Thunder cracked in the distance.
Not from clouds…
But from marching.
Thousands of armored feet—clad in silver root and bone—moved like one beast, stretching across the scorched valley near the Borderlands.
Their banners bore no symbol.
Their faces? Covered.
Eyes glowing red.
No life.
No soul.
Only purpose.
---
At the head of the army stood a figure — not tall, not loud, but crushing.
She wore robes woven from broken root and molten steel.
Half her face was human.
The other half was flame-blackened skull.
> "I am Vaelith," she whispered. "Chosen by the Forgotten Flame. And I have come… to break Heaven again."
---
Meanwhile…
Kai stood atop the northern cliffs with Ayaka and Ren.
The winds had changed.
So had the earth.
> "What are they?" Ayaka asked.
Kai's eyes narrowed. "They're called the Hollow Rootborn."
> "Created when the Rootfire rejects a soul… but their body still moves."
Ren swallowed. "So they're…"
Kai nodded.
> "Dead. But angry."
---
A scout burst through the trees.
> "They've reached the Fifth Wall! The cultivator sects are falling back!"
Kai turned. "Then we meet them there."
> "No," the scout gasped. "There's more—"
From the horizon, light exploded.
A golden city… burning.
One of the sacred sects — the Dawnspire Monastery — was crumbling.
---
Kai stared at the flames and clenched his fists.
"I won't let this cycle repeat."
He turned to Ayaka and Ren.
> "We end this. No more roots choking our skies."
> "We break the system. We free the flame."
Ayaka smiled. "Then we go to war."
---
The sky trembled. The land wept.
And the final battle began to stir.