The skies over Lirael's Divide were not blue.
They were ashen, a thick veil of fog choking the sunlight above the obsidian forest. Jagged black trees rose like spears, their bark marked with crimson scars. The land here felt wrong—not corrupted like a twisted dungeon, but older. Like it had never healed from some ancient wound.
Kael stepped forward, his boots crunching dried black leaves. His hand hovered near the hilt of his blade. The Fangsoul Edge pulsed faintly in his aura field.
Lyra moved beside him, voice low. "These trees… they weren't always like this. Old records called Lirael's Divide a sanctuary. Lush. Pure."
"That purity's long gone," Drayke Norr muttered behind them. His Infernal Gauntlets shimmered orange with idle flame. "Place feels like it's holding its breath."
Kael knelt near one of the trees, pressing his palm against the bark. Cold. Dead. But not from natural decay.
"Something's been draining the life here," he murmured.
Lyra frowned. "But… how? There's no dungeon gate."
Kael stood, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the terrain. "Maybe not above ground."
The group ventured deeper into the Divide, weaving through the tall obsidian trunks. The deeper they walked, the quieter the world became—no wind, no birds, not even the whisper of aura creatures. Just stillness… and pressure.
A sudden chime rang through the silence.
Kael's hunter guide flickered. A message.
> [Aura Field Interference Detected]
Origin: Unknown Subterranean Source
Classification: Unregistered Dungeon Signature
Status: Sealed – Tier Undefined
Drayke snorted. "Sealed my ass. That's bleeding aura if I've ever felt it."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "It's not just aura. It's… mixed. Something is fusing."
Lyra's voice trembled. "What does that mean?"
Before Kael could answer, the ground beneath them shuddered.
Then it broke.
They landed hard—Kael twisting mid-air to grab Lyra before they crashed onto a fractured platform of blackened stone. Drayke landed like a meteor, cracking the floor beneath him.
The space around them was massive. A hollow underground chamber, pulsing with veins of deep red aura. And at its center…
A tree. Towering. Dead.
Its roots sprawled across the cavern like chains, piercing through stone and fossilized corpses. Its bark glowed faintly—an ancient glyph pattern spiraling up its trunk.
Kael stepped forward, his body humming with unease. "This… isn't a dungeon."
Drayke looked around. "Feels more like a tomb."
"No," Kael whispered. "A prison."
System Notification – Sealed Entity Proximity Alert
Target: [Eternal Seed – Designation: Veyron the Withering Root]
Status: Dormant
Threat Level: SSS (Suppressed)
Aura Classification: Abyssal-Celestial Hybrid
Access: Forbidden
Lyra's face paled. "An Eternal… buried here?"
Kael gritted his teeth. "No wonder the forest died. It's leeching the land."
Suddenly, the dead tree trembled.
A voice—hollow, cracked, and ancient—echoed through the cavern.
"Who… walks this forgotten cradle?"
Aura exploded from the roots, cascading like a wave of pressure. Kael dropped to one knee, blood trickling from his nose. Lyra gasped, her healing aura barely shielding her.
Drayke stood tall, fists flaming. "Come on, old bark. Wake up so I can burn you."
But Kael's vision blurred.
This wasn't just aura. It was memory.
He stood in a field of white light. The tree was whole, blooming, and a child-like figure sat beneath it. Pale hair. Eyes like mirrors.
"Do you wish to see the truth?" the child asked. "Or will you become another blade in the war?"
Kael opened his mouth—but the light swallowed him whole.
He jolted awake. Drayke was shouting.
"KAEL!"
The roots were shifting. One had already coiled around Lyra's leg, pulling her toward the base of the tree.
Kael didn't think. His aura surged.
Ashen Veil – Burst Activation
His body flickered—burning shadow and flickering light—and he severed the root in one stroke, scooping Lyra into his arms and retreating.
The tree screamed.
And then, the glyphs across its bark began to glow. Slowly.
One by one.
Kael stared at them. "It's awakening."
System Alert – Aura Sync Expansion Triggered
[Warning: Sync Fusion Path Recalibration Required]
> Aura Surge Detected: Abyssal-Celestial Hybrid
New Path Option: Domain Fusion – Forbidden Rootbind
Compatibility: 37%
Status: Unstable
Kael's hand shook.
He could feel the tree calling to him. Not with words—but with instinct. His Ashen Aura wasn't repelled… it was being invited.
Drayke caught his shoulder. "Don't. You don't need to prove anything."
Kael looked at him, fire dancing in his own irises.
"I'm not proving anything."
He turned to face the tree, the glyphs now pulsing in rhythm.
"I'm here to sever the chain."