Chapter 61: Ascension tree trial [1]
The world beyond the portal was... quiet.
No wind. No sky. No sun. Just an endless white void—flat, empty, and infinite. In the center stood a towering, ancient tree that made them all stop in their tracks.
It stretched into the heavens—at least a few thousand meters high, its trunk wide enough to house a castle within. Its roots dug deep into the earth, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. No leaves rustled. No fruit shimmered. It was still. Silent.
And yet...
Kaelen felt his soul react.
Alira took a step back, her hand drifting to her dagger by instinct. "What... is that?"
Derek’s breath hitched in his throat. His eyes—wide, disbelieving—locked onto the tree before him, as if the very sight might unravel his sanity.
His lips parted slowly, trembling with the weight of revelation, as though speaking its name aloud would shatter some sacred silence.
"This... this can’t be real. My eyes must be playing tricks," he whispered, the words barely more than a breath, raw with awe.
The others turned to him, their expressions shifting from curiosity to sharpened focus. Neal frowned, stepping closer. "What do you mean?"
Kaelen’s gaze darkened, his voice edged with suspicion. "You recognize it?"