As time slowly passed, the fruits hanging from the massive tree began to pulse faintly, their surface glowing with a deep crimson light as the surrounding Qi stirred. One by one, the petals loosened and started falling, drifting down like slow embers, and the moment the process began, the entire clearing grew tense.
As the outer layers peeled away, the true form of the fruit was revealed, a dark crimson core shaped like a distorted star, its surface etched with faint void-like patterns that seemed to shift with every pulse. Thin strands of blood-colored light flickered across it, while a subtle distortion in space surrounded it, as if the fruit itself did not fully belong to the world.
People who had been waiting calmly now stood up, their eyes locking onto the fruits while glancing at each other with clear caution. No one moved yet, but the silence tightened, every muscle coiled, every breath held, as if the entire area had been stretched to its limit.
