Night settled across the Forgotten Grove like a slow, drifting cloak.
But unlike the night before, Aruin did not tremble under shadows.
He stood taller now.
His trunk thicker.
His leaves brighter.
His roots deeper.
The breakthrough to Root Foundation Stage 1 pulsed inside his sap like a quiet heartbeat.
Stillness wrapped around him, but it was not emptiness.
It was potential.
Raw, vibrant potential.
The system shimmered again, gentle and expectant.
[EVOLUTION MENU — FINAL DECISION REQUIRED]
Selected Path: Spirit-Sensing Willow
Confirm?
• Yes
• No
Aruin didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The moment he chose, a breathless wave of energy flowed downward through his trunk and outward through every leaf, root, and fiber of his being.
The forest dimmed.
The world tightened.
Then—
Everything expanded.
A ring of invisible force rippled outward from him like a shockwave.
Birds hidden in the treetops startled awake.
Small spirit beasts froze, sensing the sudden shift.
Roots, leaves, soil, distant trees—every structure gained new clarity.
For the first time since reincarnation—
Aruin felt the world's spirit.
[EVOLUTION COMPLETE]
You have evolved into a Spirit-Sensing Willow (Stage 1).
Abilities Gained:
• Spirit Sense (Primary Root Sense)
• Dream-Echo Perception
• Ancestral Whisper Resonance (locked)
Passive Bonuses:
• Awareness radius: 20 meters → 120 meters
• Able to sense Qi signatures, life forces, danger, emotions
Aruin gasped inwardly.
Not with fear.
With awe.
The world unfolded before him in layers:
■ Layer One — Physical
He felt his own leaves flutter.
The soil packed around his base.
The tiny vibrations of ants moving through tunnels beneath him.
■ Layer Two — Energetic
Invisible streams of Qi flowed between trees like gentle lights.
Spiritual plants pulsed faintly like beating hearts.
■ Layer Three — Life Essence
He felt the sleeping heartbeat of the Mossback Earth Ape in a cave 200 meters away.
He felt the predatory tension of night creatures stalking prey.
He felt the nervous tremor of a newborn fawn grazing close to the grove.
■ Layer Four — Emotional Echo
Calm. Hunger. Curiosity. Fear. Instinct.
All of them drifted to him as whispers.
The forest was alive in a way no human could ever comprehend.
And Aruin… now stood at its center.
At first, the flood of sensory information overwhelmed him.
He felt everything.
Every heartbeat.
Every shift in Qi.
Every creature's emotions buzzing like faint echoes.
It was too much—
like trying to listen to a thousand conversations at once.
His sap surged wildly as he steadied himself.
"Control it… stabilize it…"
He focused inward, guiding Qi through his new channels.
Slowly, painfully, he narrowed the flood.
His Spirit Sense contracted from 120 meters to 80… then 50…
until it reached a manageable sphere of awareness around him.
Breathlessly (in the way only a willow could be breathless), he whispered:
"I… I can truly feel the world."
Leaves rustled softly in satisfaction.
The system chimed again.
[Spirit-Sensing Willow — Stage 1]
Stability improving…
Spirit Sense mastery: 12%
But Aruin sensed something else—something faint and distant, barely brushing the edges of his awareness.
A flicker.
A pulse.
A trembling echo of something… ethereal.
Not a beast.
Not a tree.
Not a human.
Something other.
Something soft, drifting, and shimmering like moonlight woven into wings.
Aruin froze.
"What… is that?"
Far, far away in the western region of the forest—
A soul flickered with gentle curiosity and loneliness.
Lira.
The Void Moth Princess had begun her metamorphosis.
Their fates brushed for a moment, like two threads touched by wind.
Then the sensation vanished.
Aruin's leaves trembled.
"…I'll find you someday."
He did not know who—or what—she was.
But the sensation carved itself into his very being.
Destiny.
Cultivating the Spirit-Sensing Path
As night deepened, Aruin tested his new abilities.
He expanded his Spirit Sense to maximum range.
Plants whispered in sleepy tones.
Beasts emitted bright or murky Qi glows.
Insects flickered like sparks.
