Outside of Aspiration City, an enormous crowd of knights had gathered.
At this moment, all of their eyes were fixed upon the sky above. Half of the heavens were shrouded in seven-colored radiance, while the other half was engulfed in boundless darkness.
Faintly, they could make out two figures colliding violently in the air, every impact sending ripples of terrifying energy through the atmosphere, the roars of their clashing power echoing like thunder.
Although these knights were hailed as the elite defenders of the city, they couldn't even approach the battlefield let alone take part in the fight.
All they could do now was pray fervently, hoping with all their hearts that Lord Azelf would be able to triumph over his fearsome foe.
"Lord Azelf's power is weakening…"
Bathed in seven-colored light, Mira stood solemnly at the city walls, her eyes locked on the heavens above.
At the start of the battle, Azelf had still been able to suppress his opponent through sheer strength, the dazzling light of willpower overwhelming the darkness.
But as time went on, Azelf's strength began to fade. It was obvious that battles were still raging all throughout Aspiration City.
With the hearts of the people filled with fear and uncertainty, their collective will was beginning to waver and that weakening of faith was also weakening Azelf.
Now, his power had completely fallen behind. The seven-colored glow in the sky had dimmed dramatically, barely maintaining its brilliance.
Darkness was encroaching rapidly, devouring the light inch by inch.
In the air, Darkrai's body was wrapped in a dense tide of malicious, shadowy energy. With its claws raised, the power of darkness twisted and condensed within its hands.
From afar, Azelf gathered blue energy in his palms, condensing a Water Pulse and launching it with full force toward Darkrai. The two attacks collided in midair, exploding into countless droplets that rained down like a storm!
In the next instant, Darkrai's figure blurred—it charged straight ahead, its black claws glowing as they condensed into a vortex of darkness, a void that devoured everything in its path!
As the black vortex expanded, it swallowed up half the sky in an instant and then engulfed Azelf completely!
Within the region covered by the dark void, Azelf felt his consciousness growing hazy. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, as if something were dragging him into eternal slumber.
"Azelf!"
Mira's face changed dramatically, her eyes filled with worry. Through her psychic connection, she could feel the excruciating pain that Azelf was enduring!
She quickly closed her eyes, trying to reach Azelf through their spiritual bond—but the next instant, her own consciousness was pulled into utter darkness.
When she blinked again, her surroundings had changed completely. She found herself standing in the middle of a vast, ancient forest.
"Where… is this?" Mira murmured in confusion.
As she turned around, she froze in place.
Before her stood an enormous rock-like tree—its trunk thick as a mountain, its surface covered in moss and vines, its crown piercing through the very clouds above!
"Is that… a tree?" she whispered under her breath, her brow furrowed in disbelief.
Could such a massive tree really exist in the world? And yet, she couldn't shake a strange feeling of familiarity, as if she had seen this place somewhere before.
Without realizing it, she began walking toward the colossal tree, extending her psychic senses outward.
To her relief, she found that her psychic power still functioned normally. That meant she could defend herself if needed, at least she wasn't powerless. The most important thing now was figuring out how to return.
"Hm? There seems to be someone up ahead…"
She stopped abruptly. Her psychic scan had detected human traces nearby.
Looking ahead, she soon spotted two figures dressed like hunters walking toward her from the distance.
She hurriedly stepped forward to greet them. "Excuse me! I seem to be lost in this forest. Could you tell me where this is?"
But the two hunters showed no reaction whatsoever. They simply continued walking forward, eyes unfocused, as if she didn't even exist—about to walk straight through her!
Startled, Mira quickly sidestepped. The hunters passed right by her without so much as a glance, continuing on their way as if she were invisible.
"What's going on? Can't they see me?" she muttered in disbelief.
Hesitating for a moment, she ran after them and caught up again.
Yet once more, the hunters gave no reaction at all. They chatted and laughed as if nothing were amiss, completely ignoring her presence.
"The ceremony of the World Tree will begin soon," said one of the hunters.
"Then we'd better hurry and bring back enough food for the tribe," replied the other with a grin.
They continued their cheerful conversation as they walked, while Mira followed alongside them, increasingly unsettled by the surreal scene.
She hesitated—then, on impulse, reached out her hand toward one of the hunters.
Her eyes widened in shock as her fingers passed straight through his body!
"They… they're intangible?"
Mira froze in disbelief, staring at her hand and then at the distant figures.
Finally, she turned to gaze again at the towering stone tree. "Could this be… an illusion?"
