stjorthotic Chapter 36 The Whisper of the Heart
Chapter 36 The Whisper of the Heart
The passage carved out by the ancient trees is longer than I imagined.
The passage spirals upwards, its smooth inner walls seemingly sculpted by some force. A thin layer of luminous moss covers the cave walls, providing a faint blue-green illumination. The air is fresh, carrying the damp scent of a forest after rain, a stark contrast to the humus odor in the cave below.
Karen carried Xiguang at the front, his steps much more steady than before—the ancient tree's gift had not only repaired his spiritual veins but also restored most of his strength. The jade leaf talisman on the back of his hand emitted a warm, cool sensation, like a real leaf pressed against his skin, constantly reminding him of his pact with that ancient being.
Leah followed closely behind. Her leg injury had stopped bleeding and scabbed over thanks to the nourishment of the ancient tree's life energy. Although she still couldn't run fast, she could walk normally without much trouble. She would occasionally look back at the way she came, wary of any pursuers who might appear.
Grom brought up the rear. The dwarf was the most seriously injured, but he didn't utter a sound, only gritting his teeth and keeping up with the group. His warhammer dragged behind him, its head occasionally scraping against the cave wall, sending up a few sparks.
Shadow perched on Karen's shoulder. The black cat was still weak, its silver eyes half-closed. But its ears remained erect, capturing every subtle movement in the passageway.
They proceeded in silence for about twenty minutes. The slope of the passage gradually decreased, eventually becoming a straight path. Ahead, natural light appeared—not the cold light of moss, but genuine daylight filtering in from the exit.
"We're almost at the surface," Leah whispered.
Karen nodded and quickened her pace. The cub in her arms stirred slightly; it seemed to sense the change in its surroundings even in its deep hibernation, but it remained dormant.
The exit was a cave half-hidden by vines and tree roots, located in the middle of a steep hillside. Karen pushed aside the drooping vines and peeked out—
Before me lay a lush, healthy forest.
Ancient trees rise abruptly from the ground, their canopies weaving into a green dome high above. Sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the moss and ferns on the ground. Birdsong drifts from all directions, and the distant murmur of a stream can be heard. The air is filled with the fresh scent of earth, green leaves, and wildflowers.
There is absolutely no sign of pollution here.
"We've left the mining area," Leah breathed a sigh of relief. "This is the western edge of the Emerald Forest, at least twenty kilometers from the center of pollution."
"What about the Order?" Grom asked. "They can't catch up, can they?"
"We can't catch up for now," Shadow said. "The ancient tree has sealed off the passage and created a complex root maze underground. It will take the Silver-Striped Knights at least half a day to find the right path."
Karen carefully climbed out of the cave and stepped onto the soft forest floor. After looking around to make sure there was no danger, he signaled for the others to follow.
They were now on a shady hillside, below which flowed a winding stream with crystal-clear water, revealing schools of fish and pebbles at the bottom. On the opposite bank stretched a denser forest that went on to the horizon.
"We need to find a place to rest," Karen said. "Both Dawn and Shadow need time to recover. We also need to treat our wounds and replenish our strength."
"Let's walk downstream along the stream," Leah pointed in the direction of the stream. "There's usually a relatively flat riverbed, suitable for camping. And there's running water, so we don't have to worry about drinking water."
The group began to move down the hillside. The forest floor was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves and moss, making almost no sound when they stepped on it. Occasionally, small animals would dart out from the bushes, scattering in panic at the sight of them—squirrels, rabbits, and some small, brightly colored creatures that Karen couldn't name.
Everything appeared peaceful and serene.
But Karen's unease was growing.
It wasn't because of potential pursuers, nor because of any potential threats in the forest.
It was because of... the black bead in his backpack.
Since leaving the cave of the ancient tree, the bead that sealed the core of the spirit realm's remnants has begun to undergo subtle changes.
At first, it was just the temperature—from icy cold to warm, and finally even a little hot. Karen had to move it from the inside of her backpack to an outer pocket to avoid burning herself or other items.
