The roots above them hissed and pulled away like a receding tide, unveiling a new passage of faintly glowing stone. The tunnel shimmered with the residual energy of the last battle, dust and soul fragments drifting like snowflakes in the quiet aftermath.
Aeris knelt beside her sister, who lay wrapped in Sylvaeria's protective wind cocoon. Her breathing had stabilized, but she hadn't opened her eyes.
"She's still not responding," Aeris whispered.
"She will," Yuki said firmly. "Her spirit isn't gone. Just… tangled in what controlled her."
"I'll go poke the thing that *tangled* her," Lumi offered helpfully. "With a sword. Repeatedly."
"No stabbing yet," Elira replied with a small smile. "We still haven't met the real boss."
Lumi sighed dramatically. "I never get to have any fun…"
---
### **The Path Ahead**
They moved deeper into the newly revealed corridor. The walls here bore old runes, faded from time but still humming faintly with power.
Sylvaeria ran her fingers along the nearest sigil. "These were made by forest spirits… but they've been corrupted."
Elira narrowed her eyes. "That confirms it. This place didn't fall naturally. Something *twisted* it."
"And I've got a strong guess who," Yuki muttered.
Aeris stayed near her sister, carrying her gently as they moved. The girl stirred once, murmuring unintelligibly.
Yuki slowed his pace to walk beside her. "Her name?"
Aeris hesitated, then whispered, "Rin. She was always the cheerful one. Even when I got serious or… distant. She'd make up songs just to annoy me."
Lumi glanced back, grinning. "Sounds like my kind of girl."
"She once wrote a ballad about me tripping during training. Titled it *'Aeris Falls for Danger.'* Sang it for two weeks straight."
"Oh, now I *definitely* like her."
Aeris gave a soft chuckle, surprising even herself. "She's… the reason I joined the guild. I thought I was protecting her. But maybe she was always stronger than I realized."
Yuki nodded. "Then let's help her prove that again."
---
### **A Pulse of Corruption**
Suddenly, the tunnel shook. The runes lit up—then cracked.
A roar thundered from ahead, and a wall collapsed, revealing a massive chamber filled with spiked roots and a churning core of dark essence.
Within that core stood a figure: humanoid, cloaked in tattered robes made of bark and shadows. Its face was a void, but its voice echoed clearly.
**"You bring her back… only to lose her again."**
Aeris stepped forward, fury igniting in her eyes. "She's *mine*. Not yours."
The figure lifted an arm, and roots surged forward. Yuki blocked them with a sweep of his wing, golden flames vaporizing the tendrils.
Sylvaeria spun her staff. "That's the thing controlling the entire lower labyrinth."
"And it's about to learn what happens when you mess with family," Lumi added, cracking her knuckles.
---
### **The Battle Begins**
"Keep Rin safe!" Yuki roared as he launched forward, his form erupting into a luminous blast of energy.
The cloaked figure raised a barrier—only for Lumi to teleport behind it with **Radiant Fury**, slicing through its spine.
Elira conjured a field of magic, casting **Astral Binding** to trap the monster's roots in a cage of starlight. Sylvaeria amplified the seal with gale force winds.
Aeris, eyes burning with soul light, darted forward. "This is for Rin!"
She activated her newest technique: **Phantom Crescent**, a high-speed soul-infused slash that cut through the corrupted aura surrounding the entity.
The figure staggered, cracks forming in its bark-skin.
**"She is bound to me. You cannot free her,"** it hissed.
"Watch us," Elira replied, hurling **Lunar Void** into the core behind it, beginning to unravel its connection.
Yuki reared back. His voice deepened, resonating with divine power.
"**Warden of Kindred Flames: Judgment Bloom.**"
From the flames surrounding him, flower-shaped sigils burst into the air, each targeting a different weak point on the figure's body.
With a single beat of his wings, the sigils ignited.
---
### **The Collapse**
The blast consumed the chamber.
When the smoke cleared, the cloaked figure was half-dissolved, its limbs twitching, its core exposed. Rin's body began to glow as the last of the tendrils holding her crumbled.
Aeris dashed forward, catching her sister before she could fall.
Rin's eyes fluttered open.
"…You're late," she mumbled sleepily.
Aeris choked on a laugh. "You little idiot."
Rin blinked, confused. "Did you beat the scary tree thing?"
Lumi raised her hand. "Technically it was a group effort. But yes. Also, welcome back to the land of sarcasm."
---