She knew it—how could such a colossal tree exist in reality? Everything around her was false!
"So, it wasn't teleportation—it's an illusion," she realized.
"That Darkrai must have pulled me into this illusionary world."
Taking a deep breath, Mira calmed her pounding heart. If she wanted to break free from this illusion, that massive tree was likely the key.
Just then, she heard a rustling sound from the nearby grass. Looking over, she saw a small girl emerge from the bushes.
When she saw the girl clearly, Mira's pupils contracted violently.
The girl had long white hair cascading over her shoulders—and her face… her face was exactly the same as Mira's!
It was like looking at a younger version of herself. This was her childhood self—she could never forget that face!
"Why… why would this illusion show my childhood self?"
Mira shut her eyes, her emotions tangled in confusion.
But strangely enough, she couldn't recall any memories of her childhood at all.
From the moment she could remember, she had lived by the shores of Lake Valor. Of her life before that—there was nothing.
Could this truly be her past self? Or was it merely something Darkrai fabricated?
While she pondered, the little girl peeked toward the hunters in the distance, then began following them stealthily, as if she had snuck out to tag along on their hunt.
Mira hesitated, then quietly followed, wanting to see what this version of herself would do.
But suddenly, the ground trembled violently beneath her feet! She stopped in shock and looked up toward the towering rock tree in the distance.
The top of the tree where its crown that pierced the clouds had begun to emit waves of black mist. The darkness spread rapidly, dyeing the entire sky pitch-black!
"What's happening!?"
Mira stared in horror at the massive tree, her heart pounding wildly.
Beside her, the white-haired girl also stopped, gazing blankly at the distant tree as streams of dark energy poured downward from its crown.
Without hesitation, the little girl turned and started running toward the giant tree—as if she somehow understood what was happening.
Mira stood frozen, but then a searing pain tore through her mind!
"Wh-what is this!?" she gasped, clutching her head as agony twisted her expression.
The next instant, her surroundings shifted again. She suddenly found herself standing before an ancient-looking village built from stone.
The villagers had already noticed the abnormality in the sky and were rushing out of their homes.
Mira's eyes swept over the crowd—until they landed on a pair of white-haired, black-eyed middle-aged villagers.
Her entire body trembled. Tears welled uncontrollably in her eyes.
"Who… are they? Why does my heart ache so much…?" she whispered, wiping her tears in confusion.
Her gaze returned to the couple just as the villagers gathered around them.
"Chief, what's happening to the World Tree?" one of them cried.
"The… World Tree…"
Mira repeated the words in a daze. Then, once again, unbearable pain stabbed through her mind!
Almost instinctively, she screamed in anguish—"Don't go there! Don't go!!!"
Her voice echoed through the illusion, hysterical and desperate, tears streaming down her face. "Please… don't go there! Please!"
But no one could hear her.
Led by the white-haired couple, the villagers ran toward the towering tree that they called the World Tree.
Mira reached out as if to stop them, but her hand grasped nothing—she was a powerless bystander, unable to intervene.
All she could do was follow helplessly as the villagers gathered beneath the massive tree.
One by one, they knelt down, their hands clasped in prayer. At once, their bodies began to glow with radiant green light.
"Run! Please, run away!!" Mira cried, clutching her head in pain. Her skull felt as though it would split open.
Her mind blurred—and then, in the next moment, she heard screams filled with terror.
She looked up just in time to see the black mist descend, swallowing everyone whole.
The villagers tried to flee, but within seconds, their bodies stiffened—turning to stone as the darkness consumed them!
The petrification spread like wildfire, transforming the living into statues within moments.
Mira couldn't even breathe. Her head felt like it would burst, her mind flooded by an overwhelming surge of memories and emotions.
"No!!"
She screamed, clutching her head as her voice tore through the air—
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The world around her splintered apart, fissures spreading like spiderwebs through the illusion—
—and then everything shattered into blinding white.
Back in the real world, Mira's eyes flew open. Her chest heaved violently, her entire body drenched in cold sweat.
She gasped for breath, clutching her heart, her pupils dilated to the limit as flashes of the illusion replayed in her mind.
"What… what was that…" she whispered, trembling.
Her fingertips brushed her cheeks—wet with tears. Her chest was soaked with them too.
"It was an illusion… just an illusion," she murmured to herself, trying to calm down.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Not sure what tree this is so I left it as just world tree and If this was the Tree of the Beginning I'll change it in the future.