POV: Ethan Cole
Word Count: ~2,000
Tone: Grief → guilt → grim resolve
Hook: "Twenty-three dead. And it was his fault."
Ethan woke in the Memory Tree chamber.
Alone.
His entire body ached.
Not muscle ache.
Root ache.
Like his insides had been rearranged.
Which, he realized slowly, they had.
[LE: 178/500]
[Primordial Integration: 41% (↑7%)]
[You survived LE Overload. Congratulations. Next time, try NOT absorbing a Boss-tier opponent. 😑]
Ethan sat up slowly.
Looked at his arms.
The skin was scarred.
Not cut-scars.
Growth-scars.
Pale green lines tracing where roots had erupted, then retracted, leaving permanent marks like tattoos.
He flexed his fingers.
Felt something shift beneath the skin.
Oh god they're still in there—
The door opened.
Sylvia entered.
She looked wrecked.
Hair loose. Eyes red. Her clothes were stained with sap and something darker.
Blood.
She sat down heavily across from him.
Didn't speak for a long moment.
Finally: "Twenty-three dead. Sixteen wounded. Eight missing, presumed captured."
Ethan's stomach dropped.
"I—"
"Seven more died from your LE purge." Sylvia's voice was flat. Emotionless. "The plants you grew were aggressive. Strangled four people before we could cut them down. Three others had allergic reactions to the pollen. Suffocated."
Ethan couldn't breathe.
"I didn't mean—"
"I know." Sylvia looked at him. "That's the problem. You didn't mean to. But you did it anyway." She leaned forward. "You absorbed 127 LE from a Thornbound Harvester. Do you understand what that means?"
"I was dying—"
"You were surviving." Sylvia's expression hardened. "And survival doesn't care about intention. The Primordial inside you doesn't care if you're trying to be good. It just wants to grow."
She stood.
Walked to the Memory Tree.
Touched one of the leaves.
It shifted.
Showed a face.
Young. Male. Scared.
Ethan recognized him.
One of the Users from the sanctuary. Quiet. Had sat near the eastern garden.
Now dead.
Strangled by Ethan's vines.
"His name was David Park," Sylvia said quietly. "Twenty-two years old. Awakened three months ago. Tier-1. Could grow tulips." She looked back at Ethan. "He was harmless. And you killed him."
Ethan felt tears burning.
"I didn't—I didn't know—"
"You didn't know because you didn't ask." Sylvia's voice cracked. "You just took. Absorbed. Grew. Like a weed."
She turned away.
"Kaito wants to see you. Training hall. Now."
She left.
Ethan sat alone.
Staring at David Park's face in the leaf.
The tree remembered.
Everyone remembered.
The training hall was a massacre.
Bodies covered in white sheets. Blood soaked into the dirt. Scorch marks where grenades had detonated.
And in the center—
Kaito.
The Elder sat cross-legged, eyes closed, hands resting on his knees.
In front of him, a single seed.
Small. Black. Pulsing faintly.
Ethan approached slowly.
"Sit," Kaito said without opening his eyes.
Ethan sat.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then: "Do you know what a Primordial is?" Kaito asked.
"A... a consciousness? The First Forest?"
"Consciousness implies thought. Intent. Purpose." Kaito opened his eyes. The lichen-white irises reflected nothing. "The Primordial is none of those things. It is hunger. Pure. Endless. It wants to grow. Consume. Spread. Cover the world in roots and leaves until nothing else exists."
He picked up the seed.
"This is a fragment. A piece of that hunger. Contained. Dormant." He held it out. "Touch it."
Ethan hesitated.
"It's safe," Kaito said. "For now."
Ethan reached out.
The moment his fingers brushed the seed—
Visions.
A forest.
Vast.
Endless.
Covering continents. Devouring cities. Roots cracking through skyscrapers. Vines strangling highways.
And beneath it all—
Hunger.
So deep it had no bottom.
Ethan yanked his hand back.
Gasping.
Kaito set the seed down.
"That is what you carry," he said quietly. "Not all of it. But enough." He looked at Ethan. "The Primordial chose you because your soul has space. Emptiness. Loneliness. Hunger of a different kind."
Ethan's throat tightened.
"I'm not—"
"You are." Kaito's voice was gentle. "You've been hungry your whole life, Ethan. For connection. For purpose. For something that makes you feel whole." He paused. "The Primordial promises to fill that void. But it lies. It will never stop. It will consume you. And then everyone around you."
"Then how do I stop it?"
"You don't." Kaito smiled faintly. "You negotiate."
He stood.
Gestured for Ethan to follow.
They walked to the sanctuary's southern edge.
Where the evacuation tunnel had been sealed.
Now it was open again.
And beyond—
A forest.
Not the sanctuary's cultivated garden.
Wild forest.
Dark. Tangled. Ancient.
The trees were massive. Their bark was black. Roots thicker than cars coiled across the ground.
And in the distance—
Light.
Green. Pulsing.
"This is the Old Growth," Kaito said. "A fragment of the First Forest. It existed before the Awakening. Before humans. It is... aware."
Ethan stared into the darkness.
"Why are we here?"
"Because if you want to control the Primordial, you must speak to it directly." Kaito turned to him. "You must go into the Old Growth. Alone. And make a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"That depends on what it wants." Kaito's expression was unreadable. "And what you're willing to give."
Ethan looked at the tunnel.
At the darkness beyond.
"What if I say no?"
"Then the Primordial will continue to grow. Uncontrolled. Until you become what Briar is." Kaito paused. "A Harvester. A tool of Thorne. Or worse—a force of nature with no humanity left."
Ethan's hands clenched.
"When do I go?"