Wind carried emotional echoes.
Earth vibrated with hidden tunnels and burrowing life.
Aruin sensed:
• A pair of fox spirits hunting
• A deer family resting near a stream
• A hidden herb with medicinal Qi
• The faint echo of an underground spiritual spring
• A rotted log full of parasitic mushrooms
Each detail was crystal clear.
This is the path… the true World Tree Path.
His awareness became the forest's awareness.
His growth became its growth.
And soon, he could sense something else—the presence of a Qi Stream Node.
A point where natural Qi converged like a small vortex.
It pulsed faintly beneath the soil, several meters to his left.
Aruin's heart leapt.
"That will accelerate my cultivation."
He stretched his roots toward it, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter.
Every movement was slow—an hour to move inches—but with purpose and hunger for strength.
His roots brushed the edge of the Qi Stream.
Warmth flooded him.
His sap shimmered with light.
You have tapped into a natural Qi stream.
Growth rate increased.
Aruin felt a rush—his bark thickened, vitality surged, particles of Qi danced around his leaves.
He was growing faster.
Becoming more.
Becoming real.
A Visitor in the Dark
As Aruin cultivated, he sensed something approaching from the north.
Small.
Feline.
Quick.
A Spirit Lynx cub.
A curious creature with a fluffy tail and tiny Qi-filled paws.
It wandered into his awareness sphere, sniffing around.
Aruin remained still.
The cub approached his trunk, eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight.
It pawed at his bark.
Nibbled a leaf.
Tried to climb him.
Aruin felt both terrified and amused.
Please don't eat me… please don't eat me…
The cub curled up beneath him, purring faintly.
Using him as shelter.
Aruin relaxed.
But then—
the cub tensed.
Its ears twitched.
It backed away slowly, fur standing on end.
Aruin instantly expanded his Spirit Sense.
Predator.
Approaching fast.
Not the Razor Hawk.
Not the Earth Ape.
This one had stealth.
Precision.
Intent.
A Shadowfang Panther.
A spirit beast known for killing without sound.
Aruin's entire trunk stiffened.
The cub squeaked in fear.
The panther approached the clearing, its body like ink dripping across moonlight.
Aruin sensed something else:
hunger.
curiosity.
malice.
Not toward Aruin.
Toward the cub.
The panther stepped into the grove.
The cub trembled.
Aruin felt desperation radiate from the small creature.
He couldn't speak.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't fight.
But he wasn't helpless.
He focused every drop of Spirit Sense—every ounce of his new awareness—and directed it outward like an invisible wave.
A warning.
A threat.
A declaration:
THIS GROVE IS MINE.
The panther froze.
It felt the aura—vast, budding, ancient—
like the echo of an ancient willow that once dominated the grove.
Aruin didn't have true killing intent.
But he had presence.
And the Spirit-Sensing Path amplified it.
The panther backed away.
Hissing.
Uncertain.
Unwilling to challenge a being it did not understand.
It vanished into the darkness.
The cub whimpered and pressed against Aruin's trunk.
Aruin whispered in his mind:
"You're safe."
And the forest whispered back in gratitude.
Aruin's First Contribution to the Grove
The system chimed softly.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked]
"Protector of the Small"
You defended a creature for the first time.
Reward:
• +10 Vitality
• Skill Seed: Forest's Gentle Pulse (locked)
Aruin's leaves trembled with pride.
He wasn't strong yet.
Not a towering World Tree.
Not a deity.
Not a king.
But he protected a life.
And that meant something.
To him.
To the forest.
To fate.
The cub curled beneath him and slept peacefully.
Aruin watched over it, his Spirit Sense sweeping the surroundings like a protective veil.
He whispered internally:
"I will grow stronger."
"For myself."
"For this grove."
"For every being that seeks shelter beneath me."
"And for the destiny calling from afar…"
Night deepened to its quietest point.
Aruin's roots dug deeper.
His leaves glowed faintly with Qi.
His Spirit Sense thrummed like a heartbeat.
The first true night as a Spirit-Sensing Willow ended—
and the path to becoming the World Tree Sovereign opened wider.