[: 3rd Pov :]
"I guess even that could be considered as an option," Daniel said calmly.
A faint smile appeared on his face as his eyes glanced toward Mika.
"Now, the only thing left to do is convince the Will of this world."
Then, slightly tilting his head, he added,
"So Mika…would you do the honor?"
"Y-Yeah…" Mika answered almost immediately.
But internally, her mind had already become a complete mess.
Because Daniel had smiled and somehow...that alone felt unfair.
Mika quickly looked away for a brief second, trying to regain composure as her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.
Ever since Daniel's appearance changed, everything about him had become absurdly overwhelming.
It wasn't merely because he looked more handsome now.
No...it was something deeper than physical appearance.
His every movement carried a strange elegance.
His voice felt calmer yet incomprehensibly heavier.
Even the atmosphere around him seemed naturally drawn toward his existence.
And that smile, combined with those glowing ancient eyes and the overwhelming aura surrounding him...it nearly made her lose focus entirely.
'What even is this…?'
Mika inwardly panicked.
She genuinely could not describe what she was feeling anymore.
Attraction?
Admiration?
Fear?
All of them mixed together into something she couldn't properly process.
Especially now that Daniel no longer felt entirely human.
Standing near him felt like standing before a divine existence disguised in mortal form.
And yet somehow…
That only made him even more captivating.
Mika immediately shook her head internally.
'Focus.'
She lightly slapped her cheeks before taking a deep breath.
The playful warmth in Daniel's eyes only made her even more embarrassed.
Thankfully, Daniel either didn't notice or chose not to comment on it.
Eventually, Mika closed her eyes.
The playful emotions vanished from her expression instantly as her focus sharpened completely.
Mana spread outward from her body in massive invisible waves.
The surrounding space distorted gently.
She began searching for the very consciousness of the planet itself.
Every world possessed a core.
A central existence where its will, memories, laws, and consciousness converged together.
Finding it normally would take extraordinary effort.
But after the collapse of the Black Meridians' influence and with Daniel stabilizing reality itself unknowingly merely by existing, the world's resistance had weakened considerably.
Mika's senses expanded deeper and deeper.
Her senses pierced through continents, oceans, underground ley lines, past ancient roots of mana woven throughout the planet itself.
And then, her eyes suddenly opened.
"Found it."
The moment those words escaped her lips, space around both of them distorted violently.
A ripple spread outward.
Then instantly, the world around them disappeared.
And within moments, Daniel and Mika arrived somewhere entirely different.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
There was silence, the kind that existed before civilizations were born.
Before kingdoms rose.
Before history itself began.
Mika slowly lowered her gaze.
Even she became slightly stunned by what she saw.
Before them stood a colossal tree beyond comprehension.
It towered endlessly upward like a pillar connecting worlds together.
Its trunk alone was larger than entire mountain ranges.
Ancient bark layered across its surface like primordial armor while countless glowing leaves drifted softly throughout the vast space surrounding it.
The roots extended infinitely into darkness below.
And the branches stretched so high they vanished beyond sight entirely.
The entire place radiated ancient life.
It was pure, sacred and verwhelming.
At the center of the colossal tree, a massive core floated silently.
It resembled a gigantic crystal heart pulsing slowly with the life of the entire planet.
Every pulse released waves of mana powerful enough to shake reality itself.
Golden streams of energy flowed throughout the tree like blood vessels carrying life into the world.
But...something was wrong.
Daniel's eyes narrowed slightly.
Dark crimson veins spread throughout portions of the tree.
Of course, it was none other than corruprion, the same corruption infecting the skies of Virexia Minor.
The bark surrounding the core had begun blackening unnaturally.
Leaves near the center were withering slowly.
And deep within the glowing roots, countless dark veins crawled like parasites infecting the world itself.
Even the core…was being corrupted.
Mika's expression became serious.
"So even the World Core wasn't spared…" she muttered quietly.
The atmosphere suddenly felt heavier.
The corruption here was far denser than anywhere else.
As though the Black Meridians had attempted to infect the very soul of the planet itself.
Daniel stared silently at the enormous core.
And the moment he stepped forward...the voice he had been hearing previously suddenly became louder.
Much louder.
It echoed directly inside his mind.
Not through sound.
But through existence itself.
It was a sorrowful voice.
"…Help…"
The surrounding branches trembled lightly.
The massive core pulsed unevenly.
"…Please…"
Mika's eyes widened slightly.
"She's speaking to you directly…"
Daniel remained silent.
The voice continued echoing weakly within him.
A desperate plea filled with pain.
Filled with suffering accumulated over countless years of corruption.
"…It hurts…"
The dark veins around the core suddenly pulsed violently as if reacting to Daniel's arrival.
Black energy surged throughout portions of the tree.
The entire dimension trembled.
And for a brief moment, an unbearable scream echoed throughout the space.
A scream not from hatred…but agony.
The agony of an entire world slowly dying.
Mika instinctively clenched her fists.
Even she could feel it now, the despair, the exhaustion and the endless suffering the Will of the World had endured while being corrupted by the Black Meridians for centuries.
And yet despite all that pain, the moment Daniel arrived…hope had finally ppeared.
The gigantic core pulsed faintly with golden light.
As though the world itself was desperately reaching toward him.
Daniel slowly stared at the corrupted veins spreading throughout the tree.
His eyes reflected the suffering before him silently.
Then softly, and gently, he spoke as he touched the tree.
"…So this is what they did to you."
"Please… it hurts… save me…"
This time, the voice didn't merely echo.
