Heart of the Shroud

Gorran didn't hesitate. The moment he saw Maeryn, he dropped his caution and ran.

He hit the tangle of roots like a living battering ram, hammer raised. The gardener caught the blow and was thrown backward. The thing's human features wrapped and unwrapped in green.

"Found you," Gorran spoke, smiling.

"I believed you would," Maeryn replied, then let out a breath and smiled and continued her fight with the swarm of roots.

Another figure rose from the earth—another gardener. It stepped between the others as they were running towards the cocoons, vines coiling to block any advance.

For a heartbeat the party looked trapped. Then Ardent moved.

He darted in with a sound like a whetstone—one clean arc of steel. His blade sang through bark and binding vine; the second gardener reeled, severed limbs collapsing in a shower of green. Caliondur was already moving: a blur of leather and shadow, he leapt across a twisted root, somersaulted over a low barrier, and drove his short blade into a pair of pods.

He didn't stop to look. With grace he freed the first cocoon, cutting straps of living fiber. Kazuki was waiting, eyes narrowed, and caught the limp in both arms. The next cut came free; Zephyr snatched the falling form from the air cradling one of the twins. A third; split open and was pushed toward Ardent, who hauled the unconscious figure into a crouch.

Maeryn and Gorran finished the short work of shredding the snared vines. Fire hissed and flared where her palms met the green flesh; Gorran's hammer smashed the remaining roots into a pulped wreck. Caliondur slung the last cocoon over his shoulder and ran.

Together they dragged their rescued allies into the lee of a twisted trunk, pressing them into a shallow hollow where they could tend wounds and keep watch.

Ardent wiped his blade and grinned at Maeryn. "Well done on that blast," he said. "You certainly pulled his attention away from us."

Kazuki crouched beside the nearest cocoon, checking for breath and pulse. He looked up at Maeryn. "How did you free yourself?" he asked.

"'Atar's ring—" she said, lifting her hand so the little ember set into the band winked wetly. "It shocked me awake. Then… I used my special affinity power and made the explosion. Freeing me from the cocoon."

They had only just started to tend the unmoving when the same gruff voice came again—closer now.

"You might think that you have freed your friends," it said, voice threading through the leaves like a promise. "But their minds are now one with us. Soon… you will be one as well." The heart itself spoke to them.

As the heart's words sank in, Kazuki looked at others. "They have a pulse, and they're breathing," he said grimly, "but they won't wake up."

Caliondur's eyes narrowed. "Then to sever his hold, we must destroy the heart itself."

Gorran ran a heavy hand along the shaft of his hammer, his voice like thunder. "One swing, and that heart is crushed."

Before they could act, the ground shuddered. From the soil, countless Gardeners began to rise, vines and roots twisting behind their bodies.

Ardent spoke with a calm expression. "Looks like it won't be that easy."

The battle erupted. Each time one Gardener fell, another clawed its way out of the earth. The group fought fiercely, but the tide seemed endless. Roots split with a sickening crack, sap burning in the air as Maeryn's fire hissed through the swarm.

Then Kazuki's form shifted to his Sovereign Authority. He looked to Zephyr. "It's time to use that sword."

Her grip tightened on the hilt. "I don't even know what its power is yet."

Caliondur's voice rang across the chaos. "Elendir was fast and powerful, but he would pour his mana into the lightbringer and when the sword was ready, it would unleash an unstoppable blast, destroying whatever was in front of it. He called it Divine Judgment."

Kazuki's eyes burned with resolve. "Now we know. Do it. I'll buy you time."

Zephyr unwrapped the sword. As she drew it free, her whole body glowed, radiating a brilliance that lit the battlefield.

Kazuki surged forward, cutting down Gardeners in rapid succession before the heart itself turned its attention to him. Roots lashed out, wrapping around his limbs, pulling him toward the pulsating trunk.

The heart's voice rumbled, dark and ancient. "Ah… the bearer of Sovereign Authority. Mother told me about you."

Vines and veins pulsed with dark mana, but Kazuki's aura shifted—he began draining it, pulling the corruption out of the roots and Gardeners. Their bodies shriveled like withered flowers.

The heart laughed, a sound like cracking wood. "I am one with nature itself. Your body cannot drain it all. And even if you could… how will you pierce my bark?"

Kazuki's lips curled into a grin. "I'm not the one ending you."

Behind him, Zephyr cried out, her sword fully charged, a sun blazing in her hands. With a cry, she released the blast. A torrent of light erupted, tearing straight through the bark, piercing the heart and exploding out the other side.

The ground convulsed. Every Gardener collapsed into lifeless husks, roots and vines shriveling into ash. The Shroud itself began to unravel, its suffocating veil lifting.

As the heart cracked and withered, its final curse echoed in the air:

"Curse you, humans… death and destruction are all you know…"

Then it fell silent.

The others stirred awake one by one.

Vada rubbed her eyes and whispered, "What happened… where are we?"

Alvis stretched and groaned, "What did I miss?"

Ardent gave a faint smirk as he walked over to help him up. "Nothing special—just plucking weeds and trimming the grass."

While they exchanged words, Caliondur stepped toward the smoldering remains of the heart. His gaze caught on something half-buried in the charred roots: a dagger bound with a necklace. He froze, his breath catching. Slowly, he knelt, tears welling in his eyes.

Zephyr approached carefully. "Lord Caliondur… are you alright?"

He lifted the relics in trembling hands. "After centuries… I finally know what became of my father," he said, pointing toward the remains.

The group gathered close, silent in respect. Together, they collected wood, building a pyre and placing what remained upon it. Caliondur lit the fire himself and began to sing—an old hymn in his tongue, soft and sorrowful. None among them understood the words, yet all felt the weight of them. They bowed their heads, grieving with him in silence until the last ember died.

When it was done, Caliondur clasped the necklace around his neck and sheathed the dagger at his side.

Alvis placed a hand on his shoulder. "He can rest now."

Caliondur closed his eyes. "My father found peace long ago. It is I who must now find mine."

With the ceremony behind them, the companions turned once more toward the road ahead. Their next destination loomed like a shadow on the horizon: the Wastes of Agartha, where the Demon Lord's castle awaited. Their final battle—their final test—was about to begin.