Then there's the weight. The bead itself is very light, but Karen can now clearly feel it getting heavier, as if it's being filled with some extremely dense substance.
Finally, and most unsettling, is that faint... pulsation.
It wasn't a fluctuation of psychic energy, nor a physical vibration, but a more abstract fluctuation of presence. Like a slowly beating heart, even when sealed and wrapped in layers, it stubbornly proclaimed its existence to the outside world.
Karen tried several times to take out the bead to examine it, but Shadow stopped her each time.
"Don't break the seal lightly," the shadow warned, "especially in this environment brimming with natural spiritual energy. The remnants of the spirit world have a peculiar... appetite for pure life energy. It might try to absorb the surrounding life force to strengthen itself."
So Karen could only endure it and suppress her unease.
They walked along the stream for about half an hour and found an ideal campsite—a relatively flat sandy and rocky beach on the riverbank, with a huge rock behind them and a wide view in front, allowing them to observe the upstream and downstream flow of the stream. Behind the rock was a small natural depression, just big enough for three or four people to rest and shelter from the wind.
"Let's do it here," Karen said. "We'll take turns standing guard while the rest of us treat our wounds and rest."
Leah gently placed Dawn on a flat, moss-covered rock. The cub remained asleep, but its breathing was even, and its golden fur gleamed healthily in the sunlight. Shadow jumped off Karen's shoulder, curled up beside Dawn, and quickly fell asleep as well—the black cat was too exhausted and needed deep rest to recover its strength.
Grom inspected his warhammer and equipment, then went to the stream to wash his wounds. The dwarf's endurance was astonishing; even with wounds on his arm and chest so deep that bone was visible, he merely frowned, rinsed them with water, and re-bandaged them.
Karen sat down next to Xiguang and took out some dry rations and a water bottle from his backpack. He broke off a small piece of compressed rations and chewed it slowly, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to the outer pocket of his backpack—there, the presence of the black bead was becoming increasingly strong.
"You felt it, didn't you?" Leah walked over and sat down next to Karen. Her gaze also fell on the pocket.
"Yes," Karen admitted, "it's changing. It's becoming more...active."
"The ancient tree says it can't be destroyed, only purified," Leah said in a low voice. "But purification requires enormous energy and precise control. We have nothing right now."
"We have three months," Karen said. "We have to find a way within three months."
"And then?" Leah asked. "Even if we purify this fragment, what if there are more? The ancient tree said many fell three thousand years ago. What if other fragments also begin to revive..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Karen fell silent.
He recalled the fragments of memories the ancient tree had passed on to him—the image of a black-robed figure falling into a black stone, the unmarked airship, the ritual array in the underground chamber, and the map marked with six points.
If the pollution of the Emerald Forest was not an accident, but rather the result of a planned release of spirit realm remnants by some force, then what about the other five locations? Are the other floating domains also experiencing similar disasters? Or are they about to experience them?
And on that map, the Fiery Mineland where Ironforge is located...
Karen suddenly remembered Grom's words: the spirit of Ironforge's furnace is waning, and the psionic energy of the ore veins is drying up. Could it be...?
"Grom," Karen turned to the dwarf bandaging his wounds, "you said before that the Soul of the Forge in Ironforge was waning, and the ore veins only had 30% of their original energy. When did this begin?"
Grom paused, thinking for a few seconds: "About... three years ago? Yes, it started to deteriorate significantly three years ago. Before that, although it was slowly declining, it could at least maintain about 70%. Three years ago, it suddenly accelerated, and the royal court's craftsmen tried everything they could to stop it."
three years ago.
The pollution of the Emerald Forest also began about three years ago—based on the perceptions of ancient trees and unusual reports from forest spirits.
The timing matches.
"Do you think it's a coincidence?" Leah also realized the problem.
"I don't know," Karen said, "but if that map is real, and if similar things happened at other points..."
