The Tree of Life has existed for countless eras.
Its roots sprawl across all of Eden, burrowing deep into this sacred land, bestowing vitality and vigor upon all things.
But as the stars shift and ages pass, the world changes.
Beneath Eden, there now lies an endless abyss.
At first, it was just a thread of darkness, like a drop of ink falling into the sea, faintly brushing against the deepest roots.
Back then, it barely noticed, just as a human would not mind a speck of dust on their skin, or a slight itch.
After all, this is the Tree of Life, the very core of Eden, the anchor point for countless dimensional spaces.
But as time went on, those thin tendrils of darkness began to spread, like a stubborn illness that could no longer be cured.
Corrosion began, silent and unnoticed.
The channels that once brimmed with the force of life were now tainted by darkness, turning sluggish and turbid.
“I think… I might be… sick…”
For the first time, the Tree of Life realized—could it actually fall ill?
It felt like countless ants gnawing through its roots, little by little devouring its vitality.
Fortunately, later, Olivia brought it a divine artifact—Forbidden Item 005: Eternal Lock.
That lock, golden and radiating a gentle warmth, was placed deep within its primary root.
It was like a door, a solid barrier that kept the invading darkness outside.
With it as a shield, it could even slowly metabolize and rid itself of the pollution that had already seeped in.
Given enough time, perhaps it could regain new life.
Ferocious but now, that lock had been taken away.
It was like a tightly closed door suddenly thrown wide open, countless dark auras surging wildly along its roots, more violently than ever before.
They were not only corroding the roots, but stripping away its very concept.
“Life, growth, hope.”
It could no longer bear golden fruit, its branches began to wither, and its leaves started to fall.
It felt its essence being peeled away, the very definition of being the “Tree of Life” was being drawn out bit by bit.
“It hurts so much… save me…”
The frenzied black mist rampaged within, tearing its roots as it surged upwards, devouring its life, dragging it deeper into the abyss of death.
“Olivia!” it cried in agony, “It hurts, Olivia!
“Where are you?”
At moments, sanity returned and it vaguely recalled that Olivia was probably chasing the thief who stole the lock, but soon, all that was left was its wailing and trembling.
“Come back… come back…”
The pain of its existence being torn apart robbed it of its last bit of reason, leaving it only able to howl instinctively, calling out for any help it could get.
“Someone help me! Save me!”
In the whirlpool of pain and despair, it suddenly heard an unfamiliar response.
“Do you need help?”
The voice was gentle, but it caught it, struggling to focus a sliver of its mind to seek out the source.
Soon, it saw—
A very small human was standing before its trunk.
The person tilted their head back and repeated, “Do you need help?”
Sanity shattered in that instant.
“Yes, yes, yes! Anyone will do! Save me!”
Then it heard that voice say, “Alright.”
“Since I’ve gained your consent, I’ll begin now.”
Only then did the Tree of Life realize with a jolt—it had actually agreed to let a stranger treat its illness.
‘I must be mad…’ Its consciousness flickered, ‘How could she possibly cure me? Perhaps, this human was working with the thief who stole the lock?’
Maybe, they wanted to destroy it completely.
It no longer had the wits to ponder further.
Pain swept through it, and the Tree of Life suddenly thought that perhaps, death was a kind of relief.
“Just… Olivia, I’m sorry… I couldn’t do what I promised you…”
But it had been in pain for so long, it simply couldn’t go on.
“This release… is not so bad… huh?”
‘Wait, something felt wrong. Something seemed to be entering.’
That feeling… so gentle, so warm, like threads of gold weaving through every inch of its wood and every fiber, stitching together its shattered parts.
The foundation.
Like sewing together torn fabric, only even stronger than before.
The threads trailed down along the trunk, meeting the ugly black corrosion.
Then a large knot was tied—no, an entire web was woven, firmly blocking the black mist that tried to surge upwards.
Not only that, but the Tree of Life felt strength returning.
Like a rusted, broken fence reforged, its damaged “life” concept was restored, and it regained control of its own existence.
It could hold that black mist back!
“It’s working! It’s really working! I don’t have to die?!” The Tree of Life was overjoyed.
As long as the black mist stopped rising, its life could be preserved.
However, when it extended its awareness down to its roots, it found that large portions had already been corroded.
Though the corruption was halted, too many parts were dead.
“Ugh, I’m ruined, my roots are ruined, they’re all dead!”
It could no longer absorb nutrients, nor sustain Eden.
All those beautiful flowers, strong trees, flowing rivers, fluttering spirits… how would they survive?
Now that its roots were damaged, the entire Eden would begin to wither and fade.
The more the Tree of Life thought, the sadder it became, crying incessantly.
“ASASAS…”
“I’ll be a crippled little tree from now on! I can’t absorb nutrients by myself, I can only be spoon-fed! I don’t want to be a crippled little tree…”
Its voice was unbearably sorrowful, aggrieved and miserable.
