The Hollow Mountain

Chapter 10:

The branded instructor's torchlight carved jagged shadows across the incubation chamber as we backed against the cages. The stench of rotting flesh thickened with every breath. 

"Clever little rats," he sneered, twirling a curved dagger. "But you don't steal from the master's larder without consequences." 

(Earth Sense: 6 hostiles approaching from tunnel northeast. Estimated arrival: 90 seconds.)

I flexed my fingers, feeling the mountain's bones through my soles. The chamber walls were natural limestone—porous, unstable. Perfect. 

Joren's fire flared in his palm. "We fight." 

"No." I pressed my foot against the floor. "We collapse."

(Earth Manipulation Level 5: Targeting ceiling weaknesses.)

The branded man lunged—just as my power surged through the stone. 

The ceiling groaned. 

For one terrible second, nothing happened. Then, with a roar like a dying beast, the chamber's roof shattered. 

Boulders crashed down, crushing cages and blocking the tunnel entrance in a cloud of dust. The instructor screamed as a falling stone pinned his leg, his torch guttering out. 

(Warning: Mental energy at 43%.) 

"Run!" I grabbed Lina's arm as we scrambled over rubble toward a gap in the western wall—not a tunnel, but a fissure, barely wide enough to squeeze through. 

Behind us, the branded man's curses turned to gurgles as something wet and many-legged scuttled from the ruined cages toward him. 

(Soul Rot Analysis: Mature parasite detected. Hunger state: Ravenous.) 

We didn't look back. 

The fissure narrowed into a suffocating crawlspace, then abruptly opened into a cavern so vast Joren's fire couldn't reach the ceiling. The air smelled of salt and something electric. 

(Earth Sense: Detecting underground river 200 paces west. Trace minerals suggest...) 

Lina gasped. "Look." 

Bioluminescent fungi clung to the walls in pulsating blue veins, illuminating what looked like an ancient road carved into the cavern floor. But these weren't ordinary stones—each paving block bore eerie carvings of trees with blackened roots. 

"The Verdant Dawn's symbol," Joren whispered, kicking a rusted helmet. "This was a battlefield." 

(System Analysis: Mineral deposits indicate catastrophic earthshift here 23 years prior. Cause: Unknown.)

I crouched, pressing my palm to the carvings. The stone shivered under my touch, whispering memories of screams and a great ripping sensation— 

(WARNING: Corruptive energy spike detected—) 

A section of the fungal lights flickered out ahead. Then the next. Then the next, racing toward us like something was eating the darkness itself. 

"Move!" I yanked them sideways just as the road where we'd stood imploded, collapsing into a yawning pit. From its depths rose a sound like a thousand wasps trapped in a corpse. 

(Soul Rot Identification: Parasite swarm. Estimated count: 10,000+.)

We ran. 

The cavern funneled us toward a chasm spanned by a grotesque bridge—not stone or wood, but interwoven roots, blackened and throbbing like veins. 

(Decay Analysis: Roots saturated with parasite larvae. Cross at your peril.) 

Joren made to burn it. I caught his wrist. 

"Fire will bring the whole swarm." I stepped forward, extending both hands. "We do it my way." 

(Earth Meld + Decay Synergy Activated.)

The roots screamed as my power hit them. Not just rotting the surface—I sent Decay *through* them like poison in blood, following their hidden connections back to the source. 

(Veyra Level Up: Decay 5 → 6.)

(New Ability Unlocked: Rootrot- Corrupts plant-based structures at range.)

The bridge withered to dust, but the real revelation came from the earth's sudden scream: 

(Earth Sense Overload: Detecting massive hollow space 500 feet below. Energy signature matches... Grand Elder's chambers?) 

Lina gripped my shoulder. "You're bleeding." 

I touched my nose. Black-tinged blood streaked my fingers. The system flickered warnings: 

(Mental energy critical: 11%. Physical strain: 87%.) 

A thunderous crack echoed through the cavern. The remaining fungal lights died at once. 

In the perfect dark, something scraped against stone—something with too many joints. 

(Soul Rot Warning: Alpha parasite approaching. Recommended action: FLEE.) 

Joren's fire roared to life just as the creature lunged. 

It was beautiful. 

A humanoid shape woven from glowing blue roots, its chest split open to reveal a pulsing core of writhing larvae. Its fingers ended in thorn-like claws that sang as they cut the air. 

The Alpha parasite tilted its head—and spoke with the Grand Elder's voice: 

"Lishen. You've watered my garden well." 

We fought in flashes of fire and rotting roots. 

Joren's flames kept the larvae at bay while Lina's wind hurled stone shards. I focused on the Alpha, matching every strike with bursts of Decay—but it adapted, its wounds sealing with fresh growth. 

(Combat Log: Alpha parasite regenerating 3% mass per second. Current decay rate: 2.1%.)

We were losing. 

Then I remembered the prisoner's words: "The roots remember."

(Desperate Measure: Earth Meld + Soul Rot Fusion Attempt.) 

I dropped to my knees and plunged my hands into the cavern floor. Not to rot—to ask. 

The mountain answered. 

Ancient power surged through me, searing every nerve. The Alpha parasite shrieked as the very stones beneath it remembered being trees, remembered sunlight and clean water, and rejected the corruption festering within. 

(SYSTEM OVERRIDE: TERRAFORM PROTOCOL INITIATED.)

(Abilities Merged: Worldroot- Temporary control over geological memory.)

The Alpha exploded in a storm of sapphire embers. 

(Victory. Cost: Mental energy depleted. Physical integrity: 54%.) 

As I collapsed, the last thing I saw was the cavern wall cracking open to reveal moonlight—and the Grand Elder standing there, applauding. 

"Marvelous," he murmured. "Now we begin your real training." 

 To Be Continued...