Chapter 1

Do humans really have souls?

If they do, what is the world after death like? Will there still be consciousness?

While living a carefree life, Yifiao often pondered this question.

And the answer he usually came up with after each bout of thinking was that he must have been too full and idle.

But when Yifiao finally had the opportunity and time to verify this question, he felt a bit lost...

This was a world of darkness.

Looking at the boundless darkness before him, Yifiao fell into deep thought.

First, he could confirm that he was indeed dead and had arrived in this strange space.

Although Yifiao didn't know why he still retained consciousness, he was clearly trapped here.

Loneliness, darkness.

The only things he could see were two glowing orbs, one blue and one green.

Yifiao tried to reach out and discovered that he had no body, seemingly just a consciousness.

But fortunately, he seemed to be able to float like a cloud.

Could this... be a soul?

This thought suddenly occurred to Yifiao.

After a moment of contemplation, Yifiao tentatively floated towards the two glowing orbs.

The green one was large, its light flickering, giving Yifiao a sense of mysterious wonder.

The blue one was small, its light gentle, making Yifiao feel an inexplicable sense of closeness.

After a few seconds of thought, Yifiao decided to approach the latter first.

However, just as Yifiao was about to touch it, countless vague prayers began to echo through the space...

The voices were ethereal, soft, and sacred, possessing a strange power that made one involuntarily calm down.

Yifiao was startled and shifted his attention, realizing that the voices seemed to be coming from the green orb.

The prayers were intermittent, in a language Yifiao had never heard before, but they gave him a sense of strange beauty.

Yifiao couldn't understand the content, but he could sense the countless sorrows and despair contained within the voices.

Curiosity overcame everything.

Almost involuntarily, Yifiao shifted his attention and touched the green orb.

The moment Yifiao touched the orb, the entire world changed.

His consciousness became dazed, and a massive amount of information surged in like an explosion.

Yifiao felt his vision go black, and then countless images appeared in his consciousness—

A vast, ancient continent...

A mysterious seed falling from the sky...

A strange giant tree breaking through the soil...

Beautiful figures born from the tree...

"Elves...?"

Looking at the figures that often appeared in the fantasy RPG games of his past life, this thought flashed through Yifiao's mind.

Before Yifiao could think further, the green orb generated a powerful suction force, instantly pulling him in...

...

"A suitable soul has been captured."

"Conditions met, initiating the World Tree awakening ceremony."

In a daze, Yifiao heard an unfamiliar voice.

It was a strange language, but Yifiao was surprised to find that he could understand it.

As the voice faded, Yifiao's vision brightened.

Yifiao found himself in a world surrounded by countless green photons.

They were countless flying green light balls, brilliant and dreamlike, indescribable.

What's going on?

Yifiao was stunned.

"Initiating soul fusion, starting the World Tree inheritance ceremony..."

The voice sounded again, and then countless flying particles began to surge into Yifiao's body.

Yifiao felt powerful and mysterious forces surge into his body, accompanied by a flood of information.

As the fusion progressed, Yifiao's senses became increasingly clear, and the mysterious prayers that had been echoing faintly in the background became clearer.

As the photons merged, Yifiao's consciousness began to radiate a sacred light, with a pale green energy continuously gathering until it consumed the entire space...

In the last second, Yifiao heard the unfamiliar voice again:

"Fusion successful."

"Welcome back, the new World Tree of the Segus continent—"

"Lord Yif Eukterahil."

...

When his consciousness became clear again, Yif fell into deep thought.

He was no longer in that strange space; instead, he seemed to have arrived in a world full of vitality.

In the distance were undulating mountains, and around him was a dense forest.

If he ignored the plants that were clearly different from those on Earth, Yif might have thought he had arrived in a primeval forest.

However, this forest and these mountains were too miniature...

This feeling was strange, as if he were in an Ultraman special or had arrived in a land of little people. Yif felt as if he were looking down on everything.

The mountains were miniature, the forest was miniature, and even the birds in the sky were like flies.

Moreover, his field of vision was extremely peculiar, 360 degrees without any blind spots, something he could never have imagined in his past life...

Shifting his attention slightly, Yif saw a palm-sized lake not far away.

