The Core-Node rose fully from the fissure—
a massive, throbbing sphere of red-black crystal,
veins crawling like ancient circuitry.
Every pulse sent waves of distortion through the air.
Arjun's hair lifted in the shifting pressure.
Silver-gray light swirled tightly around him, spiraling like a contained storm.
Meera stepped back, gripping her wounded arm, eyes wide.
Samar slumped against the wall, barely breathing.
Rudra planted the Core-Breaker into the ground, preparing the final sequence.
The Root pulsed once—
And the chamber felt like it inhaled.
Everything froze.
Then—
The Core-Node changed.
Its veins tightened.
A shell of crystal formed around it.
Red cracks branched outward.
Rudra's eyes widened.
"No…
NO—
it's shifting into a RESPONSE FORM!"
Meera gasped.
"What does that mean?!"
Rudra's voice was tight:
"It's preparing to fight Arjun directly."
The Core-Node pulsed again—
and the red light sharpened into a blinding spear.
A tendril burst outward, not vine-like—
but blade-like.
It aimed straight at Arjun.
Arjun's First Direct Clash With the CORE-NODE
Arjun stepped forward.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Just clarity.
The blade-tendril shot toward him—
And Arjun met it with his hand.
His Burst flared in a tight wave—
grey lining the outer edge,
silver burning at the center.
CRACK—!!
The impact sent a shockwave through the chamber.
Dust exploded upward.
Metal sheared.
Samar was blown against the wall, knocked fully unconscious at last.
Meera shielded her face.
Rudra braced himself with the Core-Breaker.
Arjun skidded back only half a step.
The Core-Node's crackling voice echoed—
Not words.
Instinct.
"YOU. BELONG. TO. THE ROOT."
Arjun's eyes narrowed.
"No.
I belong to myself."
He pushed back.
Light rippled outward—
a concentrated Burst wave.
The blade-tendril shattered into crystal shards.
The Root roared.
Meera's Unexpected Risk
More tendrils—sharp, metallic ones—burst upward, angled toward Arjun.
He pivoted, redirecting one.
He deflected another.
But a third tendril shot toward his blind side.
Meera didn't even think.
She ran.
"MEERA—!!" Arjun shouted.
She grabbed a fallen steel panel, lifted it with both arms—
despite her injured shoulder—
and used it as a makeshift shield.
The tendril slammed into the metal—
CLANG—!!
She was thrown backward, hitting the ground hard.
Her breath escaped in a sharp gasp.
Arjun's Burst flickered.
His heart nearly stopped.
"MEERA!!"
He sprinted to her, sliding to his knees.
She coughed, tears in her eyes, but forced a shaky smile.
"I'm… okay… just—
just don't get hit, idiot…"
Arjun's chest burned.
Not with power.
With fear.
With love.
With rage.
His Burst spiraled violently—
silver surging upward toward Phase Two.
Rudra saw it and shouted:
"ARJUN! CONTROL YOURSELF! YOU'RE CROSSING INTO PHASE TWO!"
Arjun clenched his teeth.
Silver crackled across his arm.
The air distorted.
"I won't let her get hurt again…"
The echo whispered eagerly:
"THEN LET ME TAKE OVER."
Grey light exploded outward as the limiter responded violently.
Arjun screamed as the energies collided.
Meera reached out weakly.
"Arjun—! Stay with me—!"
Her voice hit him like an anchor.
The silver shrank.
The grey steadied.
Arjun exhaled.
He looked at her, voice barely audible:
"Don't risk yourself like that…
I can't lose you."
Her eyes softened—
then fear stabbed through them.
"Behind you—!"
Rudra Unlocks the Final Core-Breaker Mode
Another massive tendril shot toward Arjun—
this one big enough to crush him and Meera together.
Rudra moved before Arjun could.
He slammed the Core-Breaker into the ground and twisted the final ring.
A deep, ominous click sounded.
The entire weapon glowed bright blue—
then white-hot.
Rudra roared:
"EVACUATE THE BLAST ZONE!!"
Arjun grabbed Meera and rolled aside.
Samar—unconscious—was dragged by collapsing debris.
Rudra swung the Core-Breaker in a full arc.
A wave of pure resonance exploded outward.
SHOOOOOM—!!
Every tendril in the chamber bent backward violently.
The Core-Node shrieked.
The walls cracked from floor to ceiling.
The ceiling fractured.
Rudra collapsed to one knee, nearly fainting.
Meera stared in disbelief.
"That… almost broke the entire Root…"
Rudra coughed, spitting blood.
"That was the Absolute Resonance Mode…
I… can't do it again."
Arjun steadied him.
Rudra whispered, almost pleading:
"Don't enter Phase Two, Arjun…
if you lose yourself…
nothing will bring you back."
Arjun nodded, trembling.
But the Core-Node was not done.
Samar's Dream—A Seed Awakens
Across the chamber, buried under debris, Samar's broken body lay still.
But in his mind—
he was standing in a black void.
No pain.
No weight.
Only a red heartbeat pulsing in the dark.
not the root
not the echo
something else
A voice whispered.
Not human.
Not entity.
Something adaptive.
Something born from him.
"You survived everything.
So survive now."
Samar took a breath.
His eyes opened—
Glowing faint red.
He woke.
Total Collapse Begins
The chamber ceiling split wide open.
Massive slabs of concrete began falling.
Pipes snapped.
Machines sparked.
Cracks raced across the floor.
Rudra shouted:
"THIS WHOLE LEVEL IS COLLAPSING—WE HAVE TO MOVE—NOW!!"
Meera grabbed Arjun's arm.
Samar limped toward them, blood still pouring, but eyes blazing.
And then—
The floor beneath Arjun fractured.
He fell—
Meera screamed.
Arjun's Burst flared, enveloping both of them—
The ground gave way—
And the entire group plummeted into darkness—
straight into the unknown levels beneath the facility.
END OF CHAPTER 40