It felt utterly surreal for Ketal.0

From the outside, the change in scenery looked minor. At best, the area that had transformed was no larger than a small park. But what stretched out before Ketal was a vast, sprawling plain that defied any sense of scale. It was as though the entire sacred ground had been compressed into a tiny space, only to unfold itself into a grand, hidden realm the moment he stepped inside.0

Ketal stood in awe, his mind blank for a moment as he tried to comprehend the scene before him.0

At the center of it all stood an enormous golden tree—so tall that it seemed to reach the sky itself, and with a trunk as thick as a mountain. This was the World Tree, the legendary axis around which the sacred ground was built.0

The village here was not laid out like any ordinary settlement. Instead of houses on the ground, homes were constructed along the vast trunk of the World Tree, their walls and roofs woven from enormous leaves and sturdy branches. Ladders and natural-looking steps connected the different levels, allowing elves to travel up and down with ease. All around the tree, blossoms were in full bloom, creating a vivid ring of color and fragrance. The air was thick with the pure, almost overwhelming scent of nature. Every breath Ketal took seemed to fill him with a deep, almost primal sense of peace.0

With a...0