The lake's surface was rippling, crystal clear, and clearly reflected his image—

Ancient and gnarled roots, a massive and towering body, and branches that reached to the sky.

Combining the information that had just flooded his mind, Yif quickly understood:

"World Tree?"

The World Tree—Eukterahil.

He was revered as the source of nature, the mother goddess of the elves, and a miracle of life...

He was a mysterious being as ancient as the history of dragons in the Segus plane, a true mythological creature with power on par with deities.

"Really a World Tree..."

Looking at the withered and dying leaves in the reflection, Yif felt a mix of emotions, unsure whether to be moved or sigh in resignation.

After sorting through the inherited information, Yif had a clearer understanding of his current situation.

He had crossed over to a magical world called Segus.

As one of the many crossers, he... seemed to have been chosen by a dying World Tree, with his soul fused with the core of the mother tree and its residual memories and inheritance, while retaining his own consciousness, becoming the new World Tree—Yif Eukterahil.

A half-dead, half-alive one.

The World Tree inheritance seemed to have a calming effect, and Yif did not feel any panic or helplessness. Instead, he was surprised to find himself incredibly calm, even with a hint of joy...

"Joy...?"

Indeed, it was joy, the joy of surviving a disaster.

By inheriting the World Tree, Yif knew he had hit the jackpot.

As a wandering soul in the void, if nothing unexpected happened, his fate would have been destruction. However, this crossing and fusion had given him a new life.

No, a new tree life.

"Regardless, does this mean... I'm alive again?"

Looking at his reflection in the lake and feeling his current strange body, Yif was filled with curiosity.

But at the same time, he also sensed a certain decay in this body.

There was no doubt that his current state was not good. Just from the reflection in the lake, he could see withered branches and leaves, a picture of impending death.

But even so, Yif could still feel a powerful and ancient force deep within him, full of vitality, stirring as if just awakened from a long sleep...

At the same time, a strange feeling arose.

It was a sense of control over the world. Yif felt as if he were the ruler of this land, and if he wished, he could dominate everything within a few kilometers.

The thought wouldn't stop, and Yif looked at a dead oak tree not far away, his mind slightly moving.

With his thought, something strange happened.

The dead tree suddenly regained the luster of life, sprouting buds and leaves. In just a few seconds, it became lush and vibrant again. Not only that, Yif also felt a strange connection with the tree, as if he could control everything about it.

But at the same time, he noticed that the secret power within him was rapidly depleting, and in a blink, a third of it had vanished, making him quickly stop the tree's revival.

Having fused with the World Tree's core, Yif knew that this power was life energy, the source of the World Tree's power, or in other words... the power of nature.

Once it was used up, the World Tree would fall into a deep sleep.

That would mean Yif's death.

Sensing that only two-thirds of the natural power remained, Yif felt a slight pain.

He had been careless.

He hadn't expected that just a simple "enlightenment" would consume so much.

Focusing on the dead tree he had just infused with natural power, Yif felt a bit strange.

The dead tree had completely transformed, not only becoming lush and vibrant again but also growing nearly three times its original size.

Comparing it to the surrounding trees, Yif guessed that this revived oak tree was at least thirty meters tall...

And then, something surprising happened.

The lucky oak tree trembled slightly and struggled to pull its roots out of the soil.

The gnarled roots twisted and formed two strange legs, while the branches became two thick arms, the crown turned into a fierce head, and a pair of sharp eyes appeared at the top of the trunk...

In a blink, it had transformed into a majestic tree man!

Under Yif's surprised gaze, the thirty-meter-tall oak tree man shook the dirt off its legs and turned shakily towards the World Tree, kneeling on one knee, its deep and powerful voice filled with excitement and sincerity:

"Great Mother of Nature... the oak guardian thanks you for your favor. Please, Great Mother, grant me a name!"

Mother? Oak guardian? Name?

Looking at the miniature oak guardian, Yif's lips twitched in his mind.

At the same time, he felt a connection with the guardian, as if he could directly issue commands.

A mischievous thought arose, and Yif's mind moved slightly. Instantly, a sacred, authoritative, and ethereal voice echoed in the oak guardian's mind:

"Since that is the case, you shall be named Berserker!"