Chapter 338: A Strange Tree

Atlas could only stare at the strange phenomenon taking place inside his abdomen as questions continued forming in his mind, ’What in the world? It’s sucking in energy without end.’ He could feel an unusual hunger growing within himself, and the more energy the black swirl absorbed, the stronger that sensation became.

Realizing that the process might continue indefinitely if he left things as they were, Atlas immediately altered the logic of space and made the separate space around him disappear completely.

’If this thing wants energy, then I should give it the energy it wants, right?’

The moment the separate space disappeared, the Aether energy that had filled the surrounding outer space after being released from the erasure caused by his domain began rushing toward his abdomen. The energy gathered around him was pulled directly into the black swirl, as though an unknown force inside it had established a connection with everything in its surroundings. Atlas immediately felt an absurd amount of Aether energy entering the swirl, and because of their connection, he could sense the entire process happening within himself.

’Hmm? It must be because this thing is completely connected to me.’

With that realization, Atlas settled into a relaxed position and allowed the process to continue. Wave after wave of Aether energy was absorbed through the black swirl without showing any sign of slowing down, and he began thinking about the strange experience he had undergone earlier. ’Then somehow, I must have been inside that blackish swirl, and...that plant must be getting all this energy as its nutrition.’ He finally understood why he had encountered the tiny plant in that darkness, although he still had no idea what the plant actually was or why it existed there.

Time continued to pass as Atlas remained motionless, observing the black swirl while it absorbed the surrounding Aether energy. An hour passed, yet the suction showed no signs of weakening or stopping, and another hour followed without any noticeable change in the process. Atlas continued allowing the energy to flow into the swirl, waiting to see whether anything would eventually happen.

Another hour passed, followed by several more, until an entire day had gone by. Even after all that time, the black swirl continued absorbing Aether energy from the surrounding space as though it had no intention of stopping. ’At this rate, I’ll have endless energy, won’t I?’ Atlas wondered while observing the swirl of Null, trying to understand how much energy it could possibly contain.

He did have questions about how Null could absorb energy in this manner, especially since it should erase anything that came into contact with it. However, he decided not to dwell on the contradiction because he already had more than enough unanswered questions concerning the swirl itself.

’I’m already confused as it is. I don’t want to give myself an even bigger headache.’ With that thought, Atlas exhaled and continued allowing the process to proceed without interfering.

Another week passed, followed by three more days, before Atlas finally noticed a change. The suction began slowing down slightly, and the moment he sensed that difference, the process decelerated even further until it came to a complete stop.

Atlas looked around and noticed that Aether energy was beginning to flow back into the surrounding space from another area of the outer space, gradually replenishing what had been absorbed.

After observing the change, Atlas shifted his attention toward his abdomen once again. ’Hmm, what if I will myself to go inside this swirl again—!’ Before he could finish the thought, his consciousness suddenly vanished from his physical body and reappeared inside the same darkness he had encountered earlier.

Atlas initially felt confused by the sudden transition, but his eyes quickly shifted toward the position where the tiny plant had been growing.

The moment he turned in that direction, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?"

The tiny plant he had seen only a week and three days earlier had transformed into a massive, translucent tree. Its branches extended across an unknown distance, spreading so far into the darkness that Atlas couldn’t determine how many kilometres they covered, while small spherical fruits of various rainbow colours hung from them.

The tree’s enormous presence had completely changed the appearance of the place, and the faint light it emitted now illuminated a much larger portion of the surrounding darkness.

Atlas instinctively began walking toward it, unable to hide his curiosity about the transformation. As he approached, he realized that the trunk itself was more than a kilometre wide, making the tiny plant he had previously touched almost impossible to associate with the enormous tree standing before him.

He couldn’t help wondering how much Aether energy the plant must have absorbed to undergo such a drastic change in such a short period.

He continued walking until he finally reached the base of the massive trunk and stopped in front of it. His gaze lowered toward the roots spreading beneath his feet, which extended through the sand and mud as they pushed their way across the ground, before he slowly looked upward again at the branches and their shining fruits.

’Should I...pluck them?’ He felt an urge to take one of the fruits for himself, but his instincts warned him that doing so might not be the right choice at the moment.

Atlas remained where he was for a while, observing the tree and trying to understand its connection to the black swirl inside his body. ’This is peculiar, A black swirl, a tree, and now fruits growing on that tree...’

His thoughts returned to the last time he had used his Null against Orivian, when he had taken the golden bead from him and awakened the Flames of Nothingness. As he recalled that event, a possibility suddenly occurred to him.

’Wait, what will happen if Mu-En comes into contact with it?’

Without hesitation, Atlas summoned the Flames of Nothingness and coated his entire soul form with them. He then turned toward the nearest fruit and extended his hand, carefully reaching for its surface, and the moment he touched it, his theory was confirmed.

’I knew it. Mu-En cancelled out that strange effect.’ With that confirmation, he grabbed the fruit and pulled it away from the branch, successfully plucking it from the tree.

Atlas brought the spherical rainbow-coloured fruit closer and examined it with narrowed eyes, trying to determine whether he could learn anything from its appearance. ’Hmm, I don’t want to eat it. What if something strange happens again?’

The fruit reminded him of the World Core he had encountered during the Barren World incident.

’For now, I’ll just store it in here. That seems like the best choice.’ Atlas nodded to himself and allowed the fruit to float in front of the massive tree, leaving it there for the time being rather than taking any further risks.

He then turned around and sensed the Aether energy continuing to flow through the darkness, only to realize that its density and quantity had increased considerably compared to his previous visit. ’Hmm, I see what has happened now.’ He finally had a better understanding of what the black swirl might represent, even if he still couldn’t explain everything about it.

’This swirl seems to be acting like a Core and not a Core at the same time. I can simply draw energy from here, and this also seems to be somewhat of an Inner World, like the one Eliomor described.’ Atlas considered the possibility that the black swirl had replaced his Astral Core while also becoming something far more complicated than a conventional Core.

Since it appeared to possess an internal space containing the tree and the Aether energy, he suspected that it might have already fulfilled part of the requirements for creating an Inner World.

With that thought, Atlas willed himself to return to his physical body, and a moment later, his consciousness reappeared in the separate space. He exhaled slowly as he settled his thoughts, still trying to make sense of everything that had happened since he began his breakthrough.

’Now comes the final part: transforming the Domain into my second self. I think that black swirl is already the Inner World, since my Core has cracked, so there’s no point in trying to create another one.’

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[A/N: I want to inform you all that these training session Atlas is going through is laying the foundation for this Arc, I will soon shift to the main agenda of everything in this arc so just wait patiently~]