The roots began to follow Ren.
Not like living serpents.Not like tendrils reaching to seize him.
But as shadows beneath the earth, sliding through layers of soil, moving with every step he took.
Borin noticed first.
"Ren… the ground behind you is… moving."
Draven's eyes bulged so fast he choked on his own breath.
"DON'T LOOK AT ME! I'M NOT CRAZY! LOOK!"
Ren turned.
And saw.
The roots under the dirt trembled in thin, almost invisible lines—all of them directed at him.Or fleeing from him.
It was impossible to tell.
Lyra drew an arrow, but Ren touched her wrist gently.
"Don't attack."
"Ren…" she murmured. "This is not normal forest behavior."
He inhaled slowly.
And then he heard it.
Through the soft tremor of the roots, there was a voice.
A voice with no body.No mouth.No form.
A voice coming from the earth.
Coming from the rootbound.
A whisper:
"Return…"
Ren felt a chill run down his spine.
The voice was ancient.
So ancient it sounded like it spoke beneath the very concept of language.
Lyra stared at him.
"You heard it?"
Ren nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Draven crept closer, trembling.
"W-What did it say?"
Ren stayed silent for a moment.
When he spoke, his voice wasn't a child's voice.
It was the voice of someone hearing a sentence passed upon them:
"It told me to go back."
Borin tightened his grip on the axe.
"The forest is telling you to retreat?"
Ren tapped the staff on the ground.
Immediately, the roots flinched away from him.
Not from his aura.Not from the staff.
But from what was inside him.
The shard in his pocket pulsed.
And the voice whispered again:
"Return…before the Rift opens you…"
This time, the whisper crawled along his jaw, slid down his spine, and froze his muscles.
Lyra grabbed his shoulders.
"Ren.Look at me.LOOK."
He looked at her.
And in that moment, she saw something in his eyes.
Something that was not his.
A thin line—a crack—splitting his iris for a fraction of a heartbeat before disappearing.
"Ren…" she whispered. "You're… changing."
Borin stepped back.
Draven held onto his chest, pale and shaking.
"The forest is scared of him…"
Ren shut his eyes, trying to control his breathing.
But the rootbound continued whispering.
Voices sliding in and out of the dirt like a lament:
"Do not follow…do not touch…do not see…"
Ren answered under his breath:
"I have to see."
The ground trembled—not violently,but with a heavy, wounded groan.
Like pain.Like disappointment.
Like the forest had just lost a battle it didn't know it was fighting.
Draven collapsed onto his back.
"It's… talking… to him…""Yes," Ren said quietly, opening his eyes.
Lyra paled.
"Ren… if the forest is warning you… then whatever is ahead—"
"Is what I need to face," he cut in.
A tense silence fell on the group.
No birds.No wind.Not even branches shifting.
Even the air felt held in place.
Ren lifted the staff.
And stepped forward.
The roots beneath him twisted like they were burning at his touch.
Lyra stepped to follow—but the forest spoke again.
Stronger.Urgent.
"She must not…"
Lyra froze.
Ren turned.
"The forest is talking about you."
"About me? Why?" she asked, trying not to let her fear show. "What's wrong with me?"
Ren took a slow breath.
"It's not you."His voice dropped."It's what I carry now."
Lyra grabbed his hand.
"I told you I'm coming with you. No matter the Path."
"Lyra…" Ren whispered. "The rootbound says it could break you."
She squeezed harder.
"Then I break with you."
Draven gagged in the background.
"CAN YOU TWO STOP SAYING STUFF LIKE THAT PLEASE?!"
Borin smacked him on the head.
"Shut up, Draven."
Ren looked at Lyra—at the fierce determination in her eyes.
He understood nothing he said would change her mind.
He turned to the forest.
"She comes with me."
The roots responded with a sharp crack.The soil split slightly, like something underwater thrashing.
The forest did not approve.
Did not accept.
But it did not stop them.
The whisper came again—rough, almost sorrowful:
"…then… may the Shadow receive you…"
Ren inhaled deeply.
And took the second step.
The earth quieted.
The air grew heavier.
The Broken Path deepened its grip.
Lyra walked beside him, her presence warm amid the cold.
Draven and Borin followed, each step heavier than the last.
And deeper within the forest—under roots, stone, darkness—something stirred.
Something that heard Ren's choice.
Something that finally opened its eyes.