CHAPTER 624

Game of the World Tree

【 REWARD FROM THE TRUE GOD 】

—

Eve’s vision rose infinitely upward until, once again, she arrived at the Pantheon.

Unlike her previous visit, however, now that she possessed her own divine throne, she did not manifest outside the temple. Instead, her form coalesced directly upon her appointed seat inside the main chamber.

Currently, the Pantheon was vast and empty. Silence lingered across the grand hall like a timeless veil, the solemn air befitting a place that bore witness to the recent gathering of the gods.

With a graceful snap of her fingers, Evé summoned forth light. Golden flames blossomed across the temple’s sconces, casting gentle illumination within the chamber.

Not long after she arrived, another throne flickered with a faint radiance, exuding a majestic and sacred presence.

Threads of crimson-gold divine power intertwined, before gradually forming the silhouette of a dwarf clad in a celestial scarlet robe, his face adorned with a thick reddish-brown beard.

It was the divine projection of Dorft, the God of Dwarves and Forging.

Upon seeing Evé, his aged features lit up with a bright smile, his expression touched with gratitude.

“Thank you, Your Grace Evé, for resolving the long-standing problem that has plauged the Dwarven Kingdom for thousands of years!”

Evé shook her head gently.

“It was simply a matter of mutual need. Besides, eradicating evil is the shared goal of all us true gods. The Dwarven Kingdom is the neighbor of the Elves, and naturally, also their ally in mutual support.”

Her words were entirely reasonable.

Although the southern mountain range lay more than two thousand kilometers from the Elven Forest, the adjacent Desert of Death was already part of elven territory. Calling the dwarves their neighbors was not entirely inaccurate.

Sensing the warmth in her words, Dorft’s smile grew even warmer.

“You are too modest. To become friends with the Elves is an honor for the Dwarven people. The Harvest Festival was truly magnificent. Watching it, I felt as though I were witnessing the Elves restored to their peak, just as they were in the glory of the Silver Era.”

The fact that Dorft had witnessed the celebration came as no surprise to Evé.

The Dwarven delegation had included priests from the National Dwarven Church, and for a true god, priests were not merely servants but extensions of their will, their eyes and ears in the mortal world.

After exchanging compliments, the atmosphere between them grew ever more congenial.

Then, they turned to the main subject.

“Your Grace Evé, since you have fulfilled the task I entrusted to you, would you like me to forge a new artifact for you, or perhaps repair an old one?”

Dorft’s expression became solemn and sincere as he posed this question.

Evé’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“I would like your assistance in repairing an old artifact.”

As she raised her hand, a brilliant light coalesced in her palm. With a subtle ripple through space, a rugged, ancient-looking skull necklace appeared in her grasp.

“The Withering Heart?!”

Dorft could not help but exclaim the moment he saw it.

Yet almost immediately, as if recalling something, his expression shifted with realization.

“Of course… no wonder. Since you defeated Uller, it is only natural that this artifact should have fallen into your possession.”

“Getting it was a mere stroke of fortune. Can you repair it?”

Dorft considered briefly, then replied,

“Please, allow me to examine it.”

Without hesitation, Evé handed him the Withering Heart.

The dwarven god accepted the skull necklace carefully and examined it with a serious expression. His eyes moved over its rough surface, noting the faint traces of lingering power.

Then he closed his eyes. A steady glow of crimson-gold divine light spread across his body and wrapped around the artifact, covering it completely. The necklace trembled faintly within the light before falling still.

After a short while, the glow faded away, and the artifact returned to its dormant state in his hands.

When he opened his eyes again, Dorft spoke in a thoughtful tone.

“The damage is severe, but posed no major problem. Give me a month, and I should be able to restore its structure. The true difficulty lies in the erosion caused by the power of the Abyss. This artifact has been deeply corrupted, almost to the point of no return…”

He paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on the necklace as though weighing its condition with care.

“Repairing the physical damage is not the issue. What I cannot do is purify the Abyssal corruption entirely. At best, I can drive out part of it, forcing the corruption back from the artifact’s core, but to remove it completely is beyond my ability.”

Dorft frowned as he spoke.

“Will there be a negative side effects?” Evé asked.

He paused to reflect before answering.

