Neither Lilith nor Atheline moved for several moments after crossing the invisible threshold. Instinct alone told them something had changed.
Tree roots coiled across the forest floor and soft moss still blanketed every stone, yet the longer they stood there... the more impossible details revealed themselves.
Atheline slowly inhaled. The Aether flowing into his body with each breath was unlike anything he had experienced when he got near the world tree.
It was pure enough that he felt his body absorbing tiny amounts without any conscious effort.
Lilith noticed the same phenomenon.
"The concentration..." She spoke quietly, almost afraid of disturbing the silence. "...it's several times greater than outside."
Atheline nodded.
"And astonishingly stable."
Normally, when Aether became this concentrated, it turned violent and gathered into storms; that was mainly how corrupted for formed in an area. The further away from the world tree, the harder it became.
