Single Mother of a Werewolf Baby

Chapter 261: The For

Chapter 261: The Forgotten Goddess

The Basics of Cultivation class was also drawing to an end. Through it, Eleanor had come to understand why Midgardians were required to undergo the Trial of Yggdrasil to achieve Ascendance... and why, later, they had to journey to Molgrath to advance their cultivation further.

In ancient times, Midgard had been rich in spiritual energy. Back then, high-level Ascendants were commonplace, and the realm itself was governed by cultivators. Many of the legendary heroes spoken of in myth were, in truth, powerful Ascendants of that golden age. Even Saint-level cultivators walked among mortals, though they too were bound by the realm’s natural restrictions.

Like the present era, Midgard had always imposed a limit upon those of Saint level. Yet, when the world teemed with abundant spiritual energy, the toll upon them was far less severe. Their descent into a lower realm did not sap their strength as cruelly as it does now.

Yggdrasil, the World Tree, was connected to countless realms. When an Ascendant reached the Saint level, they would be transported directly from Midgard to a higher world, chosen according to their aptitude and spiritual resonance.

On the opposite side of Yggdrasil’s network of realms lay the domains of the negative World Tree, Qliphoth. Though younger than Yggdrasil, Qliphoth had once cooperated harmoniously with it. However, that peace ended when the Outer God Nyarlathotep seized control of Qliphoth’s primary domain.

Throughout history, there had been many instances of Outer Gods visiting this part of the cosmos. They would linger for a time before departing again, and some even mingled with the local races, leaving behind half-divine descendants. But this time, matters were different. Under Nyarlathotep’s influence, Qliphoth began siphoning spiritual energy from neighbouring realms. At first, the decline was slow, gradual and largely ignored. Yggdrasil herself was preoccupied with nurturing new life across her vast dominion.

Then came Ragnarök. When the surviving gods were at their weakest, the demons of Qliphoth’s realm struck. They overwhelmed the divine domains and obliterated nearly all of them. Only Vanaheim endured the final war, saved by its formidable magical potency and by the forgotten goddess who led the remaining forces against the demons.

came about through the infighting of the gods. Much of the ancient history that followed was deliberately buried by Midgard’s protectors, and countless truths were lost to time. Only Yggdrasil herself knows

temples of the Forgotten Goddess. From these remnants they learned that the goddess and her celestial army had once

the balance of that sacred realm. The gods were gone... every one of them slain. The divine realms were reduced to ruin, and even Vanaheim was transformed. The corruption of demonic energy seeped into its atmosphere and soil, twisting its natural

sealed Vanaheim against further invasion. She also reshaped her temples, preparing them as conduits through which, in ages to come, mortals of Midgard might ascend... and one day

Vanaheim within her own sphere, granting

bathes the mirrored lands in light refracted through a dense, shimmering mana-field. This radiant daylight offers only a fragile window for travel, for when night descends, the world is cast beneath the ethereal glow of three constant moons. Their white light paints every surface in spectral silver,

vast deserts, and boundless oceans... yet every element here is perilous to mortal life. The waters are tainted, the plants and creatures steeped in a corrupting miasma, for Vanaheim’s natural order has long been infected by demonic energy. This blight ensures that no mortal can safely depend upon its resources for long; every sip of

mindless echoes of its primal essence. Most shun the sunlight, lying dormant beneath the ground by day. But when the moons rise, the land awakens... crawling, whispering, and writhing with them. From the fiercest predators to the most deceptively

to the process of Ascendance, its concentration of magical and spiritual energy balanced precisely at the threshold between mortality and transcendence. There, mortals can

to a distinct trial crafted for mortals. Upon passing these trials, the act of Ascendance becomes effortless... as natural

Every cadet is guaranteed to arrive somewhere within Vanaheim, but the region they appear in depends upon their elemental affinity. It is said that the Forgotten Goddess once wielded mastery over all elements, and so temples aligned with every element exist

peculiar balance. Once there, the cadets must survive and locate a nearby temple. The temples are scattered across Vanaheim... some hidden within ruined cities, others standing solitary amid endless deserts, atop mist-shrouded mountains, on remote islands, or buried deep within ancient

must remain in Vanaheim for an entire month. Their purpose is simple, yet perilous... to undertake the Trial of Ascendance, and to cultivate as deeply as possible within the temple’s sanctuary. When the month ends, the mark

taught several simple cultivation techniques that could be used to achieve Ascendance should any cadet fail to find a temple, or if misfortune struck during the