Chapter 219: The Thorn Corridor and Echoes of the Past

Stepping into the corridor illuminated by the glow of ley line energy, a breath of air utterly unlike the ruined world outside rushed to meet them. The air here still carried the stale weight of ages, yet without so much dust and the smell of decay; instead, there lingered a faint, strange fragrance, something like sandalwood mingled with old paper. The walls of the corridor were no longer cold metal, but some warm, supple jade-like material in the colour of ivory, carved with incomparably intricate and exquisite bas-reliefs.

The bas-reliefs no longer depicted simple geometric patterns or energy-conduction diagrams, but narrative scenes: boundless emerald forests, a World Tree soaring into the clouds, a colossal ark sailing beneath the starry sky, and those ancient elves—tall of stature, sharp of ear, solemn and noble of bearing—some operating complex instruments, others performing mysterious rituals, others still living in harmony with all manner of strange creatures (including the ancestors of the crystal-cluster beings). Every relief was vivid and lifelike, brimming with vitality and a sacred, rhythmic quality, as though eternally freezing one glorious moment after another.

"This place… seems really important?" Xiang Lingna gazed at the reliefs, unable to resist reaching out to gently trace one scene depicting elven priests gathered around a sapling World Tree performing a blessing ritual; the emerald veins within the crystals of her right arm seemed to resonate faintly with the relief, sending back a faint sensation of warmth.

"Energy level elevated, environmental purification extremely high. Estimated to have entered the outer perimeter of the Ark's core zone." Zero's console scanned the surroundings. "The corridor contains a faint but sustained energy field with self-repair and purification functions. No direct threats detected at present."

This let their taut nerves relax just a little, though they still dared not be careless. Glorna took the lead, the heavy footfalls of her power armour echoing in the silent corridor, sounding especially jarring. Sister Ai Li followed close behind; though her injuries were no light matter, her steps remained steady, her gaze sharp as she swept every corner and shadow ahead. Xiang Lingna supported Sister Ai Li, while Zero hovered at the rear of the party, responsible for rearguard and continuous scanning.

The corridor sloped steadily downward, winding and twisting as though it had no end. The stories told by the reliefs on either side also kept advancing, beginning to show scenes of the Ark encountering a dimensional storm—the starry sky turned chaotic and dangerous, with colossal tentacles and twisted shadows flickering in and out of the storm (clearly the vanguard of the Devouring Realm), the elves waging fierce battle, with sacrifice, with destruction, the imagery growing tragic and oppressive.

In the end, the relief froze on the moment the Ark, trailing flames, plunged toward an unfamiliar planet, brimming with despair and unwillingness.

"So… this is how they came here…" Xiang Lingna murmured to herself, her mood growing heavy. These reliefs silently narrated the tragic history of the Ark "Xinluzhou."

Suddenly, Glorna, who was at the very front, sharply raised her fist, making a halt-and-alert hand signal.

"There's light ahead, and… sound," she said in a low voice, her power armour's sensors aimed at a corner of the corridor up ahead.

Everyone immediately held their breath and focused. Sure enough, from beyond the corner came faintly, in broken snatches, the sound of what seemed like countless people murmuring and chanting together! The voices were ethereal, solemn, in an ancient and beautiful elven tongue; though the specific words could not be made out, they irresistibly stirred a feeling of serenity and awe.

At the same time, a soft, golden-green radiance shone through from that direction.

Could there still be surviving ancient elves here?

Glorna gestured for Sister Ai Li and Xiang Lingna to stay put, then herself crept toward the corner with extreme care, nearly soundlessly, her massive battle-axe slightly raised, ready to erupt at any moment.

She slowly peered around, took only a single glance, then jerked her head back, a look of incredulous bewilderment and puzzlement crossing her crimson face.

"What is it?" Sister Ai Li asked in a low voice.

"See for yourselves… this is bizarre…" Glorna stepped aside.

Sister Ai Li and Xiang Lingna also edged forward carefully, looking past the corner.

The sight before them left them dumbfounded as well.

Beyond the corner was not some room or great hall, but an even broader, even more magnificent corridor! On either side of the corridor there were no longer reliefs, but countless living, dripping-emerald bramble vines! These vines, as though possessed of life, slowly writhed and grew, forming natural archways and barriers one after another; the vines were covered in small star-like blossoms that shed a soft golden-green radiance, illuminating the entire corridor as bright as day, and that serenity-inducing fragrance was precisely what these little blossoms gave off.

