1201 A different type of world tree
Liam hovered in the air as he stared in shock, amazement, and disbelief as he saw a clear demarcation line that ran right down the middle with nether abundant on one side and the other side devoid of any and all sorts of corruption.
It was surreal, a stark contrast that defied natural laws. On one side of the demarcation line, the nether's corrupting influence painted a scene of desolation. Dark, twisted landscapes, withering flora, and a sky that seemed to bleed shadows.
On the other, the world was as he remembered it – clear skies, fresh air, and the vibrant colors of life.
This bizarre dichotomy made Liam's mind reel with questions. How had Earth managed to resist the nether's complete takeover and become like this? What force could have created such a clear boundary between corruption and purity?
It had to be the world tree sapling that he was linked to!
It meant that he had succeeded and Crawford couldn't do anything about it. Perhaps he did not fully succeed in stopping the nether invasion altogether but he stopped it enough for the world to be at least half-alive.
This instantly gave Liam more hope about finding everyone else.
He opened up the system interface map again in a hurry because the world as he knew it had completely changed. Maybe it was because he had only just now returned from the B-ranked world but being here almost felt the same as being back there in that high-ranked world.
His senses were simply not enough to wrap around the vastness of the world. To get a bird's eye view of everything, he might have to fly for months to get a good picture. The current world's size was immeasurable.
This made him wonder who or what exactly resided in the world at the moment. Where did all this excess landmass come from? Did it just pop out of nowhere?
It didn't matter. However, it happened, it was only good news for him.
Perhaps it might have been difficult to hide in the previous small world. Now his friends and family should not have any trouble hiding. Their survival chances shot up exponentially. Even though they might be suffering they might at least still be alive.
"I am here. I am coming." Liam sucked in a big breath as he was about to shoot forward with maximum speed to comb through the whole world for his family.
As he started, he once again heard the faint voice in his mind, not really a voice but a small tug that called for him. Liam had forgotten about this because of the situation. Now that he thought about it, the faint connection he had should be the world tree sapling that was growing.
"Hmmm." He was more inclined to search for his family first. However, there was a high chance that his family might even be hiding with the world tree sapling. So in the end, he decided to follow the pull and started flying in that direction.
Luna silently followed behind him, the fox also utterly shocked by everything that was happening around them. She had never seen wonders like this in her entire life.
As the two of them flew over the demarcation line going further up towards the north, Liam opened the system map again to see where exactly they were headed to.
Seeing that the demarcation line was running through their new world right down the center, he would have also expected the world tree to be smack dab in the center of the world. Clearly, that was not the case.
Navigating through the system map, Liam pinpointed their destination towards the northern hemisphere. The pull he felt was leading them towards a region that, in the old Earth, would have been frigid and inhospitable.
Why the world tree had centered itself there was a mystery. The duo continued heading north. The landscape below them gradually changed as they moved northward.
The blighted lands gave way to lush forests, thriving wildlife, and rivers teeming with life. It was a stark contrast to the nether-ravaged lands they had left behind. This was the world as it should be, as it fought to remain.
Even some of the areas that should have been nether infested in the first place, lying on the right side of the demarcation, were cleansed. At the same time, Liam felt the pull from the world tree getting stronger.
"I guess we are here." Liam increased his speed as he could finally see a pillar of light, green in color, shooting up into the sky. Correction, it was black and greenish blue in color.
Understanding what was happening little by little, Liam approached the unique world tree. Naturally, it was nowhere near the world tree of the elven world. This one was still a sapling or rather a medium-sized plant now.
However, despite its relatively modest size, the plant exuded an aura of profound strength and resilience.
The sapling's trunk was thick and robust, its leaves shimmering with an ethereal glow, fluttering gently in the wind. The whole plant was partly blackish in color and partly greenish in color.
The pattern of black and green had even extended all the way to the trunk though the ground around it was lush and green. It also did not possess a huge impenetrable barrier like the elven world tree had.
Instead, this one had a small flimsy translucent barrier. Liam touched it and he felt no resistance. He walked right into the barrier and reached out his hand to touch the plant instinctively.
His hand gently brushed against the plant and a surge of warmth and energy flowed through him, a silent communication between him and the plant.
The small plant expressed its emotions a lot stronger as he was standing right in front of it now. It was apparently happy to see him. It even moved and swayed with the wind as if it was dancing with joy.
***
Mass Release Chapter 1~
Please thank Steamed Arrow for sponsoring this mass release!
