The malformed creature stepped into the Hall of Leaves with slow, deliberate movements. Its body was wrong—built from darkness and twisted bark, as if an ancient tree had been hollowed from within and filled with corrupted life. Veins of crimson pulsed beneath its wooden hide, like heartbeats trying to escape.
Its steps cracked the floor, though no footsteps should echo in a sacred hall. The air bent around it, the vines recoiling, the wards dimming as if resisting an overwhelming pressure.
Eryndis clutched Aeryn tighter. Her breath steadied, but her fingers trembled. She whispered old elven words—flowing, melodic, shaped by centuries of tradition—and a circle of green light formed beneath her feet. Soft at first, then radiant.
The creature stopped.
Its red eyes blinked once.
Eryndis's voice deepened. "You do not belong here."
The creature tilted its twisted head. Its mouth opened, revealing rows of jagged wooden teeth. A low sound escaped—neither growl nor speech, but something ancient and agonized, like a whisper dragged from an abyss.
Aeryn stiffened. The air around him grew cold.
The System responded instantly.
[Warning: Host exposed to Corrupted Ether.]
[Minor resistance applied.]
[Effect reduced: 92%.]
Aeryn could feel the cold lessening, but not disappearing. Something in the creature's presence gnawed at him, like a shadow trying to seep into his bones.
Eryndis reacted first.
Green light burst from her palm. A wave of shimmering wind surged forward—an elven ward technique strong enough to repel beasts and intruders.
The wind hit the creature.
For a moment, it held. The creature's bark-like limbs trembled. Cracks formed on its chest. Its crimson veins flickered.
But then its body twisted unnaturally, pulling itself together with a sickening snap. It pushed forward, dragging its massive right arm along the ground.
Eryndis hissed beneath her breath. "This is no beast."
She retreated two steps, keeping Aeryn shielded. The creature lunged.
Eryndis raised her free hand, and thick vines shot from the walls—dozens of them. They wrapped around the creature's limbs, tightening, constricting.
For a second, it worked.
The creature froze, trapped in layers of living wood. Its body writhed and cracked, but the Heartroot's vines had always been strong—strong enough to restrain even the largest forest beasts.
Eryndis exhaled shakily. "Good. Now—"
The creature let out a sound that resembled a distant thunderclap.
The vines turned black.
They withered instantly, losing all life. The air filled with the smell of charred earth. The creature broke free, scattering ashes with a single violent thrash of its twisted arm.
Eryndis stumbled. The shock of her spell unraveling hit her spirit like a blow.
Aeryn felt her body shiver.
The System chimed, detecting danger levels rising.
[Host Safety: Severe Risk.]
[Limitation: Host body too weak for active response.]
[Passive defense increasing.]
The creature's attention shifted again—directly toward Aeryn.
Its red eyes glowed brighter.
Eryndis felt a primal fear grip her chest. Not for herself. For him.
She moved instantly, darting deeper into the hall. The sacred leaves along the walls shimmered and folded into protective patterns as she passed. The Hall of Leaves responded to her plea—closing doors, sealing pathways, bending light, forming barriers.
An enormous wooden gate slammed shut behind her with a thunderous echo.
But the creature didn't stop.
It placed a twisted hand against the sealed gate. Crimson veins pulsed. The wood sizzled beneath its touch.
Eryndis whispered a spell of reinforcement. Roots shot down from above, entwining the barrier, thickening it.
The gate glowed with life.
The creature pressed harder. The crimson veins in its arm flared violently.
The entire hall shook.
Aeryndis's breath hitched. "What are you?"
The creature's head twitched at her voice. Aeryn felt its hunger, its intent, its fixation.
Its mouth opened again, and a croaking whisper escaped.
"…Core… Fragment…"
Eryndis froze.
"That's impossible."
The creature slammed the gate.
Cracks spread across the living wood.
Aeryn's tiny body trembled.
The System reacted instantly.
[External Transmission Detected.]
[Key Phrase: Core Fragment.]
[Analysis Initiated.]
Aeryn didn't know what a "core fragment" was. But the fear in his mother's voice told him enough.
Eryndis turned and ran toward the inner sanctum of the hall. Her magic flared around her feet, boosting her speed. Ethereal leaves floated behind her, propelling her forward.
"Just a bit further," she whispered to Aeryn. "Just a bit—"
The floor shook violently.
The giant gate behind her shattered.
Splinters of sacred wood exploded across the hall. Eryndis summoned a shield, blocking the debris, shielding Aeryn with her body.
When the dust cleared, the creature stood in the ruins of the gate. Cracks split across its grotesque body. Crimson light pulsed erratically.
But it was alive.
And it stepped forward again.
Eryndis sucked in a sharp breath. "I cannot let you touch him."
Her eyes hardened. The soft warmth she always carried vanished, replaced by a fierce, chilling determination.
She raised her hand.
A single leaf floated down from above—luminescent, shimmering with ancient sigils.
