The towering ancient trees no longer possessed the lush vibrancy of memory; their bark had turned a sickly ash-black and was peeling away in massive sheets, revealing the rotting wood beneath. Vines that should have been bursting with life hung down limply like withered giant serpents. The ground was blanketed in a thick layer of sticky, black sludge that constantly bubbled with unsettling, turbid gases. The air was as heavy as lead, reeking of a despairing, lifeless stillness. Most heartbreaking of all was the sight in the distance—the Divine Tree of Apam, which should have been the symbol of Sumeru City and radiated a soft, wise glow, now stood with its main trunk withered and snapped. Its massive canopy hung low and charred, like a giant whose spine had been broken. Only a few remaining colossal branches stubbornly pierced the gloomy sky, the faint green light upon them flickering like a candle in the wind, on the verge of being snuffed out completely. This was a rotting Sumeru, a battlefield where the roots of Irminsul were being devoured!
Lumine fought down a wave of nausea, drawing her Silver Sword in a flash. The blade ignited with a blazing elemental light, and following the faintest, most agonizing plea for help from the depths of her soul, she charged toward the wreckage of the Divine Tree.
As she drew closer to the base of the shattered trunk, the scene became even more shocking. Across the surface of the thick roots, several enormous, tumor-like purplish-black g…
Chapter 35