Chapter 598 You Must Atone
Finished
Not far ahead lay a sheer cliff, empty and exposed; the ground dropped away on all sides. Looking down, the steep mountainside was wrapped in thick clouds, and the orange glow of dusk spilled over the vast white mist, refracting into a kaleidoscope of brilliant light.
This mountain was incredibly high–Jean had never seen anything like it.
The peak beneath her feet seemed to pierce straight through the clouds, stretching into the depths of the sky.
From up here, she could see the dense, impenetrable layers of cloud pressing down in clusters, each one bringing with it a crushing sense of suffocation.
Then, all at once, the thick forest around her–trees layered so tightly they blocked out the sun, swept aside in a blink, like dark clouds parting to reveal the sun.
As the trees pulled back, a soft glow broke through the center.
The light grew stronger; brighter and brighter, until it was so–blinding Jean couldn’t keep her eyes open.
She had to shut them for a moment, overwhelmed by the intensity.
She didn’t know how much time had passed–but slowly, Jean opened her eyes again.
And right in front of her stood a tall, slender tree.
It was strange, barely any leaves, each long branch carrying only a few scattered, bell–shaped ones. But the tree stretched impossibly high, branches and leaves stacked in layers, climbing upward like a narrow shadow.
The next second, the bell–like leaves began to sway; and just like real bells, they rang–clear, sharp, and melodic.
Then the entire tree began to emit a soft, hazy glow.
It was like sacred light steeped in mist, a radiance too holy to look at directly.
“Jean”
The solemn, reverberating voice struck her ears like a bell tolling from deep within.
Jean blinked, stunned, unable to react at first. She hesitated, studying her surroundings for several seconds before she finally realized, the voice calling her name had come from this tree.
This tree can speak? Jean’s eyes widened; her gaze darted around in disbelief, eventually landing at the base of
the trunk-
There stood a short stone tablet, carved with a few words: “The Genesis Root.”
So this is a divine tree? Jean still couldn’t quite believe it.
She had never thought anything like this could truly exist in this world.
But if the world had predetermined rules, predetermined protagonists, if it could even show her glimpses of the future. Could this divine tree be the one who wrote them?
17:50 Mon, 25 Aug
Chapter 598 You Must Atone
༥ ༢ 69%°
Finished
“Jean,” the tree’s voice rang out again, solemn and weighty, like a great bell striking her very soul. “You accidentally caught a glimpse of the rules that govern this world. To change your fate was not wrong; your mistake was the path you chose–and how far you took it.”
The wrong path? If not this path, then what? Bewilderment flickered in Jean’s eyes.
The tree said she’d made a mistake, but she had worked so hard, tried every possible way, and fought tooth and nail just to get to this point.
It was easy for the Genesis Root to speak from a higher perspective, how could it possibly understand my pain or desperation? Still, she couldn’t deny it:
In the end, she’d been consumed by hatred. She’d wanted everyone dead; she hadn’t even wanted to live herself.
That kind of thinking really was terrifying. But I’d been pushed into it, right?
“If I hadn’t stopped you,” the Genesis Root said, emotionless, “you would have destroyed this world.”
Destroyed the world? Jean’s face didn’t flinch; her silence was as good as acknowledgment.
“Because of your many irrational actions,” the Genesis Root continued, “you now carry the weight of sin… and you must atone.”
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
Summary & Review: The Family
