The forest did not breathe its warning.
It vomited it.
The air twisted into shivering spirals, the color draining from the moss-covered walls as though the very world recoiled from what was waiting ahead. Zerrei felt it first—the forest's panic climbing through the roots into his feet, crawling into his ribs, pounding against the golden-thread mark on his chest.
It whispered in pulses.
Not words.
Not images.
A message.
Turn back.
Turn back.
Turn back.
But Zerrei kept walking.
Not bravely.
Not confidently.
Walking the only way he knew how—
trembling, carrying pain he didn't understand, holding Lyra's hand so tight his fingers creaked, stepping because if he didn't step, he would break.
The others followed him.
Lyra at his right, steady.
Vessel Five at his left, trembling but immovable.
Arden and Oren behind them—one cursing under his breath, the other muttering fractured analyses of the broken air currents.
The Breathpath narrowed again—its golden glow flickering weakly as mana bled from the forest like an open wound.
Zerrei reached for a drifting mote.
It dissolved at his touch.
He flinched. "It's dying."
Oren hurried forward, examining the fading particles. "The Creator's resonance is destabilizing all forest-based mana signatures. If we don't get to the Heartwood soon—"
Arden cut in. "The forest will explode? Collapse? Catch fire? WHAT happens?!"
Oren inhaled sharply. "It… forgets itself."
Arden blinked. "It WHAT?"
"The forest's identity," Oren said breathlessly, "is being eroded."
Lyra squeezed Zerrei's hand. "And you're stabilizing what's left."
"No," Zerrei whispered. "I'm slowing the collapse. Barely."
The ground cracked beneath them, splitting into glowing fissures that pulsed with sickly pale light.
Vessel Five shoved Zerrei backward as a slab of root-rock crashed down from above.
"…Zerrei… careful…"
Zerrei touched Vessel Five's arm. "Thank you—"
But Vessel Five didn't respond the way he expected.
Its body jerked.
Violent.
Unstable.
Wrong.
Blue cracks raced across its chest like lightning trapped under bark.
Zerrei grabbed its wrist. "Vessel Five—stop—talk to me—"
Vessel Five's distorted voice rose in a low, guttural growl.
"…identity… pressure… increasing… evolution… forced…"
Oren's eyes widened. "It's absorbing the forest's collapsing resonance!"
Arden yelled, "STOP ABSORBING THE FOREST, YOU WON'T DIGEST IT—"
"Arden," Lyra snapped, "not helping."
Vessel Five slammed its claws into the soil to anchor itself.
"…not… devour… forest… forest… inside Zerrei… cannot damage… cannot…"
Zerrei's heart twisted.
It was resisting devouring the forest.
For him.
He whispered, voice shaking, "Vessel Five—look at me—right here—"
The hunter's head jerked and locked onto Zerrei, vision flickering wildly.
"…Zerrei… grounding… needed…"
Zerrei pressed his forehead to Vessel Five's chest. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
The trembling slowed.
Only slightly.
The forest groaned again—this time deeper, heavier, more desperate.
A long, primordial howl rolled through the Breathpath, rattling roots and shaking the soil.
Arden froze. "W-What was THAT?"
"Pain," Zerrei whispered.
Oren swallowed hard. "The Heartwood is crying."
Lyra lifted her sword. "Then we move faster."
They moved deeper—
into territory few living beings had ever seen.
Into the forest's oldest veins.
Into the place where memory lived.
The roots thickened around them, forming spirals and arches like ribs of an ancient beast. Strange symbols formed along their surfaces—patterns written in a language of mana, not words.
Zerrei traced one with trembling fingers.
Golden sparks leapt between his fingertips and the root.
Oren leaned over his shoulder. "Can you read it?"
"No," Zerrei whispered. "But I feel it."
"What does it say?" Lyra asked.
Zerrei looked up, dread settling into his bones.
"It says the Heartwood is preparing something."
Arden yelped, "PREPARING WHAT?!"
Zerrei's voice was barely audible.
