The God of Wood, Ivern

Seeing the old man's condition, I suddenly felt a pang of heartache. He hadn't done anything wrong, and it's understandable that he endured hardship to survive. ♬💢 💘♧

Syndra has no concept of right or wrong. Her innate abilities are beyond her control, and besides, how could she possibly control herself like an adult in her ignorant childhood?

It can only be said that many things are not as satisfactory as they seem, and various factors inevitably lead to unfortunate individuals.

When the unfortunate are weak, they die quietly and are forgotten; but if they possess too much power, it can lead to tragedies like Syndra's.

If the old man knew that his daughter was still alive and had become a revered Harbinger, he might have felt gratified, but instead, she chose a path of depravity.

This is truly a difficult ending to write; perhaps we can only continue the story after we settle things with Syndra.

"Could you take us to see the Spirit Willow?" I hadn't forgotten the purpose of our trip; we were here to investigate the source of Syndra's power.

"The Spirit Willow has withered and died. Many people who have visited it have suffered varying degrees of harm. I advise you not to go near it."

"Actually, we're not ordinary bards; we can resist a certain degree of magical damage, so don't worry."

"Perhaps I can also help you heal the Spirit Willow," Janna added.

The old man's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and his droopy face lifted slightly. Sometimes, all it takes to make someone look younger is something that excites them:

"If Spirit Willow can truly be resurrected, then I will die without regret!"

The old man immediately got up and led us there, without doubting what we said at all. Now, as long as there was even a glimmer of hope, he didn't want to give up!

The Spirit Willow grow outside the farmland north of the village. The area used to be a beautiful place with lush vegetation all year round, but now it is just a barren and desolate landscape.

The Spirit Willow grows amidst the wild grass. Unlike other tree species, even after growing for countless years, the willow tree is not very tall, and its branches are neatly arranged without any disorder.

The trunk and branches of this large willow tree were pitch black, as if it had been burned by wildfire. Even before I got close, I could feel waves of magical energy emanating from it.

No wonder the old man said that everyone who got close was affected. Such powerful magic is hard to imagine being caused by a child unless you see it with your own eyes.

Janna touched us a few times, and a wind shield immediately formed around her, isolating us from the effects of dark magic.

There used to be a bluestone path leading to the Spirit Willow, but now it is covered with weeds, and the fence around the Spirit Willow is also dilapidated.

I used my Spiritual Power to investigate and found that the Spirit Willow was not dead. In the center of the dark trunk, I could feel the flow of life force.

Miyue also sensed it, but like me, she couldn't undo the dark magic's influence on Spirit Willow and could only pin her hopes on Janna.

Janna's expression was solemn; clearly, this scene had exceeded her expectations. She hadn't anticipated that the Spirit Willow would be corrupted to this extent!

She reached out and conjured a gentle breeze, which she then cast onto the tree trunk. It vanished instantly, like a cup of water sprinkled in a parched desert, having no effect whatsoever.

"Syndra's power is so strong! And this was developed when she was a child, how come I didn't notice it before?"

Janna was incredulous and accidentally let something slip, which puzzled the old man:

"Does the girl know her?"

"Ah... I've heard of it."

Janna didn't know how to explain it either. At the same time, Miyue noticed something was wrong and asked me telepathically:

"Janna isn't your junior sister, Yasuo?"

"Uh... anyway, we're friends, whether she's a junior sister or not isn't important."

"I found it strange from the beginning. Her strength seemed to be inconsistent with her age, which can't be explained by talent alone."

"Believe me, she's not a bad person, and she can help us."

"I have no doubt about that. Janna has indeed been a great help to us. However, I'm curious why she said she hadn't realized Syndra was so powerful before. Have they fought each other?"

Faced with Miyue's probing questions, I didn't know how to answer. She's not one to delve into things, but perhaps she was more concerned because it was related to Syndra.

At this moment, Janna's voice appeared in our minds, perhaps noticing my predicament and knowing it wouldn't matter if we told Miyue:

"Alright, Miyue, don't make things difficult for Yasuo. I know not only Syndra, but also you and Karma, as well as Hecarim, and many of the Harbinger before you."

Miyue wasn't stupid; upon hearing Janna's voice appear in our minds, she roughly guessed her identity.

"Such skillful manipulation of Wind Element, and the ability to communicate with us telepathically, are you the God of Wind?"

"It's me, but I don't want to cause trouble. From now on, just keep calling me Janna and act like before. Don't let anyone else find out. And you two remember that too."

"Yes, Great God of Wind... Janna." Karma and Hecarim said simultaneously, having heard the conversation through our shared thoughts.

Seeing us standing still, the old man was puzzled. "Are you alright? If we can't save Spirit Willow, that's fine, but if you all get hurt, I'll feel even worse!"

"Don't worry, we can definitely help, but you should stay away; it's going to be dangerous." Janna was very confident.

The old man was still worried after hearing her words, but he left anyway, only repeatedly advising us to act within our capabilities.

After the old woman left the barren, withered meadow, Janna told us about her plans:

"I'll call Ivern over in a bit. Then the two of us will cast a spell together to force out the demonic power from the Spirit Willow, and you can use your Spiritual Power to consume it."

"Alright, but just how powerful is this magic? It requires the combined efforts of you two gods?"

"I can't say for sure either, let Ivern explain!"

After Janna finished speaking, she closed her eyes and began to meditate. Soon, a sapling appeared beneath our feet. The sapling grew bigger and bigger, its lush green leaves standing out starkly against the surrounding winter landscape.

Soon, the sapling grew to the size of Ivern, more than twice our height, so tall that we had to squat down to talk to it.

"Janna, and two other Harbinger, what are you doing here?"

"How dare you say that? Do you even know how long you've been asleep?" It turns out that even gods communicate like this. Miyue and I were utterly astonished.

Ivern didn't care at all. "I've always loved sleeping, what's wrong with that?"

"This is a big problem. You should know what's going on with this Spirit Willow, right?"

"Oh, it's heartbreaking to think about, this used to be one of my arms..."