“If the power of the Abyss within it were completely removed, this artifact could operate solely on divine energy. But since it cannot be fully purified, it will still require the offering of life force to function.”

“Moreover, I could enhance its power, but doing so would greatly increase the risk of the artifact corrupting its wielder’s soul.”

At these words, Evé raised a brow.

So, its power could indeed be amplified, but the drawbacks would grow equally severe…

Even so, this was not a major concern.

Her many experiences using it had already shown her that her resistance to Abyssal corruption was exceptionally strong. Therefore, so long as she refrained from actively absorbing it, she would not be tainted.

At the very least, the World Tree’s true form would not be affected. Only her incarnate bodies bore any real risk of corruption. Yet even in that unlikely event, her true body could cleanse and restore them with little to no effort.

As for the requirement of life force in order to activate the Withering Heart, that also was of little concern since transforming divine energy into ordinary life force was, for Evé—who commanded the divinity of life—no more than transferring power from one hand to the other.

In other words, what others regarded as a drawback was for Evé not a weakness at all but almost as though it had been tailor made to suit her.

“There is no problem. Those minor side effect is something I can easily endure,” Evé said calmly.

Dorft hesitated for a moment, studying her expression, then gave a slow nod of acknowledgment.

“Very well. But once I repair this artifact, you must still exercise caution in its use.”

After speaking, he scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.

“My apologies. My power remains too limited. Were I of intermediate divine power, I could completely restore this artifact to its full potential. As a gesture of apology, please allow me to offer you additional compensation.”

With that, Dorft extended his right hand and lightly tapped the thumb of his left. A hollow platinum ring shimmered upon it.

At his touch, the ring glowed with a hazy brilliance, and three ripples appeared in midair.

The ripples quickly faded, revealing three items that glimmered faintly before him.

The first was a crimson-gold chain engraved with exquisite patterns. It radiated a gentle divine aura that naturally calmed the heart of anyone who gazed upon it.

The second was a half-torn piece of parchment, its surface inscribed with mysterious diagrams. Certain symbols upon it struck Evé as strangely familiar.

The third was a transparent crystal vial filled with golden liquid. It emanated an ancient and boundless presence that weighed faintly upon Eve’s spirit.

Meeting Eve’s curious gaze, Dorft smiled.

“Your Grace Evé, these are three items from my personal collection. I chose them with your present needs in mind. Please, select one as additional compensation.”

He then gestured toward the first item, the crimson-gold chain.

“This is the one I most highly recommend. It is a true artifact of lesser divine power. But do not let its rank deceive you—I believe it would be of great use to you.

It is called the ‘Chain of the Mind.’ I forged it during the First Demon Crusade. Though it is shaped like a chain, it’s actually neither a sealing artifact nor a weapon, but rather a defensive artifact.

Its sole effect is that, when activated, it shields the wielder’s soul and greatly enhances resistance against Abyssal corruption.

With it, you would be able to mitigate the side effects of the Withering Heart.

Of course, its limitation is also quite obvious. While it increases resistance to Abyssal power, wearing it drastically raises divine power consumption. Thus, I would not advise using it in prolonged battles, especially within the Abyss itself.

However, since the time needed to wield the Withering Heart is short, for you this drawback should not pose a serious problem.”

Evé gave a slight nod.

Indeed, it did suit her needs.

That is, if her true form were not the World Tree.

With her extraordinary ability of [Absorption], this Chain of the Mind artifact seemed almost redundant.

With this thought, Eve’s eyes shifted to the second item—the torn parchment.

More precisely, to the symbols drawn upon it.

If she was not mistaken, several of those markings were of the same origin as the inscriptions on the Artifact she recently acquired, the Gate of Reversal.

This piqued her interest.

Noticing her rapt attention, Dorft continued his explanation.

“Your Grace Evé, this second item is half of a map detailing the location of various ancient ruins. I call it the Book of Titans.

I acquired it four thousand years ago while exploring the remnants of a ruin site belonging to the Titans. After careful study, I determined that this artifact is in fact a map which records the locations of various Titan ruins.

However, as you can see, it is incomplete and contains only a portion of those locations.”

A map containing locations of Titan ruins…

Eve’s heart stirred.