"Now." Kaito handed him a small pack. "Supplies. Water. One LE-infusion vial. Enough to keep you alive for three days."
"Three days?!"
"The Old Growth exists outside normal time. You may be gone for hours. Or weeks. We won't know until you return." Kaito's lichen-eyes gleamed. "If you return."
He stepped back.
"The Primordial respects strength. Show weakness, and it will devour you. Show arrogance, and it will break you." He paused. "Show respect, and perhaps—perhaps—it will teach you."
Ethan shouldered the pack.
Looked at Kaito one last time.
"If I don't come back—"
"We will bury what's left." Kaito's smile was sad. "And hope the forest is kind."
Ethan walked into the tunnel.
Into the darkness.
Behind him, the sanctuary's lights faded.
Ahead—
Only green.
The forest was alive.
Not metaphorically.
Ethan could feel it.
Every tree. Every root. Every blade of moss.
Watching.
Waiting.
Breathing.
[Entering: Old Growth Territory]
[LE Regeneration: DISABLED]
[LE Drain: -2/minute (Primordial Hunger)]
[You are being tasted. Try not to taste delicious. 🍄]
Ethan walked deeper.
The trees grew taller.
The roots thicker.
The light dimmer.
And then—
He saw it.
In the center of a massive clearing.
A tree.
No.
The Tree.
The same one from Kaito's vision.
But real.
Its trunk was a city block wide. Its roots spread like highways, disappearing into the earth. Its canopy stretched so high Ethan couldn't see the top.
And carved into the trunk—
A face.
Human. Female. Ancient.
Eyes closed.
But aware.
Ethan stepped closer.
The face's eyes opened.
They were solid green.
No pupils.
Just chlorophyll.
And they looked at him.
Through him.
Into the deepest parts of his soul.
"ETHAN COLE," the tree spoke. Voice like wind through leaves. Like roots cracking stone. "YOU CARRY MY SEED."
Ethan fell to his knees.
Not from choice.
From weight.
The presence was crushing.
"I—I didn't ask for it—"
"NO ONE ASKS." The tree's expression didn't change. "THEY ARE CHOSEN. OR THEY ARE NOT."
"Why me?"
The tree was silent for a long moment.
Then: "BECAUSE YOU ARE HOLLOW. AND HOLLOWS CAN BE FILLED."
Its roots shifted.
One rose from the ground.
Massive. Thick as a bus.
It coiled in front of Ethan.
Split open.
Inside—
A seed.
Identical to the one Kaito had shown him.
But larger.
Pulsing.
Alive.
"TAKE IT," the tree said. "AND I WILL MAKE YOU STRONG."
Ethan stared at the seed.
"What's the cost?"
The tree smiled.
It was terrible.
"EVERYTHING."
Ethan's hand hovered over the seed.
[CHOICE DETECTED]
[Accept: Gain immense power. Lose humanity.][Refuse: Retain humanity. Remain weak.]
[Consequences: PERMANENT]
Ethan thought about David Park.
About the twenty-three dead.
About his mom.
About the hunger.
He pulled his hand back.
"No," he said quietly.
The tree's smile faded.
"YOU REFUSE?"
"I refuse to lose myself." Ethan stood. Legs shaking. "I'll get stronger. But on my terms. Not yours."
Silence.
The forest held its breath.
Then—
The tree laughed.
Deep. Resonant. Shaking the earth.
"GOOD," it said. "THEN WE NEGOTIATE."
The root closed.
The seed disappeared.
And the tree's face leaned closer.
"LISTEN CAREFULLY, SEEDBED. I WILL TEACH YOU CONTROL. BUT YOU MUST FEED ME."
"Feed you what?"
"LIFE." The tree's eyes gleamed. "THOSE WHO WOULD DESTROY THE GREEN. BRING ME THORNBOUND. BRING ME THOSE WHO BURN AND POISON AND CUT. AND I WILL GIVE YOU STRENGTH."
Ethan's stomach turned.
"You want me to kill for you."
"I WANT YOU TO PROTECT." The tree's voice hardened. "THE THORNBOUND HARVEST MY CHILDREN. DRAIN THEM. SELL THEM. THEY ARE PARASITES. AND PARASITES MUST BE CUT OUT."
It leaned back.
"DO THIS, AND I WILL TEACH YOU TO WIELD ME WITHOUT LOSING YOURSELF. REFUSE, AND YOU WILL DROWN IN MY ROOTS."
[QUEST RECEIVED: Primordial Pact]
[Objective: Eliminate Thornbound forces (0/50)]
[Reward: Advanced LE Control, Primordial Skill Tree Unlock]
[Failure: Complete Primordial Assimilation (you become a tree)]
Ethan looked at the tree.
At its massive, ancient, hungry face.
"I accept," he said.
"THEN GO, SEEDBED. AND BECOME WHAT YOU WERE MEANT TO BE."
The world went white.
Ethan woke in the sanctuary.
Lying on the dirt floor of the training hall.
Mira stood over him.
"You were gone for six hours," she said flatly.
Ethan sat up.
Felt... different.
Stronger.
Centered.
The roots around his heart pulsed.
But calm.
Controlled.
[LE: 284/500]
[Primordial Integration: 41% (STABLE)]
[New Skill Unlocked: NEGOTIATED GROWTH]
[You can now channel Primordial power without losing control. Probably. 🌳]
Mira extended a hand.
"Kaito says you made a deal."
Ethan took her hand.
Stood.
"Yeah."
"What kind?"
Ethan looked at her.
At the sanctuary.
At the bodies still covered in white sheets.
"The kind that keeps me human," he said.
"And the cost?"
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"I kill Thornbound."
Mira smiled.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
"Good," she said. "Because we're going hunting."