Chapter 9: The Forbidden Pulse

The explosion of force shook the entire Whispering Shrine. Astra and Kagetsu collided in a storm of light and bone, their powers clashing so violently that the walls groaned under the pressure.

Ren staggered back, shielding his eyes from the shockwaves. Every impact felt like thunder inside his skull.

Yoruha grabbed his shoulder.

“We need to move! If we stay between them, we’ll be crushed.”

But Ren couldn’t look away. Astra—gentle, soft-spoken Astra—now fought with a ferocity that didn’t match her calm nature. Her movements were fluid, almost ethereal, each strike carving arcs of shimmering light through the air.

Kagetsu countered effortlessly, bone plates sliding around his limbs like living armor.

“You should not exist outside the Core,” he growled.

Astra’s eyes glowed brighter. “And you should not have the authority to judge innocence with blood.”

Kagetsu extended his hand, sending a spear of bone toward her heart. Astra twisted, deflecting it with a burst of blue energy—but the blast threw her into a pillar, cracking it.

Ren felt something snap inside him. “This is my fault… he’s here because of me.”

Yoruha grabbed his shirt. “Ren, listen to me. You’re barely healed. If you go out there like this—”

Ren looked at his trembling right arm. The glowing cracks under his skin throbbed painfully. “I know. But I can’t just watch.”

A second blast shook the shrine, stone debris crashing around them.

Astra pushed herself up, panting, blood trickling from her lip. Her voice echoed through the chamber:

“Ren… come to me.”

He hesitated, then rushed forward. Kagetsu moved to intercept, but Yoruha fired three arrows in rapid succession, forcing him to dodge.

Astra placed a hand over Ren’s chest.

Her voice lowered to a whisper:

“It’s time you learned why this island responds to you.”

Light spilled from her palm into Ren’s body. He felt warmth—then cold—then a deep vibration that rattled through his bones. His vision blurred, and suddenly he saw… something else.

A memory?

A dream?

No—someone else’s vision.

He saw a giant tree of crimson roots spreading across the island, pulsing like a massive heart. Underneath it was a sphere of glowing energy—alive and violent.

A voice echoed from the depths:

“Bearer… host… awaken.”

Ren gasped as the vision ended. “What… what was that?!”

Astra stepped back.

“That is the Root Pulse—the core energy of Crimson Eden. It is alive. Conscious. And part of it has chosen you.”

Ren felt his throat close. “Chosen… me?”

“It bonded with you the moment you arrived on this island,” Astra continued. “Against its own laws. Against the Wardens’ rules. You are not supposed to possess its energy.”

Kagetsu’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

“That is why he must die.”

He thrust his arm forward and bone chains shot toward Ren.

Astra reacted instantly, forming a barrier of shimmering blue light. The chains cracked loudly against it, sending sparks across the room.

“No more, Kagetsu!” Astra shouted, her voice trembling with effort. “If you kill him, the Pulse will break. The island will collapse.”

Kagetsu’s mask tilted. “Then so be it. A flawed island is better than one disobedient to its purpose.”

He raised both arms, summoning a storm of bone spears.

Ren saw the terror in Astra’s eyes. She couldn’t block that many.

Without thinking—

without planning—

Ren stepped forward.

His right arm ignited with white energy, cracks flaring like lightning.

Yoruha screamed, “REN, DON’T—!”

But it was too late. Ren thrust his arm out, unleashing the same unstable power he promised not to touch again.

The shrine erupted.

Blinding white light consumed everything.

The bone spears disintegrated into dust.

Kagetsu staggered for the first time, mask cracking along the jaw.

Astra’s eyes widened in horror. “Ren… you don’t understand—”

Ren collapsed to one knee, gripping his arm as agony tore through him. The skin around the glowing cracks began to smoke.

Yoruha ran to him immediately. “Stay with me! Ren, look at me!”

Kagetsu steadied himself, voice low. “He forces a connection with the Pulse… but his body isn’t built for it.”

Astra whispered, “He’ll die.”

Ren’s vision blurred as he stared at his burning arm.

He felt something inside him unravel—

—something that wasn’t human.

But through the haze, he heard a new sound.

A heartbeat.

Not his.

Not Astra’s.

Not the shrine’s.

A heartbeat deep beneath the island, pounding in sync with his own.

The Root Pulse was answering him.

Ren lifted his head slowly, eyes glowing with that same unnatural light.

And Kagetsu… stepped back.

For the first time, the Warden looked afraid.