The light faded as the world twisted again.
John had scarcely taken a step toward the radiant World Root before the ground gave way beneath him. The earth rumbled like a living beast, swallowing him in a torrent of mana and molten soil. His consciousness blurred—visions of mountains crumbling, oceans boiling, and forests burning flashed before his eyes.
When the dizziness passed, he stood on solid ground once more.
But this place was no longer the living heart of the world. It was eerie, reeking of death and despair. Through his connection to life, he felt the myriads of lives lost on the very ground he stood. The astounding amount of blood spilt and souls devoured, he realized the true nature of that place then, it was a graveyard.
He looked up, and the air shimmered with drifting ash. Great trees, scattered across the land, their fates bound and immortalized by the bizarre life consuming ash. They were petrified and hollow, stood like broken sentinels over an endless field of cracked earth. Rivers of molten lava flowed sluggishly and ceaselessly in the distance, coating the surroundings with a pulsing with dull crimson light.
Overhead, the sky glowed in muted hues of gray and gold—neither day nor night, caught somewhere between life and death.
A system prompt resonated through the still air.
[Welcome, Sovereign of the Azure Harvest. You have entered the Second Level of the Secret Realm: The Cradle of Decay. Purpose: To master the cycle of life and death. Prove your understanding that life without death leads to corruption.
John exhaled slowly, letting the air settle into his lungs. Even here, the qi was immense—but heavier, thicker, almost suffocating. His senses told him this level's energy wasn't the same as the one before; it carried decay's scent, entropy woven into every breath.
"The Cradle of Decay," he murmured. "So that's what becomes of purposeless and eternal lives."
He felt it instinctively; the second layer of Terra Primordia wasn't just a test of creation. It was a lesson in endings. A realm forged to teach that all growth, without death, leads only to rot.
He closed his eyes and attuned to the energy flow. His connection to the Dao of Life pulsed brightly within his core, but here, even that light struggled to manifest. The ground beneath his feet rejected its warmth, and even his own aura began to wither at the edges.
Then, the system's voice cut through the silence once more.
[Trial One: Purify the Rot. The decayed forest once thrived beneath the World Root. Restore its balance or perish beneath its ravenous gluttony.]
The petrified forest groaned as if awakened. Black roots slithered from the cracked ground, veins of oily energy pulsing through their surface. They coiled like serpents and lunged toward him, emitting a stench of burning soil and corruption.
John reacted instantly, summoning his sword and covering it in life qi. Emerald light burst outward, with each slash, the life qi burned away and absorbed the deathly energy contained within the decayed roots. But as it tried to spread down the roots, the spreading flowers and ferns the energy twisted its power not able to match the gluttonous vines.
As they coiled and slithered along the ground and reached toward him his aura of life and qi became corrupted, its vitality warped into pus-like gray energy. The rot was too ancient, too deep.
"Tch." He stepped back, the ground cracking under his heels. "Seems that's not enough to satiate these grotesque vines. If my life qi can't cleanse it, maybe death can."
He extended his holding the sword and called upon his necrotic flames, the Inferno of Pride, Wrath, and Lust exploded forth. The magenta fire roared to life, clinging to the roots. Propagating itself as it fed on the roots. The decaying roots shrieked in agony, writhing as black sludge making it up bubbled away. The air filled with the acrid scent of burning corruption. His ring glowing with a subtle purple as it did so. The flames spread and consumed the corruption and melted the decay from the land leaving behind ash. His aura of life spread at that point, breathing life into the desecrated landscape.
Then he finally understood, it was all a cycle. Forest fires happen frequently after all; they are more than the annoyances humans find in dealing with them. They act to recycle to nutrients in the land and fertilize the earth. He had all the ingredients of this cycle within him; he only needed them to interact. Waving his hand, John merged the energies— The flames burned the withered life, The ashes nourished the Earth, The earth supported Life. The cycle of Growth and Decay, merged into one.
From the ashes rose an ancient forest, once more like a phoenix raising after it's death. Colossal roots spread from above and once more connected to the barren landscape bring an air of sovereignty to the previously devastated world.
The system chimed.
[Trial One Complete: The Rot has been Purified. Required results far exceeded. Calculating causality…You have touched upon the boundary between Life and Death. By combining and infusing the three energies acting as life, death, and rebirth in your body, you have increased the rank of your physique]
His excitement intensified, he felt he was drawing closer to the power he needed to truly protect Tessa. Before he left the forest, he decided to meditate there for a while. After all it was just like every other secret realm, time didn't not flow there. It was an isolated space and was not bound by the same laws as other realms.
The intense and ancient aura of the forest became tamed under his authority. The world heart best in tune with his as he began infusing his body to the max with the life and earth qi. He summoned the flames in a drill, piercing directly into his heart as he continued enhancing it with all three powers.
As he did so, his heart began beating even faster. His body attempting to harmonize as he kept increasing the strain on his heart, drew in all the qi in the surroundings. The fire increased in quantity as it used his body as fuel, burning away impurities and the cycle etched its self into his flesh, soul, and mind. He felt his body's power raising rapidly, but he soon reached his limit.
