Chapter 117: Chapter 112: The False Heart Awakens (Part 1)
Silence.
For a single heartbeat, the entire hidden realm became unnaturally still.
The hurricane winds that had raged across the skies vanished without warning.
The endless storm clouds stopped moving.
Even the countless glowing leaves drifting from the World Tree hung motionless in midair, as though time itself had forgotten to flow.
John felt every muscle in his body tense.
His instincts screamed.
Not with fear...
But with absolute certainty.
Something had awakened.
Something ancient.
Something that had never truly died.
Far beneath the enormous roots of the World Tree, the pillar of intertwined golden and black light continued to surge toward the heavens. Unlike ordinary mana, the energy radiating from it carried two completely opposite auras.
The golden half felt warm.
Peaceful.
Ancient.
It reminded John of the World Tree itself.
The black half...
It felt empty.
Not darkness.
Not death.
Emptiness.
A hollow existence that devoured everything around it.
John instinctively stepped back.
His scales prickled.
Even his draconic instincts, which had remained calm before countless powerful monsters, urged him to flee.
His humanoid body shimmered briefly before reverting into his full dragon form.
Golden-black mana rippled across his obsidian scales.
"I knew it..."
John muttered quietly.
"My humanoid form can’t withstand this pressure."
Even though he had recently unlocked the ability to assume a humanoid appearance after reaching Level 10, maintaining it under the overwhelming aura consumed too much energy.
His dragon form immediately felt more stable.
More powerful.
Yet even then...
He felt small.
---
The restored Soul Raven slowly descended beside him.
Although corruption still covered portions of its massive body, patches of brilliant silver feathers had begun reappearing around its wings and chest.
Its two restored golden eyes gazed toward the roots of the World Tree with unmistakable sorrow.
"It has begun..."
Its voice had regained dignity.
Gone was the distorted growl that had echoed throughout the battle.
Now it spoke like the noble guardian it once had been.
Aerion sheathed his sword.
"You know what that thing is."
The guardian remained silent for several moments.
"I remember..."
Another pause.
"...pieces."
Lythriel landed beside John, her crimson spear resting across one shoulder.
"Then tell us."
The Soul Raven closed its eyes.
"My memories were consumed."
"Every century..."
"It devoured another part of my past."
"I can no longer remember every name."
"Nor every face."
Its golden eyes slowly opened.
"But I remember enough."
The guardian stared toward the towering World Tree.
"The False Heart..."
"...was never meant to exist."
---
No one spoke.
Even the corrupted champions below remained perfectly still.
The guardian continued.
"When the Creator planted the World Tree..."
"He also planted its Heart."
"The First Heart."
"It became the source of life throughout this realm."
Golden leaves drifted around the guardian as it spoke.
"For countless ages..."
"The Heart nourished every race."
"Dragons."
"Giants."
"Elves."
"Dwarves."
"Spirits."
"Humans."
"The realm flourished."
Sylvara frowned.
"Then where did the False Heart come from?"
The guardian’s feathers trembled.
"It was created."
John narrowed his eyes.
"Created?"
"Yes."
"But not by the Creator."
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavier.
Aerion’s expression darkened.
"Someone forged another Heart?"
The Soul Raven slowly nodded.
"Someone sought to imitate creation itself."
---
John’s breathing slowed.
His mind raced.
To imitate the very power that sustained an entire world...
Who possessed such unimaginable ability?
The guardian answered before anyone could ask.
"The Ancient Arcanists."
Sylvara’s eyes widened.
"The legendary civilization?"
"I thought they vanished before recorded history."
"They did."
The guardian’s voice carried profound sadness.
"They vanished because of their own arrogance."
---
Golden memories flickered around the guardian.
Unlike before, they no longer formed complete visions.
Instead, fragmented scenes drifted through the air like shattered mirrors.
John saw enormous floating cities.
Countless towers stretching into the heavens.
Massive magical engines orbiting crystal suns.
Scholars studying impossible runes.
Entire mountains transformed into laboratories.
It was a civilization beyond imagination.
"They believed..."
The guardian whispered.
"...that nature was imperfect."
"They believed life should answer to knowledge."
"They sought control over destiny itself."
Sylvara quietly murmured,
"They tried to surpass the gods..."
The guardian slowly nodded.
"They succeeded."
Everyone froze.
"For a time."
---
One of the memory fragments expanded.
