The Emberroot Plains stretched wide and golden beneath the sinking sun.What had once been a scar on the land—its air warped, its grasses curling away from unseen heat—was now whole again. The anomaly was gone, erased as if it had never existed.
Eliakim could still feel the Emberroot Sigil thrumming faintly in his chest, a quiet reminder that this victory was bound to him now.But the deeper hum, the one only he seemed to hear, came from the Yggdrasil Bloom. Even buried in the labyrinth far behind them, its pulse seemed to follow him… as though the roots of that crystal flower had grown into his very shadow.
They walked for hours in silence, the plains slowly giving way to rolling hills and the distant spire-studded silhouette of Greyspire City.
"Feels strange," Gideon muttered at last. "After all that noise, all that danger… it's just quiet now.""That's how you know we did it right," Ezra replied, though his tone carried the weariness of a man who had counted every step since leaving the labyrinth.
Skyling yawned from her perch on Eliakim's shoulder, wings drooping. "I don't care what we did right or wrong. I just want a bed. And something that isn't labyrinth air to breathe."
Eliakim chuckled faintly. "Beds. Baths. A week without someone trying to stab us in our sleep. That's the plan."
When the gates of Greyspire came into view, lit by the warm lanterns of early evening, the fatigue that had been riding their backs seemed to lift slightly. People bustled about, unaware of the calamity that had nearly claimed the Emberroot Plains. The world kept moving, as it always did, blind to the shadows just beyond its borders.
The Guild Hall
The Greyspire Adventurer's Guild was alive with warmth and laughter. The vaulted ceiling caught the flicker of firelight, and long tables were crowded with returning parties and traders alike. The moment the three stepped through the great oak doors, a guild clerk spotted them and rushed forward, eyes wide.
"By the gods—you're back." She snapped her fingers toward the rear counter. "Clear the desk. The Emberroot team's home."
Within minutes, the reward process began—documents stamped, records updated, satchels of coin stacked neatly in front of them. A polished wooden box was set down next, containing their official recognition plaques.
"Labyrinth clearance, Emberroot anomaly sealed," the guild master read from the record. "And in record time, though the paperwork will probably take longer than the battle itself." His lips quirked in amusement.
Skyling tapped the box with a claw. "Can we just skip the speeches and get to the 'rest and recovery' part?"
"You'll get your rest," the guild master said, sliding a bag of coin toward her. "But I expect a full debrief in three days. For now—Greyspire thanks you."
Planning the Break
The three claimed a table near the hearth. Gideon's satchel clinked heavily with his share of the coin, but his grin was even heavier."So. Vacation. Any objections to finding the quietest fishing village in existence and staying there until I forget what a demon looks like?"
Ezra shook his head, sipping from a steaming cup of spiced tea. "No objections. But I'll need to restock my alchemy supplies first. And if possible, I'd like to do some work with the healer's guild here—pick up new medicine techniques. Some of what I learned in the labyrinth… well, I'd rather be prepared next time."
Skyling raised a wing. "I vote for somewhere with warm bread. Fresh fruit. No monsters."
Eliakim was quiet for a moment, watching the firelight flicker against the Bracelet of Umbravice on his wrist. The faintest shimmer of green—just a ghost of the Yggdrasil Bloom's color—passed under the metal before fading. He flexed his fingers once, then smiled faintly."We'll decide tomorrow. Tonight, we eat and sleep. Tomorrow… the road will still be waiting."
That night, laughter and music filled the guild hall, but the Bloom's warmth still lingered against Eliakim's skin.
Somewhere deep below the world, its roots were still moving.