It rang through the very core of their
existence, trembling, fragile…broken.
Daniel's expression shifted slightly and Mika froze.
Because now, there was no mistaking it.
It wasn't just a voice.
It sounded like a child.
A young, helpless child crying out in unbearable pain.
"P-Please… it hurts…"
The plea trembled, cracking midway as though even speaking required immense effort.
The massive core behind them pulsed erratically, its once steady rhythm now uneven and unstable.
Each pulse released waves of distorted energy, mixing golden life force with dark, corrupted fragments.
The tree groaned softly.
Branches withered further.
Leaves fell like dying embers.
And the dark veins, they pulsed like something alive.
Mika's lips parted slightly as her eyes softened.
A sharp ache formed in her chest.
"…Daniel…"
Her voice came out almost as a whisper.
Because to her, this wasn't just the Will of a world anymore.
It felt personal as They were the same kind of existence.
Beings born from the consciousness ofnanworld.
And seeing this…
It was like watching her own kind suffer.
No, it was worse.
It felt like watching a younger sibling slowly dying from an incurable illness.
Helpless and alone.
Her hands trembled slightly at her sides.
For someone who had witnessed countless wars, destruction, and death…
This felt different.
Because this wasn't an enemy.
This was something innocent.
Something that was never meant to suffer like this.
Mika slowly turned her gaze toward Daniel.
She didn't speak further.
She didn't need to.
Her eyes alone asked everything.
'What do we do?'
Daniel remained silent for a brief moment.
His eyes rested on the corrupted core, o the spreading darkness and the suffering hidden within it.
Then calmly, he replied softly.
"…Don't worry."
"Our aim from the very beginning was to grow stronger…to evolve beyond what we are."
He stepped forward slightly, his presence naturally stabilizing the space around them.
"So of course…" he continued quietly, "…I would help this planet."
Mika felt a small sense of relief wash over her.
But Daniel's next words reminded her of reality.
"…But it needs to be willing to join us."
Mika nodded immediately.
This wasn't simply about saving.
It was about acceptance.
A world's will could not be forced, it had to choose.
And after everything this world had endured, there was no doubt in her mind.
"…Thank you," Mika said softly, her voice carrying quiet confidence now.
She looked back at the core.
At the suffering within it.
"Don't worry… without a doubt…"
Her eyes sharpened.
"…it will be willing to join us."
Without wasting another second, Mika stepped forward.
Her hand slowly reached out toward the massive core.
The moment her fingers made contact, the entire space trembled.
A deep resonance echoed outward.
Golden light surged violently and the dark veins reacted instantly, writhing aggressively as if resisting.
But Mika didn't pull back, instead, her mana poured into the core.
She didn't do it forcefully but gently like knocking on a door and asking for permission.
And then, everything changed.
The space around them shattered, both tje tree and the core disappeared.
And within seconds, Daniel and Mika found themselves somewhere else entirely.
it was a new quiet and empty space.
The atmosphere here felt different, io longer grand or overwhelming but small and fragile.
Like stepping into someone's inner world.
Daniel's eyes slowly scanned their surroundings.
Then, he saw her, a small figure sitting in the corner.
She curled up tightly while rambling and she looked no older than ten.
Her long hair was disheveled, partially covering her face as she buried her head into her knees.
Her body shook uncontrollably.
Soft sobs echoed faintly in the empty space.
"…It hurts…"
Her voice was weak and broken.
Every word sounded like it was dragged out through unbearable pain.
Mika's breath caught in her throat.
Because the moment she saw her, She understood everything.
This…was the Will of the World.
Not as an abstract existence.
Not as a distant consciousness.
But as a child.
A suffering child.
"…Please… make it stop…"
The girl coughed violently.
"Cough—!"
Dark blood splattered onto the ground beneath her.
Mika's eyes widened in shock.
Because that wasn't normal blood.
It was tainted and corrupted.
Thick with dark energy that wriggled unnaturally even after leaving her body.
And then, they saw it clearly.
Dark corrupted veins.
They spread across her entire body.
From her arms…to her neck…
Crawling up toward her face.
Like parasites.
Like something slowly consuming her from the inside.
The veins pulsed faintly, synchronized with the distant corruption affecting the real world.
"Hah… hngh…!"
Her breathing was uneven.
As though even staying alive required effort.
She clutched her chest weakly.
Her fingers trembling.
"I don't… want to hurt anymore…"
Tears streamed down her face continuously.
But no one had been there to hear her.
No one had come until now.
Mika felt her vision blur slightly.
Her chest tightened painfully.
This was no longer something she could view calmly.
This wasn't just pity anymore.
It was heartbreak.
Because the girl, she was at her limit.
Barely holding on.
Standing at the very edge of death.
And yet, even now...she was still asking to be saved.
Not out of selfishness.
But because she simply didn't want to suffer anymore.
Mika slowly clenched her fists.
"…Daniel…" she whispered again, her voice shaking slightly this time.
But Daniel, had already begun walking forward.
His expression, for once was no longer calm.
There was something deeper in his eyes now.
Something heavy.
Something…cold.
Not toward the girl.
But toward what caused this.
Each step he took echoed softly through the empty space.
The girl didn't even notice at first.
She was too consumed by pain.
Too exhausted.
Too broken.
Another cough escaped her lips.
"Cough—!"
More corrupted blood stained the ground.
Her body trembled violently.
"I… don't… want to die…"
Her voice cracked completely.
A quiet, desperate whisper.
And yet, it carried the weight of an entire world begging to survive.
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