Chapter 60 – "ECHO OF THE FALLEN"
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Scene 1 – Surge of the Roar
The Roar surges—through pain, through failure, through tears.
Matthew's body glows, deeper than ever before.
Each heartbeat echoes past battles. The moments he survived. The ones he didn't.
He feels it, his senses sharpen—past battles play in flashes through his mind.
Matthew(thinking to himself) : "I have to avenge him. I'm the reason why he's dead."
He leaps. The ground rips beneath him. A tidal wave, wide as a canyon, slams forward.
It crashes into the True Root Body—yet the beast barely shifts.
Still, Matthew rises again, eyes locked on its hand.
Burn it.
The hand sears—but no scream. Barely any recoil.
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Scene 2 – Vines of Despair
The True Root Body retaliates.
A tree uproots—massive, ancient, swinging like a hammer.
Vines lash from its fingers, snaring Matthew mid-air.
He grits his teeth. Pressure Roar—now.
A sonic pulse stuns the hand. Vines loosen.
He drops, rolls free—but each breath costs him—He's losing stamina.
His knees buckle.
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Scene 3 – The Acid Gambit
Matthew channels acid. Ready. Planned.
Aimed straight for the eyes.
But the True Root Body unleashes a roar—not just sound, but force.
A shockwave slams him mid-flight.
His body flings through the air like a ragdoll. The tree follows.
CRACK.
Matthew hits the soil. Hard.
He doesn't move.
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Scene 4 – The Dream of the Fallen
Reen's hands shake as she helps Jakku drag him into the cave.
His breath is shallow. His body still.
Inside his mind, mist swirls.
He walks among dragons—massive, fallen, half-forgotten.
Some lie in peace. Others twitch in torment.
One turns to him. Its voice, thunder softened by sorrow:
"We are not forgotten. But you must carry us better."
Another voice follows—soft, ancient.
"You will return here… when you are ready to wield the Roar fully."
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Scene 5 – Maiku's Inner World
In the belly of the creature, Maiku floats. Darkness—then flame.
Lorian's voice echoes:
Lorian : "You were never meant to die here. Look deeper."
A figure emerges—his father, Drakna Soigetsu.
Drakna Soigetsu: "Our fire flows through you. You only need to remember. My son… do what we failed to do."
Then a final voice—a soldier's, sharp and clear.
The Sky-Walker General steps forward, hand on Maiku's chest.
Sky-Walker General: "The sky is calling. Answer it."
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Scene 6 – Bleeding Crew
Back outside, the crew bleeds.
Reen cradles Matthew. Jakku sits silent, clutching his sprained knee.
Gift lies unconscious.
Reen (shaking): "We lost…"
Gift coughs. His eyes flutter open.
He sees the ruin around them.
Tears spill silently.
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Scene 7 – 45 Minutes of Silence
The crew waits.
No word from Maiku. No sign of Matthew waking.
The True Root Body slaughters villagers in the distance.
Screams reach them—raw, pleading.
Child (crying): "Mommy!! Help me please! I'll be good! I promise!!"
The silence breaks Reen.
She falls, sobbing.
Matthew tries to rise.
He can't.
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Scene 8 – Maiku's Awakening
In darkness, Maiku clenches his fist.
A spark. Then a storm.
Flames spiral—orange, white, pure.
His eyes snap open.
Wings of Sky-Fire erupt.
Flame hardens across his skin like armor.
A scream bursts from him—he tears a hole through the creature's stomach.
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Scene 9 – Rebirth Through Flame
Maiku erupts from the beast's stomach like a phoenix.
A cyclone of fire scars the sky.
He hovers—hair blazing, armor reforged, wings wide.
He roars. Not in rage, but rebirth.
Maiku(roaring) : "I am Maiku Soigetsu! Son of Drakna Soigetsu. From the Sky-Fire bloodline and I will purify this world of it's impurities. As I was born to do."
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Scene 10 – Vengeance Begins
After that silence.
He dives—flame-coated fists forward.
CRACK.
One punch to the jaw—bark splits, bone cracks.
The True Root Body reels.
For the first time—it stumbles.
Maiku lands beside the crew.
They stare. Breathless. Broken.
Hope ignites.
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Scene 11 – Flames and Tears
Maiku kneels beside Matthew and Jakku.
Flame seeps from his hands—gentle, warm, healing.
Matthew's eyes flutter. He exhales in relief.
Jakku's knee is back. Healthy. Ready. Healed.
Maiku (softly): "Sorry I took so long."
Reen grabs his arm. Tears spill.
Jakku pulls him into a hug.
Gift watches, smiling through the pain.
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Scene 12 – Rallying Spark
Jakku rises, cracking his neck.
Jakku: "If he's back… we've got one more round in us."
Gift nods, eyes burning.
Gift(looking to the villagers): "We fight. For them."
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Scene 13 – True Root's Roar
The creature mutates—roots twist inward.
New limbs form—stronger, darker. Second phase begins.
The sky bleeds. Trees rot in seconds.
Maiku stares into the storm.
Maiku: "I'll handle the heart."
Jakku: "Maiku, our mission is to save as many villagers as possible. 120 are gone. We save the 80 left."
Gift: "Right. Not all of us can fight."
Narrator: "It's time to fight."
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Scene 14 – Humanity vs Root
They gather behind Maiku. Fire whirls around them.
Wings wide, he stands tall.
Maiku: "No more running."
The beast lets out a roar—a final challenge.
They answer with silence.
Then fire.
Maiku (resolute): "This ends with fire."
To Be Continued.....
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Final Line
> "Now all that's left are the chosen ones… vs The Root."
Narrator (closing reflection):
> "Hope is not born in triumph—but in ruin. In screams that go unanswered. In silence that feels eternal. In the blood spilled not by heroes, but by the broken who choose to rise one more time."
> "This chapter was never just about power. It was about echoes—the echoes of those we've lost, the pain we carry, and the promises we whisper to the dead. Matthew stood not because he could win—but because he refused to let failure define him. Maiku didn't return as the boy he was… but as the fire the world needed."
> "Now, the tides have turned. The True Root Body has entered its second phase. Stronger. Deadlier. The line between life and death has blurred. But so has the line between fear and resolve."
> "This was not the final battle. But it was the spark—the moment the fallen became flame. The moment the crew chose defiance over despair."
> "Now all that's left… are the chosen ones—vs The Root."