[You have engraved the true meaning of the cycle of life into you existence, unlocking a higher tier for your classes. You have comprehended the true essence of gluttony, from the corruption, your body, and your desire to grow stronger. Due to the influence of your other Dao's your Dao of gluttony has been mastered to the 2nd tier (sovereign), in an attempt to harmonize with your existence, the Dao's of pride, wrath, and lust have advanced to the 2nd tier (sovereign)]
John exhaled, watching as the forest around him transformed into a luminous paradise of glowing flora and faintly humming energy. In a moment, it blossomed and the life energy exploded in intensity surpassing the first layer.
But then, the world darkened.
The ground cracked. The restored forest began to tremble. From beneath the soil, an enormous shadow rose—its body composed of bones, vines, and molten stone. It stood like a titan, its chest hollow and burning with gray flame.
[Trial Two: Defy the Warden of Decay. Only one who understands true life may command death.]
The Warden's voice echoed across the forest, guttural and ancient."Life is arrogance. It blooms only to rot. You bring false renewal, Sovereign of the Azure Harvest. Let me show you the truth."
The colossal creature swung its arm—a mountain-sized limb made of rotting wood and stone. The blow struck the ground, sending shockwaves that shattered trees and split the land. John darted aside, wings of flame igniting in an instant as he adapted to the new power of his Dao's. The flames darker and shifting more towards black as he master more of the dao of the purgatory inferno. He soared upward, gathering energy from his core. His heart pushed its aura of life outward expanding his domain all around.
"False renewal?" His voice rang through the air, sharp with defiance. "Then let me show you what real life is."
He extended both hands, summoning his combined Dao. The aura surrounding him enhancing said power to its extreme. The energy shot at the ground instantly, exploding with power.
The ground below erupted in bursts of green fire—roots of living energy tearing through the soil, wrapping around the Warden's legs. The creature bellowed, slamming its fists down, trying to crush him under pure weight. Each impact sent tremors rippling through the forest.
But John didn't yield. He drew from the World Root's essence within him, merging his qi with the life of the forest itself. The very earth obeyed.
Massive trees erupted from the ground, their trunks made of solidified light. Vines as thick as towers shot upward, binding the Warden's limbs. For every blow the creature struck, the forest regenerated, stronger and wilder.
Yet, for every wound John inflicted, the Warden regenerated from, its broken bark regrowing, bones reknitting, flame rekindling.
Its laughter was hollow and deep."You cannot kill death. You only delay it."
John's brow furrowed. "Then maybe it's not death I need to kill."
He closed his eyes mid-battle, ignoring the Warden's advancing blows. The air thickened, humming with his qi. His mind sank into the rhythm of decay and renewal, of breathing and exhaling, of growing and dying. For the first time, he understood the balance that Terra Primordia demanded—not dominance over decay, but acceptance of it.
When he opened his eyes again, a new power flowed through him gentle, endless, perfectly balanced. His heart glowed and exploded before recovering. His blood boiled and dissipated, before reforming filled with a new intensity. His organs, skin, muscle, and bones flowed the same process. In an instant he stood above the warden radiating a power beyond the limits of mortal flesh.
The Warden halted. Its flame flickered, as it sensing the change.
John raised his hand, and a small flower blossomed in his palm—a simple, fragile white bloom. He whispered, "Life and death are not opposites. They are the same breath, taken at different times."
Then, the flower wilted, its petals falling to dust.
The dust became light.
The light became flame.
And that flame spread outward, engulfing the forest in a wave of glowing rebirth. The Warden roared as its body disintegrated—each fragment turning into seeds, which fell softly onto the ground, sprouting into radiant flowers where it stood.
[Trial Two Complete: Balance Restored. Required results far exceeded.
Reward: Dao of Equilibrium 1st tier (Introductory) obtained. The user has achieved the harmony between Life and Death within their body. All attributes harmonized by 35%. The first step towards godhood has been taken, by elevating the vessel you have elevated your existence]
John hovered in the sky, eyes glowing faintly gold and violet. His flaming wings beating softly and slowly kept him stationary, as he observed the world around. The forest below him shimmered with light and shadow, each blade of grass oscillating between blooming and fading. For a long while, he simply floated there, breathing in the strange serenity.
Then, the ground split again.
A pit of black stone opened beneath the forest, spiraling downward into a vast abyss. From within, faint whispers echoed—thousands of voices, lamenting, praying, screaming.
As he looked in the abyss felt something stirring from within,In a groggy and hateful manner it seemed to be awakening. He felt the pressure increasing as thousands of eyes looked through him. His existence seemingly on full display to the furry of the dead.
[Final Trial of the Second Layer: Descend into the Abyss of Echoes. Devour the corrupted soul of the fallen god that feeds upon decay.]
His excitement increased, this trial should elevate him to an existence beyond comprehension. He clenched his fist and soaked in the glares of the abyss. Licking his lips his resolve solidified, 'With this I can truly heal the damage to Tessa.'