Chapter 19: The Gift of Madness

Ren didn't scream.

He should have. As his arm plunged into the heartroot's core, as tendrils of pure, ancient essence coiled into his veins, as his soul was dragged across the raw edge of creation—he should have screamed.

But he didn't.

Because his will was stronger.

He remembered Yui's laugh.

His mother's soft lullabies.

The warmth of Kaede's voice saying, "I believe in you."

The pain reached into every part of him, burning and freezing all at once. His memories flickered like candlelight in a storm. His body convulsed. Black blood spilled from his nose, eyes, and fingertips.

But he held on.

He took the root.

And it gave him something in return.

Knowledge.

Visions.

The dungeon—alive. Breathing. Not a place, but a consciousness. A prison and a god. And the heartroot? Its heart. Its brain. Its curse.

He saw how it could shape energy. Rewrite what had been broken. Purge what was devouring his mother from within.

He also saw what it would cost.

Pieces of himself were gone now. His voice might never be the same. His skin bore marks that could never fade. His mind trembled on the edge of collapse.

But he had what he came for.

The figure watched him from the shadows.

"You've taken what no one else could," it said. "You walk the line between man and monster."

"I was never just one or the other," Ren replied, breathing hard. "I'm something new."

The heartroot pulsed once more—then fractured. With a final gasp of energy, the cavern collapsed around them.

When Kaede found him, he was unconscious—clutching a vial of glowing essence, his body steaming with residual voidfire.

She didn't hesitate. She carried him through the collapsing layers, back to the surface.

Back home.

The city was waiting.

And so was his mother.

Ren had returned, again.

But not as the boy who couldn't awaken.

As the one who refused to break.