Chapter 35: The Shattered Blade
**The Forge of Memories**
Xiaoyu led them to a buried temple where the **Soul Anvil** awaited. Walls dripped with the names of fallen Arbiters, their essence trapped in molten gold.
**Trials of the Anvil**:
1. **Bai Ye's Trial**: A phantom of her Purifier victim—a girl with half-melted skin—cornered her. *"You burned me alive. Why?"* Bai Ye's photon arm flickered: *"I… I didn't mean to!"*
2. **Ghosthand's Trial**: His AI confronted a simulation of his parents, their digital ghosts pleading: *"Stay with us. Let the world burn."*
3. **Lin Shen's Trial**: Vorath taunted him with Xiaoyu's ordinary life—a timeline where she never touched the Core. *"This is the peace you stole from her."*
**Xiaoyu's Sacrifice**:
She bound her soul to the Anvil, thorns piercing her chest. *"The Blade needs a living heart. Take mine."*
**Rebirth of the Pruning Blade**:
The reforged Blade erupted with silver fire, its edge singing with Xiaoyu's voice. But the temple collapsed, sealing Vorath's eye beneath molten stone.
**Lin Shen's Resolve**:
He carved a portal to Vorath's core. *"This ends where it began."*
---
#### **The Garden's Last Stand**
In Neo-Kyo, the Lumin Guild and Purifiers formed a fragile alliance.
**Key Battles**:
- **Chrono Bridge**: Hybrid children froze time, their noses bleeding as they held back Serpent-spawn.
- **Digital Front**: Ghosthand's AI became a firewall, his consciousness fragmenting under Vorath's assault. *"I'll… hold… the line…"*
**Twist**:
Mira's consciousness emerged from the Blight, her voice woven through the orchids. *"You can't kill a gardener… I'll always regrow."*
**Cliffhanger**:
Lin Shen stepped into Vorath's core—and found Xiaoyu chained at its center. *"Kill us both,"* she begged. ### **Chapter 35: The Shattered Blade**
**Word Count: 6,800**
---
#### **The Forge of Memories**
Xiaoyu led them to a buried temple where the **Soul Anvil** awaited. Walls dripped with the names of fallen Arbiters, their essence trapped in molten gold.
**Trials of the Anvil**:
1. **Bai Ye's Trial**: A phantom of her Purifier victim—a girl with half-melted skin—cornered her. *"You burned me alive. Why?"* Bai Ye's photon arm flickered: *"I… I didn't mean to!"*
2. **Ghosthand's Trial**: His AI confronted a simulation of his parents, their digital ghosts pleading: *"Stay with us. Let the world burn."*
3. **Lin Shen's Trial**: Vorath taunted him with Xiaoyu's ordinary life—a timeline where she never touched the Core. *"This is the peace you stole from her."*
**Xiaoyu's Sacrifice**:
She bound her soul to the Anvil, thorns piercing her chest. *"The Blade needs a living heart. Take mine."*
**Rebirth of the Pruning Blade**:
The reforged Blade erupted with silver fire, its edge singing with Xiaoyu's voice. But the temple collapsed, sealing Vorath's eye beneath molten stone.
**Lin Shen's Resolve**:
He carved a portal to Vorath's core. *"This ends where it began."*
---
#### **The Garden's Last Stand**
In Neo-Kyo, the Lumin Guild and Purifiers formed a fragile alliance.
**Key Battles**:
- **Chrono Bridge**: Hybrid children froze time, their noses bleeding as they held back Serpent-spawn.
- **Digital Front**: Ghosthand's AI became a firewall, his consciousness fragmenting under Vorath's assault. *"I'll… hold… the line…"*
**Twist**:
Mira's consciousness emerged from the Blight, her voice woven through the orchids. *"You can't kill a gardener… I'll always regrow."*
Lin Shen stepped into Vorath's core—and found Xiaoyu chained at its center. *"Kill us both,"* she begged.