Red lily (2)

Six hundred years ago, a war drastically altered the future of the world, lasting fifty-two years. In the end, the solution was to divide the world into nine nations, each controlled by one of the strongest clans. A peace agreement was established, and each clan led its territory to prosperity in different ways.**

The cause of the war was a gigantic tree at the center of the world, over eight thousand meters tall, with branches spreading across the nine regions. Three of these regions had most of the tree and proclaimed themselves its owners. This tree was significant because, during a dark time when a strange disease was decimating the population, its emergence cured the illness and enabled humans to reach a new form, allowing them to perform feats previously unimaginable.

Another surprise came when the tree began to bear fruit, which had an incomparable taste, but the most impressive aspect was that those who consumed them became superhuman. This transformed the concept of martial artists, making their clans national powers. Over time, the hierarchy of kings and queens was replaced by emperors and empresses, where brute strength was the primary criterion for ascending to the throne.

For two hundred years, the tree remained unchanged, until its leaves turned white, signaling the arrival of an ice age that lasted one hundred and thirty years. When the leaves turned golden, all the ice melted, and the tree once again began to benefit humans. However, instead of fruits, creatures resembling wolves and bears emerged, exuding golden energy and having skin with a wood-like appearance. A mysterious man appeared, attacking and devouring these creatures, claiming that despite their unpleasant taste, they strengthened those who ate them.

This man disappeared, but those who followed his advice gained tremendous strength, capable of punching holes through mountains. However, seventeen years later, the tree displayed purple leaves, and countless people died from unknown causes, with dark blue veins spreading across their bodies. It was discovered that the tree now produced pollen, almost invisible, which caused mutations in humans, generating what is now called internal energy. Those who could not withstand the mutation suffered an overdose and died painlessly.

The bodies that survived the changes acquired incredible abilities, such as lifting objects with their minds and creating fire or water with their hands. Animals were also altered; those that could not withstand the mutation entered a state of dormancy, waking for only a few hours a day, while those that survived transformed into bizarre creatures, becoming a threat to humans. This information was kept hidden from the public, and only the nine leaders of the strongest clans know the truth about the tree, which has remained dormant since its leaves turned purple.

**"Oh? Why are you telling me lies?" asked the fifteen-year-old boy, distrust in his eyes, as he swung the axe, chopping a tree trunk into pieces.**

The woman, who was standing a few meters away, smiled teasingly, "If you really believed that, you wouldn't be wasting your time chopping the trunk into pieces. You would've taken it whole."

The boy huffed irritably, crouching down to gather the pieces of the trunk scattered on the ground. Without saying anything else, he turned and started to walk away from the woman with firm steps, as if wanting to leave the conversation behind.

The woman watched for a moment before following him, unhurried, with an amused glint in her eyes. "Wow, you were right when you said you were a very emotional kid," she commented as she walked behind the boy, her hands behind her back, watching him quicken his pace and then matching his speed.

"What's with you?! What got into you, you crazy woman? You show up out of nowhere and start talking about a legend that's already been proven false, and now you're following me? Don't you see where we are?" the boy exclaimed, gesturing to their surroundings, where only trees and a snow-covered ground stretched as far as the eye could see.

The woman, still smiling, replied with a calmness that only irritated him more. "Ahh, you're talking about your first home? I remember coming here with a few people. You were pretty upset about returning after so long."

Her words hit the boy like a punch to the gut. He stopped abruptly and looked around, his eyes focused on a sequence of large trees. Without wasting any time, he began to run toward one of them, quickly climbing and defying gravity as he leaped from tree to tree, carrying the pieces of wood. Before disappearing into the treetops, he glanced back at the woman one last time and shouted, "You're crazy! I've never left this place, and I don't even know you, so go away!"

As he continued to leap from tree to tree, the boy gradually disappeared from the woman's view. She, however, simply crossed her arms, bringing her right hand to her lips as she reflected. "So it wasn't a lie when he said he could do that... This time, you won't lose that ability."

"Well, I'd better go after him. At this speed, he must already be getting home," she said, letting out a long sigh. With a fluid movement, the woman stepped back with her left leg and began to run. In a matter of seconds, scattering snow everywhere, she caught up to the boy, running alongside him with great ease. "Wow, you're much slower than I expected, even for a kid."

Here is the translation of the chapter into English:

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The boy's eyes trembled in surprise upon seeing her by his side. Without saying a word, he abruptly stopped, letting the wood fall to the ground. Biting his lower lip and clenching his fists, he tried to control the mixture of frustration and defeat he felt.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're going to start crying? You said you've only cried four times in your life, I didn't expect this to be one of them," the woman teased, raising an eyebrow.

The boy sighed deeply, pointing in the direction where his house was. "I give up, you win. You can go and take it… I can't use it anyway."

"Huh?" The woman was thoughtful for a moment, until something came to her mind. Snapping her fingers, she smiled. "Your grandfather's technique? Of course, you can use it, you just haven't mastered it because you were just a brute and had barely any internal energy."

The boy let himself fall to the ground, sitting heavily as he raised a hand to the sky, shaking his head in confusion. "I don't understand... I just don't understand. Who are you? What do you want, then, if not my grandfather's book?" He brought his fist to his cheek, starting to stomp the ground in a desperate attempt to make sense of what was happening.

The woman blinked a few times, observing Noah with a thoughtful look. She put her hand to her head, as if trying to decide the best way to respond. "Well, I wanted to be more subtle, but apparently, subtlety isn't my strong suit. And you… you're definitely not an ordinary child, now that I'm seeing with my own eyes, I can confirm that."

Noah, impatient, slapped his hands on his thighs and sat up straighter, his gaze fixed on her. "You talk and talk, but you don't say anything."

The woman shrugged and dropped the bombshell as directly as possible, "I came from the future, and you need to know a few things."