I Was Reborn in Another World, But I Awoke Inside a Corpse

Chapter 148: The Roots That Refuse to Wake

The chamber beneath the Crystal Canopy hummed with ancient pressure. The Elf Council Hall—a place carved into the highest branches of Yggdrasil—glowed softly from embedded aether veins in the bark. Each seat was filled, but the usual regal poise of the elven elders had been dulled by something heavier than formality.

Sylvalen stood tall near the center of the oval, flanked by Isaac and Lira. All three were silent as High Councilor Aelira finished her report with a single, deeply un-elflike sigh.

"The decay has resumed."

Isaac frowned. "I thought the roots were healing?"

"Some were. But others—certain sectors—have not merely failed to recover. They've... stopped."

She touched her staff to a glyph at the table's edge. A floating diagram of Yggdrasil's root system appeared. Large sections blinked green, but five regions blinked amber. One pulsed in red.

"Mana no longer flows through them. Time is slowed. Thought is dulled. Even trees that should never sleep have entered dormancy."

"Dormancy?" Isaac asked. "You mean they've... gone to sleep?"

"No. Something put them to sleep."

A silence fell.

Then another elder leaned forward, tone grim.

"We've confirmed the presence of Slothspawn."

Sylvalen's brow tightened. "Belphegor's minions."

"Or... at least beings acting in his name," the elder admitted.

Lira raised her hand. "Uh. Sorry, this might be stupid—but doesn't Belphegor famously do nothing?"

Aelira nodded. "Correct. According to divine records and abyssal lore, the Great Demon of Sloth has remained in metaphysical torpor for at least forty thousand years. His last confirmed action was... closing his eyes."

Lira blinked. "That's it?"

"He slept through the War of Sins. He slept through the Fall of Heaven. He even slept through the collapse of his own dominion."

Isaac folded his arms. "Then who's commanding his minions?"

"That's the problem," Aelira said. "No one."

Sylvalen stepped forward. "You're saying his minions are... acting autonomously?"

Aelira hesitated. "We believe so. They're... spreading nothingness. Not death. Not corruption. Just—stopping everything. Trees. Beasts. Thought. Even decision-making among our scouts."

She gestured to the red-marked region.

"This is the worst zone. We call it the Stillroot Nest. Nothing that enters comes out unless forcibly removed. And even then, they return... dull. Blurred. Unable to finish a sentence without pausing."

Lira narrowed her eyes. "Wait... I think I saw that once. A rookie cleric walked into a cursed marsh and came back wanting to nap for six days. He forgot how to spell his own name."

"Exactly."

A younger councilor shifted uncomfortably.

"Belphegor may not be evil. But his existence alone may be an ecosystem hazard. If Sloth is a contagion rather than a directive, then his passive power alone could—"

"Could kill the World Tree," Isaac finished, quietly.

He looked at the map again.

Something about this threat was more unnerving than even Mammon or Beelzebub.

Because this wasn't ambition. This wasn't domination. This was apathy made into entropy.

 Later – Outside the Council Hall

The trio walked in silence until they reached the private garden paths below the assembly.

Lira let out a long breath.

"Okay. Let me get this straight. A demon so lazy he might not even know he's alive has followers who are slowly boredom-ing the roots to death."

Isaac glanced over. "That's one way to put it."

"And no one's sure if he's actually doing anything."

Sylvalen's voice was quieter. "Which may make him the most dangerous one of all. He's not evil. He's simply... inert. Without intent. Without motion."

Isaac nodded slowly.

"Which means the damage will keep spreading—until someone stops it."

The next morning, Isaac stood before the Council once more and delivered his answer:

"Send me into the Stillroot Nest."

The room stirred.

"If it's a dungeon, I'll map it. If it's a disease, I'll contain it. If it's a slumbering god who never meant harm—then I'll find a way to wake him up."

He met each pair of ancient eyes one by one.

"But if his indifference has already claimed too much…"

His eyes narrowed.

"Then I'll end his dream myself."