Chapter 317 : The Origin of the Cycle
Chapter 317: The Origin of the Cycle
「Withering Law Fragment」
Looking at the 【Withering Law Fragment】 displayed after the Law Authority entry on the character panel, Janna's eyes sparkled with joy, almost overflowing with delight.
「I thought I would still need more time to comprehend it before I could officially condense the 【Withering Law Fragment】. Who would've thought that just after stepping out of the Extreme Cold Secret Realm, I’d already succeeded in grasping it——」
Today, during her time in the Extreme Cold Secret Realm, the moment Janna discovered the energy resonance frequency of the 【Withering Law】, she had a hunch that the time to successfully comprehend the 【Withering Law Fragment】 was drawing near.
However, what Janna didn’t expect was that this moment of comprehension would arrive so swiftly—so swiftly that it caught her off guard.
With that thought, Janna took off her witch robe, sat immediately beside the laboratory table, closed her eyes, and as her consciousness steadily sank, she delved into her mental sea, arriving at the Witch Tree deep within her soul.
「This one should be the flower bud representing the 【Withering Law Fragment】」
So far, on Janna’s Witch Tree, three fruits and three flower buds had already formed.
The brilliantly radiant fruit, like a star, represented Janna’s first A-grade talent, 【Spirit Traverse】; another light green fruit, brimming with vitality, was the A-grade talent 【Affinity with Nature】 that she had recently advanced.
In addition, below these two talent fruits, there was a slightly smaller, deep green fruit, crystalline like jade, representing the 【Growth Law Fragment】 which Janna had been increasingly proficient at using.
Below these three fruits were three flower buds of different colors.
The white bud represented the 【Purification Law Fragment】, the rose-pink one stood for the 【Law of Beauty Fragment】, and the final one—a pale yellow bud—represented the 【Withering Law Fragment】. It was, so far, the smallest flower bud in size. After examining her 【Law Fragments】, Janna extended a tendril of her consciousness and connected to the flower bud representing the 【Withering Law Fragment】.
【Withering Law: The Origin of the Cycle】
「The Origin of the Cycle?」
Looking at this broad conceptual description, Janna naturally recalled the authority description of the 【Life Law Fragment】: The Beginning of Life.
「The Beginning of Life, the Origin of the Cycle———」
Muttering this phrase repeatedly, the scene from today’s dream gradually resurfaced in Janna’s mind.
「Growth represents spring; withering represents winter. Beginning with spring is beginning with growth; ending with winter is ending with withering.」
At this point, Janna’s brows slightly furrowed.
「The power of the 【Withering Law】 represents the origin of the cycle. That is to say, neither withering nor winter is the endpoint of the cycle, but rather the starting point of a new one.」
「Which means, the power of the cycle is in fact the cyclical seasons, the eternal force of life.」
During the dream, 【Euphresia】 had once said to that high-ranking green spirit that she had already mastered the “power of the cycle.”
And at that time, what Janna saw in the dream, besides the withering and flourishing of forest trees, was the alternation of the four seasons.
In other words, before 【Euphresia】 mastered the 【Law of Nature and Life】, she had already grasped the powers of 【Spring】, 【Summer】, 【Autumn】, and 【Winter】.
This also meant that if Janna wished to progress toward the ultimate goal of the 【Law of Nature and Life】, aside from 【Growth】 and 【Withering】, she would also need to master the 【Four Seasonal Laws】.
「And that pale hand… whose could it be?」
The moment that pale hand, large enough to be described as “covering the sky,” descended, all the scenes before Janna’s eyes turned entirely into shades of gray and white.
Not only that, the instant Janna saw that hand, her heart felt as if it had been struck fiercely by a heavy hammer.
Thus, it could be inferred that the owner of that pale hand must be a terrifying existence on par with an “Outer God.” As for exactly what level of witch they corresponded to, Janna couldn’t be sure.
「Hoo—」 As Janna’s consciousness withdrew from the mental sea, she let out a long breath, as if expelling all the fatigue accumulated from comprehending the 【Withering Law Fragment】 in the Extreme Cold Secret Realm.
「Wither—」
Janna, standing up again from the chair beside the laboratory table, immediately selected a relatively inexpensive pot of "Parrot Orchid" and invoked the power of the 【Withering Law Fragment】.
As the pale yellow light emitted from Janna’s palm, the Parrot Orchid planted in the flowerpot instantly changed from its vibrant dark green to a decaying yellow hue. Soon after, its leaves broke, shriveled, and crumbled into fragments,
falling into dust.
「So this is the power of the 【Withering Law Fragment】—it’s truly eerie.」
When Janna used the power of the 【Withering Law Fragment】, she could clearly feel a very faint but easily overlooked “life force” flowing from the withering Parrot Orchid into her body.
However, as this trace of vitality truly entered Janna’s body, she felt nothing unusual.
「Could it be that the amount of life force is too little—」
With that thought, she immediately commanded the 【Hand of the Witch】 to move several other pots of magical plants in front of her.
「Wither—」
With the pale yellow light once again emanating from Janna’s palm, the magical plants withered rapidly. Janna could feel a more pronounced “life force” than the first time flowing into her body.
「The fatigue doesn’t seem as heavy anymore——」
Because she had spent a long time in the Extreme Cold Secret Realm this afternoon, using the power of the 【Growth Law Fragment】 to block off death energy for Vivian, Janna had been extremely exhausted both physically and mentally.
However, as she drew life force from these magical plants, Janna could clearly feel her body becoming somewhat lighter. With that thought, she raised her hand again and used the power of the 【Law】
on the already completely withered flowerpots before her.
But this time, Janna did not invoke the power of withering, but the power of growth, which represented “the beginning of life.”
「Failed.」
Seeing that the flowerpots showed no reaction under the green glow, Janna slowly gained some insight in her heart.
「The 【Withering Law Fragment】 allows me to extract life force from magical plants, but once the life force is extracted, even with the power of the 【Growth Law Fragment】, they can no longer grow—」
「Although it sounds strange, it perfectly aligns with the 'Law of Conservation of Energy' in mysticism.」