The glyphs spiraling across the obsidian tree burned with blinding brilliance—twisting, reforming, as if decoding a language not meant for mortals. Aura swirled through the hollow like a storm caught in slow motion, each gust whispering memories not their own.
Kael Arclight stepped forward, blade drawn, cloak flickering in the flux of power. His Ashen Aura shimmered like fractured glass, caught between light and shadow.
Behind him, Lyra clutched her staff, face tense with worry. "Kael, it's not just an Eternal. It's a root of the others. A core. You can't face it alone—"
"I'm not." Kael's voice was low, steady.
He didn't look back.
"I have all your voices behind me."
Drayke cracked his knuckles, flame licking the air. "Hah. That's the dumbest dramatic thing I've heard—and I like it."
He launched himself toward one of the roots snaking from the central tree, Infernal Gauntlets blazing. "Let's see if trees burn from the inside out!"
The cavern responded.
Dozens of roots erupted from the ground—gnarled, glowing, each one twisted with remnants of aura. They weren't just appendages.
They were memories made flesh.
Kael dashed forward, his blade cutting through two of the reaching tendrils. They bled black mist that hissed when it touched the floor.
"Adaptive Form: Revenant Step."
He vanished for a blink—reappearing above the massive trunk, blade descending with full force.
Fangsoul Edge – Soul Scorch.
The slash connected—and the glyphs around the tree reeled. A crack opened along the bark, bleeding light that wasn't light. It pulsed like a heart, and from it, a face began to emerge.
Pale. Hollow-eyed. Hair like roots.
The face spoke not with voice—but aura:
"You carry the forgotten. The Ashen spark. Do you not know what it means to sever eternity?"
Kael landed on a nearby root, barely keeping his footing as it twisted violently beneath him. "I don't care what it means."
He raised his blade again.
"I just know it has to end."
Below, Lyra was struggling to keep the root-creatures off their backs. Her staff flared golden as she chanted.
Sunveil Pulse – Dawnwall.
A radiant barrier surged up, shielding Kael's flank as three root-beasts lunged. Her breathing was ragged, and her aura was flickering—she was pushing her limits.
"Kael!" she cried. "We're not going to hold long!"
"Then I'll end it faster."
Kael jumped, aura spiking higher than ever.
System Alert – Aura Compatibility Stabilizing…
> Forbidden Fusion: Ashen + Abyssal-Celestial Detected
Fusion Type: Domain
New Skill Path Unlocked – [Ashen Rootbind: Severance Field]
Risk Level: Critical
Proceed?
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Proceed."
The world around him stilled.
The air cracked like glass.
Ashen light flooded the cavern, sweeping over every root, every beast. Where it touched, things slowed—like the memory-forms were being forgotten, stripped away from reality itself.
At the center of it all, Kael stood with his blade buried in the heart of the Eternal Tree.
Ashen Rootbind – Severance Field
Aura exploded outward in silent devastation.
Time wavered.
The ground trembled.
Roots withered and shattered.
The glyphs cracked.
The half-formed face of the Eternal flickered, its image unraveling.
"You choose annihilation over understanding… so be it."
The tree began to collapse.
Kael dropped to one knee as his aura flared wildly. His chest burned. Not from pain—but from change.
System Update: Aura Threshold Surpassed
> Ashen Class Ascension – [Revenant Class Advanced to: Specterbound Bladesoul]
New Title Gained: Severant
Current Rank: A+
He could barely catch his breath. His blade felt heavier… yet more alive. His fingers trembled, but not from fear.
From clarity.
Behind him, Drayke landed hard beside Lyra, both of them panting.
"You alive?" Drayke asked, voice strained.
Kael stood slowly, staring at the collapsing ruin of the root-tree.
"Still breathing."
Lyra looked around. "Where are we now? The exit—it's closed off."
The cavern had changed.
In place of the tree stood an altar. And above it—floating silently—was a black shard, veined with light. It pulsed with the same rhythm as Kael's heart.
System Notification: Relic Fragment Detected
> Name: Shard of Severance
Type: Core Relic (Unbound)
Status: Sync Required
Aura Trait: Memory Erosion
Drayke whistled. "So what—you kill an Eternal root, and now you're some kind of aura god?"
Kael didn't smile.
"Not yet."
He turned to the shard, reaching for it.
"I've only started cutting the chain."
Far above the shattered cavern, hidden beneath the veil of Lirael's Divide, a pair of eyes watched.
Zera Vaelith, cloaked in cursed mist, whispered to no one:
"So the seed breaks… and the chain frays. What will you become, Kael Arclight? A flame to burn gods… or the blade that forgets its own name?"
She vanished.
The Divide fell silent once more.