Chapter 338: Ronin’s Ascent

Ronin climbed.

The World Tree stretched endlessly around him, its enormous trunk disappearing into darkness above while countless roots twisted through the space below.

Every step carried him deeper into the ancient structure, yet the closer he moved toward the heart, the more violently the Tree reacted to his presence.

Roots tore through the ground around him, forcing Ronin to leap from one enormous branch to another.

Some branches moved beneath his feet as if they were alive, bending away from him before snapping back with enough force to crush a building.

Ronin avoided them with practiced movements, his body already covered in wounds from the Tree’s resistance.

Purple-black Miasma flowed through the cracks in his skin, sealing some wounds before they could worsen.

The same corruption ran through the strange object embedded near his chest, the artificial core he and his brothers had created from concentrated Miasma.

But the core was no longer stable.

Thin cracks had spread across its surface.

Ronin noticed them when another root struck him from the side and sent him crashing through a thick branch. He rolled across the wood, caught himself with one hand, and slowly stood.

His breathing was heavier now.

The Tree was becoming stronger.

Or perhaps it was simply becoming less willing to accept him.

Ronin looked down at the roots beneath his feet. They were moving again, twisting around one another as though they were trying to force him out of the path ahead.

"You still resist me," Ronin muttered.

The Tree gave no answer.

Instead, a massive root erupted from the ground.

Ronin raised his arm.

The root slammed into him with tremendous force, driving him backward. His feet tore through the branch beneath him before he finally stopped himself against the trunk.

Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

Ronin wiped it away with his thumb and stared at the blood for several seconds.

Then he smiled.

"You’re getting desperate."

Another root struck.

Ronin dodged beneath it and drove his hand into the exposed wood. Purple Miasma erupted from his palm, spreading across the surface of the branch like veins.

The branch convulsed.

For a moment, it obeyed him.

Ronin’s smile widened.

"That’s right."

He pushed more power into it.

The branch suddenly twisted in the opposite direction.

The force threw Ronin away.

He crashed into another root and felt something crack inside his shoulder.

Ronin landed heavily, but he refused to fall.

His expression hardened.

The World Tree was not simply supplying him with power.

It was fighting him.

Every time he attempted to force his will through the Tree, the Tree pushed back. The resistance had been tolerable when he first entered, but now that he was approaching the heart, the difference was becoming impossible to ignore.

Ronin looked toward the darkness above.

Somewhere beyond those enormous branches was the heart of the World Tree.

That was where he needed to go.

That was where its true power waited.

"If I reach the heart, you won’t be able to resist anymore," he said quietly.

The roots around him trembled.

Ronin took another step.

"You’ve spent centuries protecting this place, haven’t you?"

As he continued climbing, the Tree’s surface began showing faint images.

At first, they were nothing more than flashes.

A village.

People walking beneath golden branches.

Beasts running freely through forests.

Children playing beside enormous creatures.

Then the images changed.

Five Mirrors stood around the World Tree, connected to it by streams of light.

Ronin slowed.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the memory unfold.

The civilization had not built the Mirrors to destroy the Tree.

They had built them to regulate it.

To keep its power flowing through the land.

To maintain the connection between the World Tree and the Secret Realm.

Ronin stared at the memory for a long moment before scoffing.

"So this is what you chose."

The image changed again.

Ancient people gathered around the World Tree.

Fear filled their faces.

Something dark had entered the Tree.

Miasma.

Corruption.

The people were shouting, desperately trying to separate it from the Tree without damaging the roots that supported the entire Secret Realm.

Ronin watched them struggle.

He watched them build barriers.

He watched them separate the Mirrors.

He watched them sacrifice everything to prevent the World Tree from dying.

His expression slowly became one of contempt.

"They had the greatest power in the world," Ronin said, his voice echoing through the enormous chamber, "and they chose to fear it."

The memory faded.

Ronin continued upward.

"They could have controlled it."

His hand tightened.

"They could have used it."

Another branch moved beneath him.

Ronin stepped onto it without hesitation.

"But instead, they built walls around themselves and called that protection."

His eyes hardened.

"If only you were stronger..."

Ronin looked toward the enormous golden veins still visible beneath the corruption.

"...this beautiful thing wouldn’t have been locked away."

The Tree suddenly shook.

A deep vibration passed through the entire structure.

Ronin stopped.

For the first time, his expression became serious.

The vibration wasn’t coming from above.

It was coming from the heart.

Something inside the Tree had noticed him.

Ronin’s artificial core began to crack again.

A thin line spread across its purple surface.

Then another.

Ronin placed his hand against it.

"Not yet."

The cracks stopped spreading.

