Tower of Eternity, Floor 70: The Heart of the Forest.
For five grueling hours, Lux had moved through the dense undergrowth like a ghost.
He had bypassed thousands of Demigod-Tier trees, ignoring their movements, focused solely on the flow of mana beneath the earth.
He expected to find a monstrous World Tree at the center. He expected a towering behemoth that pierced the clouds.
But what he found was far more disturbing.
In the middle of a massive clearing, embedded in the earth like a pulsating tumor, was a Wooden Heart.
It was colossal, easily the size of a small house. It was comprised of interwoven roots and vines that throbbed with a sickly green light.
With every beat, a shockwave of mana rippled through the soil, feeding the millions of trees across the continent.
THUMP-THUMP.
The sound was deafening. It wasn't just a beat; it was a drum of war.
