บท 1677: Spark of Longing

A towering golem made from crumbling stone, its cracked body overgrown with red moss, raised a hand. There was a corpse entombed within it. The soldier of an annihilated civilization had perished thousands of years ago, but their sorcerous armor still lived, infected by an abhorrent corruption.

The creature, an Asura of Condemnation, was holding a diamond cleaver in its hand. When the cleaver rose, the world seemed to tremble in fear. When the cleaver fell, reality itself seemed to split apart. 

A giant tree, its adamantine bark hard enough to resist the end of days, was cut down in one slash and toppled slowly. The wind raised by its fall fanned the flames that had been spreading through the jungle, and bitter smoke permeated the air. 

The tree had been dead for countless years, and its heart had long rotted away. There was a cave-like hollow between its roots, which was now revealed.