Chapter 24: Beneath the Seal

The crack in the old dungeon gate widened overnight.

No one else seemed to notice. The enforcers walked past it. Hunters trained nearby. Civilians lived their lives. But Ren could feel the pulse behind the stone—the same rhythm that once beat inside the heartroot.

Kaede met him there the next morning, arms crossed. "It's active, isn't it?"

He nodded. "It never stopped. It just… watched."

"Then why now?"

Ren stared at the gate. "Because I'm marked. Because I lived. Because it knows I can hear it."

Kaede sighed. "Then we're going to need more than resolve. We need allies. Information."

Ren looked at her. "Start gathering them. Quietly. I'll hold this line if it breaks."

"Alone?"

He didn't answer.

Later that day, Yui found him sitting beneath the trees near the training grounds. She placed a small bundle of food in his lap and sat beside him without speaking.

"You've been different," she said at last. "Since the heartroot."

"I have to be."

"I know." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Just don't forget us. Don't forget who you are."

He looked at her—his light, his reason.

"I won't."

That night, the crack split open with a quiet shudder.

Ren stood at the threshold, the air thick with shadow.

From within, something ancient whispered:

"Welcome back, Heir. The true descent begins now."

And Ren stepped through, alone—into a darkness that didn't fear him.

But remembered him.