He dared not think any further.
Just then, the black bead in the backpack pocket suddenly began to vibrate violently.
It wasn't a slight pulsation, but rather a throbbing and tumbling motion inside the pocket, like something alive. Karen could even hear the muffled thuds of the beads hitting the fabric and the inside of the backpack.
"What's going on?" Grom immediately grabbed his warhammer.
Karen quickly opened her backpack and took out the black beads.
The change in the beads made them all gasp in astonishment.
The once smooth, jet-black surface was now covered with fine cracks. A dark red light emanated from the depths of the cracks, as if lava was flowing inside. The bead pulsed violently in Karen's palm, each pulse bringing with it a scorching heat that quickly turned her palm bright red.
"The seal is weakening!" The shadow was startled awake. It struggled to its feet, its silver eyes fixed on the bead. "The ancient tree's life energy is stimulating it... it's trying to break through!"
"What should we do?" Leah asked. "Reinforce the seal?"
"I can't do it." Shadow's voice was filled with helplessness. "I can't even stand up right now, let alone cast a spell."
Karen gritted his teeth and placed the bead on the ground. He took two steps back, and the gold and silver spirit patterns on his right wrist lit up—though faint, they could still draw upon some light spirit energy.
"Maybe... I can try to communicate with it," Karen said. "Inside the cave, I had a brief exchange with its core. It agreed not to break through on its own for three months. Maybe I can get it to keep its promise."
"It's too dangerous," Leah objected. "Last time there was an ancient tree nearby, but now it's just us."
"There's no other choice." Karen looked at the bead on the ground, which was bouncing more and more violently. "If we let it break completely, we won't be able to stop it. We have to try now."
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began speaking in spirit language again.
This time, he did not use the light energy of the Dawn as a protective layer—the Dawn was still in deep hibernation, and forcibly using it might interrupt the cub's recovery process. He could only rely on his remaining spiritual energy and the life energy bestowed by the ancient tree as protection for the consciousness probe.
The consciousness probe slowly extended and touched the crack on the surface of the black bead.
The moment Karen stepped inside, she found that the situation had completely changed.
It was no longer the ethereal darkness and the calm "core" voice of before.
Instead, it was a... chaotic battlefield.
Countless fragments of souls roared and clashed madly, no longer merely lamentations yearning for release, but filled with raging fury and pure destructive intent. Dark red, polluted energy, like boiling blood, rampaged through the confined space, tearing apart all order.
"Core!" Karen cried out in her mind, "Where are you? We had an agreement!"
no respond.
Only more roars and more violent energy surges. Karen's consciousness probe was like a small boat in a storm, on the verge of being torn apart. His protective layer was rapidly depleting, and the life energy bestowed by the ancient tree was decreasing at a visible rate.
"Core!" Karen shouted again, this time using the power of the contract runes—gold and silver light emanated from his consciousness, temporarily dispelling the chaos in a small area. "Answer me! What happened?"
Finally, a faint voice rang out from the depths of the chaos.
It wasn't the calm, neutral voice from before.
Instead, it was a… painful, struggling, and barely able-bodied voice.
"The...structure...is...collapsing..."
"What?" Karen's heart skipped a beat. "Why?"
"The external...life energy...is too pure...the structure cannot...replicate it...instinct...resists...trying to...devour it...but the seal...prevents it..."
The core audio was intermittent, like a poorly signaled communication.
Karen understood.
The life energy bestowed by the ancient tree was highly toxic to the structure of the spirit realm remnants. The excessively pure life energy clashed severely with the chaotic rules within the remnants, causing internal disorder and collapse. The remnants instinctively tried to devour this energy to "digest" it, but the seal of the shadows prevented energy exchange, causing the structure to be torn apart by its own internal conflict.
"What can I do?" Karen asked. "How can I help you stabilize?"
"It's...too late..." The core's voice grew weaker and weaker, "The structure...is about to...split apart...One part...will retain the protocol...The other part...will go completely...mad..."
