The aura she exuded made Ethan's breathing quicken uncontrollably.
It was not pressure in the usual sense.
Rather, it was a primal suppression—an instinctive warning carved into life itself. Blood roaring faintly within his veins.
Ethan steadied his breath and looked carefully.
The trunk of the Hibiscus Sacred Tree no longer resembled an ordinary tree. It was jade-green, translucent and flawless, like condensed life essence shaped into form. Faint patterns flowed within it, slow and eternal, as if time itself had been sealed inside.
Yet...
There was a dent.
Not a crack.
Not decay.
A clean, deliberate absence.
As if someone had forcibly excavated a portion of her complete origin.
Ethan's heart tightened.
What kind of existence could dig a piece out of a Hibiscus Sacred Tree?
Even the thought was terrifying.
"I think you've seen it too," the Hibiscus Sacred Tree said softly.
"A trace of my origin is missing."
