Chapter 164: The Balance of Life and Death
As a druid, Oaks was exceptionally sensitive to the aura of life.
Conversely, he was equally sensitive to the aura of death, which is inherently opposite to life.
Previously, Oaks felt extremely uncomfortable in Helheim. It was filled with energy that had a special effect on souls, namely death energy.
Now, in this space that he found in Alfheim, which was intricately connected to vitality and Nature Energy, there was a strong presence of death energy!
"What is going on here..."
Oaks glanced at the trees around him. The trees here exhibited obvious characteristics—a powerful vitality accumulated over countless years, intertwined with a peculiar aura of death.
This unique phenomenon of the intertwining of life and death greatly shocked Oaks.
"The balance of life and death... Drust? How is this possible..."
The path of natural balance that the druids followed initially concerned the balance between individuals and nature, and then expanded to the balance between nature and the universe.
However, just as holy light and shadow are intertwined, life and death are also forever inseparable.
There is life because there is death, and there is death because there is life.
In the concept of the druidic path, all living things are interconnected. This is evident in their most renowned healing abilities.
Even the most novice druid knows that healing energy cannot be created out of thin air; restoring life force comes at a cost. They must request a sacrifice from the natural world to transfer a portion of its life to the recipient of the healing.
So, although Nature Energy is omnipresent, it doesn't necessarily apply to healing spells.
For example, in Hel, Oaks' healing spells couldn't receive the blessing of Nature Energy from that realm.
However, there were no obstacles if he were to cast balance spells like storms and thunder.
But there is an alternative and corrupted druidic ability, where they do not focus on the balance between individuals and nature or nature and the universe. Instead, they study the balance between life and death, two completely opposing yet intimately connected concepts.
They do not belong to nature like traditional druids but actively engage in warfare and slaughter.
Originally, the path of balance between life and death was a unique branch of druidism known as the "Thornspeakers."
However, as the war expanded, the druidic spells used to maintain the balance between life and death were increasingly abused and gradually became tools for inflicting death and destroying enemies.
In the ongoing battles involving death, the corrupted Drust Thornspeakers comprehended and strengthened their death spells, eventually resorting to extreme measures like using living sacrifices and human offerings.
They would cut open the hearts and organs of captives to use in their dark magic. They delved into necromancy and researched how to torment the flesh and souls of enemies, amplify their fear, and how to use curse to stripping away their souls and controlling their bodies.
This series of evil and bloody dark rituals, such as sacrifices, torture, and soul extraction, were commonplace among them, something that would never be seen in the traditional druidic practice of upholding the balance of nature.
As a result, the original lineage of Thornspeakers was lost, and the term "fallen druid" became synonymous with those who claimed to control the balance of life and death.
And in this particular space, the phenomenon of the balance between life and death made Oaks inevitably think of these fallen "colleagues."
"But... this aura of death clearly comes from Helheim, which means that besides being connected to Alfheim, there is also a spatial channel to Helheim."
Oaks took a deep breath and cautiously continued his journey.
This was only the outermost area, and since the aura of Hel had already reached a balance with the aura of life here, it indicated that its spatial channel was not in the center.
So, what was in the center?
The dim sky, perpetually lingering mist, and silent forest—this space was permeated with an eerie atmosphere.
Oaks reached out and touched the towering trees beside him and carefully sensed their aura.
"The trees here have a history of at least seven to eight thousand years..."
This meant that the existence of this space extended beyond that time scale.
"Incredible... Hmm?"
"Boom!"
Oaks' wild instincts made him instinctively dodge a silent attack!
"What... is that!"
Oaks stared in disbelief at the massive boulder that suddenly appeared where he had been standing just moments ago.
No, that wasn't a boulder; it looked like... a fist?!
The gigantic stone fist was raised once again and fiercely smashed towards Oaks!
"Boom..."
"Damn it!"
Oaks evaded the attack once again. This time, he finally saw the assailant that had been hiding behind the dense forest—
It was a humanoid figure composed of rocks!
The distinct death energy unique to Hel was faintly flowing within the rocky body. However, Oaks could sense that inside it was a roaring soul!
"A Drust construct?!"
These constructs entwined with the aura of death were the specialty of the Thornspeakers.
They used souls and death magic to craft constructs made of stone or bones, turning them into weapons for their warfare and slaughter.
"Could it be that the Thornspeakers' lineage really exists here?"
In an instant, Oaks transformed into a massive starlight bear and slapped the rather substantial construct away.
But as he was preparing to completely dismantle it for further examination, he suddenly stopped.
"How is this possible..."
Oaks muttered to himself.
When he first entered this place, he did sense an aura similar to that of a Wild Demigod.
However, this aura seemed different from that of Duraþrór.
To make a comparison, it was like the difference between a tree trunk and its branches; the magnitude was significantly different.
But now, he sensed another familiar aura—
The energy that had granted him his "ethereal form" in the past, the magical energy he had sensed near Stonehenge in London!
So, there was also a spatial channel connected to Earth!
This space simultaneously connected Alfheim, Helheim, and Earth?!
In other words, the three boundaries of this space converged with the spatial realms of the three major worlds making it a transit hub between them.
The spatial structure of the "World Tree" could be roughly divided into three parts:
Upper Realms: Asgard (Aesir), Vanaheim (Vanir), and Alfheim (Light Elves).
Middle Realms: Midgard (Earth), Nidavellir (Dwarves), and Jotunheim (Frost Giants).
Lower Realms: Svartalfheim (Dark Elves), Helheim (Realm of the Dead), and Muspelheim (Kingdom of Fire).
If there was an independent space simultaneously overlapping the boundaries of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Realms, it wasn't entirely impossible.
But Oaks had learned the location of this energy from another big shot—
The Supreme Sorcerer, Ancient One, who informed him of the place where he had sensed this energy. It was the legendary location known as—
Avalon, also known as the "Utopia independence from the world"!
The sacred land of Celtic mythology, the central belief of ancient Druidism!
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