Elaris crossed deeper into Velmiren's corrupted grid.
The moment she passed the throne-zone boundary, the atmosphere shifted. Her tactical overlay flickered violently before stabilizing.
Environmental Status:Bio-toxin density – escalatingNeural interference – detectedUnknown energy pulse – tracking…
The forest was no longer simply poisoned.
It was responsive.
Vines slithered across metallic bark like living cables. Fungal spores drifted through the air in geometric patterns, as if coded to map intruders. The ground beneath her boots rippled faintly—organic matter fused with conductive mineral veins.
"They're watching," she murmured.
Not Lysira.
Something deeper.
Her neural core emitted a soft pulse, scanning ahead. Blue light rippled outward from her chest, temporarily disrupting nearby toxin fields. The forest recoiled—but only briefly.
Then—
A harmonic sound.
Soft.
Layered.
Above her, small winged shapes circled. Bioluminescent birds, their feathers embedded with crystalline growths. Their eyes glowed with gentle white light—not corrupted.
Unaffected.
They weren't mutated.
They were resisting.
One swooped lower, projecting a faint clearing frequency that neutralized nearby spores. Another released a shimmer of particles that dissolved toxic fog in her path.
"They're stabilizing the air," Xyren muttered through the comm-link, astonished. "The ecosystem hasn't fully surrendered."
Elaris felt something inside her chest ease slightly.
Velmiren wasn't lost.
Not yet.
Small fox-like creatures emerged from beneath twisted roots—tails shimmering like fiber-optic strands. Rabbits with translucent crystal fur bounded silently ahead, pausing to glance back at her as if urging her forward.
Guides.
Not random.
The forest had chosen.
Her wings adjusted automatically, stabilizers shifting as she followed the faint pulse the creatures were leading her toward.
Ahead—
A clearing.
But this one was different.
At its center stood a single plant.
It glowed deep crimson—like molten data suspended in petals. Its stem pulsed in rhythm with the distorted moon above. Around it, blackened vines writhed violently, tipped with needle-like thorns dripping nano-venom.
Artifact Signature Confirmed:Bloodmoon Blossom.
The air temperature spiked.
The vines sensed her.
They lashed forward instantly.
Elaris reacted on instinct—wings flaring open, mechanical filaments igniting in blue arcs. She launched upward, narrowly avoiding a cluster of snapping tendrils.
Her HUD flashed red.
Warning: Toxin projectiles detected.
A vine grazed her forearm.
Pain exploded.
Not surface-level.
Systemic.
Nano-toxins attempted to infiltrate her bloodstream, attacking organic tissue while clashing violently against her mechanical implants.
She dropped to one knee, breath hitching.
Her neural core pulsed defensively, releasing a counter-frequency. Blue light spread beneath her skin, neutralizing the intrusion—but it cost energy.
"Starwing!" Xyren's voice sharpened. "Don't let it breach deeper!"
The vines closed in.
Then—
A flash of white.
The glowing birds dove in coordinated formation, their wings generating harmonic shockwaves that destabilized the venom-coded tendrils. The fox leapt forward, teeth clamping onto a primary vine-node, ripping it free.
The corrupted network spasmed.
Elaris clenched her jaw.
Enough.
She pressed her palm against the ground.
"Pulse override."
Her chest core flared.
A concentrated wave of bio-electric energy surged outward in a circular blast. Blue light collided with green venom-coding, freezing the vines mid-motion.
Time slowed.
Not literally.
But long enough.
She pushed forward through the suspended thorns and reached the center.
The Bloodmoon Blossom pulsed beneath her fingertips.
It wasn't warm.
It was aware.
The moment she touched it, crimson light surged up her arm—not invasive, but synchronizing. Her internal systems reacted instantly.
Cellular Regeneration Protocol – EnhancingEnergy Reserve – Stabilizing
The injury on her arm sealed.
The remaining toxin disintegrated.
The flower detached from its stem willingly, collapsing into a compact luminous core that hovered above her palm before integrating into her artifact chamber at her waist.
The clearing fell silent.
The vines dropped lifelessly.
Elaris exhaled slowly.
"One artifact secured," she whispered.
But the forest did not calm.
It shifted.
Far beyond the clearing, something ancient stirred.
Her HUD flickered.
New Energy Spike Detected – Northern Elevation.
Frost-based signature.
The fox creatures reappeared, circling briefly before darting toward rising terrain in the distance—icy ridges piercing through corrupted canopy.
Frostspire region.
She flexed her wings once.
The Bloodmoon energy coursed steadily within her, reinforcing her systems.
But something else lingered.
A distortion.
Like a shadow passing through code.
She turned sharply.
Nothing visible.
Yet the air felt… thinner.
As if reality itself had been scanned.
A voice—barely audible—whispered through overlapping frequencies.
Not external.
Not internal.
Somewhere between.
"Adaptive… subject progressing…"
Her pulse spiked.
Nyvrix.
Not fully manifested.
Observing.
Testing.
She tightened her jaw.
"Keep watching," she muttered under her breath. "I'm not done."
Above her, the crimson moon flickered briefly—like a glitch in the sky.
And deep within Velmiren's corrupted network…
Something recalculated.