The ruins of the Bastion's village no longer smoldered, but the scars of war lingered like ghosts in the morning mist. Li Tian stood at the edge of what had once been the marketplace, now a cratered expanse of mud and splintered wood. Around him, the air buzzed with activity—saws bit into timber, hammers rang against stone, and the rhythmic chants of cultivators channeling earth qi resonated as they stabilized fractured foundations. The Primal Core hovered above the central square, its light now harnessed not for destruction, but creation.
"Steady the beam!" Renshu bellowed, his massive frame supporting a blackstone pillar as villagers secured it with Starroot vines. Nearby, children darted between workers, carrying water skins and tools salvaged from the Accord's wreckage.
Li Tian's obsidian hand glowed faintly as he pressed it to the ground, channeling the Core's energy into the soil. Cracks sealed, and stone slabs rose to form a new plaza. The effort left him breathless—his corrupted veins pulsed like live wires—but the awed murmurs of the crowd steadied him.
"It's working," Xia said, her healing qi brushing his arm to soothe the backlash. "But you can't keep this up alone."
"Not alone," Li Tian corrected, nodding to the influx of newcomers streaming through the gates.
---
**The Seeds of Commerce**
The first traders arrived at dawn, their caravans laden with silks from the Jade Peaks, spirit herbs from the Verdant Valleys, and forged steel from the Stoneleaf enclaves. Among them strode Master Hui, a grizzled merchant with a reputation for brokering impossible deals.
"A toll for passage through your lands, Primal Lord," Hui said, bowing with calculated deference. "Or a partnership."
Li Tian's star-flecked eye narrowed. "No tolls. A tithe—five percent of profits to fund the Bastion's guards. In return, protection along the Deadbone routes."
Hui's smile tightened. "Generous. But what of competitors? The Silver Serpent Syndicate won't take kindly to new rules."
"Let them duel our golems," Yan Mei interjected, polishing a dagger.
By dusk, contracts were signed. The marketplace began to rise—stalls of enchanted stone and living wood, their roofs threaded with luminous vines.
---
**The Alchemist's Garden**
Elder Ming's voice carried over the clamor as he directed the construction of his masterpiece: the Verdant Sanctum. The alchemical garden sprawled across the village's eastern flank, its terraces carved into the hillside. Rare herbs, nurtured by the Primal Core's energy, sprouted overnight—moonbloom petals shimmering with dew, firethorn roots crackling with latent heat.
"This is madness," muttered Lan, a young alchemist from the Scarlet Lotus Sect, as she pruned a venomous dusk orchid. "These plants should take decades to mature."
Ming chuckled, his flute summoning a mist of nutrient-rich qi. "The Core accelerates life. Handle with care—or it'll accelerate your death."
The garden quickly became a pilgrimage site. Alchemists and healers from distant sects arrived daily, bearing seeds and secrets in exchange for cuttings. Xia oversaw the infirmary, her reputation growing as she blended Ming's toxins with her healing arts.
"You're creating miracles," a wandering healer marveled, watching Xia neutralize a Starroot poison.
"Miracles require sacrifice," Xia replied, her gaze drifting to Li Tian's tower.
---
**The Tower of Ascension**
The tower was Li Tian's answer to the Accord's legacy—a spiral of blackstone and living vines that pierced the clouds. At its base, cultivators trained in the Primal Fields, their techniques honed by the Core's ambient energy.
"Focus!" barked Kira, a former Flame Emperor drillmaster who'd sworn new allegiance. Her whip cracked, guiding recruits through a defensive kata. "Channel the earth, but let the Core's pulse *guide* you!"
Among the recruits was Taro, a freed slave whose raw talent had caught Yan Mei's eye. His fists glowed as he struck a training dummy, the Core's energy flaring—then backlashing. The dummy exploded, and Taro collapsed, blood seeping from his nose.
"Again," Yan Mei ordered, hauling him up. "The Core doesn't reward hesitation."
Li Tian watched from the tower's pinnacle, his corrupted hand gripping the railing. Below, the village thrived—a mosaic of commerce and cultivation. But above, storm clouds gathered.
---
**The Hollow Star's Whisper**
That night, the dreams returned.
Li Tian stood in a verdant field, the Bastion's towers stretching endlessly. But the grass withered at his touch, the villagers' laughter twisting into screams as the Core's light consumed them.
*"This is your destiny,"* the Hollow Star crooned, its form a vortex of shadows. *"To rule a kingdom of ash."*
Li Tian awoke in the tower, his hand fused to the Core. The corruption had reached his jaw.
---
**The First Harvest**
The crisis came with the first harvest.
A trader's caravan arrived bearing blight-tainted grain, spreading a wasting sickness through the market. Xia and Ming worked tirelessly, but the cure required a rare herb—shadowbloom, found only in Nightblade territory.
"A trap," Yan Mei warned. "They want us to beg."
Li Tian's obsidian hand clenched. "Then we'll take it."
The raid was swift. Yan Mei's daggers silenced sentries while Li Tian's corrupted energy withered the blight fields. They returned with shadowbloom—and a prisoner: a Nightblade assassin, his tongue cut out, his eyes wide with fear.
"Send him back," Li Tian ordered. "Let them know we don't beg. We *take*."
---
**The Price of Light**
The harvest festival was a riot of color and sound—dancers twirling under luminescent vines, merchants hawking enchanted trinkets, children laughing as golems juggled firethorn fruit. Li Tian stood at the plaza's center, the Core's light bathing the crowd.
"The Bastion stands!" he declared, raising his obsidian hand. The villagers cheered, their faith a tangible force.
But as fireworks lit the sky, Xia found Li Tian slumped in the relic chamber, blood trickling from his eyes. The corruption had reached his temple.
"It's too much," she whispered, her qi faltering against the Hollow Star's pull.
Li Tian grasped her hand, his star-flecked eye burning. "It's enough."
---