Great — here's Chapter 10 of D
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Chapter 10 – Blightroot and Bonefire
The deeper they walked into the Blightwood, the more the trees looked like they were trying to remember what it meant to be alive.
Branches twisted in unnatural spirals. Leaves drooped like wilted tongues. And the roots—they pulsed faintly, like veins.
Kael kept Emberfang loose in his grip, its blade occasionally flickering with a whisper of fire, reacting to something only it could sense.
Lys walked ahead, cloak swaying like a ghost's shadow behind her. Her frost-thread weave had bonded completely now—every movement she made was sharper, more precise. She didn't just move faster—she moved cleaner, like the world bent around her timing.
"We're getting close," she murmured.
"To what?"
She crouched, brushing aside dead leaves. Beneath them: a runic symbol scorched into the ground, old and barely visible. It pulsed once when touched.
"Something left behind. My clan used to mark places like this when they encountered cursed terrain."
Kael crouched beside her. "A warning?"
"Or a test."
The ground trembled.
Roots surged from the dirt, whipping through the air. Kael spun to block one with Emberfang—fire searing bark and rot—but the tendrils were endless. Lys was already in motion, dashing between them with frost daggers slashing. Each cut froze the root mid-lash before it could retreat.
Then the earth cracked.
A creature tore itself from the dirt—twelve feet tall, all sinew and bark, eyes glowing green with Blight Qi. Its torso was split open like a gaping wound, and bones churned within.
"A Blightroot Warden," Lys hissed. "We're not supposed to fight these at our level."
Kael smiled tightly. "Then we'll fight above our level."
The battle began in a flash.
The Warden roared and unleashed a wave of corrupted Qi that burned the grass black. Kael surged forward with Gale Edge, cutting through the blast. He ducked under a root-swipe and plunged Emberfang into the creature's thigh—fire burst along the wound, but it healed too quickly.
Lys came from behind, sliding beneath a falling tree limb and planting a frost sigil on its back. The sigil exploded, coating the creature in thick ice—but even frozen, it moved.
Kael's vision dimmed—until the Gracebound System flashed.
> Passive Skill Triggered: Fireline Echo Your perception sharpens for 3 seconds. Incoming attack predicted.
Kael dodged instinctively. A root burst from the ground where he'd just stood.
"That Echo thing just saved me."
Lys rolled to her feet. "Use it again."
"I don't know how!"
"Figure it out!"
The Warden charged.
Kael gritted his teeth. "Fine. Let's go deeper."
He let go of restraint—let the flame inside burn freely. For one terrifying second, it wasn't Emberfang blazing—it was him. Fire poured from his arms, wrapping him in heat and power.
He shot forward.
Blade-first, fire-wrapped, he slammed into the Warden's core with a yell. Flames exploded outward, blasting apart roots and shattering the corrupted wood. The Warden stumbled, screeched—and Lys leapt, using Kael's shoulders as a springboard. Mid-air, her cloak flared open like icy wings.
She stabbed both frost daggers into the Warden's skull.
Silence.
Then: collapse.
The Blightroot Warden fell like a felled tree, bones cracking beneath it. Its body disintegrated into ash... leaving behind glowing rewards.
From the ash rose:
A violet crystal pulsing with stable Qi.
A coiled whip of braided flame-twine.
A small leather pouch marked with alchemical sigils.
Lys grabbed the pouch first and opened it. "Spell scrolls. Two of them." She pocketed them without waiting.
Kael examined the whip. "Flame-twine. This'll do more than sting."
He reached for the crystal—and the system reacted instantly.
> New Upgrade Option: Elemental Core Fusion Embed Violet Qi Core into existing flame matrix? Cost: 20 GP [Confirm?]
Kael hesitated only a second before confirming. Power surged through his arm and into Emberfang. The blade didn't just glow—it sang. A new edge formed down the length of it—purple over red, fire over force.
Emberfang Blade: Phase II
Damage increased +30%
Flame Qi now partially stabilized
Special Skill Unlocked: Twin Burn (alternating fire and void Qi arcs)
Lys whistled. "You just turned your sword into a war crime."
"I feel like I could take on a dragon."
"Let's start with surviving this forest."
They began walking again—but this time the air shifted. Quieter. Like the forest was watching, but no longer sure it had the upper hand.
Then they heard the whisper.
Two voices overlapping.
One soft and female, like wind through reeds: "You have entered the hollow."
The other low and male, like stone grinding in its sleep: "And you carry what was sealed."
Kael gripped his upgraded blade tighter. Lys stood beside him, frost-cloak rising with the sudden wind.
A single rune flared beneath their feet.
And the forest opened.