"A warning."
The ground shook violently—
not from collapse,
but from intention.
The forest wanted them to stop.
Roots curled upward like grasping hands, pulling at Zerrei's ankles.
Moss darkened into heavy colors.
Golden motes swirled desperately, trying to push them backward.
Lyra chopped a root aside as it reached for Zerrei. "WHY is the forest trying to stop us?"
Zerrei's heart stuttered.
He pressed a hand to the nearest trembling root.
The forest screamed inside him.
It didn't want him to go forward.
Not because it feared the Creator.
Not because the path was dangerous.
It feared what Zerrei would become.
He fell to his knees.
Lyra slid beside him, gripping his arms. "Zerrei—Zerrei, what did it show you?"
He shook violently.
"It doesn't want me near the Heartwood."
"Why?"
Zerrei's voice fractured.
"Because… I'm changing too fast."
Oren stumbled back. "Identity destabilization—oh no—oh gods—"
Arden grabbed Oren by the collar. "SPEAK NORMAL HUMAN LANGUAGE."
"He's evolving faster than the forest can stabilize him!" Oren shouted.
Vessel Five roared—not in fear, but in mirrored resonance.
"…Zerrei… hold… HOLD…"
Zerrei gasped. "I'm trying—I'm trying—I'm trying—"
The golden-thread mark burned like a brand.
The Arcane Loop behind him flickered between shapes.
His Heartglow surged—
Gold
Gold
White
Gold
Black
Gold
Lyra anchored him, pulling his trembling form to her chest. "Zerrei. LISTEN. You're here. You're you. You're not becoming the forest. You're not becoming him. You're Zerrei."
"I—I am—"
He tried to speak—
His throat clenched.
He shook violently.
His vision blurred.
Vessel Five threw itself beside him, lowering its massive head.
"…Zerrei… identity… identity stabilize… Zero…zte…"
Its voice cut off in static.
Arden screamed, "VESSEL FIVE IS GLITCHING TOO—OH NO—WE'RE ALL GOING TO—"
"MOVE," Lyra barked, "or I make you move."
Arden immediately quieted.
Oren forced himself forward, touching Zerrei's back with trembling hands. "I'm analyzing resonance—give me ten seconds—"
"You have five," Lyra snapped.
Oren inhaled sharply, panic rising—but focusing.
"This evolution spike—it's not random—he's synchronizing with the Heartwood—"
Zerrei gasped, "It's… calling… it wants… to speak…"
Oren leaned back, horrified. "It's preparing direct contact with him."
Arden blinked. "Good or bad?!"
"BOTH."
The ground lurched—
bringing Zerrei to his feet despite the trembling in his limbs.
He grabbed Vessel Five for stability.
Lyra grabbed him for grounding.
Arden placed his shoulder under Oren.
Oren clung to Arden's arm to stay upright.
The roots parted ahead.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Deliberately.
Revealing—
A chamber deeper than depths.
A glow older than gods.
A power that made Zerrei's entire being vibrate with awe and terror.
The Heartwood.
Not dead.
Not alive.
Remembering.
Its glow pulsed with a rhythm that merged with Zerrei's Heartglow in perfect sync—for the first time ever.
He whispered:
"It's… calling me. Only me."
Lyra stepped in front of him.
"No."
Zerrei shook his head. "I have to hear it."
"Not alone."
Zerrei smiled weakly.
"I'm not alone."
Vessel Five bowed its head beside him.
"…Zerrei… together…"
Oren nodded. "We can stabilize his resonance as he enters."
Arden raised his axe. "I will beat up any roots that try to eat him."
Lyra placed her palm over Zerrei's chest.
"You are Zerrei," she whispered. "Say it now. Say it before you step inside."
Zerrei breathed.
His Heartglow pulsed.
"I am Zerrei."
The forest pulsed in answer.
He stepped forward.
Into the Heartwood.
And the forest whispered one last warning:
"If you change here…
you cannot change back."
Zerrei trembled.
And stepped anyway.