Game of the World Tree

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? City of Seigües.

Everyone within Boxlunch’s team donned their hoods, as they moved cautiously through the shadows of the city streets.

“That crystal ball’s fluctuations are too faint. At this rate, who knows how long it’ll take us to find the target.”

Calabash muttered, frowning as he scratched his head while eyeing the softly glowing orb in Boxlunch’s hands.

He was about to say more when an inexplicable feeling gripped him, causing Calabash to pause mid-step.

At the same time, the rest including Boxlunch, felt a sudden and unshakable premonition, like a ripple coursing through the air.

Then they noticed something unsettling:

—Every pedestrian on the street had eerily come to an abrupt halt altogether.

It was as if they had all received some silent cue, turning the once-bustling city eerily still, its oppressive atmosphere now tinged with uncanny horror.

Altogether, the frozen residents opened their mouths and began chanting in unison:

“All glory to Nature, to Life, and to the Great Creator! You are the Sovereign of Nature, the Radiance of Life!”

Their faces remained expressionless as they all hauntingly prayed.

Then, after a couple of tense silence passed, the residents who were standing nearest to Boxlunch and the others all simultaneously turned their eyes towards them.

These people looked at the players with empty eyes, like emotionless machines or lifelike dolls, whilst they kept repeatedly chanting…

“All glory to Nature, to Life, and to the Great Creator! You are the Sovereign of Nature, the Radiance of Life!”

“All glory to Nature, to Life, and to the Great Creator! You are the Sovereign of Nature, the Radiance of Life!”

“All glory to Nature, to Life, and to the Great Creator! You are the Sovereign of Nature, the Radiance of Life!”

Under the weight of these soulless stares and their monotone chants, the five players felt a chill crawl down their spines.

“Don’t look them in the eye. Just imitate them and pretend to also pray along.”

A familiar voice suddenly echoed within their minds.

It was Zero.

Surprisingly, her voice just now sounded a bit weary.

Following her instructions, the five players immediately mimicked the local residents, lip-synching the same words being chanted by everyone around them.

As they did, the residents’ attention slowly shifted away from them, focusing instead on the grand temple in the city center.

The synchronized, emotionless chanting echoed across the whole city, reverberating ominously through the air.

It continued for a full minute before gradually coming to an end.

Then, as if released from a binding spell, the residents all resumed their activities as though nothing had happened.

Seeing this, the five players exhaled in relief.

“….What just happened?”

One of them asked, still shaken.

“It was the enemy searching for intruders. Something had alerted them to our presence, though it seemed they only had suspicions for now. We managed to pass unnoticed.”

Zero’s voice explained once more.

Did something happen?

Could it be related to our arrival?

The five players pondered but Zero offered no further explanation, but given the timing, the players couldn’t help but feel that it was related to them.

At that moment, their expressions grew tense, fearing that the entire quest would fail if as though one mistake could jeopardize everything.

As if sensing their unease, Zero spoke again, her tone calm but firm:

“Don’t blame yourselves. I did something to pinpoint the exact location of the Heart of Life, which caused this disturbance.”

“But in return, I’ve managed to successfully locate the exact coordinates of the Heart of Life. I’ll share them with you—proceed there immediately as soon as possible.”

“The Creator’s contingency mechanisms have already begun activating. The longer you delay, the greater the risks will become. You must secure the Heart of Life as soon as possible!”

“In addition, you must also prepare to summon the other Chosen Ones now. I have already prayed to the Matriarch and received Her acknowledgment. From this point forward, cross-realm transmission shall be permitted.”

With her words still lingering within their minds, the five players’ vision suddenly changed as a marker pinpointing the exact coordinates of the Heart of Life appeared on each of their in-game mini-maps.

The players felt a surge of excitement.

They finally got the coordinates!

Nodding solemnly, the five immediately set off towards the direction indicated on the minimap.

Meanwhile, after pointing out the exact location of their target, Evé could finally exhale in relief.

Recalling what she had seen while infiltrating the enemy’s network of faith, her thoughts lingered upon the figure inside the crystal coffin, which looked perfectly just like her.

“I didn’t expect this demi-realm to still hold the sealed body of my predecessor. If I’m not mistaken, that must be an incarnation of the previous World Tree.”

Naturally, the previous World Tree also had her own incarnations.

