out her arm, and snap a close-up selfie of herself and the puffy-cheeked Vasida in her arms.

This time Vasida had learned her lesson. Her mouth was clamped tightly shut, her cheeks slightly puffed out, and she simply glared at Mo Lan with those big eyes of hers, trying to convey the message “enough already” through her gaze alone.

Mo Lan found her expression even more delightful, gave her soft little cheeks a gentle squeeze, then gathered a wisp of faint, vibrant emerald light at her fingertip and lightly touched it to the center of Vasida’s forehead.

“This is advanced Wood Speech. Now you won’t need to speak for us to understand what you mean!”

Mo Lan explained, “So, little one, what’s your name?”

Vasida quietly gathered her thoughts: “Vasida!”

Celine was astonished. “Lady Lila, did you hear that? She can already express clear thoughts this quickly!”

Lila nodded. “I knew our child would be extraordinary!”

Under normal circumstances, a baby Elf would never consume this much of its parents’ energy during the nurturing process.

Mo Lan had expected as much. The smile on her face widened as she lowered her head, affectionately nuzzled Vasida’s little forehead with her own, and responded via Wood Speech:

“Welcome to the Emerald Forest, Vasida. Make sure you enjoy your ‘childhood,’ okay!”

Vasida turned her head away. “Hmph!”

Just then, Mo Lan sensed Tree Spirit Mother calling to her.

Mo Lan looked up, gazing in the direction of Polly’s home.

“What is it, Moira?” Celine noticed her gaze. (End of Chapter)