The Elf King Aurel and Iros stood before the great ornamental tree at the heart of the royal court. Aurel placed his palm gently against its trunk.
As his low chanting began, the tree’s body emitted a soft green radiance.
In Iros’s eyes, Aurel’s simple motion was anything but simple—it was the unlocking of countless protective enchantments that only the Elf King had authority to access.
As the king’s hand moved, the entire ancient tree began to split apart—and move!
Only then could one see that it was not truly a tree at all, but countless living vines entwined together in disguise.
The vines stirred like waking serpents, rustling faintly as they slowly drew aside to reveal the core within.
At the interwoven roots lay a wooden staff, quietly embedded in the soil—the artifact Iros had mentioned: the Life-Entreating Core.
A relic bound by a thousand threads to the Divine Tree itself.
Its shaft was woven from branches of that very tree, still alive, their smooth, warm grain glowing faintly gold-brown. The surface of the staff pulsed softly with light, as if it breathed—an artifact that seemed the most perfect creation in all the world.
Yet upon that near-perfect form lay a glaring flaw.
Near the top of the staff, where its most intricate branching should have been, a key segment was missing. A whole branch had been forcibly torn away, leaving a raw, gouged wound.
Though the break had healed smooth over time, it had never grown anew; only a dull, lifeless scar remained there—like a blemish upon the face of a beauty, impossible to erase.
Each time the light of the staff passed across that wound, it would falter slightly, as if even the artifact itself mourned the loss.
Holding the relic, Aurel felt no joy, no anticipation for the power it contained.
There was a reason the Life-Entreating Core
had been sealed away. Its imperfection came with a dire price: when wielded, the user’s own life would drain away through that wound.Simply put, it was a weapon that consumed life—a weapon fueled by one’s very existence—and only the strong could even activate it properly.
If not for this fatal flaw, Aurel would have long ago followed the example of the Vampire Emperor, letting the artifact’s radiance shine perpetually over the royal city.
Instead, each use came with the weight of sacrifice.
As his fingertips traced the winding wood grain, regret welled deeply within him.
It had been their greed—his own and his predecessors’—that led to the artifact’s destruction. Their ambition had nearly buried an entire generation of elves, leaving only a few aged survivors to uphold what remained.
Iros stepped forward. “My King, allow me to use it.”
Aurel merely patted his old retainer’s shoulder. “No. This is my duty—and the consequence I must bear.”
Emotion flickered briefly in Iros’s eyes before he spoke again. “My King, the demons’ reach now extends even to the Divine Tree. We must answer in kind.”
Aurel nodded. “Then after this, we shall lift the restrictions on aiding the humans.”
But Iros frowned. “Forgive my bluntness, my King—that is far too lenient.”
“I know, Iros.” Aurel sighed softly. “But the elves have only just emerged from our weakest centuries. Our young finally begin to show promise. We cannot cast their lives into the endless wars of this continent.”
“These three hundred years—it was not only we who were weakened. The whole world was. And now, we must step out once more…”
Iros wanted to argue further, but the king’s resolve was already made. Seeing this, he fell silent, and the flicker of emotion in his eyes faded into calm acceptance.
…
Tree-City
With the arrival of the royal guards and the timely return of the patrol rangers, countless elven civilians were rescued and escorted to safety around the capital.
The awakening of the living trees had caused heavy losses—but not total devastation. Because the transformation had not yet reached full intensity, even weaklings like Rael could resist for a short while.
Groups of civilians could barely hold out together, and with many rangers and mages still in the city, the casualties, though painful, remained within bearable limits.
Yet this peace was only temporary.
The animation of the great trees grew visibly stronger by the moment. Left unchecked, the elves would soon find themselves defending their capital against the very forest they lived in.
And the result would likely be a wasteland—countless fallen trees, the elves standing amid the ruins of their own woodland home.
Worse still, the main ranger battalion remained trapped in the Dungeon, and the Captain of the Guard, Eko, was still imprisoned in an alternate space—his fate uncertain.
For all these reasons, when Iros proposed using the artifact, Aurel had made the decision swiftly. There was no time left to hesitate.
Guards escorted the Elf King and the chief mage swiftly through Ishildorin, toward the Dungeon entrance.
As they crossed an open clearing, Iros paused briefly, glancing down.
He sensed something beneath the ground—a young elf, not yet grown. And surrounding the child… several monsters.
Had the child been dragged below during the chaos?
It might still be possible to save them.
But… the location was deep, and a rescue would take time.
Now, if they reached the Dungeon faster and let Aurel activate the artifact, they could save far more lives—skilled rangers, the hope of the elven race.
After only a heartbeat’s pause, Iros made his decision.
He moved on, wordless, without looking back.
Below—was merely one of the sacrifices.
…
Underground, Rael’s eyes widened in astonishment!
The small dug-out cavern around her glowed softly with the light of countless bioluminescent mushrooms.
Beside her, the pujis sat close, surrounding her in their usual squishy huddle.
The hole had only been dug a day ago, so it wasn’t spacious.
Fortunately, Rael was small; with the pujis’ help, she had squeezed through the same narrow passage they did.
Going underground had been their only choice. The great trees above were growing ever more restless—soon they would start to move. The safest place now was deep underground, where no roots could reach.
Rael didn’t seem afraid at all. On the contrary, she looked like a guest at a friend’s home—patting the pujis beside her, gazing up at the glowing mushrooms with a delighted “Waaah!” every so often.
It was a relief for Lin Jun not to have to worry about her. His full attention was focused elsewhere—on Elf King Aurel…
—or rather, on the nearly complete artifact in Aurel’s hands!
【Artifact: Life-Entreating Core (Incomplete)】
Lin Jun had seen the other half of this artifact before!
And he knew roughly where it was!
Which meant… which meant—!
If he could get his hands on it, he might be able to reforge a complete divine artifact?!
No… he shouldn’t be greedy… he mustn’t…
Maybe… just a tiny bit greedy?