Ashen's footfalls were soft against the mossy undergrowth as he moved deeper into the forest.
Shafts of golden light pierced through the canopy, dappling the floor with warmth.
A gentle breeze carried the scents of bark, damp earth, and distant petals.
Birds had quieted here, replaced by an unnatural silence.
He paused.
Something felt… off.
His gaze fell upon a grove of ancient trees, their roots gnarled and tangled like serpents.
There, nestled between their entwined bases, was a peculiar ruined structure — half-swallowed by the earth and choked in ivy.
Faint glyphs glowed along its stone edges.
Ashen stepped closer, brushing away vines. His fingers touched a sigil.
[Initiating Dungeon Gate Sequence…]
The ground shifted. Light swallowed him.
He landed softly.
The air was still — too still.
He stood inside a different world: a shattered garden of floating petals and broken marble.
Half-formed statues leaned sideways. Temple columns hung midair, like frozen ruins drifting in time.
It was beautiful — and wrong.
**[Mini-Dungeon Identified: "Shattered Garden"]
Recommended Entry: Bronze Tier Active Threats: 1]
He advanced slowly, each step echoing in the hollow calm.
Near a sunken altar, he saw it —
A possessed Plant Spirit, unmoving… until his presence awoke it.
Its bark-covered form twisted unnaturally, arms lengthening into whip-like vines.
A red glow pulsed within its wooden core. It screeched — an eerie, sorrowful cry that sounded like wind through dying leaves.
Ashen didn't flinch.
The fight erupted.
Vines lashed toward him.
He twisted, darting sideways, leaping up the side of a broken pillar with barely a sound.
Midair, his body curved like a wave — and he came crashing down, fist first, into the creature's exposed node.
A crack rang out.
It stumbled, limbs flailing, vines retracting defensively.
Ashen didn't give it a second chance.
A second tree-assisted jump. A spin. A kick to destabilize. Then — his fist, enhanced with just a trace of inner Qi — landed flush against its core.
The glow died.
The creature collapsed into petals.
He approached the altar.
A vine-covered mechanism groaned open. Inside it — a faintly pulsing Mana Crystal lay cradled in smooth stone.
He reached out and touched it.
[Genesis Forge System Notification: Sustenance Shift Detected]
"Sustenance shift?" he muttered.
"Clone body previously sustained using internal Qi flow. Primary source now replaced by Mana Crystal Core. Qi efficiency restored. Cultivation obstruction lifted."
Ashen's eyes narrowed.
"So… I've been bleeding Qi to keep this body active."
That explained the sluggish cultivation progress.
Now —
He would grow faster.
But before he could pocket the crystal, his vision blurred.
The world around him dimmed.
And a memory — not his own — surged forward.
Moonlight. A ruined courtyard. Cold stone beneath a hooded figure's feet.
The figure stood alone, cloak swaying in the wind.
He held a Mana Crystal high toward the full moon — as if offering it to the heavens.
No words.
Only silence.
A quiet that screamed of endings.
And then… the figure vanished into mist.
Ashen gasped, staggering backward.
The petals beneath his feet floated gently.
"A memory…? No, I guess it's a remnant."
He shook off the daze and pocketed the crystal.
The path back lit up faintly.
As he stepped out of the dungeon portal and returned to the real forest, the air felt different. Lighter. Sharper.
His steps held more strength.
He raised his hand and looked at it — no longer trembling.
"Time to test this new phase."
And with that, Ashen disappeared into the woods.