The forest was still healing.
Where the Aberrant had died, the ground remained discolored, the roots wary. Though the immediate threat had passed, a sense of quiet dread lingered like mist. The Hollow remembered. It always remembered.
Ren stood at the edge of the Fallen Grove, his fingers brushing the soil. He was listening—not just with ears, but with the root system itself. The Domain was quiet, but beneath that silence, something stirred. Not threat. Not corruption. Memory.
System Log: New Directive Available
Title: "Name the Hollow"
Description: Your connection with the land has surpassed mere control. It now seeks identity.
Reward: Domain Expansion – Personalization, Passive Regeneration Boost
Status: Optional
Ren blinked. "Name the Hollow...?"
Kael, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow. "You mean the forest?"
Ren nodded slowly. "It's not just forest anymore. It's alive. It's... listening."
Kael glanced around, then scratched the back of his neck. "Well, what do you name something that's a part of you?"
Ren didn't respond immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes.
He felt the weight of the Hollow's growth, its trials—its defenses, even its strange nurturing. He thought of the Verdant Core, of the roots that responded to his every will, the trees that whispered his name like wind over old stones.
A word formed on his tongue. Not just a word. A truth.
"Thalen," he whispered. "It means 'Rooted Hope' in one of the old tongues."
System Update
Hollow Name Confirmed: Thalen
Domain Status: Recognized
Passive Buff Unlocked: Thalen's Vitality (+5% regeneration within bounds)
New Feature Available: Hollow Memorial – Record events and memories into the land
Map Expansion: Southern Ridge Unlocked
Kael stared at him for a beat. "You just... named the forest?"
Ren nodded. "Not just a name. It's recognition. We're bound now."
The trees around them seemed to agree. Leaves rustled in approval, and a breeze passed over their skin like a sigh of relief.
Moss jumped from Ren's shoulder, landing lightly and sniffing the air. The little beast chattered, then scurried forward, tail wagging with curiosity. It stopped at a patch of mossy stone and pawed at it.
Ren followed and found an odd indentation—like someone had pressed a seal into the rock. It wasn't natural.
"Another mark?" Kael asked, leaning closer.
Ren brushed dirt away and uncovered ancient glyphs. Not of his language, but close enough for the system to register.
Deciphering Ancient Text...
Fragment Retrieved: 'He who names the land binds fate to root and river'
Annotation: This marker predates current world state – Possibly tied to First Cycle civilizations.
Ren stared at the inscription. "This wasn't just mine to name. It was waiting for someone."
"Someone like you," Kael said quietly.
For a long moment, Ren remained still. He felt the wind shift again, felt his roots tug at distant signals—something moving in the south.
System Alert
Map Marker: Southern Ridge
Unusual Activity Detected – Flora Interruption Pattern
Optional Quest: Investigate the Scorched Hollow
Recommended Level: Intermediate Rootwalker
He rose.
"We're going south."
Kael tilted his head. "Now?"
"There's more out there. If something got in, it might not have been alone."
The path toward the Southern Ridge was long, and unlike the rest of the Hollow, it had not yet been shaped by Ren's influence. The trees were taller but thinner, more scattered. The air was colder here, the wind less cooperative.
Hours passed. They moved quietly but alert, each step deeper into unfamiliar ground.
Then, as they crossed a ridge, the sky changed.
The trees thinned, and beyond them stretched a scar.
A wide strip of land, perhaps hundreds of meters across, lay charred and lifeless. No grass. No trees. No sound. The Hollow had simply stopped there, as if afraid to grow forward.
And at the very center stood a lone tree—dead, cracked, blackened—but upright. Alone.
Environmental Status: Burnt Grove
Cause: Unnatural Flame – Source Unknown
Life Density: 0%
Anomaly Detected: Core-like Object Buried Below Tree Base
Ren and Kael approached cautiously.
"What happened here?" Kael muttered.
Ren kneeled by the tree, pressing a hand to its bark.
It was cold. Not the kind of cold from wind, but the absence of life. His system flared again.
System Integration Attempt: Failed
Warning: Foreign Seed Detected – Origin Unverified
Extraction Possible – Risk Level: Moderate
Proceed?
Ren stared at the screen. "There's something beneath this."
Kael placed a hand on his blade. "Let's be careful. I don't like this place."
Ren nodded once, then accepted the system's prompt.
Extraction Initiated
The earth trembled slightly. The roots around the tree pulsed, drawing inward as if resisting.
Then something emerged.
A small object, stone-like but with veins of molten orange, floated up from the soil.
Item Acquired: Seed of Ash – Origin: Unknown Realm
Type: Consumable or Domain Catalyst
Warning: Usage may trigger regional transformation
System Suggestion: Analyze thoroughly before use
Ren stared at it in his palm. It pulsed faintly, warm, as if still alive.
Kael leaned over. "Seed of Ash? That doesn't sound... friendly."
"It isn't," Ren said. "But it's power. And power always comes with a price."
As they turned to leave the dead grove, Ren cast one last look over his shoulder.
The tree remained, still cracked and lifeless. But in that moment, its shadow shifted—and for a second, it looked less like a tree, and more like something watching.