Purple Miasma poured from his fingers and reinforced the core.

The pain was immediate.

His entire arm trembled as the corruption pushed back against the pressure.

Ronin gritted his teeth.

The Miasma was not meant to contain this much power.

Neither was his body.

He knew that.

He had known it from the beginning.

But that knowledge didn’t matter.

Ronin had already gone too far to turn back.

He pushed forward.

The Tree reacted instantly.

A massive branch slammed toward him.

Ronin raised both arms and blocked it.

The impact sent a shockwave through the surrounding roots, but Ronin held his position. His boots dug into the wood as the branch continued pressing against him.

His muscles strained.

Blood began running from several wounds.

"You’re afraid," Ronin growled.

The branch pushed harder.

Ronin’s knees bent.

"You’re afraid of what happens if I reach the heart."

The branch suddenly struck again.

Ronin was thrown backward.

He crashed through several smaller branches before landing on a massive root.

For several seconds, he remained motionless.

Then he slowly pushed himself upright.

His breathing had become rough.

His clothes were torn.

Blood covered his side.

The artificial core was visibly cracked.

Yet Ronin laughed.

It was a quiet laugh at first, but it quickly grew louder.

"You still don’t understand."

Ronin wiped the blood from his face and looked toward the enormous Tree above him.

"I don’t need you to accept me."

He stepped forward.

"I only need to reach the place where your power is strongest."

The purple Miasma surrounding his body intensified.

The roots beneath him began to blacken.

Ronin climbed again.

Far below, the Tree continued to tremble.

The closer Ronin moved toward the heart, the more violently it resisted.

But he kept going.

He passed another ancient structure embedded inside the roots, then another.

He saw old statues covered in vines.

He saw abandoned pathways.

He saw fragments of a civilization that had once lived within this place.

And with every memory the Tree showed him, Ronin became more convinced that he was right.

The ancient people had possessed the World Tree.

They had possessed something greater than anything humanity had ever created.

And they had been too afraid to take control of it.

Ronin reached another enormous branch and stopped.

For the first time since entering the Tree, he could feel something different.

Warmth.

A pulse.

The entire structure around him seemed to breathe.

Ronin looked ahead.

Beyond the roots and branches was a vast opening leading deeper into the Tree.

The heart was close.

Very close.

He could feel it.

His artificial core pulsed in response.

Then the World Tree screamed.

The sound shook the entire interior.

Ronin froze.

For one brief moment, the branches around him turned golden.

The corruption receded.

The Tree’s true color returned.

Ronin stared.

He could feel the resistance intensify throughout his body.

The Tree was pushing him away with everything it had.

Ronin’s feet slid backward.

His expression twisted with pain.

"No."

He drove his hand into the branch.

Purple Miasma exploded from his body.

"I said no!"

The Tree shook violently.

Ronin’s artificial core cracked again.

This time, the crack reached almost across its entire surface.

Blood poured from his mouth.

Still, he held on.

"You think you can stop me?"

His fingers dug deeper into the wood.

"You’ve already allowed me this far."

The Tree answered with another violent pulse.

Ronin screamed as the force struck him.

For a moment, his body was almost thrown from the branch.

But he held on.

He forced himself upright.

Then he looked toward the heart.

His eyes were filled with determination.

"I will reach you."

He took another step.

"I will take your power."

Another step.

"And when I do, this entire world will finally become what it was always meant to be."

Ronin continued climbing.

He did not see the roots beneath him slowly beginning to reject the corruption.

He did not notice how much weaker the Miasma became each time the Tree pushed back.

And he did not understand that every step toward the heart was making the battle inside the World Tree more violent.

Far below, another pulse traveled through the roots.

This time, it reached the deepest layers.

Arthur’s group felt it.

Vedas immediately stopped walking.

Arthur looked over.

"What is it?"

Vedas stared into the darkness above them.

"I don’t know."

Eden’s expression changed.

She could feel something moving through the Tree.

Not a Beast.

Not Miasma.

Something else.

Luna looked toward her. "Eden?"

The little fairy remained silent for several seconds.

Then she slowly looked toward the darkness above.

"He’s getting closer."

Arthur’s expression became serious.

"Ronin?"

Eden nodded.

Arthur looked ahead.

The ancient passage continued downward, toward the place where the World Tree’s deepest roots converged.

Toward its heart.

Arthur tightened his grip on Dusk.

"Then we need to move faster."

Vedas stepped beside him, his purple-armored fist tightening as he stared into the darkness.

Star bounced onto Arthur’s head and wiggled nervously, while Eden floated closer to Arthur’s shoulder.

Luna took a breath and followed them.

The group continued deeper into the World Tree.