The Bone General
The first scream wasn't human.
It tore down the cavern walls, shaking the roots of the Earthheart itself.
Mor'Kai descended like a nightmare sculpted from war — a towering skeletal beast clad in twisted obsidian armor. Purple curse-flames burned inside the cracked cavities of his ribcage.
His voice was a metallic growl:
"The Prince must die… before he becomes whole again."
The Nexus reacted instantly — its glow flaring to shield Tristan, but the curse inside him writhed harder, forcing a violent arch of his body.
Elias drew his twin stone-blades.
"You will NOT touch him!"
Mor'Kai laughed — a storm of bone and rot.
"Ah… the loyal pet who failed to keep his master alive last time."
Elias charged — furious — but Mor'Kai caught him mid-strike and slammed him into the cavern wall with a shockwave of bones.
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War Unleashed
Samuel stepped forward — void swirling around his fists.
"You think I'll let you kill him?"
Mor'Kai's hollow eyes burned.
"You already are. The cure will consume him. Better to end his suffering here."
Samuel's voice dropped to something feral.
"I'm done listening."
He lunged — void exploding like a black star.
The impact cracked Mor'Kai's armor — dark ichor spraying — but the General only staggered back, laughing.
"You wield death without understanding it."
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The Five Engage
Ignara became a comet of fire — blazing fists hammering armor with molten fury.
Zephira summoned a vortex that whipped through the soldiers flooding into the chamber — lightning symphonically striking.
Nysara's water spiraled into razor-sharp tides, shredding skeletal troops apart.
Velyd unleashed illusions so real they tore enemies' minds into ribbons.
Daniel — breathing hard — channeled his unstable pulse into a barrier around the Nexus.
Lord Kaelen lifted into the air — wings of star-light shredding through the chaos.
Yet Mor'Kai was unbothered.
He swung his war-scythe — a blade made from the spine of a dead god — and reality itself screamed.
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The Nexus Battle Inside Tristan
Inside the heartstone, Tristan was fighting his own war.
One moment, the Nexus healed — light knitting his wounds.
The next — the curse detonated — burning paths through his veins.
Visions flickered behind his eyes:
Forests decaying.
Worlds falling into ash.
Femi standing triumphant over Samuel's corpse.
"No — NO!"
Tristan strained against the vines holding him — desperate to rejoin the fight — but the Nexus surged again, pinning him in place.
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The Truth — Betrayal Revealed
Samuel was knocked backward — spine slamming into rock — breath ripped from his lungs.
Mor'Kai loomed over him.
"You don't understand the boy you bleed for."
Samuel spat blood.
"I know who he is."
"You know NOTHING!"
Mor'Kai grabbed Samuel by the throat — hoisting him into the air.
"Tristan's exile… his curse… his death… all earned."
Samuel gasped:
"What… did he do?"
Mor'Kai's voice was a triumphant snarl:
"He didn't choose your war over his kingdom —
he betrayed BOTH.
He gave Femi the key to Terraven himself."
Samuel's heart froze.
"What key?"
Elias screamed from across the battlefield — voice ragged:
"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!"
But Mor'Kai finished:
"He stole the Earthheart Seal… and handed it to the Fallen Witch."
Samuel's eyes widened.
His grip faltered.
No.
That couldn't—
Tristan's animalistic scream echoed as the curse exploded inside him — vines thrashing violently.
Samuel stared at him — betrayal sinking cold into his bones.
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The Bone General's Final Play
Mor'Kai rammed his scythe into the heartstone vine network — and the whole Nexus convulsed.
"No more healing. No more illusions of hope."
The curse surged — black lightning ripping down Tristan's limbs.
His scream shook the chamber.
Daniel yelled:
"SAM! DO SOMETHING!"
Samuel raised a trembling hand — void ready to strike — dark fury swirling…
But doubt paralyzed him.
If Mor'Kai was right… then Tristan caused all of this.
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Elias Saves the Prince
With a roar born of agony and love, Elias tackled Mor'Kai from behind — blades carving into bone.
Mor'Kai snarled — annoyed more than hurt.
Elias didn't care — tears streaming — voice desperate:
"He made a mistake — one mistake — for love!"
Samuel's head snapped toward them.
Elias shouted over the chaos:
"He did it to save YOU!",to save you in the battle against the phoenix and the chaos ,against femi's big betrayal "
The world stopped.
Mor'Kai's scythe clattered against stone.
Samuel's pulse thundered.
Tristan's eyes opened — finding Samuel — drenched in pain and truth.
Samuel's breath caught.
"No…"
This wasn't betrayal.
It was sacrifice.
Always sacrifice.
Mor'Kai shrieked in fury:
"ENOUGH!"
He threw Elias aside — cracking stone as he hit the ground.
The cavern trembled as the General raised his scythe for a decapitating blow —
—
Samuel Chooses
Void roared from Samuel's entire body — ripping open a singularity that devoured light itself.
His scream was a command:
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!"
Darkness crashed into Mor'Kai — hurling the Bone General through the cavern wall.
The entire mountain shuddered.
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Cliffhanger: The Curse Evolves
But the victory was short.
The Nexus pulse faltered — and the curse inside Tristan changed.
His veins glowed black-purple — spreading faster — too fast.
Lord Kaelen shouted:
"He's absorbing the curse instead of expelling it!"
Daniel's panic spiked.
"Isn't that good?!"
"No," Velyd whispered, horrified.
"It means the curse is becoming part of him."
Samuel rushed forward — gripping Tristan's hand.
"Stay with me — please—"
Tristan looked at him — tears mingling with pain.
"If I turn… you kill me."
Samuel's voice broke:
"Don't make me choose that."
Tristan smiled weakly.
"You already chose me."
His eyes rolled back.
His pulse flatlined.
The Nexus dimmed.
And every root in the chamber twisted violently —
as if preparing a rebirth
or a burial.
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