Chapter 12: Stone and Scream
Chapter 12: Stone and Scream
The Obsidian Grotto breathed.
Wet, shuddering breaths echoed through the cavern as we picked our way across glass-smooth stone. Joren's fire cast jagged shadows that twitched when you weren't looking. My foot slipped on something slick—not water, but sap, black and stinking of spoiled fruit.
(Earth Sense Attempt: Blocked by root lattice. Penetration: 27%)
I gritted my teeth. The Grand Elder's roots were everywhere, drinking my connection to the stone like a fever patient gulping water. But the mountain still whispered under the corruption.
"Deeper,"it hissed through the few unclogged pores in the rock. "The prisoner remembers."
Lina froze. "Did you hear—?"
A snap echoed from the grotto's heart.
The roots had woven a cage around it—a single pillar of uncorrupted jade, its surface carved with Verdant Dawn sigils. Inside, suspended like a fly in amber, floated a man.
No. Not a man.
A memory.
(Soul Rot Analysis: Soul imprint. Age: 23 years. Identity: Elder Wen, Verdant Dawn geomancer.)
Joren's flame guttered. "That's the prisoner the sapling mentioned?"
I pressed a hand to the jade. The moment my blackened fingertips touched it, the vision struck:
Elder Wen stands in a sunlit valley, hands buried in rich soil. "The mountain's heart is pure," he tells his disciples. "We must protect it from the Harvest Ritual."
Then—steel flashes. The Grand Elder (younger, clean-shaven) drives a dagger into Wen's back. As he falls, the earth itself screams.
The first parasite slithers from his mouth.
(Decay Veyra Level Up: 7 → 8)
(New Insight: The Grand Elder was originally a Verdant Dawn disciple. His betrayal birthed Eclipse.)
The jade shattered.
Elder Wen's specter collapsed into my arms, his voice rasping: "The tools... are still here... Stop the ritual—" before dissolving into mist.
(Quest Update: Locate Elder Wen's Tools - 0/3 Found)
The grotto *shook*. Roots tore free from the ceiling like angry serpents. One lashed around Lina's ankle, yanking her upside-down.
"Lishen!" Joren roared, his fire blazing toward the roots—only for the flames to sink in without burning.
(Analysis: Roots adapted to fire. New vector required.)
I dropped to my knees and slammed my palms into the stone. Not to sense. Not to manipulate.
To beg.
"HELP US."
The mountain answered.
(Emergency Protocol: Terraform Override - Bypassing root interference.)
Agony ripped through me as pure geological energy flooded my veins. The roots recoiled—not from Decay, but from the clean, untainted earth power surging beneath them.
(Earth Manipulation Level 6 → 7)
(New Ability Unlocked: Cleansing Strike - Purges corruption through seismic pulses.)
The grotto floor erupted in a shockwave of jagged crystal, impaling the roots. Lina fell into Joren's arms as the cavern groaned.
(Warning: Mental energy critical - 9%)
Then—silence.
He stood in the newly made crevice, clapping slowly.
"Remarkable," the Grand Elder murmured. "You made it *remember* its true nature." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "But at what cost?"
A wet cough wracked my body. Black sap speckled the stone.
Joren stepped between us, flames dancing along his arms. "We're leaving."
"Are you?" The Grand Elder flicked his wrist.
The roots moved. Not to attack—to part, revealing a nightmare:
A pulsing, womb-like sac of veins hung from the ceiling. Inside floated three figures—two children, one adult—their chests split open to expose glittering green crystals where their hearts should be.
(Earth Sense Identification: Mountain's essence. Harvest Ritual victims.)
"Elder Wen didn't tell you the full truth," the Grand Elder said. "The Verdant Dawn didn't just want the mountain's power. They stole it. And now..." He gestured to the sac. "...I've learned to farm it."
Lina retched. Joren's fire died.
The Grand Elder turned to me. "Your earth skills are impressive. But ask yourself—why heal a mountain that's already chosen to rot?"
(Choice:)
1. Submit- Gain Eclipse knowledge (Accelerated Decay progression)
2. Defy- Fight now (Survival odds: 8%)
3. Bargain - Offer to retrieve Wen's tools (Delayed confrontation)
I looked at the sac. At my friends. At my black-veined hands.
Then I smiled.
"Let's make a new deal."
To Be Continued...