Time passed quickly.

Two years had gone by since Leyvi and the others arrived in the Mystic Realm, or more accurately, on the Titanis continent of their neighboring planet. Titanis was a vast supercontinent, sprawling across more than half the planet's surface.

At its very heart stood a colossal tree that pierced through the heavens. Its towering trunk and boundless canopy eclipsed everything else in existence, making mountains look like pebbles in comparison. To gaze upon it was to feel one's own insignificance. Reverence and awe stirred naturally in the hearts of all who beheld it—yet few realized that one day, that very tree would become the end of all things.

At the base of this world-shaking tree, there had once been a glorious nation known as Eternal Night, born from the brilliance of the Holy Alchemy Civilization.

It had all begun humbly, with people gathering around a great tree, which they called the Tree of Life, forming a small community. That seed of civilization grew, nurtured by their pursuit of alchemy. The craft brought rapid advancements and progress. Life spans lengthened, child mortality fell, and with survival secured, the population grew. What began as a cluster of families soon became an ever-growing city, marking the dawn of the Holy Alchemy Civilization.

But growth bred chaos. As the population surged, disputes arose, and order began to fray. To restore balance, a system of governance was established, and from it rose the first Alchemy Emperor. With his reign, order returned, and peace settled upon the land. Under his guidance, the people flourished, entering a golden era unlike any before.

In time, the people discovered cultivation, and with it came a new era. By weaving Qi into their craft, alchemists began producing miraculous creations that defied the limits of the old ways. Elixirs that tempered the body, pills that nourished the soul, and products that harnessed heaven and earth. These marvels marked what many called the Second Coming of Alchemy.

Cultivation and alchemy intertwined like twin roots of the same tree, pushing one another to ever-greater heights. Both flourished at a pace that left the rest of the world breathless.

Meanwhile, the colossal tree at the continent's heart did not stop growing. Year after year, its branches stretched wider, its canopy spreading across the skies until it blotted out the sun above the nation. An endless shade enveloped the land.

Yet the people adapted. The slow march of the tree's growth meant farmland was not lost all at once. As shadow overtook the old fields, new ones were cleared further beyond the darkness, keeping harvests steady.

Still, the capital and its heartland never saw sunlight again. From then on, the Alchemy Emperor of that age decreed a new name for their nation—Eternal Night.

Though the skies above them remained shrouded, the people were not left in gloom. Through alchemy, they forged countless methods to summon light. The Eternal Night was bathed in the brilliance of many colors. Streets glimmered with sapphire glow, towers gleamed with gold fire, rivers shimmered with jade radiance.

The nation became a jewel of multicolored splendor beneath the world tree's shade—an empire of lights that seemed to defy the heavens themselves.

At some point, people began to notice something peculiar—the colossal tree had stopped growing. Years had passed without the farmers needing to shift their fields farther from its shade. The realization spread: the Tree of Life had reached its full size.

With that, a new kind of hunger stirred within the nation. The rich and powerful turned their eyes upon the tree itself. What once was only seen as a towering symbol of awe now became prime land to be claimed.

The vast trunk, riddled with colossal grooves and cavernous gaps, became coveted territory. To ordinary humans, a "small gap" in the bark was the size of a valley. A "tiny branch" could bear the weight of entire mansions. One by one, nobles, scholars, and alchemists of influence seized these places for themselves, building magnificent residences upon the tree's body.

In time, the Alchemy Emperor of that era made a fateful decision. Declaring the grandest and deepest hollow at the tree's center as his rightful seat, he ordered the imperial palace to be moved there. Towering walls of shimmering crystal, alchemic arrays that drew light into the darkness, and golden bridges carved into the living wood transformed the hollow into a palace that seemed to merge heaven with earth.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

And with a single decree, the Emperor forbade any from dwelling above his chosen domain. It would be an insult to the throne, he declared, for a subject to live higher than the Emperor himself.

Thus, the Eternal Night began climbing the colossal tree, not only in spirit but in body. Its society layered upon the trunk, tier after tier, with power and privilege ascending toward the Emperor's domain.

The higher one lived upon the colossal tree, the greater their wealth, power, and status. The hierarchy of Eternal Night was etched not only in politics and bloodlines but in height itself.

