Chapter 586: Chapter 45: What Once Was on This Land

Passing through the deep dark green vortex entrance, the anticipated violent energy impact did not arrive. Instead, Lynch was enveloped by a strange, weightless sensation akin to sinking into warm water.

When he “steadied” himself, the scene before him made him pause in astonishment.

The piercing cold wind, the raging snowstorm, the deafening sounds of domain clashes… all the cruelty and noise belonging to the peak of the Decaying Domain Staircase vanished in an instant.

In its place was an unimaginable scene, teeming with life to the extreme.

Under a sky as blue as if freshly washed, the sunlight was warm but not scorching, pouring over vast endless plains, carved like the finest emerald.

On the fertile black soil, golden waves of wheat rolled all the way to the horizon’s end, the heavy heads of wheat exuding a unique grain aroma.

Clear streams like silver ribbons meandered through orchards, with fruit trees laden with plump, alluringly colored exotic fruits. In the distance, the verdant forest echoed with melodious bird calls and faint beast roars, full of natural vitality and harmony.

The air was filled with the fragrance of earth, the sweet scent of flowers, and the breath of burgeoning life, so dense it almost became tangible.

More soothing was Lynch’s sight of peaceful and serene villages scattered across the plains.

Smoke curled up, children chased each other in the fields carelessly, farmers worked diligently among the furrows, their faces radiating satisfied smiles.

Wizard Apprentices sat by the stream in meditation, harmoniously resonating with natural elements, as peaceful spiritual power fluctuations flowed through the air.

Here, there was no conflict, no famine, only abundance, tranquility, and the purest praise for life. Everything was as beautiful as the most devout Druid’s dream depiction.

“What place is this…?” Lynch’s heart was filled with doubt as his spiritual body hovered in this verdant world. The Grid Circuit instinctively unfolded for scanning, and the feedback was incredibly real—everything here was imbued with strong and pure life energy, the rules harmonious and stable, far from a simple illusion.

“Welcome, seeker from afar.” A gentle, old yet wise voice sounded beside Lynch.

Lynch looked towards the voice, seeing a white-haired, simply dressed old man somehow appearing at his side.

The elder’s face was kindly, his gaze deep as the starry sky accommodating all things, exuding a natural aura akin to the land’s. He leaned on what seemed an ordinary wooden staff, its head adorned with green vines and a small flower glowing softly.

“This is the ’Land of Fertility,’ or rather, it was once known as such,” the elder smiled, his eyes sweeping the vibrant scene with a hint of unnoticeable nostalgia and… subtle sorrow.

“Land of Fertility?” Lynch felt a stir in his heart, noting the stark contrast with the “Tower of Decay.”

He observed the elder’s features closely, those kindly brows, and gentle demeanor seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite recall where he’d seen them. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵

The elder didn’t mind Lynch’s scrutiny; he sighed softly, directing his gaze to an unobtrusive Wizard Tower in the plain’s center.

The tower was built from white stone, its surface overrun with vibrant green vines. It had a massive gemstone at the top, emitting a gentle green light, perfectly blending with the surroundings as if a natural crystal grown from the earth.

“Do you wish to know… why this land once blessed by life is called the ’Land of Decay’ now?” The elder’s voice grew somber, laden with a heavy sense of destiny. He didn’t wait for Lynch’s response, as if merely reciting a story long predestined and meant to be known.

“Come with me, seeker. The answer… lies there.” The elder turned, heading towards the tranquil Wizard Tower. Lynch was filled with uncertainty, yet the strong desire to explore and uncover the truth drove him to follow.

With the elder’s steps, the surrounding scenes began transforming like a flowing canvas. Time accelerated, but not with external rampant decay, rather a peaceful, natural passage of years. They seemed to be moving upstream along the river of time, returning to an earlier point.

When they reached the Wizard Tower’s base, the surroundings had “settled.” The vine-wreathed white tower glimmered under the sunlight, and in the garden before it, strange flowers and plants thrived in competition. A few colorful magic butterflies danced among the blossoms. The air was rich with fresh herbal scents and active elemental fluctuations.

The elder opened the tower door, signaling Lynch to enter.

The interior echoed the exterior in harmony and tranquility. The spacious, bright laboratory was lit with ample daylight through large windows. The experimental platform showcased various crystalline vessels containing green liquid, plump seeds, or soil samples emitting soft light.

The walls were adorned with intricate magic arrays depicting natural growth and energy cycles. An elder Wizard in a tidy lab coat, hair meticulously combed—or Lynch’s elder companion’s “past”—was deeply engrossed in his work.

His gaze was sharp and focused, filled with a scholar’s fervor. Carefully, he tweezed an unusual seed into a dish marked with complex runes, added a solution brimming with life energy, then held his breath, guiding the energy infusion and rule intertwining with spiritual power.

He was attempting… to create a new plant life with domain rules! Seeking a realm grounded in life rules to build one belonging to himself!

“See, at that time, his heart was filled with exploration and reverence for life’s mysteries, striving to use knowledge for this land’s benefit.” Lynch’s elder sidekick spoke softly, his tone complex.

However, the scene began to accelerate again.

Day by day, year after year—seeds on the experimental stations sprouted, grew, withered… cycle after cycle. The elder Wizard’s focus persisted, but the initial excitement and anticipation gradually yielded to an imperceptible anxiety.

His brow started furrowing inadvertently, the experimental logs’ handwriting grew increasingly sloppy and hurried. The objects of experimentation shifted from initially gentle plant seeds to some lower-tier magic plants, and eventually to spores of weakly aggressive demons…

Lynch keenly noticed subtle changes in the laboratory environment. Those once meticulously cleaned crystalline vessels accumulated dust at the edges; potted plants on window sills had yellowing leaves from neglect; a corner quietly began harboring the first cobweb tendrils. The air once filled with refreshing herbal scents seemed tinged with a faint but undeniable old musk order.

“Bottleneck… the eternal bottleneck…” the elder’s soul projection sighed, “The passage of time, peers surpassing, inner urgency… like vines tightening around him, constricting ever tighter.”

Scenes accelerated again, the hues growing somber.

On the experimental stage now rested restrained, struggling lower-tier magic beasts.

The elder Wizard’s gaze mingled highly with obsessive fanaticism beyond pure research fervor. His trembling hands recorded data out of agitation, with increasing failures accompanied by demon’s painful cries and deafening crashes of exploding vessels.

The walls which once held symbols of natural harmony had been covered with new diagrams whose structure was far more intricate, yet whose strokes emitted an eerie vibe. Spider webs proliferated in the laboratory corners, dust accumulated, even a few mice darted across arranged.

“He wandered astray… striving for breakthrough definitions, the ’realms,’ he began resorting to all means. His awe for life, clouded by repeated failures and time’s grueling tolling, dimmed and dusty,” the soul projection’s voice was imbued with regret.

Final frames freeze in a dim laboratory.

Light filtering through dirt-laden windows appeared exceptionally bleak. On the experimental platform now ensnared weren’t demons… but frightened eyes of those humans trapped by magic! Common farmers, lower-tier Wizard Apprentices, even… one Official Wizard!

They were cable-attached to grand alchemy instruments flowing inexplicable dark green liquid across, etched with distorted, worrying runes.

The old Wizard—now his visage was cadaverous, brooding, eyes simmered with a light almost frenzied obsession.

And Lynch at last recalled where the familiarity stemmed from—

Altonia!

Indeed,

The elder before him was none other than, the corruption domains holder, Rotten Wood Elder Altonia!

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