The door stood untouched for decades.
No lock. Just a mark.
A spiral of thorns burned into metal—pulsing faintly as if the Root itself breathed behind it.
Vira traced her fingers along it.
"I've seen this," she whispered. "In my dreams. Before I was rescued."
Echo's voice came through the comms: "Everything below this point is pre-Root tech. No network. No signal. No help."
Liam nodded once.
"Then we go dark."
[System Alert – Domain Entry]
> Zone: Root Chamber – Tier Zero
Signal: Suppressed
Harem Link: Dimmed (50% effectiveness)
Cure Fragment Present: Yes
Danger Level: UNKNOWN
Proceed?
[YES] – Confirmed.
The door opened with a hiss of rotting gas.
A stairwell spiraled downward into black.
Ava led, blade drawn.
Artemis and Naomi followed with shoulder lights mounted to their rifles.
Junia and Ember walked beside Liam, each holding his hand like children in a nightmare.
At the rear, Vira smiled to herself.
"Smells like home," she said.
The walls weren't steel.
They were bone.
Or something like it.
Pale, veined, etched with images—girls with open mouths, vines growing from their eyes, flowers blooming from their stomachs.
Liam felt the nausea begin.
Not physical.
Systemic.
The Root hated them. And it was awake.
Fifty steps down.
Then a chamber.
Large. Circular.
Lit only by the red pulse of the Root Core.
A massive tendril mass—woven with wires, bones, and old technology.
Suspended in the center: a glass coffin.
Inside: a girl.
Still.
Unrotted.
Eyes open.
Watching.
[System Alert – Core Fragment Identified]
> Cure Fragment: 8
Retrieval Method: Coffin Deactivation OR Psychic Sync
Subject: "Girl Zero"
Status: Chrono-Stasis | Pre-Bloom Host | Potential Root Key
Warning: Extraction may trigger Root Defense Response
Liam stepped forward slowly.
"She's alive…"
Maya stepped beside him.
"No. She's awake."
Junia's voice cracked. "Is this… what they built all this around?"
Naomi checked her scanner. "Heartbeat is steady. Brain activity... off the charts."
Then the girl moved.
A twitch.
Her eyes locked on Liam.
And she smiled.
> "I've been waiting for you."
No lips moved.
It echoed inside their skulls.
Then:
> "He's almost ready to be born."
The Root.
The chamber screamed.
A shockwave knocked the team back.
From the walls, vines tore loose, revealing guardians.
Twisted humanoid shapes—ex-hosts turned into flesh-things.
Five of them.
One bore Ava's face.
Another wore Artemis's armor.
All of them had Root eyes.
[System Alert – Hostile Entities: Root Echoes ×5]
> Weakness: Rejection Pulse, Bonded Sync
Strength: Identity Mimicry
Trait Copied: Each Echo mimics the combat pattern of a bonded girl
"Copycats," Artemis hissed, drawing blades.
Ava's clone rushed forward—eerily perfect in movement.
Blade met blade.
Artemis screamed and leapt at her own double.
Chaos erupted.
Naomi dragged Ember to cover.
Vira? She laughed.
"They're not real. But they're watching. Testing you."
Liam raised his weapon—and then he saw it:
A single button on the coffin console glowing red.
> [UNLOCK]
He hit it.
[System Event – Girl Zero Awakening]
> Vitality: Stable
Cure Fragment 8 Released
Trait Unlocked: "Anti-Root Resonance"
Subject Awakening: Countdown – 3 minutes
All Root Echoes now agitated
The clones screamed.
The walls cracked.
Blood rained from the ceiling.
Ember cowered—but Liam moved in front of her.
He activated Rejection Pulse.
[Rejection Pulse – Active]
> Echo Disruption: 3 of 5 weakened
Root Network Fracture: Temporary
Cooldown: 1 day
Artemis took advantage—slashing through her double's throat.
Ava screamed and stabbed her clone through the eye.
Naomi unleashed a burst of Bloom-light from her modified rifle, vaporizing hers.
Three fell.
Two remained.
Then the girl in the coffin… opened her mouth.
And sang.
It wasn't music.
It was entropy.
It shredded the last two clones instantly.
And made Liam drop to his knees.
Blood leaked from his ears.
But it stopped.
Just as quickly.
She sat up.
Alive.
Breathing.
Hair the color of dusk.
Eyes like silver moons.
She looked at him.
And whispered aloud:
> "You've done it."
[System Alert – Cure Fragment 8 Acquired]
> Passive Gained: Anti-Root Resonance – All Root-type enemies within 10m suffer system decay
Girl Zero Status: Stable | Memory Locked | Bond Eligible
New Objective: Guide her back to the surface.
Final Bloom Emergence: 36 hours
Liam stared up at her.
She touched his face.
"You're the one who made it this far."
He asked, "What's your name?"
She blinked.
"...I don't remember."
"But I know who you are."
"The Gardener."