John saw hundreds of ancient mages surrounding an enormous crystal suspended beneath the World Tree.
Golden mana flowed from the true Heart into countless magical formations.
Runes larger than castles glowed across the sky.
Thousands of researchers celebrated.
A young woman wearing white robes raised both hands.
"The prototype is complete!"
Cheers erupted.
The crystal pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
It beat.
Like a living heart.
John’s pupils contracted.
"It worked..."
The guardian lowered its head.
"Yes."
"For one day."
The memory shattered.
---
"They believed they had created life."
"They named it..."
"The False Heart."
Aerion’s voice became grim.
"And then?"
The guardian looked toward the black pillar.
"It awakened."
---
A deep rumble echoed beneath the earth.
Everyone instinctively looked downward.
The roots of the World Tree shifted.
Massive roots thicker than mountain ranges slowly pulled themselves free from the ground.
Not because the World Tree moved...
Because something underneath was forcing them apart.
Cracks spread across the ancient earth.
Entire hills collapsed.
Crystal rivers changed direction.
The hidden realm itself began trembling.
John spread his wings instinctively.
"This whole realm is shaking."
Sylvara quickly cast several stabilizing spells around the group.
"It isn’t just shaking."
"It’s... collapsing."
Indeed.
Small cracks of black energy had begun appearing throughout the sky itself.
The dimension was becoming unstable.
---
Far below...
The corrupted champions suddenly moved.
John prepared himself.
But they didn’t attack.
Instead...
Every corrupted warrior slowly knelt.
Thousands of monsters.
Ancient dragons.
Forgotten giants.
Crystal beasts.
Broken knights.
Each one lowered its head toward the roots of the World Tree.
Their empty crimson eyes glowed brighter than ever.
The sight sent chills through everyone present.
Lythriel tightened her grip on her spear.
"They’re worshipping it..."
The Soul Raven answered quietly.
"No."
"They’re answering its call."
---
BOOM!
Another violent tremor shook the realm.
This one nearly threw John from the sky.
A deafening crack echoed across the heavens.
High above...
One enormous branch of the World Tree snapped.
Everyone watched in horror as the branch—larger than an entire mountain—fell slowly toward the earth.
Its impact would destroy everything below.
Sylvara immediately raised dozens of magical circles.
"I can’t stop something that size!"
Aerion drew his sword once more.
"I’ll cut it apart!"
Before either could move—
The Soul Raven spread its six wings.
Silver feathers exploded into the sky.
Each feather became a blade of condensed light.
Thousands.
No...
Hundreds of thousands.
The glowing feathers intercepted the falling branch.
The heavens erupted.
Light consumed everything.
When John’s vision returned...
The enormous branch had been reduced to harmless glowing leaves drifting gently toward the ground.
The effort, however, came at a cost.
The Soul Raven coughed violently.
Black corruption spread once again across several restored feathers.
John quickly caught the guardian before it could fall.
"You shouldn’t have done that."
The guardian smiled weakly.
"I am..."
"...still this realm’s guardian."
---
John felt something warm brush against his scales.
One glowing leaf.
Then another.
Soon dozens of leaves surrounded him.
Unlike before...
They didn’t drift randomly.
They circled him.
Almost playfully.
Sylvara stared in disbelief.
"The World Tree..."
"It’s responding to you."
Aerion frowned.
"It wasn’t doing that before."
The Soul Raven looked toward John.
Its golden eyes softened.
"It recognizes him."
John blinked.
"Recognizes me?"
The guardian nodded slowly.
"Not as the Great Dragon King..."
"But..."
"It remembers your blood."
John’s heart skipped a beat.
"My bloodline..."
The guardian hesitated.
"As I said..."
"My memories remain incomplete."
"But one truth survives."
It looked directly into John’s eyes.
"You carry the blood of the Ancient Dragon Kings."
The words struck him harder than any attack.
His thoughts froze.
Ancient Dragon Kings?
Not merely dragons...
Royal blood.
Impossible.
Before John could ask another question—
The pillar of black and gold exploded outward.
A voice echoed throughout the collapsing realm.
It was calm.
Gentle.
Almost kind.
Yet every word carried an unbearable pressure.
**"...At last..."**
**"...Someone has returned..."**
John’s entire body stiffened.
The voice wasn’t speaking to everyone.
It was speaking...
To him alone.
---
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