Every world has its inherent limits.
Once those limits are surpassed, the world itself cannot sustain such entities.
Daniel knew this all too well. Without his Ring of Origin, he likely would have been forced to remain outside this world, unable to reenter.
The world Daniel currently inhabited, as the old man described, was once a battlefield.
A battlefield of mighty beings known as gods and devils.
On this battlefield, countless gods and devils had perished.
The world itself had been shattered repeatedly by the immense clashes, only to be reforged each time.
Amid this chaos, something strange occurred.
At the center of the battlefield, in a place where blood and flesh of gods and devils were strewn about, a seed appeared.
No one knew why the seed had emerged there.
No one paid it any mind.
But the seed, surrounded by the remains of gods and devils, absorbed the rich nutrients around it.
To a tiny seed, the flesh and blood of gods and devils were the ultimate nourishment.
With this sustenance, the seed sprouted and grew.
It grew into a towering tree.
Could such a tree, nourished by the remnants of gods and devils, be ordinary?
Of course not.
Its vast root system stretched far beyond the battlefield.
Over time, the gods and devils began to notice something strange.
On this battlefield, once littered with the indestructible corpses of their kind, the remains had vanished.
The corpses of gods and devils, which should have been eternal even in death, had completely disappeared.
Even their blood, which defied the passage of time, was nowhere to be found.
All that remained…
Was the immense tree.
It was only then that the gods and devils realized something was extraordinary about this tree.
They began observing it closely.
And they discovered something even more shocking:
Around the tree, the faint outlines of a new world had begun to form.
The tree had given birth to the laws of a complete world.
In time, a fully formed world emerged.
The gods and devils retreated, leaving the battlefield behind.
What remained was a new and complete world.
But this world was fundamentally tied to the flesh and remnants of gods and devils.
And within it, traces of those beings lingered.
The beings of this world, driven by their wisdom and curiosity, began to uncover these traces.
And they grew stronger.
Eventually, this insatiable pursuit of power plunged the world into chaos.
A war swept across the land as all intelligent beings sought the remnants of gods and devils to gain unparalleled strength.
In the course of this great war, the Tree of World was severed.
The destruction of the Tree of World spelled doom for the world it had created.
But in this critical moment, the Will of the World intervened.
The world’s consciousness eradicated all traces of gods and devils.
However, this act drained its vitality, leaving the world unable to evolve further.
Though the world was saved, it could no longer advance.
The pathways to higher tiers of power were severed, ensuring the world’s survival at the cost of its potential.
The Will of the World was gravely weakened.
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“The ones you speak of…” Daniel turned to the old man. “Who are they?”
“They are the survivors of that great war,” the old man replied.
When the Will of the World unleashed its power, it wiped out every remaining trace of gods and devils.
And yet, among those who had gained immense strength from these remnants, some were so powerful that even the Will of the World could not destroy them.
Unable to kill these beings, the Will of the World was forced to let them remain, barely managing to preserve the world’s core.
“But now, because of those individuals, our world is once again on the brink of destruction,” the old man said gravely.
“They are no longer satisfied with the slow growth of their power. This time, their goal is the Will of the World itself. At the end of that ancient calamity, they witnessed its terrifying might.”
“After the calamity, they went into hiding, but they have secretly plotted against the Will of the World. Their aim is to seize the Source of the World’s Power.”
“The greater their influence, the faster they can drain the Source of the World. And now… our world is nearing its breaking point.”
The consequences were clear:
Once the world was destroyed, only the individual who obtained the Will of the World would survive. It would be a winner-takes-all scenario.
As the old man spoke, his frail body hunched further, and his voice grew weaker.
“So… the ones who manipulated the Sacred Time River must have been them?” Daniel asked.
“That’s my best guess,” the old man replied. “It’s hard to imagine anyone else capable of such a feat.”
“I see. It seems I’ll have to deal with them,” Daniel said, preparing to leave.
Though he had not yet found the ones responsible for his father’s death, he now had a direction.
If those who had gained the power of gods and devils were involved, Daniel would track them down one by one.
Besides, this world…
Daniel glanced at the Ring of Origin on his hand.
Weren’t they trying to take what belonged to him?
For that alone, they deserved to die.
“You’re leaving?” the old man asked weakly.
“Of course,” Daniel replied.
“The world… the world still needs you to save it,” the old man implored.
“As long as I kill them, won’t the world be saved all the same?” Daniel responded matter-of-factly.
“They are deeply hidden. You may not be able to find them all. And unless you can kill them all at once… the last one standing may destroy everything,” the old man warned solemnly.
“You have a point. So, what do you suggest I do?” Daniel asked.
“They are using the remnants of gods and devils to corrupt and pollute the world. The only solution is to help the Tree of Origin grow once more. It can cleanse the world of their influence.”
The original Tree of World had long been destroyed. The Tree of Origin was a chance to replace it, to take its place in purging the lingering corruption.
“And how do I help it grow? By planting trees?” Daniel asked, incredulous at the notion of saving the world through gardening.
“Yes,” the old man replied calmly. “I cannot do it myself. Once the Tree of Origin reaches a certain size, it will attract those individuals. You won’t need to search for them—they will come to you.”
“How do I make it grow?” Daniel asked.
“You’ll need the special forge at the bottom of the lake. It produces drops of liquid that can nurture the tree over time…”
Before the old man could finish, Daniel pulled out a transparent forge from his storage crystal.
This forge was a result of Daniel refining a large number of mana crystals.
The moment he produced it, the old man was stunned.
He hadn’t expected Daniel to possess such an advanced forge.
The old man’s blind eyes couldn’t see its intricacies, but the aura it emanated was far superior to the one in the lake.
“Amazing… truly amazing…” the old man murmured, coughing from excitement.
“Your forge is far superior to the one in the lake,” he said between wheezing breaths. “With two forges… the Tree of Origin’s growth can be accelerated greatly. Perhaps… perhaps it won’t even take millennia…”
The old man’s words trailed off as his breathing became labored.
Ryze quickly moved to steady the old man, helping him regain control of his breathing.
The old man was overwhelmed. Daniel’s arrival had already filled him with joy, but now, the prospect of saving the world seemed within reach. How could he not be elated?