The corrupted dome had collapsed. Vines withered. The once-pulsing Heartroot now lay in smoldering ruin. A silence swept the cavern, heavy and still—like the forest itself was holding its breath.
Yuki cradled Kaela in his arms as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Her corrupted wounds pulsed faintly with remnants of Vael's magic, but Rin knelt beside them, hands glowing with soft light as she steadily purged it with **Kindred Restoration**.
"She'll be okay," Rin said gently. "The worst of the corruption is gone."
Aeris sat close, still stunned. "I… I thought I'd lost her forever."
Yuki gave her a small smile. "Seems like fate's not *that* cruel."
"Speak for yourself," Lumi piped up, flopping dramatically against a tree root. "I'm still emotionally devastated. And sore. And pretty sure I dislocated something when that girl suplexed me."
"You didn't get suplexed," Elira muttered, arms crossed.
"You weren't looking," Lumi huffed. "It was graceful. Artistic, even."
Kaela groaned faintly. "Sorry about the suplex…"
"*See?* She remembers!" Lumi gasped, grinning.
Kaela's voice was hoarse but warm. "Only vaguely. Like a bad dream… and a lot of stabbing."
"You were fantastic," Elira offered. "Terrifying, but fantastic."
---
### **A Stirring Below**
As the group regrouped and prepared to move, the ground trembled faintly. Then again. A low, distant *rumble* echoed beneath their feet.
Sylvaeria stood abruptly. "Something's still alive beneath us."
Aeris narrowed her eyes. "A remnant of the Heartroot?"
"No," Yuki murmured, his senses sharpening. "This feels… different."
Kaela pushed herself upright, trembling slightly. "There was something… sealed beneath the Heartroot. Vael was afraid of it. Said it was older than him. He wanted to control it, but it wouldn't answer."
Elira looked wary. "And now that we broke the Heartroot…"
"We might've unlocked the prison door," Yuki finished.
*KR-CHK.*
With a deafening crack, the central floor of the chamber split open—roots snapping like brittle bones. A black chasm yawned before them, wide and bottomless.
From its depths… a pulse.
Not of corruption.
But of something *ancient*.
---
### **A Voice in the Deep**
A whisper echoed up the chasm.
**"Who… dares awaken the Forgotten?"**
Everyone went still.
Even Lumi dropped her grin. "Okay. New rule. No more breaking evil tree hearts. Ever."
Sylvaeria stepped forward, wings flickering with forest light. "We're not your enemy."
The voice laughed, ancient and hollow. **"All who walk upon the roots are enemies. All who trample memory must pay the toll."**
Yuki's scales flared with golden heat. "You're not getting a toll unless you take it."
**"Then come, Flame of the Sky. Come to the Hollow Seed."**
The chasm pulsed again—and stairs of glowing rootstone extended downward like an invitation.
---
### **A New Descent**
"We're really doing this?" Lumi asked, sword over her shoulder.
"Do we have a choice?" Elira replied dryly.
Yuki glanced around at his companions—Sylvaeria, Elira, Lumi, Rin, Aeris, and now Kaela, leaning on her sister.
One by one, they nodded.
"Let's see what's waiting below," Yuki said.
He stepped onto the first stair.
It pulsed warmly beneath his claw.
---