Game of the World Tree

“Could it be that…an evil god is involved in this again?”

“Hmm, I smell the scent of a new dungeon…”

The players whispered amongst themselves, with a hint of excitement flickering across their faces.

Out of the five, only Boxlunch maintained a neutral expression. He nudged a teammate who was disrupting the mood and looked at Elder Roergue, asking in his usual stoic tone, “Could you tell us the specifics?”

Seeing Boxlunch’s serious expression, his teammates also quieted down, focusing intently on the elder. Roergue nodded slowly, his gaze drifting as if recalling something from a distant past.

“This, I should start with the story behind the birth of this world…”

Elder Roergue sighed softly, then began sharing the hidden truths he knew. Through his tale, the players finally pieced together the origins of this demi-realm.

Elder Roergue’s version closely aligned with what Lilia had already shared with them. It felt like a blend of the legends passed down by the Divine Grace Clan and the teachings of the church… except the elder included details that were both deeper and more secretive.

After listening, the players, after combining these details with their own knowledge, arrived at a clearer understanding of the history of this demi-realm:

A thousand years ago, a powerful being from the World Tree’s faction brought three hundred ancient elves across the passageway into this demi-realm and transformed it using their own power.

—transformed, not created.

That was how Elder Roergue described it.

Contrary to public belief, this demi-realm had already existed even before the ancient elves, along with that powerful being, settled here after seeking refuge from a formidable foe. They did not create this demi-realm but rather, they transformed and accelerated its development their own power.

It was a daunting task, but fortunately, that powerful being possessed an extraordinary artifact known as the “Heart of Life.”

With the artifact in hand, He performed a ritual, using the Heart of Life along with His own flesh and blood as the foundation to create a new race, who eventually regarded themselves as the Divine Grace Clan.

Under the elves’ guidance, members of the Divine Grace Clan flourished, as they established a new civilization within this demi-realm.

As a result, this powerful being was revered by all sentient life within this realm as the God of Creation, and the three hundred ancient elves were honored as Divine Beings.

Years passed, and as the civilization within this world flourished, a religious organization eventually emerged amongst its populace, founded on a core belief that held nature and life in deep reverence.

Initially, this religious organization didn’t bear the name ‘Church of Creation,’ and the deity they worshiped was not the Creator either.

Instead, it revered a more mythical figure—the god whom the Creator himself was believed to follow, one even mightier yet eternally dormant, known as the Mother of All Gods.

Both the Creator and the Divine Beings shared a singular goal:

That is, to gather power, launch a counterattack on the divine realm from which they came originally, and reawaken the Mother of All Gods whom they worshiped.

Alas, the good times did not last long.

Over time, the elves noticed their life force was diminishing at an alarming rate, and every newly born member of the Divine Grace Clan had far shorter lifespans than expected.

This dire situation persisted for centuries and was further exacerbated by a sudden event that changed everything.

As the demi-realm further developed, this world finally caught the attention of the Creator’s former enemies.

Foreign gods invaded, and the whole world was plunged into a war that lasted for more than a decade.

In the end, the Creator eventually managed to repel the invading gods by merging himself with the demi-realm’s provenance. Yet, in doing so, the God of Creation revealed another secret of his own.

Since arriving in this world, their true intention had neither been to launch a counterattack on the divine realm nor to reawaken the Mother of All Gods.

Instead, the Creator’s true goal was to siphon the life force of this realm’s inhabitants in order to ascend into godhood and seize the power of the Mother of All Gods, who had fallen into a deep sleep.

In the eyes of the God of Creation, every living being in this demi-realm was merely a tool to increase His own strength.

By this point in time, he was no longer the Creator who had bravely led the ancient elves to reshape a new world.

In the words of the Divine Beings, the Creator has already fallen.

Thus, war erupted once more.

This time, it was a war between the three hundred elves of the Divine Clan against the God of Creation himself whom they had once followed.