As a powerful ancient god who governed over the Divinity of life, the previous World Tree’s incarnation was not only a True Body but also possessed quality at a divine level.

Evé had always believed these incantations were destroyed during the Heavenly War, but now it was clear that one of them had been brought into this demi-realm.

At that moment, she finally understood where the confidence of the God of Creation came from, and began piecing together the larger picture.

“Although it’s just an incarnate body, it was still created by my predecessor. Its capacity to channel the divine power of nature and life, coupled with its intrinsic mastery of those laws, probably rivals that of a genuine artifact.”

“Most likely, the Creator plans to ascend into Godhood not just through the use of the fragment of the Scepter of Life, but primarily through that incarnate body.”

“While it may be impossible for him to ascend by claiming both the Divinity of Life and Nature, he could still claim closely related Divinities by leveraging that incarnate body for his ascension.”

Of course, Evé had also considered the possibility that the other party was attempting to reawaken the World Tree using this method, which, in hindsight, was not necessarily a betrayal.

However, after carefully reviewing the teachings of the Church of Creation, she quickly identified a flaw in this theory.

If their intention was to truly awaken the World Tree, then their doctrine should have been focused entirely on directing their faith toward the World Tree—or the ‘Mother of All Gods’—rather than the God of Creation.

Yet, both the doctrines and the legends of the church have downplayed the existence of the World Tree and even the elves.

Furthermore…

Evé turned her gaze to the five demons standing nearby that she had ‘experimented’ on.

By now, their appearances had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Their scales had grown tougher and their bodies expanded severalfold, whilst their auras surged as they fully ascended to the gold-rank, becoming greater demons.

Not only that, but they were now also surrounded by a thick black miasma, which was the power of the Abyss.

Nonetheless, despite their newfound power, these five demons still cowered before Evé , tails tucked, trembling like frightened pups.

Their transformation was no random occurrence and was triggered by that mental manipulation they experienced.

Just as Evé was retracting her mental probe earlier, a powerful force from the Abyss surged through the other party’s mental pathways.

Although it did not affect her or the five players, it directly impacted these demons instead.

Since it came from the other party’s mental pathways, it was glaringly obvious that the source of this Abyssal power was none other than the slumbering Creator!

“I never expected this ‘God of Creation’ to have truly fallen. I wonder if this happened before or after he went into hiding within that demi-realm.”

Eve muttered, shaking her head.

“Fortunately, my mental probe didn’t wake him up. Otherwise, things could have gotten really problematic.”

A demigod who has fallen into the Abyss is not just an ordinary opponent; it is a god who has lost his sanity, making it far more troublesome than any other typical demigod since he could resort to drastic actions.

Him merely destroying the demi-realm would be the least of her concerns.

If she truly decided to fight him, then the other party might even sacrifice himself to destroy the demi-realm, twisting the very fabric of space, and opening a gate directly into the Abyss.

It would be absolutely disastrous if that scenario were to occur.

The entire realm of Seigües would face an invasion from the Abyss, and the Elven Forest would undoubtedly be the first to suffer.

At that point, the whole area within her jurisdiction would become the main focus of everyone in the entire universe.

If this scenario were to actually occur, Evé was fairly certain that revealing her real identity would become unavoidable.

“Taking a glance at that coffin before I left must have disturbed the other party’s soul. From the residents’ reactions, it seems their emergency protocols have already been triggered… Praying to their Creator? It seems he’s trying to awaken himself.”

“However, even if they do awaken, it will still take some considerable time. As long as I can find a way into that palace and obtain the Heart of Life before that happens, then I’ll secure an unbeatable position!”

From her recent mind probe, Evé had confirmed a few things.

First off, the ‘Creator’ had indeed fallen into a deep sleep.

Chances are, he can only rely upon the fragment of the Scepter of Life to maintain the entire operation of his network of faith and retain control over this demi-realm

Secondly, based on her observations, Evé realized that the Creator did not have absolute control over the entire demi-realm and the Heart of Life played a vital role in this.

If the players could obtain this fragment, then the other party would not be able to fully control this demi-realm for a while even if the Creator awakened.

That would give Evé the opportunity to descend into this demi-realm.

As long as the Creator couldn’t completely dominate the demi-realm, Evé would be able to perform a divine descent to some extent!

With this in mind, Evé connected to the game system once more and officially activated the summoning quest.

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【 TRUE INCARNATIONOF THE WORLD TREE 】

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