Chapter 5 : The Shattered Purification

A violent surge of energy erupted in the center of the sanctuary. The mechanical heart of the great tree trembled violently, its surface splitting into countless cracks. Golden energy intertwined with black corruption, churning like the core of a world on the verge of collapse.

Leo stared at the energy storm, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Every instinct screamed a warning—if the heart exploded, the entire Emerald City would be torn apart.

"Get out of here!" He reached for Luna, but she remained still, her silver mechanical pupils reflecting the frenzied beating of the heart. She seemed entranced by an unseen resonance.

"Leo, don't come closer." Luna's voice was calm, yet carried a firmness he had never heard before.

She raised both hands, her mechanical fingers trembling slightly, then pressed them against the surface of the heart. Instantly, a torrent of energy poured into her, flooding her mechanical core. It spun wildly, syncing perfectly with the heart's pulse.

Luna's body shook violently. Her left eye projected countless intricate magical sigils, and a silver-white radiance illuminated the entire sanctuary. Under her influence, the heart's energy circuits stabilized—but at a cost. Cracks formed along her body, golden veins of energy spreading through her mechanical joints.

"Luna, stop!" Leo lunged forward, only to be thrown back by a powerful shockwave.

Boom!

The mechanical heart shattered under Luna's control. The roots of the great tree, once pulsing with life, shriveled like severed veins. The waterfalls cascading above Emerald City reversed their flow, golden purification liquid swirling within them as though the city's very lifeblood had begun to flow backward.

All across the city, pentagram pendants shot into the air, converging toward the great tree. They wove into a dazzling river of stars before plummeting into the abyss beneath the darkened sanctuary.

The barrier of Emerald City—was broken.

Beneath the city, in the long-silent fissure of darkness, a radiant blue light surged skyward.

A colossal mechanical jellyfish burst through the ground, slowly ascending into the sky. Its body was a behemoth of shimmering currents, its translucent shell pulsing with a deep azure glow. Countless pentagram pendants were strung along its massive tendrils, forming chains of light that draped like a celestial river across the sky.

Atop the jellyfish stood a familiar figure—the Elder of the Exiled, his tattered robes billowing in the wind. His crystallized skin glimmered under the eerie blue light, like a frozen statue carved from sorrow and time. Behind him, mounted on the jellyfish's back, were the exiles, their eyes burning with a mix of anticipation and vengeance.

The Elder spread his arms wide, his voice rolling like thunder across the city—

"At last... we are free!"

His voice trembled with exhilaration, laced with a madness born of decades in the dark.

"For years, we were cast out, forgotten, discarded into the abyss! But now, we have returned! Emerald City—our stolen home—shall be reborn in truth!"

The jellyfish's tendrils pulsed. The pentagram pendants melted into its form, reshaping its armored exterior. Its once-fluid body solidified, growing more resilient, its energy surging with newfound intensity.

Boom—!

A massive tendril lashed out, plucking the dying City Lord from the ruins, bringing him before the Elder.

The City Lord's cloudy eyes cracked open. He stared at the Elder and let out a weary chuckle. "So... you never gave up after all."

"Of course not," the Elder murmured. He pressed a hand against the City Lord's chest, intricate sigils blooming beneath his touch. A golden light seeped into the Lord's body, undoing his crystalline affliction. His flesh regained its warmth, his once-lifeless skin breathing anew.

The City Lord let out a quiet laugh. "You used the mechanical automaton as a magical conduit… triggered the great tree's heart… So this was your plan all along."

The Elder met his gaze, emotions flickering within his ancient eyes. "You were also one of the first failed experiments of purification. Do you feel no urge for revenge?"

The City Lord fell silent for a long moment before slowly closing his eyes. "…If we've come this far, then do as you wish."

The city's guards finally gathered their wits. Weapons were raised, arrows and spells rained toward the mechanical jellyfish in a desperate counterattack. But its energy shield was unshakable.

With a single command from the Elder, the exiled warriors leapt from the jellyfish, colliding with the city's forces in a battle decades in the making.

In the midst of the chaos, a lone figure leapt from the jellyfish's back, landing lightly in the heart of the battlefield.

The masked thief.

He unsheathed his dagger, scanning the battlefield until his gaze locked onto Leo. His lips curled into a knowing smirk. Then, with a flicker of motion, he lunged forward—

"Let's see who you really are!"

Leo reacted instantly. His broken sword met the thief's dagger with a burst of sparks. Steel clashed against steel as the two figures became locked in a whirlwind of blows amidst the raging battle.

Meanwhile, Luna raised her arm, her mechanical core glowing with raw energy. Her eyes gleamed with intricate silver sigils.

"Automaton Magic: Domain Interference!"

A silver pulse radiated from her outstretched palm, locking onto the jellyfish's tendrils. In an instant, several of them convulsed uncontrollably, their movements thrown into disarray.

Leo seized the opportunity. He leapt onto the wreckage of a collapsed building, his broken sword raised high.

Slash!

One of the tendrils was severed. Black liquid spewed from the wound, and the jellyfish let out an earth-shaking wail.

The Elder's expression darkened. His gaze bore into Leo and Luna, his voice now cold and devoid of its earlier triumph.

"…So, you intend to stand against our rebirth?"

His hand lifted. The jellyfish's core pulsed violently. In the skies above, a vast, intricate magic array began to take form—

"Then let me show you… what true evolution looks like."

Boom—!

Golden light exploded across the battlefield.

The war had begun.