And what was even more astonishing was that within the corridor one could faintly make out some translucent, wraith-like figures clad in ancient elven garb! Like ghosts, they repeated certain fixed actions: some chanting with heads bowed, some pruning the vines, others operating long-vanished control interfaces on the corridor walls (those jade walls had somehow become screen-like at this moment)… Those murmuring chants were issuing precisely from these wraiths!

These were not true life, but… residual energy imprints? Echoes of the past?

"Detected a high-intensity, highly stable residual information field." Zero's scanning beam carefully avoided those wraiths. "Not ghosts, but 'information phantoms'—the powerful energy and intent of this place at some past moment, recorded and preserved by the environment. They possess no physical form and cannot interact."

Like a holographic recording, endlessly looping the fragments of the past.

The party breathed a sigh of relief, yet still found the sight incomparably wondrous and eerie. They stepped carefully into this "Thorn Corridor." Those elven wraiths showed no reaction to their passing, remaining absorbed in their own tasks. The vines, as if alive, would gently draw back to either side when they drew near, clearing a path, as though possessed of some simple awareness.

The corridor was very long, and the "information phantoms" on either side kept changing. One could see the elves' expressions shift gradually from their initial serenity and peace to anxiety, sorrow, and grim resolve. They seemed to be preparing something, sealing away important items, activating some kind of emergency protocol.

At last, they reached the end of the corridor. The end was a colossal door, woven naturally from countless bramble vines into an incomparably intricate whole. There was no keyhole on the door, only a deep, hand-shaped depression, around which were inscribed ring upon ring of ancient elven script and the sigil of the World Tree.

Above the door, on the jade wall, the final "information phantom" was playing out:

An elven high priestess who appeared to be of extremely high status and advanced years (her phantom was somewhat more solid than the others) was solemnly placing a softly green-glowing, miniature World Tree seed (identical to the one that had shattered earlier) into a treasure casket woven of brambles. Her face was filled with sorrow and grim resolve, and she spoke in ancient elven to the empty corridor—or rather, to whoever in the future might see this image. Though the language could not be understood, the despair, warning, and hope contained within that intent were clearly conveyed into everyone's mind.

【"…The calamity cannot be avoided… the Ark shall sink… but we shall never let the hope of 'Xinluzhou' be utterly severed…"】 【"…Using the last fragment of the World Tree as the key, and our lives and faith as the lock…"】 【"…Only a true guardian, bearing the light of life and order, can open the final sanctuary and inherit the legacy of 'Xinluzhou'…"】 【"…Beware… the darkness has never departed… it is waiting…"】

At this point in the image, the high priestess's phantom slowly dissipated, leaving only the phantom of that bramble casket, which slowly sank into the bramble door and vanished from sight.

The party exchanged glances. The last fragment of the World Tree? A legacy? Could it really be behind this door?

Xiang Lingna looked at the hand-shaped depression on the door, then at her own right-arm crystal, riddled with cracks yet imbued with the power of the World Tree sapling, and a strong conviction welled up within her.

She drew a deep breath, and under the gaze of everyone, slowly stepped forward and pressed her crystalline right hand into that depression.

The fit was perfect.

At the instant of contact, the emerald veins in her right arm blazed to life! Every pattern on the entire bramble door seemed to come alive, radiating surging life energy and the light of order!

Yet at the same moment, an unexpected change suddenly occurred!

At the corridor entrance on the far end, those once-gentle bramble vines suddenly erupted into violent growth, instantly sealing off the retreat! At the same time, those once-harmless elven wraiths' gazes suddenly turned icy and full of hostility; they turned their heads in unison toward Xiang Lingna, and the chants from their mouths turned into shrill, piercing noise brimming with rejection and warning!

Zero's alarm shrieked sharply: "Warning! High-intensity defensive mechanism activation detected! Unknown mutation in the information field! Energy signature analysis… mixed with… World Tree guardian energy and… faint… annihilation contamination properties!"

Annihilation contamination?! Could the defensive mechanisms here also have been partially eroded over the long ages?!

The bramble door began to tremble, emitting a heavy rumble, seeming to slowly open, yet what leaked from the crack was not pure light of life, but mingled with a disturbing, twisted shadow!

The retreat was cut off, the path ahead unknown and dangerous!

What awaited them beyond the door—was it a legacy of hope, or yet another trap?