Chapter 61– "ASHES OF SALVATION"
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Scene 1 – Countdown to Chaos
The sky isn't just falling—it's screaming. The clouds split like wounds. The air burns in red and orange.
Jakku: "Split up! Get the injured out! Get the kids—NOW!"
Gift (voice cracking as fire rains): "We can't save them all…"
Maiku (wings flaring wide): "Then save who you can. I'll deal with it."
He doesn't wait for argument. The wind catches him—and he's gone.
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Scene 2 – Fire vs Root
Maiku leaps. He punches the creature's cheek.
It breaks.
The creature reels back.
The True Root Body responds by sprouting Vines from the soil—300 feet tall vines.
They stab Maiku in the leg but he pushes on.
Maiku lunges and lands three punches—one to the hand, chest and stomach.
The Beast retaliates by launching hundreds.
Maiku dodges but some hit him and pierce his skin.
Maiku(thinking to himself, struggling) : "This thing second phase is definitely a challenge."
He thinks of the villagers and then roars.
Maiku meets the Root's core in a blast of heat and bark. Fists slam into pulsing wood. Bark shrieks. Flames crack. The battlefield becomes a living storm.
Maiku (thinking):
"It wants to exist. I want to protect.
This is will vs will."
The Root mutates with every blow. But Maiku only burns hotter.
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Scene 3 – The 80
The village isn't dying—it's unraveling.
Reen: "This way! Don't stop—move!"
Pillars fall. The Planet quakes. Smoke swallows screams.
Old Man (sitting by the fire): "I've lived. Let the children run."
Of 80… only 33 make it past the treeline.
A mother walks back into a burning home. A teenager refuses to leave his twin. Some kneel down—and don't rise again.
Gift (shouting): "MOVE! DAMN IT—JUST RUN!"
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Scene 4 – Ashroot Arrival
The blimp tears through the ash-choked sky like a blade.
Narrator:
"The Ashroot return—silent, burned, changed. Not heroes. Not legends.
Just the ones who still showed up."
Mai Heiko: "Maiku. We didn't forget you."
Jiotaku Maitokashima: "We stalk with fire."
They leap from the blimp—rifles lit. Bullets howl. Explosives sing. Maiku regains ground. The Root stumbles.
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Scene 5 – The Sacrifice
The Root shrieks. Core glowing. Vines retract. The sky dims like an eye closing.
Mai Heiko: "It's going to blow—!"
Jiotaku (smiling): "Then we give it something to remember."
Maiku (screaming): "NO—!!"
Too slow. Too human.
A flash. A heartbeat. Fire.
The blimp—gone. The Ashroot—dust.
A scarf, still warm, lands at Maiku's feet.
Mai (echoing):
"Save the world."
The Ashroot die.
But....
The True Root Body....
Survives.
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Scene 6 – Ashes and Rain
Ash falls like snow. Black and soft. Maiku kneels in it, breathing like a man drowning.
Reen (hand on his shoulder): "They're gone."
Jakku (quiet): "Let's go."
Gift: "We saved 33."
Maiku: "We lost 47."
Narrator:
"Victory doesn't sing. It whimpers.
But sometimes, that's enough."
The True Root Body regenerates.
The crew take the opportunity and leave.
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Scene 7 – The Boy Named Dion
He walks out of the smoke—young, thin, filthy. His eyes aren't scared. They're ready.
Dion Botan: "I'm Dion. Please teach me."
Jakku (blinking): "Huh?"
Dion: "I don't want to run anymore. I want to fight."
A flicker—flame in his palm. Tiny. Shaky. Real.
Reen: "You'll die."
Dion: "Then I'll learn faster."
> Maiku sees it—the same fire he once had. Not in his body. In his will.
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Scene 8 – The Crew Reforged
> The 33 survivors follow behind. Scarred. Hollow. Alive.
> Dion walks beside Maiku. Step by step, copying his stride.
Maiku (softly): "He's raw. Give him a year… he could take two Root-Fleshed solo."
Jakku (grinning, bleeding): "Then let's stay alive long enough to see it."
They walk—limping, burned, breathing.
Scene 9 : The Avatar's Rampage
The scenery shifts.
The Root Avatar in an abandoned forest. Sees a family of 16
Root Avatar : "This would be a great way to form an empire before merging."
He leaps and kills all the family members.
Child(screaming) : "Mommy! Daddy!"
The Avatar laughs and then he turns all of them into Root-fleshed ones.
The Avatar kneels to the soil ;
Root Avatar(talking about the True Root Body): "I will merge with you my body. I am your voice... and you are my body."
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Final Line:
> "Salvation doesn't wear white.
It's jagged. It's loud. It costs.
The Ashroot are gone, but they gave us something louder than victory—
They gave us a reason to keep going.
They were 80. Now they are 33.
But 33 was enough to light the next fire."
To Be Continued....