CHAPTER 164: ASSIMILATION

They reached out a trembling hand toward her.

"You can stop it. Not through purification, but through assimilation."

Ling Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Assimilation?"

"You must let your curse consume it," said the spirit. "Let your darkness devour the corruption until it becomes part of you. The Tree will endure, and I will be freed."

Ling Yu stared at them. "That sounds like a death sentence for me."

The spirit’s lips curved faintly, a sad, wistful smile.

"Perhaps. But you are not an ordinary being, are you?"

They lifted a hand, and a faint glow surrounded her. Her sigil, the golden-emerald mark the Elves had given her, lit up on the back of her hand.

"This mark was not given to the weak. You have been chosen because your soul already dances between light and shadow. You are balance incarnate."

The words resonated deep within her, and she could feel the mark pulse in response, as though agreeing.

Silence hung between them for a long time. The spirit’s expression softened further, the corruption dimming faintly as if soothed by her presence.

"You remind me of the first flame," they whispered. "The first mortal who ever dared to stand against the dark."

Ling Yu’s lips twitched upward. "I’ve been told worse comparisons."

The faintest laugh left the spirit, like a breeze passing through glass.

For a moment, the oppressive air lifted.

Then their gaze grew serious once more. "If you choose to help me, the path will open beneath the Tree. There, the heart of the corruption festers. It is the source, the black root. Destroy it, and you will cleanse this forest. But if you hesitate... it will consume us all."

Ling Yu exhaled slowly.

"Then I’ll destroy it."

The spirit blinked, surprised at her immediate response. "You accept so easily?"

"Because I don’t have time to doubt," she said simply, her tone steady. "And besides..."

She glanced at the spreading darkness around the spirit, the faint shiver in their body. "You’ve been fighting alone for too long. Someone has to finish what you started."

The Guardian Spirit stared at her, stunned, then slowly, their lips parted in a small, trembling smile.

"You truly are different," they murmured. "No wonder the Tree chose you."

Their hand extended once more, and a small orb of green light formed in their palm.

"Take this. It is a fragment of my core, what remains of my essence. It will protect you when you descend to the roots."

Ling Yu reached out and took it. The orb felt warm, alive, like holding a heartbeat in her palm. The moment it touched her skin, it melted into her sigil, merging seamlessly with the glowing mark.

The spirit sighed, their voice already fading.

"Go, Ling Yu. Follow the path beneath the Tree. Destroy the black root... and free me."

The light around her began to change, brightening, shifting from white to gold. The space itself rippled, distorting like a reflection in water.

"Wait—" she began, but the world was already dissolving.

The spirit’s final whisper echoed softly, like a prayer carried on the wind.

"Do not fear the darkness within you... It is also your strength."

And then, everything vanished.

The next thing Ling Yu knew, she was standing beneath the roots of the World Tree, surrounded by twisting shadows that writhed like living veins. The faint glow of her sigil lit the darkness, and in the depths ahead, she could already feel it—

—the pulse of the black root, waiting.

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*

When Ling Yu stepped out of the glowing bark of the World Tree, her breath caught for a moment; the air outside felt different.

The sacred forest, usually humming with a calm, ethereal rhythm, was eerily silent. The faint golden motes that once floated through the leaves were dimmer, like the light had dulled.

As her figure re-emerged, the elves who had been waiting in an anxious circle gasped in unison.

They dropped to one knee, bowing with reverence, not just because she had survived the World Tree’s trial, but because she had returned changed.

’Ah, oh, I hate this... I seriously hate this...!’ Ling Yu hated how naturally they were going on their knees every time she showed up; it was really an annoying tradition. This is not what she expected from a strong and noble race like the elves.

But it’s true that she was giving off some special effect; her aura had become layered, part of it gentle and luminous like the elven spirits, and part of it cold and ancient, carrying the faint whisper of something unfathomable.

When she walked, her steps left faint traces of shimmering dust behind, and even the winds hesitated before touching her skin.

"She carries the blessing of the Tree..." one elf elder whispered, trembling slightly."And something else," another murmured, eyes narrowing in unease.

Ling Yu didn’t respond. Her heart was still resonating faintly with the presence she met inside the tree.

The guardian’s words repeated in her mind, soft, trembling, and full of despair:

"My children can no longer hear the cries of the earth... But you, bearer of the shadowed light, can."

"There are those who slumber in the roots, dark spirits born of corruption. They feed upon the Tree’s veins."

"You must find them... and end them."

The voices still echoed faintly in her ears as she brushed off the elves’ concerns and tried to move past them.

However, they had surrounded her, chattering and asking if the Tree had spoken, if she was unharmed, if the Spirit had blessed her with divine words.

"Enough," Ling Yu finally said, her voice calm but tired. "I’m fine. The World Tree has given me my task."

Her words silenced the crowd instantly. The elves looked at one another, their eyes bright with both reverence and apprehension.

Elder Aerendel, the same one who had guided her earlier, stepped forward, his silver hair gleaming under the moonlight. "Then it has chosen you," he said, voice solemn. "You are to fulfill the will of the Tree."