Chapter 534: The Light and The Darkness
Book 7 - The Rise of the Depravita Race
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It was a vast, desolate forest stretching for hundreds of kilometers, an ocean of twisted, skeletal trees whose warped branches clawed at a sky eternally shrouded in gloom.
Despite the millions of trees packed closely together, there was no trace of life here. Every trunk looked corrupted and mutated, as though some virulent force of decay had permeated the very soil beneath. The ground itself was crisscrossed by deep cracks that oozed a foul, blackish residue. It felt as if death had seeped so thoroughly into this land that nothing could thrive, not even bare vegetation.
A constant layer of ash blanketed the landscape, swirling in pale drifts that obscured vision. Inhaling this air would be impossible for anyone below the power level of a High Champion; the ash was thick and toxic, laced with the residue of countless battles and destructive energies.
Above this barren realm, a churning mass of chaotic clouds blocked out any sunlight.
Intermittent flares of red lightning illuminated the darkness, accompanied by thunderous detonations that fractured the silence. Each thunderclap tore viciously through the crimson sky as though reality itself threatened to unravel at any moment.
It was in this hellish forest, where rot and ruin reigned supreme, that a sudden beam of pale-gold light descended without warning. The impact annihilated hundreds of those gnarled trees, reducing them to splinters and billowing clouds of ash. A moment later, four figures emerged from the dissipating radiance. Their group was a strange mix of beings, each one exuding a terrifying aura in its own right.
One was a tall young man, well over two and a half meters in height. He had white hair and onyx-black eyes, though his irises glowed with rings of molten red, flickering like an active volcano. A small yellow cat with white stripes sat next to him, perched on his shoulder. This feline radiated such intense energy that he seemed to devour the surrounding air as though constantly drawing power into himself.