Su Fu’s mind buzzed from all the noise— ‘how could a tree cry so much?’
She sighed helplessly, ‘What crippled little tree? What nonsense…’
But this “child” was truly too heartbroken, so she focused a sliver of her awareness to comfort it: “Don’t cry, it’s not over yet.”
Although the black mist had indeed been stopped from rising, what she had done was simply activate the Tree of Life’s own latent power, allowing it to repair itself.
The Tree of Life always possessed self-healing abilities, only they were twisted and suppressed by the corruption.
Nuwa’s mending power was simply unlocking the Tree’s own potential, letting it regain control and resist the corrosion.
She wasn’t adding anything externally—she didn’t have such divine power herself—but rather restoring the Tree’s internal order and rules.
It was like repairing a broken machine so it could operate as designed once more.
“Really?” The Tree of Life’s voice trembled with hope, “Can I really recover?”
Su Fu’s voice softened, gentle as she replied, “There’s a chance.”
Although the black mist was blocked, the situation was still very troublesome.
She realized that this black mist was too domineering—without the Power of Nüwa, she wouldn’t have dared touch it.
This thing could even corrode the Tree of Life into such a state.
If it touched her, she’d likely turn to ash in an instant.
She wondered, ‘Just what is this thing?’
The Tree of Life’s authority was among the most fundamental powers—like how rivers must flow downward, and fire must burn upward, life must grow, multiply, and continue.
It’s one of the world’s most basic rules—even death must give way before it.
Yet the black mist could corrode even such vitality; it had to be on an equally conceptual level.
She pondered—if she wanted to drive the black mist back further, she would have to summon the Nüwa Manifestation.
When in trouble, find Mother but the problem was, once she summoned the manifestation, her presence would inevitably be exposed.
If she had a choice, she wouldn’t do it.
But the Tree of Life’s condition was too dire; any further delay would cause irreversible damage.
She could sense that the black mist was erasing the very concept itself.
Once the concept was gone, nothing could be restored.
After all, if nothing remained, what could be fixed?
“No more waiting,” Su Fu decided, “there’s no time for hesitation.”
She took a deep breath and invoked the manifestation: “I am Nüwa, Creator of Humankind, Healer of Heaven and Earth—”
“Please aid me!”
Radiance gathered behind her, divine power surged, and a gigantic figure slowly took form.
The god had a human upper body and a serpent lower body, with a face full of compassion and gentleness.
With the manifestation summoned, Su Fu immediately felt a huge weight lifted, as if her authority had grown severalfold.
If she had been evenly matched with the black mist before, now she could even suppress it, pushing it back.
The Nüwa Manifestation mirrored Su Fu’s actions, gently stroking the Tree of Life’s trunk.
But its gaze pierced through all barriers, reaching the deepest core.
In the abyss, darkness clawed and gnawed at everything.
The Tree of Life was like a lone island in the night, its deepest roots fully blackened, leaving only a faint glimmer of light.
It was an unfair war—a single tree against the entire abyss.
Nuwa sighed softly, as a mother would for a wounded child, “Tree of Life…”
With infinite pity and heartache, she said: “How have you… ended up like this?”
Su Fu heard these words and thought, ‘as expected, Nuwa, as the primordial goddess, could not bear to see the suffering of living beings, much less the Tree of Life that had birthed so much.’
Now, only by relying on Nuwa’s power was there hope to restore the Tree of Life and save Eden.
Eden was connected to so much—if it collapsed, countless worlds and lives would be dragged down as well.
The Tree of Life saw it, too.
It gazed at the giant manifestation in the night sky, feeling a surge within its heart.
An indescribable sense of familiarity rose up, that warm light, those merciful eyes—it instinctively yearned for more.
Its branches and leaves unconsciously stretched towards the manifestation, as if longing for an embrace.
“Who… is this?”
It heard the human say it was… Nuwa?
No, that didn’t seem right.
For a moment, it felt lost, as though what it should call out was not those two syllables.
But what should it be?
No one had ever taught it, and it did not know what to say.
All it could do was let its branches sway, again and again, like little hands hoping for a touch, daring not to get too close, but carefully longing to approach a bit more.
Suddenly, the Tree of Life thought of a word, a name it had never used but that fit perfectly.
“A…”
“Have you come to save me?”
It hurt so badly, its body riddled with holes from corrosion—could it be saved?
Could someone help it?
It had an almost instinctive certainty—the being before it would definitely help.
Nuwa gazed at it with gentle eyes, like nourishing rain.
The Tree of Life suddenly wanted to lose itself in that gaze.
She said, “Don’t be afraid.”
And then, it realized—its body was changing.
The black mist that had been locked in a stalemate was now retreating, inch by inch!
“How is this possible?”
Never had it imagined a day would come when the black mist could be driven back.