Liam had always thought war would come with explosions, bullets, and screams.
But war—real war—started in silence.
With whispers.
With secrets.
With trust stolen behind closed doors.
And that's exactly where he was now.
In the old hydro-generator substation, four stories beneath Sanctuary Nine.
Artemis had disabled the sensors.
Maya stood watch at the entry shaft.
Naomi leaned against a rusted pillar, her face veiled by a cloak.
And across from Liam stood his newest ally:
Caleb Durand.
Second-tier system host. Ex-special forces. Rot-immune. And up until last week, a devoted enforcer for Commander Sera.
"You realize what you're asking me," Caleb said.
"I do," Liam replied.
"You want me to betray the woman who gave me this second chance."
"I want you to stop enabling a monster who built that chance on rot blood and stolen girls."
Caleb didn't flinch.
But his jaw tightened.
"I saw the tapes," Liam added, pushing forward. "The experiments. The girls. The Bloomed rites."
"And yet you're a system host," Caleb muttered.
"I didn't choose it."
Caleb looked away.
"Neither did I."
[System Analysis – Caleb Durand]
> Tier: 1
Type: Combat Host
Bond Count: 2
Morality: Variable
Alignment Shift Detected – 58% toward Liam's cause
Suggested Action: Leverage Shared Regret Path
"I know about Elise," Liam said quietly.
Caleb turned sharp.
"You say her name again—"
"She was your first bond, wasn't she?"
A long pause.
Then Caleb's shoulders dropped.
"She died last winter. Not from the rot. From guilt. She'd been helping transport girls for Garden. Thought she was saving them. Thought the injections were medicine."
Liam stepped closer.
"She wasn't the monster, Caleb. She was the pawn."
Caleb met his gaze.
And nodded.
"I'm in."
[New Ally Recruited – Caleb Durand]
> Role: Inside Informant
Access: Command Wing Level B
Bonus: Unlock "Enforcer Logs" database
+10% system infiltration success
Back in the courtyard, Liam met with Maya and Artemis privately.
They sat under the dead tree that used to bloom white petals in spring—before the Red Moon scorched the soil.
"We have to be careful," Maya said. "One wrong move and Sera executes you publicly."
"I don't think she will," Artemis murmured. "She needs you. Your system. Your bonds."
Liam nodded.
"She's waiting to see if I'll bloom."
Maya clenched her fists. "We need proof. Enough to turn the camp against her."
Artemis reached into her cloak and pulled out a black data chip.
"Then it's time you saw what I found."
The chip unlocked a hidden file buried deep in the Sanctuary core:
> Project RED GARDEN
Phase 3: Initiate Rot Purity through Controlled Breeding
> Host-Bonded Reproduction Rate: 1 in 9 viable
Bloodline Preserved = Infection Immunity + Loyalty Conditioning
Long-term Goal: "Cultivate new humanity through rot-tempered bloodlines."
Liam felt sick.
"They're using the system to breed new humans."
Artemis nodded.
"And if they succeed, we'll never get the old world back."
[Main Quest Branch Unlocked – "Sever the Root"]
> Objective: Destroy Project RED GARDEN
Phase 1: Expose Reproduction Protocol to the Sanctuary Council
Phase 2: Locate Sera's full Root Archive
Phase 3: Disable the Child Engine
Optional: Prevent forced-bond pregnancies
Reward: Cure Fragment 4 | System Purification Pathway | Unique Passive: Will of the Unbound
Later that evening, Liam was back in the garden with Junia.
She still hadn't spoken a full sentence.
But every day, her presence grew stronger.
He brought her a flower he'd cultivated—white iris, grown in contaminated soil. It bloomed despite everything.
Junia smiled and took it carefully.
Then, she surprised him.
She placed her palm over his chest and whispered:
> "The Root is under us."
He froze.
"You saw it?"
She nodded, eyes wide and fearful.
"In my dream. A black heart. Beating beneath this place. Waiting."
Liam swallowed.
"Do you know how deep?"
Junia shook her head.
But then she took his hand—and led it to her neck.
Right beneath the skin pulsed something faint.
Liam's system reacted instantly.
[Hidden Trait Unlocked – Junia: Root Listener]
> Passive: Can sense awakening bloom nodes
Effect: +25% chance to detect underground rot lifeforms
Warning: Junia's body may be a latent receiver for Root transmission
The infection wasn't just in the blood.
It was in the soil.
In the walls.
In the foundation of Sanctuary Nine.
That night, Liam returned to his quarters.
Naomi waited there, arms wrapped around herself.
She looked terrified.
"They're accelerating the ritual," she whispered. "I heard it in the static. A new moon is coming."
Liam's system pulsed cold.
[System Prophetic Update – Red Bloom Phase 1 Begins in 8 Days]
> Condition: 5 bonded females engaged OR sacrificial bloom will occur in your place
Current Bond Count: 5
Engagements: 3/10
Penalty for failure: System rollback. Emotional wipe. Death.
Liam closed his eyes.
He had five girls bonded.
Three… physically connected.
And only eight days before the system either advanced him—
—or erased him.
And somewhere below…
a black heart was waiting to bloom.