The outcome, however, was inevitable.

The three hundred ancient elves stood no chance against the God of Creation and were ultimately defeated.

The Creator then used the “Heart of Life” to consume the lifeforce of those three hundred elves.

Henceforth, each member of the Divine Clan vanished from the world from that day forward…

In the aftermath of that war, the prevailing religious organization formally renamed itself the Church of Creation, while the Creator himself seized control of every church member’s mind, brainwashing them to erase all traces of the elves and leaving only vague myths of their origins as members of the Divine Clan.

—Until now, that is.

After Elder Roergue finished his tale, the players were both moved and puzzled.

“But, how did you come to know all of this, Mr. Roergue?”

“It was passed down from a revered elder of our clan,” Roergue replied.

“The first Divine Being who guided the ancestors of Divine Grace Clan in developing our civilization was a powerful legendary elf whom we honor as the Wise One.”

“And before he died, the Wise One recorded everything he knew in ancient scriptures, which have been secretly preserved by our clan. He even used half of his own life force to cast a grand prophecy.”

“The Wise One’s prophecy foretells that our world shall ultimately face destruction. Yet, amidst the ashes of ruination, a new beginning shall also arise. As the new members of the Divine Clan descend upon our land once more, they shall herald our salvation, as we all shall return back to the light.”

“The Wise One also foretold that should any elves somehow reappeared here in our world, then it would mean that the Mother of All Gods—our Great Matriarch—had already reawakened in the Divine Realm.”

“And these newly Divine Beings that would arrive in the foreseeable future shall be the honorable envoys of the Great Mother of All Gods, as they would bring hope for all living beings within our world.”

“These are the most guarded secrets of our Divine Grace Clan, and only the elders of each generation shall know this information. If I die, then Lilia will be the one to inherit these secrets.”

“For hundreds of years, we have long awaited the arrival of the envoys foretold by the Wise One’s prophecy. According to it, the place where they would likely arrive was the forbidden land of the Elven Forest, which is why our people moved here to settle our clan.”

“Unfortunately, the church’s power is just far too overwhelming for our clan to contend with. For the sake of Divine Grace Clan’s survival, we can only protect these secrets by passing them down from elder to elder…”

Roergue sighed.

After his explanation, the players felt a wave of understanding wash over them.

⤷ So, that’s the truth…

⤷ Who would’ve thought there was such a story behind this demi-realm…

⤷ So, this so-called Creator was once a servant or follower of the goddess? But he betrayed her?

⤷ Then, could the Scepter’s last fragment Big Sister wants us to find actually be that artifact called ‘Heart of Life’?

They discussed this in their group chat.

After sharing what he knew, Elder Roergue turned serious once more. He took a deep breath, bowed to the players, and made a sincere request:

“Honorable envoys…”

“In this world, we are nothing more than sacrificial lambs from whom our lives is slowly being stolen away without even us aware of it…”

“We cannot go on like this… If we do, then all that awaits us shall be destruction…”

“I know that each of you serves the Great Mother of All Gods…”

“The Wise One told us that the Mother of All Gods is the most merciful and benevolent being in the entire universe.”

“So please, I beseech you, Honorable Envoys of the Great Matriarch, please thwart the God of Creation’s vile machinations and herald forth a new future for all living beings of this world!”

Hearing Roergue’s emotional plea, the players’ eyes shone with excitement.

“What should we do?”

They asked back, visibly looking eager to take action.

Seeing their enthusiasm, Roergue’s face brightened.

Bowing once more, he answered:

“It’s the Heart of Life!”

“Legend has it that the Creator mainly relies upon the Heart of Life to devour life force and grow stronger in order to ascend into godhood.”

“Fortunately, the Creator has fallen into a deep slumber due to the wars that occurred centuries ago.”

“Perhaps if we can seize the Heart of Life, then we can thwart the Creator’s plans!”

— 436 —

【 HEART OF LIFE 】

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