"Split?"
"Yes...split...this is...the last resort...for structural self-preservation...to separate the conflicting parts...and preserve...the parts that can still maintain rationality..."
The core voice has almost disappeared.
"Listen... young... guardian... after the split... the mad part... will attack you at all costs... because it sees you as... the source of the conflict... you must... destroy it... or... seal it away again..."
"What about the rational part?" Karen pressed.
"It will... fall into slumber... awaiting... your... solution... but the time... will be shorter... one month... at most one month... If you... cannot find a solution... your rational side... will also be... devoured by madness..."
The words fell.
The cracks on the surface of the black beads suddenly widened.
Click—!
A crisp cracking sound.
The bead split in two from the middle.
No, it's not a simple crack.
Instead, it's like a real egg, violently cracked open from the inside.
The left half remained relatively intact, its surface cracks rapidly healing, its color changing from jet black to dark gray, finally solidifying into a smooth, lifeless stone sphere. It fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and came to rest at Karen's feet, where it remained motionless.
The right half is completely different.
The moment it cracked, it began to deform and expand. The black outer shell melted and reformed, and a large amount of dark red, viscous, semi-coagulated blood-like substance surged out from inside. This substance condensed and shaped in the air, eventually forming a blurry humanoid outline.
Its outline lacked clear facial features, with only a rough distinction between a head, torso, and limbs. Its body surface constantly flowed and writhed, like countless tiny tentacles rolling beneath its skin. A dark red light emanated from within, leaving afterimages in the air.
And in the center of the chest of this humanoid silhouette, there was something embedded.
A fist-sized, constantly beating black heart.
The surface of the heart is covered with twisted blood vessels and nerves, and with each beat, it creates ripples in the surrounding air. It emits a deep, rhythmic sound:
dong... dong... dong...
Each sound was like a heavy hammer blow to everyone's heart.
A humanoid silhouette—or rather, a shadowy figure—slowly raised its head. It had no eyes, but Karen could sense that something was "watching" him.
Then, the heart made a sound.
It wasn't a voice produced through the mouth, but rather by the vibration of air. The voice was dry and hoarse, as if the speaker hadn't spoken in a long time, or perhaps a product of countless voices forcibly blended together.
"key……"
The shadowy figure took a step forward. Its movements were stiff and clumsy, like a baby just learning to walk, but its speed was eerily fast—it covered three meters in a single step, arriving directly in front of Karen.
"finally found you……"
Karen instinctively stepped back, the spiritual runes on her right wrist lighting up at full power. A thin shield of gold and silver light formed in front of her.
The shadowy figure extended its right hand—a hand made of a dark red, viscous substance, with long, slender fingers and sharp, knife-like tips. It made a light, sweeping motion.
laugh--!
The gold and silver shields were torn apart like paper.
Karen groaned, his spiritual veins throbbing, and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth. He staggered backward, nearly falling.
"The bloodline of the Guardians..." The shadowy figure's voice was filled with twisted joy and pure malice, "You must... die..."
Its left hand also rose, and both hands simultaneously grabbed at Karen's throat.
"Karen!" Lydia's wind blade and Grom's warhammer attacked the shadowy figure simultaneously.
The wind blade sliced through the shadowy figure's body, leaving only a shallow wound that healed almost instantly. The warhammer slammed into the shadowy figure's shoulder with a dull thud, but the figure merely swayed, then with a backhand swing, sent Grom and his hammer flying.
The dwarf crashed heavily into the rock behind him, coughing up a mouthful of blood and temporarily losing his fighting ability.
The shadowy figure's attention returned to Karen.
"This time..." it said, "no one... can save you..."
Karen gritted her teeth, preparing to fight to the death.
But at that moment, the jade leaf talisman on the back of his hand suddenly lit up.
Emerald green light burst forth, forming a swirling leaf-like phantom in front of him.
The ancient tree's backup plan was activated at the last moment.