"What is this…?"
The man stared wide-eyed at the spectacle in the sky. A vast world was gradually materializing, shifting from a blurry outline to a clear, expansive realm. He could see mountains, rivers, lakes, and even numerous creatures slumbering within it.
But what truly stunned him was the colossal tree that seemed to hold up the heavens within this world. Even from such a great distance, he could feel the sheer enormity of the tree.
Crack—
Another event shattered his understanding of reality. As the vast world descended toward the earth, the towering tree became increasingly clear, as if it were truly about to appear in this world.
The man watched as thick roots pierced the sky before him. Dark spatial cracks, like black ribbons, coiled around the roots but failed to harm them in the slightest.
These roots, writhing like serpents in the sky, plunged into the towering mountain of carcasses below.
Visibly, the remains of the evil god's minions that first came into contact with the roots began to shrivel, their residual essence being drained and absorbed by the roots.
As the roots drew in the nutrients they needed, more roots broke through the spatial barrier from the world above, deeply embedding themselves into the mountain of corpses.
Rustle—
The sound of wind brushing through leaves echoed, and a fresh, natural scent of vegetation spread across the blood-soaked battlefield, instantly diluting the overwhelming stench of blood.
The man instinctively took a deep breath, feeling an immediate sense of relief, as if his body had become lighter. However, this was followed by a sudden weakness in his legs.
He saw the towering tree fully manifest in the sky, its roots breaking through the final spatial barriers and firmly anchoring themselves into the mountain of corpses below.
Boom—
Blue-white lightning flashed across the sky, but not a single bolt struck the colossal tree.
With the appearance of the tree, the world, which had been shrouded in dark clouds due to the collapse of its rules under the evil god's corruption, began to regain a semblance of clarity.
Through the slightly thinned dark clouds, faint white light filtered down, as if sunlight was about to return to this world.
The thunder in the sky seemed to be cheering for the appearance of the Eternal Tree of Life. This was the world's way of rejoicing, for it had finally found true salvation.
Everything Muria had done before was merely cleaning up the culprits that had brought the world to its ruin. If Muria were to leave now, the world's collapse and destruction would be inevitable.
Amidst the thunder and lightning, the man felt the ground beneath him tremble. Around the mountain of corpses, the earth began to rise, forming sharp protrusions that extended upward, as if creating a new mountain range.
Indeed, a continuous mountain range began to form around the mountain of corpses, as if guarding the Eternal Tree of Life at its center, which was now happily absorbing nutrients and growing once more.
"What is happening?" The scene before him, akin to the creation of a new world, completely surpassed the man's understanding. Unable to control his weakening legs, he fell to his knees.
But the changes didn't stop there. The blood-soaked ground around him began to collapse and sink, only to be replaced by fresh black soil churning up from below.
In a matter of moments, the blood-drenched soil of the battlefield sank deep into the earth, waiting to be assimilated by the world's power.
After the land was reshaped into a flat plain, the world's shadow in the sky gradually descended, becoming clearer and overlapping with the battlefield.
Then, mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, and lakes all materialized, replacing the once barren and lifeless battlefield. The surroundings instantly became vibrant, brimming with life.
"Is this the savior?" The man, now a giant kneeling on the ground, watched as the barren land beneath him transformed into lush, dew-covered grass. He couldn't help but lower his head, greedily inhaling the fresh scent of the plants.
This world-altering spectacle didn't just shock the man; it also awed Muria's many subordinates. They were witnessing the kind of power only gods and epics could wield.
Even the humans at the edge of the world, barely surviving and saved by Muria, saw the initial shadow of the demiplane and felt the changes as it merged with the world.
These humans didn't understand epics or demiplanes. All they knew was that after the strange phenomena appeared, their world seemed to have improved. Even the air they breathed carried a fresh, plant-like scent.
While the subordinates and humans were awestruck, the source of these changes, Muria himself, was also deeply moved by his own creation, lost in self-admiration.
"It's been nearly three hundred years since I became an epic. Even as a child, I knew epics were beings on par with gods. Now, I've finally experienced the true power of an epic. It's truly terrifying!"
"What are you doing, Muria?" Mikaela's voice interrupted Muria's self-praise. Her gaze was filled with a mix of amusement and disbelief.
"Ahem, I was just expressing my feelings. Don't mind me," Muria replied, coughing lightly and scratching his nose to hide his embarrassment.
"In all my years, I've never seen someone praise their own power like this," Mikaela said, her lips curling into a smile. She found Muria's self-admiration both amusing and endearing.
"You don't understand how I feel right now. When you merge a world into your demiplane and feel the changes at the level of the rules, you'll know what I mean."
Muria spoke with a sense of deep satisfaction. Creation was far more difficult than destruction, but it also brought a greater sense of accomplishment. Successfully merging his demiplane with the world filled him with an overwhelming sense of achievement.
The merger was the first and most challenging step. Now that it was done, everything else would follow naturally. Muria felt that with just a little more time, he could fully control this world.
"Hmph!" Mikaela's smile faded, replaced by a slight frown of displeasure.
"Ah," Muria realized his mistake and quickly tried to make amends. "Mika, when I find another world like this, I'll let you experience it too…"
"That's not necessary. You were just lucky to encounter this situation. Finding a second one would be too difficult. I'll stick to the traditional way of advancing to World Simulation."
"If I find one, it's yours. Even though at our level, external factors can't forcibly elevate our realm, a world can still enhance our foundation and narrow the gap between us and the ancient epics."
"We'll see. For now, you should start preparing to face the evil god."
"That's just a waiting game," Muria said with a hint of frustration. "And there's no guarantee he'll even come. I've wiped out all his minions in this world, which might scare him off."
Epics and gods, beings who had achieved a form of immortality, generally avoided conflicts with their peers.
Races like the Titans, who enjoyed battling even after becoming epics, were extremely rare. After all, when one had infinite lifespan, risking it all in a fight seemed foolish and unnecessary.
"You've essentially snatched this world from the evil god's grasp. Such a significant loss of resources would make even the most cautious evil god unwilling to let it go."
"That's true."
…
"All my minions are dead."
The evil god, shrouded in the cursed black mist formed from the remnants of a destroyed world, murmured softly. His voice, amplified by the world's curse, had the power to drive mortals to madness.
"My food has been stolen."
After calculating the time it took for his minions to be wiped out, the Desolate Evil God concluded that only a being of his own level could have achieved such a feat in such a short time. The world's natural resistance couldn't have produced such a result.
"…"
The Desolate Evil God remained in the dark void with his remaining minions, silently contemplating his next move. He had two choices:
First, he could pretend his dead minions never existed, turn around, and leave. Nothing more would likely happen.
Second, he could continue forward, reach the location of his stolen food, and see who had taken it. Depending on the strength of this enemy, he would then decide whether to engage in battle.
If the enemy was weak, he would fight to issue a warning and reclaim some of his food. If the enemy was too strong…
Well, "Take your time, great one. I was just passing by. No need to see me off."
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