Hundreds of thousands of years passed, and still the Eternal Night stood strong and prosperous, its civilization unrivaled in splendor. Over time, their reach expanded beyond the colossal tree, forging connections with another great culture upon the Titanis continent—the World Explorer Civilization.

The World Explorers had once been a nomadic people, wandering ceaselessly across Titanis. Their endless journeys gave birth to settlements wherever groups chose to remain, and in time, these scattered encampments blossomed into cities and branching civilizations. They knew the land better than any other people, for they had walked every corner of it.

Yet long before Eternal Night rose to prominence, countless encounters between the two civilizations had ended in disaster. Differences in language, customs, and beliefs led only to bloodshed. Time and again, contact brought death, until finally the World Explorers avoided the Holy Alchemy Civilization entirely. Generations grew up shunning the tree-born people, considering them a danger not worth approaching.

That stalemate endured—until a single curious soul from the World Explorer Civilization broke it. Tirelessly, he sought understanding, studying tongues and symbols, learning ways not his own. Where others saw division, he saw possibility. At last, through his persistence, a fragile bridge of trust was forged.

From that moment on, the tide of history shifted. Alchemy, once confined to Eternal Night, began to spread across the continent. Techniques, medicines, and miracles once thought impossible became treasures shared by many nations. And with them, the influence of the colossal tree extended far beyond its shadow.

The bond between the Eternal Night and the World Explorer civilizations sparked a new era—the third coming of Alchemy.

The World Explorers, guided by their nomadic heritage, had roamed every wilderness of Titanis. Their journeys revealed exotic flora, rare minerals, and hidden essences unknown even to Eternal Night's most seasoned alchemists. Now, through bustling trade routes, these treasures flowed steadily into the great nation.

The results were revolutionary. Eternal Night's workshops roared with new life as cauldrons bubbled and furnaces flared. Alchemists experimented endlessly, fusing the unfamiliar with their refined alchemy methods. The breakthroughs came swiftly: potions of unrivaled potency, elixirs that stretched life spans to centuries, tools infused with resilience and strength beyond compare.

What once had been perfected was redefined. Healing salves knit torn flesh in the blink of an eye. Cultivation aids advanced disciples through bottlenecks with startling ease. Even humble household tools like glowing orbs for light, ink that never faded, and cloth that resisted decay grew in quality and endurance. The very fabric of daily life was transformed.

In return, Eternal Night shared their intricate techniques and refined knowledge. The exchange deepened into something far greater than mere trade; it became a fusion of legacies. Markets thrived with color and clamor, stalls overflowing with new wonders.

The third coming of Alchemy reshaped Titanis itself. Settlements of the World Explorers blossomed into thriving cities, their streets bright with Eternal Night's multicolored lights. Knowledge spread like wildfire, no longer contained to the colossal tree's shadow but woven across the continent.

It was an age of prosperity—one that seemed destined to endure forever.

But one day, the Tree of Life began to glow. From its colossal trunk to its endless canopy above, light cascaded down in a brilliance never before seen.

For the first time in history, Eternal Night was bathed in radiant day. The people rejoiced, weeping with joy and calling it a miracle granted by their Tree of Life. Festivals erupted beneath its glow. Songs and laughter filled the streets, and even travelers from distant corners of Titanis gazed in awe, for at night the colossal tree shone like a beacon, visible across the continent.

From that day onward, Eternal Night knew no more darkness. Their lives changed completely, their nights transformed into days. And so, the Alchemy Emperor of that era proclaimed a new name for the nation—Eternal Day.

For nearly a thousand years, the people thrived under its radiance. Generations lived and died believing their tree was the source of eternal blessing.

Then, without warning, the light vanished.

At first, many thought the cycle had simply turned, that they were returning to the familiar age of Eternal Night, so some who prefer the night celebrated. But the celebration turned to screams when mortals began collapsing in the streets. Their skin withered, their bodies shriveled, as though their very essence had been stolen.

Panic spread like wildfire. Cultivators, too, soon discovered the horrifying truth—their Qi, their life force, was bleeding out of them, pulled toward the colossal trunk. No matter how they struggled, no matter how high their cultivation, the tree consumed it all.

The Tree of Life had transformed. What once gave them light and prosperity now became the source of death itself.

The Tree of Death.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.