[Cass]
The cavern didn't sleep. Even when the Warbles curled into their burrows, even when the Spore Ward dimmed to a steady pulse, Rootwater breathed.
Cass lay awake on the stone, hand pressed to his chest. The bond still hummed - faint but constant. Every pulse of the ward tugged at his ribs like a tether.
It should have been reassuring. Instead it felt like chains.
The memory of the global announcement still burned in his mind: "First Defensive Structure Against Infection Established."
No name. No location. But enough. The world knew someone had built a cure. Enough to stir hunters. Enough to send greedy guilds searching.
He rolled over and whispered to himself. "I need time. I need quiet."
The stone didn't answer.
It rumbled instead.
At first it was a tremor, no worse than the quakes Rootwater sometimes spat out. The Warbles stirred in their dens, muttering. A vase fell and shattered.
Then the tremor deepened into a growl.
The cavern shook so hard Cass staggered to his feet. Fungi ripped free from the walls. Dust fell like rain.
A roar rolled through the tunnels, not beast but earth itself.
And far above - a thunderous crack.
[System Prompt]
Seismic Event Detected. Hazard Tier: Catastrophic.
Origin: Surface volcanic structure (Dormant → Active).
Effects: Cave-ins, tunnel collapse, aboveground devastation.
Warbles screamed. Whole walls split open. Cass grabbed the Spore Ward pedestal, the bond surging like fire in his chest.
"Hold!" he shouted, though no one could hear him over the roar.
A tidal wave of stone thundered down the main passage. Lantern fungi snuffed out. Bridges of wood splintered. Entire entrances collapsed under avalanches of rock.
Cass's world became dust and choking dark.
When the tremors finally stilled, silence was worse. His ears rang. His lungs burned. He coughed grit until his throat bled.
Rootwater was intact - the central hollow still stood, the Spore Ward still pulsing, Warbles clinging together like frightened children.
But the entrances… gone. Every tunnel Cass had marked was now buried under mountains of stone.
Rootwater wasn't a hamlet anymore. It was a tomb.
[Forum – Global Noise]
[BreakingThread]: "Did anyone else see the eruption? Whole skyline red."
[DeltaScout]: "Rivermere ash clouds. Crops lost."
[IronFist88]: "Players near the crater? RIP."
[Nocti]: "There were rumors of underground activity near that range. If true, they're gone now."
[Skeptik]: "Ghost Lord's dead. Told you myths don't last."
[Media – World's Dawn Chronicles]
Anchor: "Tonight's leading story: a dormant volcano has reawakened, devastating nearby settlements and trade routes. Casualties unconfirmed, but reports suggest entire valleys were cut off. Some speculate this may also have destroyed rumored underground communities, though no official sources confirm their existence. For many, this marks the end of the so-called 'Ghost Lord' myth."
[Cass]
Cass stood at the edge of the collapsed passage, lantern dim, staring into stone.
Warbles wailed behind him. Others clung to the Spore Ward as though it were salvation.
He pressed his hand against the rock. Cold. Impenetrable.
His breath came slow. Steady.
"They think I'm gone," he whispered.
It wasn't despair in his tone. It was… release.
No guilds sniffing after him. No hunters. No prying eyes. Only Rootwater.
But the cost was clear: no trade. No escape. No reinforcements. Rootwater was cut off. Alone.
His chest ached with the bond. He looked back at the Warbles, eyes wide and waiting.
"Then we make this tomb a fortress," he said.
[System Prompt]
New Environmental Status: Enforced Isolation.
All entrances collapsed. Outside communication severed.
Global Perception: Lord Cass presumed dead.
Local Effect: +15% Morale (Unity), −20% Trade, −30% Exploration capacity.
That night, Cass sat beside the Spore Ward. Its light pulsed like a heartbeat in the cavern gloom.
He thought of his mother again. Machines keeping her alive. Doctors whispering about the end.
Everyone above thought he was gone. Forgotten.
But the heartbeat continued.
So did his.
Settlement: Propervy Bastion (Hamlet)
Population: 213 (post-collapse casualties)
Food: 11 days (cut off from surface trade)
Morale: Fearful → Unified
Defenses: Spore Ward active
Threat: Total isolation. Infection delayed. Escape impossible.