Unlike the dragons, who preferred to keep to themselves and showed little interest in building civilizations, the Titans—one of the two ancient divine races from the Genesis Era—were deeply inclined toward constructing advanced societies.

Moreover, in many mythos and legends, the King of the Gods, Neo, who ruled during that era, was said to have favored the Titans and even guided the development of their civilization.

Although the Titans’ civilizations were eventually destroyed in the endless wars between the two ancient divine races, many of their ruins still remain to this day. For this reason, the remnants of such a civilization hold immense allure for deities.

After all, these ruins contain the legacy of an ancient divine race, and they are undoubtedly filled with countless treasures.

In fact, many true gods—especially faith-based deities—had grown their strength not only through spreading faith, but also by excavating ruins like these.

In fact, was it not from such a Titan ruin that Uller himself unearthed the Withering Heart?

If not for the Withering Heart, it would have been impossible for her, who’s merely a true god of lesser divine power, to gain even nominal sovereignty over the Elven Forest after the thousand-year holy war.

Of course, by now the universe had already passed through six eras: the Genesis Era, the Dragon Era, the Titan Era, the Twilight Era, the Silver Era, and finally the present Eternal Era.

Over the course of these ages, most Titan ruins had long since been excavated by various mythical beings.

Yet the fact that Dorft chose to present this map to her implied that the sites recorded upon it either remained undiscovered, had only been partially excavated, or concealed deeper secrets still waiting to be revealed.

Evé trusted more in the last possibility.

It was her intuition.

That being said, she could not help but feel that this so-called additional reward was far too valuable. If it were merely a single ruin’s location, that would still be acceptable.

But Dorft had spoken of “various sites.”

The difference in value was immense, even if the map was incomplete.

After all, sites of Titan ruins held the possibility of yielding true divine artifacts.

Sensing Eve’s doubt, Dorft continued.

“Your Grace Evé, there is an issue regarding this Artifact. Although the Book of Titans records multiple sites, most have already been explored. And as of now, there is only one person in existence who can actually reach them… and that person is you.”

Upon hearing this, Eve’s heart skipped a beat.

“The Realm of Seigües?”

Dorft gave a wry smile.

“Exactly. The ruins recorded on this map are all located within Seigües. The core regions of such ruins can normally only be entered by a true god. Which means, at present, only you alone could reach them.”

“Then why not hold onto this map and explore them yourself four years from now?” Evé asked curiously.

“In four years? By then my chances will already be gone.”

Dorft shook his head.

“Once the dimensional passageway to the Realm of Seigües fully opens, it will cause spatial fluctuations which could affect the entire realm. At that time, all ownerless pocket dimensions and demirealms attached to Seigües will emerge. Even if no connecting passage appears, all sorts of strange phenomena will occur in its vicinity.

When that occurs, even without this map, many ruins will inevitably be exposed to the public. Currently the strongest faction within Seigües is the Divine Human Coalition. In the end, it will be they who will reap the benefit of these ruins.”

Dorft let out a sigh.

So that was the reason…

Evé understood now.

Indeed for Dorft, this map was indeed of little use four years from now.

And only now, while she still had free rein to act within Seigües, could it serve its purpose.

At that moment, Evé already felt tempted to choose the Book of Titans.

However, instead of choosing hastily, she turned her gaze toward the third item.

“And what of this one?” she asked, eyes resting on the vial of golden liquid.

Dorft’s expression grew solemn.

“This is divine blood.”

“Divine blood?” Evé was taken aback.

True gods did possess blood, but it was nothing more than a concentrated manifestation of their divine power, often infused with their governing divine laws.

Yet this divine blood emanated a faint pressure even upon her.

What kind of being could it belong to?

Even the crystallized divine blood left behind by the previous World Tree did not carry such a weight.

Could it be…?

A suspicion arose in Eve’s mind.

Dorft did not keep her guessing.

“This was obtained during the Silver Era, when I assisted the All-Divine Mother Yggdrasill in repairing the Pantheon. I believe it is the divine blood of Neo, King of the Gods.

It possesses remarkable properties: it can deepen your understanding of your own divinity and can also serve as a reservoir of divine power.

Do not be deceived by its size. Though it is but a small vial, in terms of raw divine power it is equivalent to at least 3,000 units.”

“Three thousand?!”

Evé was momentarily stunned.