Eryndis caught it between her fingers.
Aeryn felt the entire chamber grow still.
Eryndis whispered, "Heartleaf Invocation."
The hall responded. All light converged toward her. The vines twisted into spirals. The leaves formed runes. The roots shifted beneath her.
A torrent of emerald power exploded around her.
For an instant, Aeryn saw his mother not as a gentle caretaker, but as a warrior chosen by the Heartroot itself.
Eryndis thrust her hand forward.
A storm of green blades erupted from her spell, slicing through the air, shredding everything in their path.
The creature didn't dodge. It simply raised its arms.
The blades slashed through its limbs, carving deep gouges. Black sap spilled. Crimson veins flickered.
But the creature didn't fall.
Instead, it bent its entire body backward like a snapped branch, its form twisting far beyond anything living. Then it launched itself forward, propelled by sheer force.
Eryndis gasped. She jumped back, but the creature was faster than she expected.
Its claw reached toward Aeryn.
At that moment, the System surged.
[Emergency Defense Protocol: Activated.]
[Borrowed Ether: Heartroot Fragment.]
[Threshold met: 0.02% Purity.]
[Release Allowed.]
Aeryn's forehead glowed faintly. A tiny spark of white light burst outward—small, weak, but sharp as a needle.
The creature recoiled.
Smoke hissed from the spot where the light struck. The corrupted bark sizzled. The crimson veins spasmed violently.
Eryndis's eyes widened. "Aeryn…?"
The creature staggered back, screeching silently. No sound came out, but the air trembled.
It shook its head violently, then raised both arms. Crimson energy gathered. The air distorted.
Eryndis's instincts screamed.
She held Aeryn close and leaped aside—
A crimson beam burst from the creature's arms, slicing through the hall. Anything it touched withered into black ash.
Eryndis barely avoided it. Her hair singed, the edge of her robe burned, but she held her ground.
She whispered another spell. Roots burst from the ground, forming a thick twisting wall. The crimson beam struck it, but the living roots endured long enough for Eryndis to roll behind a pillar.
The beam ceased.
The creature trembled, its body flickering. Crimson energy spiraled around it erratically.
It was unstable.
Desperate.
But still deadly.
Eryndis pressed herself against the pillar, breath ragged.
She whispered to Aeryn, forcing her shaking voice to calm. "You did well. But don't move again. Your body cannot hold more."
Aeryn blinked weakly. The spark in him dimmed. His tiny hands curled into fists. He felt pale, cold.
The System chimed softly.
[Host Vitality: Decreasing.]
[Recovery Required.]
[Recommendation: Retreat from Combat Environment.]
Eryndis needed to escape.
But the creature had recovered its balance. It turned its head and locked onto them again.
The pillar cracked.
The creature lunged.
Eryndis summoned everything she had left. A protective barrier flared, but cracked instantly under the impact. The creature's arm pushed through, wooden claws inches from Aeryn.
Eryndis screamed, wrapping her arms fully around him.
Then—
A sound like tearing roots echoed through the hall.
A spear made of silver wood pierced through the creature's chest from behind.
The creature convulsed violently.
Crimson veins burst like ruptured vines.
Eryndis looked up, breath trembling.
Vaelor stood at the entrance of the hall, covered in dust and blood, eyes blazing with fury. His aura burned with silver-green light, his body shaking from exhaustion and battle.
He twisted the spear.
The creature spasmed, collapsing to the floor.
The crimson light in its veins faded slowly. Its wooden body decayed into blackened fragments. A final shudder ran through it before it went still.
Silence settled—heavy and suffocating.
Eryndis sank to her knees, clutching Aeryn, relief pouring out of her in shaky breaths.
Vaelor dropped to one knee beside them, pulling both into a tight embrace.
"Are you hurt?" he whispered.
"No," Eryndis breathed, though her voice trembled. "But Aeryn… he…"
Vaelor looked down at his son.
A faint white mark glowed on Aeryn's forehead—where the Heartroot's trace lingered.
But another thing caught his attention.
In the pile of blackened remains, a tiny shard of blood-red crystal pulsed faintly.
Vaelor's voice deepened.
"This… is not from our world."
Eryndis's eyes widened.
Aeryn, barely conscious, felt the System stir.
[Unknown Crystal Source Detected.]
[Classification: Corrupted Core Shard.]
[Danger Level: Cataclysmic.]
[Warning: Host proximity risky.]
But before more could be analyzed, the shard cracked—
—and a whisper escaped it.
One that chilled every living thing in the hall.
"…Seek… the fragment… seek… the heir…"
Eryndis tightened her hold on Aeryn, terror flickering in her eyes.
But Aeryn, even as an infant, felt something else.
The voice wasn't calling for him.
It was warning him.
And deep within the System's interface, a new message appeared—one that would shape the future of everything.
[Hidden Quest Unlocked:
"The First Corruption."]
And with that, the hall fell silent.