The path toward the colossal bone tower felt like a journey through a distorted fairytale.Dead trees twisted into unnatural formations,smoke-spewing craters released soul-freezing mist,and the ground beneath his feet occasionally turned into fragile black crystal.
Behind him, the Fields of Heart—born from Ye Lin's inner world—continued to expand.But he knew:he could not bring his entire world into the battlefield that lay ahead.
Every few hundred meters, they encountered another Gatherer Beast.Yet now, Ye Lin no longer struggled.His World Seeding had grown stronger.With a wave of his hand or a flick of his bone blade,each monster became a rain of golden corn seeds,sprouting instantly to widen the field of his heart.
"CREATION: 78% EFFICIENCY," the System announced."THRESHOLD MASTERY: LEVEL 5."
A small shadow, once ethereal, now manifested as a boy of about eight—his face resembling Ye Lin's.He ran joyfully through the sprouts of the heart-field,as if he were the new caretaker of the growing garden.
"We're getting closer, Lin'er," he said."The void aura from that tower is getting stronger."
The bone tower loomed above,piercing the crimson sky like a giant's fingers.Its surface was carved with thousands of screaming faces—each one a fragment of tormented souls.From the gaps between the bones,black liquid dripped and burned the ground,forming puddles of void essence.
As they approached, Ye Lin felt a familiar pull in his soul—the same pull he had felt the moment he died:the pull to be devoured.
"THIS IS THE CENTER OF CONTAMINATION,"the butterfly tattoo hissed."THE MAIN FEEDING GROUND OF THE GATHERER."
At the base of the tower yawned a massive opening,like the mouth of a giant, ready to swallow.From its depths came the chorus of thousands of whispers—all crying, all screaming,all at once.
"This… is hell," Ye Lin whispered.
"This is where the cycle begins,"the shadow boy replied, his expression solemn."Where the souls of the corrupted Guardians are fully processed—and turned into energy for the void."