NFBE Chapter 594: The World Tree [1]
Chapter 594: The World Tree [1]
"She is alive," Anna said, her brow furrowing slightly with worry. "But she appears extremely weak. Ever since Cassie and Bunny brought her back from the tomb, she has been in a deep slumber. Her body is completely exhausted, and her inner energy is barely a flicker."Gabriel nodded silently. He pushed open the wooden door of the medical building and stepped inside, followed closely by Anna and Seraphina.
The room was clean, quiet, and smelled faintly of fresh herbs.
On the bed at the far end of the room lay Sophie. Her face was completely pale, and her breathing was slow and shallow. Faint, microscopic veins of green light occasionally flickered beneath her skin, but they were weak, as if the light inside her was fighting to stay alive.
Sitting around her bed were the core survivors of the tomb expedition—Ragnarok99, Cassie, and Bunny. Their armor was still dented and scratched, and their faces carried the deep exhaustion of the battle.
The moment the wooden door opened, the three jumped up defensively. But when they saw Gabriel’s face, their eyes widened in complete, stunned shock.
"Sir Broken!" Ragnarok99 gasped, his jaw dropping.
Cassie and Bunny stared at him as if they were looking at a ghost.
Gabriel slowly walked over, pulled up a wooden chair, and sat down near the bed.
"Where have you been?" Ragnarok stuttered.
Gabriel did not reply. He knew that keeping his identity as the "White Phantom" a complete secret was the most important thing for his survival. He simply looked down at Sophie, who lay quietly under the thick blankets.
"Been busy," he lied smoothly, his blue eyes reflecting nothing but calm curiosity. "Tell me. What happened?"
Ragnarok99’s eyes immediately lit up with absolute, manic excitement. He leaned forward, gesturing wildly with his hands as he began to tell the story of their survival.
"We almost died," Ragnarok began. "We reached the grand gate of the Core Chamber, and we were hit by an absolute gravity field that stripped us of all our mana and skills. We couldn’t even lift our arms!"
"And then, the final guardian appeared," Cassie chimed in, her voice serious. "It was a mini-giant, several feet tall, carrying a massive battle axe that dragged against the floor. It was a complete monster."
"It slaughtered the Martial Palace disciples like flies!" Ragnarok99 roared, his eyes wide. "Even Ares and Liang were swatted away and crushed in seconds. I tried to block it with my greatsword, but the physical weight of its axe drove me to my knees and shattered my shoulder bones. I was completely helpless!"
Gabriel sat quietly, listening to their explanation with a perfectly flat, calm expression. Inwardly, a small, cold smile formed beneath his calm face as he watched Ragnarok99 get so worked up.
"And then?" Gabriel asked softly, playing along. "How did you survive?"
"That’s the best part!" Ragnarok99 yelled, slapping his thigh. "Just when the giant was about to chop Sophie and Cassie in half... he arrived!"
"Who?" Anna asked from the side, her ears twitching with interest.
"The White Phantom!" Ragnarok99 said, his voice dropping into a tone of deep, absolute reverence. "I swear to you, that guy is not human. He walked through the grand archway completely unfazed by the gravity field. He didn’t even slow down!"
"He stopped the giant’s massive, two-handed execution strike with a single hand!" Cassie said, her eyes shining as she remembered the parry. "A single hand! He didn’t use any magic, and he didn’t use any qi. He just held a single, sleek dark blade and blocked the giant’s full-strength blow without moving an inch!"
"The giant let out a massive siphoning wave," Bunny added, her voice trembling slightly. "But the White Phantom didn’t care. He released his own monstrous dark-gold-and-crimson aura. The pressure of his aura was so massive that it physically clashed with the gravity field, warping the air like shattered glass and splitting the siphoning wave right down the middle to protect us!"
"It was a complete physical massacre," Ragnarok99 finished, his face flushed with excitement. "He drew his blades and literally carved the giant to pieces in less than three minutes. He vanished into the ground and reappeared behind its back, driving both blades through its chest and turning it to silver dust. I have never seen anyone that strong. He is a god-level powerhouse!"
Gabriel sat perfectly still, listening to Ragnarok99 and the others praise, describe, and marvel at the terrifying power of his own hidden identity. His expression remained a mask of pure, detached indifference, his breath perfectly even.
Beside him, Anna’s lips twitched slightly as she looked at Gabriel, while Seraphina covered her mouth to hide a soft giggle, already knowing the truth.
"I see," Gabriel said calmly, giving a small nod. "The White Phantom... sounds like an interesting person."
"Interesting? He’s a legend!" Ragnarok99 snorted, crossing his arms. "But after he killed the giant, he stepped into the Core Chamber alone. We were too weak to follow him. When he finally came out, he was radiating a terrifying divine pressure. He told us to leave because the Capital wasn’t safe, and then he disappeared."
The room fell quiet once more as the excitement of the story settled.
Gabriel’s gaze slowly drifted back to the bed, looking at the pale, unconscious face of Sophie.
"And Sophie?" Gabriel asked, his voice turning serious. "How did she get this weak? I heard she defeated the High Cardinal Alfonso before the giant guardian appeared."
Ragnarok99’s face darkened, his excited mood vanishing instantly. He looked toward Cassie and Bunny, his jaw clenching.
"That’s the issue..." Ragnarok99 muttered, his voice dropping into a low, worried tone. "Sophie... she used a power she wasn’t supposed to have. She turned the entire chamber into a sea of monstrous gold-crimson devouring vines to eat Alfonso alive. The High Cardinal... he recognized her before he died."
Gabriel’s blue eyes sharpened. "What did he say?"
"He called her the Second Princess of the Vermilion Kingdom," Cassie spoke, stepping forward.
She walked over to the side of the bed, her face extremely serious as she looked directly into Gabriel’s eyes. The room went completely silent, the tension rising in an instant.
She took a deep breath, her fingers clutching the edge of her robes as she stood tall in front of him.
"Master Gabriel... I know you trust us, and we trust you. But there are things about Sophie’s identity and her power that the others don’t know. If we are going to survive the upcoming battles..."
Cassie looked at the dazed, silent faces of the players in the room, then locked her gaze back onto Gabriel.
"I’ll take the explanation from here."